Retribution
The old women of Kulumani have spent their lives being the neglected slaves of the men. After years of abuse and watching their daughters be abused, they feel helpless. Using their expertise of witchcraft, they craft a scheme to exact justice upon the village and to purge it. They summon these ghost lionesses who immediately wreak havoc on the village and are impossible to kill. By the time Archangel arrives, his work is mostly accomplished already. He just has to agree to be the vessel by which the men of Kulumani are judged, which he accepts. The men receive a swift and painful retribution for their evil practices.
Close-mindedness
The real failure of the village elders is their close-mindedness. First of all, Kulumani is a completely isolated village. These people's ancestors chose to establish their domain here, in this remote wilderness, for a reason. After generations have grown up insulated in the village, they have forgotten the value of change. Their traditions have flourished to the point of legend, but the price they pay for security is high. When Archangel arrives, he posits new ideas and methods of hunting which the elders reject. They recognize the threat which his progressive ideas present to their carefully crafted regime of ignorance; they cannot allow their subjects to be exposed to new methods of thinking because it will undermine their authority. In the end, they are forced to choose between the survival of their village -- with Archangel's help -- and their selfish close-mindedness.
Secrecy
Evil often flourishes in secrecy. People are wise to practice confession so as not to allow their wrongdoing to corrupt them quietly. If the elders of Kulumani had recognized this, they could've saved themselves a great deal of suffering. They don't, however, and even Mariamar's father locks her in the house so that she can't speak to Archangel. The men are afraid of the outsider and his influence because their rule over the village is predicated upon secrecy in their completely isolated community. If Mariamar had the courage to speak up about her abuse, she would never have been allowed to be abused. On the other hand, the old women of the village use secrecy to accomplish their deliverance by summoning the ghost lionesses without telling anyone. They pay dearly, however, because so many of the villagers -- including the women -- are killed by the lions. In the end, their mission depends upon them confessing the scheme to Archangel and relying upon his benevolence to save them.
