Skip to main content

Full text of "Bulletin"

See other formats 


NYS Se VN 
AS 
AN RS A 
N SRA 
NERS re SRE 


SS 

Xs SS Wh SRA 

SOY WN TIN 
UN AN 


AS Wy 
Sh IY Y 
SSN \\ “ . “\ SS ~~ 


» ARN 
NN 
_ 
RN 


SAH 
SN ASN 
AS EAS x 


_ 


‘SS 
. AY 
WAY \< 2 \ _ \ 
* AK RAG AN ON \\ RN \\ ‘\ - \ \ 
RAN \ “\ “ _ 
_ \Y A 
SENN » S ON 
LAY AN \ \\ ANY AK . AY \ ; ~ SN Ni 
\\ SES Va °VaWMOy7ye 
AK \ i. \ NNN \ . 
: \\ AQ ~~ . 
S AN VEOH AROS WY 
AN WIV \\ WY \ WM gy SS RAS 
A SN ANY \ _ LARK ~ AN AN 
RRA — 
SY 


\X ~ \ 
‘ AC 
ANY 


8 


AX ANY) \ _ XS 
A\\ WRENS 


AN 
AK \ WN 
\ 
\ 
S\N 
X \\ \N 


NY 

A \ ROY WY 
AK 

VAY AN \ \\ NN 


SN) 


\ MAAN ‘ WH 
SY AN \\ \\ \\ VN wow WwW 
\\ ~~ AN \ \\ WAQAS a 
SANS 
oo 
AX 


A\ S 


AX 
AC LAN 


\ \ 
SASS 
\\\ 

\S 


\ 
WA 
AN Ws \ \\ 
NOON 
A WN SY 
NN 


SAN 


gEF 


Z 
Lee 


TWN 
sy hs 
ANN : 


(mae 


SMe ALE See PER) ee hee fe i 
Pe Nene ane my 


if " 
; My , 1 , ry 5\ J 7 ws sé } 
Nhe tA IN hi | Nae ne m, 
i F nay . f Pad, Ayre?) y i 
‘ : rif \ y hia ay) | } 
vy ys he ies i 
‘ 
5 ‘ 
* if 
L ) 
. 
‘ 
, 
r/ 
é 
: 
r 
* 
' 
\ bd 
} 
ny 
/ 
| 
: 
. 
! 


Fi] 
¥ 
¥ 
‘ 
| 
v4 
' 
| 
‘ 
. 
f 


i at s if 
oe cree pele 


‘ f 
\" 
ne 
é 
‘ 
o; 5 
K * 
, 
5 
‘ 
7 . 
‘ 
‘ 
‘ . 
, 
. 
s 
i 
: 
‘ 
; 
: 
— \ 
i 
/ 
. 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 
BULLETIN 143 


HANDBOOK 
OF 
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


Juuian H. Srewarp, Editor 


Volume 3 


THE TROPICAL FOREST TRIBES 


Prepared in Cooperation With the United States Department of State as a Project 
of the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific and Cultural Cooperation 


UNITED STATES 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
WASHINGTON : 1948 


For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, 
Washington 25, D. C. 


: Wee a) 
ai | 
2A MG VAN. Iredell 


WW whe oo ee 


At jy or Fe . a 
r= . ee 
at Wares a 

eon cada 


mn 04+ ' 


LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, 
Washington, D. C., June 1, 1945. 


Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript entitled 
“Handbook of South American Indians. Volume 3. The Tropical Forest 
Tribes,” edited by Julian H. Steward, and to recommend that it be 
published as a bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 


Very respectfully yours, 
M. W. Stirtine, Chief. 
Dr. C. G. ABBOT, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


Til 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PMA ood a OSU DANO OD ROMO OOS 0. COTO OE OTT Eee Cente ee ees are XXI 
oh SURO DROTLL ETT AR Sg RIANA Set Ot ES og Zr XXIII 
PST LMCOMETIDELORS i crtietehe cievote ala 0 5 are ee oia 6100" 6 6 bie ana is) ora e eles sparevaunnterehete sls cie XXV 
The Tropical Forests: An introduction, by Robert H. Lowie ............. 1 
PRE NaRS INR Tink Tce ek © ocala oes eiansey cine ease scoo us ini ote t sales a Rintntle & eieis 2 
aeRO ers (ote wo tha oh deters cin ees Mine cine Poa aiaina wet uien waemmamten ae eins 56 
Peete Coastal and, Amazonian TUupt o.5-<.6 000s oie su dagnermae nies ses 57 
The archeology of the Parana River, by Francisco de Aparicio ....... 57 
PeeirelereeiOtiy ac ta: Sie’ nd oe ees ais ois oases albu meer babi Nie een 57 
eA MICA SCPE «6 oiccveiaio aie nioispiavs G seiclns wie RSLS ome sw pleEME: 57 
Ethnographic considerations and conclusions ...............+.4.-. 59 
iigtory, of, archeological. investigations, . s ac.is de0 ssa: sie seurwah.ord 60 

INT CHEOLOM ICAL SITES ind coe w.sin se sieve ciples oe cisisin ele wie oe Sore ol orate eRe 60 
DPMEEIARGEIAINS 2 6605 oc wie 6 Wants cis wk ale es wine wis Rise Oven eo dean aes 62 
PMICREETNEN 1-5 DN echt 0s ancl ada cwidins winee cu aA 66 
mnevauarant by Alfred Métraux: .....<..0:0. 0s smsreaslasiee wemsarsnde «0% © 69 
PR UOTE SHOMIS oe, o oc ocs is Sisintciccaraies wis. ante Wiel Weal aeus ators cio Sapte ms ie 69 
Pyrcheology of. the Guarani area) «0.02.05 <<scce mss ces ee ae 73 

BU REMC REI UE SE oro: cig ros as w a siniio- tha ia oon LCR gee a Reh eE Mew oloe 75 
PETG Rohs erika. aire a bisite Gaiaalee Ais clo Se Salem Somatic Resets 80 
PeMNIOMEAD Vac iidh oie owe sive Sale ae ssa eins AeA aan at cote se 94 
neenupinamba. by Alfred Meétraux si... oc:c0% 05 senses vise tlee yaad santas 95 
Bia rea Tet MALI AUSIONES i fe 28 caret earath San Baro e ois aio. o.ks cide cast no emematite 95 
Historical migrations of the Tupmamiba oi... ic. cece eens see as 97 

Br ee Re foics A ah SAE Maice, cerca Epis Soca. saat Sa aka as ewe a ae os tS 99 

PES MRMI a Oagearet ODN actus NA ce ees rdh ove: cbse he a atau: Seiwie w ayers Wasinig whee nas 133 
mpemeniaia. by Curt Nimtiendasit, . ...0.00 ic aceite eee a sewdes oo tenis 135 
ISL Woims Sea Re Poni Be OCOTCO OC OTC C OT TIMOR OAT ORS Ee Otsu ECO eee 135 

PO TOM nas es rob) cies S, sia iwicinias ofc wr aa'ge ale aheve oae olore waraie bee REE eee 135 

Dy PLEAD na Sees hes Geno ols ahead ea eres, hee ok rave nerds any eket ree pata atcin oes 136 
The Tenetehara, by Charles Wagley and Eduardo Galvao ............. 137 
MRE OAC HAGE i 51, deat exareiate, ddan Gea hare ateene aerate hoe wr saters ei aan 137 
IStRWoIn? gues ont ORE TOLD OG Sem adr osicoo dab GEO COs Cone OCHRE Romeee 138 
MOORE ios lites she d's leayetnus ahs Gent leoriateiow os bare rena eee 138 

PE RMAR TOR Fh NYY siaps oa usec Saka wings woe atte eo aise ee ss (cioine as eyetenenepemeracie ganar 148 
The archeology of the Amazon Basin, by Betty J. Meggers ............ 149 
PRE TSCDGA SIG ETON 2c ae. 9-3, Aas seh a bea deln ah toate wean Rhe yore mI. 6 cal abueLaatebelieneras ocantouts She 149 

SID UUs Ce eee een regs ee a en ee ney Pe een a8 151 
PRECIO CAL SERIONIS! fossa. nein Ae eis wiaian ig! accor ave ein agt yee atest ate 151 
Bema ES OEE ASIN Lasse achat deorsi lo oeasateneis ¢erstee re ee nis OT OM ee es 166 
The Tapirapé, by Charles Wagley and Eduardo Galvado ..............-- 167 
ar reset aoc 5 acess nha wc) dinar care eieh aversive we stn a noel eae Bape Sies ators 167 
COTS SS OSE ene ae ate CET Ch 168 
LECLERC Sie) 0) 1 le en ee eee eee ee 178 
en Garaiany William Lipkin! (s <o6d-ei.c< ce c.eeas dpc plore dia enyhlds oles 179 
RIDA GivISiOnG oan LEETILORY {14.452 sino: u/aisje ate w wie sia nlevsle ardualgutoduayeteie 179 
BERR ia lee eRe MPN hfe as 0S brs aadah se dasd'a Shep apanarne «dette tancmmintetaels 180 
My Peni Ne et caterer ac i/o ere eco clare a oid wie wlelare ore ates paeieate ban 180 
Maree chee ret ae es a dali o sncoka ate ola a amned ale MEIER Res Oe TR 180 
mea MMR ELIN ee ee cise Pei occ cate cers eave onto Sos nae mcs oles siete same ee 191 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 
The Turiwata and Arua, by Cart Nimuendajit .o-sosaeeeesies «> - 00 30ec 193 
AUG) AE UG WEA. er chase. eee « ie cans: shone tn is fa: am: of OCR a 193 
Laneuage, territory, and history 22:5: o5:: feesemenen aon nee coe 193 
Galturen Ate Pikeks 2 eee Ue eee eee 194 
Bibliography 4444253 6450 4 ees BR ae ee eee 194 
The Arua i: UMUA oth OP Se ee eee ee 195 
Territory; language; and history :si:2,¢2.¢22 02sec sees foe 195 
Crlture: <.ssse60256 5 305.44 taeda tig eee ene ae eee 197 
Bibliography) 3 as: 223 010.25. 0k coe eee eee ee eae ee 198 
The Amanayé, by Curt Nimuendajii and Alfred Métraux ............ 199 
Language: territory, ‘and. history: :s2ncscesteteen oe eer eee 199 
Cultures 2 sac2 cand p58. 964 5082 2h Re Ae SOAR eee 200 
Bibliography 2 3.3..025 eee. re ee ee 202 
Little-known tribes of the lower Tocantins River region, by Curt 
Nisitiendayit « asc< 3.04 snes 50844 09 a fee Rha See oe Oe ee ee 203 
Introduction ntses 2h ests etek eet wee ee ea re ee 203 
Whe Pacatay s% 526.04 p52. 8.4 oe ae DEN ORL SORE Pats ene 203 
Territory and history’ £..3544 ssa aes eh ee oe ee 203 
Cultures’ .cck5.4 Seteek Sanat eh Meee Alek ee 204 
Phe Anambé <<24.0 20260 csau sens ees Bee ae ae 204 
History “and territory ~2\s6 5.4350 bn ac 54 subse ee eee ee 204 
hie Tapinaiar set wees Aes os SRR ER PRES RESR ULE LES Babe eee 204 
SBE II pPe=TODmete Sees otek La hes DE SO eh So ee 205 
Whe spacund aris chia seals oh sacd oat tee ae lod el ae 206 
(hesParatana: 4 ins 64344 bae indices OS OSLO RNS AB eA Sc eee eee 206 
Eastony 4 4x eee uu ee os Oe ae: ER eee 200 
Gulturettnna lade sake seeds ehh eee eee ee eee 207 
hes MiTranowech a5 act hek ee oe hots See sees eee eee 208 
DIDOSrADNyA Len Aes eten hs eee Rath eae eee Det oe ee See 208 
Little-known tribes of the lower Amazon, by Curt Nimuendaji ....... 209 
Phe vAracaqiise: Aes tore shad LEA Sos Peis w seas Bae SIL ee 209 
THE AADOTO NS sie ete aN as ele See SEB Se Oe eee 210 
Phe: Pauxit-s REY COTM SAR ee RE i 0S, ee ee 210 
Bibliography: 4s ives ohh ewe vi ok 4 ER eee 211 
Tribes of the lower and middle Xingu River, by Curt Nimuendaju..... 
Geographic « backerounds <2 ce44..00.5s Sa eeee ee ee ee e 213 
Cultural ‘summary: +4 324403 0.57.440e5 ote eee eee 213 
Linguistic atimities 550s. See ee Pee eee 214 
Prehistoric «peoples «2224 bebo te ee ee 216 
Fistorientribes® 40% it, GUAS ote SAUER ect SA Oe eee 217 
‘Pher Viera: 5.46 be Vase Ls OA ee ee ee 218 
‘Phe: Shipayas .<6. 0.565 00% SASS Se a ee ee 219 
The -Agupat V66s SAEs Oe URE eee eee 220 
The) Guruayar is inte eawo cats ea thee 221 
Ther Tacwnyaper i stioct seis EA hea ee ee 222 
The: Araraes.o0% ick i sus eee hk see Oe ee eee 223 
Phe Asur tates :4 005404 shane £3 oo ee ee eee 225 
Gradina a bree hrs wae eee ae ee eT en ee eee 225 


CONTENTS VII 


PAGE 
The Maué and Arapium, by Curt Nimuendaji ...................... 245 
BIE AIMATIONS Oe a ath eae oak 5 eos RE ieee ee eae 245 
Introduction (er emee re Seek oS eye e caw es see Lee 245 
Sesleri ey, Oe ete eerie Sees Sen ee oe gs 246 
Pate Acapiitin gi. eet osu ca oat oe Dies ba be ale Was DEO ee ee pela ee 253 
IBiplioerapliya souk sot atte see sac at sooo ke ose veas Gee eas aman. 254 
ihe Mura and Piraha, by Curt Nimuendaja::...i. <0... . seen te ee 255 
her Miran ele. 28 h55 do sks pometeetes E abooy sat esau: 255 
ariball location and history. 2: oc. eek ne aes SRR ete 255 
WATE Sree eee nee toe eee eee baron Da Sees eas reed 257 
Grilture ee ee ee ee ee ere See ee tse 258 
Mhevlirahans Amkhon we. ccs he Seah Aas ies Vane! Swe aoa 266 
Tribal location, history, and language ............0cssesse00- 266 
aittey, Valvalltess:< 84,25 s5s/5 Aosta OSD S Sk Shae MERE OO nine 267 
ETE Te oe hee ee ale eh See Ea OU NE EE 267 
Bieliomraphive, 5654 ou Sgeks sheale cee wba ieacohraen anaes Maer Renee: 269 
nemumdurucn iby Donald) Horton. wade fuer: sis ee hee Ses 2S 271 
Ser TILOrY Wane ames ire. ita ON a LOS ME ae ay Nama 271 
EL IStOy ete ele ee nS Sus dis eer ee ee eter ey cat 272 
(COTO Satie en AR se rec dis Oe eect erie rye ies eee 273 
Bibliography 2455/55 he stsetek/ eum See ine ok ortorraiets be acvolore eiaterels e7a ree. ties 282 
The Cawahib, Parintintin, and their neighbors, by Curt Nimuendaju... 283 
Murer Old \Cawalitiny = 4.5 .oxva. eee re ad Sate, oe Sa eee tie 283 
Sere iaciieimrinie sees ok eink We ke CL RRL Re On 0 eee ME oe os 284 
Werritory, language, and history’ sient vse eee oe os ons 284 
Critter en Let RA EU AGERE ARES non ks Set ts Cee cits beatae 285 
InidiansrotatnerAnaniehkiveDereciOnie tan seiacioeie eerie eenicin 294 
Meeritory, Aud MiStOLy -.,2-;< 45 95% 5.0, 2'5n 2,2) ose aisle Pate oie sepa eee 294 
(OUT Vibha tea AL net nA RA ORR COCA, 0 La Re ca aR one 295 
The “Parintintin” between the upper Tapajéz and Sao Manoel 
ERAVEES) spate cletcete cies aie ei) everest ace: wie Rae chee aT taehera e aicie 295 
Tadians of the Sangue River region <2 .4 5.5 2a0ei. ie ee 296 
indians of the’ Bararaty River Teciom 5 2.5. e eee cetera es oe ie cles 296 
The “Parintintin” between the Jamaxim and Crepory Rivers ...... 296 
Bap loo raphy: 24 40 cixkos aie. 02.0 SREIISO Se AO NR aI erties eke 297 
hes Mapi-Cawahib, by Claude Eévi-Straussm: o5 8. totes: sete <0. 299 
sieipal «divisions, arid, history <.his9 ie Sua bocce ane melhesters ae a onwens sg 299 
(CU AU UR Sn So ea eee eer PE Pea ns Ces ok. Ana dea Me ae 300 
Bibliog ra play, 2% 55:5 5.55 cbs baorer eine NO ete Soar Perea Teter ian canes 305 
The Cayabi, Tapanyuna, and Apiaca, by Curt Nimuendajit ............ 307 
MIRE NG AVAL se heres «cette wales ale mon cure «arc elec tre nese ere ena sere 307 
TritrOdirCtiOnA \~ seh Ps ERI ING Cate cate ie htte eet ees ortho atom tche 307 
(OTL ULT 3 op ph eRe a ERO ALN AAR AIR OO She CN ace 308 
Mihieshapanyiina was. oece Nees ioe see oe ee Sao ee en eae ett 310 
BPE RP ANDAs sroiel <n. bre sicierayss os erry tone wnt eeeleiereccyo Seva BARA, SEMEL acest 312 
ImtROGUCHOT Aer oe er eee ee ae 312 
CIECY setae eso A ERM E CRC SOLS CUES Cat! Oe. eM ie sc Cs 313 
Bibliography (See The Cawahib, Parintintin, and their neighbors.) . 
Tribes of the upper Xingit River, by Claud-Lévi-Strauss ............. 321 
wethal divisions and: history £25 hci. t eee k bi 2h IR 8 321 
CUTIES SU seach a4 REIN EEA TRC RICA I ea a 324 


VIII CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Part 2. The tribes of Mato Grosso and eastern Bolivia .................. 349 

The Paressi,, by vAl ered Weiratn cine vec caw ooaawmeeneeaeee eee seen 349 

Dribell adinvastenis ya sane essa S heresies seve ithe islets 349 

HUIStG Gyo cl clsa se Grin ceiniec Suinws Ween nce edn sadca Segara eee emetic 350 

SOUNCES Her is entnae dw bale dhe Voie 2 wand ae od Ru eae oe ee ee 350 

MGuliige ta aeats nid erecve es Feed cle aia! walaine sees a ew de) canals! ee 351 

Bipliosranhs,’ teu: toch See osc. le core Sha eb eee 360 

The Nambicuara, by Clande. Lévi-Strauss .2.s0.22000 5000 uo does ee 361 

Ari balumvIstOtsy And HiStORy: os. 's0t..02/d tae ae « see ee eee 361 

Gileirev a, tes (Dar Binks wake sh Sok ede Kaew hite lease ee eee 362 

Bailiogaanhivin ss ie. tole case sloe «0a 5 0s oe dads saumdos Soe eee 369 

Tribes of the right bank of the Guaporé River, by Claude Lévi-Strauss. 371 

TeaEGGUMCHOM \ Sig, shs cron Beeler we hie od ee eee ee 371 

trl AML VASTONS: Vids! scene ste) dons ow wane eateta rooney stay ie ete eee a ae 371 

MOINES debe aici dkave Sinden, Gat Pinte awd cai el wes ie Daa ea ee a 3/2 

BIplOera phy veiiviens dees.tanee ee wecweweuten oema wilde alone eee eee 379 
Tribes of eastern Bolivia and the Madeira Headwaters, by Alfred 

IG Grae ors 52S sate ici oain brane siciel a when a otto ow Ae ee 381 

The Chiquitoans and other tribes of the Province of Chiquitos.... 381 

Tribalidivisions and langtiages. . 22.006. 0s) ces oe cdetn eee een 381 

The Chiquitoan linauistic family ..400.0:0ces5 6o5e fae eee 383 

History of. the Province: of ‘Chiqaitos® .)... ¢.<.'o Gs ge nc eee oun 383 

The-.calture of ‘the: Chigquito proper... sc. .< See Sota eee ee 384 

ihe MM HASE: (dae «, 215 ciadbigorw cole «deat dherel haenel eearccet chal eee eee ae 388 

ianoiage sand, habitat  cacdnc.caito women ke eee eee 388 

real BETTE dees dhe Sis dest ala tet le eccvcve alee a he heed oe dO 388 

The moder Churapa... «00. eos Mea See eee te eee 393 

ESL 55 wnsccin os atey wn aires sya Hpslisine eee woe oe eee 393 

Gilbey Susie Sie ais testa cladeioelnie Aad ner Bele hele 393 

The sixteenth-century ethnography of the Chiquitos region.... 394 

US SUN aa GAY os 6a) we asa hat aneve Aeranavaloaiie ao 2aie eo ke NG 395 

ThevOtukeda: téibes. ...c-00c ee Bob Bes SO ee ee 395 

Biblioeraphy: 3.5.35 oso ae coe ee a eee ae ae ee 395 

Tribes of unidentified language, presumably Otukean ........ 395 

Whe Arawakan tribes: of Chiquitos)(. x6. <i d sass cw « oe Soe 396 

Tribal: divisions and history’ S.iw8.4. 00 168. Os. Tee eee 396 

Gulteres ie ssn Gesleite.s cid: da Gaara oie MOR « ORR 396 

Phen @ hapaeurani hres jac /o)a ccavaw visi sicarstene «<1 00 ale oie wien cla ee 397 

‘ball ‘divisions: and). HStOry.oisisc «66:80 vascie 0 one 397 

Caltarer nae cMemare Ny. Seek ape). aii tin Bain alta 397 

EDU ORTAP GV ioc cc sciences as e o's a'st.cas vos coe oldie Sele eee 406 

Little-known tribes of the upper Madeira River .................. 406 

BPW OR TABI, 5 Sic eo sia cov sania + viniar 6.8 se clusion vo 407 

They Mojovand Gaur | 5 ec sow cdcec ada cnn'snoae ese ee 408 

TPEsBal, GIWESIGMS . oi)5 os acersaia «6! vi s.o.0%, 0100-0: evelaie'w edison oe eee 408 

EPRSLOL Yoh Wale: Xe lesa rie 5 top = n-ase.b. ardpasniei laces wile le Oia cots) 3 tee 409 

SOURCES Oi iclsisin clsin-n cd. douaw winnz hele tie ook lee aale able ene eee 410 

Archeology ofthe Mojosregion’).is2..<.). 4:'.....246 9, eee 410 

Cultus: «.ccucasetse | dcceky. wh eee ed aoe eee 412 


CONTENTS IX 


PAGE 

The Canichana, Mévima, Cayuvava, and Itonama ................. 425 
Miho Gariiclianial eer ppereekier ete icky oostevo ek os nos sis chs POT 425 
DEREMORY san ghtSEOGN was 2, acsisiceccinnnesiyne MORRO Sheed 425 

Gtr Grates ee eye tence eae paix evcisue cS uasenae ae vel wurcin ote vevbuavedon AACA ee 425 

CED Rr Ma igo 1-2k Paap ona ay sc tass ty oh Spay=nicvovaye ravens cap eteusyovovbvsve < SOMME aes caters 426 

Mlphne x ica tiii ct teres se faravay- ofp ces cs iss acsioi acaeevor-erey ov aah ee Soka aver oR Oats ve 426 
Perritony nad \MISEOCY, ©... ce ixicvnicie dlteeis eit IO. Ia OE 426 

TES SIRE gain Graves virevesasTeketsfeyer act nev do-a oes ike RE one 426 
Bibliography A: chen spline btw. ania, “alt. Scant 426 
MhewGaviivaya. meee: 368 OE aReRne RE SHR CIA So. ee 427 
Perriterny. ain. MiStOnye iy veicscuncivasesa oe oisivciaier> ORL ER Oe 427 

CGAL EIR cuepcicat oyatay rouse te dhnee:uanareh altos mbtasinigns RRMA IS. ELE, PT 427 
Bibliography .sa0..c0 HNO. One Le stlos atin he: 427 

ATi BEE ONNERIANAAS fo. Suche tay cyaacacoa aver a Bia okevehexct av tes ane ia si aa Te Eek: 428 
Gemmitony yandvhistony peavnices. box Asie. ga 428 

CUBE BAAN asia oy araicchice, man baacor albdeviehcn cv snevchavords ovale HAA ERE Lee ae 428 

BS UE eet Af) LAY goa axa sienas axacai 'ssahsjnz aay vanoioues sys SEMEN > Ron 430 

hey Gitarayil, atid PAUSE. :ocis:erctsreiceansvayareecarsh see AMO ssa ona 430 
BREIL VISITORS 5 2 0iad-0hoselnie MERON SP TSO OR eesiast's 430 

IE HLS ED E8 pate fg Sie 2 ves ss ex av evc¥y Sav'eND Seon cedoo hasty er ns i 430 
Cet EAR SG 8 ga SLs conv hd ca ep isile aich ope ARSC k Va a Ne ot 431 
Leyla: Mover) 0) 1 Ame a7 ee eR a ota) ae 438 

Ba EE aera hg ATE SES! ciroi 2 evssip ions ova orbs tomy aren crave. nevaler ey eA ET 438 
ST Se NeR AMV AS OATS 32st yay sy cecved acta rey ehScacee cea ci AR eel 438 
GEIL S Gay ap hss pfs eves esi vob aks he aay cask Gee Aang A ees care 441 
GIES cect taaievak orci die: Grey tds Sisvagsy Ped Shree 442 
Bibliography, cio; cve.ovsys:caic, 0/4 oie Sek RE A EOI ds PRE 449 
shies Southeastecny anoantribesmeservraeeieccniieas seine iil: 449 
AE EA LIVES IONS peat scchocay oxs-0-01 516 STR I a Ila: SIR SOME Re oes 449 
CTE NSEC csi Vain exes Sic adGues xGed edehen s aI AE SIR 450 
SPSS es ea teeapy aay ares okay se chee hetavones rei het dl AS seo 452 
she, Southwestern Jb anoat tri DES yo, o/s Syoceross.ovsiane'anns See Ree ws ccs 453 
‘EribalidivisionsE, Anus eet cs UE CRO INGA OE 2 453 
Sah pe Foy ach tov rapay aso are kiciakeres Siosakeiuseiecae havea RCTs PROC ss ioe 453 
EDS aA NY. 1; oto: arcks-itayo>'d nay dear vereoecereler atatel gnesahsh ct coe MR atte ee 454 
mhecoirionG, by Allan, Holmbete -z...:..0.2:.8 teens. Ree Ie eine sss 5 6 455 
BERET OG UIGHOR foals 'y des hve napScaveracevaganstsicovayai/oxcyay ar eh alihars/ vce ane RAND OMe eta sal 455 
TES LOGY ord dcosiecnchtevxar ss Sysco ol einyenctehhe etnias Seta ne Ree alee hae RU ER 455 
OB LEGS ak FU fos locus acest ies cxesey ch) RM REE ote DOA Ne: SEE a eee a 456 
Biblrogaaplhiyppsicesscerve ote terete oveven tered ra oaeaerefaeacioneor va areve tre aes wears: 463 
Tribes of the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes, by Alfred Métraux. 465 
PREG OIC GN: rm cyarcis ier dvargyeies wihnareiecehano erarevetamnsi sfchara Meron ena Ss aetatel as os 465 
Chiriguaney and | CHAE. a. s0 cevais oopetericharnorsne, SUMMER, Sr eee Danek. 5 465 
IELIStOniys, ances tal oerstaarntove Gain 5. Sata aahe ceva, ARO Rieter ate foie reo, 465 

AE CTAC LO Yo oa ancd os anny sysstarerah chs oicr av'e, aka) oh ah in saver ciarcha he RR Mere ie esi 468 
SOMTCES + gab iofariaie a yoracion daa wocienaroaudaesaaogs Mea Mtataia si < 469 

AB ral Ue cy eo orc or VRP wih oy aoe HS cree TOO rag stale) 470 
Bibliowrapliyy : 453biv5.oh foe ADA oer re eats cle en AOR 485 
Mien Yuracare, Mosetene: and (Chimane sa... eee soca ele). <1 485 
Mert aa lavas OT Sieh -evelarerayes ai caves aisles Orohanor sl Seersiaanre sictora a aarti cl ove 485 

PRG ETIC ONO caer terel oe cal «'1ahinra) x7 sah oyn'a Pao aes at ene an ape eA entre, ws 486 


653333—47—2 


x CONTENTS 


PAGE 
Post-Conquest:history 2.04.24 ese 2 ee eee sell ce 486 
KUMP TAGE GA diovan cho My bah cdandvaveysncay ev Fevase ove laravec Re ee Me ccc c 487 
BDO TAPDY, vance siivaisxecssaverskeitrsiaue Ae RRS oe Siete os cc 8 504 
Pee Occ ee a rn awe se... Seen 505 
EL ISEORY. so pcisraigear tice enalnioveranets etna Geyser eae eee eae mee ae 505 
COATPEIT Enis in cice es cxek’cchaisvajersh dae ee BE eel Seen oe 505 
Ther A polista or apache) ,<:isicpcuc.s cele pa eee ee eee ences 506 
Busine rea play seis cssasess thetic ekcactosiateiave cis eens eR ae a ies 506 
Part. 3. Tribes of the Montafia and Bolivian east Andes ................ 507 
Tribes of the Montafia: An introduction, by Julian H. Steward ....... 507 
Put EOGUCHON) 5 2ccs ioe olso.soet hacasjeacal ee OO rns ire <a 507 
FAIStORy, atid SOURCES ais stays. tel 2c\ a /0iki lose enti eo eile et enna a 509 | 
Montatiaeulture and, caltuse changes: 55... dene ere aes. as 515 
NE aby LE ea PINs os sos chchincon sien. cones ciah oho oll cal exctereedered eae IRE eee tae 533 
Tribes of the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Montafia, by Julian H. Steward 
Tne AU Pree MG EAI os0:%: ciaicuscavsvspsunxave evocalereustoloR pete oGie Renate leer aie's aise 535 | 
Aircel ently ptSGUVES). sey accebahie roi aparain sak vn gecanh a ee eS Poe se nos ca 535 
SYREN ELOEL . 5sincei dscsi acgcav0.'su0,0:cesaiarars eRe Te ete eee oat IPO i eons 535 
Eribal divisions) and, History, occieiicreic erie ee one ss 535 
OEE i oss ni cticohcnd vopch exaleieucn col steeh neeabado ene euch hare os EI ae 541 
HANA D I ca 0s n Spo css ces ans Ags cee TN MONS EO eK acon w) STAR eee 542 
DIDHOSTA DIY gs. <!atanesiacss ciccsteeroeeee estos POL ee aoe 551 
INSANE cc cess bless cap ni gets ara tacagesasnedesnenstaieli vars oe ah tee eee 55 
MBAR SOY sas’ vas) ont dcasove) dav whey ednoecdolahayon ovevedepek cael TPS OTS Naar 551 
Geant re os sass, igs sho ausver dee) wach acl aiee ket eter atel axe aon as eee 552 
Boab La Sree ata y sfc ch cs ck svcncitadoncuedls coh wevcnre aes oar suiia vero craees eee 555 
The: Panoan: tribes, of, Eastern, Perit)... 5: 2:oi00-<e.<.c «oes pee een oe 555 
Trttt OG UGE OI (05 foven scaicendyerseouereccvene RE Bie IO 2 oe Cee ee 555 
Tribaluadivastons:and HiStGhy. 4,..<, siersceu:0sgac 0s et eee 557 
STORE coy ee Oe RE re Bre Kh aes 567 
SV EMILE 5h pssov ios 5s eins ordi) dh sss auanenis oxehohacojsrandive: 350s eae ee 567 
Bibb bays iscsi jeceresciovasivsoiore Satara es MRE oe SSS eee 595 
The seventeenth-century tribes of the upper Huallaga River ...... 595 
Deri bell GiviSt@ns fie a. cecsisversisysracaorarrercicunrsoieia.o.c ame eee 595 
FANStO Be are cgciapsparsivacciejiss etagane ci diaimyeccedsansio/osaouacnsene oS eee eee 597 
Ethnographic, Sunimary. os: + aseeeiie aes sid ese oe eee 597 
BiBOSEA PAY, sa. ajadisa succes sare, srove:01 90s, 0:0)%e0i05/t.a:2\0.0)000 6 ee 597 
Tribesof the middle, Huallaga, Rivero... s.0:s.a0000 a0 eee 598 
Tribal divisions and, WistOry 6. <::0:01%.6:0:s. 0100.6. 00.0/<s0 nse 598 
SOURCES 4.2) 2y aici osapeis ts Spacaian spnsecsrandicsdiovere ecainueieace each ken eer 601 
Crilfurenats: ah odes. cary ied ath bo. shanks (ene 601 
BRD HORTA. cose aje;e: ays, <)nnjave auals{oim,0,e9e ates Seeyn, sis. aleve <9 605 
The: Gahisapariain Gt Des) 6:5)», cia: 00:6 :00a:<ieyajayaie-ate le] note eee eee 605 
Tribal. divisions and: ‘history, 2... « :<scass:o;cuaynyssaisi-siacaiso1 Re 605 
SOP CES cts Bey) 0.5) o1eiunny +,clavsrn:s:aisvo.alareunelereyaecharesace © eee eae 608 
Cambie sco. 55s rc ein he 01e revariagah ovevacages hajeysedeeye.ecaj0 33 608 
Biblia yay aos <a 8,0: 50 eresayersktayerene, af eperaier iy 4.0; 6% 0 4x6, 0s ee 614 
Tribes, of the, upper, Maratfion River....«)s< .<,<.«.0+,.. one aioe 614 
Tribal divisions: »<os,s;.s tte ae Se ciate SEs ee eee 614 
FT SSCONY) 5) ccayapsve, okovns sessedan, spdlsyejavasaverarches stich. «a: ov data eee a 616 


Ethnographic Stmmary iti. .< ss :nis si scois's a0 « <o/0 Ses 616 


CONTENTS 


PURI PEAT OO Faso oa Pore rant etee ta rats be SPs lla re rate ie Pesere Matafafatelate Seteerate oe 
ate OU CLION 15124 ei fetta ene a lafe rota Sts bette ste alo oh, On ens 
SBribali.divisions ana mistory . 842.. SO. 208s. eee, Ae 
SOUECES + 22. 248 i hres Rise, Ped BE AIM BES, 
EP ELTS tye re erate Gta Pa aetna whe TUS etd Sete 
Bibliognaphyserers coer en eee ore eae eee te tants ae Atte ea. 

Mihi: Fapar oan (tes «* hat tires ute bets hadnt toe teatabnromate oa ete Maem 
Psat TOUCH Mii ada sars) Bh a och SE A BST 
ribaldivisions: and WiStOpy> icp can cies ors, te ee oe 
Grae ot rcs hag ee wleiee ee ee ee SOO, AV ELS: 
Bibliography recrt-xte pitta teteletah (oval ceiaretolotereretotebel ot earvaloe eae ie te 

TAR O/C AE Tee at iets CER ea eg eee Sone EA LS Ee) Ate ae 
BED MO TAP AY terest atest's oy rate tale a 'otate lee eteltaeit tone ee bee ee 

Unidentified tribes of the upper Putumayo-Napo River region.... 

PRET eh) 11] Ohie rapeke Phe wis ret eels wate "sao 6 Wistar eters Vo “eSelareta stare gc OE ROE Be aes 
REET OMUCHON eG ¢.0 keh ~ Wh ee ee Ge aes Siete OO os eee oe 
LAS EO Baty are ie lter tps iaececbon tek Great wlave eet ores he ao ad ea Ne os 
SOMOS te tovsssioe alsa ener. Aemaetaye enema eo eS SE. 
Gultuitieh tr cocse sketches Ge RAR RL Ctr eee ee 
Bibliograplay i) ose ds. Sieh BE? heh eee tana OC RAL RY 


ante, —iribes of the western Amazon Basin’ -222..0..5-00 esos sten ook aoe 


Tribes of the Jurua-Purtis Basins, by Alfred Métraux .............. 
IEF OCMICHIORS eR, feist er he ss ees Sete seh eee Sa ae. 
SEMI CES 6 hie ier aah Oe Arata Os STE KRG ISS Baca e Se eRe eee 


Che Tupian’ family. 222.5442. 254555 ee ee eee ee Asicielans 

Cg HEE alice, coe crete srahea trance ee Ee ESE Ba Sis 

13] 0) Foy 910) 01, ey eee ne A AE 
Tribes of the middle and upper Amazon River, by Alfred Métraux .... 
Eupian tribesof the upper Amazon: River >. . 209.0), .85.....% 
Tribal) divisions: and.history 22 iee2e 0. SINOeS, ee asc. 
SOURCES = hws tn dev, Girne SSeS Rein inet SERRE ee 
CHAT ier tor te aa Hats ote TP TTL Ee ote Ba 

Sribes: of the «middle Amazons c.. 2 conta ea eee iio « SOs eee ees 
Ethnographic data in Carvajal’s account of the Orellana Expedi- 
om) (C1542 )iawrete-terannniaiyetentontentioa tech eGG lett tere tee aes 
Arawakan tribes of the left, middle Amazon .................... 
Usitbal divisions and history <hr 4655s fends hens tek ke eee ee 
Gilt who ron’ He eee re Se Se Be TRO Ee 
Babliog ta plnyy 4) .nienir errs eR RT Le Stes ee ea RT De ea 
whe, Cucina, by Curt. Nimuendagtt isn secs ene rae tenet Sete eve es as 
Habitat. historyand) laneudge: 2). 26 inc se seins ee Suns tees ees 
Cullures ence es SUS PRB) DUG STROVE Mak Pi) TO IT Gees 
Bibliography: cs cist ietecon lets Seis he Pek ee ie ee PAR RE 
The Peban tribes, by Julian H. Steward and Alfred Métraux ........ 
Lrotiverote V0 Tel atc) 2 rae ood are ee eo ee eC SR. Set 
fceribal divisions and history: ok)... ws SOTA: AED. NS PE 
SOHECES 6 Sr Wr lfohouatitshipesh eats Meee, POE onan ONE SIRE A. 


728 
727 
727 
729 


XII CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Galtier hs shes eee, rela 2's enone oh me apne en fog 730 

Bibliographyaccce sees cece ote sks ce +d ceea ee epee ober sce 736 

Western Tucanoan fribes, by Julian H. Steward « .<<cccd-cmeucess sas 737 

Uribaledivisions, amdUhistory: 5.0565: a0. - >< 59 26 - een ielce 737 

OCI b Re 5 ORS On OT OCS Oe Ca See On aa coo Goaens 741 

Tribes of uncertain affiliation in the upper Putumayo region...... 747 

Biblioorepliye Gor she techni kala wisi wade nca ee theese GxeenereNe Ree 748 

The Witetoaustribes; by Julian H. Steward... 2.0 25. vant ustae stein See 749 

RETtaeCMPITC LOLI ee. ee eS es Risvers: civ a0 bi eRe aPs aceae ee eercray parte hae ead Seem 749 

Marital tavasions: and MStOny 4. ss .cess oc.e eke ore ee eas ee meee 749 

SEANCES AEN ous 604 eve faye or0'd ws nja lichen, se hip Gales ke 751 

KG TsU Tite ees PR aia al oa) pois tsiats eS he eb itd sia ate Ok ae an a 751 

Bibliography en. tee Araceae Ota < sais os ad oe eee 762 

Tribes of the Uaupés-Caqueta region, by Irving Goldman ............ 763 

TRtROdGetion’ Sik Se cio eek Oe oO ae ee Ma 763 

Una yale ASTONSY 5 0 nad a oes Caine wi aeoiea aioe oils eee 764 

Le rialMNISTOEY: Nex: 3 cis.cs deewied ooo; 2d Aealee Ab 8 ee ae Cee 767 

CE TEPER ORR IS A Ne bcc Arey ats favo ia im) ate eteu a riod ne enctecetea dee a ee 769 

Bibliograpliys stack: ict act eee aw sbusian is 4 sissies aie os se eee 798 

Part 5. Tribes of the Guianas and the left Amazon tributaries ........... 799 

Tribes of the Guianas, by John ‘Gilling ..o0c.204.+ aoa sieners ate enseeeeee 799 

TMErOMUCHOHE ih ersuist BK charts axle cantequdt soe cud nde ete ee 799 

AEGABAL NONMISIOUS. 12 o..S oie. d eo. Ne nniwes.s\eah.csin's + ¢ayelna:e oe 801 

MhewArawakan) famatliys-<,o).3 cscs secs e seco sae atte ble ee eee 801 

anne WAGs ratty i. isis 56 asra ele auc. g 1S anes cae 804 

ADE ROari Daas TAMIL: fe oxo sia ie-vabin oe 6 sl x:ae ne bean cae ee 804 

MheaGaliahanalaniilyeee cscs oi vtiisic sca vs os amebernseenemre erates 813 

ANEW NATE LATIN: hace s:sic saa.aw's.0.o a eva S aoe eee 813 

‘Phemibuiranaram tne, Cetus saz ds «cu eta ds cadet ere steeieee 813 

Mev Salivan OF WMacuan family. 6 ic ais0.csae sea «one eee 813 

Rey Slop theta: 510) ih eT Se PR 814 

Aiki oainapateinns sete. oes. ck Sk were sa terare he oles Scenes oflpeeyabelis Se eletcdanee A eer 814 

They Warrauan vlamubyoie . 46..0.05 Salen eee ee ee eee 815 

Ieingiistic family unidentified cacqeisAetante smretecets eee eels 815 

ELIS ERAN NS Scorsiticy deat Beco tah exececs Ararprataies eine ais Se aNS oe 3sie Gee 817 

SOluUnCe SHRI es OR SBE TS i sigeclsccpels enemas daaveumn: eat 6a ee eee 818 

A FeSO Oat IS Yoo 0. Sis or oun 20d aS.005 apenas anenh.o aed biE\exaas see Nie ai 819 

Gulthime ts. seedy lg. 0 Sewanee yec7td 2.2) aceh -aabee Ree 825 

Baines seen LEY a eo he eee vol ol ile oo Wako ois ors misiane ais) ae ete are ee 858 
The hunting and gathering tribes of the Rio Negro Basin, by Alfred 

IMIG tar tt BP VIS 5 ences, casks ota cic ctdrace: shsete gabe chose avoreramkeiaate eee ioe eter 861 

The Shiciana Ow aica, and: Guahatibo: «os. .64 «<i <.anisieido tele eer 861 

Mr DalAdivAaSion sweets 5 sresckosysiesias diate avecsin dusiaiens Seveekoee home ere 861 

Culture: 2. Gace. Soe) hia Ss os Shale note ewido ae 862 

WDhe MM CGe. «ss crcisieccres dun jonaio axes ecei cicadas shearer Meee eee eee 864 

The Mact of the Rio Negro and Caiari-Uaupés River ........... 867 

The Maecirof, the. Urariocoera Basin, -i:...)sd,ccts v0. «sees 867 

‘The»Mach-Biaroa\ 4.2 but bad. Ryssan koe cia take ee een ee 867 

Bibliography: } soctebhs asst ws aidiars ate cvmrerelnce se ieio) o.oo ieee nes I re 867 

PheiWatrauy by Paulekarchhoths...cenee Gene oo eee eee 869 


Location) (history,. and isOUrces...<.s.:+:c5siesi\aneyeinin ante a aeinta el te 869 


CONTENTS XIII 


PAGE 
PENA ester ss or vores etenetale el tel avert Soa aie wisi did, Sha: eis ass Wa’ otaye iotebaten aa 870 
(CHIRAC SA eC scsi ASR) SUCHE OR 2 hae AC 870 
ERO MOR Tet Pls snrcvareeee meeretete ee eta ae ete bck his Shak a aa romiene regione 881 

Part 6. Culture areas of the Tropical Forests, by Julian H. Steward..... 
MTT UC TLOTL. care ccscecsh sis toeney exetalicc aka aeehove eo AM ere Palo! eine ale av clajivccQIeieiale. Siehete,srsatonto= 883 
mhewbasic Tropical Honest) cultareS) .i5..cic.o2da.c ook eee Ha vn ee ads aed es 886 
TORS CTE TIE Se Raetags oh Une toot eos Ae Ae aa 886 
BSc rafelyy ics Get MtinieUz TAU V8 acs tece N tollorsiausin lah eanre Wave aeedenete ce wid nto AWE meet 888 
MN eRUVIOinbararaeet stem ck ste te eerniece Sis win. alsin tetemsisiers abel pike + GaAs Gus Siero 890 
PRC NE titcan yy Metre Gals Peene A TIN os al loans eas ankoo hn owiin ote 891 
hewjuriavand Purtis, River tribes: ... nce sesss ss ced enews taane os 891 
sitiew Movos=Ghiquitosmanreamenn. acasecec oe ctewcisin. scree dese aan 892 
BeIpLarmleenibeshs, eres oe ners chatter totuans roth nae aus nce nei eine Lenehan 894 
ihemviaG cinaAlveulitines Aion a. sous ohtaen eee meee oa daa somes aweas, were 896 
Ciianasintemal i Marcmalsin, (2cctas le Wee ARON i cciaie ee ewne ats 896 
Mor thwesteniel Mar eimals © 8. csg wien cwies ws mcr pclae wielte ed wane lane ee 896 
MinieaVW ester SubmarcinalSis <0, cass dass ac oe nese ellesoe ene s605 Ga 896 
Marginal tribes of the southern Amazon periphery .............. 897 
Mes seg BM rele ah ah tie he, w Wisin Blas Rigrele MIN ARIS Boe an AR ames Mae Me 901 


MRA Rare ED AIOE TSU CT EN SAS SHEGES, PONIES. aS ei a5, afin aid ‘a ave wre oe oa] alice Foon eel Ba 903 


SO eS) STEN ei ANS 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES 


Brazilian and Paraguayan landscapes from the air .................. 


The Peruvian Montafia .. 
Ecuadorean and Brazilian j 


rr 


LiriQleSr qckisrsenit~ atte Hates bn does ieee 


Landscapes of Venezuela and the Guianas .............-..0-seeeeees 


Venezuela rivers ........ 


ee ee 


Mbropicalwhorests ntnters and iMSMeLrs ya .eseisieteireie nee atl selene eek tale 
With blowgun and gun in the Tropical Forest ...............00 ee eee 
Tropical Forest agriculture and food preparation .................. 
Plastic representations from the Parana River country .............. 


Parana River area sherds 
Fingernail-marked Guarani 


. Guarani and other pottery 


Tenetehara boys ......... 


Ce ec ry 


water siterguck eds ed dead. shone aa 
font. Paraguay go tese wake mies do 


@ (ele) = 06 6 6 6 6\\6 = =) a8 eS 4) 4) een 0) 0 © © e) 6) erin) 616) 0) 0) @ se © 18 6 


meienetchara women and) Shama 5. 4,<:o0:08 214 025 = <3 RSA BS oe SS 
MPAIIAZONIAtI .POLteRyarnOml, COUNANY, <js:s-1 eyo) 941 4) eel coll lave eral orate 


Amazonian: burial urns from: Marajo es. .035 <0<00< 0808s Ba RES 2 Os 
Amazonian: pottesy arom ManatO lmiac as cs ericci steele ie ae aera oer 


. Amazonian pottery from Marajé and Santarém .................05: 


Tapirapé ceremonies and house construction ..............+20eseeee: 


Caraja house and physical 


~ (CET A at, oon 
me@acaja paddles, “eournds) and baskethy «.0s. és oes 084 cde Meee Ree 
. Munduruct artifacts ..... 


Tupi-Cawahib village life 


. Tupi-Cawahib village life 


EVD OS im en averse totais \cvevoviel ave) or syscy.eteh clic rc) evetiahetet omctets 


@) 6) ee fe) 8) Mw 0. wie) we <)ei.ein ele wie) '6 v) el@heles els 6 e106 0 6 6 ele 6 


i 
st ©.'0, 0.0 ©, Sle) = 0) 10) .6) 6) 0] (0,0) (a «) @).6 0) 4) 0; es, 6 eB ve tele ls © =) wile 


Or cc | 


Muipi-Cawahib) motherssangchildrensss4- ci escioescceece catenins 
Yaulapiti Indians in “woodskins,” or bark canoes .............2..0005 


. Yaulapiti women preparing 


maniociin pottery vessels: 53.1. aiiletem de 


emtinper xine house frames: ......awccvintare ewe tok ye. Aue cee eek Ae 
See Naraviute.and. VYaulapits Indians « 33st. [ace eee abe eee melons 
Mim pper Kinet Tadians a, i ereeeer ae lee tae aeehe Stee ee Oe 
Bee CLO (Carrying: DALE: CAMOE siss:6 ccc alan alae arncl’d a edicts sisted aac ae eek ON. 
RMN GT. Nets Od TCIATIS £2, 5, wisute cv os esarsviniersbevc\ovavsiat ete hip evevalelaraterel oveuntemeetats, ae 
See iish-net dance.of, the, Nahulewartasts auisett aii ceo Ree a 
DEES SE SL pn gore ovat nah ate ade car cia teach vse ae ar os grat area ee aera ORE Oe 
SPU RISA NIC UAT) CVPOS 3 La. 5; 5 cinsco-oxquaich opstakehe.cies aielarstei aio onse dove or ata laa Sierra ioe. 
a7-) Nambicuara and upper Guaporé Indians secs 2. ised. 08. Sane Ik. 
aa indians of the Pimenta, Bueno River seis. iste es Os eee. bs 
Pee etce triunpets of the Moles  regionint sj. Waste rek samen OER 


Tiboita and Mojo Indians 


. Chiriguano pottery and urn 
. Chiriguano Indians ...... 
. Chiriguano artifacts ..... 


irra Sipe hee tah cae eet ee 


Ce ee 


Wooden masks of the Chiriguano and the altiplano ................. 


Hewucacare Indians of the early. 19th century tie. seauids Jetvek oY 
. Modern Yuracare Indians 


@} Gy wie) (ele) S/o) \e),6),e).ej\eye} eva .o fale ke te|milelintete jaiia)  eyatulals) ele ere le 


XVI ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 
Aj \Chimane and siracakesmantitacttiress..¢ ./s accent iter ricein cis 506 
AS. Panoan’ Indiansia@r tlie: VOfi CemtITY: (00.05 \c-niehs ore eaten ee eels oe 634 
AOy ‘Conibo slndtaristene see ew cc ses snes oes cee e wine chelate eee ee 634 
50: ‘Cashibo.andiG@ampa earment ty peS««.5)3\<cc.«/n0d qn eutae eee eee eee: 634 
Sil” Montanavearmenoseyand. lip, ornaments yi.)-)1 s-11eael ee ckee cicero ae 634 
Bt MOMEARANDOLIERVALYDES. Sarse0 025% nade we satel ee ow ae cel Sei ee OOmIoe ee melee 634 
BS, Masco iiansy, nsaisici sc 8s ss ie ba Ra ER 634 
nM) “Agchers) of the. Montafia. .és.03' a dale ee taals kee Gewe een. See 634 
55. Masco rack of pottery and temporary windshelters ................. 634 
Sou ANcculturated.Canelo: Indians Vgaeusdee. ean. eee een: ee eee 634 
Bm Cate OmpLT Grane apc: sne- dion pois wih ava Pare a Caicect al aval tera OTR TR eee) ee ee 634 
Be, Canelo Indians of the 19th: century $72... $2. Soa See eee 634 
Bo! Zaparo’ Indians of the. 19thicentury: dies... 20k. Al. eee eee 634 
GO. ivare. Midians. <° 5... gee eee tes ed, See eae hee ce 634 
ml Scenes, of. Jivaro Utes ae at, AE. ae, See 634 
2s avaros MMCIANS. iad sal basco vend odode Ko ee OOO eae eee 634 
eo: Hutnan heads shrunken by the Jivaro ...e%¥. /Ge260:4 eeeee ee 634 
Gt. “Tucina iobiects: of hark cloth “seheuel.decel oreo. sats. See 714 
@7. ‘Tucuda Indians of the 19th-centaty ...15.-00. a-.+e+2- «Sate eee 714 
Ge VYartiavand (reba Indians < .. 5 5.1 aaus.02% «<< Serene ee. Se 730 
IRS PN etree MAAS 5 oo. ses oraicoe sve alma on ates os ce, RO OM he ARO > en ee 730 
Ga: Vacua village. SCeueS . 5g accidig oven SMR e oe Toe ae: Ma. HER. Senne 730 
Gon apts, HOUSE <CONSITUCHION . oc. a0 ccna dare SUE I ee eee Se 730 
70. Nagua,cutting, and, carryine losstiomarratt a4. M24 222 BER 730 
ALE AG NCO UIA ANAT ES Sue. Sy spars axicvetela See AS eee ee 730 
MR MN LOUD ALANS ado Sdielacds sie tei vw oaa eG acne ce ROT he oes Oats See ee eee 730 
75. Nasua, Indians prepatine blowgtn,and. darts. 4.2.0 40-++ ale. Hedenmee 730 
eh) Napa DIOWEUUN s o.ad,os'on + 5 Ueow awe GOR Res UE AIR ee 730 
TEI UIUC SUEILESS ay Wer syeniavuy onal ovale. eh aswisi eceye aw chido) evsie- ater rece <catoae aN, Se 730 
AP NAPALD SAITGUISEDTES) 6 a5 .o. 508) 0) ahaa ator one BPecaane ws wel eve Roe: TERI Oe end et 730 
Ngee Ds NASA COUCH) ANECTIEE 55,5. 5.5.0. a:0/0-0/0ioioverer ceiarsi« Sd La lo 730 
Mien) OAM A SCORES) 6 oS aie spies ard 9 o.aicrs aye 0 0's SERee ee SDA. ASO eee 730 
oN AIS: TICIATIS’. 53... <!oea1c1 5: SIAR Re IE. SRR OM, SE Ieee 730 
BOs Coto; Tnidianis 5 cc ct Ie SRE SL Oe BA SO 746 
Sle Boradxums) and \VVaitotorcommunalehouseme eee eeeeee ee eee 762 
82. Witoto carved wooden memorial figures .............00ceceecceeceee 762 
&3. Witoto bark-cloth masks and dance. costume’....... div.00s. dee weceds 762 
CAE ENV EO: ATICe ears ay oconsscaieastenet anoles are evaray ovomes.ceasrene Meee ae Re ee nee 762 
se, LOGE: LEVDES) cavcvaretens.anceseveterepereaebars yoocse e-siu aur oars repay n/ oahu cer eR ar ae 762 
86. Witoto men and women in festive decorations .............0cceeeees 762 
Boe, WV TEOLO: EV EHESE o.cccscucye obacacecsVonee s cacy afta ysl 0vn) i:6'6) a Seca is eile vated ee 762 
Sr" Witeto, Body pamatisie co. Wecic sco S oyervs ovoid) sinivleve ine onan eee See 762 
&9. Cubeo fishweir and manioc preparation: : .i.eisie ... ee Seen eee 794 
90: Food prepartion, northwest Amazon s2.... dels. Seok soe ee 794 
Of House types of the northwest Amazonia. s.see. sce eee ea eee 794 
Det AL Cawa WGUSE: < cizciecs dere ctetersl woctecek wave 0 «uecs-0i5 5/0 OU ae eee 794 
93> Housestypes of the northwest.Amazons oder ese eee ene 794 
94) Cabeo MiAiEACtanes, « a-cioscrss aces eevee, oo 5.1 dint «is aravn c:oresoiny s MORE 794 
Bae Cubeo Daskiets)— si. :cerarccusotetalarss ager iors eset wi nre/ have eiarosevaintoceclt Rte eee 794 
OG): Cubeo, mourting, céremony ite. 208 es Rae bo. ee oa ee eee 794 
Oe Cabeo mourning; dance regalia #iioos. ie 4G eee eee 794 


BE Cubed mG UeMiNye, CELEMIOMY? <....<):0.5,0%-;c/0\e-s-<rcininore dalaeeta eee Oe Oa 794 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Northwest Amazon manufactures 


Indians of the northwest Amazon 


. Guiana house frames ........... 


Guiana houses and villages ..... 


RGtiictt MOUSES. 2.50300 seaeee oe 
. Guiana house construction ...... 
phishing i the Guianas: oo... se. 
WPanase (blow sul! .. s)he. .02 asccus 
. Growing and preparing manioc in 
piGiliana andustries) Acsa.ccones cae 
paGetatia Undiansiin: the late Oth century. .....c5.0 05. die ble Gs Stiles aot 
. Rucuyen Indians fishing and hunt 
_ Gttana “women weaving and. spinning .., 2528 soa). 02hee. fee eee. 1 ee 
. Guiana weaving and woodwork . 
. Guiana household and camp scen 
Pe Giiiatin CAGtLACtS VE and se «kale 
Pecinana celision, (dances and Dirial, « :ciss 40 5 shew edea SU tees eee 
. Guiana cremation, curing, and ceremonialism ................0+e0ee8 
Pe GilianarcostumesnandutnanspontatiOmus sme cuits cle earsiocieisieiericieire a aie 
PONGUIAMA: WORTER « devenccs ces dewes 
mG iatiotypesties aon iro cds ak ao wane 
MG Ulan Achy PES wards ore elenoxc ore awe avele 
Pe hiniana Mnidiansiiss cies. Sales Oh 


mropical: Forest eratts: = hin.< sc. 


. Northwest Amazon drum and ceremonial objects ................... 


Ce rd 


. Norwest Alomerzor iineheteregbeeS 4 54anccdodosuanboouds soocaqouacae 
' INorilinwese PNaneezorn mrevatlievegtines Soencadsaooaeduvoodoucdecncononead 
. Indians of the northwest Amazon 


Ce ey 

ey 
© 8) @ 0 © 0 6 6 0 = 6 6\6) wp 60/0) 00) 6 © onic eeu @ Oe a ee 
| 
eC rd 
CC 
Ce er 
CC 2 


thelGutanastens Jenene. Panes ee 


CY 


ITT), Hors BIN Eee coats ah ee eres ae 


SS) ceifaiets wwin. a) e\enetelie’ ola eetenilelts) viel e:ieeileletelln eis 


ee eee eee eee eee ee eee eee eee eee eee enens 
CC 
CC 
Cy 


©)S) (6) (al ate! wile) alte! ele wie) s wl elles 0:0) 9) ‘alee a alee ela 8) <'e 


Ce rd 


m@ropical’ Forest. basketwork of lattice type <...0<c6.s0-cc0eck oe ce. ne 
icoom for manuracture of thick hammocks ...2..0.o0-+..0.00-20 22. 


Parana River vessel with zoomor 
Guarani pottery from the Parana 
Tupinamba palisaded village and 


DiMephandlesmer cen reece rie 
Deltanece coca rece cee 
CANDY ee oe aioe acre ee nue ee 


Tupinamba headdress and ceremonial war club ...............20000- 


Mupinamba Gress <.c.escceaes os 
Tupinamba ceremonial objects .. 
Tupinamba and Guarani pottery 


. Tupinamba burial and cultivation 


Ce | 


eee eee eee s sees eres eee eseerseereeesete 


Seek iC MOnCeIGnt tit kr Crt et iec nent Cc OnO mote Mic it ht Ia) 


CC 


mupinamba, wariare and catinibalist ..0.2.cnsssssu. Gee neccastcscte es 


Tupinamba cannibalistic ceremoni 
Tupinamba cannibalism ......... 


PO aidions Gio Oo die'd aagot oceans Gad odo ooC ea c 


CC i re | 


Tupinamba shamans wearing feather cloaks and carrying rattles ..... 


Maraca and Marajo pottery ..... 
Santarem pottery .....626.2.5¢: 


Se Caraja house frame .i.c..l.d.46 


Caraja wooden stool ........... 


PwGaraja manitactures .........~. 
S Cataja manufactures <..-......: 
Me ALA ODUTIAL 6.50 ciciove rare ee maice oe 


ed 


s'@6)\s\s:le, 8) oldie)» (016) soe |e fele \e a wale Se lejm,'e 4). see) 


Wi Sc01'8' 's 0) e/eau) e),6 78 © 6 aa ehe) sm Size, 97 e),008) (0 (6) 6)\6 (pa es 


*) s)u'@ ¢ es) 0] mae aie aie = lols aie a0 ace ee 66 me @ © le =o 


er ey 


CC 


XVIII ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 
23. Caraia. waxiandclavadollsjnete J. dcetic 1038. Se RE JAY 189 
Bt, \Garaya, masks, : cele oats eden ents, a0 0s SSRI ba ee Saree 190 
25. Viurinay wooden StoGl! ooo. 3 550. c.cj0,05 ei aoks ME ee eee 228 
26. Pottery trom: the lower use tt <i... ..«.:,.cderaicus a haa. Te 231 
BA GASUTINIY WEANOES., cual. tok saa dirak oo teed TEC ee ne: Be 232 
CAG AEE OINTES eee hai: wok cn 6c. 5: ais. 5. nn 6 4 (6) SUSAR RY OR 237 
ZO. ‘SHiIpayaArPauMled MECOTALIONS «2 acu. 40's. <:n.c:010 aca ce accra cele aa eS MeN hae Se 239 
30. Lower Xingi wood carvings and manufactures ...............0- 000 240 
ak Mutuna carved, wooden: toyseC?.)) a.ca-.siacieid aiadiee ae.cein oa. SER ee 241 
Bye) eR ENCANA WIN GE) 2.) PAL Elis das) aal's 0: cass exe, aheosar ala Re Oe RIOTS I 326 
Gs) MS ACAIOL MEDIC KCOVETING iic.i.5 aj00.0 005d sos ol sla ce,o oe RAO CR ee 329 
ay MI MDEG ute Ait EACES so. cadisi dk cysy nr ecoy cicedswcs aces ocnlond dia e.cusoroinis eee ee eee 330 
a5. Upper Xinpu, wooden, spindle:whorls.4. a:...ciwsn. newest: ee alee 332 
a6. Pottery of the upper. Kinet) Raver a oiec s disse wwe o,a.4 ic tte Pee ee 333 
Sie, Vipper NANPU. ALHEACES oc asc sin PCIe eae a! etl eee ee 334 
38. Bacairi house wall decorations on bark strips ................00e eee 341 
Boo (Bacain wooden..dance. pendants) ...1yei nce «beds Hee. ee 341 
Oy. Bacainn masked Waneers osieck anciain six 500s Cent ete BOO, ee 342 
ate Melunacu and. Bacairi, maskSictc.r<. .. 2GWae ees ea. badass 343 
Be PST DESL IASG: fre oeg sina x 0s sich es we aka Dene elale BROS RE ae 344 
Bde ParessrnGiaAs a.) ss) 6:0:sdsvaccacsieia scene Owe - ane sass heek eee eee 352 
ae TPacessi decorated. goucds. ... ...js¢ dsicusev ate dat sae aee ss dee ee 356 
Bas eA EAE  ARS opete ch opaphiny cia) esSicetevln dns lns sadeincera, ois MORISSET LS Dera See 374 
ao: (Guapore miisical astra ettSe ss sral <ie-cisud o araco ier evarci eis) a sicvead I 376 
Aq. Macurap PSendo=panpipes. oie. 6 ia2:s,<.c ova dis craven, wale 2coahars saps epaare ae 377 
ee PEt OHO PLCS 4 2a oi scin 0's ae ay.asasser<ie eves geereaneh aus acdvsdocei sekeuveee aN ee 378 
49° “Artifacts irom Chiquitos, (Churapa, Indians... ...<..- «.<6siess ames 387 
BO Gavan yam MOtlery, FOLENS <6, 6.0.6, 61/4 vi a.sr use acc: Sel ERE Ae REE 403 
See eonaas Weiiait, SPINS -< ce-6.5 a.s.06 nies scrysisidg owed victeee eee tes Oe 429 
Sie AGEL eT AV ALALETA IS eo oh Siac ig case siav aie « a eT APIS Wee Pins curiae’ baw ais nea Oe 432 
Bae NGUATAWIL, CATIMIMEADASKEL oo 6 5. o:0.05 6 = 0.0 ace 0.04 9 digneuine apa ee 433 
fa Gaaraye and: Chacopo: fire Grills <<. vc. oo). 6c o6s5:seien cin os a Sin SOE 435 
ao. sliatinaciacwomnan making: connimeéal .... «.. sess. acu hela eRe 443 
a0, pA Cascara,’ or bark canoe, of the Caripuna. cise isis sionin aces, aac es 451 
b/.. ‘Chisiguano:hsh dam inythe-F Nlcomayo.dniver ge. . ....2o< 2000 ce as ee 471 
oe. Chiriguano and, Chané. pottery decorations .....:..- 2. «<.0+.2sae00eee 474 
59: Chiriguano and..Chane smamnutactires <8 tenes «asc <bacmediscs oa eeuce 475 
Oe Chit ARO, APOLLO © svchcsc sa sia tices 2.4 ai cle wid als ad otis ose cues ok ee 476 
Rie ACH AITEL CAMADASIIES ls rah .c,syralaeninn om dovondian dab sedan gbhah eles CetRieaneneee Ee 477 
Giz.) Wasetene Abra ps) .y.csropoc: tay aeons «evel NAPS ORs be Seca 489 
OSs MIMOsebene wets cp ccaaustsce cals coin eee eto EA eee 490 
64. Yuracare ornaments, whistles, and flutes .............. 0.000. eee ee ees 491 
Gor, WALACATS) AGHTACES. mcjarodrar see AGIs erdlaf ia aisles weeks Rad baeeee Loci ee 492 
GG: Vuracare stamps -and combs), i cnusis cs vua a siae'e nee Geena eee 493 
Of; (Ghimare: .dusottt Canoe farsi. ctisnmiciegerdis «40a abe ale Ae sod ual ee ee 494 
Gs. ‘(Chonane and, Yuracare artiiacts .o.4....:.0 02 cij0senaaae uaa eee 495 
Go: iV uracate. twined) stick: Dox: 2s, Missiaorass <ar cated oes SAGER 496 
20.) Chimane woman spinning Cotton) «<2. 65\ac +s aes ae See eee eee 496 
ai. Neracare musical instruments. .. ....<.<6. 000+ MPP Oe ne Ser ers 501 
ER RODEO CALAIS cig ich cies arcade aid vd boon, da gion tier bed 4 A Oe 518 
fa. MO eAtia SDOLEIN; EYES - cists achiajs 8 v2.0 6.eGonie aise doere ae eae Pe ee oe 523 


ia WORtAUAHOtCGY EUDES wid. 0. 4 ¢:6:2' a0 0.01) wep we a de chee RET Se ee 524 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


MeeVlomtatia mp pOtlety, os 'cicus: a ctuterer wre aiorsvenay siavenave cvsrans.e tksvarssauele ete meneenetnrs aaa 


Panoan (Chama) device for head deformation ..............e0eeee05 
Panoau.(Shipibo),. mother and children’... . «.... isisdncl.u eects ds Sah 
Chama and CGahuapanaiitensils: )/2ot). tae se Se 8. PRRs Seis eee 


BEE anGpo) DOWL.Wilite amClyReG aes / 525 6 S48 shuts od - 4s RRO eee 
Mm VionitatiamattitaGes) ats (aevesuietesiaversiereveisteceareve @ «meted eraiokersreteiees euchegater es cheeks 
PePanoan (Chama), walking aid for amfants ... seis i. sts erenicins dette 


Decorative design from a Shipibo man’s cushma .............-..++4- 


MSE TIOL DACUIC es Me oes fen cin ah ae Meee es eos Rien rere ae 


SHIPS OGY A PAMILINE’ te are ost ha veh ee cack oe te ap wel edone Salm merits wrale RISE 


. Shipibo decorated weaving sword or batters ...........-.sseeeeeeee 


Montation POttehy “ty PES fee ote Awan ees cose ee cote coe obs ae. « dee 
Actitactsvon thesMontana tribes) s:n sees ese as cer eee encore 


7 Cahitapanan’ (Munich) low platform bed 7.00: 0.5.0.0... 28sec ees 
BUCHEDELO anid: Aotano tENSilS: 2.2: 12. ies ecw ctce eee ee tee reese ces 


Phiehero “pottery es olin Leia kas ls ERA ie ee cele wine Mele eee alles 


Pivaro plattormybedetis: oe ese. eases ser ine thio el eraints clonal cee he aces 


‘YritURoy Co baht oo Nk ods Eytuchs- Ceara wee neicneRoce EAA AAS, AORN CHORIN CRSerIe Gin eee Scr ORORA oa 
aise potion Stone, pot Tests: <.ns55 6s +0sket sure es eee coe eee 
Yamamadi fish trap 


eet tere etree ee ee essere sees eer ee ereer eee ane ereeeeeseeeee 


MEE OALSTON thee UTA UrUSie ctec oe cere coe aie eee eee ete eee ce ae 
MEEIOUSES GE CHE Jurla-E Uns: 20.000, «deck are cite matielviel. Bio wide eamistaleiaiene 


Yamamadi shelter 


eee er reer eseee et PPO ees eeee sesso se st ener seeesasertas 


CREST UELeUP LC HEMEAAL Foflorcu tre cc) ello, Saas easy ets vedo ave ex neg lion nS raed oad on relce be 
L Weraneracetolt taneielbhieveltbiess) ab eupmcomad aac Gmions oo coe omeou ued ¢amcur ce 
Mme taYict > ATIC: CEUNAPIEE: < c1:c.ee a svempsis © sis. 4:4. lvls, cle wares vis wale erie Bore tae ts 
metnurina tobacco container and tnhaler’.% 0.2.5.2. sce les ee ae eee 
Meeeeairia Platlonin ned 1. Geese soos «emilee. Meas ce eak ea tens oe eels 
MERReCATTIAN POLLEY T) srschs. Vito Soiree ita starr evapo selma ae oleate ae eset 
» \WVACICWGSS ofe DOORN B SER OA BIE SIS CIEE cee cle co Sane Dottie So” Moma eC cmt cr od 
, \Wakea tienes ripen nates eRe hy Aes Se ee acor ee Note ce mone aaoGaee 


Riitotoy talcine SWE so 5 ccc cic a pas tase mote cto dalcla ae'ss ee austateheeseticle © 


mespring-pole trap, ‘(Curicufiati Rivet ..f.0 sv cs slr oe eee eats Cate mies 
BeNorthwest’ Amazon blOowgUns osc olde Soe Saletan J cle sfieealss Sas 
. Poisoned arrow point of the Guariua, northwest Amazon ............ 
| UCTS Eros 8 OT ae A ae eR ee a AAS, Se eR ae ae 
Memes Anata POLLEY: bic/stshs oa smn Simin + e:dhcsaus te) onary MRS is io mete orl wiats sala, els eres 
minettawest. Amazon pottery tYDeS 2... cc.0 oom ciecises. cols vise o'0\e ae Sitio ewe 
weCtiheo/cneraved pourd rattle). ssc. 226. os recs ws sees sere esse cay. 
= House decorations of the northwest Amazon ................-..----- 
eeindian children of the northwest Amazon, 2.2. 2 ocs.6. e.cch eee wees s 
Mmadliiytieay. Vilteindty <, feASE th 62s Baa. sje tenis Oiaio hie sense lalets ade ears, a 
ITAA NAIEM DAT wOAtICOl 50: scene ae siete eini nine waxtton sala leweieaye sso % See 
. Wooden cigar-holder, northwest Amazon, Tiquié River .............. 
' "Guiana banabs, or temporary shelter frames ...........¢.00.....005: 
MEG MAMA ROUSE MERAIMES: GA ec ats Lice :anee oat poate caw oeeeine vminan 
MeatatiACMtG HONE kh itasdy xcs BY ood sw eee cE as bo areN ls Baeess ok S 
tra WCHIETI, SEALS) oii hieca cssyohs 8 Scia ion aut ela duel aeduA As Rajan ae eee eco asim 2 
RES SNR EACH! RICA IC CALMS ci c.2 ay use, 2/oac sini SUS As Byala SiGe aye ana dee wept areola oe. HG 6H 


RCHCUIVCH! WOMAN). GPPMIE. sic ccc are acgcsissts cigsie.s css) ae Weis ayes e ioe Ss 


MeGtieina VEOth COPA MAKING 2... osc o ek ses soa Has deel came eete Bae 
Sees RTD ALTATINEAIOC IS TAIN Ao icls 5 ets wis cielsiaven sb leiasiatdle niin e eels sialeeie ne elect 


xx ILLUSTRATIONS 
PAGE 
127. “Gintania *hatimnOeke ttle os sectateh chaser avalos cas 0: ah vravanah navele Sree eteebaraeme ete 842 
128, Guiana hammock males) enn. salad. et peewee siete 843 
129: Giana hammocks make jacot eters x00 LOPE L ee teal alelen Ge ere nesta eee 844 
130. Manufacture of a Guiana (Warrau) ite (sensoro) hammock ......... 845 
Mei, Gaiety MART BACHERES. jiaresecsc veces wend alard arcs aie satel Aare RT MRR lt 846 
152. “Gaiana bead-apron: technique vou: c:6 aoa) noe ca ce ore a eo ee ee eee 847 
i33:. (Ginana bead-apron technique » «site sie lei hv ouatsie Saal ie a, 1 eg lee 848 
Ae. WWarranie Dar ial fee Ge SAREE a ie Sips, ole ane ta SR 877 
MAPS 

1. Areas of South America covered by Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the 
amd beak: ures «xeck Soe Aatet olete oa + sigaydonts cette. pes aaa XXVI 
2. Archeological sites of the lower Amazon and the Guianas ............ 150 
3 lbextribessor Central Brazil. ......:cs00.5 =< saleaeeins eeu et (facing) 284 
4. Hiei tribesot eastern: Bolivia, ssi tice aceslaice « 2s <x. eces ates staeeete 382 
5. The native tribes of the Montafia and the western Amazon Basin (facing) 508 
6. The post-Conquest expansion of Quechua into the Montafia ......... 514 
i MUHeMtEibesuat the tGuianaSig css aa4% ooax.0% ergata ate urate 3 (facing) 800 
8. Cultural divisions of the area included in the present volume ........ 884 


PREFACE 


Conciseness is possible only when data are fully understood. Repre- 
sentation of cultural forms no less than of physical objects may be 
accomplished in a few incisive strokes if the outlines are clearly per- 
ceived, but when they are blurred or invisible the only recourse is to 
set down all fragments in the hope that further knowledge or study 
may reveal the true forms. Prolixness in the present volume is inevitable. 
Despite the comparative uniformity of the Tropical Forest cultures and 
their environments, the descriptions have required at least twice the 
space of the far more complex Andean cultures. This is explainable by 
the inadequacy of sources. Not over half a dozen of the hundreds of 
tribes have been described with the completeness demanded by modern 
ethnology. Information is largely from random travelers’ observations— 
mention of a lip plug here, a cultivated plant there, a house type elsewhere. 
Compilation of all the information from the many scattered sources 
leaves the tribal pictures overloaded with minutiae, usually of dress, 
ornaments, and weapons, while the essential outlines of the cultures are 
not even suggested. The authors have, therefore, presented their data 
in some fullness rather than select or suppress detail in favor of broad 
patterns that can only be guessed and that, therefore, may prove to be 
fictitious. This emphasis on detail has led to division of the area into 
a large number of small groups—in some cases, individual tribes—with 
a consequent repetition of the commoner culture elements. At the same 
time, it gives the impression of capricious distributions and of bewilder- 
ing variety, for detached elements continually appear without any apparent 
relationship to the culture contexts. Further field work in archeology, 
linguistics, and ethnology, all desperately needed in the area, and com- 
parative studies of existing data should go far toward permitting a 
synthesis of these data in terms of ecological, historical, and configurational 
factors. 

It was the original plan to include in Volume 3 all the Tropical Forest 
and Savanna tribes of southern and eastern Brazil, the Amazon, the 
Guianas, lowland Venezuela and Colombia, the Antilles, and Central 
America. It has become evident, however, that the tribes of Venezuela 
north of the Orinoco River and of the northern portions of Colombia 
differed from the peoples of the Amazon in many important respects. 
The Antilles, especially before the Carib invasions, shared some of the 
distinctive Venezuelan culture. Central America, though having greater 
similarity to the Tropical Forests than to the adjoining Andean or Mexi- 
can cultures, was strongly influenced by the latter. In view of these 
cultural relationships, it has seemed desirable to reserve Central America, 
Northwestern South America, and the Antilles for a separate volume, 


XXI 


XXII PREFACE 


which will be the fourth of the Handbook. The present volume, therefore, 
includes only those Tropical Forest and Savanna peoples south of the 
Orinoco River. 

When preparation of this volume began, the culture areas were so 
imperfectly known that it was impossible to use them as a basis for plan- 
ning and assigning articles. Their determination had to await a com- 
parative study of the finished articles. Contributors were, therefore, 
requested to describe the tribes or regions that they knew from previous 
experience or for which they had access to the literature. The articles 
are arranged in major areas, corresponding to the five parts of the volume. 
But these are only in part culture areas. (Compare map 1, showing the 
coverage of these parts, and map 8, the culture areas.) Haphazard as 
the arrangement of articles may appear in hindsight, they place on record 
sufficient detailed data with information on the sources to provide guides 
to the essential facts about all the tribes. They are not exhaustive, however, 
and do not presume to supersede all previous works. Lowie’s Introduction 
gives some hint of the richness of material to be found in original sources, 
and works such as Nordenskiold’s comparative studies contain abundant 
material not recorded here. 

The articles differ widely in scope. Some, especially those on the 
Guarani, the Tupinamba, the Montafia, the Jurua-Purts region, and the 
Guianas, represent a general survey of the literature and are broadly 
synthetic. Others, such as that on the Uaupés-Caqueta and Nimuenda- 
ju’s large number of short articles on tribes south of the lower Amazon, 
are based upon much original field work as well as upon the literature. 
Still others, for instance the Tenetehara, the Tapirapé, the Carajd, the 
Nambicuara, and the Tucuna, are essentially original reports of field work 
done by the authors of these articles. In general, tribes which are little- 
known through existing literature are treated most fully. 

Lowie has provided a general view of the Tropical Forest cultures in 
his Introduction, utilizing articles in this volume and various primary 
sources, such as Koch-Griinberg, Roth, and Nimuendaju, according to 
their adequacy in describing the different features of the culture. The 
Introduction is not a summary of the present volume, but rather a com- 
posite picture, with variations and their distributions noted only for the 
more important features. 

At the end of the volume, the editor has attempted to group the 
tribes described in tentative culture areas. This is based essentially on 
the material of the present volume. It shows some of those groups of 
elements which give the cultures their local character. 

This volume is written largely from the point of view of the aboriginal 
Indian, not because of any prejudice with respect to acculturation but 
because the anthropology of the area has traditionally been oriented in 
this direction. As Indians lived in an independent and primitive state 


PREFACE XXIII 


in this area long after they were subdued elsewhere—a half million or 
more wild Indians still inhabit the less accessible portions of it, some of 
them not yet contacted by Whites—anthropology naturally has directed 
its attention to recording the pre-Columbian cultures so richly repre- 
sented. As Indians became absorbed into the national populations, losing 
their cultural identity, they passed from the purview of anthropology. 
It is true that the changes in native culture wrought by missionary teach- 
ing, steel tools, Old World domesticated plants and animals, and other 
factors incident to the coming of the Whites and even of the Negroes 
are noted from time to time. But preoccupation with the aboriginal 
continues, and the very interesting processes of the Indian’s assimilation 
of European culture have not been expressly reported. Though accul- 
turation in this area is not so compelling a practical problem as in areas 
such as the Andes, where the Indian culture is still a matter of some 
national concern, it is no less important scientifically, for distinctive 
processes are represented. 

Bibliography.—The bibliography of the tribes covered in this volume 
has been presented with a fullness commensurate with the need, for space 
prohibits inclusion of all items submitted by contributors. Where full 
bibliographies have been published previously, the present volume includes 
only sources actually cited in the articles, but where no large bibliographies 
are in print, every item submitted is included. The bibliographies are 
limited to literature cited in the case of the Montafia, covered by Tessmann 
(1930) ; the tribes of eastern Bolivia, published by Métraux (1942) ; and 
the Tupinamba, also given by Métraux (1928 a, b). For the remaining 
tribes and regions, all items are included here, thus affording unusually 
complete bibliographies which probably omit only very rare or local 
sources and an undetermined amount of archival material. 

A rich and virtually untapped source of information is the museums. 
The contributors have undertaken no museum research, believing that 
this should wait until after the war when there will be more time and 
easier transportation and when such European collections as remain may 
be studied. 

Tribal locations.—Because an unusually large number of tribes is cov- 
ered in this volume, the location of each by the nearest degree of latitude 
and longitude is given as an aid to finding them on the map. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


To the many contributors to the third volume of the Handbook the 
editor wishes to express deepest gratitude. Their fine cooperation in 
helping solve the many technical problems of coordinating the various 
articles has enormously lightened the task of preparing the volume. 
Special thanks are due Dr. Robert H. Lowie, Dr. Curt Nimuendaji, and 
Dr. Alfred Métraux for their generous assistance in the scientific editing 


XXIV PREFACE 


of many articles besides their own, and to Dr. Gordon Willey and Miss 
Ethelwyn Carter for their consistent devotion to the innumerable chores 
necessary to the work. 

We are also grateful to the Central Translating Division of the De- 
partment of State and to the Strategic Index of the Americas for assist- 
ance in translating many articles written in Portuguese. 

Illustrations have been drawn from many sources. The American 
Museum of Natural History, New York; The University Museum, Phila- 
delphia; the Museo Etnografico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, 
Buenos Aires; the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém do Para; the 
National Geographic Magazine, Washington, D. C.; and the Museo de 
Ciencias Naturales, Asuncién, Paraguay, have generously permitted the 
Handbook to utilize photographs from their large collections. Special 
mention must be made of the large series of excellent photographs of 
the Yagua and Witoto Indians furnished by Dr. Paul Fejos of the Viking 
Fund, New York City. Other individuals who have kindly furnished 
photographs are Albert W. Stevens, H. E. Anthony, Llewelyn Williams, 
G. H. H. Tate, C. B. Hitchcock, Claude Lévi-Strauss, M. W. Stirling, 
Max Schmidt, Charles Wagley, James Sawders, Curt Nimuendaju, Irving 
Goldman, Batista Venturello, and T. D. Carter. 

Jutian H. STEwarp, EpiTor. 


CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME 3 
OF THE 
HANDBOOK OF SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


FRANCISCO DE Aparicio, Museo Etnografico de la Facultad de Filosofia 
y Letras, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Epuarpo GatvAo, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Joun GiLiin,! Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Duke Uni- 
versity, Durham, N. C. 

IrvING GoLpMAN,? Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, 
(DEC: 

ALLAN HotmBerG,? Rubber Development Corporation, Washington, D.C. 

DonaLtp Horton, Columbia Broadcasting System Television, New 
York, N.Y. 

Paut Kircuuorr, Escuela Nacional de Antropologia, Instituto Nacional 
de Antropologia é Historia, México, D. F. 

CiaupE Lévi-Strauss, Ecole Libre des Hautes Etudes, New School for 
Social Research, New York, N. Y. 

WiiaM LipxKIND, Office of War Information, Washington, D. C. 

Rosert H. Lowie, Department of Anthropology, University of California, 
Berkeley, California. 

Betty J. MEGcERS,* Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 
Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

ALFRED METRAUX,® Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 

Curr NIMuENDAjU,® Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém do Para, 
Brazil. 

Jutian H. SteEwarp,’ Institute of Social Anthropology, Smithsonian 
Institution, Washington, D. C. 

CuarLes Wac Ley, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 
New York, N.Y. 


1948. 
1 Present address: Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina, 
Chapel Hill, N. C. 
2 Present address: United States Department of State, Washington, D. C. 
3 Present address: Institute of Social Anthropology, Lima, Pert. 
* Present address: Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. 
5 Present address: Department of Social Affairs, United Nations. 
6 Deceased. 
7 Present address: Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. 


XXV 


> =e 


sup we al 


a) J 
UN Das | i 


ig ‘i > 
Hi | 
Hig 


“wry ) 


/ THE COASTAL AND AMAZONIAN 
Tue/ 


f Ze 2 THE TRIBES OF MATTO GROSSO 
40 coe 41 ANd EASTERN BOLIVIA 40 
3 THE TRIBES OF THE MONTANA 
AND YUNGAS 
4 THE TRIBES OF THE WESTERN 
AMAZONIAN BASIN 
5 THE TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS 


110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 


Map 1.—Areas of South America covered by Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Handbook 
of South American Indians. Diagonal hachure, Marginal Tribes, Volume 1; stipled, 
Andean Civilizations, Volume 2; white, tribes of the Tropical Forests, Volume 3; 
vertical hachure, areas covered by Volume 4. These are not culture areas (see 
map 8). 


xXXVI 


VOLUME 3. THE TROPICAL FOREST TRIBES 


tik TROPICAL FORESTS: AN INTRODUCTION 


By Rozert H. Lowie 


The Tropical Forest area centers in the Amazon region, but the tradi- 
tional “Tropical Forest” culture by no means coincides with the geo- 
graphical region indicated. In Im Thurn or Koch-Griinberg we constantly 
encounter the contrast between selva (pls. 1, bottom; 3) and savanna 
(pl. 4, center) without commensurate cultural differences. We must 
also reckon with cases of Forest peoples who migrated into new territories, 
retaining basic traits, yet losing others for environmental reasons and 
borrowing still other features from their new neighbors. The Chiquitos- 
Mojos peoples form a good illustration. The Tropical Forest complex is 
marked off from the higher Andean civilizations by lacking architectural 
and metallurgical refinements, yet outranks cultures with the hunting- 
gathering economy of the Botocudo or with the moderate horticulture of 
the Apinayé (Ge stock). At the core of the area the diagnostic features 
are: the cultivation of tropical root crops, especially bitter manioc; 
effective river craft; the use of hammocks as beds; and the manufacture 
of pottery. 

The very wide distribution of certain traits in the area is correlated 
with navigation. Thanks to their mobility, the canoeing tribes were able 
to maintain themselves in the midst of boatless populations, to travel 
with ease over periodically inundated tracts, and to diffuse their arts 
and customs over enormous distances. The combination of this technologi- 
cal factor with natural conditions has produced the extraordinary leveling 
of culture (‘“‘acculturation” in German parlance) in this area. As Norden- 
skidld (1930 a, p. 1 f.) has stressed, northeastern Bolivia looks close to 
Pertti on a map, but is separated by immense silvan barriers and by un- 
navigable watercourses, so that cultural differences obtrude themselves. 
On the other hand, the Orinoco and Amazon Basins are linked by the 
Casiquiare (pl. 5, center, left, and bottom). Accordingly, earthenware 
decoration in Santarém may precisely duplicate details from the Lesser 
Antilles (ibid., 16 f.) ; and the Macushi of Guiana no less than the Maué 
of the Tapajéz River sling a girl’s hammock near the roof when she 
attains puberty. (Roth, 1915, p. 311; Spix and Martius, 1828-31, 2:1,318; 
Bates, 1892, 2:405 f.) 


2 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E, Bull. 143 


In so vast a territory, inhabited by diverse stocks, regional variations 
are naturally not effaced. Enclaves of ruder tribes impressed early 
travelers, as when Bates (1892, 1:316, 327 f.) noted the isolated Mura 
of the lower Madeira River as nonhorticultural fishermen (but see p. 258) 
and the Arara as boatless nomads who grew no manioc (pp. 226, 230). 
On the other hand, significant traits—say, fish drugging, urucu and genipa 
paint, the couvade—have passed far beyond the traditional bearers of 
the Tropical Forest mode of life. Nor are features common to simpler 
tribes and to manioc-growing canoers necessarily derived from the latter ; 
in specific instances the reverse may hold (Métraux, 1928 b, p. 194; 
1928 a, p. 168 f.). 

Linguistically, we have to deal primarily with three major families, 
the Arawakan, the Cariban, and the Tupi-Guarani. The Arawakans were 
spread over the Antilles in 1492 and had recently entered the southern 
tip of Florida; in the Antilles, they had been overrun by Cariban invaders ; 
in Guiana members of this family were their neighbors. The Mehinacu 
of the upper Xingu River, the Mojo of Bolivia, the Paressi of the Mato 
Grosso, the Tereno of the Chaco, the Goajiro west of the Gulf of Vene- 
zuela, and various groups of the Purls and upper Ucayali Rivers are 
all Arawakan. The Tupi-Guarani are equally far-flung: the majority 
live south of the Amazon, including the Auetd of the Xingu headwaters 
and the Guarani of the Parana-La Plata region; but we find them also 
on the coast of Brazil, north of the Amazon (Oyampi, Emerillon), on the 
Ucayali River (Cocama), and even near the Andes (Chiriguano). Of 
lesser, but still considerable range, are the Caribans, who turn up near 
the Xingu sources (Bacairi), but most typically jostle Arawakans in 
Guiana and the West Indies. 

Two other families are the Tucanoan (Betoya) in the Vaupés 
(Uaupés)-Yapura-Rio Negro district and the Panoan, whose repre- 
sentatives live on the Ucayali, the Javari, the upper Jurua, and the Madeira 
Rivers. The Tucano of the Caiari-Vaupés River are typical of the 
Tucanoans; the Conibo on the Ucayali River and the Chacobo Indians 
west of the Mamoré-Guaporé confluence, of the Panoans. The Witoto, 
between the upper Yapura and the Putumayo Rivers, form a distinct 
linguistic family. “Miranya,” like “Digger Indian” in the United States, 
designates no fixed unit, but various unrelated tribes ranging between 
the Caqueta and the Putumayo Rivers (Koch-Grinberg, 1921, p. 393; 
also, this volume, p. 155). The Yuracare along the upper reaches of 
western affluents of the Mamoré River in eastern Bolivia are a linguisti- 
cally isolated Forest people. 

CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 

Agriculture.—The distinctive achievement of the area is the domestica- 

tion and cultivation of tropical root crops (see Sauer, Handbook, vol. 6)— 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 3 
bitter and sweet manioc, sweet potatoes, cara, and arrowroot—of which 
the poisonous bitter manioc is most important, though it is not known 
to all tribes. Seed crops are secondary, but virtually all tribes grow 
several varieties of maize. In the marginal region of the Guaporé River, 
maize and peanuts are the staples, manioc becoming secondary (p. 372). 
Indeed, the Nambicuara follow a seasonally alternating pattern, raising 
manioc and other crops during the rains, but otherwise practicing a 
hunting-gathering economy with the usual sexual division of labor 
(pp. 362-363). Native American fruits, particularly palms, are widely 
cultivated, but have spread greatly since the Conquest, as have bananas, 
sugarcane, and other Old World crops. Indigenous cultivated plants 
also include dyes, fish drugs, coca (near the Andes), tobacco, cotton, 
and arrow canes or reeds. The domesticated plants and their distribu- 
tions are given in the following list. 


Cultivated plants of the Tropical Forests 
Name Occurrence and use 
Food Plants 
*Manioc, cassava (Manihot utilissima) : 


Sweet variety (aypi) : yuca, Aboriginal throughout the Tropical 


macaxeira, macaxera. 
Bitter variety : mandioca, maniva, 
maniveira. 


*Sweet potato, camote (Ipomoea 
batatas). 
*Yam, cara, carahu (Dioscorea sp.). 


*Yautia, malanga, mangareto, mangara 
(Xanthosoma sagittifolium). 
*Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea). 


Maize (Zea mays). 


*Cashew, cajui (Anacardium 
occidentale). 

*Peanut (Arachis hypogaea). 

*Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). 


Forests. 

Aboriginal to the Guianas, south to the 
Guarani and Tupinamba, southwest 
to the Mojo and Caripuna, little in the 
Jurua-Purts region; west to the 
Tucano and Tucanoans, except the 
Encabellado, but none among other 
tribes of Peri and Ecuador. 

Aboriginal throughout the Tropical 
Forests and Savannas. 

The true yam is an old world domesti- 
cate, but wild species of Dioscorea 
occur in Brazil, some of them perhaps 
domesticated, especially cara, grown 
throughout the Amazon Basin. 

Various native species, being the Ameri- 
can equivalent of taro. Brazil, Guianas. 

Brazil, Guianas; recent in the Uaupés- 
Caqueta region. 

An aboriginal staple throughout the 
Tropical Forests, most tribes having 
many varieties. 

Aboriginal to Brazil. Anacardium micro- 
carpum bark is used for canoes. 

Aboriginal throughout Tropical Forests. 

Aboriginal; probably widely distributed 
but rarely identified with certainty in 
the Tropical Forests. 


1 Starred items are discussed in ‘‘Cultivated plants of Central and South America,” by Carl Sauer, 
in Volume 6 of the Handbook, and their identifications conform with Sauer’s. 


4 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


Name 
Food Plants—Continued 
*Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus). 


*Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis). 


*Squash (Cucurbita). 


*Papaya, mamoeiro (Carica papaya). 


*Surinam cherry (Eugenia unifora). 


*Lucuma obovata. 
*Guayaba, guava (Psidium guajava). 


*Pineapple (Ananas sativus). 


*Banana (Musa paradisiaca sapientum). 


*Plantain (Musa paradisiaca normalis). 


*Inga. 
*Sicana (Sicana odorifera). 


*Avocado, abacate (Persea americana). 
*Pepper, aji (Capsicum). 


*Arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza or 
esculenta). 
Hualusa (Colocasia esculenta). 


Castor oil, mamona (Ricinus 
communis). 
*Chonta or pejibaye palm (Guilielma 
gasipaes). 
Bacaiuva palm (Acrocomia sp.). 
Pupunha palm (Guilielma gasipaes). 
Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito). 
Pepino (Solanum muricatum). 
Cacabo (Xanthosoma sp.). 
*Cacao (Theobroma cacao). 


[B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Occurrence and use 


Aboriginal among Tupinamba, Maueé, 
Apiacd, and probably many other 
tribes. 

Rarely identified but probably of wide 
native distribution in Brazil. 

Sauer (vol. 6) gives Cucurbita maxima 
as the aboriginal Andean species, 
which probably occurs also in Brazil, 
and C. moschata as the species of 
northeastern Brazil. 

An aboriginal fruit occurring among all 
these tribes though perhaps spread 
somewhat since the Conquest. The 
fruit is called papaya or manao. 

Aboriginal fruit of eastern South 
America. 

Aboriginal fruit of Brazil. 

Probably recently introduced to the 
Uaupés-Caqueta area and elsewhere. 

Probably aboriginal throughout the 
Tropical Forests. 

Probably Old World Origin (see vol. 
6), but not a staple throughout the 
Tropical Forests. 

Doubtful whether 
Brazil, Montafia. 

Montafia; Uaupés-Caqueta region. 

Aboriginal in Brazil, Paraguay. An 
unidentified species was grown in 
eastern Pert. 


native America. 


Aboriginal (?) in Guianas; eastern 
Pert. 

Aboriginal, throughout the Tropical 
Forests. 

Aboriginal root plant; Mojo. 

Upper Guaporé River. Recent (?) 


among Tacanans. 
Upper Xingt River. 


Aboriginal in Amazon. This supplies 
both food and a widely used bow wood. 

Upper Xingt River. 

Jurua-Purts Rivers. 

Eastern Pert 

Eastern Pert 

Eastern Pert 

Aboriginal in America, but probably 
post-Conquest in Tropical Forests, 
where wild species were widely 
gathered. 


Vol. 3] 


Name 
Food Plants—Continued 


Frutas de lobo (Solanum lycocarpum). 
Mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa). 


Mamona (Ricinus communis). 


Narcotics 


*Coca (Erythroxylon coca). 


Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). 


Plants used in manufactures 


*Cotton (Gossypium barbadense and 
G. hirsutum). 


*Uruct, achiote, bixa (Bira orellana). 
*Genipa, genipapo, jenipapeiro (Genipa 
americana), 
*Calabash, cujete (Crescentia cujete). 
Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). 
Reeds, cafia de Castilla, tacuapi 
(Arundo donax). 
Uba cane (Gynerium sagittatum). 
Rhamnidium sp. 


Coix lacryma-jobi. 
Razor grass (Scleria sp.). 


Drugs and Poisons 
Nissolia sp. 
Barbasco (Lonchocarpus nicou). 


Clebadium vargasii. 


Tephrosia (Tephrosia toxicaria). 


THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 4) 


Occurrence and use 


Upper Xingt River. 

Upper Xing River. 
coating balls. 

Upper Xingt River. 


Supplies latex for 


Aboriginal in northwestern portion of 
Tropical Forests and northern Mon- 
tafia; Uaupés-Caqueta; /purina. 

Aboriginal to most but not all tribes of 
the Tropical Forests. 


Both species are aboriginal in the 
Tropical Forests, but the distinction is 
rarely recorded. 

Berry used for red dye. Aboriginal 
throughout Tropical Forests. 

Fruit eaten; used for black dye. Ab- 
original throughout Tropical Forests. 

Aboriginal probably throughout the 
Tropical Forests. 

Aboriginal among many Tropical Forest 
tribes. 

Guarani, Arrow shafts. 

Aboriginal on the upper Xingi River. 
For arrow shafts. 

Shrub. Seeds used for beads. Guarani. 

Shrub. Seeds used for beads. Guarani. 

Aboriginal on the upper Xing River. 
Sharp blades used for shaving. 


Herb used for snake bites, Guarani. 

A fish poison: Montafia and probably 
elsewhere (see p. 518). 

A fish poison: Montafia and probably 
elsewhere (see p. 518). 

A fish poison: Montafia and probably 
elsewhere (see p. 518). 


A few tribes of the area, such as the Shiriand, Waica, and Guaharibo 
and the Macu of the Rio Negro formerly had no farming, but have re- 
cently adopted it from their neighbors. On the other hand, the Guayaki 
and the Mura have abandoned cultivation since the Conquest and subsist 


solely on hunting and gathering. 


The manner of clearing the forest for typical slash-and-burn agri- 
culture (pls. 8, top; 111, top; 126) is described on pages 99 and 825. The 
men make the clearings, the rest of the work devolves on the women, who 


6 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


plant, weed, harvest, and prepare the food. The Chiriguano, under 
Andean influence, have in the main masculine tillage. 

To prepare bitter manioc, the tuber is peeled, washed, and grated on 
a board set with spines or stones (pls. 89, bottom; 90, bottom; 111, 
bottom), the resulting pulp being typically crammed by handfuls into a 
cylindrical basketry press (tipiti) with an upper and a lower loop (pls. 
90, top; 111, center). The upper loop is hung from a projecting house 
beam, while a strong pole is passed through the lower and put under the 
fulcrum made by tying a stick to a house post at an acute angle. A woman 
sits on the free end of the pole, thus extending the container and diminish- 
ing its diameter. The poisonous prussic acid thus squeezed out through 
the interstices of the basketwork is allowed to drip into a vessel. The 
purged pasty mass is shaken out as a snow-white, nearly dry mass, which 
is pounded in a mortar and passed through a sifter, falling on a mat. The 
resultant starchy whitish powder is either (a) baked on a clay grid into 
thin flat cakes, “beiju,” or (b) prevented from consolidation by stirring, 
thus yielding an accumulation of small, dry crumbs, “farinha” pellets, 
like those of white bread. Of a morning an Aparat woman may prepare 
30 beiji—the weekly household supply; well-baked and dried, these will 
keep for a long time, as will the pea-sized pellets, so that both products 
provide serviceable traveling fare. (Speiser, 1926, p. 146; Roth, 1924, 
pp. 217, 277 ff.; Im Thurn, 1883, p. 252. Further details on manioc 
preparation will be found on pp. 102, 200, 413, 450, 666, 772-773, 829.) 

Naturally, the processes varied somewhat locally. On the upper 
Amazon it was possible to plant manioc on the earthy banks without the 
necessity for a clearing (Bates, 1863, p. 210), and the period of matura- 
tion is variously given as 9 months, 10 months, or even 2 years. (P. 692; 
also Roth, 1924, p. 216; Im Thurn, 1883, p. 251; Koch-Griinberg, 1921, 
p. 334.) The basketry press obviously presupposes earlier developmental 
stages, such as are noted among the Witoto and on the upper Purts River, 
where muscular effort is required to wring the poison by hand out of 
a plaited sack. This may represent an earlier technique (Meétraux, 
1928 a, pp. 104, 114 f.). It should be noted, however, that boiling is 
probably sufficient to drive off the prussic acid. 

The aboriginal implements included hafted stone celts for chopping 
trees, hardwood shovels, and pointed dibbles (Roth, 1924, p. 214; Koch- 
Grtinberg, 1921, p. 334). The spade appears in the periphery subject to 
Andean influence (Chiriguano). 

Collecting.—Collecting wild fruits is naturally less important at the 
core of the area than among marginal tribes, such as the Nambicuara, 
the Siviond, the Shiriand, or the Macu. Nevertheless, a fairly long roster 
of wild species whose fruits and nuts are widely exploited for food 
appears in the following list. 


Vol. 3] 


THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE a 


Useful wild plants of the Tropical Forests’. 


Name 
Drugs and Poisons 
Assact, possumwood or sandbox tree 


(Hura crepitans). 
Ayahuasca, cayapi, yagé, huni, hayac- 


huasca (Banistertopsis caapi, B. 
inebrians, and B. quitensis). 
Borrochera. 

Campa. 
Cayapi. 


Cunambi (Chibadium surinamense). 


Curare, curari. 


Curupa. 


Datura. 
Floripondia, huanto, campa, 
borrochera (Datura arborea). 


datura, 


Guayusa (Jlex sp.). 


Hayac-huasca. 
Huanto. 

Huni. 

Niopo. 

Parica, yupa, niopo. 


Phyllanthus conamt. 

Yagé. 

Yoco (Paullinia yoco). 

Timbé (Paullinea pinnata or 
Serjania sp.). 

Yupa. 


Foods and Manufactures 


Achua palm. 
Almecega (Tetragastris balsamifera). 
Ambaiba. 


Anaja, palm (Mavimiliana regia). 


Andiroba, Brazilian mahogany (Carapa 
gmanensis). 


1The present list includes principally the plants mentioned in the present volume. 


Occurrence and use 


Widely used for drugging fish. 


A strong drug, used especially among 
tribes of the upper Amazon. 


See Ayahuasca. 

See Floripondia. 

See Ayahuasca. 

A small tree, the leaves of which are 
used to drug fish. 

A deadly poison, used generally for 
blowgun darts, made from a liana, 
Sirychnos toxifera. 

The leaves of Mimosa aracioides, 
powdered and taken as snuff or as an 
enema for magical and therapeutic 
effects. 

See Floripondia. 

A strong intoxicating drug, used espe- 
cially among tribes of the upper 
Amazon. 

An anesthetizing drug, used in eastern 
Ecuador. 

See Ayahuasca. 

See Floripondia. 

See Ayahuasca. 

See Parica. 

The seeds of Mimosa acaciotdes, pow- 
dered and taken as snuff for a stimu- 
lant. 

A fish drug. 

See Ayahuasca. 

A stimulating drug, used in Colombia. 

Fish drug. 


See Parica. 


See Burity. 

Resin used for lighting. 

A mulberry tree of the genus Cecropia, 
yielding various products. 

The shoots yield a fiber used in the man- 
ufacture of mats, baskets, screens, and 
hats. 

The seeds contain oil used by the natives 
for insect bites and lighting purposes. 


A more 


thorough study of the wild-plant resources will be found in Volume 6 of the Handbook. 


653333—47—3 


8 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


Name 
Foods and Manufactures—Continued 
Angelim (Andira sp.). 
Aratazeiro. 


Arrow reed (Gynerium saccharoides). 
Assai (Euterpe oleracea). 


Attalea humboldtiana. 

Attalea spectabilis. 

Araucaria brasiliensis. 

Babassti palm (Orbignya speciosa). 


Bacaba palm (Oenocarpus bacaba and 
O. distichus). 


Bactrix maraja. 


Balsa. 

Brazil nut, Para nut (Bertholletia 
excelsa). 

Burity, muriti, miriti, achua palm 


(Mauritia flexuosa and M. vinosa). 


Busst palm (Manicaria saccifera). 


Cabacinho 

Caji (Anacardium occidentale). 
Cajueiro. 

Camayuva cane (Guadua sp.). 
Carayuru. 

Carludovica trigona. 

Castanha. 


Catizal. 
Cedar (Cedrela angustifolia). 
Cumart (Coumarouna odorata). 


Cupuassi (Theobroma grandiflorum). 


Curaua. 


[B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Occurrence and use 


Dugout wood. 

Anonaceae. Bow wood. 

Arrow shafts. 

A very common palm from the fruit of 
which a beverage of the same name is 
made. 

Palm with an edible fruit. 

Palm with an edible fruit. 

A pine with an edible nut in Guarani 
country. 

Widely distributed on the uplands, sup- 
plying an important edible oil from the 
hard kernels of its prolific fruit. 

Abundant througout the Amazon Valley, 
supplying cooking oils from the nuts 
and a drink similar to assai from the 
pulp of the fruit. 

Palm with an edible fruit. 

See Palo de balsa. 

Important food. 


Edible fruit and pith; fibers used for 
cordage, clothing, hammocks, and 
roofing; trunk contains edible beetle 
larvae. 

The leaves, resembling those of a banana 
tree, make an excellent, durable thatch. 

A variety of cacao fruit. 

Edible fruit. 

The tree, Anacardium occidentale. 

Used for arrow shafts. 

Pigment from leaves of Bignontia chica. 

Basket material. 

A Brazil nut or cashew nut. Castanha 
de Para—Bertholletia excelsa, a cas- 
tanha or Brazil nut. Castanha sapu- 
caia—Lecythts paraensis, a nut from 
the sapucaia; a paradise or cream nut. 

See Paxiuba. 

Tree used to make dugout canoes. 

A tree which yields the tonka bean, a 
source of vanillalike flavoring. 

A plant very closely related to the cacao 
tree, whose pulp is used as a flavoring 
or as a preserve, with seeds yielding 
a white fat similar to cocoa butter. 

A plant of the Bromeliaceae family 
whose leaves supply fibers used for the 
manufacture of hammocks and cord- 
age. 


Vol. 3] 


Name 


Foods and Manufactures—Continued 


Curua piranga. 


Embira (Couratari sp.). 


Euterpe oleracea. 
Greenheart (Nectandra rodioet). 
Guarana (Paullinia sorbilis, P. cupana). 


Hymenaea courbaril. 
Iacareva (Calophyllum sp.). 
Itatba. 


Jabota (Cassia blancheti). 
Jatahy. 


Jauary (Astrocaryum jauary). 


Jerimt, jerimum. 


Manga (Mangifera indica). 
Masaranduba (Mimusops excelsa). 
Miriti. 

Moronobea coccinea. 


Muriti. 

Nibi (Carludovica). 
Oenocarpus sp. 

Palo de balsa (Ochroma spp.). 


Patra) 

Pau d’arco (Tecoma sp.). 

Paxiuba, pashiuba palm, barrigon 
(Iriartea ventricosa). 


Leopardwood (Brosimum aubletit). 


THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 9 


Occurrence and use 


(1) A widely distributed palm (Attalea 
spectabihs) bearing _ oil-producing 
seeds; (2) a palm (A. monosparma) 
whose leaves are used for thatch. 

The fiber is used for making hammocks, 
cordage, bowstrings, etc. 

A palm with an edible fruit. 

Seeds eaten. 

P. sorbilis seeds used as medicine; P. cu- 
pana, to flavor a beverage. 

Resin used as pot glaze. 

Dugout wood. 

Common name of three species of trees 
of the Lauraceae family (Ocotea 
megaphylla, Silvia itauba, and Silvia 
ducket) whose wood is excellent for 
making boats and canoes. 

A tree, the bark of which is used to 
make canoes. 

A tree, the bark of which is used to 
make canoes. 

One of the most common palms on the 
low varzeas, the folioles of which are 
used to make lightweight hats, the 
skin of the petiole to weave mats, 
sieves, manioc tipitis, hammocks, etc., 
the fleshy part of the fruit being used 
as an edible oil. 

The fruit of the serimuzeiro tree (abo- 
bora in the southern States). 

A mango, the fruit of the mango tree. 

A tree yielding an edible fruit. 

See Burity. 

The gum of this plant is made into a 
glue. 

See Burity. 

A vine, used for basketry material. 

A palm with an edible fruit. 

A very light wood used for making 
rafts, often called “balsas.” 

Brazil nut. 

Bow wood. 

The bark used for bedding and wall 
covers, the trunk for canoes, bows, 
flutes, etc. An unidentified species, 
called catizal, provides thorns for 
manioc graters. 

A bow wood. 


10 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Name Occurrence and use 


Foods and Manufactures—Continued 


Pequi, pequia, piquia (Caryocar These species are the largest in the 
villosum). Amazon Valley, attaining a diameter 
of more than 5 meters at the base of 
the trunk. Oleaginous seeds (50 per- 
cent oil) are contained within the 
roundish fruit, which is 45 percent oil; 

the cooked seeds are edible. 


Protium heptaphyllum. Rosin used for lighting. 

Siriva palm (Cocos sp.). Wood used for clubs. 

Tabebuia longipes. The gum used as adhesive. 

Tauari. See Embira. 

Tucuma. Any of several commercially important 


palms which yield textile fibers, and in 
some cases also edible fruits used for 
making wine; specifically, Acrocomia 
officinalis, Bactris setosa, and especially 
Astrocaryum tucuma, the tucuma palm, 
the leaves of which furnish excellent 
coarse fibers used in manufacturing 
rope, hammocks, hats, etc., and the 
nuts of which are used as blunt arrow- 
heads and as beads. 

Urucuri palm (Attalea excelsa). 

Vismia guianensis. Rosin used in pot glaze. 


Under the head of collecting also falls the gathering of such animal 
food as mollusks, caterpillars, larvae, and ants, some of which are treated 
as delicacies or relishes. Wild honey is easily secured from the virtually 
stingless species of the Meliponinae in the Orinoco region and is every- 
where a favorite food. The Guayaki largely subsist on honey, fruits, 
and other parts of the pindo palm and on the grubs of beetles. 

Hunting.—The relative importance and the purpose of hunting vary 
locally. Game, especially the peccary, is usually sought for food, but 
many species are taboo to various tribes. The Caraja hunt primarily 
to obtain feathers, while the Mojo are most interested in stalking the 
jaguar in order to win honors. Hunting is generally of secondary im- 
portance among the tribes of the major rivers, who obtain their protein 
more readily from fish, turtles, turtle eggs, and manatee than from forest 
game. 

Dogs are used in the chase, but were aboriginally absent in many tribes. 
As for hunting techniques, the Guiana Indians manifest virtually all 
the tricks adaptable to their fauna. They imitate the call of the tapir, 
deer, monkeys, and birds to allay their suspicions; stalk deer; fire the 
savanna grass and encircle large game in communal drives; dig out 
armadillos from their burrows; or lie in ambush, screened by a shelter 
built on the ground or in a tree. On the Orinoco River the manatee is 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 11 


harpooned from a canoe paddled by the hunter’s wife, while on the 
Amazon it is caught in a net and killed by driving a wooden plug up 
its nostrils. (See also pp. 258, 517, 827.) Among the Mojo, as in México, 
Chiriqui, Haiti, and on Lake Maracaibo, ducks are familiarized with the 
sight of floating calabashes so that a swimmer wearing a headgear of cala- 
bash shell may catch the birds with his bare hands (p. 413; also Norden- 
skidld, 1931 b, p. 43). The Indians also use various snares, traps (pls. 72; 
112, bottom; figs. 52, 62), deadfalls, and blinds (pl. 114, bottom) ; some 
of these devices may be due to Negro influence. 

The distinctive hunting weapon of the region is the blowgun (pls. 7, 
left; 73; 74; 110, top); it is conspicuous in the western tribes of the 
Guianas, on the upper Amazon, and in adjoining districts, and it appears 
as far south as the Pawumwa of the Guaporé River and in the gallery 
forests of the Province of Mojos. In many of these localities, however, 
it is recent, and it never reached the Tupinamba nor the tribes of the 
lower Madeira, Tapajéz, Xingu, and Tocantins Rivers. Its diffusion 
seems clearly to have been from the north or northwest, and, although 
availability of materials for its manufacture may have conditioned its 
local occurrence, its wide post-Columbian spread, as Nordenskiold has 
suggested, may have hinged on that of curare. Curare is the deadly 
poison which makes the slim darts effective and led various tribes to 
supplant their earlier spear throwers and bows with blowguns (Norden- 
skidld, 1924 b, pp. 57-64, map 7; also, this vol., pp. 33, 355). So rapidly 
and widely has the blowgun spread that Stirling (1938) has even sug- 
gested its post-Conquest introduction to the New World. 

The blowgun is used solely for hunting, never for warfare. 

The blowgun may consist of two complete tubes, one within the other ; 
or of an inner tube within a case of two split halves; or of a single tube 
composed of two split halves each carefully grooved and tightly strapped 
together. The length may be anywhere from 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 m.) 
or even 16 feet (4.8 m.). A sudden puff of breath applied to a small 
truncate mouthpiece forces out the dart, which is usually of palmwood 
the thickness of a knitting needle, from 9 to 16 inches (23 to 40 cm.) 
in length, and tipped with the poison. Curare may kill the quarry within 
a few minutes. A good marksman will strike his target at a distance 
of 120 feet (36 m.). The noiselessness of the procedure enables the 
natives to shoot from its perch one bird or monkey after another; which 
explains their preference of the blowgun to firearms. Quivers are 
variously made: the Aiari River Indians make a basketry tube about 
17 inches (43 cm.) long and constricted toward the middle, the bottom 
being of wood or a piece of calabash. The lower part is externally coated 
with pitch, the rest with a finer plaitwork which displays the black and 
red meander patterns typical of the regional basketwork and also painted 
on pottery. Elsewhere, a section of bamboo is used. 


12 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Since neither the requisite wood or cane nor the poison is of general 
occurrence, the blowgun and its accessories are traded over considerable 
distances. 

However, the presence of the blowgun does not exclude the bow, which 
serves against larger quadrupeds even in the center of the blowgun area. 
Tropical Forest bows are notable for their great length—those of the 
Sirion6 are 9 feet (2.8 m.) long with arrows to match—perhaps neces- 
sitated by the common use of palmwood, especially chonta. The material 
for the stave varies locally, however; leopardwood (Brosimum aubletit) 
is traded between Brazil and Guiana. Among a few tribes, the median 
cross section is circular, but among most it is semicircular or flat. 

The bowstring is of wild-plant fibers, particularly tucum. Arrows 
nearly everywhere have cane shafts and five types of heads: (1) A large, 
lanceolate bamboo blade (pl. 6, left, bottom) ; (2) a jagged, rodlike point 
of hardwood, bone, or a sting ray, often with additional barbs; (3) a 
blunt knobbed head for stunning birds; (4) several diverging points 
for impaling fish; and (5) harpoon heads for aquatic game. Additional 
types of limited distribution are whistling arrows, with a hollow nut 
on the tip, and incendiary arrows. Stone, being unknown throughout 
most of the area, is rarely employed for heads. 

To make an arrow in the Guianas, the barbed tip formerly was fixed 
in a slot tediously prepared by first drilling holes adjoining one another 
with a deer-horn tool, with which the intervening material was removed. 
Wedged in this groove, the bone was fastened with twine and cement. 
The shaft is of arrow reed (Gynerium saccharoides), sometimes specially 
grown for the purpose. It is two-feathered if intended for the air, 
unfeathered for shooting fish. 

Poison is employed on arrow points much less commonly than on 
blowgun darts. Sometimes curare is used, sometimes other ingredients. 

As for the release, the Aiari River Indians hold the nock of the 
arrow between the thumb and index, the other fingers merely pressing 
against the palm of the hand. This primary release is noted for the 
Guianas, where Roth, however, also observed the string pressed upon 
by the index finger alone. The Avawakan Baniva (upper Orinoco River) 
draw their bows with their feet ; and on the upper Rio Negro, a nocturnal 
fish-hunter pulls his string and the extra short shaft with his mouth 
while holding his bow in his left hand and a torch in his right (Koch- 
Griinberg, 1921, p. 246). 

Recently, thrusting spears of wood tipped with lanceolate iron points 
are used against peccaries and jaguars on the upper Rio Negro. Anciently, 
the metal heads may have been preceded by quartz or jasper equivalents, 
such as occur archeologically in northwestern coastal British Guiana. 

Domesticated animals and pets.—Dogs are found among nearly all 
the Tropical Forest tribes, but their aboriginal distribution is open to 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE as 


question, despite their pre-Columbian occurrence in the Andes and the 
Antilles. Failure of the early chroniclers to mention them casts doubt 
on their antiquity in the Amazon area, but their general importance to 
the chase mitigates the conclusiveness of this negative evidence. At least 
in the Guianas and vicinity, the dogs seem to be cross-bred from the 
indigenous ones and European imports. The Nambicuara, however, 
obtained theirs from the Rondon expedition. 

Several tribes exhibit incipient stages of beekeeping. The Paressi 
keep bees (Trigona jati) in gourd hives (p. 351); the Macuna and the 
Menimehe, in a section of a hollow log tied to a house beam, and hanging 
6 feet (2 m.) above the ground (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 385; Whiffen, 
1915, p. 51). (For American distribution, see Nordenskiold, 1930 c, 
pp. 196-210.) 

The Muscovy duck (see Handbook, vol. 6) was kept under domestica- 
tion by the Guarani, and probably by the Tupinamba, the Mojo, and the 
Montana tribes. 

Pigs and chickens were widely adopted from Europeans, and, in the 
grasslands of the Province of Mojos, cattle. The Mojo had many cattle, 
but the Maropa were better herders (p. 443). 

As pets, the Indians keep all sorts of birds and beasts, including 
monkeys and agoutis. Women often suckle young mammals as they 
would their own offspring. 

Fishing.—Both nonhorticultural populations like the Mura of the lower 
Madeira River (p. 258; also Bates, 1892, p. 327) and many northwest 
Brazilian manioc growers were above all fishermen, and even elsewhere 
within the area the relevant processes were important. Of these, drugging 
was probably the most productive (pl. 109, top). Over a hundred narcotic 
species are known to have been applied, many of them in the Amazon- 
Orinoco region. (See Handbook, vol. 5; also Killip and Smith, 1931.) 
Perhaps the most graphic account is by Spix and Martius (1823-31, 
3 1063-1065), which states that large quantities of timbo tendrils were 
crushed and carried in boats along the surface of the water, causing the 
fish to become dizzy and to leap up or drift unresistingly till they could 
be shot or picked up by hand. 

Another widespread practice is to shoot fish with bows and arrows, 
(pls. 6, right; 109, bottom), a technique extended with detachable heads 
(harpoon arrows) to turtles (pl. 48, bottom). Fish spears (pl. 6, top, 
left) are also commonly used. 

Nets with sinkers had a very restricted distribution in pre-Columbian 
South America, and are lacking in our area, owing, no doubt, largely 
to the many trees and branches in the rivers that would render them 
useless. But dip nets (pl. 101, center) are widespread, especially on the 
upper Amazon, where they are made of tough tucum fiber. 


14. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Basketwork is used in various ways to entrap fish. In very shallow 
water or mud an open-mouthed basket is thrown over the fish, which 
are extracted by hand through the orifice. Widespread is the use of 
creels and basketry traps. 

Weirs (pl. 89, top) and stone dams, combined with bailing out water 
from the enclosed area or with drugging, are often constructed with 
great care. 

In contrast to the Andean hooks of copper and gold, the fishhooks of the 
Amazon-Orinoco—if present at all—were of bone, wood, or spines. In 
Witoto mythology there is a reference to a naturally barbed hook made 
of a bat’s elbow (Preuss, 1921, 1:71). Bait, which is also used to lure 
fish within arrow range, consists of berries, seeds, ants, spiders, etc. 

(For Fishing, see Roth, 1924, pp. 189-201; Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 
242-257; Nordenskidld, 1924 b, pp. 86-102, maps, 8-11; 1922, pp. 
131-133.) 

The habits of fish in the upper Rio Negro country locally necessitate 
an adaptive nomadism. Though the Indians of the Caiari-Vaupés dis- 
trict with its abundant supply throughout the year can afford stability, 
the minor streams elsewhere dry up from December to March, so that 
the fish retreat to the main rivers and the natives must follow suit, ex- 
ploiting one locality after another until even larger species ascend the 
tributaries. For the 3-month migratory period the Indians provide them- 
selves with basketfuls of large dried manioc cakes. 

Food preparation.—The preparation of manioc cakes and pellets has 
already been sketched. After the starchy sediment of the expressed 
juice has settled, the water is poured off and boiled for several hours 
with peppers, being thus thickened into “cassarip.” This somewhat 
acid broth may receive additions such as meat, small fish, or even ants. 
All animal food is boiled with water or cassarip, yielding the character- 
istic “pepper pot,” meat being thus boiled daily by way of preserving it. 

Typical is the baking and smoke-drying of meat or fish, which would 
rapidly spoil in the humid climate, on a “‘babracot,” 1.e., a three- or four- 
legged stage (fig. 1, d, e; pl. 117, bottom, right). On the Orinoco, sun- 
dried fish are pulverized without removal of the bones, mixed with water, 
and reduced to a paste. In the same region a turtle would be placed in 
a pit in the ground and covered with sand, a big fire being lit on top. 
In Guiana and on the Amazon quantities of turtle eggs are placed on 
frames and dried over a slow fire or in the sun. The oil is extracted by 
trampling the eggs in a canoe and skimming it off the top. It is used 
for anointment, cooking, and lighting, and is a favorite article of barter. 

For mealing there are wooden pestles and mortars, the latter being 
sunk into the ground in Guiana and elsewhere so that only a few inches 
project above ground (pl. 8, bottom). The pestle, which has an ill- 
defined head, is here used with a grinding rather than stamping movement. 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 15 


Ficure 1.—Tropical Forest crafts, a, Mojo pottery grinder and mano; b, Chimane 
wood slab and stone mano; c, Chacobo wooden trough and block for food grinding ; 
d, Bacairi babracot; e, Chacobo babracot. (After Nordenskiold, 1924 b, maps 
16, 15.) 


653333—47—4 


16 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The former use of stone querns, pestles, and mortars is proved by 
museum specimens in British Guiana (Roth, 1924, pl. 82). Nearer the 
Andes, a wooden grinding trough (fig. 1, c) is used instead of the mortar, 
but a flat stone slab (fig. 1, b) is employed by the Chimane. Pottery 
grinders (fig. 1, a) have been found archeologically in the Province of 
Mojos. 

Women boil food, men bake or broil it. 

For griddles, naturally split slabs of granite and gneiss have been 
used even in recent times. More commonly the stoves are of clay and 
rest on blocks of the same material (pl. 90, center). Pots are similarly 
put either on stones arranged tripod-fashion or on three clay cylinders. 

Salt, though comparatively rare, is imported from other regions or 
obtained directly from saline incrustations in the savanna and from the 
ashes of certain palms (Roth, 1924, p. 221 et seq.). 

There are usually two main meals, in the morning and evening, respec- 
tively. Husband and wife in general eat separately. 

Geophagy occurs in the area, e.g., commonly in the Jurua-Purus region. 
The Caripuna of Bolivia eat a salty earth. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Dwellings and other structures—The mode of settlement varies. 
Some houses are designed to accommodate single families, others to hold 
many families (pls. 30, top; 81, bottom; 126). One structure of either 
type may constitute a village, or several may be scattered in near proximity 
to one another or grouped to form a compact hamlet (pl. 106, bottom). 

Possibly a thousand Yuracare are spread over an enormous silvan tract, 
along the Chimoré River and other affluents of the Mamoré River, one 
or two families living by themselves, often miles from their neighbors. 
The primeval forest virtually starts at the rear walls of their dwellings, 
which are usually on sites affording at least provisional security from 
periodic inundations. Characteristic of many groups in the culture area 
is the large communal house of, say, 20 to 70 residents (Yecuana and 
Guinau) ; Tupari (Guaporé River) houses are said to shelter up to 35 
families. A Tupinamba village consists of 4 to 8 houses, each accommo- 
dating 30 to 200 families. Often a single structure, or a pair of this type, 
accommodates the entire population (Aiari River). Here, too, safety 
from the annual overflowing of the banks determines the choice of a site, 
which is also selected for proximity to potable creek water and for the 
fertility of the soil. Elsewhere other motives occur, such as security from 
attack or even availability of potter’s clay (in Surinam), some Carib 
tribes allegedly clinging to the edge of savannas for the latter reason. 
The Palicur put up small clusters of habitations on safe forested islands 
rising from the savanna or on the savanna itself. Waterways connect one 
hut with another, but become unnavigable or even dry in midsummer, 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 1 


so that visitors must cross series of long logs embedded in the mud. Along 
the Amazon River, Carvajal observed in 1542 that the houses formed an 
almost continuous village. 

Genuine villages are not wholly lacking even where normally the people 
live in one or two houses. Thus, the Macushi developed an original hamlet 
of two dwellings into an aggregation of 12, ranged in two streets, though 
this enlarged settlement, partly due to missionary influence, was reserved 
for festive use. The Guarani set four or eight rectangular houses round 
a central square plaza, with a double or even triple stockade enclosing 
the hamlet. Palisades are also attested for the Tupinamba (figs. 6, top; 
11, top; 12, left), the Guarani, Tupi-Cawahib, and for some of the Guiana 
Arawak and Carib tribes. 

The two main types of dwellings differ according to their round or 
oblong group plan. Nordenskidld (1924 b, 3:24 et seq.) suspected the 
aboriginal character of rectangular houses outside the Andean region. 
Unquestionably right in contending that many native groups rapidly 
adopted the rectangular plan of White neighbors, he seems to have gone 
too far, for (Friederici, 1925, p. 53) there are sundry unexceptionable 
early references to oblong houses, e.g., near the Yapura confluence. 

As a matter of fact, several types must be distinguished. The Palicur 
anciently occupied beehive huts with walls and roof merging; a low en- 
trance was closed at night in order to exclude mosquitoes. Another form, 
shared by Arawakan and Cariban groups, has palm-leaf thatch covering 
two rows of elastic rods bent over to yield a pointed arch. Widespread 
(Taulipdng, Wapishana, early Mojo, etc.) is a conical roof on a cylin- 
drical substructure, which either remains unenclosed or is walled with 
bark, wood, leaves, or mud, all these variations sometimes occurring 
within the same tribe. When small, such huts have a single, low entrance ; 
otherwise there will be two doors on opposite sides, reserved for men 
and women, respectively. An important variant results when two or 
even three posts connected by a small ridge pole take the place of the 
single post terminating in the apex of the cone. The ground plan thus 
grows somewhat elliptical. However, one or even both gables may be 
made straight instead of rounded. Thus, there is a genetic tie between 
the circular and the rectangular forms. Indeed, on the Vaupés River, where 
Wallace saw houses semicircular in the back but otherwise parallelo- 
grams in outline, Koch-Griinberg found a wholly rectangular ground 
plan. Some of these houses are immense, one described by Wallace being 
115 feet (34.5 m.) long, 75 feet (22.5 m.) wide, and 30 feet (9.1 m.) 
in height and regularly inhabited by about 100 persons, with three or 
four times that number on festive occasions. The doors are regularly on 
the gable sides. 

Among the simplest habitations of the area are those of the semi- 
nomadic Nambicuara, who most of the year content themselves in the 


18 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


wind-screens (pl. 37, center, left), resorting to palm-thatched beehive 
huts (pl. 37, top, left) during the rainy season, and of the Piraha, who 
make only temporary, flimsy shelters. 

Pile dwellings are found among various tribes, especially in Guiana 
and vicinity, not only on the coast or in the swampy Warrau country, but 
also far in the interior, on dry and even hilly terrain. Koch-Griinberg 
(1923 a, 3: 23) and Nordenskidld (1920, p. 4 f.) suggest that these struc- 
tures are survivals from a period when their builders inhabited swampy or 
coastal districts. Granaries on piles occur among the Chiriguano. 

The impermanence of settlement in a particular locality is usually 
owing to the exhaustion of the soil, but also to disease and death, 
especially that of a chief. Hence, the population of a tract cannot be 
directly determined by the number of house sites. 

Furniture.—From the time of Columbus’ second voyage the hammock 
(pls. 101, right; 107, bottom), first noted in Santo Domingo as a regular 
contrivance for sleeping, has loomed as diagnostic of the Forest culture 
at its core, contrasting with the marginal Nambicuara custom of sleeping 
on the ground and the platform bed of the Ge and of the Montafia (figs. 
88, 91, 102). The hammock has, however, spread widely within historic 
times, being adopted for repose during the day rather than for sleeping 
at night (p. 833). It is made of cotton, ite (Mauritia), tucum, and other 
materials, 

Another household article is a low stool or bench carved from one 
solid block (pl. 93, bottom; figs. 19, 122), frequently in the shape of an 
animal. The height may be over 1 foot (30.5 cm.) but sometimes does 
not exceed 3 inches (8 cm.). Special decorations appear on the shaman’s 
settee. Simpler are the plain tripod stools cut from a root or a forked 
branch with little alteration of the natural growth. 

Utensils comprise gourd bottles for drinking water and larger ones 
for fermented beverages; calabashes; wooden troughs in the west; vari- 
ous clay vessels; mats; diverse baskets and basketry strainers (pl. 117, 
bottom, left). The finer treasure baskets rest on crossbeams, which may 
also support drinking gourds in bunches, carrying baskets, etc., some- 
times suspended from hooks. The only illumination is from the family 
fireplaces at night and from whatever light penetrates the narrow en- 
trance but for special occasions torches are made from a lump of rosin 
glued to the tip of a firebrand. 

Three stones or clay cylinders serve as a tripod for the cooking vessels 
in the Orinoco and Vaupés River country. 


ENGINEERING WORKS 


Roads.—True roads are often wanting in the forest region, where the 
traveler breaks branches to guide him. Between Berbice and Essequibo 
the trail was barely 12 inches (30.5 cm.) wide and marked by notches 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 19 


in the trees. In descending walls of rock, crude ladders are sometimes 
made of rungs lashed to poles. Leaves and spars provide a sort of cause- 
way over swampy or muddy ground. The Mojo or their predecessors 
built up long causeways, each paralleled by a ditch or canal (p. 416). In 
Palicur country the waterways become unpassable in midsummer, hence 
long tree trunks are laid end to end in the mire to afford transit. 

In the upper Rio Negro country the Indians frequently pass from one 
river to another by following traditional trails affording an easy portage. 
Thus, the Tiquié River is connected with the Papury and even with the 
Yapura River (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 171-172). 

Bridges.— Bridges are simple, typically consisting of a tree of suitable 
height chopped to fall across the water and provided with a handrail. 
The Guaharibo build more complex bridges (p. 863). 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Clothing.— Originally the natives mostly went naked (pl. 6), as early 
17th-century observers noted for both sexes along the Oyapock River. 
A penis sheath or other cover, rather accentuating than removing the 
impression of nakedness, is widespread (Nordenskidld, 1924 b, p. 147 
et seq., map 19). Among the Cubeo and their neighbors in the Caiari- 
Vaupés region, women wear a tiny rectangular apron suspended from 
a cord of white beads (pl. 104). The men content themselves with a 
perineal band of red bast. On the lower Apaporis River a wide and long 
girdle of white bast is wrapped tight around the abdomen and fastened 
with a black strip of bast (pl. 104) ; and a girdle-cord supports a kilt of 
narrow bast strips descending to the feet. Usually part, and sometimes 
all, of the strips are pulled through between the legs and secured behind 
under the girdle, but those who wear the bast jock-strap customary on 
the Caiari River allow the kilt to hang down unconfined (Koch-Griin- 
berg, 1921, pp. 271, 380). 

When traveling over rocky tracts, savanna dwellers quickly make for 
themselves sandals from the bases of Mauritia leaves, the string being 
from the fiber of the leaves of this palm. More durable, but harder are 
- equivalents of deer and tapir hide. 

The paucity of clothes markedly contrasts with the profusion of bodily 
decoration. 

Probably owing to Andean influence, the tribes of the western periphery 
of the area wear more complete garments—the cushma of the Montana 
(pl. 49, bottom) and the tipoy of Bolivia. 

Featherwork.—Feather crowns were mainly of two types, according 
to whether the frame was fixed vertically or horizontally like the brim 
of a European hat, with the feathers inserted between its double edges 
and projecting in the same plane (Roth, 1924, p. 429 et seq., pl. 137). 
The foundation of the vertical type is a ring-shaped band with projecting 


20 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


rim above and often below also; this band is basketwork, typically twilled. 
The feathers, fixed in rows on cotton twine, were woven into a cotton 
band tied behind and supported in upright position by a cotton fillet 
sewed to them in front. The Mojo, anciently noted for feather mosaics 
that realistically represented animals and men, still make impressive 
feather crowns (Nordenskiold, 1924 b, p. 205 f.; 1922, pls. 27, 28). 

There are likewise feather frontlets, collars, and cloaks for men (see 
pl. 123); and at festivals the participants have small feathers or down 
glued on their body (Roth, 1924, p. 425). 

The Chiriguano came to supplant feather ornaments with frontlets of 
Andean type displaying metal plaques. 

Tattoo.—Complete tattooing is not widespread, but seems authenticated 
for the Cariban Trio, the Yuracare, Shipaya, and the Munduruch (p. 275; 
also Spix and Martius, 1823-31, 3: 1312). The last had half ellipses 
on the face, with many parallel lines descending over the chin to the chest, 
which was ornamented with diamonds while the back also bore designs. 
But forearms of Wapishana and Taulipang women have been tattooed in 
recent decades, and facial tattoo with conspicuous curvilinear patterns, 
often of fishhook shape, was common. The pigment, sometimes mixed 
with honey, was injected with a palm spine, the lancetlike fang of a certain 
fish, or a fishbone. Among the Tupinamba and many other tribes both 
sexes tattooed. 

In the Roraima region tattoo is associated with puberty and has magical 
significance. 

Nordenskidld (1919 a, p. 120) has suggested that tattoo and genipa 
paint are negatively correlated. 

Painting.—Body and face paint (pls. 85, 86, 88) are widespread, the 
most common pigments being red uruct derived from the seeds of Bixa 
orellana and bluish-black genipa from the fruit of the Genipa americana; 
both species are cultivated by the natives. These pigments occur beyond 
the Tropical Forest culture, being popular among the Ge and traded into 
the Chaco. Another widely diffused pigment is carayuru, obtained by 
fermenting the leaves of Bignonia chica or boiling the water in which 
they are soaked. Genipa designs remain indelible for 9 days and more, 
which has led travelers to confound them with tattooing. Pigments may 
be applied for prophylactic as well as esthetic purposes (Roth 1924, p. 
88 et seq.). 

In the Roraima country the designs vary greatly and, apart from 
facial decoration, are executed by the women. Elaborate geometrical 
patterns appear, but also realistic representations of birds and mammals, 
as well as highly conventional forms of dubious significance (Koch- 
Grunberg, 1923, 3: 40-45). The Guarani and Yuracare apply body 
paint with a stamp (fig. 66, a, c, d). 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 21 


Miscellaneous ornaments.—An indefinite number of decorative de- 
vices occur, some being shared with other regions. Besides finger rings 
suspected of Negro or White origin and the feather decoration (p. 19), 
there are labrets for the lower lip (as many as a dozen among the 
Mayoruna (pl. 51), whence their name, Barbudo) ; nose sticks; earplugs ; 
crowns and frontlets; necklaces and chest ornaments of teeth, claws, or 
seeds; armlets of palm leaf, bark, beaded string, or cotton; bracelets of 
bark, feathers, or seeds; belts of basketwork, cotton bands, fruit shells, 
or hair; and leg ornaments. The calves of Carib women’s legs are thrown 
into relief by pairs of tight-fitting bands of woven cotton around the 
knees and ankles respectively, as noted on Columbus’ voyages. (See 
pl. 38.) 

Along the Rio Negro affluents, men generally wear quartz cylinders as 
neck pendants. These cylinders, about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm.) long 
and an inch (2.5 cm.) in diameter, are worn from a cord of palm fiber 
on which glossy, black seeds have been strung. (Roth, 1924, pp. 412-49; 
Koch-Grtinberg, 1921, pp. 205 f.) 

Ornaments of gold and silver were reported from the Amazon (p. 694) 
and from tribes in contact with the Andean civilizations. So was arti- 
ficial deformation of the head (p. 694). 


TRANSPORTATION 


Carrying devices.—For carrying minor utensils there are various 
pouches, such as a small bark sack for coca and paint and a flat mat 
satchel. On the Apaporis River the men carry their fire apparatus, 
scarifying implement, and sundries in a rectangular bag knitted of palm- 
fiber string (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 384). Throughout most of the 
area both sexes transport heavy loads in a basketry knapsack resting 
against the back and supported by a plaited tumpline passing above 
rather than across the forehead (pl. 121, top, right) ; the bearer relieves 
the pressure by thrusting his arms through lateral loops, which may be 
temporarily used to the exclusion of the head band in order to rest the 
neck and head. The carrying net, so popular in the Chaco, is generally 
lacking but appears among the Guarani in the extreme south, where, how- 
ever, skin bags seem to have preceded it. 

Infants are carried in a cotton baby sling made after the same pattern 
as hammocks. The sling passes over the mother’s right shoulder (pl. 26, 
left) and is pushed rearward by a woman when working in her planta- 
tion so that the child is then supported on her back. 

Boats.—Transportation by water is diagnostic of the culture at its core, 
especially in contrast to the Ge of eastern Brazil (Handbook, vol. 2), but 
many tribes living either between navigable rivers or on small streams at 
the headwaters of the main rivers lacked any craft. Thus, the Shiriand, 
Waica, Guaharibo, and Curicuriari River Macu, many tribes of the upper 


o SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Napo and Putumayo Rivers and elsewhere along the eastern slopes of 
the Andes, the Maué, and the Nambicuara had no canoes. They crossed 
watercourses on logs or by swimming; some of the tribes constructed 
rafts. Many tribes which aboriginally lacked canoes, having kept away 
from rivers to avoid the strong, hostile tribes living along them, adopted 
canoes when White penetration brought peace to their country, and when 
steel axes became available to facilitate canoe construction. 


In general, Indians not only utilized natural waterways, but also skill- 
fully dragged their craft over rapids. Further, where the several tribu- 
taries of a river or the affluents of distinct systems approach one another, 
the natives have established traditional land routes or portages to eke 
out the connection by water. Finally, the Casiquiare River (pl. 5, top, 
right and bottom) links the upper Rio Negro, hence the Amazon, with 
the Orinoco River. Given the Indians’ skill in coping with swift water 
and other obstructions, one easily understands the wide diffusion of 
many traits characteristic of the area not merely over the mainland, but 
even to the Antilles. Amazing similarities between these islands and in- 
terior districts (Santarém) have been emphasized by Nimuendaju, Nor- 
denskidld, and Palmatary (1939). 


The crafts used include simple rafts, often made of very light balsa 
wood (pl. 71; fig. 95, a), dugouts (fig. 67), and bark canoes (figs. 56; 
Obs ibs 123) . 

After felling and rough-hewing a tree for a dugout, the Indians orig- 
inally applied fire at the top, gradually burning out the wood to an even 
thickness, then filling the hollow with water, and at the same time keep- 
ing up a gentle fire outside. In order further to widen the boat, they 
might insert crossbeams (pl. 94, top). A tvpical specimen measured 
33 ft. (10 m.) in length, 21 in. (53 cm.) in width, and 14 in. (35 cm.) 
in depth. On the Guiana coast, dugouts had a plank added along the 
side to form a gunwale. On long journeys a tent is added to protect 
the goods. Such substances as the bruised sapwood of the Brazil-nut 
tree (Bertholletia excelsa) serve for calking. Square sails of cotton, 
palm-leaf matting, or laths split from the leaf stalk of Mauritia were 
customary. 


Bark canoes (pls. 6, right; 27; 32) occur among some tribes of the 
Amazon Basin and the Guianas, where they are generally restricted to 
shallow water on the upper reaches of the streams. On the Berbice 
River the Indians generally make a single piece of the purpleheart (Pel- 
togyne purpurea) bark into a canoe, and other trees are used elsewhere 
for the same purpose. A “wood-skin” of this type, which may be as 
long as 25 to 30 ft. (7.5 to 9.1 m.), holds 3 men with their baggage. 
Easily capsized, this craft has compensatory advantages—floating where 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 23 


an ordinary dugout could not pass, and being easily carried on the head 
over a portage. 

In very shallow water the Indians pole their boats; otherwise they 
propel them with paddles having leaf-shaped or circular blades and usually 
a crescentic handle. 


MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—One center for bark cloth lies in northwestern Bolivia 
(Nordenskidld, 1924 b, p. 208 et seq., maps 28 and 30) ; another among 
the Tucanoans, Zéparoans, Jivaro, and Arawak of the upper Amazon. 
The industry characterizes none of the three major stocks of our area, 
but rather such marginal groups as the Witoto (pl. 83), Tucano, Campa, 
Yuracare, and Chacobo. The inner layer of the Ficus bark usually pro- 
vides the material, which is beaten out with a grooved mallet. (See pl. 
94, bottom; p. 779.) Among the Yuracare this craft is vital, producing 
men’s and women’s shirts, which are stamped with painted designs ; baby 
slings; pouches ; and mosquito nets. Bast shirts are also typical of mas- 
culine dress among the Chacobo (Nordenskidld, 1922, pp. 60, 94, 95). 
The Tucano use bark cloth for mummers’ masks and costumes and for 
images (pl. 64). 

Basketry.—The Shiriand, Waica, Carajd, and Guaharibo make only 
twined baskets, perhaps a survival of the earliest technique. (For twining 
technique, see pl. 95, bottom, right.) Twilling (pl. 95, bottom, left) and 
latticework (fig. 2) are very widespread. For Guiana are recorded such 


a 
b. 
Ficure 2.—Tropical Forest basketwork of lattice type. a, Common hexagonal weave 
of Amazon Basin; b, special lattice weave of Mato Grosso. (After Nordenskidld, 
1924 b, map 27.) 


additional techniques as checker, wrapping, and imbrication. (Koch- 
Grinberg, 1921, pp. 340-342; 1923, 3: 80-85; Roth, 1924, pp. 137-143, 
281-380; Gillin, 1936, p. 51 et seq.) Vines, palms, and other tropical 
species furnish ideal materials for this industry. The nibi vine (Carlu- 
dovica trigona) is split in half, then the convex outer surface is split 


24 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


off from each piece, yielding a flat, ribbonlike, flexible, and tough strip, 
which is scraped with a knife. 

Basketry articles (pl. 22) include mats, satchels, trays, creels, oblong 
basketry boxes with lids, two-piece telescoping containers, carrying 
baskets (pl. 6, left, bottom) manioc presses, and fans. Some utensils 
are in openwork, others closely woven, but in either case they can be 
waterproofed with broad leaves or pitch, the latter attested for Ama- 
zonian tribes by Acufia (1641). 

It is noteworthy that basketry is a masculine industry. 

The remarkable esthetic effects attained in basketry are treated under 
Art (p. 39). 

Weaving and cordage.—Since major garments are as a rule lacking, 
loom work includes mainly hammocks, baby slings, anklets, fillets, waist 
bands, and the like. (See Roth, 1924, pp. 92-118, 381-411.) Complete 
clothing—the tipoy, cushma, and, in some tribes, the poncho—is woven 
only near the Andes. In the eastern part of our area, cotton predominates, 
though not to the exclusion of other materials. It is grown somewhat 
less on the upper Amazon and its tributaries; in the Rio Negro region, 
it is either lacking or little cultivated, and a term for the species is absent 
from the Arawakan dialects there (Nimuendaju, personal communica- 
tion). Even among tribes which cultivate cotton, there is sometimes a 
preference for wild fibers, which often better withstand heat and moisture. 
Favorite materials for thread are the fibers of burity palm (Mauritia 
flexuosa), from which a very fine cloth called cachibanco is made; jauary 
palm (Astrocaryum jauary); curaua (Bromeliaceae) ; embira (Coura- 
tari sp.) ; tucum (the fiber of several palms called tucuma) ; Cecropia; 
and other wild species. On the upper Tiquié River, men make balls of 
tough cordage and trade them to alien tribes against curare. 

True loom weaving has a high, though incomplete, correlation with 
cotton. Probably the distinctive type, called “cincture,” or vertical loom 
(M. Schmidt, 1914, 4: 214), is one consisting of two uprights perforated 
top and bottom to permit the insertion of cross beams around which the 
parallel warp threads are looped, the anterior and posterior ones being 
separated by a movable rod, while a thinner stick divides the even and 
odd threads (during the process of manufacture). When the fabric 
is complete, it forms a ring. (Fig. 3; pl. 115, top; also Nordenskiold, 
1919 a, p. 204 et seq.; 1920, p. 174 et seq.). This loom is found in the 
Guianas, west to the Rio Negro, and south to the Yuracare of Bolivia. 
As it is common to several linguistic families, including the Cariban, 
Max Schmidt’s characterization of it as “Avawak” seems premature. 
Bordering the Andes, many tribes use a horizontal loom, the “belt loom” 
being most common. One end of the loom is attached to a tree or house 
post, the other to the weaver’s belt. 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 25 


Lacking a loom, tribes such as the Tucanoans, Witotoans, and most 
of the Tupi including the Tupinamba, finger weave, producing a twined 
fabric. Netting is restricted to the southern tribes. On the upper Xingu, 
netted hammocks and carrying bags as well as fish nets occur along with 
a twined and a true weave. 


Ficure 3—Loom for manufacture of thick hammocks. Upper Rio Negro country, 
Colombia. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1906 a.) 


Pottery.—Pottery is general, but by no means universally manufac- 
tured, earthenware being widely exported from centers of production. 
The Eastern Nambicuara completely lack the industry, and their congeners 
make very coarse ware. To some extent the industry naturally depends 
on the availability of good clay. The view that the Arawakans, unless 
checked by lack of such material, are uniformly the donors remains an 
improbable hypothesis (Linné, 1925, pp. 162-169). In eastern Peru, for 
example, Avawakan ware is definitely inferior to Panoan or Tupian 
(pp. 577-578), and there is at present no basis for assigning the advanced 
Marajé and Santarém ceramics to the Arawakans. It is only in a few 
centers, such as the upper Rio Xingu country, that the Arawak have a 
monopoly of pottery making; and if the Arawak introduced elaborate 
wares to eastern Bolivia, there is no proof that they did so elsewhere. 

As a rule, women make earthenware, but among the Yecuand and 
Guinau, the industry is wholly masculine (Koch-Griinberg, 1923 a, 3: 
347). 


96 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


For tempering, the use of sand, shell, and pounded sherds is rare 
within the area. Very distinctive, on the other hand, is the addition of 
the ashes from siliceous bark (Amazon Basin, Orinoco, and Guiana), 
reasonably assumed to have supplanted the earlier, less effective use of 
sand. The proportion of bark and clay varies, presumably with the 
consistency of the clay, which on the banks of the Amazon would be 
unserviceable without a siliceous admixture. The Amazon and its affluents 
form the center for the addition of burnt and crushed sponges found on 
the roots of riparian trees, the spicules greatly strengthening the material, 
as proved by Santarém ware (Linné, 1925, pp. 29-59). 

Coiling (pl. 62, bottom, left), the most widespread technique, is il- 
lustrated by the Rio Negro tribes. A vessel is coiled, smoothed with a 
bit of gourd, and finally polished with a pebble, which is often highly 
prized (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 344). The potter next dries her vessel 
for several days indoors and then for an equal period in the sun. For 
firing, she inverts the pot in a shallow pit, where it rests on a few stones, 
surrounds it with light wood topped with dry bark, and exposes it to 
a strongly concentrated fire. 

Slip seems restricted to the Marajo-Santarém region and the Montafa. 
Varnish, made of rosin, e. g., from Vismia guianensis, or a copal, e. g., 
from the courbaril tree (Hymenaea courbaril), is applied in the Amazon 
Basin, and especially by the modern Carib in Guiana. Thus, the Barama 
Carib use a certain juice, mildly re-heating the vessel so that the gum 
melts and seeps into the pores. This also creates a glazed appearance, 
which vanishes with use. The Icana Arawak sprinkle powdered rosin 
or the milk of a tree over the painted designs, which thus assume a 
glossy varnish on firing. (Pp. 155-159; also Linné, 1925, pp. 141-154; 
Koch-Grtinberg, 1921 p. 345; Roth, 1924, p. 133.) 

Painted pottery is best developed on the Guiana littoral, on Marajo 
Island, on the Tapajoz River, in the upper Rio Negro region, and in 
the Montafia and Yungas (pls. 15-18, 52; figs. 16, 17, 36, 60, 73-75, 111, 
112). The Chiriguano de luxe ware is outstanding for its painted decora- 
tion of Andean type, whereas utensils merely bear fingerprint decora- 
tion. Negative painting on vessels from Rebordello, on the lower Amazon, 
is noteworthy (Linné, 1925, p. 136). Painted vessels naturally are re- 
served for special use—storage, chicha containers, vessels for serving 
guests, and the like. Utility ware is generally plain and is decorated, 
if at all, with incisions and fingernail impressions. Modeled ware is 
found mainly on the lower Amazon, e. g., Marajo (pp. 155-159), where 
its high development surpasses what might be expected of the historic 
tribes. It also occurs on the Parana River (pl. 9). 

The craftsmanship in our area is indicated by the variety of forms, 
especially of nonutilitarian types. Cooking pots and water containers 
are widespread. Roasting pans, with elevated margin, and plates are 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE a7 


well-developed in the northwest Amazon region. Vessels of unusual size 
are seen in chicha jars; these range from 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.3 m.) in 
diameter and height in the Montafa, to 3 feet (1 m.) high and 7 to 10 feet 
(2 to 3 m.) in diameter on the Rio Negro, where manioc-pulp bowls 
even attain a diameter of 10 to 14 feet (3 to4m.). The modern Palicur, 
though no longer capable of the fine urns of their ancestors, still make 
roasting pans for manioc flour, large drinking vessels, either conical- 
bottomed or with annular stand, double drinking vessels with a connect- 
ing bar, and a variety of clay toys representing turtles and other species 
(Nimuendaju, 1926, pp. 41-47). The coast of Guiana and northern 
Brazil generally abounds in oddly shaped effigy vessels anu in grotesque 
appendages of vessels (Roth, 1924, pp. 134-136). 

Amazing similarities in detail prove connections between Antillean and 
Santarém pottery (Nimuendaju reported in Nordenskidld, 1930 a). 

Gourds.—Calabashes (Crescentia) and gourds (Lagenaria) are of 
general importance as dippers, drinking cups, and storage vessels. In 
the Guaporé River and upper Xingu region, where pottery is crude, 
calabashes abound and are decorated either with incised or pyrographic 
designs. The Barama Carib have hemispherical cups and containers 
closed except for perforations of the neck or shoulder. The fruit is 
picked when completely ripe, the shell cut according to the intended 
purpose, and the pap removed, sometimes after loosening it by boiling the 
whole gourd. The calabash is then dried indoors or in the sun until 
tough and hard. The gourd may be coated with the juice applied to 
pottery but lacks decoration. As a precaution against the entrance of 
insects, one gourd is inverted over the mouth of another or the opening 
is plugged with clean grass (Gillin, 1936, p. 49). Other Guiana Indians, 
as well as Amazon and Rio Negro tribes, sometimes embellish gourds 
in painting or incised lines. The halved calabash of the Rio Negro 
tribes is polished brown on the outside, varnished black within, and some- 
times bears incised decoration on the rim or the entire outer surface 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 347; Roth, 1924, pp. 301-03). Pokerwork, 
though ascribed to the Kepikiriwat, Tariana, Macushi, and Wapishana, 
seems rare (Nordenskidld, 1919 a, p. 225 f.). Chiriguano gourds are 
artistically embellished with painted, incised, or pyrographic designs. 

Miscellaneous.—Fire making is generally by drilling (pl. 117, top; 
fig. 54). Various materials serve as shaft and hearth; and the Pomeroon 
Arawak have a compound shaft, the point from the fruit pedicel of a 
palm being too short so that it has to be tied to a longer stick. Moss, 
the debris from ant collections, cotton, etc., serve as tinder. To save 
effort the Indians keep fires burning, even carrying smoldering timber 
on an earthen hearth during boat trips. The Witoto facts are dubious, 
one authority denying to them any fire apparatus, another crediting them 


98 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


with a percussion technique, still another with drilling. Fires are activated 
with woven (pl. 47, top) or feather fans (fig. 78, a). 

For illumination the Guiana tribes have candles of rubber or cotton 
thread drawn through melted beeswax, or substitute gum and comparable 
materials (Roth, 1924, pp. 69-72). 

Rubber is probably derived from Sapium and Hevea species. Apart 
from use in ball games, it serves for the manufacture of rings and enema 
syringes. The Cayenne Indians boil the latex, then cover clay molds 
with several coatings of the boiled rubber, incise designs on it, dry it 
carefully over a fire, blacken it in the smoke, and finally break the molds 
(Roth, 1924, pp. 83-85; Nordenskiold, 1930 c, pp. 184-195). 

The Guiana Indians procure a glue from the gum of Moronobea 
coccinea, cutting into the trunk to make a yellowish gum exude, which 
is mixed with beeswax and powdered charcoal. It is either allowed to 
run as a semiliquid into a hollow bamboo or to harden at the bottom of 
a pot. This material serves to fasten arrow points, wax threads, and 
fishing lines, calking, etc. The whitish resin of Mimusops globosa also 
helps attach different parts of an arrow and the stones of cassava graters. 
Feathers are glued to the body with various gums and balsams, which 
are also remedies for sores and other ills. 

In much of the area the lack or rarity of stone leads to the use of 
substitutes. Arrowheads are of wood, bone, and sting-ray spurs, the 
occasionally reported stone points being highly suspect. In Guiana, 
knives are sometimes of quartz and perhaps other stones, but there and 
elsewhere, they are typically of bamboo, fish teeth, etc. Scrapers are 
of snail shell, the lower jaw of an agouti, slivers of rock removed in 
celt-manufacture, etc. The preparation of the highly prized quartz 
cylinders worn by men in the western part of our area is very exacting. 
The material is obtained from the depths of the forest along the Tiquié 
River ; percussion with another quartz roughly shapes the rock, which is 
then ground on sandstone and polished with fine sand or pumice im- 
ported from the Amazon via the Yapura River. Months are required 
for this labor and for the ensuing perforation. The Indian, holding the 
cylinder with his feet, twirls a pointed palmwood drill on the quartz, 
adding fine white sand, but no water. At the commencement of the 
perforating process, the smooth, round quartz is tipped with a lump of 
pitch until the pit is deep enough to prevent slipping out. Several shafts 
are worn out during the process, having to be constantly resharpened 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 205 f.). 

The most important stone tools, however, are the celt and the grooved 
ax (pls. 70, top; 118, e; fig. 45). They are made either by grinding 
down fragments broken from rocks or by grinding down water-worn 
pebbles of suitable contour. In the Apaporis River country, the Indians 
obtain diabase blades ground by nature so as to be almost ready 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 99 


for use and requiring only the slightest supplementary grinding (Koch- 
Grinberg, 1921, p. 374). Roth distinguishes elongate, curved celts with 
a cutting edge at each extremity; small straight-edged blades with butt 
trimmed for hafting; larger specimens with truncate butts and rounded 
cutting edges; and narrow flattened celts with markedly pointed butts. 
The grooved axes have a notch above and below, ranging widely as to 
width; the butt may be either very convex or rather squat and square. 

The hafting technique is far from clear. In the rare cases amenable 
to direct observation the celt is fitted into an opening cut to correspond 
to its base and secured with resin. Roth (1924, pp. 72-79) surmises 
that the blades are often held in the hand; that the grooves of the axes 
may be intended merely for the twine employed; and that the blunter ax 
may conceivably be fastened by a withy bent double and fixed with gum 
and twine. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Mode of settlement, matrimonial arrangements, and government are 
all closely interrelated and separable only for purposes of exposition. 

Settlement.—In many of the tribes the settlement consists of one or a 
few communal houses (maloca). Such arrangements imply some measure 
of communism, e. g., the joint use of a fireplace for beer manufacture 
or of a large trough for grinding maize. The population bears no constant 
ratio to the number of houses: a two-hut hamlet on the Aiari River 
harbored some 40 persons, whereas other single maloca settlements on 
this river had a numerical strength ranging from 10 to 100. If neces- 
sary, each could accommodate twice or even four times as many (Koch- 
Grinberg, 1921, pp. 42, 45). A Mangeroma (Jurua-Purts) house was 
found to have 258 residents; some Tenetehara and Tupinamba dwellings 
had nearly 1,000 persons. 

In several districts (e. g., Tapirapé, Caraja, Mundurucu, Chacobo) 
a men’s club house is set off from the family dwellings. 

Matrimonial residence.—In the western part of the area, patrilocal 
residence predominates along with local exogamy. Koch-Griinberg (1921, 
pp. 114 f., 211, 309) would have us believe that Tucanoans and neighbor- 
ing Arawakan invariably take wives from other tribes, a Siusi girl marry- 
ing a Huhuteni or Kaus suitor, a Bara girl a Tuyuca man. It seems 
more probable that custom merely prescribes taking a bride from another 
settlement, irrespective of its linguistic affinity. Goldman (p. 780) found 
the Tucanoan Cubeo to acquire wives outside the village, members of 
which formed an exogamous, patrilineal sib. Certainly Preuss’s Witoto 
“stamme” (1921, 1:11, 153 et seq.) suggest localized clans (Steward’s 
“patrilineal bands,” Gifford’s “‘lineages’”’) rather than “tribes” in ordinary 
parlance. 


30 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


In the Guianas, matrilocal residence prevails, coupled with bride-service. 
However, there are notable exceptions and qualifications. The Palicur 
have no fixed rule and regard an independent household as ideal (Nim- 
uendaju, 1926, p. 82). The Aparai, in contrast to fellow Caribans, are 
definitely patrilocal (Kirchhoff, 1931, p. 119). Frequently, the matrilocal 
rule is reversed for the chief and his eldest son (ibid., pp. 125, 190), as 
also holds for the Bacairi (M. Schmidt, 1905, p. 437). Avuncular mar- 
riage for girls (see below) would leave both spouses in their natal village. 

Matrilocalism may be temporary (Macurap of the Branco River), 
or permanent. It cannot be considered a specifically Avawakan trait. 
Though the Locono exhibit it, it is lacking among the Wapishana. Of 
non-Arawakans, the isolated Warrau, the Cariban Tamanak, Macushi, 
Taulipang, Rucuyen, Galibi, Kallinago, and the Tupian Siriond, Guayaki, 
and Chiriguano are temporarily or permanently matrilocal. 

Marriage rules.—Premarital license may be consistent with strict 
feminine chastity in wedlock (Roth, 1924, p. 560; Nimuendaju, 
1926) ‘pr St): 

Monogamy is reported for the Palicur as early as 1729. Elsewhere 
polygyny is often either a chief’s prerogative (Caiari River) or is actually 
practiced mostly by chiefs and shamans, notwithstanding permissive 
polygyny for others (Roth, 1924, p. 685 et seq.). Polygyny is most 
commonly sororal (Trwmai). Simultaneous marriage with a woman 
and her daughter by another husband crops up sporadically, being ortho- 
dox among Kuliseu River tribes, the Rucuyen, and sundry Caribans. 

Bride-service was frequent. Its obligations might be temporary, as 
among the Tenetehara (p. 143) or continue indefinitely, as among the 
Tupinamba, who, however, mitigated the husband’s lot if he gave his 
daughter in marriage to her mother’s brother (p. 112). In northwestern 
Brazil the groom offers presents to his parents-in-law, but the bride 
brings a dowry. 

Preferential kin and affinial unions are varied and widespread. The 
Cubeo prefer cross-cousin marriage together with brother-sister exchange, 
so that the symmetrical form of the custom is indicated. Cross-cousin 
marriage is also orthodox among the Nambicuara, whose nomenclature 
reflects the practice ; the Cashinawa; the Wapishana; and various Caribans 
of whom the Aparai favor the patrilateral, others the symmetrical type. 

The occurrence of avuncular marriage, sororal polygyny, and step- 
daughter marriage have been noted. 

Position of women.—The discordant evidence presumably reflects 
local differences: some sources describe women as their husbands’ 
slaves, others as their companions, and among the Palicur they set the 
tone. (Koch-Grinberg, 1921, pp. 353 f.; Roth, 1924, pp. 683 f.; Nim- 
uendaju, 1926, pp. 78 ff.) Since the Palicur are patrilineal, the status 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE - a 


of women is obviously not a simple function of the rule of descent. Nor 
is it clearly correlated with particular linguistic families. 

Kinship usages.—Mother-in-law avoidance occurs among the Arawak, 
Carib, and Warrau of Guiana: a man must not remain in his mother- 
in-law’s dwelling, nor talk with her, nor even look at her (Roth, 1924, 
p. 685; 1915, p. 344; Kirchhoff, 1931, p. 150). In the same region a 
man and his wife’s father may converse on ordinary topics, but the wife 
serves as go-between in the conveyance of instructions (Roth, 1915, 
p. 200). Among the Tupinamba a newly wed man and his father-in- 
law display mutual bashfulness (Kirchhoff, 1931, p. 183). 

Among the Shipaya a lifelong bond of solidarity is sometimes created 
between two individuals on the occasion of a ceremony. 

Unilateral and bilateral units.—Instead of unilateral types of unit 
many tribes have territorial groups embracing both blood-kinsfolk and 
outsiders—especially in-laws—who have come to join them. This type 
of unit is Kirchhoff’s “extended family” (Grossfamilie). 

However, unilateral systems are not rare, but not one of the three 
major stocks presents a uniform social organization. It is true that the 
Caribans present no authenticated case of exogamy with matrilineal 
descent, which in some tribes is indeed precluded by avuncular marriage 
(Tamanac and Macushi); most of them seem to have loose extended 
families, but patrilineal reckoning may occur in some cases. Of the 
Arawakans, the Locono and the Goajiro (Handbook, vol. 4) have each 
a large number of matrilineal clans, which probably holds for the Antillean 
congeners. On the other hand, the western Arawakans lack the trait, 
and even in the east the Palicur have seven patrilineal clans (Nimuendaju, 
1926, pp. 22 et seq., 86, 132) ranged in moieties. Of the Tupians, on 
the Rio Branco, the Arua have matrilineal, the Makurap patrilineal 
descent, the latter also holding for the Witoto and the Mundurucu, which 
latter have exogamic moieties divided into clans. The Tupinamba may 
conceivably have had a patrilineal organization, but certainly not matri- 
lineal clans in view of the orthodoxy of avuncular marriage. 

Turning to other stocks, the Jabuti (Rio Branco), the Tucanoans 
(Cubeo), and the Tucuna are patrilineal. 

Besides the Palicur and Mundurucu, the Kepikiriwat (Gi-Parana 
River) also have moieties, but apparently only for ceremonial ball games. 
Only the Munduruci moieties are definitely known to be exogamous 
(p. 277); on the other hand, the feature belongs to the three Cubeo 
phratries. The nameless Cubeo phratries own land and unite periodically 
for a men’s initiation ceremony and for the recital of origin myths (pp. 780- 
781). The Palicur moieties have separate cemeteries and are named 
“lower” and “upper,” respectively. 

At least partly totemic clan names appear in the Cubeo, Palicur, and 
Tucuna schemes. Cubeo and Tucuna clans own each a set of personal names. 


32 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


How far we can speak of totemism apart from the above mentioned 
cases of totemic names, is not certain. One Palicur clan traces its descent 
from a sloth, others from a bird, wild Bromelias, and the earth, re- 
spectively; but some of the designations are untranslatable. Among 
the Cubeo, again, it was not the totemic clan eponyms that were once 
taboo, but the eponyms associated with the sets of personal names owned 
by clans. 

Political organization.—Commonly each settlement is autonomous, 
so that the headman merely controls fellow-residents, but some tribes 
are said to have paramount chiefs (Yuruna). In the matrilocal but clan- 
less tribes, a headman might exert much influence by controlling as de- 
pendents his daughters’ husbands. Indeed, in the Guayaki hordes, the 
father of several daughters who have attracted suitors into fixed matri- 
local residence becomes ipso facto the headman. As a rule, however, 
greater authority belongs to chiefs in unilaterally organized societies. 
A Palicur chief, e. g., welcomes strangers, organizes communal enterprises, 
and smooths over internal difficulties. But though a chief represents his 
people, arranges festivities, and leads economic undertakings, he owes 
hospitality to his tribesmen and probably is never despotic by virtue of 
his office. 

Succession follows distinct patterns. In the Rio Negro region (Siust) 
a headman is followed first by his several brothers and only after their 
death by a son. The Palicur disregard heredity, the incumbent selecting 
as deputy and successor the ablest and most popular tribesman. Elsewhere 
(Yuruna) the oldest son normally succeeds his father; failing male off- 
spring, a Witoto chief may choose as his successor a son-in-law, thus 
contravening the normal patrilocal rule. 

Where sources speak of accession by ordeals (Roth, 1924, pp. 568-573), 
a purely titular distinction seems invloved: the successful candidate 
does not supersede the chief in office, but gains in status. The tests in 
part coincide with those imposed at puberty. 

In some tribes (e. g., Quijo, Nambicuara) a chief is usually a shaman. 

As for differences in rank, the status of sons-in-law was often inferior 
in matrilocal societies, but hardly enough so to warrant speaking of an 
inferior caste, though in some tribes the same term designates a serf and 
a son-in-law (e. g., Guiana Carib, p. 849). Rather different is the case 
of whole tribes dominated by others. Thus, the originally nomadic Macu 
are well enough treated by economically superior neighbors, but some- 
what as might be pet animals. The Tucano send Macu slaves to get game, 
fish, or wild fruits and assign menial tasks to them. A master will dole 
out kashiri or an occasional cigar to his drudge, but bars him from 
dances; and no Macz would intrude into a conversation unasked. Dif- 
ferent again is the Chiriguano polity. This offshoot of the Guarani 
conquered the economically advanced Chané, thus creating an upper class 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 33 


that in various districts lords it over from 5 to over 10 times their number 
of serfs (p. 467). A stratification is suggested for the ancient Manasi 
of Bolivia: hereditary chiefs, priests, shamans, “captains,” and com- 
moners (p. 389). 

Property and inheritance.—Individual property rights are recog- 
nized, even children being credited with them (M. Schmidt, 1905, p. 438; 
Roth, 1924, pp. 632, 701). But this does not bar communal ownership 
of certain goods, such as weirs and general sharing in the yield (e. g., 
p. 000; Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 257). In Guiana land is cleared by 
communal labor (Kirchhoff, 1931, pp. 141, 157). Since settlements shift 
with exhaustion of the soil, inheritance of land is immaterial, but fishing 
rights are sib-owned among the Cubeo (p. 781) and on the upper Xingu 
(p. 324). As for other property, most tribes burn or bury a deceased 
person’s chattels. A Trumai nephew inherits certain songs from his 
mother’s brother. Among the Siusi the son is the sole heir; failing issue, 
the dead man’s brother or other kinsman takes his place. 

Trade.—Local specialization and the mobility of expert boatmen 
favored wholesale trading notwithstanding the lack of fixed mediums of 
exchange. Acawai peddlers make long journeys in Venezuela, Brazil, 
and Guiana. Even such necessities as cassava graters and blowguns are 
often manufactured in particular distributing centers. Credit is an 
established concept, payment being often deferred for months. 

That Arawakans have created all useful goods is unproved. The iso- 
lated Otomac are famous for their pottery; the Cariban Arecuna spread 
cotton and blowguns; the Warrau, their boats; the Pebans, Macushi, and 
Tucuna, blowgun poison. Intertribal trade was greatly developed on the 
upper Xingu River, with formalized procedure (pp. 338-339). The 
extent of commerce is indicated by the presence of Andean objects of gold, 
silver, and copper as far east as the upper Paraguay River. 


WARFARE 


Weapons.—Bows and arrows have already been described under 
Hunting (p. 12). Some of the fighting arrows are poisoned. Roth 
rightly wonders at the infrequent use of curare in warfare (blowguns 
with their curare-poisoned darts were never used), but the Yahuna are 
said to smear it on palm spines attached to their wrists and elbows in 
preparation for a hand-to-hand encounter (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 362). 
Spears are common in western rather than in eastern Guiana; they are 
long, pointed, and firehardened staves of wood, but there is some evi- 
dence of prehistoric stone spearheads. In Yapura and Apaporis River 
country there are poisoned lances, which are wanting in the Caiari region ; 
they serve both in war and the chase. These weapons are always united 
in sheaves of seven; each poisoned tip, inserted in an incision of the 
shaft and wrapped with bast, is stuck into a separate compartment of a 


34 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


common case for the septet. The arrangement resembles that for poisoned 
arrows on the Aiari River (Koch-Grinberg, 1921, pp. 64, 88, 371 f., 396). 


Clubs with wrist-loops are common, especially the flat, paddle- or 
swordlike type (macana, fig. 78, e-h). These are large, at times requir- 
ing the use of both hands to wield them. A block type, distributed at 
least from Cayenne to the Orinoco, is made of the hardest, heaviest 
woods worked into sharp-cornered square ends; sometimes a celt is 
cemented into a lateral groove (fig. 27). A curious dagger-club tapers 
to a sharp point at one end, to a blunt one at the other, with the grip 
in between; it is driven through the ear into a fallen enemy’s brain. 
Other clubs resemble a spatula. The clubs are often elaborately orna- 
mented with basketwork wrapping and engraved designs. 

Shields vary greatly in make and shape, but most commonly are circular, 
of tapir hide. Wickerwork equivalents, occasionally covered with tapir 
hide, also occur in the Montana, the Uaupés-Caqueta (pl. 103, center), and 
the Mojos-Chiquitos area, and they persist as dance regalia on the Rio 
Negro. For the Cayenne Indians, an early recorder describes and figures 
an oblong shield of very light wood, painted with various designs. 

Psychology of Warfare.—Some tribes, such as the Yagua (p. 735) 
are reckoned as peaceable, others—notably the Carib and Tupi—as militar- 
istic. The historic conflict of Cariban and Arawakan groups in the Antilles 
is also exemplified by the hereditary enmity of Galibi and Palicur; and 
the Arawakans of Icana region are traditional enemies of the Cubeo, but 
it would be a grave error to suppose that alignment universally followed 
linguistic lines. To the contrary, warfare was more common within 
families, e. g., between Jivaro villages, between the Panoan Conibo and 
Cashibo, or between Nahukwa groups. 


Revenge seems to have been the foremost motive for warfare, but the 
Parintintin fought mainly for sport and the Tupinamba to gain prestige 
and to acquire victims to be eaten. The craving for glory also figured 
largely, as indicated by the use of trophies, e. g., among the Jivaro 
(p. 624) and, on the Orinoco River, by the recital of coups. The Paressi 
are unique in their wars of conquest. Another motive was the capture 
of individual enemies, a factor greatly intensified by European instigation. 

Organization and tactics.—The decision to make war usually takes 
place at a council in combination with a drinking-bout. The Suriname 
Carib then paint themselves, dance special dances to arouse the jaguar 
spirit, and undergo magical rites to ensure success. Some tribes summon 
their fellows by signal drums or by blowing conchs. Several groups are 
credited with having specially appointed commanders-in-chief and with 
carrying provisions along. Among the Munduruci, women accompany 
and assist their warrior husbands. 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 35 


Open warfare is far less common than nocturnal and matutinal sur- 
prise attacks. In attacking a palisaded village, the aggressors often shoot 
arrows tipped with lighted cotton to set fire to the thatched roofs. Wide- 
spread protective measures include the barring of avenues of approach 
with sharp hardwood stakes and coltrops, both often poisoned, and the 
stakes frequently set in the bottom of a concealed trench. The use of 
automatically-released blowguns hidden by the trail (Jurua-Purts) and 
of irritating fumes from burning peppers is more restricted. 

Treatment of prisoners.—Slavery has already been mentioned. Cap- 
tive women were usually taken in marriage and children reared as ordinary 
tribal members, but the cannibalistic Tupinamba, though taking captives, 
always killed and ate them sooner or later. 

Trophies.—Nearly all warring tribes take human trophies of some kind, 
most frequently heads, though the Parintintin do not disdain arms and 
legs. The most famous trophies are the Jivaro shrunken heads (pl. 63 
and p. 625). In some cases, scalps alone are sought, e. g., in Suriname, 
where the women wear them as ornaments, the Yecuand using the hair 
for belts. The Yuruna and various Montafia tribes prefer the skull. A 
common practice is to make flutes of the victim’s long bones and necklaces 
of his teeth. 

The Munduruct cut an enemy’s head off with a cane knife, remove 
the brains, eyes, tongue, and muscles, then dry the skull, wash it with 
water, saturate it with uruct oil, and expose it to the sun. When hard, 
it receives an artificial brain of dyed cotton, eyes of pitch, teeth, and 
a feather hood for decoration (fig. 28; pl. 23, left). Henceforth, the 
victor regularly carries it with him by a rope. (Spix and Martius, 1823- 
31, 3:1314). 

Cannibalism.—Although our word “cannibal” is derived from a desig- 
nation of the Carib, many Arawakan and Tucanoan tribes also practiced 
anthropophagy. Several tribes in Guiana closely resembled the Tupi- 
namba in their relevant procedure; they hospitably entertained a prisoner 
for some time, beginning to taunt him as the fatal hour of his execution 
approached, then tortured him, and finally crushed his skull with a sword- 
club. This was followed by the cooking and eating of his flesh, some 
of the bones being made into flutes. (See figs. 12-14.) Shipaya canni- 
balism is linked with the cult of Kumapari. 

(For the whole section, see Roth, 1924, pp. 144-173, 578-601.) Endo- 
cannibalism is described under Death (p. 38). 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—Isolation of the woman during childbirth is customary. Among 
the Siusi, e. g., the woman in labor remains in her hammock within the 
house, assisted by the female inmates, while the men all depart. The 
navel string and afterbirth are buried on the spot (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, 


36 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


p. 116). For 5 days the mother remains secluded in her division of the 
dwelling, where her husband keeps her company; during this period 
neither parent may work, wash himself, or eat anything but flat manioc 
cakes and peppers lest the infant take harm. The seclusion is ended by 
the father’s recital of the names of fish and game animals henceforth 
permitted to the parents, followed by a joint bath by them and the infant. 
On that day the father’s father bestows a name on the child, usually 
drawing upon the animal kingdom. The Cubeo (p. 787) conform to the 
Siusi rule in this respect, but widely depart from it in other details. Here 
the expectant mother—not her husband—abstains from the flesh of all 
quadrupeds for a month before the birth. The delivery may occur in 
the house or in a special hut or in the woods, but with the assistance of 
all women. The husband’s mother cuts the navel cord with razor grass 
and immediately buries it with the afterbirth. Of twins of different 
sex the female, and otherwise the junior infant, is invariably killed. 
Several hours after a birth the shaman arrives for a conjuring ceremony. 
Confinement in the young couple’s part of the house lasts for 5 days, 
then all the furniture is moved out of the house prior to the newborn 
child’s first bath, and on the following day a kinsman of the father brings 
cooked fish, thereby terminating the fast. Eight days after the delivery 
a great drinking spree is held, to which the parents invite all their kin, 
and it is then that a name is conferred (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 310 f.). 

In these instances the couvade, which has a very wide distribution, 
is at best adumbrated. In Guiana the couvade appears in classical form, 
i. e., natal and prenatal prescriptions and restrictions on the father equal 
or surpass the mother’s, the rationale usually being the infant’s welfare. 
A Palicur father is supposed to be everywhere accompanied by the child’s 
spirit, for whom he must carry a miniature bow and arrow lest he himself 
fail in the hunt; and if he is obliged to enter the woods at night he must 
carry a sling over his left shoulder for the infant’s spirit. Were the man 
to make incisions in certain trees, the tree-spirit would cause the child’s 
abdomen to grow large like the tree’s (Nimuendaju, 1926, p. 83). The 
Suriname Carib forbade the father to hunt or undertake any heavy work; 
everywhere he had to avoid thorny places on the road, and if he crossed 
a river by a tree trunk, he would set up a sort of miniature bridge for 
the child’s spirit (Roth, 1924, pp. 695 f.). The Galibi subjected the 
father to the same flogging and scarification tests characteristic at puberty, 
the idea being to transfer to the child the valor shown. The Macushi 
prohibit both parents to scratch themselves with their fingernails, instead 
of which they employ the midrib of the kokerite palm (Roth, 1915, 
pp. 320-324). 

There seems to be no support for Max Schmidt’s view (1917, pp. 61-64) 
that the couvade was a potent mechanism for creating an economically 
subordinate social class. The custom is not confined to matrilocal peoples, 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 37 


as he assumes, but has a wide distribution irrespective of the rule of resi- 
dence ; and its implications are very clearly of the magico-religious order. 

Puberty.—Some sort of puberty ordeal is widespread, being obligatory 
for both sexes before marriage especially in the Guianas, as among the 
Carib and Warrau. The principal tests are fasting, exposure to ant 
bites, scarification, and flagellation. A Pomeroon Arawak girl must 
abstain from meat at her first menses and eat very little fish with small 
manioc cakes; her Warrawu sister neither eats, speaks, nor laughs for 2 
or 3 days. Maué, Apinayé, and Arapium boys were exposed to ants, as 
was customary among various Guiana tribes (see pl. 118, d), which latter 
commonly inflicted severe gashes on adolescents of both sexes. Boys 
or girls, or both, were flogged among the Macushi, the Marauha, and 
Araycu (west of Ega), and tribes of the lower Ica River. Very common 
is the suspension of a girl in a hammock raised to the highest part of 
the hut so as to expose her to the smoke. This custom, linked with fast- 
ing and other taboos, seems to be in part of upper Amazonia the equivalent 
of the boys’ flogging. The Taulipang combine all the austerities de- 
scribed: A youth is whipped and gashed, the incisions being smeared 
with magical substances, and exposed to ants, besides being obliged to 
forego the meat of game and flesh of large birds and big fish for a 
whole year. This trial is invariably collective, and none of the candidates 
may utter a cry of pain lest the ceremony be nullified for all celebrants. 
However, the primary object of the performance is, according to Koch- 
Griinberg, not a mere test of fortitude, but a magical enhancement of 
the youths’ skill in hunting and fishing; and consequently it may be 
repeated for like purposes in later life. A Taulipang girl, when coming 
of age, is exposed to ants, tattooed, and whipped; throughout her first 
period she remains in her hammock partitioned from the rest of the hut, 
observes a rigid diet, and is obliged to use a special scratcher for her 
head. This last taboo also applies to mourners of either sex. At the 
next four or five menstrual periods the prohibitions are somewhat re- 
laxed, but the girl must not visit the plantation, seize knives or axes, 
blow on a fire, or talk loudly lest her health suffer. The Siusi (Rio 
Aiari) cut a girl’s hair, paint her with genipa, restrict her food, and 
wind up with a major carousal. The Tupimamba shave the girl’s head 
and scarify her, and the Guarani cut her hair, while among the Parintintin 
and some Montaiia tribes she is deflowered. The Nambicuara isolate her 
for several months outside the village, where she receives ritual food, 
a bath terminating the period of seclusion. (See Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, 
pp. 121-131, 168; 1921, pp. 115, 220; Roth, 1915, pp. 308-313; Spix and 
Martius, 1823-31, 3:1185 f., 1314 f., 1318, 1320 £; Bates, 1863, 2:405 f.) 

Initiation of boys into a men’s tribal society has a limited distribution. 
The Tucanoans initiate boys to the ancestor cult, (the so-called “Yaupary”’ 
cult), requiring them to take snuff and revealing to them the secret 


88 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


megaphone and trumpet which represent the voices of the ancestors 
(p. 783). The Witotoans (p. 760) and Tucuna (p. 718) seem similarly 
to initiate boys to the secret trumpets. South of the Amazon, there is 
no cult, except possibly in the Mojos-Chiquitos area where again there 
are secret musical instruments. Preparation of boys for manhood starts 
at a tender age, when they receive their first labrets (Tupinamba), take 
parica snuff (Mura), have their teeth stained (Cashinawa), sleep in the 
men’s house (Mundurucu), are tonsured (Carajd), or experience other 
formal stages of growing up. 

Death.—lIn the disposal of the dead divergent procedures exist, some- 
times even with the same tribe. The most widespread practice is to 
bury the corpse in their huts. Usually care is taken to prevent direct 
contact with the earth by erecting a palm-leaf shelter or some equivalent 
device. 

The posture is sometimes vertical, in other cases sitting, the latter 
position being also employed in Rucuyen cremation. Almost all the 
upper Xingu burials are in recumbent position with the head toward the 
east. Funeral deposits are common, but not universal. Often, especially 
after the death of a distinguished man, the house is abandoned. The 
Cashinawa destroyed a deceased person’s possessions. 

Cemeteries occur, as among the Palicur; and Humboldt records an 
assemblage of nearly 600 skeletons of the extinct Ature, each in a separate 
basket, the bones having been variously dyed for this secondary disposal 
some months after primary burial in damp earth, followed by scraping. 
Urns near the baskets also held bones, presumably those of one family. 
(See also pl. 119, bottom.) Such secondary urn burial was widespread, 
especially among Tupian tribes. 

In some cases there are dietary taboos. The discarding of ornaments 
and the cutting of the hair are widespread mourning practices. There 
is often restriction on remarriage during the period. Lamentations are 
kept up between death and the final ceremonies. Among the Cubeo, they 
continue for 5 days in harmony with the mystic number of the upper 
Rio Negro country. 

A remarkable secondary procedure characterizes the Tapajd, Cubeo, 
Arapium, certain Panoans, and some other groups. The cremated corpse 
or the exhumed bones are burnt to ashes, which are mixed with festive 
brew, and drunk with the beverage (e. g., pp. 254, 556; also Norden- 
skidld, 1930 a, p. 12; Palmatary, 1939, p. 5 f.; Koch-Grinberg, 1921, 
p. 316; Roth, 1924, pp. 642, 660). 

In the Guianas, the closing mortuary solemnities might take place about 
a year after the death, but the exact date apparently hinged on whether 
the deceased person’s manioc crop sufficed for supplying the wherewithal 
for a carousal. These festivities involved not only drinking, singing, 
and dancing, but also in some tribes (Arawak, Warrau) mutual flagella- 


Pirate 1.—Brazilian and Paraguayan landscapes from the air. ojaealeres 
Shifting agriculture in the forests of Maranhdo, Brazil. 
River meandering across gras 


Top, right: Tebicuar 
y plains of southern Paraguay, Guarani country. 
(After Rich, 1942, Nos. 34, 136.) Bottom: A jungle delta in the Province of 
Maranhao, Brazil. (Courtesy Albert W. Stevens and the National Geographic 
Magazine.) 


Puate 2—The Peruvian Montafia. (Top, Courtesy Grace Line; bottom, after 
Johnson, 1930.) 


Puate 3.—Ecuadorean and Brazilian jungles. Top: Giant ferns, Ecuador. 
(Courtesy H. E. Anthony and the National Geographic Magazine.) Bottom: 
Along the lower Solimoes River, Brazil. (Courtesy American Museum of 
Natural History.) 


Prare 4.—Landscapes of Venezuela and the Guianas. Top: Beyond Suapure, 
Venezuela, showing abrupt change to densely wooded ranges. The tonka bean 
is the most characteristic tree. (Courtesy Llewelyn Williams.) Center: 
Atorai country, British Guiana. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 
Bottom: The ledge (dark diagonal line) approach to the summit of Roraima, 
British Guiana. (Courtesy G. H. H. Tate and the National Geographic 
Magazine.) 


= 


Puate 5.—Venezuela rivers. Top, left: Upper Orinoco. Top, right: Casiquiare 
River. Center, left: Upper Orinoco. Center, right: Rio Negro, the Brazilian- 
Venezuelan border. (Courtesy Llewelyn Williams.) Bottom: Casiquiare 
River, showing typical cut banks and river vegetation. (Courtesy G. H. H. 
Tate and C. B. Hitchcock.) 


Iq UwmMesnyfy APISTOATUL) 


(SUIS “A MOTWWB LY ASO4INOD) 
‘oupiype :qybry §=(sofaq neg Ase. : WoT "JSe10J [eotdo.y oy) ul uns pue unsmolq YWM—Z ALVIg 


a 


*% ee 
a ee ee 
ee f 


aa Pee OSL 


Puiare 8.—Tropical forest agriculture and food preparation. Top: A collective 
garden cleared by ‘‘slash-and-burn’’ technique. On the Pimenta Bueno 
River. (Courtesy Claude Lévi-Strauss.) Bottom: Yaulapiti women crushing 
manioe. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 39 


tion with a special whip. The dances might include animal mimicry of 
the type performed at other celebrations. A kind of masquerade, but 
with exposed faces, occurs among the Rucuyen; the performers, wearing 
a towering headgear and a long bark fringe from the neck downward, 
successively crack a long whip. But full-fledged masked dances as a 
mortuary ritual characterize the upper Rio Negro, where butterflies, 
carrion vultures, jaguars, etc., are all represented by the costumes and 
the actors’ behavior (p. 789). Koch-Griinberg (1921, pp. 78-85, 314 f.) 
surmises that the purpose is to conciliate the spirit of the dead, to ward 
off evil demons, and to foster success in hunting and farming. Women 
attend these performances, but only as spectators (Roth, 1924, pp. 
638-665). 
ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—In the absence of detailed preliminary studies only a sketchy 
treatment can be attempted. 

As Max Schmidt has indicated, twilling produces parallel diagonal 
effects, whose combination may yield distinct decorative designs, such as 
concentric diamonds or concentric squares (M. Schmidt, 1905, p. 334 
et seq.). Such textile designs are often secondarily transferred to other 
media; they may be painted on the face, body, or pottery, incised on 
house-posts and walls, engraved on dance implements and weapons, and 
worked in beads (pl. 102, right). According to Koch-Grinberg, (1921, 
pp. 341, 347), the primary textile patterns include zigzags, meanders, 
series of right angles, etc. However that may be, neither definitely 
curvilinear nor naturalistic forms can be derived from a textile technique. 
Thus, variants of a spiral motif are prominently painted on the ceramics 
of the Brazilian-Guiana litoral. Here also appear characteristic pairs 
of overlapping, though not actually interlocking hooks; these couples 
are variously arranged, in four or five-fold vertical series partitioned into 
panels ; in concentric circles on the inside of the vessel, etc. (Roth, 1924, 
pls. 27-29). Again, the remarkable array of clubs from Guiana and 
Brazil published by Stolpe (1927, pls. 1, 2, 16 et passim) reveals, indeed, 
some patterns conceivably of textile origin, but many circles, scrolls, 
scallops, and sundry combinations of curvilinear with rectilinear figures. 
There are also unequivocally realistic representations of a quadruped and 
a group of birds (Stolpe, 1927, p. 4, fig. 9; p. 12, fig. 4, a). Far less 
faithful to nature are the numerous human forms, some of them so con- 
ventionalized as to warrant conjecture that they may have sprung from 
some geometrical figure, with secondary amplification and reading in of 
a likeness to the human forms. Yet even here no specifically textile 
model is indicated. Most interesting among these quasi-realistic club 
decorations are twin figures in juxtaposition and either distinct or joined 
so that adjacent arms or other parts of the body coalesce (Stolpe, 1927, 
pls. 9, 10). Realistic forms also appear painted or drawn in charcoal 

653333—47—S 


eee OO EE 


40 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


on the bark covering of house walls or on house posts, a masculine torso 
in full dance regalia being an ever recurrent sample. Such decoration 
of posts is confined to the upper Caiari (Vaupés) River and the neighbor- 
ing Aiari River (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 348 f.); at times the rear 
of the same pillars bears the picture of a giant snake. On the lower 
and middle Xingu a maze pattern is painted on the body or incised on 
utensils (Shipaya). 

The masks of the Kaua, pieces of bast sewed over flexible rods, are 
painted to simulate various beasts, small red circles and many black ones 
being intended to suggest the spots of the jaguar’s skin. The Cubeo 
have bark-cloth masks representing anthropomorphic legendary beings, 
such as demons and giants, as well as deer, sloths, snakes, butterflies, etc. 
(Pl. 98; also, Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 73, 323-327, pl. 4; cf. also the 
Tucuna bark-cloth animals, pl. 64.) The upper Xingt has many, well- 
made masks (p. 342). Carved, wooden masks are used by several tribes 
(pl. 44; figs. 40-42). 

Plastic work attains considerable heights in clay (fig. 36), wax (pl. 102; 
fig. 23), and wood (figs. 30, 31, 37). The effigy pottery and the acces- 
sories of earthenware vessels, grotesque and extravagant as they tend to 
be, indicate much dexterity and sophistication. A Palicur turtle in clay 
is admirably faithful to nature (Nimuendaju, 1926, p. 48), and the wax 
figurines of great anteaters, peccaries, and tapirs by the Taulipdng (Koch- 
Griinberg, 1923 b, p. 126) are certainly creditable. In wood, the benches 
or stools carved from a single block, with an animal’s head at one end 
and its tail at the other (fig. 37), are noteworthy samples of native skill. 
Caiman, beetle, jaguar, and snake heads are among those realistically 
portrayed. Doctors’ seats are as a rule specially decorated (Roth, 1924, 
p. 273 et seq.; Nimuendaji, 1926, p. 61). The Cubeo perform certain 
dances, holding wooden figures of fish, birds, and lizards. On the Apa- 
poris River the masks of the Opaina are topped by a cylindrical two- 
winged headgear of very light wood, both the body and the lateral pro- 
jections being profusely painted (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 397, pl. 12). 

Ceramic art has been mentioned (p. 26). 

Games.—Many scattered tribes from the Mojos-Chiquitos area and the 
Guarani to the Uaupés-Caqueta region and the Guianas played a ball 
game, many using a special rubber ball. 

Another widespread ball game (Yecuana, Taulipang, Bacairi, Macushi 
etc.) is shuttlecock, played with maize husks (fig. 49, c) struck with the 
flat of the hand. A similar game is popular among young men on the 
Caiari (Uaupés and Ariari Rivers (p. 889). The Keptkiriwat propel 
the ball with their heads and stake arrows on the issue of a game. 

Other athletic sports include true wrestling and a curious contest 
(Warrau, p. 879), in which each player tries to push back his opponent 
or throw him by pressure of a special form of shield against his ad- 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 41 


versary’s. Foot races in the savannas over distances of 10 to 20 miles 
are popular among the Macushi, who recognize champion runners. This 
sport is combined with a drinking bout and wrestling: The beverage 
brewed is stored in a house and the would-be winner has to force an 
entry against guards trying to prevent his ingress. A dance follows 
(Roth, 1924, p. 478 f.) 

Boys from an early age practice archery, shooting small birds, and 
organizing sham battles and hunts. In Guiana there are also diving and 
other water sports. Children of both sexes imitate the economic activi- 
ties of adults. They also mimic animals to the accompaniment of songs 
and model clever wax figurines. Girls play with wooden dolls made 
by their fathers. Macushi, Carib, and Siusi boys walk on stilts (fig. 115, 
right). Tops (Guianas, upper Xingu, Montafia, etc.) are spun by 
youngsters, each trying to upset his opponent’s; and there are likewise 
humming tops and buzzers. In several tribes either the children them- 
selves or their elders often make the rejects of plaitwork into elaborate 
toys representing such objects as rattles and balls or animals, like fish 
and fleas. 

Cat’s-cradle figures exist in great profusion (e.g., Roth, 1924, pp. 
488-550). The Andean dice game was played by Chiriguano. 


Dances.—Irrespective of magico-religious connections, the dances of 
the area have various social associations and functions. They are probably 
always linked with singing and drinking bouts; they serve to maintain 
friendly relations with neighboring tribes; and they offer opportunities 
for barter, gossip, amatory dalliance, and the settling of quarrels. To 
invite outsiders, the chief sends messengers with mnemonic cords having 
a knot for each day until the opening of the festivity, a device also em- 
ployed on other occasions. Major enterprises may draw together not 
far from a thousand persons among the Taulipdng, with possibly 200 
active performers. The dances follow one another in a sequence that 
is presumably fixed at least in particular tribes. In Guiana the humming- 
bird dance takes precedence: a company of decorated young men have 
to fight their way through the ranks of their comrades to the covered 
liquor-trough, where women try to pour pepper into their eyes, the 
victor receiving the first drink and every one then capering round the 
trough. Very popular are dances in mimicry of animals, the performers 
sometimes impersonating a whole troup of monkeys or a herd of peccaries. 
Women take part in some dances, but are excluded from others, at least 
as active performers. 


Some dances involve no special paraphernalia; others are characterized 
by a profusion of ornaments and accessories. In the parishara of the 
Taulipang a kind of masquerade is worn, a plaited headgear partly covering 
the face and a long fringe descending to the feet, as in the Rucuyen 
funeral performance. The costume wearers blow wooden tubes with 

653333—47—6 


49 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


gaily painted figurines at one end, while in the other hand they carry 
a long staff with pendent deer dew claws or seed capsules at the top. 
The dancers form a long Indian file, each bending his knees, stamping 
his right foot, advancing a step, flexing the upper part of the body, then 
dragging the left foot forward. Each division has a song and dance 
leader. The staff is struck against the ground in rhythmic unison with 
the steps. When the performers, starting from the savanna, have reached 
the village, women and girls join, each placing her right hand on her 
male partner’s left shoulder, or both hands on her neighbor’s shoulders 
on both sides. Now an open ring develops and the performers move 
forward and backward, to the right and the left, uttering shouts after 
each figure. During the dancing and the intermission women or girls 
offer calabashes of drink to the performers. 

Some dances are connected with mythological tales and may envisage 
magical effects in fishing and hunting. The Apapocuva Guarani, haunted 
by fear of an impending world catastrophe, tried throughout the historic 
period to escape destruction under the leadership of shamans who were 
to guide them through sacred dances to an earthly paradise (p. 94). 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, p. 154 et seq.; Roth, 1924, pp. 470-483; 
Nimuendaju, 1914 c.) 

Music.—(For general treatment, see Izikowitz, 1935.) 

Although stringed instruments—musical bows and violins—undoubtedly 
occur in the area, their aboriginal character is strongly suspect. There 
is no reference to them in the earliest post-Columbian literature and the 
terms applied to these chordophones are in the main clearly derived from 
Spanish or Negro vocables. It is also noteworthy that, as in Africa, 
the bow is usually played by striking the string with a stick (Izikowitz, 
1935, pp. 201-206). 

As to membranophones, the European military drum gained consider- 
able distribution in the historical period, but the general use of Spanish 
designations again casts doubt on the pre-Columbian occurrence of these 
instruments in Amazonia, though Roth does not consider the argument 
conclusive. (Nordenskidld, 1930 a, p. 165; Roth, 1924, p. 467; Izikowitz, 
1935, p: 193.) 

On the other hand, percussion idiophones are well represented. Note- 
worthy in view of Mexican, Pueblo, and California occurrences is the 
use of a plank foot drum by the Rucuwyen and at Arawak funeral cere- 
monies (Roth, 1924, pp. 468 f., 649 ; Izikowitz, 1935, pp. 11-13). Equally 
significant is the presence of the tomtom (“hollow-log drum”), in eastern 
Ecuador and in the Orinoco and Rio Negro districts, generally for signal- 
ing, as among the Witoto (pls. 81, top; 99, top). Typically, it is carefully 
hollowed out from a tree trunk so as to leave a narrow slit. In use it 
is generally suspended from posts. A unique adaptation of this occurs 
among the Mangeroma (p. 679). The widespread, two-headed skin 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 43 


drum (pl. 62) is probably of European origin. Of jingling idiophone ap- 
pendages the deer-hoof rattle is noteworthy, being reported from the 
Roraima region (Izikowitz, 1935, p. 39). More important are rattles, 
those from gourds (Lagenaria) being shaken by the natural grip, while 
the round calabash (Crescentia) fruits are fitted to a handle. These 
instruments are often the special property of medicine men, though 
children may use basketry imitations (pl. 118, f, g). They occur far 
beyond the Tropical Forest area, as does the time-marking ground 
pounder—Métraux’s “baton de rhythme,” Izikowitz’s “stamping tube”— 
which seems to have spread far to the south through Tupi-Guarani in- 
fluence. Most frequently a bamboo tube (Witoto, pl. 83, bottom, right; 
Cubeo, pl. 96; and Roraima Indians), it is made of Cecropia wood in 
the Rio Negro region (Métraux, 1928 a, pp. 215 f., 225; Izikowitz, 1935, 
pp. 151 et seq.). 

Aerophones are likewise conspicuous. Trumpets assume many forms: 
there are two- and three-bellied clay vessels with narrow mouthpieces 
(Orinoco, Guiana) ; long tubes of spirally wound bark, varying in size 
(Orinoco River, Vaupés River, Wapishana, etc., pl. 39; fig. 100) and in 
the Rio Negro territory strictly concealed from women; similar wooden 
instruments (pl. 101, Jeft); conchs (Guiana); Lagenaria gourds 
(Wapishana) ; and combinations of a trumpet with a resonator of gourd 
or other material (fig. 46, left). Whether the clarinets found in and 
near Guiana are aboriginal, is as yet not clear. The wind instruments 
technically definable as flutes, include, among others, clay and wooden 
whistles (fig. 49, a, b,) ; quenas or notched flutes (Montana) ; bone flutes 
(fig. 48); nose flutes (Nambicuara, pl. 36, top, right; Guiana) ; and 
panpipes (pls. 36, bottom, left; 79). The last-mentioned occur through- 
out the Tropical Forest and appear in ancient Peruvian graves. Similarity 
of pitch in Melanesian and South American panpipes led Von Horn- 
bostel to argue for their transmission to the New World, but Izikowitz 
(1935, pp. 378-408) regards the question as still open. 

Narcotics.—Although widely spread and generally cultivated in our 
area, tobacco has competitors that locally overshadow it. In the north- 
west, coca chewing and on the middle Amazon, parica snuffing make it 
recede into the background. Among the Twyuca, guests receive both a 
cigar and coca. Witoto councilors chew coca, but also swear oaths by lick- 
ing their fingers after dipping them in a sirupy mess of boiled tobacco 
leaves. 

Coca (Erythroxylon coca) appears only along the eastern slope of the 
Andes, except in Colombia, where it spreads eastward in the Uaupés- 
Caqueta region. Spix and Martius (1823-31, 3: 1169 f., 1180) found 
no wild samples anywhere in Brazil, and did not strike any plantation 
before reaching Ega. In the west, however, enormous quantities are 
consumed, travelers of the Caiari (Uaupés) district taking a few small 


44 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS IB.A.E. Bull. 148 


sackfuls of coca in lieu of all other provisions for a march of a day and 
a half (Koch-Grtinberg, 1921, pp. 174 f., 204). Only the men—the main 
consumers—tend, harvest, and prepare the plant. They roast and pound 
the leaves up, mix the powder with the ashes from Cecropia leaves, and 
store the combination in a bast bag into which a long rod is inserted and 
secured by tying the container together. By tapping the rod, the user 
makes the powder ooze out of the bast, collecting it in a calabash, from 
which he can dip it up with a spoon or a leaf. Travelers sling calabashes 
with coca powder over the left shoulder and suck out the stimulant with 
a hollow bone. The unfamiliarity of the Chiquitos-Mojos Indians with 
coca is noteworthy in view of their Andean contacts. 

In some tribes (Arecuna) women never smoke, in others both sexes 
and even children indulge freely. On the upper Amazon, Spix and 
Martius (1823-31, 3: 1180) found that tobacco is most frequently used 
by shamans, who blow the smoke on their patients (p. 50). Bates 
(1863, 2: 407) mentions an extraordinary medicinal use: an old Ega 
Indian cured a tumor due to the grub of a gadfly by stupefying the 
insect with strong tobacco juice, thereby causing it to relax its grip and 
facilitating its removal. This is paralleled among the Chacobo, who 
grow tobacco for this exclusive purpose (Nordenskiodld, 1922, p. 182.). 

In Guiana tobacco is smoked only in the form of cigarettes, the bark 
of certain trees providing the wrapper. The Tuyuca and Cubeo (pl. 103, 
left) circulate giant cigars 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm.) long—clamped 
between the two tines of a forklike holder. Several Guiana tribes chew 
tobacco, mixing it with salt or the ashes of an aquatic plant (Mourera 
fluviatilis), which are kept in little gourds with a stick projecting through 
the stopper. In the Montana, consumption of tobacco was formerly re- 
stricted largely to shamans, but is now more general. 

Parica (yupa, niopo) snuff, made of the seeds of Mimosa acacioides, 
likewise has a considerable distribution, being popular on the lower 
Amazon (Maué, Omagua), and the Yapura, as well as sporadically on 
the Caiari (Uaupés) River. In the Guaporé River region a shaman 
blows snuff composed of crushed angico, tobacco leaves, and bark ashes 
into his patient’s nose. The Witoto put one branch into the mouth, the 
other into one nostril, a puff of breath propelling the powder into the 
inner portions of the mucous membrane. These people also have an 
X-shaped combination of two bones, by which two friends may simul- 
taneously blow snuff into each other’s nostrils (fig. 106). Parica evokes 
sneezing and extreme exhilaration to the point of frenzy, followed by 
depression and stupor. It may figure largely at festivals (Spix and 
Martius, 1823-31, 3: 1074 f.). Parica is taken as an enema with a syringe 
in the Jurua-Purts region, and among the Mura (p. 263). 

In the northwest Amazon region, cayapi (Banisteriopsis caapi and 
other species; see p. 7), is a favorite stimulant, served as an infusion 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 45 


at festivals, such as the Tucano tribal society’s dance, in order to induce 
delightful hallucinations, which have been compared to those due to 
hashish. All things appear to be huge and gorgeously colored, there are 
visions of motley-tinted snakes and of erotic experiences. Some partakers 
fall into a deep sleep, awakening with severe headache. On novices the 
brew acts as an emetic. Women never drink cayapi, the preparation of 
which is wholly a masculine task. The men pound up the roots, stems, 
and leaves of the shrub into a greenish-brown mass, which is washed 
with water, squeezed dry, and again pounded and washed. The resulting 
substance, not unlike cow dung in appearance, is strained through a 
double sifter into the bellied cayapi urn, which is covered with leaves 
and placed outdoors. It has two horizontal handles and two perforations 
with a connecting suspension cord. Though never washed, the vessel 
is now and then repainted with the same yellow designs on a dark-red 
background. (See also, Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 189 ff., 200 f., 219 f., 
373:) 

Other stimulants, largely restricted to southeast Colombia and tropical 
Ecuador, are floripondia (Datura arborea) and yoco (Paulliniayoco). 
(See p: 7.) 

Peppers (Capsicum) are used by the Macushi as a stimulant, crushed 
peppers and water being poured into the nostrils to cure headache. In 
the Pomeroon district Capsicum enemas are in vogue. 


Intoxicating drinks.—Fermented beverages are lacking on the upper 
Xingu and among many Tupian tribes, but for large sections of the area 
the drinking spree, as an end in itself or an accompaniment of all serious 
occasions, is diagnostic, especially in contrast to the Ge. A variety of 
beverages are prepared, of which the narcotic cayapi has already been 
described. Manioc forms the most common base of fermented drinks, 
generically called chicha, but may be only one of several ingredients. 

The preparation of chicha is illustrated in the Rio Negro region, where 
it is called cashiri. The Indians mix the particles of toasted manioc 
cakes in a trough with fresh water, fermentation being accelerated by 
the addition of chewed beiji. The chewing is done mainly by women, 
who carefully knead the mass together with leaves of a certain tree. The 
trough, tightly covered, is allowed to stand indoors by a fire maintained 
overnight, yielding a sweetish, harmless brew. Two days’ fermentation 
is required for intoxicating effects, which a woman achieves by squeezing 
the brown gruel through a basketry strainer into a pot, from which she 
or her husband serve guests. Sometimes the mass, after being set fer- 
menting, is kept wrapped up in the trough of a large pot, to be strained 
with water when an occasion for use arises. Sweet potatoes, maize, and 
the fruits of the pupunha and of other palms may all be substituted for 
manioc (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 39 f.), to which in modern times 
sugarcane juice is frequently added. 


46 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Barama Carib makes cashirim by grating and squeezing cassava, 
then putting it into a large pot with water, into which they spit chewed 
portions of thin manioc cakes. The mixture is then placed in the house- 
hold trough and fermented for 3 days, when it acquires the alcoholic 
content of weak beer. For another chicha, called paiwari, these Indians 
thoroughly toast manioc cakes; small fragments of these are put into a 
pot filled with water and bits of chewed cake are added, as for cashirim, 
before removal to the trough. The toasting produces a distinctive cereal- 
like taste which Gillin compares to rye toast soaked in weak beer; it 
obviously allies the brew to Rio Negro cashirim. 

In other parts of the area, a great variety of starchy crops and of wild 
fruits are made into chicha, but distillation is unknown except to the 
Quijo, among whom it is undoubtedly a post-Columbian acquisition. 


RELIGION, SHAMANISM, AND MEDICINE 


High Gods and tribal heroes.—Roth’s denial (1915, pp. 117 ff.) of 
any notion of a Supreme Being in the Guianas is not literally correct. 
According to an early author quoted by him, the Sun is regarded as an 
outstanding deity by some Orinoco tribes, and the Moon by others; the 
Barama Carib conceive of a primeval starter of the universe (Gillin, 
1936, p. 155) ; and the Witoto deity (Preuss, 1921, pp. 25 et seq., 166), 
notwithstanding the curiously abstract statements about his primeval 
doings, is even more definitely a creator and maintainer of the world. 
The Apapocuva Guarani speak of Our Great Father as the creator, and 
his sons figure as heroes. Nevertheless, generally a Supreme Being, if 
present, recedes in religious consciousness before other beings. 

Among these, tribal heroes loom large, at least in myth. They appear 
either as lone figures, pairs, or trios. Thus, the Yahuna tell of Milomaki, 
a boy who suddenly appeared from the east and sang so beautifully that 
everyone came to hear him. But when his auditors came home and ate 
fish, they all fell dead, so their kinsfolk burnt the boy on a pyre. His 
soul rose to the sky, however, and out of his ashes grew the pashiuba 
palm, whose wood the people made into large flutes that reproduced the 
wondrously fine tunes sung by the boy. These instruments—taboo to 
women and small boys, who would die if they saw them—the men still 
play when fruits are ripe, and they dance in honor of Milomaki as the 
creator of all fruits (Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, p. 386 f.). The Cubeo tell 
of Hémanihiko, whose mother drowns while big with him. He crawls 
out of her womb when a carrion vulture pierces her abdomen. Flying 
on the bird’s back, the wonder-working infant transforms his own grand- 
mother from a serpent into human shape, avenges his father’s death by 
shooting the jaguar responsible for it, and kills all manner of the then 
quasi-human beasts, birds, and insects. Although two brothers of the 
hero are mentioned, he alone figures as the national ancestor. One of his 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 47 


brothers, however, Kuai, is considered the inventor of masquerade dances 
and their costumes; the other, dwelling in a large stone house, presides 
over the souls of the dead. 

According to our authority, Kuai is originally an Arawakan character, 
the son of Yaperikuli, the national hero of the tribes of that stock in the 
Rio Negro region. He is credited with the rock-drawings seen in 
Tariana territory ; and on the Aiari River a large human rock-engraving 
is interpreted as Kuai, after whom the Siusi name their sacred flutes, 
taboo to women, which are blown at a festival celebrated when certain 
palm fruits have ripened. Successive flagellation of the dancers till their 
blood streams from their wounds characterizes this ceremonial, which is 
also named Kuai (Koch-Grinberg, 1923 b, pp. 69, 121, 261). 

Typical twin myths are known from the Xingu River (Bacairi, Ship- 
aya), the Tupi-Guarani tribes, the Warrau, and the Cariban tribes. In 
the Guiana form, the Sun renders a woman pregnant with twins, then 
leaves her. She follows in his tracks, guided by one or both of the un- 
born children, whom she affronts so that advice is no longer forthcoming. 
As a result, she strays to the Jaguar house, where she dies (Warrau) or 
is killed (Carib). Either the Jaguar or Frog, his mother, extracts the 
twins by a Caesarean operation; they get fire for mankind (Warrau), 
avenge and restore their mother (Carib), and finally reach their father, 
where they turn into stars (Carib). In the Macushi variant, one of the 
twin brothers is carried off by a crane, but the other develops into a 
culture hero, teaching the Indians useful things as he travels about (Roth, 
1924, pp. 130-136). 

It is not clear how generally the tribal heroes are prayed to or other- 
wise worshiped, but Cubeo supernaturalism centers in the cult of the clan 
ancestors and in shamanism. The former is associated with the boys’ 
initiation, at which the novices learn about sacred musical instruments, 
taboo to women, and are whipped to make them grow. Males bathe to 
the sound of sacred horns when seeking strength. Widespread among 
Tupian tribes is a mythological character—Our Great Father of the 
Guarani—associated with an afterworld of happiness. Among both the 
Tupinamba and Guarani, this god became prominent in a strong messianic 
cult (pp. 90, 93-94, 131). 

Thunder is the principal deity of the Nambicuara and reveals himself 
to shamans; less frequently, to other adult males. He is an important 
deity, but definitely not a Supreme Being for the Guarani. 


Animism.—Animism is very strongly developed. The Taulipang, who 
credit even plants and animals with souls, attribute no less than five to 
mankind. Only one of these goes to the land of spirits after the death 
of the body, three turn into birds of prey, the fifth remains with the 
corpse and bears the same name as a demon who causes eclipses. The 
surviving soul goes to the sky via the Milky Way; it is waylaid by dogs, 


48 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


which destroy it if its owner abused his dog on earth, other souls being 
allowed to join their tribesmen. 

Widespread notions typical of primitive belief elsewhere crop up here 
too. Thus the Cubeo hold that the soul leaves the body in dreams and in 
sneezing. Great significance is attached to dreams. 

Fundamental to the entire area are bush spirits, which are variously 
conceived but universally feared, so that a common function of the shaman 
is their control. The Barama Carib recognize five distinct categories 
with a controlling master within each, the classes being associated, respec- 
tively, with the forest and land generally; the air; the water; the hills; 
and miscellaneous places or things, such as houses and industries. Each 
group is symbolized by a stone of a distinctive color or texture, sup- 
posedly represented by small pebbles in the rattle of the shaman through 
whom the spirits are approached. In addition, the Barama Carib recog- 
nize other supernatural beings definitely in any of the major categories. 
The bush spirits are generally mischief makers, causing the mishaps of 
daily life; water spirits figure as on the whole benevolent, but wreck 
travelers who venture to utter certain tabooed words while in a boat. 
(See also Roth, 1924, pp. 179 f., 245 f., 252.) 

The Taulipang have a well-defined belief in certain beings as lords or 
“fathers” of whole classes of beasts, etc. Thus, a fisherman must pray 
to the master of fish to let him have a catch. Supernatural beings, in- 
cluding animals, are supposed to be really anthropomorphic, but capable 
of shifting their shape by donning an appropriate covering. Thus the 
“father of game animals,” who is also identified with the rainbow, turns 
into a large snake by putting on a mottled skin, as does the “father of 
fish”; and the jaguar correspondingly transforms himself from human 
guise by clothing himself in his skin (Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, pp. 176— 
189). Generically similar notions appear in the masquerade dances of the 
Siusi and the Cubeo, whose demons are identified with the costume worn by 
the performers, though the spirits themselves are visible only to the 
medicine men, not to the lay spectator. 

The conflict of good and evil spirits is well illustrated at Palicur fes- 
tivals, where each decorative feather on a dancer’s headgear is the seat 
of a supernatural guardian, and the feathered staffs bounding the cere- 
monial square warn the protectors against the advent of demons, who 
bump against the cord connecting the posts. Moreover, the pole erected 
as a path to heaven is topped with a dance rattle bearing two of the spirit 
feathers and is further guarded by half a dozen feathered staffs at its 
foot (Nimuendaju, 1926, pp. 66 f., 87 f.). 

Shamanism.—Probably a temple cult with priests as distinguished 
from shamans is restricted to the Mojos-Chiquitos region. On the other 
hand, shamans—though not shamanistic procedures—are reported as 
lacking among the Siriond. On the lower Xingu, the shaman intermedi- 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 49 


ates between living people and the gods and souls of the dead, but curing 
is a secular function. 

The shaman often socially overshadows the chief, for the spirit world 
is most commonly approached through him only. Occasionally, but rarely 
and probably only in some tribes, women practice. A son often inherits 
his father’s profession, but this is by no means a universal rule. The 
shaman is primarily a doctor and detector of sorcerers, but may also act 
as master of ceremonies (e.g., Guarani, p. 92; Palicur), counselor in 
warfare, prophet, finder of lost goods, name giver, depository of tradition, 
weather maker, etc. A prospective shaman undergoes a long period of 
training under his father or teacher, during which he diets, is instructed, 
acquires familiar spirits, and receives in his body various magical sub- 
stances or objects regarded as the source of his power and, when pro- 
jected into victims, as the cause of disease. He is also given tobacco in 
various forms and other stimulants, especially in the northwest Amazon 
region, such as Datura and ayahuasca. In some tribes, the shaman re- 
ceives his magical substance from a spirit, in others from his tutor. For 
a few tribes, the practitioner is stated to control one or more familiar 
spirits (e.g., Tenetehara, Tapirapé, pp. 147,177). Inthe western Amazon, 
he is associated with the jaguar (p. 682). There is no evidence that 
shamans of this area manifest epileptic or other abnormal tendencies, but 
trances, usually induced by drugs, are not uncommon. 

The magical substance is usually a quartz crystal in Guiana, a “thorn” 
or “arrow” in the region of the western Amazon and upper Xingu. Dur- 
ing his initiation, the neophyte gains immunity to and control of those 
substances, which he is supposed to take into his body. 

The foremost insignia of the shaman—widespread, though not uni- 
versal—are the gourd rattle, the crystal, a carved and painted bench, and 
a doll whose position during treatment indicates whether a patient is to 
recover. The doll is reported from parts of Guiana. The Taulipang 
medicine man shakes a bunch of leaves instead of the rattle so used by 
doctors from Guiana to the Caiari (Uaupés) River. The bench seems 
most characteristic of Guiana. Crystals turn up in Guiana, on the 
Orinoco, and in the upper Rio Negro region, whither they may have been 
imported from the Orinoco (Koch-Grinberg, 1923 b, p. 208). On the 
Guaporé River the shaman’s insignia are a snuffing tube, a board for mixing 
snuff, and a mystic feathered stick. Among the powers widely claimed by 
shamans is the ability to transform themselves into jaguars. A Cubeo 
shaman’s soul enters a jaguar when he dies, thus separating itself from 
other people’s spirits, which join the clan ancestors. 

Palicur doctoring is in most ways typical (Nimuendaju, 1926, pp. 91 
et seq.). The shaman invariably works in complete darkness under a mos- 
quito net—the equivalent of a special palm-leaf compartment anciently 
used. Putting on a feather diadem, he rises, bids all present farewell 
since his soul is about to start on its journey, and crawls under the 


50 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


net, an assistant passing in to him the animal-shaped bench and a basket 
holding the shamanistic paraphernalia. The doctor sits down, removes 
from his basket the dance rattle and a root whose odor the spirits like, 
for which reason he grates away particles of it and sprinkles them on 
his hair. The assistant next hands him a lighted cigar. Soon groans, 
whistling, and singing become audible, the glowing tip of the cigar is 
seen floating downward from the ceiling of the mosquito net, and a re- 
sounding footstep signalizes the entrance of the first spirit into the 
medicine man’s body. His own soul has left to summon the friendly 
spirits, including those of the dead. Each of these sings his own chants 
to the music of the rattle, all spectators joining. After 5 to 10 minutes 
of singing, the spirit converses with the assistant. Those present ques- 
tion the visitant about their own affairs. At last there arrives one spirit 
considered expert in the treatment required, and him the assistant con- 
sults. This continues for hours until the last spirit leaves, as indicated 
by the soaring cigar tip. The shaman crawls out of his compartment. 
Another procedure is to bring the patient, too, under the net. In actual 
treatment the doctor undresses the sick man, shakes his rattle all over 
the body till he strikes the seat of the malady, then summons his patrons 
against the causes of the disease, which may precipitate a noisy conflict. 
If the powers of evil conquer, the doctor admits his failure and casts 
about for a more competent colleague. Extraction of the disease by 
suction is also reported, but not reckoned essential. A cured patient 
regales his savior with a dance and drinking-festival, which is naturally 
directed by the successful doctor. 

Some of these traits, even apart from the sucking technique, have a 
wide distribution. The insistence on darkness, for example, occurs among 
the Pomeroon Arawak and Carib. Certain Palicur features are elaborated 
elsewhere: The Siusi shaman massages out of the patient five sticks as 
the agents of the disease and not merely puffs a cigar, but blows the 
smoke on the patient—a prevalent practice throughout the Tropical 
Forests (pl. 120, center)—and himself swallows the smoke; again, the 
Taulipéng shaman drinks tobacco juice to expedite his soul to the sky. 
Ventriloquism seems highly developed by the Taulipang; a Northwest 
Brazilian specialty is pouring cupfuls of an aromatic infusion over the 
patient’s head and body (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 97 f., 113). The 
Montafia and northwest Amazon doctor extracts needles or thorns as 
pathogenic agents (pp. 532, 703). 

Fees are often contingent on a cure. In recent times a Taulipang 
healer is usually compensated with European goods. A Cubeo receives 
urucu, pottery, bows, or hammocks. The Palicur express their appreci- 
ation by a feast. 

The nonmedical duties of a Palicur shaman are illustrated during fes- 
tivals, when he consecrates feathers, dance rattles, and carved settees by 
blowing smoke on them, thereby causing spirits to enter these objects, 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 51 


whence they are expelled at the close of the ceremony (Nimuendaju, 1926, 
pp. 95, 98 f.) 

Bad shamans may practice magic or summon spirits to harm personal 
enemies, but most tribes deal severely with such sorcerers. Alleged 
witchcraft is a usual incentive for murder, and consequently the most 
common cause of warfare, as it initiates a series of reprisals. 

Soul-loss as a cause of disease has been recorded from few tribes—e.g., 
Cocama, Omagua, Coto, and Itonama—but it is a concept that would 
escape superficial observation. 

Kanaima.— (Gillin, 1936, pp. 99 f., 149-152; Roth, 1915, pp. 346, 354 
et seq.; Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, pp. 216-219.) This term and its equiva- 
lents in Guiana designate (a) a certain evil spirit; (b) the man possessed 
by it or otherwise driven to devote himself to a work of vengeance; (c) 
the procedure followed by the avenger, including the poison or other 
means employed. In any case, the concept denotes the most malevolent 
antisocial behavior. Among the Barama Carib, the prospective kanaima 
is regarded as joining a cult, learning from its headman the arts of enter- 
ing houses unseen, benumbing one’s victims, and inflicting incurable 
ailments. Kanaimas are accordingly outlawed, killing them being a mer- 
itorious deed. The Taulipdng, Tucanoan, Witotoan, Jivaro, or Campa 
belief in jaguar shamans merges in the kanaima concept, for the kanaima 
often dons the jaguar pelt in order to alarm and kill people. Contagious 
magic is likewise imputed to these individuals; they enclose a victim’s 
spittle in a bamboo container and, by working magic over it, destroy 
the expectorator. Hostile tribes are often regarded as kanaimas. 

Medicine.— (Roth, 1924, pp. 702-714.) Apart from supernatural treat- 
ment, a shaman may employ techniques open to the laity. Prominent 
among Guiana remedies are emetics, e.g., the bitter bark of the wallaba 
tree (Eperua sp.), of which two or three drams are boiled in a quart of 
water, a few spoonfuls making an effective dose. Purgatives include the 
root of Cephaelis ipecacuanha. In Guiana enemas are made from a turtle, 
jaguar, or other mammalian bladder attached to a reed nozzle; and rubber 
syringes characterize tribes on the Amazon. Vapor baths occur: while 
the patient rests in his hammock, red-hot stones are thrown into a large 
vessel of water under him (Macushi, Guinan) ; or water is thrown on 
large heated stones so as to envelop him in the steam. Rucwyen women 
take such vapor baths after confinement. Bleeding is frequently used for 
fatigue, stiffness in the limbs, and other ailments. Ant bites serve as 
counterirritants in cases of rheumatism and fever, the patient sometimes 
rolling himself in an ant’s nest. Many domestic remedies against fevers, 
diarrhea, dysentery, and other afflictions consist of decoctions or infusions 
of the inner bark of certain trees. Guarana, a hard substance made from 
the pounded seeds of Paullinia sorbilis, is prepared by the Maué, who 
have a virtual monopoly of it, and widely traded as a medicine against 
diarrhea and intermittent fevers; it is grated and then mixed with water 


52 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


(p. 252). For sting-ray wounds the Indians of the lower Amazon apply 
a poultice of mangrove bark mixed with palm oil. The sticky gum of 
Eperua serves as a plaster for wounds. For snake bite the wound is 
cut out and sucked, but some tribes also administer antidotes in the form 
of infusions; on the Essequibo River, the decoction of a certain root 
was both drunk and poured upon the wound. On the upper Amazon, 
Cyperus roots were attributed many therapeutic and magic virtues. 

Magic and ritual practice.—The machinations of witches and sor- 
cerers have already been noted, with the occasional practice of contagious 
magic. The Indians of the Guaporé River (p. 378) believe in an invisible 
fluid which shamans may introduce, for good or evil, into food or human 
bodies. Impersonal supernaturalism is prominent in the prescriptions 
and taboos incident to birth and other critical situations. (See Life 
Cycle, p. 35.) The belief in a sympathetic bond between related individ- 
uals extends beyond the couvade in the general rule in Guiana that a 
patient’s whole family must share his dietary restrictions (Roth, 1915, 
p. 352), a notion shared by some Northern Ge. A principle akin to 
sympathetic magic also appears in the use of certain varieties of caladia 
to attract particular animals and fish because of some fancied similarity: 
A “deer” caladium is supposed to suggest horns and the coloring of the 
fur in its venation, an “armadillo” caladium resembles the animal in 
having small projecting ears, etc. (Roth, 1915, p. 281 f.). 

Taboos are innumerable. To mention only a few, chosen for their 
comparative interest, Guiana tribes will not tell spirit legends in the day- 
time nor utter a person’s name in his presence; a hunter never brings 
his kill home, but leaves it for the women to fetch. The Arawak abstain 
from eating after nightfall lest they be transformed into animals; during 
the couvade, Macushi parents must substitute a special scratcher for 
their fingernails (Roth, 1915, pp. 193, 294-295, 304, 323). Of these, the 
last-mentioned recurs as far south as the Yahgan, and the name-taboo 
is equally pronounced among the Siusi and Cubeo (Koch-Grinberg, 1921, 
pp. 117, 311). Some taboos, such as the story-telling one and the pro- 
hibition of women from seeing the instruments sacred to a spirit (Koch- 
Griinberg, 1921, pp. 119, 322) on pain of automatic death are, of course, 
associated with animistic notions. 

Of positive prescriptions may be cited the talismanic application of 
red body paint, scarification, and the ever recurrent flagellation. 

Of extraordinary interest are the magical formulae of the Taulipang, 
which the discoverer, Koch-Griinberg (1923 b, pp. 219-270) aligns with 
Cherokee and Hupa equivalents in North America. They are the prop- 
erty of laymen on equal terms with shamans and serve mainly to cure 
or impose bodily afflictions. These spells are linked with brief tales ex- 
pounding how ancestral beings introduced various ills into the world, which 
can be removed with the aid of beasts or plants somehow associated with 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 53 


the malady. Thus, intestinal worms are overcome by declamation of a 
formula in which two dogs are addressed, for dogs suffer from these 
worms without dying from them. 

A number of ritual and semiritual practices are found in the area, en- 
tering various contexts. The ant ordeal, associated especially with boy’s 
puberty in the Guianas and among several Tupian tribes south of the 
Amazon, is used by the Mura to insure fishing success. Flagellation 
enters the Vaupés-Caqueta boy’s initiation into the ancestor cult and 
the Macushi girl’s puberty rite, but the Mura whip children to increase 
manioc yield and adults to give them strength, the Chébero flog pubescent 
girls, and the Guiana Arawak whip one another at a funeral ceremony 
to drive away evil spirits. In the Montafia, several tribes put pepper 
in the eyes of hunters for clear vision and strength, but the Pomeroon 
Arawak take pepper in enemas as a curative. Similarly, the several 
kinds of snuff and tobacco in various forms were taken for many purposes. 


Ceremonialism.—Ceremonials connected with the life cycle—birth, 
puberty, initiations, and death—are most pronounced and have been men- 
tioned. Many tribes, especially the Tupians, had rites concerned with 
subsistence activities, some even resembling harvest ceremonies. Of this 
type are Mundurucu festivals for maize and manioc growth and for 
hunting and fishing success, when a shaman makes offerings to fish 
skulls; the Guarani and Tapirapé harvest ceremony; the Tenetehara 
honey festival to protect growing maize; the Cashinawa dance to influence 
the maize spirit; the Camayura hunting and fishing ceremony; and the 
Trumai manioc ceremony. 

In the Rio Negro country the mystic significance of the number five 
is conspicuous. A funeral festivity opens 5 days after the burial and 
continues for 5 days, as does a mother’s post-natal seclusion; youths 
initiated by flagellation are subject to 5-month dietary taboos; an accepted 
suitor spends 5 days in his prospective father-in-law’s house; the lament 
over the dead lasts 5 days; a shaman extracts 5 sticks (Koch-Griinberg, 
1921, pp. 98, 107, 113, 116, 196, 263, 308, 310, 314, 322, 329). Else- 
where there is no such unequivocal preference, yet the Taulipdng believe 
in 5 human souls, make the shaman’s apprentice drink a bark infusion 
for 5 nights, and have sporadic references to 10 and other multiples of 
five (Koch-Grtinberg, 1923 b, pp. 170, 189, 203, 205). 

The major festivals on the upper Rio Negro seem to fall into two main 
categories: (a) those associated with musical instruments taboo to 
women; (b) performances by mummers. The costumes and dances (p. 
41) characteristic of the second type are at least sometimes linked with 
a memorial service in honor of a recently deceased tribesman. Their 
object is said to be complex—appeasement of spirits by their impersona- 
tion and promotion of fertility by phallic dances (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, 
pp. 82 et seq., 324 et seq.). All sorts of animals may be realistically 


54 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


mimicked. The other type of performance, the “Yurupary” dance of 
the Lingua Geral, may be regarded as the basis of a men’s tribal society 
(but see p. 704). The sacred instruments symbolize the spirit to 
whom the ceremonial is dedicated, and flogging of the novices is a pre- 
requisite to entrance (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 120 f., 130, 135 £., 
198 ff., 217 ff., 263, 314 f., 322, 372). The Mundurucu tell a myth about 
a pristine matriarchate, the women making their spouses do all the work 
while themselves lived in the club house and played wind instruments. 
Once, however, the men detected them in the act, took the flutes away 
from them, and reversed the relative status of the sexes (Kruse, 1934, 
1: 51-57). This tale is obviously very similar in essence to the Fuegian 
story of a great revolution depriving women of the ascendancy they en- 
joyed as possessors of masks. 

In the Shipaya feast of the dead, the souls enter the shaman’s body. 
Among the same people, Kumapari, father of twin heroes and identified 
with the jaguar, is the center of a cult which involves cannibalism. 


MYTHOLOGY AND LITERATURE 


Under the head of Religion, Shamanism, and Medicine (p. 46), certain 
hero myths have been indicated. For lack of preliminary work, it is impos- 
sible to offer a comparative tribal study, let alone one on the literary 
styles. The culture hero, whose main contribution to mankind was do- 
mesticated plants, is universal in the area, as indeed elsewhere. In some 
tales he is also the Creator; associated with him is a trickster, often his 
brother. For the Witoto we have a useful roster of themes, but Preuss’s 
bias in favor of lunar interpretations mars his presentation. However, 
he shows the prevalence of stories revolving about the elopement of either 
spouse and the urge for vengeance (Preuss, 1921, 1: 115 et seq.). 

In view of the nature of the available material, it is merely feasible to 
list a number of important motifs. Some of them have an extremely 
wide range, far beyond the Forest area, as demonstrated in Koch-Griin- 
berg’s popular collection (1927). 

Remarkable is the Witoto story of the incestuous nocturnal lover whom 
his sister identifies by painting him (Preuss, 1922, pp. 107, 331). A 
still closer analogy to the Eskimo tale, however, occurs among the Ship- 
aya on the Iriri River, a tributary of the Xingu River, where the brother 
is identified with the moon, as he is by the Canelo of eastern Ecuador, 
the Warrau and Arawak of Guiana. (Nimuendaju, 1919-20, vols. 14-15, 
p. 1010 £:; Karsten, 1935; p; 522 ;Roth; 1915)p)/256:) 

A motif of pan-American interest that occurs in many distinct set- 
tings is the rolling skull. In the Cashinawa version, a decapitated man’s 
skull rolls after his own kin, transforming itself into the moon and also 
creating the rainbow and menstruation (Capistrano de Abreu, quoted by 
Koch-Griinberg, 1927, p. 232 et seq.). The motif, known from the Chaco, 


Vol. 3] THE TROPICAL FORESTS—LOWIE 55 


occurs among such people as the Warrau and the Shipaya (Roth, 1915, 
pp. 129; Nimuendaju, 1921-22, p. 369). Its African occurrence raises 
the recurring problem of possible Negro influence (Weeks, 1913, p. 208), 
which arises also concerning the tale of the perverted message that brings 
death to mankind (Jurua-Purts). 

The magical flight, though rare in South America, is attested for the 
Mundurucu and the Caraja (Koch-Griinberg, 1927, pp. 203, 227). 

Sharpened-Leg, the man who whittles down his leg and attacks his 
companion with it, figures in Warrau and Carib lore (Roth, 1915, pp. 
195 f.), as well as in Shipaya (Nimuendaju, 1921-22, p. 370) and Ge 
tradition. 

The ascent to the sky by an arrow-chain is related by the Guarayu in 
the Madeira drainage (Koch-Griinberg, 1927, p. 283), as well as by the 
Jivaro, Tupinamba, Cumana, and Chiriguano. ‘The division of people 
in climbing from the sky to the earth or from the underworld to our 
earth because of a stout individual blocking the passage is common to 
the Warrau, Caraja, Munduruci, and several tribes of the Montafia. This 
certainly recalls the North American Mandan-Hidatsa story of the preg- 
nant woman breaking the vine that led from a cave to the upper world. 
The North American thunderbird also turns up (Chiriguano). 

Among more generic themes found within the area may be cited the 
suitor’s tests, the deluge, the destruction of the world by fire, and etiolog- 
ical animal tales, the requisition of fire, and the Amazon women. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


Economic and technological pursuits involve considerable empirical 
knowledge, which is likewise displayed in the sportive mimicry of the 
animal dances. Intricately tied up with their practical occupations is 
the Indians’ star lore. In Guiana, at least, the year is divided not into 
lunar months but into seasons defined, above all, by the regular suc- 
cession of the stars and constellations in certain positions in the sky. 
The Pleiades are of special importance, their rising from the east or 
disappearing in the west marking the advent of the wet and dry seasons 
and especially indicating the proper time to commence agricultural oper- 
ations. The various stars are also associated with game, fish, and plants 
in season. The year, in short, is determined by the reappearance of the 
Pleiades and is subdivided according to the appearance of other con- 
stellations, which are correlated with the abundance of economically sig- 
nificant animals and plants. The rainy and the dry season bear 
distinctive designations, and their advent is foretold by special observa- 
tions—on the size of the young turtles, the croaking of the rain frog, etc. 

To indicate the number of days before some such event as a feast, the 
Guiana host (or party of the first part) sends to the guest (or partner) 
a knotted string, of which he retains a replica. Each morning the two 


56 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


men concerned untie one knot, the knotless cord being supposed to cor- 
respond to the day of arrival. The Palicur substitute for the cord a 
bundle of rods suspended from a reed, turning down both ends of each 
stick every day (Nimuendaju, 1926, p. 94). This device strikingly 
resembles North American Choctaw practice. 

Distances are reckoned by the number of nights required for the 
journey. 

Remarkable geographical knowledge and cartographic skill are evi- 
denced by the maps of the Taulipadng, who are accustomed to outline 
their itinerary on the ground and to indicate the shapes of mountains 
by an accumulation of sand. Native sketchers will recite the names of 
rivers and their affluents in order, marking waterfalls, and defining the 
appearance of peaks (Koch-Grunberg, 1923 b, pp. 90, 118; pls. 34, 35). 
Similar maps, including an astronomical star chart, are made in the 
Rio Negro region (Koch-Griinberg, 1921, pp. 160, 213). (Roth, 1924, 
pp. 715-720; see also upper Xingu, p. 348.) 


ETIQUETTE 


A Taulipang never enters a strange house unbidden, but remains 
standing at the entrance until asked to enter. A speaker is never inter- 
rupted; on official occasions a long oration is merely punctuated by 
polite interjections on the auditor’s part. In such situations neither 
interlocutor looks at the other, both staring fixedly into space—a usage 
rather common among South American tribes (Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b, 
p- 111 f.). On the Caiari River, any one leaving on a specific errand, 
such as going to hunt or farm or even to ease himself, announces the 
fact to the other inmates, who encourage him to go about his business 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1921, p. 280 f.). 

Commonly men and women eat separately. Hands are carefully washed 
before and after meals. At a party it is inadmissible to refuse a drink, 
for such an act evokes suspicion. 

The etiquette regulating kinship behavior and the procedures at cere- 
monial situations have been considered under appropriate heads (Roth, 
1924, pp. 235-239, 620-631). 

The widespread weeping salutation also appears in this area (Guarani, 
Yuruna). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1641; Bates, 1863 (1892) ; Friederici, 1925; Gillin, 1936; Im Thurn, 1883; 
Izikowitz, 1935; Karsten, 1935; Killip and Smith, 1931; Kirchhoff, 1931, 1932; Koch- 
Grinberg, 1906 a, 1921, 1923 a, 1923 b, 1927; Kruse, 1934; Linné, 1925; Mangelsdorf 
and Reeves, 1939; Métraux, 1928 a, 1928 b; Nimuendaju, 1914 c, 1919-20, 1921-22, 
1926, 1930 b; Nordenskidld, 1912, 1917 c, 1919 a, 1920, 1922, 1924 a, 1924 b, 1930 a, 
1930 c, 1931 b; Palmatary, 1939; Preuss, 1921, 1922; Roth, 1915, 1924; M. Schmidt, 
1905, 1914, 1917; Setchell, 1921; Speiser, 1926; Spix and Martius, 1823-31; Stirling, 
1938; Stolpe, 1927; Weeks, 1913; Whiffen, 1915. 


Part 1. THe CoastTaL AND AMAZONIAN TUPI 


THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER 


By FRANCISCO DE APARICIO 


INTRODUCTION 


At the beginning of historic times various groups of native peoples 
lived along the lower Parana River, from its confluence with the Paraguay 
to the Delta. Some of these peoples were island dwellers and navigators ; 
others lived along the banks of the river and were adapted to both a 
riverine and terrestrial life. Still others were land hunters who, perhaps, 
came only seasonally to the river to fish. The latter do not concern us 
here, but the first two groups, the island peoples and those who lived 
permanently along the Parana littoral are considered here as typical 
inhabitants of the Parana. 


GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING 


At its confluence with the Paraguay, the Parana River turns south 
to form the lower Parana. In this southward course its width varies 
from 1 to 2% kilometers (5¢ to 1% miles) in the north and gradually 
widens toward the south. The great volume of alluvium which the river 
carries has resulted in the formation of numerous islands at the Delta 
which are dissected by small streams. Ramirez, in referring to these 
islands, said that: “There were so many that they could not be counted.” 
They are a characteristic feature of the Parana Delta landscape, and they 
offered, in the past, exceptionally advantageous sites for the dwellings 
of native peoples. 

The banks of the Parana are quite irregular in appearance. The left 
margin, from Corrientes to Diamante, where the formation of the Delta 
begins, is in some places high and falls sharply to the river, forming 
steep bluffs 30 meters (about 100 ft.) in height. At other places the 
decline from the high ground to the river is more gradual. These 
gradual slopes usually form the transitional terrain between the river and 
the typical monte country of the region. The right margin of the Parana, 
on the other hand, is low. A flooded zone, of 10 to 40 kilometers (about 
6 to 25 miles) in width, borders the river down to the city of Santa Fé. 


ov 


58 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


From there, to the confluence of the Carcarafia, the Coronda subsidiary 
defines the edge of the firm land that rises only a little above the ordinary 
level of the waters. South of the Carcarafa, the river bank rises to high 
cliffs; and these highlands, in some places, continue inland for a short 
distance. This same topography continues down the Plata to the vicinity 
of Buenos Aires. The Indians occupied these highlands, and undoubtedly 
it was on the heights that the conquistadors had their first contact with 
the natives, as the flood plains were nearly always inaccessible. 

The lower Parana has numerous left tributaries, the most voluminous 
of which is the Ibera draining a large basin. The other tributaries flow 
from the western watershed of the Argentine Mesopotamia. These 
rivers were good locations for primitive communities, but archeological 
evidence indicates that they were occupied only near their mouths. On 
the right bank, the Parana receives two tributaries which were of great 
significance in the life of the pre-Columbian populations. These are 
the Salado, which crosses the country from the border of the Puna de 
Atacama to Santa Fé, and the Carcarafia, which descends the Sierra de 
Comechingones. According to the geographical information which the 
Indians of Sancti Spiritu supplied to the explorer Cabot, it is evident 
that these two rivers, and especially the Salado, must have served as 
important routes of native commerce. Typical Parana cultures had, how- 
ever, penetrated only a few kilometers up the Salado, and no remains 
of the Parana type have ever been discovered on the Carcarana. In the 
northern part of the Province of Santa Fé, the rivers that run parallel 
to the Parana before entering it duplicate its general environmental 
conditions. 

The Delta embraces approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) of the 
lower course of the Parana. This extremely low region is intersected 
by a great number of streams, and it is subject to the tides of the Rio 
de la Plata, which inundate it periodically. During these floods only 
a few small, unusually high areas remain above the waters. On such 
areas are found the remains of the indigenous peoples of the region. 

The shores of the Parana are covered, for the most part, with monte 
(shrub vegetation) of a Mesopotamian type. The abundance of the 
flora varies considerably according to the latitude or to which river 
bank is involved. A hydrophyllic vegetation thrives in the insular region 
of the Delta, the most common species being the willow (Salix hum- 
boltiana), the ceiba (Erythrina crista-galli), and the yatay palm (Cocos 
yatay), the last a conspicuous tree the fruit of which was used by the 
Indians. In general, the insular landscape is characterized by swamp 
and aquatic vegetation of extraordinary exhuberance. 

The rich Parana flora afforded the Indian refuge and materials for 
shelter, but it yielded no important food element. The fauna, however, 
abundantly satisfied almost all the needs of the early inhabitants. 


PuiatEe 9.—Plastic representations from the Parana River country. a-c, Zoo- 
morphic handles, Malabrigo; d, human-head handle, vicinity of city of Parana; 
e-h, silhouette rim attachments; 7, j7, free representations of birds. (a and ec, 
Approximately % actual size; b and d, approximately % actual size; e-h, approxi- 
mately 44 actual size; 7 and 7, approximately % actual size.) (Courtesy Museo 
Etnografico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Buenos Aires.) 


(fe ae see 


PLatE 10.—Parana River area sherds. a-e, Incised lines with notched or punc- 
tated interiors (‘‘drag-and-jab’’ technique); f, g, sherds of the insular delta 
complex. (Courtesy Museo Etnogrdafico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, 
Buenos Aires.) 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER—APARICIO 59 


ETHNOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 


A brief analysis of the archeology of the Parana demonstrates three 
distinct archeological complexes: two in the region of the Delta, and 
a third which is found along both shores of the river above the Delta. 
The accounts of the early European discoverers of this country indicate 
that the Indians whom they encountered belonged to different tribes 
or “nations.” In interpreting the written sources by comparing them 
with the archeological evidence, it becomes clear that there were three 
outstanding aboriginal groups. 

The first of these were the Querandi, who lived in the territory of 
Sancti Spiritu: The “people of the country,’ as Ramirez called them. 
Oviedo y Valdés (1851-55) says that they were inland dwellers, and 
Sebastian Cabot (in Medina, 1908) affirms that their territory extended to 
the foot of the mountains. They occasionally reached the coast, and 
this explains why their name was given to the creek at whose mouth 
the Portuguese explorer Lépes de Sousa set up two landmarks bearing 
the coat of arms of his king. Later, Mendoza, according to Ulrich 
Schmidel (1903), encountered the Querandi in the region where the Port 
of Santa Maria de Buen Aire was situated. These Indians, in spite 
of their presence on the coast, cannot be considered as typical inhabitants 
of the Parana and are not treated in this paper. Undoubtedly, they did 
not form a tribe, properly speaking, but were a band or a group who, 
a little after the second founding of Buenos Aires, are no longer mentioned 
but became confused with the other Indians of the plains and were in- 
cluded under the general name of “Pampas.” 

The second important group were the Guarani, who inhabited some 
of the islands and navigated the Parana, “because they were the enemies 
of all the other nations,” says Ramirez. The Guarani left behind ceme- 
teries with urn burials and other types of characteristic remains. Finally, 
the chroniclers mention a series of people who lived along the banks 
of the river: Carcarai, Chana, Begua, Chana-Timbu, Timbu, Mocoretai, 
Camarao, Mepene. All of these peoples were, evidently, small bands 
belonging to a larger group, the third major group of the area. The 
archeological evidence found along the shores of the Parana verifies 
the testimony of the conquistadors who, although they gave many 
names to these people, left no doubt that culturally they were funda- 
mentally uniform. To these people can be assigned the dominant archeo- 
logical complex of the Parana, characterized by the ceramic representa- 
tions and accompanying other remains (Aparicio, 1928-29). 

The sites, other than those of the Guarani, which have been found on 
the “cerritos” (small elevations) of the Delta cannot yet be assigned to 
any of the people mentioned in the early literature. All that is known 
of these people is confined to the archeological materials themselves. 
These materials differ both from the Parana complex of the ceramic 

653333—47—7 


60 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


plastic representations and from those of the Guarani sites. It is very 
possible that when the remains from some of the sites of the right margin 
of the Rio de la Plata are better known that these will prove to have 
a close relationship with those from the Delta “cerritos.” 


HISTORY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 


The excavation of the “Tumulo Prehistorico de Campana,” made around 
1877 by Don Estanislao S. Zeballos and Pedro P. Pico (1878), began 
archeological research along the Parana and was also the first systematic 
investigation of an Argentine archeological site. Several years later, in 
1893-94, Ambrosetti found fragments of decorated pottery in Entre Rios 
and a handsome collection of plastic representations in pottery from the 
site of Goya. Further field work was not attempted along the Parana 
littoral until Frenguelli and the present author discovered important 
sites on the Malabrigo River. Other minor discoveries were also made 
by Frenguelli, by the author, and by Antonio Serrano. 

The Delta of the Parana is known from the works of L. M. Torres 
(1913) and from the recent excavations of the North American, Samuel 
K. Lothrop. 

The bibliography relative to Parana archeology includes important 
works of other authors—Ameghino, Lafone Quevedo, Outes, and Torres. 
These are, however, monographic treatments of selected themes and are 
based upon rapid exploratory trips, occasional discoveries, or library 
research. The present brief synthesis is based, for the most part, upon 
the personal investigations carried out in the lower Parana region by 
the author. These investigations are only partly published. 


ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES 
SITES ALONG THE PARANA 


Campana and Goya are the classic sites of the Parana littoral. The 
first was studied with surprising care for the period in which the excava- 
tions were made (1877). The investigators stated, with regard to the 
nature of the mound: 


We established a priori that this monument was a tumulus similar to those found 
in the different territories of Europe and the Americas. Its material consists of 
decayed vegetal substances and Quaternary deposits. Taking the form of an ellipse, 
its major diameter measures 79 varas [approximately 220 feet, or 70 m.]; the lesser 
diameter was 32 varas [approximately 90 ft., or 30 m.]; and its greatest height was 
24 varas [approximately 7 ft., or 2.2 m.] above the surrounding ground. [Zeballos 
and Pico, 1878.] 


Zeballos defined the mound, on the basis of its general appearance, 
as a tumulus comparable to the earth monuments of other continents. 
At about the same time, some similar sites had been discovered by re- 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER—APARICIO 61 


liable amateurs in the lowlands of southern Entre Rios. The coincidence 
of these discoveries was commented upon by Ameghino, shortly after 
this, leading to the supposition of the existence of a culture or “a people 
of the tumuli.” 

At Goya, Ambrosetti made very rapid and superficial observations, 
and his descriptions do not give a clear idea of the conditions under 
which he discovered the material which he describes. However, judging 
from investigations in many other sites along the Parana, it is evident 
that Ambrosetti was investigating a site quite typical of the region. These 
sites are always found on the banks of the river or of its tributaries, 
and are situated on high ground above the zone of inundations. The 
cultural remains are always found at a very slight depth, immediately 
below the humus. They consist of potsherds, apparently scattered in- 
tentionally, hearths, remains of food, and human bones coming from 
secondary inhumations. The writer has noted sites of this type in Cor- 
rientes, in the vicinity of the city of Parana, near Diamante and Victoria, 
in Gaboto and other places along the right bank of the Coronda, and 
in various localities north of the city of Santa Fé. A site of the same 
type, but located on low ground in the insular region, is Las Tejas, ex- 
plored by Antonio Serrano, in the vicinity of the Lake of Coronda. 

The better-known sites of the Parana are, however, those of the right 
bank of the Malabrigo River. They are located upon a series of hills 
that extend a short distance from the edge of the river. Frenguelli 
remarks that, taking into account the “characteristic alignment [of these 
hills] upon the edge of a fluvial valley, and the nature and homogeneity 
of the materials that compose them,” they must be interpreted “as ancient 
aeolian accumulations [sand dunes] more or less affected by later weather 
action, that shaped them in the form of hills, which are likely places, 
in these regions, for the refuge of indigenous populations” (Frenguelli 
and Aparicio, 1923). In all of the mounds explored, artifacts and human 
skeletal remains have been found at only a very slight depth in the sand. 


SITES OF THE DELTA 


In the insular region and the bordering lowlands of the Delta, a country 
subjected to periodic flooding or tidal action of the estuary of the Rio 
de la Plata, locations of aboriginal dwellings were limited to only a few 
elevated places, which are referred to today as “cerritos,” or little hills. 
In them are found cultural refuse and human burials. Because of their 
appearance, as small mounds rising above the surrounding lowlands, these 
“cerritos”’ have been considered by some authorities, especially Torres, 
as true tumuli that were deliberately constructed by man. However, 
Lothrop, who has explored one of these “mounds,” believes that their 
artificial elevation is the inadvertent accumulation of detritus left by 


62 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


human occupation. Outes, who explored a site of this type in Mazaruca, 
also tends to this latter view: 

Mazaruca, as with the great majority of the other burial places in more or less 
isolated elevations, is a relatively consolidated sand dune. Some of these dunes are 
covered by a cap of humus, deep enough to be considered the product of the slow 
transformation of the coarse quartz sand which forms the underlying material of 
the dune, and to which has been added continuously detritus carried by floods and 


the decomposed organic matter from the rank vegetation that covers the surface 
ot the marsh. [Outes, 1912.] 


The author has had occasion to investigate a similar site in “La Argen- 
tina,” in the region of Mazaruca, and concurs with Outes (Aparicio, 1928). 
It is unfortunate that a comprehensive study of the geological nature of 
the “cerritos” has not yet been made. 


CULTURAL REMAINS 
THE PARANA LITTORAL 


Plastic representations.—The sites along the shores of the Parana 
are characterized by modeled pottery figures or plastic representations, 
with which are associated quantities of potsherds, plain, incised, and, 
in a few cases, painted. By and large, however, the materials, which 
are almost exclusively ceramics, are of rather poor quality and of 
monotonous uniformity. 

All of the plastic representations are hand-made, and knowledge of 
molds was lacking. All of the figures conform to a definite art style 
which distinguishes them from comparable pottery representations found 
in other American areas.1 The native artists of the Parana interpreted 
the regional fauna with surprising talent and sensibility. They were 
sometimes able to reproduce nature with a masterly realism; in other 
instances, they modified the form until they achieved stylizations of a 
disconcerting audacity. Both types of depiction are usually complemented 
by incised decoration which is purely geometric and in no sense zoomor- 
phic characterizations. 

The plastic representations, in some cases, were adornos on pottery 
vessels, serving either as handles or simply as added ornaments. The 
figure handles are bulky and are attached to the vessel walls; the purely 
decorative adornos are silhouette forms which appear to have been added 
to the rims as an extention of the vessel wall. In both cases, the figures 
have the same paste, firing, finish, etc., as the vessels of which they form 
a part. 
~ 2 Attention has often been called to the analogies existing between the plastic representations of 
the Parand and of the Amazon and other regions of the continent. Nordenskidld in studying this 
problem contrasted a series of schematic drawings. As in such schemes, the sculptures have lost 
all stylistic quality, and the resemblances of one with the other are therefore surprising. However, 
anyone who has seen an appreciable quantity of plastic representations of the Parand and of the 


Amazon, and who has some artistic sensibility, would not hesitate to declare the analogy to be of 
theme and not of style. 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER—APARICIO 63 


The function of the separate or free figures can only be conjectured. 
They differ from the attached figures in being larger and usually solid 
rather than hollow, as is the case with the latter. 

At the sites of Malabrigo, Resistencia, Campana, and Goya, the figures 
are almost exclusively of the attached type. In sites of the river country 
of Santa Fé, between San José del Rincén and Gaboto, and in those 
along the banks of the Parana between the city of Parana and the Delta 
(such as Las Tejas), the free figures have been found in greater 
abundance. As there is a fairly adequate bibliography upon this subject, 
only a few typical examples of the plastic representations will be illustrated 
and discussed here. Plate 9, a, a handle figure from Malabrigo, is a 
magnificent example of interpretative realism. Although executed in 
a slovenly manner and free of all technical preoccupation, it unites sur- 
prising elements of expression and life. The beak is exaggerated in its 
dimensions but faithfully portrayed; the fierce expression of the eye and 
the tufted crest give the head a singular dynamism and exceptional vitality. 
The decorations of the piece have been executed with a marked lack of 
prolixity. They consist simply of a series of parallel rows of punctations 
that run perpendicular to the tufted crest and cover both sides of the 
face. Below, and at the sides of the beak, this simple ornamental feature 
is repeated in smaller size. Another handle representation from Mal- 
abrigo (pl. 9, b) is a good example of extreme stylization. Although 
this head has the same general characteristics as the last, the artist’s 
intent was obviously different. His interest was not in achieving sincere 
realism, but in producing a graceful and elegant formalism, which he 
accomplished with admirable simplicity by portraying a beak of dispro- 
portionate size and a long undulant crest which extends down the back 
of the head. The crest plays an important decorative role, complementing 
two grooved projections at the sides of the head. Ornamentation is 
limited to some parallel zigzag lines. This particular specimen is almost 
completely covered with red ocher. 

The great parrots were the preferred subjects of the native sculptors 
of the Parana littoral, and representations of them constitute an over- 
whelming majority of known specimens. Other birds and animals were 
also portrayed. Plate 9, c, another handle specimen from Malabrigo, 
is a beautiful example of an owl. The artist has retained only features 
necessary to the characterization: Eyes, “horns,” and beak. He has 
represented them with great ease and assurance. 

The artists made human representations much less often than animals, 
and with less success. An example of accentuated human realism is the 
little head (pl. 9, d) from the vicinity of the city of Parana. 

No intact vessel has yet been discovered with two figure handles attached, 
but the great number of rim sherds with such attachments leaves little 


64 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


doubt that such handles were used on vessels, e. g., figure 4, a nearly 
complete specimen from Las Tejas, Santa Fé. The handles on this piece 
are of an exceptional type, as the zoomorphic figure has been depicted 
as an entire body rather than by the usual practice of simply showing 
it as a head (Aparicio, 1925). 


Ficure 4.—Parana River vessel with zoomorphic handles. (Courtesy Museo Etno- 
grafico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Buenos Aires.) 


The silhouette rim attachments which the author first discovered and 
published some years ago, are definitely in the artistic style of the Parana 
plastic representations (pl. 9, e-h). The silhouettes have been made by 
cutting out the outline of the animal which is being represented from a flat piece of 
clay. The surfaces of the figures are then treated somewhat in the manner of relief 


sculpture, in some cases to augment the characterization intended, and in others 
simply to decorate the figures. [Aparicio, 1923.] 


Various examples of separate or free representations, either complete 
or fragmentary, have been examined by the author. Plate 9, 1, can be 
considered typical. Artistically, it is contemptible. The heavy modeled 
parrot is scarcely recognizable. The head reproduced in plate 9, 7, though 
of unusual beauty, is no doubt a similar piece. Although the subject 
has been drastically conventionalized, the essential characteristics—beak, 
crest, and throat—enable one to recognize it immediately as a royal condor. 
The head is covered with incised decoration, which, as usual, is discon- 
nected and seems to lack design plan. 

Pottery.—Plastic representations are always found in association with 
plain, incised, and painted potsherds. Some instances of combined paint- 
ing and incision have also been noted. Various ornamental combinations 
have been made with incised lines, but these have not yet been system- 
atically analyzed. These decorative combinations show some similarity 
to comparable pottery decorations from other primitive cultures. How- 
ever, the exact nature of these incised decorations, and the manner in 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER—APARICIO 65 


which they have been executed, is characteristic of the Parana littoral. 
Incision was made in the soft paste by a small pointed instrument which 
effected a series of successive impressions, or a groove with a notched 
interior. These notched grooved lines (“drag-and-jab”) vary consider- 
ably, depending upon the size and shape of the instrument used. Plate 
10, a-e, shows a random selection of such sherds. At a glance one can 
see the identity of the pottery decorations with those found on the plastic 
representations. 

In addition, pottery decorated with incised lines and separate puncta- 
tions is not lacking. Pottery may also have the most elementary sort of 
decorative treatment: fingernail impressions and finger-and-fingernail 
impressions in various combinations. These latter types are, nevertheless, 
in the minority, and they cannot be considered as typical manifestations of 
the culture. (See concluding section of Guarani influences. ) 

The people of the Parana littoral apparently had the custom of inten- 
tionally destroying their pottery and other ceramic artifacts. Because of 
this, very few complete specimens are now extant. The sherds, however, 
reveal that there were various vessel forms, some small and carefully 
made, others large, coarse, and without decoration. There is only one 
good example of a vessel of the finer ware; but there are, perhaps, a 
dozen of the large coarse vessels. These latter are usually subglobular in 
shape. All complete vessels have been brought together in a special 
monograph (Iribarne, 1937). 

Miscellaneous ceramic objects.—Exceptionally, in some sites, pipes, 
pendants, and spindle whorls have been found. 

Nonceramic objects.—Artifacts of stone or bone are extremely scarce. 
In Malabrigo, the stone industry can be considered nonexistent ; in Goya, 
four worked stone artifacts and several bolas were found; in Campana, 
Zeballos and Pico mention the finding of 150 pieces of worked and polished 
stone. Unfortunately, this last material was lost and there is no descrip- 
tion available. However, the exceptional lithic representation at Campana 
can be satisfactorily explained if it is realized that the site lies on the 
periphery of the Parana littoral culture. This stone artifact complex was 
probably the result of contact with neighboring peoples. 

Bone artifacts are similar to stone artifacts in their occurrence. Their 
presence at Campana, again, must be explained by the geographical loca- 
tion of the site. 


THE PARANA DELTA 


The Delta culture of the “cerritos.”— Although the general aspect of 
the Delta sites is more or less uniform, the contents of these sites is 
variable. Some sites contain urn burials accompanied by a very charac- 
teristic artifact complex. Other sites have direct inhumations accompanied 
by unspecialized ceramics and bone artifacts. The latter correspond to 


66 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


sites already mentioned, with the exception of Arroyo Malo explored by 
Lothrop (1932). 

The sites with the direct inhumations and the nondistinctive archeo- 
logical content, represent the insular culture of the “cerritos,” presumably 
the remains of the ancient occupants of the Delta. In addition to being 
little specialized, and lacking in definitive characteristics, the pottery and 
artifacts from the “cerritos” are very scarce. Skeletal remains, on the 
other hand, are quite abundant. The potsherds that have been found 
show very simple line and punctate combinations. They differ, signifi- 
cantly, from those attributed to the peoples of the Guaycuru family, and, 
even more strikingly, from the well-known Guarani ceramics. In plate 
10, f, g, are shown sherds from the sites of the insular Delta complex. 
(Cf. with pl. 10, a-e.) 

A stone industry is very poorly represented in these Delta sites. Those 
artifacts found probably were trade pieces received from neighboring 
peoples. Artifacts of bone and horn, such as awls, punches, and points, 
although not highly specialized or differentiated, are the most typical. 


Guarani influences.—Various sites of the Delta are characterized by 
great funerary urns. Despite the fact that investigations at only one such 
site have been fully published (Lothrop, 1932, Arroyo Malo), the artifact 
complex associated with this culture of the urn burials is well known and 
is attributed to the Guarani peoples. The distribution of Guarani finds 
is very extensive, allowing comparisons with similar discoveries made in 
relatively remote regions, such as the upper Parana and the upper Para- 
guay Rivers. In addition, they are also found throughout the entire 
geographical area to which we have been referring in this paper. Some- 
times these Guarani-type finds are found by themselves; in other instances 
they are found as intrusions into archeological strata of other cultures. 

The Guarani funerary urns have peculiar forms. The surfaces are 
plain or fingernail marked, or, more rarely, they are completely or par- 
tially painted with polychrome decorations (fig. 5; pls. 11, 12). Frag- 
ments of pottery are also found in association with the burial urns. These 
suggest vessels of different forms and uses which have been decorated in 
a similar manner to the funerary vessels. 

There are also typical stone artifacts in association with the above 
pottery. These are polished axes and lip plugs of various forms. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Ambrosetti, 1893, 1894; Ameghino, 1880-81; Aparicio, 1923, 1925, 1928, 1928-1929; 
Cabot (in Medina, 1908); Frenguelli and Aparicio, 1923; Iribarne, 1937; Lafone- 
Quevedo, 1909; Lothrop, 1932; Outes, 1912; Oviedo y Valdés, 1851-55; Schmidel, 
1903; Torres, L. M., 1913; Zeballos and Pico, 1878. 


THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PARANA RIVER 67 


oe 


emer) 
rain a 


PU LY; 


Figure 5.—Guarani pottery from the Paran4 Delta. Top: Painted, fingernail-marked, 
and plain wares. Bottom: Painted urn (height, 18 inches (44.5 cm.)). (Courtesy 
Museo Etnografico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Buenos Aires; and after 
Lothrop, 1932, pl. 10.) 


653333—47—8 


THE GUARANI 


By AtFrreD METRAUX 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


The area inhabited by the Guarani (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, 
map 7) has shrunk considerably since the 16th century. Today the 
Guarani who have preserved their cultural identity form isolated islands 
in Paraguay and southern Brazil. The subtribes mentioned by Spanish 
conquistadors and missionaries have disappeared, and the names which 
designate modern Guarani groups are fairly recent and appear in the 
literature only in the 18th century. Therefore, it is necessary to deal 
with ancient and modern Guarani as if they were separate entities. The 
Guarani language, however, is still spoken by Mestizos, or acculturated 
Indians, in most of the territory where it was used at the time of the 
Conquest. The rural population of Paraguay is often called Guarani. 
Therefore, in order to avoid confusion between these modern civilized 
Guarani and their primitive contemporaries, we shall always refer to 
the latter as Caingud. 

Guarani of the 16th and 17th centuries.—The Guarani were first 
known as Carij6 or Cario, but the name Guarani finally prevailed in the 
17th century. At this time, the Guarani were the masters of the Atlantic 
Coast from Barra de Cananea to Rio Grande do Sul, (lat. 26°-33° S., 
long. 48°-52° W.) and from there their groups extended to the Parana, 
Uruguay, and Paraguay Rivers. 

Guarani groups, called by the early chroniclers “Guarani de las islas,” 
Chandris, or Chandules, lived in the 16th century on the islands of the 
Rio de la Plata, and on the southern side of the Parana Delta from San 
Isidro to the vicinity of the Carcarafia River (lat. 34° S., long. 58° W.) 
There were some Guarani enclaves along the Uruguayan shore, at Martin 
Chico, and from San Lazaro to San Salvador. Pottery vessels of un- 
mistakable Guarani origin have been found near San Francisco Soriano 
and Concordia in Uruguay, on the island of Martin Garcia and at Arroyo 
Malo, between the Lujan River and the Parana de las Palmas River. 

On the eastern side of the Uruguay River, the borderline between the 
Charrua and the bulk of the Guarani nation ran near Yapeyu. On the 


69 


70 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


western side, the Guarani occupied all the land from Yapeyt to the 
Parana River (Serrano, 1936, p. 121). From the junction of the 
Parana and Paraguay Rivers, Guarani villages were distributed con- 
tinuously up the eastern side of the Paraguay River and up both sides 
of the Parana River. They reached north to the Mbotetey (Miranda) 
River (lat. 20° S.,), and east probably to the Serras de Amambay and 
Maracayu. The Guarani were especially numerous in the Parana Basin 
and in the Province of Guaira. There were also countless settlements 
along the tributaries of the Parana River, the boundary between the 
Tupinakin and Guarani being approximately the Tieté River. The 
Guarani extended south to the Province of Tapé (today, Serra Geral). 

Although Guarani was the generic name of this widespread people, 
the Spaniards in the 16th and 17th centuries distinguished local tribes 
by special names. Around Lagoa dos Patos, the Guarani were called 
Arechane (lat. 32° S., long. 51° W.) ; from the Apa River to the Mbotetey 
(Miranda) River, Itatin (lat. 22° S., long. 57° W.); in the Serra Geral 
and Rio Grande do Sul, Tapé (lat. 30° S., long. 52° W.); around San 
Estanislao and San Joaquin, Tobatin; on the Ypané River, Guarambaré 
(lat. 23° S., long. 56° W.) ; and on the Ivahy (Ivahyete) River, Taioba. 
Tribes with a different language and culture, such as the Caingang, or 
with a different culture, such as the Guayaki, were scattered among the 
Guarani. 

In the second half of the 17th century, the Northern Guarani or Itatin, 
were driven south by the Mbayd-Guaicuru, a Chaco tribe. 


Modern Guarani tribes.—Since the 18th century, the Guarani groups 
who had remained independent and had not been collected in missions 
have been distinguished from the Christianized Guarani by the name 
Caingua (Kaa-thwua, Kaingua, Cayud, Monteses), which means “In- 
habitants of the Forest.” 

About 1800, the Caingud (Caagua) inhabited the headwaters of the 
Iguatemi River, extending north toward the upper Miranda River to 
Cerro Pyta in the Cordillera de San José near the headwaters of the 
Ypané River. They also lived near the Jejui-guazu (Jejui) and the 
Aguaray-guazii Rivers and in the vicinity of the cities of Curuguaty, 
San Joaquin, and San Estanislao (Azara, 1904, p. 407). 

The Caingud proper lived on the Ypané River, the Carima in the Serra 
Maracayti (lat. 23° S., long. 54° W.), and the Taruma east of the Yhu 
River (lat. 24° S., long. 56° W.). 

The Indians who at the end of the 18th century lived on the right 
side of the Parana River between the Guarapay and Monday Rivers 
and on the left side of the Parana River from Corpus to the Iguassu 
River, were known as Guayana (lat. 26° S., long. 56° W.). A group of 
these Guayana still exists at Villa Azara on the stream Pira-pyta. These 
Guarani-speaking Guayand should not be confused with the ancient 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX val 


Guayand of Sao Paulo and Parana, who were Caingang Indians (Azara, 
1904, p. 406). 

Modern Caingud (Caaigud) are divided into three groups: 

(1) The Mbyd (Mbwiha, Ava-mbiha, Caaygua, Apyteré, Baticola), 
who occupy the forested spurs of the Serra de Maracayti (lat. 25°-27° 
S., long. 55° W.) and the region around Corpus in the Argentine terri- 
tory of Misiones. Groups of Mbyd (or Caingua) are even more widely 
scattered in Mato Grosso and in the States of Parana and Rio Grande 
do Sul. 

(2) The Chiripa, who live south of the Jejua-guazu River and are 
also reported on the right and left sides of the upper Parana River, along 
the Yuytorocai River and north of the Iguasst River (lat. 25° S., long. 
54°-56° W.). 

(3) The Pan’ (Terendhé), who live north of the Jejui-guazu River. 

Of these three groups, the Mbyd have remained the closest to their 
ancient Guarani culture; the Chiripd are the most acculturated. 

There are also several groups of Cainguda or Guarani in Brazil. The 
Apapocuva (lat. 24° S., long. 54° W.) regard themselves as distinct from 
the Paraguayan Caingud although they are closely related to them. Before 
they started in 1870 trekking east in search of the Land-Without-Evil 
(see below, p. 93), they lived on the lower Iguatemi River, in the 
southern tip of the State of Mato Grosso. In 1912, 200 still lived on 
the Iguatemi River ; about 200 in the reservation of Arariba, in the State 
of Sado Paulo; 100 on the Rio das Cinzas, in the State of Parana; about 
70 in Potrero Guazt, in Mato Grosso; and about 40 at the mouth of 
the Ivahi River. The Tafygud, who also made this trek, resided on 
the Parana River near the Iguatemi River (lat. 23° S., long. 54° W.). 
After a long migration which took them to the Atlantic Coast, they became 
established on the Rio de Peixe and the Itariry River, where a few of 
them still remained in 1912. 

The ancient habitat of the Oguauiva, from which they migrated toward 
the Ocean in 1830, was situated near the Serra de Maracayu (lat. 24° 
S., long 54° W.). In 1912, 100 Oguauiva lived in the reservation of 
Arariba, and 40 near the coast. 

The other Caingud groups who, according to Nimuendaju (1914 a, 
p. 293), lived in southern Brazil about 1912 were: The Cheiru,’ near 
the mouth of the Iguatemi ; the Avahuguai, on the Dourados; the Paiguagu, 
on the Curupayna River (Mato Grosso) ; the Yvytyigud, opposite the 
Serra do Diabo, in the State of Parana; the Avachiripd, on the left side 
of the Parana (State of Parana) ; the Catanduva Jatahy, in the same State. 

The Apapocuva, Tanygud, Oguauiva, and Cheiru are regarded as 
Guarani whereas the Avahuguai, Paiguagu, Yvytyigud, Avachiripda, and 


1 There are also Cheiru in Paraguay near the Guaira Falls. 


72 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Catanduva are designated in Brazil under the generic term of Caiua 
(Kaygua). 

The Ivaparé (Aré, Shetad), erroneously called Botocudo or Notoboto- 
cudo because of their wooden labrets, are a Guarani-speaking group living 
on the Ivahy River, near the Ranharanha (Ariranha) Cachoeira (lat. 24° 
S., long. 53° W.). These Indians have abandoned farming, and roam in 
the forests like the Guayaki (Borba, 1904, Loukotka, 1929). 

At present most of the Caingud groups are in constant contact with the 
Mestizos and Whites, and many Caingud work as peons in the estancias, 
in the maté or lumber camps. With the earned money they buy clothes, 
tools, food, pots, sugar, and salt. Consequently, they have abandoned 
weaving and even their native ware. On the other hand, they still culti- 
vate the same plants as their ancestors. 

Population.—Nimuendaju (1914 a, p. 293) estimated in 1912 the total 
number of the Brazilian Cainguda at about 3,000. 

Sources.—Information on the ancient Guarani is scanty and fragmen- 
tary, but can be supplemented by our better knowledge of their descend- 
ants, the numerous Caingud tribes of Paraguay and southern Brazil. 
Moreover, from all available evidence, ancient Guarani culture appears to 
be basically like that of their neighbors and kinsmen, the coastal Tupi. 

Most of the data on the ancient Guarani used in this chapter come from 
the “Comentarios de Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca’ (see Pedro Her- 
nandez, 1852), Schmidel (1903), Ruiz de Montoya’s (1892) “Conquista 
espiritual,” and the “Cartas anuas de la Compania de Jesus” (1927-29). 
Del Techo (1673, 1897) and Lozano (1873-75), who often have been 
regarded among our best authorities on the Guarani, obtained most of 
their data from Jesuit reports (Cartas anuas). 

The earliest description of the Caingud appears in Dobrizhoffer (1874). 
Azara’s (1809, 1904) often-quoted passages on the Guarani should be 
used with caution. Rengger (1835) in the beginning of the 19th century 
and Vogt (1904), Ambrosetti (1895 b), and Vellard (1939 a) in recent 
times have contributed good information on the material culture of the 
Paraguayan Caingud. On the Cayud of Southern Brazil, we have a 
monograph by Von Koenigswald (1908). The outstanding sources on 
the modern Guarani, or Caingud, are a monograph by Nimuendaju (1914 
a) on the religion and mythology of the Apapocuva-Guarani, and a series 
of studies by Father Franz Miiller (1934-35) on the Paraguayan Caingud. 

Pablo Hernandez’s (1913) monumental work is the most complete 
modern source on the history and organization of the Jesuit missions. 
Cardiel’s (1900) “Declaracién de la verdad” and Muratori’s (1754) 
“Nouvelles des missions du Paraguay” are excellent 18th-century treatises 
on life in the missions. 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 13 


ARCHEOLOGY OF THE GUARANI AREA 

Many archeological finds have been made in the area formerly inhabited 
by the Guarani, but only a few systematic investigations have ever been 
undertaken of ancient sites or cemeteries. The attribution of some of the 
remains unearthed in former Guarani territory is often uncertain because 
the Guarani seem to have been late comers in the regions where we find 
them in the 16th century. They were preceded by people of different 
prehistoric cultures, some of which, such as the Caingang, have survived 
up to the present. The main problems center around classification of 
stone implements, which cannot always be easily distinguished from those 
produced by the early non-Guarani population. Pottery, however, leaves 
little or no margin for doubt. The aboriginal occupants of Paraguay or 
southern Brazil had either no ceramics or else only a very crude ware. 
Guarani ware presents the following features: A corrugated decoration 
produced by thumb impressions on the soft clay, linear designs in red 
and black on a whitish background, and the use of large conical chicha 
jars as funeral urns (pls. 11, 12). 

There is a striking resemblance between the pottery of the ancient 
Tupinamba of the coast (Netto, 1885; Ihering, 1904) and that of the 
Guarani of Paraguay. The modern Chiriguano, descendants of Guarani 
invaders from Paraguay, still make chicha jars almost identical in shape 
and decoration to those which are so often unearthed in their home country. 
Moreover, typical Guarani vases have been found associated with rosin 
labrets, a lip ornament still worn by modern Caingud. 

Direct, or primary, urn burial was the usual form of interment among 
the Guarani and persists among the Chiriguano of Bolivia. Archeology 
has amply confirmed the statements of early writers. The corpse was 
forced with the limbs flexed into a jar and covered with another vessel. 

Thering (1895, 1904), Mayntzhusen (1912), Ullrich (1906), Kunert 
(1890, 1891, 1892), Kunike (1911), Meyer (1896), Ambrosetti (1895 b), 
Vellard (1934), and Linné (1936) have described isolated finds. Max 
Schmidt (1932) has given a list of recent discoveries and has attempted 
to make a classification of the rich archeological material in the Museum 
of Asuncion. Pottery of unmistakable Guarani origin has been collected 
on the islands of the Parana Delta (pl. 11, top, center). They have been 
published and discussed by L. M. Torres (1913) and Outes (1917, 1918). 
Lothrop (1932, pp. 122-146) has given us a careful description of the 
results of his investigation in a Guarani cemetery at Arroyo Malo, a small 
tributary of the Lujan River, east of El Tigre, in the Province of Buenos 
Aires. Serrano (1936) has dealt with Guarani archeology in connection 
with his study of the ancient native cultures of Uruguay. 

The ware found in areas historically occupied by Guarani tribes con- 
sists mainly of funeral urns, large plates or vessels used as lids for these 
urns, and some pots which formed part of the funerary equipment. 


74 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 142 


Funeral urns, which originally were chicha jars, are of two main types: 
(1) those decorated on the upper part with rows of corrugated impres- 
sions or markings produced either with the fingers or with a stick, and 
(2) painted ones. 

The urns of the first category usually have a conical shape with a 
bulging upper part and a low outflaring or direct rim (pl. 11, bottom, 
left). Those of the second type are usually biconical with a flat or 
rounded bottom and a direct rim which often presents a median ridge 
(pl. 12,a). The height of the urns normally varies between 40 to 70 cm. 
(16 to 28 in.) and their diameter between 46 to 76 cm. (19 to 50 in.). 
A few specimens are one meter (3 ft.) high. 


Smaller vessels are (1) undecorated, (2) covered on their entire outer 
surface by fingernail marks (pl. 11), (3) painted (pl. 12), and (4) 
painted on the inside and decorated with fingernail marks or corrugated 
impressions on the outside. 


Several nail-incised vessels were found by Ambrosetti (1895 b) on 
the Alto Parana and by Lothrop (1932, pp. 134-135) at Arroyo Malo, 
near Buenos Aires, and at Parana-Guazu. 


Most of the specimens of small ware known up to the present are 
shallow bowls, or bowls with inverted rims. Some painted specimens 
have a characteristic biconical shape with a flat bottom. A few globular 
pots with outflaring rims seem to have been used in cooking. A single 
specimen with a tubular neck has been published by Vellard (1934, fig. 
S35). 

Some of the funeral urns and wide bowls found by Lothrop at Arroyo 
Malo are covered with a grayish slip and are adorned with red paint on 
the exterior. 


The decoration of the polychrome urns and bowls consists generally of 
red lines on a whitish background, but sometimes white patterns have 
been traced on a red background. Often the red designs are underscored 
by black strokes or bordered by incisions. On a few specimens coarse 
red patterns have been applied directly on the surface of the vessel. The 
motifs are always geometrical. They may be described as sigmoid curves, 
labyrinths, Greek frets, and elaborations of the chevron. A few vessels 
are decorated with plain red bands on a white background. 

Many urns show on their lower portions striations resulting from the 
use of corn husks in the smoothing process. 

Guarani vessels are, as a rule, without handles, though, according to 
Mayntzhusen (1912, p. 465), they may occur in a few instances. Some 
vessels were suspended through holes in the rim or through lateral 
prominences. 

At Arroyo Malo were found some clay “hemispheres,” or lumps 
decorated with incised patterns. Lothrop (1932, p. 143) calls them fire 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX q5 


dogs, that is to say, supports for pots, a hypothesis completely unconfirmed. 
No object of that type has been found in any other Guarani region. 

A fragment of a double vessel found at Arroyo Malo suggests a type 
of bowl used by the Chiriguano, though these modern vessels are obviously 
copied after European yerba maté containers. An effigy vessel collected 
at Arroyo Malo is definitely alien to Guarani culture as known through 
archeology. 

Crude stone drills, knives, hammers, and arrow-shaft polishers are 
listed by Mayntzhusen (1912, p. 463) among the stone objects he picked 
up from refuse heaps on the upper Parana River. He also mentions 
quartz lip plugs. Simple neolithic stone axes without any groove have 
been found in Guarani sites of the upper Parana River, on the island 
of Martin Garcia, and at Arroyo Malo. Lothrop (1932, p. 145) describes 
two fragmentary bolas from Arroyo Malo. One is well made with a 
broad groove; the other is roughly shaped with a narrow groove. Outes 
(1917, fig. 28) figures also a grooved bola obtained at Martin Garcia. 
The bola was not a Guarani weapon and its use seems to have been limited 
to the Guarani of the Delta. 

Hammerstones, roughly shaped by abrasion and including some pitted 
ones, have come to light in the excavations of Arroyo Malo. 

The bone artifacts which Mayntzhusen claims to have collected on 
ancient sites of the Parana River include needles, weaver daggers, 
spatulae, fishhooks, and flutes. He also discovered perforated shell disks 
and some human or animal teeth which were parts of a necklace. 


THE CONQUEST 


No mineral wealth has ever been exploited in Paraguay, but metal 
objects found among the aborigenes of this country in the 16th century 
brought about the conquest of the entire basin of the Rio de la Plata. 
The gold and silver, which members of the Solis expedition obtained 
from the Guarani and other Indians of this region, had come originally 
from the Inca Empire. At the end of the 15th century, probably 
under the reign of Inca Yupanqui, bands of Guarani had crossed the 
Chaco to raid the peaceful Chané along the Inca frontier and even attacked 
tribes directly under Inca rule. Some of these Guarani bands settled in 
the conquered territories; others returned loaded with loot. Groups, 
small and large, followed the first invaders and renewed their assaults 
against the “people of the metal.” The number of metal objects which 
reached Paraguay and the Rio de la Plata in this manner must have 
been considerable for, from the beginning of the Conquest, regions which 
actually had nothing to entice the Spaniards were the object of their 
most violent covetousness. These regions became the gateway to 
El Dorado. 

The first positive information on the “Sierra de la Plata” or “Tierra 


76 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.H. Bull. 148 


rica” was obtained by Alejo Garcia, who, with a few other white men, 
joined a Guarani raid against the Inca border. He wrote of his discovery 
to his companions who had remained in Santa Catarina. When Sebastian 
Cabot landed at Pernambuco in 1526, he had been told of gold and silver 
in the region of the Rio de la Plata. Later, in Santa Catarina he obtained 
more detailed information from Alejo Garcia’s companions and heard 
that “near the sierra there was a white king, dressed like a Spaniard,” 
and that Garcia and his companions had seen mines and had spoken 
with the Indians who lived near the sierra and “wore silver crowns on 
their heads and gold plates hanging from their necks and ears and at- 
tached around their belts.’ With his letter, Garcia had sent specimens 
of the metal. Convinced that they had reached El Dorado, Sebastian 
Cabot abandoned his intended journey to the East Indies and decided 
to ascend the Rio de la Plata, where he was assured he could “load a ship 
with gold and silver.” Cabot sailed the Parana and then the Paraguay 
River to its junction with the Pilcomayo River. Ramirez, in his famous 
letter recounting the Cabot expedition, says that, “the Guarani Indians 
of the region of Santa Ana wear many ear pendants and pendants of 
gold and silver,” and that a brigantine’s crew saw the same things some- 
what upstream. Through an interpreter, the Spaniards learned that the 
Chandule, who were Indians of the same tribe living 180 miles (60 
leagues) up the Paraguay River, “traded gold to the Guarani for beads 
and canoes.” The Chandule, who were probably the Guarani of the region 
of Itati, had much metal, “according to the Indians, because women and 
children went from their settlements to the mountain and brought back 
the aforesaid metal” (Ramirez in Medina, J. T., 1908, p. 456). 

The Cabot expedition was a failure, but the reports about the Sierra 
de la Plata, the Caracara Indians (i.e., the Quechua Indians of Charcas), 
and the silver and gold of the Guarani were avidly received by the 
Spaniards and led to the expedition of Adelantado Pedro de Mendoza. 
In 1536, Mendoza sent Juan de Ayolas up the Paraguay River to find 
a route to the land of the Caracara. Ayolas ascended the Paraguay River 
to the Port of Candelaria, at lat. 19° S., whence, led by a former slave 
of Garcia, he crossed the Chaco through the land of the Mbayd, and 
reached the Caracara. Like Alejo Garcia, he returned “with 20 loads 
of gold and silver,’ but, on reaching the Paraguay River, he and his 
companions were massacred by the Payagua Indians (1538). <A year 
earlier, Juan de Salazar de Espinosa had founded the city of Asuncion. 
The Cario (Guarani), who understood the aim of the Spaniards and 
who hoped to make them allies in their raids, were extremely friendly 
to the Spaniards, and provided them with food and women. Henceforth, 
the Guarani served as auxiliaries and porters in all Spanish expeditions, 
whether to the Chaco or to the Andes. When Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de 
Vaca fought the Mbayd-Guaicuri in 1542, he was assisted by 10,000 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX Ti 


Guarani, who gathered at Tapua. Two thousand Guarani accompanied 
Domingo de Irala in 1548 and even more followed Nufrio de Chaves 
in 1558. 

The Guarani later resisted the ruthless exploitation of which they were 
victims (for example, the revolts of Tabaré and Guarambaré), but they 
lacked the determination and unity shown by other tribes so that their 
revolts were easily crushed. Later Guarani rebellions were often led by 
native messiahs, the most famous of whom was Obera (end of the 16th 
century), who promised the Indians supernatural support and convinced 
them that the happiness of native times would be restored after the final 
expulsion of the White men. 

From the outset, the conquistadors, like the European colonists on 
the coast of Brazil, were strongly attracted by the beauty of the Guarani 
women—who readily yielded to their solicitations—and took native wives 
or mistresses. As some of these were daughters and sisters of local 
chiefs, the alliances proved useful to the Spaniards, for the Indians felt 
obliged to support and serve their new relatives. The Spaniards lived 
scattered in small ranches around Asuncion, surrounded by harems (some 
with 20 to 30 women), and by their wives’ relatives. 


The young colony came to consist of a rapidly growing Mestizo popu- 
lation, without which it would have been abandoned soon after the 
Conquest of Pert. The system of encomiendas, introduced in the middle 
of the 16th century, had the usual dire effects on the native population. 
Forced to work for their masters and often ill-treated, the Indians died 
by the thousands. At the end of the 16th century, there remained 
within a radius of 21 miles (7 leagues) around Asuncion, only 3,000 
Indians. The region of Tapua, north of Asuncién, which had been 
covered with ranches, was practically abandoned. The disappearance 
of the natives, however, was compensated by the constant increase of 
the Mestizos, or “mancebos de la tierra,” whose lawlessness is often 
stressed by Spanish chroniclers. These descendants of early Spaniards 
and Guarani form the main element in the million or so people of modern 
Paraguay, so that their language is still spoken in rural Paraguay, in 
the Argentine territory of Misiones, and in the State of Corrientes. Even 
in cities, such as Asuncion, part of the population still uses the language 
of their Guarani ancestors. 

The missions.—Unlike the Guarani under the Spanish encomiendas, 
that portion of the tribe which occupied the upper Parana River and the 
Uruguay River basin was subject to Jesuit missions for about two centuries 
(1608-1767). Their post-Conquest history, therefore, is identical with 
that of the missions. The first Jesuits (Juan Solano, Manuel de Ortega, 
and Tomas Filds) arrived in Asuncién in 1588. Two of these fathers 
went to the region of Fl Guaira, a territory defined on the west by the 
Parana River, on the north by the Tieté River, on the south by the Iguassu 


78 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


River, and in the east by a vague line drawn by the treaty of Tordesillas. 
Here, the Spaniards had founded two cities, Ciudad real del Guaira (1554) 
and Villarica. The two Jesuits visited numerous Indian villages, baptizing 
children and moribunds, but they did not establish any permanent mission. 
In 1609, the King of Spain, at the request of Hernandarias de Saavedra, 
Governor of Paraguay, granted the Jesuits permission to conquer the 
150,000 Guarani Indians of El Guaira, by “means of doctrines and by the 
preaching of the Gospel.” 

The first Jesuit mission in Paraguay was San Ignacio Guazu, founded 
north of the Parana River, but the first establishments of El Guaira 
(Nuestra Sefiora de Loreto and San Ignacio-miri on the Pirapo River), 
which were to become so prosperous, were created in 1610 by Fathers José 
Cataldino and Simon Maceta. The apostle of the Guaira was the famous 
Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, founder of 11 missions between 1622 and 1629 
and author of the great classic of Guarani language, the “Arte, vocabulario, 
tesoro de la lengua Guarani” (1876). In another book, “Conquista 
espiritual . . . del Paraguay” (1892), he reports his adventures and 
successes and the ruin of the missions. In 1630, the flourishing missions of 
El Guaira were destroyed by the raids of slave hunters from Sao Paulo, 
the dreaded mamelucos, who attacked the missions and captured all whom 
they did not slaughter. In a few years, they are said to have killed or 
enslaved 300,000 Guarani Indians. From 1628 to 1630 they took 60,000 
Indians from the Jesuit missions to Sao Paulo. In 1631 Ruiz de Montoya 
evacuated Loreto and San Ignacio, the two last missions to survive in El 
Guaira, and took the people in a heroic anabasis from El Guaira to the 
Parana River. Twelve thousand Indians began this forced migration but 
only 4,000 survived its vicissitudes. 

The northern territory of the Guarani, between the Paraguay, Mbotetey 
(Miranda), and Jejui-guazu Rivers and the Sierra de Amambay, was 
called the Province of Itatin after one of its local Guarani subtribes. The 
Jesuits founded four missions here in 1631, but in 1632 these were all 
destroyed by the mamelucos from So Paulo. Later, two new missions 
were founded in the same area. 

The same year the Jesuits entered the mountainous region in the Bra- 
zilian State of Rio Grande do Sul, which forms the divide between the 
basins of the Uruguay and the Jacui Rivers. This was formerly called 
Tapé, but today only a branch of the mountain system is known as Sierra 
de los Tapes ; the remainder is known as Sierra de San Martin and Cuchilla 
Grande. From 1632 to 1635, the Jesuits founded 10 “reducciones” here. 
The renewed assaults of the mamelucos in 1638 forced the Jesuits to 
evacuate the missions of Tapé, a region that was forever lost to Portugal. 
After these last inroads, the Guarani Indians received guns and, on two 
occasions—at Caazapa-guazi and at Mbororé (1639 and 1640)—they 
defeated the mamelucos. From 1687 to 1707, eight new missions were 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 79 


founded which, together with the others, formed the 30 cities of the so- 
called “Paraguayan State of the Jesuits.” 

The Jesuit expansion was resisted by certain Guarani shamans, chiefs, 
and especially messiahs, who seem to have been very numerous in this 
period of hardship and misery. Meanwhile, the Jesuits were persecuted by 
the encomenderos, who could not tolerate the loss of so many Indians to 
the missionaries. The southern missions of Yapeyti and La Cruz were 
often molested by the incursions of the Yard, Mbohane, Mimuane, and 
Charrua Indians. Several expeditions of Guarani were led by Spanish 
officers against these wild tribes. 

The first blow to the Jesuits was the treaty of 1750 between Spain and 
Portugal, by which Philip VI yielded to Portugal seven Jesuit missions 
on the eastern side of the Uruguay River (San Borja, San Nicolas, San 
Luis, San Lorenzo, Santo Angel, San Miguel, and San Juan) in exchange 
for the colony of Sacramento. The Indians refused to abandon their 
villages and resisted by arms the forced expulsion. Both Spain and 
Portugal had to send armies, which defeated the Indians in 1756. Three 
years later, the Tratado de Limites was abrogated and the seven towns were 
returned to the Jesuits, but in the meantime they had been partially 
destroyed and the Indian population, estimated at 30,000 a few years 
before, had considerably decreased. 

The year 1767, when all Jesuits were expelled from South America, is 
a fateful date in the history of the South American Indians. The Indians 
who had been under Jesuit rule dwindled or disappeared altogether. 
Tribes left their missions to return to the bush; Indians in Jesuit colonies 
reverted to barbarism and regions previously explored again became geo- 
graphical blanks on the map. 

The new charter which Don Francisco de Paula Bucareli y Ursua 
drafted for the missions after the expulsion of the Jesuits differed from 
the previous system only in minor points. The so-called communistic 
feature of the Jesuit regime and the restrictions on commerce were main- 
tained, but none of the more progressive aspects of the plan, such as the 
foundation of a University, were ever applied. Control of the missions 
was given to Franciscans, assisted by lay administrators. The results 
were baleful. The missions were invaded by colonists who robbed the 
Indians of their lands and destroyed the cattle and maté plantations. 
The fields were abandoned and the handicrafts forgotten through lack of 
teachers. The Indians were forced to work for the Whites and were 
victimized by the local authorities. Many continued to live on their 
plantations but others returned to the forests. Those who remained in 
the missions were completely demoralized by alcoholism and the bad 
example of the colonists. The wars of independence and the later national 
wars completed the decadence and the ruin of the missions. In 1801 the 
seven towns in Uruguay were given back to Portugal; in 1817 the 


80 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.H. Bull. 143 


dictator, Francia, ordered the destruction of the five missions south of 
the Parana River. The 15 missions between the Parana and Uruguay 
Rivers were abandoned during the war of 1816-18. The Guarani who 
were not slaughtered settled in small villages, often near the ancient 
missions. In 1848 the dictator of Paraguay, Carlos Antonio Lopez, 
suppressed Bucareli’s regime and forced the 6,000 Guarani who still 
occupied missions to live in ordinary villages like the remainder of the 
Paraguayan population. The last vestiges of the Jesuit system disappeared 
after that date. 

The Jesuit missions of Paraguay have been the subject of considerable 
controversy concerning their alleged communistic organization. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The early Guarani seem to have been proficient horticulturists, perhaps 
superior to their modern descendants, the Caingud, who are said to be 
unable to subsist entirely on the output of their small fields. Like the 
Tupinamba, the Guarani supplemented their diet with all kinds of wild 
fruits, and with game and fish. 

Farming.—The whole community, among both ancient and modern 
Guarani, cooperated in clearing a large field by the slash-and-burn method 
in a thick forest and then subdivided it into family plots. Planting and 
sowing were regulated by the course of the Pleiades. The main agricul- 
tural tool was the digging stick. After five or six years of cultivation 
fields were considered exhausted and were abandoned. 

Most plants typical of the Tropics, except cayenne pepper, were raised 
by the Guarani and are still grown by their descendants, the Caingud and 
the Paraguayan Mestizos. Manioc, mainly the sweet species, and maize 
are the staples. The Caingud cultivate manioc, maize (5 varieties), sev- 
eral varieties of sweet potatoes, beans, mangara (Xanthosoma sp.), a tuber 
called carahu (Dioscorea sp.), a leguminosea called mbacucu, peanuts, 
pumpkins, bananas, papayas, and watermelons. They also grow an herb 
(Nissolia sp.) for curing serpent bites, and two shrubs (Rhamanidiwm 
sp., and Coix lacryma-jobi), the seeds of which serve as beads. The Pai’ 
and Chiripd raise tacuapi reeds, or cafia de Castilla (Arundo donax), for 
their arrow shafts. The Cainguda are very fond of sugarcane, which is 
for them a delicacy. 

Gathering wild foods.—The Guarani of the southern Brazilian plateau 
consumed great quantities of pine nuts (Araucaria brasiliensis), which 
are abundant in that region. 

The modern Caingud subsist far more than did their ancestors on wild 
plants, especially pindo palms (Cocos romanzoffiana). This tree not 
only provides them leaves for making baskets, but also with vitamin-rich 
terminal shoots, with juicy fruits, oily nuts, and pith which the Indians 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 81 


eat in times of want. They also gather the fruits of other palms, such as 
Acrocomia mokayayba, A. totai, Cocos yatay, Attalea, and of several trees 
and other plants, including Carica, Annona, araza, ihwa-imbé (Philoden- 
dron bipinnatifidum), mburucudya (Passiflora edulis), wild oranges, etc. 

The Caingud relish honey, which is for them an important food resource. 
The Apapocuva have taken the first steps toward domesticating bees. 
When they gather honey, they spare several combs so that the bees can 
return to the same place another time. They also acclimatize swarms of 
bees to their villages. The fat of butterfly larvae (Phalaenidae and 
Morphidae) and of beetles (tambu, Calandra palmarum”) is part of 
Caingua diet. They fell some trees for the purpose of developing the 
larvae in the decayed wood. 

Hunting.—Because the Caingud prefer meat to any other food, their 
main concern when they move their village is to choose an area with 
abundant game. They make great use of traps. These are of two types: 
dead falls, which crush the game; and spring snares with automatic 
release, for birds and even for large quadrupeds, like tapir or deer. Traps 
and pitfalls are often located at places where animals enter fenced fields. 
The Caingua capture parrots in a noose at the end of a pole. They have 
dogs trained for hunting, especially for jaguars. 

Lower jaws of jaguars are kept as trophies suspended in front of huts. 

Fishing.—Fishing is of secondary importance. It is reported that the 
ancient Guarani angled with wooden hooks; those living on the Coast 
used tucuma fiber nets. Although modern Guarani are well provided 
with iron hooks, they still shoot fish with bows and arrows, force them 
into baskets placed in the openings of stone dams, or poison them in calm 
water with the juice of a Sapindaceae (Vogt, 1904, p. 204). 

Domesticated animals.—The only domesticated animal in pre-Colum- 
bian times was the Muscovy duck. Today they have dogs, chickens, and 
many other European farm animals. 

Cooking.—The food of the rural population of Paraguay is largely a 
heritage of the ancient Guarani. The most popular dishes prepared with 
maize are chipas—cakes made of maize flour—mbai puy, maize mush, 
abati pororo, boiled maize, and guaimi atucupé—maize dough wrapped in 
leaves and cooked under the ashes. The Caingud have about 12 recipes 
for preparing maize. Maize flour baked in a green bamboo joint is 
a Caingua specialty. 

Manioc tubers are generally boiled or roasted. They are also sliced, 
dried in the sun, and pounded into a flour with which the Caingua make 
wafers. Flour for wafers is also prepared by the Caingud with tubers 
soaked in water or mud for 8 days, and then dried in the sun and ground. 
Manioc starch is also extracted by grating the tubers—today on a tin 
erater—and washing the mass in water. 


2 Rhynchophorus sp., according to Strelnichov. 


82 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


They crush the pith of the palms in a mortar, strain it through a sieve, 
and dry it in the sun. 

Meat is more often broiled on a spit than on a babracot. Broiled fish 
and game are sometimes ground into powder (piracui). 

Caingua do not use salt. Instead they season their food with the ashes 
of a tree (Machaerium angustifolium). 

Wooden mortars are generally made of a long log hollowed at one 
end, but some have the grinding pit on the side. Flour is strained through 
beautifully plaited sieves, identical to those of Guiana, although Paraguay 
is the southernmost limit of their distribution. When the Caingud have 
no pottery at hand, they boil food in green bamboo joints. They serve 
food in wooden dishes or in calabashes of various sizes and shapes. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


A typical Guarani village consisted of four to eight large rectangular 
houses—some about 50 m. (165 ft.) long—grouped around a square 
plaza. Each house had a vaulted or gabled roof which rose from the 
ground and was supported on a ridge pole that rested on a row of posts 
dividing off the quarters of each individual family. The roof was thatched 
with grass, palm leaves and, in certain regions of the coast, with pieces 
of bark. There was a door on each side of the house. Villages were forti- 
fied with a double or triple stockade and a series of moats, bristling with 
half-buried spears. 

The vaulted hut has survived only among the Pan’. Other Caingud 
now build either a gable roof resting on the ground and thatched with 
tacuapi grass, or palm leaves, or a gabled house with vertical wattle-and- 
daub walls (4 to 6 m., or 13 to 20 ft., long; 3 to 4 m., or 10 to 13 ft., 
wide). Grass thatching is sewn to the structure with large wooden 
needles. Of all the modern Guarani only some Caingud of Brazil still 
lived in communal houses 50 years ago. These houses were 25 to 50 
feet (7.5 to 15 m.) long and were grouped in villages surrounded by a 
thorn hedge or a palisade. 

Household furniture.—The aboriginal cotton or palm-fiber hammock 
is now being supplanted by the platform bed or sleeping mat. Four- 
legged benches, which are often carved out of a single log in animal 
shapes, are still fairly common. Utensils and foods are stored on shelves 
suspended from the roof or are hung on wooden hooks or on bent deer feet. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Clothing.—Most of the Guarani went entirely naked, although in cer- 
tain regions, it seems, women wore either a loincloth or a cotton dress 
(the tipoy), a sacklike garment covering the body from the breasts to 
the knees which was eventually adopted universally through missionary 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 83 


influence. The southernmost Guarani, who lived in a harsh climate, 
followed the example of the Charrua and wore skin cloaks. In some 
Cainguad groups, men wear a loincloth (hence the name Chiripd) ; in 
others they pass a piece of cloth between the legs and tuck it under a 
belt of human hair or fibers (hence the name, Baticola, “crupper’’). 
Today cotton ponchos are sometimes worn by men. 

Ornaments.—The distinctive lip ornament of ancient and modern 
Guarani is a long T-shaped stick made of jatahy rosin; labrets of 
stone or bone were exceptional.2* Women hang triangular shell pendants 
from their ears. In the 16th century, men wore huge shell-disk 
necklaces, which have often been discovered in archeological sites. A 
few privileged individuals suspended on their chest pendants of silver 
or copper plates which had reached Paraguay from Peru. 

At ceremonies, modern Caingud men wear feather wreaths, cotton 
sashes fringed with feathers, or seed necklaces with feather tassels. Pairs 
of these necklaces are crossed over the chest. Children’s and women’s 
necklaces are strung with pyramidal wooden beads, wooden or bone 
pendants carved into human or animal forms, seeds, small gourds, fish 
vertebrae, pendants made of toucan skin, and other objects. 

Feather cloaks, formerly worn by famous chiefs, are no longer seen, 
but feather bracelets and diadems are still used by shamans or participants 
in religious ceremonies. On some headdresses, feathers were mounted 
on a woven frontlet, a technique suggesting Andean influence. Feather 
garlands were sometimes tied on top of the head in the form of rudi- 
mentary bonnets. The Mbyd wear bracelets, garters, and anklets of 
human hair. Belts of hair are worn only by men. Finger rings of 
palm fruits or iguana tails seem now to have become fashionable. 

The circular tonsure of the ancient Guarani, still used by some Caingua 
groups, did not extend to the forehead, as among the Tupinamba, but 
was similar to that of Franciscan monks. 

Painting.—The use of uruct for body paint is widespread, but that of 
genipa seems to be limited to the Brazilian Caingud. Other groups sub- 
stitute for it the juices of several plants or a mixture of charcoal and 
honey or wax. ‘Traditional facial designs are dots and stripes, some- 
times applied with bamboo stamps. 

The ancient Jtatin rubbed ashes from bones of birds of prey or swift 
animals into cuts made in their skin to improve their dexterity in archery. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Boats.—The ancient literature rarely mentions dugout canoes though 
they must have been common on the Paraguay and Parana Rivers. The 
Paraguayan Caingud live on streams that are unsuited to boats and con- 
sequently make only a few dugouts or bamboo rafts, mainly for crossing 


88 Today labrets have fallen into disuse. 


84 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


rivers. They propel these craft with poles. The Cayud of Brazil, who 
reside near larger streams, are good boatmen and travel a great deal in 
large dugouts, 8 to 12 feet (2.5 to 3.5 m.) long. 

Carrying devices.—Goods are carried in cylindrical or rectangular 
twilled baskets, reinforced with a wooden frame. Pan’ carrying baskets 
are relatively extensible and are made of intertwined pindo leaves, the 
midribs strengthening the whole structure. Carrying nets made of bark 
strips were clearly introduced with the maté industry. The Guarani skin 
bag is certainly older than the net and appears to be an article that origin- 
ated locally or was borrowed from tribes to the south. 

Babies are ordinarily carried in a sling, straddling their mothers’ hips, 
but they may be transported in baskets or in skin bags. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—The Guarani weave temporary baskets of the pinnae of 
pindo palms, the midrib serving to reinforce the rim. More permanent 
containers are made of twilled fabrics of tacuarembo strands. They are 
ornamented with black, geometrical motifs. 

Spinning and weaving.—Thread is made of cotton carded with a bow, 
or of Bromelia, nettle (Urera grandifolia), and palm (Acrocomia totai) 
fibers. 

Cotton is spun with a drop spindle and woven on a vertical loom with a 
circular warp. Cloth is generally white with alternate brown and black 
stripes, dyed with the bark of Peltophorum dubium and Trichila catigua. 
The technique of darning weft strands through warp elements attached to 
a vertical loom, though it has been observed in modern times, was probably 
an early practice abandoned when true weaving became general, probably 
through Arawak influence. 

Pottery.—Guarani ceramics are known through archeological finds in 
Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, near Asuncion in the Argentine territory of 
Misiones, and on the island of Martin Garcia. The largest specimens are 
funeral urns, which also served as beer containers. Small dishes and bowls 
have a white interior slip which bears sigmoid figures, curves, triangles, 
mazes, and “grecques.” The large jars and ordinary ware have continuous 
rows of thumbnail or other impressions over their entire surface. The 
Caingua, who have practically given up pottery, make only a ware that is 
decadent in quality and shape. Bowls with a flaring base (“‘compotera” 
types) may perhaps be a survival of a pre-Columbian type. 

Leather work.—The Caingud carry their small possessions in skin 
bags. 

Weapons.—Caingua bows are made of palm wood, guayaihwi (Pata- 
gonula americana), or ihvira payu, ihvira pepé (Holocalyx balansae). 
They are 6 to 8 feet (2 to 2.5 m.) long, circular or oval in cross section, 
and entirely or partially wrapped with guembé bark (Philodendron sp.) 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 85 


or covered with a basketry sheath in the center. A small bulge at each 
end made of wrapped bark strips prevents the fiber bowstring from 
slipping. Archers wear wrist guards of human hair or of cotton (Chiripa). 
The main types of arrowheads found in the tropical area are used by the 
Caingua: Lanceolate taquara heads; tapering sticks, plain or barbed on 
one or both sides ; and conical wooden plugs for stunning birds. 

The war arrows of the ancient Guarani were often tipped with human 
bones. 

The arrow shafts are made either of the native tacuati reed (Merosta- 
chys argyronema) or more commonly of the imported tacuapi, or cafia 
de Castilla (Arundo donax). 

The feathering is of the Eastern Brazilian, or arched type. The pellet- 
bow is widely used by young Cainguda boys to shoot birds or small rodents. 3 
The missiles are small clay pellets. 

Caingua clubs are either swordlike with cutting edges or plain sticks 
with a square cross section and a basketry sheath around the handle. 
Sometimes they taper into a point. The Guarani were acquainted with the 
sling but found little use for it in their forested habitat. 

The Guarani warriors whom the Spaniards fought in the 16th century 
carried shields, often decorated with feathers. This defensive weapon 
has not been reported since the 17th century. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Among the ancient Guarani, the social unit was probably the large 
extended patrilineal family—perhaps the sib. Sometimes as many as 60 
families lived under the same roof. Each community had a chief, but the 
actual power was often in the hands of a shaman. Many of the great 
Guarani leaders who resisted the Spaniards in the 17th century were 
shamans endowed with divine prestige. Some ancient chiefs extended 
their influence over a fairly wide area. A general council of chiefs and 
adult men decided community and district affairs and elected war chiefs 
who commanded obedience during expeditions. 

All Apapocuva-Guarani chiefs, for at least a hundred years, have been 
shamans who have reached the highest rank within their profession. Like 
the ancient chiefs, they have been credited with supernatural power and 
with miracles performed on behalf of their people. 

A Guarani chief was succeeded by his eldest son unless there was some 
stronger member of the family. However, an eloquent man distinguished 
in warfare might become chief. Persons dissatisfied with their headman 
might secede and start a new settlement under another leader. Chiefs of 
Caingué communities in Paraguay have a Spanish title and carry a stick 
as symbol of their office. Fifty years ago, a few villages were administered 
as in Jesuit times, by a cacique mayor and cacique menor, a sargento, and 


3 For a good description of the Guarant pellet-bow, see Azara, 1809, 2:67. 


86 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS {[B.A.E. Bull. 143 


a cabo (Vogt, 1904, p. 203). Today the number of Indians under the 
authority of a chief vary from 20 to about 100. 

The members of the ancient Guarani communities built the houses of 
their chiefs and tilled their fields and harvested their crops (Ruiz de 
Montoya, 1892, p. 49). 

Law and order.—It is only about modern Caingué communities that 
there is some information on justice and law. Thieves are detected by 
shamans, who touch each suspected man on the chest near the heart. If 
the fingers leave a red mark, the man is guilty. A stolen wife must be 
returned with a present. In case of murder, if the criminal’s relatives do 
not pay the wergild to prevent a feud, the offended family takes the 
punishment into its own hands. 


Etiquette.—Among ancient Guarani, when a guest entered a hut, he 
was surrounded by women who wailed and enumerated the deeds of his 
dead relatives. The guest covered his face with his hands and shed a 
few tears. The amount of crying and wailing was proportionate to the 
importance of the visitor (Ruiz de Montoya, 1892, p. 52). 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and naming.—Even in modern days, a pregnant woman must 
avoid any food that might make her child abnormal. After childbirth, 
the father lies in his hammock until the infant’s navel cord falls off, re- 
fraining from activities thought harmful to the baby. The Apapocuva 
believe that babies are reincarnated dead people, hence one of the shaman’s 
first tasks is to identify the returning spirit and, by means of his super- 
natural power, to obtain a magic substance to be rubbed into the child’s 
body. Infant baptism, though Catholic in many respects, is permeated 
by ancient rites and beliefs. Names refer to mythical beings or to sacred 
objects associated with the place on the horizon from which the soul is 
supposed to have come. Children may be very closely identified with 
the deities of the Upper World, and those from the west, the abode of 
Tupa, may receive a miniature of the bench symbolic of their divine name- 
sake. In case of danger, especially if a person is sick, his name is changed 
and a new ceremony of baptism is performed (Nimuendaju, 1914 a, pp. 
302-303). 

Boys’ initiation.—A Caingud boy undergoes something of an initiation 
rite when, prior to puberty, his lower lip is perforated for the insertion of 
a labret. After a group of boys has been somewhat anesthetized with beer, 
a specialist perforates each boy’s lower lip with a wooden or deer-horn 
awl and prays to Tupa that the labret may protect its wearer against death. 
For the three following days the initiates eat only maize mush. After 
their initiation they drop the infantile “u, u’”’ (yes) for the adult mascu- 
line “ta.” 


Vol. 3] THH GUARANI—METRAUX 87 


Girls’ puberty.—Among ancient Guarani, at her first menstruation, a 
girl was sewn in her hammock and remained there for 2 or 3 days. Her 
hair was cut short and, until it grew to its former length, she had to 
forego meat and to work hard under the supervision of an older woman. 
For modern Caingudé also, coming of age is a critical period which calls 
for many ritual observances; the girl is secluded for 3 weeks behind 
a screen in a corner of the house and eats only a few foods, which must be 
lukewarm. She must not talk, laugh, lift her eyes from the ground, 
scratch herself, or blow on the fire. She must also listen to advice con- 
cerning her future life as a wife and a mother. Before she resumes normal 
activities, a shaman washes her with a special decoction. 

Marriage.—There is little information on marriage in ancient times. 
Girls were married soon after puberty. Child betrothal is reported among 
the Guarani of the Parana River. In some cases little girls were given to 
grown men, who lived with their child wives, probably in the house of their 
future parents-in-law. 

Child betrothal is reported among modern Caingud, but the girls re- 
main with their parents, who receive presents from their prospective 
sons-in-law. The preferred form of marriage seems to have been between 
cross-cousins and between a maternal uncle and his niece. Union with a 
mother and her daughter and sororal polygyny can be inferred from allu- 
sions in the Jesuitic literature. Only chiefs and influential shamans seem 
to have been able to support several wives. Some powerful caciques are 
said to have had from 15 to 30 wives. The levirate is stated by Ruiz de 
Montoya (1892, p. 49) to have been observed by chiefs. Today residence 
is patrilocal. 

Death.—So strong is the hope for reincarnation that a dying Apapocuva 
(Nimuendaju, 1914 a, p. 307) accepts death with great fortitude. He 
sings medicine songs while women wail and the shamans chant, shaking 
their rattles in farewell to the departing soul. 

Among the ancient Guarani, as soon as a man had breathed his last, 
his wives and female relatives gave the most violent demonstrations of 
grief, often injuring themselves by flinging themselves to the ground 
from some elevation (Ruiz de Montoya, 1892, p. 52). 

The ancient Guarani put their dead into large chicha jars and covered 
them with a bowl. These funeral urns were buried up to the neck (Ruiz 
de Montoya, 1892, p. 52).4 Modern Caingua bury their dead directly in 
the ground with arms and legs flexed against the body or lay them with 
their possessions in a wooden trough or hollowed tree trunk. 

Both ancient and some modern Guarani bury their dead in the hut, 
which is immediately abandoned. The Caingud of Paraguay inter the 


«Ruiz de Montoya, 1892, p. 52: **. . . muchos enterraban sus muertos en unas grandes 
tinajas, poniendo un plato en la boca para que en aquella concavidad estuviese mas acomodada el 
alma aunque estas tinajas las enterraban hasta el cuello.” 


88 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


corpse in the bush and build a miniature hut on the grave. They burn 
the dead man’s house and sometimes the whole settlement. For a short 
time they bring food to the grave and keep a fire burning upon it. Sec- 
ondary interment is reported for the Mbyd chiefs. A dead person’s name 
is taboo. 

As among the Tupinamba, visitors and members of the community 
were received with tears and expressions of sorrow. These manifesta- 
tions of grief took place probably only if somebody in the village had 
died. (See Etiquette, p. 86.) 

According to the Apapocuva, after death a soul first attempts to reach 
the Land-Without-Evil where “Our Mother” resides, but even if it 
passes the demon Anay unscathed, other souls may detain it until its 
reincarnation. Those who have suffered a violent death or leave behind 
a beloved person or have been frustrated and are reluctant to go to the 
hereafter, are likely to haunt the familiar places of life until they are 
expelled or are reincarnated in a newborn baby. Children’s souls are 
the only ones that can easily reach the Land-Without-Evil (Nimuendaju, 
1914 a). 


CANNIBALISM 


Cannibalism, although never attributed to modern Caingud, was an 
honored practice among the ancient Guarani. Its ritual seems to have 
been the same as among the Tupinamba (p. 119). The prisoner was well 
treated and was given a wife; but finally, after many months and even 
many years of captivity, he was ceremonially sacrificed on the village 
plaza. Like the Tupinamba, the Guarani prisoner pelted his tormentors 
with stones and boasted of his great deeds and of those of his people. 
Children were urged to crush the victim’s skull with small copper axes 
and to dip their hands in his blood, while they were reminded of their 
duties as future warriors. According to Ruiz de Montoya (1892, p. 51), 
everyone who touched the corpse with his hand or with a stick and every- 
one who ate a morsel of it assumed a new name. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Decorative art among the Caingud is limited to the simple geo- 
metrical patterns of basketry work, and to the motifs painted on pottery, 
incised or burned on gourds. Lozenges are one of the favorite designs; 
anthropomorphic or zoomorphic themes are exceptional. 

Games and toys.—Small children show certain skill at modeling men 
or animals of wax, clay, or palm leaves. Their favorite recreations are 
wrestling, racing, hide-and-seek, tug-of-war, shooting, and dancing. The 
toys mentioned by our sources are noise-producing tops and buzzing disks. 

The ancient [tatin, i.e., the Guarani north of the Apa River, played 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 89 


games with rubber balls. These hall games were still popular in some 
Jesuit missions until the 18th century. 


Today the Caimgua play with a maize-leaf shuttlecock, which they 
throw at each other and try to keep in the air as long as possible. 

Musical instruments.—Among the ancient Guarani and among their 
modern descendants, the gourd rattle and the stamping tube are the 
most sacred religious instruments. In the Apapocuva-Guarani tribe, 
rattles are handled only by men. Their “voice,” i.e., their sound, is be- 
lieved to be endowed with sacred power. Shamans are capable of shaking 
rattles according the most varied rhythmic patterns. The stamping tube 
is a bamboo section closed at one end, trimmed with feathers, and engraved 
with checkerboard designs. It is an instrument reserved to women who 
pound it against the ground to produce a dull thud which marks the 
cadence of their dances. 

The flutes of the ancient Guarani were often made of the long bones 
of their slain enemies. There is no information in our sources about 
their other musical instruments. 

There are few types of musical instruments among modern Caingud. 
The Paw’ and Chiripa have musical bows which they play either with 
their fingers or with a fiddle bow. The transverse flute with six stops 
and a blowhole was adopted by Mbyd men in post-Columbian times. A 
curious type of panpipe used only by women has been reported among 
modern Caingua. It consists of five bamboo tubes of different sizes which 
are not bound together, but are simply held with both hands. Spanish 
drums and guitars are now supplanting native musical instruments. 

Narcotics.—Yerba maté, or “Paraguay tea,” though now characteristic 
of Paraguay and used daily by the Guarani, who sip it through a reed 
from a small gourd, is scarcely mentioned in the old literature. The 
aboriginal Guarani seem to have regarded it as a magic herb taken only 
by shamans. Modern Caingua collect maté in the forest and prepare it 
in their villages, drying the leaves for a whole night on a platform over 
a fire. 

Tobacco was smoked in the form of cigars or in pipes. Clay pipes 
have been found archeologically, and the Cainguda still used them not 
long ago. Like some Chiriguano pipes, those of the Caingua had their 
bowls ornamented with a sort of crest. 

Like the Tupinamba and other Brazilian tribes, the Guarani celebrated 
all the main events of life with drinking bouts: The return of a successful 
hunting or fishing expedition, harvest, and the execution of a prisoner. 
Their favorite beverage (kaguiai) was prepared mainly with maize but 
also with sweet potatoes and more rarely with manioc. Fermentation was 
activated by the addition of chewed corn or leaves of caa-tory (Physurus 
sp.). Modern Caingud prepare mead, which may be quite strong. 


90 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


RELIGION 


The great personages of Apapocuva-Guarani mythology deserve the 
title of gods though they remain aloof from the affairs of this world. 
Creators and Transformers, they continue to exist and men yearn to live 
in their company. Some day they will destroy the world which they have 
created and shaped. The most majestic deity is the Creator, Nanderuvugu, 
Our Great Father, who now resides in a dark region which he lights with 
the glimmer of his chest. His wife, who was also the first woman, Nan- 
degy, Our Mother, has her abode in the west in the Land-Without-Evil. 
According to Vellard (1939 a, p. 169), the main deity of the Mbyd is 
Namandu who lives in the east and gives life to the world. Tupa is the 
deity of the west. The north belongs to Yahira, the god of vengeance and 
death. Vellard (1939 a, p. 171) quotes prayers to Namandu in which he 
is asked for game or for good health, but there is no evidence of a cult 
of the Creator among the Apapocuva. 

The Pan’ and Mbyd, who in the past have certainly been subject to 
Jesuit influences, recognize Tupa as the Creator and High God. Among 
the Apapocuva, whose ancient traditions seem unimpaired, Tupa, son of 
Nandecy, is a secondary nature deity, the personification of the thunder. 
He is a short man, with woolly hair, who causes a storm every time he 
crosses the skies in his wooden trough in the company of Thunder Birds. 
The original nature of this secondary god, promoted to an exalted position 
among acculturated Guarani, is still present in the memory of his worship- 
pers, who refer to him as “The Great Thunder,” “The Great Noise,” or 
“Master of Thunder.” Under him, minor Tupa are respectively lords of 
the rain, hailstorm, lighting, and thunder (Pav’). A stock of traditional 
prayers which these Indians address to their God whenever in need of 
help betrays Christian influences. 

Certain rites observed by the Apapocuva and even by the ancient Guarani 
can be interpreted only as worship of the sun, whom the Apapocuva call 
“Our Father.” Sun is given as the Son of Our Great Father or of Tupa. 

Animism.—<According to the Apapocuva, two souls coexist in every 
man. One, called ayvucué, comes from the mansion of some deity in the 
west, zenith, or east, and enters the body immediately after birth. This 
soul is identified with a peaceful disposition, gentleness, and a craving for 
vegetables; but the temperament of a person is conditioned by the animal 
soul (acyigua), which he harbors in the nape of his neck. Patient and 
friendly people may have a butterfly soul; whereas a jaguar soul makes a 
man cruel and brutal. Unrest, violence, malice, and lust for meat are 
generally ascribed to the acyigua. 

Dreams are experiences of the soul and are paid great attention, 
especially by shamans, who derive their supernatural knowledge and power 
from them. 


PLATE 11.—Fingernail-marked Guarani. ware. Top: Sherds from Martin 
Garcia, Argentina. Center: Vessels from Arroyo Malo, Parana Delta. Bottom: 
Vessels from Paraguay. Funerary urn at left. (Top, after Bruzzone, 1931; 
center, after Lothrop, 1932; bottom, courtesy Max Schmidt.) 


PLare 12.—Guarani and other pottery from Paraguay. a, b, Painted; c, plain; 
d, e€, probably Mbaydé-Guana incised ware. (Courtesy Max Schmidt.) 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 91 


After death the two souls separate; the ayvucué generally tries to reach 
the Land-Without-Evil, but may linger dangerously near his former 
home. The animal soul, too, is likely to turn into a fearful ghost. To 
drive the ayvucué away, the shamans organize a dance in which two 
opposite groups of dancers, by running to and fro and passing each other 
at full speed, so confuse the soul that it is lost in a maze. The shaman 
then is able to deliver it to Tupa, who takes it to the Land of the Dead. 
The animal soul has to be attacked with weapons and exterminated like 
a dangerous animal (Nimuendaju, 1914 a, p. 305). 

The Caingua feel themselves surrounded by spirits or demons, who 
appear in human or animal forms. They are the masters or the protectors 
of animals, plants, trees, water places, and winds. These genii, if offended, 
can be harmful. 

Ceremonials.—Among the Apapocuva-Guarani, any trouble, any anx- 
iety felt by the community or the shaman, or even the prospect of a collec- 
tive enterprise stimulates a ceremonial dance. The performers stand ina 
line, the women on one end, jumping up and down on the same spot and 
pounding their stamping tubes; the men on the other end, shaking their 
rattles, slightly stooping, knees bent, throwing their feet forward and 
backward in a rapid tempo. The shaman faces the dancers and walks, 
runs, or bounces in front of them brandishing his rattle. Each woman in 
turn performs a solo dance in front of the line of the men, and sometimes 
she may invite a man to dance opposite her (Nimuendaju, 1914 a, p. 347). 

Great emphasis is placed on orientation; the dancers always face the 
east and, when the entire line revolves, it invariably moves north, west, 
and south, describing a perfect ellipse. Dancers often hold ceremonial 
clubs, trimmed with basketry sheaths. The shaman carries a ritual stick. 
Dances take place in special fence-enclosed huts, which open toward the 
east and serve as storehouses for the ritual paraphernalia. 

The most important Apapocuva ceremony is celebrated by the whole 
tribe just before harvest. Cultivated plants, wild fruits, and game are 
exhibited near candles and, after 4 days of ritual dancing, are sprinkled 
with holy water. The assistants at the ritual are also baptized on the same 
occasion. The object of the festivities, which are characterized by a spirit 
of harmony and pleasant cheerfulness, is to guard men and food from evil 
influences. The Caingud offer cakes made with the first ripe maize to 
Tupa. 


SHAMANISM 


No amount of training can make an Apapocuva-Guarani a shaman if he 
has not been supernaturally inspired with magic chants. To every adult 
male or female sooner or later a dead relative reveals a chant, which the 
recipient eagerly teaches to the rest of the community. Its possession 
confers a certain immunity against accidents. A shaman is a man who 

653333—47—9 


92 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


owns a great many magic chants, which he uses for the common good of 
his people. He must also be capable of leading a ceremonial dance, of 
playing the rattle gourd in the different modes, and of performing the 
rites befitting certain circumstances. The main test of his skill is offered 
by the harvest dance, which can be successfully organized only by full- 
fledged shamans. By his “voltes” and jumps, the shaman endeavors to 
make his body “light.”” He must also have frequent dreams, because they 
give him superior knowledge and insight into the future. 

The ancient Guarani and even many modern groups assign disease to 
the intrusion of an object into the body. The Apapocuva visualize the 
source of the illness as an invisible substance that the shaman sees after 
he has chanted for several hours. The treatment’s aim is to extract that 
substance and to endow the patient with magic power. 

Legends and historical traditions both attest the extraordinary prestige 
enjoyed by some shamans of old who were leaders of their tribes. After 
receiving their inspiration, these great men retired into the wilderness, 
where they lived on celestial food. By constant dancing some Apapocuva- 
Guarani shamans gradually subjugated their animal soul, strengthening 
their ayvucué, or peaceful soul, until they could fly toward the heavenly 
Land-Without-Evil. 

Among ancient Guarani great medicine men worked miracles by their 
chants. With their saliva they caused death. They were strong enough 
to drag a whole tribe across a large river. They claimed absolute control 
of all natural phenomena, including stars. After their death, their bones, 
kept as relics in luxurious hammocks hung in special huts, were worshiped 
and consulted as oracles. Ordinary shamans added to their prestige by 
sleight of hand. 

Shamans are not only responsible for the religious life, but also inter- 
fere in the administration of justice. Whenever a succession of misfor- 
tunes is imputed to witchcraft, the shaman unmasks the sorcerer, who is 
savagely killed. The shamans’ political power derives, naturally, from 
their prestige and from the fear which they inspire. Usually, witchcraft 
is blamed on a neighboring tribe. Sorcerers kill their victims by practic- 
ing witchcraft on their exuviae. 


MYTHOLOGY 


The high-sounding names of the main characters in the Apapocuva- 
Guarani mythology tinge it with a solemnity quite foreign to the versions 
of the same motifs collected elsewhere. 

The story of the creation is told in impressive terms. At the beginning 
there was darkness, and the Eternal Bats fought in the night. Our Great 
Father found himself and created the earth, which he propped on the 
Eternal Cross. With him was a companion, Our-Father-Who-Knows- 
Everything. Our Great Father made a woman, Our Mother, whom he 


Vol. 3] THE GUARANI—METRAUX 93 


generously shared with his subordinate. Our Mother conceived the 
Twins, Our Elder Brother, and Our Younger Brother, the former by the 
Creator and the latter, who was weak and stupid, by the Creator’s com- 
panion. From that point the Apapocuva version follows more or less 
the Tupinamba sequence of motifs. The mother is killed by the Jaguars, 
on which the Twins later take their revenge. Our Great Father’s Son 
manifests his superiority by always taking the initiative in any adventure 
and by repairing the blunders of his younger brother. The Twins are 
secondary culture heroes who complete the work of the Creator. Our 
Elder Brother steals fire from the vultures on behalf of mankind and 
teaches the medicine dances to the Afian, who in turn train the men. Our 
Elder Brother still resides in the zenith taking care of mankind in a very 
indefinite way. He will participate in the final destruction of the world 
by removing one of the props on which it lies. 

In a Pai’ myth, fire is acquired by the Celestial Rhea. 

The Afian demons, who are the constant victims of the practical jokes 
played by the Twins, are purely folkloric characters, with the exception of 
a single Afian who devours the souls of the dead when they pass by his 
hammock. 

The Aré have a myth about a flood (Borba, 1904, pp. 61-64) from 
which a single man escaped by climbing on top of a palm tree. The sapa- 
curu birds created land again by dropping piles of earth into the water. 
The man was taken on a raft to a place where many women were bathing. 
He took a woman for himself, and their descendants are the Aré. 

Cosmology.—The Sun, as a deity, is called Our Father and is distin- 
guished from the material light and heat which he produces. Sun and 
Moon are sons of the Creator; the Moon was smeared with genipa when 
he had homosexual relations with his brother. 

Eclipses are caused by the Eternal Bat—according to the ancient 
Guarani, by the Celestial Jaguar—which gnaws the Sun or the Moon. 
The Apapocuva have a very pessimistic outlook on the future of the 
world; they are firmly convinced that its end is near. Very soon Our 
Great Father will set the earth on fire, unleashing the Eternal Bat and 
the Blue Jaguar which will destroy the stars and mankind. 

The Pan’ identify the Milky Way with the Celestial Rhea; when the 
bird will have finished eating two heaps of food (Magellanic Clouds) 
it will devour mankind (Lehmann-Nitsche, 1936-37). 


MESSIANIC AND REVIVALISTIC MOVEMENTS 


From the period of European Conquest to the present day, the Guarani 
have been periodically stirred up by religious crises similar to messianic 
revivals in other parts of the world. Either a prophet would start a 
religious and political evolution by announcing the end of Spanish rule 


94 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and the approach of a new golden age; or else some tribe would leave its 
territory in quest of the Land-Without-Evil. According to missionary 
accounts, shamans often represented themselves as the Lords of the 
Universe and preached a holy war against the intruders. These messiahs 
performed rites and expressed ideas that, like the redeemer concept, in- 
cluded many borrowings from Christianity. 

During the last century, three Guarani groups, the Apapocuva, the 
Tanygud, and the Oguauiva, fearing an imminent destruction of the world 
announced by their shamans, desperately attempted to reach the Land- 
Without-Evil, where there is abundance of all good things and eternal 
life. Since most authorities located the paradise somewhere in the east, 
beyond the sea, these migrations were directed toward the Atlantic Coast. 
In 1910, a group of Apapocuva sought to lose weight through dancing, 
so as to fly over the ocean. 

This great hope, which has so deeply influenced the destiny of these 
Indians, is based on a myth which describes the first destruction of the 
universe by fire and water. A shaman forced his people to dance day and 
night so as to open the way to the heavenly country. Modern Guarani 
often tried to emulate this act, irrespective of repeated failures, which 
they blamed on ritual mistakes or on the use of foreign foods. The leaders 
of these movements were always famous shamans surrounded by an aura 
of mystery. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Ambrosetti, 1895 a, 1895 b, 1896; Azara, 1809, 1904; Baldus, 1929; Bertoni, 1920, 
1922; Blanco, 1931; Bode, 1918; Borba, 1904; Cardiel, 1900; Cartas Anuas, 1927-29 ; 
Charlevoix, 1757; Comentarios de Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca (see Pedro Her- 
nandez, 1852) ; Dobrizhoffer, 1784; Fishbach, 1929; Hernandez, Pedro, 1852; Her- 
nandez, Pablo, 1913; Ihering, 1895, 1904, 1906; Jarque, 1900; Koenigswald, Von, 
1908; Kunert, 1890, 1891, 1892; Kunike, 1911; Lehmann-Nitsche, 1936-37; Linné, 
1936; Lothrop, 1932; Loukotka, 1929; Lozano, 1873-75 ; Mayntzhusen, 1912; Medina, 
J. T., 1908; Métraux, 1927, 1928 a, 1928 b, 1932; Meyer, 1896; Moreno, 1926; Miiller, 
1934-35; Muratori, 1754; Netto, 1885; Nimuendaju, 1914 a; Outes, 1917, 1918; 
Ramirez in J. T. Medina, 1908 (also Ramirez, Luis, 1888) ; Rengger, 1835; Ruiz de 
Montoya, 1876 (1640), 1892; Schmidel, 1903; Schmidt, M., 1932; Serrano, 1936; 
Strelnikov, 1928; Techo, 1673, 1897; Torres, L. M., 1913; Ullrich, 1906; Vellard, 
1934, 1937, 1939 a; Vogt, 1904. 


THE TUPINAMBA 


By ALFRED METRAUX 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Tupinamba.—This name is applied here to all the Indians speaking a 
Tupi-Guarani dialect, who in the 16th century were masters of the Bra- 
zilian shore from the mouth of the Amazon River to Cananéa, in the 
south of the State of SAo Paulo (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7). 
Though linguistically and culturally closely related, these Indians were 
divided into a great many tribes that waged merciless war against one 
another. Most of these groups were given different names by the Por- 
tuguese and French colonists, but the term Tupinamba was applied to 
the tribes of such widely separated regions as Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and 
Maranhiao. Because these are the best-known tribes, we shall, for con- 
venience, apply to all of them the term Tupinamba; we shall, however, 
carefully distinguish each subdivision when defining its geographical 
position. 

Coastal tribes.—From north to south we have: 

Tupinamba.—Occupying, along with small infiltrations of Teremembé 
(Handbook, vol. 1, p. 573), the whole coast between the Parnahyba 
(Parnaiba) and the Para Rivers at the end of the 16th century (lat. 1°-4° 
S., long. 42°-48° W.). Approximately 12,000 lived on the Island of 
Maranhao in 27 villages. In three other districts, Tapuytapera, Comma, 
and Caité, there were about 35 villages, with a total population of approxi- 
mately 27,000. There were also numerous villages along the Pindaré, 
Mearim, and Itapecuri Rivers. On the Para River their last villages were 
far upstream, near the Jacunda and Pacaja Rivers. 

Potiguara (Potivara, Cannibals, Cannibaliers)—A large tribe on the 
coast between the Parnahyba (Parnaiba) and Paraiba (Parahyba) 
Rivers. On the mainland, they reached the Serra de Copadba and the 
Serra da Ibiapaba. (Lat. 5°-8° S., long. 36°-38° W.) 

At the end of the 16th century, the Potiguara were expelled from the 
region of the Parahyba by the Portuguese allied to the Tabajara, but many 
villages of Ceara accepted the Portuguese rule. Cruelly treated by Pero 
Coelho in 1603, they banded with the Dutch and waged war against the 
Portuguese until 1654. At that time, the survivors of the tribe who had 
not fled into the bush were placed in missions by the Jesuits. The Pott- 
guara, in spite of their former alliance with the French and the Dutch, 
became loyal allies of the Portuguese, whom they accompanied in many 


95 


96 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


expeditions. They were rewarded by grants of lands. Their names disap- 
pear in the 18th century (Studart Filho, 1931, pp. 91-99). 

Caeté (Caité)—On the Atlantic shore between the Paraiba and the 
Sao Francisco Rivers (lat. 8°-11° S., long. 36° W.). 

Tupinamba.—On the Atlantic shore from the Sao Francisco River to 
Camamu, in the south (lat. 11°-15° S., long. 37°-39° W.). 

Tupinikin (Tupiniguin, Margaya, Tuaya).—Occupying only a narrow 
strip of the coast from Camamu to the Sao Mateus (Cricaré) River, per- 
haps reaching Espirito Santo in the south (lat. 16°-21° S., long. 39°- 
40° W.). 

Timimino (Tomomyno).—In the south of the State of Espirito Santo 
and on the lower course and islands of the Paraiba River (lat. 22° S., 
long. 41° W.). The Timimino were constantly at war with the Tupinamba 
of Rio de Janeiro. 

Tupinamba (Tamoyo).—Masters of the coast from Cabo de Sao Tomé 
to the Bay of Angra dos Reis and even perhaps to Cairogu Point (lat. 
23°-24° S., long. 42°-45° W.). Their inland limits are unknown, but it 
is likely that they had villages on the upper Parahyba River. 

Ararape.—This name is given by Cardim to the Tupinamba of the 
hinterland of Rio de Janeiro. 

Tupinakin (Tupiniguin, Tupi, Tabayara).—These southern neighbors 
and bitter enemies of the Tupinamba of Rio de Janeiro were the early 
inhabitants of the modern State of SAo Paulo. They were on the coast 
from Angra dos Reis to Cananéa. They had villages on the Serra 
Paranapiacaba and in the vast region between the modern city of Sao 
Paulo and the Tieté River. (Lat. 24°-26° S., long. 45°-48° W.) Some 
groups probably lived near long. 50° W. 

Inland tribes.—The following tribes lived in the sertdo, i.e., the region 
inland from the Brazilian coast: 

The name Tobayara is without any doubt a derogatory term meaning 
enemy. Because it was given by many Tui tribes to their hostile neigh- 
bors, and because different tribes appear in the literature under the same 
name, there is much confusion. Tobayara has been applied to: (1) the 
Tupi-speaking Indians east of the Mearim River, State of Maranhao; 
(2) the Indians of the Serra da Ibiapaba; (3) the Tupi-speaking Indians 
living west of the Potiguara tribe; (4) the Tupi Indians of the Pernam- 
buco region; (5) the first Tupi invaders of Bahia; (6) Indians in 
the State of Espirito Santo; (7) the Tupinakin of the State of Sao 
Paulo. All seven of these Indian groups lived inland and were called 
Tobayara by the Tupinamba of the coast. Because most of these Tobay- 
ara are also known under other names, we shall restrict Tobayara to the 
Tupi-speaking Indians of Maranhao (lat. 4° S., long. 42° W.). 

Tabayara (Tobajara, Miari engiiare, Miarigois).—Their native terri- 
tory was the Serra Grande of Ceara (Serra da Ibiapaba), where they 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 97 


extended to Camocim. Attacked by Pedro Coelho at the beginning of 
the 17th century, the inhabitants of 70 of their villages migrated to the 
region of Maranhao. They settled on the upper Mearim River, where 
they were known to the French as “Indians of the Mearim” (Miarigois). 
The emigrants disappeared as a result of their wars against the French 
and the “Tapuya’ and of smallpox epidemics. In 1637, the Tabayara 
allied themselves to the Dutch to wage war against the Portuguese of 
Maranhao. Their Christianization was undertaken about 1656, but was 
soon interrupted by a rebellion which lasted until 1673. Then again the 
Jesuits established missions among them. Their name appears in official 
documents until 1720. 

Tupina (Tobayara, Tupiguae).—Scattered in the woods from north of 
the Sao Francisco River to the Camamt River in the south (lat. 11°-15° 
S., long. 37°-42° W.). Their eastern neighbors were the Caeté, the 
Tupinamba, and the Tupinikin. 

Amoipira.—A detached branch of the Tupinamba, living in the hinter- 
land of Bahia on the left side of the Sao Francisco River (lat. 7°-14° S., 
long. 39°-43° W.). 

Tupinamba tribes that are mentioned in the literature but cannot be 
localized exactly are: The Viatan, formerly living in the region of Pern- 
ambuco but exterminated by the Potiguara and the Portuguese ; the A piga- 
pigtanga; the Muriapigtanga in the vicinity of the Tupina; the Guaracaio 
or Itati, enemies of the Tupinikin; the Araboyara, and the Rariguora, 
whose names only are known. 


HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS OF THE TUPINAMBA 


The various descriptions of the Tupinamba culture, though concerned 
with Indians as widely apart as those of the Maranhao region and of 
Rio de Janeiro, harmonize in the smallest details. Such uniformity among 
groups scattered over an enormous area suggests a comparatively recent 
separation. This view is fully supported by historical traditions and 
events that occurred after European colonization. The Tupi tribes seem 
to have dispersed from a common center at a relatively recent date. 
Their migrations ended only in the second half of the 16th century. The 
earlier inhabitants of the Brazilian coast from the Amazon River to the 
Rio de la Plata were a great many tribes ambiguously called “Tapuya” 
by the Tupinamba and the Portuguese. At the time of the discovery of 
Brazil they had been pushed into the woods but still remained near the 
coast waging war against the Tupinamba invaders, whose intrusion was 
so recent that they had not had time to exterminate or assimilate the 
former masters of the coastal region. Many “Tapuya’ had remained 
in possession of the shore, forming ethnic islands among the Tupi-speak- 
ing tribes (Handbook, vol. 1, pp. 553-556; map 1, No. 18; map 7). The 
Teremembé wandered along the coast of Maranhao. The Waitaka of 


98 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Espirito Santo and the Wayana (Goyana) of Sao Paulo are listed among 
the Coastal Indians by our sources. Tupinamba tradition held that the 
non-T upi-speaking Quirigma were the first inhabitants of Bahia, and that 
the Aenaguig preceded the Tupinikin in their habitat. The Maraca of the 
hinterland of Bahia were an enclave among Tupinamba tribes. 

The only invasions historically recorded are those which took place in 
the regions of Bahia, Pernambuco, Maranhao, and Para. The first migra- 
tion of the Tupinamba (in a wider sense) to the coast is that of the 
Tupina (known also as Tobayara). They drove the “Tapuya” from the 
seashore, but later were forced to relinquish their conquests to the Tup1- 
namba proper and settled in the hinterland. A branch of the Tupinamba 
that had been warring against the “Tapwya” did not reach the coast in time 
and remained on the Sao Francisco River, where they were known as 
Amoipira. The Tupinikin of Porto Seguro migrated from the north and 
may have been the southern wing of the same Tupinamba invasion. 

The region of Maranhao was settled in the second half of the 16th 
century by Tupinamba from Pernambuco, where they had been defeated 
and driven back by the Portuguese colonists. 

Several typical messianic outbursts took place in the second part of the 
16th century when the various Tupinamba tribes were forced to yield 
ground to the Portuguese and were being either wholly outrooted or 
enslaved. Here, as elsewhere in the New World, these crises were 
prompted by shamans or prophets who announced the return of the mythi- 
cal ages and the disappearance of the white scourge. Following a deeply 
engrained tradition among the Tui tribes, these prophets exhorted them 
to depart for the “land-of-immortality” where the Culture hero had retired 
after his earthly adventure. In 1605, a party of Tupinamba led by a 
prophet, whom they worshiped as a deity, left the region of Pernambuco 
to invade the territory of Maranhao, which then was held by the French. 
The invaders were defeated by the Portiguara and the French at the Serra 
da Ibiapaba. Earlier, a group of Potiguara also set out on a journey to 
look for the Earthly Paradise, at the prompting of a shaman who pretended 
to be a resurrected ancestor. 

About 1540, several thousands of Tupinamba left the coast of Brazil 
in quest of the “land-of-immortality-and-perpetual-rest” and, in 1549, 
arrived at Chachapoyas in Pert. As they mentioned having passed through 
a region where gold was abundant, their reports induced the Spaniards 
to organize several expeditions to discover El Dorado (Métraux, 1927). 

The Tupinambarana, discovered by Acufia (1891) on the Amazonian 
island that bears their name, were also Tupinamba of Pernambuco who 
had deserted their home country to escape Portuguese tyranny. They 
traveled up the Amazon River, thence up the Madeira River, finally coming 
in contact with Spanish settlements in eastern Bolivia. Vexed by the 
Spanish colonists, they returned down the Madeira River to its mouth 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 99 


and settled the island of Tupinambarana. In 1690 they seem to have been 
on the decline, for the Guayarise had moved into their territory (Fritz, 
19225 p72): 

CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The Tupinamba drew a large part of their subsistence from 
farming. Manioc, especially the poisonous variety, was their staple ; second 
in importance was maize, five varieties of which were cultivated, one of 
them being particularly useful to travelers because it remained tender for 
a long period. 

Other crops listed in early sources are: Cara (Dioscorea sp.), mangara 
(Xanthosoma mafaffa), taia (taioba, Xanthosoma sp.),1 sweet potatoes, 
lima beans, kidney beans, pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata), peanuts, pine- 
apples, and pepper. Bananas were grown on a large scale soon after the 
discovery of Brazil. Sugarcane and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) were 
also eagerly adopted from the first White colonists. Several trees, such 
as cashews and papayas, may have been cultivated in the fields and near 
the huts. 

The Tupinamba grew several nonfood plants: gourds, calabash trees, 
tobacco, cotton, uructt, and probably genipa. 

The Tupinamba cleared farm land in the forests near their villages, 
felling the trees with stone axes and burning them a few months later. 
The ashes served as fertilizer. Women did all planting and harvesting. 
At the beginning of the dry season, they set out manioc cuttings and 
sliced tubers, and planted maize and beans in holes made with pointed 
sticks. They did no other work except some occasional weeding. They 
allowed bean vines to climb on charred tree trunks but sometimes added 
sticks as auxiliary props. To increase the cotton yield, they thinned the 
trees twice a year. Only the women who had planted peanuts might 
harvest them, a task which entailed special ceremonies. 

Collecting wild foods.—The Tupinamba supplemented their diet with 
many wild fruits and nuts, such as jucara, mangaba (Hancornia speciosa), 
cashew (Anacardium occidentale), sapucaia (Lecythis ollaria), araca 
orguave (Psidium variabile), mocujes (Couma rigida), araticus (Rollinia 
exalbida), hoyriti (Diplothemium maritimum), jaboticaba (Myrciaria 
cauliflora), acaja (Spondias purpurea), pindo palm (Orbignya speciosa), 
and aricuri (Cocos coronata), etc. The Tupinamba discovered the watery, 
edible roots of the imbu tree (Spondias tuberosa) by the sound made when 
striking the ground with a stick. Like the Chaco Indians, they ate the 
fruits and roots of caraguata (Bromelia sp.). 

The Tupinamba were fond of the icas, or tanajuras ant, with a fat 
abdomen, which they roasted and ate. Women lured these ants from 


1 There is, however, apparently some confusion between mangara (Xanthosoma mafaffa) and 
taioba. 


653333—47—-10 


100 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


their recesses with magic spells. They also collected hundreds of guara 
(Eudocimus ruber) eggs and roasted them on babracots in order to keep 
them as a food reserve. These tribes eagerly sought honey, not only for 
its food value but because the wax was important in their industries. They 
gathered quantities of oysters (Ostrea rhizophorae), which occur abund- 
antly along the coast where they cling to the roots of mangrove trees. 
Many people relied even more on sea food than on game. Whole villages 
went to the seashore during certain months to gather oysters, which they 
ate or preserved by smoking them on babracots. Many of the sambaquis 
(shell mounds) of the Atlantic Coast (see vol. 1, p. 401) are formed of 
Tupinamba kitchen refuse. 

Hunting.—The chase was a major masculine occupation ; Indians wish- 
ing to eulogize their country declared that it abounded in game—deer, 
wild pigs, monkeys, agouti, armadillos, forest hens, pigeons, etc. But 
recorded hunting methods are neither numerous nor elaborate, and 
collective hunting is mentioned only in connection with certain ratlike 
rodents, which were surrounded by a party of men and forced into a 
previously dug ditch, where they were clubbed to death. Most hunting 
was carried on by individuals or by small groups of men. 

The hunting weapons were bows and arrows. Long bows were gen- 
erally made of hard black wood—pao d’arco (Tecoma impetiginosa), ayri 
palm (Astroearyum ayri)—or of jacaranda or sapucaia. The front part 
was convex, the string side flat. The stave was sometimes partially covered 
with a basketry sheath and trimmed with feathers. The bow-string was 
of cotton or tucum fiber (Astrocaryum campestre), sometimes painted 
green or red. The arrows had four main types of head: (1) a lanceolate 
bamboo (taquara) blade with sharp edges for killing large animals; (2) a 
simple tapering piece of hard wood, which was barbed for most arrows ; 
(3) a head like the last but tipped with a bone splinter, a fish bone, or a 
spur of a sting ray that formed a barb; (4) a wooden knob to stun birds 
and monkeys. Fishing arrows will be mentioned later. 

Arrow shafts were made of straight reeds (Gynerium sagittatum) with- 
out knobs. The feathering was of the “East Brazilian,” or tangential type: 
Two feathers with their barbs cut off along one side were laid spirally 
against the shaft and fixed with cotton thread at their extremities. The 
terminal nock seems to have been reinforced with a wooden plug. 

The Tupinamba quickly learned to train the dogs, which they received 
from Europeans soon after the Discovery, to hunt game, especially agouti. 
They beat jaguars from the bush with packs of dogs. 

Caimans, which were eaten with relish, were first shot with arrows and 
then killed with clubs. Small animals, such as lizards, were caught almost 
exclusively by children. 

Blinds, traps, and snares.—Large blinds for watching and shooting 
birds were built in treetops. 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 101 


Jaguars and tapirs were caught in concealed pit falls dug across their 
main paths. A more elaborate jaguar trap consisted of an enclosure of 
strong poles. In entering it, the animal stepped on a contrivance that 
caused a heavy log to fall and crush him. Jaguars also were captured by 
means of spring snares. A noose attached to a bent pole—the spring— 
was laid open on the animal’s path. If the jaguar stepped near it, his 
weight caused a trigger to fall which allowed the pole to spring upright 
and pulled the noose up around one of his paws. The jaguar was then 
shot with arrows, whereupon apologies were made to its carcass lest it 
take revenge on its murderers. Small traps, snares, and nets were em- 
ployed to catch small mammals and birds. Parrots were lassoed with a 
noose on the end of a pole. 

Fishing.—Living by the ocean and on numerous rivers along the 
Brazilian coast, the Tupinamba had access to large supplies of sea food. 
During certain times of the year they lived almost exclusively on fish. 
After the rainy season, the Tupinamba of Maranhio left their villages for 
several weeks to camp (fig. 6, bottom) along the shore near shallow 
lagoons that swarmed with fish. Enormous quantities of parati fish 
(Mugil brasiliensis) were also caught in August while swimming upstream 
to spawn. This month was, therefore, a propitious time for war expedi- 
tions, the rivers yielding a reliable supply of food. Shoals of fish were 
driven into empty canoes by striking the water with sticks. Fish, if 
numerous, were also dipped out with sieves and gourds, especially at 
night when attracted by torchlight. Men armed with fish nets formed a 
barrier against which fish were driven by striking the water. Rivers and 
coves were often closed with weirs made of branches or with dams of 
stones. Fishermen standing on the dam scooped up the fish with dip 
nets. Funnel-shaped baskets were placed in running water at narrow 
passages where the fish would be forced to enter them and be caught. The 
Tupinamba were skillful at shooting fish either with arrows tipped with 
several hardwood prongs or with harpoon arrows. They also killed fish 
by poisoning calm waters with the juices of several creepers, such as 
timbé (Dahlstedtia pinnata) and the tingui (Tephrosia toxicaria). Na- 
tive hooks, which disappeared rapidly after European contact, were made 
ot thorns; fishlines, of tucuma (Bactris setosa) fibers. The Tupinamba 
were said to be such good swimmers that they could even dive and catch 
fish with their hands. 

Domestication.—Pets, numerous in any village, were mainly birds and 
a few such animals as wild pigs, agouti, monkeys, and even armadillos 
and caimnans. Certain birds, such as ducks, a kind of turkey, and pigeons, 
may actually have been domesticated. These ducks, however, were not 
eaten lest their flesh cause a person to become slow. Tame parrots were 
taught to speak and became an important article of trade with Europeans, 
but also had a certain economic value in native culture, for they were 


102 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


plucked every year, and their feathers were made into ornaments. The 
Tupinamba changed the natural colors of the feathers of green parrots by 
“tapirage.” By rubbing with the blood of a frog (Rana tinctoria?) the 
sores left by plucking the birds, they caused the new feathers to grow 
yellow or red. These Indians eagerly received domesticated fowls brought 
to them by Europeans and unquestionably aided their diffusion in eastern 
South America. They never ate these fowls, but plucked them, especially 
the white ones, as they did native birds. The feathers were dyed in a 
decoction of Brazil wood (Caesalpinia echinata). When the Tupinamba 
received their first dogs from the Portuguese, they called them “jaguars.” 
They grew so fond of them that the women carried the puppies like 
babies. The Tupinamba also kept European pigs, but did not care for 
their flesh. 

Food preparation.—Poisonous manioc required lengthy preparation 
before consumption. The tubers were peeled with shells and grated on 
rough-surfaced stones or on special graters, i.e., boards in which stone 
chips or fishbones were imbedded at close intervals. The poisonous juice 
was extracted by squeezing the manioc in a long basketry tube (tipiti). 
Afterward, the pulp was sifted and made into flour (“hard flour’) by 
constant stirring while it roasted in a large pottery platter. For wafers 
(beijii), the mass simply was spread in a more or less thick layer on the 
same utensil. 

Another kind of flour (“water flour”) was made from tubers which had 
been soaked in running water for many days until they began to decay. 
They were then crushed by hand, strained in the tipiti, and passed through 
a sieve. The pulp was baked as before. A flour called carima was obtained 
from tubers that were rotted, soaked in water, smoked on a babracot, 
pounded in a wooden mortar, and carefully sifted. The famous war flour 
was a combination of ‘“‘water flour” and carim& baked for a long time until 
dried and well roasted. This flour, which would keep for more than a 
year, was carried by travelers and warriors in waterproof satchels plaited 
of palm leaves. 

Aypi, or sweet manioc, could be eaten directly after boiling or roasting, 
but was cultivated mainly for brewing mead. It was also made into 
various kinds of flour. The juice of both species of manioc, if left in the 
sun for a while, deposited its starch, which was baked and eaten. Other 
tubers, such as sweet potatoes, cara, mangara, and taia, required a less 
elaborate treatment, being either boiled or roasted. Maize, mainly con- 
sumed in the form of flour, was also roasted or boiled. Peanuts were 
broiled and roasted. The name “mingao” designated any mush made of 
manioc or other flour. Mangara and taia leaves were eaten as greens. 

Meat and fish were roasted or boiled. The broth was often mixed 
with manioc flour. Small fish, wrapped in leaves, were cooked under 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 103 


ashes. Any surplus of game or fish was dried and smoked for about 
24 hours on a huge babracot, a rectangular four-legged grill or platform 
made of sticks, under which a slow fire burned. Another method for 
preserving meat and fish was to pound it into a sort of pemmican or flour. 

Condiments comprised mainly several species of pepper and occasion- 
ally a grass called nhamby (coentro do sertao, Eryngium foetidum.). 
Salt was obtained by evaporating sea water in ditches dug near the shore 
or by boiling it in large pots. It was also made by boiling lye made of 
palm-wood ashes. Salt and ground pepper were generally mixed, and 
every morsel of food was dipped in this powder before being eaten. 

The Tupinamba ate in silence, all squatting on the ground around a 
big dish, except the head of the extended family, who lay in his hammock. 
They were expert at throwing into their mouths manioc flour, which 
accompanied every dish. Many persons washed before and after every 
meal. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Tupinamba villages consisted of from 4 to 8 huge communal houses 
built around a square plaza, where the social and religious life of the 
community centered (fig. 6, top). Houses varied in length from about 
50 to 500 feet (15 to 150 m.), the average being about 250 to 300 feet 
(75 to 90 m.), and in width from 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m.). The height 
was about 12 feet (3.5 m.). Thirty families, that is, more than 100 people, 
could live in a dwelling ; some houses even had as many as 200 occupants. 

Houses were constructed on a rectangular ground plan. The roof was 
arched or vaulted, apparently descending to the ground, thus also form- 
ing the side walls—hence the frequent comparison in the ancient litera- 
ture to overturned boats. The structure was thatched with leaves of 
pindo palm, patiaba, or capara (Geonoma sp.) artfully sewn or woven 
together so as to be entirely waterproof. There was a low door at each 
end and one or sometimes two on the side. In the interior, the quarters 
of each family were marked off by two wall posts. The family ham- 
mocks were suspended from additional posts. Possessions, such as cala- 
bashes, pots, weapons, and provisions, were stored in the rafters or on 
small platforms. Each family kept a fire burning day and night in its 
compartment. The center of the hut was left free as a communal passage- 
way. The head of the extended family, his relatives, and slaves were 
accommodated in the middle or in some other privileged part of the long 
house. Hammocks, carved benches, and pottery of all sizes and shapes 
comprised the usual household equipment. 

Villages were located on hilltops, where the air was not too stifling. 
Those exposed to enemy attacks were fortified with a double stockade 
(fig. 6, top), having embrasures for archers. The access to the village 
was defended with pitfalls and caltrops. 

The Tupinamba shifted their villages when the house thatching began 


104 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


- 
Ss ct 
4 
BH BD 
4 
‘ = 


yf wn ) nit i: 
d ial 


SN ETT ; 
TY ' eye YY 


‘ 
“70 4 
UV ULT GS 4) 


i 
Ys wees 
At ook 


4 
b2 


WWVd eve be 
“ 
ore 
- a wh 
LO) 


“ 
Wy 
G4 


iamecmeced & IQBOd® 


wine Pea OCT 2 ; 
9, 


Sat 
of, 
VZ 


Ficure 6.—Tupinamba palisaded village (top) and camp (bottom). 
(After Staden, 1557.) 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 105 


to rot or when the soil of their cultivated clearings was exhausted. They 
did not remain in one place more than 4 or 5 years. A new village was 
generally built near the old one and retained the same name. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


In daily life men and women were entirely naked, except that adult 
men, especially old men, wore a penis sheath of leaves. Young men 
contented themselves with a ligature round the prepuce. 

Feather ornaments.—In contrast to this lack of dress, ornaments were 
numerous and showy. On their heads men wore high diadems made of 
the tails of parrots or other bright birds or bonnets of small feathers 
fastened in the knots of a cotton net. The feather fabric was so compact 
that it suggested velvet. Some of these bonnets fell down in the back 
like long, narrow capes (fig. 7, left). The most spectacular feather orna- 


b 
Ficure 7.—Tupinamba headdress and ceremonial war club. (b, Approximately 1/14 
actual size.) (Redrawn from Métraux, 1928 a.) 


106 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ments were long, wide cloaks composed entirely of red feathers of the 
guara (Guara rubra). Necklaces, bracelets, and anklets were also 
made of bright feathers. Many feather ornaments, especially cloaks, have 
found their way to European museums. The best feathered specimens 
were collected by the Dutch in their early Brazilian possessions, and are 
now in the National Museum of Copenhagen. For festive occasions or 


YAS 


+ YY 


yD 


ies YY 
NGA : YS 
EOL 


FicureE 8.—Tupinamba dress. Top: Warriors with ceremonial club and featherseinee 
decoration, Bottom: Labrets. (After Staden, 1557.) 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 107 


for war, men suspended on their buttocks an ornament of ostrich plumes 
in the “form of a large round ball to which feathers were attached” (figs. 
8, top; 9, left). 

The love for feathers was so great that men and even women glued 
them to their heads with wax or sprinkled chopped feathers all over 
their bodies, which they had previously coated with gum or honey. Often 
they substitued particles of red or yellow wood for feathers. They also 
pasted with wax on their temples patches of toucan skin covered with 
yellow feathers. Feathers, after use, were carefully collected, cleaned, 
and stored in bamboo tubes sealed with wax. 


Figure 9.—Tupinamba ceremonial objects. Leff: Warrior’s feather plumes worn on 
hips. Right: Ceremonial club and cord. (After Staden, 1557.) 


Necklaces and garters.—Chiefs and important men had necklaces of 
round or square shell (Strombus pugilis) beads so long—some were 30 
feet (9 m.) in length—that they had to be coiled a great many times 
round their necks. Others had strings of black wooden beads (Astro- 
caryum ayri). Warriors displayed necklaces strung with the teeth— 
sometimes as many as 2,000 to 3,000—of their victims. Women used 
similar necklaces, but ordinarily wore them wound around their arms. 
Certain women’s bracelets are described as a careful assemblage of small 
pieces of shell imbricated like fish scales. Belts of shell beads are also 
mentioned in the literature. A most precious male heirloom was a cres- 
centic pendant 6 inches to 1 foot (15 to 30 cm.) long, consisting of well- 
polished bone and shell plates worn suspended round the neck by a cotton 
thread. 

Men and women wore one or two broad cotton garters under the 
knee, men trimming theirs with feathers. In the region of Bahia, these 


108 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


garters were bound tightly around little girl’s legs to make the calves 
bulge in later life. 

Hairdressing.—Neither sex tolerated any hair on the body. They 
either pulled it out with their fingers, or shaved it with a bamboo splinter 
or a quartz knife. With the same instrument men shaved their foreheads 
back to the level of the ears. Women generally allowed their hair to hang 
loose down their backs, but, when at work, they tied it up over the head 
in a knot or divided it into one or two bundles wrapped with a cotton 
fillet. Combs were made from a fruit with long spikes. The only 
cosmetic was oil extracted from several fruits, generally those of palm 
trees (uucutba, Myristica sebifera). The natives washed their hair with 
a root or the skins of the Sapindus divaricatus fruit, which makes suds 
when soaked in water and squeezed between the fingers. 

Labrets.—When a Tupinamba boy was 5 or 6 years old, his lower lip 
was pierced, and henceforth he wore in the hole either a plain wooden 
plug or a conical bone stick or a shell. Later in life he substituted a green 
or white stone (beryl, amazonite, chrysoprase, chalcedony, quartz, or 
crystal) shaped like a T or a large button. A few men, generally chiefs 
or medicine men, perforated their cheeks for similar ornaments, some wear- 
ing as many as seven (fig. 8). 

Ear ornaments.—Women inserted in their ear lobes a shell cylinder 
long enough to reach their shoulders or even their breasts. Men wore 
thin bone sticks, similar to bone labrets, in their ears. Some men also 
wore small bone or wooden sticks through the wings of the nose. 

Tattooing.—Both sexes were tattooed. Charcoal or certain plant juices 
were rubbed into wounds made with a rodent’s tooth or a shell. A man’s 
body was covered with capricious designs, which were extended each time 
he killed a man in war or sacrificed a prisoner. Judging from a contem- 
porary drawing, such tattooing marks formed regular geometrical patterns, 
not unlike designs on pottery. Women were tattooed only at puberty. 

Painting.—On every important occasion, such as a drinking bout, a 
funeral, or the slaughtering of a prisoner, men and women painted their 
bodies. The favorite pigments were black, made of genipa, and red, made 
of uruci. Black and red paint, alone or alternating, covered large surfaces 
of the body, especially the lower limbs. Men and women entrusted them- 
selves to skillful artists, generally women, who traced on their persons 
artistic and capricious patterns consisting of checkers, spirals, waves, and 
other elements similar to those painted on pottery. Blue and yellow, 
though less common, were used on the face in combination with the two 
other pigments. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Carrying devices.—Heavy loads, such as crops, were carried on the 
back in elongated baskets that were open on the top and outer side. These 
were suspended from the forehead by a tumpline. 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 109 


Children were carried straddling the hip, and supported by a sling 
manufactured like a small hammock. 

Boats.—The Tupinamba had three types of watercraft: (1) Dugouts, 
(2) bark canoes, (3) rafts. Dugouts were hollowed out of huge logs by 
the laborious process of burning and scraping the charred wood away. 
The Tupinamba of Bahia could finish a canoe in a few days by using the 
ubiragara tree (Ficus doliaria or Cavanillesia arborea), which has a soft 
inside. Large dugouts were manned by 30 to 60 men. 

To build a bark canoe, they erected a platform around a suitable tree, 
peeled the bark off in one large piece, and heated it to bend it “in front 
and behind, but first lashed it together with wood so that it did not stretch.” 
This craft, sometimes 40 feet (12 m.) long, held from 25 to 30 persons. 
Like the dugouts, these canoes were used for raids along the coast. 

The Tupinamba paddled their canoes standing up. The blades were 
lanceolate in shape, the handles without cross bars or knobs. The Caeté 
navigated the Sao Francisco River, and even along the coast as far as 
Bahia, on huge rafts or balsas made of reed bundles tied up with creepers 
and connected with transverse sticks. Such rafts could easily transport 10 
to 12 Indians. 

Fishermen sat on small rafts (piperi), made of four or five thick round 
pieces of light wood bound together with creepers, and propelled them 
with a flat stick. 


MANUFACTURES 


Miscellaneous tools.—Trees were felled with stone axes. Ax heads 
were hafted with a withy bent double around their butts and held fast 
with bast. Stone chisels, similarly hafted, served for carving. Rodent 
teeth and wild pig tusks, “bound between two sticks,” served for boring. 
Shells or bamboo splinters were employed as knives. They polished 
bows with the rough leaves of mbaiba (Cecropia adenopus). 

Basketry.—Basketry included sieves, fire fans, containers of different 
types, and perhaps also fish traps. Temporary baskets were made of 
plaited palm leaves. Those intended for longer service were manufactured 
of creepers (Serjania or Paullinia) split into thin strips, which were 
twilled, yielding geometrical patterns when the strips were black and white. 

Spinning and weaving.—Cotton threads were spun with a spindle— 
a stick with a flat, circular wooden whorl. Women rolled the spindle along 
the thigh to set it in motion and then dropped it. Ropes were twisted 
of cotton and other fibers; or were sometimes plaited for ceremonial use. 

The Tupinamba knew only the simplest technique of twined weaving, 
which was used for the fabric of the hammocks. The warp strands were 
wrapped horizontally around two vertical posts and twined together with 
double wefts. Some fabrics were woven so tightly as to appear to be true 
woven cloth. 


110 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Pottery.—Tupinamba pottery was highly praised by early voyagers, 
but the few extant specimens do not show unusual technical or artistic 
skill. Bowls, dishes, and vases had simple forms: round, oval, and even 
square (fig. 10). They were often painted on the inside with red and 
black linear motifs on a white background and were also glazed with resin 
(for instance, the resin of the icica, Protiwm brasiliense). The most con- 
spicuous pots were huge jars, with a capacity of about 14 gallons (50 
liters), for storing beer. These and cooking pots often were decorated 
with thumbnail impressions made in the wet clay, an embellishment typical 


Satay aban i Ved 
Aa eo | Yes 


os 


=) 


eres 
enn 


2 

BAaTERS 
am 
AS 


/ JS 


Ficure 10.—Tupinamba and Guarani pottery. a, b, d, e, Tupinamba; others, Guarani. 
(Redrawn from Métraux, 1928 a.) 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 111 


of many Tupi tribes. Pottery was baked in a shallow pit covered with 
fuel. The best pot makers were the old women. Tradition had it that a 
pot which was not baked by the person who modeled it would surely crack. 

Fire making.—Fire was generated by a drill and activated by a fire 
fan. Torches were sticks of ibiraba wood, which burned steadily once the 
end fibers had been unraveled. 

Weapons.—See Hunting (p. 100). 

Calabashes.—Halved gourds served as dishes and bowls. The interior 
was generally smeared with genipa and the exterior with a yellow varnish. 
Small containers or mortars were made of the shell of the sapucaia fruits. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


From existing documents, we can only surmise the type of social 
organization prevailing among the Tupinamba. Like many Guiana In- 
dians, they lived in large communal houses, whose occupants were related 
either by blood or by marriage and were probably the members of a 
patrilineal extended family. A man’s brother’s daughter was regarded 
as his daughter, but his sister’s daughter was his potential wife. The 
children of a woman of the tribe by a captive father were regarded as 
members of the enemy group and were consequently eaten by their 
mother’s relatives. The children of a tribesman were always full-fledged 
members of the community irrespective of the mother’s status. 

Marriage.—The preferred marriages were between cross-cousins and 
between a girl and her mother’s brother, or in case there were none, the 
mother’s nearest male relative. The maternal uncle carefully supervised 
the conduct of his future bride if he did not wish to take advantage of his 
marital claim, and had to be consulted if his niece wanted to marry another 
man. If the husband were not the girl’s mother’s brother, he became his 
father-in-law’s servant. He had to assist him in all economic activities, 
such as house building, opening clearings, hunting, fishing, and fuel gather- 
ing. He also had to accompany him on the warpath, carry his burdens, 
and supply him with food and shelter. To gain the favor of his in-laws, 
the bridegroom would assume the responsibility of revenging the death 
of any of his affinal relatives and offer a prisoner he might have taken to 
one of his brothers-in-law, who would kill the captive, thereby increasing 
his prestige by a change of his name. A hard fate it was indeed for 
those who had few relatives and were, therefore, compelled to live with 
their in-laws. “Marriage,” says Thevet (1575), “costs the man a great 
deal of work and pain.” Suitors, according to Soares de Souza (1851, 
p. 311), worked 2 or 3 years before they acquired their wives; and after 
this they had to settle with their in-laws and remain in their service. 

Marriage, in its initial phase at least, seems to have been strictly 
matrilocal, but the general tendency for any man was to liberate himself 


112 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


from his subordinate position by settling with his wife in his parents’ long 
house. Chiefs could do away with matrilocalism and take their wives 
home; a man related to a powerful family could buy his liberty with 
presents and favors bestowed on his in-laws; and any man might also 
gain his freedom by marrying his daughter to his wife’s brother. 

A widow generally married her husband’s older brother or one of his 
close relatives who had avenged her husband’s death, if it had occurred 
in battle, or who had taken a prisoner to “renew” the deceased spouse’s 
grave and wear his ornaments, in case of a natural death. (See p. 120.) 
The second husband was expected to be as valiant as the first. 

Once redeemed from his bondage, a man could take other wives and 
often did at the request of a wife eager to share her tasks with them. The 
first wife always retained a preeminent position, however, and enjoyed the 
right to hang her hammock next to that of her husband. Each wife of a 
polygynous man “had her separate lodging in the huts, her own fire and 
root plantation, and that one with whom he (the husband) cohabited for 
the time being, gave him his food, and thus he went the round of them” 
(Staden, 1928, p. 146). 

A man could also have wives scattered in different villages. Polygynous 
wives were given to surprisingly little jealousy and quarreling, though they 
often included women of other villages who had been captured in war. 

A young man unable to find a marriageable girl or lacking a mother or 
sister to cook for him did not hesitate to take some aging woman as first 
wife, whom he would discard when he could obtain a more suitable mate. 
Warriors of renown and famous medicine men had no difficulty in 
acquiring new wives, who were readily given to them by their fathers 
or brothers. Some chiefs had as many as 30 wives. Polygyny was thus 
a mark of prestige and a source of wealth. Matrimonial ties were easily 
broken by either spouse, sometimes for reasons that appear to us trifling. 
The divorced woman, if young, would remarry. An adulteress was not 
severely punished unless her husband was a great chief; but if a captive 
or without a family to revenge her, she might be killed. The guilty partner 
was unmolested, lest his kin start a feud. 

Prestige.—A man with several daughters attained considerable au- 
thority and prestige because he had under him both his sons-in-law and 
his daughters’ suitors. Men who had changed names often, having killed 
several enemies in battle or sacrificed captives on the village plaza, acquired 
great prestige and influence in the community. 

Slaves.—Though, with few exceptions, all prisoners, male or female, 
were eventually eaten, they were kept long enough in the community to be 
considered a special class within Tupinamba society. Possession of a 
prisoner was an envied privilege. One who enjoyed it did not hesitate to 
make the greatest sacrifices to keep his charge happy and in good health. 
A man would starve rather than deprive his captive of food, and usually 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 113 


gave him a daughter or sister as a wife. Lacking a close female relative, 
the captor would ask a friend to give him a woman for the purpose, a 
request sure to be granted, for conjugal ties with a prisoner were regarded 
as honorable. In certain cases the prisoner was married to the widow of 
a warrior killed before his capture and was allotted the deceased’s ham- 
mock and ornaments. The relations between a prisoner and his new wife 
were identical with those of any other married couple and were supposed 
to last forever, the woman being just as attached to her temporary husband 
as in normal wedlock. These prisoners’ wives, it is said, had the respon- 
sibility of preventing their husbands from running away, but the statement 
is to be accepted with reserve. Some authors report cases of women who 
grew so fond of their husbands that they escaped with them. 

Female captives were often taken as secondary wives or concubines by 
their masters, but sooner or later they were ritually sacrificed unless they 
belonged to an influential man who had become fond of them. If their 
masters did not care for them, they were allowed to have sexual relations 
with whomever they wished. The skulls of female captives who died a 
natural death were crushed. 

Prisoners were kindly treated and regarded their masters, whose quar- 
ters they shared, as relatives. The Tupinamba were heartbroken to see 
Europeans mistreat the prisoners they had sold to them. They would come 
from far away to visit them, and would hide and protect any of their 
former slaves who escaped. 

Prisoners had fields for their maintenance and were free to hunt or 
fish. They were welcome at the feasts and drinking bouts. It seems, 
however, that, like a son-in-law or a brother-in-law, they were obliged 
to work for their masters. They were, moreover, reminded of their servile 
condition by a few restrictions and humiliations. They could not make a 
present or work for anybody without their masters’ consent. They were 
forbidden to enter a hut through the thatched wall, though other people 
might do so. They must, under pain of death, avoid amorous relations 
with a married woman. If they fell sick, they were immediately sacrificed. 
Further, at any time they could be the target for the most violent insults 
and abuses. A woman who refused to accept willingly the sacrifice of 
children she had by a prisoner, was severly censured, and her family 
shared her disrepute. 


POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Each long house had a headman who was under the village chief. Some 
villages had two or even three or four chiefs, if we may rely on Claude 
d’Abbeville’s census of the Maranhao region. Some chiefs extended their 
power over a whole district and commanded a great many villages. Rank 
was determined by war prowess (capture and ceremonial execution of 
prisoners), magic power, oratorical gifts, and wealth. 


114 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Soares de Souza writes: 


The chief must be a man of courage. He has to belong to a large family and to 
be well liked by its members so that they are willing to help cultivate his plantations, 
but even when he opens a clearing with the assistance of relatives, he is the first to 
put his hand to the task. [Soares de Souza, 1851, p. 325.] 


The authority of chiefs, undisputed in war time, was subordinated to 
the sanction of a council in peace. 

This council was composed of the elder men and famous warriors, 
who met on the village plaza for any important decision. The chief spoke 
first, and then each councilor in turn gave his opinion, while the others, 
according to their rank, sat in their hammocks or squatted on the ground 
smoking huge cigarettes. 

Each morning the headman of a hut assigned everybody a task and 
delivered a speech encouraging the people to go to work and follow the 
good example of their ancestors. 

Chieftainship was inherited by the son or the brother of the deceased 
chief, if he had the required qualifications. 

Social control and justice.—Social control over the individual’s 
behavior was very strong. Great stress was put on the smoothness of 
manners and gentleness, any outburst of anger being looked on with 
abhorrence. People shunned the company of temperamental persons. 
If an Indian felt incapable of controlling his feelings, he warned those 
present, who immediately tried to calm him down. When a serious 
quarrel broke out in a village, the individuals involved went to the ex- 
treme of burning their own houses, challenging their adversaries to do 
likewise. Under the influence of anger, these Indians were prone to 
commit suicide by eating soil. 

Blood revenge was a sacred duty. When a homicide might involve 
two allied groups in a feud, the relatives of the murderer often did not 
hesitate to kill him, lest the peace be disturbed. 

The cooperation of neighbors or relatives in any joint enterprise was 
rewarded by a drinking party organized by the beneficiaries. A hunter 
or a fishermen, upon returning home, shared his catch first with the 
headman of the long house and then with the members of his household. 
The Tupinambas’ generosity and willingness to share anything they had 
are often stressed by the old sources. Anybody could, without asking 
for permission, use utensils belonging to some housemate. 


ETIQUETTE 


Guests were greeted with tears. As soon as a visitor entered a hut 
he was surrounded by the women of the house, who showed their sym- 
pathy by friendly gestures and started to cry, intermingling their laments 
with chants in which they alluded to the dead members of the community 
and to other mournful subjects. The guest had to pretend that he was 


Vol. 37 THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX ile is 


shedding tears. When the crying had ceased, the male hosts, who had 
affected indifference, turned toward the newcomer and welcomed him. 
Any member of the community who had been absent, even for a short 
time, was received with weeping when he returned. Chiefs were greeted 
with tears even if they had only walked to their nearby fields. 


The mournful manifestations by which a returning traveler was greeted 
were actually the reenactment of a funeral rite with which the absent 
person or the guest was associated. 


LIFE CYCLE: BIRTH, PUBERTY, DEATH 


Birth.—When a woman felt the first pangs of childbirth, she squatted 
on a flat piece of wood that leaned against the wall, or directly on the 
ground. Women neighbors surrounded her but gave little assistance. If 
the delivery was difficult, the husband pressed on her stomach. In case 
of a male infant, the father cut the umbilicus with his teeth or between 
two stones and took him up from the ground in token of recognition. 
The mother or some close female relative performed the operation on 
female babies. The mother’s brother took the baby girl in his arms, 
thereby claiming her as his future wife. After the baby was washed, 
its father or the midwife flattened its nose with the thumb, an operation 
repeated later during infancy by the mother. 


The father took to his hammock and lay in it for several days, receiv- 
ing the visits of his friends, who expressed their sympathy for his plight. 
The couvade lasted until the dry navel cord fell off. During this period 
the father had to refrain from eating meat, fish, and salt. Even after 
the confinement, he was not allowed to do any hard work lest he cause 
some harm to the infant. For a baby boy, claws of ferocious animals, 
a small bow and arrow, and a bundle of grass symbolizing his future 
enemies were attached to his little hammock, which was suspended be- 
tween two war clubs. A little girl was given capivara teeth to make 
her teeth hard, a gourd, and cotton garters. 


In the postnatal period, the father performed several magic rites to 
make the child successful during his life. Thus, he would have a male 
baby’s sling caught in a trap as if it were some game. He would shoot 
at the sling with the miniature bow and arrows or throw a fishing net 
over it. When the navel cord was dry, he sliced it into small pieces and 
tied each to one of the main house posts so that the child would become 
the progenitor of a numerous family. If the father were absent or dead, 
the same rites were performed by the mother’s brother or some close 
maternal relative. Food taboos were imposed on the mother during the 
same period. 

Naming.—The choice of a name, a serious matter, was discussed at a 
special meeting. Generally, the child received the name of an ancestor, 


116 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


a custom that is probably connected with the Tupinamba belief that chil- 
dren were reincarnated ancestors. 

Childhood.—Boys were gradually weaned at the age of 4 or 5 years 
(some authors say 6 to 7) and girls a year later. From early infancy 
children were given solid food in the form of maize, which the mother 
masticated into a pap and passed from her mouth into the baby’s. Children, 
male and female, remained in close contact with their mothers until the 
age of 8. Little boys, meanwhile, were encouraged to practice archery 
and to train themselves for war and hunting. Early voyagers report 
unanimously that children, though never scolded, were well disciplined. 
Little is known about early education. To stop their babies from crying, 
mothers put cotton, feathers, or a piece of wood on their heads. To ac- 
celerate a child’s growth, they rubbed it with their hands. Every morning 
one of the headmen went around the village scratching the legs of the 
children to make them obedient. Naughty children were threatened with 
the man with the scratcher. 

At the age of 4 or 5, young boys had their lower lips pierced for a 
labret. The operation was a festive occasion attended by the members of 
the community and inhabitants of other friendly villages. The child was 
expected not to flinch during the operation, thus showing his fortitude. 
Thereafter, boys tied up their prepuce with a cotton thread. 

Girls’ puberty.—A girl underwent a series of severe ordeals at her 
first menstruation. With her head carefully shaven, she had to stand on 
a whetstone while geometric designs were cut on her back with a sharp 
rodent tooth. Ashes of a wild gourd rubbed in the wounds left indelible 
tattoo marks. This scarification had to be endured without crying. Then 
the girl lay in her hammock, concealed from sight, and observed a strict 
fast for 3 days. She must not touch the ground with her feet nor leave 
the hammock until her second menstruation. Meanwhile, if she had to 
go outside the hut, she was carried on her mother’s shoulders. At her 
second menstruation, she received additional tattoo marks on the breasts, 
stomach, and buttocks. Henceforward, she might work but was not 
permitted to leave the house or to speak. Only after the third period was 
she free to go to the fields and resume her normal occupations. 

Adulthood.—After puberty, girls could indulge freely in sexual prac- 
tices until marriage. Any girl who lost her virginity had to break a 
string she wore around her waist and arms after her first menstruation. 
Premarital chastity was expected of a girl betrothed to a chief and brought 
up in his house from childhood. Chiefs’ infant brides, however, might 
stay at home until coming of age. No young man could marry or even 
have sexual relations, according to Cardim (1939), before he had killed 
one or two prisoners, for the sons of a man who had not shed the blood 
of his enemies were thought to be cowardly and lazy. This restriction or 
a young man’s sexual life could be obviated, perhaps long before he had 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 117 


been to war, if his father or uncle gave him a prisoner to sacrifice. Men 
married at about the age of 25. 

After 40 a man was an “elder” and did no hard work. He spoke in 
council. Very old men were respected and treated courteously. 

Death.—A sick person who seemed doomed to death was ignored and 
abandoned. But at the moment of his last breath his relatives surrounded 
him and displayed the most spectacular forms of grief. They threw them- 
selves on his body or on the ground and burst into tears. Ritual laments 
and shedding of tears were restricted to women, especially old women, and 
occasionally old men. The head of the extended family or the women of 
the long house praised the deceased by stressing his courage at war and his 
hunting or fishing skill. These funeral orations were interrupted by sighs 
and cries. 

In general, the Tupinamba were in such haste to bury their dead that 
often the dying man was still alive when placed in the earth (fig. 11, top). 
The grave was dug by the deceased’s nearest male relatives. The corpse 
was wrapped in a hammock or tied by cords in a foetal position and 
squeezed into a big beer jar that was covered with a clay bowl. Some 
food was placed in the grave and a fire was built in its vicinity to keep bad 
spirits away. The head of a family was buried in the long house under 
the quarters he had occupied during life, but there were many exceptions 
to this rule, according to the age and preferences of the dead man. If 
the corpse were buried in the open, a small hut was erected upon the 
grave. Urn burial, though common, was not always practiced. When 
buried directly in the earth, the body was protected against direct contact 
with the soil by lining the grave walls with sticks. 

Female mourners cut their hair, whereas men let theirs grow on 
their shaven foreheads. Both sexes painted their bodies black with 
genipa. Mourning women wailed for many days after a burial and 
went at times to the grave to ask the whereabouts of the departed 
soul. Other women of the community who visited them assisted in 
their ritual laments. The mourning period lasted 1 to 6 months and 
was strictly observed by the parents, siblings, children, and wife of 
the deceased. No widow could remarry before her hair had reached 
the level of her eyes. Before resuming normal life, each mourner enter- 
tained his family and friends at a drinking bout with much singing and 
dancing, at which time widows and widowers cut their hair and painted 
themselves black. 

After death the souls of gallant warriors killed in battle or eaten by 
their enemies went to a beautiful land in the west where they enjoyed 
the company of the mythical “grandfather” and of their dead ancestors. 
They lived there happily and made merry forever. Access to this paradise 
was forbidden to cowards and to women, except the wives of renowned 
watriors. 


118 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


A000 Hees cae a AYERS 


a de) 


re ath ma ! 5 
aia ates re PK 


Gee ATTA 


—=m 
— ial on 


—— = 
aA 5 =—— 


4D 


FIGURE 1 = Tusinaaba eR aa cleats Top: Burial ceremonies within a pali- 
saded village. Bottom: Planting and harvesting of manioc. (After Staden, 1557.) 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 119 


WAR AND CANNIBALISM 


Religious and social values of high importance clustered around war 
and the closely connected practice of cannibalism. Prestige and political 
power were derived mainly from the ritual slaughtering of prisoners, 
which was so far reaching in its influence that it even affected sexual 
life. The Tupinamba’s excessive interest in ritual cannibalism contrib- 
uted toward keeping the different tribes and even local communities in a 
constant state of warfare and was one of the chief causes of their ready 
subjection by Europeans. Their mutual hatred of one another, born 
of a desire to avenge the insult of cannibalism, was so great that the 
Tupinamba groups always willingly marched with the White invaders 
against their local rivals. Their bellicose disposition and craving for 
human flesh loom large in many aspects of their culture, such as educa- 
tion, oratory, poetry, and religion. The rites and festivities that marked 
the execution of a prisoner and the consumption of his body were joyful 
events which provided these Indians with the opportunity for merry- 
making, esthetic displays, and other emotional outlets. 

The Tupinamba went to war only with the certainty of victory, which 
they derived from the interpretation of dreams and from ritualistic 
performances such as dancing and reciting charms. When marching 
toward the enemy, they paid special attention to any omen and to dreams. 
The slightest bad omen was sufficient to stop the expedition: once a 
party of warriors that had almost taken a village retreated because of a 
few words uttered by a parrot. 

Besides arrows and bows, Tupinamba weapons included a hardwood 
club with a shape unique in South America. It consisted of two parts: 
a long, rounded handle and a flattened, round, or oval blade with sharp 
edges. The only defensive weapon was a shield of tapir hide. Warriors 
donned their best feather ornaments and painted their bodies. Men of 
importance were followed by their wives, who carried hammocks and 
food for them. The advancing army was accompanied by musical in- 
struments. Whenever possible, they used canoes to avoid long marches. 
The chief always headed the column, which was disposed in one line. 
Scouts reconnoitered the country. At night the warriors camped near 
a river and built small huts in a row along a path. 

The proper time to assault the enemy village was chosen cautiously. 
As a rule, they stormed it at night or at dawn, when least expected. When 
prevented by a stockade from entering a village immediately, they built 
another palisade of thorny bushes around the village and started a siege. 
One tactic was to set fire to the enemy houses with incendiary arrows. 
Sometimes they slowly moved their fence close to the opposite wall so 
that they could fight at close range. 

The Tupinamba fought with courage and determination but without 
much order as they did not obey any command during the battle. They 


120 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


opened the attack by shooting arrows (fig. 12, left), hopping about with 
great agility from one spot to another to prevent the enemy from aiming 
or shooting at any definite individual. Amid ferocious howls, they 
rushed against their opponents to strike them with their clubs, trying to 
take prisoners, one of the main purposes of the war. Because it was 
difficult to seize an enemy without the assistance of several persons, it 
was an established rule that the prisoner belonged to the first man to 
touch him. When a man was disarmed, the victor touched him on the 
shoulder and said, “You are my prisoner.” Thereafter, the man was 
his slave. Those who remained in possession of the battlefield would 
roast the corpses and bring back the heads and the sexual organs of the 
dead. 

The long set of cannibalistic rites and practices began immediately 
after the capture of a prisoner. On the way home, the victorious party 
exhibited their captives in friendly villages, where they were subjected 
to “gross insults and vituperation.” The latter retaliated by expressing 
their contempt for their victors and their pride at being eaten as befitted 
the brave. 

Before entering their masters’ village, the prisoners were dressed as 
Tupinamba, with foreheads shaven, feathers glued to their bodies, and a 
decoration of feather ornaments. They were taken to the graves of the 
recently deceased of the community and compelled to “renew,” that is, 
clean them. Later they received the hammocks, ornaments, and weapons 
of the dead, which had to be used before they could be reappropriated 
by the heirs. The reason for this custom was that touching the belong- 
ings of a dead relative was fraught with danger, unless they were first 
defiled by a captive. 

When the prisoners were taken into the village, women flocked around 
them, snatched them from the hands of the men, and accompanied them, 
celebrating their capture with songs, dances (fig. 12, right), and refer- 
ences to the day of their execution. They forced the prisoners to dance 
in front of the hut where the sacred rattles were kept. 

After this hostile reception, the prisoners’ condition changed for the 
better. Their victors often gave them to a son or some other relative, 
who had the privilege of slaughtering them and acquiring new names— 
one of the greatest distinctions which a Tupinamba coveted. The pris- 
oners were also traded for feathers or other ornaments. In many cases, 
the only outward sign of the prisoner’s status was a cotton rope tied 
around his neck, which, according to some sources, was a symbolical neck- 
lace strung with as many beads as he had months to live until his execution. 
The captives were in no way hampered in their movements; they knew 
perfectly well that there was no place to which they could escape, for 
their own groups, far from welcoming them, would even have killed 
any member who attempted to return. On the other hand, to be killed 


THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 121 


Vol. 3] 


CZSST ‘Uapers JoIsV) 
‘rquostid painjded A[Mau 9y} punose adueq +7461 “aBel[IA papesiyed e Bulyoejy -yfa7 “wsteqruued pue siejiem DQupusdn [— 


| Sit y pa ee YT) y 


OOOO Yeo Le Or LL 


SS 
h. 
Sen 


- SRE . 


OU OOOO COU UGC LOTTI \ WKS 


CaddeasOselg 04g oa Cagarnnyt 
Ade 


Leg 
LZ 
2 
AT: 
=, 
if 


ge 
ot 
A. 
j 


%e, 
'e 
Pee, 1998 os, . 
= 
4 Cry 4 
Pri pellets Cape <2 
y 


Wwe 


» :") Ol 
SSG 


122 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ceremonially and then eaten was the fate for which any brave longed 
once he had lost his liberty. Nothing would have reminded a prisoner of 
his impending death if, on certain occasions, he had not been exhibited 
in public and again exposed to jeers and provocations. At drinking bouts, 
portions of his body were allotted beforehand to the carousers, each of 
whom—in the victim’s presence—learned the part he was to receive at 
the ceremonial execution. 

The village council chose the date of execution and sent invitations to 
friendly communities. Preparations for the sacrifice started a long time 
in advance. Certain accessories, like the plaited rope with which the 
victim was fastened, required a long time to make. Great quantities of 
beer also had to be brewed for the occasion. 

The prisoner feigned indifference toward these signs of his threatening 
fate. In certain villages he was tied up, but then he indulged freely in 
all sorts of mischief to revenge his death. The rites observed in these 
cases started after the arrival of the guests and lasted 3 to 5 days. 

On the first day the cord was bleached and artfully knotted, the prisoner 
was painted black, green eggshells were pasted on his face, and red 
feathers were glued on his body. The executioners also decorated their 
own persons with feathers and paint. Old women spent the first night 
in the hut of the captive singing songs depicting his fate. On the second 
day they made a bonfire in the middle of the plaza, and men and women 
danced around the flames while the prisoner pelted them with anything 
he could reach. The only ceremony of the third day was a dance accom- 
panied by trumpets. The day before the execution the prisoner was given 
a chance to escape but was immediately pursued. The person who over- 
took and overpowered him in a wrestling combat adopted a new name, 
as did the ceremonial executioner. The ritual rope was passed round the 
prisoner’s neck, the end being held by a woman. The prisoner was then 
given fruits or other missiles to throw at passers-by. Festivities began 
that night. The prisoner was often requested to dance. Apparently he 
did so without reluctance and took part in the general rejoicing as if he 
were merely a guest. He even regarded his position as enviable, for 
“it was an honor to die as a great warrior during dancing and drinking.” 
The prisoner spent the remainder of his last night in a special hut under 
the surveillance of women, singing a song in which he foretold the ruin of 
his enemies and proclaimed his pride at dying as a warrior. His only 
food was a nut that prevented his bleeding too much. The same night the 
club to be used for the sacrifice received special treatment. It was deco- 
rated, like the prisoner himself, with green eggshells glued on the wood, 
the handle was trimmed with tassels and feathers (figs. 7, right; 9, right) 
and finally, it was suspended from the roof of a hut, women dancing and 
singing around it during the entire night (fig. 13, left). 


\emene7011 
A \ ST 


_— >= 
; SSS ae 


653333—47—11 


THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 


YG 


Y 
74", Pa A 7 
x 2) ff 
‘ 


—I tf 


Tome cseHHeh 


3 rink rn r ! i 
Haran eee 


Ficure 13.—Tupinamba cannibalistic ceremonies. Left: Singing and dancing around the sacrificial club, Right: Execution of the prisoner. 


123 


(After Staden, 1557.) 


124 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The following morning the prisoner was dragged to the plaza by some 
old women amid cries, songs, and music. The rope was taken from his 
neck, passed round his waist, and held at both ends by two or more men 
(fig. 13, right). Again he was allowed to give vent to his feelings by 
throwing fruits or potsherds at his enemies. He was surrounded by 
women who vied in their insults. Old women, painted black and red, with 
necklaces of human teeth, darted out of their huts carrying newly painted 
vases to receive the victim’s blood and entrails. A fire was lit and the 
ceremonial club was shown to the captive. Every man present handled 
the club for a while, thus acquiring the power to catch a prisoner in the 
future. Then the executioner appeared in full array, painted and covered 
with a long feather cloak. He was followed by relatives who sang and 
beat drums. Their bodies, like that of the executioner, were smeared with 
white ashes. The club was handed to the executioner by a famous old 
warrior, who performed a few ritual gestures with it. Then the execu- 
tioner and his victim harangued each other. The executioner derided the 
prisoner for his imminent death, while the latter foretold the vengeance 
that his relatives would take and boasted of his past deeds. The captive 
showed despondency only if his executioner, instead of being an experi- 
enced warrior, was merely a young man who had never been on the 
battlefield. The execution itself was a cruel game. Enough liberty was 
allowed the prisoner to dodge the blows, and sometimes a club was put 
in his hands so that he could parry them without being able to strike. 
When at last he fell down, his skull shattered, everybody shouted and 
whistled. The position of the body was interpreted as an omen for the 
executioner. The prisoner’s wife shed a few tears over his body and then 
joined in the cannibalistic banquet. 


Old women rushed to drink the warm blood, and children were invited 
to dip their hands in it. Mothers would smear their nipples with blood so 
that even babies could have a taste of it. The body, cut into quarters, was 
roasted on a barbecue (fig. 14), and the old women, who were the most 
eager for human flesh, licked the grease running along the sticks. Some 
portions, reputed to be delicacies or sacred, such as the fingers or the 
grease around the liver or heart, were allotted to distinguished guests. 

As soon as the executioner had killed the victim, he had to run quickly 
to his hut, which he entered passing between the string and the stave 
of a stretched bow. Indoors he continued running to and fro as if 
escaping from his victim’s ghost. Meanwhile his sisters and cousins 
went through the village proclaiming his new name. On this occasion, 
the male and female relatives of his generation also had to take new names. 
The members of the community then rushed into the killer’s hut and 
looted all his goods, while the killer himself stood on wooden pesties, 
where the eye of his victim was shown to him and rubbed against his 
wrist. The lips of the dead man were sometimes given to him to wear 


THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 125 


Vol. 3] 


All 


Ws 
Kl) 


Aw 
Ue’ 


(So 
.) 


re 
ro’ 


rte r3 
YS 


—Tupinamba cannibalism. (After Staden, 1557.) 


Ficure 14 


126 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


as a bracelet. However, his flesh was strictly taboo to the killer. After 
this the executioner had to recline in a hammock until the hair on his 
shaved forehead had grown again. During seclusion, he entertained him- 
self by shooting miniature arrows at a wax figure. For 3 days he might 
not walk but was carried whenever he needed to leave the hut. He also 
avoided several foods, especially condiments. His return to normal life 
was celebrated by a big drinking bout, at which the killer tattooed himself 
by slashing his body in different patterns with an agouti tooth—the more 
tattooing marks a man could exhibit the higher was his prestige. Even 
after the feast he was subject to a few more restrictions before he was 
again a full-fledged member of the community. 

The same rites were practiced if, instead of a man, a jaguar had been 
killed. Later, when the Tupinamba could no longer sacrifice their war 
prisoners, they would open the graves of their enemies and break the 
skulls with the same ceremonies. The heads of dead enemies were 
pinned to the ends of the stockade posts. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Dances.—Ceremonial dances are described as a monotonous but ener- 
getic stamping on the ground by a group of men standing in a circle, with 
their bodies bent slightly downward and their hands hanging by their 
sides or laid on their buttocks. The dancers remained on the same spot, 
except for occasional steps forward and backward and for rotation. Some- 
times they shook their heads and made rhythmical gestures with their 
arms. Dancers were accompanied by songs, the time being marked by 
shaking rattles or jingling dry fruits that the dancers wore tied round their 
legs. The rhythm was also given by beating drums or by pounding the 
ground with a wooden tube. As a rule, men danced separately from 
women, whose movements are said to have been more violent and exag- 
gerated than those of the other sex. Profane dances were distinguished 
by a greater freedom of motion and by their orgiastic character. Men and 
women lost control of themselves, and their dances consisted of wild 
jumping and running to and fro. 

Songs.—Tupinamba songs have received much praise. Singers started 
softly and then gradually sang louder and louder. Cardim says, 


They keep among themselves differences of voices in their consort: and ordinarily 
the women sing the treble, the counter and tenor. [Cardim, 1939, p. 155.] 


The songs were started by a choirmaster who sang a couplet; the refrain 
was repeated by the whole group. The words of these songs refer to 
mythical events, especially to wars and the heroic deeds of the ancestors. 
The numerous and graceful allusions to nature were similes. Good com- 
posers enjoyed such prestige that if taken prisoner they were released even 
by their bitterest enemies. 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 127 


Musical instruments.—When carousing or expressing strong feelings 
collectively, the Tupinamba blew trumpets or played flutes. The trumpets 
were conch shells with a perforated hole, or a wooden or bamboo tube, on 
one end of which a calabash served to amplify the sound. Flutes were 
made of bamboo or of the long bones of slain enemies. Drums, made of a 
piece of wood hollowed by fire, were small. Rattles have been mentioned 
above. The time of the dances was beaten with a stamping tube, a thick 
bamboo stick 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m.) long that was pounded on the 
ground. On their feet the dancers wore jingles made of fruit shells of 
Thevetia ahouai (Métraux, 1928 a, pp. 214-217). 

Narcotics.—Smoking was one of the favorite pastimes in daily life as 
well as on ceremonial occasions. Tobacco leaves were dried in a hut, then 
wrapped in a leaf to form a huge cylindrical or conical cigarette. Long 
tubular bamboo pipes were used exclusively by shamans in magical per- 
formances. Stone pipes, found in several points of the Brazilian coast, 
perhaps belong to another culture anterior to that of the Tupi. 

Alcoholic beverages.—All social events were occasions for drinking 
bouts, at which great quantities of beer were consumed. The preparation 
of large amounts of fermented beverages for these feasts was a heavy task 
for the women, and was one reason for the polygyny of chiefs. Liquors 
were made from different plants: sweet manioc, maize, sweet potatoes, 
mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa), cashew, Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauli- 
flora), pineapples, bananas, and also beiju wafers and honey. Manioc beer, 
the favorite drink, was prepared as follows: The roots, cut into thin slices, 
were first boiled, then squeezed and partly chewed by young girls. The 
mass, impregnated with saliva, was mixed with water and heated again over 
the fire. The liquid was afterward poured into huge jars, half buried in the 
ground, covered with leaves, and left 2 or 3 days to ferment. A fire was 
built around the jars to warm the beverage before serving it. Each ex- 
tended family manufactured its own liquor. When a bout was organized, 
drinkers went successively to each hut, exhausting the available supply. 
The women served the liquors in huge calabashes. Old men and guests 
of honor were served first by the host’s closest female relatives. Drinking 
was always the occasion for riotous merrymaking. Men and women, 
painted and covered with their more showy ornaments, danced, shouted, 
whistled, played musical instruments, talked excessively, and brawled. 
These orgies lasted for 3 or 4 days, during which nobody ate or slept much. 


RELIGION 


Supernatural beings.—The supernatural powers, by whom the 7 u1- 
namba felt themselves surrounded, may be classified into two groups: (1) 
individualized spirits, generally malevolent, which we may call demons or 
genii; (2) ghosts. The latter, by far the more numerous, differed from 
the former in having a much more impersonal nature. 


128 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


The demon of Thunder, Tupa, a secondary character in the early myth- 
ology, had as his main function to go “from east to west causing thunder, 
lightning, and rain.” After White contact, this simple demon was pro- 
moted to the rank of the Christian God and as such still survives among the 
Tupi-speaking Mestizos. 

The bush was peopled by a number of greatly feared demons, who are 
still active in the folklore of modern Brazil. The most famous of these 
were Yurupari, Anan, and Kuru-pira. Yurupari and Anan were syn- 
onyms, employed respectively by the northern and southern Tupinamba. 
Missionaries and travelers, however, often confused them with ordinary 
ghosts; they either refer to them rightly as single demons or use these 
names collectively to designate the whole host of spirits. Just as Tupa 
was identified with God, Yurupari was equated to the Devil. The Caboclos 
of Brazil describe him as a goblin, an ogre that haunts the forests and is 
generally malicious. The same confusion arose about Afiai, who at one 
time is called a bush spirit and at another, some ghost. Kuru-pira, scarcely 
mentioned by the early sources, is the hero of countless tales among the 
present-day Tupi. He is depicted as a goblin with upturned feet, figures 
as the protector of game, and is rather ill-disposed toward mankind. Other 
spirits, such as Makashera, Uaiupia, Taguaigba, Igpupiara, and Mbae-tate 
(will-o’-the-wisp), are scarcely alluded to in the literature. 

The world as conceived by the Tupinamba was the abode of innumerable 
ghosts who could be met everywhere, but especially in the woods, in all 
dark places, and in the neighborhood of graves. These supernatural 
beings were often harmful: they caused disease, droughts, and defeat. The 
Tupinamba often complained of being attacked and tormented by them. 
Some ghosts took the form of awe-inspiring animals, such as black birds, 
bats, and salamanders. Others, more tenuous, changed colors. These 
spirits were particularly obnoxious in the dark but could be driven away 
by the fire kept burning all night in Tupinamba quarters. No Indian 
would travel after sunset without a torch or a firebrand lest he be harmed 
by the evil spirits. So great was their fear of these that they even asked 
White people to settle in their village in order to keep the spirits in check. 

Ceremonialism.—Many details point to cults centering around the 
supernatural beings described above, who were symbolized by small posts 
sometimes provided with a cross bar from which painted images were 
suspended. Small offerings, such as feathers, flowers, or perhaps food, 
were deposited near them. Spirits were also represented by calabashes 
painted with human features. Such figures often appeared in the cere- 
monies of shamans, who burned tobacco leaves in them and inhaled the 
smoke to induce trances. Maize kernels were put in the mouths of these 
sacred effigies, which had movable jaws so as to imitate mastication. The 
grains thus consecrated were sown in the fields, and were expected to 
produce a good crop. The rattles (maracas), which were highly sacred 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 129 


objects profusely decorated with paintings and feather tufts, are difficult 
to differentiate from these idols. There is a single statement that seems to 
indicate that the Tupinamba also worshiped wax images kept in special 
huts. 

Rattles were the accessories of all ceremonial activities (fig. 15), but 
seem to have been used only if previously consecrated by a shaman, who 
attracted a helpful spirit into them. Every year the villages were visited 
by shamans (called pay) endowed with power to cause all the rattling 
maracas chosen by them to speak and grow so powerful that they could 
grant whatever was required of them. All rattles were presented to the 
shamans, who conferred upon them the “power of speech” by fumigating 
them and uttering charms. Then the shamans exhorted the owners of the 
rattles to go to war and take prisoners to be devoured, for the “spirits in 
the rattles craved the flesh of captives.” 

These rattles, after the ceremony, became sacred objects taboo to women. 
They were placed in a sort of temple and received offerings of food when 
asked to grant a favor. The spirits who had taken their abode in the rattles 
advised their owners and revealed future events to them. After a vic- 
torious expedition, they were thanked for their assistance. 

Shamanism.—The intermediaries between the community and the 
supernatural world were the shamans. All the chiefs or old men were 
more or less conversant with magic, but only those who had given some 
evidence of unusual power were regarded as real medicine men. Their 
reputation depended mainly on the accuracy of their prophecies and the 
success of their cures. Those who had achieved fame were known as 
karal or pay-wasu, “great medicine men.” When a man was about to 
obtain great magical power, he would shun people, go into seclusion, fast, 
and then return to announce that he had come in close touch with the 
spirits. The shamans were rain makers, diviners, and, above all, healers. 
They had at their service a familiar spirit, sometimes in animal shape, 
who would follow them and even perform menial tasks for them. The 
medicine men relied on these spirits when requested to accomplish some 
difficult task, for instance, to gather rain clouds. They also consulted 
them as to the issue of some important enterprise or about distant events. 
The shaman sought interviews with the spirits after 9 days of continence, 
shutting himself up in a secluded cabin and drinking beer prepared by 
young virgins. Questions were asked the spirits by the community, but the 
“whistled” answers were given to the shamans. Some medicine men 
traveled to the land of the spirits, where they had long talks with the dead. 

Shamans as a rule were men, but a few women could prophesy after 
they had put themselves into a trance, and some old women, said to be 
possessed by spirits, practiced medicine. 

A shaman’s breath was loaded with magic power that was greatly rein- 
forced with tobacco smoke. Often the shaman was asked to transfer part 


130 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


of his “virtue” to the body of some client or disciple. Persons favored 
in that way started to tremble. General confessions of transgressions were 
imposed by shamans on women in circumstances that are not explained. 
Ritual lustrations also were performed by medicine men. 


/ 


Ficure 15.—Tupinamba shamans wearing feather cloaks and carrying rattles. 
(After Métraux, 1928 a.) 


The shamans, once recognized as such, enjoyed considerable prestige, 
being addressed with respect even by chiefs. Wherever they traveled they 
were welcomed with fasts and rejoicing. They inspired such fear that 
nobody dared gainsay them or refuse their requests. Some shamans rose 
to political power, exercising unchallenged authority in their communities 
or even in large districts. 

Medicine.—To cure sick people, shamans resorted to the classic methods 
of sucking and blowing tobacco smoke over the body of the patient. They 
extracted objects considered the cause of the ailment. Female shamans 
removed the disease by sucking a thread which had been put in contact 
with the patient’s body. Medicinal virtues were attributed to genipa paint, 
which was used freely for many diseases. Headaches and fevers were 
treated by scarification. Wounded people were stretched on a barbecue, 
under which a slow fire was lighted, and roasted until their wounds dried. 
A great many medicinal herbs are enumerated in early descriptions of 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 131 


the Brazilian coast, but it is stated only rarely whether the plants actually 
were used by the Indians for medical purposes, or whether they had been 
adopted by early European colonists, who were extremely eager to discover 
miraculous virtues in the Brazilian flora. 


Revivalism.—In the years that followed Portuguese colonization of 
Brazil, the Tupinamba were stirred by religious crises that have some 
analogy with the revivalistic or messianic movements occurring in other 
parts of the world, especially among some North American tribes. 
Prophets or messiahs arose among them promising a golden age in which 
digging sticks would till the soil by themselves and arrows would kill the 
game without intervention of hunters. The Indians were assured of im- 
mortality and eternal youth. The followers of the messiahs gave up their 
usual activities, dedicated themselves to constant dancing, and even started 
mass migrations to reach the mythical land of the culture hero. Several 
of the late Tupinamba migrations were caused by the urge to enter the 
promised land as soon as possible. The leaders of these religious move- 
ments were in many cases deified. Certain traits of their personality 
suggest that they represent a new type of wonder-worker, who had been 
influenced both by the early traditions of their tribes and by Christian ideas 
preached to the Indians by the Catholic missionaries. Similar crises oc- 
curred in modern times among the southern Tupi of Paraguay and Brazil. 
A comparison between the ancient and the modern messianic outbursts 
shows remarkable similarities. 


These beliefs were closely associated with the cosmology. The Tupi- 
namba established a correlation between the eclipses and the end of the 
world, which marked the beginning of a new era of peace and happiness. 
Whenever an eclipse occurred, the men chanted a hymn hailing the mythi- 
cal “grandfather,” and the women and children moaned, throwing them- 
selves to the ground in the utmost despair. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Important fragments of Tupinamba mythology have come down to us 
through the French friar, André Thevet (who visited Brazil in 1555). 
The main characters are represented by a set of culture heroes listed under 
the names of Monan, Maira-monan, Maira-pochy, Mairata, and Sumé, all 
of which may well be synonyms for a single figure: the Tamoi or Mythical 
Grandfather. The culture hero, Monan, though an exalted creator, does 
not rank strictly as a god because he was not worshiped. Even his creative 
activities are not all-embracing ; he made “the sky, the earth, the birds, and 
the animals; but neither the sea nor the clouds” nor, apparently, mankind. 
Closely associated with him was Maira-monan, who is probably the same 
Monan with the epithet Maira (Europeans were also called Maira). 
Thevet calls him the “Transformer” because he was fond of changing 


132 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


things according to his fancies. Maira-monan, described as a great medi- 
cine man living in seclusion and fasting, was a benefactor of mankind, 
on whom he bestowed agriculture. Tradition has it that he changed him- 
self into a child who, when beaten, dropped fruits and tubers. According 
to another version, he initiated a young girl into the practice of agriculture. 
As a lawgiver he introduced social organization and imposed severe taboos, 
including the prohibition of eating slow-moving animals. For unknown 
reasons, ungrateful people plotted his death and, after several unsuc- 
cessful attempts, burned him on a pyre. The bursting of his head origi- 
nated Thunder, and the fire of his pyre, Lightning. There is no doubt that 
Maira-monan and Sumé, who is often mentioned as the originator of 
agriculture, are the same culture hero. Owing to a vague similarity of 
name, Sumé was regarded by early missionaries as the fabulous apostle 
Saint Thomas (S. Tomé), the supposed bringer of Christianity to the 
Indians long before the discovery of America. Petroglyphs or natural 
fissures in rocks suggesting footprints were attributed to Saint Thomas 
and were presented as evidence of his extensive travels. 


The twin cycle, so common in South American mythology, is closely 
connected with the personality of the culture hero, Maira. The main 
episodes of the myth are as follows: Maira deserts his wife, who is 
pregnant. She sets out in quest of her lost husband and is guided in her 
journey by the unborn child. Having been refused one of his requests, the 
child grows angry and remains silent. The mother is lost and arrives at 
the house of Sarigue (Opossum, subsequently a man), who sleeps with 
her and makes her pregnant with a second child. Continuing her search 
for her husband she is misled to the village of Jaguar (also a man), who 
kills her and throws the twins on a heap of rubbish. They are saved by 
a woman, who brings them up. They demonstrate their supernatural 
origin by growing very rapidly and feeding their foster mother abundant 
game. Remembering, or learning, that Jaguar and his people killed their 
mother, they take revenge by luring them to the sea and changing them 
into actual beasts of prey. Then they start again in search of their father. 
Finally, they find him, but he does not want to acknowledge them as his 
children before a trial of their origin. He orders them to accomplish 
difficult tasks. They shoot arrows into the sky and each arrow hits the 
butt of the other, thus forming a long chain. They pass between two 
constantly clashing and recoiling rocks. The twin begotten by Opossum 
is crushed to pieces, but his brother undergoes the ordeal successfully 
and brings him back to life. The same fate befalls Opossum’s son when 
he tries to steal the bait of the demon Afian, but again Maira’s son 
revives him. After they have gone through these several ordeals, both are 
recognized by Maira as his children. 

There are two versions of the destruction of the world. The first cata- 
clysm which befell the earth was a big fire set by Monan, which he himself 


Vol. 3] THE TUPINAMBA—METRAUX 133 


put out by flooding the universe. The flood explains the origin of the rivers 
and of the sea, which is still salty because of the ashes. 

Arikut and Tamendonar were brothers. The latter, a peaceful man, was 
gravely insulted by Arikut, who threw at him the arm of a victim he was 
devouring. Tamendonar caused a spring to flow so abundantly that the 
water covered the surface of the earth. Both brothers escaped and repopu- 
lated the universe. 

In the cosmogony collected by Thevet, a tale has been incorporated 
which was and is still very popular among South American Indians 
(Chiriguano, Mataco, Toba, Uro-Chipaya, Indians of Huarochiri). 
Maira-pochy (the bad Maira), a powerful medicine man or more probably 
the culture hero himself, appears in the village disguised as an indigent and 
dirty man. He makes the daughter of the village chief pregnant by giving 
her a fish to eat. Later, when all the most handsome men of the region 
vie with one another to be recognized as the father of the child, the baby 
hands Maira-pochy a bow and arrows, thus acknowledging him as his 
father. Maira-pochy shows his supernatural power by raising miraculous 
crops. He transforms his relatives-in-law into many different animals. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


The division of time among the northern Tupinamba was based on the 
appearance and disappearance of the Pleiades above the horizon. The 
ripening of cashews was also used for reckoning time. Dates of 
future events were calculated with knots or beads on a cord. 

A complete list of the Tupinamba constellations has been recorded by 
Claude d’Abbeville. Most of them were named after animals. Eclipses 
were explained as attempts of a celestial jaguar (a red star) to devour 
the moon. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Abbeville, 1614; Acufia, 1891; Anchieta, 1846, 1876-77; Ayrosa, 1943; Cardim, 
1939; Denis, 1851; Enformagao do Brazil, 1844; Fritz, 1922; Hoehne, 1937; Léry, 
1880; Magalhaes de Gandavo, 1922; Métraux, 1927, 1928 a, 1928 b; Nieuhoff, 1682; 
Pinto, 1935-38; Rocha Pombo, 1905; Soares de Souza, 1851; Staden, 1928 (1557) ; 
Studart Filho, 1931; Thevet, 1575, 1878 (see also Métraux, 1928 b) ; Vaas de Cam- 
inha, 1812-13; Vasconcellos, 1865; Yves d’Evreux, 1864, For further Tupinamba 
references, see Métraux, 1927, 1928 a. 


» ‘oe 


re at 


' 
an wee 


THE GUAJA 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


HISTORY 


The Guaja are called Wazaizara (wazai, an ornament of small tufts of 
feathers stuck with wax in the hair, plus zara, “owner”) by the Guaja- 
jara and Tembé, and Aiayé by the Amanayé. Guajd is the Neo-Brazilian 
form of gwaza. 

The tribe is rarely mentioned in literature. In 1774, Ribeiro de Sampaio 
(1825, p. 8) mentions the Uaya among the tribes of the lower Tocantins. 
A list of the tribes existing in 1861 in the region along the road from 
Imperatriz to Belém mentions the Ayaya as “wild; very few of them 
are tame, but are timorous and therefore are pursued and killed by the 
others” (Marques, C. A., 1864). According to the report of F. C. de 
Araujo Brusque (1862, p. 12), the Uaiara (Guajard) at times appeared on 
the upper Gurupi River but did not have a fixed residence. 

The author obtained the following information among the Tembé of 
the Gurupi in 1913-14 and among the Guajajara in 1929: 

The Guajd wandered without fixed living places through the jungles 
between the Capim and upper Gurupi Rivers and between the latter and 
the Pindaré River, northward to about lat. 3° 40’ S. (map 1, No. 1; see 
Volume 1, map 7). In 1910 or 1911 a small group of them committed small 
thefts in the fields at the mouth of the Gurupi Mirim River. The Tembé 
tracked them to the headwaters of the Gurupi Mirim. Although armed 
with powerful bows and arrows, the Guajd there surrendered meekly to 
their pursuers, who took them to the village. Here the captives soon 
died of intestinal ills attributed to the Tembé’s cooked and seasoned food. 
The language of the two tribes was so similar that they understood each 
other with ease. In 1943, the botanist Ricardo Froes met a group of 
them on the upper Cart, a left tributary of the Pindaré River. 


CULTURE 


The Guajd did not have any agriculture whatever, but at times stole 
from the plantations of the Tembé, Guajajara, and Urubu. When caught, 
they were killed or at least beaten and imprisoned. 


135 


136 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Guaja built only temporary shelters, or merely camped under 
trees, sleeping on leaf beds on the ground. 

Some Guaja bows and arrows were procured in 1913 by a punitive 
expedition against the then hostile Urubu Indians, who had massacred a 
Guajaé camp. The weapons were carelessly made but were very large, 
the bamboo arrowheads being perhaps the largest known. 

In 1913, the Guaja still used stone axes. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Brusque, 1862; Marques, C. A., 1864; Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825. 


THE TENETEHARA? 


By CHARLES WAGLEY AND Epuarpo GALVAO 


INTRODUCTION 


The Tupi-Guarani-speaking people of northeastern Brazil, commonly 
called Guajajara and Tembé, are generally mentioned in the literature 
as two independent tribes but are really a single group calling them- 
selves Tenetehara. By this name they distinguish themselves from the 
Urubu (also Tupi-Guarani), the Timbira (Ge), and the Neo-Brazilians 
of the same region. 

The Guajajara-Tenetehara (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7) 
inhabit the region drained by the Mearim, Grajau, and Pindaré Rivers in 
the state of Maranhao (lat. 3°-5° S., long. 4°-6° W.); the Tembé- 
Tenetehara (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7) live along the Gurupi, 
Guama, and Capim Rivers in the State of Para (lat. 2°-3° S., long. 7°- 
9° W.). The Guajajara-Tenetehara now number more than 2,000, but 
the Tembé-Tenetehara are estimated at only 350 to 400. For convenience, 
we shall refer to these people by the name they give themselves, Tenete- 
hara, rather than by the tribal names, Guajajara and Tembé, by which 
they are best known in the literature. No important differences of culture 
or language are known to exist between the Tembé-Tenetehara of the State 
of Para and the Guajajara-Tenetehara of the State of Maranhiao. 

The region inhabited by the Tenctehara is dense tropical rain forest 
rich in hardwoods, rubber, copaiba (Copaifera sp.), and various palms, 
especially the babassi palm (Orbignya sp.), whose leaves and nuts are 
so important in Tenetehara economic life. There is little seasonal varia- 
tion in temperature in the region, yet there are two definite seasons: 
the rainy season lasting from December through June, and a dry season 
from July through November. 

The present summary is based on field work done by the authors 
for 5 months during 1941-42. 


1 The field research on which this article is based was made possible by the Museu Nacional, Rio 
de Janeiro, Brazil. 


137 


138 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


HISTORY 


The Tenetehara seem to have inhabited this general region since pre-Columbian 
times, and they have been in contact with western culture in one form or another for 
more than 300 years. As early as 1615, an expedition led by La Ravardiére on the 
upper Pindaré River encountered Indians whom he called Pinariens and who were 
probably Tenetehara (Guajajara) (Métraux, 1928 a). One year later, Bento Maciel 
Parente speaks of killing many Tenetehara (Guajajara) when he traveled up the 
Pindaré River with 45 Portuguese soldiers and 90 Indian followers (probably 
Tupinamba) in search of gold. 

In the middle 17th century, the Jesuits made three separate expeditions up the 
Pindaré River for the purpose of bringing Tenetehara down the river and placing 
them in mission villages on the Island of Maranhao. Two expeditions, one led by 
Father Francisco Velloso and Father José Soares, and the second led by the Jesuit 
Superior, Manoel Nunes, in the middle of the 17th century, were partially successful 
and founded several mission villages on the lower Pindaré, among them Itaquy. The 
third expedition, led by the Jesuit José Maria Garconi, returned with a large number 
of Tenetehara and placed them in the mission village called Cajupé on the lower 
Pindaré. Later, however, when the Jesuits moved their mission village farther down 
river to Maracu (the present town of Vianna), the majority of these missionized 
Tenetehara returned to the upper Pindaré in fear of their enemies, the Gamela. In 
consequence, the Jesuits established a new mission on the upper Pindaré at the mouth 
of the Cartti River. Besides these religious missions, however, it is probable that 
the Tenetehara were in contact with Portuguese adventurers who wandered in this 
general region hunting Indians as slaves. 

By the middle 18th century, the Tenetehara are mentioned as inhabiting also the 
Grajat and Mearim Rivers, west of the Pindaré. At the same time Gustavo Dodt 
mentions them (Tembé) along the banks of the Gurupi River. In 1840 the pro- 
vincial government of Maranhio established the Colony of Sao Pedro do Pindaré 
for the Indians of the region, with but little success. The Colony of Januario, estab- 
lished higher up the Pindaré in 1854, was more successful, having a population of 120 
Tenetehara almost 20 years later. From the last half of the 19th century until the 
present, there has been a steady advance of Neo-Brazilians into Tenetehara territory, 
especially along the courses of the Mearim and Grajat Rivers. Except for several 
sporadic uprisings, the Tenetehara have always lived at peace with Neo-Brazilians, 
and there has been a mutual interchange of culture within the region. Today iron 
tools, clothes, myths of Iberian and African origin, and many other elements of 
frontier Neo-Brazilian culture are integrated elements in Tenetehara life. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—Like the extinct coastal Tupi groups, the Tenetehara are 
extensive agriculturists. They cultivate principally maize, both bitter and 
sweet manioc, cara, (Dioscorea sp.), squash, peanuts, beans, and bananas. 
At present, they also have large plantations of rice, which they raise pri- 
marily to sell to their Neo-Brazilian neighbors. 

Annually from July to November, great areas of forest are cleared for 
gardens, and the dry vegetation is burned toward the end of November. 
The gardens are planted throughout December. All Tenetehara use steel 
axes, hoes, and bush knives obtained by trade from Neo-Brazilians. 


Piatra 13.—Tenetehara boys. Top: Boys dressed for puberty ceremony. 
Bottom, left: Boy decorated for puberty ceremony. His father led the song and 
his mother danced. Bottom, right: Portrait of young man. (Courtesy Charles 
Wagley.) 


PuatE 14.—Tenetehara women and shaman. Top, left: Girl just before puberty 
ceremony. Top, right: Woman and child. Bottom, left: Shaman possessed by 
familiar spirit. Bottom, right: Shaman smoking long tobacco cigar and holding 
in his hand an object drawn from a sick patient. (Courtesy Charles Wagley.) 


Vol. 3] THE TENETEHARA—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 139 


Formerly, only women planted and harvested cotton and peanuts, 
while the cultivation of manioc, maize, and other plants was the exclusive 
occupation of the men. Today, however, men plant the entire garden, 
including cotton and peanuts, and women help now and again in light 
garden tasks. Similarly, the preparation of manioc flour and the carrying 
of drinking water were exclusively female tasks which a man would have 
been ashamed to perform; at present both sexes perform them equally. 

Gardens are said to be individually owned, yet most commonly an older 
man makes a garden aided by his real and adopted sons, his nephews, and 
his sons-in-law. The garden, while used by all in common, is said to be 
the individual property of the head of the family. 

Wild foods.—Hunting is practiced not only to add meat to a basically 
vegetarian diet, but also to collect animal skins for sale to Neo-Brazilian 
traders. Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), deer, both the white-lipped and col- 
lared peccary, monkeys, agouti (Dasyprocta, gen.), and various forest 
fowls are the principal animals hunted. Peccary hides bring especially 
good prices at Neo-Brazilian villages, and the Tenetehara use the money 
to buy trade goods, such as clothes, salt, and gunpowder. 

Today the favorite means of hunting is with muzzle-loading shotguns. 
Yet, lacking money with which to buy guns, many men of each village still 
hunt with the bow and arrow. 

Fishing is done by ordinary hook and line acquired from Neo-Brazilians. 
Fishing by poisoning drying pools with timbo (Serjania sp.) is known 
but seldom practiced. 

Collecting babasst palm nuts and copaiba oil has acquired extreme 1m- 
portance in modern Tenetehara economic life, especially on the Mearim, 
Grajau, and Pindaré Rivers. These products, like rice and furs, can be 
sold in order to buy manufactured articles, such as clothes, guns, fish- 
hooks, and salt. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


At present, the Tenetehara houses in the Pindaré and Grajat. River 
regions have a rectangular floor plan with hip-roofs. Both walls and 
roofs are covered with babassi palm leaves. This house form is perhaps 
Neo-Brazilian, yet people do not remember any other type. In 1924 E. H. 
Snethlage (1931) found the Tenetehara houses on the middle Mearim 
River of the same type as those of the Neo-Brazilians of the region, and 
even in the last century, Gustavo Dodt described Tenetehara (Tembé) 
houses on the Gurupi River as straw-roofed with clay adobe walls (Dodt, 
1873, p. 194), definitely of Neo-Brazilian type. Snethlage speaks of 
houses covered with bark, but considered this type of roof temporary, 
explaining its use by the lack of palm leaves in certain districts. 

A village generally has two rows of houses with a wide street between 
them. Larger villages may have three, four, or more rows. The size of 

653333—47—12 


140 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Tenetehara villages varies greatly. According to a recent census made by 
the Servico de Proteccao aos Indios, the villages of the Pindaré and 
Grajai ranged from 35 to more than 800 persons each. Houses are 
generally occupied by a matrilineal extended family, although many hold 
only a simple family (man, wife, and young children). Extended family 
residences are not subdivided by inner walls, but each simple family uses 
a portion of the house space, having its separate cooking fire around 
which it hangs its sleeping hammocks. Gourds filled with drinking water, 
baskets with manioc flour, metal utensils, and other belongings are hung 
on the upright supports against the walls. Sometimes high platforms are 
made near the roof for the storage of maize, manioc, hides, farming instru- 
ments, etc. 

Snethlage (1931) saw a large ceremonial house, which was much larger 
than the dwellings in the village of Colonia on the Mearim River. It was 
situated at the end of the village street. On the Pindaré River, the cere- 
monial house is no longer erected, but formerly it was built for the Honey 
Feast (see p. 146) and destroyed afterward. It seems to have been but 
a larger shelter without walls, in which both men and women danced. 


CLOTHING 


Formerly, the Tenetehara were nude. Men tied the prepuce over the 
glans penis with a piece of palm fiber (Lago, 1822, p. 85). Today they 
have adopted clothes from the Neo-Brazilians ; women always wear skirts 
and men wear shirts and pants, only occasionally stripping down to a loin- 
cloth for heavy work in the gardens. It is now a matter of prestige to 
have new or better clothes than other people. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Basketry is still woven by the Tenetehara, especially in the 
villages of the upper Pindaré River. A split flexible creeper is used prin- 
cipally. Round sieves for straining manioc flour, square baskets with 
woven geometric designs, and the flexible tipiti for squeezing the poisonous 
juice from bitter manioc are the most common objects of this class. 


Weaving.—Native cotton is used almost entirely for string hammocks. 
The string is wound horizontally around two vertical posts driven into the 
ground ; double vertical strands are twined at a distance of about 214 inches 
(7.5 cm.) apart. 

Gourds.—Eating utensils are made from round gourds. The gourds 
are first boiled, then allowed to dry thoroughly, cut in half, and the in- 
terior mass scraped out. The interior is stained black with genipa and 
frequently the outside is decorated geometrically with incisions or lines of 
black genipa dye. Frequently, only a hole is cut in a gourd, and it is used 
as a jug for drinking water or wild honey. 


Vol. 3] THE TENETEHARA—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 141 


Ceramics.—The pottery which Snethlage noted in 1924 (Snethlage, 
1931) was simple and generally undecorated, but some vessels had incised 
designs. 

Today pottery making has been completely abandoned, at least on the 
Pindaré and Grajatt Rivers. The Tenctehara use metal utensils purchased 
from Neo-Brazilians. 

Weapons.—Bows average 3 feet (1 m.) in length; the belly is convex, 
the inside flat. Bows are generally made of pau d’arco wood (Tecoma 
conspicua), and the bowstring of twined tucum (Bactris sp.) fibers. 
Arrows are comparatively short, averaging only about 3 feet (1 m.) in 
length. Nowadays they have steel points made from old bush knives and 
bits of metal purchased from Neo-Brazilians and worked cold. Arrow 
shafts are of reed (Gynerium sagittatum, a grass). 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Each Tenetehara village is politically autonomous. Inter-village rela- 
tions are maintained by means of visits for ceremonials and for trade, and 
by intermarriages. 

Since the time of the Jesuits, each village has had a secular chief (capitao 
in Portuguese) appointed by some authority outside the tribe (e.g., Jesuit 
missionaries, the Colonial, Imperial, and Republican Governments, and at 
present the Servico de Proteccao aos Indios). In general, this chief is only 
an intermediary between the Indians and the Neo-Brazilians. He is gener- 
ally but one of several leaders or heads of the extended families which 
make up a village. However, the respect that he is accorded by outsiders 
frequently increases his prestige in the eyes of the villagers. 

Each family leader unites about him a large number of kin, either in 
his own house or in contiguous houses. He may have several young men 
living with him whom he calls “son” and as many young women whom 
he calls “daughter”? (own daughters, real or classificatory brother’s 
daughter, or wife’s real or classificatory sister’s daughter) as possible. 
Because marriage is matrilocal and sons-in-law must work in the gardens 
of their fathers-in-law at least for a year or two, these “daughters” attract 
followers for the family leader. According to his individual capacity, the 
family leader attracts large extended families more or less permanently 
around him. 

Extended family groups cooperatively plant large gardens. Frequently, 
the leader sells all marketable products, such as skins, rice, and babassu, 
produced by the entire group, and proportions the results of the sales 
among the individual families. A village generally has four, five, or 
more extended families and their leaders, who while not constituting a 
formal village council, ultimately decide public questions. 


142 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—During his wife’s pregnancy, a Tenetehara man must 
observe elaborate restrictions in his diet and in his hunting activities. He 
may not kill or eat jaguars, falcons (Falconoidea), ant eaters (Tamandua 
tetradactyla), wildcats, parrots, or various other animals and forest fowls. 
The purpose of these taboos is to protect the fetus from the “spirit” of 
the animal killed or eaten. This “spirit” (piwara) enters the unborn child, 
either causing physical abnormalities or giving it some undesirable attribute 
of the animal. For example, the spirit of the enormous beaked toucan 
(Ramphastos toco) may cause the child to be born with a large nose; 
the father who kills a jaguar during his wife’s pregnancy may expect to 
have an insane child. 

A new series of taboos begins for both parents at childbirth. Sexual 
relations are prohibited for parents until the “child is hard,” that is, until 
it begins to have some control over its muscles, 5 or 6 months after the 
birth. For a week to 10 days, both parents may eat only manioc flour, 
small fish, and roast maize, and must drink only warmed water. Until 
the child is weaned, certain meats, such as macaw, white-lipped peccary, 
and tapir are forbidden to both parents. Breaking any of these taboos 
arrests the development of the infant and may cause its death. 

Puberty.—Formerly, adolescents of both sexes were isolated for 10 days 
or more in separate huts built especially for the occasion. On the 10th 
morning, entrails of the agouti were stretched across the door of the hut, 
and the adolescent had to break these in order to leave. Today boys are 
seldom isolated at all before their puberty ceremony, and girls may be 
isolated only by a palm-leaf screen within the family dwelling or they may 
simply lie in their hammocks in one corner of the room. Even today the 
girl ends her isolation by breaking the entrails of the agouti stretched 
across the door, and is chased by the young men of the village when she 
runs to the stream or pool for a bath. 

Formerly, a father examined his son’s penis after the isolation period, 
and, if there were signs of masturbation, the boy was whipped with a vine 
rope. 

The puberty ceremony is for both sexes (see pls. 13, 14). Boys are 
painted red with genipa, and falcon breast feathers are glued on their 
breasts and arms (pl. 13). Frequently, the boys carry a wand consisting 
of about 30 to 40 tail feathers from the red macaw stuck into a wooden 
handle. Girls are simply painted black over their entire bodies and some- 
times white falcon breast feathers are glued to their hair. 

The puberty ceremony begins at dawn and lasts 24 hours. It consists 
mainly of general singing and dancing led by the grandfather of one of 
the adolescents. Shamans play an important role, calling their familiar 
spirits and falling into trances under the influence of the spirits (see 
p. 147). At dawn, after the night of group singing everyone feasts on 


Vol. 3] THE TENETEHARA—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 143 


large quantities of meat, the result of hunting during previous days by all 
men of the village. At this time the young people are formally given 
permission to eat of such meats as peccary, guariba monkey, wild goose, 
and various forest fowls, all of which until now were prohibited to them. 
Because of this feast, the Neo-Brazilians of the region call the Tenetehara 
puberty ceremony the Festival of Roasted Meat (Festa de Moqueado). 


Marriage.—Marriage takes two general forms: Frequently, a young 
man marries a preadolescent girl, moving to her parents’ house and waiting 
until after her puberty ceremony to consummate the marriage; or a girl’s 
father finds her a husband after her puberty ceremony. In either case, 
residence for the couple is matrilocal for at least a year after sexual rela- 
tions begin and generally until the birth of a child. There seem not to be 
any special marriage ceremonies. After becoming a parent, a young man 
of initiative may break away from his father-in-law and set up his own 
household. 

Monogamy is the general rule, yet there are cases of family leaders with 
two and even three wives. In such cases, the wives are usually close rela- 
tives; in several instances, they were a widow and her daughter by a 
previous marriage. 


Death.—Antonio Pereira do Lago, writing in the 19th century, reports 
that the Tenetehara buried their dead in the family dwelling, and that the 
house was destroyed when a second death occurred. At present, burial is 
in a cemetery, always just outside the village; the body is wrapped in a 
mat made of babasst palm (Orbignya sp.) leaves, or it may be placed in 
a wooden box similar to that used by local Neo-Brazilians. A low roofed 
shelter is frequently built over the grave; such grave shelters were noted 
by Dodt on the Gurupi in the last century. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Native art forms are represented today only by a few items, such 
as decorated basketwork, incised and painted gourd receptacles, and 
feather head bands. Wands are made by sticking innumerable tail feathers 
of the red macaw into a wooden handle. 


Music.—The Tenetehara are very fond of music. They have not only 
retained their native music, but have borrowed the Neo-Brazilian music 
of the region. Singing native songs, however, is still the most popular 
pastime and the outstanding esthetic of the Tenetehara. There are fre- 
quent informal reunions called zingareté (to sing much) in the evenings 
throughout the year, when people sing secular songs for recreation. Such 
songs last for the greater part of the night, people leaving and joining the 
group from time to time. Ceremonies are basically singing festivals and 
each has its particular set of songs. To sing such ceremonial songs out 
of season would bring supernatural reprisal. The songs of the Honey 


144 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Festival are considered the most beautiful by the Tenetehara. They are 
believed to have been learned in mythological times by a young Tenetehara 
shaman when he visited a festival of the animals at the Village of the 
Jaguar; the songs are those sung by individual animals on that occasion. 

Shamans are obliged to have a large repertoire of songs; a group of 
songs is attributed to each supernatural being, and the shaman must know 
those of his familiar spirits. A good voice is a prerequisite for shamanism. 
At shamanistic sessions (p. 147), the shaman sings as he “calls” the 
spirit, and the spirit sings through him after he is possessed (pl. 14, bottom, 
left) ; the audience joins the shaman in the refrain of the songs. Shaman- 
istic sessions are well attended, because they give people a chance to come 
together to sing. 

In all group singing both men and women sing, the latter in a higher 
key, much as among the Tapirapé and as described for the Tupinamba. 

Musical instruments.—Gourd rattles always accompany singing, but 
they are not sacred, as among the coastal Tupi. A trumpet with a bamboo 
stem and a cow’s horn resonator is used during the Honey Festival ; during 
aboriginal times, a gourd resonator was used in place of the cow’s horn. 

Dancing.—Frequently, during informal singing, the Tenetehara keep 
time to the music by stamping with one foot on the ground. During lively 
shamanistic sessions and during ceremonies, both sexes dance. Com- 
monly, they simply stamp in one spot, with a heavy beat on one foot. 
During the Maize Festival, they move in a large circle with a skipping 
step; on other occasions, a line of men faces a line of women and the two 
lines advance and retreat from each other. A possessed shaman dances 
in a manner indicative of the supernatural possessing him; for example, 
when possessed by the guariba monkey spirit, he postures in imitation of 
the monkey, and when possessed by the toad spirit, he hops about like 
a toad. 

The Tenetehara also frequently hold Neo-Brazilian dances, when men 
and women dance in couples to waltzes, “sambas,” and local folk tunes. 
For these dances, many young Tenetehara have learned to play bamboo 
flutes and skin drums. Sometimes a Neo-Brazilian is hired to play the 
accordion for dancing. 

Games.—No aboriginal games were noted among the Tenetehara. Boys 
play tops and marbles in the same manner as the Neo-Brazilian children 
of the region. 

Narcoties.—Hashish (Cannabis indica), or diamba, as it is called 
locally, is in widespread use in the region of the Pindaré, Mearim, and 
Grajat Rivers, both by the Tenetehara and Neo-Brazilians. On the 
Pindaré River, it is used in long cigarettes made from leaves of the plant 
rolled in a thin sheet of bark of tawari tree (Couratari sp.). 

Native tobacco plays an important role in Tenetehara religious life, 
being used by the shamans in the treatment of illness and in all their 


Vol. 3] THE TENETEHARA—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 145 


other activities (pl. 14, bottom, right). It is smoked in long funnellike 
cigars, about 12 inches (30 cm.) long, wrapped in cane bark. Smoking 
of tobacco or hashish is also a general pastime. 

There are no indications that the Tenetehara have known any alcoholic 
beverages other than those which they now purchase from the Neo- 
Brazilians. 


RELIGION 


Tenetehara supernatural beings (karowara, their generic name) may 
be conveniently divided into three groups: culture heroes, forest spirits, 
and ghosts, the last being spirits of the dead and spirits of animals. All 
except the culture heroes are malignant and make the world so generally 
dangerous that the Indians must constantly have recourse to their shamans 
for protection. 

Culture heroes.—T enetehara culture heroes are not active supernatural 
beings in their modern relations to mankind, but in myths they are culture 
bringers and creators. (See Mythology, p. 147.) Among them, Maira 
and Tupan are the principal creators of culture. It is quite possible, 
however, that the importance of Tupan has been overemphasized by mis- 
sionaries who identified him throughout Brazil with the Christian God. 
Tupan was simply the “demon of Thunder” among the coastal Tupi 
(Métraux, 1928 b). 

Forest spirits——Maranatiwa is the owner of the forest and of the 
animals inhabiting it, especially of white-lipped peccaries, and he punishes 
Tenetehara men who needlessly and wantonly kill this species. Maranatiwa 
may be identified as Corropira or Kuri-pira of other Tupi groups and of 
Neo-Brazilian folklore. 

Uwan, the spirit which controls the rivers and water life, is given two 
other descriptive names: Upére (ti, water; pore, inhabitant) and Uzare 
(ui, water; zare, owner). This supernatural being is identified by local 
Neo-Brazilians as the “Mother of Water,” a character of Brazilian folk- 
lore. Uwan is described by the Tenetehara as a spirit who is always 
malignant, and who causes illness. 

Zurupari is a forest demon which attracts hunters and leads them astray 
until they are lost and then kills them. This spirit corresponds to 
Yurupari, or Zurupari, of Neo-Brazilian folklore. 

Ghosts.—Wandering ghosts (azang) are the souls of people who died 
from sorcery, who broke incest taboos during their life, or who died by 
slowly wasting away. The modern Tenetehara explain that the souls of 
people who die by other means go to the “home of Tupan,” a Christian 
explanation. 

The azang wander through the forests or near the cemeteries and 
abandoned houses. They can transform themselves into animals which 
appear to hunters, frightening them and causing them to lose arrows shot 


146 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


at them by mistake. The Tenetehara are very frightened of azang, espe- 
cially at night ; they always avoid passing near a cemetery or an abandoned 
house. 

The spirits of dead animals (piwara) mainly enforce restrictions on 
diet and on hunting, such as those imposed upon a man during his wife’s 
pregnancy and his child’s early infancy and upon preadolescent children. 
If a father of a young child, for example, kills a macaw, the spirit of the 
macaw may make the child ill if he is not treated by a shaman sufficiently 
strong to control this spirit. Deer, monkeys, forest fowls, toads, tapirs, 
and many other animals have such spirits. 


CEREMONIALS 


Besides the puberty rites, two ceremonies are still held by the Tenetehara 
of the Pindaré and Grajat' River region: The Honey Festival (zemuci- 
hawo and the Maize Festival (awaciwahuhawo). The first takes place 
during the dry season, and the second accompanies the growth of maize 
during the rains from January through March. The Maize Festival is 
basically a song feast and dance, which provides a background for shaman- 
istic performances. Shamans invoke their familiar spirits in order to 
protect the growing maize. 

The Honey Festival takes place during the last days of the dry season 
and lasts but a few days. Preparations for it, however, require months, 
because the Tenetehara must collect wild honey for it throughout the 
dry season. Generally, 20 to 30 gourd containers, each holding one to 
two liters of honey, must be filled. Each night or so during these months, 
the people of the village gather and sing ‘‘to bless the honey.” Formerly, 
the containers of honey were hung to the rafters of a special ceremonial 
house built for the occasion; nowadays, they are stored in any available 
empty house. When sufficient honey has been collected, the leader of the 
ceremony sends out invitations to nearby villages. During the ceremony, 
the Tenetehara dance in a large circle. The songs refer to the original 
honey feast held by animals in mythical times (Nimuendaju, 1915). 
The honey is mixed with water and consumed by the dancers; when the 
honey is gone, the ceremony terminates. 


SHAMANISM 


In spite of more than 300 years of sporadic contact with missionaries, 
shamanism continues to be a very active element of Tenetehara religious 
life. In fact, with the decline of native ceremonial life under Neo-Brazilian 
influence, the activities of the shamans (pazé) absorb most of modern 
Tenetehara religious activity. Like the Tupinamba shaman, pay, the 
Tenetehara pazé is a man of great prestige in his community. At present, 
each village has no less than two or three shamans and some large villages 


Vol. 3] THE TENETEHARA—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 147 


have six or seven; in addition, numerous young men are learning the 
art. There are few Tenetehara who do not attempt during their youth 
to become shamans. 

Tenetehara shamans cure illness by removing the disease-causing objects 
through sucking or massaging (pl. 14, bottom, right). During the cure, 
the shaman dances and sings, beating time with a rattle and calling his 
familiar spirits. Men and women of the village join him in the chorus. 
Now and again, he gulps and swallows smoke from his large tubular 
cigar, eventually becoming definitely intoxicated. Suddenly, he staggers 
backward, grasping his chest to show that his spirit has possessed him. 
A shaman must be able “to call” (be possessed by) the same piwara, 
or spirit, that has caused the illness in order to be able to extract the 
object. He approaches the patient and sucks or massages out the 
extraneous object (timae), i. e., a piece of stone, bone, or wood. 

A shaman shows by his actions which spirit has possessed him (pl. 14, 
bottom, left). If it is a deer spirit (aropoha piwara), he may eat manioc 
leaves; if ghosts (azang), he drinks uncooked tapioca flour mixed with 
water; and if any familiar spirit, he frequently rubs the lighted end 
of his cigar over his bare chest and arms without being burned. Several 
informants told of Tenetehara shamans who swallow burning coals from 
a fire while possessed by the spirit of the kururu toad (Bufo sp.). Sneth- 
lage (1927, p. 132) also observed this. On occasions, the familiar spirit 
is “too strong” for a shaman, and he falls unconscious, remaining extended 
upon the ground for an hour or more until the spirit leaves him. 

The power of a Tenetehara shaman depends upon the number of 
familiar spirits he can “call.” Commonly, shamans have five or six 
such familiar spirits. Because tiwan, the owner of water, frequently 
causes illness, this spirit is most frequently called in cures. At present, 
on the Pindaré River, there are no shamans who count among their 
familiar spirits the toad spirit (kurura piwara), the forest demon, 
Maranaiiwa, or the jaguar spirit (zawara piwara). So powerful are these 
three spirits that no modern shamans dare “call” them. A shaman 
spends many years learning “to call” his various familiar spirits by 
singing and acquiring the power to withstand them when possessed. He 
sometimes visits many villages to learn from other shamans and to acquire 
a larger number of familiar spirits. 


MYTHOLOGY 


In Tenetehara mythology, two culture heroes stand out, Tupan and 
Maira. The figure of Tupan has probably been emphasized by missionary 
influence; he appears as a creator and protector. Maira, however, is 
clearly a native culture creator. He is the donor of fire, which he stole 
from the vultures, hiding it in a stick of uructt wood so that the Tenete- 
hara might use this soft wood to make fire. Maira also brought manioc 


148 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and maize to the Tenetehara. Maira was the father of the Maira-iira, 
who was born after his father had abandoned his mother. While wander- 
ing in search of Maira, her husband, this woman conceived a second 
time when she stayed one night in the house of Mukwtra. From these 
two unions were born the twins Maira-iira (tira, son) and Mukwira- 
ura. <A detailed myth is told of the adventures of these twins in their 
search for Maira. 

The Tenetehara also tell various cycles of animal stories. One cycle 
deals with the difficulties of the Gamba (Didelphis sp.) in arranging a 
satisfactory husband for his daughter and of how he is followed when 
trying to imitate the various animals. For example, the girl marries 
the wood tick, and Gamba, dissatisfied with his new son-in-law, tries to 
imitate the wood tick by floating to the ground on a leaf from a tree 
top, but falls hard to the earth. There is also a long cycle in which 
the tortoise has a trickster role. Other stories recount the Rolling Head 
and the Festival of the Animals. Modern Tenetehara legends include a 
large series that are of Iberian and Africo-Brazilian origin. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barbosa Rodrigues, 1872; Bettendorf, 1910; Dodt, 1873; Froes Abreu, 1931; Kis- 
senberth, 1912; Lago, 1822; Lopes, 1934; Marques, C. A., 1870; Métraux, 1928 a. 
1928 b; Moraes, 1860; Nimuendaj, 1915; Plagge, 1857; Ribeiro, 1841; Leite, 1943; 
Snethlage, E. H., 1927, 1931 a; Wagley, 1942, 1943 a. 


THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN 


By Betty J. MecGeErs 


INTRODUCTION 


The Amazon has its source in the Andes close to the Pacific and flows 
northeast 4,000 miles to empty into the Atlantic at the Equator. A dozen 
large tributaries flow into it at intervals, draining four-tenths of the con- 
tinent. At the mouth of the Rio Negro the valley is about 200 miles wide, 
but between the Tapajoz and Xingu Rivers it narrows to 50 or less. Below 
and above these points the uplands retreat sharply from the river and the 
valley widens abruptly. Above the Madeira River the forests are just out 
of water and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood 
level. The natural vegetation of the valley and the uplands is selva, except 
for scattered savanna lands north of the river and on the Island of Marajo. 

In this immense area archeology has made little progress. Here there 
are none of the large imperishable buildings which mark sites of former 
human habitation for the archeologist in Pert, and the virgin forest 
effectively obscures all lesser clues on the surface. The discovery of a site 
often awaits an accident such as occurred at Santarém when a cloudburst 
washed out the streets and revealed quantities of pottery. In the more 
open country on Marajo Island and in the Mojos area of Bolivia, the 
existence of mounds makes the task somewhat easier. 

Stone is scarce in most of the valley and was not a major item in the 
material culture. Few stone tools, mainly polished axes and celts, have 
been recovered. The perishable objects which took their place have not 
survived. Metal tools are rare and were acquired by trade from the 
Andes and later from the Europeans. As a result, pottery is almost all 
that the archeologist can hope to find. 

Attempts have been made to link the archeological remains with known 
Indian groups. Many of the earlier writers attributed the elaborate 
pottery to the Carib, whose presence had been recorded along the lower 
Amazon. The tendency of the later writers has been to favor the Arawak, 
whose high cultural level and widespread migrations are offered as an 
explanation for the similarities noted from southern Brazil to the Antilles. 
The question has not yet been settled to the satisfaction of all, however. 


149 


(‘si933ayq ‘f Anog Aq payiduioy) ‘seuemy oy} pue uozeury JAMO] DY} JO Says [eoISojooyIIW—'Z AVN OST 


Os 


AYVY YT 
pyerd 0d WI73g 
4 e 


FUIITy 


@ 
ee. ia if FLNOpy 290/8O 
7yno (saAvH9s ; 


Oo / Ovary, (we Y 
/ 4 W VNY/A v2. © over 
Yy 


g 


Nee 
LONG 
FAVW TLNOW\G 


ANYNO AY 
idan ¥ 


Ap 5|09 aN = 


os 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 151 


SOURCES 


The written sources leave much to be desired. The early work was done 
largely by men trained in other fields, and it is difficult to know what 
reliance to place upon their conclusions. The more recent publications 
are for the most part general summaries or descriptions of collections in 
museums. An exception is Linné (1928 b), who describes some of the 
sites excavated by Nimuendaju in Northeast Brazil. Except for 
Palmatary on Santarém, Métraux on the Upper Amazon, and Goeldi on 
Cunany, the following sources deal mainly with Marajo: Angyone Costa 
(1934), Farabee (1921 a), Goeldi (1900), Hartt (1871, 1876, 1885), 
Holdridge (1939), Joyce (1912), Lange (1914), Linné), (1925, 1928 a, 
1928 b), Métraux (1930a), Mordini (1934), Netto (1885), Nordenskiold 
(1930 a), Palmatary (1939), Penna (1877-78), Steere (1927), Torres, 
H. A. (1929, 1930, 1940), and Uhle, M. (1923). 

The largest and most representative museum collections of Amazon 
pottery are in the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil; the 
Ethnographical Museum, Goteborg, Sweden; and the University of Penn- 
sylvania Museum, Philadelphia, Pa. The Musée du Trocadero, Paris, has 
a collection from the Middle Amazon, and the American Museum of 
Natural History in New York one from Pacoval on Marajo Island. 


ARCHEOLOGICAL REGIONS 


In this article, the Amazon has been divided for convenience into four 
areas: Marajo Island, Northeast Brazil, the Santarém region, and the 
Middle Amazon. The sites in Northeast Brazil (map 2)—Caviana, 
Maraca, and Cunany—have been grouped together on the basis of a few 
traits which they have in common and by which they differ from Marajo 
and Santarém. These are the absence of mounds, with the burial urns 
placed directly in the ground or in caves, the presence of anthropomorphic 
funerary urns, the interment of two or more individuals in a single urn, 
and similarities in the pottery. The urns from these sites show very 
marked differences in form and detail which indicate the maintenance of 
distinct local styles in spite of close areal proximity and contemporaneity. 

Marajo Island is characterized by the presence of mounds containing 
burial urns and domestic pottery including tangas, and by a distinctive 
style of decoration in which painted and incised designs are prominent. 
At Santarém, both mounds and burial urns are absent. Vessels of unusual 
shapes, often resting on caryatids and ornamented with bird and animal 
figures in full round, are characteristic. 

A hundred and fifty miles up the Tapajoz River and above the Serra de 
Parintins on the Amazon, burial urns again appear. The latter area, which 
we have called the Middle Amazon, includes sites at Miracanguera, 
Manaos, and Teffé. This area is little known and no accounts of exca- 


152 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


vations have been published. A comparison of two anthropomorphic urns 
from sites in the area over 500 miles apart shows a similarity in style. 
Other fragments are reminiscent of Santarém and Marajé. The upper 
reaches of the Amazon are virtually unknown archeologically. 

The general culture-subsistence pattern for the Amazonian area was 
probably quite uniform. Agriculture was supplemented by hunting, fish- 
ing, and gathering. The high development of the ceramic art, as well 
as the amount of labor which would have been required to build the stone 
walls along the coast and the mounds on Marajo, presupposes relatively 
large communities and indicates an economic and social organization ad- 
vanced enough to permit the expenditure of large amounts of time and 
effort on projects unprofitable from the point of view of subsistence. The 
presence of greenstone objects on Marajo believed to originate from some- 
where in the vicinity of Obidos is evidence of widespread trade connections. 
Early explorers on the Amazon reported that the pottery of Santarém 
was an important item of barter, and the discovery of a clay bird head 
on the Island of Carriacou in the Antilles identical with those found at 
Santarém substantiates their statements. The stone works along the coast 
are presumed to be evidence that an advanced type of religion was prac- 
ticed there. 

Chronological relationships are uncertain. At Caviana and Maraca 
objects of European origin have been found in association with the pottery, 
indicating that these cultures were flourishing in post-Columbian times. 
Cunany is also dated as contemporary with the Conquest. At Carao on 
the Mayacaré, however, no objects of European origin or showing Euro- 
pean influence have been discovered. Although no objects of European 
manufacture have been found on Marajo, the reports of travelers on the 
lower Amazon in the 17th century indicate that fine pottery was still being 
made there at that time. Nordenskidld (1930 a, pp. 33-34) has suggested 
the possibility of arriving at a chronology by comparison with the Andean 
area, where a relatively precise time sequence has been established. The 
extension of this method to the Amazon cultures, however, awaits de- 
tailed study of the whole region. At present, it is impossible to say what 
the actual relationships are. 

The pottery from Santarém presents a problem because it differs so 
markedly from that in the rest of the valley. It approaches the pottery 
of the Antilles in some respects, and the use of the caryatid, of the tripod, 
and of frogs in jumping position as ornaments are characteristics rem- 
iniscent of Central America. 

The descriptions given in this account must be recognized as tentative 
and incomplete. A description of the archeology of the Amazon is largely 
a story of problems unsolved and work still to be done. To date, this area 
has attracted the interest of few trained archeologists. The written sources 
offer few details of the sites and circumstances of discovery of the pottery, 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 153 


and even these are often contradictory. Another difficulty is that the 
Amazon Valley has never been mapped in detail. As a result many of 
the places referred to in the early literature cannot be found on a map. 
The pottery in museum collections is not accompanied by any information 
about its excavation and, although attempts have been made to draw con- 
clusions from its study, much more could be gained by a few sessions in 
the field. Nimuendaju has engaged in some explorations in recent years, 
and the publication of his findings should contribute substantially to our 
knowledge. 


MARAJO ISLAND 


Mounds.—Since 1870, Marajé Island has been the classic spot in 
Amazon archeology. Located in the mouth of the river just south of the 
Equator, it has an area of 14,000 square miles and an elevation of about 
3 feet (1 m.) above river level in the dry season. At this time of the year 
all but a few of the larger rivers are dry and water is scarce. The opposite 
situation occurs in the wet season, when the greater part of the island is 
flooded. The north central section is rendered uninhabitable by the pres- 
ence of immense swamps. In the west are dense forests. Across most 
of the remainder of the island stretch the level campos, broken here and 
there by clumps of trees and by artificial mounds. 

These mounds have proved a fertile field for the archeologist. More 
than 100 are known, and these are usually located on river banks or at 
the edges of lakes or swamps. Some were evidently used only as dwell- 
ing sites. Others served both as house substructures and for burial pur- 
poses. It has not been determined whether any were used exclusively 
for burial. Although these mounds have long been known, few of them 
have been located on a map or described in any detail. None have been 
scientifically excavated. No conclusions have been reached about their 
relative age. There is disagreement as to whether or not stratification is 
present. Opinion is also divided on the question of intentional zoomorphic 
shape. 

The most famous of the mounds is Pacoval in Lake Arari. It was first 
described by Hartt in 1871, and since then it has been visited repeatedly. 
It is located close to the east shore of the lake immediately south of the 
Igarapé das Almas. It is oblong and divided into two parts, the main 
mound and a small one at the north end of it and separated from it by a 
channel. The north-south length is about 90 m. (290 ft.), the width about 
38 m. (125 ft.), and the height about 4 m. (13 ft.) when the water level 
is low. Steere (1927) was able to distinguish three strata showing dif- 
ferences in pottery design and other ornaments, with the best examples 
in the lowest level and the poorest at the top. Penna (1877) confirmed 
this sequence on his visit and concluded that these represented phases of 
a declining civilization. Derby (im Hartt, 1885, p. 22) however states 


154 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


that “all the objects, plain as well as ornamented, were encountered near 
the surface and in the middle and lower parts of the mound so that it does 
not seem possible to establish divisions in the deposit.” Although stone 
objects are rare, pottery is abundant here as in most of the mounds. 
Penna (1877, p. 53) speaks of pottery as covering the ground like a 
great mosaic. Lange (1914, p. 321) was able to collect over 3,000 speci- 
mens in the course of a week. 

Pottery similar to that from Pacoval is found at Ilha dos Bichos, a 
mound of about half an acre in extent which rises 5 to 8 m. (about 16 
to 26 ft.) above the plain along Arari River north of Cachoeira. This 
was examined by Steere in 1870, and he distinguished two layers of 
occupation separated by a layer of earth. Burial urns were visible at 
different levels in the ravines which had been washed in the sides of 
the mound. 

Along the Anajas River is a group of mounds known as Os Camutins. 
Derby (im Hartt, 1885, pp. 23-25) describes four in some detail and 
states that his informant mentioned 12 in a distance of 11%4 miles (about 
2.4 km.), all but one on the east side of the river. The majority are 
in the narrow zone of trees along the bank but at least two are farther 
off on the plain. The principal mound has a length of approximately 
210 m. (680 ft.), a width of 80 m. (260 ft.) at the base, and a height 
of about 13 m. (42 ft.) above the level of the surrounding plain. It is 
covered with vegetation, and the slopes have been eroded into ravines. 
On the west side of the river is a large excavation which appears to have 
furnished the earth for the construction of the mounds. Derby states that, 
the pottery encountered in the largest mound of the Camutins is of the same charac- 
ter as that from Pacoval. From what I could observe it appears that the large jars 
are more frequently painted than incised, contrary to what is observed at Pacoval. 
The predominant shape is large, depressed and globular, while at Pacoval smaller 
sub-cylindrical and conical forms are more common. These observations are insuf- 
ficient as a basis for a distinction and all the principal shapes are represented in both 
sites. Fragments of tangas are extremely abundant, but no complete ones were 


found. The majority are red in color and undecorated, although I saw some painted 
like those from Pacoval. [Hartt, 1885, p. 25.] 


Monte Carmelo is located near the source of the Anajas River. Frag- 
ments of pottery are exposed here from the river bed to the summit. 
Three stratified layers were observed by Holdridge (1939). The top 
and bottom ones contained quantities of simple, red pottery both incised 
and plain. Between these two was a layer containing the highly developed 
incised, sculptured, and painted ware which is characteristic of the highest 
development on Marajo. 

Teso de Severino was described by Mordini (1934, pp. 63-64). This 
mound is located near the Igarapé de Severino, a tributary of Lake 
Arari. It has been completely leveled and is marked only by a ring 
of old trees which outlines its former extent. The pottery here is more 


PuaTE 15.—Amazonian pottery from Counany. Red-on-yellow ware. (After 
Goeldi, 1900, pls. 1, 2, 3.) 


c ae 


PLate 16.—Amazonian burial urns from Maraj6. a, Modeled bichrome with 


white slip (height approximately 3 ft. (92 cm.)). 6b, Two modeled urns, both 
with inverted bowl lids and found superimposed. These represent a double 
burial with cremated remains in small urn and entire body in larger one. 
(Total height approximately 4 ft. 7¥ inches (1.41 m.).) c, Modeled champlevé 
urn with white paint filler in designs (height approximately 1 ft. (30 em.)). 
d, White-slipped incised (height approximately 1 ft. (30 em.)). (Courtesy 
University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


L 


PuatE 17.—Amazonian pottery from Marajé. a, Platter-bowl with annular 
base, white-slipped with some interior painting. b, White-slipped and incised 
urn (height 9 inches (23 cm.)). c, Unslipped incised (height 8 inches (20 cm.)). 
d, Interior of white-slipped, incised and red zoned bowl (greatest diameter 17% 
inches (44.5 em.)). (a-c, Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia; d, 
courtesy American Museum of Natural History.) 


Puate 18.—Amazonian pottery from Marajé and Santarém. a 


pcs eg 


TY 


? 
{ 


, b, Hollow 
figurines, Santarém. (Larger, approximately 5 inches (13 em.) high.) CaOe 
Marajo effigy burial urns, incised white, red retouched decoration. (Respective 
heights, 14 inches (35.5 em.) and 8% inches (21 em.).) e, Marajé red on white 
(height, 9 inches (23 em.).) jf, Marajé incised white, red retouched (height, 
approximately 8 inches (20 cm.).) q, Marajé red and black ‘on white (height, 
7% inches (19.5 em.).) h-j, Tangas, or women’s pottery “fig leaves.’ (a, b, 
Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia; others, courtesy American Mu- 
seum of Natural History.) 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 155 


advanced in design and technique than that from Pacoval. The clay is 
finer and better fired, the workmanship more careful, and the vessels 
are partly covered with a kind of glaze probably produced by the resin ot 
jutaisica. Tangas found here are decorated with complicated stylized 
anthropomorphic motifs. The characteristic frieze of vertical and diagonal 
lines with the intervening spaces painted a solid color found on tangas from 
Pacoval, does not occur here. 

Santa Izabel, located on the plain northwest of Lake Arari, has 
also been leveled to the surface of the plain. Penna (1877, p. 51) 
describes the artifacts as inferior in number and extent to those of 
Pacoval, but as rivaling the ceramics of the latter in choice of material 
and perfection of designs, painting, and relief. 

Fortaleza was visited by Farabee. The mound 
had been built up artificially and then used as a village site. Apparently the people 
had cremated the remains of their dead and buried the ashes in small urns in the 
floor of their houses. These urns were beautifully decorated with incised lines or 
paint or both. Many plates, small bowls, cooking pots, and seats were found buried 
with these urns. [P. 145.] Four other mounds in the vicinity were excavated but 
nothing of value was found. They had been used as house sites only, as was indicated 
by the presence of ashes and fragments of pottery. [Farabee, 1921 a, p. 144.] 

Larenjeiras is located northeast of Lago Guajara. It is 5 m. (15 ft.) 
in height and covers over 2 acres. Pottery of all types is abundant. 

These brief accounts represent practically all the definite information 
that has been published about the mounds. A dozen more are mentioned 
by name and vaguely located but not described at all. Mordini (1934, 
p. 62) cites Serra, Teso do Gentios, Menino Deus, and Panellas in 
the area enclosed by the Ganhao and Cururtt Rivers and Lakes Mututi 
and Asapao. These and a group of seven small mounds on the road 
from Cajuliros to Faz Café are oval and oriented in an east-west- 
direction. Pacoval do Cururt, Mataforme, and Ananatuba, also oval, 
are oriented north-south. 

Pottery.—In general, pottery shapes are varied but the paste appears to 
be constant. The basic clay is light gray which turns orange-red in 
firing. Sand admixture is rare. The texture varies from coarse to medium, 
depending on the size and number of particles of pounded sherd used 
as temper. In some cases these are large enough to retain traces of 
the original white slip. Manufacture was by the coiling method, and 
overlapping layers are visible on the interiors of some of the figurines. 
Firing was done in a kiln and was sufficient to change the color of the 
paste only on the surface, except in cases where the walls were thin. 

The following classification of wares based on surface finish was made 
by Junius Bird after an examination of the collection from Pacoval 
at the American Museum of Natural History. These were probably 
not all contemporary but lack of documentation makes it impossible 
to establish the chronological sequence. 

653333—47—13 


156 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E, Bull. 145 


Plain ware. 

Incised plain ware. Both fine and broad incised lines occur, sometimes combined 
with punctate marks (pl. 17, c). 

Incised white. The surface is covered with a white slip and decorated with fine 
incised lines (pls. 16, d; 17, b). The color of the slip varies from white through 
cream to orange as a result of variations in firing. 

Incised white, red retouch. Like the preceding except that the incised design 1s 
accented in places by the addition of red paint to the incisions (pls. 17, d; 18, f). 

Red champlevé. Red slipped ware in which the background or field of the 
design has been cut back from the original surface and roughened. 

Red champlevé, cream paint in cuts. The design is produced by the same tech- 
nique as in the preceding. A contrast is made between the cut-out parts 
and the rest of the design by the addition of a light-colored paint to the 
cuts (pl. 16, c). 

Double-slipped champlevé. Here the red slip was applied over a white 
slip and shaved off in the cut-out areas. The use of a double slip produced 
the same contrast as the preceding method but eliminated the rough surface 
caused by the presence of tempering granules in the paste. 

Incised plain ware, white paint inlay. The designs are applied in bands around the 
rim and are composed of finely incised lines and a deeply gouged background 
which were filled with white paint. 

Painted ware. Painted decoration was used by itself or in combination with incised 
and relief ornament (pls. 16, a, b; 18, e, g-j). Red and brown paint were used 
separately or together on a light-colored slipped surface. 


Two other types occur in the collection at the Museum of Anthropol- 
ogy, University of Michigan: 

Incised red. The decoration is in simple geometric patterns of broad incised lines 
which go through the slip to the orange paste surface to produce a two-color 
design. 

White champlevé. The incised lines and indented areas show the orange 
original surface while the intervening areas have a white slip. 

Nonfunerary pottery is abundant and varied in form. Water jars with 
narrow mouths are common at Pacoval. Handles, which are present on 
some, are of two types: two protuberances or lugs placed below the rim, 
and handles perforated for the insertion of a cord. Large plates or dishes 
are common but are usually recovered only as fragments. Bowls vary in 
shape from deep flat-bottomed ones with sloping sides to shallow concave 
ones. Some are circular, others oval. The former have level rims, and 
the rims of the latter rise to a high point at the ends and slope downward 
to the center of the long sides. Decoration on this type is painted or 
incised, and relief ornament is sometimes found on the rim. Some are 
decorated both on the interior and exterior and others on the interior only. 
An unusual form is a bowl with a flaring annular base and an extremely 
broad concave horizontal rim, so broad that it almost triples the diameter 
of the vessel (pl. 17, a). The interior is painted red or brown on a white 
or cream slip. The exterior is usually unslipped and undecorated. Of 
problematical use is the so-called “offertorio” of the older writers. It isa 
flat or slightly concave disk on a slightly flaring annular base. A few are 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 157 


oval. The usual size is about 17 cm. (634 in.) in diameter and 7 cm. 
(234 in.) tall. Some, however, are only half this large. They are un- 
slipped and the surface of the disk is covered with incised patterns. In 
the case of the smaller vessels these design areas are often cross-hatched 
An anthropomorphic face in low relief is often used as decoration on the 
side. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic vessels are rare (pl. 18, c, d). 
Jars of several shapes have been called funerary urns. One has the 
form of two truncated cones joined together at a point about one-fourth 
of the distance from the bases of the vessels (pls. 16, d; 17, b). Another 
type has a globular body with a flat bottom and a cylindrical neck with 
an everted lip (pl. 16, c). In a third type the body is also globular, 
but the neck has the shape of a short truncated cone joined to the body at 
its base (pl. 18, e, g). The height of all these rarely exceeds 60 cm. (24 
in.). Much larger are the urns with anthropomorphic faces in relief on the 
neck (pl. 16, a, b,c). These may be as much as 95 cm. (37 in.) tall witha 
rim diameter of 75 cm. (28 in.). They have globular bodies which taper 
down to an extremely small flat base only about 18 cm. (5 in.) in diameter. 
The neck joins the body at a pronounced shoulder and terminates in a 
widely flaring rim. The greatest diameter of the body is only a little 
more than that of the rim. Two anthropomorphic faces in low relief 
adorn the neck, one at front and one at back. A small human figure often 
occupies the intervening space at each side. The body of the vessel is 
covered with painted decoration in large curvilinear patterns. 
Figurines.—Figurines, or “idolos,” are variations of the seated type 
found in many parts of South America. The larger ones are hollow (fig. 
16, right). The legs are separated and rounded at the end. Often there 
is a ridge across the base of the tip to represent the foot, which is left 
smooth or marked with three to eight toes. Arms are shown at the sides, 
raised, or only suggested by a protuberance or lateral extension at each 
shoulder. Heads differ in shape and detail, but almost invariably the nose 
and eyebrows are joined to form a Y or T. The sex is usually indicated 
and is, in a majority of cases, female. In addition to these separate 
figurines, many anthropomorphic and zoomorphic heads are found which 
once were part of the relief and molded decoration of vessels. These are 
generally solid. Some show traces of slip and decoration, while others 
have the orange-red color and rather rough surface of the unslipped clay. 
Tangas.—Tangas, which are found in abundance, are thought to have 
been worn by the women as a pubic covering (pl. 18, h-7). They are 
triangular in shape, about 15 cm. (6 in.) long and 12 cm. (5 in.) wide 
at the upper edge. The upper edge is convex and the other two are con- 
cave. The inner surface is concave and the outer convex. There is a 
small pierced hole, 1 to 2 cm. from each corner, for the insertion of a cord 
for attachment to the body. Many show grooves where the friction of 
the cord has worn away the clay. The clay used is always very fine, and 


158 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148. 


mes 


Figure 16.—Maracd and Marajo pottery. Left: Maracd urn (height, approximately 
2Y% ft. (75 cm.)). Right: Marajoé hollow figurine (red-on-white) (height 24 cm. 
(9% in.)). (After Nordenskidld, 1930 a, pl. 18 and Frontispiece. ) 


the objects themselves are often exceedingly thin. Both surfaces are 
smoothed and usually slipped either red or white. The outer surface in 
the latter case is decorated with great care and beauty in a symmetrical 
pattern. Mordini (1934) noted that the majority of the tangas found at 
Pacoval show consistently the same border pattern across the top. This 
was not found on tangas from Teso de Severino. Tangas with dark red 
slip and no decoration are found at Camutins. 
Decorative styles.—Holdridge (1939, p. 74) states that 

while there are slight regional differences in the pottery designs and manner of execu- 
tion, there is a general identity of artistic motives and technic that points to an island- 


wide cultural integrity. The most complicated designs found in the Chaves pottery 
can be duplicated satisfactorily in a piece from Soure. 


This continuity of style makes it possible to list a few very characteristic 
features. One of the most common geometrical motifs in painted, incised, 
or relief decoration is the spiral which occurs in many variations, single 
and interlocking. Also characteristic are stylized representations of the 
human face which occur in almost an infinite variety and produce a sym- 
metrical design used on tangas as well as on funerary urns and other 
vessels. The T is another design element often used. The sides of 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 159 


funerary urns sometimes show an H-like motif in relief. Relief decoration 
was usually confined to the rim except on the larger vessels, where an- 
thropomorphic and zoomorphic heads in the round were used as decoration 
on rims and as appliqué on the sides. These as well as the figurines show 
conventional treatment both in modeling and painting. The most char- 
acteristic facial feature is the joining of the eyebrows and nose ina Y or T. 
Zoomorphic heads sometimes have coffee-bean eyes and are generally 
more crude than the anthropomorphic heads. Characteristic of the latter 
are a double protuberance to indicate the ear, a protuberance on the top 
of the head, and conventional painted outlines of eyebrows, eyes, nose, 
mouth, and ears. 

Burial.—Secondary urn burial was practiced throughout the island. 
The urns were buried in the mounds and the most richly decorated were 
sometimes placed inside cruder ones for protection. A shallow bowllike 
cover was inverted on top (pl. 16, b). At Camutins, the large urns 
contained whole bodies placed in seated position while the small urns held 
the ashes of cremated individuals (Farabee, 1921 a, p. 145). 

When the urn was placed in the grave, the bottom of the hole was dug to fit it, 


so that all of the smaller pieces of pottery placed with the dead were deposited at 
the side of the neck on the shoulder of the urn. [Ibid., p. 146.] 


NORTHEAST BRAZIL 


Caviana.—Caviana is an island about 50 miles long lying in the mouth 
of the Amazon north of Marajo. At a cemetery in the southeast of the 
island, Nimuendaju (Linné, 1928 b) excavated a group of funerary urns. 
These had been buried directly in the ground. They are of several types 
and show diversity in the technical skill of the makers as well as in the 
shape and style of the decoration of the vessel. An urn 33 cm. (13 in.) 
tall with the mouth at the side and a tiered profile was found at Apany. A 
similar vessel from Para was described by Joyce (1912). Both are crudely 
made and have appliqué decoration of lumps of clay. A more advanced 
type is a semicylindrical urn with a stylized human figure outlined in low 
relief on one side. A third type has painted decoration reminiscent of that 
found on pottery from Ukupi and Cunany. A seated anthropomorphic 
urn illustrated by Nordenskidld (1930 a, pl. 20) resembles those from 
Maraca. The features are in low relief, and the painted decoration is red 
and gray. 

Glass beads, metal knives and axes, and small brass bells from European 
trade were found with the urns and establish their origin as post- 
Columbian. Small objects, possibly ornaments, of greenstone were also 
found. 

In the urns, the smallest bones were placed at the bottom, the large ones 
at the sides, and the skull on top. A single urn sometimes contained the 
remains of more than one individual. Occasional anthropomorphic urns 


160 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


have two faces, and Linné (1928 b, p. 79) postulates that such an urn was 
destined to contain two skeletons. 

Although its geographical position is that of a link between Marajo and 
Brazilian Guiana, culturally Caviana is most closely allied with the main- 
land. The differences which exist between it and Marajo are striking. 
The only features which are common to both are secondary urn burial 
and the custom of painting the bones red. The absence of mounds, the 
anthropomorphic character of the urns, and the style of relief and painted 
decoration indicate stronger affiliations between Caviana and the coast to 
the north. Nimuendaji (Linné, 1928 b) has explained this by the theory 
that the inhabitants of Caviana, the Arud, immigrated from Brazilian 
Guiana and returned there when the pressure of the Europeans became 
too strong. 

Maraca.—This site has been known since 1870. It is located on a small 
tributary of the Maraca River which flows through Brazilian Guiana and 
empties into the Amazon almost at the Equator. There are no mounds. 
The pottery was found in natural grottos at the edge of a plain close to the 
river. Funerary urns are abundant, and the majority are in the form of 
a human being seated on a bench. The trunk, arms, and legs are cylindrical 
(fig. 16, left). The head which forms the cover is about 18 cm. (7 in.) 
high and has a flat top covered with small knobs. The features of the face 
are made by ribbons of clay and are enclosed at top and sides by a relief 
stripe. The sex is either male or female. These figures often have painted 
ornaments, and Nordenskidld (1930 a, p. 20) reports that the calf of the 
leg is swollen, indicating perhaps that binding was practiced by the people. 
One of these urns was ornamented with green, blue, and white glass beads 
attached to the arms and spine. These date from the 17th-century Euro- 
pean trade contact and indicate the manufacture of these urns in the post- 
Columbian period. Zoomorphic urns in this same tubular style have also 
been found in the caves. 

The paste is coarse and composed of clay mixed with sand. Cariapé (a 
vegetal temper) does not appear to have been used. The workmanship 
is crude; the vessel walls are thick and irregular, and the surface is rough. 
Paint was restricted to the ornaments mentioned above, and the surface 
of the vessel as a whole exhibits the tan to orange-brown color produced 
by firing. Firing was not thorough enough to bake the walls through, and 
the interior retains the original dark gray color. 

According to Penna (1877), these urns contained entire skeletons. The 
bones were arranged with the pelvis at the bottom, the rest of the bones 
along the sides, and the skull on top. 

Cunany.—The Cunany site on the coast of Brazilian Guiana was dis- 
covered by Coudreau in 1883 and described in detail by Goeldi in 1895 
(1900). The funerary urns were found in artificial subterranean galleries. 
Goeldi offered the hypothesis that the ancestors of the builders lived in an 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 161 


area where caves occurred naturally and were used as repositories for 
burial urns. Their descendents, accustomed to this situation and finding 
no natural caves in this new area, constructed substitutes. Fragments of 
pottery identical with those from Cunany were found recently by 
Nimuendaju (Linné, 1928 b) in a cave of Mont Ukupi near the Arucara 
River. If Goeldi’s hypothesis is correct, these later discoveries may be of 
greater age. Linné (1928 b, p. 73) states that it is possible to detect some 
evolution in the painted decoration. The Cunany urns are believed to be 
post-Columbian or contemporary with the Conquest. 

The paste is gray or bluish in cross section. The amount of sand is 
small and large amounts of crushed sherds were used as temper, especially 
in the thick-walled vessels. A microscopic examination showed no ad- 
mixture of ashes of caraipé or of sponges. Firing was sufficient to bake 
the thin-walled vessels but those with thick walls show a poorly baked 
center. Fine white clay was used as a slip. 

A variety of forms are found, almost all of which are divided into 
horizontal zones by the more or less sharp changes in plane of the vessel 
wall, by relief bands, or by changes in design motif. Shapes include large 
jars with globular bodies and straight necks; jars with small bases, con- 
stricted necks and wide rims, often with anthropomorphic facial features 
in low relief (pl. 15, d, g) ; bowls with vertical sides and flaring rims (pl. 
15, b, f) ; rectangular vessels with flat bottoms and outward flaring sides 
(pl. 15, c, e); and oval “boat-shaped” vessels on a cylindrical pedestal 
(pl. 15; a). 

Ornament is painted and relief. Painted designs are red on a yellowish 
slip. The rim and base are sometimes painted solid red. Frets, spirals, 
steps, commas, and a rambling three-line design are typical geometrical 
motifs. The corners are occasionally ornamented with a row of vertical 
notches. Relief decoration includes the outline of a human face on the rim 
and of the human body on the body of the vessel, and anthropomorphic and 
zoomorphic figures in the round jutting out from the sides of bowls and 
rectangular vessels. 

All of the vessel shapes listed above except the large jars with globular 
bodies and straight necks were recorded by Goeldi as having contained 
traces or fragments of human bones. 

Rio Calsoene.—On high points along the coast of Brazil north of the 
Amazon, as for example on the Calsoene River and on the tributaries of 
the Cunany River, rows of stones have been found. The largest of these 
is located on the Estancia José Antonio on the north bank of the lower 
Calsoene River. It is 100 m. (325 ft.) long but has been damaged in 
many places. One hundred and fifty stones of all sizes are visible above 
ground. The largest measures 2 m. (6%4ft.) by 70 cm. (26% in.) by 
25 cm. (934 in.), and has an estimated weight of 600 kilograms (1,323 
lbs.). These stones must have been brought from a considerable distance, 


162 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


an enormous task with primitive methods of hauling and transportation. 
Excavations made by Nimuendaju (Linné, 1928 b) show that these rocks 
were not placed over graves. Little pottery was found in the vicinity, and 
much of that was in a fragmentary state. A vessel with a wide mouth 
was covered with a large stone slab and protected by two stones at the 
sides. A few other similar objects have been discovered in the ground. 
To explain these structures we must resort to speculation, but it seems 
probable that they had a religious purpose. 


Ilha de Carao.—Ilha de Caro is located in a swamp at the mouth of 
the Mayacaré River. On it is a mound about 10 meters (33 ft.) long 
and 2.2 meters (6 ft. 8 inches) high. It is stratified into three distinct 
layers. The lowest, composed of ashes, is 70 cm. (26% in.) thick and 
covered with a thick layer of potsherds. These appear to be mainly 
from platters as much as 80 cm. (30% in.) in diameter. They show 
incised decorations as well as traces of red and white paint. The second 
stratum is about 50 cm. (19% in.) thick and composed of gray dirt. 
On top is a layer of yellow clay 1 meter (3 ft. 3 in.) thick. Some 
stones belonging to the same category as those described from the Cal- 
soene River had been set up on the summit. Pottery fragments in the 
two upper layers were so badly disintegrated that only sherds from a 
few small vessels were preserved. 


The three layers of the mound do not appear to correspond to three different 
cultures. While the thick debris of the lowest level may be the product of an 
independent ancient population, it must be recognized that the differences of technique, 
decoration, etc. are not great enough to furnish absolute proof for this hypothesis. 
The pottery of the two upper layers appears to belong to a single period, although 
some vessels are buried deeper than others. [Linné, 1928 b, pp. 75-76. ] 


This mound was apparently constructed prior to European contact since 
no object of European origin or showing European influence has been 
found associated with it. 


SANTAREM 


Distribution.—The lower Tapajoz River is the center of another cul- 
ture type. Evidence was meager until the summer of 1922 when a 
cloudburst washed out the streets of Santarém and uncovered stone tools 
and a great quantity of pottery. Much was saved through the efforts 
of Nimuendaju, and a subsequent survey by him has made it possible 
to outline the boundaries of the complex. It extends up the Tapajoz 
to Aramanahy and is represented by numerous inland sites on the right 
bank. On the left, there is a site at Boim. To the east, remains are 
common as far as Taperinha and scattered to the eastern limit at Bocca 
de Coaty on the Jarauctt River, a tributary of the lower Xingu. The 
western limit is Serra de Parintins and there are numerous sites on 
both banks of the Arapiuns River, a tributary entering the Tapajoz 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 163 


northwest of Santarém, and in the region of Lago Grande de Villa 
Franca. North of the Amazon there are some sites around Monte 
Alegre, but Nimuendaju found nothing between here and Obidos 
(Palmatary, 1939, pp. 4-5). 


Ceramics.—The pottery of this area is perhaps the most remarkable in 
the Amazon Valley. The paste is light gray in cross section and light 
tan on the surface. Santarém pottery is notable for its unusual shapes 
and profusion of modeled bird and animal ornament (fig. 17). Many 
vessels show traces of red paint and some of a white slip. Among the 
principal forms are: (1) A six-lobed vessel resting on a flaring annular 
base or small caryatid. The neck is tall and narrow and flares out in 
one or more places to form a flange or series of flanges. At two opposite 
sides of the body, the lobe is extended outward and upward and terminates 
in a stylized bird head with the beak curved downward in a loop. Other 
decoration consists of animals modeled in the round, geometrical relief 
patterns, and lightly incised geometrical designs. (2) A bowl supported 
on a caryatid with an hour-glass-shaped base. The bowl has a vertical 
rim which is decorated with an incised pattern. At the widest diameter 
modeled ornament is attached. (3) A bowl with almost vertical sides, 
a flat bottom, and a concentric, or trough rim. The two edges of the 
trough are connected at four regular intervals by a wide loop. (4) A 
tall jar with a narrow base. The greatest diameter is about one-fourth 
of the distance from the base and above this the sides slope inward to 
the rim. The height is about 34 cm. (12% inches). There is little or 
no relief and no incised decoration. (5) A jar with a globular body and 
a short vertical neck with a wide mouth. The base is flat or slightly 
pointed. Decoration is relief or incised. (6) Numerous small vessels 
in four-lobed and other exotic shapes. (7) Effigy vessels in seated posi- 
tions with globular bodies. Two illustrated by Palmatary (1939, figs. 
3-4) are covered with painted geometrical figures in red and black on 
a light-colored background. (8) Seated figurines (pl. 18, a, b). These 
are hollow and larger on the average than those found at Marajo. The 
top of the leg slopes downward toward the tip. The hands are placed at 
the side, on the leg, or on the chest. Numerous anthropomorphic and 
zoomorphic figures and heads are found which were part of the ornament 
of vessels. These are generally small and solid. Anthropomorphic heads, 
whether figurines or part of the applied decoration of vessels, show 
various conventional traits: a headdress resembling a diadem, an oblong 
nose, and ears indicated by a double prominence or with the lobe pierced 
for the insertion of an ornament. The eyes are commonly coffee-bean 
or a horizontal ribbon of clay, although there are numerous other types 
(Palmatary, 1939). Zoomorphic heads are abundant and represent a 
great variety of animals and birds. Some of the most common of these 
appear to have been conventionalized and conform rigidly to the con- 


164 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


PZZESW Ie 
See 
a .; = 


Mvieecr 


Ficure 17—Santarém pottery. (After Palmatary, 1939, figs. 2 and 7.) 


vention in modeling and decoration. The jaguar has a wide-open mouth, 
the agouti has its front paws drawn up under the chin, birds have down- 
curved beaks, etc. Almost all have the round-rimmed protuberant type 
of eye. 


Vol. 3] ARCHEOLOGY OF THE AMAZON BASIN—MEGGERS 165 


Burials.—In spite of a diligent search, no burials have been discovered 
in this area. The explanation probably lies in the method of disposing 
of the dead which was described by Heriarte in the 17th century 
(Nordenskidld, 1930 a). The body was left exposed until the flesh had 
decayed away. The bones were then pulverized and the powder mixed 
with chicha, which was drunk. 


THE MIDDLE AMAZON 


Miracanguera.—Miracanguera extends about 5 miles (8 km.) along 
the north bank of the Amazon opposite the mouth of the Madeira River. 
According to Nimuendaju, it has been ravaged by flood waters. Penna, 
writing in 1877, reported that most of the clay objects were found isolated 
from each other. The material is a fine clay slightly reddish-gray in 
color. It contains no sand. A white slip was used and there are traces 
of red paint. Some of the remains indicate a high degree of development 
of the ceramic art, but were too fragmentary for description. Penna’s 
conclusion was that the ceramics of this area were inferior to those from 
Santarém and the lower Amazon. 

A funerary urn from Itacoatiara, just down the river, is illustrated 
by Netto (1885, Est. VA). The round bottom rests on a short pedestal. 
The sides slope inward slightly at the neck and then flare out to the 
rim. A bowlike cover fits perfectly over the top. The exterior is covered 
with a white slip. On one side of the neck is an anthropomorphic face 
with the features in low relief. 

Manaos.—The city of Manaos is located on the north bank of the 
Amazon near the mouth of the Rio Negro, about 900 miles (1,440 km.) 
above Belém. Although it has been known as an archeological site since 
the end of the last century, we still have to rely largely on the descriptions 
of early travelers for information. There are a few articles in museums 
but these are accompanied by no information about their source. 

The funerary urns were buried just below ground level. Steere (1927, 
p. 25) visited Manaos in 1870 and “on the parade ground of the Brazilian 
troops stationed there, I saw the rims of several burial urns which were 
being worn down by the bare feet of the soldiers.” Marcoy (quoted 
by Métraux, 1930 a, p. 174) describes the urns: 

These vessels, made of a coarse paste of an obscure red-brown color, are at the 
level of the ground. Their height varies from 70 cm. (26% in.) to1 m. (3 ft., 3 in.) ; 
the diameter of the mouth is about 40 cm. (15% in.). Crude designs, lozanges, 
zig-zags, chevrons, billets are painted in black on their sides. Some have a cover, but 
the majority are open and empty. 


Métraux has described the collection at the Musée du Trocadéro in 
Paris. Only one piece is intact, a bowl on a flaring annular base. The 
decoration is in low relief. There are many fragments including a rim 
sherd with a flat vertical handle ornamented with lines ending in volutes. 


166 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


The color of the clay is rose-gray. There are numerous heads of birds 
and animals that were used as ornament on vessels. 

Teffé.—Pottery discovered at the mouth of the Teffé River shows 
similarities both with Santarém and with Marajo. The extension of the 
eyebrows to form the nose so common on Marajo occurs here. The 
zoomorphic heads are similar to those from Santarém, and there are other 
striking resemblances between the pottery of the two areas. 

Japura.—Farther west, above Macupury on the Japura River, a burial 
urn containing badly-preserved bones was discovered. It is 42 cm. (16% 
in.) tall and 37.5 cm. (1434 in.) at the largest diameter. The domelike 
cover is 23 cm. (9 in.) in diameter and fits the mouth of the vessel exactly. 
The features of the anthropomorphic face on the neck are in relief and are 
enclosed by an incised line which runs across the forehead and perpendicu- 
larly down the sides, ending in a relief volute on each side below the level 
of the mouth. The urn is covered with a white slip and decorated at the 
largest diameter with a red band 6 cm. (23% in.) wide. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


For bibliographic references, see page 151. 


THE TAPIRAPE 


By CHARLES WAGLEY AND EDUARDO GALVAO 


INTRODUCTION 


Isolated from other Tupi-Guarani-speaking people, the Tapirapé live 
in Central Brazil, west of the Araguaya River and north of the Tapirapé 
River, a western tributary flowing into the Araguaya near the northern 
tip of the Island of Bananal (lat. 2° S., long. 52° W.). According to 
tradition, the Tapirapé lived for a time on the banks of the Araguaya and 
Javahé Rivers with the Carajd. They quarreled, and the Tapirapé moved 
west to their present territory (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7). 
At the beginning of last century, five Tapirapé villages formed a line 
stretching northward into Cayapo country beginning at a point a few 
miles back from the Tapirapé River about 150 miles from its mouth. The 
Tapirapé have always been at war with the Cayapé, except for a brief 
period. Each of these villages contained at least 200 individuals with a 
total Tapirapé population of about 1,000. Since 1900, however, there 
has been a terrific reduction of Tapirapé population. 


In 1939, there was only one remaining Tapirapé village situated about 
20 miles north of the Tapirapé River with a total population of 147 people. 
This decline in population is basically due to disease (smallpox, respira- 
torial diseases, etc.) acquired either directly from Neo-Brazilians or from 
the Carajd, who are continually in contact with Neo-Brazilians. Tapirapé 
groups have been also massacred on several occasions by both the Carajd 
and Cayapoé. 


The Tapirapé have had but few contacts, however, with Neo-Brazilians. Except 
for the demoralizing effect of depopulation, their culture has been little modified. 
Although stories are told of Neo-Brazilian hunters visiting the Tapirapé in 1909, 
the first registered contact with them was in 1912. During that year, Sefior Manda- 
curt, leading an expedition of the Brazilian Indian Protection Service, visited the 
village nearest the Tapirapé River. In 1914, the Dominican priests visited the 
Tapirapé. From that date on, the Dominicans returned each year or so to a camp 
on the Tapirapé River for 3 or 4 days at a time and were met by the Tapirapé, to 
whom they distributed trade goods. About 1934, a Protestant missionary, Frederick 
Kiegel, made several trips, staying 2 or 3 months in a Tapirapé village. In 1935, 
the first trained ethnologist, Dr. Herbert Baldus, resided several months with the 
Tapirapé, and in 1939-40, Wagley spent 12 months with them making the study 
on which this article is based. 


167 


168 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The region inhabited by the Tapirapé is one of dense tropical forest ; 
yet near the Tapirapé River and parallel to its small tributaries, there are 
great strips of semiarid savanna country characterized by scrub growth 
and groups of buriti palms. These plains are flooded during the excessive 
rains from October to April, and they are arid during the latter part of the 
dry season (May through September). 

Farming.—The Tapirapé make great clearings in the forest for their 
villages, traveling occasionally to the savanna country for hunting. Their 
large gardens guarantee them an economy of abundance. They plant sev- 
eral varieties of both sweet and poisonous manioc, four varieties of maize, 
pumpkins, beans, peppers, cara (Dioscorea sp.) and yams, peanuts, 
squash, several varieties of bananas and beans, cotton, and papaya. 

Each year, from June to September, the men clear away the forest for 
their gardens. Clearing is frequently done individually; frequently also 
it is done cooperatively by the men’s ceremonial moiety groups in a work 
festival (apaciri). When communally prepared, the large clearings are 
afterward divided into individual garden lots. Gardens are, thus, gener- 
ally individual property; now and again, however, a younger man plants 
together with an older man (his father-in-law) or a close relative. When 
clearing is done by apacirt, plots are allocated for ceremonial moiety 
leaders, who use the produce during the harvest feast (kad) at the end 
of the rainy season. Vegetation and tree trunks, cut down during the 
dry season and left to dry, are burned in September. Just after the first 
rains of October, planting is begun. All crops are planted without order 
or division within the garden plot, and weeds are never cleared away as 
the garden grows. All gardening is done by men except the planting and 
harvesting of peanuts and cotton, which is done entirely by women. 

Harvest takes place as the various crops ripen. Maize planted in late 
October or early November ripens in January; in April and May squash, 
cara, beans, etc. begin to ripen. Manioc is harvested as needed throughout 
the year. All food from the gardens is said to belong to the wife once it 
is brought into the house. 

Garden plots are planted for 2 years and then abandoned. The second 
year only manioc is generally planted in the plot. Yet each year a new 
plot is cleared from virgin forest and thus each gardener has generally 
two current garden plots—one newly cleared and a second-year plot planted 
with manioc. The lack of virgin forest on high ground for garden clear- 
ings within accessible distance to the village, as well as the fear of the 
spirits of recent dead, force the Tapirapé to move their village site each 
4 or 5 years to a new site. 

Manioc is by far the most important Tapirapé crop, as manioc flour is 
the basis of their diet. Different from other Tupi groups, however, the 


Vol. 3] THE TAPIRAPE—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 169 


Tapirapé do not use the tipiti (the long woven tube in which the water is 
squeezed from poisonous manioc), but squeeze poisonous manioc with their 
hands. The pulp is then spread out on a platform in the sun to be thor- 
oughly dried. The flour is toasted in a clay pot over a very hot fire. 

Wild foods.—Meat is a definite luxury to the agricultural Tapirapé. 
Monkeys, armadillos, forest fowls, cuati (Nasua sp.), and both kinds of 
peccary (Tayassus tajacu and T. pecari) are occasionally killed in 
the forest at any time during the year. The hunting and fishing season, 
however, is from June through October, when the savanna country is dry. 
The savannas are extraordinarily rich with game. Plains deer, wild pigs, 
peccary, and wild duck, and geese near the drying swamps are plentiful. 

Fish are shot with the bow and arrow and stupefied with timbd 
(Paullinea pinnata or Serjania sp.) in the almost dry streams and lakes. 
The village is almost deserted in September and October, after garden 
sites have been cleared and before planting. Men, women, and children 
move out to the plains country near the Tapirapé River and set up a 
temporary camp. They collect turtle eggs and kill turtles in the river. 
They gather piqui fruit (Caryocar vellosum), andiroba (Carapa guya- 
nensis), and other wild fruits, and, from October through November, they 
find wild honey both on the savanna and in the forest. 

Hunting is done with the bow and arrow, but a club is used to finish 
the kill, especially wild pigs or jaguars. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The houses of a Tapirapé village form an oval around a large ceremonial 
men’s house (takana), which is forbidden to the women. Both the large 
men’s house, approximately 20 by 65 feet (6 by 20 m.), and the residential 
houses, averaging 13 by 33 feet (4 by 10 m.), have a quadrangular floor 
plan with arched roofs made by bending flexible poles and tying them 
together over a roof beam (pl. 19, bottom, left). The walls and the roof 
are covered with leaves of buriti palm and wild banana. 

In the surviving village, called Tampitawa, there were nine residential 
houses, each housing from four to eight simple families. Each family 
occupies a determined sector of the house where they cook, keep their 
belongings, and hang their sleeping hammocks. Household utensils, such 
as baskets, pots, hammocks, and gourds, are owned by the women of each 
simple family. Houses, though built by men, are said to be the property 
of the women of the house. The house frame is constructed cooperatively 
by all the men of the house. Each man covers the portion to be used by 
his wife and children. 

Ideally, residence is matrilocal, and the house is inhabited by a group 
of closely related women and their husbands. The household leader is 
generally the husband of the oldest woman of the group (see p. 172). 
Owing perhaps to great depopulation and the accumulation of refugees 


170 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS {[B.A.E. Bull. 148 


from many villages in the one village, many combinations of relatives now 
form residential groups. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Both sexes are nude. Men tie the prepuce over the glans penis with a 
palm fiber. Both men and women pull out pubic, axillary, and all facial 
hair. Even eyebrows are considered ugly. Men wear cotton string liga- 
tures around their legs, just below the knee. Men, and sometimes women, 
wear large cotton wrist bands crocheted directly on to their arms. Young 
boys and girls sometimes wear similar ornaments on their ankles; these 
ornaments are painted with a thick coat of red uruct dye and have round 
cuffs, often 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm.) wide. Necklaces of beads given 
by Neo-Brazilians are highly valued and used almost to excess. Men 
paint their feet and the calves of their legs red with urucu; both men and 
women trace a multitude of patterns on their body with black genipa dye. 


Men have their lower lip pierced and wear a small wooden lip plug. 
Two years or so after women have begun sexual life, patterns in the form 
of a three-quarter moon are made on their faces by scarification with a paca 
(Cuniculus paca) tooth knife. Charcoal and plant juices are rubbed into 
the wounds to leave dark blue designs. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Tapirapé do not have canoes. All cargoes are carried by the men 
in a carrying knapsack made from buriti-palm fibers strapped to their 
backs. 


MANUFACTURES 


Weaving.—Hammocks are made by women from native cotton spun on 
wooden spindles. The technique used is the simple twine weaving used 
by the Tupinamba and other Tupi groups. 

Ceramics.—At present, the art of ceramics is declining. Pottery is 
usually for cooking, and is made by women. Sometimes it bears incised 
geometrical decorations. 


Gourds.—Gourds are decorated with geometric incisions. 


Basketry.—The most highly developed basketry techniques among the 
Tapirapé are woven and twilled. Two types of baskets are flexible and 
nonflexible ones; both are of buriti fiber. They generally have a quad- 
rangular base and a narrow, round top, and are used mostly to store 
manioc or maize flour. Flat, round baskets are used as cotton containers 
or flour sifters. They are usually ornamented with motifs originating in 
the weave itself; frequently the finished basket is smeared with black 
genipa and odd strands are scraped off, giving a negative decorative effect. 


PLATE 19.—Tapirapé ceremonies and house construction. Top, left: Youth in 
preparation for puberty ceremony. The large, heavy diadem of macaw feathers 
will be supported by the lock of hair wrapped in cotton cord. Top, right: 
Shaman wearing dangerous ceremonial headdress during Thunder ceremony. 
He is intoxicated by tobacco and in a trance state. Bottom, left: Construction 
of men’s house. Bottom, right: Dance masks representing the ‘Crying Spirit,”’ 
one of many forest spirits who are said to come to stay for a time in the men’s 
ceremonial house. (Courtesy Charles Wagley.) 


Vol. 3] THE TAPIRAPE—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 171 


Weapons.—Bows have a circular cross section and average about 6 feet 
(2 m.) in length. The arrows are of cane about 5 feet (1.6 m.) long with 
heads of bone, hardwood, and the spur from the sting ray (Potamotyrgon 
histrix). They have brilliant feathers, sometimes the red and blue feathers 
of the red macaw. Clubs are made of several polished hardwoods and are 
sometimes decorated near the handles with woven strands of cane fibers. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


Three distinct social groupings are basic in Tapirapé social organization: 
men’s ceremonial moieties, feast societies, and the kinship groups. 


Ceremonial moieties.—All Tapirapé men belong to one of the patri- 
lineal ceremonial moieties. Each of these moieties is further divided 
into three age grades. There are consequently two groups of youths 
(those up to 15 years of age) ; two groups of men of warrior age (15 to 
40 years) ; and two groups of older men (40 to 60 years). Each group 
bears the name of a bird, the word “wira” (bird) being the generic name 
for the group. These age groups (Baldus, 1937, p. 96, calls them “work 
groups”) function as units in hunting and in clearing garden sites at the 
cooperative work festival; parallel groups also dance against each other 
in various ceremonials and reciprocally feast each other. Each moiety 
owns half of the men’s house, and its portion is subdivided into sections 
owned by the three age grades. The warrior age group of each moiety 
has a “walking leader” for hunting excursions and communal work, and a 
“singing leader” for ceremonials. As a man becomes elderly, he entirely 
drops out of the “bird” groups and is no longer affiliated, as he cannot 
take part in their economic and ceremonial activities. At present, the 
Tapirapé are so reduced in number that, lacking older men, younger men 
pass prematurely into the older men’s age grade in order to retain the 
necessary balance for ceremonials. 


Feast groups.—Both men and women are divided into eight feasting 
groups called tataupawa (literally, “fire all to eat’) Men belong to their 
fathers’ feast group and women to their mothers’. Feast groups are not 
only nonexogamic, but people prefer to marry within their own group so 
that husband and wife may attend feasts together. These groups carry 
the names of the mythological heads of the original eight households of 
the first Tapirapé village. They unite at various times throughout the 
year for ceremonial meals. The feasts take place at traditional spots in 
the village plaza, at times when there is an abundance of honey, maize, or 
meat from the hunt. Each member brings his contribution. Baldus (1937, 
p. 88) calls these “eating groups,” and emphasizes that they are consumers’ 
groups providing a means of distributing food when more is available than 
a family can eat. Today only six groups meet for feasts, two being extinct 
for lack of members. 

653333—47—14 


172 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Kinship.—Kinship is more important in furthering solidarity among 
the Tapirapé than either the moieties or the feast groups. Tapirapé kin- 
ship is bilateral, its chief principle being that all cousins, whether cross- 
or parallel-cousins, no matter how distant, are considered brothers and 
sisters. Children of people calling each other siblings are also called 
siblings. Mother’s sisters are called mother, and father’s brothers, father. 
Mother’s brothers and father’s sisters are distinguished by special terms. 
Similarly, a man’s brothers’ children are considered his sons and daughters, 
and a woman’s sisters’ children are her children. Children of a man’s 
sisters or a woman’s brothers are given special terms. 

The wide inclusiveness of kinship affiliation makes it possible for an 
individual to call the majority of his fellow villagers—and in former days 
many people in other villages—by terms of close relationship. 

An older man of some prestige gathers around him by adoption as many 
“daughters” or as many of his wife’s “daughters” as possible. By the 
marriage of these “daughters,” he attracts a group of younger men within 
his household who contribute constantly to his larder through the hunt and 
garden activities. At present, only three of the nine houses in the village 
were formed in this way, but reduced numbers, we were told, forced 
various combinations of relatives to share a household. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Although aware that pregnancy is brought about by 
sexual intercourse, the Tapirapé believe that conception takes place when a 
shaman, serving as intermediary, brings a “child spirit” to the woman. 
Thunder, night, monkeys, wild pigs, and various fish and insects are 
supposed to contain child spirits. 

When the woman is certain that she is pregnant, she tells her husband. 
They both paint their bodies with genipa and cover their hair with urucu. 
During the first few days of pregnancy, no restraints are imposed upon the 
child’s parents, but as birth approaches, all sexual contact must cease. 
All men who have sexual relations with a woman during her pregnancy 
are considered fathers of the future child, together with the real father. 

At childbirth the woman is assisted by her mother and sister and by 
two male relatives. The husband retires to his hammock and is forbidden 
to partake of any liquid refreshment. 

Infanticide is practiced because it is considered bad to have more than 
three children, or two children of the same sex. The fourth child, or 
third of the same sex, of one mother is buried in a hole dug inside the 
residence for the afterbirth. 

On the day after birth, a male child has his lower lip perforated. Until 
the child is weaned, the parents must refrain from sexual relations and 
must not eat salt, sugar, honey, or the meat of various animals and forest 
fowls. Both boys and girls also are restricted in their meat diet. A son 


Vol. 3] THE TAPIRAPE—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 173 


and sometimes a daughter of important people may be treated as a favorite 
child, being given special attention and education and being highly decor- 
ated during various ceremonies in which such children are central figures. 
Treatment as a “favorite child” brings prestige throughout one’s whole life. 


Puberty.—When a boy is about 12 years old, he ties his prepuce over 
.the glans penis. His hair is cropped close to his head, and his entire body 
is painted black with genipa. He substitutes a short mother-of-pearl lip 
plug for the long bone one worn by young boys. During this time, the 
boy must sleep in the men’s house. His arms and legs are scratched from 
time to time deep enough to draw blood, so that he will grow strong. 


When he is about 14 years old, his hair is allowed to grow and is tied 
at the nape of his neck. His hair is not cut for a year or two in preparation 
tor his puberty ceremony, which is considered the most important event 
in a man’s life. On the appointed day, the boy is richly ornamented, the 
main ornament being a large diadem principally of red macaw feathers 
set in a heavy block of wood (pl. 19, top, left). This diadem is supported 
by the hair and weighs well over 10 pounds. For 24 hours the boy is 
forced to dance continually under the weight of excessive decoration to 
prove his endurance. 


During a girl’s first three menstrual cycles, a geometric pattern is traced 
with genipa on her body. During this time, she must refrain from sexual 
relations. There is no special puberty ceremony for girls. Girls are 
usually already married at puberty, especially at present with the lack of 
women. 

Marriage.—Formerly there was some intervillage antagonism, and 
people preferred to marry within their own village. Despite such antag- 
onism and the fact that villages were 2 to 3 days’ walk apart, considerable 
intervillage visiting occurred, and genealogies show that intervillage mar- 
riage was not rare. Today, with refugees from all villages in the one 
village, antagonisms and local village patriotism exist only in the memory 
of older people. 

Men marry immediately after the initiation rites, and the women, at 
least in modern times, at any time after the age of 7 or 8 years. People do 
not marry cousins who are called “brother” and “sister” of close connec- 
tion, but marriage with those of distant relationship is not infrequent. 
Monogamy is the absolute rule. 

Because the population has declined and men outnumber women, marriage 
rules have been somewhat altered. All women have husbands, and there 
are now about 10 young men waiting for 7- or 8-year old girls. There are 
also marriages between men and very young pre-adolescent girls; these 
are brought about because the men are greatly dependent on the women’s 
work. In such cases, the husband goes to live in his wife’s house, where 
his mother-in-law helps the girl work for him. 


174 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Until the first child is born, marriage bonds are rather weak, but hence- 
forth the marriage is comparatively stable. There are, however, frequent 
cases of adultery, and a guilty woman who is found out is thrashed by her 
husband. When a marriage is dissolved, the man leaves the house, which 
is considered the wife’s property, although built by him. 

Upon a man’s death, his widow remains in the house. After about 2 
months of free sexual relations, she chooses a new husband. 

Death.—The Tapirapé believe that death is brought about by sorcery 
and never by natural causes. Frequently, when the relatives of the 
deceased enjoyed sufficient prestige, they kill the shaman whom they 
suspect. 

As soon as it is certain that the sick man will die, mourning begins in 
the form of a wailing dirge by both men and women. The men dance 
around the hammock of the dying or dead man, while the women remain 
seated on the ground. Burial takes place on the day after death. The 
corpse is stretched out on the hammock. Its feet and head are decorated 
with uruct dye, and its face is painted black with genipa. The grave is 
dug in the dead man’s house under the place where his hammock was 
usually hung. The body is buried in the hammock, which is set up in the 
grave between two poles. All contact with the earth is avoided. Personal 
possessions of the deceased are buried with him, except that all feather 
ornaments and bows and arrows are burned. 

Five days after the funeral, the relatives walk in file to the ceremonial 
hut, where they leave the spirit of the dead man. The wailing goes on for 
many days, sometimes months, and always takes place at sunset. Close- 
cropped hair is a token of mourning for both sexes. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Obvious esthetic pleasure is derived from skillfully done basket- 
work; a good workman will destroy a basket which is not turning out 
well, even though it would serve as a receptacle. Great use is made of 
highly colored feathers; feathers are both tied and stuck with rosin and 
wax on to the object to be decorated. Elaborate geometric designs are 
painted on children’s bodies with genipa. The incise work on gourds is 
also especially striking. 

Musical instruments.—Gourd rattles are frequently used to keep time 
to singing. No sacred powers are attributed to rattles. During the 
shamanistic ceremony (p. 177), a bamboo trunk is pounded against the 
ground in time to the music. 

Music.—By far the most important Tapirapé pastime is singing. A man 
with a good voice and a large repertoire of songs is much admired by the 
community. All ceremonies are, basically, singing festivals. Each cere- 
mony during the year has a large set of specific songs: those to be sung 
by the shaman during the shamanistic “battle with Thunder” (p. 177) ; 


Vol. 3] THE TAPIRAPE—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 175 


those for group singing during the harvest ceremonies and the ceremony 
of kawi (p. 176); those for the masked dancers during the dry season; 
and a very large number of songs specifically for the “Big Sing” 
(monikaho) during the latter part of the rainy season. During this 
period (approximately March through April), singing takes place 
throughout each night from sundown to sunrise. On these occasions, 
the singing leader and the men of one of the moieties introduce the verse 
of each song and the refrain is then taken up by the men of the other 
moiety and the women of the tribe. Women sing in a higher key than the 
men and, generally, a phrase behind the men. The songs of the masked 
dancers, each representing a supernatural being, differ stylistically from 
those used on other occasions in being sung in a falsetto tone, in a manner 
similar to that of the neighboring Carajd. Many such songs have been 
admittedly learned from the Carajd. 

Dancing.—Both men and women dance as they sing. In general, the 
Tapirapé dance bending slightly forward, stamping out the time of the 
music with one foot. Dancing differs greatly, however, according to the 
occasion. During the harvest ceremonies, men dance in a line, side by 
side, each man’s wife dancing directly behind him. During the group 
singing of the “Big Sing,” the men dance in moiety groups facing each 
other, and women dance behind the moiety group of their husbands. On 
one occasion during this time, men dance with women, side by side, with 
a curious skipping step. 

Games.—Men’s moieties run foot races against each other after the 
communal work festival (p. 168) ; they race in a straight line across the 
village plaza. Wrestling takes place at one wet-season ceremony, and, 
now and again, throughout the year as sport. The Tapirapé explain, 
however, that the Carajd are better wrestlers and that it is more properly 
a Caraja sport. In wrestling, opponents stand face to face, grasping each 
other about the neck, and attempt to force or to trip the other to the 
ground. During one festival, men, one from each moiety at a time, 
compete by throwing blunt-headed spears at each other. Gambling games 
are unknown. 

Stimulants.—Native tobacco, though used for leisure-time smoking, is 
principally a stimulant and medicine. A Tapirapé will not travel without 
a supply of tobacco to blow smoke over his tired body at the end of the 
day, in order to take out soreness and tiredness. Tobacco is necessary 
to shamans in all their activities. They blow tobacco smoke over the 
patient in curing (p. 177), and, to induce dreams and a trance, they 
swallow large gulps of smoke until they become intoxicated and nauseated. 
When people have seen ghosts, shamans fumigate them with tobacco 
smoke, in order to drive away the ghost’s influence. Shamans fumigate 
new maize, the first honey of the season and, sometimes, fresh meat to 
drive out possible supernatural danger. This native tobacco is smoked 


176 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


by laymen in short tubular wooden or clay pipes and by shamans, in 
tubular clay pipes, sometimes 12 inches (30 cm.) long. 

The Tapirapé do not routinely plant tobacco as other crops. Occa- 
sionally, it is transplanted from scattered patches around the gardens and 
village to near the houses or gardens, but usually the patches merely seed 
themselves. A person who discovers a new patch, hastily surrounds it 
with a low fence to show his ownership of it. 

No alcoholic beverages are known to the Tapirapé. Beverages made 
from manioc and maize are prepared as a food and are not allowed to 
ferment. 


RELIGION 


Tapirapé religion is based on the belief in two kinds of supernatural 
beings—disembodied souls of the dead, and malignant forest spirits of 
many kinds—both designated by one generic term, ancunga (spirit or 
shadow). 

The ancunga itinwera, human spirits or ghosts (ana or anhanga among 
the Tupinamba), live in abandoned villages and frequently come near to 
the villages of the living “because they are cold” and try to warm them- 
selves close to the houses. The Tapirapé are afraid of meeting them and 
try not to go out at night, when the ghosts most frequently appear. 

Souls of the dead continue to live for an undetermined period of time, 
then die and are transformed into animals. Anyone who hears the croak 
of a kururt frog (Pipa pipa) knows that it is the soul of a leader. A 
pigeon is the soul of a common man; a paca, that of a woman. The souls 
of the shamans have a different fate ; they go to join Thunder. 

In addition to the souls of the dead, there is a large number of malig- 
nant beings, also called ancunga, who dwell in the forest. They are very 
dangerous and kill as many Tapirapé as they find. Waré, a legendary 
hero and a great shaman, had the distinction of killing many ancunga, 
among whom were the awaku anka, by setting their long coarse hair on 
fire. The mumpianka were beings who killed men in order to drink their 
blood. Some of these forest spirits have become domesticated by the 
Tapirapé, thanks to the powers of their shamans. Several times the 
Tapirapé men dance with masks representing the visiting spirits (pl. 19, 
bottom, right). 

Rites.—The real ceremonial season is the rainy season, when the people 
are thrown together because they can neither farm nor hunt. Mask 
dances celebrate the visits of the various spirits (ancunga) to the men’s 
house during the dry season. At the end of the rainy season the harvest 
ceremonial (ka6) and the ceremony of kawi (a souplike beverage made 
of sweet manioc or of maize) are held. 

In the first few months of the rainy season, when the maize crop is 
threatened by electrical storms and by the first heavy rains, the shamans 


Vol. 3] THE TAPIRAPE—WAGLEY AND GALVAO 177 


are called upon to fight Thunder. This, the important Tapirapé ceremony, 
lasts for 4 days, and is the high point of shamanistic activity. 

Kanawana, the Thunder, lives on distant Maratawa surrounded by 
the souls of dead shamans and by the topu (probably equivalent to the 
Tupinamba word, “tupan”), small anthropomorphic beings whose bodies 
are covered with white hair. 

The topii travel through space in their canoes (half gourds), the sound 
of which produces the noise of the storm. The arrows which the topi 
shoot cause lightning. During the ceremony, the shamans, completely 
intoxicated by the tobacco and stimulated by the unceasing dancing and 
singing, fall into a trance (pl. 19, top, right) during which they travel 
to Thunder’s house in order to fight him. Thunder sets the toptt against 
the shamans, who, wounded by the arrows of “Thunder’s creatures,” 
fall into unconsciousness. 


SHAMANISM 


The Tapirapé can visualize the supernatural world through the reports 
of the dreams of their shamans, whose power grows in proportion to 
their ability to dream. A dream is a voyage, during which the soul frees 
itself of the body and travels through space. In these dreams the shamans 
travel to regions which are entirely unknown to the living, and in general 
are inhabited by spirits. With their powers, the shamans succeed in 
taming some of the spirits, who then become their familiar spirits. The 
power and prestige of the shaman (pancé) depend on the number of 
his familiar spirits. 

The Tapirapé speak of battles between shamans wherein each calls out 
his familiar spirits against the other while dreaming. More often, a 
shaman sets his familiar spirits upon laymen and kills them. A shaman 
may also kill his victim during a dream by throwing a malignant object, 
usually a piece of bone or a worm, into his body. 

The victims of sorcery appeal to friendly shamans, who attempt to 
cure them by extracting the malignant object by suction, massage, and 
blowing tobacco. When many deaths occur simultaneously and the 
Tapirapé suspect a certain shaman of having caused them, they do not 
hesitate to kill him. One man recalled that during his lifetime 10 shamans 
suspected of sorcery had been killed. He himself had killed a shaman 
whom he suspected of having killed his brother. In spite of the constant 
suspicion surrounding them, the shamans do not employ mechanical tech- 
niques or sympathetic magic in sorcery. 

The shamans make great use of tobacco, which is essential for healing 
and dreaming. They smoke it in large tubular clay pipes. Cures usually 
take place at dusk. The shaman squats by the patient’s hammock and 
smokes for a long time, becoming intoxicated and blowing the smoke 
from the pipe over the patient’s body. He then massages the patient, 


178 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


rubbing toward the extremities of his body. If he fails to extract the 
malignant object in this fashion, he sucks it out, swallows it, then vomits 
it up. 

At one time, during an epidemic of fever, a shaman used a different 
method. He prepared a mixture of honey and water, and, after much 
smoking, spewed it out over the patients and on the houses where there 
were sick people. 

Besides healing, the shamans must protect the people against dangerous 
spirits (ancunga) ; they call forth “children’s spirits” without which there 
can be no conception; they prevent wild animals from harming the Tapt- 
rapé during great hunting or fishing expeditions; and they increase the 
number of peccaries in the woods. It is also believed that they divine 
the future in their dreams. 

The prestige of shamans is such among the Tapirapé that almost all 
leaders of communities as well as of ceremonial moiety groups and house- 
hold heads are shamans. As shamans receive payment for successful 
cures, they accumulate many possessions which they redistribute at a 
yearly ceremonial. Liberality is essential to prestige in this society where 
avarice is particularly despised. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Tapirapé myths fall into two categories: legends telling of the deeds 
of ancestral heroes, and tales of animals. In the latter, the tortoise 
(Testudo tabulata) is noted for his shrewdness in his dealings with the 
other animals of the jungle. These stories follow the general Tupi 
pattern. 

Among the various Tapirapé heroes are Aptiwenonu and Petura. The 
former descended from heaven and lived with the Tapirapé. He taught 
them to plant and harvest cotton, manioc, and maize. When he was old, 
Aptiwenonu returned to heaven and changed himself into a star. 

Petura stole fire from the buzzards and brought light to the Tapirapé, 
who until then had not seen day. It is also told of Petura that he stole 
hatchets and knives from the emu and gave them to the Tapirapé. 

Txawanamil is famous for a series of songs which tell of his adventures 
among the mythical amptiawa, enemies of the Tapirapé, who made him 
die a lingering death. Wancina, a great shaman, had his whole house, 
including his family and belongings, transported to heaven by Kanawana, 
the Thunder. Waré was another shaman who killed many dangerous 
forest spirits. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Baldus, 1935, 1937; Bigorre, 1916, 1917; Métraux, 1927; Wagley, 1940 a, 1940 b, 
1943 b. 


THE CARAJA! 


By Witi1am LipKIND 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND TERRITORY 


The Caraja are a river people who since pre-Columbian times have held 
as the central portion of their territory the inland Island of Bananal, which 
is formed by the great fork of the Araguaya River (lat. 8°-17° S., long. 
48°-52° W., map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7). They must be re- 
garded as an independent linguistic family for the present; their language 
displays no convincing similarities to any other recorded South American 
language. 

The term “Caraja” is used to designate the entire people as well as 
the largest of the three tribal divisions; the other two are the Shambiod 
and the Javahé. The Caraja proper have 20 villages on the western or 
main branch of the Araguaya River, widely spread from Leopoldina south 
of Bananal clear down to the end of the Island. The Shambiod, now 
nearly extinct, have only two villages left, a little way below Conceicao. 
The eight villages of the Javahé lie on the eastern or minor branch of 
the Araguaya River and on the small streams within Bananal. The gen- 
eral location and the relative sizes of the three groups have remained 
the same since the earliest times. 

The native names give some notion of intergroup attitudes. All three 
groups regard themselves as a single people and use a name meaning 
“we” to distinguish themselves from other tribes. The Carajd proper are 
called the “great people” by the other two groups. The Shambiod are 
the “companion people.” The Javahé are called by a name which is used 
generally to mean “Indian” and bears the pejorative connotation “back- 
woodsman” or “hick.” There is a possible analysis which makes it the 
“old people” but, even if this etymology is correct, the word no longer has 
that meaning. 

Dialectical differences are slight and other differences not very great, 
with the Shambiod occupying a middle position culturally between the 
other two groups. This account is based on field work with the Caraja 
proper and refers to the other groups only where they exhibit important 
differences, 


1The present description of the Carajdé is based on the author’s field work during 1937, done 
under the auspices of the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University. 


Ags 


180 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ARCHEOLOGY 


Large circular hollows in the ground are found at various points in 
Caraja territory, always in the close vicinity of a stream. By tradition 
these are ancient cemeteries; of old, they say, people did not mourn at a 
funeral but held a feast in the hollow. One of these hollows located on 
the height above the river bank at Fontoura is 18 m. (about 58 it.) 
long, 15 m. (about 50 ft.) wide, and 114 m. (5 ft.) deep at its center. The 
mound forming the northern side was excavated, disclosing two lines of 
burials with associated pottery, bone labrets, and beads. 

The pottery is very similar to modern Caraja pottery and the labrets 
are exactly like those now in the possession of the Caraja. The cemetery 
cannot, however, definitely be identified as Carajd. The present-day 
Caraja cemetery is different in location and ground plan. There is now 
secondary urn burial, and in the first burial the bodies are laid at right 
angles to the river rather than parallel as were those disclosed by the 
excavation. Still, the remains show even less resemblance to the Ge and 
Tupi peoples in the neighborhood. The question must be left open for 
further archeological study. 


HISTORY 


Since the earliest times, the Carajad have been at war with their Ge and 
Tupi neighbors. The sole exception is the Tapirapé, with whom at one 
time the Javahé maintained close and friendly relations. The Shambioa 
were the first to come in contact with the Neo-Brazilians early in the 17th 
century. Contact with the Carajd proper must have begun shortly after the 
founding of Santa Anna by Bartholomeu Bueno in 1682. The Caraja are 
on good terms with the Neo-Brazilians, trading skins and fish for clothing, 
beads, knives, axes, guns, sugar, and salt. 

Population.—According to the census made by the author in 1939, the 
Carajé number 1,510, divided as follows: Carajd proper, 795; Javahé, 
650; Shambiod, 65. These figures should be contrasted with Castelnau’s 
(1850-59) count in 1845 of 2,000 Shambiod in four villages, and his esti- 
mate of a total of 100,000 Carajd, and with Krause’s (1911) estimate of 
10,000 Caraja in 1908. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—Clearings are made in the thick forest along the water- 
courses. Gardens must be so located as to be accessible by canoe in the 
dry season and yet not flooded in the rainy season. The scarcity of such 
land results in some of the plots being several miles distant from the village. 
Proximity to fishing grounds is generally held to be more important. The 
work of clearing is begun in May at the beginning of the dry season. Maize 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 181 


is planted in September, when the first rains come, and manioc shortly 
after. There is little cultivation beyond weeding. The basic crop is 
manioc, both the sweet and bitter varieties being cultivated, with maize 
next in importance. Four varieties each of sweet and bitter manioc and 
10 varieties of maize are cultivated. Other crops are: Five varieties of 
potatoes, two varieties of cara, four varieties of watermelon, three varieties 
of squash, four varieties of beans, and ten varieties of bananas, as well 
as peanuts, urucu, tobacco, cotton, calabashes, sugarcane, yams, peppers, 
pineapples, and papayas. Men do all the work with a little assistance in 
harvesting and weeding from older women. The Javahé are more in- 
dustrious farmers than the other Carajd, cultivating extensive plantations. 

Collecting.—A large number of vegetable products are gathered for use 
as food, medicine, and raw material for manufacture, but only a few are 
of great importance. The babassu and the buriti palms, used for food and 
textile materials, are among the most valuable. The taquara reed is 
sought after for arrows. Turtle eggs are a significant item of food during 
the dry season. Honey is indispensable for feasting. 

Hunting.— Although the Carajd are passionate hunters, very few of the 
animals available in the region are eaten. Only the peccary is really sought 
and constitutes a sizable item in the larder. The other animals that are 
eaten—the cutia, coati, woodsdeer, monkey, iguana, and a few birds, such 
as the mutum, jao, and jacu—are killed when encountered but are not 
eaten by everyone. Peccaries are hunted in a communal drive, the most 
favorable time being shortly after the beginning of the rainy season when 
large droves are trapped on islands. 

The chief purpose of hunting is to get feathers, and the most desirable 
birds are the various parrots, herons, the male stork, and the flamingo. 
The nesting of valuable birds is carefully watched, and the young are 
stolen and tamed. Feathers stored in small baskets almost constitute a 
currency, because they are readily negotiable at all times and maintain 
a stable value. 

The principal weapons are the bow and club. The bow, made of a 
variety of woods but with a preference for juari when available, is round 
in cross section and about 6 feet (2 m.) long. The arrow is preferably 
of taquara reed and variously tipped with wood, animal bone, or fish bone. 
Clubs are beautifully fashioned of heavy hardwood, decorated with delicate 
carving, and are swung and thrown with equal skill. The lance is now 
used only for ceremonial purposes. 

Fishing.—Fish is the most important food supply. Trapping and drug- 
ging fish with timbo is a communal affair; individuals fish with the bow 
and arrow. There is occasional night fishing, with spearing by torchlight. 
The pirarucu is killed by harpoon. The hook and line is little used, and 
apparently was borrowed recently from the Neo-Brazilians. 

Food preparation.—Manioc is peeled, grated, squeezed out by hand, 
and cooked into a soup. When the soup cools, it is masticated for a few 


182 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


minutes, then allowed to stand for a while. The resulting fermentation 
is not allowed to continue long enough to produce an intoxicating drink. 
This soup, along with a similar soup made of maize, is a daily staple. 
Manioc and ground maize are also made into cakes, but this is a holiday 
variation of diet rather than the staff of life as in other regions. The 
standard methods of cooking meat, fish, and vegetables are boiling, roast- 
ing on a spit, roasting on a grate, and roasting in the embers. Occasion- 
ally, some vegetables are baked in hot sand. Maize is the only food that 
is stored. On platform shelves at the top of their rainy-season houses, the 
Javahé pile a supply of maize dried on the cob sufficient to last throughout 
the dry season. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The permanent or rainy-season village is erected on a high bank over- 
looking the river. One or two rows of houses face the river, and the men’s 
house, about 50 feet (15.2 m.) back, faces down river. All the space 
between the men’s house and the family houses is kept perfectly clean and 
constitutes the dancing plaza of the village. The surrounding clearing 
extends only a few yards in all directions. All neighboring forest which 
must be traversed in hunting or gathering is threaded by well-marked 
trails. A path leads down from the center of the village to the main port 
where women, married men, and children bathe, and married men land 
their canoes. Another path cuts diagonally down from the men’s house 
to the bachelor’s port where the young men bathe and visitors to the 
masked dances land their canoes. 

The house is rectangular in ground plan with supported horizontal 
ridge poles (fig. 18). Saplings are sunk into the ground at the sides and 


cl t 
SMW 


Ficure 18—Carajd house frame. ( ete from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, fig. 3.) 


bent over to the ridge pole at the top, where they are firmly tied with bast. 
Then the whole structure is. tightly thatched with successive overlapping 
layers of palm frond tied to the saplings.(pl. 20,top). The entrance is a 
small rectangular opening at the bottom, through which one crawls after 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 183 


pushing aside a door of plaited palm. Every married woman in the family 
cooks at her own fireplace, which consists of two lumps of hardened clay. 
Mats used for sleeping and sitting are spread over the entire floor. 
Wooden stools (fig. 19) may also be found. Bows, arrows, and rattles 


Ficure 19.—Carajd wooden stool. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, fig. 13.) 


are shoved into the wall thatch. Baskets, used for storing such things as 
tobacco, urucu, and feathers, are hung by a string from the ridge poles. 
Large baskets containing vegetables lie on the ground next to the thatch. 


The dry-season house is identical in form but smaller and of flimsier 
construction. Thatching is looser and the walls are thatched only about 
halfway to the ground, the north and west sides often being left com- 
pletely open. The dry-season village is generally constructed on a long 
beach and, as the site grows dirty, is moved along the beach. The ground 
plan of the dry-season village is identical with the rainy-season village. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


The most prominent facial decoration is a blue-black circular scarifica- 
tion about an inch in diameter over each cheekbone. The ears of infants 
are pierced and an ornament consisting of a small polished capybara tooth 
with a feather attached is inserted. A common ear ornament for children 
is a mother-of-pearl disk with a cut feather fringe set on a blackened thin 
rod. Ina perforation of their lower lips, men wear wood or bone labrets 
of a variety of shapes (pl. 21; fig. 21, a), each assigned to a different age 
grade; old men use simple wooden plugs. 


Men wear their hair long, winding it round a plaited cotton rope red- 
dened with uruci. Women wear their hair about shoulder length. 

Armlets crocheted of cotton are worn at the wrists and just above the 
elbow; similar ornaments are worn just below the knee and at the ankle. 
These are worn particularly by children and are supposed to aid growth. 


184 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Young men wear large armlets almost 12 inches (30 cm.) long crocheted 
of cotton with hanging fringes. 

Women wear a bark-cloth girdle, which is wound round the body and 
under the crotch and looped over, hanging down in front. Feather head- 
dresses of a number of different designs are worn by men on festal occa- 
sions. Men tie the prepuce with a firmly wound string and wear a string 
belt. 

Elaborately decorated woven belts with hanging ema feathers are worn 
for wrestling matches. Bird down is glued on the shoulders, arms, and 
legs. Body painting is very elaborate, and designs covering the entire 
body are carefully executed with genipa. Uruct is spread generally, with 
accents on the cheekbones, the nose, and the upper arm. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Carajdé manufacture elongated dugouts, neatly adapted to landing 
and freeing their craft among the sandbanks. 


MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—Bark cloth is made of Apeiba bast, soaked, beaten with 
flat stones, and dried until it becomes very soft and white. 


d J. Anglin 
Ficure 20.—Carajd manufactures. a-d, Pottery; e, wooden scoop. (Redrawn from 
Ehrenreich, 1891 b, figs. 5 and 14.) 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 185 


Basketry.—The Caraja excel in the variety and solidity of their plait- 
work, which includes burden baskets, strainers, shoulder bags, bottles, 
elliptical feather cases, and boat-shaped containers for suspension. Twill- 
ing and twining are the dominant techniques (pl. 22). 

Textiles.—The Carajd produce some taffetalike fabrics, but in 1775 
Pinto da Fonseca found them using cotton solely for fish nets and bow- 
strings, so that he himself introduced a loom and taught the women how 
to work it. 

Featherwork.—In contrast to their Ge neighbors of Eastern Brazil, the 
Carajé are outstanding for featherwork. They make wide-meshed and 
close-meshed caps with feathers tied to the intersection of the interlaced 
splints and arranged into rosettes, diadems of feathers stuck into radially 
mounted cane tubes, and other types of ornaments (pl. 21). 

Axes.—Stone axes figure in old Caraja petroglyphs and have been found 
by many travelers in the area. They were used for adzing, chopping, and 
warfare, and as chief’s badges. Iron axes have rapidly replaced them. 


SOMO 
I» YW tM Yo 


Js 


a 


Fic srE 21.—Carajé manufactures. a, Labrets; b, comb; c, pipe. (Approximately % 
actual size.) (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, figs. 2, 9, and 4.) 


186 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Weapons.—The Caraja use bows and arrows (pls. 20, bottom, left; 
21, left and center), and their mythology indicates aboriginal use of the 
spear thrower for hunting monkeys. Recently, they have used a spear 
thrower of the upper Xingu River type for sport. 

Pottery.—Pottery vessels include several forms of plain ware (fig. 20). 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The kinship structure may be described as double descent. Both lines 
are important, the greater emphasis falling on the mother’s line, and both 
lines serve different functions. Village citizenship, adoption, and the 
closest affectional ties are reckoned in the mother’s line. Moiety member- 
ship and the offices of chief, priest, and food-divider are patrilineally 
inherited. 

The fundamental unit of social organization is the village. Every 
village has one or more iold, children of chiefly line, designated by the 
chief for preferential treatment by the members of the village. The chief 
names the iold who is to succeed him or, if he fails to do so, the village 
makes the choice at his death. Girls of chiefly line are similarly chosen 
for preferential treatment ; each of them is known as the “hidden woman.” 
There is some indication that women functioned as chiefs in former 
times, but today there is no woman chief. The chief has no coercive 
powers but directs the village by recognizing the will of the majority in 
such matters as the selection of camp and garden sites and the announce- 
ment of a move at change of season. His principal function is to act 
as peacemaker, and people readily submit to his adjudication. Because 
of the importance of religious ceremonials, the priest and the shaman 
frequently exercise more authority than the chief. When all three offices 
are vested in a single individual, his authority may be considerable, but 
it is kept in check by the right of a discontented person to move at any 
time to another village. 

Within the village the important unit is the household. Residence 
being matrilocal, a household.consists of sisters, their husbands, children, 
and the husbands of grown daughters. Marriage is restricted to one’s 
own generation, the preferred mate being a cousin on the mother’s side. 
There is no sanction but ridicule against wrong marriages, and there 
are many cases of cross-generational marriage. Marriage is predomi- 
nantly monogamous, but a few instances of polygyny and one of poly- 
andry were encountered. The avunculate is very important and involves 
many social and especially ceremonial duties. Cooperation in the house- 
hold is close and in the village fairly close. In addition, villages are 
grouped together in ceremonial units, generally consisting of three or 
four neighboring villages, which celebrate important feasts jointly. This 
ceremonial unit acts as an insurance group when a village’s crop fails 
or its fish supplies grow scarce. Beyond this, the only intervillage ties 


Pare 20.—Caraja house and physical types. Top: House. (Courtesy Uni- 
versity Museum, Philadelphia.) Bottom, left: Warriors. Bottom, right: Girls. 
(After Ehrenreich, 1891 b.) 


(BIydyjapeyit ‘UMesny AVISIOATU ASO04IN0/ sodA} eleiwej— fe ALVI 
 BTYQTepelg IW Ay TU /) + } Bl @) 1G d 


Puarr 22.—Caraja paddles, gourds, and basketry. (After Ehrenreich, 1891 b.) 


me, A y 


Lar ere | 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 187 


are the product of intermarriage and formal friendship. Intervillage 
feuds are common and are restrained only by the religious community, 
sanctuary being granted at all religious ceremonials. 


ETIQUETTE 


All dealings with visitors are conducted according to elaborate formal 
patterns. The language is rich in formal appellations, exclamations, and 
honorific phrases. The most remarkable feature is that women are per- 
mitted to behave with perfect freedom, whereas men, until they become 
fathers, behave with a shy and deferential modesty resembling but exceed- 
ing that of the Victorian maiden. Normal relations between members 
of the same village are formal and dignified; only in the men’s house 
or on fishing and hunting trips is the behavior of men relaxed enough 
to permit horseplay and casual joking. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth and Childhood.—The child gets two sets of names, one 
male and one female, as soon as the mother is known to be pregnant. These 
are one’s own names given by grandparents of both lines. Taboos in 
regard to diet and behavior are required of both parents before and after 
birth. There is a well-developed couvade based on the notion of an 
intimate connection between the infant and its father. Babies are nursed 
until they turn to other food of their own volition; sometimes ridicule 
is used as a sanction against particularly recalcitrant children. No inter- 
course is allowed during the period of lactation. Babies are carried on 
the hip, and sleep with the mother until weaning, when they are paired 
off with other children or with a grandparent. The girl child wears 
no clothing until weaned and then receives a fringed belt. 

Puberty and initiations.—At menstruation, a girl’s cheeks are scari- 
fied and she assumes the girdle. 

A boy passes through a first initiation at about the age of 8 or 9, 
when his lower lip is pierced and a small bone labret inserted. A couple 
of years later, he passes through a second initiation, when his hair is 
cut short to a tonsure, his entire body is stained black with genipa, and 
he assumes the penis cord. When his hair has grown out to shoulder 
length, it is put up in a braid, and he attains full status as a young man. 

The next change of status for both boys and girls occurs at marriage, 
when, for the first time, they take on the responsibilities of regular work. 
Teknonymy is a matter of pride and follows the birth of the first child. 
The name is retained permanently thereafter, even though the child should 
die. At about 45 both parents discard their ornaments and accept the 
status of old age. All the above age grades are named and involve dif- 
ferential behavior and dietary observances. 

653333—47—15 


188 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Death.—At death, the soul becomes a wild ghost if the person has been 
violently killed and a regular resident of the village of the dead if he 
has suffered a quiet death. A shaman’s soul is translated to the skies. 
Mourning puts an end to all religious ceremonies and is celebrated by 
self-laceration, the destruction of property, and daily keening. There 
is separate burial in formal cemeteries for those who died quietly and 
those who died violently. The corpse is wrapped in a mat with his 
weapons and ornaments, and the mat is hung in a shallow grave covered 
by poles (fig. 22). Food and drink are provided for a short period. 
After the next change of season, the bones are exhumed and placed in 
a family urn. 


is 06",8 6? BaP 6YAGe Oar ar ere, 


OSPOKSO 
<5 ROK 
SKS 
SNe 
XS 


‘ 
—— me 4 > ter, 
———— ms 5 =e. “A baal une nh) 


Ficure 22.—Carajd burial. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, fig. 16) 


WARFARE 


The Caraja are good fighters and have maintained themselves since 
prehistoric times in a territory surrounded on all sides by warlike enemies. 
Their usual tactics are waiting outside an enemy village at night and 
attacking at dawn. In defense, they run to the nearest water, where they 
are unbeatable. They use the bow and arrow and club, and are skilled 
wrestlers. They cut off a foot bone of a dead enemy and carry it back 
to their village; this places them in control of the ghost, who now be- 
comes a caretaker of the village and is impersonated in a special dry- 
season ceremony. At one such ceremony there were two Tapirapé ghosts, 
three Chavante, one Cayapd, and one Neo-Brazilian. Present-day war- 
fare is largely with the Chavante, the Cayapo, and the Canoeiro. Now 
and then a Neo-Brazilian may be killed by stealth to avenge a personal 
grievance. No captives are taken except women and small children, 
who are treated as full members of the group. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Decorative art is confined to woven designs on baskets and mats, 
feather ornaments, elaborate masks with superimposed feather designs, 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 189 


J. Anglin 


Figure 23.—Carajdé wax and clay dolls. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, pl. 12.) 


190 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


small clay dolls (fig. 23), delicately carved clubs, body paint designs, 
and a little painting and incising of pottery. 


Ficure 24.—Carajd masks. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 b, figs. 18, 22.) 


Music and dances.—The major art of the Carajd is music. A large 
number of elaborate dances with complex songs, each dance having a 
separate song style, make up the chief body of the music. These are 
all religious. In addition, there are some secular dances, and songs are 
interspersed in the tales. Musical instruments are very few, there being 
only a rattle accompanying the singers and a small flute which is used 
as a toy. 


Vol. 3] THE CARAJA—LIPKIND 191 


Games.—Of numerous games, the most important is a formal wrestling 
match which is an indispensable part of most religious ceremonies and 
of all intervillage visits. 

Narcotics and stimulants.—Like the other tribes in this region, the 
Caraja have no alcoholic beverages. They smoke tobacco in short cylindri- 
cal pipes (fig. 21, c). They are heavy smokers, some of the children 
beginning before they are weaned. 


SUPERNATURALISM 


Cults.—Carajd religion consists of two distinct cults: a cult of the dead 
and a mask cult (fig. 24). The cult of the dead, which is under the 
direction of the priest, has for its object the placation of ghosts by a 
periodical ceremonial which comes to its climax in several large calendrical 
feasts. The most important of these feasts is the Big House Feast, 
which is celebrated shortly after the beginning of the rainy season. All 
the villages which comprise a ceremonial unit come to the one village 
where the feast is conducted. There is a great mass of ceremonial 
addressed to various classes of ghosts, but the central portion of the 
ceremony is the impersonation of animal ghosts. Another important 
feast, already mentioned, occurs at the height of the dry season and is 
directed toward the control of enemy ghosts. Two other feasts held 
in the dry season are chiefly for the entertainment of the ancestors. 

The mask cult is concerned with the worship of another class of 
supernaturals. It consists of an elaborate routine of feasts, interrupted 
only by death. In these feasts, conducted by the shaman, the super- 
naturals are impersonated in the complex dances mentioned above. 

The two cults are independent of each other and are both strictly 
men’s cults. Any women intruding upon the secrets of the cults is sub- 
jected to gang rape and remains a wanton thereafter. 

Shamanism.—A shaman is trained by apprenticeship to an older 
shaman. A certain amount of medical lore is taught but the essence of 
the training is learning how to communicate with supernaturals in a state 
of trance. 

There is a considerable amount of sorcery. The main technique is 
bottling a supernatural being into a small image and then directing it into 
the body of the victim. As almost all deaths are interpreted as the result 
of sorcery, feuding is continual. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Castlenau, 1850-59; Ehrenreich, 1891 b; Krause, 1911. 


i 
a 
i 


Pr 


Bn : Ah hey 
RRS 
fi A H 


THE TURIWARA AND ARUA 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE TURIWARA 
LANGUAGE, TERRITORY, AND HISTORY 


Turiwara (“those of the Turi’”—the meaning of Turi is unknown) is 
the name used by this tribe and by the Tembé (map 1, No. 1; see 
Volume 1, map 7). The Amanayé say Turiwa or Turiwa. 

The Turiwara language is a Tupian dialect of the He- group, and 
scarcely differs from the Urubu dialect, which has suggested the possi- 
bility that the two tribes are local divisions of one people. That there 
is a river named Tury in the present habitat of the Urubu, and that an 
Urubu group is called “Turiwara” is no proof of this possibility. Be- 
cause the Urubui migrated to the Tury River, from Maranhio, only at the 
beginning of the 20th century, whereas the Turiwara had left Maranhao 
half a century earlier, the Urubu band named Turiwara can have no 
connection with the Turiwara tribe. 

The first record of the Turiwara language is a list of personal names 
and their explanations compiled by Meerwarth (1904), who, however, 
confused forms of the Lingua Geral with those of the Turiwara dialect. 
The only published vocabulary consists of 103 words (Nimuendaju, 
1914 c). 


In the 18th century, a tribe named Turiwara was noted on the lower Tocantins 
(Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1812, p. 8; Villa Real, 1848, p. 431). (Lat. 4°S., long. 48°W.) 
It spoke Tupian, judging by the names of their two chiefs in 1793: Tatahi (tata-i, 
“little fire’) and Areuanajii (arawana = a fish, Ichnosoma sp. + yu, suffix for 
persons’ names). 

According to Tembé tradition, the Turiwara crossed the Gurupi River from the 
present State of Maranhao shortly after the Tembé, probably between 1840 and 
1850. In 1862, they lived in three villages on the Capim River below the Acarajugaua 
Rapids: Suacupepora with 30 persons, Cauaxy with 15, and Cariucaua with 60. In 
1871, the Pracateua Mission (Assumpcao) was founded on the Capim River with 
500 (600?) Tembé and Turiwara. The following year, the murder of the missionary 
to the Amanayé put an end to the Christianization (see p. 200). (Cunha, 1852, p. 82; 
Brusque, 1862, p. 12; Cruz, 1874, p. 47; Souza Franco, 1842.) This evidently 
prompted the Turiwara to move from the Capim River mission to the Acara 
Grande River, where, in 1868, a large part of the tribe had already been established 
near Miritipirange (Gama Malcher, 1878, p. 102). In 1885, there were 100 Turiwara 
here, and 71 more on the left bank of the Acara Pequeno (Baena, 1885, p. 28). In 


193 


194 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


1899, Meerwarth (1904), the sole source of ethnographic information about the 
Turiwara, visited the tribe on the Acara Grande River. They lived then in 8 places 
below the Grande Rapids. In 1914, they numbered about 100, and all were on the 
Acara Grande. In 1942, only 14 survived (Arquivos da Inspectoria do Servigo de 
Proteccado aos Indios). 

The Turiwara were, according to Meerwarth, visited from time to time by mer- 
chants (regatdes), mostly Portuguese, traveling in canoes. The merchants cheated 
the Indians outlandishly (Meerwarth, 1904). 


CULTURE 


Farming.—Manioc, cotton, urucu, and some bananas and oranges were 
cultivated. 

Houses.—The house was a long, rectangular building with gabled 
roof and ridge pole. It had no walls. 

Clothing.—The Turiwara wore clothes of civilized origin, but most of 
the time they went about with the upper portion of their bodies unclothed. 

Transportation.—Houses were connected by overland paths. For 
river travel, the Turiwara had dugout canoes of the “casco” type, which 
were hollowed and the side walls spread more widely apart by heating 
inside and out over a fire and stretching. This is also the Neo-Brazilian 
type. Some canoes had shields fore and aft. The paddle had a crutch 
handle. 

Manufactures.—Meerwarth (1904) lists manufactured objects: Pans 
for flour making, baskets woven of timbo, carrying baskets woven of 
liana with straps for hanging from the head and other straps for hanging 
from the shoulders, painted and unpainted pottery, beautiful hammocks of 
cotton dyed with uruct, gourds (Lagenaria) for holding water and others 
for beverages, braziers which at night they put under their hammocks for 
warmth, bows and arrows for fishing, rifles for hunting, bush knives, and 
iron axes. The women made the hammocks and pottery. The men 
hunted, fished, helped with flour making, and cut wood. 

Social Usages.—The Turiwara were monogamous, though a chief for- 
merly had several wives. A girl’s father or, if she had no father, her 
older relatives gave her in marriage without consulting her wishes. The 
Turiwara practiced the couvade. 

Meerwarth (1904) lists a series of men’s and women’s names which, 
without exception, were nicknames, not true surnames, and referred to 
the person’s favorite food or to some amusing physical or mental 
peculiarity. 

Accompanied by loud monotonous singing and the music of taboca 
flutes and clarinets (toré) made of the trunk of Cecropia, groups of 
Turiwara danced slowly, always singing the same refrain. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


See Amanayé bibliography, page 202. 


Vol. 3] THE TURIWARA AND ARUA—NIMUENDAJU 195 


THE ARUA 


TERRITORY, LANGUAGE, AND HISTORY 


In the 17th century, the Arudé (Arouen, Aroua) occupied the north- 
eastern part of Marajo Island (for Marajo archeology, see this volume, 
pp. 153-159), the islands of the estuary of the Amazon including Caviana, 
and perhaps part of the mainland on the left bank of the estuary. Later, 
they withdrew in part to Brazilian Guiana and the adjacent region of 
French Guiana. This zone consists almost entirely of lakes and flood- 
lands. 

Vifiaza (1892) mentions no less than seven works in and on the Arua 
language, written in the 18th century. Fr. Joaquim da Conceicgao wrote 
two religious texts; Fr. Joao de Jesus, a religious text and a grammar; 
and Fr. Boaventura de Santo Antonio, a grammar. All these have been 
lost. In 1877 in the village of Afua (Maraj6), Penna (1881) compiled 
a vocabulary given by the last Arua of the place, a shaman of about 75. 
Penna thought the language was Cariban, but it is clearly Arawakan, 
though quite different from that of the true Arawak of the Guiana Coast 
and of the Palicur. In 1926 on the Uaca River, the present author found 
no one who spoke the Arua language. Two old Indians, however, gave a 
list of 30 vocables. 

O’Brian del Carpio (ms.), who entered the estuary of the Amazon in 
1621, was the first to mention the name Arud. On Sipinipoco Island (i.e., 
Sapanapok or Caviana, or else one of the adjacent islands?) he learned 
the language which “they themselves called Arrua.” Laet’s map (1899) 
made 4 years later is the first to record an Arouen Island (i.e., Curua or 
another one near it?). At the same time, Des Forest (1899) mentions 
near Cabo do Norte several Arouen villages of “Indians who wear their 
hair long like women.” Later writings and maps distinguish Joanes 
Island (i.e., Marajo) and the Aruans Island or Islands. 

The Arua appeared for the first time in the history of Marajo in 1643 
when a ship was wrecked on the Para River. Father Luiz Figueira and 
other passengers reached the coast of Marajd, where they were killed and 
devoured by the Arud (Moraes, 1860). Berredo (1905, 2:66), how- 
ever, who likes to emphasize the “barbarity and ferocity” of the Indians, 
states that Figueira and others were drowned, and that nine others reached 
Marajé Island, where six of them were killed, but he does not say eaten, 
by the Arua. It seems that the Arua and the other tribes on Marajé 
Island were always hostile to the Portuguese of Belém, although they 
maintained friendly relations and commerce through the estuary of the 
Amazon with other nations, especially the Dutch. Father Antonio Vieira 
(1735-46, 1:135-136) emphasizes several times that the blame for this 
hostility lay with the Portuguese. By 1654, the Arua and “Nheengayba” 
threatened the vicinity of the city of Belém itself (Berredo 1905, 2:95), 


196 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and an expedition was sent against them. (See also Bettendorf, 1910, 
pe 212,) 

These tribes rejected all offers of peace and pardon, and, although 
Berredo stated that the war was ended with the “fatal annihilation of the 
barbarians,’ another armed expedition was in preparation 4 years later. 
Meanwhile, in 1652, Father Antonio Vieira had succeeded in having the 
laws sanctioning Indian slavery abolished. He informed the Indians of 
this and succeeded in making peace before the expedition went afield. 
Among the tribes which in 1659 solemnly made peace on the Mapua River 
and on Marajo were the Arua and their chief Piyé (Peyhé), whose village 
was in Rebordello, on the eastern point of Caviana Island (Vieira, 1735— 
46, 1:135, 151-169). The war was over and Christianization began, but 
the Arua and other Marajo Indians began to migrate to Guiana. The fol- 
lowing century is marked by this migration and by the Portuguese effort 
to prevent it. 

The peace had but a limited effect, probably because the Jesuits, after 
a popular uprising in 1661, were compelled to stop enforcing the laws of 
1652. In 1698, a number of the Arua were declared “undesirable on the 
Northern coast because they were too friendly to the enemy” (the Dutch) 
and were expatriated to Maranhao (Bettendorf, 1910, p. 663). 

In 1701 there was another great conflict with the Arua of Marajo Island, 
who were established in three villages near the mouth of the Paraguary 
(Soure) River by Fr. José de Santa Maria. In the absence of the mis- 
sionary, they were ill-treated by the residents of Belém and by the gov- 
ernor himself, Fernao Carrilho, and left their villages. Upon his return, 
the missionary and Fr. Martinho da Conceigéo went up the Paraguary 
River (Rio de Soure) to repair the damage, but the Indians killed them. 
The following year, a punitive expedition of 60 soldiers and 200 Indians 
captured some 200 Arua. The murderers of the two priests were executed 
in Belém. (Southey, 1862, 5:90; Berredo, 1905, 2:399; Rocha Pombo, 
1905, 6:338.) The same year the Arud of Ganhodo (north coast of 
Marajo) were transferred to the village of the Aroaquis on the Urubu 
River, in the present State of Amazonas. With Arua from the Cabo do 
Norte, another village was founded near Belém (Caia or Monsaras?), 
but the missionary was not able to prevent the escape of the Indians 
(Annaes da Bibliotheca ... I, Nos. 79, 85). 

Twenty years later, the Arud who had escaped to Guiana and obtained 
French support, took the offensive against the Portuguese under a chief 
named Koymara (Guayama, Guama). They attacked the Portuguese 
settlements and for one year occupied the village of Moribira, 45 kilo- 
meters north of Belém. (Rio-Branco, 1899, 2:53, 90, 101; Guajara, 
1896, p. 166; Coudreau, H., 1886-87, 1:220.) These hostilities lasted 
at least until 1727. 


Vol. 3] THE TURIWARA AND ARUA—NIMUENDAJU 197 


From 1738 to 1744, Father Lombard gathered the Maraén and Arua, 
fugitives from the Portuguese missions, in the Ouanari mission, French 
Guiana (Coudreau, H., 1895, p. 274). In 1743, Barrére recorded the 
presence of Arua to the south of Mineur River (Amapa Grande?), stating 
that they had outstanding ability as seamen. From 1784 to 1798, the 
Portuguese depopulated the entire coast between the Amazon and the 
Oyapock, taking the fugitive Indians to Para. As trade invariably attracted 
the Indians to the French, it was essential that the Portuguese depopulate 
a zone between Para and Cayena (Coudreau, H., 1886-87, 1:224). 
Despite great dangers, however, a large part of the prisoners returned 
in their fragile canoes to their refuge in Guiana. It was probably at this 
time that part of the Arua settled on the Uacga River. The persecutions 
stopped in the 19th century. 

The Indians in Maraj6é disappeared during the first half of the 19th 
century. In 1793, Arua were transferred from Chaves (north coast of 
Marajo) to the lower Tocantins, where the village of Murt was founded 
for them between the present Patos and Alcobaca (Almeida Pinto, 1906, 
p. 188). Rebordello counted 279 Indians in 1816, but the last Arua of 
Marajo and neighboring islands disappeared, probably in consequence of 
the revolt of the Cabanos, 1834-36. A nucleus of Arud and Galibi, how- 
ever, settled in Uaca, completely under French influence. With them were 
also some Maraén, Palicur, and Itutan, and French Creoles, Chinese, 
Arabs, and Brazilian Mestizos. In 1854, Father Dabbadie refers to 80 
Aroua on the Uaca River, and in 1891 H. Coudreau (1886) mentions 100. 
In 1925, when the present author spent some time among the 160 Indians 
of the Uaca River, the Arua component was much more reduced than the 
Galibi. There was no longer any vestige of the other Indian components, 
and the only language used was French Creole. 


CULTURE 


When the Galibi and the Arua gathered on the Uaca River, they prob- 
ably brought very little of their own original culture, for both had been 
influenced for nearly a century by the missionaries and other civilized 
people. In consequence, they were greatly influenced by the Palicur, a 
still relatively strong and intact tribe who had become their neighbors. 
The little Indian culture that they still possess is practically identical to 
that of the Palicur. Otherwise, their culture is adopted from the French 
Creoles of Guiana and, to a lesser degree, from the Brazilians. The Servico 
de Protecc&o aos Indios maintains a station among them. 

There is nothing in the literature on the original culture of the Arud. 
The paleoethnological (archeological) material in the urn cemeteries of 
the region do not lead to any precise conclusion. On Caviana Island, 


198 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


stronghold of the Arua during the last phase of their ethnic existence, the 
author investigated five urn cemeteries in 1925. Three of these contained 
glass beads and other European objects. In historic times, only the Arua 
are known to have inhabited the island, but the style of urn is very dif- 
ferent in the three sites mentioned, and there is no certainty as to which 
one belongs to the Arua. Only one thing is common to all: secondary 
burial in urns, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Almeida Pinto, 1906; Annaes ...; Ayres de Cazal, 1817; Baena, 1839, 1885; 
Barrére, 1743; Berredo, 1905; Bettendorf, 1910; Coudreau, H., 1886-87, 1893; Forest, 
1899; Guajara, 1896; Laet, 1899; Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, 1838 (1780-83) ; 
Lombard, 1928; Moraes, 1860; Nimuendajui, 1926; O’Brian del Carpio, ms.; Penna, 
1881; Rio Branco, 1899; Rocha Pombo, 1905; Southey, 1862; Texeyra, 1640; Vieira, 
1735-46; Vifiaza, 1892. 


THE AMANAYE 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU AND ALFRED METRAUX 


LANGUAGE, TERRITORY, AND HISTORY 


The names Amanaj6, Manajé, and Manax6 were used in Maranhio, in 
Piauhy, and on the lower Tocantins; Amanagé in Para. Mananyé is the 
name given by the Turiwara; Manazewa by the Tembé. The self-denom- 
ination, Manayé or Amanayé, has uncertain meaning, but may be Guarani, 
amandayé, an “association of people,’ or amanajé, “alcoviteiro” (Platz- 
mann, 1896). In order to conceal their identity, some groups assumed 
the name of Ararandewd (Ararandewdra, Ararandeuara), “those of the 
Ararandéua [River],” and Turiwd (Turiwara), the name of a neighbor 
tribe. 

On the Amanayé language there have been published only two small 
vocabularies, both in 1914: Lange’s and Nimuendaju’s. It is the most 
distinctive of the Tupi dialects of the He- group. As far as can be ascer- 
tained from the vocabularies, there is no difference in the grammar. 

The Amanayé (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7) always occupied 
the upper Pindaré, the Gurupi, and the Capim Rivers, the middle Moju 
River, and the central part of the right bank of the lower Tocantins below 
the mouth of the Araguaya, and were found only rarely away from this 
region (lat. 4° S., long. 48° W.). 

They are first mentioned in 1755 when they made an agreement with the Jesuit 
P. Daniel Fay (Tray? Tay?), of Acama (Mongo), a Guajajara village of the 
Pindaré River. They had evidently had previous contact with civilized people, for 
they avoided all Whites except the Jesuits. 

According to Ribeiro de Sampaio (1812, p. 9), in 1760, a large band of Amanayé 
moved peacefully southeast to the Alpercatas River, and settled near the village of 
Santo Antonio. By 1815 there were only 20 of this group, and they were mixed with 
Negro blood. The last mention of this village was in 1820 (Francisco de N.S. dos 
Prazeres, 1891, p. 132). A part of this band evidently continued its migration in 1763 
across the Parnahyba River into Piauhy (Alencastre, 1857, p. 6), but its subsequent 
fate is not known. 

In 1775, the “Amanajoz” are listed among the tribes of the lower right Tocantins 
(Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1812, pp. 8, 9), and, in 1798, they were seen to the east of the 
Surubijii River (Mendes de Almeida, n.d., p. 104). In 1845, the “Amananin” were 
mentioned as inhabitants of part of the Mojii River by Saint-Adolphe, In 1854, 
they had a village on the Pindaré above the Guajajara village of Sapucaia (Marques, 


199 


200 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


1864), but by 1872 the village had been moved to the Tucumandiua, a western 
tributary of the Gurupi River (Dodt, 1873, p. 132). In 1862, the Amanayé had two 
villages with 60 people on the Ararandéua River, western tributary of the Capim 
River, which has subsequently been their center. 

In 1872, Fr. Candido de Heremence began to convert the Amanayé, Tembé and 
Turiwara of the Capim River. With 200 Amanayé, he founded the Anauera Mission 
(Sao Fidelis) on the left bank of the Capim River, below the confluence of the 
Ararandéua and the Surubiji Rivers. The Turiwara and Tembé, being hostile to 
the Amanayé, were established together farther downstream. The next year, the | 
Amanayé killed Fr. Candido and a Belgian engineer, Blochhausen, because during a 
trip the latter dealt severely with the Amanayé crew and injured the chief’s son. 
(Souza Franco, 1842, p. 22; Cruz, 1874, p. 47; Moreira Pinto, 1894; Nimuendaju, 
unpublished notes.) Reprisals against the Amanayé for these murders drove them 
to take refuge in the region of the Ararandéua River. Today some of them still 
avoid contact with the civilized people. Others appeared later under the name of 
“Ararandewara’ or “Turiwara’ to conceal their identity. 

In 1889, the surviving Anambé and Amanajo, almost wiped out by epidemics on 
the Arapary, lived by the last rapids of the Tocantins River (Ehrenreich, 1892, 
p. 149). 

In 1911, Inspector L. B. Horta Barboza, of the Servigo de Proteccdo aos Indios, 
found four Amanayé villages with more than 300 inhabitants on the left bank of the 
Ararandéua River. In 1913, another, more primitive part of the tribe, calling itself 
Ararandewara, was visited by Algot Lange on the upper Mojtt River, at approxi- 
mately lat. 4° S. He has published the only description of the Amanayé (Lange, 
1914). 

During several decades at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 
20th, the most important person among the Amanayé of the Ararandéua River 
was a mulatto woman named Damasia, wife of a member of the tribe. In 1926, 
Nimuendajui saw a small group of Amanayé, who called themselves Ararandewd (ra), 
in Munduruct at lat. 3°55’ S. They had a plantation on the Mojtt River. In 1942, 
only 17 persons, mostly Mestizos, survived in the group headed by Damasia’s son 
(Arquivos da Inspectoria do Servicgo de Proteccao aos Indios, Para, 1942). These 
people stated that another group lived away from all contact with the civilized 
people, on the Igarapé do Garrafao, a left tributary of the Ararandéua River. In 
1943, Nimuendaju found a small group of Amanayé, who had been living for several 
decades, in contact with Neo-Brazilians, on the upper Cairary, a tributary on the 
left bank of the lower Mojtt. They called themselves Turiwa(ra). 


CULTURE 


Subsistence.—The Amanayé cultivated manioc, cotton, and tobacco in 
forest clearings. One clearing measured 1,000 by 1,300 yards. These 
Indians also hunted, especially turtles, which were abundant. Turtles not 
consumed at once were kept in small corrals. 

Dogs and chickens were introduced by the White man. 

Manioc was prepared in a special hut; the tubers were crushed in a 
trough made of the miriti palm trunk, pressed through a coarse-meshed 
fiber sifter, then kneaded into balls which were allowed to ferment on a 
platform. Subsequently, the paste was squeezed in the cylindrical tipiti, 
or manioc squeezer, after which the dry pulp was crushed and spread on 


Vol. 3] THE AMANAYE—NIMUENDAJU AND METRAUX 901 


a hot clay pan with slightly upturned edges. Brazil nuts might be added 
to manioc flour to improve its taste. 

Dwellings.—The Amanayé village that Lange visited had 26 houses “‘of 
a very low order, some not having a proper roof, built around a small area 
of bush cleared forest.’’ The only furniture was small cotton hammocks. 


Clothing.—Amanayé men wore nothing but a short cotton string tied 
around the praeputium, while women wore only a narrow loincloth. 

Men’s ornaments included little wooden sticks in the lower lip and tur- 
key feathers stuck in colored cotton bands around the head. Women wore 
“garter-like cotton bands below their knees and on their ankles; .. . 
some of the youngest maidens insert ornaments made of the ivory nut in 
their ear lobes” (Lange, 1914). 


Boats.—Dugout canoes, 35 feet (10.6 m.) long, and 5 feet (1.5 m.) 
wide, were made of trees felled in the forest and dragged to the water on 
rollers by means of creepers. 


Manufactures.—Manioc squeezers were plaited of strong miriti palm 
and tucum fibers. Cotton spindles had a rounded wooden disk. The loom 
was “a simple square frame made of four sticks about 2 feet [0.6 m.]| 
long, tied together with fiber or ordinary bush-cord to form a square” 
(Lange, 1914). Cloth, like hammocks, was loosely twined with a double 
weft. Loincloths were stained red with urucu. 

The only pottery mentioned is the clay manioc pan. 


Weapons.—Bows were large—one being 8 feet (2.4 m.) long and 4 
inches (10 cm.) in diameter—and notched at each end for a curaua fiber 
bowstring. Arrows were tipped either with a bamboo blade or with a 
sharp rod with a few barbs on each side. Occasionally, a small nut which 
produced a whistling sound was fastened near the tip. Arrow feathering 
was either of the eastern Brazilian arched or of the Xingu sewn type. 

Stone axes, used until recently, had carefully ground, quadrangular 
heads of diorite with a notch running along the face near the butt. The 
head was inserted in the split end of a shaft of pao d’arco and lashed 
with heavy fibers, then covered with the black gum from the jutahy tree. 

Fire making.—Fire was made with a fire drill. Two men working 
together could make a fire in 2 minutes. 

Social and political organization.—Lange observed an Amanayé 
chief whose weak personality suggested that he must have inherited 
his position. Lange gives no other information on political or social 
organization. 

Prior to marriage, young men proved their fortitude by plunging an 
arm into a braided fiber cylinder that was closed at both ends and filled 
with tocandeira ants. 

Musical instruments.—The Amanayé had a drum that is unusual in 
this area: A long, hollow emba-uba tree trunk was suspended from a 


902 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


horizontal branch by a thin, tough bush rope. While one man beat 


the drum with a stick, “another, probably a shaman, danced around it” 
(Lange, 1914). 


Tobacco.—Tobacco was smoked in huge cigarettes, 1 foot (0.3 m.) 
long and ¥% inch (1.2 cm.) thick, wrapped in tauari bark. These were 
passed around, each man taking a few draughts in turn. 


Drinks.—The Amanayé drank a fermented beverage (probably of 
cassava) called cachiri. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
(AMANAYE AND TURIWARA) 


Aguiar, 1851; Alencastre, 1857; Arquivos da Inspectoria ..., 1942; Baena, 1885; 
Brusque, 1862, 1863; Cruz, 1874; Cunha, 1852; Daniel, 1840; Dodt, 1873; Ehrenreich, 
1892; Francisco de Nuestra Sefiora dos Prazeres, 1891; Gama Malcher, 1878; Lange, 
1914; Marques, 1864; Meerwarth, 1904; Mendes de Almeida, n.d.; Moreira Pinto, 
1894; Nimuendaju, 1914 c, unpublished notes; Platzmann, 1896; Ribeiro, 1848 


(1870) ; Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1812; Servigo de Protecgao aos Indios, 1942; Souza 
Franco, 1842; Villa Real, 1848. 


LITTLE-KNOWN TRIBES OF THE LOWER 
TOCANTINS RIVER REGION 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


INTRODUCTION 


This article will deal with the Pacaja, Anambé, Tapiraua, Kupé-rob 
(Jandiahi), Jacundd, Paracana, and Miraiio. These tribes, most of them 
Tupi-speaking, are now virtually extinct (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, 
map 7). 


THE PACAJA 


Pacajé (Pacajara) means in Tupi, “master (ydra) of the paca” (Coelo- 
genys paca). According to Bettendorf (1910, pp. 97, 111), the Pacajd 
used the Lingua Geral. 


TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


This tribe appears to have centered in the basin of the Pacaja de 
Portel River. It may also have lived in the lower Tocantins River and 
the lower Xingu River where a right tributary is named Pacaja (de 
Souzel) River. (Lat. 2° S., long. 52° W.) 


In 1613, an expedition of French from Sao Luiz do Maranhao and their allies, 
the Tupinamba, passed the Pacaiares River in a campaign against the Camarapin. 
Later, Father Yves d’Evreux (1864) makes a passing mention of the Pacajd. In 
1626(?), Benito Maciel Parente (1874) mentioned them with the Yuruna and other 
tribes between the Pacaja and “Parnahyba” (Xingu) Rivers. In 1628, the Pacaja 
were “appeased” (Berredo, 1905, 1: 229, 231) by Pedro da Costa Favella on his 
expedition to the Tocantins (Pacaja?) River. Bettendorf (1910, p. 97) recounts with 
some exaggeration that at their first meeting the Pacajd and the Tupinamba an- 
nihilated each other. In 1639, the Pacajd are mentioned by Acufia (1682, p. 139) as 
inhabitants of the Pacajé River. Between 1656 and 1662, an ill-fated expedition 
went in search of mines on the Pacaja River, and the Jesuit Father Joao de Souto 
Mayor, who accompanied it, died (Berredo, 1905, 2: 115). It resulted, however, in 
the Pacajd entering a Jesuit mission (Arucara or Portel?), from whence a large 
part escaped again to their own land. The others were sent to distant missions 
(Bettendorf, 1910, p. 98; Joao Daniel, 1841, p. 182). In 1763, the Pacajd are men- 
tioned for the last time by De Sao José (1947, p. 490) as one of the 13 tribes consti- 
tuting the population of 400 in the village of Portel. 

In 1889, Ehrenreich (1891 a, p. 88; 1892, p. 149) was told of the existence of 
savage Pacajd at the headwaters of the Uanapi and Pacaja Rivers near Portel, 
a statement not subsequently confirmed. 


653333—47—16 


203 


204 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 


Acuna (1682, p. 139) and Bettendorf (1910, p. 97) considered the 
Pacaja brave and warlike. P. Sotto Mayor (1916) accuses them of can- 
nibalism. In warfare, they eat the enemy which they kill by hand, and 
keep the skulls as trophies. Some 100 years later, Joao Daniel (1841) 
describes them as “very soft and lazy” (i. e., for work in the mission). 
The women wore short skirts and the men short trousers, which they 
might have adopted from the runaway slaves who settled at the head- 
waters of the Pacaja River (?). They were a canoe people; at their 
encounter with the Tupinamba, they came “in over 500 canoes” —evidently 
an exaggeration. 


THE ANAMBE 
HISTORY AND TERRITORY 


The Anambé (“anambe”’ in the Lingua Geral is applied to a considerable 
number of species of birds, Cotingidae) were, by contrast to the Pacajad, 
a modern tribe, which appeared and disappeared during the past century. 

The Anambé language, according to Ehrenreich’s vocabulary, was a 
Tupi dialect of the He- group, very similar to the Tembé-Guajajara and 
Turiwara. If the texts of legends in the Lingua Geral published by 
Magalhaes (1876) were, as he says, dictated by Anambé, this tribe was 
bilingual, and at the time did not use its own language. 

The Anambé’s (lat. 4°-5° S., long. 50°-51° W.) first contact with the civilized 
people was in 1842 (Brusque, 1862, p. 12). In 1852, they appeared on the left bank 
of the Tocantins River (Cunha, 1853, p. 18); they numbered 600. Another group 
lived in the village of Taua at the headwaters of the Cururuhy, a tributary of the 
upper Pacaja River, but it was in contact with the first byway of the Caripy River, 
a tributary of the Tocantins a little above Alcobacga. A village of 250 Curupity (?) 
and Anambé on the upper Pacaja River was at war with the Carambu (Brusque, 
1862, p. 12). In 1874, this village was reduced to 46 persons. The following year 
37 of them died of smallpox, and the 9 survivors joined their fellow tribesmen on 
the Tocantins River. 

In 1889, Ehrenreich found a remnant of four completely civilized Anambé in 
Praia Grande, at the end of the Tocantins rapids. Moura (1910, p. 106) mentions 
Anambé in 1896 and shows a picture of two men. The supposed “Anambé’ seen 
by H. Coudreau in 1897 were Arara. The tribe is today completely extinct. 


THE TAPIRAUA 


The Tapiraua (tapiira, “tapir”), or Anta, lived west of Itaboca Falls 
in 1889 (Ehrenreich, 1891 a, 1892).1 Each time they came to the shore 
of the Tocantins, they were driven back by gun shots. They still used 
stone implements. 

In 1896 or 1897 (Moura, 1910, p. 192), two “Tapiri,” or Anta, ap- 
peared a few kilometers below Timbozal. They had short hair and their 


1 The distance from the Tocantins is given as 3 to 4 days’ travel (Ehrenreich, 1891 a, p. 88), 
and as 1 day’s travel (Ehrenreich, 1892, p. 148). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER TOCANTINS—NIMUENDAJU 205 


ears were pierced by tiny holes, but they lacked tattoo. This tribe is not 
subsequently mentioned by name, but it may possibly be the same as the 
Kupé-rob. 


THE KUPE-ROB 


A pinayé tradition relates that a tribe called Kupé-rdb (Kupeé, “Indians,” 
ie., non-7imbira, plus rob, “jaguars”) or, in Portuguese, Cupe-lobos, 
lived below them on the Tocantins River (lat. 5° S., long. 50° W.), and 
that the Apinayé occasionally attacked them to obtain European-made 
white beads before the Apinayé had begun to trade with the civilized 
people. The Kupé-rob perhaps are identical with the Jandiahi who, in 
1793, lived below Itaboca Falls (Villa Real, 1848, p. 426), and, in 1844 
(Castelnau, 1850, p. 113), lived on the west shore near Itaboca Falls. 
At the later date, they were hostile to the Jacundd and to the Christians, 
and only rarely were met by travelers. Baena (18/0) mentions their 
habitat as Lake Vermelho, at lat. 5°10’ S., west of the Tocantins and 
below the mouth of the Araguaya. In 1849, Ayres Carneiro (1910, pp. 
78-79, 81, 84, 90-91) found famished and lean Cupe-lobos on the Can- 
hanha beach, near the Igarapé do Pucuruhy, lat. 4° 10’ S., where they 
were persecuted by the Apinayé. In 1896, this tribe appeared peacefully 
in the Rebojo de Bacury, a little above Itaboca Falls, hunting and fishing, 
and using apites (labrets?) of glass (?) or worked stone (Moura, 1910, 
pp. 160, 193). Above Timbozal (a little above the mouth of the Pucuruhy 
River ), they had an old village site. 

H. Coudreau (1897 b, p. 43 and map) had a report in 1897 of un- 
identified Indians on the upper Igarapé do Bacury. The year before 
these Indians had come in contact with the civilized people. They were 
at first peaceful but soon became hostile. 

In 1922, eight wild Indians appeared on Volta Grande, on the left bank 
of the Tocantins. Both sexes had their hair cut all around, and wore a 
little stick through the ears. The men had their foreskin tied with an 
embira string, and the woman wore a band of the same material. The 
children were carried in a sling under the arm. The belly of the bow was 
flat, the outer side, convex. The bow string was made of curaua 
(Bromelia) and the arrows had flush feathering. A hammock was made 
of fibers. 

One of the men, taken to Belém seriously ill, gave the author a list of 
16 words. The language was Tupi of the He- group, definitely distinct 
from Ehrenreich’s Anambé and from Amanayé. As the material culture 
of these people did not correspond to that of the Paracand, it is possible 
that they were the Kupé-rdb survivors. Also, it is possible that the 
Indians who occasionally came peaceably to the post of the Servico de 
Proteccao aos Indios on the Pucuruhy River were not Paracafia, as sup- 
nosed, but Kupé-réb. The people at the post noted that they called cer- 


206 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


tain plants and animals by Tupi names, similar to those of the Neo- 
Brazilians. In 1942, unknown Indians were again seen in the Igarapé do 
Bacury, and it may be that the tribe still exists around there. 


THE JACUNDA 


At the end of the 18th century and during the first half of the 19th 
century, the Jacundd lived on the Jacunda River, which empties into the 
Tocantins from the right below Itaboca Falls (lat. 4° 27’ S., long. 49° 
W.). The name designates a fish (Crenicichla sp.). Meneses’ diary 
(n. d., p. 175) ascribes to these Indians “red eyes, just like those of a 
certain fish by the same name.” 

The only record of the Jacundd language is the names of two chiefs of 
1793: Uoriniuera, which is a Tupian word (warinikwéra, “old war’), 
and Claxira, which is contrary to Tupi phonetics. A map of Brazil of 
1846 states: “Jacunda, tractable people who speak the Lingua Geral” 
(Niemaeyer, 1846). 


The Jacunda were first mentioned by Villa Real (1848, pp. 424-426, 432) in 1793, 
when they lived at the headwaters of the Igarapé Guayapi (Jacunda River?) and 
occasionally appeared on the eastern bank of the Tocantins. Another igarapé 
(water passage) above Itaboca Falls was also inhabited by the Jacundd, who had a 
port at its mouth. According to Villa Real, the Jacunda had two chiefs. Meneses 
(1919, p. 175) mentions the Jacundd in 1799 on the Igarapé of Jacunda, and Ribeiro 
(1870, p. 37) mentions them in 1815 among the tribes of the Tocantins River. 
According to Castelnau (1850), they lived in 1844 on the right bank of the Tocantins, 
above Itaboca Falls, and were hostile to the Jundiahit (Kupé-rob?) of the opposite 
bank and to Christians, who rarely saw them. In 1849, they were said to be peaceful. 

In 1849, Ayres Carneiro (1910, p. 45) saw 30 to 40 Jacundd, including women and 
children, on the Ambaua beach, a little above the present Alcobacga, on the right 
side of the river, but they fled into the jungle. Henceforth, their name disappears, 
and, since 1859 the Gavides, a Timbira tribe of the Ge group (Handbook, vol. 1, 
p. 477), has occupied their region (Gomes, 1862, p. 496). Ehrenreich, however, 
mentions the Jacundd in 1889, 30 years after they had probably become extinct. 


THE PARACANA 
HISTORY 


In 1910, an unknown tribe of savage Indians appeared on the Pacaja 
River above Portel. Their repeated attacks on the Arara-Pariri caused 
the latter to abandon their territory on the Iriuana River, a left tributary 
of the Pacaja, and to take refuge with the Neo-Brazilians on the lower 
Pacaja. The Pariri called this tribe Paracana (lat. 4°-5° S., long. 50°- 
51° W.). Perhaps it was the same tribe that, under the name of Yauariti- 
Tapiiya, was hostile to the Anambé of the Pacaja River during the last 
century (this volume, p. 204). At first they were at peace with the Neo- 
Brazilians, and at times helped them pass Cachoeira Grande Fall of the 
Pacaja River. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER TOCANTINS—NIMUENDAJU 207 


According to information obtained from the Pariri in 1914, the 
Paracana call thunder, “tumpo” (Tupi, tupa), and water, “i” (Tupi, i). 
The Paracana language is, therefore, possibly a member of the Tupian 
family. 

During the 1920’s, the Paracanad began to appear on the left bank of the 
Tocantins, above Alcobaga. They were pretentious and demanding, and, 
though they used no weapons, they frightened the residents away and 
pillaged their houses. After 1927, they became openly hostile toward 
the civilized residents. They would come shooting arrows, and every 
year they killed people, but they did not mutilate the bodies nor take 
trophies. Civilized people attributed this hostility to the entrance of nut 
gatherers into the regions west of the Tocantins. After one of these at- 
tacks, the head of the Alcobaca Railroad ordered a punitive expedition, 
which surprised and killed the Paracana in their camp. This incited the 
Paracané to attack even within sight of Alcobaga and to extend their raids 
north to Juana Peres and the upper Jacunda River. During the last 
two years, however, their raids on the Tocantins side have for an unknown 
reason ceased completely. 

While on the Pacaja, these Indians were always known as Paracana, 
a name given to them by the Pariri. It was wrongly believed on the 
Tocantins that they were Asurini from the Xingu River. 


CULTURE 


Clothing and ornaments.—The Paracané cut the hair around the head 
and wore a wooden peg through the lower lip. Several items of apparel 
are among 142 Paracané objects in the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi. 
There are short cotton women’s skirts, 18 inches (45 cm.) long, made 
with a twined weave, the weft elements a finger’s breadth apart. The 
warp runs all the way around each garment, the cloth being tubular, like 
that produced by the “Arawak” loom. Some strings of red cotton 
threads are probably pectoral ornaments. There are necklaces of black 
tiririca (Scleria sp.) seeds, alternating with fine tubular bones. A 
child’s (?) headband is made of close-looped cotton string with a strip of 
Neo-Brazilian cloth and 15 macaw tail feathers carelessly attached. A 
comb is made of 12 teeth bound with thread between two pairs of sticks; 
the wrapping is not ornamental. Jingles, probably worn below the knee 
or on the ankle, are made of piqui (Caryocar sp.) nuts hung on cotton 
thread. 

Basketry.—A rectangular basket of the “jamaxim” type for carrying 
objects on the back has the outer side and the top end open. The side 
against the carrier’s back and the bottom have a twilled weave and black 
zigzag designs; the outer sides have a fine, open octagonal weave, the 
strips running in four directions. 


908 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Weaving.—A hammock 58 inches (1.8 m.) long, is woven of twined 
cotton strings and of strings taken from hammocks stolen from Neo- 
Brazilians. The weft elements are 3 to 4 inches (7 to 10 cm.) apart. 

Weapons.—Arrows have camayuva shafts, 54 to 66 inches (1.4 to 
1.7 m.) long, and sewn feathering which is bound with fine thread and 
frequently decorated with small toucan feathers. Three types of heads are: 
(1) Lanceolate bamboo blades, 24 inches (70 cm.) long and about 2 inches 
(5.5 cm.) broad at the widest point. These are smeared with black paint 
on the concave side and a few specimens bear a crude black design on the 
convex side. Just behind the point, some arrows have a palm coconut, 
about 114 inches (4 cm.) in diameter, perforated with a row of as many 
as nine holes around it. (2) Bone points, either without barbs or with a 
barb on one or both sides. (3) Plain, rodlike wooden points. The bow 
is of paxiuba wood, very wide (5 cm., or 2 in.), flat (1 to 2 cm. thick), 
similar to the Asurini bow. It is about 159.5 cm. (62 in.) long. The 
ends are cut with shoulders, to hold the cord, 5 cm. and 11.5 cm. respec- 
tively from the ends. 

Fire.—Torches are made of cotton cords or of Neo-Brazilian cloth, and 
are impregnated with beeswax. 

Musical instruments.—A set of panpipes has 8 tubes, ranging from 
5Y% to 10 inches (12 to 26 cm.) in length and 5 to 12 mm. in diameter 
and held together by two parallel ligatures of Neo-Brazilian cotton. 


THE MIRANO 


Rivet (1924, p. 689) places a Tupi tribe of Miravio Indians “between the 
Acara and Capim Rivers at the headwaters of the Bujaru.” On the 
map of the State of Para by Santa Rosa, the “Indios Miranhios” appear 
on the left margin of the Capim River, at lat. 2°30’ S. There was never 
any tribe by this name, however. Among the Tembé there was a large 
family called “Miranya.” The present author found members of this 
family in the Indian village of Prata as late as 1916. Since the place 
where the Miraio was supposed to be settled coincides almost exactly 
with the old Tembé village of Mariquita, it is probable that the so-called 
Mirano were in reality Tembé. 

According to Métraux (1928 a, p. 22), “Amiranha” is a synonym of 
Jacundd. The Amanayé of the Ararandéua River spoke to the present 
author in 1913 about a tribe called Mirdn, but they could not tell him 
where they were settled. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1682; Ayres Carneiro, 1910; Baena, 1870; Berredo, 1905; Bettendorf, 1910; 
Brusque, 1862; Castelnau, 1850; Coudreau, H., 1897 b; Cunha, 1853; Daniel, 1841; 
Ehrenreich, 1891 a, 1892, 1895; Gomes, 1862, Maciel Parente, 1874; Magal- 
haes, 1876; Meneses, 1919; Métraux, 1928 a; Moreira Pinto, 1894; Moura, 1910; 
Niemaeyer, 1846; Nimuendaju, 1939; Ribeiro, 1870; Rivet, 1924; Sao José, 1847; 
Sotto Mayor, 1916; Souza, 1874; Villa Real, 1848; Yves d’Evreux, 1864. 


LITTLE-KNOWN TRIBES OF THE LOWER AMAZON! 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE ARACAJU 


In 1668-69, an expedition, led by Major J. de Almeida Freire, started 
out along the Tocantins River against the Poqui Indians, who lived 8 days’ 
march from its banks. On the way back, the expedition passed the 
Aracaju and brought back many bows and arrows, “with some wide and 
long shields, covered with beautiful feathers” (Bettendorf, 1910, p. 32). 
Gat, 4°)S., long. 52° W.) 


In 1679, P. Jodoco Peres, of Jaguaquara (north side of the Amazon, above the 
mouth of the Part) sought the Aracaju% who were “in the wilds of the Tocanhapes,” 
ie., the right side of the lower Xingu, south of the Amazon. In 1680, P. Antonio 
de Silva went by way of the bayou (Pacaja de Souzel River) and the backwoods 
of the Tocanhapes, and brought some 400 Indians down to the Indian village of 
Cussary (in front of the present Monte Alegre, on the right side of the Amazon). 
Shortly thereafter, in 1681, however, Bettendorf tells about being received by the 
chiefs of the Aracaju in Jaguaquara, where these Indians had made a large house, 
which they abandoned because the land there was very poor for agriculture (Betten- 
dorf, 1910, pp. 324, 335, 337). By 1681, therefore, the Aracajz% were no longer in 
Cussary, south of the Amazon, but in Jaguaquara, on the northern side. It seems 
that they settled on the Parti River, where their presence is mentioned in 1702, when 
the Commissary of the Capuchins, Fr. Jeronymo de Sido Francisco, transferred 
Indians from five tribes, among them the Aracajti, to the new Indian village of the 
Aroaqui on the Urubt River (Ferreira, 1841). 

Martius found in 1820 that the Aracaju and Apama comprised the population of 
Almeirim (Spix and Martius, 1823-31, 1:324). The few Aracaju still at liberty 
lived on the Part River in small isolated Indian villages. Although at peace with the 
Brazilians, they could rarely be persuaded to live among them. They were rather 
dark Indians, with no distinguishing characteristics. Their weapons were not 
poisoned. They were constantly at war with the “Oaiapis” (Wayapi) of the upper 
Jary and Iratapuri Rivers and with the Cossari of the Araguaya River. Subse- 
quently, no further mention is made of them. 


Martius, who tends to explain all names by the Lingua Geral, interprets 
Aracaju as uara-guagu, “great people.” He considers “wara” to be a 
substantive, meaning “man” or “people,’”’ whereas it is really a personal 
ending. The vocabulary (1863, p. 17) which he collected in Gurupa also 
calls forth the following remarks: Of his 53 words, 24 are clearly Tupi 


1 Map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7. 


209 


910 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


and 21 no less clearly Carib, while 8 cannot be definitely identified. The 
Tupi words belong to the Lingua Geral, not to some special dialect, and, 
therefore, probably do not represent the tribe’s original tongue but the 
language which they learned at the mission. The Carib words are not 
identical with those of the Aparai, as Rivet thought (1924, p. 660), though 
they have greater resemblance to the dialects north of the Amazon than to 
those of the south (e.g., Arara, etc.). Because the Aracaju% came from 
the south of the Amazon, one reaches the conclusion that these Carib 
words also do not represent the original Aracaju language, but that they 
were acquired through contact with some Carib tribe after they lived north 
of the Amazon, and that their own original tongue has been lost entirely. 


THE APOTO 


In the Aparai language, apotd means “fire,” and thus Araujo Amazonas 
and Ignacio Accioly write the name of a tribe which is also called, probably 
by a mistaken transcription, Apanto and Apauto. The few references to 
this tribe are all based on that of Christdbal d’Acufia in 1639 (1682), 
wherein he states that four tribes lived on the Cunurizes (Nhamunda) 
River, the first having lent its name to the river on the mouth of which 
it lived, and the second, above the mouth, being the Apoté tribe “which 
speaks the Lingua Geral.” This is all that is known about these Indians. 


THE PAUXi 


Three sources give slight information about a tribe or tribes called 
Paust. 

(1) The Pauzxi (pausi, paushi, undoubtedly a Carib word meaning 
“mutum,” Cracidae sp. ; cf. Pausiana, a Carib tribe on Caratirimani River), 
according to Bettendorf (1910), spoke the Lingua Geral. It was settled 
in the region of the Xingit River. Between 1658 and 1660, the Jesuit, 
P. Salvador do Valle, brought more than 600 of this tribe to the Indian 
village of Tapara, on the right side of that river, almost at its mouth. 
There is no further notice of them. 

(2) The “Fort of the Pauxis” was founded in 1697 on the left bank 
of the Amazon, where the present-day Villa de Obidos is situated, and 
Pauxis is today still the name of a lake just below this village. Near 
this fort there were two small Indian villages which, in 1758, were com- 
bined with another from farther away in the Villa de Obidos (Moraes, 
1860, p. 508), but nothing further is known of the tribe or tribes which 
lived there. P. Fritz (1922), in 1690, speaks of the tribe of the “Cunur- 
izes” (map of 1691) exactly on the spot where the fort was to be built 
6 years later. 

(3) When O. Coudreau (1901) mapped the “Cumina” River (Erepe- 
curt) in 1900, a descendant of fugitive slaves living on this river informed 
her that a tribe of Indians called Pauxi (pronounced pauSi, paushi) lived 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AMAZON—NIMUENDAJU 211 


in the headwaters of the Agua Fria, Penecura, and Acapu Bayous, right 
tributaries of the Erepecurt River, a little above its mouth. According 
to this information, the tribe had first lived in Obidos, but before the 
coming of civilized people, it retreated to the Erepecurtii River, then to 
the mouth of the Penecura River, and, finally, to the headwaters of this 
river. After 1877, its relations with the fugitive slaves had been broken. 
From the same informant, Coudreau obtained a list of 38 words. The 
language is Carib, but it differs from the dialect of the Kaswena (Cash- 
uena) of the Cachorro River, their nearest neighbors, and from that of 
the Pianocoto of the upper Erepecurt (Coudreau, O., 1901, pp. 132-133). 
The Pauxi no longer exist. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1682; Berredo, 1905, vol. 1; Bettendorf, 1910; Coudreau, O., 1901; 
Ferreira, A. R., 1841; Fritz, 1691, 1922; Martius, 1863; Moraes, 1860; Rivet, 1924; 
Sao José, 1847; Spix and Martius, 1823-31, vol. 3. 


Soe LM 

ait Sed | Rarer G ayiloech (rel eS 

* bois YEE di erst) eat Cone 
sede ees tew hiner Ritasth tered pea estate Ae a 
Seton Vat cows peed) sol ee deectindies OP ender A 
aft abiow apita! gil. hortetde hehe (eradiiemr til wanes c ; 
ney cata al Ase Hla retort Crete nit Ae a 
rosuihiunesw? tee & ‘ ; ; jee ri@oneatht ts ' I 


ae, MYL ~~ ere) ) Wethee 14 


ee ie 


TRIBES OF THE LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU RIVER 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


GEOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 


The Xingu Basin, as far south as lat. 7° S., is exclusively characterized 
by Amazonian virgin forest, whose wealth of rubber and nuts attracted 
the attention of civilized man. From that latitude south or upstream, 
savannas appear, becoming more and more predominant southward, until 
the forest is reduced to a narrow border along watercourses, sometimes 
even encroaching upon the river banks. 

It is rolling country. The “Morro Grande” of the Xingu River rises 
to some 975 it. (300 m.) above the level of the river. The watercourses 
are interrupted by rapids and the Xingu River beyond Volta Grande 
is one of the most difficult rivers in Brazil to navigate. Over long 
stretches the bed of the river is filled with enormous rocks cut through 
by channels full of rapids. The Iriri River is of similar type. 

The tribes (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7) of this region may 
be classified according to these geographical features into three groups. 

(1) Canoeing tribes restricted to the Xingu, Iriri, and Curua Rivers: 
Yuruna, Shipaya, Arupai. 

(2) Tribes of the central virgin forest: Curuaya, Arara, Asurini, and, 
formerly, Tacunyapé. 

(3) Savanna tribes that only temporarily invade the forest zone: 
Northern Cayapd, which were dealt with in Lowie’s paper on “The 
Northwestern and Central Ge’ (Handbook, vol. 1, pp. 477-517). 


CULTURAL SUMMARY 


Farming, with manioc the staple crop, was the basis of subsistence 
among all these tribes except perhaps the Arara, who were less clearly 
horticultural. Caimans, turtles, honey, and Brazil nuts were outstanding 
wild foods. The Yuruna, Shipaya, and Tacunyapé built large communal 
dwellings in isolated places for fear of attack. Excellent canoemen, the 
Yuruna and Shipaya lived along the rivers, whereas the other tribes kept 
to the forests. Houses were furnished with wooden stools and ham- 
mocks. Dress included breechclouts (?) (Curuaya), women’s wrap- 
around skirts, and men’s penis covers ( Yuruna and Shipaya), and women’s 


213 


214 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


aprons (Tacupyapé). Ornaments were the usual Tropical Forest types: 
feather headdresses, arm and leg bands, necklaces, ear sticks, nose 
pendants (Arara), and lip plugs (Curuaya). Among manufactures, 
which suffered because of much nomadism enforced by warfare, were: 
Cotton textiles (Yuruna); ceramics, which are usually plain; incised 
gourds (Shipaya) ; and stone axes. The bow and arrow was the main 
weapon. 

The sociopolitical unit was the village, seemingly patrilineal in organiza- 
tion and in descent of chieftainship. There was little polygyny and family 
ties were very strong. Intertribal relations involved intermittent warfare, 
with cannibalism ascribed to the Yuruna and Shipaya and trophies more 
general. The latter include skulls (Yuruna, Shipaya, Curuaya), bone 
trumpets (Yuruma), tooth necklaces (Shipaya), and scalps (Arara). 

These tribes drank much fermented liquor, but had no drunken brawls. 
The Yuruna smoked tobacco in cigarettes. Musical instruments include 
panpipes; shaman’s gourd rattles; gourd horns; gourd, wooden, and 
human-skull trumpets; bone flutes, clarinets, and whistles. The pre- 
dominating art motif is the maze; sculpture reproduced mythical 
personages. 

Shipaya and probably Yuruna religion was based on a cult of the jaguar 
demon, who was the patron of war and cannibalism, and a feast of the 
dead, in which men and women drank chicha. The Tacunyapé had a 
similar feast. The shaman, in the capacity of priest, served as inter- 
mediary between people and demons and souls. As medicine man, he 
cured, without the aid of supernatural spirits, by sucking, massaging, 
and blowing cigarette smoke to remove the disease-causing substance. 


LINGUISTIC AFFINITIES 


Of the tribes on the lower and middle Xingu, the Avara stand apart 
as Cariban. Their speech is so close to Yaruwmd (Paranayuba River, a 
tributary of the right bank of the upper Xing) as to permit the hypothesis 
of a common ancestral tribe, the Arara turning north, the Yaruma south, 
perhaps separating under Cayapo pressure (Ehrenreich, 1895). 

All other tribes are Tupi. To be sure, there is not the slightest record 
of Asurini speech, but an English missionary conversant with Guajajara 
who spoke with a young Asurini woman captured by the Gérotire com- 
mented on the resemblance of her tongue to the language familiar to 
him. Accordingly, Asurini may be reckoned as probably Tupi. About 
the remaining languages we can be more positive. 

Martius (1867) and Lucien Adam (1896) challenge the Tui relation- 
ship of Yuruna, which is accepted by such competent authorities as Betten- 
dorf, Von den Steinen, and Brinton. Closer study leads me to the 
provisional conclusion that Yuruna, Shipaya, Manitsaud, and perhaps 
Arupai form a special division of impure Tupi languages. Lexical Tupt 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 215 


elements in Yuruna are conspicuous, though often obscured by alterations 
so that correspondences are proved only by comparison with Shipaya and 
Manitsaud equivalents. Contrary to Adam’s assumption, there are also 
important grammatical features of Tupi type, though less numerous than 
might be inferred from the large percentage of Tupi vocables. However, 
the Yuruna group does differ greatly from Tupi proper, especially in the 
pronominal system. The present author tentatively recognizes four com- 
ponents: (1) A Tupi foundation, even anciently modified by strong 
influences due to (2) Arawak, and in lesser degree to (3) Carib languages ; 
to these must be added (4) recent loans from the Lingua Geral. 

Shipaya differs so little from Yuruna as to permit, with some trouble, 
mutual intelligibility. Some two dozen words differ radically ; otherwise 
regular shifts appear: 


Yuruna Shipaya 
pi a si 
pe = Se, Si 
bi, be = zi, ze 
c = t 
za = ya 
bi == dyi 
Thus, we have: 
Yuruna Shipaya English 
pinapa sinapa comb 
pe se in (post- 
position) 
abi azi back 
abi adyi 3 Indian 
ca ta to go 
za ya name 


The grammatical divergences are insignificant: The imperative differs ; 
the negative ka of Shipaya corresponds to Yuruna poga and teha; Yuruna 
regularly forms the future with the auxiliary verb ca (to go), whereas 
Shipaya has recourse to adverbs. 

The Arupai spoke Yuruna. They are in no way connected with the 
Gurupd of the Tocantins River and the Urupd of the Gy-Parana. 

Curuaya resembles Mundurucu as closely as Yuruna does Shipaya. 
In some cases it preserves primitive Tupi forms better than Mundurucu. 

The Tacunyapé, according to the Jesuits, spoke the Lingua Geral, 
whereas Von den Steinen credits them with a Tupi dialect appreciably 
distinct from Yuruna. The present author found no Tacunyapé-speaking 
Indians, but three Neo-Brazilians, formerly resident in the area and during 
the last 20 years of the last century in close contact with the tribe, dic- 
tated 34 words and phrases, probably badly garbled. Though diverging 
considerably from the standard Lingua Geral (final t’s!), their Tupi re- 
lationship is beyond doubt. 


216 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


PREHISTORIC PEOPLES 


Not only along the Xing River and its larger affluents, the Iriri and 
Fresco Rivers, but also along the smaller tributaries and subtributaries, 
are found vestiges of a vanished population, whose culture differed from 
that of the tribes found in the 20th century. The impression is that these 
tribes formerly occupied all of the jungle region of the Xingu Basin. 
These vestiges comprise: 

(1) Dwelling sites found on points of solid land jutting out to the 
edge of the water and easily recognized by their “black earth,” a cultural 
layer containing fragments of pottery and stone instruments. 

The pottery can be distinguished at first sight from that of present-day 
tribes. On the lower Xingu and lower Iriri Rivers it is rich in plastic 
adornment, recalling somewhat the pottery of the Monte Alegre region 
or even of the Tapajd. The pottery of the middle Xingi River and its 
affluents is plainer, with little plastic or engraved ornamentation, and is 
not uniform. On the Igarapé das Flechas River, a tributary of the upper 
Curua River, two small stone statuettes were found, one representing a 
beetle, the other a man. 


(2) Cemeteries. In the same “black earth” are found burial remains. 
In the streets of Porto de Moz and Altamira, there may be seen the 
mouths of urns covered by other vessels; Panellas, a little above Altamira, 
owes its name to such findings. In Porto Seguro, at lat. 7° 10’ S., ona 
permanent island of the Xingu River, funeral urns are found, and among 
them superficially buried skeletons, lying stretched on their backs. Be- 
cause of their size, all these urns could have served only for secondary 
burials. 

The presence of funeral urns distinguished the culture of the Xingu 
Basin from that of the neighboring Tapajo and its affiliates. 

(3) Petroglyphs. Along the Itamaraca and Cajituba Falls of the Volta 
Grande do Xingu, at Caxinguba (lat. 5° 20’ S.), and along the lower 
Pacaja and upper Iriri, the figures of men, of animals, and of unknown 
meaning are engraved on the surface of the smooth rocks. The most 
important are those at Itamaraca, already known to the first Jesuit 
missionaries in the 17th century, and one in Pacaja. 

(4) Monoliths. Ina stony stretch of the Xingu River, at lat. 7° 20’ S., 
are eight more or less vertical small stone pillars, which are from 1 to 2 
meters (3% to 6% ft.) in height and are roughly broken off but not 
carved. There can be no doubt as to their artificial origin. 

(5) At various points of the middle Xingu and of the lower Iriri Rivers, 
there may be found about 50 piles of small stone blocks on the slabs of 
the falls. 

Stratification.—Downstream from Volta Grande, these remains must, 
at least in part, be ascribed to the tribes which were encountered by the 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 217 


first explorers. Above this point, however, there is a hiatus between the 
prehistoric and historic peoples. The Indians of today know nothing of 
their origin. When the Yuruna, Shipaya, Arupai, and other tribes ap- 
peared, the sedentary potters no longer existed, probably having been 
annihilated by the expanding Northern Cayapd, who, coming from the 
open country of the south, spread throughout the Xingu Basin. When 
the Tupi tribes appeared, they found the Cayapo already there, for their 
traditions always make them coexistent, no story accounting for their 
appearance. These Tupi tribes, with the exception of the Curuaya, the 
westernmost tribe, succeeded in penetrating and inhabiting these regions— 
incidentally, with great difficulty—only because they were excellent boat- 
men and occupied the islands of the great rivers, while the Cayapo made 
only very primitive craft, which they used exclusively to cross the rivers. 


HISTORIC TRIBES 


These populations disappeared, and no chronicler has left us any 
information of ethnographic value about them. The chart of Joannes 
de Laet (1899), dated 1625, shows the presence of Apehou on both sides 
of the mouth of the Xingu River; in the Tupi language of the “He-” 
group, Apehou means “man” (apihaw). After 1639, the Jesuits began 
to establish themselves on the Xingu River, but no one knows what Indians 
composed their missions. The first missionary, Luiz Figueira, preached 
in 1636 in Tabpinima (the modern Itapinima?) to Indians ‘who were 
not well versed in the Lingua Geral,” i. e., Tupi-Guarani, and founded 
the Xing mission later called Itacurugé and today known as Veiros. 
Shortly after, five more missions were established. Old chronicles and 
maps (Heriarte, 1874 [written in 1662]; Samuel Fritz, 1922 [map of 
1691] ; Bettendorf, 1910 [written in 1699]) refer specially to three tribes : 
the Coani, the Guahuara, and the Guayapi. The last two spoke the Lingua 
Geral. These three tribes probably inhabited the western side of the 
river. At that time the Parana of Aquiquy, an offshoot of the Amazon 
that flows into the Xingu, a little above Porto de Moz, was known as 
the “Coanizes River.” The Guayapi were settled for a time at the be- 
ginning of Volta Grande; in 1763, they and the Yuruna were still reported 
at Freguezia de Souzel. Most of this tribe, however, seems to have 
emigrated earlier to the north of the Amazon River, probably by way 
of Jary, and established themselves on the Oyapock River, where they 
are mentioned after 1729. The Guahuara tribe in 1688 had 22 villages 
in the interior of the central forests (sertao). From Bettendorf one gets 
the impression that this tribe is identical with the Curabare or Curuaya. 

In the 19th century, writers no longer spoke of Indians on the lower 
Xingu River, because the survivors had fused with the semicivilized pop- 
ulation which spoke the Lingua Geral. 


918 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


THE YURUNA 


Synonyms.—Juruna, Juruina, Juruhuna, Geruna (from the Tupi- 
Guarani, yuri, “mouth,” plus una, “black’’) ; self-designation and Ship- 
aya, Yudya (meaning?); in Curuaya, Parawa-wad (parawa, “blue 
macaw,” plus wad, “people’’) ; in Arara, Paru-podeari (part, “water”) ; 
in Cayapd, No-irén (no, “water’’). 


History, territory, and number.—The first reference to this tribe is found in a 
memorial written by Maciel Parente (1874) in 1626: “. .. the island between the 
Pacaja branch [of Portel] and the Parnahyba [Xingu] . .. where are situated the 
provinces of the Pacajaras [Pacaja], Coanaptis [Anapu], Caraguatas [?], and Juru- 
hunas.” (Lat. 5°-6° S., long. 53° W.) 

Afterward, during the entire 17th century, we learn only of the more or less vain 
attempts to reduce the Yuruna to the secular or clerical regime. The chronology of 
these happenings is, however, very doubtful. An expedition from Sao Paulo 
descending the Xingi was attacked on one of the islands of the river; only two 
tame Indians escaped, the rest being killed. An expedition commanded by the 
Captain-General of Gurupa, Jodo Velho do Valle, composed of 100 musketeers and 
3,000 tame Indians, was driven back with heavy losses. In 1655 or 1657, the Jesuits 
were able to settle two large divisions of the tribe in villages in Maturi (Porto de 
Moz); this work was, however, interrupted by the first expulsion of the order in 
1661. Later (1665?) the Jesuits took some Yuruna and Tacunyapé to the villages 
of the lower Xingu, but the majority returned to the plains. In 1666 (?), the 
Yuruna defeated another party. Between 1682 and 1685, the Yuruna and Tacunyapé 
defeated an expedition of tame Indians and Caravare (Curudya) led by Gongalves 
Paes de Araujo, inflicting great losses. Then the Yuruna started out in 30 war 
canoes to attack the civilized population. In 1691 or 1692, the Jesuits failed in an 
attempt to reopen relations, the Yuruna killing every one sent out to them. 

According to Father José de Mello Moraes (1860), the Yuruna were settled in 
four small villages on islands of the Xingt, 30 leagues from its mouth. As he sets 
the distance between the mouth and the first falls at 40 leagues, the Yuruna were 
still 10 leagues below those falls. These tribes must have early abandoned this 
place, however, retreating to above the falls of Volta Grande, where the Jesuits (in 
the middle of the 18th century?) also had the mission of Anauera or Tauaquéra, 
a little above present-day Altamira. The missionaries were finally expelled by the 
Indians, who were dissatisfied with their strictness. 

During the following 150 years, there is no record of the tribes above Volta Grande, 
which seem to have been left to themselves, protected by the dangerous falls and by 
their reputation as ferocious cannibals; as late as 1831, their attacks were feared 
above Souzel. In 1841, the Vicar of this village, Torquato Antonio de Souza, made 
a new attempt to establish a mission in Tauaquéra, which, after a few years, seems 
to have been abandoned. 

In 1843, the Yuruna, by that time completely tame, were visited by Prince Adalbert 
of Prussia, guided by Father Torquato. At that time they lived in nine small villages 
between Tauaquéra and a point 1 hour above Piranhaquara. There was no village 
in Volta Grande, but the Yuruna paid friendly visits in Souzel and knew a little 
Tupi-Guarani. Father Torquato reported their number as 2,000, which would 
average 222 to each village; possibly 200 would come nearer to the truth. 

In 1859, the Government of the Province of Para initiated again the catechization 
of the tribes above Volta Grande; however, the first attempt was a failure. At this 
time the number of Yuruna, in three villages, was calculated at 235. This mission 
was kept up until about 1880, with, it seems, little success. In a fairly detailed 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 219 


report by President Carlos de Araujo Brusque (1863), apparently based on informa- 
tion given by the missionary, the total number of Yuruna in that year was 250. 

When Von den Steinen descended the Xing in 1884, this mission was no longer 
in existence. Two hundred and five Yuruna inhabited five villages between “Pedra 
Preta” (lat. 4° 40’ S.), above Piranhaquara, and lat. 8° 30’ S., a little below Pedra 
Seca. These Indians still maintained their independence, and their original culture 
was almost intact. The civilized population had not yet reached the mouth of 
the Iriri. 

When H. Coudreau visited the Xingi in 1896, the situation of the tribe was 
completely changed. The 150 Yuruna, except for a group which had fled a little 
beyond Carreira Comprida, had fallen into servitude to the rubber gatherers, whose 
authority was extended to above the mouth of the Triumph River. Another small 
group, led by Tuxaua Muratt, lived in Cachoeira Jurucua, in Volta Grande. The 
two largest groups, working for Raymundo Marques in Pedra Preta and the 
Gomes Brothers in Caxinguba (lat. 5° 20’ S.) were composed, respectively, of 15 and 
30 persons. 

In 1910, a rubber-plantation owner crossed Carreira Comprida and settled a little 
below Pedra Seca. The Yuruna refugees there came under his authority, tried to 
flee upriver, but were pursued with firearms. Later, impelled by poverty and by the 
attacks of the Cayapd, part of them returned, but in 1916 they once more fled to 
the upper Xingt never to return. They settled near the mouth of a tributary of the 
left bank, a little above the Martius Falls, where they were still found in 1928 by 
G. M. Dyott’s expedition. They number about 30 Indians. Probably there are also 
survivors in Volta Grande of Tuxd4ua Muratt’s family. 


THE SHIPAYA 


Synonyms.—Juaicipoia, Jacipoya, Jacipuyd, Javipuya, Acipoya, Achu- 
paya, Achipaye, Axipat, Chipaya. Self-designation and Yuruna: Shipay 
(shipa, bamboo for the arrowheads, plus -i, suffix of the collective plural 
of persons). In Arara: Chipay. In Cayapd: No-irén (Yuruna). In 
Kuruaya: Pardwawad (Yuruna). 

Physically, culturally, and linguistically, the Shipaya are the closest 
relatives of the Yuruna, being in many respects indistinguishable. 

History, territory, and number.—The Shipaya (lat. 5° S., long. 55° W.) were 
first made known to civilization by the Jesuit priest, Roque Hundertpfund, who (in 
1750?) went up the Xingi and the “River of the Jurunas” (Iriri), on a preaching 
tour of the Curibary (Curuaya) and Jacipoya (Shipaya). Whereas the Yuruna 
had for more than two centuries maintained themselves on a constant defensive 
against civilized people, the Shipaya had until after 1880 remained quietly in their 
own region without contacts with the civilized world. Kletke (1857), Brusque, and 
H. Coudreau mentioned them, but did not visit them. The first scientist to have 
direct and lengthy contact with them was Emilia Snethlage, in 1909, and especially 
in 1913. In the latter year she set the total number of Shipaya at several hundred, 
an estimate perhaps too high, since in 1918 only about 80 individuals were left. 
Today there may be only about 30, scattered in Largo do Mutum and Pedra do 
Cupim on the lower Iriri, and, mingled with a few remaining Curuaya, in Gorgulho 
do Barbado, on the lower Curua, at about lat. 6° 30’ S. 

From remote times the Shipaya inhabited the islands of the Iriri River, from 
the mouth of the Curua downstream. They never settled farther up, for fear of 
Cayapé attacks. Later, about 1885, the Cayapé forced them to evacuate their 

653333—47—17 


220 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


settlements at the great falls of the Iriri, between lat. 4° 50’ and 5° S. and to 
take shelter in the Curua, settling in the Gorgulho do Barbado, which they only 
temporarily abandoned in 1913, after a bloody encounter with the rubber tappers. 
Since then they have always been divided into two local groups: on the lower Iriri 
and on the Curua. 


THE ARUPAI 


This tribe is only known through information given by other Indians, 
as it became extinct before direct contact with civilized people. Prince 
Adalbert von Preussen in 1843 heard of them as enemies of the Yuruna. 
Brusque’s report (1863) refers to them as Urupaya, and devotes a small 
chapter to them, which I quote here, since it is the only literature on this 
tribe. 


This is a relatively numerous tribe, and although peaceable and relatively free 
of bad habits, it is extremely distrustful and suspicious in its relations with in- 
dividuals of other nations. Its habits and customs are the same as those of the 
Tucunapeuas, with whom they have close bonds of friendship and trade. Since 
the Tucunapeuas from time to time meet the caravans which go up the Xingu 
River in search of natural products, it is they who obtain from these caravans 
objects which they trade to the Urupayas in exchange for canoes, cotton thread, 
hammocks and chickens. The Tucunapeuas, as intermediates in this trading, charge 
their neighbors a higher price for the objects they sell them—principally agricul- 
tural tools and beads highly prized for ornaments. In general Indians as soon 
as they come into contact with civilized man and learn the use of firearms, do 
everything in their power to get hold of these. The Urupayas, however, although 
acquainted with firearms through the Tucunapeuas, are so terrified by them, that 
they will not go near an armed man. They preserve a tradition from generation 
to generation about an ancient encounter with men who shot at them, causing 
a great slaughter, and this has instilled in them a great horror for firearms. 
They inhabit the most remote islands of the Xingi that anyone knows of. They 
cultivate manioc, cotton, and uruci. They are graceful, have beautiful bodies, 
and a beautiful color, and they are clever and industrious. They obey a “tuxaua” 
(chief) called Juacua. [Brusque, 1863.] 


Since at that time the Xingt was already known at least as far as the 
vuth of the Fresco River, the Arupai must have lived still farther up. 
Approximately, lat. 7° S., long. 53° W.) Also Shipaya tradition places 

-nem on the Xingu, just above the Yuruna. A Shipaya band, which 
anciently migrated to the upper Xingu, fought with this tribe. Accord- 
ing to another tradition, they received a few Shipaya who paid them a 
riendly visit. Finally, during a feast, they were taken by surprise by 
ae Yuruna. The men were killed or captured to be eaten afterward; 
ae women and children were made prisoners. Some escaped upstream, 
ato the sertao, and were never heard of again. The tribe no longer 
=xisted when Von den Steinen descended the Xingt in 1884. 

The name Arupai is derived from Shipaya “arupa” or “aguayé” 


66s 99 


(Eichhorma sp.) plus “i,” suffix of the collective plural for persons. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 227 


THE CURUAYA 


Synonyms.—K uruaya, Caravare, Curibary, Curuari, Curiveré, Curu- 
bare, Curabare, Curuahé, Curierai, Curuara, Curuaye, Curiuaye, Curueye, 
Curiuaia, and Curuaya. Self-designation: Dvyirimdin-id (?). In 
Shipaya, Kirtwai (kiri, “parokeet,” plus wa, “master,” plus “i,” suffix of 
the collective plural). In Yuruna, Kiriwéy (idem). In Munduruct, 
Huiaunyan ; Wiatnen, linguistic variant. 

History, territory, and number.—Between 1682 and 1685, the “Cara- 
vares”’ are mentioned for the first time. At that time a certain Goncalves 
Paes de Araujo, who lived among the tribe, went up the Xingu with a 
few Portuguese, some tame Indians, and Caravare. The party fell into 
an ambush of Yuruna and Tacunyapé, who killed one Portuguese, all of 
the tame Indians, and 30 Caravare. The latter, “showing an insuperable 
courage and spirit rarely found among savages,” managed to cover the 
retreat of the Portuguese and to get them back safely to their own lands, 
although Goncalves Paes was severely wounded. Bettendorf says that the 
“Curabares”’ spoke the Lingua Geral and had 20 villages in the sertao. 
An attempt by Father Joao Maria Gersony to settle them down on the 
Xingu (before 1688?) failed because of the influence of a Portuguese 
named Manoel Paes (the same as Goncalves Paes?), who employed them 
in the extraction of cloves (Dicypellium caryophyllatum). After Paes 
had been killed by the Indians, the Curabare offered to go down by the 
Tapajoz River. This seems to indicate that they were already at that 
time established between the Xingu and the Tapajoz, although much 
farther north than at the end of the 19th century. (Lat. 7° S., long. 
a5 «6W.) 

Father Roque Hundertpfund (about 1750) went up the Iriri River on a 9-day 
preaching tour to the Curibary (Curuaya) and Jacipoya (Shipaya). After a 9-day 
journey upstream, the priest was still a long way from the mouth of the Curua 
River, as it takes 18 days of rowing to get to the Curua from the Xingi. This 
proves again that the Curuaya formerly lived farther to the north. They were 
mentioned several times during the 19th century, but only through information 
given by the Yuruna and the Tacunyapé. According to H. Coudreau, who had no 
direct contact with them, the tribe in 1896 inhabited the forest on the left bank (?) 
of the Curua River. The traditions of the tribe, however, only mention excur- 
sions to the west of the Curua, where they had bloody encounters with the Karuziad 
(Munduruci). The so-called, “Parintintin,’ who until 1883 attacked the Neo- 
Brazilians of the Jamaxim River, and who as late as 1895 went through the 
“seringaes’ of the Crepory and Caderiry Rivers, were probably none other than 
bands of Curuaya.. This would also explain their having objects of civilized 
origin when they first met the civilized people of the Iriri and Curua Rivers. 
Beyond a doubt they themselves consider as their own territory the tributaries of 
the right bank of the Curua River from lat. 6° 30’ S. to 8° 50’ S. (the bayous 
Curuazinho, Baht, and Flechas), where they were found in the 20th century. 
When the Shipaya fled from the Cayapé in 1885, retreating to the Curua River, 
they came into contact with them. By the time E. Snethlage—the only scientist 
to visit them in their own territory—saw them in 1909 and 1913, they were al- 


200 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


ready restricted to the Igarapé da Flecha, and greatly influenced by the Shipaya. 
In 1913, they had two “malocas” on the bank of the Flecha; a third maloca 
12 km. away from the bayou, on the west side; and numbered about 150. In 
1919, they numbered about 120 and inhabited, in small groups of one to four houses, 
the tributaries of the left bank of the upper Igarapé da Flecha, at lat. 8° 30’ S. 
About a dozen of them lived among the Shipaya on the lower Iriri, and scattered 
among Neo-Brazilians. Up to this time the Cayapd had respected the Curuaya 
territory, but from 1918 on they began to extend their incursions to the Curua 
River, and in 1934 they attacked and scattered the Curuaya. The largest group 
of the Curuaya took the road from the mouth of the Riozinho do Iriri to the 
Tapajoz; other groups scattered along the middle Iriri. The remainder, except 
for a few who stayed on the Iriri, live together with the last of the Shipaya 
near “Gorgulho do Barbado” on the lower Curuad. In all, there are perhaps less 
than 30 of them. 


THE TACUNYAPE 


Synonyms.—Taconhapé, Tacoyape, Taguanhape, Tacuafape, Tacun- 
hapé, Taconhapé, Taconhapez, Tucunapeua, Peua. From the Tupi, 
takunya, “penis,” plus “pe,” péwa, “small and flat.” In Yuruna, Tacun- 
yapé. In Shipaya, Tacunyapé. In Kuruaya, Eidum, “honey-eater” (eid). 


History, territory, and number.—In the second half of the 17th century, the west 
bank of the Xingu above Volta Grande was known as the “side of the Jurunas,”’ 
and the Iriri as “River of the Jurunas,’ while the east bank was known as the 
“side of the Taconhapés.” (Lat. 4° S., long. 53° W.) The “River of the 
Taconhapés” was probably the present Pacaja, a tributary of the Xingu. 

In 1662-63, the Jesuits first tried to catechize the Tacunyapé, but three-fourths 
of the Indians who had already descended the river returned to the sertao, be- 
cause the agreement made with them had not been kept. In 1667, again a number 
of Yuruna and Tacunyapé were taken down to the Veiros mission, but these, 
too, soon fled back to their own lands. The third attempt was made, shortly after- 
ward, it seems, by Father Pedro Poderoso. He traveled up the Xingu for 15 days, 
and, having passed the painted stones (of Itamaraca Falls), he arrived at 
the landing place and village of the Tacunyapé, where he was well received. The 
Indians who had already been taken downstream the first time refused to listen to 
any arguments, but many of the others followed the priest. Having been ill- 
treated by the captain-general of Gurupa, however, they returned to the sertao 
and never turned up again. When, in 1682, Father Antonio da Silva went to the 
“River of Taconhapés” in order to bring down the tribe of Aracaju, he made no 
mention of the Tacunyapé. 

In 1685, they joined with the Yuruna in the attack against Gongalves Paes and his 
Curuaya, as well as in the subsequent revolt. Father Samuel Fritz’s map (1691) 
places the Tacunyapé on the right bank of the Xingu, below the “Pacaya River,” 
under lat. 3° S. In 1692, Father José Maria Gersony once more succeeded in gather- 
ing together a large number of Indians of various tribes in Veiros, but, again, 
the intervention of the captain-general of Gurupa destroyed the project, transferring 
the Indians to Maturii (Porto de Moz) and other places. 

In the 18th century, the Jesuits succeeded in settling Yuruna and Tacunyapé in 
the Tacuana (Tauaquéra) mission, a little above present-day Altamira, and in 
1762 and 1784 the Tacunyapé are mentioned as among the Indians settled at Portel. 

That part of the tribe which succeeded in keeping its independence seems to 
have retreated to the middle of the Curua region; that would also explain their 
friendship with the Curuaya. Shipaya tradition says that the Tacunyapé joined 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 2923 


them on the Iriri, having come from the upper Curua, and settled near them, on 
an island a little below the mouth of the Rio Novo. Trouble with the Cayapé 
obliged them to return to their former settlement on the Xingu. There they were 
defeated in 1842 by the Yuruna, losing 10 men. A year later Prince Adalbert found 
their village, one day’s journey above Tacuana, abandoned, and was unable to find 
where the tribe had taken refuge. In 1859, the Tacunyapé reappeared in large 
numbers (500°), and the Government of Para decided to settle them in a new 
mission, which was kept up for some 15 to 20 years. In 1863, the fevers preva- 
lent on the Xingu had reduced them to 150. In 1884, Von den Steinen found 70 
individuals, living on an island at lat. 3° 30’ S., and the rest of the tribe in that 
region became extinct within the next 15 years. In 1894, H. Coudreau still found 
about 40, but that year the smallpox decimated them, and by the end of the century 
the rest had succumbed to measles and catarrh. In 1919, the writer became 
acquainted with a single survivor, who, reared among the Shipaya, had never learned 
the language of his tribe. 

The Tacunyapé became extinct without ever having been studied. We have 
merely scattered references to them in the writings of missionaries and of trav- 
elers who never stayed among them. 

Character.—The Tacunyapé were considered the most tractable Indians of the 
entire region. They received the Jesuits courteously; the chiefs and people went 
out to meet them and made them sit in beautiful hammocks. They were indus- 
trious, honest, and intelligent. It is noteworthy that, while other tribes were con- 
tinually at war one with another, the Tacunyapé were permanently at peace with 
the Curuaya, Shipaya, Arupai, and Arara. 


THE ARARA 


Synonyms.—Apeiaca, Apiacad, Apingui, Pariri. Self-designation: 
Opinadkém, Opinadkom (?). In Yuruna and Shipaya, Asipd (“prop” 
or “support,” on account of their tattooing design). In Curuaya, I-ami- 
tug (1, “their,” plus ambi, “upper lip,” plus tug, “pierced”). In Cayapo, 
Kubé-nyoe (kubé, “Indian,” plus nyde, “woodpecker [?]”). 


History, territory, and number.—In 1853, there appeared for the first time on 
the lower Xingu an unknown wandering tribe which the Neo-Brazilians henceforth 
called Arara, no one knows why. Ehrenreich without further proof considered 
them identical with their namesakes in the Madeira region, and even with the 
Yuma, remnants of which tribe still inhabit the headwaters of the Parana-pixuna, 
tributary of the right bank of the Purts, at lat. 7° S. 

The Yuruna informed me that these Indians formerly lived in a bayou, a tribu- 
tary of the right bank of the Xingu, at the height of Carreira Comprida, perhaps 
the present-day Igarapé da Fortaleza (lat. 7° 30’ S.). From there they had been 
dislodged by the Cayapd. The latter, not the Suyd, are the “Autikas”’ to whom 
the Arara make reference. 

In 1861 and 1862, these Arara of the Xing&i descended below Volta Grande, 
where they were in peaceful contact with rubber tappers for some time. 
At that time they numbered 343, not counting children. In December 1862, they 
made a surprise attack upon the crews of two canoes of Yuruna, their capital 
enemies, killing two and wounding others. A short time later they disappeared. 

In 1884, Von den Steinen saw a captive of this tribe among the Yuruna of 
the fifth village. At this time the Arara lived in the lands to the west of the 
Xingt, from the mouth of the Iriri down. The inhabitants of one Arara village, 
who had lived for a short time with their friends, the Tacunyapé, had died off. 


224 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


In 1894, H. Coudreau, too, was unable to find the tribe. About this time the 
Arara disappeared from the left bank of the Xingu, and gathered at the head- 
waters of the Curuatinga, main branch of the Curua River, which flows into the 
Amazon above Santarém, where they were cruelly persecuted by rubber tappers. 
Perhaps because of these persecutions, they began to work away from the left bank 
of the lower Iriri. In 1897 they killed six rubber tappers in Nazareth, thereafter 
disappearing from that bank for good. In 1914 there was still a dwelling with 
a small clearing of theirs at the headwaters of the Curuatinga. The relations 
between these Arara and the Shipaya were usually bad, with bloody fights and 
kidnapping of each other’s children. 

A short time afterward the few surviving Arara moved upstream on the Iriri, 
toward the lands on the left bank. In 1917 they vainly tried to make peace with 
the rubber tappers a little above Sao Francisco. In 1918 vestiges of these Arara 
were seen on the west bank of the Curua do Iriri, at lat. 7° 30’ S., after which 
no more was heard of them. 

Another band of Arara, which numbered about 30 in 1917, settled on the right 
bank of the Pacaja4 do Xingi River, at lat. 3° 40’ S. They worked for Neo- 
Brazilians of the Pacaja River, who also used them in warring against the Asurini, 
as happened twice about 1922, There may possibly be some isolated survivor of 
this group. There probably is still a small group of Arara on the upper Anapt, 
whose upper course approaches the Pacaja do Xingu. 


Western Arara.—tIn 1869, the first bands of this tribe, numbering 
about 500 persons, appeared peaceably on the western bank of the lower 
Tocantins, lat. 3° S., and were followed by other smaller groups. They 
seemed to live to the west of the Trocara Mountains. “Authorities” 
identified them as Miranya or Apiacd. In 1873, Bishop D. Macedo Costa 
took some of them to the capital. In 1889, Ehrenreich observed some 
of the survivors who were scattered through the settlements along the left 
bank of the Tocantins, almost as far as Cameta. In 1896, Ignacio Moura 
mentions a Captain Peter of this tribe, with his family, who served as a 
guide in official prosecutions of hostile Indians. He is probably the same 
man H. Coudreau saw the following year, who lived with from 12 to 15 
individuals in the Igarapé Ararinha, a little below Breu Branco. 
Coudreau calls these Indians Anembé, but the tattoo he describes and 
the name of the chief make it seem probable that they were Arara. To- 
day none are left. 

In 1910 or 1911, another band of Arara Indians appeared under the 
name Pariri. They were fleeing from the Paracand, a tribe probably of 
Tupi speech living between the tributaries of the Tocantins and the 
Pacaja de Portel, from Cachoeira Grande on upstream. The Pariri had 
settled on the Iriuana, a tributary of the left bank of the Pacaja de Portel. | 
As the Paracandé attacks did not let up, the rest of the tribe was obliged 
to take refuge with the Neo-Brazilians of the region. In 1926 there were 
still a half dozen of them; in 1932, there remained only a boy and a girl 
in the last stages of tuberculosis. 

There is probably still another band of Arara on the Pacajahy River, 
tributary of the left bank of the upper Pacaja de Portel. The Pariri : 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 295 


called them Timirém or Cimirem (red). In 1913 or a little earlier, they 
came into brief contact with some rubber tappers, after which nothing 
more was ever heard of them. 


THE ASURINI 


Synonyms.—Asurini (from the Yuruna, asdneri, “red”), Assurini, 
Assurinikin. In Yuruna, Surini. In Shipaya, Adyi kaporuri-ri (adyi, 
“savage,” plus kaporuri, “red,” kaporuri-ri, “very red”). In Curuaya, 
Nupdnu-pag (nupanu, “Indian,” plus pag, “red’”). In Arara, Nerimd 
(?). In Cayapo, Kubé-kamreg-ti (kubé, “Indian,” plus kamrég, “red,” 
plus ti, “augmentative”). 


Territory, history, and number.—The Asurini appear for the first time in 1894, 
when they attacked a Neo-Brazilian at Praia Grande, above the mouth of the 
Pacaja do Xingu. In 1896 they twice attacked passing canoes in Passahy (lat. 
3° 40’ S.) and again at Praia Grande. In that year an armed band of 30, among 
them the Tacunyapé chief, Ambrosio, pursued the attackers, but did not dare to 
attack their village. Not long after this event Ambrosio was killed and torn to 
pieces by the Asurini. By that time they were known to have settled between the 
Xingu and its tributary, the Pacaja. Toward the south they reached the boundary 
of Morro Grande (lat. 5° S.), with their principal village in the Igarapé Ipixuna (lat. 
4° 40’ S.), 5 days above its mouth. From then till the present, the Asurini have 
remained absolutely inacessible, almost annually attacking whatever rubber tappers 
venture into their territory. By 1917 their attacks on the right bank of the Xingu 
had almost completely ceased, but their hostilities against the civilized population 
of the Pacaja had increased. About 1922, the latter twice furnished the 
Arara with arms and munitions for a war of extermination against the Asurini, 
but with doubtful success. At least part of the Assurini remained at the head- 
waters of the Branco River, tributary of the left bank of the Pacaja (lat. 4° S., 
more or less), and in 1932 they killed a Neo-Brazilian well beyond the former 
limits of their territory, at the mouth of the Igarapé de Bom Jarbim (lat. 5° 30’ S.). 

In 1936, the Gérotire-Cayapd, in their northward expansion, attacked and de- 
feated the Asurini, as proved by the great number of Asurini arrows and orna- 
ments in their possession when, a year later, they made peace with the Neo- 
Brazilians. Survivors probably still exist today between the Xing and Pacaja 
and preserve their hostile attitude. The truth of the matter is that until today 
no one has tried to pacify them. 

H. Coudreau learned that the Asurini were known as “Deer Indians” on the 
Tocantins, where they were peaceable, whereas those on the Xingu were hostile. 
However, nobody ever heard of a tribe of that name on the Tocantins—not even 
Coudreau himself, when surveying that river in 1897. The erroneously named 
“Asurini” of the lower Tocantins are Paracand, who, since about 1926, have plagued 
Neo-Brazilians on the left bank, between lat. 3° S. and 3° 40’ S. Father Wilhelm 
Schmidt’s guess that they are a Carajd subtribe is inadmissible. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


In clearings along the river, the Yuruna and Shipaya raised manioc, 
maize, potatoes, cara, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, pepper, tobacco, gourds, 


996 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


uruct, and genipa. From the manioc they made fermented flour toasted 
in clay ovens set on three stones. According to Emilia Snethlage, the 
Curuaya cultivated chiefly bananas, manioc, and other tubers in clearings 
hidden in the forest far from their homes. When visiting the Tacunyapé, 
Father Pedro Poderoso was given roasted ears of maize, Brazil nuts, and 
cakes of pounded maize which had been wrapped in leaves and cooked 
under hot ashes. The Tacunyapé cultivated manioc and cotton. The 
Asurini also were farmers. 

The Arara were less clearly horticultural. After their defeat and dis- 
persal by the Cayapd, they became nomadic for some time, with unfavorable 
consequences to their material culture, which originally may well have 
been of a higher type before contact with Neo-Brazilians. When the 
Arara first appeared on the Tocantins River, turtles formed their only 
medium of exchange; Neo-Brazilians, therefore, deny that they had any 
knowledge of farming. Perhaps some of the bands had really given up 
planting altogether, but at the headwaters of the Curua do Norte was 
found one of their farm clearings; moreover, they owned objects made 
of cotton and, like their congeners both north and south of the Amazon, 
they had words for “maize,” “tobacco,” “potatoes,” “manioc,” and “beijt.” 

Hunting and gathering were more important to the Curuaya than to the 
Shipaya but fishing was less important. The Curuaya fished with a drug 
made from a liana. The Yuruna, though expert canoemen, did little fishing 
and, dreading to go inland, did little hunting. The Shipaya say that 10- or 
12-year old Tacunyapé boys were expert hunters, never in danger of 
becoming lost in the forest. 

Caimans and turtles were major foods of the Curuaya. For the Yuruna, 
“tracajas” (a turtle species) and their eggs, even when containing em- 
bryos, were an important food. Other foods included various wild roots 
and Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa). The Yuruna also collected the 
“uauacu” nut (Orbignya speciosa). The Curuaya had great skill in ob- 
taining wild honey. 

The Yuruna and Shipaya cooked in pots set on three stones over the 
fire. They cooked fish without first cleaning it. Utensils included pots, 
gourds, cylindrical wooden mortars, which sometimes had a separate conic- 
al base, a pestle with a head on each end, large canoe-shaped wooden 
vessels, and spatulate bases of “anaja” palm leaves (Masximiliana 
regia) used as basins. They ate together, everyone sitting around the 
gourd which held manioc flour and the pot in which fish, hot with pepper, 
had been cooked. 

The only domesticated animals possessed by the Yuruna were dogs 
and chickens. In Von den Steinen’s time, 1884, they were not yet in 
the habit of eating either chickens or eggs. In their huts the Yuruna 
kept a great number of wild fowls and animals. 


99 66 99 66 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 227 


DWELLINGS AND VILLAGES 


Constant fear of being attacked by the Cayapo and other hostile tribes 
forced the Yuruna to build their dwellings almost exclusively on the rocky 
islets of the rapids, where they were safe from the Cayapd, who had no 
skill in handling canoes. In 1843, the largest Yuruna village consisted 
of six dwellings. In 1884, the seven different villages had eight, two, 
seven, three, one, three, and two dwellings, respectively. The Shipaya 
had an even stronger tendency to isolate their dwellings and, although 
houses were sometimes quite near one another, more than two were 
never built in the same place. The Shipaya of the Curua River inhabited 
the right bank, which up to 1918 had not yet been invaded by the Cayapd. 
On the Iriri River their houses were mostly built on the rocky islands 
among the rapids and only exceptionally on the solid ground of the left 
bank, which was less exposed to Cayapo attacks than the right bank. The 
Tacunyapé seem originally to have been a forest- not a river-dwelling 
people, but after their return from the Iriri to the Xingu River they, like 
the Yuruna, Shipaya, and Arupai, began to live on the islands. The 
Curuaya of the 17th century were known as forest dwellers. In contrast 
to the Yuruna and Shipaya, genuine boatmen who never strayed far from 
the islands and banks of the Xingu and Iriri Rivers, the Curuaya avoided 
the banks of the large rivers. The central maloca visited by Emilia 
Snethlage in 1913 consisted of five houses, grouped irregularly around an 
open yard. 

The typical Asurini house was a long, rectangular, tent-shaped structure 
without side walls; one found at the headwaters of the Branco River was 
180 palmos, i.e., 128 feet (39.4 m.) in length. 

The Yuruna had two principal types of dwellings. One type had a 
rectangular or square gable roof, the rafters being set right on the ground 
and curved toward the top. Details are lacking. The other type was a rec- 
tangular hut, the roof of which came close to the ground, with ridge 
pole and perpendicular walls. The first of these dwellings was probably 
the original type. The roof was well-made with “uauagu’” or “‘anaja” palm 
grass, The largest house visited by Von den Steinen measured 24 by 
24 m. (78 by 78 ft.), and 6 m. (20 ft.) in height; others were only 2 by 
4m. (6% by 13 ft.). Inside there was always a sort of loft, formed by 
a scaffolding of poles, to store food supplies, weapons, and utensils. Some- 
times this scaffolding hung from the roof. 

Shipaya dwellings were similar to those of the Yuruna, In 1913, 
Snethlage found the remains of a big, oval-shaped “‘maloca.” The Tacun- 
yapé house Von den Steinen saw in 1884 was “in Yuruna style.” The 
original Curuaya house seems to have been elliptical, with a row of cen- 
tral posts and two lateral rows on either side, decreasing in height. There 
seems not to have been any space between the walls and roof; flexible 
rafters covered with straw gave the houses the look of “long hayricks 


998 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


rounded at the top,” in Snethlage’s description. At each end was a door 
closed with a rush mat. 

Yurana, Shipaya, and Asurini household furniture consisted of benches 
cut out of one piece of wood (fig. 25), with a circular or oval seat and 
two sides forming legs, mats woven of palm leaves, baskets with oval 


Goeldi, Belém.) 


lids made of “uauagu” fiber, and cotton hammocks in which the Indians 
slept at night and sat during the day. The Arara north of the middle 
Iriri River in 1917 made palm-fiber hammocks. Curuaya dwellings were 
not very clean, and all their utensils were dirty and carelessly made. Their 
hammocks were small and made of palm fibers; the technique used is not 
known, but they were not woven. Their benches were crudely made 
and painted. Prince Adalbert speaks highly of the order and cleanliness 
of Yuruna dwellings. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


When still entirely free, Arara men and women were completely 
naked. In 1913, the Curuaya of the central malocas still were naked, 
but those of the river malocas dressed like the Shipaya, that is, men wore 
a belt of glass beads and covered the prepuce with a straw sheath, while 
women wore a woven loincloth. Yuruna and Shipaya women wrapped 
lengths of woven gray cloth around their waists; these were open on one 
side and reached almost to their ankles. Von den Steinen’s prints show 
some women also wearing a kind of cape with wide stripes, apparently 
made the same way. Besides a belt, which seems originally to have been 
of cotton, men wore only the truncate cone of dry “uauacu” fiber of the 
Cayapo and Bororo type which covers the male organs. This was the 
Yuruna style in 1884; 12 years later, their dress was more or less Neo- 
Brazilian (Coudreau, H, 1897 c). Tacunyapé women in 1884 were 
wearing aprons of material bought from civilized people. 

Yuruna, Shipaya, and Curuaya men’s hair hung loose almost to their 
waist, except when women parted it for them, making a pigtail which 
they tied with a gray twist of fibers. On their foreheads, where the 
hair-part started, there was a small circular red spot made with the pollen 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 229 


of sororoca (Ravenala guianensis). The Curuaya often wore bangs. 
The women also parted their hair in the middle, allowing it to hang loose 
behind or tying it in a loose knot. The Arara wore their hair, which 
was brown and wavy, long behind; women’s braids often reached their 
knees. The Asurini cut their hair ear-length. These tribes combed their 
hair with small one-sided combs made from stems. 

The Yuruna made beautiful headdresses of green feathers and diadems 
of parrot and macaw feathers covered with small black feathers at the 
base. The feathers were fastened between two bamboo hoops held to- 
gether by an elastic net about an inch wide. The Shipaya and Curuaya 
made men’s diadems of cotton ribbons with feathers, sometimes fastened 
to straw hoops; those of braided straw in the shape of a hat brim with 
a tail of feathers or straw were used by both sexes. The Gérotire-Cayapo, 
a Ge tribe (Handbook, vol. 1) were found to have feather ornaments 
taken from the Asurini: beautiful diadems made of various overlapping 
tiers of feathers mounted on cotton ribbons. 

Yuruna men wore cotton bands 2 to 2% inches (5 to 6 cm.) wide 
around their upper arms and ankles; these were crocheted on by women. 
At festivals, the anklets were often of beads. Narrower bands were also 
worn by men just below the knees. Boys and men wore a very tight 
beaded belt, preferably blue, from 4 to 6 inches (10 to 16cm.) wide. Both 
sexes from early childhood wore strings of heavy beads around their 
necks and bandoleer-style, crossing in front and behind. Necklaces were 
made of worked peccary teeth. The Shipaya and Curuaya made similar 
bead ornaments, but showed more artistry in embroidering armbands and 
forehead bands with beads. In 1913, the Curuaya, owing to their rel- 
ative isolation, still wore more seed and nut than bead necklaces. 

Arara ornaments in the museum at Para include: A diadem of parrot 
and jap feathers, the base of which is covered with small feathers; a 
braided cotton forehead band with small red feathers ending in two 
long strings; necklaces of black seeds and bones; a pair of cotton arm 
bands; a pair of bracelets of armadillo tail; and a necklace of armadillo 
claws. 

The Yuruna and Tacunyapé anointed their bodies with a vegetable oil 
for protection against mosquitoes. They kept the oil in small round 
gourds decorated with painted or engraved maze designs. Asurini war- 
riors stain their bodies with uruci, whence their tribal name. The 
Yuruna, Arara, Pariri, and Shipaya, but not the Curuaya, tattooed 
the face. Until 1843 one could observe the characteristic Yuruna tattoo- 
ing to which this tribe owed its name in the Lingua Geral. Both men 
and women made a black, vertical line down the middle of the face, from 
the roots of the hair to the chin, and running around the mouth. This 
tattooing was made by incising with animal teeth and rubbing in genipa 
stain, the person’s social importance being indicated by the width of the 


230 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


stripe. According to André de Barros, the chiefs’ faces were all black; 
Mello Moraes says that the “most distinguished” persons generally had 
three stripes, the lateral ones being narrower. The width of the middle 
stripe is given as from 1¥%4 to 24 inches (3.8 to 7 cm.) by various authors. 
The tattooing was usually done in childhood. The Shipaya had ceased to 
tattoo before permanent contact with Neo-Brazilians. The Arara tattooed 
at puberty with genipa, making two vertical lines from the eye down to the 
curve of the lower jaw. The Pariri tattooed with charcoal of rubber. 

Yuruna men and Shipaya and Curuaya men and women pierced their 
ear lobes. Ordinarily, they wore nothing in their ears but for festivals 
they inserted a long red macaw tail feather, with small feathers hanging 
from its point and surrounding the base. These feathers were kept in 
tubes trimmed with small “mutum” feathers. The Arara pierced the 
nasal septum as well as the earlobe. Curuaya women wore a stone tembeta 
in the lower lip. 

TRANSPORTATION 


The Yuruna and Shipaya “uba’’ canoes are well adapted to the rough 
water of the rapids. They are made of hewn cedar logs, usually hollowed 
out by means of fire. The cross section is U-shaped, and there is a sort of 
rectangular platform at bow and stern. Von den Steinen gives the follow- 
ing dimensions of a Yuruna canoe: Length, 30 feet (10.6 m.) ; maximum 
width, 3 feet (95 cm.) ; depth, 1%4 feet (39 cm.) ; thickness, 1 inch (25 
mm.) ; platform at the bow, 1 foot 10 inches by 1 foot 5 inches (57 by 
44 cm.) ; platform at the stern, 3% by 3 feet (1 by 0.9 m.). (Steinen got 
the measurements of the platforms reversed!). These canoes can easily 
carry 10 people without baggage. They usually have an awning of rush 
mats from the middle to the rear, fastened to arched poles. The boats are 
punted by means of poles and steered by a paddle about 4% feet (1.45 m.) 
long. The handle of the paddle, which ends in a somewhat convex cross 
bar, measures 2 feet (62 cm.) ; the blade widens toward the blunt end, and 
sometimes bears the painted maze design. 

It seems established that the Arara had no form of canoe when first met. 
They lived on and roamed over dry land, only exceptionally appearing on 
the banks of the great rivers. The Asurini also lacked canoes. The 
Curuaya, living in the heart of the forests, paid little attention to boating. 
Their original canoe was made of jutahy bark. Later, they made this 
type only in emergency and constructed crude imitations of the Shipaya 
masterpieces. 

Among devices for land transportation, the Museum at Para has an 
Arara carrying bag of interlaced cords made of palm fibers. 


MANUFACTURES 


Weaving.—Since the Jesuit period, Yuruna women have been famous 
for their skill in spinning cotton “as fine as hair.” They wove hammocks 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 231 


on bamboo frames, measuring 614 by 934 feet (2 by 3 m.). Two threads 
guided by a little piece of wood were passed horizontally through the 
vertical threads of the warp; the weaving technique is not clearly described 
but the product was unquestionably cloth. In order to tighten or separate 
the horizontal threads, they used a small toothed wooden instrument. 
Pottery.—Vuruna pottery was simple (fig. 26, b, d), without painted 
or plastic decorations, except for the occasional addition of two small 
excrescences on diametrically opposite sides of the vessel edge. The 
principal form, used to hold water and fermented drinks, is a round jar 
with a short neck. Shipaya ceramics are coarser than those of the Yurwna. 


d J. Angling 

Figure 26.—Pottery from the lower Xingu. a, Arara; b, d, Yuruna; c, Curuaya. 
(All 2/9 actual size.) (Drawn from specimens, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, 
Belém, and Nimuendaji and Snethlage collections. ) 


Huge vessels 214 feet (69 cm.) in diameter and equally high are used for 
fermented drinks. Exceptional pots were painted inside and outside. 
Curuaya pots resemble those of neighboring tribes, but the ware is inferior 
and vessels are small and plain. The characteristic form is a small, 
globular jar (fig. 26, c), apparently made in imitation of the capsule of the 
Brazil-nut tree. Arara pottery is very crude (fig. 26, a). 

Miscellaneous.—The Shipaya made “half-gourds” (cuias) from the 
cuieté and Lagenaria. These are painted black inside and outside and 
sometimes have maze designs. The decorations are sometimes incised on 
the shell of the green fruit. 

Other containers include an Arara vessel for dye made of the dorsal 
carapace of a turtle and a rectangular palm-straw basket with a lid and 
upright sides. 


932 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Yuruna made candles of little wooden sticks wrapped in cotton and 
soaked in oil. 


was known only to the Shipaya and to the Asurini (fig. 27, c). The Shipaya 
attached a short cylindrical club to the wrist by means of a loop. A club of 


ye ae °F Se 
ee Stairs ee ae 


Cc ‘Ik 


Ficure 27.—Asurini weapons. a, Bow; b, hafted stone ax; c, wooden club. (uiawu 
from specimens, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém, and Estevao collection.) 


M sje 


the Asurini in the Para Museum is 234 feet (85 cm.) long, the handle 
covered with fibers of two colors interwoven with little skill, the end 
rounded and flattened, the blade 3 inches (8.5 cm.) wide by 1 inch (2.5 
cm.) thick, and both edges cut. The blade is slightly curved, almost like 
a machete. The cudgels found in the possession of the Yuruna were 
apparently of Cayapo origin. 

The Yuruna bow was of black wood, rectangular in cross section, over 
614 feet (2 m.) long, and notched at the ends to hold the cord. Curuaya 
and Shipaya bows were similar. The Arara made powerful bows 4% 
feet (1.3 m.) long with a flattened elliptical cross section about 114 inches 
(4 em.) wide. Asurini bows (fig. 27, a) in the C. Estevao Collection in 
Para are made of paxiuba palm, 5% to 5% feet (1.62 to 1.67 m.) long. 
They are distinguishable from all other South American bows by their 
exaggerated width, 2% to 3 inches (6 to 7 cm.) ; the maximum thickness 
is %4 inch (1 cm.). The ends are notched to hold the cord, one end of 
which has a ring to slip over the lower tip of the bow. The upper half or 
third of the bow is almost always wound with dark and white cotton 
threads, while the lower part is sometimes covered with hawk down glued 
on. 

Yuruna, Curuaya, and Shipaya arrows are made of camayuva (Guadua 
sp.) and have bridged feathering. The Asurini and Arara used sewed 
feathering. The most common point is a lanceolate blade of bamboo or 
bone. Asurini arrows in the C. Estevao collection range from 4 feet 1 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 233 


inch to 5 feet 1 inch (125 to 157 cm.) in length. The shaft is of camayuva; 
the heads are: (a) of bamboo, 1 foot (32 cm.) long by 1% inches (4 cm.) 
wide; (b) of bone, 6 inches (15 cm.) long by 34 inch (1.6 cm.) wide, with 
a lateral barb; (c) of wood, imitating (a) and (b), or of square or tri- 
angular cross section; (d) with four sharp wooden points. The feathering 
is sewed. The feathers, usually a hawk and a macaw feather, are very long, 
up to 1% feet (40 cm.). The point where they are tied on is sometimes 
decorated with four overlapping rows of short feathers, glued on, three 
rows of yellow feathers, one row of red. The shaft of the arrow, in the 
space between the vanes, is sometimes covered with an interweaving of 
very fine black and white fibers or cotton threads of two colors with an 
equally ornamental effect. Some arrows have a “tucuma” nut inserted at 
the point where the head is fastened into the shaft. This nut makes no 
sound and apparently serves only to keep the arrow from penetrating too 
far. The Shipaya used a fish arrow having a long cylindrical point of 
paxiuba palm wood and an incendiary war arrow with a piece of jutahy 
resin in the slit end. 

The Arara used a lance with a long bamboo point. 

An Arara ax which I observed in 1917 north of the middle Iriri River 
had a stone head, with only the cutting edge polished. The head was held 
in a cavity in the thickest part of a wooden handle by means of wax and 
string lashing. A similar Asurini ax in the Pard museum has the head 
fitted so nicely into the cavity that an adhesive and lashing are unnecessary 
(fig. 27, b). 

The Arara made a chisel of a hafted agouti tooth. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


In 1913, the Curuaya still had a village chief, although an intelligent in- 
terpreter who had a monopoly on their communication with Neo-Brazil- 
ians enjoyed much greater prestige. Emilia Snethlage believes that chief- 
tainship originally passed from father to son. By 1913, the Curuaya were 
becoming rubber collectors; by 1919, they were mere serfs of a Neo- 
Brazilian boss. 

A certain solidarity united the Shipaya as against other tribes, but there 
was no tribal organization. From the beginning of the 20th century they 
seem no longer to have had chiefs (i-ama; i, reverential prefix) and noth- 
ing is known of their ancient functions. On war expeditions an experi- 
enced man was chosen ad hoc to take command. 

The Yuruna were divided into villages, each composed of a number of 
families (patrilineal?). A comparison of Von den Steinen’s and H. 
Coudreau’s data indicates that these families or communal households 
were probably relatively stable. Chieftaincy descended from father to 
son ; the war leader, however, was not the village chief but a medicine man. 


234 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Until shortly before Von den Steinen’s expedition there seems to have 
been a supreme chief of the tribe, who lived at Piranhaquara. 

Among the Shipaya, monogamy is the rule; bigamy a rare exception. 
Divorce is uncommon. The couples usually live in perfect harmony and 
treat each other on equal terms. Both men and women participate in 
religious ceremonies. Children are treated with an almost exaggerated 
tenderness, and are rarely given away to civilized people. Infanticide is 
considered a sin that provokes the anger of the god Kumapari, who ex- 
pressly forbade it. Formerly, there existed a relationship of solidarity very 
formally entered into by two individuals, maitumas, of their own free will. 
The alliance was sealed at the time of the zetabia ceremony in front of 
Kumapari’s statue. The two maitumas were never to quarrel, should 
converse with each other respectfully, and should help each other 
during the remainder of their lives. As long as the Shipaya kept their 
identity as a tribe, they were known for their honesty. 

Among the Yuruna, polygyny (of the chiefs?) was practiced, a man 
having up to three wives. Since the 17th century, the Yuruna have been 
proverbially jealous of their wives; the uprising of 1666 was due to the 
abuses of the chief of the expedition in this respect. Von den Steinen 
noted the harmony prevailing between spouses. Parental love is proved 
by the breaking of relations with the mission when the missionary sent 
some children as hostages to Belém. One day Von den Steinen’s expedi- 
tion had to stop and camp long before the scheduled hour in order to 
prepare the food for the Yuruna guide’s little daughter, who was feeling 
hungry. Naughty children were not beaten, but their parents treated them 
with ostentatious contempt until they mended their ways. Von den 
Steinen observed that on a canoe trip a father left his disobedient little 
daughter at the edge of the river, forcing her for a while to follow the 
canoe on foot with great difficulty. 

The old reports describe the Yuruna as brave and warlike, and both 
sexes as hard workers. The women spun and toasted flour even during 
drinking sprees. Brusque’s record (1863), however, calls them lazy, 
indolent, and thievish. Von den Steinen found them affable, given to 
laughter, not thievish, and willing to help with the work. He observed 
the weeping salutation which lasted about a minute and did not provoke 
tears. When subsequently talking to the host, the visitor stood beside 
him without looking at him, but staring straight into space. Visitors 
announced their arrival by blowing a horn. 

Among the Curuaya, monogamy was the rule; bigamy was rare, accord- 
ing to Emilia Snethlage, chiefly because of poverty and the lack of 
women, although polygyny was the theoretical ideal. Families are ap- 
parently patrilineal. There were indications of the couvade. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 935 


WARFARE 


There are no reports of intratribal conflict, but all these peoples were 
intermittently at war with their neighbors, though the Shipaya and Arara 
remained at peace with the Tacunyapé. In the 17th century, the Curuaya 
are mentioned as enemies of the Yuruna and Tacunyapé; in 1843, as 
enemies of the Yuruna, Shipaya, and Piapdy. The Asurini and Ta- 
cunyapé were at war recently. The implacable enemy of all these tribes 
was the Northern Cayapd, who, during the 18th century, made the 
Yuruna seek shelter in the rocky islands of the rivers and cut off all com- 
munications between the Yuruna and the tribes of the upper Xingu 
River until the beginning of the 20th century. We have already seen 
how the Curuaya succumbed to the Cayapé in 1934. The Shipaya had 
also been constantly menaced by the Cayapé and earlier by the Mundu- 
rucw and the now extinct Piapdy. The Shipaya had been alternately at 
peace and at war with the Yuruna, Arupai, Curuaya, and Arara but 
finally effected an alliance with the Yuruna and Curuaya, and, despite 
occasional flare-ups, intermarried and lived together with them. When 
at peace with the Yuruna, Shipaya groups sometimes settled among 
them on the Xingu. Von den Steinen’s vocabulary of the language of 
the “upper” Yuruna is almost pure Shipaya, and Coudreau’s map shows 
an old Shipaya maloca near that of the Yuruna of Jurucua Falls at Volta 
Grande. 

The Tacunyapé were never at peace with the Cayapd. The Cayapo, 
while pursuing the Shipaya, attacked them at the time when they lived 
on the Iriri, and a Tacunyapé raid against their assailants failed. A 
strange episode is told about this expedition; the chief of the Tacunyapé, 
mortally wounded by an arrow, requested that one of his warriors divide 
his body at the waistline with a big knife, so as to have to carry only 
the upper part of his body in the retreat to their village, leaving the nether 
part on the battlefield. 

Cannibalism.—Since the 17th century, the Yuruna have been accused 
of cannibalism, and the 18th-century Shipaya were known as cannibals. 
The other tribes did not eat human flesh. 

Father Joao Daniel, whose tendency to exaggerate makes him an un- 
trustworthy witness, states that the Yuruna kept human fat in kettles 
for seasoning their food. He also cites cases of these Indians killing 
people in order to prepare provisions for a trip. The writer also doubts 
some stories told by the Shipaya about such customs of the Yuruna. It 
is probable, however, that cannibalism really existed among the Yuruna, 
more or less under the same conditions as among the Shipaya. 

Father Joao Daniel (around 1750) called the Shipaya “warlike, cruel, 
and cannibalistic as these Yuruna,’ and doubtless before closer contact 
with Neo-Brazilians (around 1885), they were cannibals. Their last vic- 

653333—47—18 


936 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


tims may have been the Cayapé during the conflicts which resulted in the 
abandonment of the tribal dwellings on the middle Iriri. (See above.) 
Except for a few cases where vengeance was the motive, cannibalism al- 
ways took the form of a sort of communion with their national god, Kuma- 
pari, now transformed into the jaguar with an avowed man-eating pro- 
pensity. Through his medicine man, he used to manifest his desire to eat 
the flesh of the Shipaya’s enemy. The tribe then organized an expedition 
against one of the hostile tribes, the main purpose being to take one of its 
members alive. The prisoner was taken to the maloca, where he was very 
well treated. Beverages were prepared, and after the guests had arrived, 
the prisoner was killed by arrows in the yard, then scalded, quartered, 
and the pieces cooked or roasted on a rustic grill (moquém). A large pot 
full of human flesh and drink was then covered with rush mats and placed 
near the caves for Kumfpari. Of those attending the feast “whoever 
wished” also ate of the enemy’s meat. The killer was not subject to the 
purification prescribed for nonritual killing. 

War trophies.—Trophy taking was more common than cannibalism. 
The Yuruna kept the skulls of their slain enemies. In the uprising of 
1686, “they carried as a standard the head of a certain Sergeant Antonio 
Rodrigues, whom they had killed.” Sometimes these skulls served as 
resonators for their war trumpets. They made flutes of the enemies’ bones 
and used the teeth to decorate their ear lobes. The Shipaya decapitated 
a slain foe, carefully picked the flesh from the skull, fastened the maxillary 
on with wax, and filled the orbits with wax, placing small bone disks in 
their centers. The killer hung the trophy in a basket from the ridge pole 
of his dwelling. He extracted the teeth and made them into necklaces for 
himself and wife or used them to decorate earplugs. The Arara took the 
following trophies: The scalp (fig. 28, c), including the ears, stretched in 
a hoop; the skin of the face (fig. 28, b), similarly stretched and trimmed 
with tassels of beads, with a loop of beads for hanging; the skull (fig. 
28, a), cleaned and decorated with two macaw tail feathers inserted behind 
the zygomata and with cotton fluff; and the teeth made into necklaces 
(fig. 28, d). It is reported that they stripped off the entire skin of one 
of their dead enemies. The Curuaya took trophy heads. In 1919, they 
told me that they had carefully preserved the skulls of the Shipaya killed 
in their last conflict with them, and that until recently they had danced 
with them. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Drinking festivals—The Yuruwna attached great importance to a drink, 
malicha, made from manioc, fermentation of which was produced by 
women chewing part of the mass. Sometimes bananas were added. It was 
allowed to ferment in a canoe set up in the festival house and covered 
with banana leaves. Drinking parties often lasted for days. During such 


Vol. 83] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 237 


A} Anglin 


Ficure 28.—Arara trophies. a, Skull, ornamented; b, skin of human face with open 
mouth; c, human scalp; d, human-tooth necklace. (Drawn from specimens, Museu 
Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) 


938 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


an occasion, Von den Steinen saw a gaudily adorned personage who al- 
ternately played the pari-tadada and sang, and also served drinks to the 
others. The Yuruna are not quarrelsome when they drink; they sing 
and talk to themselves, walking up and down, and pay no attention to one 
another. 

From early times, the Shipaya too were considered heavy drinkers. 
At any celebration, even a religious one, enormous quantities of fermented 
drink were never lacking. The Shipaya never became belligerently drunk, 
but behaved like the Yuruna. After contact with Neo-Brazilians, how- 
ever, they became sadly addicted to rum. The Curuaya were also pas- 
sionately fond of fermented drinks. 

The Yuruna smoked tobacco in cigarettes rolled in the thin skin of the 
tauri (Couratari sp.). 


Musical instruments.—Curuaya musical instruments include small 
panpipes, bone flutes, and two kinds of the “toré” clarinet. 

Yuruna musical instruments were: The gourd rattle (maraca), with 
a plume of macaw tail feathers at the tip; a signaling horn made of a 
gourd; a horn of thick bamboo with lateral opening for blowing and with 
loops and tassels of feathers ; the same with sounding box made of a gourd 
or a human skull; small panpipes; a bone flute; Von den Steinen’s “bas- 
soon,” perhaps corresponding to the Shipaya “takari” (Karl G. Iziko- 
witz’s “toré clarinet”) ; a great wooden trumpet (pari-tadada) used at 
drinking sprees with lateral opening for blowing and a bamboo reed 
from 5.7 to 6.1 feet (175 to 187 cm.) in length. 

Shipaya dancing and music were always linked. Some dances imitated 
certain animals in pantomime. During their sprees, they would walk up 
and down in pairs or alone, singing and playing the flute with an unearthly 
din. 

Besides the large flutes for the “zetabia” ceremony and the whistles 
for the dance of souls, the Shipaya had the same instruments as the 
Yaruna: a bone flute, panpipes, a signal horn, a large conical wooden 
trumpet, painted with the maze design (pari-tadada), a small four-holed 
flute, and the “takari.” This last requires four players, for it has a scale 
of four notes and each player has only one note to play. The melody 
results from each player’s playing his note as required. The quartette 
forms a circle, each person holding the “takari” with his right hand, and 
placing his left on his neighbor’s shoulder. While playing, they slowly 
move round and round. 

The gourd rattle, identical with the Yuruna form, is also used only by 
the medicine man. 

Art.—The Yaruna and Shipaya (fig. 29) used the maze design on 
their engraved gourds, but the former did not paint it on their bodies with 
genipa, generally limiting themselves to stripes on their forearms and legs, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 939 


so that, artistically, body decoration was much inferior to that of the 
Shipaya. Yuruna artists were generally women. There are numberless 
variations of the maze motif with which they cover objects and especially 
the body. Frequently, these body designs, used on festive occasions, 
are so fine and intricate that they can only be seen at close range. Besides 
the maze motif, there are also curvilinear patterns. 

The most important Shipaya sculptural products, statues of mythological 
personages, do not show great development in this type of work. Little 
figures of armadillos and other animals are carved from a palm nut 
(Bactris sp.) and made into necklaces. Wooden spoons sometimes appear 
in artistic and original forms, the handle ending in the form of a clenched 


Cae 


MN apne 
sl 


anew 


Nf 
eft in 
spe aie svellgua 
a = | 
| re Sr 

a2 Sa Krewe 


Figure 29.—Shipaya painted decorations, (Drawn from sketch by Curt Nimuendaji.) 


J. Ansliny 


940 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


fist, etc. In 1896, H. Coudreau found in an abandoned Shipaya tribal 
house a number of small carved, wooden figures representing animals, a 
canoe, and other objects. These were well done. (See figs. 30, a, d, f; 
31, for similar Yuruna specimens. ). 


ay 
NS 


hay 


} cee er Ta Wes nie ia ij i Ns 


ill 


‘y TA, 
DBD ile 
j 


f J. Anglin 


Ficure 30.—Lower Xingt wood carvings and manufactures. a, d, f, Yuruna carved 
toys (?); b, c, Yuruna and Arara wood and cord combs; e, Ywruna carding comb. 
(Drawn from specimens, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 241 


Figure 31.—Yuruna carved wooden toys (?). (Drawn from specimens, Museu 
Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


The principal figure in Shipaya religion is the god Kumapari, son of 
another god of the same name, and father of Kunyarima, whose uterine 
brother was Arubiata. Kumapari stole fire from the tapir hawk and 
created man from arrow-reeds, making the Shipaya first of all, whence his 
title of Sekarika (Our Creator). The brothers carry out a series of diffi- 
cult tasks, by order of Kumapari, who in these episodes bears the title 
Marusawa (Tupi: morubisawa, “chief?”). In these adventures Kun- 
yarima gives proof of intelligence and courage, while Arubiata tries in 
vain to imitate him, always failing and saved only through his brother’s 
intervention. Kuméapari, angry with all men, goes away down the Xingu, 
to the north, where, at the end of the world, sky and earth meet. At first 
of human shape, he now has the form of an old jaguar. He has turned 
into the god of war and cannibalism, and is the object of a real cult. Con- 
secrated to Kumapari were: medicine men to whom he would directly 
manifest himself; their helpers; and the god’s wives, who never married 
men and had certain religious duties. 

Sometimes Kumapari or the two brothers ordered statues (upasi) to 
be made: cylindrical posts with human heads carved and painted on 
them by the demon’s wives. A ceremony (zetabia) would take place in 
front of the statues with two large flutes of thick bamboo, held by these 
women. 

Among the many other gods or spirits of the earth and sky, the most 
important are the terrible Apu-sipaya (Jaguar of Heaven), the aquatic 
demon, Pai, and the Great Snake, Tobi, from whose ashes sprang all 
cultivated plants. Respect for these spirits, the help they can give men, 
and fear of their anger and malevolence constitute, together with magic 
and the worship of souls, Shipaya supernaturalism. 

The soul is composed of two parts: the 4wa, which after death turns 
into a specter that frightens but does not kill people; and the isawi, which 


949, SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


inhabits certain large rocks or hills inside which it lives a life similar to 
that of the living. Jointly, all the isawi are called i-anai (i, reverential 
prefix, plus ana, plus i, suffix of the collective plural). 

From time to time, the i-andi again desire to be among the living and 
advise the medicine man, who then orders an i-anai karia (feast of the 
souls of the dead). The ceremonies only take place at night and last 8 
or more nights. One by one, the souls enter the medicine man in order 
to dance and drink with the living. The medicine man appears from 
the interior of a dark house bringing the jugs of fermented drink, which 
are wrapped up closely in a rectangular cape of heavy coarse cotton, woven 
in the “double thread” technique. These threads are covered with cotton- 
wool, so that the cape resembles a sheep’s fleece. The cape is fastened 
to a hoop worn on the head, and from which hang thick black fringes 
hiding the wearer’s face. A wreath of parrot feathers decorates the head, 
and the bottom of the cape is bordered with wing and tail feathers of 
the mutum, which touch the ground. The wearer is completely covered, 
suggesting a white pillar. The soul is summoned with shouts and the 
music of two flutes, a single and a double one, fastened together with a 
thread. It then enters the circle formed by women and men, who welcome 
it with laughter. In a nasal voice, the soul sings a short verse several 
times, following the circular dance of the others, then disappears into 
the house, yielding its place to another soul. This ceremony ends with 
a great drinking orgy. Throughout the celebration the participants refrain 
from sexual intercourse. The souls of those recently dead never appear 
on such occasions. The festival ends with the medicine man’s ceremonially 
restoring to each participant his isawi, of which the souls had deprived 
him, for its loss would spell death. 

The medicine man is, above all, the intermediary between the laity and 
the gods, the spirits, and the souls of the dead. The prerequisite for the 
profession is a tendency toward dreams and visions, a good teacher 
subsequently instructing the tyro how to develop and use his gift. 

Magic, that is, the art of curing and of causing illness, as well as of 
securing special advantages, is a secular science. It is in no way con- 
nected with the spirits and the souls of the dead, although exercised by 
the medicine man, who heals by sucking and massaging, removing harm- 
ful influences from the patient’s body, and transferring them to a green 
branch (compare Yuruna) ; he also blows tobacco smoke over the patient. 

The Yuruna believed in the god the Shipaya call “Kuméapari,” with 
whom some of their medicine men had direct communication, and also 
in the culture hero Kunyarima. One of their ceremonies, observed by 
Von den Steinen, is in every detail identical with the Shipaya Dance of 
Souls (i-anai Karia). The souls, like those of the Shipaya, lived in 
certain large rocks, safe from high water, such as Pedra Preta, Pedra de 
Caxinguba, and Pedra Seca, to which due reverence was given. What 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF LOWER AND MIDDLE XINGU—NIMUENDAJU 243 


Kletke says about a benevolent diety and a malevolent deity seems not 
trustworthy. 

The medicine man cured by violent massaging, forcing the pathogenic 
substances from the body into green branches, which were then carefully 
taken outdoors. Meanwhile, the patient remained lying in his hammock. 

At a Curuaya feast, E. Snethlage saw two posts carved with human 
faces similar to the Shipaya statues. It is not known whom they repre- 
sented. The medicine man’s hammock was hung between these posts, 
and behind them was the canoe with the fermented drink. In the Curuaya 
mythology there are two pairs of brothers, Witontim and Aizau, whose 
parents are called Karu-pia and Imiriwon, and Kabi-sau (kabi, “sky’’) 
and Zaizu-sau (zaizu, “armadillo”). The significance of the so-called 
“karuara” (in the Lingua Geral), cotton tufts hanging from the ceiling 
in small vases or baskets, is not certain. Emilia Snethlage says that they 
contained pathogenic substances the medicine man, an important person 
in the village, extracted from the body of patients. In his house there 
was a room walled with bark and closed to visitors, in which he effected 
his cures. Snethlage assumes an astral cult, a supposition the writer was 
unable to confirm. 

Nothing is known concerning animism or burial practices. 

The Shipaya say that the Tacunyapé celebrated the dance of souls. The 
cape worn for the dance was of palm fiber, closed all around, with an 
opening for the head. The souls of the dead came from the forest to 
participate in the drinking, but did not sing or dance with the living. 

Shipaya and Yuruna dead were interred inside the house, the hammocks 
of the closest relatives being hung near the burial. Later, the bones were 
removed, cleaned, and put away in a basket, which was hung under the 
ridge pole. The writer does not know what was finally done with them. 
The closest women relatives cut their hair as a sign of mourning. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Adalbert von Preussen, 1849, 1857; Adam, 1896; Bettendorf, 1910; Brusque, 1863; 
Coudreau, H., 1897 c; Daniel, 1841; Ehrenreich, 1891 a, 1895, 1897 a; Fritz, 1922; 
Heriarte, 1874; Kletke, 1857; Krause, 1936 b; Laet 1899; Macedo Costa, 1875; Maciel 
Parente, 1874; Martius, 1867; Meyer (see Krause, 1936 b) ; Moraes, 1860; Moura, 
1910; Nimuendaji, 1914 b, 1921-22, 1923-24, 1929 b, 1930 a, 1932 a, 1932 b, 
mss.; Snethlage, 1913, 1920-21; Snethlage and Koch-Griinberg, 1910; Steinen, 1886. 


PLAT miseh ay 


A : : , y 
A a ia a ” : fa 
on en Lalor ; i. \ _ 
RA Vii aay beat “visi 
+ a Ty Pe ; 


o sariih 


cade! 


THE MAUE AND ARAPIUM 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE MAUE 
INTRODUCTION 


Territory.—The Maué territory, a region of solid land, was bounded 
by the lower Tapajoz, the Amazon, the bayou of Uraria, the bayou of 
Ramos, lat. 5° S., and long. 58° W. (map 1, No. 1; map 4). On the 
banks of the Tapajoz River and the bayous, the tribe lived only tempo- 
rarily under the influence of civilized people. 

Bettendorf (1910) does not mention the name Maué, but writes of 
Andira and Maragud in the region where the Maué are mentioned a little 
later. These two groups are probably local Maué subdivisions. The 
Andira undoubtedly inhabited the Andira River, which up to the present 
time is a Maué region. 


History.—The Jesuits came into contact with these tribes after the Mission to 
the Tupinambarana was founded in 1669. In 1698, the Andiréd welcomed P. Jodo 
Valladao as a missionary. It is impossible to locate the Maragud accurately, but 
they were on a lake between the Andira and the Abacaxy Rivers, probably on the 
lower Mauhés-asst, which widens out to form a sort of lake. They had three 
villages, near one another (Bettendorf, 1910, p. 36). In 1692, after they had killed 
some White men, the Government declared “just war” against them, which was 
unsuccessful, as the Indians were forewarned and scattered, only a few offering 
any resistance. In 1696, the Jesuits took up residence among the Maragud, 100 
of whom were transferred in 1698 to the village of Guama, near Belém. The 
Maraguaé are not mentioned in the 18th century. 

The Mabué (Maué) appear for the first time on P. Samuel Fritz’s map (1691) 
of the Amazon, which places them just west of the Tapajéz, at lat. 3° 30’ S., 
the present habitat of the Maué. The Maragud were south of the Amazon, op- 
posite the Trombetas River, and the Andird on a water course which might have 
been the Ramos Bayou. 

According to Father Jodo de Sao José (1847, p. 101), in 1762 the Mague 
lived below the falls of the Tapajoz River, 4 leagues (about 11 miles) inland. The 
Sao José (Pinhel) and Santo Ignacio (Boim) Missions on the Tapajéz were 
settled with Mague. In 1762, the Indians of the latter mission killed the director 
of the village. When they also murdered some merchants, the governor, Ataida 
Teive, in 1869 forbade any commerce with them hoping to starve them into sub- 
mission (Nunes Pereira, 1939). After the Brazilians and Munduruci made peace, 
some of the latter joined some Mavé in settling a little below the present city of 


245 


946 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Mauhés, where Martius (1867) saw them in 1819. In 1832, another bloody con- 
flict took the lives of some civilized men (Souza, A., 1870, p. 86). In 1823, the 
village of Itaituba was founded on the Tapajoéz River with Maué, and in 1828 
there were 400 of them settled there. 

The Andirdé mission flourished from 1848 to 1855 under Father Pedro de Ciriana, 
despite conflicts between the missionary and the Parintins authorities. In 1849, 
it had 507 Maué; in 1851, 570; and in 1852, 665, not counting a large number of 
civilized people. In 1855, the missionary’s place was taken by a parish priest 
(Tenreiro Aranha, 1852, p. 32; Correa de Miranda, 1852, p. 128; Coelho, 1849, 
p. 784; Wilkens de Mattos, 1856, p. 128). 

In 1862 there were 4 villages in the Tapajéz region with 3,657 Maué (Souza, A., 
1870, p. 25). At the beginning of the 20th century, all but one of these villages 
on the tributaries of the Tapajéz were destroyed by the rubber gatherers of 
Itaituba, who took possession of the land. As a result, the Maué took sides 
openly with the Amazon forces in the armed conflict of 1916 between this State 
and Para. 

In 1939, Nunes Pereira (1939) estimated that there were 2,000 to 3,000 Maué 
in the Andira region, a figure which may have been a little high. 

An adequate study has not been made of the Maué. Martius did not live with 
them very long. 

Reports on Maué character, based on direct observation, are generally favorable. 
Bates (1863) called them “invariably friendly to the Whites’; Katzer (1901) 
found them always friendly, unusually intelligent, quick to understand, and capable 
of clear expression. The present author regarded them as suspicious and inclined 
to lie though not to thieving, and as peace-loving and gay. Nunes Pereira (1939) 
found them skillful and peace-loving. 


Language.—The Maué language is known through six vocabularies. 
(Coudreau, H., 1897 a; Katzer, 1901; Anonymous, ms. b; Nimuendaju, 
1929 a, 1929 b; Koch Griinberg, 1932.) Fundamentally, it is Tupi, but 
differs from the Guarani-Tupinamba. The pronouns agree perfectly with 
the Curuaya-Mundurucu, and the grammar, insofar as the material permits 
analysis, is Tupi. The Maué vocabulary, however, contains an element 
that is completely foreign to Tupi but which cannot be traced to any other 
linguistic family. Since the 18th century, the Maué language has incorpo- 
rated numerous words from the Lingua Geral. 

Ethnographical sources.—Barboza Rodrigues (1882 b) visited the 
Maué in 1872, but his information lacks confirmation in some particulars. 
The present author made a brief visit in 1923 to the more civilized Maué 
on the Mariacua River. The most recent and detailed information is that 
of Nunes Pereira in 1939. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 
Farming.—The Maué have always had remarkable interest in agri- 


culture, but lost much of it with the development of the rubber industry. 
They grow manioc, potatoes, cara (Dioscorea), beans, and lima beans; 


Vol. 3] THE MAUE AND ARAPIUM—NIMUENDAJU 247 


nowadays, they also cultivate rice and coffee, which they prepare and drink 
in the Brazilian manner. They still plant their old fruit trees, and they 
grow kitchen and medicinal herbs on platforms. They also cultivate a 
few Old World fruit trees. To plant root crops, they use a clean turtle 
skull to pull the earth over the cuttings, believing that this will increase 
production. At planting and harvesting times, the owner of a field 
organizes a feast to reward his helpers. 


Hunting.—The Maué are good hunters, though hunting is not an 
important activity. Today many of them use fire arms, but in Martius’ 
time, they would refuse any game killed with guns or with dogs, leading 
one to believe that originally dogs were as foreign to them as fire arms. 
Martius was informed that the Maué acquired blowguns and poisoned 
blowgun darts from their neighbors to the west, but this was not confirmed 
by any other author. Nunes Pereira mentions some practices believed to 
influence hunting: They pluck the breast and neck feathers of hunted fowl, 
burn theta, and rub them on their guns; they wash their guns and dogs 
with an infusion from a marsh plant called “jasmin de lontra”; a gun 
will be lucky if a cipd snake is allowed to decompose inside the barrel, and 
it will be unlucky if it comes into contact with a pregnant or menstruating 
woman. The Maué do not use game traps or lures of any kind. 


Fishing.—They take fish with weirs, a special single-headed arrow. 
poisoning the water with a drug called timbo and, nowadays, fishhooks. 
That they do not eat the large river fish but utilize only the smaller fish 
of creeks and forest pools (Martius, 1867) supports the assumption that 
they have habitually avoided the large rivers. 

Wild-food gathering.—Martius states that the Maué roamed the 
forest in search of palm fruits of various kinds, Brazil nuts, and piqui fruit. 
They eat winged female sauva ants, which they take at swarming time, 
roast, and pound with manioc flour. They also eat termites roasted in 
banana leaves. Spix and Martius (1823-31, 3:1,318): state that they 
introduced a slender stick into the anthill so that the insects took hold of it 
and were thus conveyed to the mouth. They also eat a species of 
batrachian. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


According to Martius, the Maué lived in round single-family houses. 
Their recent settlements consist of one or more huts, which are usually 
rectangular with a gable roof and overhanging eaves but without walls. 
These are well thatched with leaves of the carana palm. The kitchen is 
generally in a separate hut, where the manioc flour is made. Nunes 
Pereira mentions “rooms” in the Maué houses, and also a “dance house” 
and the “house of menstruating women.” 


The main pieces of furniture are wooden benches carved out of a solid 
block of wood. Cotton hammocks are twined, and the ends of the warp 


948 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


are attached to special cords (sobrepunhos), which extend beyond them 
to form loops, by which the hammock is suspended (Nimuendaju, ms.). 


CLOTHING AND ADORNMENT 


Nothing is known regarding aboriginal Maué dress. These Indians 
quickly adopted their present clothing from the Brazilians, although many 
still are naked from the waist up. They did not disfigure or tattoo them- 
selves. Martius was told, however, that some persons pierced the lower 
lip and inserted a small piece of wood in it. No authors mention body 
painting. 


TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL 


The aboriginal Maué, a sedentary and agricultural people, lived inland 
from the rivers, and were not a canoeing people. Sao José states that 
“they usually do not know how to swim.” Cerqueira e Silva (1833, 
p. 273) says that they will not ford the Curauahy River, preferring 
to take a great deal of trouble to make swinging bridges of vines. 
This may be explained by their aversion to water. Martius stated that they 
used canoes, some of the ‘“‘uba” type hollowed out of guanani logs and 
others made of jutahy bark. They are poor canoeists even today, but 
they have a few canoes which are either acquired direct from the civilized 
population or else, like their paddles, are rough imitations of those used 
by the Whites. On the other hand, they make long treks on foot, with 
the heavy basket (jamaxim) on their backs, showing admirable endurance. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—From palm leaves and creepers, the Maué make baskets 
with and without lids, sieves, strainers, fans, carrying baskets, hats, and 
brooms. Some baskets with lids are made of red and black strips. These 
articles are generally sold to civilized people. 

Pottery.—The only earthenware objects made today are pans to dry 
out the manioc flour; no reference to other types occurs in the literature. 
Scattered about in old dwellings in the Maué territory may be found plain 
black sherds. 

Gourds and calabashes.—Gourd containers lack ornamentation, but 
calabashes sometimes are fire engraved on the green exterior. 

Weapons.—The bow, flat on the belly and convex on the outside, is 
made of a red wood and has specially made points to hold the ambauva 
(Cecropia sp.) cord. Martius says Maué bows were a useful article of 
trade. The arrows have arched feathering. The points are of: (1) 
bamboo, rather small and lance-shaped; (2) bone, forming a barb; 
(3) iron, for hunting tapir; (4) wood, bilaterally serrated; and (5) for 
fishing, an iron nail forming a barbed point. The Mawé also have little 


Vol. 3] THE MAUE AND ARAPIUM—NIMUENDAJU 249 


arrows for children, with a small crosspiece of sticks at the end. They 
have no arrows with wooden plugs and do not use pellet bows. There 
are no reports of clubs. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


According to Martius, the Maué were divided into “hordes”; he cites 
12 of these, giving their names in the Lingua Geral. Some of them, how- 
ever, may not belong to the Mawé tribe. 

According to Nunes Pereira, the Maué believe themselves to be 
descended from the animals or plants that lend their name to each “nation” 
(i.e., Martius’ “hordes”). We have no details or confirmation on this 
score. 

Families are patrilocal. 


Maué chiefs enjoy remarkable authority even today, and there seems 
to be a hierarchy of officials. Succession is patrilinear. There used to be 
a special burial ceremony for chiefs. 


Carefully preserved in the choir of the chapel of the Indian village 
of Terra Preta, Nunes Pereira found an article which resembles a club, 
but which the author calls a “magic paddle.” It is made of dark wood, 
45 inches (1.1 m.) long, 4 inches (11 cm.) greatest width, and 18 inches 
(45 cm.) thick, narrowing toward the end, which resembles a top. The 
larger half is ornamented on both sides with carved rhombs, points, and 
bands, one of which bears an ornament derived from a basketry motive. 
It was made by the third predecessor of the present chief and has been 
transmitted to each. The designs allegedly refer to the tradition of the 
tribe, but no explanation of them is given. The Maué call the object 
“porantin.” 


LIFE CYCLE 


Pregnancy and childbirth.—During pregnancy, both parents are 
obliged to observe a strict diet of ants, fungi, and guarana dissolved in 
water. To let their blood at this time, many cut their arms and legs with 
a rodent’s tooth or a toucan’s bill set into a handle, starting profuse hem- 
orrhages. Into these wounds they rub the ashes of burned genipa fruit 
(Martius, 1867). To facilitate childbirth, the woman’s hips are bathed 
beforehand in the ashes of paca skulls or of birds’ eggshells mixed with 
water. After the birth, the parents’ first food consists of fungi and two 
kinds of ants (sauva and maniuara). The mother has a postpartum 
rest period of a month, and the father goes on a diet of porridge 
(mingau) and guarand. The first food taken after this period is inambu 
Tinamus sp.) flesh (Nunes Pereira, 1939). 

Children are carried in a sling hung around the neck. It is made of 
raw fibers, the ends being tied with a black string. Sado José (1847) 


250 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


states that the Maué practiced infanticide and abortion. Before puberty, 
girls wear colored bands on their arms and below their knees. 


Puberty.—At their first menstruation, girls retire to a hammock hung 
to the rooftree. They maintain a rigorous diet until the end of the second 
menstruation, taking only manioc cakes (beiju), fish, and water (Mar- 
tius, 1867). Nunes Pereira states that they are fed fungi, which their 
parents bring them, and that, at the end of this period, they eat inambu 
and toucan flesh. The author fails to explain whether the “house of 
menstruating women” which he saw was used only for the first menstrua- 
tion, or for all. In some Indian villages, the same author says, women 
retire to the “room of unmarried women” during menstruation. 

All authors establish some relation between boys’ puberty and the 
Celebration of Tucandira. The Maué told the present author that the 
application of tucanderas (stinging ants), though highly recommended 
at any time of life, is necessary in boyhood, especially if a youth were 
somewhat retarded in his physical development, and in old age, when 
strength began to fail, and in cases of weakness. Nunes Pereira was 
informed that boys of 6 and young men of 20 (?) were stung. The 
ceremony, however, has not been witnessed, except by Barboza Rod- 
rigues, who was present for 2 days. His description lacks confirmation 
on some points. He states that it was celebrated annually in the main 
hut by convocation of the chief. Everybody brought drinks and bar- 
becued meat. The ants, benumbed by having been left in water over- 
night, were caught in the mesh of a textile which was used to line a flat- 
tened or cylindrical “glove,” artistically woven from strips of fibers and 
adorned with macaw and royal hawk feathers. Everybody gathered in 
the chief’s yard, the women seated in a circle within the circle of men. 
The chief in the center held the “gloves.” The singing began, and the 
chief shook his rattle (maraca) while the others played bambu flutes 
and drums. After blowing tobacco smoke on the ants, the chief put 
the glove on one of the young men, who danced, yelling and howling, 
inside the circle, amidst the applause of the crowd, until a woman or 
the chief took the glove off him. After this, everyone moved on to the 
nearest house and repeated the ceremony. According to Barboza Rod- 
rigues (1882 b), a boy had to endure seven applications of ants, but 
their sequence, and the relation between them and marriage was not 
explained. 

Martius reports that a cotton sleeve containing ants was first applied to 
boys between 8 and 10. When they began to cry and scream, the spec- 
tators drew them into a noisy dance, until they fell exhausted. Then 
their stings were treated by older women with the juice of the manioc 
leaf, and, as soon as they felt better, they had to try to draw their bows. 
This ceremony was repeated until the age of 14, when a boy could bear it 
without flinching and was considered ready to marry. According to 


Vol. 3] THE MAUE AND ARAPIUM—NIMUENDAJU 951 


Martius (1867), the Maué counted their age by the number of applica- 
tions, but the words, in the Lingua Geral, which he gives in this connec- 
tion—jtibir jepe, jiibir mocoim, etc.—only mean “one turn, two turns,” 
etc. (jebyr, “turn’). 

Marriage.—Today the Maué are monogamous, but formerly polygamy 
was permitted. There is no special marriage ceremony (Nunes Pereira, 
1939). The candidate asks the girl’s parents for their consent and it is 
given after long deliberation, even if she has not yet reached puberty. The 
couple settle in their own hut. 


Married women are excluded from dances. All women are forbidden 
to have any contact with persons outside the tribe and to use the Portu- 
guese language, a prohibition which is not always observed nowadays. 


Death and burial.—Today the Maué bury in cemeteries, more or less 
in Christian fashion, but they still place the deceased’s personal belongings 
in the grave. The family observes a fast (Nunes Pereira). Formerly, the 
dead were buried inside their house, in a sitting position. Martius states 
that at the death of a chief, the tribe was obliged to go on a diet of ants 
and guarana fora month. During the first 2 weeks of this time, the chief’s 
dead body, stretched out and tied to laths, was dried between fires; then 
it was buried, in a sitting position propped up with stones and sticks 
in a round hole. The hole was not filled with earth, and at the end of the 
month the body was taken out and exposed for a day. The whole tribe 
danced around the body, weeping so that their tears ran into their mouths 
and were swallowed. In the evening the body was buried in the same place 
and position, and the celebration continued all night with dancing and 
drinking. In one instance, when a chief died during a trip, his companions 
severed his body in two below the ribs, dried the halves, and brought them 
back to the village. 


WARFARE 


The Maué, though brave, were less warlike than the Mundurucu, with 
whom they warred until the second half of the 18th century. According 
to Barboza Rodriguez (1882 b), the Maué who took part in the last fight 
between the two tribes had lines of black tattooing on the thorax, similar 
to that of the Munduruci. They sometimes took prisoners of war. They 
used the skulls of slain enemies as drinking vessels, and their long bones 
as flutes. Before fighting, they took guarana (Martius, 1867). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Ornaments.—The Maué were formerly famous for articles made of 
feathers, which were important commodities in their trade. Martius 
mentions scepters and head and neck ornaments. The feather art has 
disappeared, with the exception of some feather ornaments on the instru- 

653333—47—19 


952 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ment used during the Celebration of Tucandira. The Maué still wear neck- 
laces of small figures carved out of the hard nut of certain palms 

Musical instruments.—Drums are heavy cylinders of wood, with one 
end covered with leather. They are laid horizontally and played with the 
hands. The Maué also use violins and caracachas, which are serrated 
bambu cylinders scraped with a small stick. 

Drinks and narcotics.—The Maué are very fond of a drink made from 
dried cakes of manioc flour (the aroba or paiauarti of Neo-Brazilians). 

Since the Maué were first mentioned by Bettendorf (1910, p. 36), they 
have been famous for their cultivation and preparation of guarana (Paul- 
linia sorbilis), of which they enjoyed the monopoly. The fruit is roasted 
in an oven, pounded in a mortar, and made into hard, cylindrical rolls. A 
little is grated off by means of a stone, and the powder is dissolved in 
water in a gourd. This drink is called capd. People in groups take it 
many times a day. The head of the house drinks it first and then it is 
passed from right to left among the others. The Maué believe that guarana 
brings them luck in any transactions, that it gives joy, and that it is a 
stimulus to work, preventing fatigue and hunger. 


In planting, the seeds are carefully chosen, as are later the young plants. 
A medicine man goes through a ceremony over the ground when it is 
ready for planting, and there are celebrations with dancing and drinking. 
Formerly, the Maué, enjoyed a considerable trade in guarana, but by the 
end of the last century, it had decreased with the rise of the rubber industry, 
and today the greater part of the guarana for commercial purposes is 
produced by Neo-Brazilians of the region. 

The Maué explained to Nunes Pereira that guarana constitutes a pro- 
tection or charm for them: That it brings rain, protects their farms, cures 
certain diseases and prevents others, and brings success in war and in 
love, especially when there are two rivals for the affections of one woman. 
To the present author, they recommended it as well as parica for its magic 
effects against storms. 

Parica, made from the seeds of Mimosa acacioides, is now little used. 
The seeds are roasted and finely pulverized in a carefully made, shallow 
basin of a red wood, and the powder is dried on a flat piece of wood “or 
of porcelain” (Spix und Martius, 1823-31, 3:1,318). The Indians use 
two long tubular bones to sniff the powder up into both nostrils simul- 
taneously, or they rolled a piece of banana leaf into a tube (Ratzel, 1894, 
1:509). There is a statement by Martius (1867, p. 411) which could 
be interpreted as meaning that the Maué also used parica as a clyster. 


RELIGION 


Today all Maué are baptized and have chapels in their villages with 
images of the saints, which they worship on their own account with 


Vol. 3] THE MAUE AND ARAPIUM—NIMUENDAJU 253 


litanies, imitating the Christian service in Latin. These services end in 
dancing and drinking. In these celebrations, they use musical instruments. 


Regarding their former religion, Martius (Spix and Martius, 1823-31, 
3:1,331) was informed that there were vestiges of a belief in a god and 
in the power of evil demons. 


SHAMANISM 


Nunes Pereira (1939) speaks of shamans of great reputation who 
carry out ceremonies designed to bring about an excellent harvest of 
guarana. All guarana plantations must be “blessed” by the shaman. 
Some shamans cure diseases; others are evil magicians who cause them. 
The Mavué greatly fear sorcery, and attribute all deaths to witchcraft, even 
if the supposed spell was cast over a year previously. Their reluctance 
to take medicine furnished by civilized people is prompted by their fear 
of spells. All shamans work with an assistant. Today they take a strong 
manioc drink (taroba) to stimulate them to action. Magic is exercised 
by the shaman, but everybody knows something about medicinal plants 
and animal products. Uaciri-pot, the chieftain and shaman, who probably 
lived in the first half of the last century, had the power of capturing the 
“mother of sickness” in the plaza by means of conjurations, magic ges- 
tures, and lines drawn upon the ground. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Two legends are recorded (Nunes Pereira, 1939). In the first, the 
true timbo (a fish drug) and the false timbo originated from the legs of 
a buried child who had been killed by a spell cast by the fish; water was 
invented by these same fish. In the second, guarana originated from the 
eyes of a boy who was born of the contact of a girl with a little snake, 
and who was killed by his uncles. From the buried body, several animals 
were born. The boy was finally resurrected and became the first Maué. 


THE ARAPIUM 


In the 17th and 18th centuries there lived to the west of the lower 
Tapajoz, a tribe of Indians called Arapium (Fritz, 1691, (see Volume 1, 
map 7) Arapiyi), lat. 2° 30’ S., long. 55° 30’ W., which the Jesuits 
gathered at the beginning of the 18th century in the Cumart Mission 
(Villa Franca) at the mouth of the Arapiuns River. Both Martius (1867) 
and Métraux (1928 a) considered them to be the same as the Maué. The 
only ethnological data regarding them are the following, from Joao Daniel 
(1841, pp. 168-71, 478), who saw them: 

Girls undergoing their first menstrual period were secluded and made 
to fast. After the fast, the girl was bled from head to foot with a cutia 
tooth. She then negotiated a marriage with the first young man she saw. 


254 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Before marrying, a young man had to place his arms in long gourds 
full of sauva ants (Atta sp.) to show his courage. A drinking feast 
concluded the ceremonies. 

A dead man’s flesh was eaten by his relatives. Old women pulverized 
his bones and mixed them in drinks. 

The Arapium held celebrations in honor of the new moon. They went 
out when it first appeared and stretched out their arms, hands, and fingers, 
as if asking for health and strength. 

Of these cultural features, only the girls’ menstrual seclusion and 
fasting and the young man’s ant ordeal are found also among the Maué. 
The others differ from Maué customs, proving that the Arapium were 
most likely an offshoot of the Tapajo tribe. The present author, explor- 
ing the Arapiuns River in 1924, found many old Indian dwelling places 
where the pottery, with its plastic ornamentation, was very different from 
that found in the region of the Maué, being much more similar to that 
of the Tapajé. After 1762, when the Arapium were last mentioned as 
living in Obidos and on the Arapiuns River, there is no further informa- 
tion regarding them. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Almeida Serra, 1869 (1779); ms. b; Barboza Rodrigues, 1882 b; Bates, 1863; 
Bettendorf, 1910; Cerqueira e Silva, 1833; Coelho, 1849; Correa de Miranda, 1852; 
Coudreau, H., 1897 a; Daniel, 1841; Florence, 1841(?) [1825-29]; Fritz, 1691; 
Furtado, 1858; Katzer, 1901; Koch-Griinberg, 1932; Martius, 1867; Métraux, 1928 a; 
Monteiro Baena, 1843; Nimuendaju, 1929 a, 1929 b; ms.; Nunes Pereira, 1939; Ratzel, 
1894; Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825; Sao José, 1847; Souza, A., 1870; Souza, C., 1874; 
Souza Franco, 1842; Spix und Martius, 1823-31; Tenreiro Aranha, 1852; Wilkens de 
Mattos, 1856. 


THE MURA AND PIRAHA 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE MURA 


TRIBAL LOCATION AND HISTORY 


From the beginning, these Indians have been known as Mura (pro- 
nounced Murda by their neighbors, the Tord and Matanawi of the Madeira 
River). Their name for themselves, however, according to Barboza 
Rodrigues (1892 b, p. 38), is Buhuraen, and according to Father Taste- 
vin (1923 a), Buxwaray or Buxwarahay. In the author’s vocabularies, 
the following forms are given as self-designations: Bohiira (Manicoré 
River) ; Bhiirai-ada, meaning “Mura language” (Manicoré River), and 
Bohurai; Bohuarai-arasé, “Mura language” ; Nahi buxwara araha, mean- 
ing “that one is Mura’; Vane abahi araha busxwardi, “we are all Mura.” 

The Mura were first mentioned in 1714 in a letter by P. Bartholomeu 
Rodrigues (in Serafim Leite, 1943), who located them on the right bank 
ot the Madeira River, between the Tora and the Unicoré, between lat. 
6° and 7° 40’ S. They were hostile toward the Jesuit mission founded 
in 1723 or somewhat later above the mouth of the Jamary River, and, 
because of this hostility, the mission was transferred farther down the 
river in 1742. Their unfriendly attitude was the result of a treacherous 
act committed by a Portuguese trader who had kidnapped some of the 
Mura and sold them as slaves. 

For over 100 years, beginning in the early 18th century, the Mura 
were a terrible scourge. The first expedition up the Madeira River into 
Mato Grosso, under the leadership of Major Joao de Souza, had bloody 
encounters with the Mura and threw the Indians back with great losses. 
The Mura then avoided open battle and resorted to ambush for which 
they became famous. 


In 1749, when Joao Goncalves da Fonseca’s expedition had several encounters 
with them, the Mura were established on a lake on the right bank of the Madeira 
River, opposite the “mouth of the Autaz” (Madeirinha, a little above Borba). 
By 1768 they had passed to the region north of the Solimdes (Cudajaz) River, 
but before this date they had extended to the lower Purtts (Moraes, 1860, p. 535). 
Upstream, however, they did not go beyond the mouth of the Jamary River. 


255 


256 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


It seems, therefore, that the original habitat of the Mura was on the Madeira 
River, below the falls and near the mouth of the Jamary River; and that, after 
they had become a warrior tribe and were aware of the effectiveness of their 
tactics, they spread out downstream on the Madeira River and as far as the 
Purtis River, and from the latter as far as the Cudajaz River, which is almost 
opposite (lat. 3°-7° S., long. 50°-63° W.; map 1, No. 1; map 4). Evidently this 
expansion was not a move to draw away from the Munduruci invasion, who at 
that time, 1768, were merely mentioned on the Maués River. The expansion of the 
Mura was facilitated by the fact that they found the country only sparcely in- 
habited; the numerous old sedentary tribes had succumbed to the “avenging troops” 
and to the mission system. Their weak remnants, lacking any initiative and pride 
against servitude, and concentrated in a few villages, did not have the power to 
resist the attacks of savages conscious of their superiority as warriors. It seems 
that the Autaz region from then on began to be the center of the Mura, and it 
remains so today. That the Mura had been preceded in the Autaz by other tribes 
of higher culture is proved by the archeological remains found there by Tastevin 
(1923 a) and the present author. These include a great number of hardwood 
fishweirs, anthropomorphic urns of the Miracanguéra type, jade objects, etc. 

About 1774, the warlike expansion of the Mura had reached its climax, and the 
desperate Neo-Brazilians demanded their extermination as the only means for 
avoiding the complete downfall of Amazonas (Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825). At 
this time, Ribeiro de Sampaio mentions the Mura in the following places: Silves, 
Madeira River (Borba), Autaz, Uaquiri (?), Manacapuri, Purés River, Cudajaz, 
Mamia, Coary River, Catua, Caiamé River, Teffé River, Capuca, Yauato, Fonte 
Boa, Japura River, Amand, Manaus, Jahi River, Uinini River, and Carvoeiro. 
Other authors add Obidos, Moura, Barcellos, Nogueira, Alvardes, Maripi, Ayrdo, 
Poiares, and Abacaxys. The Mura were attacked in these places every year by 
Government forces. These punitive expeditions, in spite of the resulting bloodshed, 
were not effective, and the Mura continued to show their animosity. In 1784, 
however, the Mura unexpectedly made peace with the Whites. In July, five Mura 
appeared peacefully in Santo Antonio de Maripi, on the lower Japura River and 
were followed later by many more. Other Mura presented themselves in Teffe, 
Alvaraes, and Borba. In the latter place, where in 1775 an Army outpost had 
been created for the protection of the residents and travelers against their hostili- 
ties, their number grew in 3 years to more than 1,000. 1786, the Mura of the 
Cudajaz came to terms, and by the end of the same year the whole tribe had made 
peace and started to settle down in permanent villages. 

The reason for their peace overtures was, perhaps, the gradual weakening of 
the tribe by epidemics, by the adoption of foreign elements, and, particularly, by 
the relentless war that the Munduruci waged against them. The latter, crossing 
from the Madeira River westward, butchered the Mura in Autaz without, however, 
dislodging them permanently from a single one of the many places that they had 
occupied. Even after the pacification, the Mura, according to Martius, spread 
farther out upstream on the Solimdes to beyond the Tabatinga frontier. The 
latest establishments, about which there is some information, were on the Jandiatuba 
River, a little below Sao Paul de Olivenca and in the region of the lower Amazon 
in Mura-tapera, now called Oriximina, on the Trombetas River, some 35 km. (22 
miles) above the mouth. 

In the beginning of the 19th century, relations with the Whites seemed to have 
been generally good; at least Canon André Fernandes de Souza, who mentions 
them at that time, does not speak of recent hostilities. According to him, the 
Mura were the only natives respected by the civilized people. Later, however, the 
Mura resumed their hostilities on the Madeira River. 


Vol. 3] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 257 


During the “Cabanagem,” a revolt that evolved into a general uprising of the 
Indian, Negro, and Mestizo servants against their White masters, the rebels won 
the adherence of the Mura who, together with them, robbed, killed, and burned. 
Together with the rebels, they were defeated and massacred, 1834-36. Friction be- 
tween the Mura of the Madeira and the civilized people continued for a long 
time after the revolt. The report by Governor Tenreiro Aranha in 1852 contains 
many complaints against members of this tribe, who committed horrible crimes 
against defenseless people. The governor sent reinforcements to the military out- 
post in Mataura, commissioned a well-armed river patrol, and appropriated the 
amount of 1,308 milreis for mission work. None of these missions (Sao Pedro, 
Crato, Manicoré) lasted long. The last acts of hostilities on record on the Madeira 
refer to the killing of a soldier and two slaves of the Crato missionary by the 
Mura of the Capana in 1855. Later, the Mura gathered on Ongas Island for the 
purpose of attacking travelers. 

The author of “Illustragdo” (Anonymous, ms. a) estimated the number of Mura 
at 60,000 at the time of the pacification. This number is no doubt too high, as 
is 30,000 to 40,000 given by Martius in 1820 (Spix and Martius, 1823-31, vol. 3). 
Estimates based on the report of Albuquerque Lacerda showed that the Mura did 
not exceed 3,000 in 1864. In 1926, the present author counted 1,390 inhabitants 
occupying 26 Mura huts on the Madeira, Autaz, and Urubu Rivers. The total 
number might have been 1,600. 

The Mura never expanded very much on land. Even during the time of their 
greatest extension, they always sought the low floodlands of the shores of the 
Amazon-Solimées River and its tributaries, and similar lands on the Rio Negro 
and Japura, Solimdes, Madeira, Purtis, and Amazon Rivers. They settled only 
where they could move about in canoes, choosing spots where they could build 
their villages, plant their crops, and hunt. Throughout their known history, they 
can be characterized as a canoeing and fishing people. 

The Mura are today so much crossed with Neo-Brazilians that it is impossible 
to determine their original physical type. Truly Negroid types, however, are rare. 
In the area of Yuma Lake, the author found, in 1926, a relatively large percentage 
of individuals of Indian type, characterized by an arched nose and receding chin. 
When the Mura made peace in 1784, they had already absorbed many foreign 
ethnic elements from people who had sought refuge among them or who had been 
captured by them. Large groups of other tribes, such as the Jumana and Iruri, were 
with the Mura at that time. The Jumana belonged to the Arawakan family, and 
both the Jumana and Jruri had a more advanced culture than the Mura. We do 
not know the influence of these foreign elements on Mura culture. 


LANGUAGE 


After their pacification, the Mura began to adopt the Lingua Geral, 
but at the time of Martius’ trip, this language was little used. In 1850 
they could speak it, but used the Mura language among themselves. 
Later they substituted Portuguese for the Lingua Geral, and now the 
majority of the groups use Portuguese. Some groups still speak the 
Lingua Geral among themselves, but only occasional individuals know 
the Mura language. In many groups it has disappeared completely. 

Martius’ contention that most of the words of the Mura language are of 
Tupian origin has remained unsubstantiated. Even the number of ele- 
ments adopted from the Lingua Geral is strangely small. Most noticeable 


958 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


are the regular use of the first and second singular, personal pronouns, 
and first person plural of Lingua Geral. 

According to most linguists (Ehrenreich, Chamberlain, Rivet, Lou- 
kotka), the Mura language is isolated. The fact mentioned by the present 
author that the Matanawi language has a scant half-dozen words in com- 
mon with the Mura does not mean that the two languages should be con- 
sidered, as by Rivet (1924, p. 673) and Loukotka (1939, p. 154), as 
members of the same family. Only the following vocabularies have been 
published: Martius (1867, 2:20), Nimuendajuit and Valle Bentes (1923), 
and Nimuendajit (1925, 1932 b). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The Mura practiced farming before their pacification, but 
only on a small scale. According to Fonseca Coutinho (1873), they had 
large manioc and maize fields on the Autaz River. Moreover, A. F. de 
Souza (1870) mentions mandioca plantations of the Mura on the Matu- 
piry, a tributary of the Madeira River, at the beginning of the 19th cen- 
tury. The author of “Observagées addicionais” (Anonymous, ms. a, pt. 2) 
says that they did not plant anything, but looted the crops of others to 
make a fine manioc flour. This, however, presupposes that they already 
had pans, sieves, and tipiti baskets. This, together with the Jara ceremony 
(see below), suggests that they were acquainted with manioc and its 
preparation. Very likely at war time they found it more convenient to 
steal tubers than to plant them. 

Hunting and fishing.—The gathering of wild fruit was also important 
in their economy, but above all the Mura were fishermen. Their skill 
was admired not only by the civilized people but by their Indian neigh- 
bors, such as the Catawishi, who were also fishermen. The Mura caught 
turtles under water by hand, and after harpooning piraruct (Arapaima 
gigas) and manatee, they pursued them between obstacles of aquatic plants 
and fallen trees. The importance of the harpoon here suggests that they 
had been acquainted with this weapon for a long time. In order to bring 
a dead manatee aboard their canoes, they swamped the craft so as to 
push it under the floating animal and then floated it again by emptying it. 

They knew the use of the babracot, but preferred to roast their meat 
buried in the ashes or on a spit. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The Mura build their houses in small groups of two to five, which some- 
times are scattered far apart along the shore of a lake or river. They 
rarely live in isolated huts. According to Tastevin (1923 a), five or six 
tamilies live in a hut, but the author noted that this occurs only in excep- 


Vol. 3] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 259 


tional cases, each family usually having its own hut. These houses are not 
as poorly made as it has often been stated, and many of them do not differ 
from the huts of the poorer Neo-Brazilians of the region. The area sur- 
rounding the houses is not generally kept clean. 

Judging from a drawing in Martius’ Atlas, the original Mura hut seems 
to have been dome-shaped, with the rafters reaching to the ground and 
thatched with vertical palm leaves. 

The anonymous author of “Observac6es addicionais” (Anon., ms. a, 
pt. 2) states that as a rule their real home is their canoe, and the present 
writer noticed in 1926 that the Mura of the Juma River slept on a platform 
in the canoe. 

It seems probable that formerly the Mura slept on platforms such as 
those described by Father Tastevin (1923) and not in hammocks. 

The early writers report that the Mura hammocks consisted only of 
three cords, a central one to support the weight of the body and lateral 
ones to maintain the equilibrium. This is obviously a satire of their indo- 
lence. Other information is more plausible. Ferreira states that in 1875 
their sleeping hammocks were made of fibers of inner tree bark. Alfred R. 
Wallace (1853) says that they were made of three strips of embira, and 
Martius that they were made of a piece of bark (innerbark) shaped like 
a canoe. Bates (1863, p. 305) describes a Mura hammock as a “rudely 
woven web of ragged strips of the inner bark of the mongtba tree” (Bom- 
bax sp.). Later it seems that the Mura imitated the hammocks of neigh- 
boring tribes and of the Neo-Brazilians. Father W. Schmidt (1913) 
mentions a tucum hammock of the Mura in the Museum of Vienna, and 
the author saw two hammocks on the Juma River made of jauary (Astro- 
caryum sp.) fibers. 

DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 

Both sexes were completely naked, although one of Cavina’s water 
colors (Ferreira, n. d., pl. 3!) shows an apron of twisted embira or burity 
fibers which is suspended from a belt and the upper part of which appears 
braided; the upper border is ornamented with a band of white zigzags 
over a red background. The ears and septum were pierced and pieces 
of cane passed through the holes. The upper lip was perforatd above 
the corners of the mouth, while the lower lip was perforated in the center. 
In these holes the Mura inserted animal teeth or wooden pegs. Accord- 
ing to Ferreira, the lip ornaments are of stone found in piraruct brains; 
in the paintings, they are small, whitish, and somewhat three-lobed. 
They wore their hair trimmed along the forehead at the level of the eye- 
brows and long behind. It was usually disheveled. 

They painted themselves with uructt and with a black pigment. Some- 
time they smeared themselves with mud as a protection against insects. 

” 2 Ferreira, who was a member of the first expedition to encounter the Mura, described this plate 


as follows: ‘‘Um dos gentios Muras que pelo meiado do mez de Novembro do anno proximo passado 
de 1786 aportaram no logar de Ayrao.” 


960 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


TRANSPORTATION 


Mura canoes were formerly made of tree bark and were 6.6 m. (about 
22 ft.) long, 1.1 m. (3.25 ft.) wide, and 44 cm. (17 in.) deep. The ends 
were tied up with creepers. These craft carried four or five people. The 
original type of paddle is unknown. When not in use, the canoes were 
kept submerged so as to be hidden from any enemy and so that they 
would not dry up and crack. The fire-hollowed dugout, at first stolen 
from the Neo-Brazilians and later made by themselves, finally replaced 
bark canoes. 


MANUFACTURES 


Mats and basketry.—The Mura used large mats on their beds and in 
their canoes, and smaller ones to sit on. Carrying baskets were made of 
two interwoven palm leaves. 


Pottery and gourds.—According to Martius, the Mura had pottery, 
but he does not say if they made it. The present writer has never seen 
any ware made by them. He did, however, see gourds which had been 
dyed black on the inside and crudely carved on the outside. 


Weapons.—The only weapon was the bow and arrow. The bow 
measured 2.7 m. (9 feet) according to Joéo Daniel (1841, p. 168) and 
2 m. (6 feet) according to Southey (1862, 6:248-249). The back is 
strongly convex, the belly only moderately so. W. Schmidt (1913) de- 
scribes the feathering as radial and cemented. Fishing arrows lacked 
feathering. War arrows were formerly tipped with lanceolate bamboo 
heads 33 cm. (13 in.) long and 10 cm. (4 in.) wide, with two large 
barbs on each side. Now they have iron heads. The author found arrows 
made of a single piece of paxiuba on Lake Sampaio. An arrow figured 
by Therese von Bayern (1897, pl. 2, fig. 4) has arched feathering and 
is tipped with a rod notched along the side. The Mura in Covina’s 
picture is armed with two arrows, each with a broad wooden point that 
has four or five pairs of barbs, and, protruding beyond this point, another 
lanceolate point of bamboo. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


When the Mura made peace in 1786, they were divided into many 
groups, each numbering 45 to 150 persons and having its own chief. The 
26 groups visited and counted by the author in 1926 averaged 53 persons 
and ranged from 15 to 120. Chieftainship was formerly hereditary, but 
carried little authority. According to the author of “Tllustragéo,” (Anon- 
ymous, ms. a) the Mura rendered to the chief “respect and obedience 
as to a father.” A tuft of yellow and black feathers tied to the forehead 
might have been a distinctive chief’s ornament (Martius, 1867). After 
the pacification, the principal chief of the Mura lived at Amatary, on the 


Vol. 3] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 261 


left bank of the Amazon, somewhat above the mouth of the Madeira 
River. 

Each family head had his private fishing ground which he would defend 
against any poacher. In quarrels over fishing groups, disputants fought 
each other with the clubs, which a Mura always carried in his canoe to 
stun the fish after they are caught. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Pregnancy and childbirth.—During a woman’s pregnancy there are 
no restrictions on her husband. Formerly, during childbirth, the woman 
would sit on a “log of a certain wood burned all over its surface as char- 
coal.” Such logs were carried in the canoe, so that a trip might not be 
interrupted by childbirth (“Observagoes addicionais,” Anonymous, 
ms. a, pt.2). After childbirth, the father stays at home. He fasts for 5 days 
and the mother for a longer period. The size of the fish which the 
father may eat increases as the baby grows. Until the child can walk, 
the father may not hunt and eat his kill lest during his absence the boto 
(Sotalia brasiliensis) and the jaguar come invisibly and take revenge 
by killing the child. The author learned that if the father were to hunt 
a caiman, boto, otter, or anhima (Anhima cornuta) before the child 
could walk, these animals would steal the child’s shadow. Herndon and 
Gibbons (1853-54, vol. 1.) mention cases of infanticide, but the present 
writer was impressed by the kind treatment of children. 

Puberty.—From the beginning of the first menstruation until the end 
of the second menstruation, the girl is confined in a corner of the hut 
where she lies in her hammock. 

The passage from childhood to adulthood was marked by a ceremony 
in which boys were permitted for the first time to take parica snuff. 
(See p. 263.) The boy was also flagellated (p. 264). 

Marriage.—The aboriginal Mura had only one wife “whom they loved 
with tenderness and guarded with savage jealousy” (“Observagoes ad- 
dicionais”, Anonymous, ms. a, pt. 2; see also Spix and Martius, 1823- 
31, vol. 3). It seems that the Mura later became polygynous. Spix and 
Martius (1823-31, vol. 3) and Wallace (1889) stated that every man had 
two or three wives, who were kept in abject servitude. They were acquired 
as prizes in boxing matches between the girl’s suitors, which were fought 
as soon as she had reached puberty. In earlier times, murder of wife 
stealers was sanctioned ; later, such offenders were less severely punished. 

Present-day Mura still feel honered if a person whom they esteem 
courts an unmarried daughter, and they allow the girls of the tribe a great 
deal of liberty. Today a request for marriage is made by the young man 
to the girl’s parents, who sometimes demand of him some service. The 
marriage is concluded without any formality and, according to Tastevin, 
is easily dissolved. Marital fidelity is not strictly observed. 


962 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


Funeral rites.—Formerly, a person was buried with all his possessions 
wherever he happened to die. At the beginning of the present century, 
the Mura of Murutinga (Autaz) still erected a small hut over the tomb, 
even in Christian cemeteries, and placed food, drink, and the weapons 
of the deceased on the grave. The mangoes which grew in the cemetery 
were reserved for the dead. 


WARFARE 


For half a century the Mura waged unceasing war against the civilized 
Indians and the Neo-Brazilians. According to Martius, they declared 
war against occasional enemies by planting arrows, head upward, in the 
ground in the territory of the rival tribe. Attacks were made silently. 
‘They ambushed canoes near rapids where travelers were forced to draw 
near the shore, watching the approach of their victims from the tops of 
sumatima trees (Ceiba pentandra). They also ambushed enemies on the 
paths leading to the plantations. In the onslaught, they did not pay any 
attention to age or sex. They mutilated the bodies, but did not bring 
home any trophies, and they have never been seriously accused of can- 
nibalism. According to Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825), they took prisoners 
to enslave them, but it is more likely that they incorporated them in the 
tribe. At the time of the pacification, the most important Mura chief 
was a civilized Indian, who had been captured as a child and reared by 
Whites. His mother, also a captive, acted as an interpreter during the 
peace negotiations. 

By the end of the 18th century, the Mura’s most feared enemies were 
the Munduruci, who had come from the region of the Tapajoz River, 
sailed down the Canuma and Abacaxys Rivers, and established them- 
selves on the Madeira River at Tobocal near the mouth of the Aripuana 
River. It is probable that the Mura’s defeat by the Munduruct con- 
tributed greatly to their pacification. According to Martius, the Mura 
feared the Munduruct so much that they did not even resist when the 
latter came for their women. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments.—The Mura used a kind of clarinet, commonly 
called toré, made of a thick bamboo, and a five-hole bamboo flute. The 
latter was used for transmitting messages about a great variety of mat- 
ters (Marcoy, 1866, and Anonymous, ms. a). 

Dances and songs.—The dance witnessed by Martius was an imitation 
of the Neo-Brazilian dance, and the songs which accompanied it were 
in the Lingua Geral. The dances in vogue in Tastevin’s time (1923 a) 
are identical to those of the Mura’s civilized neighbors. Southey (1862, 
6:348), however, speaks of an original dance in which the Indians were 


Vol. 3] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 263 


arranged in two lines. Those of one line were armed with bows and 
arrows; the Indians of the other line were painted, and blew on long 
bamboo flutes. A man led the dance with grotesque gestures. In 1926, 
the Mura of the Juma River performed a nocturnal circle dance accom- 
panied by the toré clarinet, and by songs about the sloth (Bradypus sp.) 
After the dance, the men gathered on one side of the ring and women 
on the other to bleed each other with sharp piraruct and tambaqui fish- 
bones. 

Narcotics.—Parica, made from the roasted seeds of the parica tree 
(Mimosa acacioides), is the most powerful narcotic used by the Mura. 
It was taken either as a snuff or as an enema. As a snuff, it was blown 
into the nostrils by means of a tube 1 foot (31 cm.) long made of tapir 
bone or a bird’s leg bone. The powder was kept in a large bamboo tube 
and the doses measured out with an caiman tooth. It caused a general 
state of excitement and exaltation with auditory hallucinations, and a 
condition of feverish activity which ended with prostration or uncon- 
sciousness. According to Martius, individuals who were over-excited by 
the narcotic and suffocated died on the spot. “Observacées addicionais” 
states that on the morning following a narcotic spree, the bodies of per- 
sons were often found shot with arrows or stabbed with knives. These 
murders were not considered as crimes and were blamed on the parica. 

Parica taken as an enema by means of a rubber syringe had a similar 
but weaker effect. The participants in groups of ten sat in circles while 
old women held a vase containing the liquid and passed the syringe from 
hand to hand. To increase the effect, the enema was accompanied by 
singing, “Hé! Hé!” (Marcoy, 1866). The drunken men danced and 
threatened each other with weapons, which the women always tried to 
remove from the parica house. Present-day Mura still snuff parica but 
take less of it than before. A bamboo tube is used for the purpose 
(Nunes Pereira, personal communication). 

The ancient Mura prepared manioc chicha. Today they have acquired 
two dangerous vices which have contributed to their moral and physical 
degradation: rum, from the White; and liamba (hashish), from the 
Negroes (Tastevin, 1923 a, p. 517). A large part of the payment which 
they receive for their services is rum and liamba, in exchange for which 
they are willing to surrender to the Neo-Brazilians their last bit of food. 
Then they spend day after day in a state of torpor, unable to work. 


RELIGION 


Little is known about Mura religion with the exception of a few cere- 
monies and magico-religious practices. Today the tribe is Christian, but 
its adherence to the Church lies only in the knowledge of a few saints, the 
ceremony of baptism, and the celebration of some feasts. 


264 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Parica feast.—Martius denies that parica was taken at puberty 
initiations and links it instead to the ripening of the parica seeds. Marcoy 
(1866) says that anyone who had parica would invite others to the parica 
house, an open shelter built for the purpose and forbidden to women. 
The great parica feast was preceded by a hunt which lasted one week. 
The feast began with flagellation, after which came libations of a non- 
alcoholic beverage made with the fruit of the acahy palm. Then parica 
was taken, first in the form of snuff and afterward as an enema. The 
feast ended with a dance which lasted 24 hours. Marcoy’s description of 
the feast contains obvious inaccuracies. 

Martius gives second-hand information about this ceremony. The feast 
was celebrated every year and lasted for 8 days. It began with the 
drinking of cauim and other intoxicants. Then pairs of men flagellated 
each other with a long leather thong of tapir and manatee hide. This 
continued for several days. Afterward the partners kneeled in front of 
each other and blew parica powder into each other’s nostrils by means 
of atapir bone tube. (See Martius, 1867, fig. 63.) 

Punishment rites.—The flagellation rite was also practiced during the 
full moon, its purpose being to increase one’s strength. One man would 
hold the victim with his arms outstretched while the old man who per- 
formed the flagellations in the puberty ceremonies would whip him with 
a few lashings on the arms and legs. 

After burning the brush for planting, the Mura performed a flagellation 
ceremony in order to increase the output of manioc. They brought in a 
pile of whips made of jara palm (Leopoldina pulchra), and the men 
surrounded the houses, seizing all the grown children, whose parents could 
not interfere. Each was held by two men, and forced to lean forward. 
A very old man sang, danced, and finally whipped the children’s backs with 
the jara whips. 

In order to make young boys successful in fishing, the Mura take them 
to a tucandeira ant’s nest and force them to expose a hand to the sting of 
the ants. 

Shamanism.—In Wallace’s time, 1850, Mura shamans were highly 
regarded as men of great ability. They were feared and their services were 
always well paid. The shamans observed by Tastevin and the present 
author are faithful counterparts of the Neo-Brazilian shamans of that 
region, and have no aboriginal features. 

Ornaments and preparations with magic power have been reported 
among the Juma River Mura. A caraipérana (Rosaceae) seed necklace 
offers protection against grippe and headaches. A necklace made of 
“tears of Our Lady” wards off eye disease. Painting the face with uruct 
protects against chickenpox. Juparana leaves were used against malaria. 
According to Spix and Martius (1823-31, vol. 3), the Mura used a monkey 
penis as a charm against fever. 


Vol. 31 THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 265 


MYTHOLOGY 


Some fragments of Mura cosmogony have been collected by Father 
Tastevin (1923 a) and the author. Heaven is a world, somewhat like the 
earth, where souls live and die and where the fearsome thunder resides. 
There is also a nether world, which is an aquatic region. The moon is 
female during 14 days, when women have greater vigor, and male during 
a like period, when men are especially strong. 

The waters of the earth are connected to those of heaven; when there 
is a flood on the earth, the waters ebb in heaven, and vice versa. 

The coal sack near the Southern Cross is a manatee carrying on its 
back a fisherman (Alpha and Beta Crucis of the Southern Cross), whose 
canoe was upset by the fish, while his companion (Alpha and Beta of 
Centaurus) is getting ready to throw the harpoon. The lightest part of 
the Milky Way is foam worked up by the manatee in the water. 

The origin of the rainbow is explained as follows: A woman carried in 
her womb two snakes that would climb trees, bring her fruits, and return 
into her. Her husband killed them, and they went up to the sky, where 
they became the upper and lower rainbows. The rainbow is also con- 
ceived as the mouth of a large snake through which souls enter heaven. 
So as to obtain free passage, a coin is placed in the mouth of the deceased. 
If the latter is very poor, a fig is used instead. The master of the rainbow 
snake is called kaai tuhui. 

The following are some Mura myths: 

The flood.—Men escaped the rising flood in canoes and found a high 
rock, where they gathered, subsisting on the animals which also had taken 
refuge there. After the deluge had passed, they could not find their way 
home until a shaman took them there. 

The great fire.—There was once a world conflagration, from which 
only one family escaped. The man had dug a deep cave, provided it with 
30 pitchers of water, and erected a house of wood and straw inside it. 
He closed the entrance with stone. The fire passed above the cave, and 
it was intensely hot in the pit. Two weeks later, the stone was still hot, 
and the family did not emerge until the stone was cool enough to move. 
The earth was deserted and had no water or plants. The man built a hut, 
but he worried because only 10 pitchers of water remained. Then the 
Holy Ghost came with drums and flags, and the Indian obtained water 
from him. He got fish from Saint Anthony, palm trees from Saint John, 
and manioc from Saint Peter. The last ordered him to lie down on his 
back and when he turned around he saw that the manioc had already 
grown a foot. On the left bank of the Amazon near Manaos the dry and 
stunned vegetation bears witness to the great fire. 

The prisoners of the pigs.—A newly married man went pig hunting. 
When he killed a sow, the aroused animals forced him to climb a tree. 
They dug up the roots of the tree, and when it fell they carried him away. 


266 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The pig’s mother, a small red animal, kept him with her. When they went 
past uixu, burity, and biriba trees they asked him whether he ate these 
fruits, and he answered that he did. The pigs then assumed a human 
shape. He had to sleep among them. When he arose, they did the same 
and grunted and sniffed. After 2 months, he managed to escape by 
climbing a tree and jumping from branch to branch. He carried away 
the pig’s flute. After he had returned home, he invited his wife, his 
brother, and brother-in-law to hunt pigs. While they remained in the 
canoe, he blew twice on his flute. Soon a large herd of pigs came running 
toward him, and he killed as many as he wanted. His other brother 
returned from a trip and inquired how he obtained so many pigs. Then 
the brother took the flute and, saying that the other was a fool for having 
allowed the pigs to take him prisoner, he went ashore, blowing the flute. 
The pigs killed him and took the flute back. 


THE PIRAHA 
TRIBAL LOCATION, HISTORY, AND LANGUAGE 


The Piraha (Pirianaus, Piaarhaus, Piraheus, Piriahai, Piriaha, Piriaha, 
Pinyaha, Iviridyarohu, “lords of fiber rope,” i.e., armbands, Ivirapa-poku, 
“long bow,” and Tapii, “strangers”) is a subtribe of the Mura, which 
speaks a distinct dialect. It has evidently always occupied its present 
habitat between lat. 6°25’ and 7°10’ S., along the lower Maicy River and 
at Estirao Grande do Marmellos, below this river’s mouth. 


The Pirahd have remained the least acculturated Mura tribe, but they 
are known only through a short word list and unpublished notes obtained 
by the author during several brief contacts in 1922, when efforts were 
being made to pacify the Parintintin. 

The dialects of the Pirahé and Mura of Manicoré are mutually intel- 
ligible, and differences in these dialects appearing in the author’s vocabu- 
lary may be partly attributable to informant difficulties. Ina few instances, 
the Mura “r” becomes “g” in the Pirahd dialect. 

The Pirahdé are mentioned by Ferreira Penna (1853) in 1853, by 
Orton (1875, p. 470) in 1873, and by Barboza Rodrigues (1892 b) in 
1885, the last describing them as the fiercest of all the Mura. 

In 1923, they numbered around 90. In 1921, the “Servigo de Protegcao 
aos Indios” established a center to give them aid but, apparently content 
with their present state, these Indians have shown little inclination to 
acquire European culture. Except for a few implements, they show 
almost no sign of any permanent contact with civilized people. They 
showed no interest in the utensils and clothing given them by the Servico 
de Proteccio aos Indios. Neither did they steal. In fact, no two tribes 
offer a more striking contrast than the Pirahd and their neighbors, the 


Vol. 31] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 267 


Parintintin. The latter were active, clever, greedy for new things, ambi- 
tious, and thieving. 

In general, the author found the Pirahd dull and unresponsive. Their 
sullenness made field research among them difficult. Their indifference 
and aloofness is probably more apparent than real, and seems to stem from 
their deep resentment at seeing their old enemies, the Parintintin, being 
favored by the governmental authorities, whereas they, who had never 
been hostile to the Neo-Brazilians, were treated with much less regard. 

The vocabulary collected among them never exceeded 71 words. The 
Pivahad appeared to be completely indifferent as linguistic informants. In 
spite of several decades of contact with Neo-Brazilians, their knowledge of 
Portuguese and of the Lingua Geral never exceeded a dozen words. 


THE YAHAHI 


Barboza Rodrigues (1892 b) divides the Mura into Pirahens (Pirahd), 
Burahens, and the Jahaahens (Yahahi), giving for the location of the last 
the Solimé6es River. The Tord and Maranawi, who inhabit the lower 
Marmellos, call the Yahahi a subtribe of the Mura, which they say used 
to live on the Branco River, a tributary of the right bank of the upper 
Marmellos. The last survivors of the Yahahi joined the Pirahd. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Pirahd grew maize, sweet manioc (macaxera), a kind of yellow 
squash (jurumum), watermelon, and cotton. They were also excellent 
hunters and fishermen. The only aboriginal fishing technique observed 
among them was shooting fish with an arrow; however, they used fish- 
hooks obtained from civilized people. They ate Brazil nuts and wild fruit, 
and they liked honey mixed with water. They did not drink rum. 


DWELLINGS 


The dwellings of the Pirahd were rudimentary and badly constructed. 
Some were merely a poorly thatched roof covering a rude platform which 
served as a floor. As the huts were built on the beach slopes, the downhill 
ends of the flooring poles rested on a horizontal pole supported on two 
forked posts, while the uphill ends were stuck in the sand of the slope. 
On this platform were strewn one or more straw mats. The palm leaves 
of the roof were thrown at random over a still lighter framework, resting 
on four small forks about 5 to 6% feet (114 to 2 m.) above the first. The 
rain beat in everywhere as there were no walls. Similar, but larger, huts 
were sometimes placed side by side in twos or threes. In the summer, 

653333—47—20 


968 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


one saw huts in little groups on the beaches of the Maicy River; in the 
winter, the Indians lived on land not subject to floods. On one small 
inland farm, a better constructed, open, gable-roof hut was noted. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


The men wore a belt of raw fibers with fringe down the front, cover- 
ing and holding the penis up against the abdomen. The women, at least 
in the camps, were nude. The women’s ears and the lower lips of some 
of the men were pierced. The young women, from puberty until mar- 
riage, wore two fiber strings, sometimes braided, across the shoulders. 
Over the biceps the men wore fiber bands with long fringe. The women 
had necklaces of seeds and animal teeth. Though they had rustic wooden 
combs, their hair was always more or less unkempt. They did not re- 
move the body hairs. In spite of their river habitat, the Pirahd, especially 
the children, were very dirty and untidy. Use of uruct and genipa body 
paint was rare. 

MANUFACTURES 


Miscellaneous.—The Pirahd made pouches with handles, baskets of 
babasst straw, gourds for holding water, gourds with painted black in- 
teriors, and spoons made of monkey skulls. They made two types of 
straw fans, one rectangular and the other in the shape of a fish. There 
was no pottery. The Indians usually slept on a platform, but sometimes, 
to escape the mosquitoes, they lay in their canoes, tying them to a branch 
on the bank. Very rarely, one saw a netlike fiber hammock, in which 
they rested during the day. 

Weapons.—tThe only Pirahd weapon was the bow and arrow; it was 
powerful but less carefully made than those of the Parintintin. The ar- 
rows had radial feathering, tied at intervals. A jawbone with tusks was 
used to smooth the bow and the wooden arrow shaft. On the edge of 
the bamboo arrow point a cutia’s tooth was set in a handle. 


WARFARE 


The Parintintin and the Pirahd were constantly at odds. In both tribes 
there were a number of Indians who bore scars of wounds from this 
fighting. Their hostile encounters usually took place in the summer when 
the Piraha went up the Maicy River, sometimes as far as the Maicy Fork, 
looking for tracaja (turtle, Podocnemis) eggs in Parintintin country. 
Likewise, the Parintintin attacked the Pirahd in their camps on the lower 
Maicy River almost every year. Unlike their enemies, the Pirahd were 
not cannibals and did not take trophies from the bodies of the slain 
enemies. They did, sometimes, take prisoners. Thus in 1916 or 1917 
they captured a Parintintin woman and child and sold them to the civil- 
ized people of the lower Marmellos River. Long ago the Pirahd seem 


Vol. 3] THE MURA AND PIRAHA—NIMUENDAJU 269 


also to have had some bloody battles with the Matanawit, but to all ap- 
pearances they managed to get along peaceably with the Tord. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


No musical instruments were seen among the Pirahd. A group of 
Piraha who were camped near the Brazilian Government Center held a 
dance from the rising to the setting of the full moon. Holding hands 
and singing in unison, men and women formed a circle and danced in 
an open space. Starting slowly, they accelerated until they were running. 
This was repeated all night long. One of the men wore around his head 
a cord with short feathers of many colors; others had yellow grains of 
mumbaca palm trees (Astrocaryum mumbaca) hanging over their ears 
as ornaments. At a certain time, all were served a warm gruel of the 
jurumum (squash) in a large gourd, made by roasting the plant in ashes 
and crushing it with the hands in water. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Albuquerque Lacerda, 1864; Anonymous, ms. a; Barboza Rodrigues, 1892 b; 
Bates, 1863; Daniel, 1841; Fernandes de Souza, 1870; Ferreira, ms.; Ferreira Penna, 
1853; Fonseca, 1880-81; Fonesca Coutinho, 1873; Herndon and Gibbons, 1853-54; 
Leite, 1943; Loukotka, 1939; Marcoy, 1866; Martius, 1863, 1867; Monteiro Noronha, 
1862; Moraes, 1860; Nimuendaju, 1924, 1925, 1932 b; Nimuendajui and Valle Bentes, 
1923; Nunes Pereira, 1939; Orton, 1875; Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825; Rivet, 1924; 
Schmidt, W., 1913; Southey, 1862; Sousa, A., 1870; Spix and Martius, 1823-31, and 
Atlas; Tastevin, 1923 a; Therese von Bayern, 1897; Wallace, 1853, 1889. 


a oh ‘ 7 ‘ a Peay ia 
pees, ths" ate ya JG o + ie tot (eagaleres “Palate 
. a Phere , 7 ie i] Sa, foal | ys 
hy Une we Fat, ae —? ay genet \ . 
ia ‘ 5 ; Morte OY A OiTaNTE. - ae 


ee 
ba 


i) 


Ae 5 areas 


in quota A prone at horn dace Saw eroservertiel Leadakiem to) 

o hit ici Aapsnpioei tenia ioe Kv re Tk eet le: iat Reto ¥ 
beled We Habart bh ot days 4) gs rts ots catty 
/ We on heh! t hb ?* neice ben nit (108 rsa tay 
7 —grtnin ane etsws (e's f, ' & ‘ rb a v i] : P a" alte ai pa 
Fi thar) weytin', agquteh é »  renay wites4 fits Avia ; 
a DT ae ‘ hited, +h ‘ sath ; 4 ’ i Ale Game a 
RP Re Wirt ted peter yt | | A eden 
oo) ater et lig | ) ina | 


ric 
i 
l iin 
; 
Lis 
rae 
rh i] 
i 
i 
La 
‘ . 
oA ott 
i , ; iia ) Ose 
t ry han a 
' bing chai) ad quid Daren Wo Gee 
Y¢ ma 7 ar ay 
‘ ' , P » Jt ' 
>A An ee af” Vigge dy ey 3 Ary Lng Uy an rg wane 


De 
‘ 


i 
‘ yi} , 7 
us) ‘bs = 


Ue ee _ aa, Pie ie iV 


THE MUNDURUCU! 


By Donatp Horton 


TERRITORY AND NAME 


The Munduruct are a Tupi-speaking people in the southwestern por- 
tion of the State of Para and the southeastern corner of the State of 
Amazonas, Brazil (map 1, No. 1; map 4; lat. 5°-8° S., long. 56°-60° 
W.). When first encountered by Europeans in the late 18th century, 
the Munduruci were a warlike people, aggressively expanding their 
territory along the Tapajéz River and adjacent areas. Their expansion 
reached its limits at the beginning of the 19th century, when they were 
defeated by the Neo-Brazilians. Since then their territory has dwindled ; 
remnant settlements are located on the Canuma and several of its tributar- 
ies (Abacaxis, Paracury, Apucitaua), in the municipios of Maués, Par- 
intins, and Juriti, and on the Cururt River (a southeastern tributary of 
the Tapajéz). The principal settlements are located along the middle 
Tapajoz River and especially on its southeastern tributary, the Rio de 
Tropas (between lat. 6° and 7° S., and long. 56° and 57° W.). Commu- 
nities formerly established on the lower Tapajéz between the Rio de 
Tropas and the Amazon have been absorbed or wiped out by Neo-Brazilian 
settlers. 

Kruse (1934) distinguishes four regional groups of the Mundurucu: 
The Tapajoz River group, living on both sides of the Tapajéz between 
the Rio de Tropas and the Cururti River; the Madeira River Munduruciu, 
on the Secudury, a tributary of the Canuma; the Xingu River Mun- 
duruct, known also as the Curuaya, on the uppermost left tributary of the 
Igarapé de Flecha, itself an eastern tributary of the middle Rio Curua do 
Iriri; and the Juruena River Munduruct, known also as the Njambik- 
waras. Nimuendaju (personal communication) regards the name “Ma- 
deira Munduruck” as unsuitable, since the rivers on which this group is 
located do not flow into the Madeira; he also believes that the Curuaya, 
"1The writer is indebted to Dr. Curt Nimuendaji, who through personal knowledge of the 
Munduruci and familiarity with literary sources not available to the writer, was able tu provide 
additional information on the distribution and history of the tribe which has been utilized in the 
present account. 

Where the literature clearly indicates that a custom is no longer practiced, the past tense is 


employed; otherwise the account is given in the present tense even though it is probable that much 
of the culture so described no longer persists. 


paral 


272 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


though related linguistically to the Mundurucu, are to be regarded as an 
independent tribe (this volume, p. 221), and that the Njambikwara (see 
Nambicuara, p. 361) are not properly classified as Mundurucu on any 
basis. 

Martius (1867) reported a group related to the Mundurucu, known as 
the Guajajara, who were settled on the Gurupi River near Cerzedello in 
1818. The writer has found no further reference to this name in the 
literature dealing with the Munduruct. (The Guajajara-Tembé are a 
tribe near the east coast of Brazil, page 137.) 

According to native tradition, the Wiaunyen, at the headwaters of the 
Mutum River, should be classed as a subtribe of the Munduructu. 

The Mundurucu refer to themselves as Weidyénye (our own, our peo- 
ple) (Kruse, 1934). Munduruci (Munduruki, Munduruct, Mondu- 
ruch, Mundrucu, Moturicu, etc.) is the name applied to them by the 
Parintintin, in whose language it denotes a species of ant (Stromer, 1932). 
A nickname widely used by Neo-Brazilians is Paiquizé (Paikyce) (Mar- 
tius, 1867) or Paikise, meaning “father knife” or “head-cutter.” They 
are sometimes called Caras Pretas (“black face’), in reference to their 
facial tattooing. (See Kruse (1934), who gives an extensive list of names 
used by other tribes to designate the Munduruciu.) 


POPULATION 


In 1887, Martius estimated the Mundurucu at 18,000 to 40,000, but 
Stromer believes that, on the basis of known settlement sites, a maximum 
population of 10,000 at the period of Contact is indicated. Tocantins 
(1877) listed 21 villages with populations ranging from 100 to 2,600 
and a total population of 18,910. According to Campana, there were 
at the turn of the century about 1,400 individuals in 37 communities 
in the Tapajéz area. The largest village had 700 inhabitants, and the 
smallest less than a dozen. Strémer (1932) found 19 settlements with a 
total of 1,200 to 1,400 inhabitants in 1931, and fewer still in 1937. Both 
Campana’s and Strémer’s figures refer only to the population of the 
main area of concentration. Kruse gives a population of 950 for the 
Tapajéz group and 800 for the Canuma group. 


HISTORY 


The first reference to the Munduruct was published in 1768 when Monteiro 
Noronha? listed the “Maturucw’ among the tribes on the Mauées River. In 1769, 
according to Manoel Baena (1885), the Munduruci began to move northward along 
the Tapajéz River, forcing out or exterminating the Jaguain (Javaim, Hy-au-ahim), 
a warlike, cannibalistic tribe then occupying the middle Tapajéz. A “Mondruci” 
settlement a day’s journey below the mouth of the Arinos was reported by Almeida 
Serra in 1779. The Mumnduructi reached and made unsuccessful attacks upon 
 §The writer has not seen all of the sources mentioned in this sketch of Munduruci history; 


the material here summarized has been in part provided by Dr. Nimuendajui (personal communi- 
cation). 


Vol. 3] THE MUNDURUCU—HORTON 973 


Santarém and Gurupa in 1780 and again in 1784. They attacked the Mura in the 
Madeira River region and a few years later dispersed their southern neighbors, the 
Parintintin (Cawahiwa). Their next expedition, involving an army of some 2,000 
warriors, is said to have crossed the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers and to have 
reached the western limits of Maranhao Province. The expedition is said to have 
been defeated and turned back by the Apinayé (see Strémer, 1937), but according 
to Nimuendaju, it may be doubted that the Munduruci actually went so far east. A 
Neo-Brazilian punitive force fought a 3-day battle with them on the Rio de Tropas 
(ca. 1794). Peace was established in 1795 or 1796. 

Except for minor conflicts with neighboring tribes, the Munduructi abandoned 
warfare and gradually relinquished the great territory they had seized. Missions 
were established on the Tapajéz in 1799 and on the Madeira in 1811. By 1885, the 
Mundurucu still living on the Madeira River had been sufficiently acculturated to be 
described as “civilized” (Hartt, 1885). A few of the villages of the Tapajdéz 
region are said to preserve as much of the old culture as can survive without military 
organization, warfare, and head hunting (Stromer, 1932). 

The site of the tribe prior to its northward drive along the Tapajdz is not 
definitely known. Kruse (1934) believes that they lived adjacent to the Apiacd in 
Mato Grosso; Martius (1867) thought that language and customs pointed to an 
origin still further south. It is Nimuendaju’s opinion (personal communication), 
however, that the Mundurucu were originally located on the Rio de Tropas, where 
their principal settlements are found today and where the punitive expedition of 
1794 found their chief military strength. Mundurucu legend attributes their origin to 
the town of Necodemus in this area. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Mundurucu subsist partly on horticulture and partly on hunting, 
fishing, and gathering. Tocantins’ (1877) list of plants cultivated by them 
includes two species of manioc, sweet potato, pineapple, sugarcane, various 
peppers and beans, and several species of bananas. Other authors mention 
cotton, tobacco, and genipa. Tocantins names some 30 noncultivated 
plants utilized in Munduruct economy. Martius (1867) says that this 
tribe formerly gathered wild rice along the Madeira and Iraria Rivers. 
They eat ants, larvae, and honey. 

Some of the Munduruci now have cattle. Though they do not use these 
as food, they will eat the meat of domestic animals if it is offered them. 

In the aboriginal culture, wild fowl were kept in cages to provide 
plumage for the featherwork described below. 

The Mundurucu are said to show great affection for their dogs. Women 
suckle puppies; when a dog dies it is given the same form of burial as a 
human being. 

There are no published descriptions of Mundurucu hunting techniques, 
but accounts of hunting rituals indicate that tapirs, peccaries, hares, deer, 
and agoutis are hunted. One ritual simulates the use of a runway of stakes 
to trap peccaries. Intensive hunting occurs during the summer, when 
many families occupy temporary huts in the brush. 


274 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.H. Bull, 143 


Barbed arrows are used more commonly than hook and line in fishing. 
Stromer’s vocabulary (1932) includes references to basket traps and weirs. 
Fish and crocodiles are drugged with poison from twigs and leaves of 
the timbo. 

Food preparation.—Cooking is women’s work. Dishes mentioned in 
the literature include roasted sweet potato, banana mush, manioc broth, 
cara fruit soup, and a dish consisting of Brazil nuts which have been 
washed, soaked in water, smoked, crushed, and roasted. Meat is roasted 
on a babracot of green sticks or on a slanting spit. Stromer’s vocabulary 
includes a word for manioc press and a phrase meaning “roasting house 
for manioc meal.” Mortar and pestle are reported. Beverages are made 
from wild beans, cacao, and manioc meal mixed with honey and water. 
The Mundurucu had no native alcoholic beverages. 

They raise tobacco and smoke it in the form of cigars wrapped in 
tauari bark. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Tocantins and Farabee imply that the dwellings are arranged around 
une periphery of an open village plaza in the center of which is the men’s 
house. Bates, however, mentions a settlement of 30 houses scattered for 
a distance of 6 or 7 miles along a river bank; and Martius (Spix and 
Martius, 1823-31, vol. 3) speaks of houses arranged in rows in a forest 
clearing. 

The men’s house (ekca) occupied by the warriors, is a prominent feature 
of the village. Tocantins describes one 100 m. (325 feet) long, covered 
with thatch and open on one of its long sides. A photograph of a men’s 
house in Farabee (1917 a) shows a rectangular structure, smaller and more 
crudely built than the dwelling house, with a gable roof and incompletely 
enclosed sides. The warriors slung their hammocks from posts inside it 
during the winter and from a series of posts set in three parallel rows and 
united by cross beams, in the village plaza, during the summer. Although 
warfare is no longer an important aspect of Munduruci life, the men’s 
house still serves as a men’s work place and as a dwelling for the unmarried 
men. Women are not permitted to enter it. 

The dwelling house (ekqa, “big house’’) photographed by Farabee is a 
long, rectangular, windowless structure with a high thatched roof and low 
walls. The men’s door is in the center of the long side facing the men’s 
house; the women’s door is directly opposite. Stromer describes the 
house as a long, rectangular building with a roof sloping to the ends and 
sides, and with rising peaks at each end of the roof crest, but in a later 
publication (1937) he speaks of the house as “dome-shaped.” In the 
1850’s, Bates found that most of the dwellings had conical roofs and walls 
of framework filled with mud. The roof was covered with palm thatch, 
and the eaves extended halfway to the ground. Martius also reported 
conical roofs. 


Vol. 3] THE MUNDURUCU—HORTON 975 


Within the house each family has its own partitioned quarters and a fire- 
place or stone manioc oven (Tocantins, 1877). How many families 
usually occupy a single house has not been reported. 


CLOTHING AND ADORNMENT 


The only item of Mundurucu clothing mentioned in the literature is the 
three-cornered penis cover suspended from a cotton cord, but there are 
several descriptions of the ceremonial feather garments for which this 
tribe is famous. Many authors consider the Mundurucu to have been the 
most expert featherworkers in South America within the historic period. 

Feather work.—Featherwork includes aprons, capes (attached to head- 
dresses), caps, diadems, belts, girdles, bandoliers, arm bands, and leg 
bands. The feathers used in this craft were at least in part obtained from 
birds kept in captivity ; red, blue, green, and yellow feathers were carefully 
sorted by color and size and stored in baskets or in palm-stem cylinders. 
Martius was told that the Mundurucu were able to cause their parrots to 
grow yellow plumes by plucking their feathers and rubbing frogs’ blood 
into the wounds.® The feathers are attached to a net fabric. Tail feathers, 
arranged in parallel rows, are used in capes and pendants; rosettes of small 
feathers, bound at the quills, are attached to the base net to cover the 
attachments of long feathers; imbricated breast feathers may be used to 
cover the surface of a fabric or to sheathe a cord. Decorative effects are 
produced by simple alternation of colors. 

A characteristic feathered staff is described as a stem of cane or wood 
about 3 feet (1 m.) long and 2 or 3 inches in diameter. The shait is either 
covered with long feathers laid flat against it or sheathed with fine breast 
feathers. At the upper end a dense band of rosettes forms a projecting 
collar; a free cluster of long plumes may project from the head of the 
staff. The feathers are attached with wax and cotton thread. These ob- 
jects are highly valued and when not in use are carefully stored in cylin- 
drical containers. Their significance has not been reported; Martius 
merely says that when he approached a Mundurucu village, staff-bearers 
came to meet him. 

Tattooing and painting.—The Mundurucu tattooing designs consist 
of fine, widely-spaced parallel lines applied vertically on limbs and torso; 
bands of lozenges across the upper part of the chest; occasional parallel 
horizontal lines, and cross-hatchings. Around each eye is tattooed a single- 
line ellipse; curved lines are drawn around the mouth. Lines converging 
toward the ears across the cheeks give the appearance of wings spread 
across the face. (For illustrations of Mundurucu tattooing, see the 
sketches by Hercules Florence (Steinen, 1899).) 


3 Nordenskiédld (1924 b, p. 207) says of this custom, which has been reported from other South 
American tribes, that the color change actually occurs, but zoologists attribute the change to dietary 
factors. 


276 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Hartt and Martius both mention tattooing combs of palm thorns, but 
Tocantins states that the operation is performed with an agouti tooth. The 
skin is slashed and genipa juice is rubbed into the wound. Genipa is also 
used as a paint to color areas enclosed by tattooed lines. Both sexes are 
tattooed but there are slight differences in design for each. The operation 
begins when the subject is about 8 years old and proceeds gradually over 
a period of years. It is seldom completed before the subject has reached 
the age of 20. 

Hairdress.—The aboriginal hair style was the same for both sexes. 
The hair was cut just above the ears and at the nape of the neck. The 
crown of the head was shaved but a short, circular tuft was left above the 
center of the forehead. 

MANUFACTURES 


Baskets, ropes, and netting.—Baskets are woven of creepers, straw, 
and twigs. Ropes and cords are made of plant fibers and cotton thread. 
Women beat the raw cotton with sticks to separate the fibers and twist 
the thread with the aid of some sort of spindle. Cotton thread is used in 
knitting net fabrics for featherwork, and in making hammocks. Fibers 
from the outer surface of muriti palm leaves are sometimes used in mak- 
ing hammocks. 

Ceramics.—Pottery vessels, made by women, are modeled directly 
from a mass of clay and are said to be of poor quality. 

Weapons.—The following weapons have been mentioned but not 
described: Bows, arrows of reed and of wood, poisoned war arrows, 
unpoisoned hunting arrows (Martius, 1867), spears with bamboo blades, 
javelins, wooden knives, hafted (stone?) axes, and war clubs. A cotton 
bandage was wrapped around the knuckles of the bow hand to protect 
it from the bowstring. Katzer (1901) has published illustrations of a 
number of flat, polished stone ax heads, of oval or nearly quadrangular 
shape, with lateral notches; these were found archeologically in Mundu- 
ruct territory. He reports that the Mundurucu still make such stone 
objects, but keep them merely as valuables or as children’s toys. 


TRADE 


Despite hostility between the Munduruct and their neighbors, they 
traded their featherwork extensively. They are said to have depended 
on an unidentified northern source for arrow poison. After the advent 
of the missions, manioc meal, sarsaparilla, and other forest products were 
exported to Santarém in considerable quantities (Martius, 1867). 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


According to Kruse (1934), the Tapajoz River Munduructi have a 
patrilineal sib and moiety system. There are 34 sibs whose members are 


Vol. 3] THE MUNDURUCU—HORTON Dik 


related to eponymous plants and animals. Sib ancestors are embodied in 
large ceremonial trumpets called “kaduké,” which women are forbidden 
to see upon pain of lifelong unhappiness. Certain sibs are “related.” 
but the nature of the relationship has not been specified. The sibs are 
grouped in exogamous moieties: a red moiety of 15 sibs and a white 
moiety of 19 sibs. A list of the sib names is given by Kruse (1934). 
In Mundurucu tradition these sibs were once warring tribes; their pacifi- 
cation and organization into the present tribal society is attributed to 
the culture hero. 

Polygyny is practiced by men of rank. Younger wives are sometimes 
solicited voluntarily by the elder wife. Martius reports the levirate. He 
also states that if a marriageable girl’s father dies, and she finds no suit- 
able husband, her mother’s brother is obliged to marry her. It is perhaps 
corroborative evidence of this type of marriage that in the kinship terms 
given in Stromer’s vocabulary, a woman addresses her brother and son- 
in-law by the same term (tapo). 

Patrilocal residence is indicated by Martius’ report (1867) that a 
woman guilty of adultery may be expelled from the house and return to 
her own family. According to Hartt (1885), each family’s section of 
the communal house is identified by the family’s color painted on the 
post of the partition. No further information about this color symbolism 
is given. 

Each communal house is said to have its house chief and its shaman. 
Above house chiefs and shamans in rank are war chiefs, chiefs of sub- 
tribes (regional groups or moieties?), and a chief shaman. Bates (1892) 
is the only writer who mentions a paramount tribal chief. Farabee 
(1917 a) makes an obscure reference to differences in class between war 
chiefs and “civil” chiefs (house chiefs?). He also states that the sons 
and daughters of war chiefs intermarry. 


MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND WARFARE 


The central military institution was the group of warriors living in the 
men’s house. This house and the village were constantly guarded by a 
patrol whose leader gave signals by means of a trumpet or flute. When 
a war expedition was being planned, a pledge stick was passed among 
the warriors by the war chief. A warrior pledged himself to join the 
expedition by cutting a notch in the stick. When the war party got under 
way, absolute authority was vested in its leader. 

War was generally waged during the summer dry season. Whenever 
feasible, each warrior was accompanied by his wife or sister, who carried 
his equipment, prepared food, strung hammocks, aided him if he were 
wounded, and assisted in the preliminary preparation of trophy heads. 
The women, according to most authors, took no part in the actual fighting, 


278 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


though Martius reports that women participated in the battle to the extent 
of recovering arrows shot by the enemy and delivering them to their own 
warriors. He even asserts that the women “cleverly catch the arrows of 
the enemy in flight” (Spix and Martius, 1823-31, 3: 1,313). The usual 
method of attack was to assault the enemy village at daybreak and to 
fire the huts by means of incendiary arrows. During the fight, the war 
leader stood behind his warriors directing the attack. Assistants signaled 
his orders on their trumpets. Women and children of the enemy were 
taken prisoner; the women were later married by Munduructt men, and 
the children were adopted. But enemy warriors were killed and their 
heads taken as trophies. 

A Munduruct warrior who had fought bravely but because of a wound 
had failed to obtain a head, received in compensation a cotton belt from 
which hung teeth removed from enemy heads. Such a belt might also 
be given to the widow of a warrior killed in battle (pl. 23, right), and 
her possession of it entitled her to be supported by the community. When 
a warrior had been wounded, his name was not spoken for a year; during 
this time he was considered to be dead. At the end of the year, a feast 
was given to reinstate him in the community. 

Trophy heads were dried and colored with uruct or genipa; the brain 
cavity was filled with cotton and a carrying cord was laced through the 
lips (pl. 23, left). Mundurucu trophy heads were not shrunken. (Koser- 
itz (1885) and Barbosa Rodrigues (1882 a) were both in error on this 
point. ) 

Stromer believes that the Mundurucu were cannibalistic, basing his 
belief on a passage in native text which seems to imply that some part 
of the trophy head was eaten. Kruse (1934) denies that the Mundurucu 
were in any way cannibalistic; Nimuendaju (personal communication) 
doubts the credibility of Stromer’s informants on this subject. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and naming.—According to Martius, the father keeps to his 
hammock for several weeks after the birth of a child and there receives 
the visits and solicitude of his neighbors. Immediately after its birth, 
the child is given a totemic name. Other names are added as the child 
grows older. If a man performs a heroic deed in hunting or warfare, 
his heroism will be commemorated by an additional name. When children 
reach their 8th year, their tatooing begins, and a boy takes up residence 
in the men’s house. ; 

Puberty and marriage.—Martius (1867) says that a girl at her first 
menstruation is required to undergo a long period of fasting “while ex- 
posed to the smoke in the gable of the hut.” 

A girl may be betrothed while still quite young to a mature warrior. 
Though she remains with her parents and the marriage is not consummated 


Vol. 3] THE MUNDURUCU—HORTON 279 


until she reaches puberty, the prospective husband assumes the responsi- 
bility of providing food for her and her parents. A younger man may 
obtain a wife by giving several years’ bride service in the household of 
the girl’s parents. 

Death and burial.—An “executioner” was pointed out to Martius, 
whose duty it was to despatch the fatally ill and the senile. Attribution 
of this custom to the Munduruct is said to be widespread among 
neighboring tribes. 

When a death occurs, the maternal relatives of the deceased cut their 
hair, blacken their faces, and conduct a prolonged wailing for the dead. 
The corpse, wrapped in a hammock, is placed upright with flexed knees 
in a cylindrical grave under the floor of the dwelling. Grave goods con- 
sist of ornaments and other small objects. Skeletons of men of high 
status are exhumed and burned after the flesh has decayed; the ashes 
are buried in jars. 

When a warrior is killed on a distant battlefield, his head is taken 
back to the village and put on display with his ornaments, trumpet, and 
weapons. After a feast in honor of the deceased, the head is suspended 
from the neck of his mother, widow, or sister, and his fellow warriors 
pledge to avenge his death. During this ceremony the shaman is isolated 
in a special hut where he blows the sacred trumpet (kaduké). The cere- 
mony is repeated at yearly intervals, terminating with the fourth per- 
formance, when the head is finally buried in the house of the deceased. 


RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES 


At the beginning of winter, the Mundurucui perform a ceremony which 
on alternate years invokes success in hunting and in fishing. The shaman, 
isolated in a special hut, propitiates the guardian spirits of game animals 
and fish. A ventriloquistic dialogue in which the voices of the animals 
are heard proceeding from the hut informs the people of the shaman’s 
success in obtaining the favor of the spirits. Offerings are made to the 
skulls of animals and fish. The ceremony is directed by a feast leader 
who is both a prominent warrior and a good singer. Tocantins (1877) 
reports a similar annual ceremony to propitiate the spirits of maize 
and manioc. 

Farabee (1917 a) describes a feast held at the first full moon in May 
to celebrate the first hunt following the birth of the April litters of 
peccaries. After a feast in which young peccaries are eaten, there is 
a dance in which the performers imitate a herd of peccaries. Children 
run among the dancers like young peccaries while the older people 
imitate the sound of peccaries feeding; a dancer representing an old boar 
protecting the herd wrestles with another dancer who plays the part of 
a jaguar. The boar succeeds in holding off the jaguar while the herd 
of peccaries escapes. 


280 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


In another dance the peccaries are pursued by hunters and their dogs. 
The peccaries take refuge in a hole in the ground. The hunters then 
simulate the construction of a trap by standing with legs astraddle to 
represent an alley of stakes; the peccaries try to escape between the 
lines of stakes and are killed by a hunter at the end of the alley. 

An abbreviated description of a peccary festival is given by Stromer 
(1932). This is a hunting ceremony in which the skulls of animals 
play a role. Sexual intercourse is performed ritually by the participants. 
At one point in the ceremony, the performers dance on a heap of peccary 
hair while they sing an invocation of success in peccary hunting. 

At a special men’s festival in honor of the sib ancestors the sacred 
trumpets are blown. At the conclusion of the ceremony, a special bev- 
erage is poured through the trumpet into a cup and drunk by the partici- 
pants. The ceremony, performed by men alone since women are not 
permitted to see the trumpets, is said to propitiate the sib ancestors 
and to obtain their good will toward their descendants. 

At the tree festival a tree is set up in the center of the dwelling house; 
the participants stand around it while the shaman smokes tobacco and 
invokes on the house the protection of Karusakaibo, the creator god. 


SHAMANISM AND SORCERY 


The shaman determines the most favorable time for war parties, exor- 
cises evil spirits, takes a leading part in ceremonies, cures the sick, detects 
sorcerers, and intervenes to terminate eclipses of the sun. Illness is 
believed to be caused by the intrusion of a worm into the patient’s body, 
or by sorcery. The shaman cures the intrusion by blowing smoke on the 
patient’s body and sucking out the worm. When many deaths or much 
sickness occur the malevolence of a sorcerer is suspected; the shaman 
detects the sorcerer and informs the chief of his identity. The chief ap- 
points two warriors to follow the sorcerer until they have a favorable 
opportunity to kill him. Some hints as to the technique of sorcery are 
given in Stromer’s vocabulary. He records the word, yamain, meaning 
“to cut off the head and set it back again,” and the word, yakut, “hole in 
the earth in which to bury the head”—both with reference to the practice 
of sorcery. 

Sorcery is said to be virtually the sole cause of homicide among the 
Munduruci. Adultery is punished by the expulsion of the guilty persons. 
When two men become antagonistic, one of them takes his hammock and 
goes to live in the men’s house of another village. 


MYTHOLOGY 


The creator god and culture hero of Mundurucu mythology is Karusa- 
kaib6 (Caru-Sacaibé (Tocantins, 1877)); Karusakaibe (Kruse, 1934) ; 


Vol. 3] THE MUNDURUCU—HORTON 981 


Karusakaibu (Farabee, 1917 a). His wife, Sikrida (Stromer, 1932) ; 
Chicridha (Tocantins, 1877), is a Munduruci woman. Korumtau 
(Carutau (ibid.)) is his eldest son and his second born is Anukaite 
(Hanu-Acuate (ibid.)). Karusakaibo’s companion and helper is Daiiru 
(Rayru (ibid.)), an armadillo. 

Conflict between Karusakaib6 and his sons and companion is a recur- 
rent theme in several myths reported by Stromer and Tocantins. In one 
story, Anukaite is seduced by his mother. Karusakaibo learns of the 
incest and in anger pursues his son. Anukaite delays his flight to have 
sexual intercourse with several importunate women whom he meets on 
the way; his father overtakes him and transforms him into a tapir. The 
insatiable women are transformed into fish. 

On another occasion the offenders are Daiiru and Korumtau. Their 
offense is not explained clearly in the account (Stromer, 1932) but ap- 
pears to involve an improper relationship between Korumtau and some 
peccaries, for which Datiru is partly responsible. Again the guilty are 
pursued by Karusakaibo; to evade his father, Korumtau transforms him- 
self successively into a peccary, a cricket, a bird, and a monkey. Once he 
is wounded by an arrow shot by the pursuing father, but the armadillo 
draws the arrow from the wound. The animals of the forest give aid by 
warning of the father’s approach. Finally, the two fugitives throw them- 
selves into a body of water and escape. 

The Mundurucu origin myth tells of the emergence of mankind from 
under the ground. According to one version (Farabee, 1917 a), Karusa- 
kaibo had made the world but had not created men. One day Daiiru, the 
armadillo, offended the creator and was forced to take refuge in a hole in 
the ground. Karusakaibo blew into the hole and stamped his foot on the 
earth. Daiiru was blown out of the hole by the rush of air. He reported 
that people were living in the earth. He and Karusakaibo made a cotton 
rope and lowered it into the hole. The people began to climb out. When 
half of them had emerged, the rope broke and half remained underground, 
where they still live. The sun passes through their country from west to 
east when it is night on the earth; the moon shines there when the earth 
has moonless nights. According to another version of the tale (Tocantins, 
1877), the creator stamped his foot at the site of the village of Necodemos; 
White people, Indians, and Negroes emerged from a fissure in the ground. 
The creator tattooed the Mundurucu like himself; the Whites and Negroes 
scattered. Karusakaibo then showed the Munduruct how to raise manioc, 
maize, cotton, and other plants and how to utilize them. It was he who 
traced the petroglyphs now found on certain cliffs in the region of 
Necodemos. Another origin-of-agriculture myth is given in a text gath- 
ered by Stromer (1937). 

Kruse (1934) reports a myth in which the women are said to have 
once been in possession of the men’s house, while the men lived in the 


282 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


dwelling house. The men did all the work, including such women’s tasks 
as fetching firewood, providing manioc, and baking manioc meal. The 
woman ruler of the tribe and two companions found three sacred trumpets 
and secretly practiced playing on them in the forest. When the men dis- 
covered the secret, they took the trumpets away from the women. The 
women were sent to the dwelling house and were forbidden to look again 
upon the trumpets, while the men took possession of the men’s house. 

Both Stromer (1932) and Farabee (1917 a) report a myth which tells 
that the sun once fell upon the earth and destroyed its inhabitants by fire. 
Five days after the fire, the creator sent a vulture from the sky to see if the 
earth had cooled, but the vulture remained to eat the bodies of men who 
had been killed. After 4 days a blackbird was sent, but it remained to eat 
the charred buds of the trees. Four days later, the creator sent a dove, 
which returned with earth between its claws. Then the creator came 
down and recreated men and animals of white potter’s clay.* 


LORE AND LEARNING 


A few miscellaneous cosmological beliefs were obtained by Farabee: 
Karusakaibo created the sun by transforming a young man who had red 
eyes and long white hair. The moon is a transformed virgin with white 
skin. The rain spirit makes thunder by rolling a pestle in a mortar. The 
constellations are men and animals in a great savanna. An eclipse of the 
sun is due to a great fire which sweeps over its surface. A powerful 
shaman once ascended to the sun and put out the fire. Now, when an 
eclipse occurs, the shaman sends his yakpu to clear the sun. The yakpu 
(a fragment of meteoric iron) falls to the earth as a ball of fire. After 
it cools, the shaman puts it away until the next eclipse. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Baena, 1885; Barbosa Rodrigues, 1882 a; Bates, 1892; Campana, 1904-06; Chand- 
less, 1862, 1870; Coudreau, H., 1897 a; Farabee, 1917 a; Hartt, 1885; Hodrschelmann, 
1918-20; Katzer, 1901; Koseritz, 1885; Kruse, 1934; Martius, 1867; Nimuendaju, 
1938; Nordenskidld, 1924 b; Spix and Martius, 1823-31, vol. 3; Steinen, 1899; 
Str6mer, 1932, 1937; Tocantins, 1877; Wood, 1868-70. 


4 For texts of some of the myths given in condensed form above, see Strémer (1932); for other 
myths, not included in this account, see Stro6mer (ibid.) and Tocantins (1877). Farabee (1917 a) 
also gives three animal fables which he attributes to the Munduruci. 


(ugg ‘Ipleoty oflug osueRleg nosnyy ASoqunod) “yRequIod UL poy[Ty 1oWIBA BJO MOpLM Aq 
UdAOM “YA90} UBUINY Jo Yo_ “yb (Csoiry souong ‘Svijo'T A BIJOSOTLY op pRyNoey vl op ooyRASouyY oosnyY AsoyMo0D) “yANour oy4 
Wodf SUIBUBY p1Od UOTSUOdSNS B PUB S}IYIOS 9AO UT JOS YJoo} [BUITUB YIM pvoy uUBUINY poredotg -;fo7T ‘syRJHIe nonIMpun;— ez ALVIg 


THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN, AND THEIR NEIGHBORS 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE OLD CAWAHIB 


Cawahib (Kawahib, Cawahiwa, Cabahiba, Cabaiva, Cauhuahipe, 
Cahuahiva) is the 18th- and early 19th-century name of a people who 
later split into some six groups or tribes, among them the Parintintin and 
the Tupi-Cawahib (pp. 299-305). (Lat. 10° S., long. 58° W.; map 1, 
No. 2; map 3.) 

In the 18th century, a tribe named Cabahiba lived on the upper 
Tapajéz River, between the confluence of the Arinos and Juruena Rivers 
and the mouth of the S4o Manoel River. Information about this tribe is 
scanty, partly because it never lived on the banks of the great river, 
unlike its neighbors, the Apiacd. The oldest reference to it, in 1797, 
appears in an anonymous manuscript (1857) with the laconic entry, 
“Cabahibas—Lingua Geral: situated below [the Apiacas], near the said 
confluence [Arinos and Juruena].’’ Subsequently, when the tribe may no 
longer have existed as a unit in that region, it is mentioned by writers 
who evidently based their statements on older data. The Cabahiba are 
not mentioned on the upper Tapajéz by any of the travelers of the first 
three decades of the 19th century who wrote on the Apiacd, but they are 
noted in other territory. The following is quoted from a list. which 
Castelnau (1850-59, vol. 3) compiled in 1844, but which evidently refers 
to the situation at the beginning of the century: “The Cabaivas cultivate 
considerable plantations to the west of the Juruena, but they are located 
much farther from the river than the nations mentioned before (Tame- 
pugas, Urupuyas, Macuris, and Birapacaparas).” Manoel Ayres Cazal 
(1707, p. 256) mentions them in 1817 in the same manner, “To the north 
of the latter (Appiacas) live the Cabahybas who speak the same language.” 

In 1819, some Apiacd informed Canon Guimaraes that the Cauhuahipe 
(Cawahib) lived on the Paramutanga (parana-mitan, “red river,” i.e., 
“Sangue River’), a tributary of the Juruena, and that they used silver 
ornaments. Melgaco in his “Apontamentos” (1884) locates them ap- 
proximately in the same region, on the Campos dos Pareceis, between the 
Arinos and Juruena Rivers. Another Apiacd told Castelnau in 1814 


6533334721 
5 283 


284. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


that the Cahuahiva lived among the tribes along the Juruena, but were 
driven from the river shores by the Apiacd. There is no further mention 
in the literature of the name Cabahiba, but V. P. Vasconcellos’ expedition 
down the Sangue River in 1915 (Rondon, 1916) found unknown and 
hostile Indians on its lower portions. The behavior of these Indians 
suggested that they were a Tupi tribe, as Rondon believed, and not 
Nambicuara, as Vasconcellos thought. 

As the name Cawahib gradually disappeared from the writings about 
Mato Grosso, Parintintin began to appear in Para at the beginning of 
the 19th century. Parintintin (pari, “non-Munduruct Indian,” rign-rign, 
“fetid”) is the name given the Cawahib by the Munduruci, its mortal 
enemies and neighbors to the north. 

The Mundurucu originally were concentrated in the region of the Rio 
das Tropas, but, since 1750, they have expanded mainly at the expense 
of the Cawahib. The Mundurucu, according to their tradition, expelled 
the Parintintin from the Cururt River Basin. They continued to perse- 
cute them until the beginning of the 20th century, and no doubt caused 
them to split into six isolated groups between the SAo Manoel-Paranatinga 
and the Madeira Rivers. It has been established that two of che most 
important of these, the Parintintin of the Madeira River and the “T2pi” 
of the Machado, call themselves Cawahib. Two others, one at the head- 
waters of the Machadinho River and the other in the interior between the 
upper Tapajéz and Sao Manoel Rivers, do not, judging by the few known 
words of their language, differ from the other groups. Historic and 
ethnographic data indicate that the fifth, that on the Sangue River, is 
probably also a Cawahib group. Of the sixth, on the upper Bararaty 
River, it is known only that they are hostile to civilized people and that 
they occupy a part of the former territory of the old Parintintin; it is just 
barely possible that they form part of the Cazwahib tribe. 


THE PARINTINTIN 
TERRITORY, LANGUAGE, AND HISTORY 


Names of the Parintintin are: Self-designation, Cawahib; Cawahiwa 
(kab, kawa, “wasp”); in Munduruct, Pari-rign-rign, “fetid Indians” ; 
in Maué, Paritin, from the Mundurucui term designating all hostile In- 
dians; in Mura of the Autaz River, Wdhai; in Mura of the Madeira 
River, Toepehe, Topehé (from Munduruct taypehe=penis?) ; in Piraha 
Toypehé; in Tord, Toebehé (from the Mura) or Nakazeti, “fierce”; in 
Matanawi, Itoebehe (from the Tord) or Tapakara; and in the Lingua 
Geral of the past century, Yawareta-Tapwya, “Jaguar Indians.” 

Until 1922, the Parintintin occupied the region between the Madeira 
River, the Amazonian parts of the Machado and Marmellos Rivers, and 
the right tributary of the latter, the Rio Branco. 


Se ee ee 


a tag 2 


as 


WARIWA - TAP 


LUISHANA & PARI A NA, 
Ay S 
VI 


MAN 18 C. 
ANIBA 
as 


Aw) —1T/PUNA 

LL, 1691 

id / TopAgHANA 
A 1691 


a 


CATAWIY ap) RS en 


alg 


. ‘ 
3 I Ti CUCHSY A RA a > 
Pep \ \ PAUAWA SS ; j 8 CUMAYAR/ rt 2 
\PIDA-DVAPA As Zr MURA 4 MORA 2 
A XY Qe YOEMAMAY neh yy 404Each! 3 
1691 4 = 
be 2 « 


R.AbacaR 1GAPUITHRIVARA 
wn 


he 
a 
eo 
\ 
re 
xX 
XN 
N 
ON 


URUPA 


\ % 
Geos Pi 
\ = 


ONICORE 
(PEA é 
i 


he 


Se 


Navara 
<= R.Pouiny 


YAMAMAD/ 


44cu 


CANAMARTI 


Rinauiny 


INDIANS 


UAINAMAR/ 


pus CAYAPRO 


ER! 


INDIANS 


° ’ 
/ Lanne 
A o 
; fs - oe; 
PACAHA: tors kg Bs, ol” & rr lla = 
a) Uy = re FeO 
Mar 3.—The tribes of Central Brazil. Solid underlining, modern locations; 5 ue! 


broken underlining, extinct portions of tribes; otherwise, date of location is 
given under thetribalname, Tribes not underlined are extinct. (Compiled by 
Curt Nimuendaja.) 


ae 


/PURUBORA 


: 5 
P PARI & 
“CHICH a 4] SANAMA! 
came "A8UT! ppauasin| SANAMAINS 


1769 ‘ 
ye RICAPU , ficeig 
7 ANOA 
chy asur/WArOre WIAPE,EASACA cy piswand 
pronto ARUA MACURAP PA ROAR 
ROW PAPAMIE cua eh PP ar 


aa ie? gh 
D/ o78 N ‘ 
DEMO esd 


PALMELLA Jes 
200 a) M/ & PALENTEN 
< 1769 


Q 


R.Juruena 


55 
6s° 60° 65833848 (Face p. 284) 


s* 


arghagr’ @itat! 


’ « " 
 £ hes 
ea oy we 


HN Jochike axe barl! 


miwas Lid ’: adi 


| 


werd” Bile 


bENTS, 


¥ * 
ete 


beers 


edt 


WiheBou 


adi 14! 


1 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 985 


The Parintintin language is pure Tupi, and differs from the upper 
Machado Tupi only in some phonetic variations. In the Parintintin 
vocabulary compiled by Severiano da Fonseca (1880-81) in 1878, 
only a few words can be identified, the remainder being incomprehensible. 
In 1922, Garcia de Freitas (1926) took the first vocabulary of 127 
words, and in December 1922, the present author (Nimuendaju, 1924, 
p. 262) collected a vocabulary of 328 entries. 


In 1922, the number of Parintintin was estimated at 250. Garcia de 
Freitas (1926) gave a total of 500 for that year, but included two adjacent 
groups. The existence of one of these is in doubt, and the number of the 
other may be less than the author thought. At present, the Parintintin, 
excluding the Apairandé, who still keep aloof, number about 120. They 
are divided into three groups: (1) That on the Igarapé Ipixuna, a 
tributary of Lake Uruapiara; (2) the Tres Casas settlement; and (3) 
the Calama group. The members of the last two are rubber gatherers 
(Garcia de Freitas, 1926). 


Parintintin were first mentioned as a cannibal tribe in the Madeira region in 1829 
(Castelnau, 1850, 3: 164). They occupied territory that belonged previously to the 
Tord, Mura and Pirahd. The earliest report of Parintintin hostilities known to the 
present author was in 1852. Since then, the Parintintin have probably made at 
least one assault each year on the civilized people, who were always more or less 
the losers. They became the scourge of the Madeira. 

Cruel guerrilla warfare dragged on for long decades. Punitive expeditions by 
the Neo-Brazilians, or by the Mundurucit under the orders of the latter, did not 
improve matters. Colonel Rondon instigated an attempt to pacify the Parintintin, 
but his emissary fell into a pitfall and was seriously injured. In 1922, after several 
ineffectual attacks, the Parintintin made their first contact with the personnel of the 
Servico de Protecgao aos Indios at the Station on the Maicy River, a tributary of 
the Marmellos River on the left bank. Since then, the tribe has not again attacked 
the civilized people on the Madeira River. It has, however, suffered great losses 
from disease acquired through contact with civilization. Part of the survivors 
went into service under the rubber workers on the Madeira River, and another part 
remained peacefully on the Igarapé Ipixuna. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Parintintin practice extensive agriculture. They have a variety 
of maize so tender that it may be eaten raw. They also grow sweet 
manioc, sweet potatoes, bananas, papaya, urucu, and cotton. Formerly, 
they did not know tobacco or beans, not even by name. 

They are good hunters, though fishing is of greater importance. Tapir 
is their favorite game, and they relish monkeys but fear losing their 
arrows on them. To catch birds, they set out sticks covered with the 
viscous milk of guanani (Tomorita sp. ?) (Nunes Pereira, 1940, p. 36). 
They eat batrachians. 


286 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.H. Bull. 143 


The Parintintin take fish with weirs placed across the outlets of lakes, 
and with bows and arrows shot from their canoes. In suitable places, 
a fisherman awaits his chance on a platform built on a limb overhanging 
the river. Frequently, these Indians make decoys—full-size figures of 
fishes carved of tree bark and painted with charcoal—and hold them 
underwater by a long, slender rod stuck into the river bank. They lack 
fishhooks. 

The Parintintin have no domesticated animals and even fear small 
dogs, but they keep large numbers of wild birds. 

They roast maize in ashes or pound it in a mortar. They wet the 
flour and make it into balls the size of a fist, which are baked in embers 
and again crushed in the mortar. The dry flour thus prepared is eaten 
dry with meat or fish, or it is cooked as a porridge. The Parintintin 
also make flat cakes (beiju) roasted in embers. Their mortar is the 
vertical, cylindrical type. The pestle is a long, slender stick. When 
traveling, they carry small portable mortars. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The huts are open rectangular sheds 20 m. (about 65 ft.) or more 
long and 6 m. (20 ft.) high. The roof sometimes extends beyond the 
hut to form a veranda. Inside, at irregular intervals between the uprights, 
there are horizontal poles from which the hammocks are hung. The 
hammocks are small because the Indians sleep doubled-up on their sides. 
A fire always burns inside. 

The huts are grouped at random, with no more than four in each 
settlement. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


A man’s complete costume consists of four pieces. (1) The penis 
sheath is worn by all Indians. It is made of at least 12 overlapping 
leaves of aruma (Jschnosiphon ovatus), partly held together by two 
stitches. The edges are doubled, so as not to chafe the skin, and the 
whole piece before being put in place is rectangular in shape. The piece 
is wrapped around the whole penis to form a cylinder, the edges meeting 
on the underside. It is tied with a piece of cotton thread around the 
upper end and another at the head of the penis. To remove the sheath 
for urinating or washing, the threads are untied. No Indian over 12 
years old may go about without this sheath (“kaa”). Penis sheaths 
of exaggerated length (up to 40 cm.) are doubtless the basis for the 
legend of a tribe whose members, like the Parintintin kaa, hang to their 
knees. The Munduruci called this tribe the “Taipe-sisi.” (2) Some 
men wear a narrow belt of embira, tied in front so that its short fringes 
hang over the pubis. (3) All men wear one or more belts, each made 
of several rings of buriti stalks which are firmly joined in front but 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 287 


hang loose behind, partly covering the buttocks. (4) Arm bands are 
described below. 

Boys 8 to 12, who do not yet use the penis sheath, wear under their 
buriti belts two fringed embira aprons, one over the other. Smaller 
children go about completely naked or wear a small belt of buriti stalk. 

Sometimes people wrap embira around the ankles as protection against 
snakes. 

Women have no clothing, but generally tie a cotton thread below the 
knee and another above the ankle. 

Soon after birth, the earlobes of both sexes are pierced. Ordinarily 
nothing is worn through the hole, but some men put a little stick through, 
or, on special occasions, a little bamboo stick, the end of which rests on 
the shoulder, or a feather tuft. 

Feather ornaments, used exclusively by men and older boys, are not 
showy. They comprise feather diadems and neck feathers. The diadems 
consist of a wide band of feathers of different colors, covered at the 
base by a narrower band of black feathers. The whole is mounted on 
a double ring of buriti stalks, with a circular elastic net made of cotton 
threads. The neck pieces are made of straw, feather tufts, cords, light 
sticks covered with fine feathers, and macaw tail feathers, from the 
points of which fine feathers or human hair are hung. Another ornament 
exclusively for men is a babasst straw armband, 3 cm. (1.2 inches) wide, 
decorated with small feathers glued to it and with tufts and long strings 
of feathers. Other ornaments are made of embira, with long fringes, 
or of tubular bones. Children wear necklaces of a great variety of ma- 
terials and a characteristic ornament consisting of two teeth of a large 
mammal, e. g., jaguar, peccary, or tapir, symmetrically tied or merely 
held by a string. The only women’s ornament is a string of beads of 
tucuma and of bone. 


The Parintintin are always well-groomed and keep their hair combed. 
Eyebrows and lashes, but not body hair, are plucked. Both sexes cut 
their hair in a circle, so that bangs fall a little above the eyebrows and 
the top of the ears are covered. Some women wear their hair long, 
tied with a cotton thread behind. Hair trimmings are carefully collected 
to avoid their use in witchcraft. Combs are small and one-sided, the 
teeth being held between two pairs of sticks by a cotton wrapping. 


Tattooing is done with genipa dye. On men, it consists of three lines 
from each ear, one to the upper lip, one to the corner of the mouth, and 
one to the chin, with lines encircling the mouth, and a fishtail design at 
each corner of the mouth. Women have a rectangular Greek fret on 
the chin, the same length as the mouth with a wide line on each side 
from the fret to the ear. They also have a fine line over the eye and 
a horizontal line extending from the corner of the eye. Practically all 
men have a jaguar tattooed on the inside of the forearm and a pact 


988 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


(Prochilodus sp.) on the outside. Commonly the left side of a man’s 
back, from the shoulder blade down, has two vertical rows of 10 to 15 
rectangles of solid color. Other tatooed figures vary considerably from 
one individual to another. 

As pigments for body paint, the Parintintin use clay for white, uruct 
for red, genipa for dark blue, and burnt Brazil nuts for black, the last 
restricted to men. Women prefer uruct, with which they sometimes 
paint themselves from head to foot. For warfare and for welcoming 
a guest, which is done by simulating an attack, men paint a band 3 
fingers wide from one ear to the other, across the mouth. They also 
paint their forearms and trace horizontal stripes or irregular spots on 
either side of their chest and thighs. Some smear black on themselves 
without design. Certain warriors go into combat entirely covered with 
white, presenting a ghostly appearance. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Parintintin canoe is made of a section of “jutahy” bark (Hyme- 
naea), with raised edges. It is reinforced by long poles along the sides, by 
inside cross pieces, which serve as seats, and by liana ties at the ends 
and from side to side. The bottom of the canoe is covered with a 
mat made of sticks. These craft are 5 to 7 m. (about 16%4 to 23% ft.) 
long and 0.5 meter (1% ft.) wide. In spite of their crude construction, 
they can travel at a high speed. It seems that formerly the Parintintin, 
like the Apiacd, used only thick bamboos split in half as paddles, but 
later they stole so many paddles from the civilized people that they 
rarely used their original type. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—The Parintintin have few baskets, except temporary ones 
woven of green palm leaves. The best are made of babassu straw, with 
a round bottom. Fire fans are pentagonal, the larger ones being used 
also as mats when sitting by the fire (apparently the Parintintin have no 
benches). Sieves for maize flour are bowl-shaped. 

Spinning and weaving.—The spindle used for cotton has a small 
button on top of the shank and a jaboti (Testudo tabulata) shell whorl 
with incised decoration. The Parintintin may formerly have woven 
slings for carrying children, but at the time of their pacification, all were 
made of stolen cloth or of embira. Hammocks are made of cotton, and 
are twined; the interval between the weft elements varies greatly. Sep- 
arate strands are not added at the ends to form suspension loops (sobre- 
punhos) ; instead, the long, strong warp strands of tauari (Couratari sp.) 
fibers are gathered into a bundle which is doubled back to form a loop. 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 289 


Pottery.—No clay pot was ever seen among the Parintintin, but this 
tribe knows the Tupi name for pot (nyaepepo, a word formed with nyaé, 
“clay”), so that the ceramic art must have been lost only recently. 


Gourds.—The only vessels are made of calabashes and gourds. The 
latter were made with a narrow orifice for water containers, and with 
a wide opening and a suspension cord for holding small items. Calabashes 
are blackened inside, but lack exterior decoration. Cracks are repaired 
by sewing with thread. 

Weapons.—The main weapon is the bow and arrow. The bows are 
made of pau d’arco (Tecoma sp.) and are over 2 m. (6 ft.) long, with a 
semicircular cross section, and the belly side flat or slightly con- 
cave. The string is three-ply of embira or tauari (Couratari sp.). In 
shooting, the bow is held diagonally, the upper end slightly to the right. 
Children’s toy bows are either round or semicircular in cross section. 

Arrows are of three types: (1) A fishing arrow, of wild cane 
(Gynerium), approximately 2.5 m. (81% ft.) long, without feathering and 
with one to three heads barbed with iron nails; (2) a small game arrow, 
used only occasionally in fishing or warfare, 1.5 m. (4% ft.) long, with a 
slender shaft of camayuva (Guadua sp.), with tangential (arched) feather- 
ing, and tipped with a wooden rod, which is serrated on one side or cut 
with a series of fine overlapping cones; (3) a large game and war arrow, 
with a heavy camayuva shaft and a lanceolate bamboo head 40 cm. (16 in.) 
long. The last may have a barb on each side of the proximal end, two 
pairs of barbs, a powerful continuous row of teeth on one side, or no barbs 
at all. The point is extremely sharp, and the edges are made razor-sharp 
by means of an instrument consisting of a cutia (Dasyprocta aguti) tooth 
attached to a handle. Now and then the hafted end of the point has 
a beautiful fabric of black and white hairs of the peccary (Tayassu tajacu). 
Arrow feathers are generally of mutum (Crax) and royal sparrow hawk, 
and are 30 cm. (12 in.) long, flush and unspiralled; the wrappings are 
covered with fine throat feathers of the toucan. The 10 or 12 intermediate 
ties consist of very fine threads. 

On two occasions the Parintintin used plain round sticks, 1.5 m. (4% 
ft.) long, as clubs and discarded them afterward. They use bamboo daggers 
with sharp blades like arrowheads and the internodal end as the handle. 
These are the original knives which they used for various purposes, 
including cutting their hair. 

Fire.—Fire is made with a hand-rotated drill and a hearth which has 
three slightly concave surfaces. The drill penetrates one of the lateral 
surfaces through to the bottom surface, where the accumulated powder 
ignites. Lacking this apparatus, an arrow shaft and bamboo arrowhead 
are used. Charred cotton serves as tinder. 


290 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Moieties.—The Parintintin are divided in two exogamic, unlocalized 
patrilineal moieties: Mitu (Mitwa, mitu) and Kwandu (Harpia 
harpyja, royal hawk). It is inconceivable to them that there could 
exist any person, even a foreigner, who was neither a Mitt nor a Kwandu. 

For a warlike people, it is strange that the Parintintin at the time of the 
pacification had no chiefs except family heads, whose authority was not 
absolute. During combat, warriors acted in unison only until the first 
round of arrows was discharged, after which each did what he pleased and 
fought if he had courage, or else ran off. 

Property.—At the time of the pacification, the majority of the 
Parintintin were admittedly incorrigible thieves who employed all sorts 
of tricks to steal the property of others openly or by stealth. Even within 
the tribe, individuals stole from one another, trusting their fellow tribesmen 
much less than the personnel sent to pacify them. This tendency was 
noticeable even among children. 

Modesty.—By the standards of civilized people, men behaved quite 
decently, although some individuals enjoyed obscene gestures and sayings. 
Women and girls, however, behaved with complete decency, and never 
made their nudity obvious. The men are ashamed to uncover their penis 
and, when bathing, turn their backs to others as they remove the casing 
to wash the member. They practice their physiological acts out of sight 
of others. 

Names.—Nothing is known about the manner of naming. People 
change their names frequently. They do not hesitate either to tell their 
own names or to ask those of others. Some names of men are: Tawari 
(Couratari sp.?), Mohangi (mohan, “medicine” ), Mboavaim (mbo, active 
particle, ava, “man,” im, negative), and Wiratib (wira, “bird,” tib, “be’’). 


WARFARE AND CANNIBALISM 


War.—Before the pacification in 1922, the Parintintin lived in constant 
struggle with everyone outside the tribe. They had not the slightest 
respect for the life and property of others. For young people, who in 
general were turbulent, presumptuous, and disrespectful, war was not a 
deplorable necessity, but a favorite sport. 

The Parintintin attacked at any season and time of day or night, though 
most war was waged in summer. War parties never exceeded 20 men. 
With their bows ready, they would pounce upon the enemy without the 
slightest notice and with incredible speed, taking advantage of any open 
path which permitted unobstructed maneuvers. After their first round of 
arrows was sent through the enemies’ straw huts, they burst out with war 
cries and discharged more rounds. The terrified inhabitants, seeking to 
escape, often ran directly into the arrows. Those who fell were promptly 
pierced by a stream of arrows, tramped upon, and beheaded. The victims 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 991 


occasionally saved the situation with firearms, but often the Parintintin 
won in spite of such defense. If they did not win on the first attempt, 
however, they withdrew immediately. 

Whenever possible, the Parintintin carried away their victims’ heads and 
sometimes arms and legs. On the way home, they strewed the trail with 
caltrops made of bamboo arrowheads removed from the shafts, and, at 
the entrance of their villages, they dug carefully camouflaged pitfalls, 
bristling with bamboo points. The Parintintin never reared captive 
children. 

Warriors, especially young ones, decorated themselves for battle with 
beautiful feather crowns of vivid colors and with long neck feathers. Many 
painted themselves black with charcoal from chestnuts or with white clay. 

At the time of their pacification, the Parintintin were fighting only the 
Neo-Brazilians and the Pirahd. 

Cannibalism.—For a long time after the pacification, the Parintintin 
did not deny that they were cannibals. The latest case of cannibalism 
occurred in 1924 when they killed a family of Piraha (Garcia de Freitas, 
1926, p. 70 s.). They saved a piece of the victim’s flesh for the repre- 
sentative of the Servico de Protecgéo aos Indios, who saw them at that 
time dancing with the roasted and shriveled hand of their victim. 

Trophies.—The Parintintin were passionate head hunters. The victims’ 
heads were defleshed and cooked to remove every bit of flesh and to loosen 
the teeth. The teeth were made into a necklace that was given to one of 
the warriors. The skull was washed, tied with embira strips, and provided 
with a cord loop by means of which it was held over the left shoulder 
during dances. When visitors arrived, the warriors performed with the 
skulls. Immediately after the war greeting (see below), each warrior 
mimicked the struggle with the enemy whose skull he carried. He then ran 
back and forth in front of the visitors, singing a war song, during which 
he was followed by two young people who presented gourds filled with 
honey and water to the visitors. The trophy and the gourds were then 
placed in the front, and everybody shouted and shot arrows at the trophy. 
Then followed dances around the trophy, accompanied by bamboo flutes. 
Finally, others danced with the trophy, reciting their own deeds. 

According to Garcia, it was the custom to sacrifice prisoners in the 
plaza, killing them by means of a special spear (more probably a pointed 
club was used). 


ETIQUETTE 


When Indians from some other group approached, the inhabitants of 
the hut hastily put on their war paint, while chewing charcoal, and re- 
ceived the visitors with gestures and shouts of, “Let me kill!”. They shot 
arrows over the heads of the visitors and uttered war cries. Then the 
household head went forward, put his hand on the shoulder of the first 


999 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


visitor to come to him, stamped his foot, and shouted a long speech of 
welcome in his ear. After this, they accepted the visitors and removed 
their war paint. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth—When a child is born, its father and relatives utter war cries 
and shoot arrows. 

Childhood and puberty.—Children are usually well treated, but oc- 
casional brutal treatment was observed. When their fringed aprons are 
replaced for the first time by penis covers, boys go into the jungle to hunt 
and bring home their kill. Before the penis casing is put on, mandibles 
(not stings) of tucandeira ants are applied to them. Then the youths 
approach the house, where they are greeted with war cries, and arrows 
are shot (Garcia de Freitas, 1926, p. 68). 

A girl’s first menstruation is announced by war cries and arrow shoot- 
ing. According to Garcia de Freitas, girls 10 to 12 years of age are 
publicly deprived of their virginity, in spite of their objections; in one 
case, two Indians traded their sisters for this ceremony. The faces and 
bodies of young people, especially young men, bear the marks of bites and 
scratches received in amorous encounters, for it seems that before marriage 
there is much liberty for both sexes. 

Marriage.—Marriage is arranged by the parents. The groom some- 
times receives the bride while she is still a little girl and rears her. After 
a long time with his first wife, a man may take another, but Garcia 
noticed only three cases of bigamy in the whole tribe. Young men have 
a certain aversion to marriage because of the work entailed by family life. 
During the pacification period, no man ever showed disrespect toward his 
wife, but a woman was seen to grasp her husband by his hair and slap 
him, while he merely hid his face. On overland trips, the husband carries 
his wife’s as well as his own basket of goods, and on water he alone paddles 
the canoe. 

Before their pacification, the Parintintin accorded old people little 
consideration. 

Burial.—The body is painted with uruct, decorated with a feather 
diadem, wrapped in the hammock with its legs drawn up and its hands 
placed between the thighs, and buried in a square grave, 1.5 m. (4% ft.) 
deep, in the house. Before the open grave, the possessions of the deceased 
are distributed among his friends and relatives, but his war arrows are 
broken and burned. The grave is filled and the earth beaten down with 
the feet and smoothed with water. Mortars and heavy tree trunks are 
placed over the grave to protect it against the evil spirit. The women cry 
much, and the men maintain an attitude of sorrow. 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 293 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—The best Parintintin pictorial art is tattooing. Crude figures of 
animals and people are sometimes cut on flutes and horns. Wood carvings 
are crude and at times of monstrous ugliness. 

Music and dancing.—A triumphal dance, held after receiving some 
object, consists of eight steps forward, a half-turn, and eight steps back, 
etc., and always ends with two double tones on the panpipes and a war 
shout. It is accompanied by improvised singing. 

The Parintintin dance in a circle to the bamboo clarinet (toré). Each 
man keeps his arms around the shoulders of the man next to him and 
dances in this position, jumping with both feet together. Women occa- 
sionally take part in it, passing slightly hunched under the arms of the men. 

Musical instruments.—The bamboo flute is 1.5 m. (5 ft.) long. The 
panpipes have 7 to 15 pipes. A bamboo flute, one finger thick and closed 
on one end by an internode, has a rectangular opening on side for the 
mouth and another near the open end for the fingers. Other flutes are 
double, connected by the common internode in the middle. Signal trumpets 
are made of thick bamboo and are blown through a side opening. A 
child’s toy consists of a whistle made of the skull of an acouti-purt 
(Sciurus sp.) with all openings, except the foramen magnum, plugged 
with wax. 

Narcotics.—The Parintintin formerly did not know tobacco, and at 
first it was so repellent to them that they would not go near a person who 
was smoking. 

Nunes Pereira (1940) mentions the invention of cauim, or chicha, by 
the wife of the culture hero, Bahira, who toasted maize, chewed it up, 
put it in a gourd with water and honey and let it ferment many days. 


RELIGION 


According to Garcia de Freitas (1926), the Parintintin sang to the 
Sun. The song lasts the whole night, until sunrise, during which time 
they drink only chicha, being forbidden to eat. They regard the moon as 
the protector of crops, believing that it waters them at the right time. 

Ghosts that cause nightmares are sent to “heavenly mansions” by means 
of chants. They are carried there by the Kaihu spirit (macaco coata, 
Ateles sp.) 


MYTHOLOGY 


Some Parintintin myths have been transcribed by Nunes Pereira 
(1940), but they seem incomplete and contain some mistakes. The prin- 
cipal character is the culture hero, Bahira, the equivalent of the Apiaca 
Bairy and the Tupinamba and Tembé Maira. Undoubtedly, Bahira had 
a companion, like most culture heroes, but Nunes Pereira assumed him to 


294 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 145 


be a different character according to the occasion. The character called 
an “Indian” by the same author is none other than Azon of the Tembé 
and Anyai of the Apapocuva-Guarani, as proved by the episode in which 
Bahira fools him during the fishing party and the scalping. Some of 
Bahira’s adventures are based purely on Tupi themes, e.g., the theft of 
fire from the vultures. The motif of the pursuing devil, who was killed 
tossing a cluster of anaja (Ma-ximiliana regia) on his head, occurs also 
among the Shipaya. The story of the man who is imprisoned on a tree 
or in a cliff near the nest of a bird is known to the Tembé and to various 
Ge tribes (Apinayé, Canella, Sherente, Cayapd). The story of the pris- 
oner who later changed into a sparrow hawk and took revenge on his 
malefactor is also found among the Tembé. 

Some Parintintin motifs are entirely lacking in the folklore of other 
Tupi tribes. Thus, the exchange of excrements by which the ant-eater 
deceives the jaguar, belongs to Caingang and Bacairi folklore. The tale 
of the hero, who is made invulnerable and, changed into a fish, escapes 
with the arrows shot at him, occurs among the Sherente, Camacan, and 
Mashacali. The story of the fish which are caught by the hero and changed 
into people, and the theme of the mosquitoes originating from the stomach 
of a mutum (Crax sp.) are motifs of the Tucuna folklore. 


INDIANS OF THE ANARI RIVER REGION 
TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


In 1914 or 1915, a band of unknown Indians appeared on the upper 
Anari River, a left tributary of the lower Machado River, at lat. 9° 40’ S., 
on lands previously inhabited by the then almost extinct Jarz. The band 
had come from the left branch of the Branco River, a tributary of the 
Jamary, where it had lived peaceably until friction developed with rubber 
collectors. In reprisal for an attack, the Indians’ village and farms were 
destroyed, and the group fled to the Preto River region, but, failing to get 
along with the rubber gatherers there, it moved on to the headwaters of 
the Agua Azul and Limaozinho Rivers, tributaries of the Madeirinha, and 
to the Carmelo and Jandahyra River regions. Here they founded three 
villages. In 1916, they were established on both banks of the upper 
Machadinho River. Rubber gatherers of the Preto River drove them out 
of the Carmelo region, but in turn were attacked. Attempts to pacify 
these Indians began in 1916 but all failed (Horta Barboza, 1916, pp. 9 f., 
26, 32), and, to the present date, 1942, the tribe has maintained its hostile 
attitude. 

The cultural data below indicate that the Indians of the upper Anari 
River constitute another group of Cawahib. The name Bocas Pretas, 
“black mouths,” given them by Neo-Brazilians suggests that they have 
black tattoo marks around the mouth, like the Parintintin of the Madeira 
River. 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 995 


CULTURE 


In 1916-17, Captain Horta Barboza gathered a few ethnographic data. 
These Indians grew maize, manioc, arrow-root, and cotton, but no bananas. 
One village consisted of nine huts and two large open sheds. There were 
baskets containing maize, and utensils for preparing meal. The Indians 
would not accept tobacco, but picked up other gifts that were put out for 
them. They had pots, a toré-type clarinet, 32 to 40 inches (80 to 100 cm.) 
long, and hammocks made of wild fibers with small cross twines. The 
tribe attacked with arrows, giving war cries, and they strew caltrops on 
the paths. Six words were collected from a captive girl. 


THE “PARINTINTIN” BETWEEN THE UPPER TAPAJOZ AND 
SAO MANOEL RIVERS 


In the triangle between the upper Tapajoz and Sado Manoel Rivers, 
below lat. 10° S., there seems to be a tribe called Tapanyuna which has 
been hostile until very recent times. Coudreau and the Franciscans of 
the Cururt Mission refer to them as “Parintintin.” Information given 
H. Coudreau in 1895 by the Munduruct, who were then at war with this 
tribe, showed that it lived 2 or 3 days’ travel above the Seven Falls of the 
Sao Manoel River. Father Hugo Mense (personal correspondence) 
describes them as tall, slender, handsome, long-haired Indians who are 
cannibals but good pilots. The Mission’s published report, “Lose Blatter 
vom Cururt” (n. d.), contains 21 words which Mense obtained from a 
captive. The language is very similar to that of Cawahib. Until the 1920’s, 
the tribe still made attacks in the region of the Sao Tomé River and other 
right tributaries of the upper Tapajoz. Today it is no longer mentioned. 

Another mysterious tribe of the same region is the 'Taipe-shishi (a 
Munduruct name meaning “large number’’), called Taipd-chichi by Father 
Hugo Mense, Raipe-chichi or Aipo-sissi by H. Coudreau (1897 a), 
Taypeheh-shish by Father Albert Kruse, and Takai-mbucwt by the 
Apiaca (according to Kruse, Takdi-mbuku, “long penis”). A missionary 
report found in the Arquivos da Inspectoria do Servico de Protecgio aos 
Indios in Belém links the tribe to the Tapanyuna, probably using this name 
in the modern sense, but Kruse identifies it as Parintintin. The name can 
only refer to the exceedingly long penis sheath (16 in., or 40 cm.) worn 
by the Parintintin, or at least, by those of the Madeira River. The Apiaca 
informed Koch-Griinberg (1902) that this tribe wore their hair long, like 
Mense’s “Parintintin,’ a feature which distinguishes them from the 
Madeira Parintintin and relates them to the Cayabi. The Taipe-shishi are 
probably the Parintintin who live in the region between the upper Tapajoz 
and Sado Manoel Rivers, and both names are synonyms designating a group 
of the Cawahib tribe. 


996 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


INDIANS OF THE SANGUE RIVER REGION 


Information which Father Guimaraes (1865) received from the Apiaca 
in 1819 put the “Cauahipe” on the Paramutanga (Sangue) River, a tribu- 
tary of the Juruena. Melgaco (1884) says they were between the Juruena 
and the Arinos Rivers, and an Apiacd told Castelnau in 1844 that the 
“Cahuahiva’ had been driven inland from the Juruena River by the 
Apiaca. 

In 1915, an expedition of the Commission of Stragetic Telegraph Lines 
from Mato Grosso to the Amazon, led by Lieutenant F. P. Vasconcellos, 
was attacked by Indians on the lower Sangue River. These Indians were 
strong and well built. They used bark canoes, grew manioc and bananas, 
and had hammocks. The men wore fiber aprons, but the only woman seen 
was nude. Both sexes wore necklaces and bracelets, and had their faces 
painted white and three white and black lines painted on the wrists. Their 
arrows had an arched feathering (Rondon, 1916, pp. 259-270). 

Vasconcellos (in Rondon, 1916) classified this tribe as Nambicuara, 
but Rondon correctly related it to the “Parnauat” (Tupi of the Machado 
River), for it is probably another offshoot of the Cawahib. 


INDIANS OF THE BARARATY RIVER REGION 


In Castelnau’s list of tribes (1850-59, 3: 104) compiled from early 19th- 
century data, he says that the Parintintin lived from Todos os Santos Falls, 
lat. 8° S., to a little above the mouth of the Sdo Manoel River. In 1895, 
the Mundurucu who lived in the region of the Bararaty River (a left tribu- 
tary of the upper Tapajéz, about 6 miles above the Sao Manoel River) 
stated that about 8 days’ travel from the mouth and above some falls, lived 
the Pari-uaia-Bararaty tribe (Coudreau, H., 1897 a). About 1920 these 
Indians assaulted rubber collectors of this same region, but today they are 
no longer mentioned. 

This may have been another Cawahib group which remained more or 
less in its original location. 


THE “PARINTINTIN” BETWEEN THE JAMAXIM AND 
CREPORY RIVERS 


Friar Pelino de Castovalva, missionary to the Munduruct in Bacabal, 
in a report prepared in 1876, refers to the appearance of a band of 
“Parintintin’ in the vicinity of the mission (right bank of the Tapajoz, 
lat. 6° 25’ S.). The Indians attacked a rubber gatherer at the mouth of 
the Jamaxim River, and killed a woman, whose head they carried away. 
The mission Mundurucué pursued them and captured several, but they con- 
tinued their bloody attacks, especially in the Jamaxim River region, until 
1883. 


Vol. 3] THE CAWAHIB, PARINTINTIN—NIMUENDAJU 997 


H. Coudreau alone has ethnographic data on this group, and he ob- 
tained them from a third party in 1895. Every year during the summer 
the tribe peaceably passed through the rubber forests on the Crepory 
and Caderiri Rivers, withdrawing in the winter to the interior of the 
forests between the Xingu and Tapajoz Rivers. The Indians wore their 
hair long, went completely nude, and had only a little tattooing on their 
faces. Their language was so similar to that of the Munduruct that 
they could make themselves understood without the use of the Lingua 
Geral. 

If, instead of tattooing, this tribe painted, the description given Cou- 
dreau fits only the Curuaya (pp. 221-222), which, from time immemorial, 
has lived to the east of the Curua River, a left tributary of the Iriri 
River. Curuaya tradition recounts long excursions made in remote times 
to the west, where they fought with the Karuziat (Munduruci). It 
seems reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the so-called “Parintintin” 
of the right tributaries of the middle Tapajéz were really wandering 
groups of the Curuaya. These “Parintintin” ceased their assaults at 
exactly the time that the Curuaya entered into permanent and peaceful 
contact with the Neo-Brazilians of the Iriri River. Moreover, neither 
the Curuaya nor the missionaries to the Munduruci mention any other 
tribe in that territory, and Dr. Emilia Snethlage, going overland in 1909 
from the Curua to the Jamaxim River and descending the latter, found 
no definite signs of the presence of Indians. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


(CayaBi, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA AND CAWAH{B, PARINTINTIN, 
AND THEIR NEIGHBORS) 


Ayres Cazal 1807 (1707) ; Barboza Rodrigues, 1875 a; Castelnau, 1850-59, vol. 3; 
Castro and Franca, 1868; Chandless, 1862; Costa Pinheiro, 1915; Coudreau, H., 
1897 a; Dengler, 1928; Dyott, 1929; Farabee, 1917 a; Florence, 1941(?); Fonseca, 
1880-81; Garcia de Freitas, 1926; Grubb, 1927; Guimaraes, 1865; Hoehne (see Costa 
Pinheiro, 1915) ; Horta Barbéza, 1916; Katzer, 1901; Koch-Griinberg, 1902; Kricke- 
berg, 1922; Langsdorff (see Florence, 1941(?)); Lose Blatter ... (see Missionarios 
Franciscanos, n. d.) ; Martius, 1867; Melgaco, 1884; Meyer, 1898; Missionarios Fran- 
ciscanos, n. d.; Nimuendaju, 1924; Nunes Pereira, 1940; Oliveira Miranda, 1890; 
Peixoto de Azevedo, 1885; Rivet, 1924; Rondon, 1916; Rossi, 1863; Sado José, 1847; 
Schmidt, M., 1903, 1905, 1929 a; Schmidt, W., 1913; Servico de Protecc4o aos Indios, 
1942; Souza, A., 1916; Steinen, 1886, 1940; Telles Pires (see Oliveira Miranda, 
1890) ; Tenan, n. d.; Tocantins, 1877; Vasconcellos (see Rondén, 1916). 


. . , ; ih. Fes Arg. ae pe 

4 sic eee i ena Eh, est ie ra 
Vs Loe shin se : + alt z ne hs oa bah baa, a un: al?! Ber ee 
— irae ot a ded alin: i aay oto GT ee 


fey ued uy A. Want wt. Pe anny Peake a aia ea Fnerresll ont 


} 


Prue Aba ns ee peut Vy Ps A 
: - Nt, ) ‘a a wy Hy Psi 8s y) PT ar Ty Atay di ) ‘Why orth inh saat 
‘ @ i ve , ces 
ne Hor pidie? ‘yt i dois TRSC iS et) ore 9 ft” AS 
ll pri ’ i ‘. V 
ff Bj vy } rae i) ta a tei mil Sty 30 Treo ty oF oa 
; j " ' F i ‘ j « ¢ 7 
een I Y Det KOR { ib Wot! tele ' 
mt . Ai) Gell 
ti Tel ak ae ( : . ‘ty i , ' >) 7] pbs . bs) air 
“wii Hd a : ia ba) (% £4 " 4 ; : ‘vi {} vy) (AOOSS I 


{ ui if : } ion tial wr idgrga Y 
nae st 

‘ta ; withi’ 3 i a : 

ar 

y 3 ie FS 

i) (hliweaae 


i wire ’ 


a 7 i ae 
re 


a 


if : ° ‘ roo yea Gat 


> } ee > ‘ a i wt are 


Sa ad 
os Ue ie ed hy er oe 


THE TUPI-CAWAHIB 


By CiauvE LEvi-STRAusS 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Tupi-Cawahib are not mentioned in the literature prior to 1913-14, 
when they were discovered by General Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, 
who headed the Brazilian Military Commission. Little information about 
them is contained in the reports of the Commission (Misséo Rondon, 
1916; Rondon, 1916). 

The Tupi-Cawahib declined rapidly in population within a few years. 
The 300 individuals who comprised the Takwatip clan in 1915 were re- 
duced in 10 years to only 59 persons—25 men, 22 women, and 12 children. 
In 1938, there were only 5 men, a woman, and a small girl. Thirty 
years ago, the entire Tui group probably included from 2,000 to 3,000 
persons; now only 100 or 150 of them are alive. Epidemics of grippe, 
during 1918-20, are largely responsible for the decline in population. 
Several cases of paralysis of the legs, observed in 1938 (Lévi-Strauss, 
n.d. a), suggest that poliomyelitis may have reached this remote region. 

According to the linguistic and historical evidence presented by Nim- 
uendaju. (1924, 1925), the Tupi-Cawahib and Parintintin are the rem- 
nants of an ancient Tupi tribe, the Cabahiba. Since the 18th century, 
it has often been stated that the Cabahiba had once lived in the upper 
Tapajoz Basin. The language of the Tupi-Cawahib closely resembles 
that of the Parintintin, and both are related to the language of the Apiacd 
of the Tapajoz River. After the destruction of the Cabahiba by the 
Mundurucu, the Tupi-Cawahib settled on the Rio Branco, a left tributary 
of the Roosevelt River (lat. 10°-12° S., long. 61°-62° W.) From the 
Rio Branco they were driven to their present territory on both sides 
of the Machado (or upper Gi-Parana) River, from the Riosinho River 
in the southeast to the Muqui and the Leitao River in the north and the 
northwest. These three waterways are small tributaries of the Machado 
River. The native groups mentioned by both Rondén and Nimuendaju 
(1924, 1925) are clans with special geographical localization. Ac- 
cording to Nimuendaju’s informant, the Wiraféd and Paranawdt 
(Paranauad) were settled on a tributary of the right bank of the 

653333—47—22 999 


300 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Riosinho River. The Takwatib Eriwahun (Nimuendaji), or Takwatip 
(Lévi-Strauss), who had once lived on the Tamuripa River, a right 
tributary of the Machado River, halfway between the Riosinho and 
the Muqui Rivers, were brought by General Rondon to the Rio 
Machado, where they lived until 1925, when the last six members of 
the group joined the Telegraphic Post of Pimenta Bueno. The Jpotewaét, 
mentioned by Rondon, are no longer an autonomous unit. According 
to information recorded in 1938, they were then living on the upper 
Cacoal between the Riosinho and Tamuripa Rivers. Living downstream 
were the Tucumanfét. The Paranawat, mentioned by Rondén and Nim- 
uendaju, lived on the Rio Muqui in 1938. They numbered about 100 
individuals and had refused to have any contact with White people. 
When the remnants of the previously unknown Mialat were discovered 
in 1938 on the upper Leitéo River, there were only 16 members of the 
group (Lévi-Strauss, n.d. a). The now extinct Jabotifet were formerly 
settled between the upper Cacoal and Riosinho Rivers. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE 


Farming.—The Tupi-Cawahib cultivate gardens in large clearings 
near their villages and hunt game in the dense forest. They raise: both 
bitter and sweet manioc; five kinds of maize—a white one with large 
kernels, a dark red variety, a kind with white, black, and red kernels, 
one with orange and black kernels, and a red “chiné”’; small, broad- 
beans; peanuts; hot peppers; bananas; papayas; cotton; and calabashes. 
Digging sticks and stone axes were formerly used for preparing and 
tilling the fields. 

Wild foods.—The Tupi-Cawahib gather several wild foods. To facili- 
tate the collection of Brazil nuts, which are abundant in the region, they 
clear the forest around each tree. They collect two kinds of cacao beans 
which are eaten raw and several kinds of berries. To harvest the small 
pyramidal seeds of an unidentified tall forest grass (awatsipororoke), 
the natives tie several of the stems together before the ears are ripe, 
so that the seeds will fall together in small heaps. 

The tapir, peccary, forest deer, great anteater, and numerous kinds 
of monkeys (pl. 25, left) and birds are hunted. Wild bees are killed 
in the hive by closing the entrance with a pad of leaves of an unidentified 
poisonous tree, and the honey is collected in coarse containers of bark 
or leaves. Fish are shot with arrows or drugged with a saponine-rich 
vine that is used in dams constructed of branches and mud in shallow 
places in rivers. When the Tupi-Cawahib were first observed by the 
Whites, they kept chickens in conical sheds made of sticks set in the 
ground in a circle and tied together at the top. There was no dog in 
the Mialat village discovered in 1938. 


Vol. 3] THE TUPI-CAWAHIB—LEVI STRAUSS 301 


Food preparation.—Game is singed and smoked in the skin, either 
intact or in pieces. Babracots are about 5 feet (1.5 m.) high and are 
constructed on four posts. Game is smoked for 24 hours; during the 
night, an attendant takes care of the fire. The babracot for drying 
beans is made of several branches placed on transverse sticks, which 
are supported on the prongs of a three-forked branch. 

Maize chicha (ka-ui) (pl. 24, left) is made by drying the kernels and 
grinding them in a mortar with a few Brazil nuts or peanuts for seasoning. 
The coarse flour is mixed with water in large bowls, and small children 
spit saliva in the gruel. After the chicha ferments a few hours, it is 
put on the fire, and is kept just below the boiling point for 2 or 3 hours. 
Fresh gruel is constantly added to compensate for the evaporation. The 
beverage is drunk as soon as it is cold or during the next 2 or 3 days. 

Manioc tubers are grated and roasted in large plates. Popcorn is 
made of maize and of the wild seed, awatsipororoke. Pama berry seeds 
are eaten roasted. In contrast to the neighboring Nambicuara, the Tupi- 
Cawahib are fond of highly seasoned foods. They cook hot peppers 
and broadbeans in a stew. A kind of salt is prepared by burning acuri 
palm leaves, sifting the ashes, and washing them with water. Both the 
water, which is dark brown and bitter, and the ashes, which form a gray 
astringent powder, are used as condiments. 


HOUSES 


When Rondon discovered the Tupi-Cawahib, their square huts had no 
walls; the gable roof of palms was supported on posts set in the 
ground. Hammocks were swung from the posts. In 1915 the Takwatip 
village comprised about 20 houses, each from 12 to 18 feet (3.5 to 5.5 m.) 
long, arranged in a circle about 60 feet (18 m.) in diameter. Two large 
houses in the center of the circle, each from 36 to 42 feet (11 to 12.5 m.) 
long, were occupied by the chief, Abaitara, and his wives, children, and 
court. Cages for harpy eagles and huts for fowls were in the open space 
of the circular plaza. There were no fortifications surrounding the village. 
Quite different was the Mialat village discovered in 1938. Of the four 
square houses, each about 30 feet (9 m.) long, situated in a row, two were 
used for living quarters and two for food storage. The roof frame was 
supported by posts, irregularly spaced and set back under the projecting 
roof, so that the house resembled a square mushroom. The storage 
quarters had no walls. Each of the other two houses was surrounded by 
a continuous palisade about 6 feet (2 m.) high, which gave the appearance 
of a wall but actually did not support the roof, as there was an opening a 
few inches wide between the lower edge of the roof frame and the top 
of the palisade. The palisade, which had loopholes (pl. 25, right) for 
shooting arrows, was made of longitudinal sections of palm trunks, fast- 
ened edge to edge, the convex surface turned outward. The exterior was 


302 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


decorated with jaguars, dogs, harpy eagles, snakes, frogs, children, and 
the moon painted in uruct paste. 

Platforms were built along the paths leading to the villages as lookouts 
from which the moves of hostile groups could be observed (Rondon, 
1916). 


Tree trunks were used to bridge small waterways. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


According to Rondon (1916), men wore a garment of woven cotton 
resembling drawers. In 1938, Tupi-Cawahib men were naked, except for 
a small conical penis sheath made of the two halves of a leaf plaited and 
sewed. Women wore a short, cylindrical skirt of woven cotton string, 
which reached half-way to the knees (pl. 26). Modern Tupi-Cawahib 
women tattoo their faces with a sharpened deer bone and genipa, applying 
a geometrical design on the chin and two large symetrical curved stripes 
on the cheeks, running from the chin to the ears. Men used to paint them- 
selves with genipa or urucu dye when monkey hunting (Rondon, 1916). 
Both sexes wear bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings made of mollusk 
shells, nutshells, wild seeds, game teeth, and deer bones cut in rectangular 
plates (pl. 26). For ceremonies, men wear a cap without a top made of 
a large band of woven cotton, over which feathers are stuck. The chief 
wears a heavy tuft of feathers hanging down his back. Both sexes pluck 
their pubic hair and eyebrows, using the thumb nail and a half shell. 
“Eyebrows wearer” is the derogatory equivalent of “civilized.”” Woven 
cotton bands are worn around the ankles, the arm, and the wrists. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Tupi-Cawahib made canoes of the bark of large trees (Rondon, 
1916). <A baby straddles its mother’s hip, supported by a cotton sling 
(pl. 26, right). 


MANUFACTURES 


Spinning.—Spinning is done by women. A Tupi-Cawahib spindle con- 
sists of a small stick, with a round wild seed for the whorl. It is very 
light and is used more for winding thread in balls than for spinning. 


Textile arts.—Cotton armlets and anklets are woven by women on 
primitive vertical looms. Women’s skirts are woven and small hammocks 
are netted with cotton string, and carrying sacks are woven with tucum 
string. 

Basketry.—The Tupi-Cawahib weave flat sieves and baskets of bamboo 
strips and palm leaves, and fire fans of palm leaves, often decorating the 
fans with feathers. An ingenious rucksack for carrying large objects or 
animals is made by knotting two palm leaves together. 


Vol. 3] THE TUPI-CAWAHIB—LEVI STRAUSS 303 


Pottery.—The earthenware seen in 1938 consisted of hemispherical 
bowls, large ones for preparing chicha and small ones for individual meals, 
and large, circular plates for roasting flour. None were decorated. In- 
formants, however, speak of a purple dye obtained from a wild leaf which 
was used in former times for painting geometric designs. 

Weapons.—Tupi-Cawahib bows are about 5 feet 8 inches (1.7 m.) 
long and are made of a black palm wood. The section is circular and the 
ends are carved to form a knob and shoulders for fastening the string. 
The grip is wrapped with cotton. Arrows are of three types: those tipped 
with a large bamboo splinter, for hunting mammals; those with a blunt 
point, for bird hunting; and arrows which have short feathers and four to 
seven bamboo points arranged as a crown around a small ball of string, for 
fishing. Feathering is flush and tied (Arara type), flush and sewed (Xingu 
type), or arched (eastern Brazil type). Arrow poison is unknown. When 
shot, the arrow is grasped between the first and middle fingers, which also 
draw the string, or else it is held between the thumb and finger, and the 
string drawn with the other three fingers. 


To defend the paths leading to their villages, the Tupi-Cawahib set 
pointed rods or stakes obliquely into the ground, either singly or fencelike. 
The stakes are from 1 foot (30 cm.) (Lévi-Strauss, n.d. a) to 4 feet 
(1.2 m.) (Rondon, 1916) in height, so as to impale the foot or the body, 
and are hidden under foliage taken from the surrounding forest. 

Other implements.—Boxes for holding feathers are made of hollowed 
sections of acuri palm trunks; a longitudinal segment serves asa cover. A 
manioc grater consists of a wooden board with embedded palm thorns. 
Spoons and containers are made of calabashes. Ordinary combs and small- 
tooth combs are of the composite type. Drills and knives are made of iron 
pieces fastened onto sticks with wax and wrapper cotton. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The Tupi-Cawahib are divided into several patrilineal sibs, each localized 
in one or more villages occupying a defined territory. There is a strong 
tendency toward village exogamy, which is regarded less as a binding rule 
than as a means of insuring good relations between neighboring sibs. 
Endogamic marriages are possible, although infrequent. Residence seems 
to be patrilocal, although contrary practices have been recorded. Conse- 
quently, the majority of individuals in any village belong to one eponymic 
sib, but are nevertheless associated with a few people belonging to different 
allied sibs. Besides the four group names mentioned by Rondon (1916) 
and Nimuendajii (1924), no less than 15 new sib names were recorded 
in 1938 (Lévi-Strauss, n.d. a). As this list is certainly incomplete, 
the ancient sib organization must have been complex. In addition to sib 
divisions, each village was divided into two age classes, “the youths” and 


304 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


“the elders.” The function of these age classes seems to have been mostly 
ceremonial. 

Chieftaincy is hereditary, passing from the father to son. In former 
times, the chief was attended by a hierarchy of officials. He possessed 
judicial power and imposed the death sentence, the convicted person being 
bound and thrown into the river from a canoe. When the Rondon Com- 
mission first met the Takwatip chief, Abaitara, he was apparently extend- 
ing his domination over a large number of sibs and trying, by means of 
successful wars, to establish his hegemony over others. 


WARFARE 


Rondon mentions the decapitation of enemies killed in warfare, but does 
not state that head trophies were prepared. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—A couvade is observed, during which both parents eat 
only gruel and small animals. Nuts of all kinds are forbidden them. 


Marriage.—The Tupi-Cawahib practice marriage between cross-cousins 
and between a maternal uncle and his niece. In the latter case, an adult 
man may betroth a baby girl, who remains under his care and to whom he 
gives presents until they marry. Although marriage is generally monoga- 
mous, a chief may have several wives, usually sisters, or a woman and 
her daughter. To compensate for the shortage of women thus created, the 
chief lends his wives to bachelors and to visitors, and fraternal polyandry, 
associated with the levirate, is practiced within the group. Ina polygynous 
family, one wife has authority over the others, regardless of the differences 
of age or of previous family relationship. 

The existence of homosexuality is not openly acknowledged, but a word 
meaning “passive pederast” is commonly used as an insult. 

Death.—The deceased at the time of Rondén’s visit was buried inside 
his hut under his hammock, which, with his weapons, ornaments, and 
utensils, was left undisturbed. Mourners, i. e., relatives, cut their hair 
(Rondon, 1916). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.— Painting on house walls has already been mentioned. 

Narcotics.—Strangely enough, the Tupi-Cawahib do not cultivate 
or use tobacco. (For chicha, see p. 301.) 

Games.—Children play with crude toys made of plaited or twisted 
straw. In a disk game, “the youths” are matched against “the elders” ; 
each age group alternately shoots its arrows at a rolling wooden disk 
thrown across the plaza by a pitcher. In another archery contest, they 


Vol. 3] THE TUPI-CAWAHIB—LEVI STRAUSS 305 


shoot arrows at a dummy representing a man or an animal. There is a 
belief that to shoot at a wooden dummy may bring death; to avoid the 
risk, the dummy is made of straw. 

Dance and music.—Festivals were given by the chief, who assumed 
the title, “Owner of the Feast.” Festivals were preceded by hunting expe- 
ditions to obtain small animals, such as rats and marmosets, which were 
smoked and strung together to be worn as necklaces. During the feast, 
men playfully carried a flute player on their shoulders. 

In 1938, the Mialat chief entertained his people several times with a 
musical show in which songs alternated with dialogue. He himself played 
the numerous roles of the comedy, humorously enacting the adventures 
of several animals and inanimate objects which were mystified by the 
japim bird. Each character was easily recognized by a musical leitmotif 
and a special register of the voice. 

Musical instruments.—The main musical instruments were pottery 
trumpets (Rondon, 1916), panpipes with 13 pipes, short flageolets with 
4 holes, whistles, and gourd rattles. A clarinet without stops was made 
of a piece of bamboo about 4 feet (1.2 m.) long; a small piece of bamboo 
in which a vibrating strip was cut formed the reed. 


MAGIC AND RELIGION 


We have no indication of the magical and religious beliefs of the Tupi- 
Cawahtb. The chief is certainly endowed with shamanistic powers: he 
treats patients and improvises songs and dances in order to tell and enact 
his dreams, which are considered to have a premonitory significance. At 
the end of his musical show, he may become delirious and try to kill anyone 
in sight. bee shalt 

Although nearly all the sibs have animal or vegetable names, totemism 
does not seem to exist, for the eponymic plants or animals are freely eaten. 

Even today, the Tupi-Cawahib capture great harpy eagles, rear them 
carefully in large square cages, and feed them game, such as birds and 
monkeys. It is likely that this custom has a magical or religious back- 
ground, though nothing positive is known in this respect. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Lévi-Strauss, n. d. a; Missao Rondon, 1916; Nimuendaju, 1924, 1925; Rondon, 1916, 


Aig Re eae iM ; 
ee 


= wrk) : 
(1 ae 


oe WGN | 

i beg Slane ae 
(ob ASL ee 
ts (75a wa 


CSSNBIJQ-TAQT 9pne[y Asoqanoy) “oeq ozTeUl SUIYBI :7/2] VY “Ost OBUTIA qiyeMeyg-idny— Fz aLVIg 


CSSNBIZQ-IAVT apne[y 
AsoWINOD) ‘aoydooy & YAM [TBM asnoy peyuleg -7ybry ‘urys Aoyuour wv Yo Suiddy VaT ‘ost, oseyia quyemeg-idny— cz aivig 


Jay 


v 


(ssitapg-Tay | piel.) ASOWNOL)) “Uddp[o Of PUL BUTAIIES [BOIGAT, ‘“Uadpylyo pue sioyjour qryeame)-idny—9z ALVIg 


THE CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


THE CAVABI 


INTRODUCTION 


These Indians call themselves Parud, but since their contacts with 
Europeans they also use the name Cayabi. 

Language.—There is practically no difference between the Tupi dialect 
spoken by the Cayabi and that of the Camayurd. Rivet (1924, p. 659) 
and Grubb (1927, p. 118) mistakenly place them in the Cariban family, 
probably because of some Bacairi words which they used when they 
were encountered by A. Pyrineus de Souza’s expedition. 

Tribal divisions and history.—Among the Indians met by Antonio 
Peixoto during his expedition to the Paranatinga River were perhaps 
Cayabi. The Munduruci who accompanied the expedition called them 
Parabitata (parir, “non-Munduruci Indians,” bi; “lip,” tata?). However, 
unlike the Cayabi, these Indians used rafts made of embauva trunks. 


The name Cayabi appears for the first time in Castelnau’s report (1850-59, 2:306) 
on the Tapajéz region (map 1, No. 1; map 4). In 1848, the Cayabi figure in a list 
of tribes as indomitable Indians living near the Salto de Paranatinga. In 1884, 
Von den Steinen (1886) found among the Paranatinga Bacairi two Cayabi women 
who had been captured during their childhood by a party avenging a murder and 
the abduction of a child. Hostilities between the Cayabi and the Whites began with 
the advance of the rubber collectors into the region of the Paranatinga River. It is 
not unlikely that in 1899 some Cayabi lived, as Herrmann Meyer heard from the 
Aueté of the Culisseu River, on the Steinen River, the westernmost tributary of the 
Xingi River. In 1900, they were visited on the Paranatinga River by a Salesian 
missionary, Father Balzola. The vestiges which Max Schmidt found in 1901 on 
the headwaters of the Ronuro and Batovy Rivers and identified as Cayabi were 
more likely Cayapé, who were later reported in that region by Dyott in 1928 and 
Petrullo in 1931. In 1901, a skirmish took place between the Bacairi and Cayabi, 
and an expedition sent by Orlando Bruno and Co. found Cayabi near the mouth of 
the Rio Verde, on the Paranatinga River. In 1910, the Cayabi killed their long-time 
director, M. F. Valois Velho, and the same year a punitive expedition killed many 
of them and captured children. 

In May 1915, an expedition led by Lt. Pyrineus de Souza down the Paranatinga- 
Sao Manoel River, between lat. 12° 40’ and 11° 30’ S., had numerous encounters 


307 


308 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


with Cayabi. The Indians remained friendly so long as the expedition had tools to 
offer. As Pyrineus de Souza encountered groups of 100 Indians in some places 
and 200 in others, the total number of the tribe can be estimated at about 1,000. 

In 1927, Max Schmidt had brief contacts with six Cayabi Indians who had come 
to get gifts at the Servigo de Proteccao aos Indios post located above the mouth of 
the Verde River, on the Paranatinga River. 

After 1936, the Cayabi, at first under the name of Makiri, began to appear peace- 
ably at the mouth of the Sao Manoel-Paranatinga River. The missionary, Father 
Albert Kruse, took a short vocabulary from those who stopped at the Mundurucu 
mission of Cururt. In 1941, another post of the Servigo de Proteccio aos Indios 
was founded on the right bank of the Sao Manoel River, at about lat. 8° 55’ S. 
According to the reports of the Arquivos da Inspectoria de Indios of Para, 90 
Indians appeared at the post in 1941, and 42 in 1942 and settled down somewhat 
above the post. Meanwhile, the mortality among these newcomers was very great. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


A. Pyrineus de Souza (1916) saw large cultivated fields and received 
from the Indians green maize with long and slender ears, cara, batata 
rouxa (sweet potatoes), and crushed peanuts, which the Indians ate with 
tapioca. The Indians made balls of meal wrapped in sororoca leaves. 
From manioc they prepare a highly fermented and very sour drink. 

In the forest, the Indians obtain many Brazil nuts which are especially 
important to them. They also eat barbecued and almost rotten deer meat 
and ducks broiled with entrails and feathers. 


HOUSE AND VILLAGES 


The huts of the upper region of Cayabi territory are generally located 
in the fields, away from the rivers. On the banks are only small fishing 
shanties. Farther down the river, however, Pyrineus de Souza found 
dwellings along the river banks. 

In the houses were nets, gourds, small baskets, and shells, the last used 
as knives and carried hanging from the neck. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Both sexes go about naked. From early childhood, males tie the fore- 
skin with a thick cotton string, which they always wear in public and 
remove only to urinate. 

Both sexes have the earlobes pierced for the insertion of pieces of 
wood, the tips of deer horns, or bamboo tubes, 3 to 4 inches long (7.5 
to 10 cm.) decorated with tufts of feathers. On the wrists and below 
the knees, men wear woven cotton bands. Women wear these bands 
only below the knees, but they also use a belt consisting of several tight 
strings of threaded beads made of palm nuts. 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 309 


For festive occasions men wear luxurious feather caps and headdresses. 
The caps are made of feathers and feather tufts mounted on a cotton net. 
Some men wear headbands of jaguar, monkey, or coati skin. 

Some women pull out their eyebrows, eyelashes, and pubic hair. Men 
wear their hair long, tied at the neck. Women sometimes cut theirs 
at the level of the ears and comb it over the forehead. Hair is cut with 
a shell. 

The Cayabi paint themselves and dye their hair with uruci. Two wide 
parallel strips tattooed with genipa at the mouth level for men, and a 
single stripe on the cheek with vertical lines around the mouth for women, 
is perhaps a tribal characteristic, according to L. Tenan (n.d.). 


TRANSPORTATION 


The canoes are made of cashew tree bark (cajui, Anacardium micro- 
carpum). ‘The prow and stern are the same, and both are tied with a 
tough vine. The Indians paddle standing up. 


WAR 


The Pyrineus de Souza expedition was attacked by the Cayabi when it 
had no more gifts. Before starting hostilities, an important member of 
the tribe sang and harangued the expedition. Warriors did not wear any 
special ornaments. They attacked by showering the enemy with arrows 
amidst loud shouting. 

A Cayabi arrow described by Max Schmidt is 5 feet 3 inches (1.6 m.) 
long with a shaft made of camayuva (Gadua sp.), radial sewed feathering, 
and a bone point set so as to form a barb. The bow is flat on the cord 
side and convex on the outside. These Indians also fought with large thick 
clubs. According to the Bacairi, Cayabi clubs are made of bacayuva 
wood. They are carefully carved, flat, about 5 feet (1.5 m.) long, and 
have a string loop. 

The Cabayi are said to have held a monopoly on stone axes, which 
caused conflict with the Bacairi when the latter descended the Paranatinga 
River. The hostility between the two tribes is old, but was preceded by 
a period of peace. The Cayabi are also accredited with cannibalism. 
According to L. Tenan (n.d.), they decapitated a slain enemy and cooked 
the head, eating the meat and making a trophy and musical instruments of 
the skull. In their attacks against civilized people, they sometimes took 
children captives. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


See Cawahib, Parintintin, and Their Neighbors, bibliography, page 297. 


310 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


TAPANYUNA 


By 1747, at the time of the Joao de Souza’s expedition, the Arino lived 
on the right bank of the Arinos River and on the upper Tapajéz River, 
from the territory of the Macuari (i.e., Bacairi) at about lat. 11°50’ S., 
to that of the Uarupd on the Haravan River (Sao Joao da Barra at lat. 
8°55’ S.). The name Arino then disappears and its place is taken by 
Tapanyuna (map 1, No. 1; map 4). 

Tapanyuna is not an Apiacé word, but a Lingua Geral term which means 
“negro.” Martius consequently thought that these people were fugitive 
slaves, but actually the name refers to the black paint they habitually 
wore. 

From the documents which Castelnau compiled (1850-59) on the 
Arinos River in the first half of the 19th century, the Tapanyuwna lived on 
the right side of the Arinos River from Bacuri (Bacairi) territory to the 
Juruena River and on the left side of the Arinos from the Bacuri to the 
Apiacad (lat. 11° S.). No other source mentions the Tapanyuna on the 
left side of the Arinos River. 

In 1812, the Apiacd warned Castro and Franca (1868) of a tribe which 
lived upstream on the right bank and used clubs. Three days later, they 
encountered three canoes which differed from those of the Apiaca, and 
they saw some fishing baskets. More details on the Tapanyuna were 
gathered by Guimaraes (1865) from the Apiacd in 1819. 

According to the Apiaca, there were three tribes on the Peixe River: 
First, the Tapanhona, on the river bank above the falls; next, the Tapan- 
honauhum (perhaps it should be Tapii-un-uhu, “large Tapanyuna”) in- 
land from the river bank; and third, the Timaoana (Cayabi, Timaudn, 
Tapanyuna), the last of the tribes of the Peixe River. The first were tall, 
heavy-set, and warlike. They usually protected their dwellings with thorns 
or sharp stakes and with pitfalls all around. They used bows and arrows, 
and wore macaw and royal sparrow hawk feathers in their pierced ears. 
The Tapanhonauhum used bows and arrows and clubs, and were also war- 
like. They painted black circles on their faces, and adorned their 
pierced ears with multicolored feathers. The Timaoana, of average height, 
were cannibals, and painted their faces from forehead to neck. They used 
the same weapons as the preceding tribes. The women wore gold ear 
ornaments and beads. After 1820, only the Tapanyuna are mentioned. 
Métraux was correct in regarding the Tapanhonauhum and Timaoana as 
mere local subdivisions of the Tapanyuna. 

In 1820, Francisco Lopes da Sa (see Apiaca, p. 312) reached a Tapan- 
yuna village where he found only women and children. On his return he 
tried to get to the headwaters of the Peixe River, but was stopped by 
500 (?) Tapanyuna warriors. 

According to the tribal list of the Arquivos da Directoria de Indios of 
Cuyaba, the Tapanyuna numbered 800 people in 1848 and were hostile to 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 311 


the Apiacd and to the Whites, whose canoes they attacked. In 1895 H. 
Coudreau (1897 a) obtained meager information about a tribe which lived 
on the Tapanhuna River (Peixe River) and which spoke the same lan- 
guage as the Apiacd. They were said to lure travelers on the Arinos and 
upper Tapajoz River to their settlements and then to riddle them with 
arrows. 

Another list of tribes, compiled by Castelnau (1850-59), mentions 
only the Tapaiunaci (Tapanhonauhum), a noncivilized, agricultural 
tribe living near the Nambicuara, and the Tamauanga (Timaudn) who, 
like the former, were a hostile but industrious tribe. In 1892, the 
Tapanyuna (or perhaps the Parintintin) looted and fired the Apiacd 
village in the vicinity of the Sao Florencio Falls. In 1893 or 1894, 
a small group of Tapanyuna (or of the Parintintin ?) was massacred by 
the Munduruct on the Furna Islands where they were gathering Brazil 
nuts. In 1895, they fatally wounded the first Mato Grosso state col- 
lector, Garcia Junior, at the mouth of the Arinos River. 

In 1915, Lt. Pyrineus de Souza was warned by the Cayabi in the Parana- 
tinga region that downstream there lived some wild Indians who painted 
their bodies and faces black and who might attack him with arrows and 
devour him. At a tributary of the left bank (about lat. 11° 15’ S.), he 
found vestiges of the tribe: two small huts which differed from those built 
by the Cayabi, being constructed of poles cut with iron tools and covered 
with sorordca leaves. There were babracots for broiling meat and fish, and 
many fishbones around. A path led into the interior. 

After 1910, rubber workers along the tributaries on the right bank of 
the upper Tapajoz were sometimes attacked by hostile Indians. Those at 
Sao Tomé they called Tapanyuna. It is probable, however, that these 
were not the Tapanyuna from the Peixe River, but Indians who were 
known formerly as Parintintin. In the Munduruct vocabulary prepared 
in 1912, Hoehne (in Costa Pinheiro, 1915) uses the word Paridindin as a 
synonym for Tapanhuna, proving the confusion in the naming of these 
two tribes, a confusion completed by the increasing tendency to identify 
the Tapayuna with the Nambicuara on the other bank of the Tapajéz 
River. 

The only known objects of this tribe are a stone ax reproduced by 
Coudreau, H. (1897 a, p. 91) and a rectangular wooden shield figured by 
Krickeberg (1922, 1:276). The latter is such a cultural anomaly that its 
being attributed to the Tapanyuna is very doubtful. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


See Cawahib, Parintintin, and Their Neighbors, bibliography, page 297. 


34) SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 
APIACA 


INTRODUCTION 


These Indians have always been called Apiacd. The Cayabi refer to 
them as Tapii-tin, “the white foreigners.” 

History.—The A piacd are mentioned for the first time in itineraries of 
1791 and 1805 published by Castelnau (1850-59, 3: 93). However, it is 
possible that they were one of the five tribes found on the Arinos River 
by Joao de Souza in 1747. In 1812, they established peaceful relations 
with the expeditions of Miguel Jodo de Castro and Antonio Tomé de 
Franga. In 1818, Antonio Peixoto de Azevedo took seven Apiacd to 
Cuyaba, and in the following year the Apiacd chief, Severino, and 14 others 
visited that city. From them, José da Silva Guimaraes (1865) obtained 
information for a memoir on their customs. Their tales about great 
mineral riches caused Father Francisco Lopes de Sa to undertake an unsuc- 
cessful expedition using Apiacd guides in quest of gold and diamonds. 

In 1828, the tribe was visited by the Langsdorff expedition and the 
artist, Florence (1941 ?), left a good description and excellent sketches of 
these Indians. 

Castelnau (1850-59, 2:313) met some Apiacd in Diamantino and 
obtained a vocabulary. 

Until 1848, the Apiacéd (map 1; No. 1; map 4) inhabited the region 
between the junction of the Arinos and Juruena Rivers, from the 11th 
parallel northward. Their villages were located on the left bank of the 
Arinos River and on the right bank of the Juruena River, but both banks 
of the rivers were frequented somewhat beyond their junction. The 
Juruena River settlements had never been visited and all the descriptions 
refer only to the Apzaca on the Arinos River. 

The Apiaca were very numerous. Records, probably from the beginning 
of the 19th century, mention bands of 200 to 300 archers each year and a 
total of 16,000 persons. In 1812, Castro and Franga (1868) found about 
500 people in one settlement, 250 of whom were warriors. In 1819, 
Guimaraes (1865) mentions a village with 1,500 inhabitants. The Arqui- 
vos da Directoria de Indios of Cuyaba gives their number at 2,700 for 
1848. 

In 1862, Rossi (1863) mentioned Apiacad on the left bank of the Arinos 
River, but Chandless (1862) located them above Salto Augusto. Their 
number was then declining. Barboza Rodrigues (1875) found the Apiaca 
in three villages a little above and below Salto Augusto. Under pressure 
by the Neo-Brazilians, a large part of the tribe had migrated to the Sado 
Manoel River, and became the Pari-bi-teté (a Munduruci name meaning 
“non-Mundurucu painted lip Indians”). Twenty years ago, this tribe 
inhabited the upper course of the Apiaca River, a left tributary of the Sao 
Manoel, but it has since disappeared. In 1895, Coudreau, H., (1897 a) 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 313 


found its remnants (100 individuals) living in five huts between Salto 
Sao Simao and Sio Florencio. They were already dependent upon the 
Neo-Brazilian rubber gatherers. The men and some of the women dressed 
in civilized fashion, and there was evidence of some Negro mixture. 

Katzer (1901) published notes on the tattooing and language of the 
Apiacd found at Itaituba. In the same year, Max Schmidt collected a 
vocabulary from an Apiacd in Rosario, Mato-Grosso, which was published 
by Koch-Griinberg (1902) with a compilation of all the linguistic and 
historical data known on these Indians. 

With the establishment in 1902 of the Coliectoria estadoal do Mato 
Grosso, the Indians fell on evil times. A great many were killed in reprisal 
for an attack they made against the collector’s office. The situation changed 
only when José Sotero Barreto took the survivors under his protection and 
gathered them at the Collectoria. In 1912, there still lived 32 Apiaca 
(Costa Pinheiro, 1915, p. 75). In 1916 they were visited by Farabee 
(1917 a), who found them mixed with Negroes. 

Today the Apiaca no longer exist as a tribe. Only a few individuals 
live at the Collectoria at the mouth of the SAo Manoel River and in the 
Franciscan missions on the Cururtt River. 


Language.—tThe Apiacd language differs very little from Camayura, 
a Tupi-Guarani dialect spoken on the lower Culisseu River, from Cayabi 
of the Sao Manoel River, or from the dialect of the Cawahib (Parintintin 
of the Madeira River and Tupi of the Alto Machado). Apiaca is pure 
Tupi and the difference between it and Tupinamba is somewhat greater 
than between Tupinamba and Guarani. Soon after their first contact with 
the Neo-Brazilians, their language received several elements of the Lingua 


Geral. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The Apiaca cultivated extensive tracts of land and, accord- 
ing to ancient travelers, their fields stretched beyond sight. 


Planting was probably women’s task and not a masculine activity, as 
stated by Guimaraes. The Apiacd raised bitter and sweet manioc, maize, 
cara (Dioscoreca), yams, sweet potatoes, magorito, peanuts, beans, lima 
beans, pumpkins, cotton, and, already in 1848, watermelons. Tobacco is 
not mentioned and was apparently unknown. 

Wild foods included the Brazil nuts. 

Domestication.—Florence (1941 ?) mentions that in a single village 
he found 80 tame macaws and a falcon in a thatched stick cage. Early 
sources mention no domestic animals, not even dogs. In 1820, however, 
Florence found dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks. By 1848, the Apfiaca sold 
fowls to travelers. 


314 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Hunting and fishing.—According to the “Nova navegacgao” (Anony- 
mous, 1856), the Apiaca did not eat any kind of fowl; of mammals they 
only ate peccaries, tapirs, and capybaras. 

They caught fish in baskets set at the bottom of weirs across the 
mouths of streams. 

Food preparation.—Maize was crushed in a cylindrical mortar with 
a pestle 12 feet (3.6 m.) long. Roasted fish were crushed, bones and all, 
to make a flour. The A piaca kept this and manioc flour in woven bags. 


HOUSES 


Originally, the Apiaca lived exclusively on the river shores in settlements 
which, with rare exceptions, consisted of a single house, large enough to 
accommodate hundreds of people. These huts were rectangular with 
rounded ends, and were covered with a thatched roof of ubim or sapé 
which rested on straight or arched rafters, and descended to within 1.50 m. 
(about 5 ft.) of the ground. The walls were made of paxiuba palm or of 
castanha bark. There was a main door of jatoba bark at each end, and 
several other doors in the long side walls. The living quarters where the 
Indians hung their hammocks extended on both sides of the hut, leaving 
the intervening space entirely free. Above the hammocks were platforms 
for storing maize and other foods. The house was surrounded by a large, 
carefully weeded clearing. 

Hammocks were made of cotton, either in a net technique or of coarse 
fabric (Castro and Franga, 1868, p. 112). 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Men tied to the foreskin a little sheath of pacova leaves with a ligature 
that forced the penis inside and covered it entirely. Women were entirely 
naked. 

Some individuals of both sexes wore narrow woven cotton bands below 
the knees and on the ankles. The use of tight garters four inches (10 cm.) 
wide decorated with small feathers and of bands with long fringes on the 
forearms was restricted to men. Both sexes wrapped thick cotton threads 
around their ankles and wrists. Chiefs adorned their heads with white 
tufts. To make diadems, feathers were sometimes interwoven in a cotton 
fabric. On the forehead stood five long macaw tail feathers, with two 
shorter hawk feathers on each side and yellow japu feathers beyond. Men 
carried a kind of scepter made of six macaw tail feathers with their bases 
covered with down. 

Both sexes had their ears pierced for the insertion of peccary teeth, 
small wooden pegs, or feathers. They seem to have inserted feathers 
through the nasal septum. Men wore long necklaces strung with the 
teeth of cutia and other small animals. Chiefs used a large, shiny, white 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 315 


collar of shell and large belts of black beads and human teeth. Women’s 
necklaces were made of tucum nuts ground into shape on a stone and 
perforated with a fish tooth, and interspersed with human teeth, which 
were their husbands’ war trophies. Some men wore belts of animal teeth; 
others, belts woven of cotton and dyed with urucu, with tassels at both 
ends. These tassels were tied together and hung over the genitals. 


Men cut their hair along the forehead and above the ears. Women 
wrapped their hair with a cotton fillet so that it formed a horizontal tuft. 
They did not pluck their eyebrows or eyelashes. 


Men were tattooed by women who used tucum thorns. The pattern 
consisted of three lines extending from each ear, one to a little below the 
nose, one to a corner of the mouth, one to the chin. At the age of 14, the 
tattooing was completed with a rectangle around the mouth, a symbol 
indicating that the wearer could eat human flesh. The designs tattooed 
on the body are said to have illustrated their war and hunting deeds. 
According to Florence, these included parallel right angles on their chest 
and abdomen, and crude representations of animals, fish, men, and women 
on their arms and legs. A young man had the figure of a jaguar (?) on 
his right arm and a man on his left. The women’s tattooing was done 
after marriage, and consisted only of a rectangle on the chin, with a band 
running to the ears. 

The Apiacd smeared their body with uructt mixed with babasst oil. 
Some people painted the lower part of the body with genipa; others 
painted only the arms. A common motif was a line from the hair to the 
tip of the nose. Women painted their legs and hips with vertical stripes 
and rows of dots between the lines. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Settlements were connected by paths, though in “Nova Navegacao”’ 
(Anonymous, 1856) it is stated that only water ways were used. Canoes 
were made of a large piece of jatoba (Hymenaea sp.) bark held open by 
crosspieces and having at each end a fold tied with cipo creepers. Such 
craft could carry up to 38 persons. They were propelled with thick 
bamboos split in half and about 6 feet (2 m.) long. The Indians paddled 
standing. The Apiacd were the best pilots for the rapids of the Tapajoz 
River. 


Loads were carried overland in conical baskets about 60 to 70 cm. 


(24 to 28 in.) high. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—The A piacd used strips of creeper to weave baskets, trays, 
sieves, and hourglass-shaped supports for vessels, the last similar to those 
of the Uaupés River region (p. 776). 

653333—47—23 


316 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Ceramics.—The ceramic ware consisted of pots, pans, and dishes. 
Some vessels had a biconical shape and were decorated with series of 
parallel right angles on the upper part. 


Weaving.—The Apiacé wove hammocks, armbands, and flour bags, 
but there is no description of the loom. 

Weapons.—A piaca bows had a flat belly, a rounded back, and shoulders 
cut to hold the string. Arrow feathering was of the arched tangen- 
tial and radial tied types. The point of an arrow in one of Florence’s 
prints has three pairs of powerful barbs. Three Indians portrayed by 
Florence carry spears from 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches (1.5 to 1.6 m.) long 
with bamboo points 8 inches (20 cm.) long and 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm.) 
wide. A long tuft hangs just below the point. Two such spears, used 
apparently for some ceremonial purpose, are covered from the head to 
within 16 inches (40 cm.) of the butt, with short feathers arranged in 
blue, red, black, and yellow bands. 


War clubs were short. The use of the macana, indicated by Martius 
(1867, 1:203), is doubtful. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The Apiaca lived in communal huts (malocas), each constituting a 
settlement with one or more chiefs. The population of these huts was 
not stable, however, for a man might at will join any settlement within 
the tribe. According to “Nova Navegacao” (Anonymous, 1856, p. 103), 
the chief bore the title of procré, an obviously truncated word. Under 
normal conditions, he exercised his office unobtrusively, since perfect 
equality reigned among all. But when foreigners arrived and in war time, 
he assumed great authority. His importance is evidenced not only by his 
distinctive ornaments (feather diadem, shell pendant, belt), but also by 
the inaugural ceremony which accompanied his taking of office. The 
chief of the nearest settlement made him sit in the hammock of his 
deceased predecessor, and presented him with a ceremonial lance and a 
feather diadem, amidst songs and dances. The office was transmitted 
from father to son, or, if there were no direct heir, to the nearest relative. 
Chiefs alone could have as many as three wives. 

The Apiaca showed kindness to one another and never struck a person, 
even in fun. Homicide was an unpardonable crime. The greatest punish- 
ment which an Apzaca could inflict upon an offender was to taunt him 
publicly with his faults. The guilty and even his kin felt extremely 
humiliated and debased. 

According to Florence, crops were planted and harvested in common. 
There was cooperation in hunting and in fishing, wherein canoes, traps, 
and other devices were used. Only weapons and ornaments were private 


property. 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 317 


The Apiaca were hospitable, though they received unknown visitors 
with furious shouting and warlike demonstrations. The chief, with all 
his ornaments, advanced toward the visitor and ordered him to lie down. 
This done, he dragged him out of the canoe, gave him a hammock in the 
hut, and offered him chicha. Then they introduced their wives and 
children to their guests. They gave supplies and feather ornaments to 
their European visitors, asking for iron tools in return. Although per- 
fectly honest among themselves, their eagerness to get iron tools caused 
them to steal from the Whites as early as 1819. They would even break 
up supply boxes to remove the nails. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—A fter childbirth, the mother was confined for only a day. 
Children were brought up in an environment of love. 


Puberty.—During menstruation women frequently took cold baths in 
the house, and they lined their hammocks with leaves of sororoca. 

Marriage.—The A piacd married at the age of 14. The bride was given 
publicly to the groom; chiefs’ weddings were celebrated by a feast. 
Monogamy prevailed, though secret polygyny is mentioned by Castelnau 
and Coudreau. Chiefs were entitled to several wives. Divorce was easy 
and was often followed by remarriage. This, however, caused deep resent- 
ment in the families concerned. Some unions are said to have been lasting. 
In case of divorce, the children were allotted to the father. 

The sexual act was surrounded with secrecy, but not when visitors were 
given women in exchange for tools. 

Death.—A person was buried in his own house under his hammock 
amidst cries and fearful shouts. He was placed in a squatting position 
in a shallow grave, the head only 8 inches (20 cm.) under the ground 
level. Soil was piled about 16 inches (40 cm.) high over the grave. A 
widow or widower would lie in his hammock over the grave, his face 
painted black and his hair closely cropped, eating only a maize mush until 
the exhumation of the bones which, according to the “Nova Navegacio” 
(Anonymous, 1856), occurred only after a year had elapsed. The bad 
smell emanating from the tomb was endured as a courtesy to the dead. 
With tears and praise of the deceased, female relatives unearthed his 
remains, carefully handing them to tearful assistants who placed them 
in a basket. The basket was then wrapped in a new hammock and hung 
from the house rafters in front of the place where the deceased lived. 
After the hammock had rotted away, the bones were buried again in the 
grave from which they had been removed. From then on, the dead was 
forgotten. 


318 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


WARFARE 


It seems that the Apiacd were at war with all their neighbors. Until 
the end of the past century, their worst enemies were the Tapanyuna on 
the right side of the Arinos River and later on the upper Tapajéz River. 
They fought with them whenever they went to the Rio do Peixe to get 
material for making stone axes. On the Juruena River, their enemies 
were the Nambicuara. To the north, below the confluence of the Arinos 
and Juruena Rivers, their enemies were the Cawahib (Cabahiba), whom 
they had driven to the interior of the jungle and to whom they referred 
since 1819 as the inhabitants of the Para-Mutanga (parana-mitan, “Red 
River,” or Sangue River), a tributary of the Juruena River. Other hostile 
tribes mentioned by Castelnau (1850-59) were the Mutonihuen (Mata- 
nawi (?) to the northwest, in the Aripana River Basin) and the Sitihuava 
(?). By 1848, the Apiaca were on the defensive against the Tapanyuna 
and the Nambicuara. Early sources recount no hostilities between the 
Mundurucu and the Apiaca, but the former told Gongalves Tocantins in 
1875 that they had been warring against the Apiacd since before 1789. 
Tocantins (1877) also says that the Mundurucu pursued the Apiacd in 
the middle of the last century, forcing the latter to move to Salto Augusto. 
These data are quite uncertain. 

The Apiacd waged war not for material gains but only to avenge past 
affronts, the memory of which the old folks kept alive in their tales. The 
people would ask the chief for war, and he would take the necessary steps. 
Formerly, the Apiacd would march every year with 200 to 300 warriors 
against some tribe. 

The Apiacd set out on war expeditions after harvest but only if their 
shamans predicted a favorable outcome. Upon the chief’s request, 
neighboring villages always gave their cooperation. Each warrior took 
his own supplies, and extra supplies were carried in case of need. The 
chief carried his lance, and two aides carried his bow and arrows. During 
the campaign, the chief held the title of “sata” (? tata, “fire’), and 
everyone obeyed him. He gave the signal for camping and made the 
fire (by friction ?), from which others took their firebrands. After bathing 
and eating, he gave the signal for setting up the hammocks and retiring. 
Trusting in their scouts who had explored the region during the day, 
the warriors slept without sentries. Next day, to allow the scouts time 
to get a head start and to hunt, the men bathed and resumed the march 
when the sun was high. Toward the evening, the column joined the 
scouts, who reported what they had seen and gave the chief the product 
of their hunt. 

The Apiacd preferred to wage war by ambuscade, but if they came 
unexpectedly in contact with the enemy they fought bravely. 

It is well established that the Apiacd practiced cannibalism, even as 
late as 1848. They quartered the bodies of those killed in battle, ir- 


Vol. 3] CAYABI, TAPANYUNA, AND APIACA—NIMUENDAJU 319 


respective of sex, and roasted them. The prisoners led to the village 
were eaten with elaborate ceremony by all the people of the village. The 
children were captured and brought up together with the tribe’s own 
children. At the age of 12 or 14, the young captives were sacrificed 
ceremonially within the circle of the gathered tribe. The children’s foster 
fathers broke their skulls by striking them behind with a club. The bodies 
were roasted and eaten during an all-night feast. The Apiacd were 
unwilling to sell the captive children at any price (“Nova Navegacio,” 
Anonymous, 1856, p. 100). Castelnau (1850-59) states that a young 
woman prisoner might be spared for 4 or 5 years before she was sacrificed. 
He also says that only boys having a rectangle tattooed around the mouth 
at puberty were permitted to eat human flesh. The boys were urged 
to partake of the flesh that it might instill in them a spirit of courage. 


MUSIC AND DANCE 


The musical instruments mentioned in our sources are drums, rattles, 
and bamboo trumpets “emitting unharmonious sounds.” 

Dancers formed two concentric circles, the inner consisting of men 
who held a bamboo trumpet in one hand and rested the other on their 
neighbor’s shoulder. They turned to the right and to the left alternately. 
The women formed another circle on the outside, holding hands and stick- 
ing their heads under the left arms of the men and accompanying the 
dance by hopping. A similar dance is performed by the Parintintin of 
the Madeira River. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


According to Castelnau (1850-59) and Guimaraes (1865), the Apiaca 
believed in a god who was Creator of the sky and of the earth and ex- 
pressed his wrath by thunder and lightning. They worship him inwardly 
and pray to him. In the “Nova Navegacao” (Anonymous, 1856), the 
name of the Apiacd god is given as Bahyra. This corresponds to the 
Parintintin culture hero, Bahira (Nunes Pereira, 1940), and the Tupi- 
namba Maira. 

Shamans foretold the future and treated sick people. In order to 
learn about the outcome of a war expedition, the shaman fell into a 
deathlike trance, during which he spoke with spirits. Upon regaining 
his senses about midnight, he began to sing and prophesy. People had 
great respect for him but paid only for his cures. To cure, he blew 
on the patient and sucked on the affected parts, then washed him with 
decoctions of crushed herbs which were poured through a sieve. He 
cured colds by causing the patient to sweat over a fire built around 
and under his hammock. Cures were undertaken simultaneously by two 
shamans, who agreed upon the procedure. The treatment always lasted 
3 days—2 days for blowing and sucking and 1 for bathing. The shamans 


320 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


never returned to see the patient after the treatment, regardless of its 
results. As pay, they received the best personal possessions of their client. 
For the treatment of injuries by sucking and application of crushed herbs, 
the payment was always lower than for the cure of internal ills. It was 
with the treatment of wounds that novices were initiated into the medical 
side of their profession. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
See Cawahib, Parintintin, and Their Neighbors, bibliography, page 297. 


IHE TRIBES OF THE UPPER XINGU RIVER 


By Craupe Lévi-Strauss 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Xingi River was known south only as far as lat. 4° 5’ 11” S. 
through the expedition of Prince Adalbert of Prussia in 1843. When 
Karl von den Steinen descended it for the first time in 1884, its upper 
course, the region inland, and the numerous tribes inhabiting the area 
were entirely unknown. Von den Steinen descended the Batovi River, 
a branch of the Xingtt River, and discovered the Northern Bacairi, 
Custenau, Waura, and, on the Xingt River, the Suya and Manitsaua. 
During a second expedition in 1887, he traveled down the Culiseu River, 
also a branch of the Xingt River, and saw the Nahukwa, Mehinacu, 
Aueto, Yaulapiti, Trumai, and Camayura. 

Hermann Meyer made an expedition in 1896 to the Culiseu and Ja- 
toba Rivers, and another in 1889, mainly to explore the Ronuro River. 
In 1900-1901, Max Schmidt traveled to the Culiseu River. Later, 
Hintermann (in 1924-25), Dyott (in 1928), Petrullo (in 1931), and 
Buell Quain (in 1938) studied the upper Xingu River region. 

The upper Xingtt tributaries form an elaborate comblike system of 
waterways, about 150 miles (240 km.) wide. After running most of 
their course parallel to one another, the streams join at about lat. 12° S. 
to form the Xingti River. The confluent branches are, from west to 
east, the Steinen (Ferro), Ronuro, Jatoba, Batovi (Tamitoala, Culiseu 
(Kulisehu), and Culuene Rivers. 

Along their upper courses, the rivers are bordered by continuous strips 
of gallery forest which hardly screen the savanna of the hinterland. Along 
their middle and lower courses, the forest widens, and lagoons and marshes 
form dead-water channels which permit communication with the secondary 
streams. Several tribes live close to one another near the rivers. The 
more important settlements lie between the Culiseu and Culuene Rivers, 
in the eastern part of the basin. Few inhabitants dwell along the 
western rivers. 

The native population of the Xingu area is numerous and extremely 
varied. The tribes belong to all the chief Brazilian linguistic families, 
but there is no correlation between the linguistic provinces and geo- 


321 


yy SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


graphical divisions. The linguistic boundaries are difficult to determine 
because they freely overlap, crossing valleys and watersheds. 

The location of the tribes of the upper Xingu River may be sketched 
as follows (map 1, No. 1; see Volume 1, map 7.): 

(1) Cariban tribes.—Only the eastern portion of a formerly important 
nucleus of Cariban tribes south of the Amazon River falls within this 
area. It extended west to the Tapajéz Basin, where it is now represented 
by the Bacairi of the Novo and Parantinga Rivers (lat. 14° S., long. 
56° W.). In the south it reached the neighborhood of Cuiaba. The 
Carib of the upper Xingu Basin include: (a) The Bacairi of the Batovi 
River (4 villages in Von den Steinen’s time); (b) the Bacairi of the 
Culiseu River (3 villages) ; and (c) the Nahukwa (Nahuqua, Anauqua), 
on the right bank of the Culiseu River (lat. 13° S., long. 53° W.). Be- 
tween the Culiseu and Culuene Rivers, there were numerous villages, 
whose inhabitants Von den Steinen called Nahukwa, though they bear dis- 
tinct names, among which Guicuru (Cuicutl) and Apalakiri (Calapalo) are 
mentioned most frequently (lat. 12° S., long. 53° W.). A careful census 
of the villages between the Culiseu and Culuene Rivers was made by 
Hermann Meyer, who recorded no less than 15 different groups. In 
Von den Steinen’s time, the Mariape-Nahukwa were the northern repre- 
sentatives of the Cariban family. The Bacairi language differs in im- 
portant features from that of the Nahukwa. The latter includes sev- 
eral dialects distinguished by phonetics rather than by semantics or 
morphology. 


(2) Arawakan tribes.—The Arawakan linguistic family, named Nu- 
Aruak by Von den Steinen, occurs mostly in the country between the 
Culiseu and Batovi Rivers, even crossing the lower course of the latter 
toward the Ronuro River. Arawakan tribes live north to the Bacairi 
of the Batovi River, northwest of the Bacairi of the Culiseu River, and 
east of the Nahukwa. From the southeast to the northwest, they include 
the Mehinacu (Minaco), on the left bank of the Culiseu River (lat. 13° 
S., long. 54° W.); the Yaulapiti (Yawalapiti), north of the Mehinacu 
(lat. 12° S., long. 54° W.) ; the Custenau (Kustenau), on the right bank 
of the Batovi River (lat. 12° S., long. 54° W.) ; and the Waura (Aura; 
not to be confused with the Orinoco Delta Warrau), on both banks of 
that river (lat. 12° 30’ S., long. 54° W.). All the Avawakan dialects 
of the upper Xingu River are similar. 

(3) Tupian tribes.—In Von den Steinen’s time, the Tupian tribes 
occupied a small area on the left bank of the Culiseu River, opposite 
the Nahukwa and close to the Yaulapiti. They include the Aueto (Autl, 
Auiti), lat. 12° 30’ S., long. 54° W., the mixed Arauiti (resulting from 
intermarriages between Aucté and Vaulapiti) to the south, and the Cama- 
yura (Camayula) to the north (lat. 12° S., long. 54° W.). The Manit- 
saua (Mantizula) are also Tupi, but their language includes many ele- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 323 


ments from the Swya (a Ge tribe), on the Xingu River to the north, about 
fate: Sz long..54°. W. 


(4) Trumai.—This isolated linguistic family was in Von den Steinen’s 
time represented by two villages, one on the left bank of the Culiseu 
River between the Auetd and the Yaulapiti, and the other on the right 
bank of the lower Culuene River north of the Mariape-Nahukwa (lat. 
122" 30''S;, long. 54° W.): 

(5) Ge—tThe Suya (Tsuva), who inhabit the Xingi River at about 
lat. 10° 5’ S., belong to the Ge linguistic family, as probably do the un- 
known “Cayapo,” who are said to live to the east on the headwaters of 
the Culuene River. (See vol. 1, p. 478.) 


The history of the area is not well known. The Bacairi say that their first home 
was on the headwaters of the Paranatinga and Ronuro Rivers. They moved to the 
great falls of the Paranatinga River, and later to the country between the Ronuro 
and Paranatinga Rivers. After unsuccessful wars against the Cayabi (Cajabi), 
who still occupy the Verde River, they returned to their present dwellings. The 
Suya appear to have moved during the first quarter of the 19th century from the 
Arinos and Verde Rivers to the upper Xingti River. Similar migrations within a 
relatively small area are said to have been made by most of the tribes prior to Von 
den Steinen’s visit. 

Since 1887 many changes have occurred in the geographical distribution of the 
different tribes. According to Hermann Meyer’s map (Meyer, 1887 b), the southern 
Trumai village had disappeared in 1896, but it is found again on Max Schmidt’s 
map made in 1900-1901 and on Petrullo’s map made in 1931, though situated farther 
south, between the Mehinacu and the Nahukwa. The northern Trumai village was 
also moved south, across the Culuene River. By 1931, the Arawakan tribes had 
made important shifts. The Waura had abandoned the Batovi River and settled 
halfway between the Yaulapiit and the Mehinacu on the Culiseu River. Thus, the 
general trend is toward tribal intermixture and concentration of population on the 
river banks. The Nahukwa, however, still hold a continuous territory, clearly dis- 
tinct from that of other tribes, along the right bank of the Culuene River. 

In 1896, Hermann Meyer obtained information on the hitherto unknown upper 
course of the Paranaiuba River, a left tributary of the Xingu River. His informants 
named 19 different tribes said to be settled in that area. It appears from small 
vocabularies that the Yaruma speak a Cariban dialect and the Arawine a Tupian 
dialect (Krause, 1936 b). Nothing is known of the others. Meyer’s list of the 
Paranaiuba River tribes corresponds, except for a few names, to the lists of tribes 
east of the Culuene River obtained by Petrullo from a Bacairi and an A palakiri in- 
formant. These consisted of 10 and 14 names, respectively. An alleged pygmy 
people is called Phot by the Bacairt and Tahulgi by the Apalakiri. Several widely 
separated groups are called Cayapo (Kahaho). 

On the basis of Meyer’s map, the whole upper Xingu area, excluding the Para- 
naiuba River, contained 35 villages. This number agrees reasonably well with Von 
den Steinen’s estimate of 2,500 to 3,000 inhabitants made in the same region 9 years 
earlier. For more recent times, we possess only partial data. Fawcett counted 
about 150 Bacairi in 1925, and there were approximately 50 persons in the Trumai 
village where Quain stayed in 1938. Although the population is apparently much 
less numerous now than 50 years ago, the Xingii Basin—probably because of its 
great isolation—did not suffer the same tremendous demographic decline that 
affected other parts of Brazil. 


324 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The economic life of the upper Xingu tribes is somewhat more complex 
than that of other Brazilian Indians, as it is based upon fishing, hunting, 
collecting of wild foods, and agriculture. Activities revolve around differ- 
ent products according to the season. Turtle eggs furnish a basic staple 
during the dry season. Piqui fruits (Caryocar butyrosum) and bitter 
manioc are the main foods during two different parts of the rainy season. 
Fishing is practiced throughout the year. To some tribes, it is the main 
source of food (Petrullo, 1932 a) ; to other tribes, it is the only recourse 
when other products are unavailable (Quain, ms.). Ants, larvae, and 
grubs are eaten; crickets are collected to feed pets. Hunts are usually 
large expeditions in which all the adult men of the village participate; 
they sometimes continue for days. Taboos on game seem to be rare; it is 
not certain whether squirrels, which the Trumai do not kill, and the sucuri 
(Eunectes murinus) and a certain bird, which are forbidden among the 
Bacairi (Capistrano de Abreu, 1938), may simply not be killed or whether 
they may be killed but not eaten. 


Fishing.—Fishing is highly organized and is “one of the few examples 
of group cooperation which transcends the immediate family” (Quain, 
ms.). Each tribe possesses the privilege of fishing in well-delimited 
stretches of the rivers and owns fish dams and weirs. Some dams consist 
of fences of posts (Bacairi), others are made of branches or stones. 
Strangely, the widespread technique of drugging fish (p. 13) and the 
hook were unknown in 1884 (Steinen, 1886). Fishing techniques include 
nets placed across the streams, baskets used mostly in lagoons, and night 
fishing with torches. Basketry traps, made of tucum fibers, are either 
long and narrow or short and wide. Some are conical and open at both 
ends to permit the fish to be removed with the hand. The natives also fish 
from canoes, throwing wild fruits as bait and shooting the fish with bows 
and arrows when they come to the surface. Petrullo describes spear fish- 
ing from the prow of a canoe (pl. 27, bottom), the spear being about 25 
feet (7 m.) long and consisting of a wooden shaft, a foreshaft of reed, and 
a large conical bone point. Quain did not find spear fishing practiced 
among the Camayura, the Nahukwa, or the Trumai; and he considers it 
an individual invention. The fish were usually cleaned before being broiled 
on a pyramidal babracot. 

Farming.—<According to Von den Steinen, women planted, weeded 
with the digging stick, and harvested the crops, but men cultivated tobacco. 
Among the Trumai, only men do the planting (Quain, ms.). A Nahukwa 
chief who was seen planting maize (Steinen, 1894) dug holes about 2 or 3 
inches (5 or 8 cm.) deep with a stick and put several kernels in each hole. 
Manioc sprouts are set obliquely in loosened earth, first dug with hoes, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 325 


and then replaced in the trench (Quain, ms.). Gardens are opened in the 
forest by felling and burning the trees. Orchards of wild fruit trees are 
transplanted near the village or are cultivated in their native habitat. Von 
den Steinen saw avenues of piqui trees leading to a Bacairi village. The 
Waura had mangabeira (Hancorma speciosa) orchards and the Bacairi 
used to irrigate wild uruct trees. Bacaiuva palm trees (Acrocomia) and 
frutas de lobo (Solanum lycocarpum) were also cultivated. The best 
gardeners were the Mehinacu (Von den Steinen, 1894). 

The species most frequently found in the area are bitter manioc and 
maize, the former being predominant; two kinds of yams and two kinds 
of beans; cara (Dioscorea), abobora (Cucurbita), mamona (Ricinus) ; a 
small species of peanut; pepper; calabashes (Crescentia) and gourds 
(Lagenaria), chiefly among the Nahukwa,; sweet potatoes, abundant only 
among the Mehinacu ; tobacco, flourishing in the gardens of the Suya and 
Aueto; and cotton, the best quality being grown by the Bacairi and 
Mehinacu. Other plants are grown for industrial purposes. For instance, 
a sharp lanceolated grass (Scleria), used for shaving the tonsure (p. 327), 
and the uba cane (Gynerium sagittatum), which provides arrow shafts 
for the Batovi (Steinen, 1894), are grown. The banana and guava 
were wholly unknown in 1887, but in 1938 the Camayura consumed quan- 
tities of the former and the Trwmai, of the latter. The foreign origin of 
most of the agricultural terms of the Trumai suggests that they borrowed 
cultivated plants from their neighbors. 


Food storage and preparation.—To store ears of maize, most tribes, 
especially the Bacairi, Yaulapiti, and Mehinacu, hang them to the roof of 
the hut with their leaves artistically arranged in the shape of birds and 
other animals. The Bacairi keep maize flour in large cylindrical baskets 
lined with sewed leaves and covered with bark sheets. Among the 
Yaulapiti; Naravute, a Nahukwa-speaking group (Petrullo, 1932 a) ; and 
Trumai (Quain, ms.), piqui fruits are boiled and placed in cylindrical bark 
containers about 414 to 6% feet (1.5 to 2. m.) in length, sealed at both 
ends, and placed in a pool of cool water. On ceremonial occasions the 
containers are opened and the beverage is equally distributed. It is mixed 
with water and drunk. Other preparations of the piqui include boiled sap 
(Quain, ms.), rasped and toasted seeds, and a syrup extracted from the 
leaves (Steinen, 1894). 

Game and fish are broiled in the skin, generally on grids of plaited vines. 
The Bacairi roast several turtle eggs simultaneously on a spindle-shaped 
griddle made of vines (Hintermann, 1926). Several kinds of wild nuts 
are eaten roasted. Although boiling is a woman’s task, broiling and roast- 
ing are always done by men (Steinen, 1894). To prepare manioc (pl. 28), 
women grate it on thorns imbedded in wooden planks, but the Camayura 
use an Anodonta shell. The tipiti is entirely unknown; instead, basketry 
sieves are used to strain off the poisonous juice (Steinen, 1894). Flour 


326 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and starch, which are prepared from manioc, are dried on large flat baskets. 
They are cooked and eaten in the form of gruel or of flat cakes (beijw) ; 
slightly toasted on clay slabs. Manioc and piqui gruel are a basic meal 
throughout the area. Quain observed that adult Trumai never drink 
water but only gruel. The Trumai season the manioc gruel with “iriwa,” 
a shelled, fibrous, unidentified fruit, and prepare a cottonseed-oil paste 
(Quain, ms.). The Bacairi dip food in oil before eating it. According to 
Petrullo, salt is unknown, but Von den Steinen mentions salt made from 
bamboo salt, and Quain describes the preparation of water-lily salt, each 
Trumai making his own supply by burning the plant and sifting the ashes. 
Although geophagy is rare, Von den Steinen saw dolls made of edible clay 
being licked by Bacairi children. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Villages (fig. 32) are usually established two miles (3 km.) or more 
from the river, with a path leading to the stream. The only exceptions 


Boa ZA: 


Ficurr 32—A Bacairi village. (After Steinen, 1886.) 


were the Suya (in 1884) and the Trumai (in 1887) villages, both built on 
a river bank. Villages visited by Von den Steinen had from 2 to 20 huts 
and from 30 to 200 inhabitants. Dyott saw a Nahukwa village of 7 houses 
arranged in a circle, and Petrullo visited a village where the huts were 
scattered in an irregular manner. Quain observed a Trumai village with 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS oat 


5 houses and 43 inhabitants and a Camayura village consisting of 11 houses, 
each haystack-shaped, with two clean, straight avenues leaving the village 
at right angles. The avenues of piqui trees of the Bacairi village have been 
mentioned (p. 325). 

Three types of huts have been observed, the first two of which are rare. 
Von den Steinen (1894) gives a drawing of a Custenau hut with a circular 
ground plan and a huge conical thatched roof erected on a low circular 
lattice wall. Hintermann (1926, p. 251) reproduces a Bacairi house 
formed by a pointed arch covered with grass and closed at both ends with 
two apses of straw, in which doors were placed. All sources agree on 
the common type of hut (pls. 29; 30, top). According to Petrullo, the 
ground plan is an ellipse, approximately 30 feet (10 m.) by 65 feet (20 m.). 
In the center, about 16 feet (5 m.) from each end are three main supporting 
posts (two, and even one, among the Trumai in Quain’s description) set 
deep into the ground. 

A ridge pole is lashed on top of the supporting posts, which stand 25 
feet (8 m.) above the ground. A wall, 5 feet (1.5 m.) high, is made of 
posts set 6 inches (15 cm.) apart. To these posts are lashed long thin 
poles, their tops bent inward and lashed together. Heavier short poles 
are lashed at one end to the ridge pole and at the other to the bent poles, 
so as to form a false outer roof. The entire structure is covered with a 
light framework thatched with grass, except for an opening between the 
false roof and the ridge pole, which is left as a smoke hole. The ends 
of the ridge pole project and are thatched decoratively. 

A house is shared by several families, each of which occupies a section 
where it keeps its own fire. Hammocks are hung between the central 
posts and the wall, sometimes in two or three tiers. In the middle of the 
hut stands a platform where food and implements are kept. Two low doors 
are on opposite sides of the ellipse. 

In addition to these communal dwellings, every village has a guest house, 
which Von den Steinen and Petrullo described as poorly built and badly 
kept. In most of these houses two logs running lengthwise provide seats 
for the men of the village. Guest huts are reserved for the entertainment 
of visitors and for ceremonial gatherings. Because dance costumes and 
musical instruments are kept in them, Von den Steinen called them “flute- 
houses.” 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Hairdressing.—All the upper Xingu River Indians are tonsured. The 
Suya shave their foreheads but the tribes of the Culiseu River wear a 
circular tonsure which may be 3 inches (7 cm.) in diameter. Bacairi men 
sometimes use wooden hair curlers. Women’s hair is cut only on the 
forehead, but men’s hair is cut all around at the level of the ear lobe (see 
pls. 27, 30). Piranha-fish teeth are used for cutting, and red-hot embers 


328 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


for singeing, the hair. The hair is frequently groomed with a composite 
comb, which hangs from the hammock (Culiseu River) or from the 
shoulder (Suya). Plucking all body hair is customary, although Cama- 
yura and Nahukwa men sometimes keep their moustache and beard, and 
Suya men do not pluck pubic hair. 

Mutilation.—All men have their lobes pierced, but only Suya 
women wear large bark plugs in the lower lip. The nasal septum is 
pierced among both sexes of the Bacairi of the Paranatinga and Batovi 
Rivers and of the first village on the Culiseu River, but only among men 
in the second village; whereas the custom is completely lacking in the 
third village (Steinen, 1894). Men wear wooden pegs and women stone 
spindles in the nasal septum. 

Body ornaments.—Smearing the hair and the body with uructt and 
oil paste is general. Sometimes dots and straight wavy, and zigzag lines 
are painted on the face or body. True tattooing exists only among the 
Arawakan tribes, whose men and women use semicircular and lozenge 
patterns traced with soot and taruma (Verbenaceae) juice. All tribes 
have scratches on the arms or elsewhere, made for medical treatment. 
Among the Truwmai a nonceremonial hygienic scarification is frequently 
performed by adults. 

All men slip their penis up under the belt, except the Trumai, who 
formerly tied only the prepuce with a cotton thread and now let it hang 
free. Swya women go naked, and Trumai women formerly used a supple 
belt of fiber with a perineal band (Steinen, 1894) but have now abandoned 
it (Quain, ms.). All other women of the upper Xingu River wear the 
“uluri,”—a piece of straw folded in the shape of a triangle, to two corners 
of which strings are attached to tie around the waist, with the third corner 
hanging down and held to the back of the belt by a perineal string passing 
between the legs (fig. 33). 

Ornaments.—Bacairi and Nahukwa men use armlets and anklets of 
straw or woven cotton, and Bacairi men put feathers in their ear lobes. 
Headdresses are fashioned of skin, feathers, and fur diadems (especially 
rich among the Camayura and Suya), feathered circlets, and plaited osiers 
in cylindrical or star shapes (Nahukwa). The Camayura wear hair nets 
or caps trimmed with feathers or tufts of human hair. Necklaces are worn 
by the more developed tribes. They are made of shell (Bulimus and 
Orthalicus melanostomus) and nut beads among the southern tribes 
(Bacairi and Nahukwa), and of stone beads among the northern tribes 
(Yaulapiti, Trumai). The cylindrical, circular, spherical, and pear-shaped 
(Mehinacu, Aueto) stone beads were copied in clay and rosin in the south. 
In 1887, horn, bone, and teeth beads were used particularly by the Yaula- 
piti and the Mehinacu. The Trumai and Aueto have necklaces of jaguar 
claws. The Yaruma were said to use earrings having a metallic sound 
(Steinen, 1894). More recently, Dyott (1930, p. 223) noticed elaborate 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 329 


SS — 
J anglim 


Ficure 33—Bacairi pubic covering. (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, fig. 18.) 


stone ornaments among the Nahukwa, such as a Maltese cross made of 
diorite, similar to those worn in the 18th century by the Paressi. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Fishing and intertribal trade make the rivers important communication 
routes (pl. 27). The upper Xingt canoes, which may be 25 feet (8 m.) 
or more in length, are made of the bark (pl. 32) of the jatoba tree 
(Hymenaea sp.). A suitable tree is found, and a light frame on which to 
stand is built against the trunk. A long rectangular piece of bark is 
stripped off and carefully placed on low trestles above a fire. When the 
heat has softened the bark, the edges are bent upward and the prow is 
given a pointed shape, while the stern is bent toward the inside. The 
Yaulapiti curl the edges toward the inside. Holes and cracks are filled 
with wax and clay. One day’s work will make a canoe which can be 
launched the next morning. When the canoe is completed, several men 
carry it to the river on their shoulders, protected by a cushion of fiber 
or bark. 

Paddles are cut from solid wood and have a long rectangular blade and 
shaft, the upper part of which is often carved in the shape of a transverse 


330 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


handle. Decorative designs are sometimes carved or painted on the blade 
(fig. 34, a). 


Small streams are crossed on tree trunks. 


MANUFACTURES 


Raw materials.—Stone, teeth, bone, shells, and feathers are used for 
manufacturing. Stone, however, is rare, only one quarry, worked by the 
Trumai, being known to Von den Steinen. On the Xingu River, how- 


a 2e7o-4\| 


we 
= 


AS 


Sw 


ie 


Le Hee 


HON CN 


f 


gain. J. Anglim 
io 20 zo Yo- focm. 
FicureE 34.—Upper Xingu artifacts. a, Bacairi canoe paddle; b, Mehinacu flute; 
c, spear thrower; d, Trumai stone ax; e, Bacairi digging stick; f, hafted drill; 


g, h, Nahukwa bull roarers in fish form, (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, figs. 29, 
40, 28, 20, 76, 21, 122.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS SoL 


ever, the Swya had their own stone quarry, and fashioned stone axes. The 
lower jaw of the piranha fish is used for sawing; and a front tooth of the 
cynodon fish for tattooing, carving, and piercing. The teeth of the traira 
fish (Erythrinus) and of the aguti (Dasyprocta aguti) serve as scrapers ; 
those of the capivara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), as graters. Monkey 
teeth decorate necklaces and belts. The long bones of monkeys and the 
spikes on skate tails are made into arrow points. Femur bones of deer and 
jaguars are used as ear borers. Bones also serve to polish wax or rosin 
surfaces. Jaguar claws and fish vertebrae are often strung on necklaces. 
Shells are widely used for cutting, rasping, planing, and polishing; the 
cutting edge is either the external rim or the edge of an irregular hole 
pierced in the center. A shell is usually tied to a cotton thread and 
carried slung around the neck to be used as a pry for opening nuts. 
Feathers are used to ornament the ears, head, and arms, and to feather 
arrows. 

Spinning.—Fibers of wild pineapple (Bromeliaceae), tucum palm, 
burity palm (Mauritia flexuosa), and cotton are prepared by women, who 
twist the thread on their thighs, previously smeared with white clay, and 
spin it on a drop spindle. The round whorl is made of tortoise shell or 
wood and is elaborately carved. Among the Bacairi, the whorl, made of 
wood, a potsherd, or raw clay, is not decorated. 

Netting and weaving.—Fishing nets, carrying nets, and hammocks 
are netted by women, with a wooden needle. 

The Bacairi have twined hammocks of cotton thread, whereas the 
Arawakan-speaking tribes make smaller woven hammocks with _ buriti 
fiber and cotton. The Auetd hammock is woven with a tucum-fiber warp 
filled with a dense cotton weft disposed in bands alternately white and dark 
blue. In 1887, the use of the hammock was adopted by the Suya, who 
formerly slept on platforms covered with leaves. Sieves of woven cotton 
are also made for straining manioc. For weaving cotton armlets, women 
use a crude loom, made of two low posts fixed in the ground around which 
a continuous warp is passed. 

Basketry.—Basket making is a man’s task. Basketry materials are 
palm leaves, bamboo strips, and vines. The most common techniques are 
checker, twilled, hexagonal, and open hexagonal weaves. Forms include 
large flat baskets (Aueto, Mehinacu), storage baskets (Bacairi), and 
narrow, hollow carrying baskets of open hexagonal mesh (Trumai, 
Schmidt, 1905; and Bacairi, Hintermann, 1926). The natives also make 
improvised rucksacks and carrying baskets by weaving and knotting two 
or three freshly cut palm leaves. Small mats used for seats (Petrullo, 
1932 a) and to wrap up feathers (Steinen, 1894) are made of bamboo 
sticks twined with a cotton string and decorated with designs. Square 
sieves for straining manioc and square and triangular fire fans are also 
made. In most basketry, part of the material is dyed black, giving diversi- 

653333—47—24 


332 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


C d 3.4. 
Ficure 35.—Upper Xingu wooden spindle whorls. a, Mehinacu; b, c, Camayura; 
d, Auetd, (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, figs. 55, 56, 59, 58.) 


fied bicolor patterns (Schmidt, 1905). Dance costumes and Bacairi cylin- 
drical basketry headdresses are elaborately woven of straw. 

Containers.—The bark containers for piqui and the bark-covered 
baskets for flour have already been described. Numerous kinds of con- 
tainers, such as spoons, bowls, pots, and boxes, are made of gourds and 
calabashes. The inside of the calabash is varnished with buriti soot mixed 
with scrapings of rosinous bark; the outside is often carved, pyrograved, 
or painted with geometric designs. Broken calabashes are repaired by 
sewing the ends together. 

Pottery.—Von den Steinen’s statement, so widely commented upon, 
that the Arawakan-speaking tribes were the only ceramists in all the upper 
Xingu area was probably true as recently as 1938, when Quain noticed 
that all the pots owned by the Trumai came from the Waura. Three main 
types must be distinguished: (1) Large manioc-flour containers with flat- 
tened bottom and bell-shaped rim (pls. 28; 31, bottom), encountered 
among the Mehinacu and the Waura; (2) round cooking pots, already 
scarce in 1887; and (3) hemispherical bowls about 4 to 8 inches (10 to 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 333 


20 cm.) in diameter, with a blackened inner surface, an indented rim, and 
often a modeled, stylized zoomorphic shape representing various animals 


Ficure 36.—Pottery of the upper Xingu River, (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, 
pls. 23 and 24.) 


(fig. 36). The last type is most frequently found among the Aueto, Cama- 
yura, Trumai, and Nahukwa, and is perhaps made by Arawak women who 
married into these tribes. Earthenware is made only by women and is 
baked in an open fire. 

Wooden artifacts.—Carved zoomorphic benches, used throughout the 
upper Xingu area and everywhere called by the Tupi name, “aptika(p),” 
have a rectangular, slightly shallow seat supported by two side planks 
(fig. 37, a, b), whose lower edges extend forward and backward to give 
added support. Many of the seats are carved in the shape of a bird; a 
few represent quadrupeds (fig. 37, c, d) and are provided with four feet 
instead of the two side planks. Benches have mainly a ceremonial use 
and are offered to guests and dignitaries (Steinen, 1886, 1894). The 
Naravute use only bark benches (Petrullo, 1932 a). 

Miscellaneous implements.—Stone axes are generally of diabase, 
round or ellipsoidal in cross section, and about 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm.) 
in length. They are polished on natural rocks. The head is glued into 
a wooden handle which is shaped like a square club with a short shaft 


334 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


(fig. 34, d). Drills (fig. 34, f) consist of stone points set in each end of a 
shaft and fastened with wax and cotton thread. Sand was used in drilling, 
Gravers are made of a capivara tooth tied tangentially to a handle. 


18 in. J-Anglim 
° 15 


30 45 CM. 
Ficure 37.—Upper Xingu artifacts, a, Camayura stool ; b, Trumai stool; c, Nahukwa 
stool; d, Mehinacu stool; e, f, Bacairi cornhusk and wood figures; g, h, Mehinacu 


gum figures; i, j, Bacairi straw and wood figures. (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, 
figs. 82, 84, 85, 86, 69-737 752) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 3a0 


Farming implements include digging sticks (fig. 34, e), those used 
by the Me/inacu having a carved handle, and hoes made by attaching the 
claw of a great armadillo (Priodontes giganteus) to a stick. 

Shovels for turning cakes (beij) during cooking are half-moon-shaped, 
with or without an elaborately carved zoomorphic handle, and often have 
geometric designs painted on the blade. 

Combs are always composite; those of the Nahukwa and Mehinacu 
have tips carved with zoomorphic figures. Scrapers consist of triangular 
pieces of calabash imbedded with teeth. 

Fire is produced with the drill and bark timber. 

Weapons.—Bows and arrows are the only weapons found everywhere. 
Arrow poison and the blowgun are wholly unknown, although Quain saw 
the blow gun used as a child’s toy among the Trumai. 

Bows are about 6% feet (2 m.) long; those of greatest length (8% feet 
or 2.6 m.) are found among the Naravute and the shortest among the 
Waura. The cross section is generally round, sometimes oval, and occa- 
sionally flat (Max Schmidt, 1905; Petrullo, 1932 a). Bows are made 
of aratazeiro (Anonaceae) or of pau d’arco (Tecoma). The Tupian- 
speaking tribes are the only ones who sometimes make bows of palm wood 
and who decorate them by wrapping the center with cotton. The string 
is made of twisted tucum fiber. Among the semicivilized Bacairi of the 
Paranatinga River, Von den Steinen noticed that bows and arrows were 
smaller than elsewhere. 

Arrows, 5 feet (1.5 m.) or more in length, are made of uba cane or 
camayuva wood, with a thinner foreshaft. The point may be barbed 
with teeth, with the mandibular sting of the great anteater, with the spike 
of a skate’s tail, or with a tubular monkey bone or a two-pronged bone 
fragment tied laterally to the foreshaft. Arrows with a barbed point are 
used only for fishing. Those with a point made of a large splinter of 
bamboo fastened to the foreshaft in such a way that the point will slip 
off the shaft or break off and remain in the wound are widely used in war- 
fare. The Trumai and Suya employ such a point for hunting the jaguar. 
Von den Steinen described whistling arrows for bird hunting, made with a 
pierced tucuma nut slipped over the shaft; but those collected by Petrullo 
have the whistling nut in place of a point, and are used only for sport. 

Two halves of feathers spirally twisted and sewed to the shaft are 
widely called “Xingu feathering.” There is often a philodendron wrap- 
ping at both ends, plain among the Camayura and intricate among the 
Trumai. All tribes use the primary release and direct shooting for short 
distances, indirect or elevated for more distant targets. 

The fishing spear of the Naravute has already been described. 

The spear thrower, or atlatl (fig. 34,c) was known only to the Cama- 
yura, Aueto, and Trumat, but none used it as a true weapon. Although 
spear throwers were more numerous than bows in Von den Steinen’s time 


336 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and perhaps were formerly employed in warfare, they are used now only 
in sportive ceremonies (p. 347). The upper Xingu spear thrower is 
about 21% feet (70 cm.) long and consists of a cylindrical palm-wood shaft, 
one end carved in the shape of a flattened handle, which is grooved on 
each side and has a finger hole, and the other end having a hook fastened 
on it. The spear is of uba cane without feathering or with small, non- 
spiraled feathers. The wooden or stone point is set on the shaft. It is 
either blunt (spherical, conical, pear-shaped, or cylindrical) or else sharp 
(knob-shaped, two-pronged, or flattened). A whistling nut is sometimes 
slipped over the shaft. 

The Suya have clubs with a flattened oval head and a short shaft; 
these are made of siriva palm, a tree of the Cocus family. Trumai clubs 
are of the same type but smaller and cruder. Both the Trumai and Cama- 
yura use even smaller clubs for ceremonial dances. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Information on social and political organization is extremely scarce. 
Von den Steinen stated that there were several chiefs; Petrullo, that each 
house has its headman; and Quain, that the Trumai chief was assisted by 
two vice-chiefs, who rule in his absence, and by helpers or servants. 
Chieftaincy was transmitted from father to son, or, if there were no son, 
to the sister’s son or the daughter’s husband (Steinen, 1894). In 1938, the 
Trumai chief was the son of the daughter of the chief whom Von den 
Steinen had met 50 years before. All sources agree that the power of 
the chiefs is limited. The Trumai chief, for instance, is not the only 
medicine man of the group. He does no work and has no garden of his 
own. His main function is to assign work to men and women and to 
crganize collective gangs for fishing, hunting, and tilling the soil. Petrullo 
described the exhortation pronounced by the headmen each morning 
followed by communal bathing in the river. 

A division of the members of the group into “elders” and “youths 
seems to exist among the Trumai. A sib organization is only vaguely 
suggested by our sources, except in the case of the Nahukwan-speaking 
villages, each of which has its own name and territory. 

The Bacairi are matronymic, and authority inside the family belongs 
to the maternal uncle. A distinction between the elder brother and the 
younger brother, the name for the latter being also used for cousin, seems 
to be made in all the kinship systems of the area (Steinen, 1894). Among 
the Trumai, residence is patrilocal, and marriage is forbidden between true 
cousins and some types of classificatory cousins and with the sister’s 
daughter. The latter is permitted among the Camayura, who otherwise 
have the same kinship system as the Trumai (Quain, ms.). Among both 
groups there is a joking relationship between cross-cousins, and an avoid- 


” 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS SSL 


ance and shame relationship between brothers-in-law. Some undefined 
kinship relations imply homosexual relations (Quain, ms.). Nothing is 
known of the kinship systems of the other groups, but marriages between 
natives belonging to different generations among the tribes on the Parana- 
tinga and the Culiseu River (Steinen, 1894) and the fact that Von den 
Steinen was called “younger brother” by the Bacairi and “maternal uncle” 
by the Mehinacu are strong indications that kinship systems might not be 
identical throughout the area. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—Sexual intercourse is forbidden among the Trumai during the 
last months of pregnancy and until the child can walk (Quain, ms.). 
Abortion is often practiced, either by manipulating the abdomen or by 
drinking magic medicines. Women give birth in a sitting position (Quain, 
1894) or crouching and grasping a pole (Steinen, 1894). Trumai men 
attend each parturition and smoke tobacco (Quain, ms.). The couvade 
consists of social and dietary prohibitions accompanied by ceremonial 
blowing on the baby’s body (Steinen, 1894). 

The child is given magical drinks to ensure its being strong (Quain, 
ms.). Its father gives it a name different from his own. A prohibition 
on the use of personal names seems to have been widespread. Among the 
Bacairi it is more strict for women than for men. Personal names can 
be changed several times; an exchange of personal names establishes a 
special tie of friendship between adults (Aueté and Mehinacu) (Steinen, 
1894). 

Puberty.—The initiation ceremony for Trumai boys includes scarifying 
the body with a fish-tooth instrument and rubbing the arms with the claw 
of the great armadillo. Whenever possible, the boy is given an oppor- 
tunity to wrestle with a boa (Quain, ms.). During her first menstrual 
period, a girl is isolated ; while tobacco is blown on her, her body is scari- 
fied; and she is forbidden to eat (Steinen, 1894). Her ears are pierced 
and her hair is cut and turned down over her face. During her subsequent 
menstrual periods, a girl is not isolated; but she is forbidden to have 
sexual intercourse, to do any cooking, or to eat anything but manioc 
(Quain, ms.). Leaves are used as an absorbent. 

Infant betrothal was observed among the Trumai (Quain, ms.) and 
Bacairi (Steinen, 1894). The marriage ceremony of the Trumai is 
merely the presentation and acceptance of a hammock and other gifts 
(Quain, ms.). A fishing expedition seems to be connected with the mar- 
riage feast. Among the Bacairi there is no ceremony, but the bride’s 
father receives an ax and arrows from the groom and his help in farming 
(Steinen, 1894). The only form of polygyny practiced among the Trumai 
is sororal. Adulterous relations between a husband and his wife’s sisters 
are not infrequent. Among other tribes on the Culiseu River, a man may 


338 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


simultaneously marry both a mother and her daughter (Quain, ms.). The 
levirate and some form of fraternal polyandry probably are practiced by 
the Trumai. The behavior of Trumait women suggests the fear of rape. 
When adultery is committed, the husband beats his wife, who seeks the 
protection of her mother. He stands in the center of the village and 
accuses her lover. Either spouse may bring about divorce (Quain, ms.). 

Death.—Trumai behavior faintly suggests that a stigma attaches to 
old age. All the tribes of the upper Xingu area bury their dead in a 
recumbent position with the head toward the east, except the Suya, who 
practice a crouched burial. Trumai corpses are wrapped in their ham- 
mocks and, with their implements and cooking utensils, interred in the 
village plaza (Quain, ms.; Steinen, 1894). The Mehinacu cover the 
graves with pebbles and stones; the Aueto (pl. 31, bottom) and the 
Yaulapitt surround each one with a low fence, which, among the Cama- 
yura, forms a square, with two of the opposing sides concave. The 
Camayura break the dead man’s implements on the grave and express 
their grief by shaving their hair and fasting (Steinen, 1894). Nothing is 
known about inheritance rules, except that, among the Trumai, the “ole” 
songs are transmitted from the maternal uncle to the sister’s son 
(Quain, ms.). 


SOCIAL RELATIONS 


In social life there is a marked segregation of the sexes. Men have 
their own meetings. Their custom of smoking in the center of the village— 
the “evening group”—has impressed all travelers as a fundamental insti- 
tution of upper Xingu society. Other occupations of Truwmai men include 
trade games, the “ole” dance, and wrestling with visitors, the last an 
extremely popular pastime among all groups (Steinen, 1894; Quain, ms.). 
Trade games may last hours, while each man successively offers raw 
materials, art objects, or implements for sale. Trumai women, in con- 
trast to the women of some of the other tribes (pp. 343-344), do not 
frequent the center of the village or participate in dances (Quain, ms.). 

Trumai custom forbids a public display of the natural functions, which 
are performed far from the gardens (Quain, ms.). A Bacairi never eats 
in public, or else turns his back when eating. Singing in a loud voice 
is disapproved. Disgust is expressed by spitting quickly (Steinen, 1894). 
Most of the formalized etiquette is connected with receiving visitors in 
the guest house, presenting them ceremonial seats, and offering them food 
and tobacco. Ceremonial wailing was noticed among the Bacairi (Steinen, 
1894), Yaulapiti, and Naravute (Petrullo, 1932 a). 


INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS 


Although Petrullo emphasizes the homogeneity of material culture, 
wide variations in tribal customs undoubtedly once existed. A semblance 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 339 


of homogeneity was produced by intertribal trade; for example, ceramics 
were, and in some instances are now, furnished to the Bacairi and Na- 
hukwa by the Custenau and Mehinacu, and to the Trumai and Tupian- 
speaking tribes by the Waura. In Von den Steinen’s time, the Bacairi 
specialized in the production of uruct and cotton, and in the manufacture 
of hammocks, rectangular beads, and other kinds of shell beads. The 
Nahukwa were the best producers of calabash containers, tucuma nut 
beads, and red shell beads. Stone implements were the monopoly of 
the Trumai and Suya; tobacco raising was a specialty of the Suya; and 
the production of salt was, and still is, important among the Trumai and 
Mehinacu. The Arawakan-speaking tribes exchanged their pots for the 
calabashes of the Nahukwa. In 1938, Trumai bows were still made by 
the Camayura (Steinen, 1894; Quain, ms.). 

Industrial specialization was accompanied by a difference in living 
standards. Von den Steinen was struck by the poverty of the Yaulapiti, 
whose food supply was running low and whose manufactured articles 
were scarce. Such situations could also result from poor crops or from 
an unforeseen enemy attack, as intertribal relations on the upper Xingu 
River were not exactly pacific. 

Each tribe possesses its own territory with well-defined boundaries, 
frequently river banks. Though the rivers themselves are unrestricted, 
the fishing dams which are built at short intervals are tribal property 
and are respected as such. The distrust between neighbors is shown 
in the custom by which visitors build a fire as a warning signal sev- 
eral hours or days before reaching a village (Quain, ms.). Tribes 
designate one another as “good” or “bad,” according to the generosity 
they expect or according to the aggressive spirit of their neighbor. When 
Von den Steinen visited the Culiseu River, the Trumai had just been 
attacked by the Swya, who had also captured a large number of prisoners 
from the Manitsaua. The Bacairi feared the Trumai because of their 
alleged custom of tying up and drowning their war prisoners. In 1887, 
the Trumai were fleeing from the Suya (Steinen, 1894), whom they still 
feared in 1938 (Quain, ms.). These conflicts existed even between 
groups speaking the same language, for instance among the Nahukwa. 
(Steinen, 1894; Quain, ms.; Dyott, 1930.) 

Although visiting strangers were frequently robbed (Steinen, 1894; 
Quain, ms.), intertribal ties were undoubtedly stronger than rivalries. 
Quain noticed a general multilingualism. Each village always had visitors. 
Commercial travels and trade games, intertribal wrestling matches, and 
reciprocal invitations to feasts offered constant inducements for visits 
(Steinen, 1886, 1894; Quain, ms.). Extremely significant is Quain’s 
suggestion that initiation ceremonies were perhaps performed jointly by 
the Mehinacu (Minace) and Trumat. 


340 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Intermarriages resulted from these half-warlike, half-friendly relations. 
In Von den Steinen’s time, marriages occurred between the Mehinacu 
and Nahukwa, the Bacairi of the Batovi River and the Custenau, and 
between the tribes of the Culiseu River and the Nahukwa. Intertribal 
marriages could even found new groups, like the Arawiti. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Toys and games.—Bacairi children play shuttlecock with a maize husk 
topped with a feather. They spin tops made of a fruit impaled on a 
stick with cotton at the lower end to prevent skidding. They also have 
small spear throwers, blowguns, bows and arrows, and zoomorphic toys 
made of woven and twisted straw (fig. 37, e, f, 1, 7). Woven straw 
dolls have been found among the Mehinacu and dolls of clay and tree 
gum (fig. 37, g, h) throughout the area. 

Trumai adults often wrestle for entertainment (Quain, ms.). The 
solid rubber balls of the Aweté are made by laying latex strips on the 
chest and rolling them into a ball, then piercing it with a small hole, 
and painting it red (Steinen, 1894). 

Plastic art.—Esthetic activities are especially well developed among the 
tribes of the upper Xingu River, who tend to cover all their artifacts 
with painted designs (Steinen, 1894). Painting and drawing are 
stylized, often with purely geometrical patterns, such as checkerboard, 
triangles, lozenges, and parallel lines. But even these elements bear 
naturalistic names, e. g., a checkerboard represents a bee swarm, and re- 
current triangles, bats. Quain collected naturalistic drawings among the 
Trumai far superior to the childish sketches published by Von den Steinen. 
The “mereschu” pattern is encountered throughout the area and was called 
after, and said to represent, a small fish of the lagoons (Myletes). It con- 
sists of a lozenge with four blackened angles representing the head, tail, 
and upper and lower fins. The Auetdé seem to have brought the Xingu 
style to its highest level of abstraction. A special hut of the Aveté village 
was named by Von den Steinen “the painters’ house,” not only because 
of its numerous decorations but because it was inhabited mainly by artists. 

House decorations are not rare. A frieze of bark strips (fig. 38) 
blackened with soot and painted with white clay extended along the 
wall of a Bacairi hut for 185 feet (56 m.). Its decorative themes included 
zigzag lines, dots, circles, lozenges, and triangles, which were said to 
represent several kinds of fish, feminine sex symbols, palm leaves, snakes, 
and bats. The Auetd apply white clay uniformly to house posts and 
then paint designs in black soot over it. 

Other decorated objects include paddles and pancake (beiju) shovels 
(all tribes), canoes and drums (Bacairi), and calabashes (Bacairi, Na- 
hukwa). Tortoise-shell whorls are carved and painted with soot, often 
in a rosette pattern. During ceremonies, they are slung around the neck 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 341 


eats 


Ficure 38.—Bacairi house wall decorations on bark strips. (Redrawn from Steinen, 
1894, pl. 20.) 


as ornaments (Mehinacu, Aueto, Camayura). Earthenware is painted 
with straight, parallel lines, angles, half-circles, and sometimes with re- 
productions of the tattoo patterns of the Mehinacu. 
% 
ant Wh 
"Hh. 
A TR 


ey! 


Ms 


Ficure 39.—Bacairi wooden dance pendants. (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, fig. 48.) 


Many wooden ornaments, implements, and pieces of furniture are 
carved in zoomorphic shapes (p. 333). Shell and stone beads are fre- 
quently retouched to suggest birds or fishes. In a guest house of the 
Mehinacu, Von den Steinen saw two small mounds modeled in the shape 
of a lizard, each about 3 feet (1 m.) long and 3 inches (8 cm.) wide. 
The most remarkable carving of the upper Xingt River is done on trees 
in the forest. The Nahukwa and to a lesser extent other tribes draw 
large effigies of men, women, and animals on trunks of trees, either by 


342 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


carving an outline of the figure or by removing the bark from the whole 
silhouette. 

Dance costumes and masks.—Costumes of foliage and straw caps 
ornamented with shells or feathers are widely used in dances. Straw 
garments like coveralls, with separate sleeves and legs and huge crinolines 
30 feet (10 m.) in circumference, are worn by the Bacairi. A two-piece 
straw costume gives the Camayura actor the appearance of a mushroom. 
Cylindrical blocks of wood richly painted with geometric designs (figs. 
39, 40) hang on the back to complete the dance costume (Steinen, 1894). 


— 


Ficure 40.—Bacairi masked dancers. (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, figs. 98 and 90.) 


South of the Amazon, masks were most highly developed on the 
Upper Xingt River, but are no longer made. They represented animals, 
but were shaped like human faces, the archetype being suggested only 
by a pattern painted in the middle of the face. The “mereschu” design 
was common on all masks. The simplest type of mask might be the 
fishing net that a Nahukwa put on his head (Steinen, 1894). Several 
elaborate types can be distinguished: (1) Zoomorphic headdresses made 
of carved wood, woven straw, painted calabashes, furs, or the dry head 
or skin of some animal. A remarkable headdress of the Bacairi of the 
Batovi River consisted of seven carved and painted birds mounted on 
sticks to which cotton is glued (Steinen, 1894). (2) Straw masks woven 
in the shape of an oval sieve and either without human features or with 
stylized eyes and nose modeled in wax and attached to the frame (Ba- 
kairi, Nahukwa, Aueto). (3) Flat, oval straw masks (fig. 42, a, b) with 
a frame of netting or of woven cotton and features made of plastic wax, 
cotton tufts, beans, or shells, lavishly painted (Bacairi, Aueto, Camayura, 
Trumai). (4) Rectangular wooden masks, often with only the forehead 
and nose carved and an animal pattern painted in place of the mouth 
(figs. 41; 42, c-f). This type was found among the Bacaini, Nahukwa, 
Aueté, and Camayura, and was the only one found among the Mehinacu. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 343 


| J. Anglin 


Ficure 41.—Mehinacu and Bacairi masks. a, b, Mehinacu; c, Bacairi. (Redrawn 
from Steinen, 1894, figs. 103, 102, 94.) 


The lower part of the mask usually bears a beardlike fringe of straw. 
The best carved and painted masks seem to have been made by the 
Mehinacu and Aueto. The Trumai, who now use no masks, had only 
woven cotton ones, probably borrowed from the Camayura (Quain, ms.). 

Most tribes had “fish” masks and “bird” masks, each probably asso- 
ciated with a dance cycle. Every village possessed its own collection of 
masks; today these are not worshiped and are willingly sold. 

Dances, songs, and music.—Bacairi women are excluded from the 
guest house during “great feasts” but participate in lesser feasts and in 
exclusively feminine festivals (Steinen, 1894). Except among the Trumai, 
women arevallowed to dance (Quain, ms.). The Camayura have seven 
different dances. According to Dyott’s description (1930, pp. 201-202) 
of a Nahukwa dance, men form two lines lengthwise of the house; the 
women, two rows at right angles to them. The men hold their hands out- 
stretched and stamp their feet; each woman rests an arm on the shoulder 
of her companion and swings the right foot back and forth. In another 
Nahukwa dance, witnessed by Von den Steinen, three men stamped and 
whirled rhythmically while an old woman jumped back and forth. Ina 
Yaulapiti dance, the men circled counter-clockwise, stamping the right 
foot. Chanting, the women danced outside the circle, arm in arm and palm 


344 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


di Ay 
: MN 


Ficure 42.—Upper Xingt masks. a, Trumai; b, Camayura; c, Aueto; d, Camayura; 
e, Mehinacu; f, Bacairi. (Redrawn from Steinen, 1894, figs. 118, 112, 314, 113, 
104, 44.) 


to palm with fingers interlocked, taking three steps forward, pausing, and 
stepping back (Petrullo, 1932 a, p. 142). During another feast, clowns 
with big flageolets marched grotesquely from hut to hut, entering each 
while the women pretended to be frightened (Petrullo, 1932 a, p. 139). 
Von den Steinen described a Bacairi ceremony that is possibly related to 
the last. Men gathered in the guest house and each, wearing a dance 
costume, rushed out in turn to enter some hut, from which he returned 
with an offering of food. Quain (ms.) says that although Trumai singing 
was not polyphonic, “its modulations seemed like classical harmony.” 
Musical instruments.—All Indians dance with rattling anklets or 
necklaces of shells and seeds. Gourd rattles are common among the 
Bacairi, Nahukwa, and Camayura, and tortoise-shell rattles among the 
Nahukwa (Steinen, 1894). The Awueto have rattles made of an egg 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 345 


fastened to a stick. There are also bottle-shaped rattles which are beaten 
(stamping tube?) against the ground. 

Two drums made of hollow tree trunks resting on the ground were 
found in a Bacairi and a Camayura village (Steinen, 1894). 

Wind instruments are common. Whistles consist of palm nuts pierced 
with one or two holes. Several types of small and large panpipes are used. 
Suya “panpipes,” which have three tubes and are 5 feet (1.5 m.) long, 
have air ducts and reeds, and may really be three clarinets bound together. 
A widely used instrument is the flageolet, about 214 to 3 feet (75 to 90 
cm.) long, with four holes and an air duct through the wax of the mouth- 
piece, which is sometimes beveled. The flageolet is usually made of a 
solid piece of bamboo, but sometimes two longitudinal halves are glued 
together with wax and wrapped with cotton or bark. The Bacairi play 
two flageolets in unison (Steinen, 1886), and the Nahukwa and Yaulapiti 
play three that are attached together and painted red and black (Dyott, 
1930; Petrullo, 1932 a). Von den Steinen mentioned a toneless rhythm 
trumpet made of bamboo without holes and with a calabash resonator at 
the bottom. 

Drinks and narcotics.—Von den Steinen emphasized the lack of 
fermented drinks as proof of the primitive state of the area. When he 
was on the upper Xingt River, all men smoked, except those of a single 
Bacairi village on the Batovi River. Tobacco leaves were dried between 
two planks and twisted in a spindle-shaped roll. Tobacco rolls similar to 
those described by ancient travelers are still in use. Cigarettes are rolled 
in special leaves and are tied with a bit of grass. Although tobacco has a 
secular use, smoking is frequently associated with magic and ceremonial. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Shamanism.—Shamanism is said to be uncommon among the Bacairi 
and Auetd; more frequent among the Nahukwa and Mehinacu; and fully 
developed among the Trumai. To become a shaman, one must submit to 
long and complicated trials, including fasting, remaining awake, and self- 
punishment, such as knocking one’s head against the hut posts and scar- 
ifying the body (Steinen, 1894). When curing a disease, the Trumai 
chief produced “blubbering noises . . . healing and blowing upon the 
patient with tobacco” (Quain, ms.). The belief in the life-giving property 
of breath is often emphasized by Von den Steinen, who also describes the 
shooting of “magic arrows,” consisting of small sticks or cotton threads 
which were believed to cause illness and which the shaman sucked out of 
the body. 

The practice of witchcraft (“okei” in Truwmai, Quain, ms.) both for 
benevolent and evil purposes, is widespread. A knowledge of poisons is 
important to the shaman. Some drugs are said to swell the patient’s body 


346 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


fatally (Quain, ms.) ; others consist of lizards mixed with the blood and 
hair of an enemy (Steinen, 1894). According to the use they make of 
witchcraft, sorcerers are designated “good” or “evil.” 

An important culture trait is the magic use of tobacco for “seeing- 
smoking” (Quain, ms.). This narcotic state enables one to receive 
messages, warnings, and visions. According to Von den Steinen, narcosis 
is a privilege of the shaman, who might, in a narcotic state, assume the 
appearance of an animal and travel far away. Quain witnessed an exoteric 
use of the process by the Trumai, among whom “seeing-smoking” might 
be practiced by anyone, though only at night. The natives interpret 
reading as a sort of “seeing-smoking.”’ They also believe in premonitory 
dreams, which the Bacairi explain as the alleged power of the soul to 
leave the body temporarily during sleep. 

Religious beliefs.—Nothing is known of more elaborate religious be- 
liefs, except that the Trumai are afraid of the rain, which “might kill 
people” (Quain, ms.). They also believe that after death one travels the 
Milky Way, meets many jaguars in the sky, and at last enters the Village 
of the Beyond, where one may fish with poison (Quain, ms.). This state- 
ment is in contradiction to Von den Steinen’s opinion that fishing with 
poison was unknown on the upper Xingu River (p. 324). The 
Bacairi distinguish between man’s two souls, “ghost” and “‘cover.”” When 
the “ghost” leaves the body it undergoes consecutive transformations, be- 
coming first a wandering soul (“kXadopa”), often in the shape of an 
armadillo, and later being liberated, when it climbs to the sky on a cotton 
ladder and joins its ancestors in its final state called “yamtra” (Abreu, 
1938). 

Supernatural beliefs are probably associated with the custom, followed 
by most tribes, of raising a harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) in a conical 
cage of poles erected in the middle of the village (photograph in Dyott, 
1930, p. 220). The bird is carefully fed but is not worshiped. Petrullo 
suggests that it receives its share of all game in exchange for its feathers, 
which are periodically plucked and divided among the men. 


Ceremonials.—The Camayura have special ceremonies for warfare, 
fishing, hunting, and initiation (Steinen, 1894). Among the Truwmai, the 
manioc (“ole”) ceremony is the most important (Quain, ms.). Several 
peeled poles, each rubbed with white clay, painted in black and red 
designs, and decorated with cotton tufts glued to the top, are set up in the 
plaza so as to form a shrine. Offering of fish cakes (beiju), and other 
kinds of food are placed before the altar, which is sprinkled at intervals 
with manioc soup. The ceremonial is reserved for men and includes 
wrestling matches, songs, and dances, the last similar to those performed 
at a shaman’s cures and on other more profane occasions (Quain, ms.). 

Another feast is given after piqui fruit drops, which is the time for 
piercing boys’ ears. It is suggested, though not positively established, that 


Puate 27.—Yaulapiti Indians in ‘‘woodskins,’’ or’ bark canoes. (Courtesy 
University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


PLATE ‘aulapiti women preparing manioc in pottery vessels. ourtes) 
University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


“ 
> 


(] 


§ 
3 
i 


Naravute house. 


9.—Upper Xingi house frames. Top: Roof of a 
Yaulapiti frame. 


2 


PLATE 


) 


Philadelphia. 


Museum, 


University 


(Courtesy 


Bottom: 


Rest 


Puate 30.—Naravute and Yaulapiti Indians. Top: Naravute communal house. 
Bottom: Yaulapiti polygamous ily. (Courtesy University Museum, 
Philadelphia.) 


PLate 31.—Upper Xing Indians. Top: Bacairi hunter with earrying basket. 
Bottom: Cooking pots and Aueté grave. (After Steinen, 1894.) 


Pats 32.—Aueté carrying bark canoe. (After Steinen, 1894.) 


<" 


aya 


33.—Upper Xingi Indians. Top: Suya. Bottom: Yaulapitt. (Courtesy 
University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


CHEST ‘Usuleyg JoyJV) “RMYNYRN oy) JO souep jou-ysiq—'FE ALVIg 


Vol. 3} TRIBES OF UPPER XINGU—LEVI-STRAUSS 347 


different tribes are invited to participate in this initiation ceremony. 
The Spear Thrower Feast takes place at the beginning of the rainy 
season. The Naravute told Petrullo that ceremonial weapons are 
divided between two teams which try to strike each other with blunt- 
pointed spears. The spectacle of a similar feast among the Camayura 
was observed by Von den Steinen. Quain mentions a “Kuth” ceremony, 
with wooden symbols which women are forbidden to see. These symbols 
may be bull roarers, of which Von den Steinen describes several types. 
They are swordlike with black and red designs among the Mehinacu, and 
carved in the shape of a fish among the Nahukwa, who have no sexual 
prohibitions regarding them. The Bacairi call their bull roarers “thunder’”’ 
or “thunderstorm.” 


MYTHS AND LEGENDS 


The Bacairi tell of their migration to the earth, because of the high 
mortality in their first homeland, the sky (Steinen, 1894), and of the 
subsequent destruction of the universe by flood and fire and its re- 
creation (Abreu, 1938). The creation myths of the Trumai put several 
characters on the stage, the Crow, Sun, Moon, “Grandfather,” and Jaguar 
(“Fetde”), father of the Sun (Quain, ms.). An important body of 
Bacairi myths and tales were recorded by Von den Steinen. Three groups 
may be distinguished. 


(1) The cycle of Keri and Kame.—Keri and Kame, which designate 
two culture heroes, are the Arawakan terms for Sun and Moon, borrowed 
by the Cariban speaking Bacairi, who have reversed their meaning. Kame, 
the less intelligent and more foolish of the pair, got killed and had to be 
revived by Keri. These culture heroes are not identified with the eponymic 
celestial bodies ; the latter are conceived as balls of feathers, which once had 
been united but which the heroes separated. 

The numerous legends belonging to this cycle tell of an unsuccessful 
attempt by a mythical stranger to make new human beings; of the birth 
of Keri and Kame from two human bones swallowed by a woman married 
to a jaguar; of the murder of the pregnant woman by her own mother; 
of her post-mortem birth of the boys, done by a jaguar who was her 
uncle ; and of the revenge by the two heroes. From their “masters,” they 
received the natural elements, laws and customs, and fundamental items 
of Bacairi culture, e.g., the hammock from the lizard, cotton from a kind 
of marten (Galictis), tobacco from the electric eel, and manioc from the 
deer. After having saved their tribe on a final occasion, the two heroes 
disappeared. 

The Trumai also had tales about the Sun and Moon, in which the Moon 
played the foolish part and had to be saved by its companion (Quain, ms.). 

(2) Animal tales.—The cycle of Keri and Kame is the basis for sev- 
eral animal legends. Others, such as the Trumai Tale of the Crow 

653333—47—25 


348 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


(Quain, ms.) and the Bacairi Tale of the Jaguar and Anteater (Steinen 
1894), are pure animal tales, rather humorous in character. 

(3) Historical legends.—Many details in the cycle of Keri and Kame 
and in other legends are interpretations of the early history of the upper 
Xingu River. The Trwmai believe their ancestors to have been aquatic 
animals (Steinen, 1894; Quain, ms.). They explain the cultural diversity 
of the tribes of the upper Xingu River as having resulted from a choice 
of things which the Sun once offered people. The Trumai took the bees- 
wax, the Camayura the bow, the Waura pots, but the White man preferred 
the ax and hence he built an extensive civilization (Quain, ms.). 


LORE AND LEARNING 


According to the Bacairi, the sky was once in close contact with the 
earth. The Sun and Moon, each a ball of feathers, are hidden under a 
pot when they are not visible and are carried through the sky by animals, 
either slow or fast, depending upon the hour and season. Sometimes the 
Moon is hidden by the body of an animal at work, and then an eclipse 
occurs. Several constellations are identified, chiefly the Pleiades, Orion, 
the Southern Cross, and Gemini. They are said to represent implements, 
plants, foods, and other objects. The Milky Way is compared to a drum 
which contains animals (Steinen, 1894). The Trumai believe that the 
sky is immortal and that it changes its skin like a snake, They also think 
that the visible sun is altogether different from, and is the “pet” of, the 
real sun, which is called by a special name (Quain, ms.). 

All tribes draw geographical maps of the area on the sand. Rivers are 
suggested by zigzags cut by transverse lines for the rapids; circles repre- 
sent huts, and circles arranged in a ring are villages. As signs to fisher- 
men, drawings of the special kind of fish which is abundant at a certain 
spot are left on the sand bank of the rivers (Steinen, 1886, 1894). 

The Bacairi have distinct words for the numbers one to three. Three 
is not used frequently, and a combination of the words for one and two is 
often substituted for it. The counting of the Trumai is not perfectly clear, 
but they, as well as the Waura and Camayura, seem to have a distinct 
word for four. Five is expressed by a special word by the Trumai and 
Aueto, while the other tribes use the same word as for “hand.” Counting 
above five is done with the help of hands and feet, and numbers above 
five are expressed by combinations of the basic terms. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Abreu, 1895 (rep. 1938); Dyott, 1929, 1930; Ehrenreich, 1897 a; Fawcett, 1925; 
Hintermann, 1925, 1926; Krause, 1936 a, b, c; 0000; Lévi-Strauss, 1943 b; Lima 
Figueiredo, 1939; Meyer, 1897 a, b, c, d, 1900, 1904; Nordenskidld 1930 b; Petrullo, 
1932 a, b; Quain, ms. (n. d.); Ranke, 1906; Schmidt, 1902-04, 1905, 1924, 1928; 
Steinen, 1886, 1888, 1892, 1894. 


Part 2. THe Trises oF Mato Grosso AND EASTERN BOLIVIA 
THE PARESSI 


By ALFrrep METRAUX 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


The Paressi of Central Brazil together with the Mojo and Chané repre- 
sent the southernmost branch of the Arawakan linguistic family.1 They 
occupied in the Mato Grosso an area delimited in the east by the Arinos 
and the Upper Paraguay Rivers, in the west by the Upper Guaporé and 
Juruena Rivers, and in the south by lat. 40°30’. 

They were divided into three main groups that were often hostile but 
that had a homogeneous culture and few dialectical differences: (1) The 
Cashiniti (Kachiniti), scattered along the Soumidoro River, a tributary 
of the Arinos River, and near the headwaters of the Sepotuba and 
Sucuriu-na Rivers (lat. 15° S., long. 58° W.); (2) the Uaimaré 
(Waimaré), who lived along the upper Rio Verde and Sacre River; (3) 
the Cozdrini (Kozarini), who occupied the region of the watershed of the 
Juba, Cabacai, Jaurt, Guaporé, Rio Verde, Papagaio, Burity, and Juruena 
Rivers (lat, 15°.S., long. 59° W.).? 

The Cozdrini seem to be a mixed tribe formed by a nucleus of Paressi 
invaders who absorbed and assimilated Indians from other tribes, mainly 
Nambicuara (Guayguakuré). As recently as 1910 when Max Schmidt 
(1914) visited them, the Cozdrini still fought the Nambicuara and kid- 
napped the men for slaves and the women for wives. The other Paressi 
looked down on the Cozdrini as an inferior branch of their nation and 
called them Cabishi, a term also applied to the Nambicuara of the Serra 
do Norte and to numerous Indians of the Guaporé basin. Max Schmidt 
called them Paressi-Cabishi, a name which has been adopted in the 
anthropological literature. 

After 1908, the Paressi were collected by the “Commissao de Linhas 
telegraphicas” in the following settlements: Utiariti, Barao de Cam- 

1 Paresst is closer to Mehinaku than to Mojo. 


2 The Iranxe (Iranche), who have been classified as a Paresst subtribe, belong according to Max 
Schmidt (1942) to a different linguistic group. 


349 


356 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


panema, Ponte de Pedra, and Aldeia Quemada. In 1928, most of the 
remaining Cashiniti and Uaimaré lived in Utiariti and Sao José. The 
surviving Cozdrini were settled near Villa de Mato Grosso and at 
Tapiruapan. 

Population.—Pires de Campos (1862) stresses the large population of 
the Paressi and Uaimaré in 1718. By 1848, their number had been con- 
siderably reduced through slave raids. The Cashiniti were then estimated 
at 250, the Uaimaré at 400, and the Cozdrini (Cabishi) at 500. In 1908, 
according to Rondon’s census, there were 340 Paressi living in 12 villages 
of which the largest had 57 inhabitants and the smallest 16. In 1937, 
there remained about 150 Paressi. 


HISTORY 


The Paressi, under the name of Pareti, are mentioned in connection 
with the first Spanish expeditions to Chiquitos and Mojos. At the begin- 
ning of the 17th century, some conquistadors reached their territory and 
even saw the Serra dos Parecis and the Serra do Norte. (See Métraux, 
1942, p. 160.) 

The first account of their culture was written in 1723 by the slaver 
Antonio Pires de Campos (1862), who in 1718 had discovered this tribe 
on the highlands beyond the watershed of the Paraguay River. The 
Mahibarez, undoubtedly identical with the modern Uaimaré (Mahtim- 
baré), had, according to Pires de Campos, the same culture and the same 
language as the Paressi. Pires de Campos mentions also the wild and 
cannibalistic Cavithi (Cabisht), but it cannot be ascertained whether the 
latter were actually the modern Paressi-Cabishi (Cozdrini). 

During the entire 18th century, the Paressi region was crossed by 
slavers and by adventurers in search of gold or diamond mines. In the 
19th century, the Paressi also were molested by rubber gatherers. Their 
territory was finally opened in 1908 by General Mariano Candido da 
Silva Rondén, who was then the chief of the Commission that built a 
telegraphic line across the Brazilian wilderness. Thanks to Rondon’s 
endeavours, the Indians were well treated and were even given the means 
to adjust themselves to modern civilization. So rapid was their assimila- 
tion, that within a few years the Commission could use some Paressi as 
employees, even as telegraphers. Schools were created in several villages 
and many Paressi received White education. By 1928, the Paressi were 
fully acculturated. It is difficult to account for the sharp decline in popu- 
lation which took place after 1910; Max Schmidt (1943, p. 10), however, 
states that many Cozdrini fell victims to an influenza epidemic. 


SOURCES 


Von den Steinen’s chapter about the Paressi in his “Unter den Natur- 
volkern Central Brasiliens” (1894) is especially valuable for the creation 


Vol. 3] THE PARESSI—METRAUX 351 


myths it contains, but his information is fragmentary, for the author never 
visited these Indians in their home country. Good data about various 
aspects of Paressi culture appear in Rondon’s (1912) reports and in the 
book “Rondonia” written by the Brazilian anthropologist Roquette-Pinto 
(1917, 1938). Max Schmidt (1914, 1943) has written two important 
monographs about this tribe: the first one deals exclusively with the 
Paressi-Cabishi (Cozdrini) ; the more recent one includes a detailed his- 
tory of the Paressi, a summary of their culture, an extensive dictionary of 
their language with grammatical notes, and mythological texts in Paressi. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE 


Farming.—The 18th-century Paressi, who probably lived somewhat 
north of their present territory, had large fields of maize, beans, sweet 
potatoes, and pineapples. The siliceous plateaus more recently occupied 
by the Paressi are less fertile. Only the thin gallery forests along the 
rivers are well suited for cultivation, hence the dispersion of the fields and 
the frequent shifting of villages. The Paressi cultivate bitter and sweet 
manioc, maize (a red and a yellow variety), beans, sweet potatoes, cara, 
tobacco, and cotton. They supplement their diet with wild food plants, 
such as cashews, jaboticaba, taruma, tucum, wild pineapples, and many 
other species. 

Hunting.—Game is scarce and elusive in the open savannas of the 
territory of the Paressi; these Indians, nonetheless, are good hunters. 
They stalk game with the bow and arrow using portable leaf screens to 
hide themselves. They also shoot from watchposts or organize communal 
drives in which they set fire to the bush. They decoy the game by imitat- 
ing its call or catch it with traps. They have well-trained hunting dogs. 
According to Pires de Campos (1862), the ancient Paressi caught deer, 
rheas, and other animals in pitfalls which they dug within large enclosures 
built between two streams. Max Schmidt (1914) reports that hunters 
destroy the game indiscriminately, but Rondén (1912) states that they 
spare the female rheas during the breeding season. 

Fishing.—Shooting with bow and arrows in flooded areas, drugging 
with timbd, or angling with European hooks are the main fishing methods 
of the Paressi. However, their deep and clear rivers constitute a handicap 
which makes fishing less important here than in the other tropical areas. 

Domestication.—The Paressi are among the few Indians of America 
who practice a primitive form of apiculture. They put swarms of jati bees 
(Trigona jati) in a gourd with two openings, one for the bees and the 
other, sealed with wax, for removing the combs. 

Modern Paressi, besides keeping many wild animals as pets, raise dogs, 
chickens, pigs, and ducks. In 1910, the Cozérini had only dogs which 
were ill treated and ill fed. 


352 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Ficure 43.—Paressi Indians. Top: Decorated posts and bar for testing strength. 
Bottom: Paressi house. (Redrawn from M. Schmidt, 1914, figs. 27, 40.) 


Vol. 3] THE PARESSI—METRAUX 353 


Food preparation.—Meat is roasted on a four-legged babracot; 
manioc is grated on wooden graters, strained through sieves, and roasted 
in clay pans. Maize or manioc is pounded in large, cylindrical wooden 
mortars with wooden pestles. Gourds of all kinds and sizes serve as 
bottles, bowls, and cups. Small mats are used as dishes and fire fans. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


According to Pires de Campos (1862), the ancient Paressi villages 
comprised from 10 to 30 round and oven-shaped huts, from 30 to 40 feet 
(10 to 13 m.) in diameter. 


At the beginning of this century, Paressi villages consisted only of one 
or two communal houses accommodating an average of six families. These 
huts were dome-shaped with an oval ground plan and a thatched roof 
which reached the ground. The frame was made of bent rafters attached 
to a central ridge pole. The lower part of the wall was lined up with 
large pieces of bark. These huts averaged 25 feet (7.6 m.) in length, 
18 feet (5.4 m.) in width, and 12 feet (3.6 m.) in height. Each family 
occupied a space bounded by the rafters. 


Each village had a ceremonial hut, which may be described as a gable 
roof resting on the ground and closed on all sides but for a single door 
shut with a leaf screen. 


Hammocks, which were made of cotton, but sometimes of tucuma fibers, 
were suspended from the rafters and from extra posts, which were often 
decorated with painted motifs (Cozdrini). Such posts were held to be 
animated by spirits that protected the families from thieves. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Men and women dress today like the Mestizos. Formerly, men went 
naked, but tucked their penis under a few cotton strings threaded with 
beads and tied around the waist. Women wore short, cylindrical, cotton 
skirts, which scarcely covered their lower abdomen (pl. 35, bottom, left). 
Pires de Campos (1862) mentions penis covers (?) and women’s skirts 
covered with feathers. Both sexes wore wide garters and anklets, the men 
of cotton, the women’s often of rubber. Men use also woven bracelets, 
reinforced with wooden sticks and feather quills. Both sexes took pride 
in owning a great many beads, which they displayed in the form of brace- 
lets or of heavy necklaces suspended crosswise over the chest. 


The only headdresses consisted either of a simple feather circlet mounted 
on a low frame of bamboo strips or of tufts of feathers attached to the 
nape. Feathers were passed through the perforated septum of the nose 
and sticks through the earlobes. In former days, both sexes were tattooed, 
an operation performed by women. The Paressi paint themselves with 
genipa and uruct. 


354. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


According to tradition, Paresst men wore a tonsure in ancient days; 
today they cut their hair around the head. Combs consisted of splinters 
inserted between parallel pieces of bamboo. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Many Paressi groups lack canoes. They cross rivers buoyed by a 
bundle of burity stems or on tree-trunk bridges. 

The ancient Paressi seem to have built broad paths or even roads to 
connect their villages. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Some circular sieves and concave trays are made with a 
plain checker weave of bamboo strands. More complicated diagonal pat- 
terns are obtained by using a twilled weave. The finished basket is 
smeared with black pigment which, adhering to the rough sides of the 
strands, causes the design to stand out sharply. The large cylindrical 
carrying baskets represent a third technique: the warp and weft meet at 
right angles and are held in position by extra diagonal strands (pl. 35, 
top, left). 

Spinning and weaving.—Cotton is spun with drop spindles fitted 
with a clay whorl or a fruit. Ropes of tucum fibers are twisted on the 
thigh. 

The loom is of the vertical, or “Arawak,” type. Loincloths, baby slings, 
and bags are made of the entire cylindrical piece of the finished cloth as 
it is removed from the loom. For other objects, such as arm bands and 
belts, the warp is cut before the fabric is completed, so that the ends are 
always fringed. 

Featherwork.—Ancient Paressi excelled in making feather fabric, 
probably in the same techniques as Mojo feather mosaics. 

Pottery.—Unlike most Arawakan tribes, the Paressi have a very crude 
pottery, though they might have had a better ceramic in the past. Clay is 
tempered with the ashes of the katipe bark and a ferruginous powder, 
common in the region. 

Rubber.—Rubber balls are made by coating a concave piece of wood 
with the latex of the mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa). The edges of 
the membrane are glued together by pressing them with the fingers. Air 
is blown into the ball through a small hole which is patched with a thin 
membrane. Several additional coatings of latex give strength to the ball. 
The rubber bands which women wore around their legs were made on a 
a cylindrical piece of wood. f 

Weapons.—lIn 1718, Pires de Campos saw among the Paressi bows and 
arrows, flat swords of hardwood, and short spears. Bows and arrows fell 
into disuse soon after guns were introduced. The bows of the Cozdrini 
have a semicircular cross section and shoulders are cut at both ends for 


35.—Paressi life. /ourtesy American Museum of Natural History.) 


Vol. 3] THE PARESSI—METRAUX 355 


the three-ply cotton string. There are three kinds of arrows: those tipped 
with a long sharp rod, bird arrows made of a simple bamboo stem with 
the root forming the knobbed head, and whistling arrows. The feathering 
is of the cemented type. It is lacking on fishing arrows. 

Paresst are acquainted with curare, which they extract from shavings 
of the bark of a creeper (Sirychnos toxifera). Other ingredients added to 
the poison have magical rather than practical usefulness. Curare is used 
on ordinary hunting arrows. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


The political unit of the Paressi is the independent village, which is 
under the direction of a chief and of a shaman. Often one man fills both 
roles. Among the Cozdrini, chieftainship is transmitted to the eldest son, 
who enjoys special privileges even when he is only the heir apparent. It 
is remembered that in the past some Paressi chiefs ruled over minor chiefs 
in other villages. The functions of the chiefs are not fully described in 
our sources, but we know that they lead all the ceremonies and that they 
receive visitors. 

Among the Cozdrini, heads of families control a class of dependents 
that includes many adopted captive boys. These servants open clearings, 
carry wood to the village, build houses, and give their masters all their earn- 
ings (M. Schmidt, 1914, p. 188). 

The inhabitants of different villages visit one another frequently and 
maintain active commercial relations. The whole territory of these Indians 
is crisscrossed by paths leading from one settlement to another. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—It is customary for a woman during childbirth to kneel on the 
ground and to lean against another woman, generally her mother. Until 
the infant’s navel cord drops off, both parents remain at home. Moreover, 
during his seclusion, the father may eat only manioc wafers.2 When the 
child is about 3 years old, it receives the name of one of its grandparents 
(Steinen, 1894, p. 436). 


Marriage.—Monogamy prevails now, but formerly sororal polygyny 
appears to have been common. When native traditions were still unim- 
paired, small children were often bethrothed to each other by their parents. 
Sometimes an adult man reared a girl from childhood and married her 
when she reached puberty. 


Marriage was considered sealed after the bridegroom had made a small 
present to his bride’s parents and after the latter had brought the girl to 
his hammock (Steinen, 1894, p. 434). Residence was customarily matri- 
"8A father who did not observe the rules of the couvade faced the danger of being killed by bush 
spirits. 

653333—47—26 


356 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


local, except for chiefs who were privileged to take their wives to their own 
houses. 

Death.—Toward the end of the 19th century, the dead were buried in 
their huts with food and all their possessions, their heads turned toward the 
east. Relatives of the deceased remained indoors for 6 days, observing 
a rigorous fast. On the seventh day, they rubbed their bodies with a plant 
juice mixed with urucu. The house of the dead was abandoned temporarily 
or permanently. 

The souls of the dead were believed to travel to the sky, but on the 
way they had to face many ordeals. They passed by a large fire which 
flared up to burn the “sinners” and by a doglike monster which tore them 
to pieces. If they succeeded in overcoming these dangers, the souls were 
received in the sky by Waikomoné and his three brothers, who painted 
them with uruct (Steinen, 1894, pp. 434-35). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Gourds (fig. 44), dancing sticks, and house posts of the Cozdrini 
are decorated with painted, incised or fire-engraved geometrical and real- 


id eet 
_—-_ 


ge 
V 


Ficure 44.—Paressi decorated gourds. (Redrawn from M. Schmidt, 1914, figs. 
127, 128, and 126.) 


istic designs. The geometrical patterns consist of straight or undulating 
lines, series of dots, triangles, hooks, rows of lozenges, T-shaped motifs, 
and others. Simple zigzag lines are called “Male serpent spirits” ; a group 
of lozenges represents the ‘Female serpent spirit.” As a rule, however, 
these design elements are combined according to the fancy of the artist and 


Vol. 3] THE PARESSI—METRAUX aot 


seem to lack any symbolic or other significance. The realistic decorations 
are black silhouettes of men and animals. Apparently, there is seldom any 
attempt to depict a scene. The posts supporting the transverse piece of 
wood, which young Cozdrini boys break with their back, are covered with 
paintings, some realistic, others geometric. These designs are more or 
less conventionalized representations of the moon, spirits, caimans, and so 
on. The motifs are haphazardly combined, and cannot be regarded as true 
pictographs. They show, however, striking resemblances to the petro- 
glyphs of Ponte da Pedra, in Paressi territory. (See M. Schmidt, 1940). 

Musical instruments.—Many of the musical instruments are highly 
sacred, and symbolize spirits. In this category are the big flutes with four 
stops, of which there are several kinds with different tones. Among the 
Cozarini, the Male serpent-spirit, Makunaima, is represented by a clarinet 
or trumpet formed of two parts, a bamboo tube, and a gourd (resonator 
bell). The distal end is notched and vibrates when air is blown into the 
tube. 

Men imitate spirit voices by speaking into a bamboo tube, the thin walls 
of which are slashed. This is not so much a musical instrument as a “tone 
coloring instrument, somewhat like our mirlitones” (Izikowitz, 1935, p. 
235)). 

Resonator whistles, or flutes made of two halves of gourds and blown 
with the nose, are also sacred. 

The ceremonial musical instruments are kept in the club houses safe 
from the eyes of women, to whom they are taboo. 

Paressi panpipes consist of 5 tubes held together by a simple ligature. 
Like the gourd rattles which are used as toys, they are profane instruments. 
Dancers wear anklets of fruit shells. (On musical instruments and on 
Paressi music, see Roquette-Pinto, 1938, pp. 137-140.) 

Games.—The Paressi, like the Mojo, have a rubber-ball game which 
is played exclusively with the head. The hollow rubber ball is 8 inches 
(20 cm.) in diameter. The players are divided into two teams, and 
the ball is placed on the ground on top of a heap of sand. One player 
runs forward, throws himself flat on the ground, and butts the ball toward 
the opposite side. The first butt never lifts the ball very high and it 
rolls and bounces toward the opponents, one of whom throws himself 
flat on his face and butts it back. After this, the ball flies sufficiently 
high for the players to strike it with their heads. A score is made by 
one team when the opponents miss the ball and allow it to fall to the 
ground. The main rule is that the ball must not be touched with the 
hands or feet or with any part of the body except the top of the head 
(Roosevelt, 1914, pp. 198-199). 

In a contest of strength, young Cozdrini men use their backs to break 
a transverse wooden bar passed through two perpendicular posts (fig. 
43, top). 


358 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Children’s games include walking on stilts and throwing shuttlecocks. 

Dances.—Ceremonial dancing is restricted to men; women may not 
even see the performance. Women may, however, join profane dances. 
Men carrying pipes and trumpets circle slowly round and round stamp- 
ing their feet, to make their rattles clatter. Dances are led by the chiefs. 

Beverages.—Paressi prepare manioc chicha in large wooden troughs. 
They boil the mass in large pots, and add to it chewed manioc cakes 
(beiju) and an infusion of palm fruits. The main feasts, involving 
drinking and dancing, take place in October and April and attract many 
visitors from far away villages. 


RELIGION 


Diffuse animism appears to be one of the main features of Paressi re- 
ligion. The Indians people rivers and woods with spirits and demons. 
The most important deity of the Cozdrini seems to have been the Serpent 
spirit, Nukaima, and his wife. The men’s club is his temple where he 
is represented by a trumpet and his wife by a flute (flageolet). According 
to Pires de Campos (1862, p. 443), the ancient Paressi had special huts 
in which they kept terrifying “idols” and trumpets which belonged to 
these deities. Women were not permitted to enter the sacred huts where 
the men assembled in their best outfits to dance and drink. 


An unshaped piece of wood is, according to Roquette-Pinto, one of 
the Paressi’s main sacred objects. When it becomes old and moth-eaten, 
a shaman and his assistant go to the forest and get another log, which 
they carry home while chanting a monotonous duet which women are 
forbidden to hear. 

Drinking bouts are celebrated by the Cozdrini in honor of the Serpent 
spirit. At dusk on the day before the feast, beer is sent into the club, 
where it is received with a curious yell produced in the throat. Men 
begin the feast by beating the roofs of the huts with a sort of whip 
to notify the women inside that the Serpent spirits are thirsty and that 
their anger can be appeased only by offerings of beer. Two dancers, 
holding the musical instruments symbolizing the spirits, stamp on the 
ground in front of the houses while other participants sing in deep 
voices to their rhythm. The chief gives the dancers large quantities 
of a manioc or chicha beer prepared by the terrified women. The latter 
remain shut inside the dwelling houses during the entire performance. 

The Serpent spirits also demand meat. Large portions of game are 
set aside and roasted as offerings for them, but actually are eaten by 
the men in the club house, where they receive the food with deep roars. 

Occasionally, lay dances are performed to the accompaniment of musical 
instruments. Groups of three men dance together while blowing their 
panpipes. There are also choruses under the direction of some precentor. 


Vol. 3] THE PARESSI—METRAUX 359 


SHAMANISM 


Shamans are surrounded by apprentices on whom they impose solitary 
retreats into the forests and severe fasts. Shamans are credited with 
considerable knowledge and are said to be capable of flying to the sky 
(Steinen, 1894, p. 435). They treat their patients by blowing tobacco 
smoke on their bodies, but they use also a great many medicinal plants, 
judging from the extensive list of them published by Rondon (1912, 
pp. 15-17). Sorcerers throw poison at their victims or mix it in their 
drinks. 


MYTHOLOGY 


The first ancestor was the stone woman Maiso. At the time, there 
was darkness, and there were neither rivers, earth, nor wood. By intro- 
ducing a piece of wood into her vagina, Mais6 produced first the dirty 
Cuiaba River and then the clear Paressi River. She put soil in the water 
and created the ground. Many people issued from her, the first man, 
Dukavaiteré, entirely of stone. With his wife, Urahiulu, he engendered 
the sun, the moon, the rheas, the jaguar, the seriema bird, and the deer, 
all of which he placed in the sky as stars and constellations. Then they 
procreated several kinds of parrots together with serpents of the same 
color. For instance, the blue arara, which had a human face, appeared 
at the same time as the “blue arara serpents.” Maiso, concerned by the 
successive birth of parrots and serpents, made magic on her daughter- 
in-law, who finally conceived the first Paressi. This first man, Uazale, 
was hairy and had a tail and a membrane between his arms and legs.* 
The other children of the mythic couple became the ancestors of the 
several Paressi subtribes and even of the Portuguese. 

Later, the woman, Uarahiulu, produced iron tools, axes, and finally, 
horses, cattle, and pigs. Everything came from her. 

Uazale, the first Paressi, was a true culture hero. He discovered 
manioc in the forest and created cotton by planting his hair. Tobacco 
grew from the body of a child that he buried. Uazale wanted to kill 
his children, whom he suspected of incest. The children ran away into 
the forest, which they accidentally set on fire. Several valuable plants 
grew from the various parts of their charred bodies. Uazale also taught 
pottery making to women. 

Tshenikauré, Uazale’s brother, was the “big jaguar” that devoured 
Kamazt, the ancestor of the Cozdarini, and his wife. Waikomoné, Kama- 
zu’s son, killed the jaguar. The jaguar’s arrows were changed into 
Bacairi Indians. All the Indians who were hostile to the Paressi were 
believed to be members of the family of the mythical jaguar. 

In Paressi mythology, Waikomoné is second in importance only to 
Uazale. Waikomoné and his three brothers receive the souls of the 


« According to the myths recorded by Max Schmidt (1943, pp. 234-235), Uazale and his brothers 
came from a cave, near Ponta de Pedra. A bird discovered the land outside. 


360 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


dead when they reach heaven. Waikomoné had a son, whom he created 
magically of leaves, and who was the husband of all the pretty women 
who came to heaven. (See Steinen, 1894, p. 435-440.) 

In another version of the creation myth (Roquette-Pinto, 1938, p. 133), 
the Supreme Being, Enore, carved the first men and women out of a 
piece of wood. This couple had four children, two boys, Zaluié and 
Kamaikoré, and two girls, Hoholaialo and Uhaiuariru. When Enore 
divided all the good things of the world among his children, Zaluié re- 
fused to accept guns because they were too heavy and horses and cattle 
because they would soil the plaza of his village. He departed with bows 
and arrows. Kamaik6ré accepted the objects his brother refused, and 
the Whites, his descendants, have become prosperous and powerful. 

Maize sprouted from the grave of a big chief, Ainotare. Manioc origi- 
nated from the body of a girl who, despised by her father, asked her 
mother to bury her alive in the forest. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


According to the Paressi, the sun is a ball of red arara feathers and 
the moon a ball of yellow mutum feathers. Each belongs to a different 
master, who stores it away when it must not be seen. Phases of the 
moon are caused by a spider who gnaws the moon’s edge and by four 
armadillos who hide its disk. Constellations are described as various 
kinds of animals: A jaguar devouring a deer, a sariema bird, and others. 
The Coal Sack near the Southern Cross is identified as a rhea. The Milky 
Way is a path covered with kuta fruits. 

Rondon (1912, pp. 40-42) gives the text of four Paressi songs. They 
are short pieces: one describes the meeting with the “Father of the 
bush”; another tells of the killing of a man; another of the pleasures 
of dancing and drinking ; and the last commemorates a battle. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Badariotti, 1898; Bossi, 1863; Fonseca, 1880-81; Izikowitz, 1935; Maurtua, 1906; 
Métraux, 1942; Missio Rondén, 1916; Pires de Campos, 1862; Rondon, 1912; 
Roosevelt, 1914 (1924) ; Roquette-Pinto, 1912 a (1917, 1938); Schmidt, M., 1914, 
1940, 1942, 1943; Steinen, 1894. 


THE NAMBICUARA 


By Craupe Lévi-Strauss 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Nambicuara (Nambikuara, Mambyuara, Mahibarez) have been 
identified only recently. Nambicuara, meaning “long eared,” was origi- 
nally a Tupi nickname used since the 18th century for the little- 
known tribes of the western and northern parts of the Serra dos Parecis. 
These tribes had large ear and lip plugs, like those of the Swya and Boto- 
cudo, and were called Beicos de Pau, “Wooden Mouths,” by the rubber 
collectors and gold miners. About 1830, they began to make hostile 
sorties from the region of the upper Sangue River. When, in 1907, 
General Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon discovered important tribes 
in the Serra do Norte, he identified them with the Nambicuara of the 
old literature. Thus, Nambicuara designates a tribe other than the “Long 
Ears,” or “Wooden Mouths,” to whom it was originally applied. 


Extending northwest from the Papagaio River more or less to the 
confluence of the Commemoracio and the Barao de Melgaco Rivers, 
branches of the Machado (Gi-Parana) River, the region of the Nambi- 
cuara (map 1, No. 2; map 2; map 4) is bounded on the south by the 
right tributaries of the Guaporé River and, farther west, by the whole 
of the Commemoracao de Floriano River. The northern boundary is 
unknown but probably runs more or less along the 11th parallel between 
the Theodore Roosevelt and Papagaio Rivers. (Lat. 10°-15° S., long. 
57°-61° W.) 

The first classification of the Nambicuara was made by Roquette-Pinto 
(1938, pp. 216-217), who listed four main groups. Lévi-Strauss (n.d. b), 
using linguistic data, distinguishes three main groups. Two of these, 
which are subdivided into two groups each, clearly belong to the same 
linguistic family, but the linguistic affiliation of the third group, which is 
undivided, is doubtful. These groups are: astern Nambtcuara 
(Roquette-Pinto’s Kékézu, Cocozu) between the Papagaio and Juina 
Rivers; Northeastern Nambicuara (Roquette-Pinto’s Anunze) in the 
basins of the Camararé and Doze de Otubro Rivers ; Central and Southern 


361 


362 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Nambicuara (Roquette-Pinto’s Uaintagu, which includes his Kabishi, 
Tagnami, Tauité, Taruté, and Tashuité) between the Guaporé River Basin 
in the south and the Tenente Marqués, Iké and Roosevelt Rivers in the 
north and northwest; Western Nambicuara (new), closely related to the 
central and southern groups and living on the headwaters and in the upper 
basin of the Roosevelt River ; and Northern Nambicuara (new), speaking 
its own language and living north of the central group. 


The Indians mention other tribes north of the Nambicuara; one called 
Saluma, Saruma, or Solondé is almost certainly the Mundurucu; another 
may be the Tapanyuma. 


In 1907, Rond6n estimated the total Nambicuara population to be 
20,000. In 1912 Roquette-Pinto met 1,000 to 1,500. It is doubtful 
whether the total population, which has been decimated by several recent 
epidemics, now greatly exceeds 1,500. 


The Nambicuara language was previously thought to be isolated, but 
its distinctive trait—the use of classificatory suffixes dividing the universe 
into about ten categories—is strongly reminiscent of Chibcha. 


Nambicuara culture, although less primitive than that of the Siriond to 
the southwest, is strikingly simple in comparison with that of the neigh- 
boring Paressi to the southeast and of the Tupi-Cawahib to the north- 
west. Their lack of the hammock, their custom of sleeping on the ground, 
their crude ceramics (the Eastern Nambicuara entirely lack pottery), the 
nakedness of both sexes, their nomadism, their use of temporary shelters 
during most of the year, the general poverty of their material culture, and 
the simplicity of their social organization distinguish them from the higher 
cultures of the Guaporé River area, to which they nevertheless probably 
belong. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 


The Nambicuara habitat is a savannalike plateau about 500 to 1,500 
feet (150 to 500 m.) above sea level with an arenaceous soil which comes 
from disintegrated sandstone bedrock. Except for narrow gallery forests 
along river banks, the region is infertile, having only shrubs and small 
trees with thorns or thick bark. 


In this unproductive environment the Nambicuara have a dual sub- 
sistence pattern. They are both seminomadic bush dwellers and incipient 
farmers. During the dry season, women, accompanied by their children, 
forage with digging sticks for wild fruits, seeds, and roots, and catch 
grubs, rats, bats, spiders, snakes, lizards, and other small creatures, while 
men hunt what large game they can find with bows and arrows and collect 
wild honey. 


Vol. 3] THE NAMBICUARA—LEVI-STRAUSS 363 


When rains come, the Nambicuara settle in temporary villages, and the 
men open circular gardens in the gallery forest by burning and felling the 
trees with stone (now steel) axes. They till the soil with pointed sticks 
and raise both bitter and sweet manioc, several kinds of maize which are 
different from those of their more civilized neighbors (Roquette-Pinto, 
1938, p. 297 n.), beans, gourds, cotton, urucu, and a variety of small 
tobacco with tiny leaves. Despite the difficulty of fishing in the deep, clear 
tributaries of the Juruena River, they have moderate success using fish 
arrows, basket traps, and a drug made of a vine. 

Food preparation.—Game is usually only half cooked in hot ashes, but 
it is sometimes smoked on rectangular or pyramidal babracots. Manioc 
is grated on thorns of the catizal palm (Jriartea sp.) imbedded in palm 
wood plants. To remove the poisonous juice of bitter manioc, the pulp 
is either squeezed in a strip of bark twisted spirally or buried for several 
days to allow the juice to drain off. Balls of the pulp are then sun-dried 
and packed in leaves in baskets or buried at marked places. In times of 
scarcity, perhaps months later, the half-rotten balls are made into flat 
cakes, hastily cooked in hot ashes, and eaten. 

The Nambicuara cannot bear to eat salt, which they do not know how 
to prepare, or pepper, which they do not cultivate. Even hot food is 
cooled with water before it is eaten. Wild honey, too, is diluted with 
water. The only condiment is a variety of cumaru bean which has a 
strong, bitter almond taste. It is boiled in pots; afterward the liquid is 
drunk and the beans are mixed with food, especially with grasshoppers 
crushed in mortars. Armadillo meat is often ground with maize flour. 

Domestic animals and pets.—The Nambicuara have many pets, 
especially monkeys, coatis, parrots, and birds. Domesticated animals 
were unknown until the Rondén Commission introduced chickens and 
dogs. Although at first extremely afraid of dogs, the Indians quickly 
adopted them and treated them with the same deep affection they show 
all their tame animals. Even now they are terrified by oxen seen at 
telegraph stations, and call them by the name given to the deadly spirits 
of the water and the bush. They do, however, hunt and eat horses 
and mules as if they were wild game. 


HOUSES 


The surprising variety of house types suggests recent borrowing from 
neighboring tribes. The Nambicuara, like the Siriond, may formerly 
have lacked houses entirely. During most of the year, even at the present 
time, they build only scanty temporary shelters for a single night. These 
consist of branches of palms stuck into holes dug in the sand to form a 
half or quarter circle on the side from which the sun, the wind, or rain 
are expected (pl. 37, center, left). Each individual family builds its own 


364 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


shelter and lights its own fire in the opening. During the rainy season, 
villages consisting of one or more beehive huts are built on slight hillocks 
above the course of a secondary stream. Some of the Eastern Nambicuara 
build only shelters, although larger and stronger than the ones described. 
The beehive hut is very light, each about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m.) in 
diameter. The frame consists of several long, supple poles, bent so that 
both ends can be stuck into the ground and tied together at the top, where 
they cross. Circular branches running horizontally are tied to the poles 
at different levels. The Central and Western Nambicuara have a more 
elaborate hut (pl. 37, top) whose perimeter is about 50 feet (15 m.). 
It has a central post from the base of which several forked poles run 
obliquely to support the bent poles of the external frame. All types of 
huts are thatched with horizontal layers of palm leaves, those of Central 
and Western Nambicuara exactly like the houses of their southern neigh- 
bors, the Kepikiriwat. 

A gabled house without walls was also observed by Roquette-Pinto, who 
recorded other kinds of temporary huts. Some were built by sticking two 
branches into the ground, bending them over and attaching them to a 
horizontal pole tied to two perpendicular posts and covering them with 
bunches of grass. 

The Nambicuara, although all their neighbors use hammocks, sleep on 
bare ground or on flat pieces of bark from the paxiuba palm. Because of 
this custom, the Paressi nicknamed them Uaikoakére, “Those Who Sleep 
on the Ground.” 


CLOTHING AND ADORNMENT 


Both sexes are naked, except that men sometimes tie a small tuft of 
buruty straw to their belt to cover the sex organs. Both men and women 
wear a thin, cotton-thread belt strung with white or black beads cut from 
river mollusk shells or from tucuma palm nuts. Such beads, with larger 
triangular pieces of mollusk shells, are also used for necklaces, earrings, 
bracelets, and other ornaments. Men wear grass or reed pins through 
their upper and lower lips; and, through their nasal septum, a larger pin 
made of a jacu (Penelope) feather mounted on a stalk covered with 
plaited cotton thread and porcupine quills and trimmed with a red toucan 
feather ring. Both sexes wear armlets and anklets of woven cotton, 
burity straw, feathers, parts of dried birds, fur, or mollusk or crawfish 
shells. Women wear one or more bracelets cut from the tail of the great 
armadillo and double bandoleers of plaited cotton dyed with uruct and 
decorated with porcupine quills. Hair ornaments are confined to men: 
circlets of plaited straw, of straw and and toucan feathers, or of fur with 
feather pendants. War dress consists of a jaguar-skin bonnet (pl. 36, 
top, left) with a long, plaited buriti-straw tail painted with red stripes 


Vol. 8] THH NAMBICUARA—LEVI-STRAUSS 365 


and dots hanging down from the nape of the neck. A similar but shorter 
headdress may be worn in daily life. 

Hair is groomed with a composite comb. It is cut with a shell, either 
all around the head at the level of the ear lobe, or only across the forehead, 
the back and sides being allowed to fall loose. Body painting consists 
mainly of urucu smeared uniformly, but some groups roughly trace black 
dots and stripes with genipa juice on the chest and legs. Face and body 
hair is generally pulled out, especially by women; men often have a sparse 
moustache and beard. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Canoes are unknown. Small waterways are crossed on a fallen tree; 
large ones by swimming, sometimes with the help of large floating bundles 
of buriti palm stems. Babies straddle their mother’s hip supported by a 
large sling of bark or woven cotton. 


MANUFACTURES 


Spinning.—Women spin cotton with a crude drop spindle made of 
grass stalk. The whorl is a wild fruit, a potsherd, or a conical piece of 
sun-dried clay. Cotton thread is rolled in a ball and, like everything else 
in a Nambicuara household, wrapped in leaves. Women and men twist 
tucum and buriti fibers on their thighs to make string. 

Weaving.—Weaving is limited to cotton bands and belts which men 
make on small, rough looms of the “Arawak” type (pl. 37, center, right). 

Basketry.—Men make long, open-mouthed, cylindrical baskets using 
bamboo strips and a hexagonal, open weave. Fire fans are plaited of palm 
leaves. The Northern Nambicuara used palm leaves to weave low square 
baskets for storing the manioc and maize flour. 

Pottery.—Pottery is unknown among the Eastern Nambicuara. In 
other groups, women make coarse pots of varying sizes. They mix the 
clay with ashes, fire the pot in the open, and wash it while it is still hot 
in an infusion of resinous bark. 

Implements.—Stone ax heads were formerly fixed with wax and 
strings in the loop of a bent handle. Knives and drills are made of a crude 
flint chip or piece of iron fastened with wax and thread at the end of a 
piece of wood or between two pieces of wood, which form the handle. 
Women hollow small cylindrical mortars in tree trunks by means of fire. 
Fire is made with a fire drill, crude rubber serving as tinder. The Indians 
burn almecega (Tetragastris balsamifera) resin for light. Knives are thin, 
sharp-edged pieces of wood. 

Weapons.—The Nambicuara bow is about 5 to 7 feet (2 m.) long, 
the section being flat, semicircular, or concave according to the group. 
The grip is wrapped with cotton. The arrow is released between the 
thumb and the first finger, the three other fingers being placed on the 


366 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


string (secondary release). Four types ot arrows are used: (1) feather- 
less fishing arrow with three to five prongs; (2) bird arrow with a blunt 
point; (3) big-game arrow with a lanceolate bamboo point; and (4) 
poisoned arrow, used chiefly for hunting monkeys, with several barbs 
which are attached to the point with cotton wrapping and which break 
easily in the wound, being, therefore, usually protected by a bamboo 
sheath. The last three have a bamboo shaft and “Arara” feathering. 
Sewed feathering is known by the central and northern groups but seldom 
used. For warfare, big game arrows with serrated bamboo points are 
used. 

Nambicuara arrow poison is a curare prepared by grating the root 
of a Strychnos shrub, and by infusing (Eastern Nambicuara) or boiling 
(Central and Northern Nambicuara) it until the water evaporates and 
leaves a thick brownish substance, which is smeared on a wax-coated 
arrow point. It can be preserved in tiny pots for several months. Among 
South American arrow poisons, it is remarkable because it is made of 
only one vegetable substance and is prepared openly—in some groups 
by the chief or shaman, in other groups by anyone—without magical 
practices or taboos. Its great toxic properties were studied by Vellard 
@Esepoye 

Other poisons of unknown composition are used for amorous or political 
revenge. They are in the form of powders and are kept in tubes made 
of feather quills, bamboo, or other woods, each ornamented with paint- 
ings and cotton or bark wrappings. 

Clubs are carved in the shape of a flattened or cylindrical pointed 
spade; the handle is often adorned with black and white plaiting of 
philodendron bark and bamboo strips. Their purpose is mostly ceremonial. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Kinship terms identify parallel-cousins with siblings, and cross-cousins 
with potential or actual spouses. Cross-uncles and cross-aunts are called 
by the same terms as parents-in-law and grandparents; parallel-uncles 
and parallel-aunts are equated with parents. Similarly, parallel-nephews 
and parallel-nieces are classed with children, and cross-nephews and cross- 
nieces with children-in-law. Marriage is between cross-cousins or be- 
tween the maternal uncle and his niece. Monogamy is the rule, but 
polygyny is the privilege of the chief and other important men. Polygyny 
is usually with several sisters (sororal) or with a woman and her 
daughters by a former union. The first wife runs the household, sub- 
sequent wives being assistants to the husband. The deficiency of avail- 
able women which results from polygyny is compensated by homosexuality 
between adolescent male cross-cousins (Lévi-Strauss, 1943 a). 

The village is ruled by a chief, but each of the nomadic bands into 
which it splits during the dry season is led by a secondary chief. Chief- 


Vol. 3] THE NAMBICUARA—LEVI-STRAUSS 367 


tainship is not hereditary; the chief, when old or sick, designates his 
successor from the ablest men of the group. The chief’s authority is 
slight; it depends wholly on the good will of the family heads. 

Relations between neighboring bands are inspired both by fear and 
by the desire to exchange goods. Warfare, therefore, is closely connected 
with barter. Groups not acquainted with each other use ritual speech 
when they meet. 

Before starting a war expedition, a divinatory rite is performed with 
special songs and dances. An arrow is hidden by the shaman, the out- 
come of the expedition being pressaged by its appearance the following 
day. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—After the delivery of a child, the placenta is buried in the 
bush and both parents are subjected to rigid prohibitions concerning 
food, the use of ornaments, and social contacts. 

Puberty.—The initiation rite for young men consists of piercing their 
lips and nose and giving them their adult personal name. At her first 
menstruation, a girl is isolated for several months in a special shelter 
outside the village, where she is given ritual food by her mother. At 
the end of the rite, she takes a long bath in the river; this also constitutes 
the first step of the marriage ceremony. 

Both cross-cousin and avuncular marriages (see p. 367), are often 
planned by parents for their infant children. Marriage is celebrated by 
festivals, banquets, and dances. The union is pronounced by the chief. 
Fish and fishing are important both before and during the ceremony. 

Separation is frequent, the chief cause being that the man seeks a 
younger and prettier woman. There is no social sanction of adultery, 
except that the seducer is advised by his companion to go away for 
a while so as to avoid the husband’s revenge. A murderer also flees 
vengeance. 

Death.—Some groups of Nambicuara bury their dead in a circular pit, 
the corpse being placed in a crouching position. Others leave the corpse 
to decompose in an elongated ditch and later wash the bones in the river, 
put them in a basket, and bury them in the village, which is then 
abandoned. Weapons, implements, adornments, and other property of 
the deceased are destroyed, but his garden—if he owned one—is aban- 
doned only for a few months. Later anybody may cultivate it. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Most Nambicuara groups are completely ignorant of drawing, 
although some groups decorate calabashes with dots and straight and 
sinuous lines. These are conventionalized reproductions of realistic 
designs found among other groups. 


368 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Music and dance.—Music is clearly tonal, with melodic structures easy 
to identify. The end of a melody is usually marked with several shrill 
sounds which are repeated after each coda. Music is both instrumental 
and choral and usually accompanies dances. 

Dances are performed under the leadership of the chief. Men and 
women stamp rhythmically on the ground while turning in a circle. 
Usually, dancers close one nostril with the left hand to make their 
singing nasal. Only men perform war dances, forming one or more 
rows and stepping forward and backward in front of the leader. In 
the second phase of the dance, they attack a post, a symbolical enemy, 
with bows and arrows, and clubs. Most of the dances and songs are 
connected with hunting or seasonal ceremonies, but they may be used 
at any time for mere entertainment. 

Musical instruments.—Flageolets have four holes and an air duct; 
three are usually played together, accompanied by a rhythm trumpet 
made of a piece of bamboo with a hollow calabash fixed to its bottom. 
Nose flutes (pl. 36, top, right) are made of two pieces of calabash glued 
together with wax and pierced with three holes. One hole is blown with 
one nostril while the other nostril is closed with the thumb; the other 
two holes vary the notes. Nose flutes are also played in unison. Double 
and treble whistles have the air duct cut in the middle of the pipe, so 
that they can be blown at either end. Panpipes (pl. 36, bottom, left) 
are of two kinds: the common type has five pipes; the other type con- 
sists of two or three reeds cut obliquely at the mouth-end. All pipes 
produce approximately the same note in the latter. 

Drinks and narcotics.—Drinks are made with crushed manioc 
or maize mixed with water, or of palm fruits, especially Mauritia sp., 
Acrocomia sp., and Oenocarpus distichus. A slightly alcoholic beverage 
is prepared of wild pineapples mixed with water. 

The Nambicuara are ardent smokers. They cultivate a tobacco with 
tiny leaves, which they dry between two pieces of wood, crush with 
their hands, and store in small calabashes. Cigarettes are rolled in special 
leaves and tied with grass. 


MAGIC AND RELIGION 


The Nambicuara believe in the existence of a diffuse power or sub- 
stance which may occur in objects and in living beings. It is manifest 
mostly in poisons, some of which are real (see Weapons, p. 366), some 
purely magical. To the latter belongs the rosin of the barrigudo tree 
(a Bombacaceae), which is kept in tubes like the true poisons. When 
thrown by a special technique at an enemy, it is believed to make him 
swell like the trunk of the tree and die. 

There are also dangerous spirits of the bush and of water, which 
may appear in the shape of an animal, especially the jaguar, or in a 


Vol. 3] THH NAMBICUARA—LEVI-STRAUSS 369 


particular form of their own. Death is identified with these spirits. 
Men’s souls are believed to be reincarnated as jaguars, whereas women’s 
and children’s souls are taken away by wind and thunder, never to return. 
The highest being is the Thunder, with which any man, though usually 
a shaman, may have personal contact through revelations and visions. 
Women, however, except when very old, and children are deprived of 
these privileges. Women are also forbidden, under pain of death, to 
see the sacred flageolets (see Musical Instruments, p. 368) played at the 
ceremonies marking the beginning and the end of the dry season. 


SHAMANISM AND MEDICINE 


The shaman is sometimes distinct from—but more frequently identified 
with—the political chief. He is distinguished by having the privilege of 
polygyny, playing the leading role in ceremonial life, and possessing 
special supernatural powers. He treats patients by sucking out the 
disease or by fighting it with small ritual arrows called “thunder-arrows.” 

In addition to magical cures, the Nambicuara treat sickness with 
numerous medicinal plants, which are used externally or internally accord- 
ing to the disease. For eye infection, which is very frequent, they apply 
the infusion of a special bark with the help of a container made of leaves. 


FOLKLORE, LORE, AND LEARNING 


The only legend recorded by Lévi-Strauss (n.d. b) is a flood tale relat- 
ing the destruction of human life and its re-creation through several in- 
cestuous marriages between the offspring of an old woman, who was the 
only being who escaped the disaster. 

The only basic numbers used for counting are one and two, but the 
natives can reckon higher figures by combining these. 

Colors are classified differently according to the dialects. The Eastern, 
Central, Southern, and Western Nambicuara agree in putting yellow and 
green in the same category, whereas the Northern group identify red 
and yellow, and class green, blue, and black together. 

Some Nambicuara groups call stars by the same name which designates 
the spirits. The year is divided into two seasons and an undetermined 
number of lunar months. The day includes six main stages, each based 
on the position of the sun. Space is divided into two sections that are 
perpendicular to each other, one corresponding to the apparent movement 
of the sun and the other to the direction of the main waterways. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Commissao Rondon, 1911 and later; Lévi-Strauss, 1943 a, b, n.d. b; Rondén, 1916; 
Roosevelt, 1924; Roquette-Pinto, 1912 a (1935, 1938), b, c, 1917; Schmidt, 1929 b; 
Schuller, 1912, 1921; Souza, A. P. de, 1920; Vellard, 1939 b. 


, _ ' " hd 
ihe ater 
BoA GEAI OEMS 


Ls 


PuiatTEe 36.—Nambicuara types. Top, left: 
right: Playing the nose flute. 
trait of man. Bottom, left: Panpipes. 


(Courtesy Claude Lévi-Strauss, except center, left, by courtesy American 
Museum of Natural History.) 


Man wearing war headdress. Top, 
Center, left: Young girl. Center, right: Por- 
Bottom, right: Young married girl. 


PLare 37.—Nambicuara and upper Guaporé Indians. Top: Pimenta Bueno 
hut. Center, left: Nambicuara family shelter. Center, right: Nambicuara man 
weaving an armband. Bottom, left: Nambicuara family. Bottom, right: 
Woman drilling a mother of pearl earring. (Courtesy Claude Lévi-Strauss, 
except bottom, left, by courtesy American Museum of Natural History.) 


TRIBES OF THE RIGHT BANK OF THE GUAPORE RIVER 


By CraupE Leévi-STRAUSS 


INTRODUCTION 


The native culture of the region drained by the right tributaries of 
the Guaporé River is one of the least known in Brazil. Since the 
18th century, explorers, travelers, and missionaries have used the 
Guaporé River as a thoroughfare, and in more recent times hundreds 
of rubber tappers have worked along its banks and along the lower course 
of its tributaries. It is likely, therefore, that a thorough study of the 
tribes of the Guaporé River will show them to have suffered severely 
from the effects of that continuous traffic, perhaps almost to the point 
of extinction. 

Unlike most South American rivers, the Guaporé River is not the 
axis of a homogeneous culture area; it is a frontier rather than a link. 
The Mojo-Chiquito culture area extends from the left bank toward the 
Andes; the heterogeneous tribes on the right bank have a definitely 
Amazonian culture (map 1, No. 2; map 2; map 4). Geographic factors 
may partly account for this lack of symmetry. The flat landscape of 
the Ilanos merges into the marshy lands of the left bank; whereas the 
right bank, alternately marshy and steep, marks the farthest extension 
of the highlands of western Brazil. The highlands and the right bank 
of the Guaporé River define the limits of the culture area to which probably 
belong the tribes of the southern part of the upper Madeira River Basin, 
such as the Kepikiriwat, discovered in 1914 by the Rondon expedition 
(Missio Rondon, 1916). 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Two areas must be distinguished. One is the right bank of the lower 
Guaporé River between the Rio Branco and the Mamoré River, which 
is occupied by the Chapacuran tribes (p. 397). The basins of the Rio 
Branco and of the Mequenes and Corumbiara Rivers comprise the sec- 
ond area, where some of the languages seem to be Tupian. The Arua 
(not to be confused with the Arua at the mouth of the Amazon) and 
Macurap live along the Rio Branco (lat. 13° S., long. 62° W.); the 
Wayoro on the Colorado River (lat. 12° 30’ S., long. 62° W.); the 


371 


372 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Ammniapa, Guaratigaja (Snethlage, 1937 a), and Cabishinana (Lévi- 
Strauss, ms.) on the Mequenes River (lat. 13° S., long. 62° W.); and 
the Tupari (lat. 12° S., long. 62° W.), and Kepikiriwat (lat. 11° S., long. 
63° W.) on the headwaters of the southern tributaries of the Machado 
(Gi-Parana) River. Linguistically distinct from both Chapacuran and 
Tupian are: (1) The Yabuti (Japuti) and Aricapu, on the headwaters of 
the Rio Branco (lat. 12° 30’ S., long. 62° W.), whose language shows 
affinities with the Ge dialects (Snethlage, 1937 a) but who are strongly 
influenced culturally by their neighbors; (2) the Huari (Massaca) on 
the Corumbiara River, lat. 14° S., long. 61° W., (Nordenskiold, 1924 a), 
who are linguistically linked to the Purubora (Burubora) of the head- 
waters of the Sao Miguel River on the boundary between the two areas, 
but who, culturally, display strong similarities to their northern and 
northwestern neighbors, the Kepikiriwat (Lévi-Strauss, ms), Ammniapa, 
Guaratagaja, and Tupari (Snethlage, E. H., 1937 a); and (3) the Palm- 
ella, on the right bank of the Guaporé River between the mouths of the 
Rio Branco and the Mequenes River (lat. 13° S., long. 63° W.), who, 
until the late 19th century, were the southernmost representatives of the 
Cariban linguistic family in South America (Severiano da Fonseca, 
1895). The unknown Indians who live on the right bank of the upper 
Guaporé River in the region of Villa Bella, probably belong to the South- 
ern Nambicuara (Cabishi). 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE AND FOOD PREPARATION 


The tribes of the upper Guaporé River, especially those upstream, 
rely for food mainly upon maize and peanuts. Manioc is of secondary 
importance to the natives living between the Guaporé and Machado Rivers. 
Hualusa, peppers, papaws, gourds, uructt, cotton, and tobacco are widely 
cultivated. Black beans are grown by the Guaratigaja and Wayoro. 
Gardens are tilled with digging sticks and weeded with chonta knives. 
An exceptional feature of the area is the raising of grubs in the dregs 
of maize beer, which is kept in long bamboo containers (Snethlage, 
1937 a). On the Guaporé River, as on the Pimenta Bueno River, grubs 
are allowed to breed freely in the trunks of wild palm trees which are 
left standing for that purpose when forests are cleared for gardens 
(Lévi-Strauss, n.d. b). Clearing and tilling gardens are cooperative enter- 
prises; helpers are entertained with beer, snuff, and dances. Crops are 
sometimes stored on large covered platforms. Certain tribes keep pea- 
nuts in large bamboo tubes. 

Fish are shot with multipointed arrows or are drugged. The natives 
blow whistles to attract birds and then shoot them from small watch- 
posts. Throughout the area, they either trap game in pitfalls or shoot 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIGHT BANK OF GUAPORE—LEVI-STRAUSS 373 


them with plain arrows. The Amniapd, Kepikiriwat, and Pawumwa, also 
use poisoned arrows and the Pawumwa, blowguns. 

Flat cakes of maize and manioc are grilled on clay plates. Instead of 
grating manioc tubers, the Guaratigaja mash them with a small stone 
pounder. Wayoro mortars are pieces of bark. The Ammniapa consider 
boiled mushrooms a special delicacy, a culinary dish noticed elsewhere 
only among the Nambicuara. Game is roasted in the skin on pyramidal 
babracots. 


DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 


The Guaporé River tribes keep dogs, hens, and ducks. 


HOUSES 


The beehive hut, built around a high central post, seems to be common 
to the area. Each house is divided by mats into several family com- 
partments. Twupari houses shelter up to 35 families; those of the Wayoro 
may contain more than 100 occupants. Houses along the Pimenta Bueno 
River are smaller. In some villages, Snethlage (1937 a) saw a painted 
woven screen set up in the middle of the hut as a kind of altar. These 
tribes sleep in hammocks, those of the Wayoro and Makurap being un- 
usually large. Amniapa and Kepikiriwat men use small, concave wooden 
benches. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Among the Huari, Kepikiriwat, and probably all the southeastern 
tribes, both men and women cut their hair high above the forehead and 
depilate the temples and eyebrows (pl. 38, top). They wear wooden or 
rosin labrets in the upper and lower lips and pins of various types in the 
nasal septum. Women go completely naked except for these and other 
ornaments—shell beads, cotton necklaces, belts, bracelets, and tight cotton 
armlets and anklets. Kepikiriwat, Huari, and Guaratigaja men use a 
small conical penis sheath of leaves. Men of other tribes, except the 
Tupari, wear a short skirt (pl. 38, bottom, left) of buriti fiber. Ear 
ornaments of tucuma-nut rings strung together like a chain are used by 
the Huari and Kepikiriwat. Skin caps (Wayoro), feathered circlets 
(Huari), and strips of fiber (Amniapa) are worn on festive occasions. 
Shell disk necklaces (pl. 38) are used by all tribes except the Tupari. 

Body painting with genipa juice is especially well developed among the 
Ammniapa, who, by means of maize cobs, apply elaborate patterns, such 
as crosses, dots, circles, and hatchings. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Carrying nets of tucum fiber are used instead of baskets. All the 
tribes, except, perhaps, the Huari, have canoes. 


374 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MANUFACTURES 


Spinning and weaving.—Both rolled (“Bororo”) and drop (“An- 
dean”) spindles are known. Fringed bands are woven on looms similar 
to those of the Itene (Moré) (p. 402). Hammocks, which seem to reach 
a record length among some of the upper Guaporé River tribes, are made 
by extending a single warp between two perpendicular posts and twining 
it with a double weft. Arm bands are knitted around a circular piece 
of wood with a bone or wooden needle (Macurap and Aricapu). 

Pottery.—Pottery is generally crude and the clay used for its manu- 
facture is not tempered. Calabash containers are especially common. 

Weapons.—To make an ax, the Wayoro insert a stone blade into a 
wooden handle, lash the head, and smear it with wax; the Huari use a 
vine or split branch bent double over the butt and tightened with bast 
and wax (fig. 45). 


Ficure 45.—Huari ax. (Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 b, fig. 26.) 


Arrow feathering is of the “Xingu” (flush) sewn type (Tupari, Arua) 
or of the “Arara” (arched) type (Huari, Kepikiriwat). Arrow points 
are made of plain or indented bamboo splinters, bone points, or spikes 
of sting rays. The Tupari paint arrow feathers. A tribe of the Pimenta 
Bueno region, known only through some implements found in the pos- 
session of the Kepikiriwat, paint red, black, and white earth between the 
feathering of the arrow shaft. The Ammiapad use three-pointed arrows 
for birds; the Kepikiriwat use similar arrows with less feathering for 
fishing. Arrows poisoned with curare and the point protected with a 
bamboo sheath are attributed to the Kepikiriwat, Amniapa, and Pawumwa. 

The Pawumwa use blowguns. 

Clubs are used only as dance paraphernalia, except among the Huari, 
who fight with large, double-edged clubs, 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m.) long, 
decorated with a basketry casing around the handle. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 


Sibs which are named after animals but which have no corresponding 
food prohibitions are found among the Macurap and Yabuti (patrilineal 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIGHT BANK OF GUAPORE—LEVI-STRAUSS 375 


and exogamous) and the Arua (matrilineal). It is doubtful whether such 
clans exist among the Kepikiriwat, who have moieties that function at 
ceremonial ball games and probably on other occasions. Prisoners taken 
from another tribe are incorporated into the captor’s clan, where they 
pay a small tribute but enjoy great freedom. Nothing is known about 
chieftainships, except that Guaratdgaja chiefs distribute game among the 
men of the community. Intertribal commerce seems to be well developed. 

A ceremony used by the Ammniapé to receive a neighboring tribe includes 
a mock battle, the offer of benches, and a crouched salutation accompanied 
by ceremonial wailing. 


LIFE CYCLE 


The couvade, accompanied by abstention from fish, is attributed to 
the Macurap. They also require that a girl’s parents consent to her mar- 
riage. Postmarital residence during the first weeks is matrilocal; later 
it is patrilocal. A widow remarries only with the permission of the clan’s 
head. 

The Tupart bury their dead outside the village in a prone position; 
the Amniapad bury their dead inside their huts in a crouched position. 
Burial among the Macurap is similar to that among the Amniapd, but a 
pottery vessel is placed on top of the grave. The Wayoro practice urn 
burial, at least for children, and paint their corpses red. The Guaratagaja 
burn the house of the deceased; the Cabishiana burn the possessions of 
the deceased. 


CANNIBALISM 


According to Snethlage (1937 a), the Amniapa and Guaratagaja admit 
cannibalism and eat not only the barbecued bodies of their enemies but 
even their own tribesmen and women who are put to death for a crime. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Among many tribes, especially among the Kepikiriwat each 
family possesses many calabashes which are used as beer cups during 
feasts. Women decorate the calabashes with incised or pyrograved 
geometric designs. 

Games.—Games, in which a ball is propelled with the head, are played 
between moieties (Kepikiriwat) and between villages or tribes 
(Amniapa). The Amniapa keep score with maize grains; the Kepikiriwat 
play to win arrows. 

Dances and masks.—Dancing and singing are generally practiced by 
both men and women, sometimes, as for instance among the Arua, in the 
form of patterned amorous challenges. The Macurap and the Amniapa 
dance in front of an altar, or round an especially erected ceremonial tree. 
The Ammniapa use calabash masks with features attached or painted on. 


376 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Masks are kept in the dome of the hut, but they do not seem to be the 
object of worship or prohibition. Masked dancers costume themselves 
with a drapery of fibers and hold a stick topped with the wax image of 
a bird, 


= 
eev- sce ocre~* 


Ficure 46.—Guaporé musical instruments. Left: Amniapa trumpet. Top, right: 
Guaratigaja bird imitator’s whistle. Bottom, right: Arua double panpies. (All yY% 
actual size.) (Redrawn from Snethlage, 1939.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIGHT BANK OF GUAPORE—LEVI-STRAUSS 377 


Musical instruments.—Sacred gourd rattles are used only by Arua, 
Yabuti, and Aricapu shamans, and are unknown among the Tupari and 
Guaratagaja, who use jingling belts garnished with fruit shells. The 
Yabuti, Amniapad, and Guaratagaja use rhythm trumpets with a gourd or 
bamboo resonator (fig. 46, left). The Amnaipd, and Guaratégaia call the 
trumpets and also their masks, “gods.” Clarinets are played in pairs by 
a single musician (Macurap, Arua). True panpipes are made of four 
closed and four open tubes placed in two rows (Arua) (fig. 46, bottom, 
right). A unique type of pseudo-panpipe consisting of a series of two to 
eight whistles (the latter in two rows), each with a sound orifice and a 
wax deflector, is used ceremonially among the other tribes (fig. 47) ; 


b C 


Ficure 47.—Macurap pseudo-panpipes. (Redrawn from Snethlage, 1939.) 


two notes may be played at the same time on these instruments. End 
flutes (fig. 48) of the Mataco type with four stops and whistles are used 
by the Tupari, Guaratigaja, and Ammiapad. Snethlage (1939) mentions 
instrument playing of “disciplined orchestras.” 


378 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Ficure 48.—Huari bone flutes, (Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 b_ fig. 43.) 


Narcotics and beverages.—A narcotic snuff of crushed angico, tobacco 
leaves, and the ashes of a certain bark is blown by the shaman during 
feasts. For healing purposes he blows it into the nose of the patient, 
through one or two tubes that terminate in a hollow nut, often shaped 
like a bird’s head. Snuff is carefully prepared with small mortars, pestles, 
and mixing brushes, and is kept in bamboo tubes. 

Beer is made from manioc, maize, and sweet potatoes. The Guara- 
tdgaja use a special leaf to cause fermentation. 


RELIGION, FOLKLORE, AND MYTHOLOGY 


Indians of the Guaporé River region seem to believe in the existence 
of an invisible fluid which may be good or evil. By appropriate gesticula- 
tions the shaman captures, manipulates, and incorporates it into food, into 
the sick, or into the bodies of enemies. On the Rio Branco, the shaman’s 
outfit includes a snuffing tube, a magic board with a handle, and a feathered 
stick. The board is used as a tablet upon which to mix the snuff; the 
feathered stick seems to acquire a mystic weight when filled with the 
magic fluid, which makes it difficult to carry toward the altar. The 
shaman kneels in front of a plaited screen which forms the altar and is 
the center of most ceremonies; he speaks to the screen and leaves food 
and beer near by. The Wayoro ceremonies are forbidden to women and 
children. 

Shamanistic cures follow the widespread pattern of sucking, blowing, 
and spitting on the patient. 

Ghosts play a considerable role in the beliefs of the Guaporé River 
Indians. According to the Arua, ghosts are the souls of the dead return- 
ing from the Kingdom of Minoiri to harm their enemies and to protect 
their friends, chiefly shamans. Snethlage (1937 a, p. 141) stated that 
he distinctly heard the noise which the ghosts are supposed to produce. 

The Amniapé and Guaratigaja attribute the creation of the world to 
Arikuagnon, who married Pananmakoza and was the father of the cul- 


PuaTEe 38.—Indians of the Pimenta Bueno River. (Courtesy Claude Lévi- 
Strauss.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIGHT BANK OF GUAPORE—LEVI-STRAUSS 379 


ture hero, Arikapua. Another culture hero was Konanopo, the teacher 
of agriculture. The mythical being, Barabassa, is held responsible for 
the great flood from which only one couple survived to repopulate the 
world. Other mythical beings are Ssuawakwak, Lord of the Winds that 
cause thunder, and Kipapua, Master of the Spirits who play super- 
natural musical instruments. Sun and Moon were the first men; to- 
gether they tilled a garden; Sun burnt his brother and as a punishment 
was sent to the sky by his father, Sahi. Two mythical brothers were 
regarded by the Arua as creators of the world and bringers of darkness 
and of fire. Disguised as birds, they stole fire from the old man who was 
its keeper. When the brothers were old, a flood threatened to destroy 
mankind, but their sister saved two pairs of children from the best fam- 
ilies by putting the children afloat in wooden troughs. 

In three tales from the Arua, recorded by Snethlage (1937 a), a 
mother-in-law falls in love with her daughter’s husband, a married couple 
live alternately as toads and as human beings, and a deer brings agricul- 
ture (also from the Bacairi of the upper Xingu River). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Courteville, 1938; Fawcett, 1915; Goncalves da Fonseca, 1826; Haseman, 1912; 
Lévi-Strauss, n.d. b; Ronddén, 1916; Missao Rondon, 1916; Nordenskidld, 1924 a; 
Severiano da Fonseca, 1895; Snethlage, E. H., 1937 a, 1939. 


653333—47—27 


¥ 
Y 


i a) a 
: _ bed i ls 


’ pret Mite 
MALS 

ae FJ ; ' aie & 

imtocgeat: bhat él ’ 


i iy se Dest x " i 
ap AG steluicus: 4h) Daviviiie; 


‘1 ead 


ae. 


hauls te bc lave 
- 


wie 


; en rae 3 ad lei rey wht ‘i y 
Frees aca te: gS Ae a helt 


Jo AN, my ples 7! 
es 
sind edi 50 a 
” Gop , rehiun j 
th (enivwert E 
st et 9 


au, yy i. 


TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND THE 
MADEIRA HEADWATERS 


By Atrrep METRAUX 


THE CHIQUITOANS AND OTHER TRIBES 
OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIQUITOS 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND LANGUAGES 


It is extremely difficult to obtain a clear picture of the linguistic affili- 
ations or even of the exact locations of the tribes of the region known 
as the Province of Chiquitos, bordered on the south by the Chaco desert, 
on the east by the Paraguay River and by the marshes of its upper course, 
on the west by the Rio Grande (Guapay River), and on the north by a 
line more or less corresponding to lat. 15° W. (map 1, No. 2; map 4). 

The chronicles of the Conquest, the official documents and reports of 
local authorities, and later the letters and accounts of the Jesuits teem 
with names of tribes and subtribes, but seldom mention their linguistic 
affiliation and even their location, From the beginning of the Conquest, 
the Indians of the area just defined have been called Chiquito, “the small 
ones,” irrespective of their linguistic family or culture. There is one 
language, still isolated, called Chiquitoan, which is spoken today in that 
region, but, because several tribes of other linguistic families adopted 
Chiquitoan as a common language when they were collected in the Jesuit 
missions, it has become impossible to establish the former distribution 
of the Chiquitoan language. Hervas (1800-05, 1:160) lists the follow- 
ing tribes which spoke languages different from Chiquitoan: Bataje, 
Corabé, Cuberé, Curucané, Curomina, Ecoboré, Otuque, Paicone, Paraba, 
Paund, Puizoca, Quiteme, Tapu, Tapuri, Jarabe, and Bauré. We know, 
thanks to vocabularies collected by D’Orbigny, that the Saraveca (lat. 
15° S., long. 60° W.), Paunaca (Pauna) (lat. 16° S., long. 60° W.), and 
Paiconeca (Paicone) (lat. 15° S., long. 62° W.) were Arawakan (see 
p. 396), perhaps subtribes of the Chané, who are repeatedly mentioned in 
that area; and that the Otuke (Otuque) (lat. 18° S., long. 60° W.), 
Coraveca (lat. 17° S., long. 60° W.), and Curuminaca (lat. 16° S., long. 
60°-62° W.) formed an isolated linguistic group called Otukean (see p. 
395), perhaps related to Bororo. In 1831, when D’Orbigny visited the 
Province of Chiquitos, the Indians still remembered that in the past the 
Curavé (Corabé), the Tapu (lat. 18° S., long. 60° W.), the Curucaneca 


381 


382 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


(Curucané) (lat. 17° S., long. 60° W.), and the Coraveca had spoken 
languages of their own. Créqui-Montfort and Rivet (1913 e) are inclined 
to include these languages in the Otukean group on the basis of their geo- 
graphical distribution. The Kitemoca (Quitemoca, Quitemo) (lat. 16° 
S., long. 62° 30’ W.) and Napeca of the Mission of Concepcidn de 
Chiquitos (near the headwaters of the Rio Branco) were Chapacuran; 
the Bauré (lat. 14° S., long. 62°-63° W.) were Arawakan, closely related 
to the Mojo. 

The Gorgotoqui seem to have been a large tribe extending from the 
Guapay River toward the San José Range (lat. 18° S., long. 62° W.). 
They spoke a language apparently different from Chiquitoan, but related 
to Capaccora and Payono. The Catechism in Gorgotoqui written by 
Father Diego Martinez and a grammar of the same language by Father 
Gaspar Ruiz seem to have been lost. The linguistic affiliations of the 
Anetine, who were discovered in 1560 by Hernando de Salazar, near the 
Mojo, and of the Tacumbiacu and Nambu, who lived between the Guapay 
River and the western part of the Province of Chiquitos, is unknown. 
The Tamacoci were an important tribe on the Guapay River. They must 
not be confused with the Zamuco of the northern Chaco. Other tribes 
listed by Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) are meaningless names. 


TRIBES OF THE 
JURUA-—PURUS 
RIVERS 


Pacific 
Ocean 


Map 4.—The tribes of eastern Bolivia. Locations are as of first contact with 
Europeans. (Compiled by J. H. Steward.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 383 


In the south of the Province of Chiquitos, the missionaries had to deal 
with the Zamuco and Ugarefio, who were closely related to two modern 
Chaco tribes, the Chamacoco and Tumerehda. 


THE CHIQUITOAN LINGUISTIC FAMILY 


Hervas (1800-05, 1:158-159) classifies the Chiquitoan-speaking tribes 
into four subgroups, according to their respective dialects. 


(1) Tribes speaking the Tao dialect: Arupareca, Bazoroca, Booca, Boro, Pequica, 
Piococa, Puntagica, Quibiquica, Tafiopica, Tabiica, Tao, Tubacica, Xuberesa, and 
Zamanuca. The Tao dialect was spoken in the Missions of Santa Ana, San Rafael, 
San Miguel, San Ignacio, San Juan, Santiago, Santo Corazén, and Concepcién. 

(2) Tribes speaking the Pifoco dialect: Guapaca, Motaquica, Piococa (in 
Xavier and not to be confused with the Piococa of San Ignacio and Santa Ana, 
who spoke the Tao dialect), Pogisoca, Quimeca, Quitagica, Taumoca, and 
Zemuquica. The Pifoco dialect was spoken in San Xavier, San José de Chiquitos, 
and in San José de Buenavista (Desposorios) in Mojos. 

(3) Tribes speaking the Manasi dialect: Cucica, Manasi (Manacica), Quimomeca, 
Sibaca, Tapacuraca (?), Yiritua, and Yuracareca (Yuracare?). The Manasi dia- 
lect, spoken in the Mission of Concepcion, was soon discarded in favor of the Tao 
dialect. 

(4) The Peioqui dialect was spoken by a single tribe, which was settled in 
the Mission of San José, where it soon adopted the Pifioco dialect. Pesioqui was 
the most differentiated of the four dialects and Father Felipe Suarez, the author 
of a Chiquitoan grammar, was obliged to write a special dictionary for this lan- 
guage and to translate the catechism into it. 


According to D’Orbigny (1839, 2:155), the Cuciquia, who were split 
into Cuciquia, Tapacuraca, and Yurucaritia, used a dialect full of foreign 
words, mainly Paiconeca. The Cuciquia came from the northernmost 
part of the region of Chiquitos, where the Boro, Penoto, Tabica, and 
Xamaro occupied the south of the same province. 


HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIQUITOS 


The first knowledge of the Indians of the region of Chiquitos was brought 
back by Domingo Martinez de Irala and Nuflo de Chaves, when they ascended 
the Paraguay River in 1542 as far as lat. 17° S. and discovered the Surucusi, 
the Orején, the Arencoci, the Xaraye (lat. 18° S., long. 58° W.), and several 
other tribes. The party journeyed 4 days to the west of the Paraguay River and 
returned with information given to them by Guarani migrating toward the Andes. 

The following year, Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca organized his big expedition 
to discover El Dorado and the land of the Amazons, actually the Inca Empire 
as described by the Indians of the upper Paraguay River. From Puerto de los 
Reyes (lat. 17°57’ S.), Cabeza de Vaca sent an expedition toward the west with 
Guarani guides. One of his lieutenants, Rivera, arrived at a country where the 
Indians wore silver disks in their lower lips and gold earrings. They had many 
metal objects: plates, hatchets, and bracelets of silver. Like the modern Chiriguano, 
they stored their belongings and their provisions of maize in large vessels. These 
Indians, called Tarapecosi, did not understand Guarani and were probably Chiquito, 
as can be surmised from their location and from their use of poisonous arrows, 
a distinctive weapon of the Chiquito. They received the metal objects found among 


384 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


them from the Payzuno, who in turn traded them from the Chané, Chimeno, 
Caracara, and Candire. Caracara and Candire were names used by the Guarani 
of Paraguay to designate the mountain people of the west. 

Another reconnoitering party under Hernando de Rivera was sent upstream to 
the Xaraye. They traveled many miles westward until stopped by a flood, and 
they passed through the land of the Urtu (Uriues) and Aburufie, who had metal 
plates. 

The names of a great many tribes of Chiquitos are listed in the brief accounts 
of the expedition of Domingo Martinez de Irala, who in 1548 left the region of 
Cerro San Fernando (lat. 21°30’ S.) and marched west, crossing the northern 
plains of the Chaco and later the southern part of the Province of Chiquitos. 
He ended his journey on the Guapay River among the Tamacoci. The Conquest 
of Chiquitos was achieved between 1557 and 1560 by Nuflo de Chaves, who, start- 
ing from the marshes of Xarayes, also reached the Tamacoci. In 1560, Nuflo 
de Chaves subjugated the Tamacoci and Gorgotoqmw and, in the heart of the 
Province of Chiquitos, near the San José Range, founded the first city of Santa 
Cruz de la Sierra in the territory of the Quibaracoa, Penogqui, Quicme, Parani, 
who undoubtedly were Chiquitoan, the Subereca (probably Saraveca), and a few 
Chané who were Arawakan. The Paicono, also an Arawakan tribe, lived 20 leagues 
from the city. 

In 1595, Santa Cruz was transferred to the plains of Grigota, near the present 
city of that name. The remaining Chiquito, who had been under Spanish influence 
for 40 years, reverted to their primitive ways and often raided the new Spanish 
settlements to steal iron tools which had become indispensable to them. 

In 1690, the Zumbiqui, Cozo, Pacara, and Pinoco, defeated by a punitive ex- 
pedition, sued for peace and consented to receive the Jesuit missionaries. The 
first mission among the Chiquito was that of San Francisco Xavier, founded in 
1691 by Father José de Arce among the Pinoco. At that time, the Chiquito were 
constantly harassed by the Paulista slavers or mamelucos; entire tribes were ex- 
terminated or taken as slaves to the Brazilian coast. The Jesuits, aided by a 
small Spanish contingent, averted the total destruction of the Chiquito by de- 
feating a party of slavers who had occupied the mission. 

Between 1691 and 1755, the Jesuits founded 8 missions in the Province of 
Chiquitos, concentrating representatives of various tribes and subtribes in each. 
In 1767, the Jesuits were expelled, and soon the populous missions of the Province 
of Chiquitos slipped back into the half barbarous condition in which they have 
remained up to the present. A census of the native population in 10 Jesuit mis- 
sions made in 1766 gave for the region of Chiquitos a total population of 23,788. 
In 1831, there were 14,925 Indians who spoke Chiquitoan (D’Orbigny, 1839, 2:130). 

During the three centuries after the Conquest, the Spanish and Portuguese slavers, 
as well as several epidemics, took a heavy toll of Chigquito. 


THE CULTURE OF THE CHIQUITO PROPER 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Cultivated plants were maize, sweet and bitter manioc, peanuts, gourds, 
pumpkins, pineapples, tobacco, and, after the Conquest, rice and cacao 
trees. The staple seems to have been sweet manioc (yuca). Fields were 
tilled by men with hardwood digging sticks. After the harvest, small 
groups of men scattered through the bush to fish and hunt. Methods 
employed in these activities are not described, except for vague references 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 385 


to taking fish by drugging, shooting, and by means of traps. Game was 
broiled on a babracot in order to preserve it for a few days. At the end 
of the hunting and fishing season in August, the Indians started work in 
the fields. In some parts of the province, the Indians dug wells during 
the dry season. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


Houses were small, thatched beehive huts with a low entrance as a 
protection against mosquitoes. Young men slept in large men’s houses 
described as open sheds, where visitors were received and feasts cele- 
brated. Men slept in cotton hammocks, women on mats or on branches. 

Villages were protected by thorny hedges and by poisoned caltrops. 
During the Conquest, the Spaniards had to storm villages defended by 
strong palisades. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Except for chiefs and persons of wealth, who wore tunics (cushma), 
men went naked. Before the missionary era, women wore loincloths, 
later sleeveless shirts (tipoy). Men inserted labrets in their lower lips 
(after the Conquest, these were made of tin) and feathers in their ear 
lobes. Their other ornaments were seed and fruit-shell necklaces and 
anklets, belts of bright feathers and tufts of feathers, and tails of game 
animals, which they hung on their person. Both sexes let their hair fall 
down the back and tied it at the nape. 


WEAPONS 


The principal Chiquito weapon was the bow and arrow. Their poisoned 
arrows were greatly dreaded by both Indians and Spaniards. At close 
range, the Chiquito fought with paddlelike, sharp-edged clubs of hard- 
wood. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


Chiefs were selected from distinguished warriors and were assisted by 
a council of old men. War prisoners were well treated and married 
within their captors’ tribe. Polygyny is said to have been a necessity for 
chiefs, who, without the help of several wives, could not have organized 
the feasts which they were obliged to give. Sororal polygyny is in- 
dicated. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Before childbirth, the father refrained from hunting certain animals, 
mainly serpents. After the birth, he remained idle for a few days. A 
woman resumed her sexual life after the child was weaned. 

Adolescent boys lived in the men’s house. A young man who wanted 
to marry had to prove his skill as a hunter. Custom allowed husbands 


386 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


to relinquish their wives to other men in circumstances which are not 
specified. 

The dead were buried with food and with their favorite weapons. 
Widows remarried after a short time. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments.—Flutes (with one or two stops), panpipes, and 
fruit-shell jingles, attached to the ankles, gourd rattles, and whistles 
(fig. 49, a) are the only musical instruments mentioned in our sources. 
In the pagan era, the Chiquito started their daily work by playing their 
flutes at dawn. 

Dances.—In an ancient dance, the boys formed an outer and the girls 
an inner circle which revolved around two flute players. The mission 
dances may be survivals of the past. In the “apanaococh’” dance, the 
women dancers placed themselves in two lines and sang while alternately 
turning from one side to the other. Women danced also in a circle hold- 
ing each others’ hands and making turns to one side and the other. An- 
other dance consisted of a mock fight between two women, one of whom 
protected a group of dancers behind her from the other woman. The 
texts of the songs collected by D’Orbigny (1835-47, 3:59-60) are short 
sentences without special meaning. 

Games.—The favorite sport of the Chiquito was a ball game played with 
a complex ceremonialism. Dances and mutual taunts preceded the game 
itself. A rubber ball was struck back and forth with the head until some- 
one let it fall, thus losing a point to the other team. Scores were kept 
with maize cobs. The victors were privileged to deride their opponents 
and to drink all the beer that had been brewed. 

Beverages.—T he Chiquito prepared chicha of manioc, maize, and fruits. 
The drinking bouts, to which they invited the neighboring communities, 
lasted for several days and were often the occasions for settling old 
quarrels. 


RELIGION 


The moon was regarded as a female deity but was not worshiped. 
Thunder and lightning were construed as the manifestations of the wrath 
of spirits. During an eclipse, the people shouted and threw arrows to 
drive away a celestial “dog” (probably jaguar), which was thought to 
attack the moon, causing her to bleed. 

The Chiquito attached great importance to omens and auguries derived 
from the observation of animals, birds, and plants. 


SHAMANISM 


Shamans were tribal or community chiefs. Diseases were attributed 
to witchcraft, to the violation of a taboo, such as that against spilling 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 387 


chicha, or to feeding game flesh to a dog. In the last case, the game’s 
soul entered the person’s body. The shaman sucked the patient and 
vomited a blackish substance. He also beat the ground around the 
patient with a club to scare away the intruding soul. 


Figure 49.—Artifacts from Chiquitos, Churapa Indians. a, Wooden whistle; b, cross 
section of whistle; c, ball of cornhusks and feather for “shuttlecock” game; d, in- 
cised gourd ; e, design from other side of d. (After Nordenskidld, 1922, figs. 3-6.) 


388 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The shaman was expected to reveal the name of the witch, whom 
the patient’s family tried to punish. Revengeful feelings were also turned 
against any woman about whom the patient had dreamed and whom, 
therefore, he suspected of witchcraft. 

At each new moon, the shamans went into seclusion and had long talks 
with spirits. 


THE MANASI 


LANGUAGE AND HABITAT 


The Manasi (Manasica) (lat. 16° S., long. 62° W.), probably a 
Chiquitoan tribe, were situated in the northwest of the Province of 
Chiquitos “a two days’ walk from the Mission of San Francisco Xavier” 
(Fernandez, 1895, 1:260). Father Lucas Caballero, who discovered the 
Manasi in 1704, considered them a nation formed of Tapacura and 
Ouimemoca. These two tribes, he adds, spoke the same language with 
insignificant dialectical differences. The informants, from whom he 
obtained cultural data on the Manasi, came from these two tribes. In his 
account of the Manasi, Caballero always refers to the Tapacura and 
Quimemoca. Fernandez (1895, 1 :265-266), who lists about 50 Manasi 
villages, mentions the Tapacura and the Quimemoca as the western and 
eastern neighbors of the Manasi. Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) classifies 
the Manasi among the Chiquitoan-speaking Indians of the Jesuit missions 
and makes of the Tapacura a Manasi subgroup. The question is im- 
portant, because if Caballero is right, the Manasi did not belong to the 
Chiquitoan family, but to the Chapacuran family, represented by the 
Chapacura and Quitemoca. Hervas and Fernandez, however, both state 
that Manasi was a dialect of Chiquito. Comparisons between the few 
Manasi words recorded by Caballero and the Chapacuran and Mojo 
vocabularies did not show any analogies. On the other hand, two Manasi 
words are distinctly Chiquitoan: poori (house) and tuu (river). 

The habitat of the Manasi was crossed by rivers of the Mamoré Basin, 
probably tributaries of the Rio Blanco and Guaporé River. The two 
names of rivers cited are the San Unalo and the Luquibiqui. 


CULTURE 


MATERIAL CULTURE 


The Manasi were proficient horticulturists, hunters, and fishermen. 
Fishing was especially profitable when the rivers were low. The women 
were skillful weavers and their pottery was remarkably good, “ringing 
like metal to the touch.” 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 389 


The bows were long and thick. Some Manasi used poisoned arrows 
obtained from the Chiquito. 

The Manasi made objects of stone, including stone pendants, carving 
them with stone tools. They cut and carved wood with piranha teeth. 


SocraL ORGANIZATION 

Each Manasi community was under a high chief and a few “captains,” 
probably lesser chiefs , who were the heads of extended families or house- 
holds. The “captains,” however, seem to have had less prestige than 
priests, if the disposition of the different groups at public meetings in 
the communal halls actually reflected the social ranking. Immediately 
behind the supreme chief (cacique) sat the “priests” (sacerdotes de sus 
dioses) and the medicine men (hechiceros y chupadores) ; the “captains” 
(capitanes) took their places behind these. The remaining space was 
occupied by the common people. 

The chief maintained order in the community and represented it in 
dealing with outsiders. Personally or through his subordinates, he ad- 
ministered sound thrashings to troublemakers and to those who disobeyed 
him. He had several wives, one of whom ruled over the women of the 
community. One of his sons, the heir apparent, dominated the youths, 
and, like his father, chastised delinquents with a stick. When the heir 
apparent was old enough to attend to public business, power was trans- 
ferred to him “with many ceremonies and rites,” after he had demon- 
strated his worth by leading a war party. It seems, however, that his 
father lost neither his prestige nor the respect of his subjects. 

Hunters and fishermen had to ask the chief for permission to leave the 
village. Young people never sat in his presence but stood respectfully at 
a distance. Commoners addressed him in a very formal manner. The 
subordination to the chief diminished with the age of the subject. When 
a boy was old enough to serve the cacique, his father was liberated from 
many duties. Drinking bouts were organized by the chief, who sent 
special messengers to neighboring villages to invite the guests. 

The main chief lived in a huge house built by the people in the middle 
of the plaza; this house served also as a community hall and as a temple. 
Each chief had two large fields, which were tilled by his subjects. He 
received the first fruits of the crops and a share of all game and fish 
brought into the village. Dead chiefs were buried with special ceremonies 
amid general laments. 


RELIGION 
There is little doubt that the Manasi worshiped real gods with distinct 
personalities. The main deity was (O)mequituriqui, known also as 
Uracozorizo, though perhaps this latter name may apply to some other 
divinity or may be an epithet. With the goddess Quipozi, he procreated 
the god Urasafia. These three deities were closely associated with Urapo 


390 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Stiquitetu, the Thunder God, and altogether these constituted the tini- 
maa(ka), or major gods. This name was not applied to lesser spirits, 
among whom were the souls of the dead, who did not sit in the temple 
“but stood in front” of the gods in a humble position. The River God 
Ysituu (tuu means “river” in Chiquitoan) appears as an independent 
god, master of fish and water animals, who was worshiped in the sanc- 
tuary of the chief’s house, but in the description of the afterworld the 
Ysituu are mentioned merely as river spirits. 

(O)mequituriqui (God Father), who spoke in a high-pitched voice, 
fulfilled the function of judge and avenger of the people. Diseases and 
deaths were attributed to him, and he appeared to sick people to scourge 
and torment them. But Urasafia, Urapo Stiquitetu, and especially the 
goddess Quipozi interceded for mankind. 

The goddess Quipozi seems to have enjoyed great popularity. She 
was ordinarily addressed as “Our mother,” and was visualized as a huge 
woman, clothed in a white floating garment, who protected people against 
the anger or vengeance of the other gods. 


Cult.—Sanctuaries (pooriri) were the large huts which served as 
chief’s residences as well as halls for public assemblies and banquets. 
When a religious ceremony was celebrated in honor of the gods, part of 
the hall was curtained off with mats for their reception. 

The gods or spirits came down with a sound which filled the air, 
made the roof of the building shake, and agitated the mats. The people 
and the priests who were feasting or dancing there bade the god welcome. 
The oldest man and woman of the community offered the god chicha 
in a small decorated vase. Only a “high priest” could enter the compart- 
ment reserved to the major gods, and lesser shamans were warned that 
the deities would kill them if they insisted on seeing them face to face. At 
first, some music was heard. The people accredited it to the god Urasana, 
and accompanied it with loud songs. Then, during a long conversation, 
the “high priest” consulted the gods about future events, such as season- 
able rains, bountiful harvests, successful hunting and fishing expeditions, 
and the issue of prospective war raids. These interviews were carried 
on aloud. After the consultation, game—but never monkeys—and fish 
were offered to the gods. 

When the ceremony neared its end, the gods fled through the air 
carrying the shaman with them and shaking the whole building as they 
ascended. After a while, the goddess Quipozi brought him back to the 
temple in her arms and held him there sleeping, while she sang in a 
sweet voice. Chicha and food were presented to the goddess, who then 
returned to her celestial abode. 

The River God, Ysituu (Ssituu), visited the temple if invited to receive 
food and chicha from the faithful. Before a fishing party, priests went 
to the river and blew tobacco smoke over the water, reciting charms. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 391 


When a new chief’s house or sanctuary was inaugurated, no one was 
allowed to eat meat for 4 days. The diet consisted of fish, fruit, and 
tubers. People did not sing or dance, and they observed strict silence 
when entering the temple. Their sole occupation was weaving mats 
for the sanctuary. 

On the fifth day, an old “priestess” received a carved white stone from 
the chief and gently struck his forehead with it. The priest then per- 
formed several ceremonies, which were followed by a banquet and a 
drinking spree during which the people extolled their prowess in songs. 

Priesthood.—Caballero distinguishes the “priests’”” (mapono) from the 
“witchs” or “suckers” (chupadores). The latter had a lower status. 
The difference was based on the specialized activities of the shaman 
rather than on his training. Priests and shamans underwent the same 
education and observed the same taboos. Moreover, the whole method 
used by the mapono to approach the gods followed the shamanistic pat- 
tern: The god descended into the tabernacle in the same way as the 
spirit entered the lodge of the shaman. The cult was essentially a direct 
and personal interview between the mapono and the gods rather than 
prayers and sacrifices to an unseen god. The ascent of the “priest” was 
an old shamanistic trick. 

One of the main purposes of a cure was to extract from the patient 
a blackish substance, like rubber, which some sorcerer or god had injected 
into his body. Every shaman had some of the same substance in his stom- 
ach and used it as a weapon. 

During the initiation of the mapono, an old priest became intoxicated 
and vomited a blackish substance into a calabash. He rubbed the arms 
and shoulders of the candidate with this substance, and the youth trembled 
as it penetrated his body. The initiate then drank what was left of the 
magic stuff. 

The training of the young shaman aimed principally to teach him how 
to fly to the gods. 

Among other rites, candidates were exposed to the waning moon while 
the initiator pulled their fingers to make the joints crack. They were 
not allowed to cut their finger nails. Their first visits to the gods, whose 
aspect was awe inspiring, were frought with anxiety and fear. 

Full-fledged priests avoided eating various kinds of game and fish, 
especially granadilla fruit, so as not to lose the faculty of flying and 
other shamanistic powers. They enjoyed an exalted status within the 
society and many economic advantages. Like the chiefs, they received 
part of the crops and game, and they could consume the offerings which 
were strictly taboo to the rest of the population. The community built 
their houses, which occasionally were converted into temples or assembly 
halls. Some priests lived in isolation outside the village. Their property 
was guarded against theft by the gods, who would have killed anyone who 
touched their servants’ crops. 


392 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


To address the gods, shamans employed a special language, which 
according to Caballero, played the same role as Latin did in the Catholic 
Church. Almost everyone understood it, however, for it was taught 
to the young people. Several words of their language were transcribed 
by Caballero (1933, p. 27), who adds: “Thus, in each village there are 
three tongues: one for the men, another for the women, and a third for 
the devil.” 

In each village there were froin two to four mapono who served alter- 
nately in the “temple.” Besides the formal visits of the gods, when 
they appeared before the whole community, the mapono had private con- 
sultations with the deities in his house, which was temporarily evacuated 
by the women. If no game were found during a hunt, the shaman retired 
to a small palm-leaf cabin to ask for divine advice, often ascending to the 
sky to speak face to face with the gods. Many shamans kept serpents in 
their huts and took them along when strolling around the village. 

Treatment of diseases.—Diseases were sent by the gods as a punish- 
ment for some transgression, or were caused by an animal spirit that 
entered the body, or by a witch who mysteriously cast some of his lethal 
blackish substance into the victim. The treatment consisted mainly in 
sucking out this substance or some object, such as a small serpent which 
later grew to larger proportions. 

A religious element was combined with the purely magic cure. The 
sick man could invoke the goddess Quipozi, who came to his bedside and 
upbraided the gods for afflicting him with illness. She would order the 
shaman to treat the patient in the usual manner, and, as she departed, she 
would comfort the invalid with reassuring words. 

Funerary rites and the hereafter.—After the funeral, the relatives 
gathered in the temple where the priests evoked the soul of the dead man. 
He purified it, and carried it on his back up to the land of the gods. A 
soul that was not carried by a shaman risked losing its way, and shamans 
used this fear as a threat against their enemies. The path to the Land 
of the Dead was alternately rugged and marshy and was crossed by many 
rivers. The soul finally arrived at a cross road and a bridge guarded by 
the God Tatusio, who showed it the way to the land of the Gods. Tatusio 
asked the soul to stop and groom his long disheveled and scabby hair. 
If the soul refused, he seized it by the leg and threw it into the river, 
causing rain and floods on earth. The Land of the Dead was an agree- 
able country abounding with honey, fish, and certain large trees that 
exuded a rosin which the souls ate. There were also big black monkeys 
and an eagle, which constantly soared in the sky. The land was divided 
into different regions to which the souls went according to the place 
where they had died. Each category of souls had a different name. The 
Asinecca were those who had perished near a river and who had gone to 
the land of the water gods (Ysituuca), which teemed with fish, bananas, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 393 


parrots, and other birds. The Yirituca were those who had died in the 
bush, and the Posirabca those who had died in their own homes. 

Mythology.—The culture hero was miraculously conceived by a virgin. 
He cured the sick, resuscitated the dead, and performed other difficult 
things. Finally, to show his superior nature, he ascended to the sky, 
where he was transformed into the sun. 

The sun was a resplendent man and the moon was his sister. Eclipses 
were caused by celestial serpents which attacked these luminaries, 
threatening mankind with darkness. This catastrophe was to be followed 
by the transformation of men into hairy animals and by their mutual ex- 
termination. People did everything they could to assist the moon: They 
shot incendiary arrows into the sky and made all kinds of noises with 
their musical instruments. They called the sun to the rescue, shouting, 
“Sun, why don’t you protect the moon, your sister? Why don’t you help 
her in her trouble?” 


THE MODERN CHURAPA 


HISTORY 


The acculturated Churapa are the only Chiquitoan Indians who have 
been described by a modern anthropologist. In 1908, Nordenskiold 
(1922, p. 21) found 500 to 1,000 of them in the Province of Sara, north 
of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The ancestors of the Churapa had 
been captured by the Spaniards about 1690, east of the Rio Grande 
(Guapay River) and put under the Jesuit control. Their mission was 
shifted several times before it was transferred to the town of Buenavista 
in 1723, where their descendants still live. At the end of the 18th century, 
their number was 2,017. 


CULTURE 


Forty years ago very little remained of aboriginal Churapa culture. 
The Indians were good tropical farmers, and they still hunted and fished 
with the bow and arrow. Their arrows had a cemented feathering, butts 
reinforced by wooden plugs, and wooden knob and wooden rod tips. 
They poisoned fish with barbasco (Lonchocarpus nicou) and ochohd 
(Hura crepitans). 

Houses were of the Mestizo type: A thatched gabled roof rested on 
walls of palm leaves or of wattle-and-daub. Furniture consisted of palm- 
leaf mats, hammocks, and platform beds. 

The Churapa were expert basket makers, and they manufactured 
Panama hats for sale. Formerly, they made artistically painted pots, 
but more recently their ware had become plain and crude. They carved 
wooden bowls and incised realistic motifs on their calabashes (fig. 49, 
d,e). 


394 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


During Christian feasts, they danced with their faces hidden by cloth 
masks and their bodies covered with ostrich feathers. Certain masked 
dancers impersonated the sun. In these festivities, they shot at each 
other with arrows tipped with a wax lump. 

They had wooden whistles similar to those of the Chiriguano and of 
the Chaco tribes: The round, resonator whistle with a blowhole, two 
stops, and two incised, concentric, toothed circles on one surface (fig. 
49, a, b); and the serere whistles, a long piece of wood with a diamond- 
shaped cross section perforated from end to end. 

They played a ball game with rubber balls, but its rules are unknown. 
Another game consisted in throwing potsherds at white stones, each 
man trying to cover the target before his competitor. ‘“Papamkosh” was 
a kind of bowling game played with palm nuts piled by fours into small 
heaps, which the players had to knock down with a ball. Children amused 
themselves by swinging bull-roarers and throwing shuttlecocks made of 
maize leaves and feathers (fig. 49, c). 


THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE CHIQUITOS REGION 


The Xaraye Indians, who lived around the modern Laguna Maniore 
(lat. 18° S., long. 58° W.), must have been fairly numerous if one of 
their villages actually had 1,000 inhabitants. 

The Xaraye were good agriculturists reaping maize, potatoes, manioc, 
and peanuts twice a year. Fishing and hunting were important. These 
Indians raised hens and ducks. 

The huts, housing a single family, were grouped around a plaza. The 
furniture consisted of hammocks and benches. 

Men went naked, women wore a tipoy. On festive occasions, they 
wore cotton mantles with naturalistic paintings. Their main ornaments 
were stone labrets, wooden “rings” (plugs?) in the ear lobes. They had 
silver and gold ornaments obtained from tribes near the Andes. 

Weapons were the bow and arrow; musical instruments, drums and 
trumpets. 

The chief of the Xaraye ruled over four villages. 

In his expedition west of the Xaraye, Hernando de Ribera met the 
Siberi, who were linguistically and culturally related to the Xaraye. He 
also encountered the Ortu and Aburune. These Indians wore gold plates 
on their foreheads and silver bracelets around their arms. 

Ethnological data on the western tribes are few: The Simeno and 
Mayagueno, mentioned by Schmidel (1903), protected their villages with 
thorny hedges. The Siberi prepared manioc chicha and obtained water 
from deep wells. 

Gorgotoqui men and women wore a stone disk in the lower lip. Their 
cultivated plants were maize and several kinds of tubers. Weapons were 
the bow and arrow and tapir-hide shields. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 395 


The few data on these tribes are contained in Schmidel (1903), in the 
“Comentarios de Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca” (see Hernandez, 1852), 
in Lozano (1873-75) and in the documents published by Mujia (1914). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Adam and Henry, 1880; Bolivar, 1906; Burges, 1819; Caballero, 1933; Cabello de 
Balboa, 1906; Charlevoix, 1757; Comentarios de Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca (see 
Hernandez, Pedro, 1852) ; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1913 e; D’Orbigny, 1839, 
1835-47; Fernandez, 1895; Finot, 1939; Gandia, 1935 a; Hernandez, 1852; Hervas, 
1800-05 ; Lafone Quevedo, 1910-11; Lozano, 1873-75; Maurtua, V., 1906; Métraux, 
1942, 1943; Mollinedo, 1906; Mujia, 1914; Nordenskidld, 1922; René-Moreno, 1888; 
Sanchez Labrador, 1910; Schmidel, 1903. 


THE OTUKEAN TRIBES 


The Otuke, Covareca, and the Curuminaca spoke dialects belonging to 
an isolated linguistic group, Otukean, which shows, according to Créqui- 
Montfort and Rivet (1913 e), striking lexicographic affinities with Bororo. 

The Otuke (Otuque, Otuqui) proper lived in the northwestern part 
of the Province of Chiquitos, not far from the Bolivian-Brazilian border 
(lat. 17°-18° S., long. 60° W.; map 1, No. 2; map 2). Remnants of the 
tribe were established in the Mission of Santo Corazon. 

The Covareca, who formed part of the Mission of Santa Ana de 
Chiquitos, came from a region near lat. 17° S. and long. 60° W. In 
D’Orbigny’s time, only 50 of these Indians remained in the mission, the 
other 100 having gone to live in the bush. 

The Curuminaca were located in the northwestern part of the Province 
of Chiquitos, around lat. 16° S. and long. 62° W. In 1831, 100 were 
settled at Santa Ana and 50 at Casalvasco. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bach, 1838, 1929; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1912, 1913 e. 


TRIBES OF UNIDENTIFIED LANGUAGE, PRESUMABLY OTUKEAN 


D’Orbigny (1839, 2:183-186) gives some scanty information on four 
Indian tribes of the Province of Chiquitos who, although speaking a 
Chiquito dialect, had, according to their own and their neighbors’ testi- 
mony, once spoken a language of their own. From their geographical 
position, it may be surmised that they belonged to the Otwkean linguistic 
group. 

These hypothetical members of the Otukean family included: 150 
Curave in the Mission of Santo Corazén, who had come from the banks 
of the Tucabaca River, a left tributary of the Otuquis River, and 50 
Tapii of the Mission of Santiago de Chiquitos, whose former habitat lay 

653333—47—28 


396 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


between lat. 17° and 18° S. and between long. 59° and 60° W. The 
Tapii might also have been Zamucoan. Finally, the Curucaneca and 
Coraveca, who numbered respectively 50 and 100 in 1831, had been col- 
lected by the Jesuits in the Mission of San Rafael. The Curucaneca 
came from about lat. 16° S. and long. 60° W., and the Coraveca from a 
region farther south, at about lat. 18° S. 


THE ARAWAKAN TRIBES OF CHIQUITOS* 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Saraveca were an Arawkan tribe, split into small groups living 
in the forests near the Chiquito Mission of Santa Ana and along the hills 
on the northeastern border of the Province of Chiquitos (lat. 15° S., long 
60° W.). In 1831, the number of Saraveca at Santa Ana was 250 and at 
Casalvasco, 100. In about 1886, the bulk of the Saraveca tribe, which 
had remained independent, occupied the course of the Verde River, a 
tributary of the Guaporé River. The Saraveca language is related to 
Paressi and shows close affinities with the Avawakan dialects of the 
Xingu and the Amazon. This relationship may be regarded as evidence 
that both the Paressi and Saraveca migrated to their present habitat later 
than the Mojo and Bauré, whose Arawakan dialect is more differentiated 
(Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1913 f, p. 530). 

The original home of the Paiconeca (Paicone) and of their subtribe, 
the Paunaca (Paund), was the region north of Concepcion de Chiquitos 
between the headwaters of the Rio Blanco and the Verde River (between 
long. 61° and 62° W.). Their Arawakan dialect seems to belong to a 
different subgroup than that of the Saraveca. 

The Paunaca were visited in 1707 by Brother Lucas Caballero and 
agreed to settle with Unape and Carababa in the Mission of Concepcion. 
In 1831, 360 Paiconeca and 250 Paunaca remained in that mission, though 
some 300 Paiconeca had returned to their native forests. During the 
past century, all the Paiconeca retired near the headwaters of the Rio 
Blanco, 20 leagues from Concepcién, away from the Whites. 

There were isolated Chané groups in the western part of the Province 
of Chiquitos, as stated in several official documents. Chané were included 
among the Indians given as serfs to the first settlers of Santa Cruz, near 
San José de Chiquitos. (See also Volume 1, pp. 238-241, and this volume, 
p. 381.) 


CULTURE 
The Arawakan Indians of Chiquitos were undistinguishable in costume 


and manners from the Chiquito, with whom they were in close contact in 
the missions and whose language most of them adopted. Aboriginally, 


2 Map 1, No. 2; map 2. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 397 


men went naked, but women wore sleevless shirts (tipoy). The Paunaca 
made a beer of flour of carbonized maize grains. They worshiped idols. 
They placed their dead in shelters made of branches and surrounded by 
a net to prevent access to the corpse by anyone but the priest and the 
nearest relatives. Two posts in this hut represented deities to whom they 
made offerings. Another tribe of the same region burned its dead on 
pyres and collected the ashes in funerary urns. 


THE CHAPACURAN TRIBES 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Chapacuran linguistic family includes the following tribes: Chapa- 
cura proper, Quitemoca, Rocorona, Moré (Itene), Huanyam, Matama 
(Mataua), Cujuna, Urunamacan, Cumana, Urupda, Jaru, and Tora.” 

Most of these Indians live on the lower and middle Guaporé River, on 
both the Bolivian and Brazilian sides of the frontier (map 1, No. 2; map 
2; map 4). Until the end of the last century, there were a few isolated 
Chapacuran groups, probably extinct today, who lived on the eastern 
tributaries of the upper Madeira River. (See also p. 371.) 

The culture of the various tribes of this family is very imperfectly 
known. There are no published cultural data on Tord, Jaru, and Urupd. 
The cultural summary presented in this chapter refers exclusively to 
the Moré, Cumand, and Huanyam. 


In 1794, the Governor of the Province of Mojos, Miguel Zamora, formed the 
new Mission of Nuestra Sefiora del Carmen with Bauré Indians and with a group 
of 185 wild Indians who had been taken from the forests of the upper Rio Blanco. 
The Bauré converts, who actively helped to round up and transfer these Indians, 
called them Guarayo, a general term given by civilized Indians and Mestizos to 
all independent and warlike Indians. These Guarayo (also called Carmelitas) 
were later designated as Chapacura by the local authorities. A powerful Tapacura 
nation had existed in the 17th century in the region from which these Indians 
came. The name Tapacura occurs in most accounts of Gonzalo de Solis Holguin’s 
journey. They were neighbors of the Toro (Mojo), and were friendly to the 
Spaniards. Some of them took part in the ill-fated Mojos expedition. When 
in 1630 Gonzalo de Solis Holguin entered the Province of the Tapacura, he was 
accompanied by a priest, who hoped to continue the missionary work among the 
Tapacura started by another priest (Maurtua, V., 1906, 9:193-94). Some Tapacura 
were already yanacona, i.e., serfs of the Spaniards. From these statements, it 
appears clearly that European contacts with these Indians go as far back as the 
beginning of the 17th century. The Tapacuraca Indians of the Mission of Concepcion 
de Chiquitos, were Chapacuran (the ending ca is the plural suffix in Chiquitoan), 
though Hervas (1800-05, 1:157) lists them among the Chiquitoan tribes. The 
Chapacura from the upper Rio Blanco, taken to the Mission of Carmen, spoke 
the same language as the Quitemoca and Napeca Indians of the Mission of 
Concepcién de Chiquitos. 


2 Chapacuran Cabisht are mentioned near the Huanyam. 


398 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The original home of the Chapacura (Tapacura, Huachi, Guarayos) was the 
middle and upper course of the Rio Blanco (Bauré), the area around Lake 
Chitiopa, and that north of Concepcion de Chiquitos. The Quitemoca and Napeca 
were two subtribes who had been persuaded by the Jesuits to settle with Chiquito 
and other Indians at the Mission of Concepcién de Chiquitos. In 1831, Chapacura 
and Quitemoca together numbered about 1,350 individuals. 

The Indians whom D’Obrigny called Itene or Ite were those with whom Heinrich 
Snethlage (1937 a) established friendly contacts in 1935 and to whom he restored 
the ancient name Moré (in 18th century, Muri). According to Rydén (1942), 
these Indians applied to themselves the name Jtoreauhip, which Snethlage thought 
designated a distinct tribe near the Bauré. They were known among the Mestizos 
and civilized Indians as Guarayo. The Moré live in the large triangle formed 
by the Mamoré and Guaporé Rivers and on the Machupo and Itonama Rivers 
and the Rio Blanco (lat. 12°-13° S., long. 63°-64° W.). On the Mamoré River, 
the Moré reach the vicinity of the Mission of Exaltacién. In 1884, a few families 
had crossed to the left side of that river, where they joined the Chacobo and 
Sinabo groups. In 1940, Rydén (1942, p. 84) defines their territory as follows: 
The confluence of the Guaporé with the Rio Blanco, and up this river to a point 
known as Altura de Nueva Brema, thence in a straight line to the northern edge 
of Lago Oceano—also called Crespa—and then to the settlement on the Mamoré 
known as Warnes. Within this area, Moré huts are scattered, although many of 
them are only periodically occupied. Now there are more Moré on the Brazilian 
side of the Guaporé River than in Bolivia. An educational center (Nucleo indigenal 
Moré) was established in 1938, at about a mile (2 km.) from Puerto Komarek, 
to pacify the Indians. 

In the 18th century, a great many Moré resided in the missions of San Simon, 
San Judas, and San Miguel, which were later destroyed. The 4,000 Indians of 
the Mission of San Miguel, near the junction of the Guaporé River with the Rio 
Blanco, were mainly Moré (Goncalves da Fonseca, 1826, p. 108). Some of the 
Indians of the Mission of Santa Rosa de Itenes, destroyed in 1742, were also 
Moré Indians. Snethlage estimates the number of modern Moré or Itene to be 
between 3,000 and 5,000. 

The Huanyam (Abitona-Huanyam or Pawumwa) had their villages on the San 
Miguel River, a right tributary of the Guaporé River (lat. 12° 30’ S., long. 64° W.). 
In 1914, they numbered about 300. The Cumand live on the right side of the 
Guaporé River, near the ancient fort Principe da Beira (lat. 12° S., long. 64° W.). 

The Indians living at the foot of the Serrania de San Simon, and often called 
San Simonianos, are probably Chapacuran-speaking Indians who, in the 18th century, 
were concentrated in the missions near the San Simén River, a tributary of the 
Rio Blanco (Bauré River). There were also two isolated groups of Chapacuran- 
speaking Indians, one (Moré and Ocorono) in the Mission of San Ignacio, on the 
Tijamuchi River, a left tributary of the Mamoré River, and the other (Herisa- 
bocono) in the Mission of San Borja, near the headwaters of the Rapulo River, 
also a tributary of the Mamoré River. The presence of these Chapacuran enclaves 
in Mojo territory may be explained by the shifting of tribes which took place 
when the Jesuits concentrated the Indians of eastern Bolivia in their missions. 

The Tord (Tura, Toraz) originally lived on the Capana River and later on 
the Maicy River, a little below the Machado River (lat. 8° S., long. 63° W.). 
About 1716, they sent war parties down the Madeira River to attack boats carry- 
ing cacao from SolimGdes to Para. In 1719, a Portuguese expedition under Joao 
de Barros da Guerra destroyed a large number of Tord. Many Indians of this 
tribe were settled at Abacaxi and others were transported to Porto de Moz, at 
the mouth of the Xingi River, but many remained in or returned to the bush. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF HASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 399 


These inhabited the Maicy River, the Machado River, the headwaters of the 
Marmellos River, and the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Parica River. 

Their isolation did not protect the Tord from the rubber gatherers, who cap- 
tured them as crews for the navigation of the Madeira River. It was only about 
1870 that they, together with the Arard and other Indians, were put in the Mission 
of Sao Francisco of the Preto River, which flows into the Madeira River near 
the Machado River. The Tord of the Marmellos joined their tribesmen in the 
Mission but returned to their original home after the mission was abandoned. 
There they were decimated by various epidemics of smallpox, measles, and in- 
fluenza and by harsh treatment in the rubber gatherers’ camps. In 1923, there were 
only 12 Tord left. (See Nimuendajt, 1925.) 

A distinguishing feature of the Tord was a tattooed strip running from the 
corners of the mouth to the ears. 

The Urupad (Urupazes) should not be confused with the Urupaya (Arupat) 
of the upper Xingu River and the Urupd (Uarupd, Ituarupa, Arupd, Gurupd, 
Urupuya) of the Tapajéz River. The Urupd of the Madeira River (lat. 11° S., 
long. 62° W.) contributed elements to the population of Borba and Itacoatira, 
and a few families formed part of the Mission of Sao Francisco. Toward the end 
of the 19th century, they lived on the headwaters of the Canaan River, an eastern 
tributary of the Jamary River. At the beginning of the 19th century, they moved 
to Bom Futuro and, after they had been decimated by a smallpox epidemic, to the 
Pardo River. Today the Urupa do not exist as a tribe, but a few of them still 
lived about 1925 at Colonia Rodolfo de Miranda on the upper Jamary. 

The now extinct Jar% were closely related to the Urupd. Their former habitat 
was west of the Machado River, between its tributaries, the Jari and Anary Rivers 
(lat. 10°-10° 30’ S., long. 61°-64° W.). About 1915, a few Jari still lived in the 
Colonia Rodolfo de Miranda. 

The language of the Urupd and Jaru is known through two short vocabularies 
collected by Nimuendajuii (1925, pp. 148-159). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming is practiced by all the members of the family on the Guaporé 
River and has greater importance than collecting or hunting, though 
wild Brazil nuts are almost a staple in certain periods of the year. Each 
Moré family owns and tills a field which nominally belongs to the family 
head. As fields continuously yield one crop or another, there are only 
short periods of scarcity. The cultivated plants are: Maize, sweet manioc, 
sweet potatoes, cara (yams), pineapples, gourds, bananas, papayas, cot- 
ton, and cayenne pepper. Peanuts were probably grown by most of 
these Indians, though they do appear in our lists. 

Wild-plant foods include Brazil nuts, mangaba, wild cacao, and the 
fruits of various palms. Turtle eggs are also an important food item in 
September and October; caiman eggs also are eaten. When on a col- 
lecting expedition, the Moré live in small triangular shelters. 

Little information is available on hunting. Peccaries are a favorite 
game. Deer meat is taboo to both the Moré and Huanyam. The Moré 


400 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


shoot waterfowl from beehivelike shelters built on the flooded plains and 
constructed so that they could be entered only by diving. 

Fish are shot with bows and arrows, caught in conical baskets placed 
in palm-leaf dams, or drugged with a poisonous creeper. 

The staple food is sweet manioc. The tubers are peeled with a bamboo- 
splinter knife, washed, and grated on the thorny roots of the assahy palm. 
The pulp is boiled, carefully skimmed with a plaited spoon, strained 
through a mat made of thin sticks, and roasted on a fire pan. Manioc 
flour is either consumed at once or kept in a bark-cloth bag. Wafers of 
manioc are roasted in a pan; manioc buns are baked in ashes. The 
starchy manioc juice is boiled many times and drunk cold. Maize is 
ground on the flattened upper side of a horizontal log about 16 feet (3 m.) 
long, with an oval, flat stone which, with one edge resting on the log, is 
rocked backward and forward among the grains. The flour is sifted 
through a special mat. It is baked into thin cakes on a fire pan. (See 
Rydeén, 1942, p. 104.) 

Brazil nuts are cracked with a cylindrical stone and the shelled kernels 
eaten raw, but they are considered a special delicacy when grated to a pulp 
against the rough inner side of a piece of bark. 

Game and fish are broiled on a pyramidal babracot. 

These Indians keep many pets, especially birds, for which they make 
small cages. The Moré pluck their tame ara to obtain feathers for arrows. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Moré and Itoreauhip huts are generally located near the plantations. 
They are large lean-tos, 15 to 40 feet (about 5 to 14 m.) high supported 
by two rows of wooden posts. Mats of motacu palm fronds, which form 
the roof itself, are lashed with liana on poles leaning against the rafters. 
The open side of the hut is closed in with upright palm leaves as the 
occasion requires. Some huts are formed by placing two sloping shelters 
against each other. As many as eight families may live in one hut. (See 
Rydén, 1942, p. 90.) 

The Moré and Huanyam take refuge from mosquitoes in small conical 
cabins tightly thatched with patoju leaves. They also build small shelters 
to be used as workshops and as men’s clubs. The temporary shelters 
erected in the forest consist of a few palm leaves placed horizontally on 
three perpendicular poles. 

Hammocks are usually made of cotton threads, but sometimes also of 
fibers. To hang them, a loop is attached to a post and passed over a 
stick that runs through each end of the hammock. Moré wooden benches 
are mainly ceremonial accessories. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


The dress of both sexes is a long bark-cloth shirt, which, however, is 
often discarded if it interferes with one’s activities or is likely to be 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 401 


damaged by water. The shirts are decorated with sewn or glued strips 
of bark cloth or are dyed with uruct. Over the shirt, Huanyam men 
often wear a bark-cloth jacket, open in front. Outside their shirts, Moré 
men use a belt of bark cloth adorned with narrow strips of black or 
brown bark cloth sewn on it. Huanyam men tied up the foreskin of the 
penis with a cotton thread and tucked it under a string belt. 

Both sexes among the Moré and women only among the Huanyam 
tied plaited cotton ligatures around the fleshy parts of their limbs. Among 
the Moré, both the upper and lower lips are pierced for the insertion of 
small wooden pegs, feathers, small grass blades, Astrocaryum thorns, 
and sometimes a resin labret. Adult Huanyam women thrust large conical 
quartz labrets in the lower lip and smaller ones in the upper lip; girls 
used only resin spikes as labrets. 

Both sexes among the Moré pass a stick through the nasal septum to 
serve, it is said, as a talisman against diseases. Sticks or feathers are in- 
serted into the ear lobes. A typical Huanyam ornament is a fiber band 
with long hanging fringes, attached around each bicep. Around the upper 
arm, Huanyam women wear a row of triangular shell pendants strung 
with seeds. 

The complete festive attire of these Indians consists of feather head- 
dresses, monkey- or sloth-skin caps, bark-cloth frontlets, feather bracelets, 
and ear sticks trimmed with feathers and Astrocaryum or feather rings. 
Necklaces were strung with seeds or animal teeth. 

Men and women part their hair in the middle and clip it at shoulder 
level. Some Moré tie their hair up in a topknot with a bark-cloth band. 
Combs are made of bamboo splinters (composite type). These Indians 
remove all body hair. 

Tattooing is not mentioned. Body paintings consisted of various 
geometrical motifs: Reticulated surfaces, dots, zigzags, stripes, etc. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Moré dugouts are about 33 feet (10 m.) long, and are propelled with 
narrow paddles which, characteristically, lack a crutch or knob at the 
handle. Formerly, the Huanyam had bark canoes. 

Babies are carried in a bark sling. 


INDUSTRIES 


Bark cloth.—The Moré obtain the bark for their cloth from several 
species of trees, each yielding a bark of a different color. The inner bark 
is beaten with the edge of a flat wooden mallet to detach it from the 
wooden layer; then it is cut to proper size. Patches of bark are ham- 
mered on a smooth log, wrung thoroughly, dried, and sewn together. 
Men are their own and their wives’ tailors. Decorative effects are achieved 


402 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


by glueing or sewing strips or patches of different colors on the surface. 
Sewing needles are made of bone or of Astrocaryum wood. 

Spinning and weaving.—The Moré card cotton with small bows. 
Thin cotton threads are made with a drop spindle which has a fruit or 
a wooden disk for a whorl and a small hook at the proximal end. Thicker 
strings are manufactured by the roll method: Cotton is first twisted by 
hand, then attached to the toes, and twisted again by means of a spindle 
rolled up and down the left thigh. 

Arm and leg bands are woven on a small loom formed by lashing two 
transverse cross bars to a frame made of a forked branch. The warp 
is wound around the two cross bars. The final pattern of the fabric is 
obtained by crossing the warp threads and holding them in place with 
wooden splinters which are removed as the weft is passed through in their 
place. Hammocks are made by wrapping the warp around two vertical 
posts and twining it at set intervals. 

Pottery.—Potter’s clay is mixed with the ashes of a kind of sponge 
that floats in flooded forests. The sponges contain calcium spiculae, which 
give unusual strength to the clay. Vessels are coiled, then scraped 
with shells, and polished with pebbles. After the clay has hardened, the 
pot is dried before a patoju-leaf screen that separates it from a fire. The 
dried pot is then covered with wood and fired in the open. Painted 
decoration is applied after firing. The inside is smeared with a black 
waxlike coating. The main vessel types are bowls, large jars which taper 
to a point so that they may be stuck into the sandy ground, and other 
forms, such as those in figure 50. 

Basketry.—Moré basketry work includes mats, sieves, fire fans, knap- 
sacks, and rectangular baskets. 


A type of basket is constructed by intertwining the leaflets of a palm leaf on 
either side of the woody leaf-stalk, whereby something resembling a mat is pro- 
duced. The woody portion running down the middle of the leaf stalk is then cut 
away and the mat doubled, whereupon, along the line where the edges meet, the 
leaflets are interwoven so that a cylindrical basket is formed. Around the bottom 
there is a raised ring. [Rydén, 1942, p. 106.] 


Tools.—The Moré and Huanyam carve wood with agouti incisors 
hafted to a stick, with piranha teeth, or with bird bones and pierce holes 
with bone awls. 

Weapons.—The Moré bow is made of strong palm wood. The back 
is flat, the belly convex. The ends have a shoulder for a string. A fine 
cotton yarn is wrapped about one third of the bow stave. The rest of 
the stave is wound with the surplus length of the bow string. A row 
of small red feathers are fastened in the cotton wrapping along both 
edges of the stave (Rydén, 1942, p. 97). 

War arrows have large lanceolate bamboo heads, sometimes artistic- 
ally jagged along the edges. The Moré often draw conventionalized 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 403 


“serpent” designs on such heads. Hunting arrows are tipped with a 
bone splinter serving both as point and barb. Bird arrows consist of a 
reed with its bulbous root forming the head. Fish arrows have one to 
three points. 


=e ap 
—Ta> 


Spare sec ene fic andl, Sealine amie eee es 


Ficure 50.—Huanyam pottery forms. 


The feathering is either of the wrapped (Arara feathering) or of the 
sewn type (Xingu feathering). The feathering of some arrows consists 
of three or even four feathers, an unusual number which the Moré explain 
as a device to increase the speed of the arrow. The whistling arrows are 
provided with a hollow nut near the tip. 

The Huanyam poison their arrows with curare and carry them with 
the points in a bamboo sheath to prevent accidents. 

The Huanyam hunt with simple blowguns made of a section of bamboo 
about 6 feet (2 m.) in length. Blowgun darts, usually made of thin 
palm splinters, are kept in a section of bamboo enclosed in a palm spathe. 
They are poisoned with curare. 


404 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


For the release, the arrow is held between the index and the middle 
finger. Moré archers use a bark-cloth wrist guard. 

The Moré and Huanyam produce fire by the drill method. Cotton or 
bark cloth is used as tinder. Basketry fire fans are rectangular in all 
tribes except among the Cumand, who make them hexagonal. For 
torches, pieces of bark are dipped in wax. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


There are as many chiefs as family heads, and their authority is scant. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Puberty and marriage.—At puberty, girls’ upper and lower lips are 
perforated by the shaman (Huanyam). 

In some Huanyam settlements, the number of men so far exceeded 
that of women, that married women were permitted, it is said, to have 
extramarital intercourse. The Moré are, asa rule, monogamous. Huan- 
yam parents and children-in-law turn their faces away when speaking 
to each other; the same avoidance exists between cross-cousins. 


Funeral rites.—According to Snethlage (1937 a, p. 66), the Moré do 
not inter their dead, but simply cover them with a heap of leaves and 
grass. Rydén (1942) states that they are buried in the hut. Both 
authors agree that sometime after burial the bones are exhumed, but 
Snethlage says that the bones are kept in a basket suspended from the 
roof, while according to Rydén, they are burned. After the ashes have 
been kept for an unspecified period of time, the deceased’s relatives 
prepare a generous supply of maize chicha, pound the calcinated bones 
into powder, mix them with the chicha, and drink it to the accompaniment 
of a song (Ryden, 1942, p. 116). 

The Moré also make a cake of pounded Brazil nuts mixed with ground 
bones and hair, and the relatives and the guests eat it during a drinking 
bout. The funerary hut is abandoned, but not the deceased’s fields. The 
Cumané bury their dead in a circular grave over which they sometimes 
build a roof. 

When death approaches, a Huanyam distributes his possessions among 
his heirs. After he has breathed his last, his past deeds are celebrated in 
a chant. He is then wrapped in his hammock and buried outside the 
house in a circular grave surrounded by a high fence. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Belts and bark-cloth frontlets are decorated with various geomet- 
ric figures named after animals; for instance, the favorite pattern, a 
sinuous line, is a “snake.” Designs are often traced or stamped with 
sticks or pieces of bamboo. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 405 


Music and musical instruments.—The Moré have an unusually large 
variety of musical instruments. (See Snethlage, 1937 a.) They are: (1) 
A drum made of a slit palm spathe beaten with a stick. (2) The “taran,” 
an instrument used only for a special children’s dance, consisting of a 
gourd fitted on a stick. The gourd is allowed to drop so as to produce 
a thud when it hits the lower and thicker part of the stick. (3) A friction 
idiophone consisting of a calabash with a semicircular opening which 
emits sounds when the wax-coated edges of the slit are rubbed with the 
wet palm of the hand. (4) Gourd rattles. These often have a side 
patched with a fragment of calabash to modify their resonance. On most 
rattles, the handle passes through the gourd, but often the gourd is lashed 
to the end of the handle. (5) Jingles made of small gourds. (6) The 
musical bow, played by using the mouth as a resonator and striking the 
two strings with a bamboo splinter. (7) Simple trumpets consisting of 
a bamboo or soft-wood tube, and composite trumpets made of a tube and 
a gourd bell. Some Huanyam trumpets have a bell modeled of wax and 
affixed to a long tube of human bone; other trumpets of the same tribe 
are globular in shape and made of clay; and still others combine a wide 
bamboo resonator, a slender bamboo tube, and a separate mouth piece. 
(8) Clarinet mouth pieces provided with a vibrating tongue. (9) Reed 
tubes with longitudinal slits. (10) Transverse flutes without stops, in 
which one or both ends of the tube may be open. Several notes are 
cbtained by opening or closing the open end with a finger; if both ends 
are open, they are alternately opened and closed with the fingers. (11) 
End flutes. These are sometimes simple tubes with or without notches 
around the mouth. Others, more complex, have three stops, a sound 
orifice, and a wax deflector near the proximal end. (12) Panpipes, ex- 
ceptional in the number of tubes, some having as many as 20. The pipes 
are held together either by winding a cotton thread around them (simple 
ligature) or by binding them between two sticks (Uaupés ligature). The 
Moré tie long and short whistles together, thus making an aberrant type 
of panpipes. 

When a group of Moré make music, each tends to play for himself 
without heeding his fellow musicians. 

The Moré songs heard by Rydén (1942) had as themes the maize crops 
and the hunting of wild pigs and other game, or they celebrated the Morn- 
ing Star. Some songs are also dedicated to the dead and to chiefs of early 
times, whom they call Gua-niam. 

Narcotics and beverages.—The Chapacura prepare beer by ferment- 
ing manioc juice with chewed manioc flour. 


SHAMANISM 


Cumand shamans claim to be able to climb to the sky on an arrow 
chain made by shooting each arrow into the butt of the one previously 


406 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B:A.E. Bull. 1438 


shot. Upon reaching the sky, they are welcomed by Namakon, the lord 
of the sky. 

Moré shamans treat sick people by blowing on the ailing regions, by 
making gestures as if they are driving away some obnoxious substance, 
and by massaging their patients with herbs. They also scarify them 
with snake fangs attached to a wooden handle. 

When effecting a cure, the Huanyam shaman reaches a state of trance 
by smoking a great many cigarettes containing fine powder made of an 
unidentified substance, and resin fragments. Most of the treatment con- 
sists of blowing smoke on the patient. 


MYTHOLOGY 


A large stone once fell from the sky killing all but two people, a man 
and awoman. From this couple, all the Moré trace their descent (Moré). 

Aijimo, the first Cumand, had a wife called Zaré and a son called 
Kumana. Driven by the Tapoaya from a mountainous region, they ar- 
rived at a large river (the Guaporé), but were driven from its banks by 
the Moré. They settled on the spurs of the Serra do Norte, on the head- 
waters of the San Domingues River. Zaré was finally killed and eaten 
by her husband, or, according to another version (Cumand), by her 
mother-in-law. 

The Cuman4a regard the rainbow as a celestial serpent who, when people 
looked at him, became angry and threw stones at them. 

The Moré fear a monster with a big head and bulging eyes. Pains in 
the side are ascribed to arrows which this monster shoots at people dur- 
ing their sleep (Rydén, 1942, p. 119). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Burela, 1912; Cardts, 1886; Chamberlain, 1912; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 
1913 £; D’Orbigny, 1839; Goncalves de Fonseca, 1826; Haseman, 1912; Hervas, 
1800-05, vol. 1; Maurtua, V., 1906; Nimuendaji, 1925; Nimuendajui and Valle 
Bentes, 1923; Nordenskidld, 1924 a; Rydén, 1942; Snethlage, E. H., 1937 a, 1939. 


LITTLE-KNOWN TRIBES OF THE UPPER MADEIRA RIVER 


The Arikém.—tThe Arikém have been erroneously classified as Chapa- 
curan. Nimuendaji (1925), however, has proved that they belong to the 
Tupi-Guaranian family, even if their dialect contains many foreign ele- 
ments. 

The Arikém (Ahopovo) were, until a few years ago, masters of the 
headwaters of the Jamary and Candeias Rivers and of the Massangana 
River, a tributary of the former, all of which are right tributaries of the 
upper Madeira River (lat. 10° S., long. 63° W.). When visited by 
Rondon, the last 60 Arikém who survived were distributed in four villages. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 407 


They cultivated manioc, which they grated on a rough piece of 
paxiubinha bark. They ground maize in an elongated wooden trough 
with a semicircular wooden slab. 

Each Arikém village consisted of two dwelling houses and an ossuary 
hut or temple. Huts were constructed in the shape of a low vault, the 
curve of the ridge pole and of the walls being obtained by bending poles 
across a central rectangular framework. 

Men wore feathers and wooden plugs in their ear lobes and cotton bands 
around their ankles. They tied fibers on the end of their long hair. Neck- 
laces were strung with river shells and were trimmed with feather tassels. 

These Indians spun cotton and manufactured hammocks. Their bows 
had a semicircular cross section and were decorated at the grip with an 
artistic cotton wrapping. Arrow feathering was of the wrapped (Arara) 
type.? 

The Arikém buried their dead in the hut under hammocks. They kept 
the bones of famous chiefs in a special hut; the skeleton was enclosed in 
a bark-cloth bag and the skull in a special three-legged, feather-trimmed 
basket. These relics were decorated with feathers and shells and were 
hung in a hammock under a jaguar skin. Gourd dippers with trimmed 
handles, polished stones, stone axes with a hole through the butt, and 
labrets made of resin—the last probably war trophies—were stored near 
the roof of the temple. Bundles of arrows, captured from other tribes, 
were leaned against the walls. Other baskets contained charred human 
bones. 

Itogapuk (Ntogapid, Intogapid) and Ramarama.—The Itogapuk 
lived on the upper reaches of the Madeirinha River, a tributary of the 
Roosevelt River (lat. 10° S., long. 61° W.). They were closely related 
to the Ramarama, an almost extinct tribe of the Machadinho River, a left 
tributary of the Machado River (lat. 9° S., long. 61° W.). Both tribes 
belonged to the Tupi-Guarani linguistic family. 

Matanawi (Matanaués, Matanaui, Matanau, Mitan(d)ues).—The 
Matanawi are mentioned for the first time in 1768, near Salto Augusto, on 
the SAo Thomé River (lat. 7° S., long. 61° W.). In 1884, they are listed 
as a tribe of the Rio dos Marmelos and Aripuana River. At the beginning 
of the 19th century, the Matanawi were attacked by the Mundurucu and 
forced to migrate toward the west, where they joined forces with the Tord 
of the Marmelos. In 1922, there were only 3 Matanawi left, from whom 
Nimuendajt obtained a short vocabulary. Their language is still isolated. 
Some unknown Indians who live south of the Machadinho River may be 
remnants of the same tribe. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Lopes, 1925; Misséo Rondon, 1916; Nimuendaju, 1925. 


8 Two halved feathers fastened against the shaft by a cotton thread wrapped at regular intervals. 


408 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


THE MOJO AND BAURE 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Most of the early literature concerning the Indians of the ancient 
Province of Mojos, which extended from the Guaporé River to the foot 
of the Andes, does not always distinguish between the Arawakan-speaking 
Mojo and the numerous tribes of other linguistic families, so that the 
original habitat of the Mojo proper cannot be bounded with exactness. 

The Mojo.—The bulk of the Mojo tribe seems to have been concen- 
trated on the banks of the Mamoré River from its junction with the Rio 
Grande (Guapay River) to about the mouth of the Yacuma River (lat. 
9°-12° S., long. 63°-66° W.; map 1, No. 2; map 2; map 4). 

The Mojo were split into small independent groups, which were care- 
fully listed by José Castillo (1906). The southernmost Mojo were the 
Suberiono, who had 5 villages on the Rio Grande (Guapay), north of 
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, near the mouth of the Piray River. These 
Suberiono, who numbered 350, were probably an offshoot of another 
Suberiono group of about 300 who lived in the savannas, west of the 
Mamoré River. A strong group of Mojo, including around 500 people, 
inhabited 10 villages scattered on the Mamoré near its confluence with the 
Rio Grande. The 6 villages of the Casaboyono were located at the mouth 
of the Rio Grande. The Guanapeano inhabited 1 village and the Aperucono 
2 villages somewhat east of the river. The Sebaquereono lived in 3 vil- 
lages along the Mamoré River. Seventy people who formed the whole 
Moremomo subtribe were gathered into a single village. Other subtribes 
along the Mamoré River from north to south were: The Satirnono, 
Apereano, Mayuncano, Siyobocono, Cubiquiano, Boseono, Mubocono, and 
the Mopereano. The Mariquiono had 3 villages, 1 on the lower Securé 
River and 2 in the nearby plains. The Punuhuana were the largest sub- 
tribe of the Mojo and inhabited the region west of the Mayuncano. Be- 
tween the Punuhuana and the Mariquiono were 3 villages of Arebocono. 

The Jesuits imposed the Mojo language on various small tribes who 
belonged to different linguistic families. Thus, in 1696, the Myriana 
and other Indians of the Mission of Trinidad had adopted the Mojo 
language. Likewise, Mojo became the tongue of the tribes collected in 
San Ignacio de Loyola and San Francisco Xavier, of the Churima of 
San José de los Maharenos, and of the Moporoubocono of San Francisco 
de Borja. 

In 1767, Mojo was spoken in the following missions: Loreto (1,200 
Indians), Trinidad (100), San Ignacio (1,200), San Xavier (1,500). 
It also had been spoken in the Missions of San Luis and San José, which 
had been destroyed before the expulsion of the Jesuits. Mojo was still 
used in the same missions in D’Orbigny’s time. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 409 


According to D’Orbigny (1839, 2:226), the Muchojeones of Carmen 
de Mojos were a subtribe of the Mojo proper. 

Hervas (1800-05, 1:248) regards the Ticomeri language as a Mojo 
dialect, but elsewhere states that the “majena or maxiena” language of 
these Ticomert was an isolated language used at San Francisco de Borja. 

The Bauré.—The Bauré (Mauré, Chiquimitica) occupied a fertile 
country along the Rio Blanco, where a village bears their name (Baurés), 
lat. 13°-15° S., long. 62°-63° W. They also lived along the Itonama 
(San Miguel) River, along the San Simon River, and in the region be- 
tween the latter and the Guaporé River. The Bauré dialect was in use 
in the Mission of San Nicolas, San Joaquin, and Concepcién (Hervas, 
1800-05 1:247-248). There is still a group of presumably wild Bauré 
which lives within two leagues to the southeast of the village of Bauré 
on Lake Victoria. 

Missionaries described the Bauré as even more civilized than the 
other Mojo tribes. They lived in large villages, protected by palisades, 
dressed in cotton garments, and had a well-organized chieftainship 
(Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, 1780-83, 8:112-113). 

Population.—In 1680 the whole Mojo nation numbered about 6,000 
people distributed among 70 villages, each with an average population of 
60 to 80; some contained 100 inhabitants, and 2 or 3 had more than 200. 
A census taken in 1715 reckons 18,000 inhabitants for the whole province. 


HISTORY 


Andean influences may have reached the Mojo through the channel of the 
Mosetene, who lived between them and the Aymara. Mojo merchants visited the 
former primarily to trade cotton cloth and feathers for metal tools and orna- 
ments. Thus, many Peruvian objects found their way to the plains of Mojos 
and there, passing from hand to hand, reached the Paraguay River and the Rio 
de la Plata. With these objects traveled tales of the Inca Empire and of its wealth. 
The conquistadors heard them in the marshes of Xarayes at the gate of the 
Provinces of Chiquitos and Mojos and imagined a fabulous kingdom, the Realm 
of the Gran Mojo or Paititi, which they located at the source of the rumors, that 
is, in the plains of Mojos. From 1539 to 1630, countless explorers fought their 
way across the jungle both from the Andes and Paraguay. In 1580, Lorenzo 
de Figueroa seems to have reached the land of the Mojo, whom he calls Timbi.. 
His lieutenant, Juan Torres de Palomino, descended the Guapay River in 1595 and 
arrived at the country of the Motilones or Torococi, who undoubtedly were the 
Mojo. A settlement was founded in 1612 in Mojo territory. Gonzalo de Solis 
Holguin attempted in 1617 and 1624 to conquer the Mojo, whom he calls Toro, 
but abandoned the undertaking because the land did not correspond to his ex- 
pectations. 

During the first part of the 17th century, the Mojo often ascended the Guapay 
River to obtain from the Chiriguano iron tools for which they traded cotton cloth. 
They formed friendly relations with the Spaniards, which paved the way for the 
Jesuit missionaries. In 1668, three Jesuit missionaries entered the Mojo region 
but without any great success. In 1675, Fathers José Castillo, Cipriano Barrace, 
and Pedro Marban stayed with the Mojo for several years, learning their language 


410 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A4.E. Bull. 143 


and planting the first seeds of Christianity. The first mission, Loreto, was founded 
in 1684, Trinidad in 1687, and San Ignacio in 1689. Father Barrace was murdered 
by the Bauré in 1702. By 1715, there were 15 Mojo missions: Loreto, Santa Rosa 
del Chapare, Trinidad, San Xavier, San Pedro, Exaltacion, San Ignacio, San José, 
San Luis, San Borja, San Pablo, Reyes, Concepcién de Baurés, San Juan Bautista 
de Guarayos, and San Joaquin. 

Thanks to the industry of the missionaries and the good disposition of the 
Indians, the settlements became very prosperous. In 50 years, the Jesuits brought 
about great changes in the native culture, giving the Indians horses and cattle 
and teaching them numerous new arts. The silver altars and beautiful carving 
made by the Indians for the churches still bear witness to the prosperity of the 
missions. 

After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the missions were given to curates 
and civil administrators. Thereafter their decadence was rapid. However, the 
Indians have retained their Christian faith and many of the arts taught to them by 
the Jesuits. Thanks to their missionaries, the Mojo have been able to cope with 
White civilization. 

During the two last centuries, the Mojo, ruthlessly exploited and mistreated by 
the religious and lay authorities, rose on several occasions against the Whites. In 
1881, they rebelled at the instigation of a messiah, Andres Guachoco. 

At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, the Mojo 
were in great demand as boatmen and peons for the rubber companies. A great 
many were taken into virtual slavery; others died as a result of the mistreatments 
to which they were subjected. 


SOURCES 


Our main sources of information on the Mojo are the letters and re- 
ports of Jesuit missionaries of the 17th and 18th centuries written 
to their superiors and published in recent years in South American 
collections or journals, where they have remained buried. Fathers Marban 
(1898) and José Castillo (1906) were among the first Whites to settle 
with the Mojo, and they described the culture when it was hardly im- 
paired. Eder’s classic work on the Mojo (“Descriptio provinciae Moji- 
torum in regno Peruano,” Budapest, 1791) refers to a later period when 
the Mojo were already Christians; yet it contains invaluable material 
which deserves greater attention. D’Orbigny (1835-47) is our main 
authority for the postmissionary era. 


ARCHEOLOGY OF THE MOJO REGION 


The archeology of the Mojo region is known mainly through Norden- 
skidld’s (1913, 1917 b; see also Bennett, 1936) excavations in three 
mounds (Velarde, Hernmarck, Masicito) near the town of Trinidad, 
between the Mamoré and Ivari Rivers. In Mound Velarde two stratified 
layers were discovered. The culture represented by the lower level is 
characterized by four-footed vessels, modeled rim ornaments, clay ladles 
and grinders, and absence of handles. The dead were buried in an ex- 
tended position. A clay seated female figure was also discovered in this 
stratum. The painted decorations consist mainly of combinations of 
short spirals, sometimes associated with triangles. The short spiral 


es we 


* 


PiatTe 39.—Huge trumpets of the Mojos region. Photographed in La Paz, 
Bolivia. (Courtesy Grace Line.) 


Pirate 40.—Tiboita and Mojo Indians. Top: Tiboita man using spear thrower, 
region of Mojos. Note cranial deformation. (After Eder, 1791.) Bottom: 
Costumes of Mojo. (After D’Orbigny, 1839.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 411 


bears a slight resemblance to the Tiahuanaco Period of Cochabamba and 
Mizque (Bennett, 1936, p. 396). It is possible, as Nordenskidld suggests 
(1917 b), that these cultures were coetaneous. 

The material found in the upper layer of Mound Velarde and in Mound 
Hernmarck, despite great differences in design detail, seems to belong 
to one culture. It consists mainly of tripod urns, which were used for 
secondary interment; they were often covered by plain urns or by shallow 
tripod vessels. In upper Velarde the painted designs are largely geometric, 
but in Hernmarck there are curvilinear designs which represent stylized 
faces. Also typical of both are cylindrical clay grinders, ribbed clay 
grinding platters, three-legged clay stools, clay figurines, and some bone 
and stone artifacts (Bennett, 1936, p. 405). Some perforated vessels 
establish a link with the historical Mojo, who are known to have used 
such vessels for preparing chicha. 

The culture presented by the finds at Mound Masicito differs somewhat 
from the other Mojo sites. 

The pottery is unpainted and decorated by incision stamping, appliqué, pellets 


and strips, and some modeling. Tripod vessels are again typical. [Bennett, 1936, 
p. 398.] 


The feet are stylized animal feet and possibly heads. 

According to Bennett, the chronological sequence is as follows: Lower 
Velarde (roughly contemporaneous with Mizque-Tiahuanaco, derived 
Tiahuanaco), upper Velarde, Hernmarck (with Hernmarck possibly 
somewhat older than upper Velarde), Masicito. 

The Masicito pottery resembles somewhat the incised ware decorated 
with appliqué strips and with modeled rims found by Nordenskiold at 
Chimay, below Covendo (Nordenskidld, 1924 b, pp. 229-234). North of 
Covendo, at Rurrenabaque, were found three- and four-legged ware, 
painted and incised, appliqué modeled vessels, and a large effigy urn. 

Some light is thrown on the ancient cultures of the region of Santa 
Cruz de la Sierra by Nordenskiold’s discovery on the Palacios River 
(Province of Sara) of two groups of urn burials for adults and children. 
The eight urns unearthed in one cemetery have a conical or ovoid body 
and a collar decorated with corrugations. They are often covered by 
urns of the same type. One urn which comes from another site has 
a conical body, a high collar with corrugations and four quarter-moon 
side lugs. The mortuary ware consists mainly of bowls with solid bulging 
tripod legs and with a decoration of appliqué strips. With the exception 
of the corrugations on the rims, neither the urns nor the bowls show 
the slightest resemblance to any type of Guarani ware. Direct urn burial 
is not in itself sufficient proof of the Guarani origin of the finds. A few 
specimens of pottery discovered at Guayabas, South of Santa Cruz 
(Métraux, 1933), suggest with their appliqué decoration and their tripod 
feet the material of Masicito and of Chimay. (See figure, Handbook, 
vol. 5.) 


653333—47—29 


412 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The Mojo were proficient farmers who cultivated sweet 
manioc (yuca), maize, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, gourds, beans, peanuts, 
arracacha, pepper, papayas, bananas, sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton. Eder 
(1791, p. 99) mentions the use of poisonous manioc for food in the 
Province of Mojos, but his statement is not verified by other sources. 

The Mojo cleared their fields in forests which were not flooded during 
the rainy season. The Spaniards who penetrated the country with Solis 
Holguin were amazed at the size of the plantations and by the wide roads 
that crossed them. Peanuts were sown preferably along the sandy 
beaches. 

The Bauré are said to have cultivated on communal ground the plants 
from which they made their drinks. 

The Mojo and the Bauré supplemented their vegetable diet with wild 
fruits, especially those of palms. 


Hunting.—Two types of hunting were practiced by the Mojo; one was 
characteristic of the jungle, the other of the open plains. In the first, 
individual hunters stalked monkeys and birds in the gallery forests along 
the rivers. In the second, large groups of men led by the cacique, whose 
authority was absolute for the occasion, hunted deer herds communally. 
They pursued the animals with dogs trained to obey the command of 
the hunters, or drove them toward ambushes by means of grass fires. 

During the flood season, a very profitable hunting method was to 
surround an island on which game had taken refuge. Some of the 
party took vantage positions on high places, others remained in their 
canoes, and still others invaded the island from all sides making as much 
noise as possible with trumpets, drums, and packs of dogs. The panic- 
stricken animals, especially the deer, ran to the shore, where they were 
killed by the boatmen, who struck them with sticks, lassoed them, stabbed 
them, or jumped on their backs and drowned them. 

Hunters who stalked deer wore white shirts and headdresses shaped 
like a bird common in the plains; when they were sufficiently close they 
shot them with bows and arrows. 

The Mojo attacked jaguars either with two spears or with bows and 
arrows. However, it was considered safest to lure them to the river bank 
or into the water by imitating their call with a calabash and then to 
shower them with arrows from a canoe. They also treed jaguars with 
dogs and shot them with blowguns. The Bauré also caught jaguars 
in pitfalls. It was the chief’s privilege to shoot them. The killing of 
a jaguar brought unusual honors to the hunter, and the event was cele- 
brated with dancing, drum beating, and other ceremonies. 

Traps and snares are mentioned, but not described. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 413 


After the Mojo had acquired horses, they began to use the lasso to 
hunt game, even jaguars. They dragged the animal behind their horses 
and then dismounted to tie it up. 

All of those who had participated in a hunting expedition received 
an equal share of the game. 

Bird hunting.—The Mojo shot birds, especially ducks, with blowguns 
from blinds built where the birds roosted. They also threw gourds on 
a lagoon so that when the ducks had grown accustomed to their presence, 
the fowler could cover his head with a gourd and approach the birds, 
seize them by the feet, and twist their necks underwater. 

Fishing.—Fishing was one of the most rewarding activities. Annually, 
the receding floods left millions of fish stranded on the land or concen- 
trated in small pools were the Indians killed them at leisure with cudgels 
and spears. More commonly, fish were shot with bows and arrows. Fish 
were also attracted at night by torches fixed to the prows of canoes and 
were speared with tridents. 

The Mojo drugged fish with a creeper (Paullinia pinnata). Another 
creeper, even more powerful, was used only after a period of fasting. 

Nets were introduced by the missionaries, but the Indians found them 
of little use, for the rivers were full of branches and trees which tore the 
meshes. In pre-Columbian times, the Indians made a barrier of weeds in 
a lagoon and pushed it against the shore, where they caught the trapped 
fish with their bare hands, 

They also attached a cow skin perpendicularly to the gunwale of a 
canoe, and, by striking the water with poles, they made the fish jump 
against the hide so that they fell into the canoe. 

When a swarm of small fish migrated, the Mojo caught them with 
conical baskets, open at both ends, which they threw over the fish. 

The Mojo also built weirs across the outlets of lagoons and placed a 
fish trap in each opening of the weir. 

Cooking.—Manioc tubers were boiled or roasted in ashes. Bitter 
manioc tubers were sliced thin and dried in the sun, or they were grated, 
dried, and roasted in a clay pan. Large game was roasted. 

Eder states that the Indians relished certain worms which they collected 
during May and June. They crushed them with their fingers, dried them 
in front of their houses, and boiled them until they formed a blackish 
mush. 

The only condiment was the ash of certain plants mixed with cayenne 
pepper. Mineral salt was traded from the Mosetene. 

At meals, the Mojo sat on the ground around a single large dish. 
Meat was served on mats. 

Domestication.—At the beginning of the 17th century, the Mojo 
reared native ducks, but had not yet obtained the chickens which later 
were so numerous in their villages. They ate ducks or chickens only on 


414 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


such special occasions as the end of drinking bouts, or when a man wanted 
to treat friends who had helped him till his field. 

Like many tropical Indians, the Mojo changed to bright red the natural 
color of the wings and tail feathers of the tame parrots by plucking them 
and filling the wounds with the blood of a frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) 
and then coating the bird’s skin with wax (tapirage process) (Eder, 1791, 
pe lS2Z). 

The dog was found by the Jesuits among the Mojo. Its resemblance to 
the Spanish greyhound suggests that it had been obtained from the inhabi- 
tants of Santa Cruz, with whom the Mojo had active trade relations, or 
from Indians in closer contact with the Spaniards. These dogs were 
extremely well trained for hunting and, though they had individual 
masters to whom they were attached, they obeyed any person during the 
collective hunting expedition. 

Cattle were introduced among the Mojo by Father Cipriano Barrace 
at the end of the 17th century; horses were brought soon afterward. 
Within 50 years, the MZojo became excellent horsemen, as skillful as the 
gauchos with the lasso. They rode bareback, without a bridle and bit, 
guiding their horses by a thong attached around the animal’s lower jaw. 
Cattle increased to immense herds and roamed in thousands through the 
plains and in the forests. Yet, in spite of favorable conditions, the Mojo 
did not become herdsmen as did the Goajiro, and even now they do not 
drink milk. Wild cattle became a favorite game animal. 


HOUSES 


Some Mojo villages must have been unusually large, even allowing for 
exaggeration in the Spanish claims that some of them contained up to 
400 houses. Perhaps kitchens and drinking houses or temples, which 
were separate buildings, were enumerated with dwellings. Marban (1898, 
p. 132) estimated that each village had only 30 to 100 people, only a few 
having as many as 200. 

Floods, which cover the Mojos plains during 4 months, often forced 
the Indians to build villages on elevated land. These mounds, now cov- 
ered with potsherds and studded with burials, were not made artificially, 
although refuse increased their height. If, as was usually the case, Mojo 
settlements were built along river banks, when flood waters invaded their 
houses, the Indians erected platforms and covered them with soil on 
which to build cooking fires. Some villages were near lagoons, a con- 
siderable distance from the rivers. The houses were grouped around a 
central plaza. 

The villages were connected by large causeways about 9 feet (2.7 m.) 
wide and about 2 feet (0.6 m.) high, the remains of which Nordenskiold 
(1913, p. 225) and Allan Holmberg discovered near Mound Velarde and 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 415 


Mound Hernmarck and between Baurés and the Rio Blanco and near 
Mound Ibiato (near Trinidad). 

Bauré villages were surrounded by palisades with loopholes for archers 
and by a ditch; for further protection pitfalls were concealed in the paths. 

Mojo dwellings were round; their cook houses were rectangular sheds. 
The dwellings were about 15 feet (4.5 m.) in diameter and of the same 
height. The walls were of wattle-and-daub, about 3 feet (1 m.) in 
height ; the conical, thatched roof was supported by a center post. The 
doorway, which was so low that one had to crawl in, was closed by a 
skin or by reeds fastened between parallel sticks. 

In each hut there were six or seven cotton hammocks, wooden benches, 
mats on which women sat, and large jars for storage of small objects. 

Under Jesuit influence, the Mojo adopted gabled houses, with a thatched 
roof of motacu palms and walls of reeds. Today, only children sleep in 
hammocks; adults use ox skins as beds. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Long cotton or bark-cloth shirts (cushma), often elaborately decorated, 
were used by Mojo men in the premissionary era (pl. 40, bottom), but 
apparently this garment became longer and was more consistently worn 
after the Fathers insisted on modesty. Men fastened their shirts around 
the waist with a string and, in more recent times, with a cotton belt woven 
with red, blue, or yellow stripes. 

Men wore a short silver tube through the septum of the nose, two 
small silver or tin nails through the alae, a silver labret in the lower lip, 
and two round tin nails in the ear lobes. They also hung three or four 
strings of beads from the ears. Before European contact, Mojo labrets 
probably were made of rock crystal like those of the Bauré. 

Men tied up their long hair with cotton strings which they hid under 
strips of bark; between the threads, they fixed parrot feathers. Feather 
headdresses varied from a few feathers attached over the forehead to 
gigantic diadems of bright tail feathers trimmed with small feathers of 
various colors, mounted on a basketry frame covered with a mosaic of 
short feathers. One of these headdresses, used a few years ago, consisted 
of 300 tail feathers, plucked from 85 birds, mainly Ostinops decumanus, 
ara, and other kinds of parrots. These feathers, to which were attached 
the wing-shells of multicolored beetles, were fixed to a basketry hat and 
to a row of bamboo splinters to form a large semicircular screen over the 
nape. The ends of the long tail feathers were covered with pieces of bird 
skin. 

Men also wore silver circlets and bracelets. Heavy necklaces of small 
shell disks, seeds, and jaguar or monkey teeth were worn around the neck 
or over the shoulders. A silver, tin, or shell plate was suspended over the 
chest. The Mojo girded themselves with belts fringed with strings of 


416 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


beads and silver tubes. When dancing they covered their buttocks with 
a large net to which deer hoofs and shells were attached. 

A woman’s costume consisted only of a narrow loincloth, similar to that 
of the Paressi. Young girls went naked until puberty. Later, under 
missionary influence, women adopted the men’s shirt, but it was longer 
and without slits along the legs. Women wore thick necklaces, bracelets, 
and ear pendants of beads, and, during festivals, covered their shoulders 
with a netlike shawl or collar made of metal tubes and beads, from which 
hung bells, medals, and crosses. 

Women tied their long hair with cotton thread and trimmed it with 
ribbons. 

Both sexes painted themselves with urucu and genipa. The women 
traced on their male relatives’ bodies elaborate designs in the same style 
as those decorating their pottery. 

Eder (1791, p. 217) reports that some Indians of Mojos tattooed them- 
selves with thorns or fish teeth, using genipa as a pigment. The tattooed 
patterns, he writes, represented “caimans, monkeys, and fish.” 


TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 


Some of the wide causeways connecting the Mojo villages remained 
above water level during the annual floods. In the dry season, the ditches 
from which the soil had been taken to make the embankments formed 
canals which the natives navigated in canoes, especially at harvest time 
when they brought home their crops. One of these canals, 2 km. (11% mi.) 
long and 6 to 7 m. (20 to 24 ft.) wide, connects the Mamoré River with 
the Urupuru River. Another canal 5 km. (3 mi.) long and 2 m. (6 ft.) 
wide unites the Chumano and the San Juan River, from which another 
canal leads to the Itonama River. 

Ancient dugouts are not described. Modern craft have a sharp bow 
and a flat stern. Paddles are 5 feet (1.3 m.) long and have a crotch at 
the proximal end. 

Eder (1791, p. 75) also describes balsas or reed rafts with an upturned 
prow and stern, on which the Indians—he does not say which ones—took 
long trips. The pelota or bull-boat was also known to the Mojo—at least 
in the 18th century. An ox hide was stretched over a frame of reeds or 
rods and the sides were folded to stand out of the water. 

They built bridges over narrow streams by lassoing bamboos or slender 
palm trees and bending them until they touched the ground on the opposite 
side. The arch was then covered with transverse sticks so that the women 
and children could climb to the other shore. 


MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—Bark cloth was fabricated from large pieces of bibosi 
bark measuring 3 by 12 feet (1 by 4m.) which were beaten with a wooden 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 417 


grooved mallet. The bark strips were then washed, wrung out, and dried 
in the sun. 


Basketry.—The Mojo made boxes of reeds twined together with cotton. 
The modern Mojo make flat circular trays and round baskets with over- 
lapping lids in twilled basketry. They also have large carrying baskets 
with a hexagonal weave (lattice type). 


Spinning.—To spin cotton, the woman sat on the ground, rested the 
distal end of the spindle between the large and second toe of her left foot, 
and rolled the spindle with her right hand along her right leg. The skein 
was held with the left hand. 


Weaving.—Mojo textiles were of cotton. They used a variety of 
cotton, naturally reddish, to produce patterns on their fabrics. Modern 
Mojo and Bauré weave on the vertical loom. 


Wood carving.—Wood carving was probably practiced by the Mojo 
before their contact with Europeans, for it is improbable that they could 
have developed so suddenly the skill for which the Jesuits praised them. 


Featherwork.—Featherwork seems to have been the Mojo’s greatest 
artistic accomplishment. Down was plucked from the breast and from 
under the wings of brightly colored birds and was sewed on cloth so 
skillfully that it resembled natural plumage. The feather mosaics repre- 
sented animals and people. When dancing, they held these feather pic- 
tures in their hands and shook them as if they were small shields. 


Pottery.—Early sources highly praise Mojo pottery. It included jars, 
bowls, dishes, and cooking pots. There is little doubt that the ware found 
by Nordenskidld (1913) near Trinidad belongs to the historical Mojo. 

Clay was tempered with the ashes of sponges (Parmula batesti) contain- 
ing small spiculae, which gave the material a remarkable resistance. 


Weapons.—Mojo bows made of chonta wood were about 5 feet (1.5 m.) 
long. They were often trimmed with feathers and wrappings of cotton 
threads. Arrows were tipped with a lanceolate bamboo blade or with a 
rod to which a bone head or the spike of a stingray was fastened with wax. 
War arrows were sometimes provided with a hollow nut which made them 
whistle when flying. Feathering seems to have been of the cemented type. 

The Mojo used the spear thrower for hunting and war (pl. 40, top). 
It consisted of a narrow board with a hook to engage the butt of the dart. 

The Mojo blowgun was, like that of the Huari, a long bamboo tube 
straightened by heating it over a fire. The darts, made of palm splinters, 
were kept in a bamboo quiver. The poison, undoubtedly curare, was ex- 
tracted from the coropi creeper. The creeper was shredded, the fibers 
sprinkled with hot water, and the decoction was slowly filtered through 
cotton and then boiled on a slow fire until it became quite thick. The mass 
was dried in the sun. To use the poison, it was moistened with tobacco 
juice. 


418 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


Spears seem to have been adopted after European contact, but slings 
and bolas appear to have been used long before the Conquest. The Mojo 
attacked the first Spanish expeditions with spear throwers, slings, and 
bolas. By the end of the 18th century, the Mojo used bolas of lead. Clay 
pellets bristling with poisoned thorns are said to have been used as mis- 
siles for slings. 

In battle, the Mojo and Bauré carried a shield made of reeds firmly 
twined together with cotton threads and trimmed with feathers. 

Tools.—A few stone axes were found by Nordenskidld in his excava- 
tions. 

Metallurgy.—tThe silver or tin ornaments—diadems, bracelets, disks, 
and tubes—were made of pieces of metal cut from bowls and dishes traded 
from the Spaniards. The only tools of the smiths were knives, scissors, 
and stone hammers. They did not smelt ores, but occasionally melted 
down the purchased silver or tin. All metal objects were painstakingly 
polished. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


The village community was the basic social unit, though subtribes 
sometimes consisted of two to three villages. Each village had a chief 
whose authority did not transcend its limits. Nothing is known about 
other social groups. A tendency toward class stratification is revealed in 
the existence of war captives who, though well treated and allowed to 
marry the daughters of their captors, were regarded with some contempt. 
The importance of this incipient servile class was perhaps enhanced by 
the slave trade, one of the first consequences of the establishment of the 
Spaniards in eastern Bolivia. The colonists of Santa Cruz, who were in 
need of labor for their fields and for the mines of the Highlands, not only 
raided the neighboring tribes for that purpose, but also induced Indians 
beyond their reach to provide them with captives for whom they paid 
iron tools and glass beads. So great was the desire for metal, which 
eased the daily struggle for life, that the Indians, lacking other commodi- 
ties acceptable to the Whites, soon turned into slavers and thus had new 
incentives for their intertribal warfare. 


POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Chieftainship was probably hereditary, though this has been doubted 
by some of our early sources. 

The authority of the Mojo chief (achiaco) depended greatly on his 
personality. Respect shown to the chief was very conspicuous: “They 
respect their chiefs,’ says Castillo (1906, p. 337), “as good children do 
their fathers, even if the ‘cacique’ is a young man, as he sometimes is.” 
If he came on a visit with other men, he was immediately offered a bench 
or a hammock to sit on. Respect did not always imply actual power, and, 
among the Mojo, chiefs could interfere with the activities of the rest of 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 419 


the people only in certain instances. Those chiefs who were at the same 
time shamans had a far stronger position. 

The enforcement of internal peace was one of the main functions of the 
chief. On one occasion Father Castillo saw the village chief “boxing and 
kicking” two individuals who, in a drinking spree, had killed a man. The 
decision to shift the village rested with the chief, who frequently decided 
to move to another place when some personal misfortune had befallen him. 

The chief had greater power during war and communal hunting 
parties. When the men of the village cooperated in a game drive, the 
chief assumed complete control and required immediate obedience. He 
had to insure the success of a war expedition not only by his skill and 
courage, but also by his strict observance of several taboos. Thus, he 
had to fast in behalf of the community and could not comb or even cut 
his hair. 

The Bauré chief, called “arama,” bequeathed his title to his eldest son 
if he had been born of a noble woman, that is, if his mother were a chief’s 
daughter. His subjects provided him everything he needed, and if he 
wanted to get rid of somebody, his wish was complied with immediately. 
To curtail his power, an old man was selected every year, at harvest time, 
to remind him of his duties and to warn him against excesses. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Pregnant women, shortly before delivery, were confined 
in special huts outside the village, a precaution supposed to prevent mis- 
carriage (Castillo, 1906, p. 360; Marban, 1898, p. 155). Those who 
suffered a miscarriage were immediately drowned lest dysentery epidemics 
spread through the village (Orellana, 1906, p. 12). If a mother died 
during or after childbirth, the baby was buried alive, for a child might 
be nursed only by its own mother. If the delivery was difficult, relatives 
implored the assistance of a spirit by playing the flute and singing. 
Normal deliveries were always accompanied by the recital of charms and 
the sacrifice of ducks. 

Of twins, only the first to be born was regarded as the child of a man, 
and the paternity of the second was attributed to a spirit. The mother 
of twins was held in such respect that her husband left the house and 
treated her with the greatest consideration. Twins had to marry other 
twins or remain single (Eder, 1791, pp. 245-246). 

Marriage.— Marriages do not seem to have been celebrated with any 
ceremony. Residence was patrilocal; according to a single source, it 
was matrilocal. Polygyny existed but was rare. Infant betrothal is 
reported for a few unspecified tribes of the region. Marriage with a 
woman and her daughter is also mentioned. 

In commiting adultery a woman endangered her husband’s luck in 
hunting and even his life; she was, therefore, severely punished by her 


420 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


husband or even by her own relatives. The lover, however, was un- 
molested until the offended husband in the turmoil of a drinking bout 
could pick a fight with him, tear off his ornaments, and thrash him. 

Conjugalties were brittle. 

Funeral customs.—Little is known about this subject. The Mojo 
buried their dead in shallow graves on which they placed bows, arrows, 
maize, and beer. Secondary burial in urns occurs in the upper levels of 
Velarde, Hernmarck and Masicito Mounds (p. 411). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Dances.—Dances performed in the missions in the 18th century still 
followed the pre-Hispanic pattern. The male dancers, wearing spectacular 
feather headdresses or disguised with monkey or bird skins, formed two 
facing lines, but each man danced according to his own fancy, moving to 
and fro with slow steps, which corresponded to movements of his hands. 
Some dancers accompanied themselves with flutes and gourd rattles and 
turned their heads from side to side. At times they stamped on the 
ground to make their anklets of nuts jingle. The women danced apart 
in a house. Holding each other’s hands, they turned in a circle, singing 
a monotonous song and stooping almost to the ground after each stanza. 
Extravagantly dressed clowns, each with a drum slung over his shoulder, 
danced at one side. 

Modern Mojo still execute ancient dances at church festivals. The 
most famous of these is that of the macheteros, or sword men, who 
brandish their wooden weapons in front of the altar before laying them 
down with their feather diadems at the foot of the crucifix. 

Musical instruments.—Native Mojo instruments as listed by the 
ancient sources were: Fruit-shell jingles attached to the ankles, jingle 
rattles of deer hoofs, shells hanging from the lower edge of nets worn 
around the waist, gourd rattles, a large drum (probably the hollow-log 
drum) beaten with a single stick, panpipes consisting of a single row of 
reeds held between two sticks, a trumpet or clarinet composed of an 
elongated gourd and a “flute,” and long funnel-shaped bark trumpets. 

The large trumpets, the gourds, and a wind instrument described as “a 
big hollow nut into which they blew” were sacred instruments taboo to 
women, and they were played in a ceremonial parade, “The jumping of 
the caiman.” 

Modern Mojo have transformed their bark trumpets into gigantic pan- 
pipes by joining together 11 bark trumpets of various lengths (pl. 39). 
Their small skin-headed drums belong probably to the postmissionary 
period. 

Games and sports.—The favorite sport was a ball game. The rubber 
ball was made by coating a clay core with a thick layer of rubber, removing 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 421 


the clay through a hole, inflating the ball with air, and adding several 
other layers of liquid rubber. 

The ball was struck either with the head or the feet. When the feet 
were used, the two contesting teams were 25 feet (7.6 m.) apart, but 
when they butted the ball with the head the interval was about 42 feet 
(about 13 m.). Players protected their legs with bandages. 

Drinking bouts.—Chicha was made of roasted maize pounded and 
partly chewed. For making manioc beer, the Indians crushed the tubers, 
sifted them, and allowed the mass to ferment. This beer was sifted 
through perforated vessels, many of which were discovered by Norden- 
skiold (1913) in his excavations at Mound Velarde and Mound 
Hernmarck. 

Fermented drinks were also brewed with all kinds of fruits, especially 
pineapples. Chicha was served in gourds which, on festive occasions, 
were trimmed with feathers and decorated with figures. On a long jour- 
ney, the Mojo always took a provision of fermented manioc mass which 
they mixed with water to prepare a stimulating and nourishing beverage. 

Most religious ceremonies were followed by drinking bouts. Each 
community gave 10 or 12 feasts a year, but its members were frequently 
invited to those organized by other villages in the region. 

A feast, religious or secular, was announced the day before by the 
beating of a large and a small drum. The guests gathered in the drinking 
house and sat on wooden benches and on hammocks between rows of 
large maize chicha jars, buried to the neck. During the party, the in- 
toxicated men boasted about their past deeds or challenged their enemies. 
Disputes were often settled by a conventional wrestling match. The 
wronged person grabbed the hair or the ear of the offender and did his 
best to throw him to the ground; if he succeeded, the quarrel ended 
and harmony was restored. 

Female singers and dancers were admitted in the hall, and married 
women were allowed to drink beer. When the rejoicing had reached a high 
pitch, the guests, as a mark of courtesy, seized the host’s wife and married 
daughters, wrapped them entirely in skirts, covered their heads with 
hoods, and took them to the temple, where these women made their 
entrance singing and dancing. There they were offered chicha and were 
allowed to dance for a while with the men. 


RELIGION 


Mojo religion is imperfectly known except for a few aspects, such 
as the Jaguar cult and shamanism. 

According to the missionaries, “gods”—perhaps spirits—presided over 
water, fish, clouds, lightning, crops, war, and jaguars, but there is some 
indication that the Mojo had functioning nature gods. The tutelary 
deity of the village of the Moremono was the Star god, Arayriqui. The 
Rain goddess was the Rainbow and the Sun’s wife, and to her tall trees 


499 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


were dedicated. Shamans consulted the moon, who appeared to them 
in the shape of a woman. Some gods or spirits were closely associated 
with the territory of a subtribe or a village. The Saturiano had a divine 
protector who lived in a lagoon near their village. The Indians were 
desinclined to abandon their native district because their ancestors were 
supposed to have come from some place located within their territory, 
a belief which was and still is common among the mountain Indians 
of Peru. 

In daily life, the Mojo were more concerned with the swarm of spirits 
(acsane) who pervaded the world than with the higher gods. To these 
invisible spirits was offered every morsel of food that fell to the ground. 

Cult.—In every village there was what the Spaniards called a “beve- 
dero,” a drinking hut in which religious ceremonies and drinking bouts 
were held. There were kept such trophies as the skulls of enemies and 
jaguar heads and paws. Very likely, the sacred musical instruments were 
deposited in this hut, as among the Paressi and other Arawakan tribes. 

The building of a feast hall was surrounded with many rites and taboos. 
The workers fasted for several months ; during the construction no woman 
could enter the building; and certain foods could not be eaten within 
the structure. 

Castillo (1906, p. 353) regards the offering of chicha to the gods or 
spirits, who were thought to appear in person and to drink, as the main 
feature of the cult. The priests or shamans uttered long prayers or 
charms. 

The appearance of the new moon was considered to be a propitious 
time for religious ceremonies. The crowd assembled in the sacred hall 
at dawn where they uttered “loud cries to soften the invisible powers.” 
They spent the whole day fasting. At night the priests cut their hair 
and adorned themselves with red and yellow feathers. Jars of liquor 
were brought as offerings to the gods; the priests drank and gave the 
rest to the people who sang and danced through the night. 

The jaguar cult.—Jaguars were regarded with religious awe and were 
the object of a cult. Men who had been wounded by a jaguar formed 
a special group of shamans called camacoy and performed the rites con- 
nected with jaguar spirits. For a year or two before assuming their 
new status, they observed chastity and various food taboos, particularly 
those against eating fish and cayenne pepper. Any violation of these 
rules was punished by the jaguars. 

If a jaguar-shaman learned by supernatural means that a jaguar might 
prey on a community, he warned the people to bring offerings of food 
and chicha to his hut at night. The jaguar-shaman entered the house 
alone playing a special type of flute. He pretended to have an inter- 
view with the jaguar from which he would come bleeding and with his 
clothes torn off as if he had been clawed by the beast. Some shamans 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 493 


were credited with the power of changing themselves into jaguars when 
offerings were not brought to them. 

The belongings of a person killed by a jaguar were consecrated to 
the animal, and it became the rightful owner of them. Whoever kept 
for himself even a small part of these possessions was sooner or later 
doomed to be devoured by a jaguar (Eder, 1791, p. 247). The killing 
of a jaguar gave great prestige to the successful hunter and was followed 
by elaborate ceremonies. The Indians danced and beat a drum around 
the slain animal for a whole night and ate its flesh. The paws and 
cleaned skull trimmed with cotton ornaments were deposited in the drink- 
ing hall among other trophies. 

The hunter himself retired for several days to the temple, where he 
observed many taboos. The jaguar-shaman offered libations on his behalf 
to the Jaguar god and revealed to him the secret name of the jaguar, 
which the hunter was to bear henceforward. A drinking bout, during 
which the hunter trimmed his hair, ended the feast and the seclusion. 


Priests and shamans.—According to Castillo (1906, p. 352), the Mojo 
had both ceremonial priests and shamans. Actually, it is more likely that 
individuals with the same training performed different functions in which 
they might specialize according to their own inclination or the occasion. 

The generic term for “shaman” was tiharauqui, a word more aptly 
translated by “clairvoyant.” These tiharauqui, men or women, entered 
their profession under supernatural compulsion, manifested by some 
accident which deprived them momentarily of their senses or brought 
them near death. Unequivocal references to such persons offering 
beer to the gods or taking the initiative in religious ceremonies makes 
it more evident that the so-called “priests” were actually shamans. Never- 
theless, it is difficult to reconcile the important role of women in religion 
with the strict prohibition against their seeing the caiman dance or the 
sacred musical instruments. 

Fasting on behalf of the community was one of their functions. During 
their fasting periods, they had to refrain from eating fish, drinking chicha, 
and smoking, and they had to observe chastity. 

To interview the spirits, shamans drank a decoction prepared from 
a plant called “marari,” similar to our verbena, which caused for 24 
hours a general condition of excitement characterized by insomnia and 
pains. 

Besides their function at the temples, shamans had to discover thieves, 
disclose the whereabouts of stolen objects and reveal secrets (Eder, 
1791, pp. 246-247). The consultation of the shaman with the spirits was 
often conceived of as a fight in which the shaman forced the spirit to 
answer his question. 

Treatment of diseases.—Diseases were ascribed to spirits without 
whose collaboration they could not be cured. The shaman, when con- 


424 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


sulted, drank marari in order to discuss the matter with his familiar 
spirit. Usually the spirit asked for presents before he would reveal 
the cause of the illness and the appropriate treatment. 

A common treatment, if the drugs suggested by the spirits failed to 
relieve the sick man, was to extract the disease by repeated massages, 
by tying the body, and by sucking out the pathogenic objects (worms, 
feathers, tobacco leaves). Blowing tobacco smoke over the patient was 
also part of the cure (Eder, 1791, pp. 254-255). 

Serpents, visible only to shamans—hence their name “clairvoyants”— 
also were responsible for many diseases, which, if our sources are correct, 
were treated by rubbing the foam of a root against the chest, shoulders, 
and stomach of the patient (Castillo, 1906, p. 353; Marban, 1898, p. 153). 
Patients who complained of heart trouble received from the shaman 
a stone to replace the ailing organ (Eder, 1791, p. 255). 


MYTHOLOGY 


A myth recorded among the Mojo a few years ago probably contains 
references to the Creator and perhaps also has elements of the Trickster 
cycle. The gluttonous Moconomoco, father of men, ate all the seeds 
and then drowned in a river. When the eagle told the famished men 
where Moconomoco’s body was, they pulled it out of the water and the 
‘“hornero” bird opened its stomach, where all the seeds were found and 
recovered (Pauly, 1928, p. 160). 

In the creation myths of the Mojo, the ancestors of each subtribe origi- 
nated in some spot located within the limits of their own district. 

Partial eclipses were interpreted as ailments of the Sun or the Moon, 
and the total disappearance of these luminaries as their temporary death. 
The Mojo also believed in a celestial Jaguar, father of all the terrestrial 
jaguars, who ate the moon. Constellations were named after animals: 
jaguar, deer, alligator, bear, and so on. The Mojo had stories in which 
the celestial Jaguar pursued and attacked the celestial deer. In one of 
their stellar myths, the rhea, greedy for food on the earth, lost its 
tail feathers when these were pulled out by another animal at the very 
moment it was about to jump through a hole in the sky. Ordinary 
stars were the children of the Sun and the Moon (Eder, 1791, pp. 56-57 ; 
Castillo 1906, p. 349). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Adam and Leclerc, 1880; Almanach de Lima (see Southey, 1817-22) ; Altamirano, 
1891; Argomosa, 1906; Arlet, 1781; Bennett, 1936; Caballero, 1933; Castillo, 1906; 
D’Orbigny, 1835-47, 1839; Eder, 1791; Eguiluz, 1884; Garriga, 1906; Hervas, 1800-05, 
vol. 1; Keller-Leuzinger, 1874; Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, 1780-83; Marban, 
1898; Mathews, 1879; Maurtua, 1906, vols. 9 and 10; Métraux, 1933, 1942, 1943; 
Nordenskidld, 1910 a, 1910 b, 1913, 1917 b, 1924 b; Orellana, 1906; Pauly, 1928; 
René-Moreno, 1888; Rosario, 1682; Southey, 1817-22. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 495 


THE CANICHANA, MOVIMA, CAYUVAVA, AND ITONAMA 
THE CANICHANA 
TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


The Canichana (Canisi, Canechi, Kanisiana) formed by themselves an 
independent linguistic group. Before the Jesuits collected them in the 
Mission of San Pedro on the upper Machupo River, the Canichana had 
lived along the Mamoré River and around the headwaters of the Machupo 
River and along its lower course down to the mission of San Joaquin 
(map 1, No.2; map 2; map 4). They had about 70 villages in the region 
between lat. 13° and 14° S. and long. 64° and 65° W. 

The Canichana were visited in 1693 by Father Augustin Zapata, who 
estimated their number at 4,000 to 5,000. In 1695, they expressed their 
willingness to be gathered in a mission, which was founded two years later 
with about 1,200 Indians (Arlet, 1781). Even after 100 years of disci- 
plined mission life, the Canichana retained their warlike disposition. They 
rose against the Spanish authorities in 1801 and 1820, and in the last 
rebellion burned the building containing the Jesuit archives. 

A census taken in 1780 put the population of San Pedro at 1,860; 
another census of 1797, at 2,544. According to D’Orbigny (1839, 2 :244), 
in 1831 there were still 1,939 Canichana. Their present number is 
unknown. 


CULTURE 


Farming was less important in Canichana economy than hunting and 
fishing. The tribe caught caimans, which they relished, by passing a noose 
around their necks and dragging them to the shore, where other Indians 
killed them with axes, or else a man crawled toward the caiman holding a 
stick sharpened at both ends which he thrusted into the animal’s gaping 
mouth. The prey was dragged ashore by means of a cord attached to the 
stick. 

Villages were protected by palisades. 

When first visited by missionaries, both sexes went naked, but in the 
missionary era they were forced to wear cotton or bark-cloth shirts. The 
Canichana were armed with bows and arrows and spears. In all proba- 
bility, they were acquainted with the spear thrower. 

Girls fasted 8 days upon reaching puberty, which was celebrated by a 
drinking bout. Polygyny was widely spread. 

The Canichana were feared as a warlike tribe and were the scourge of 
their neighbors, the Moré, Cayuvava, and Itonama. Missionaries always 
refer to the Canichana as fierce cannibals. 


496 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Drinking bouts were arranged as a reward for those who had helped a 
man clear a field. Fermented beverages were prepared with various fruits. 

Among the Canichana, Father Zapata (1906, p. 26) heard a version of 
the wide-spread myth of the Amazons and of the pygmies. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Arlet, 1781; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1913 d; D’Orbigny, 1839; Eguiluz, 1884; 
Heath, 1833; René-Moreno, 1888; Zapata, 1906. 


THE MOVIMA 


TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


Linguistically, the Movima represent an isolated family. Their prim- 
itive home was on the left side of the Mamoré River and along the Yacuma 
River (map 1, No. 2; map 2). They were settled by the Jesuits in the 
missions of San Luis and Borja on the upper Maniqui River, a tributary 
of the Mamoré River (lat. 13°-15° S., long. 65°-66° W.). The Mission 
of Santa Ana, near the junction of the Yacuma and Rapulo Rivers, con- 
sisted also of Modvima. In one of the early 17th-century accounts of 
eastern Bolivia, written by Gregorio de Bolivar (1906, p. 218), the Movima 
(spelled Moyma) are placed down the Himana River (Mamoré River). 
In 1709, they killed Father Baltazar de Espinosa. In the second half of 
the last century, a few Movima families who had escaped from Santa Ana 
dwelled on the Aperé (Mato) River. It seems that as late as 1908 a few 
independent Movima still lived on the upper Rapulo River ( Nordenskiold, 
1922; 'p. 76): 

In 1749, there were 1,630 Modvima in the Mission of San Luis and 1,300 
in the Mission of San Borja. In 1767, the population of Santa Ana was 
about 2,000; that of San Borja, 1,200; and that of Santos Reyes, 1,200. 
In 1831, there remained 1,238 Modvima. 


CULTURE 


The Movima were fishermen, hunters, and farmers. In recent times, 
those of the Yacuma River went in the dry season to the Mamoré River to 
sow beans and peanuts on the sandy beaches. They traveled in dugouts 
30 feet (about 10 m.) long, by 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 cm.) wide. Their 
weapons were bows and arrows. The feathering of their arrows was of the 
wrapped (Arara) type, and the butt of the shaft was strengthened with a 
wooden plug. Formerly, the M6vima seem to have used the spear thrower. 

The last Movima seen by Nordenskidld (1922, p. 76) were well-to-do 
agriculturists and stock raisers. They had abandoned most of their 
native culture except for a few items, such as clay pans supported over the 
fire on three clay stumps, and bows and arrows. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Balzan, 1894; Bolivar, 1906; Cardts, 1886; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1917-20; 
D’Orbigny, 1839; Giglioli, 1906; Goncalves da Fonseca, 1826; Nordenskidld, 1922. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 427 


THE CAYUVAVA 
TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


The former habitat of the Cayuvava was the western side of the Mamoré 
River, 15 leagues above its junction with the Guaporé River (map 1, No. 
2; map 2). These Indians were scattered in small settlements along the 
main course of the Mamoré River and along several of its small left tribu- 
taries from lat. 12° to 13° S. and long. 65° to 67° W. 

The Cayuvava were discovered in 1693 by the Jesuit Missionary, Father 
Augustin Zapata. They then lived in large villages, each with a population 
which is said to have varied from 1,800 to 2,000 inhabitants. Father 
Zapata saw seven such villages. The Cayuvava were concentrated by the 
Jesuits in the Mission of Exaltacién, on the Mamoré River, below its 
junction with the Yacuma River. In 1749, there were about 3,000 
Cayuvava,; in 1831, some 2,073 ; and in 1909, only 100. 


CULTURE 


The ancient Cayuvava are described as good farmers who raised pea- 
nuts, sweet manioc, maize, and other plants. Their weapons were bows 
and arrows and chonta wood spears, the latter tipped with a sharp bone 
and trimmed with feathers. At the beginning of the present century, little 
of the original culture remained, but they still wore bark-cloth tunics and 
still fished with open-top conical baskets which were thrown over the fish 
in shallow places. Cayuvava men filed their incisor teeth, a custom rare 
in South America and perhaps of African origin. 

In the 17th century, the seven Cayuvava villages were apparently under 
the rule of a single chief. In the Mission of Exaltacion, the Cayuvava were 
divided into eight groups, corresponding perhaps to former tribes. 

In 1695, Father Zapata found in the region occupied by the Cayuvava 
a large village with streets and a central plaza where the inhabitants, 
dressed in luxurious cloaks and covered with feathers, were gathered in 
front of a temple to make a sacrifice to the gods. The offerings consisted 
of rabbit, rhea, and deer meat placed on trays around a fire which 
was never extinguished (Eguiluz, 1884). 

Only a few fragments of their religion are known. The Cayuvava 
called their good spirit or spirits Idaapa and the bad one Mainaje. They 
closed the mouth and nose of dying people to prevent the escape of death, 
that is to say, of the evil spirit which had attacked the patient. Men 
refrained from working when their wives menstruated. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Balzan, 1894; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1914 a, 1917-20; Eguiluz, 1884; Giglioli, 
1906; Gongalves da Fonseca, 1826; Nordenskidld, 1922; Teza, 1868. 


653333—47—30 


428 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


THE ITONAMA 
TERRITORY AND HISTORY 


Like the Cayuvava, the Itonama speak an isolated language. In the 
17th century, their villages were scattered along both sides of the Itonama 
River from the great lagoon, Laguna Itonama or Carmen, to the Machupo 
River (lat. 13°-15° S., long. 63° W.; map 1, No. 2; map 2). 

About 1720, the Itonama were attacked by a party of Mestizos from 
Santa Cruz, and 2,000 of them were taken as slaves (Maurtua, V., 1906, 
10:43-48). The Jesuits collected the Jtonama in the Mission of Santa 
Magdalena, on the Itonama River, but in 1792 part of them were moved 
to the village of San Ramon on the Machupo River. In 1767, there were 
4,000 Itonama at Magdalena and a few families in the missions of Loreto 
and Trinidad in the Province of Mojos. In 1831, those of Magdalena 
numbered 2,831 and those of San Ramon, 1,984. In 1914, Nordenskiold 
(1924 a, p. 188) found only 300 of these Indians in the region of San 
Ramon. 


CULTURE 


Modern Jtonama, with a background of 200 years of Christianity, 
retain little of their aboriginal culture. They live in large villages near 
the rivers and are agriculturists, hunters, and fishermen. They roast 
maize meal in large flat-bottomed pans with raised edges. 

Both sexes dress in large cotton or bark-cloth shirts, often painted 
black, but originally women wore a loincloth. Until puberty, children 
went naked, wearing nothing, but bands below the knees and above the 
ankles. Little girls wore besides a string of beads around their waists 
(D’Orbigny, 1839, vol. 2, p. 241). 

The Jtonama spin cotton (fig. 51) by inserting the distal end of the 
spindle in a notched stick and rolling the proximal end on a log. They 
are the most famous weavers in the Mojos area. They make circular 
baskets, some with an hexagonal weave (lattice type); other baskets 
are twilled. 

Their weapons were bows and arrows and the double-edged club. The 
Itonama had slings and bolas long before European contacts, but the 
lasso was introduced in the 18th century. 

Child betrothal was a deep-rooted custom which survived into the 
Christian era, Children were engaged to each other soon after birth. 

The feet of a newly born baby are tied lest it follow its father. The 
latter observes several taboos, e.g., that on swimming in deep water. The 
strength of marital ties grows with the number of children that a woman 
bears her husband; childless women cannot expect much support. 

At festivals, the Itonama blow a sort of huge panpipes, which actually 
consist of 11 bark trumpets, varying from 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m.) in 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 499 


We 


Ficure 51.—Jionama woman spinning. (After Nordenskiold, 1924 a.) 


length and joined together in the same manner as the tubes of true 
panpipes. 

Forty years ago the Jtonama still preserved some of their old beliefs. 
They did not till the land of a deceased person and did not txploit trees 
which had belonged to an ancestor. 

They believed that ghosts turned into hummingbirds, butterflies. and 
serpents, and that they caused death, 

Shamans were of both sexes. A shaman summoned his familiar spirit 
and asked it about a patient’s fate. Disease was usually ascribed to @ 
vengeful ghost that had captured the soul.4 The soul had to be rescued 
in order to heal the patient. When a shaman wanted to send his soul out 
of his body to discover hidden things, he took a narcotic, nowadays opium, 
which put him in a trance. Witches changed themselves into jaguars to 
kill their enemies. 

Every animal was believed to maintain a mystical relationship to a plant 
which bore a slight resemblance to one of the animal’s features. Plants 
associated with dangerous animals should not be touched. Medicinal 
plants were thought to be related to men by mystic ties. 
~ «According to D’Orbigny (1839, vol. 2, p. 241), the Itonama were so afraid that death, which 


overtook a person, might pass into another person’s body that they stopped the nose, the mouth, and 
the eyes of those who were about to breathe their last, so that many sick people died of suffocation. 


430 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Adam, 1897-98; Balzan, 1894; Cardts, 1886; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1916; 
Eder, 1791; D’Orbigny, 1839; Hervas, 1800-05; Izikowitz, 1935; Maurtua V., 1906; 
Nordenskiéld, 1915 b, 1924 a; Rivet, 1921; Severiano da Fonseca, 1880-81. 


THE GUARAYU AND PAUSERNA 
TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


The Guarayt and Pauserna (Itatin, Carabere, Araibayba, Motere- 
quoa) formed a single tribe, but separated when the ancestors of modern 
Guarayu were collected in missions. The Pauserna are the descendants 
of the Guarayu who remained independent (map 1, No. 2; map 2). 

Originally, the Guarayu probably lived mainly along the upper San 
Miguel (Itonama) River and between it and the Rio Blanco (approxi- 
mately lat. 15°-16° S., and long. 63°-64° W.). Most of the Guaray 
were later distributed among five Franciscan missions: Yotau, Ascen- 
sién, Urubicha, Yaguart, and San Paulo. 

The Pauserna (Guarayt-td) live on the left side of the upper Guaporé 
River (lat. 14° S., long. 61° W.), where the pao cerne is abundant; 
hence their name. Formerly, when they were more numerous, they 
reached the lower Paraguay River and its tributaries. In 1935, only two 
groups of Pauserna numbering some 50 persons remained, one at Bella 
Vista and the other on the lower Paraguay River. They had lost most 
of their ancient culture and lived precariously. Severiano da Fonseca 
(1880-81, pp. 168-171) found Pauserna along the left side of the Guaporé 
River, from a little north of the Paraguay River to the Rio da Pedra. 
Their main villages were Pao Cerne, Las Flexas, Jangada, Veados, and 
Acarisal. 


HISTORY 


The Guarayu, like the Chiriguano, are descendants of the Guarani of Paraguay, 
who, at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century, crossed the 
Chaco and the Province of Chiquitos in several groups to raid the borders of 
the Inca empire, and finally settled along or near the Cordillera. 

The Guarani migrations took place in several successive waves, the first perhaps 
during the reign of Inca Yupanqui (1476). Another must have occurred about 
1513 to 1518, but apparently met with disaster. According to Felipe de Alcaya 
(Maurtua, V., 1906, vol. 6), it started from the region of the Xarayes marshes and 
ended in the plains of Grigota near the present city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. 
A party of the same Guarani stayed in the Province of Itati of Chiquitos (which is 
not to be confused with the Province of Itati north of the Apa River). 

In 1564, Nuflo de Chaves, returning to Chiquitos from Paraguay, brought 2,000 
to 3,000 Itatin of the Province of Itati, who settled in the new country. Were the 
Itatin of Chiquitos, so often mentioned in the second half of the 16th century, those 
who migrated in 1513 or were they the followers of Nuflo de Chaves in 1564? The 
answer will remain undecided, though the second hypothesis seems the more likely. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 431 


Early documents often use the name Guarayu for all the Guarani Indians (both the 
Chiriguano and Guarayt proper) who had migrated from Paraguay. (See Métraux, 
1927, 1928 c, 1942; Schmidt, M., 1936.) 

There are several references to the Guarayi, under the name of Chiriguano, 
Moperecoa, Pirataguart, in the accounts of the Spanish expeditions which undertook 
the conquest of eastern Bolivia at the beginning of the 17th century. 

The Jesuits visited the Guarayz in the late 16th century. In 1695, Father Cipriano 
Barrace reestablished contact with them, and a few Guarayu% were taken to the 
Jesuit mission of San Xavier. The Mission of Juan Bautista de Guarayos was 
founded for the Guarayt, some of whom were also taken to San José de Buenavista. 

In 1793, some Guarayt were placed in San Pablo, on the San Miguel River, but 
they soon returned to the bush at the instigation of a messiah, Luis, who announced 
that they would soon join Tamoi, the Great Ancestor. In 1822, the Guarayu were 
entrusted to Franciscan missionaries from Tarata. After the independence of 
Bolivia, the missions were abandoned and the Indians resumed their old ways. In 
1840, the Franciscans regained control of the region and founded the missions which 
exist today. 

In 1884, there were 4,439 Indians in the four missions of Yotau, Ascencion, 
Yaguari, and Urubicha. In 1915, there were 6,364 Indians; in 1919, after the 
influenza epidemic, only 5,607. 

At the end of the 16th century, Guarayi culture was still very similar to that of the 
Guarani of Paraguay: They had large communal houses, went naked, tattooed 
themselves by incision, practiced ceremonial cannibalism, buried their dead in urns, 
and remembered such mythological characters as Pai Zumé and Pai Tacure and 
Pai Amandre. (See Métraux, 1928 c.) 

When it was observed in 1831 by D’Orbigny, Guarayit culture had been modified 
in many respects under the influence of their neighbors, the Chiguito and Mojo. The 
culture of the Guarayu visited by Nordenskidld in 1908 had undergone even greater 
changes after almost a century of missionary life. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Modern Guarayt subsistence is more or less aboriginal. Crops are 
still those of their ancestors, except that they have given up biiter manioc 
and have adopted rice and other new plants, such as caripo (Disocorea) 
and hualusa (Colocasia sp.). Hunting methods conform to the general 
pattern of the area. (See Guarayu traps, fig. 52.) They shoot fish with 
single or multiprong arrows, drug them with the sap of the Hura 
crepitans, spear them with gigs, and catch them in baskets set in dams, 
in small dip nets, and in basket sieves. They take eels with spears and 
baskets. 

Cooking methods and utensils differ little from those of their neighbors, 
but they are the only Indians in the area who use the cylindrical wooden 
mortar and the long pestle, both survivals of their old Guarani culture. 
(See fig. 53, a, Guarayz fire drill.) 

Fields are cleared and tilled collectively. Men sow maize; women 
plant sweet manioc and carry the crops from the fields. 


432 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


me: 
meg 
Gants J.Angim 


wy 
{ if i 

Woe Ie ah my hee 
4 pl \ 


\Y hs a 


NOD) Ue oc RR 
WN ray bal Single 
cM 


Ficure 52.—Guarayu traps. a, For large rodents and armadillos; b, for pigeons. 
(Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 b, figs. 19, a, b.) 


HOUSES 


The ancient Guarani multiple-family house, which was still used in the 
16th century, has been replaced among the modern Guarayi by a single- 
family dwelling with an octagonal ground plan and wattle-and-daub walls 
and among the Pauserna by open sheds. The main pieces of furniture 
are platforms on which food is stored, cotton hammocks, benches for men, 
and mats for women. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Guarayu men adopted the long, bark-cloth tunic, characteristic of the 
Mojo area, but women wore only a skirt. In religious ceremonies, people 
went naked, as formerly. The ornaments were: Feather diadems, feather 
frontlets, labrets, feather-trimmed sticks passed through the nasal septum, 
tufts of feathers in the ear lobes, necklaces, and bracelets of aguai fruits. 
The ancient Guarayu also glued feathers to their bodies. 

They painted themselves with genipa and urucu. Among the ancient 
Guarayu, women incised their faces, arms, and legs, and rubbed genipa 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 433 
juice or charcoal in the wounds. The Guarani tonsure was still common 
in the 16th century, but later both sexes wore their hair long. In 
D’Orbigny’s time, Guaray% men wore long beards, an unusual feature 
in South America. 


MANUFACTURES 
Bark Cloth. 


They make cloth of the bark of the bibosi tree (Ficus 
sp.), beaten with grooved wooden mallets. 


Basketry.—Basketry (fig. 53) is of the twilled, wicker, hexagonal, or 
lattice varieties. In the hexagonal weave, the weft passes alternately over 
a strand of one and under a strand of another of two series of warp ele- 
ments crossed diagonally. Rectangular baskets made of Gynerium stalks, 


AAWEY 


SSS 


Ah) 
SSpperiaee 
ipl 


CAPS 


ME 
eZ 


@e 


‘ 


.% 
2b 


G =. 
+) 
ZA 


2 ate er 
Se 
ZA 


SE 
V2 


EPL Ls 


IPP 
NIMS 
BELL a 


soe -—— 


a 
aS an 
Fs 


Ficure 53.—Guarayt carrying basket. (Redrawn from Nordenski6ld, 1924 b, map 21.) 


bound together by cotton twine, are used to store personal possessions. 


The Guarayé carry crops and heavy loads in elongated shoulder baskets 


which are entirely open on top and on the outer side, with only the 
lateral sides to support the burden. 


434 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Pottery.—Guarayu pottery was comparatively crude. It consisted of 
cooking pots, water bottles, and jars, some of them of considerable size. 
The Pauserna tempered the potter’s clay with pulverized potsherds. The 
finished vessel was dried in the sun and heated over a fire before it was 
exposed to a higher temperature. 

Spinning and weaving.—While the Pauserna have retained the drop 
spindle which turns by itself once set in motion, the Guarayu have adopted 
the long spindle which is rolled along the thigh. The distal end of the 
spindle rests on a lump of clay which keeps it on a level with the thigh. 
Both the Guarayit and the Pauserna weave on the vertical loom. The 
Pauserna plait cotton bands on a small loom, the frame of which is a 
forked branch with two transverse sticks attached to it. The warp 
threads are crossed by sticks which are removed and substituted by the 
weit. 

Gourds.—Unlike most tribes of eastern Bolivia, the Guarayu% use 
gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) more readily than calabashes (Crescentia 
cujete) as containers. The gourds of the Pauserna are decorated with 
simple geometric designs which stand out against a red background. To 
obtain this ornamentation, the outer surface of the gourd is scratched 
except for the desired patterns. Then the whole surface is smeared with 
urucu paste, and the epidermis on the unscratched portions is removed. 
The interior of these containers is painted in black. 

Fire making.—The Guarayz often use the shaft of their arrows as a 
drill and the bamboo head as a hearth. The bamboo blade is perforated 
throughout and the ignited dust falls on a tinder placed underneath it. 

Weapons.—tThe main features of the Guarayu% bow are: a cross section 
externally convex, flat on the belly; a central basketry sheath; and a 
cotton string. Arrows are tipped with (1) lanceolate bamboo blades 
(2) wooden rods with serrated egdes and sometimes with a bone barb, 
and (3) conical wooden knobs (bird arrows). Fishing arrows, as a rule, 
are provided with two barbed prongs. The feathering is of the arched, 
or eastern Brazilian type. The arrow shafts are of Gynerium stems, with 
a small peg inserted in the butt to strengthen it. Guarayt and Pauserna 
arrows bear a striking likeness to those of the Guarani Indians of 
Paraguay. 

The ancient Guarayi had long double-edged wooden clubs, which 
widened from the handle to the distal end. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Prenatal food taboos were aimed at preventing the child 
from acquiring unpleasant features pertaining to some game animals or 
plants. Women were delivered in a squatting position. Some relative, 
usually the grandmother, tied cotton threads around the newborn infant’s 
wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles, and, if it were a girl, around her waist. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 435 


Ficure 54.—Guarayu and Chacobo fire drills. a, Guarayt; b, Chacob6. (Redrawn 
from Nordenskiold, 1924 b, map 13.) 


The father slashed himself with an aguti tooth, smeared his body with 
genipa, and lay idle in his hammock for 3 days, eating only small fish. 
It was a common belief among these Indians that the infant’s soul followed 
its father everywhere, and that it might come to harm if the latter exerted 
himself too violently. 

Among the 16th-century Guarayu, a boy was named by his grandfather 
or another male relative, who handed him a miniature bow. (See 
Métraux, 1928 c, p. 922.) 

During childhood boys were often scarified or bled with a miniature 
bew and arrow in order to make them strong. 

Girls’ puberty.—At puberty, girls were secluded for a month in a 
corner of the hut and were restricted to a diet of sweet manioc, mush, and 
bananas. Afterward their arms and breasts were slashed with an aguti 
tooth and charcoal powder rubbed into the wounds. The scars remained 
as permanent tattoo marks. 


436 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Marriage.—The preferred form of marriage was between a girl and her 
maternal uncle or her cross-cousin. Among the ancient Guarayi, girls 
were often betrothed in early childhood. 

The consent of the girl’s father, and more especially, of her brother, 
was absolutely necessary for marriage. The suitor declared himself by 
leaving a bundle of firewood at the girl’s door. (See Métraux, 1928 c, p. 
922.) In more recent times, the prospective husband had to walk in 
front of the girl’s hut for a few days, naked and painted with urucu. The 
wedding was celebrated with a drinking bout. The bridegroom was 
obliged to work for his father- or brother-in-law or to make them sub- 
stantial presents. Residence was matrilocal, but sooner or later the new 
couple went to live in a separate hut. Polygyny was common. The 
levirate is mentioned in ancient documents. 

Death.—At a death, the ancient Guarayu% expressed their grief by 
throwing themselves on the ground and by other violent manifestations. 

The dead, painted and wearing all their ornaments, were buried inside 
the hut. The Pauserna built a miniature hut on the grave. The body 
formerly was placed in a large jar, but in more recent times it was wrapped 
in several mats and interred with the face turned west. After the burial, 
the mourners slashed their bodies with aguti teeth. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Games.—In the 16th century, the ancestors of the modern Guarayi, 
the Jtatin, played a rubber-ball game in which they struck the ball with 
the head and elbows. 

Musical instruments.—Stamping tubes and gourd rattles played a 
significant part in religion. The Pauserna wear bracelets and belts hung 
with fruit-shell jingles. 

Dances.—Men formed a line and marched forward and backward, 
thumping their bamboo tubes on the ground. 

Narcotics and beverages.—The Guarayti smoke tobacco in pipes, the 
Pauserna in the form of cigars. 

They made chicha of maize or of sweet manioc fermented with chewed 
maize. 


RELIGION 


The Guarayt retained many ancient Guarani religious features. They 
seem to have rendered a cult to Tamoi, the Great Ancestor. The data on 
their religion concern mainly a strong messianic movement which took 
place at the beginning of the 19th century. Men gathered in their large 
dancing houses and danced and sung to the rhythm of stamping tubes and 
rattles, hoping that Tamoi, the Ancestor, would reward their persistence 
by taking them to his celestial abode. These religious crises offer sur- 
prising resemblances to the revivalistic and messianic movements which - 


Vol. 3] TRIBHS OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 437 


occurred among the Guarani and Tupinamba from the 16th to the 19th 
century. 

Journey to the land of Tamoi.—Soon after burial, the soul starts a 
long dangerous journey to the land of Tamoi, which is located in the west. 
The soul is ferried across a river on the back of a caiman, jumps on a tree 
trunk which floats at great speed back and forth between two river banks, 
passes by the Grandfather of the worms, whose colossal size diminishes 
as the soul approaches him, then crosses a dark region where it is threat- 
ened by huge bats, and runs between two clashing rocks. Finally, it is 
examined by a gallinazo bird that sees whether its lips and ears have been 
perforated as is befitting a Guarayu%. Before reaching the abode of Tamoi, 
the soul must endure the ordeal of being tickled by a monkey without 
laughing, must walk past a magic tree without heeding the voices issuing 
from it, and must look at colored grasses without being blinded by them. 
After all these ordeals, the soul is received by Tamoi, who washes it and 
restores its youth and good looks. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Guarayu% mythology presents a strange mixture of confused elements. 
Its contradictions and obscurities are probably to be attributed to its 
collector, Father Cors. (See Cardtis, 1886, pp. 76-78.) 

In the beginning there was only water and bullrushes over which a 
worm, Mbir, crawled. After assuming human shape, Mbir created the 
world. He later was known as Miracucha, a name suspiciously suggestive 
of that of the Inca supreme god and culture hero, Viracocha. Next to 
Miracucha appear two other creators: Zaguaguayu, the god with the 
brilliant headdress who still lives in the west (the Sun?), and his brother 
Abaangui. The latter is also a creator and transformer, who changed his 
shape so often while endeavoring to take human form that he acquired a 
colossal nose that he had to knock off (the Moon?). 

Our mythological text mentions also Candir, a name which in some 
16th-century chronicles was applied by the Guarani to the Peruvian ruler. 
Candir probably was a culture hero who later became identified with the 
Inca Emperor. In the first document concerning the Guarayu, Candir is 
presented as a deity. (See Métraux, 1928 c.) Some people fasted and 
lived in seclusion for his sake and were seized by fits of frenzy which led 
them to run across the bush indifferent to pain and discomfort. The 
16th-century Candir is perhaps the equivalent of Tamoi, or the Great 
Ancestor. 

According to Cardus (1886), Tamoi taught men agriculture and the 
preparation of chicha. He was also a transformer, for he changed his wife 
and baby into rocks. Later he departed to a celestial abode in the west. 

The two sons of Tamoi (the mythical twins) shot arrows into the sky 
so that each arrow penetrated into the butt of the other. Thus they formed 


438 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


a chain by which the Brothers reached the sky, where they remained as 
Sun and Moon. 

The spots on the Moon were caused by a girl who had sexual intercourse 
with the Moon at night. To discover her lover’s identity, she smeared his 
face with genipa juice. 

At the end of the 16th century, the Guarayu who had left Paraguay a 
generation before, still remembered Pai Zume, the great culture hero of 
the Tupinamba and Guarani. (See Annuae litterae, 1589; Meétraux, 
1928 c.) 

They retained also a tradition about a Flood from which a few people 
(probably children) were saved ina pot. In the same Annuae litterae of 
1589, there is a passing reference to two mythical characters, Pai Tacur 
and Pai Amandre, who were undoubtedly Twin heroes. They disappeared 
after a cataclysm (Métraux, 1928 c). 

According to modern Guarayu mythology, fire was stolen from the vul- 
tures by a hero who, in order to lure the birds, pretended to be dead and 
snatched a firebrand when they alighted on him. He was assisted by a 
frog, who swallowed the firebrand to hide it from the vultures. 

The Guarayu attributed eclipses to a celestial jaguar who attacked the 
Moon. They came to the rescue of the Moon by yelling and shooting 
burning arrows into the air. 


LITERATURE 


The text of a Guarayu song was transcribed by D’Orbigny (1839, vol. 
2, p. 330). The Indians ask in it that nature don her most beautiful attire, 
that flowers blossom, that birds appear in radiant plumage and sing joy- 
fully, that trees cover themselves with green foliage, and that everything 
help attract the attention of Tamoi, who was never supplicated in vain. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Annuae litterae, 1589; Burela, 1912; Caldas, 1887; Cardtus, 1886; Costa Marquez, 
1908; D’Orbigny, 1839; Ducci, 1895; Eberlein, 1915; Fernandez, 1895; Goncalves da 
Fonseca, 1826; Gandia, 1935 a; Herzog, 1913; Hoeller, 1932; Maurtua, 1906; 
Métraux, 1927, 1928 c, 1942; Nordenskidld, 1917 c, 1922, 1924 b; Pesciotti, 1904; 
Pierini, 1907, 1908-12, 1910; Priewaser, 1903; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881- 
97; Schmidt, M., 1936; Severiano de Fonseca, 1880-81; Snethlage, E. H., 1936 a. 


THE TACANAN TRIBES 
TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


The Tacanan tribes and subtribes occupy a continuous territory (map 
1, No. 2; map 2) which includes the upper course of the Tahuamanu 
(Orton), Abuna, and Acre (Capechene) Rivers, the Madre de Dios 
River between long. 67° and 68°35’ W., its tributaries, the Tambopata 
and Heath Rivers, and the Beni River from lat. 12°-15° S. and its tribu- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 439 


taries, especially the Madidi and Tuichi Rivers. The little-known 
Tacanan dialects have been grouped into a single linguistic family by 
Créqui-Montfort (Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1921-22, 13:91-100) on 
the basis of the available linguistic material. Later, Rivet (1924) pro- 
posed the inclusion of the Tacanan family within the Arawakan linguistic 
family as a subgroup. Additional material on this linguistic group is 
to be found in Schuller (1922). 

The Araona live on both sides of the Manuripe, not far from the 
Madre de Dios River, and on both banks of the latter, above the Gene- 
chiquia River (lat. 13° S., long. 68° W.), which separates them from 
the Pacaguara (lat. 11°-13° S., long. 65°-67° W.). Other Araona 
groups are settled at the headwaters of the Tahuamanu (Orton), Dati- 
manu, and Abuna, on the Karamanu River, a tributary of the Abuna 
River, and on the Jua River. The bulk of the tribe was on the Tahua- 
manu (Orton) River. The main Araona subtribes are listed by Armentia 
(1887-88, pp. 53-54) as follows: Beyuma, Buda, Cahoco, Cama, Camaya, 
Camoavi, Canamary, Capa, Capanary, Capu, Chumu, Cuesi, Curupi, De- 
jabai, Ecuary, Eno, Giry, Guajima, Habuwt, Hamapu, Huary, Huary- 
modo, Ino, Isebene, Jicho, Machuvi, Manipo, Mapumary, Marani, Maru, 
Masatibu, Mayupi, Moyana, Odoary, Sabatini, Sara, Tade, Taranu, 
Tuama, Tuno, Uaui, Uranico, and Yuma. 

The Capechene (Capaheni) of the Acre and lower Irariapé Rivers 
(lat. 11°-13° S., long. 12°-14° W.) and the Machui must also be included 
among the Araona subtribes. In the last part of the 19th century, 
there were about 1,500 Araona and 800 to 1,000 Capechene. 

The Cavina (Cavineno) (lat. 14° S., long. 67° W.) were moved in 
1770 (or 1785) by missionaries from the left side of the Madre de Dios 
River to the ancient Mission of Cavinas on the Madidi River. Later, 
the Cavifa were settled in the new Mission of Cavinas on the Beni River. 
In 1832, there were 1,000 Cavivia at Cavinas, but only 153 in 1886. The 
218 Cavitia whom Nordenskiold (1924 a, p. 266) saw in 1913 in the 
Mission of Jests de Cavifia on the Beni River had given up all their 
native culture except for a few isolated objects and customs. A few 
cultural details suggest that the Cavifia might formerly have belonged 
to a different linguistic family and adopted a Tacanan dialect in more 
or less recent times. 

The Guacanahua’ on the upper Madidi and Undumo Rivers, the Chama, 
and the Tiatinagua are perhaps subtribes of a single large tribe which 
will be designated here as Tiatinagua, following the nomenclature of the 
early missionaries. 

The Chama visited by Nordenskiold on the left side of the Madidi 
River are a subtribe of the Guacanahua. 


5 They formed part of the Mission of Santiago de Pacazuaras, abandoned in 1840. 


440 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Tiatinagua (Tambopata-Guarayo, Huanayo, Baguaja, Baguajairi, 
Quinaqui, Mohino, Chuncho, Echoja) were to be found on the upper 
Tambopata River above the mouth of the Tavara River between Astillero 
and Marte (lat. 13°-15° S., long. 69° W.). There are Tiatinagua groups 
between the Inambari and Tambopata Rivers. The so-called Guarayo of 
the Heath River and the Echoja at the headwaters of the Heath River 
are subtribes of the Tiatinagua. Labré (1889, p. 499) mentions 
“Guarayu,”’ related to the Araona, on the upper Abuna River. 

In 1905, the number of Tiatinagua on the Malinowsky River was 
about 400 to 500. Those of the Tambopata River, from the La Torre 
River to Echainapa on the Tavara River, were estimated at about 300 
to 400. 

The Maropa originally inhabited the banks of the Beni River (lat. 
14°-15° S., long. 67° S.), south and west of the Tacanan tribes and east 
of the Cayuvava. Later they were transferred to the Mission of Reyes. 
They probably were closely related to the Chirigua (Chiriba, Chiribi) of 
the Mission of Santa Buenaventura, who came from the country adjacent 
to Reyes and Borja. 

The Tacana proper are a tribe or subtribe living north of the Tuichi 
River (lat. 14° S., long. 68° W.), a tributary of the Beni River, but 
this name is given also to several other groups which are closely related 
to them and inhabit the same area. These other groups are the Yubamona, 
Pamaino, Yabaypura, Pasaramona, Babayana, Chiliunvo, Toromona, 
Uchupiamona, Saparuna, Siliama, Tumupasa (whose dialect is also known 
as Marakani), and Ydiama, spoken at Ixiamas. Most of these groups 
were scattered along the Tuichi River. Almost all the Indians settled 
in the missions of Buenavista, San José de Uchupiamonas, Tumupasa, and 
Ixiamas came from that region and belonged to these various groups. 

The Toromona, who occupy the plains of the Carabaya Mountains 
and the territory between the Beni, the Madidi, and the Madre de Dios 
Rivers (lat. 13° S., long. 68° W.) are listed by D’Orbigny among the 
“wild Tacana.” It has been impossible to locate exactly the Guariza and 
Sapibocona. The first formed part of the Mission of San Antonio de 
Ixiamas and the second of the Mission of Santos Reyes. The Sapibocona 
probably must be identified with the Maropa who lived in the same area. 
The Mabenaro inhabited the forests north of the Madre de Dios River 
about the headwaters of the southern tributaries of the Manuripe River 
(ae 12 5" Slane. "6S" “W.): . 


POPULATION 


When the Mission of San José de Uchupiamonas was founded in 1716, 
it had 600 Indians. There were 2,500 Indians in the Mission of Ixiamas 
in 1721. In 1832, 1,028 Indians remained in Ixiamas, 73 in San José, 
and 1,170 in Tumupasa. In 1886 there were 1,200 Indians in Ixiamas, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 441 


1,200 in the Mission of Tumupasa, and 150 in San José. According to 
D’Orbigny (1839, 1:375), the Toromona numbered about 1,000. The 
same author classifies the 2,033 Indians of the Mission of Atén as Tacana, 
but some might have been Leco or from some other tribes. He also 
puts the total number of Tacana in 1831 at 6,304. In the same year, 
the Maropa of the Mission of Reyes numbered 900, but Nordenskidld 
(1924 a, p. 160) states that there were approximately 1,500. Hassel 
(1905, p. 40) undoubtedly exaggerates when he puts the Tiatinagua 
at 3,000. 


HISTORY 


The first contacts between the Tacanan-speaking Indians and the 
Spaniards go back to the 16th century. In 1539, Pedro Anzules de 
Campo-redondo entered the territory of the Tacana from Ayaviri and 
Carabaya, and reached the Beni River. The Maldonado expedition in 
1567 came in touch with various Tacana groups; a Spanish town was 
founded in Toromona territory. In 1593, Miguel Cabello de Balboa 
went as far as Ixiamas and Tumupasa. In 1621, Fray Gregorio de Bolivar 
visited the country of the Tacana and mentions them under the names of 
Uchupiamona, Ayaychuna, and Chivamona. 

The natives of the ancient Province of Apolobamba were, with the 
exception of the Aguachile (Apolista) and the Leco, mostly Tacanan 
tribes. The first town in that area was Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe, 
founded in 1615. At the end of the 17th century, the Franciscans founded 
in the region of Apolobamba the following missions: 

San Juan Bautista de Buenavista or La Plata, 1680 (Siliama and Pamaino). 

La Concepcion de Apolobamba, 1690 (Leco, Aguachile, and Pamaino). 

La Trinidad de Iariapu or Tumupasa, 1713 (Tacana, Marcam, Saparuna, Paimano, 
Chiliuvo, Toromona, and Araona). 

San José de Uchupiamonas, 1713 (Tumupasa, Isiama, and Apolista). 

San Antonio de Ixiamas, 1721 (Tacana, Araona, Marcani, Toromona, Huawayana, 


and Guarisa). 
San Antonio de Atén, 1736 (Leco and later Tacanan-speaking Indians). 


In the region of Carabaya, missionary work started in 1654, but many 
baptized Indians when left to their own devices returned to paganism. In 
1678, the Franciscan missionaries came in touch with Jsiama, Sariona, 
and Pasiona, and with the Araona. 

The work of the Franciscans among the Tacanans continued with few 
interruptions up to the present. The best known of their missionaries 
is Father Nicolas Armentia (1887-88), who explored the Madre de Dios 
Basin, and is one of the main authorities on the Araona ethnography. 

Quechua was already spoken in the 17th century by many Tacanans 
who came to Carabaya. In the missions of Apolobamba, the Franciscans 
favored its adoption, and it has replaced the Tacanan dialects spoken in 
that region. 


449 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Collecting wild foods.——The Araona—and probably all the other 
Tacanan-speaking groups—depend greatly on wild foods, such as the 
fruits of several palm trees (Euterpe oleracea, Jessenia bataua, Attalea 
humboldtiana, Attalea spectabilis, Bactris maraja) and Brazil nuts. The 
last are mentioned in the 16th-century sources as the most important food 
of the Tacanan-groups, especially of the Toromona, who not only con- 
sumed enormous quantities themselves but traded them to the Indians in 
the mountains. The Araona were also great honey gatherers. During 
the dry season, the Tiatinagua and Capechene collected turtle eggs. All 
the Indians of that area greatly relish the fat abdomens of the cuqui ants. 

Farming.—All the Tacanan-speaking Indians practice agriculture 
Araona and Tiatinagua fields, which average 164 by 66 feet (50 by 20 m.), 
are scattered, and their owners constantly travel from one to another. In 
addition to regular plantations, these Indians have plots of bananas and 
plantains along the rivers, where they hunt and fish during certain seasons. 

Tiatinagua plantations have rows of banana and plantain trees, between 
which grow sweet manioc (yuca), maize, sweet potatoes, hualsua (Colo- 
casia esculentia), gourds, tobacco, cotton, cayenne pepper, and sugarcane. 
The same plants are probably cultivated by all members of the family. 
The Araona raised, in addition to the plants listed above, papayas and 
two kinds of tubers. Beans and peanuts, though not specifically ascribed 
to any tribe, are common native foods of the region. 

Hunting.—The Tiatinagua hunt in large groups, encircling a large area 
and driving the game toward a center where they kill it with bows and 
arrows. Dogs are trained to flush various game. 

Caviia spring-hole traps have a nose attached to a bent pole and 
stretched within an enclosure. When a bird alights on a tranverse rod or 
when a rodent finishes nibbling a tuber fastened to a trigger, the pole 
flies upward. In another type, the noose is placed in front of an opening 
into the enclosure, so that the pole springs up when the rodent steps on 
a peg. 

The Cavifia rub their eyes with vivisapa leaves before hunting. The 
Tiatinagua keep pieces of skin of the slain animals as trophies. Game is 
shared equally by all members of a Tiatinagua community. 

Fishing.—The Tacanan tribes rely considerably on fishing. At the 
beginning of the dry season, they capture with their bare hands thousands 
of fish left stranded by the receding flood. They shoot fish with bows 
and arrows or capture them (Araona and Tiatinagua) in rectangular 
enclosures placed across streams. To catch huge siluroid fish, the 
Tiatinagua use a wooden hook that is unique in South America and consists 
of a shank with two wooden barbs resembling an anchor. The Tacanan 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 443 


tribes also drug fish with the milky sap of the soliman tree (Hura 
crepitans ). 

Domesticated animals.—The dog was not introduced to the Tacana 
before the 19th century. The wild Tiatinagua have chickens and dogs. 
Present-day Maropa are good horsemen and cattle herders. 

Food preparation.—Bananas and plantains, the staple foods of most 
Tacana with the exception of the Araona, are usually roasted. Maize is 
ground between two stones or in a wooden trough with a big semicircular 
wooden slab (fig. 55). As the Tiatinagua and Chama have little or no 


a 


— 


Figure 55.—Tiatinagua woman making cornmeal. (After Farabee, 1922.) 


pottery, they roast or steam food, especially fish, in green bamboo tubes 
placed on the fire; the food is cooked before the vessel burns through. 
The 17th-century Indians of Apolobamba baked game and fish in earth 
ovens. Any surplus of meat is roasted and smoked on a rectangular 
babracot. Instead of salt, the Araona add the ashes of maize stalks to 
food. When they travel, the Araona eat maize flour mixed with roasted 
and ground Brazil nuts. They grind dry fish into a flour which they store 
for the rainy season. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The Araona live in large communal huts, which average 60 feet (18.2 
m.) in length and 20 feet (6.1 m.) in width, and shelter as many as 20 
families. Such dwellings, covered with skilfully imbricated leaves, endure 
for many years. These Indians, however, spend their nights in small 
conical cabins which are tightly closed to keep out mosquitoes and vampire 
bats. 

In the 17th century, the Maropa huts accommodated from 100 to 200 
people. 

Tiatinagua and Chama huts are simple windbreaks, made of a single 
row of large leaves stuck into the ground, or they are flimsy vaulted 
structures made of stalks of Gynerium sagittatum and covered with 

653333—47—31 


444 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


leaves and branches. The size of the hut depends on the number of 
families using it. 

The Araona, Chama, and Tiatinagua sleep on the bare ground, which 
they sometimes cover with soft sand. A stone or log serves as a pillow. 
The Araona use pieces of bark as beds and seats. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


If the occasion requires it, men dress in long sleeveless shirts made 
either of bark cloth or of cotton and generally dyed with urucu. Women 
wrap a bark or cotton loincloth around their waists and often throw a 
square shawl over their shoulders. 

The Araona and Tiatinagua of both sexes wear shell nose ornaments, 
crescent-shaped among the latter. Feathers or small teeth inserted in the 
perforated nasal septum are common ornaments in these tribes. Some 
Tiatinagua wear a little wooden plug in each corner of the mouth. Neck- 
laces are strung with seeds, nuts (which are often trimmed with feathers), 
snails, and animal claws and bones. All these Indians array themselves in 
beautiful feather headdresses. 

The Araona wear their hair in a queue. They wash it with a soapy 
fruit of the susuyo. 


Deformation.—Farabee (1922, p. 156) states that the Tiatinagua 
flatten their children’s heads by tying a board on their foreheads. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Tacana travel on water either in dugouts or on rafts. Tiatinagua 
dugouts are 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 m.) long and 15 to 28 inches (38 to 
70 cm.) wide. The same Indians have small balsas consisting of two logs 
fastened together by chonta-palm pins driven through them. 

Mothers carry babies straddling on their hip, supported by a sling of 
bark cloth. 


MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—Bark cloth was made of the bark of various trees, mainly 
Ficus sp. The hammered patches were soaked in water several times, 
thoroughly wrung, dried, and sewn together with a needle. Araona needles 
were of bone, with large eyes. 


Spinning.—Tiatinagua and Chama spindles are of the drop type. The 
whorls are of potsherds or of stone (Chama). 

Weaving.—A loom collected by Nordenskidld (1924 b, map 26) at 
Tumupasa consists of two horizontal sticks around which a thread is wound 
in such a way that the separate strands are crossed around a series of mesh 
sticks. The fabric is obtained by recrossing and tightening the threads 
with the fingers. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 445 


Basketry.—Twilled baskets and fans and ovoid wicker baskets are 
illustrated by Nordenskidld (1905, figs. 26-30). The Tiatinagua have 
rectangular baskets of Gynerium sagittatum stalks bound together with 
fine threads. 


Pottery.—The Tiatinagua and Chama have little pottery, in contrast to 
the Cavifia who, though decadent, still manufacture beautiful painted, 
resin-glazed vessels. The Araona make many kinds of pottery ranging 
from huge jars to small vases, which they carry on journeys. 

The Tacanans use both gourd (Lagencria siceraria) and calabash 
(Crescentia cujete) cups and containers. 


Tools.— Stone axes were deeply notched near the butt end and lashed 
to a wooden shaft. —Two wooden splinters reinforced the binding. Araona 
stone axes were glued with rosin as well as lashed. 


Weapons.—Tiatinagua bows are of palm wood, 6% feet (2 m.) long. 
The cross section is flat and rectangular, the string of vegetal fiber. Hunt- 
ing arrows have lanceolate bamboo heads or sharp chonta tips, one side 
of which has one or two rows of barbs. Fishing arrows have either a 
simple jagged point or three plain prongs. Arrow feathering consists of 
two twisted half feathers set spirally against the Gynerium shaft and bound 
tightly with cotton thread smeared with wax (cemented feathering). The 
arrow is held between the thumb and the index finger, and the string 
pulled with the other three fingers. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Each Tiatinagua group consists of from two to eight families, who live 
together in a communal hut under a chief. Any Araona man with a strong 
personality and many relatives may become a chief and find ready fol- 
lowers among destitute families. People are the more submissive as their 
leader is also the high priest of the community. His subjects are obliged 
to work for him. A chief is succeeded by his favorite son, but often the 
group splits if a brother of the new chief refuses to recognize his 
leadership. 

One of the Araona villages visited by Labré (1889, p. 499) was ruled 
by two chiefs, each of whom had several families under his orders. Among 
these Indians, descent was patrilineal. 

Work requiring cooperation is undertaken for a man by his relatives and 
friends, who are rewarded with food. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Tiatinagua women are delivered in the forest, assisted by 
two other women. The Araona have traditional names which they give to 
their children some time after birth. The couvade is reported among the 
Maropa and Araona. 


446 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Puberty.—At puberty, Tiatinagua boys have the frenum of the penis 
cut with a bamboo knife; girls, the hymen slit by a woman using the same 
instrument. At about the age of 15, Araona boys go through an ordeal 
which strongly suggests a specific complex of initiation rites. The priests 
temporarily blind them by rubbing a powder, made of a poisonous creeper, 
into their eyes. The initiates are then taken to the local sanctuary, where 
their sight returns as soon as their eyes have been washed with the priest’s 
saliva. 

Tiatinagua groups are said to be exogamous. It is reported also that 
Araona men could marry only Cavifia women and vice versa. Caviiia 
marry at a very tender age; girls are sometimes wed to a boy or a man 
before puberty. Mothers are said to deflower their daughters by artificial 
means to prepare them for married life. Araona children are married at 
the age of 9 or 10, but the marriage is consummated only after puberty. 
Polygyny is a chief’s privilege among the Araona and Tiatinagua. Among 
the Tiatinagua, marriages are easily dissolved by mutual consent. 


Funeral rites.—The Araona in their eagerness to get rid of the corpses 
began the funerals before the ailing person had breathed his last. They 
interred the dead in their huts in a squatting position with a rope round 
the neck. 

The Tiatinagua bury their dead in an extended position with all their 
belongings, somewhere in the bush. 

After a death has occurred, the Cavivia change the place of the house 
door to confuse the returning soul. It is reported that among these 
Indians a widower could marry only a widow, and vice versa. 

The Tiatinagua believe that of the three souls of men, one remains on 
the earth as a ghost, the second goes to the Great Ancestor, and the third 
joins other souls in a country crossed by a big river where fish and game 
may be caught without effort and where fields are covered with big crops 
(Alvarez, 1941). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments.—Araona women during religious ceremonies 
played bone quenas, or end-flutes with three stops. 

Caviiia panpipes are composed of a double row of seven or eight tubes 
fastened together by a strip of bamboo wound like a band a couple of 
times around the entire instrument; each pipe is further attached by a 
thread. The same type of ligature is found also on Aymara and Yuracare 
panpipes (Izikowitz, 1935, p. 388). Huge bark trumpets, joined together 
like the tubes of panpipes, and similar to those of the Christianized Mojo 
and Jtonama, are in use in the mission of Cavifia. 


Games.—In their ball games, the Araona butt the ball with their 
stomachs, which are protected with bark belts. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 447 


Stimulants.—None of the Tacanan tribes is known to brew any fer- 
mented drink, though they prepare mush which may easily ferment. This 
lack of true alcoholic beverages is a curious exception in an area where 
most tribes enjoy several kinds of beer. 

The Araona chew coca mixed with motacu palm (Attalea humboldtiana) 
or chameiro (a creeper) ashes. They keep the mixture in special wooden 
bowls. Several Tacanan groups raise tobacco but do not smoke it. 


RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY 


Gods and spirits.—When they were visited by Armentia, the main god 
of the Araona was Baba-buada, a wind god invested with the dignity of 
the creator. He was the master of the seasons, and he set the time for 
sowing or harvesting crops. Next to him were many inferior gods and 
spirits: Itzeti Mara Edutzi, the Sun God; Baba Tsutu, the Jaguar 
God ; the God of Health; the Maize God, the Fire God, the God of Houses, 
the Peccary God, the Thunder God, the God who protects against Caimans, 
and the Death God. These deities were represented by material symbols, 
such as carved pieces of wood decorated with feather mosaics (Wind, Sun, 
and Moon Gods), and manufactured objects, including spears with 
wooden heads, arrows and axes, pots, or small black pebbles (deities of 
food: Maize, Yuca, and Banana). These idols were placed in square 
temples located in the middle of the forest. The interior of the temple 
was divided into two compartments, one for the symbols of the gods, and 
the other for the dance paraphernalia. Women and children were not 
allowed to view the sacred objects and were barred from ceremonies. 

Each god had a yanacona or special servant to take care of his image. 
Priests were obliged to observe chastity. The head of a village was often 
a priest. 

Great feasts were celebrated for the gods at sowing time and before 
harvest. The members of each family chanted prayers almost every night 
to ask the deities for favors. The ancient Pamaino and Saparuna placed 
in their temples the largest maize ears which they harvested and left them 
in the sanctuaries for a whole year. 

That Araona religion has received Andean influences is evidenced by 
the Quechua names of some of the gods of their pantheon. Seventeenth- 
century explorers found actual Peruvian idols and objects in the sanc- 
tuaries of the Tacana Indians. 

The spirits of the Tiatinagua seem to have specialized functions: one 
is feared because he inflicts diseases, another resides in the rivers and 
causes shipwrecks. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars are also personified 
and in human form come to this earth to harm people. Like the other 
Tacanan Indians, the Tiatinagua assign spirits (shahua) to all the plants 
(Alvarez, 1941, p. 159). 


448 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The religious beliefs of the Cavifia and Tumupasa are reflected in their 
myths and tales, collected by Nordenskidld (1924 a, pp. 288-305). These 
Indians distinguish two different kinds of spirits: the ishausa, or nature 
spirits, and the chokihua, or ordinary ghosts. Every animal species is 
represented by a special spirit that acts as its protector. These spirits 
have the appearance of men or of huge animals of the species which they 
represent. The Caiman spirit has a double tail; the Turtle spirit is a 
gigantic turtle; and the Frog spirit, a huge frog. The Peccary spirit is 
fond of kidnapping people to enjoy their company; the Monkey spirit 
prevents hunters from destroying too many of his people. The Master- 
of-the-partridges is a serpent who once made a bargain with a hunter 
stipulating that the latter should be allowed to kill as much game as he 
wished if he spared the partridges. It was only after the serpent had been 
killed by mistake that game became elusive. 

Some spirits reside in trees, which consequently cannot be felled without 
danger. There are also river spirits who kidnap and eat women, Rubber 
trees are inhabited by spirits who punish those who tap their sap unless 
they are under duress. Meteorological phenomena are caused by spirits. 
For instance, the wind is a small boy who throws a rubber ball and also 
causes thunder. 

According to Cavifia mythology, the sun is a man who is married to a 
jaguar woman but took a spirit woman as his second wife. She bore him 
a baby so hot that nobody could hold it. The sun also had sexual inter- 
course with the moon, who had come to steal his vegetables. Fire is a 
woman, who became insulted because a woman had urinated on her. She 
withdrew her services to mankind until she found a person whom she 
liked. 

The Cavifia had a myth based on the motif of the flying heads which, 
after killing animals and men, go to the sky. 

In Tumupasa mythology, the former owner of fire was a frog spirit. 
The first time fire was stolen from him by an old man and woman, the 
frog succeeded in putting it out. The second time it was stolen, the frog 
was killed, but was resurrected in various disguises: a woman, a fish, and 
many other forms. Each time the fire was stolen, the frog spirit was 
killed again. Finally, the frog poisoned the beer of his adversaries, who 
died. 

Eclipses occur when the sun, in sign of mourning, smears his face with 
genipa. The spots on the moon are genipa marks put on her face by 
Venus at a beer party. 

The only recorded tale of the Maropa is the story of a boy who married 
a doe, who transformed herself into a woman. 

A few Tiatinagua myths have been recorded recently by a Franciscan 
missionary (Alvarez, 1941). According to these stories, the first Tia- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 449 


tinagua descended from the sky by means of a rope which broke and thus 
forced many other people to remain in the sky. The other Indian tribes 
of the region came from holes in the ground. Many animals are trans- 
formed people who have suffered various accidents or have been punished 
for their cruelty. (The jaguar was a man who murdered his wife and 
children, the peccary was a cruel father, etc.) The motif of the Tree of 
Life, so characteristic of the Guianas and northwestern South America, 
occurs among these Indians also. 

A great flood was caused by a sudden rise of the rivers, and a huge fish 
added to the terror by eating people until a young boy killed it. Only one 
couple succeeded in escaping the disaster by climbing a high mountain. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Alvarez, 1941; Armentia, 1887-88, 1902, 1906; Brinton, 1892 c; Cardi, 1886 ; Chand- 
less, 1866 b; Church, 1898; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1921-22; D’Orbigny, 1839; 
Farabee, 1922; Fawcett, 1911; Giglioli, 1906; Gili, 1902; Groeteken, 1907; Guillaume, 
1890; Hassel, 1905; Heath, 1883; Izikowitz, 1935; Labré, 1889; Lafone-Quevedo, 
1902; Maurtua, 1906, vols. 6-8; Métraux, 1942; Nordenskidld, 1905, 1924 a, 1924 b; 
Pert. Junta de vias fluviales, 1942; Reeves, 1910; Relacién y descripcién de las 
misiones y conversiones de infieles (1886); Rivet, 1924; Schuller, 1922; Steinen, 
W. von den, 1899; Stiglich, 1908; Teza, 1868; Weddell, 1853. 


THE SOUTHEASTERN PANOAN TRIBES 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


The Pacaguara (Pacavara) live on both sides of the Beni, lower Madre 
de Dios, Mamoré, upper Madeira, and lower Abuna Rivers (lat. 11°-13° 
S., long. 65°-67° W., map 1, No. 2; maps 2,4). Formerly, they extended 
father to the south; the Mission of Santiago de Pacaguaras on the Madidi 
River, above its junction with the Chuini River, consisted of Pacaguard. 
According to Armentia (1887-88, p. 42), there were groups of Pacaguara 
at Sinusinu, San Lorenzo, Biata, Mamorbey Jenechiquia, and Jenesuaya. 
At Orton, there were three subgroups, two of which were exterminated 
by the Araona in 1885. The southernmost Pacaguard were pushed to- 
ward the north by the Tacanan tribes. 

Créqui-Montfort and Rivet (1913b, p. 21) consider the Chacobo, 
Sinabo, Capuibo, and Caripund as subtribes of the Pacaguard. The 
Capuibo reside along the Biata River, a tributary of the Beni River (lat. 
13° S., long. 67°W.). The Chacobo are split into small units scattered 
3 days’ walking distance northwest of Exaltacion, between Lake Rogoa- 
guado and the Mamoré River (lat. 13°-14° S., long. 65°-66° W.). In 
1908, Nordenskidld visited one of their villages north of Lake Rogoaguado. 
In 1887 there were two groups of Chacobe on the Ivon River, one com- 
prising six families and the other, four. The Sinabo (Gritones) inhabit 
the region called Los Armendrales, near the first rapids of the Mamoré 


450 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


River and along the Bolivian side of the Guaporé River (lat. 11°-13° S., 
long. 65°-66° W.). The Caripund (Jaun-avo) figure among the Ama- 
zonian tribes listed by Acufia (1891, p. 45),® who places them with the 
Zurina on the Purts River (lat, 10°-11° S., long. 64°-66° W.). Natterer 
encountered a Caripund subgroup, the Jacaria (Jacaré-Tapuuja), on the 
Abuna River, and another subgroup, the Shenabu (probably the Sinabo) 
on the Madeira River above the Cachoeira do Pao. The Caripund had 
also a settlement near the Caldeirao do Inferno. At the beginning of the 
20th century, the few surviving Caripund retired along the Mutum Parana, 
a right tributary of the Madeira River. Giglioli (1906, p. 219), on the 
authority of an Italian colonist, Landi, lists the Pama and Pamanda 
Indians as a subgroup of the Caripuna. Their habitat was the Caldeirao 
and Sao Lorenzo Rivers, both small tributaries of the Madeira River, and 
the banks of the Madeira River between the rapids of Caldeirao do Inferno 
and Girdo. 

D’Orbigny (1839, 2:262) estimates the number of Pacaguard at 1,000; 
Hassel (1905, p. 49) at 2,000. 


CULTURE 


Subsistence.—The Pacaguard and Chacobo are agriculturists who 
grow the usual crops of the region with sweet manioc, bananas, and 
maize as staples. They grind the maize in huge wooden troughs with 
heavy wooden slabs of semicircular shape. They grate the manioc tubers 
on thorny palm roots and roast the mass in flat clay pans. The Caripuna 
prepare farinha from bitter manioc. The manioc roots are placed in a 
kind of semicircular trough, made of the split stem of a miriti palm, 
and are crushed into a pulp. The imperfectly kneaded flour is next put 
through a sieve made of fiber strings, reduced to a fine dough, and formed 
into cakes. These are sometimes left for a few hours to ferment. The 
dough, with water added to it, is placed in a manioc press to eject both 
the water and the prussic acid. The flour is then put into a pan and 
moved about with a stick until it is roasted (Domville-Fife, 1924, p. 106). 

The Caripund have often been described as inveterate geophagists, a 
habit which may be attributed to the presence of salty earth in their 
country. 

Houses.—Chacobo communal huts are rectangular, with gabled roof 
and side walls. The clubhouse, where men store their weapons, drink, 
and sleep, especially if they are unmarried, has an octagonal ground 
plan with a roof resting on eight wall plates surrounding the central 
ridge pole, which is supported by two vertical posts. As the sides are 
entirely open, nothing in the clubhouse can be kept secret, though access 
to it is forbidden to women. The Caripund have also a men’s house, 


® The Caripund mentioned by Acufia may well have been a tribe entirely different from the 
modern Indians of the same name. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 451 


which is an open sunshade. Pacaguard huts are tentlike, with no end 
walls. 

The use of cotton hammocks is general among all these groups. Acufia 
(1891, p. 145) praises the Caripund of the Purts River for their artisti- 
cally carved benches in animal form. Chacobo benches are made of palm 
stalks nailed on tree stumps. . 

Clothing and adornment.—Chacobo and Caripund men go naked with 
the penis fastened against the stomach under a cotton belt. A distinctive 
ornament of the Chacobo is a solid, flat broad collar, made of countless 
monkey incisors and trimmed with tucan feathers. Chacobo men also 
wear a feather tuft or reed with feathers through the nasal septum, 
pieces of bone or wooden sticks in the ear lobes, and wrappings of long 
bast strips around the arms and legs. Men cut their hair across the fore- 
head and wrap it with a cotton band into a queue. 

Chacobo women cover their pubis with a Heliconia leaf attached to 
a cotton or fiber string; Pacaguard and Caripunad women wear a small 
front flap or apron. Chacobo women bore the nasal septum and ears 
to insert feather tufts. Their other ornaments are seed necklaces, chonta 
finger rings, armlets of feathers and shells or wrappings of bark around 
arms and legs, and, occasionally, one or two feathers glued to their long, 
loose hair. 

Transportation.—The Pacaguard travel in bark canoes or in dugouts 
which may accommodate about eight people. 

Manufactures.—Industries are the same as those of the neighboring 
tribes: Twilled baskets, rectangular boxes of Gynerium stalks sewn to- 
gether, and bags of bark cloth for storage of their possessions. 


Ficure 56.—A “Cascara,” or bark canoe of the Caripund. (After Mathews, 1879.) 


452 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Pottery is plain; some vessels collected by Nordenskiold bear imprints 
of the banana leaves on which they rested during the modeling process. 

Cotton is carded with a small bow and spun with a spindle rolled 
on the thigh. 

Their bows, made of chonta palm, have shoulders cut for the fiber 
string; arrowheads are of the lanceolate and rod types; the feathering 
is cemented with resin (Peruvian feathering). The Caripund of the 
Purts River, mentioned by Acufia (1891, p. 145), used beautifully carved 
spear throwers. 

According to Giglioli (1906, p. 225), Pacaguara and Caripund stone 
axes are glued directly to the handle, without any socket or lashing, by 
means of the rosin of the massaranduba tree, which when it dries, hardens 
like cement. 

The most common tools are bamboo and shell knives, piranha teeth, and 
planes made of peccary jaws. 

Esthetic and recreational activities—The only Chacobo musical 
instrument described in the literature is a panpipe consisting of five dis- 
connected pipes held in the hand. Caripund drums are said to be made 
of a pot with a rubber membrane stretched over its mouth. 

Chacobo dancers walk in a line to and fro holding short ceremonial 
clubs. 

Chicha is prepared of manioc fermented with the addition of saliva. 
Tobacco is not grown for smoking, but to kill Dermatobia larvae. The 
Caripuna provoke a state of trance by taking parica (Piptadenia sp.) in 
the form of clysters which they administer to each other with rubber 
syringes provided with a bone tube. 

Religion.—According to Armentia (1887-88, p. 43), the Pacaguara 
worshiped their deities in the guise of a jaguar’s, a peccary’s or some 
other animal’s head. They celebrated magicoreligious ceremonies, which 
unfortunately are not described, before sowing and harvesting. Acuna 
(1891) states that the Caripund of the Purts River had wooden idols. 

Among the Chacobo, practitioners of both sexes use massage and blow- 
ing as the basic cure in the treatment of the sick. 

The dead are buried in a sitting position in the hut, which is then 
burned down. Female relatives lament and temporarily discard their 
ornaments in sign of grief. According to Keller-Leuzinger (1874, p. 
124), the Caripuna bury their dead in large urns within the huts. Bull- 
roarers are whirled during the funerary ceremonies. (Among the Cha- 
cobo, bull-roarers are used as toys by children.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1891; Armentia, 1887-88; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1913 b; Domville- 
Fife, 1924; D’Orbigny, 1839; Giglioli, 1906; Grasserie, 1890; Hassel, 1905; Keller- 
Leuzinger, 1874; Martius, 1867; Mathews, 1879; Nordenskidld, 1922; Peri. Junta de 
vias fluviales, 1902; Rivet, 1910 a. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF EASTERN BOLIVIA AND MADEIRA 453 


THE SOUTHWESTERN PANOAN TRIBES 
TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


On the upper reaches of the Madre de Dios River, there are a few 
Panoan groups (map 1, No. 2; map 2) which are separated from those 
of the lower Beni River by Tacanan tribes. The Atsahuaca, of whom only 
20 survived in 1904, lived along the Carama (Atsahuaca) and the 
Malinowski Rivers, both tributaries of the Tambopata River, and along 
the Chaspa River, tributary of the Inambari River (lat. 13°-15° S., long. 
70°-71° W.). The Yamiaca, who live on the Yaguarmayo River, near 
its junction with the Inambari River, are a branch of the Atsahuaca. The 
Arasa (Aragaire) were found on the Marcapata or Arasa River, a left 
tributary of the Inambari River (lat. 14° S., long. 71° W.). They also 
belong to the Panoan family, though some of them may also speak a 
Tacanan dialect. According to Hassel (1905), their total number was 
from 500 to 800; according to Cipriani (1902, p. 175), only 20 to 25. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Yamiaca collect fruits in the bush and turtle eggs from the sandy 
beaches. Both the Yamiaca and Atsahuaca cultivate fields widely scattered 
along the rivers. They grow bananas, sweet manioc (yuca), sweet 
potatoes, gourds, cotton, sugarcane, cayenne pepper, and maize. The 
Yamiaca also raise pineapples and papaya. All crops except sugarcane 
are communally owned. Staples are bananas and, to a less extent, manioc 
and maize. 

The Yamiaca are good fishermen, but the Atsahuaca live in a region 
with only small streams and few fish. The former have harpoon arrows 
with two removable elements, a head and an intermediate piece of wood 
between it and the shaft. Both tribes drug fish with poison. 

The Atsahuaca are skillful hunters with a remarkable knowledge of 
animal habits and sounds. They hunt with well-trained dogs. 

The Yamiaca grate bananas on prickly roots. Both tribes cook in 
clay pots and in bamboo joints and broil game on rectangular babracots. 
The Atsahuaca prepare a sour mead of honey. The Yamiaca brew 
banana and manioc beer. 


HOUSES 


Atsahuaca huts are simple lean-tos covered with imbricated palm leaves, 
split along the midrib. Sometimes two opposite lean-tos are brought to- 
gether so as to form a gabled roof. Each hut accommodated a single 
biological family. The Yamiaca have large communal huts. Originally, 
the Yamiaca slept on the ground, but in more recent times they have 
adopted platform beds and fiber hammocks. 


454 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


DRESS AND ADORN MENTS 


Men wear a sleeveless shirt of cotton or bark cloth, women a bark 
cloth or cotton skirt and often a square shawl on their shoulders. The 
Atsahuaca paint concentric circles with dots on their garments. 

The Yanuaca and Atsahuaca put feathers or a stick through the nasal 
septum or hang shells or other pendants from the nose. Some Atsahuaca 
men insert wooden sticks through the corners of their mouths. A few 
Atsahuaca women thrust sticks or feathers in their ear lobes. All women 
wear monkey-tooth necklaces. The Atsahuaca had beautiful parrot- 
feather headdresses and cotton frontlets with fringes and feather tassels. 
Pigments for body paint are uruct and genipa. Combs are of the 
composite type. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Yamuaca use both dugout canoes and rafts. The Atsahuaca lack 
any craft, as their territory has no navigable streams. 

Contrary to the custom of most Indians of the region, the Atsahuaca 
support ordinary burdens on the back with a band passing across the 
chest. Children, however, are carried on the shoulders in a baby sling 
held by a tumpline. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry is little developed. These tribes manufacture boxes and 
mats, made by sewing Gynerium stalks together, and weave a few oval 
wicker baskets. Spindles are of the drop type. 

Clay for pottery is tempered with pulverized potsherds. The finished 
pots are unornamented. 


POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Both Southwestern Panoan tribes have chiefs who enjoy certain 
authority. The Atsahuaca show great respect for their chief, even 
whispering in his presence. 


ILLNESS AND DEATH 


Among the Atsahuaca, flogging with a nettle and other harsh measures 
are used in the treatment of the sick. 

The Yamiaca destroy part of the crops of a deceased person and bury 
his possessions with him. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Cipriani, 1902; Grasserie, 1890; Hassel, 1905; Llosa, 1906; Los salvajes de San 
Gaban, 1902; Martius, 1867; Métraux, 1942; Nordenskidld, 1905; Peri. Junta de 
vias fluviales, 1904; Rivet, 1910 a; Steinen, 1904. 


THE SIRIONO 


By ALLAN HOLMBERG 


INTRODUCTION 


The Sirioné (Mbia) are an anomaly in Eastern Bolivia. Scattered 
throughout the high forests of the eastern and northern parts of the 
Province of Beni (lat. 14°-15° S., long. 61°-62° W.; lat. 16°-17° S., 
long. 63°-65° W.; lat. 13° S., long. 63° W.; maps 1, No. 2; 2; 4), with 
a culture strikingly backward in contrast to that of their neighbors, they 
are probably the remnant of an ancient population which was exterminated, 
absorbed, or engulfed by more civilized invaders. Their language, how- 
ever, is Tupian, elsewhere spoken by tribes of a more complex culture, 
but here represented only by themselves and the Guarayti-Pauserna, whose 
dialects are closely related. Traditions of friendship suggest that these 
peoples once may have been linked by a now obscure bond. 

The present cultural summary is based largely on the author’s field 
work. For sources, see Métraux (1942, p. 114). 


HISTORY 


First mentioned by Father Barrace in 1693 (Lettres édifiantes . . . 1780-83, 8:105), 
the Sirioné have continued to occupy their deep forests until comparatively recently. 
The Jesuits made several attempts to missionize them, and in 1765 there were a few 
Sirioné in the Mission of Buena Vista; these were later transferred to the Santa 
Rosa Mission. Up until the present time, however, all other attempts to missionize 
them have failed, not so much because of the warlike character of the Siriond, but 
because of their sensitivity to maltreatment and their adherence to nomadic life. 
In 1925, a band of Sirioné was settled at the Mission of Santa Maria by the Francis- 
cans. Because of bad treatment they left the mission, and traces of the band were 
encountered wandering in the forests east of the Rio Blanco in 1940. In 1937, a 
small number of Sirioné were forced to settle in a so-called government school at 
Casarabe, about 50 miles east of Trinidad. Population of this school was augmented 
by periodic expeditions into the forest until 1940, when it reached about 300. 
Through maltreatment, disease, and death, their numbers had been reduced to less 
than half by 1944. Some 10 miles east of Trinidad, American missionaries in 1935 
established a small group of Sirioné at the site of an old Mojo mound known as 
Tbiato, but as a result of lack of realistic insight into the culture of the Indian, this 
attempt has likewise almost perished. The most successful effort to make the 
Sirionéd a sedentary group was that of the late Frederick Park Richards, an 
American cattle rancher near El Carmen, who has had large numbers of Sirionéd 


455 


456 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


continuously on his place since 1925. These are the most acculturated Serion6 in 
Bolivia. 

Many Sirionoé are also found in forced labor on farms and cattle ranches, along the 
Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Rio Mamoré, and Rio San Miguel. Only a few bands 
still wander wild in the forests; they are widely scattered from the Rio Blanco to 
the upper Ichilo, Chapare, and Mamoré Rivers. Probably not over 3,000 Siriond 
survive today, and these are rapidly disappearing. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


In contrast to most other Chiquitos-Mojos tribes, the Sirioné are semi- 
nomadic forest dwellers, who live more by hunting and gathering than by 
farming. According to the season of maturity, a great variety of wild 
fruits are collected, among which are the motacu, chonta, totai, samuque, 
pacabilla, coquino, pecay, and aguai. Palm cabbage also forms one of the 
staples of their diet, being edible the year round and found in all regions 
where the Sirion6 wander. Both sexes collect these wild foods, the women 
more so than the men. 


Farming.—A small amount of agriculture is practiced in rude clearings 
in the forest, which are burned over in the latter part of the dry season 
(May to November). The following crops are planted: Maize (a soft 
red variety), sweet manioc, sweet potatoes, papaya, cotton, and tobacco. 
All planting and tilling are done with a digging stick of chonta palm, the 
only agricultural implement. Often after planting, the entire band sets 
out on a hunting and gathering expedition, traveling from place to place 
as the wild life of each is exhausted, and returning from time to time to 
note the condition of their crops. After harvest, crops are stored in rude 
motacu palm baskets. More movement of the band takes place during the 
dry than the rainy season. 


Hunting.—Hunting is the chief economic activity, meat being the most 
abundant and most desired item in the diet. Hunting is the man’s task. 
On the march, men go ahead with their bows and arrows to hunt, and the 
women and children follow, gathering vegetable foods. Some 40 varieties 
of game are taken including tapir, peccary, coati, anteater, forest deer, 
armadillo, iguana, monkey, jaguar, wild land and water fowl, and about 
10 kinds of tropical fish. 

Animals are very carefully stalked until they are at close range, or they 
are brought into range by calls of imitation. Under unusual circumstances, 
cooperation between hunters takes place. If, for example, an animal, 
not likely to move, is out of range in a high tree, one hunter will climb 
the tree to a branch within range of the animal; his companion below then 
shoots an arrow at half force up to him; he seizes it in flight, puts 
it in his own bow, and shoots the animal. A form of whistling language 
is also used in hunting. 


Vol. 3] THE SIRIONO—HOLMBERG 457 


The catch is usually divided within the extended family, members of 
which receive shares according to their rank and status, food and hunting 
taboos, and abundance of the catch. Although the chief and his imme- 
diate family are theoretically entitled to a share of any catch, actually this 
is rarely the case. 

Food preparation.—Food is either roasted in ashes, broiled, or boiled 
and steamed in clay pots. Game is not skinned for cooking; the hair is 
burned off in the fire and the skin eaten. All parts of the animal are 
consumed. The Sirion6 eat almost all animals of their environment except 
snakes ; food taboos are based largely on age and sex. The food supply 
is generally scarce and frequently is inadequate. 


HOUSES 


Sirioné houses are of the rudest and most temporary kind, consisting 
merely of poles lashed to trees and covered with the long leaves of the 
motacu palm. These huts sometimes reach considerable dimensions, how- 
ever, sheltering as many as 80 to 100 people. The entire band sleeps 
in one hut, the hammocks of the chief and his family being hung in 
the center. A fire is always smouldering between each hammock, for 
cooking and to keep off the insects. 


ORNAMENTS 


The Siriono do not wear clothing, but decorate themselves in a variety 
of ways. Men, women, and children wear necklaces made of animal teeth, 
quills, and seeds. Eyebrows and forehead hair are depilated, and everyone 
paints his body and face, especially on ceremonial occasions, with uruct. 
The hair is also decorated with toucan, guan, and hawk feathers 
glued on with beeswax. During a ceremonial drinking feast, which occurs 
on rare occasions, men and women who have had children are punctured 
with the dorsal spine of the stingray, women on the upper arm from the 
elbow to the shoulder and men on the lower arm from the wrist to the 
elbow. This leaves decorative scars which are a sign of maturity. The 
practice also has important magical significance in that it gets rid of the 
old blood. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Sivioné do not manufacture canoes; all transport is overland. 
Carrying (chiefly by the women) is done in rude motacu palm-leaf 
baskets, which rest on the back and are suspended from the head or 
shoulders by means of a liana. Rivers are crossed by felling trees from 
either side and putting up a railing of liana. In cases where this is 
impossible, the people swim. 


458 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MANUFACTURES 


Textiles.—No true weaving is found among the Siriondé. Cotton string, 
used extensively in arrow making and for the twining of baby slings, 
is spun with a spindle of the Andean drop type. Hammocks are twined 
of wood fiber. 

Basketry.—Carrying and storage baskets of a very temporary kind are 
plaited from the leaves of the motacu palm. 

Ceramics.—Women make crude coiled cooking pots which are tem- 
pered with burned seeds of the motacu palm and baked over the open 
fire. Women also make the clay pipes. 

Weapons.—Sirioné bows, made of the black chonta palm, are perhaps 
the longest in the world, averaging from 7 to 8 feet (2.2 to 2.5 m.) in 
length, some being even as long as 10 feet (3 m.). Arrows have chuchio 
reed shafts (in case of scarcity, bamboo may be used) and average from 
8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 m.) in length. They are tipped either with a 
lanceolate bamboo blade or with a sharp chonta rod to which a barb 
is attached. The former type is used to kill the larger game on the 
ground; the latter for tree game, such as birds and monkeys. 

The range of these arrows is not accurate for more than about 30 
yards (27.3 m.). One of the reasons bows are so long is that they are 
pulled to the greatest possible length; a long bow is thus needed so the 
wood will stand the strain. In shooting the archer’s head is put inside the 
taut bow string so as to aim by sighting along the arrow, then pulled out 
as the bow string is released. The long arrow affords a means of pulling 
wounded game out of the trees, and it makes it more difficult for wounded 
ground game to travel any great distance before falling. Arrows are 
always retrieved when possible. 

Miscellaneous.—Work in stone or metal is unknown, neither of these 
materials being found in the environment. The only manufactured tools 
consist of the digging stick and an agouti tooth hafted to the humerus 
of a monkey. The latter is used to fashion the groove in the nock of 
the arrow. 

Fire making.—The art of making fire now seems to be lost, but for- 
merly it was made by twirling a stick between the palms of the hands. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


The Sirioné are organized into bands, each made up of matrilineal 
extended families, the number varying with the size of the band. Some 
bands may consist of only 30 or 40 people, while the larger ones have as 
many as 120. Because of the great distances over which the Siriond 
wander and because of their varying seasonal activities, contact between the 
bands is rare. As the Sirioné are not warlike, relations between bands 
are peaceful. 


Vol. 3] THE SIRIONO—HOLMBERG 459 


Each band is presided over by a chief, who is normally succeeded by 
his eldest son, provided the latter is a good hunter. Little importance 
is attached to chieftainship, however. The main prerogative of the chief 
seems to be that his hammock is hung in the center of the house. He 
makes suggestions as to migrations, hunting activities, and where to plant 
crops. But his suggestions are not always followed by others than his 
immediate family. 

The kinship system is highly classificatory. The father and his brothers 
are included under one term (paba) as are the mother and her sisters 
(tain). The father’s sister and mother’s brother’s wife are called by 
one term (ari), and the mother’s brother and the father’s sister’s husband 
by one term (ami). Grandfathers and grandmothers are also known 
respectively as ami and ari. No sex distinction is made between siblings 
and parallel cousins who refer to each other as anoge or between sons 
and daughters, who are referred to as eco. Formalized kinship behavior 
is at a minimum; there are no specific avoidance or joking relationships. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—The cause of pregnancy is known to the Sirioné, and once 
_a woman is pregnant it is believed that intercourse stimulates the growth 
of the child in her womb. During pregnancy, the woman must observe 
a large number of food taboos and food preferences in order to insure 
the birth of a healthy and normal child. It is believed, for example, 
that to eat the anteater—a forbidden animal—would cause the birth of 
a club-footed child, while to eat the peccary—a highly desired animal— 
would cause the birth of a valiant child. The father is not subject to 
these taboos. 

Parturition normally takes place in the hammock within the hut, and 
is a public event. Generally, the woman receives no help during the birth. 
Beforehand she ties a rope over the hammock from one end of it to the 
other with which to support herself during parturition and loosens the 
earth under the hammock with a digging stick. In most cases, the child 
when born falls off the strings at the edge of the hammock, which is 
rarely over a foot off the ground, onto the soft earth below. The mother 
then gets down on the ground to expel the afterbirth, which is later 
placed in a basket and after about two weeks thrown deep into the bush. 
The father uses a piece of bamboo to cut the umbilical cord about 3 to 
4 inches (about 7.5 to 10 cm.) from the navel. The part of the cord 
which falls off from the child is wrapped in a ball of cotton string covered 
with urucu and worn around the mother’s neck as a good luck charm. 

The father is seldom present at the birth. As soon as birth pangs 
are felt he picks up his bow and arrows and goes hunting. The child 
is named after the first animal he kills. Sometimes, between the time 

653333—47—32 


460 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


a child is born and the father’s return, 8 hours may elapse, thus delaying 
the cutting of the cord. 

During a couvade of about 3 days, the father and mother do not leave 
the house except for the calls of nature. They are fed by other members 
of the extended family, and the child when awake is continually given 
the breast. During this period, the child gets his first hair cut, his 
eyebrows being plucked and his hair pulled out up to a high line on his 
forehead—a very painful experience, accompanied by great howling. The 
father and mother are scarified on both the upper and lower legs with 
a rat’s tooth, they are decorated with toucan, hawk, and guan feathers, 
painted with urucu, and adorned with uructi-covered cotton string, which 
is wound around their legs (just below the knees) and around their 
necks. 

After the 3-day confinement, the father takes up his bow and arrows, 
the mother puts her child in a new baby sling (previously made 
and covered with uruct), and the couple sets out for the forest, scattering 
ashes from small palm baskets as they go. This is a purification rite. 
Not far from camp they stop, gather firewood, and then return to the 
house. They kindle a new fire and resume normal life. 

Technonomy is practiced. After the birth of every child, the father 
and mother change their names to that of the child plus a suffix indicating 
father (ndu) and mother (asi). Nicknames, which are given because of 
some physical characteristic or because of some abnormal event that 
happened to the individual, are also common. Nicknames are used more 
frequently than real names in everyday life, but there is no taboo on 
the use of a person’s real name, although a certain reluctance to speak 
it prevails immediately after death. 


Childhood.—Until it is about one year old, a child is constantly with 
its mother, either in the house or, when on the march, in the baby ham- 
mock, which is placed over one of the mother’s shoulders, the baby resting 
in it with his legs astride her hip. Whenever the child cries he is given 
the breast. All basic habits, such as toilet training, walking, and talking, 
are instilled very gradually. ‘Young babies, however, are very carefully 
watched that they do not play with their feces. 

Although children are treated indulgently by their parents, the frustra- 
tions of the natural environment alone make life a hardship for them. 
There are always long marches, shortages of food, insect pests, and disease. 

Puberty.—There are no puberty rites for boys, but young girls undergo 
a ceremony known as yuqwa’ki before they are allowed to have sexual 
intercourse. Sex relations with a young girl who has not undergone 
this ceremony will result in sickness and death. Girls of about puberty 
age have their heads shaved and are sent into the forest with a hunter 
and several old women. They must observe many food taboos and con- 
tinually take baths to purify themselves. They are also taught songs by 


Vol. 3] THE SIRIONO—HOLMBERG 461 


the women who attend them. After a month or 6 weeks they return 
to camp and, when their hair again grows to the length of their chins, 
they are considered eligible for marriage. Menstruation is not a pre- 
requisite to undergoing this ceremony. 


Marriage.—Assymetrical cross-cousin marriage is the preferred type; 
a man marries his mother’s brother’s daughter. And marriages do 
not occur outside of this type of relationship. There are no marriage 
ceremonies ; the man simply moves his hammock next to that of his father- 
in-law and mother-in-law (matrilocal residence). Polygyny is practiced, 
as are the sororate and levirate. Within the bounds prescribed by the 
kinship system, sex relations are comparatively free. A man has sex 
rights to the wives of anyone whom he calls brother, and a woman to 
the husbands of anyone whom she calls sister. Young boys and girls 
thus readily find sex partners after the age of puberty. Within the 
polygynous system, wives are placed in a hierarchy, the first wife taken 
usually being the most influential. 


Old age and death.—As people grow older and their usefulness to the 
band is impaired, they are given less and less attention. When on the 
march, the aged and very sick are abandoned to die, being left with fire, 
and a small amount of food and water. 


Apart from death by old age, almost ail deaths are caused by evil 
spirits (abaciquaia). The dead are wrapped in a mat, and placed on 
a platform inside the house; arrows are shot through the house to drive 
out evil spirits, and it is then abandoned. After several months, when 
the body has decayed, the bones are buried, but the skull is taken back 
to the house, where it is placed in a small basket underneath the hammock. 
When on the march, the skull is carried to the next camping place. When 
a member of the family is ill, the skull is rubbed over the part of the 
body which aches. 


Most of the possessions of the dead are destroyed, particularly his 
calabashes. His bow and arrows, however, may be used again and gen- 
erally pass to his brother. A woman’s possessions may pass to a sister 
or a co-wife. 

The period of mourning is very short, generally not more than about 
3 days, during which the mourners are smeared with urucu, scarified, and 
decorated with feathers. Widows and widowers can remarry almost 
immediately. 


RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Drinking bouts.—Accompanying the frustrations of forest life are 
occasional drinking bouts which vary in frequency with the quantity of 
wild bee honey available. Chicha is made from a mixture of cooked 
maize meal (or cooked manioc), water, and wild bee honey which is 


462 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


stored for 3 days in calabashes until it is fermented to about the strength 
of beer. 

At the drinking feast, participants (usually men, but never men and 
women together) sit in a circle and pass the calabash from one to the 
other, taking deep draughts of the liquor as it is passed around. Continu- 
ous smoking of clay pipes during the drinking soon produces a semi- 
intoxicated condition. Singing (generally impromptu) by one participant 
or another starts and others join in. Soon insults are hurled and wrestling 
begins. Drinking and fighting go on until all the liquor is gone or the 
participants are too exhausted to continue. Women usually sit on the 
edge of the circle draining the dregs of the calabashes, but when there 
is an abundance of chicha, they too have their drinking feasts. 

On rare occasions, about once a year or once every two years, all mature 
members of the band participate in a heavy drinking bout which is a 
sort of rejuvenation ceremony. Everyone gets very drunk and has his 
arms pierced with the dorsal spine of the stingray, the blood being run into 
a small hole in the ground. At dawn the following morning the male 
participants all go out to hunt, and the female participants to gather palm 
cabbages, spreading ashes as they go. The Siriond say that after this 
ceremony they are made more youthful and strong by getting rid of old 
blood. 

Dancing.—Dancing is a very common way of passing parts of the long 
tropical nights, particularly during the full moon. The men do a circle 
dance, arms linked, stamping the ground to the accompaniment of songs. 
These dances usually begin with everyone singing standard songs; later 
a leader makes up impromptu songs which the others repeat after him. 
Women likewise dance, but never with the men; instead of stamping the 
ground, they waddle around in a circle, arms linked, keeping time to the 
chants of a leader. 


MAGIC 


Siriono culture cannot be characterized as magic-ridden, but magica! 
practices especially pervade those aspects of life which have to do with 
subsistence. Hunters follow certain practices to insure the game supply. 
The skulls of animals are always hung on sticks near where they are eaten, 
in order that the same animal will return to be hunted. Feathers of birds 
are also hung on poles to attract the same bird to return. A hunter is 
not allowed to eat the meat of a particular animal of certain species that 
he kills (e. g., the tapir) lest he offend the animal and be unable to hunt 
another. 

Certain hunters are believed to possess special powers to hunt particu- 
lar animals. Often, when a man of such a reputation is dying, hunters 
will gather around and ask him to pass them some of his luck. He may 
tell them to go to a certain place after he dies, where they will find, for 


Vol. 3] THE SIRIONO—HOLMBERG 463 


example, a band of peccary. They will usually hunt down one of these 
animals until they find it. Other hunters, cursed with a streak of bad 
luck, may repair to a spot where bones of a good hunter are buried and 
ask him for luck. 

Black magic, though not unknown, is not practiced to any great extent. 
In cases of serious quarrels, one man may say to another, “Watch out, or 
I'll take you with me when I die.” Cases are likewise known where a man 
has said such things to one of his wives, and she has died a few days 
after his death. 

Magic is likewise important in curing. The Siriond have no pro- 
fessional shamans and very few herbal remedies. Practically, all curing 
is by magical chant and the aforementioned use of a dead person’s skull. 
Pregnant women are said to be better at curing than anyone else. Amulets 
of cotton string covered with uructi are likewise used to hasten the curing 
of a wound. Uruct is also considered as a remedy which is both magical 


and herbal. 


RELIGION 


The Siriono religious system is highly animistic, and there is no evidence 
of a belief in a supreme being. Mythology imparts considerable power 
to the moon, which is believed to have formerly been a powerful person 
who left most of the things the Sirionéd now have with them when he 
went into the sky. He ascended to the heavens after Jaguar killed his son 
and, because of his anger, has never returned since. It was he who gave 
the Sirioné maize, manioc, and chonta palms; it was he who transferred 
the animals to the shapes and colors they now have. 

Fear of evil spirits pervades the religious system. These spirits 
are believed to cause sickness and death. The Siriono seldom venture 
outside of the house at night for fear of these evil spirits. Their whole 
behavior toward them is one of avoidance. 

After death, people can become evil spirits, with the power of harming 
people. These dead ancestors can also be of some help, as is indicated by 
the use of skulls in curing. But the Siriond have no well-defined beliefs 
about life after death. Their concern with the immediate world has 
dominated all efforts to crystallize an eschatological theory. 

In general, the Sirtond may be said to be one of the most culturally 
backward tribes in South America. Their culture, exhibiting as it does 
a lack of professionalism and complexity, suggests that they have been so 
occupied with the satisfaction of basic needs that secondary growths within 
the culture have been reduced to the minimum. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barrace (in Lettres édifiantes . . ., 1780-83). 


py nt HO" ne tif 


mn 
; Ci if ; 
wit rie RYAN ane hy sitet op aa 


on Feel ‘ha ese piers 
eas nie ss “an eor an ia es hie a 
‘ Weait? Hint me oe swig? Wye ru a Pe 

ie % BW et ag bd ‘we ah, é rant te Ae "G3, i i rhe 4 


hi ate 


er ii eth 
at UH ovary, My | ' iat pals iy Iiatwatal 


an ats 
Dd ah 4 ‘ai \ 1 

i) fe iitheadonnd eos et wo) fis. 1 
a a ik a hes Dury! RW Feng Demorlirseres tts Sii9 1 


a ie 
ih 
i 
4 
id am 

a Babies mit on Res st Dey eRv tA 


4 Wasa 8 etic cf et palrivy iif 
ih) (hte) f f 


Mine, ells sey Pa fuged gency n> 


i 


\ messy 
bere | 
ry + 

' Tre, 


ted 


vii 
wn vara 7 _, 


per anor reds tal 


awn (rr mirrored sa oly vealed 

; PA) Langs rein ' wileky Qeche stop Prien (tee bain cit leh dae at 
Wao) beowe tad) ebuad sieed ty stosalnien sahy strive ph 
' rises eee ere. 035 yeti ewepen! win eds 

ie Make, aah wnt me) eh 

POUL AMT AIE.. thin) »y Ne | bn bik Law ; 


A 
dean P sortie ai , - 
hat} Pia we ’ ' ' i. i nd i 


te pe ati 


ay 


TRIBES OF THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE 
BOLIVIAN ANDES 


By AtrreD METRAUX 


INTRODUCTION 


Five tribes live along the slopes of the Bolivian Cordillera from the 
Argentine border to Peri: The Chiriguano, the Yuracare, the Mosetene 
and Chimane, the Leco, and the Tacana. The Chiriguano belong to the 
Tupi-Guarani group; the Yuracare, Leco, and Tacana represent still 
isolated linguistic families. The Mosetene and Chimane form a single 
linguistic group. 


CHIRIGUANO AND CHANE 


HISTORY 


The Chiriguano (Ava Chahuanco) (map 1, No. 3; map 2; map 8, 
No. 5) are the descendants of the Guarani who in historic times migrated 
from Paraguay and crossed the plains of the Chaco in successive waves 
to settle along the foothills of the Andes from the upper Pilcomayo River 
to the upper Rio Grande (Guapay River). (Lat. 18°-23° S., long. 63°-64° 
W.) Seven migrations are alluded to in historical documents. 


The first migration (1471 or 1476), reported by Garcilaso de la Vega, took place 
during the last year of the reign of Inca Yupanqui. Another, between 1513 and 
1518, can be surmised from the testimony of a Guarani Indian who spoke to Alvar 
Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca. A Chané Indian captured by the Guarani and brought to 
Itati told Domingo de Irala in 1542 of a third migration, between 1519 and 1523, 
which probably came after the 1513-18 invasion and certainly before that in which 
Alejo Garcia took part. The Guarani migration described by Diego Felipo de 
Alcaya, curate of Mataca, may perhaps be this third one, though many details are 
certainly fanciful. According to Gandia (1935 a, p. 24), this was the migratory shift 
which took the Guarani from the region of Itati to the Province of Santa Cruz and 
which contributed to the formation of the Guarayii-Pauserna tribe. 

The fourth Guarani invasion, about which we have the most complete information, 
occurred between 1521 and 1526. It is famous because a few White men, ship- 
wrecked sailors of the Solis armada, accompanied the invading Indians. One of 
them, Alejo Garcia, seems to have played a conspicuous part in this migration, 
although Diaz de Guzman’s (1914, 9:26-30) statement that Garcia was the organizer 
of the raid may be doubted. With a strong force of Guarani he crossed the Chaco, 
probably at lat. 13° S., and invaded the borderlands of the Inca Empire. The raiders 
advanced as far as Presto to the northeast and Tarabuco to the southeast of Sucre. 
Fearing a victorious return of the Charcas (Chicha), the invaders retreated, carrying 
their booty. On reaching Paraguay, with Chané and Tarapecosi (Chiquwiio), Alejo 


465 


466 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Garcia was killed by the Guarani. The historical character of Alejo Garcia’s ex- 
pedition is amply proved by several passages in documents of the Conquest of 
Paraguay, mainly in the “Comentaries” of Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca (Hernandez, 
Pedro, 1852, pp. 579-580). The success of this raid prompted many more Guarani 
to migrate westward. Those from the Rio Parana followed the Pilcomayo River. 
Those from the region of Asuncion entered the Chaco north of that city. The 
Indians of Jeruquisaba and Carayzapera, that is to say of the country of Itati, 
entered the Chaco near San Fernando (lat. 20° S.). According to Diaz de Guzman, 
these Indians were the ancestors of the Guarayu or Itatines, who lived 90 miles 
(30 leagues) from Santa Cruz. 

In a letter written by Martin Gonzalez from Asuncién in 1556, there is the follow- 
ing passage which confirms the continuous migration of the Guarani toward the 
Andes: “These Indians [the Guarani] go and come back from the lands of Peru. 
As they have no roads and avoid their enemies, they reconnoiter the land ahead of 
them, settle long enough to sow crops and harvest their food, and go on. So went 
those who for long had been settled in the Peruvian sierras and those who go today 
to meet the Christians. 

“In Asuncién are many Indians who with their wives and children have gone 
there two or three times from opposite that city, along a river [the Pilcomayo] 
that flows 2 leagues from here and comes from the city of La Plata. The Indians 
from Paraguay have settled by that river and along the Cordillera, over a space of 
100 leagues. Some Cario [Guarani] have gone to the mountains along another 
river, 42 leagues down the Paraguay River, which is called the Ypiti [Bermejo 
River]. Cario are established in the mountains near the Ypiti River, which also 
leads, according to what those who came from Perud say, to the city of La Plata.” 
(Quoted by Gandia, 1935 a, p. 37.) 

Several thousand Guarani, serving as auxiliaries and porters, accompanied 
Domingo de Irala and Nuflo de Chaves on their expeditions from Paraguay to the 
foothills of the Andes, It is historically attested that the 2,000 or 3,000 Guarani 
of Itati who followed Nuflo de Chaves in 1564 were in part the ancestors of the 
modern Guarayu-Pauserna. 

The Guarani not only invaded and conquered the foothills of the Andes from the 
upper Bermejo River to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, but certain groups went even 
farther to the north and settled near the border of the Mojo and Bauré country. 
The Pitaquari (Piritaguari) were a Guarani group established in the Sierras de 
Chiquitos, north of the first Santa Cruz. There were also Chiriguano around the 
town of San Francisco Alfaro in the Province of Chiquitos, near the Jesuit mission 
of San Xavier. 

The Guarani invasions, which started as plundering raids along the Inca frontier, 
were prompted by the desire to obtain gold and silver ornaments and copper tools 
from the Caracara (Charcas, Chicha) and from the Chané of the foothills, who were 
amply provided with these metals. Probably metal objects first reached the Guarani 
of Paraguay through the Chané, whose villages were scattered across the Chaco 
from the Andes to the upper Paraguay River. Although the prospect of rich loot 
was certainly the predominant cause of their invasions, the old Guarani dream of a 
land of immortality and abundance, the abode of the Great Ancestor, also may have 
played some part in determining their migrations. 

The Guarani finally became such a threat to the Quechua towns of the Province 
of Charcas that an Jmca Emperor, probably Huayna Capac, built fortresses at 
Samaypata (Savaypata), Saigpuru, and Guanacopampa to halt their inroads. 
Sarmiento de Gamboa (1906, p. 105) speaks of Huayna Capac’s wars against the 
Chiriguano, of the Chiriguano’s capture of the fortress of Cuzcotuyo (probably 
Incahuasi), and their defeat by Huayna Capac’s general, Yasca. The ruins of these 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 467 


Inca fortresses were visited by Nordenskidld (1915 a, 1924 a), who described them 
under the names of Incallacta and Incahuasi. They bear witness to the accuracy of 
the various traditions concerning the Guarani invasions, recorded by the chroniclers 
of Pert and of the Rio de la Plata. 

Along the Andes, the Chiriguano found a peaceful Arawakan population, the 
Chané, a branch of the Chand or Guana tribe, which occupied the northern part of 
the Chaco along the Paraguay River. The western Chané, after centuries of close 
contact with the Andean cultures, had been deeply influenced by them. They 
dressed like their neighbors, the Andean Chicha, produced a pottery which resembled 
that of Southern Bolivia and of the valley of Humahuaca, wore metal ornaments, 
and used metal tools. The Chané fell easy prey to the Guarani, who slaughtered 
and ate many of them and reduced the remaining population to a condition of serf- 
dom. The Guarani invaders, having brought few of their own women, however, 
took Chané wives. The fusion of these two tribes produced a civilization in which 
Andean, Guarani, and some Arawak features were intimately blended. The Chané 
did not entirely lose their identity, however, for along the Parapeti River, in the 
Caipipendi Valley, on the Itiyuro River, and in the Province of Salta (Argentine), 
Chané villages survived under their own chiefs. But even these have adopted the 
Guarani language and today cannot be distinguished from their conquerors. The 
Chiriguano, nevertheless, consider the Chané somewhat inferior, while the latter 
remember the forays and cannibalistic habits of their former masters. The Chané 
language, probably extinct now, was spoken by a few persons as late as 1908. 

The number of Chané is said to have greatly exceeded that of the Guarani in- 
vaders. They extended from the Rio Grande (Guapay River) to the Argentine 
along the foothills of the Andes. At the beginning of the 17th century, according 
to Ruy Diaz de Guzman, in the region of Machareti, 400 Chiriguano ruled over 
5,000 Chané; in Charagua, 350 Chiriguano owned 4,000 Chané serfs; and on the 
Guapay River, 200 Chiriguano kept 1,000 Chané in subjection. 

The first White settlement in the land of the Chiriguano was the ephemeral town 
of Santo Domingo de la Nueva Rioja, founded in 1564 on the upper Parapeti 
(Cordorillo) River by Manso and destroyed a short time later by the Chiriguano. 
In 1571 the Chiriguano attacked the Chicha and the natives of the Provinces of Con- 
dorillo and Barranca. To punish them for their “arrogance,” the Viceroy of Pert, 
Francisco de Toledo, led an expedition against them. The Indians avoided battle 
and harassed the troops of the Viceroy until he was obliged to retreat in shameful 
defeat (1574). San Lorenzo de la Frontera, which became the modern Santa Cruz 
de la Sierra, was founded primarily to keep the Chiriguano at bay. 

The first attempt to convert the Chiriguano to Christianity was made in 1609, when 
two Franciscans, Augustin Sabio and Francisco Gonzalez, built a church in the valley 
of Salinas, but the reduction was soon abandoned because of Indian opposition. The 
Jesuit fathers founded a college in Tarija in 1690 and undertook the spiritual con- 
quest of the Chiriguano. In 1691, Father Arce founded a mission in the valley of 
Tariquea, which lasted only 3 years; another mission, established on the Guapay 
River by Fathers Zea and Centeno, met the same fate. At the beginning of the 
18th century, the Dominicans founded three missions in the valley of Chiquiaca, 
Nuestra Sefiora del Rosario, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa, while the Augustins 
formed the Mission of Santa Clara in the valley of Salinas. In 1715, the Jesuits 
reestablished their ancient mission of Tariquea. In 1727, all the missions in the 
Chiriguano country were destroyed by the rebellion of the chief, Aruma, and his 
followers, who feared being taken into slavery. The revolt was crushed by an 
armed expedition sent from Santa Cruz and composed of Spaniards, “tame” Chiri- 
guano, and Chiquito auxiliary troops. The Chiriguano had been aroused against the 
missions by the fear of being taken into slavery. 


468 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


In 1732, the conversion of the Chiriguano was entrusted again to the Jesuits. 
Fathers Julian Lizardi, José Pons, and Ignacio Chomé entered the southern part of 
the Chiriguano territory and founded the missions of Concepcién and Rosario in the 
valley of Salinas. About the same time, the Franciscans built a missionary center in 
Tarija and in 1757 they sent missionaries to the Chiriguano. In 1767, they reestab- 
lished the mission of the Purisima Concepcién de Pilipili. After the expulsion of 
the Jesuits in 1767, the Franciscans continued their work with great success. Be- 
tween that time and the end of the 18th century, the Franciscans founded many new 
missions north of the Guapay River (Rio Grande) : Abapo, Mazabi, Cabezas, Piray, 
Igmiri, Tacurt, Iti, Parapeti, Itau, Tapera, Iguirapucuti, Tacuaremboti, Piriti, and 
Obaig. Some of these were annihilated when the Indians rose in arms in 1796 and 
1799. During the war of independence, the Franciscan missions were completely 
abandoned. In 1845, the Franciscans resumed the conversion of the Chiriguano, and 
built a series of new missions from Itau to the Parapeti River. The more important 
of these were San Francisco, Tarairi, Machareti, Santa Rosa, San Antonio de 
Huacaya, Ivu, and San Francisco del Parapeti. In 1886, a messiah called the 
Chiriguano to arms against the Bolivians by assuring the Indians that they had 
nothing to fear because their oppressors’ guns would only “spit water.” The messiah 
and his followers were defeated near Cuevo. 

In 1929, the last missions were secularized, and the Chiriguano lost the protection 
of the Franciscans. Many of them migrated to the Argentine where they were em- 
ployed as skilled workers in the sugar factories. The Chaco war spread havoc in 
the Chiriguano villages at the foot of the Andes. The Chané of the Parapeti River 
then put themselves under the protection of the Paraguayan army, and today they 
live around the fort of Toledo, intermarrying with Paraguayans, whom they con- 
sider to be their kinsmen, “because of the close relationship between both Guarani 
dialects.” These Chané are sometimes erroneously designated as “Guarayos.” 

The 16th- and 17th-century chroniclers estimated the Chiriguano population at only 
a few thousand, exclusive of their Chané vassals. In 1810, there were 23,936 
Chiriguano in the Franciscan missions. This figure includes only half the Chiriguano 
tribe, as the pagan members south of the Parapeti River were not reckoned. Cardts 
(1886, p. 242) gives the following estimate of the Chiriguano during the second half 
of the 19th century: In the province of Acero, 18,000; in the Cordillera and in the 
region of Izozo, 20,000; in the Chaco, from 5,000 to 6,000. Of these, only 8,000 were 
baptized and 3,187 lived under missionary care. In 1928, the total Chiriguano popu- 
lation was said to be 20,000. Today, after the Chaco war and constant migrations 
to the Argentine, their number must be greatly reduced. 


ARCHEOLOGY 


Few archeological finds were made in the region occupied by the Chiri- 
guano. Nordenskiold (1924 a, p. 40) mentions burial urns and ancient 
sites on the Parapeti River, and similar burials were discovered at Taru- 
payu. In some graves the dead were seated and were covered with several 
inverted bowls piled on one another. These bowls have hollow rims filled 
with pellets. Nordenskiold refers also to direct burial in urns which show 
the characteristic corrugations of the Chiriguano and Guarani ware. 

At Yumbia, in the Province of Tarija, at the borderline between Chiri- 
guano and Quechua territory, the present author obtained fragments of 
pots with hollow rims, an anthropomorphic vessel with ring-shaped body 
covered with a red slip, and a specimen of beautiful stone panpipes with 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 469 


typical Inca designs. At Caipipendi (pl. 41, top, right), near Charagua, 
he found a Chiriguano cemetery consisting of large, corrugated urns, iden- 
tical to modern Chiriguano chicha jars, covered with smaller jars. Near 
the surface was found a vessel with incised decoration which has no re- 
semblance to any modern Chiriguano ware. The same site yielded a small 
pot with thin incisions and two suspension holes. 


SOURCES 


Short descriptions of the Chiriguano appear in the early literature. 
Garcilaso de la Vega’s picture of Chiriguano culture is on the whole quite 
inaccurate, but for a few details. Diaz de Guzman (1914), Barco Cen- 
tenera (1836, 1912), and Lizarraga (1909) speak briefly of Chiriguano 
culture, but the earliest firsthand account of it is Father Chomé’s letter 
(1819 b). Tamajuncosa’s report (1910) about the state of the missions 
at the end of the 18th century is also an interesting document. Weddel 
(1853), who visited the Chiriguano in the middle of the last century, pub- 
lished a few notes about their culture. The best sources are the reports 
and books written by the Franciscan missionaries, Cards (1886), Corrado 
(1884), and especially Campana (1902). Nino’s (1912) much-quoted 
book is based in great part on Campana’s monograph. 

Nordenskiold dedicates several chapters of his “Indianerleben” (1912) 
and of “Forschungen and Abenteuer” (1924 a) to the Chiriguano and 
Chané. His data are accurate though somewhat superficial. Great stress 
is placed on the economic life and the material culture, but social organ- 
ization and religion receive only cursory attention. However, the collec- 
tion of Chané and Chiriguano myths is fairly large and of great interest. 
Nordenskidld made a comparative analysis of Chiriguano material culture 
in one of the volumes of his ethnographical series (Nordenskidld, 1920). 
More minute details about Chiriguano artifacts may be found in Eric von 
Rosen’s (1924) luxurious publication based on a collection he made among 
these Indians at the beginning of the century. 

Several aspects of Chiriguano history and material culture were studied 
in some detail by the writer (Métraux, 1930 b), who also published new 
Chiriguano myths (1931 a) and two sociological essays (Métraux, 1931 b 
and 1935). 

Several monographs deal with Chiriguano pottery, which is today one 
of the best in South America. (Outes, 1909; Nordenskiold, 1920; 
Métraux, 1930 b; Paulotti, 1942.) Recently, Max Schmidt (1938) again 
published and described Chiriguano artifacts and techniques. 

Knowledge of Chiriguano religious and social life is meager and is 
limited mainly to Campana’s monograph (1902) and to observations made 
by Nordenskidld (1912) and the present author (1930 b) at a time when 
aboriginal Chiriguano culture was already decadent. The Paraguayan- 
Bolivian war accelerated its breakdown and little of it now survives. 


470 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The migrations, wars, and the religious conversion of the Chiriguano 
have been the subjects of many historical monographs. The most im- 
portant of these are by Corrado (1884), Serrano y Sanz (1898), Domin- 
guez (1918), Gandia (1929 a, and b), Métraux (1930 b), Coni (1925), 
Moreno (1929), and Finot (1939). The Jesuit missionary work among 
the Chiriguano has been described by Lozano (1941) and Muriel (1918). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


As today Chiriguano and Chané share in the same culture, the following 
data may apply to both tribes. 

Farming.—The Chané, conquered by the Chiriguano, were proficient 
farmers who, though practicing a tropical type of agriculture, were prob- 
ably acquainted with many of the methods of cultivation of the Andean 
area. The Chiriguano adopted their traditions. The new habitat of the 
Chiriguano did not offer the same resources for hunting and fishing as had 
their homeland. Therefore, these Indians depend on farming to a larger 
extent than any other Tupi-Guarani tribe. The basis of their livelihood 
is maize, of which they have 11 varieties, all related to those of Paraguay. 
Then follow in order of importance: Pumpkins, beans (11 varieties), 
sweet potatoes, sweet manioc, peanuts, and some Barbary figs (Opuntia 
sp). Sweet potatoes were grown on a large scale by the Chané of the 
Parapeti River. 

These Indians also raise cotton, tobacco, urucu, and, in the Parapeti 
region, reeds for arrow shafts (Arundo donax). Plants of the Old World 
adopted by the Chiriguano include melons, watermelons, oranges, sugar- 
cane, and sorghum. 

Chiriguano men clear the fields and surround them with a tall fence as 
a protection against the inroads of wild or domesticated animals, a task 
which is considered to be particularly strenuous. They also till the soil, 
but at harvest time they are assisted by the women and children. The 
latter, armed with slings, drive away the parakeets and other birds which 
prey on the crops. Nordenskidld (1912, p. 183) observed that among the 
Chané of the Itiyuro region, large maize fields were tended by men while 
pumpkins and beans were raised by the women. 

Collecting wild food.—When their crops fail, the Chiriguano subsist 
on the same species of pods and fruits as those collected by the Chaco 
Indians: Algarrobo, tusca, mistol, caraguata, and other plant foods. 

Hunting.—Hunting is a very secondary economic activity, at least in 
modern times. Peccaries, which are the main game animal, are hunted 
with specially trained dogs and killed with bows and arrows or with clubs. 
Rheas, which are abundant in the Chaco plains, are caught with bolas. 
Pigeons are captured with clap nets. Special arrows with two points are 
used for hunting yacu birds (Penelope sp.). 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 471 


Fishing.—Fishing is worth while only for those Chiriguano and Chané 
who live along the upper Pilcomayo or Bermejo Rivers and, to lesser ex- 
tent, for the Chané of the Parapeti and Itiyuro Rivers. Methods of fishing 
vary somewhat with the regions. Along the Pilcomayo River, fish are 
caught with iron hooks, with dipnets, similar to those of the Chaco 
Indians, with the bow and arrow, and with long two-pronged spears. 
Fishing baskets are used in combination with stone dams (fig. 57). 


ATP AIOE 
seston atelecberei SE 


a 
ive 
4 


pockets where fish are caught. (Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1920, fig. 14.) 


Among the Chané of the Itiyuro, fishing is done almost exclusively by 
women and children. They use hooks, but more often they capture fish 
in small ponds which they cut from the main stream by means of weirs. 
They also catch small fish in narrow-necked gourds into which they place 
chicha dregs as a bait. The Chané of the Parapeti scoop fish with nets 
or shoot them with arrows tipped with a bundle of cactus thorns (Norden- 
skiold, 1912, pp. 184-185). 

Domesticated animals.—Modern Chiriguano raise sheep, cattle, 
horses, and chickens. Their dogs are so completely mongrel that their 
European or Indian origin cannot be ascertained. The Chiriguano were 
probably acquainted with chickens when they arrived in their present 
territory, for they use a Guarani term for them. Pets are not numerous 
in their villages ; most of them are parrots which were captured by means 
of a noose attached to the end of a long pole. In order to approach the 
wild birds, the Indians use tame parrots and decoys. 

Cooking.—Maize is prepared in a great many ways. The grains are 
eaten on the cob, roasted in special pans, boiled in water, or ground into 
flour, which is served with every meal. One method of preparing maize 
flour is to steam it in a perforated bowl. 


472 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Chiriguano mortars are of the cylindrical type; the pestle is long and 
heavy. Maize flour is sifted in round basket sieves very similar to those 
used in the rest of tropical South America. Meat is boiled or broiled on a 
spit; the babracot is conspicuously absent. Food is served in clay 
bowls and more rarely in wooden dishes, and eaten with wooden spoons. 
Salt is extracted from mines near San Luis, or obtained by evaporating 
the water of salty brooks. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Dwellings.—Until the 17th century, the Chiriguano built large com- 
munal houses, “150 feet [46 m.] long,” in which many families lived 
together, each occupying the space between two wall posts (Lizarraga, 
1909, p. 552). A hundred years later they were lodged, as they are 
now, in small rectangular houses, with a steep gable roof and wattle- 
and-daub walls. Sometimes the roof projects in front to form a small 
veranda. A house belongs either to a single biological family or to two 
or three closely related families, generally parents with their married 
children. 

The ancient villages were composed of three to five long houses, grouped 
around the plaza. Modern villages also have a central plaza. A store- 
house is built on piles near each dwelling and serves to protect crops 
against rats and dampness. Like the settlements of their Paraguayan 
ancestors, some ancient Chiriguano villages were protected by a single 
or double palisade. 

Household furniture.—The Chiriguano sleep on platform beds of 
reeds and use their woolen or cotton hammocks to recline on during the 
day or as cradles for babies. The typical Chiriguano hammock is made of 
long warp threads twined together at set intervals by weft strands; a few 
caraguata specimens are made in a net technique. Other items of furni- 
ture are benches carved of a single piece of wood, large vessels to store 
clothes and food, and crude shelves hanging from the roof. A tree trunk 
with three radiating branches serves as supports for vessels or for piles 
of corn. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Clothing.—Chiriguano men, wearing only a G string (chiripa), were a 
common sight before shirts and pants came into general use. The cotton 
tunic (cushma), which was adopted from the Quechua after the Chiri- 
guano migrations, disappeared long ago, but the poncho, a more recent 
acquisition, is still popular. As early as the 18th century, Chiriguano 
horsemen, in true Spanish style, wore skin breeches and leather coats. 
They wear sandals when they have to walk over stony ground or through 
thorny bush. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 473 


Chiriguano women still dress in tipoys, a long, sacklike garment, 
fastened on both shoulders with thorns or sometimes with luxurious silver 
pins (pl. 42, right). Some tipoys (tiru) are so long that they need to be 
folded. 

Anciently, Chiriguano men shaved their foreheads, as did the Guarani 
of Paraguay. At a later period, men and women wore their hair long 
and carefully groomed it with combs. These were artistically carved from 
a single piece of wood ; some of them were cut into the shape of animals. 
Men wrapped their hair around the head and kept it in place with a head- 
band. 

Women part their hair in the middle and tie it over the neck with 
a tasseled fillet, or with a ribbon across the forehead. 


Body painting.—Both sexes formerly painted their faces and their 
bodies with urucu. In more recent times, women were content to smear 
their cheeks with uruct before taking part in a feast. Men stained their 
teeth black with a special grass. 


Ornaments.—The distinctive ornament of the Chiriguano, even in 
modern times, is a tin labret studded with turquoise fragments (pl. 43; 
fig. 59, e). Originally, labrets were made of rosin, as were those of the 
Guarani of Paraguay. Wooden labrets or a piece of reed inserted in the 
lower lip remains common among children and also among men too poor 
to acquire a metal labret. Some of the round tin labrets are more than an 
inch in diameter without including the flanges which hold them on the 
inside of the lower lip. 

Feather ornaments almost disappeared after the migration and were 
replaced by typical Andean woven frontlets studded with metal plates. 
Men hung elongated silver plates from their necks; these ornaments 
probably originated from small metal tweezers worn in the same fashion 
(fig. 59, a). The most valued necklaces are composed of turquoise or 
chrysocolla beads which are traded from the Mestizos of Tarija or taken 
from the sepulchers of the people who preceded the Chiriguano in their 
habitat. Ordinary necklaces were once strung with shells or seeds, but 
now consist of glass beads. 

Miscellaneous.—The Chiriguano have the deserved reputation of being 
among the cleanest Indians of South America. Men and women bathe 
several times a day, washing themselves with crushed fruits containing 
saponin. Soap is in great demand throughout Chiriguano territory. 

Men depilated their faces and bodies with metal tweezers. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Boats.—The rivers in Chiriguano territory are not suitable for naviga- 
tion; the only watercraft are crude rafts used to cross the Pilcomayo 
River. 


474 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Carrying devices.—In contrast to other Guarani, the Chiriguano do 
not have basketry knapsacks; women use large carrying nets with a 
tumpline. Babies are carried in a woven sling, straddling their mother’s 
hip. 


Ficure 58.— Chiriguano and Chané pottery decorations, (After Métraux, 
1930 b, pl. 32.) 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 475 


MANUFACTURES 


Pottery.—Chiriguano pottery is, for the beauty of its painted decoration 
and the variety of its forms, outstanding in modern South America. The 
mixed origin of Chiriguano culture is reflected in the two types of earthen- 
ware vessels. The plain pots for cooking and the large jars for chicha, 
which did not differ from similar vessels of the Paraguayan Guarani, 
were ornamented with fingernail impressions (pl. 41, bottom, right). 


J. Anglin 
Ficure 59.—Chiriguano and Chané manufactures. a, Silver pincers used as breast 
ornaments; b, bird arrow point; c, handle to wooden spade; d, wooden whistle used 
as ornament; e, tin labret with mosaic inlay; f, Chané pea-shooter. (a, d, e, Re- 
drawn from Rosen, 1924; b, c, f, from Nordenskidld, 1920, figs, 29, 15, 5, 34.) 


653333—47—33 


476 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


The de luxe vases and dishes, typologically related to vessels in the 
archeological pottery of southern Bolivia and northern Argentina, were 
decorated with distinctly Andean patterns (figs. 58, 60). The most 
common vessel is the yambui, a subglobular vase with ears, in which 
chicha was served. The motifs are mainly geometrical and most of them 


Black Yellow Red 


Lj Ga &3 


J.Anglim 


Ficure 60.—Chiriguano pottery. Specimen at top, right, a Humahuaca archeological 
specimen included for comparison. (Approximately 1/7 actual size.) (Redrawn 
from Métraux, 1930 b, fig. 70, pls. 35, 37, 44.) 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 477 


are based on a triangle surmounted by a scroll, which is multiplied in 
countless variations. 

Women potters (pl. 41, top, left, and bottom, left) tempered the clay 
with crushed potsherds and built up their vases by coiling. They painted 
them with several kinds of ocher and with black obtained from rosin. 

Spinning and weaving.—Among the Chiriguano, wool is more com- 
monly used than cotton for textiles, but Chané fabrics are generally of 
cotton. The fibers are spun with a drop spindle weighted with a clay 
whorl (pl. 42, center). Although garments are in part Andean in shape, 
the loom remains of the vertical type. Formerly, indigo was the favorite 
native dye; today aniline dyes have entirely replaced it. The ornamenta- 
tion of the fabrics is limited to a few stripes. 

Netting.—Fishing nets and carrying nets are made by means of a 
wooden gage in a reef-knot technique. 

Basketry.—Fans, round baskets with overlapping lids, and sieves are 
twilled with palm leaves in the best Guiana fashion, but wickerwork 
basketry is very common. No large baskets for carrying or storing food 
are made. 

Gourds.—The painted, incised, or fire-engraved (fig. 61) gourds 
(Lagenaria siceraria) used as cups are, after pottery, the best expres- 
sions of Chiriguano art. The motifs are mainly geometrical, with occa- 
sional realistic representations. 


FIGURE 61 Chand calabashes. Left: Specimen with lid (approximately ™% actual 
size). Right: Pyrograved specimen (approximately %4 actual size). (Redrawn 
from Nordenskidld, 1920, fig. 50 and Métraux, 1930 b, pl. 62.) 


478 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Fire.—For several generations the Chiriguano and Chané have used 
steel and flint for making fire. The fire drill is, however, remembered 
in their mythology. 


Weapons.—The Chiriguano bow has an average length of 4 feet 
(1.2 m.); the stave is flat on the belly and convex on the back. Both 
ends are sharpened to prevent the string of twisted hide from slipping. 


Arrows are tipped with carefully barbed rods, with two rods barbed 
along the outer edges, (fig. 59, b) with flat lanceolate heads, or with a 
conical knob (bird arrow). The arrows armed with two diverging rods 
are used to shoot large birds, such as the yacu (Penelope sp.). Fishing 
arrows of the Chané bristle with cactus thorns. Today arrows ending 
in a sharp wooden rod are rare, as the modern arrows are usually tipped 
with heavy wires. The shafts are made of cultivated reeds (Arundo 
donax). Formerly, the Chané used the uva grass (Gynerium sagittatum). 
Feathering, which is of the cemented type, is sometimes omitted. 


The clubs of the Chiriguano in the 17th century were short and ended 
in a flat, oval head, a shape somewhat related to the ancient Tupinamba 
club. These clubs have disappeared (only a single specimen could be 
obtained in 1929 by Métraux) and have been replaced by simple cudgels 
that serve only to knock down wild pigs. 


Chiriguano in direct contact with the Quechua have woolen slings; 
those living farther to the east have slings made of caraguata fibers, which 
they use mainly to chase birds from the fields. The pellet bow is common 
among the Chiriguano and Chané, but is merely a toy for boys. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 
Originally, the Chiriguano community consisted of a few extended 
families or lineages, strictly patrilineal. Modern villages are composed of 
many small biological families bound by relationship ties or by their 
allegiance to a common chief. 


Chiriguano chiefs (mburubicha) of old were men distinguished by 
their courage, their eloquence, and often by their magic power. They 
enjoyed considerable prestige and held no little authority. Some of them 
(tubicha rubicha) extended their influence over a wide area and were 
recognized as a supreme chief by the local chieftains. The main function 
of a chief was to settle quarrels within the village, to punish thieves, to 
see that people worked in the fields at the proper time, to arrange feasts, 
and to lead his men in war. Chiefs also had right of eminent domain 
over the land. Sometimes a chief was assisted by an informal council 
consisting of shamans and of the oldest and bravest men of the com- 
munity. As a rule, a chief, even if he was powerful, led the same type 
of life as any of his subjects; in recent time some chiefs had servants. 
Some aristocratic pride was evidenced by the members of their family. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 479 


Chieftainship was inherited in the male line, but the title was bestowed 
on a chief's son only if he were worthy of it. There are only a very 
few cases of women ruling a Chiriguano group, but the Chané remembered 
the names of several women leaders. According to a genealogy of a 
Chané chiefly family recorded by Nordenskiold (1912, p. 229), power 
was inherited successively by the brothers and sisters of a deceased chief 
before it passed to his son. In the village visited by Nordenskiold, the 
brother’s son of the chieftainess was the actual ruler, but her son by 
a commoner was the heir apparent. This system of succession is prob- 
ably the same as the one prevailing among the eastern Chané (Guana). 

Chiriguano chiefs of the past wore conspicuous ornaments and were 
entitled to carry the yanduwa, a pole with a bunch of feathers tied at the 
end, and a carved stick. 

Property.—A plot that had once been cultivated by a man belonged to 
him and to his descendants, but could not be alienated by him. In order 
to insure new ownership rights, a Chiriguano would plant a few pumpkins 
on the land which he intended to clear. 

Justice.—Thieves were expelled from the community or sometimes 
were flogged. A man convicted of adultery could lose his property. 
Murderers were sent into exile, unless the victim’s family had time 
to kill him first. Wronged individuals often took justice into their own 
hands and challenged the offender to a duel. The settlement of old 
accounts occurred generally during drinking bouts. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Soon after childbirth, the mother went to the river to 
wash and smear herself with urucu. Both parents observed various food 
taboos. The father rested for a few days on his bed and refrained from 
any work, lest he harm the baby. One twin, as well as any malformed 
infant, was killed (Campana, 1902, p. 72). 

Puberty.—Menstrual flow was attributed to the bite of a mysterious 
serpent. At her first menses a girl was hoisted in her hammock to the 
roof of the hut, where she was compelled to stay for 5 days without utter- 
ing a word. Then she remained for a month or more enclosed in a corner 
of the hut. Her hair was clipped short, and she was put on a diet of boiled 
maize. During her seclusion, she spun and wove wool and cotton so 
that she would be diligent for the rest of her life. Meanwhile, she became 
pallid, which was greatly admired when she returned to normal life. 
Henceforth, she used the affirmative “é, é” instead of the childish “U, u.” 

In ancient times, the confinement of a pubescent girl lasted for several 
months or even for a year! (Campana, 1902, p. 86). 


1 According to Father Chomé (1819 b, p. 202), the pubescent girl was hoisted in her hammock 
near the roof. During the second month, the hammock was lowered, but the confinement ended 
only in the third month, when a group of old women entered the hut with sticks to start a symbolic 
hunt for the serpent that had bitten the girl. 


480 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Initiation rites.—Some time between the ages of 7 and 12, a boy had 
his lower lip perforated by a shaman, who used for this purpose a sharp 
deer horn. The ceremony was performed only when a sufficiently large 
group of boys in the village was ready for it. Before they underwent 
the ordeal, the boys were told that they must show fortitude and that 
subsequently they could give up the affirmative “u, uw” for the masculine 
“ta.” A short period of fasting followed the operation. 

Marriage.—In contrast to the free life led by Chaco girls before mar- 
riage, Chiriguano girls were expected to keep their virginity and were 
carefully watched by their mothers. 

Chomé (1819 b, p. 202) says that a suitor provided his prospective 
father-in-law with crops and game. This statement suggests bride serv- 
ice, a custom widely spread among Guarani-speaking tribes and one ob- 
served by the Chané of the Parapeti River a few decades ago. The bride- 
groom settled temporarily or permanently with his wife’s family. 

Polygyny, at least in recent times, was restricted to chiefs or to men of 
wealth. A man’s wives generally lived together in harmony, but in many 
cases they were kept in separate villages. Polygynous wives were often 
sisters or a mother and her daughter. 

Death.—If the condition of a person was deemed fatal, he was sur- 
rounded by a group of women who gave vent to the most spectacular 
outbursts of grief. This anticipation of the funeral was regarded as a 
manifestation of affection and respect. The deceased, painted and 
dressed in his best clothes, was placed squatting in a large chicha jar 
and was buried, accompanied by his possessions and some food, in the 
hut where he had lived. The urn was covered with a large jar or plate. 
The closest female relatives cut their hair and deposited it on the grave. 
The widow, her head covered with a rag, mourned for a whole year, 
wailing at certain hours during the day with all the appearance of pro- 
found sorrow. She could not resume normal life until a close relative 
of her dead husband had suggested that she forget her grief. A drinking 
bout marked the end of mourning. 

The soul on its journey to the land of the dead (iwoka) faced many 
ordeals. It had to walk under a wall of fire, over a boiling lagoon, be- 
tween two onrushing rocks, and between the blades of gigantic scissors. 
Finally, the deceased reached a land where the dead lived in abundance 
and joy. This pleasant heaven was open only to those who had never 
violated traditional custom. 


WARFARE 


Intertribal warfare.—Raids to steal crops or cattle or to kidnap women 
were the main causes of intertribal warfare. The head chief convoked 
the lesser, i.e., village chiefs, harangued them and listened to their advice. 
Women performed a special dance and sang to stimulate the courage of 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 481 


the warriors, whom orators constantly exhorted to fight. The main tactic 
was to surprise and not to be surprised. Scouts were sent ahead of the 
army and sentries were placed on guard at night. The attack was car- 
ried out at dawn. During the battle, the women of the attacked village 
danced and sang to help their men resist. The victorious party returned 
with the heads of their slain enemies, which were subjected to all sorts 
of outrages. 


CANNIBALISM 


In the past, prisoners were ceremonially killed and eaten. The victims 
were usually the Chané, of whom, according to Lizarraga (1909, p. 552), 
the Chiriguano had eaten about 60,000 during the 16th century. War- 
riors delivered the captives to their children, who shot them with arrows. 
Prisoners whom they spared were incorporated into the Chiriguano tribe. 
In more recent times, the prisoners who were not put to death were 
kept as slaves. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments.—Chiriguano musical instruments are mainly 
copies of European or Andean instruments, such as the transverse flute. 
The transverse flute is Spanish, but the quena or end flute (pl. 43, bottom) 
is Andean. Among the most prized possessions of these Indians are 
round wooden whistles with two stops, and sereres, elongated pieces of 
wood, perforated lengthwise and blown by stopping the lower aperture 
(fig. 59, d). The clarinet with a slit reed tongue and the cowhorn bell 
are post-Columbian. The hide-covered drums beaten during feasts is of 
Spanish origin. Panpipes occur only among the Chané of the Parapeti 
River. 

Dances.—Dancers of each sex form a separate line, holding hands with 
their neighbors. Under the leadership of a master of ceremony who beats 
time with a feather tuft, men dance on the same spot by bending the knee 
slightly while women move forward and backward or dance around the 
men, shaking rattles. 

Drinking bouts.—Drinking bouts, in which enormous quantities of 
chicha are consumed, are attended by friendly communities, which are 
ceremoniously invited. 

Narcotics.—Formerly, tobacco was grown in small quantities by the 
Chiriguano for ceremonial purposes. Today some Chiriguano smoke 
cigarettes, but seldom the pipe. A pre-Hispanic clay pipe was unearthed 
by Nordenskiold at Caipipendi. Only a few Chiriguano who live near the 
Quechua chew coca, which, however, they do not cultivate. 

Fermented drinks.—Maize chicha is the favorite beverage of the 
Chiriguano, who practically subsist on it during the weeks following 
harvest. Its preparation, entrusted to women, is a lengthy and com- 


482 SOUTH AMBRICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


plicated affair: the grains are crushed in the mortars, and chewed flour 
is added to the meal, which is thoroughly boiled for many hours in large 
jars. The Chané of the Parapeti River make a fermented beverage of 
sweet potatoes. 

Gambling.—Chiriguano and Chané are acquainted with the suka game 
of the Chaco Indians, which undoubtedly has an Andean origin.? An- 
other favorite dice game is called chukareta: a bunch of sticks with 
one face concave and the other convex are thrown to the ground, after 
one of the partners has chosen one of the sides. If, e.g., the thrower has 
decided on convex, all the sticks with the convex side up go to him. 
The one wins who gets most sticks (Nordenskidld, 1920, p. 99). 

European dice games are also known. The dice are of bone or clay and 
have special markings. Many Chiriguano ruin themselves at the famous 
taba game of the Mestizos. It is played with an ox astragalus, which is 
thrown in turn by the gamblers, who bet on which side the bone will fall. 

Games.—Young boys acquire marksmanship by shooting at a rolling 
wheel. Boys also play hockey, as do their neighbors of the Chaco. They 
also hurl darts made of a stick and a corn husk. A popular game among 
children consists in casting a stick so that it rebounds. The one who 
throws it farthest scores a point, and the first to score eight points in 
succession wins (Nordenskiéld, 1912, p. 197). 

They also throw at each other a shuttlecock made of maize leaves and 
strive to keep it in the air as long as possible. 

Formerly, the Chané of the Parapeti River, like so many Guiana tribes, 
played a ball game with rubber balls which they butted with their heads. 
They seem to have used two kinds of rubber balls, black solid ones and 
white hollow ones which they obtained from the region of Santa Cruz 
or from the Province of Chiquitos. 

Chiriguano women had a game (itarapoa) in which they threw a stone 
ball or a hollow clay ball filled with pellets at rows of maize grains placed 
by twos, one above the other. 

Small children whirled tops made of a calabash or played with wax or 
rag dolls. 

RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


During 200 years of close contact with missionaries, many Christian 
concepts have crept into Chiriguano religion. Tunpa, or Iandapoha 
(“Our Creator”), is commonly held to be the “real god.” Aguara- 
tunpa, the Fox God, is a mythological trickster with some features of a 
culture hero. He was regarded by many missionaries as the functioning 
god of the Chiriguano, There is some evidence of a solar cult, just as 
there is among the Guarant. Aboriginally, the Chiriguano were mainly 
concerned with “iya,” nature spirits, and with “ana,” the souls of the dead. 


2 The dice are made of four pieces of wood, flat on one side and convex on the other. The rules 
of the game are described in the chapter about Chaco games (Handbook, vol. 1, p. 337). 


Vol.8]) TRIBES OF BE. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 483 


The shamans (ipaye) enjoyed considerable prestige. When invited 
by a village to assist its inhabitants in some predicament, they were re- 
ceived with marks of great respect and were lavishly entertained. They 
served the community as rain makers and as doctors. In the latter 
capacity, they treated patients or protected the whole village against 
epidemics. Their curing technique followed the usual South American 
pattern of blowing and sucking the sick person. They retired to small 
cabins to communicate with spirits. Blowing tobacco smoke played a 
large part in the shamanistic ritual. The medicine men were expected to 
discover the evil charms that threatened the individual or the community 
as a whole. Shamans were often put to death for their failure to bring 
rain or to dispel an epidemic. Old women were often called to cure 
diseases which required the administration of drugs. 

During carnivals, which, under the Bolivian influence, have become a 
period of wild rejoicing, young men wearing masks (pl. 44) of soft 
wood amuse the spectators by their antics and tricks. As the best masks 
are those carved by the Chané, it is likely that the clown interludes are 
survivals of dances by masked persons representing nature spirits or 
ghosts, such as are performed by many Arawak tribes. The Chané and 
Chiriguano masked characters collect food and depart amid the tears of 
old people. 


MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE 


Cosmogony.—The Sun is a man and the Moon is his wife. In the 
evening the Sun enters a river which he follows until he rises again. An 
eclipse of the Sun or of the Moon is caused by the attack of a “purple’’ or 
“yellow” jaguar. Everybody then makes as much noise as possible to 
frighten off the celestial feline. 

The appearance of the Pleiades, which the Chiriguano call ‘a swarm of 
bees,” announces the harvest season. Their yearly course serves also to 
reckon time. The Chiriguano identify Scorpio with a fenced field, in 
the center of which is the miraculous spade of Aguara-tunpa. In the 
black skies near the Milky Way (the road of the rhea), they see a 
celestial ostrich (rhea), the head of which is the Southern Cross. The 
Magellanic Clouds are the ashes of a fire built by a couple who went to 
the sky. (See Lehmann-Nitsche, 1924.) 

Folklore.—Most of the Chiriguano folklore recorded by Nordenskidld 
(1912) was obtained from a Chané of the Parapeti River region. The 
collection of myths and tales made by Métraux (1930 b) in Chiriguano 
villages shows that both groups, in spite of their different origin, share 
substantially in the same folklore. Certain motifs in the Chané version, 
however, have not been recorded among their ancient Chiriguano masters, 
and may well be Arawak traditions which have survived among them. 
An example is the theme, which is well known in the Guianas, of the 


484 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


“tree-of-life,” or “mother-of-all-trees,” which was placed by Tunpa on 
the earth and then disappeared, leaving all food plants as its offspring. 

A flood, which once covered the world, was caused by the curse of a 
young woman who was insulted by her mother-in-law. In another version 
of this myth, the flood resulted from a storm brought about by a man with 
wings (Thunderbird). A boy and a girl were placed in a jar with all 
kinds of seeds and, when the waters subsided, they planted these seeds 
and repeopled the world. 

There are two versions of the myth of the origin of fire. In one, fire 
was stolen from Sun by the children who escaped the flood; in the other, 
fire, which was the property of the Vultures, was stolen by a Toad who, 
pretending to be cold, came near the fire and stole some embers. 

The leading characters of Chiriguano-Chané folklore are Armadillo 
(Tatu) and Fox (Aguara), whose names, when mentioned in the various 
stories, are always followed by the adjective, “tunpa” (sacred). Arma- 
dillo is a wise and powerful character, always well disposed toward man- 
kind. Aguara-tunpa (Fox) is a trickster, though in many cases he also 
plays the part of a culture hero. For instance, Fox steals algarroba seeds 
from Viscacha (Lagostomus maximus), he captures Vulture and forces 
him to yield the original rubber ball as his ransom. Tatu-tunpa and 
Aguara-tunpa have several adventures together. On one occasion Aguara- 
tunpa changes Tatu-tunpa into a repulsive man in order to marry the 
pretty daughter of a chief while his companion gets the ugly one. Tatu- 
tunpa shows his greater power by magically tilling a huge field which is 
instantaneously covered with all kinds of foods. Aguara-tunpa is then 
unmasked. 

Aguara-tunpa kills Tatu-tunpa and puts on his skin, in order to deceive 
the latter’s wife. Again he is unmasked and punished. 

The old Tupi-Guarani myth of the Twins was also recorded among 
the Chiriguano (Métraux, 1930 b). A girl is magically impregnated by 
Tatu-tunpa. She is expelled from her village and wanders in search of 
the father of the Twins who she bears in her womb and who speak to 
her. The Twins show her the path to their father’s house, but, becoming 
angry at her, they mislead her to the house of the Jaguars, who kill her. 
The Twins are brought up by their grandmother. Later they hear about 
the murder of their mother from a yacu bird. They take revenge on the 
Jaguars by attempting to drown them when they cross a river by making 
it wider and wider. Finally, the Twins climb up a chain of arrows to the 
sky, where they become Sun and Moon. 

The Chiriguano also have a version of the old Mayan and Andean myth 
of the rebellion of manufactured objects against their masters. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 485 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Alcaya, 1906; Barco Centenera, 1836, 1912; Campana, 1902; Cabeza de Vaca (see 
Hernandez, Pedro, 1852) ; Cardtis, 1886; Cattunar (see Romano and Cattunar, 1916) ; 
Chomé, 1819 a, 1819 b; Coni, 1925; Corrado, 1884; Diaz de Guzman, 1914; Domin- 
guez, 1918; Finot, 1939; Gandia, 1929 a, 1929 b, 1935 a; Garcilaso de la Vega, 1918-20; 
Giannechini, 1896; Hernandez, Pedro, 1852; Kersten, 1905; Lehmann-Nitsche, 1924; 
Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, 1780-83 (1819, vol. 5) ; Lizarraga, 1909; Lozano, 1941 ; 
Mather, 1922 a; Means, 1917; Métraux, 1930 b, 1931 a, 1931 b, 1935; Moreno, 2nd 
ed., 1929; Muriel, 1918; Nino, 1912; Nordenskidld, 1912, 1915 a, 1920, 1923, 1924 a; 
Outes, 1909; Paulotti, 1942; Romano and Cattunar, 1916; Rosen, 1924; Sarmiento de 
Gamboa, 1906; Schmidt, 1938; Serrano y Sanz, 1898; Tamajuncosa, 1910; Weddel, 
1853. 


THE YURACARE, MOSETENE, AND CHIMANE 
TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Culturally, the Yuracare, Mosetene, and Chimane are closely related 
(map 1, No. 3; map 2). The Leco probably belonged to the same cul- 
tural area, but information on them is scanty and, therefore, it is pre- 
sented in a special chapter. 

The Yuracare (Conis, Cuchis, Enetes) territory was defined by 
D’Orbigny (1839, 1:354-355) as the large zone of Tropical Forest at the 
foot of the Andes, extending from Santa Cruz in the east to Cochabamba 
in the west (lat. 16°-17° S., long. 63°-66° W.). In more recent times, 
Yuracare settlements were scattered along the Mamorecillo, Chimoré, 
Chaparé, Securé, and San Mateo Rivers and their tributaries. 

The Yuracare were divided into two mutually hostile groups: The 
Soloto, or eastern Yuracare, and the Manstfio to the west, on the slopes 
of the Andes. The Oromo, though exterminated by the Mansino, seem 
to have belonged to the latter nation. The Soloto of the Mission of San 
Carlos were called Mage by the inhabitants of Santa Cruz. 

The contacts of the Yuracare with the Whites go far back in time. 
On several occasions in the 17th century, they raided the Spanish settle- 
ments near Mizque and Cochabamba. The first missionary to visit them 
was Father Francisco Marcos who, in 1776, founded the Mission of 
Asuncién de Maria Santissima on the Paracti River, between the Coni 
and Chaparé Rivers. This mission was soon abandoned but was restored 
for a few years in 1784. The Mission of San José on the Coni River 
was established in 1795 by Father Tomas Anaya, but was deserted by 
the Indians in 1805, after it had been shifted to the Mamoré River. The 
Mission of San Francisco, founded on the Mamoré River in 1793, was 
also soon abandoned. At the beginning of the 19th century, Father 
Lacueva tried to restore the Mission of Asuncion, but it was in ruins 
when D’Orbigny passed through it in 1831. 

The Yuracare language is still regarded as unrelated to any other group. 


486 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Haenke (1900, p. 182) put the total number of Yuracare at the end of 
the 18th century at about 1,500. In 1831, D’Orbigny (1839, 1:355) 
estimated that there were about 1,000 Mansiio and 337 Soloto. A 
German colonist in 1877 reckoned the whole tribe to be about 1,500 
(Holten, 1877, p. 108), and Nordenskidld (1922, p. 46) estimated their 
number to be approximately 1,000 in 1908. 

The Mosetene (Rache, Amo, Chumpa, Cunana, Aparono, Magdaleno) 
lived along the Bopi (Wopi) River to Espia and along the Quiquive and 
Beni Rivers north to the vicinity of Reyes (lat. 15°-17° S., long. 67° W.) 
until the end of the 19th century, when they were concentrated in the 
Missions of Covendo, Santa Ana, and Muchanes. The Mosetene of the 
Beni River are also called Muchanes ; those at the junction of the Bopi 
and Beni Rivers are known as Tucupi. 

The Chimane (Chimanisa, Chumano, Nawazi-M oitji), who are closely 
related to the Mosetene, are settled on the upper Maniqui (Chimane) 
and Apere Rivers (lat. 15°-17° S., long. 66° W.). 

Mosetene also is classified as an isolated language. 


ARCHEOLOGY 


In the region inhabited today by the Chimane, especially between San 
Borja and San Ignacio, there are remains of large canals, dikes, and 
raised earth platforms built to drain and convert the vast marshes into 
fields. These elaborate works were made either by a large and industrious 
population which preceded the Chimane or else by the original linguistic 
family from which the modern Chimane are descended. 


POST-CONQUEST HISTORY 


The Mosetene are first mentioned in 1588, under the name of Amo, when they told 
Francisco de Angulo (Maurtua, 1906, 9 :88-104) of the riches of Corocoro. They 
informed the Spaniards that the Inca were conquering their land when Pizarro 
landed, and that some Mosetene had paid tribute to the Peruvian ruler. 

The first missionary to the Mosetene was Gregorio de Bolivar, 1621, who also 
mentioned the Chimane. On a second trip, he disappeared on the Sepayco River. 
In 1666, another Augustin priest crossed the land of the Rache (Mosetene). 

The religious and political conquest of the land of the Mosetene was undertaken 
in 1666 and 1667 by the Governor of Santa Cruz, Don Benito de Rivera y Quiroga. 
The Dominican Father Francisco del Rosario who, with Father José Morillo, ac- 
companied the expedition as a scout and leader, gave a detailed account of this ex- 
pedition. (See Meléndez, 1681-82, 3:812-844.) The two priests and a few Spaniards 
spent the rainy season in a Mosetene village planting the first seeds of Christianity. 
The Indians, who had been decimated by smallpox, were well disposed toward the 
newcomers. 

The following year, the Spaniards reached the Ypati River, where they found the 
first Mojo villages, explored the Cotacaxas River, and finally arrived at the Beni 
River, near the mouths of the Sopire and Coani Rivers. After raiding a village of 
Hwumuca Indians near the junction of the Quetoto and Beni Rivers (i., the Santa 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF EB. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 487 


Elena or Altomachi River), the soldiers deserted, and Quiroga gave up his dream 
of conquering the mountains of the silver and gold which the Indians had persuaded 
him he was about to discover. 

According to Francisco del Rosario, the Mosetene and Mojo had active trade 
relations, especially in salt. The Mojo also purchased European knives and beads 
from the Mosetene, who received in exchange cotton cloth, Brazil nuts, and feathers. 
Many Mosetene spoke or understood Aymara, a striking evidence of Andean in- 
fluence on the Forest Tribes. 

The systematic conversion of the Mosetene began when the Mission of San Miguel 
de Muchanes was founded in 1804. Santa Ana was founded in 1815 and Covendo 
in 1842. The first Chimane missions were formed by Dominicans at the end of the 
18th century, but were destroyed by the Indians. The two Franciscan missions 
established in this region in 1840 were soon abandoned. 

Long contracts with the Mestizos have thoroughly acculturated the contemporary 
Mosetene, but the more isolated Chimane still retained much of their aboriginal 
mode of life 30 years ago. 


POPULATION 


Father Francisco del Rosario put at 1,000 the total population of six 
Mosetene villages he visited in 1667. In 1831, the Mosetene numbered 
about 2,400. In 1913, Nordenskiold found only 172 Mosetene in the 
Mission of Covendo. He estimated the Chimane to be from 2,000 to 3,000. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 


Farming.—The Yuracare, Mosetene, and Chimane, typical forest 
dwellers, subsist by farming, fishing, hunting, and, to some extent, by 
collecting wild foods. The Yuracare cultivated a few crops near their 
houses, but their main plantations were located farther away, in the 
exceedingly fertile soil of the forest. The surface of one of their fields 
measured by Nordenskidld (1922, p. 49) was 33 feet (10 m.) by 1,650 
feet (500 m.). 

The Mosetene cultivate simultaneously several fields distant from their 
settlements. 

The three staple foods of these tribes are sweet manioc (yuca), maize, 
and bananas. Their other cultivated plants are sweet potatoes, gourds, 
watermelons, hualusa (Colocasia esculenta), papaya, pineapples, cayenne 
pepper, cotton, and some tobacco. The Mosetene grow urucu and plants 
recently introduced, such as onions, rice, and a very good quality of coffee. 
Besides the native plants listed here, the Chimane also grow a creeper 
called binca, a big tuber known as chipapa, eight varieties of reed for 
arrow shafts, creepers for drugging fish, calabash trees, and bamboo for 
making arrowheads. 

Formerly, farming among the Yuracare was surrounded by many 
magico-religious practices. These Indians went to their fields in festive 
array, playing music. While clearing the fields, both sexes observed 


488 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


several taboos, such as abstaining from eating peccary meat. They 
never approached a field before the crops were ripe for fear of spoiling 
them. In fact any house too near a field was vacated until harvest time 
(D’Orbigny, 1835-47, vol. 3, p. 205). 

When the game became scarce around their villages and when no more 
tembé palms were available in the vicinity, the Yuracare migrated else- 
where and opened new clearings. The death of some member of the 
community also caused them to shift their settlement. As a rule, they 
chose the season when the tembé-palm fruits were ripe to move to a 
new site, so that they could wait for their crops without starving. 


Gathering wild foods.—The forest provides these Indians with many 
wild foods, among which the fruits of the tembé (Guilielma insignis) and 
urupa palms are of special importance. To climb the trees in order to 
pick the fruits, the Chimane fasten fiber rings around their legs. 


Hunting.—Among the ancient Yuracare, hunting besides its economic 
importance had social significance; it was regarded as a dignified occupa- 
tion for men and gave prestige to those who were proficient in it. 


The hunting weapons are bows and arrows, snares, and traps. The 
Mosetene catch rabbits with springpole traps which are held in position 
by a trigger passing under a small wooden arch placed in the middle of 
an enclosure. To kill jaguars and other big animals, they build large fall 
traps (fig. 62) consisting of a heavy, sloping platform of logs or branches 
weighted with rocks and propped on two slanting poles. The support is 
held by a cord attached to a trigger which is maintained in position by 
a horizontal stick. Smaller animals are caught in a similar trap, but the 
raised platform is propped by a single stick resting on a horizontal, baited 
rod which serves as the trigger. 


Fishing.—Fishing is of far greater importance to the Chimane than 
hunting. Although all these Indians usually shoot fish with arrows, the 
Mosetene and Chimane also use hooks, nets, poison, and weirs. Native 
Chimane hooks were made of bone splinters. 


To drug fish, the Chimane build two weirs of reeds about 150 feet 
(50 m.) apart across a stream, throw a crushed poisonous creeper into 
the water, and shoot the half-drugged fish with arrows. They also catch 
fish in conical baskets placed in the openings of a weir. When fish migrate 
to spawn, the Mosetene and Chimane construct V-shaped weirs which 
divert them toward slanting platforms placed under the falls, where they 
become stranded and die in great quantities. The Yuracare use dip nets, 
mainly at night. The mission Mosetene dry fish in the sun to store them. 

Domesticated animals.—In D’Orbigny’s time, the Yuracare felt the 
greatest disgust for the meat of domesticated animals, but they may have 
changed their attitude. All these Indians keep chickens which they shut 
at night in conical coops, safe from vampire bats. They also have dogs 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 489 


RNS Hats 
yl f 1 
rey 


til 
ul 
H hy 


Wyfah Ve 
Lt qatalt 
Wp 


mil au 

ist "1 pereees 
t Nea 
i Riba 


ae || 
a ry, Mus GE RgG Tc 
3.Anq!im 


BBE gE —— - 
! nt a : - ; Daa 
a \ “sere Nil iN HI ( Neere 
aa il al Wher HAT lier OL \r. {hs i Me 
c 


Pr) 
poh n Tih Mlle Bee rl De Re aeene KU ever 


Ficure 62.—Mosetene traps. a, Jaguar and smaller Felinae trap. The animal is 
crushed by weight of logs and stones. b, Similar trap for smaller mammals. 
(Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 a, figs. 17 and 18.) 


of which they seem to be fond. The Yuracare do not allow their hunt- 
ing dogs to gnaw the bones of game lest they lose their skill. 


Food preparation.—Maize was ground on wooden slabs or metates 
with a stone grinder, meal was strained through a rectangular (Mosetene) 
or concave (Yuracare) sieve. Meat was roasted on rectangular babracots. 
For cooking, these Indians used pots of simple shape. They ate the food 
with wooden spoons from bowls made of wood or sometimes of palm- 
leaf midribs (Mosetene). Yuracare men ate in their clubhouses apart 
from women. After each meal these Indians carefully buried all the 
bones or burnt them lest the offended game refuse to multiply. 


He 
Wo) 
(S) 


C2 PZ61 ‘PIOPSUePION J2}}y) “Yousq “y ‘paq ‘6 ‘spooy 
yO uorjeredaid 9y4} 10F Jays Sursuey “f ‘sarddns 10; Jays ‘a ‘sappey ‘p :auojs Surpurss ‘9 ! ao0efdaiy ‘g {[001S ‘pv ‘ny auajasopy—¢g TANI 


t | ry ; by 
/ 34 
14 | 


" 
f i il 


SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


Ty 


a 


[B.A.E. Bull. 143 


an @m oe eee ewe oe ees oe oe om ee we a eee eo of os oe ow = ow OD aw = 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 491 


HOUSES 


The primitive Yuracare dwelling consisted of a large, thatched, gabled 
roof open at both ends and rising directly from the ground (pl. 45, bot- 
tom). Often, the two sides of the roof rested not on a single ridge pole, 
but each on its own posts, as if the roof were made of two separate but 
adjoining lean-tos. The Yuracare, Mosetene, and Chimane (fig. 63) 
now live in rectangular huts identical to those of their Mestizo neighbors, 
but occasionally the Mosetene and Chimane build temporary huts of the 
ancient Yuracare style. 

In the past, each Yuracare village had a clubhouse, strictly taboo to 
women, where men manufactured weapons, ate, and received visitors. 
Seventeenth-century Mosetene villages had also a men’s house or council 
hall in the central plaza. Neither tribe now builds clubhouses. The 
Yuracare cook in special sheds near the houses. 

The ancient Mosetene arranged their houses in a circle around a plaza. 
The settlements of the Chimane usually consist of a few houses, but iso- 
lated single-family huts are fairly common. The Indians prefer to scatter 
throughout their territory for fear that any large concentration of people 
at a given point would soon exhaust the available natural resources of the 
district. 

The Yuracare, Chimane, and Mosetene sleep on mats, the first two 
under tentlike mosquito nets of bark cloth. Hammocks, generally made 
of bark cloth, are used only as cradles for babies. 

On journeys, the Mosetene improvise shelters of palm leaves supported 
by three vertical poles. 


Ficure 64.—Yuracare ornaments, whistles, and flutes. a, Wooden whistle, serere 
type; b-d, carved caiman tooth ornaments ; e, wooden whistle, biria type; f, wooden 
flute; g, bone beads. (Caiman tooth ornaments % actual size.) (f, After Mathews, 
1879; all others after Nordenskidld, 1922, figs. 9, a, 16, 11, and 10.) 


653333—47—34 


492 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


DRESS AND ADORNMENTS 


Among the Yuracare, both sexes wear long bark-cloth tunics which are 
often trimmed with tassels and small figures of carved wood and bone 
(fig. 64, b-d). Men’s tunics are beautifully decorated with printed pat- 
terns (pl. 45, top) ; women’s garments are plainer and shorter. Among 
the Mosetene and Chimane, bark-cloth tunics were once common, but 
today are restricted to children, or are worn only as work clothes; both 
sexes also use long sleeveless cotton shirts or cushmas. Seventeenth- 
century Mosetene women wore only a simple loincloth. 

A belt decorated with geometric patterns and long terminal fringes, 
and a cotton or bark-cloth bag generally form part of the complete outfit 
of a Mosetene Indian. 

The ornaments worn by the ancient Yuracare included: Semicircular 
ear pendants (fig. 65, c), originally of bone, but later of silver; miter- 


Ficure 65.—Yuracare artifacts. a, Woman’s pendant of black fruit and red toucan 
feathers; b, instrument for bloodletting; c, ear pendant. (Respective approximate 
sizes: 3/5, 4/5, and 3/5 actual.) (After Nordenskidld, 1922, figs. 34, 33, and 17.) 


shaped feather crowns; and heavy necklaces of seeds, animal teeth, bird 
beaks, bones, nuts, and other objects. When dancing, girls and boys 
attached tufts of feathers, strings of beetle wings, or small bells to their 
shoulders. 


The Chimane wore headdresses made of the tail feathers of the oropen- 
dula (Ostinops decumanus). Women’s necklaces were strung with the red 
fruits of the Cassia fistula; those of the children with monkey teeth, 
cocoons, and pieces of bark cut into human shapes. The only other 
ornaments of these Indians were woven cotton bracelets. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 493 


The ancient Yuracare pulled out their face and body hair. They 
clipped their hair across the forehead, but allowed it to hang full length 
down the back, where it was divided into numerous queues. The Mose- 
tene wrapped their hair in a single long queue. 

Combs were made either of thin wooden splinters, skillfully bound 
together with cotton twine wrapped to form geometric patterns, or of 
series of teeth fastened between two sticks. They were carried around 
the neck. 

Prior to any important activity, such as traveling, visiting, or working 
in the fields, the ancient Yuracare printed elaborate colored designs on 
their bodies with wooden stamps (fig. 66). Mosetene and Chimane body 
painting is rarely mentioned. 


Figure 66.—Yuracare stamps and combs, a, b, d, Face stamps of wood; c, wooden 
stamp for bark cloth; e, f, bamboo combs, (Stamps approximately 2/5 actual size; 
combs, 24.) (After Nordenskidld, 1922, figs. 35, 37, 15, 36, 13, a, b.) 


494 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


TRANSPORTATION 


According to D’Orbigny (1839, 1: 363), the ancient Yuracare, previous 
te their contacts with the Christianized Mojo Indians, had no canoes. 
Buoyed by a piece of light wood, they swam across rivers. By the begin- 
ning of this century, however, the Yuracare made extensive river jour- 
neys in dugout canoes which were famous throughout eastern Bolivia for 
their excellent craftsmanship and balance. 

The Mosetene travel only on rafts, which are better adapted than canoes 
to the rapid streams of their country. Modern rafts are made of seven 
logs of palo de balsa, a very light wood, nailed together with chonta 
spikes and provided with a platform to keep goods dry. The long central 
logs consisted of two trunks laid end to end. Some rafts have a raised 
prow constructed of bent pieces of wood attached to three middle logs. 
The raised bow and platform were introduced in modern times when the 
Mosetene handled most of the river traffic on the upper Béni River. The 
paddles have a long blade and a plain handle without knob or crutch. 


Ficure 67.—Chimane dugout canoe. (Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 b, fig. 37.) 


The Chimane have rafts, but usually travel on the rivers in dugouts 
(fig. 67), which they punt with long poles, using a paddle only to pass 
rapids. At night they stake their canoes to the sand by means of a stick 
passed through a hole in the bow. 

Women carry loads in nets or in baskets suspended on their backs by 
a tumpline. Like the Andean Indians, the Mosetene always wear a small 
cotton bag slung over the shoulders. 

Among the ancient Mosetene mothers often carried small babies on 
their back in cotton bags. Older children straddled the mother’s hip. 


MANFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—Bark cloth is made from the thick bast layer of the bibosi 
tree (Ficus sp.) and certain other trees (pl. 47, bottom). A section of 
trunk, 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25.5 cm.) in diameter is cut the desired 
length, and the bark is incised longitudinally with a quartz splinter or a 
sharp tooth. The stump is heated until the dry bark can be peeled off. 
The bark is stretched to separate the outer bark from the inner bast, and 
all the whitish fibers are scraped from the latter. The bast is then beaten 
with a grooved wooden mallet (fig. 68, a) until soft. Several bark-cloth 
pieces are sewn together with a bone needle to make blankets, shirts, 
and mosquito nets. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 495 


a b 


Ficure 68.—Chimane and Yuracare artifacts. a, Chimane bark-cloth beater ; b. Yura- 
care arrow feathering. (Redrawn from Nordenskidld, 1924 b, map 28 and fig. 8.) 


Basketry.—The use of carrying nets limits somewhat the importance 
of basketry, which, however, seems to be a flourishing industry. The 
large baskets in which crops are transported and the small containers 
in which odds and ends are kept, are woven of motacu palm leaves. The 
large rectangular boxes with overlapping lids in which the Chimane store 
their feather ornaments and amulets are identical to those found in many 
other tribes of eastern Bolivia. They are made of Gynerium stalks joined 
together with cotton threads (fig. 69). The round and square sieves (pl. 
47, top) are woven in a simple twilling technique. The Mosetene make 
mats of leaves or reeds cut in strips and crossed within a rectangular reed 
frame. 

Netting. 


Spinning.—Spindles as a rule have small rectangular wooden whorls. 
To spin, Mosetene women sit on the ground with outstretched legs; they 
place the distal end of the spindle between the large toe and the next toe 
of the left foot and roll the spindle on the right thigh. This method has 
been somewhat improved upon by the Yuracare: the women set the 
spindle’s distal end in a wooden fork and roll it on a wooden block instead 


The carrying nets are made in a reef-knot technique. 


496 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


of on the thigh. (See Chimane woman spinning for another variation 


(fig. 70).) 


Weaving.—The Vuracare have the vertical loom. The Mosetene know 
how to make cloth by a method of plaiting which occurs also in the 
Guianas (see Roth, 1924, chap. 20): Cotton threads are first wrapped 
around two horizontal bars of the loom. The threads are then crossed 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF BE. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 497 


over and under the adjoining threads and held in place by transverse 
mesh sticks until the entire cloth appears to be diagonally woven; then 
the sticks are withdrawn and strings run in their places to prevent the 
threads from slipping back to their original position. Patterns are ob- 
tained by using different colored threads. 

Violet dye is extracted from the leaves of the idzi tree (Haematoxylon 
sp.), and brown from jira or caoba tree bark. 

Pottery.—The making of pottery was surrounded among the ancient 
Yuracare by many taboos: clay could not be procured during the harvest 
season; the potters, who were always women, were secluded in special 
huts deep in the forest where they could not be seen, especially by the 
Thunder God; moreover, they had to remain chaste and to keep com- 
pletely silent. 

Chimane women sprinkled their pots after they had been fired with 
banana tree sap to give them a beautiful black color. 

Wood carving.—Yuracare men are still proficient wood carvers, as 
evidenced by the complicated designs cut in relief on their wooden stamps, 
by their small carved wooden and bone pendants, and by their fine wooden 
bowls. 

Tools.—A few years ago, the Chimane still used stone adzes. The stone 
blade was hafted on a forked limb, the longer branch forming the handle 
and the shorter branch the base against which the blade was lashed. 

Weapons.—Bows in these three tribes are from 5 to 6 feet (1.65 to 
1.98 m.) long and made of sticks split from chonta palms. The rough 
staves have a rectangular cross section, with one side slightly convex. 
This shape is preserved even after the bow has been finished. The 
string of vegetal fiber is held but sharp shoulders cut at each end. 

The various types of arrow heads are: (1) A lanceolate bamboo head ; 
(2) a sharpened rod without barbs (Mosetene) or with jags on one side 
(Yuracare) ; (3) a bone barb is often added to the rod for hunting large 
game (Yuracare); (4) a large wooden knob head or two horizontal 
sticks lashed at right angle to the rod, for bird hunting (the Mosetene 
often smear heads of bird arrows with rubber); and (5) a long rod 
point with barbs (Mosetene) and without barbs for fishing (Yuracare). 
The feathering is of the cemented type. The feathers are halved, and 
fastened tightly to the Gynerium shaft by means of cotton wrapping 
smeared with wax. The feathering terminates some distance short of the 
butt end, as on Yuracare arrows (fig. 68, b). 

When shooting, the Yuracare hold the arrow butt between the thumb 
and index finger and pull the string with the next two fingers. 


POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


All these tribes are split into small, independent units, each consisting 
of one or more biological families. Although some settlements are rela- 


498 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS {[B.A.E. Bull. 143 


tively near one another, each family keeps very much to itself. Each 
settlement is governed by the family head, whose authority does not 
extend beyond his own small group. 


SOCIAL CONTROL AND ETIQUETTE 


Revenge.—Quarrels among the Yuracare were settled by formal duels 
with arrows (pl. 45, top), which were equipped with heads that could 
inflict deep wounds but not cause death. The main motives for duels 
were sex rivalry and revenge for black magic. If a person were bitten 
by a serpent, one of his relatives donned his best garments and went to 
the house of the presumed sorcerer, where he challenged him to a duel 
by striking the roof. The accused, taking his bow and dueling arrows, 
stood some distance from the challenger, presenting his left shoulder. The 
accuser shot at the other’s arm and then was shot at in turn. Thus they 
exchanged 8 or 10 shots, until the accuser was satisfied. 

Suicide.—Suicide among the Yuracare was very common. If a man 
was afflicted with some incurable disease or suffered some great humila- 
tion, he would throw himself from the top of a tree. 


Etiquette.— Meetings between strangers were governed by strict eti- 
quette. The Yuracare received visitors with elaborate ceremonialism. 
Standing in front of his house, the family head delivered a speech for 
several hours in a progressively louder tone. One of the visitors answered 
in the same manner. At the end, hosts and guests entered the house, and 
cried for hours, celebrating in stanzas the deeds of their deceased relatives. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Pregnancy and child birth.—During pregnancy, Chimane women 
avoid eating the flesh of several game animals, especially tapir. Formerly, 
among the Yuracare, childbirth occurred in the forest beside a brook; an 
old woman assisted the mother. Abortion and infanticide were very 
common among ancient Yuracare, who killed illegitimate and crippled 
children. The Yuracare are said to have practiced a kind of birth control, 
each family limiting the number of its children. 

In D’Orbigny’s time, children were weaned at 3, but remained with 
their mothers until 8, when boys were taught to hunt and make speeches. 
They enjoyed great liberty and were never scolded because harmful magic 
influences were attributed to reprimands. 


Girl’s puberty.—The Yuracare celebrated a girl’s first menses with an 
elaborate ritual, designed to protect her from various dangers and to make 
her valiant. The girl was secluded for 4 days in a special cabin. On 
the fourth day, everyone met for a drinking bout. Each guest cut a lock 
of the girl’s hair and hid it in the forest. The girl was also stabbed in 
the legs to give her courage and strength. The feast was the occasion for 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 499 


mutual scarifications among the men. After another ceremony 15 or 20 
days later, the girl might mix freely among other women and help prepare 
chicha. 

For the next 5 or 6 months the girl had to keep her head covered with 
a piece of bark cloth and was not permitted to speak to men. 


Marriage.—Vuracare girls could marry young, but men had first to 
prove that they were good providers. Either a man negotiated marriage 
with the girl’s parents, or the parents arranged and enforced the mar- 
riage on their children. A dubious statement holds that the girl was 
deflowered by a man who acted as godfather to the couple. 

As all Yuracare groups were strongly endogamous, marriages were 
necessarily between close relatives, although marriages between first- 
degree relatives were forbidden. Marriage with other than a relative re- 
quired a substantial bride price; a breach of this custom would cause a 
duel. 

Polygyny was very unusual. Divorce was easy, especially if the hus- 
band were a poor hunter. Postmarital residence was first matrilocal, but 
after children were born, the couple set up an independent household. 

Chimane girls enjoy sexual freedom after puberty but marry young. 
To show their willingness to marry, they sit near their suitor on a mat. 
After a short trial marriage, the couple may separate, but the birth of a 
child usually strengthens the conjugal tie. A Chimane may take only as 
many wives as he can support. 


Death observances.—Among the ancient Yuracare, relatives and 
friends took a dying person to a special cabin in the forest, where he 
bequeathed his property to his children and received messages from vari- 
ous people to deliver to the ancestors. The corpse was wrapped in 
bark and buried, with the head toward the east. The mourners expressed 
violent grief, throwing themselves on the ground and tearing their 
shirts. Any remaining property was destroyed to prevent the dead’s 
return. Modern Yuracare still burn the deceased’s house and move their 
settlement to another locality. They abandon the dead man’s fields and 
do not harvest the crops. 

The soul goes to the underworld, where it hunts and lives merrily. 

The Chimane bury their dead in shallow graves near their huts which, 
with the deceased’s possessions, are destroyed. Mourners occasionally 
smear their cheeks with ashes. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Yuracare art finds its best expression in the painted bark-cloth 
shirts. The motifs, some rectilinear but most curvilinear, are difficult 
to analyze. They can be likened to extremely conventionalized leaves 
and “flames” treated in rococo style. 


500 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Games and toys.—For little girls the Yuracare make wax dolls and 
for boys, miniature weapons, including pellet bows and ordinary bows 
and arrows. Children also play with buzzing disks and tops (fig. 71, e). 

Musical instruments.—The typical serere whistle—a rectangular piece 
of wood with a diamond-shaped cross section and a longitudinal hole— 
is not only a musical instrument but also a prized ornament which men 
hang around their necks (fig. 64, a). 

The resonator whistle, closely related to the serere, is a round, flat 
piece of wood with a blowhole in the edge and two stops in the sides 
(fig. 64, e). Plug flutes (figs. 64, f; 71, a) with six stops, although 
made of bird bone, are of European type. The Yuracare bone quenas 
or notched end-flutes (fig. 71, b-d) show Andean influence. These have 
two stops in front and a thumb hole immediately behind the upper stop. 

The Yuracare panpipes (fig. 71, g) average five pipes, which are held 
together by a strip of bamboo fastened with threads (Aymara ligature). 

Narcotics and drinks.—The Yuracare cultivate, but rarely smoke, 
tobacco. They used it mainly as a drug against the boro, an oestrid fly 
(Dermatobia) larva. 

They prepare beer of pounded and boiled manioc tubers (pl. 46, top). 
The mass is strained and allowed to ferment. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Deities.—Among the ancient Yuracare, the Thunder God was Moro- 
roma, who threw lightning from the top of the mountains. When thunder 
was heard, men threatened to shoot him. Pepezu was the Wind God, 
who kidnapped men in the middle of the forest. Chuchu was the War 
God, who taught the Yuracare how to fight. Tele, dressed in white 
clothes, seems to have been the culture hero. According to Haenke 
(1900, p. 183), the Yuracare believed in a good god, Tantoco, who showed 
his beneficial power in putting out a big fire caused by an evil deity called 
Limpelite. Whenever a storm was about to break, women and children 
were sent into the huts while men shot arrows and recited incantations 
against this “fiery being’ who threatened to destroy their houses and 
plantations. 

The only information on Mosetene religion before the introduction of 
Christianity is Father Francisco del Rosario’s statement (Meléndez, 
1681-82, 3:821) that their main deity was called Apu, a Quechua word 
meaning “lord,” and that Suysuy (a bad spirit), the sun, the moon, and 
the stars were worshiped; tobacco smoke was offered to them. One 
night during their sojourn in a Mosetene village, the Spaniards heard a 
noise as if somebody were running away. The Indians explained that 
it was Suysuy who had died and was going to the underworld. 

Mosetene hunters bleed their right arms with an eagle claw and rub 
their eyes with an eagle eye. They leave the liver of peccaries at the 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 501 


Ss 
ceo 
e 


Pages 
a 


A 


5 om 


° 
9. 


Ficure 71—Yuracare musical instruments, a-d, Bone flutes with engraved designs; 
e, top made of a fruit and wooden stick; f, bull roarer; g, bamboo panpipes. (Flutes 
Y%% actual size; top, % actual size; bull roarer, %4 actual size; panpipes % actual 
size.) (After Nordenskidld, 1922, figs, 29-32.) 


site of the kill, in the hope that they will turn into live animals. Before 
a hunt, Yuracare men paint themselves elaborately and drink a decoction 
of sumuque bark to insure good luck and prevent accidents. After 
returning home, they place the slain monkeys on palm leaves and sprinkle 
them with chicha saying, “We like you and therefore we brought you 


502 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


home.” The Chimane cut the feet of slain animals lest their ghosts, 
accompanied by all the remaining game, leave the district. The Yuracare 
burned or carefully buried the bones of slain animals; the Mosetene 
returned them to the forest, lest they prevent the species from being 
killed in the future. Yuracare dogs are not allowed to gnaw bones for 
fear that they might become unfit for hunting. 

Shamanism.—The Yuracare attributed diseases to sorcerers and to evil 
spirits. The wind was believed to bring spirits that caused physical 
pain and nausea. The rainbow and red clouds in the evening were 
responsible for many illnesses. Reprimands or scoldings also were con- 
sidered to be extremely harmful to those who received them. 

Because epidemics generally were attributed to visitors, especially to 
those who complained of some ailment, the Yuracare were uneasy when 
foreigners visited them. 

Yuracare shamans examined their saliva in the palms of their hands 
and summoned their client’s soul to diagnose the ailment. They cured 
by letting blood (fig. 65, b) and by blowing tobacco smoke on the patient’s 
body. 

Recently, black magic was still rife among the Christianized Mosetene. 
They dread sorcerers, who can kidnap and destroy the souls of their 
victims. Medical virtues are attributed to the bones of Opo, a gigantic 
demon (i.e., fossils), which can be found in every hut. Pieces of the 
body of another demon, Chaumboy, cause a common type of skin disease. 


MYTHOLOGY 


In Yuracare mythology (D’Orbigny, 1835-47, vol. 3, pp. 209-215), an 
evil demon, Sararuma or Aima Sufé, set the earth on fire at the begin- 
ning of the world, and killed everyone except a man who stayed in a hole. 
Later, the survivor wandered over the desolated earth; he met Sararuma, 
who gave him a handful of seeds which he planted. Soon forests again 
covered the world. He married and had several children. His only 
daughter transformed an ule tree into a man by painting it with uruct 
and married him. Ule spent only nights with his wife. She tied him 
up and forced him to stay with her during the day. Ule was killed by a 
jaguar, who scatterd the parts of his body. His wife picked up all the 
pieces and put them together. Ule regained life and said, “I have slept 
well.” Ule then noticed that part of his jaw was missing. This made 
him ashamed and he refused to return home. He left his wife, telling 
her that she must not turn her head if she heard a noise behind her and 
that she should remember that it was produced by her husband’s animals. 
The woman did not heed the advise and lost her way. She arrived at 
the house of the jaguars. Although the mother of the jaguars tried to 
conceal her, her sons discovered her and forced her to delouse their heads 
and to bite the “lice,” which were really big ants. The jaguars’ mother 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 503 


gave her maize grains, which she cracked with her teeth, as if she were 
biting the vermin. One of the jaguars that had four eyes exposed the 
ruse. He killed her and extracted a baby boy, Tiri, from her womb. The 
jaguars’ mother put the baby in a pot as ii to boil him, but spared his 
life and reared him. The child grew rapidly, and hunted game for his 
foster mother. One day a paca, which he had struck with an arrow, 
scolded him for pursuing harmless animals while he allowed the murderers 
of his mother to live. Tiri returned home and shot three jaguars. The 
jaguar with the two pairs of eyes saw the danger, and, climbing to the 
top of a tree, cried, “Trees, palm trees, help me! Star, help! Moon, 
help!” The moon caught him up and kept him with her. The four-eyed 
jaguar may be seen today on the moon (the spots of the moon). 

The hero Tiri opened a big clearing for the mother of the jaguars. He 
created a companion by breaking off a toenail and changing it into a man, 
Karu. Tiri and Karu gave salt to a bird that carelessly left it in the open. 
A heavy rain melted it, and since then the Yuracare have had no more 
salt in their forests. 

A bird showed Tiri and Karu a pot which, when emptied, refilled itself. 
Tiri struck the miraculous pot with his stick and caused a flood which 
drowned Karu. Later Tiri found his bones and brought him back to life. 

Tiri and Karu married pospo birds, by whom they had children. The 
girls were born with their breasts on their foreheads, but Tiri moved 
them to their chests. 

Karu’s son died. Tiri told Karu to look for him and promised that he 
would find him alive if he did not eat him. On his son’s grave Karu saw 
a peanut plant, which he ate without knowing it was his own son. Be- 
cause of Karu’s rash action, men are mortal. 

Karu shook a tree; a duck fell to the ground and was immediately 
devoured by Karu. When he learned the duck was his son he vomited 
and from his mouth flew parrots, tucans, and other birds. 

The ancestors of the Mansiio, Soloto, Quechua, and Chiriguano 
emerged from a cave where they had hidden from a man-killing serpent, 
which a stork killed at Tiri’s orders. Tiri closed the cave to prevent a 
great chief from coming out, and a serpent has since guarded it. The 
people scattered. The Chiriguano seized arrows which fell from the sky, 
and people have since quarreled. 

Tiri decided to retire to the end of the world. In order to know its 
extent, he sent a bird to the four directions of the horizon. On the fourth 
trip, from the west, the bird returned with beautiful new plumage. Tiri 
went to the west, where he lives with people who, upon reaching old age, 
rejuvenate. 

In Mosetene mythology (Nordenskiold, 1924 a), Dohitt, the creator 
and culture hero, who attained the dignity of the Christian God, made the 
earth in the form of a raft supported by spirits and created men from 


504 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


clay dolls. After retiring to the sky, Dohitt and his companion, Keri,* the 
white condor, visited mankind again, descending a rope of mucous. Do- 
hitt reached the earth, but Keri was killed when the rope broke, and 
Dohitt transformed his head into a fish. Dohitt then traveled about 
transforming men into animals and birds. 

Dohitt is more trickster than culture hero. He borrowed feathers to 
fly, lost them, and fell on a tree. To get down, he became small enough 
tc ride on a caterpillar, but was dropped and impaled on a bamboo. A 
wildcat rescued him, but a shaman pinned him to the ground where, 
struggling to free himself, he caused an earthquake. He made an enor- 
mous basket full of water and sent his enemy, the shaman, and other men 
with similar baskets of water to create rivers in different parts of the 
world. Even now storms occur when Dohitt orders the shaman to spill 
water. 

As culture hero, Dohitt gave mankind agriculture. Sonyd, following 
Dohitt, discovered fields of maize, manioc, and other plants. 

The Mosetene recount that the sky once fell on the earth, but was put 
back and held up by a serpent. A flood was caused by a man who se- 
duced a woman who was bathing; angered at not finding the child she 
bore, he made the river flood the world, and only a few people on a moun- 
tain were saved. 

The Milky Way is a huge worm. Once when it was small, it was 
picked up by a man as a pet. The worm could be fed only with hearts, 
first of animals, then of men. After vengeful people had killed his master, 
it destroyed them and went to the sky. The stars of the Milky Way are 
arrows which men shot at the worm when he wound himself around their 
village. The rainbow is the child of a woman and a water man. 


Other tales are of monsters and spirits: A man was swallowed by a 
serpent, but cut its heart and escaped; a man killed by a serpent, was 
avenged by his son, who transformed himself into an eagle and piled four 
mountains on top of each other to reach the serpent ; a woman married a 
jaguar who wanted to eat her relatives, but was induced to climb a tree 
and was killed; a jaguar, the spirit of the chima tree, pursued men for 
eating the green fruits. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Adam, 1889, 1893; Bibolotti, 1917; Cueva (see Adam, 1893); D’Orbigny, 1839, 
1835-47, vol. 3; Haenke, 1900; Herrero, 1834; Holten, 1877; Mather, 1922 b; 
Mathews, 1879; Maurtua, 1906; Meléndez, 1681-82; Métraux, 1942; Nordenskidld, 
1922, 1924 a, 1924 b; Roth, 1924; Viedma, 1910. 


8 Keri is perhaps an Arawak mythical hero, for Keri in several Arawakan dialects means “moon,” 
and the Bacdiri have a culture hero of the same name. 


Vol.3] TRIBES OF E. SLOPES OF BOLIVIAN ANDES—METRAUX 505 


THE LECO 
HISTORY 


The Leco (Chuncho) lived along the Kaka (Huanay) River and its 
tributaries, the Tipuani, Mapiri, Turiapo, and Yuyo Rivers (lat. 16° S., 
long. 68° W.; map 1, No. 3; map 2). That a branch of the Beni River 
between lat. 13° and 14° S. is called Rio de Lecos may indicate a wider 
distribution. 

For Leco sources, see Bibliography for Apolista (p. 506). 

The first reference to the Leco figures in Miguel Cabello de Balboa’s 
account (Maurtua, 1906, 8:140-141) written in 1594. In 1621, Fray 
Gregorio de Bolivar (Maurtua, 1906, 8:214) places them on the Caca- 
mayo River, 25 leagues from Camata. At that time they traded with the 
Spaniards but occasionally raided them. About 1617, a sergeant of Pedro 
de Legui Urquiza’s expedition attempted to conquer the Leco, but was 
defeated and killed. The Leco are often mentioned in the reports of the 
Franciscans who in 1680 settled in the Province of Apolobamba. They 
are said to have been distributed in 8 or 9 villages and to have numbered 
about 800. One of the first missions founded among them at the end of 
the 17th or beginning of the 18th century was destroyed by the Indians. 

Among the 600 Indians of the Mission of Concepcién de Apolobamba 
in 1690, some spoke the Leco or Lapalapa language. The Mission of 
San Antonio de Atén was started in 1763 with 380 Leco who later were 
taken to the Missions of Concepcion de Apolobamba and of Santa Cruz 
de Valle Ameno; after clashes with the Apolista, they were returned to 
Atén in 1758. The Ateniano, or Indians of the Mission of Atén, were 
Leco according to several documents, but D’Orbigny (1839, 1 :374) classi- 
fies them as Tacanan. 

At the beginning of the 19th century, most of the Leco were concen- 
trated in the Mission of Huanay at the junction of the Mapiri and Tipuani 
Rivers. In 1906, they numbered about 500. Their language is still 
classified as an isolated linguistic family. 


CULTURE 


Leco aboriginal culture is almost unknown. Maize and bananas formed 
their staple foods. Fish were shot or were drugged with the sap of 
the soliman tree (Hura crepitans). They prepared a kind of peanut 
chicha. 


The Leco are skillful boatmen who specialize in transporting pas- 
sengers and merchandise on the Beni River. They descend the river on 
rafts made of light, corky balsa, pinned together with palm spikes. Three 
of these rafts bound together with stout cross logs tied with strips of bark 
or vine form a type of craft called callapo. 


506 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.F. Bull. 143 


Modern Leco huts have steep pitched roofs and bamboo walls. The 
main furniture is a sleeping mat. 

Formerly, the Leco wore the long shirt, or cushma, sometimes dyed 
with the violet juice of uchuri (Picramnia lindemana) (Weddel, 1853). 
Today they dress like Mestizos. Sometimes they wear a band necklace of 
bright beads. Men used to wear their hair long and to paint themselves 
with urucu and genipa. 

In the 17th century, they were armed with bows, arrows, clubs, and 
shields. 

The couvade is reported among the modern Leco. Residence probably 
was matrilocal since parents of a woman are said to have been supported 
by her husband. 


APOLISTA OR LAPACHO 


Nordenskiold collected in 1908, in the Mission of Concepcion de 
Apolobamba, a short vocabulary of a language spoken by a few individuals 
in a region where Quechua was the predominant language. A compara- 
tive study of this vocabulary by Créqui-Montfort and Rivet (1913 c) 
shows that it contains enough Arawakan radicals to be classified as a 
dialect of that linguistic family. 

Little is known of the Apolista. Their name was coined only a hundred 
years ago by D’Orbigny when he found 2,775 of them in the Mission of 
Apolobamba (founded in 1690) and 841 in the Mission of Santa Cruz del 
Valle Ameno (founded in 1720). Armentia (1887-88, p. 5) states that 
the Apolista language was spoken in the Mission of San José near Tumu- 
pasa, but that in 1871 only two Indians still could understand it. 

Who were the Apolista? The Mission of Concepcion de Apolobamba 
had Indians belonging to three linguistic families: the Aguachile, the 
Leco, and the Pamaino. The last come from the Tuichi and Béni Rivers 
and probably spoke Tacanan, which, like Leco, was supplanted by Quechua 
in the missions. 

The Aguachile are always listed with the Leco as the main tribes of 
the district of Apolobamba (lat. 15° S., long. 68° W.). In 1678, the 
Aguachile numbered about 1,000 and lived in 16 villages. The limits of 
their habitat cannot be defined accurately, but seem to have included the 
region where the Missions of Concepcién de Apolobamba and Santa 
Cruz del Valle Ameno were founded. The bulk of the Aguachile prob- 
ably occupied the mountainous ranges between the Beni and Tuichi Rivers 
called Altuncama or Chiru Choricha. Judging from their geographical 
distribution (map 2), the Aguachile and the Apolista were one and the 
same tribe. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Armentia, 1887-88, 1903, 1905; Créqui-Montfort and Rivet, 1913 c; D’Orbigny, 
1839; Lafone-Quevedo, 1905; Maurtua, 1906; Post, 1905; Weddel, 1853. 


Puate 41.—Chiriguano pottery and urn burials. Top, left: and bottom: Pottery 
making. Top, right: Urn burials at Caipipendi, Chaco, Bolivia. (Courtesy 
Alfred Métraux.) 


CxNBIZII PeTY ASeWANOD) = “PTyo puw ueuro AA 27ybrgy «“Suruutds weUlo AK +497W9,) ‘sajid uo AreuBsry ‘jfoT “SuRIpuy OuensIyy— cp IV Td 


(‘solry souong ‘svije7T A BIJOSOTIY OP PBI[NOVY Bl Op OOYRISOUYA OOSN] 
Asayinog) (‘ut Og ‘eTBog) “SABTUT YI TBjJour Jo ssnj{d di] puw soystyM o19108 WOPOOM PoOABISUD OOTY], “SJIVJHIV OULNSUIYO—Ep ALVIG 


Puate 44.—Wooden masks of the Chiriguano and the altiplano. Top: Chiri- 
guano masks made of a single piece of wood. (The scale is 30 cm. long.) 
Bottom: Painted wooden masks, probably Chiriguano in origin. (Courtesy 
Museo Etnogrdfico de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Buenos Aires.) 


Puatre 45.—Yuracare Indians of the early 19th century. Top: Combat with 
dueling arrows. Bottom: Thatched house and dance. (After D’Orbigny, 
1835-47.) 


2 GE: a ® \ 


a 


Piare 46.—Modern Yuracare Indians. Top: Chewing yuca for chica. Bottom: 


Women and children. 


(Courtesy American Museum of Natural History.) 


wry 


NM Bisel > Ras 
we 


Bes 


45 
». a” 
> & 
Ba 


X 
ca 


< 


> Y # 


Puare 47.—Chimane and Yuracare manufactures. 
fan, both plaited from palm leaf. 


Top: Chimane sieve and fire 
cloth for men. 


Bottom: Yuracare ceremonial clothes of bark 
(After Nordenskidld, 1924.) 


Part 3. TRIBES OF THE MONTANA AND BOLIVIAN East ANDES 


TRIBES OF THE MONTANA: AN INTRODUCTION 


By Jutian H. STEWARD 


INTRODUCTION 


The Chuncho (Andean name of the peoples of the eastern slopes of 
the Highlands) occupy the Montafia (the eastern side of the Andes of 
Ecuador and Pert) and the Yunga (the comparable region in Bolivia) 
(map 1, No. 3; map 5; also map 4). Though by no means homogeneous 
environmentally or culturally, the Chuncho area has sufficient unity and 
distinctiveness to warrant separate treatment. 

Geographically, the Montafia and Yunga are selva or tropical rain 
forest, but unlike the Amazon Basin have rugged topography and many 
rapid streams. The environment has isolated the tribes from one an- 
other, restricted inhabitable areas, and limited navigation and fishing 
in the rivers. 

Culturally, the Chuncho belong with the Tropical Forest peoples. They 
appear to represent a series of migratory waves that had spent their 
force against the barrier of the Andes, where representatives of many 
widely distributed linguistic families—Arawakan, Tupian, Cariban, 
Tucanoan—and members of isolated linguistic families—Cofdn, Jivaroan, 
Zéparoan, Cahuapanan, Panoan, Hibitoan, Cholonan, Tacanan, Lecoan, 
Chimanean, Yuracarean, and others—subsided into comparative isolation. 
No other area of South America has greater linguistic diversity. The 
Chuncho families remained in their valleys, little influenced by the Andean 
civilizations on the cold heights immediately to their west or even by 
some of the characteristic Amazonian developments which had spread 
along waterways of the Amazon Basin. 

The contrast between the Chuncho and the Andean Quechua is as 
great as that between the environments to which they were conditioned. 
These cultures correlate to an extraordinary degree with altitude and 
topography. The jungle culture had spread westward to end abruptly 
at the sharp escarpment of the Andes and rarely occurred at altitudes of 
more than 3,000 or 4,000 feet (1,000 or 1,200 m.). But it had penetrated 
the deep, canyonlike valleys which thrust long prongs into the mountains, 

653333—47—35 57 


508 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


for example, the upper Napo, Santiago, Maranon, Huallaga, Pachitea, 
Perené, and Ené Rivers, and the tributaries of the Madeira River. It 
was halted only where the mountains rise precipitously above 5,000 or 
6,000 feet (1,800 or 2,000 m.) into zones of thick clouds and heavy 
rains. The Highland cultures clung to the tops of the drier, cooler 
mountain masses and spread eastward around the deep valleys, sometimes 
nearly engulfing the lowland peoples, for example, the Patagon and their 
neighbors of the upper Marafion River, but never descending into the low 
valleys. There seems, in fact, to have been an effective barrier between 
the Highland and jungle peoples—the Ceja de la Montafia, a rugged, 
cloud-buried, excessively rainy, precipitous strip between the Puna and 
the lower hills of the Montana. This strip was largely unpopulated. 
Salinas Loyola, for instance, wrote in 1571 (1897) that traveling east 
into the Montana of Ecuador, he found the rough mountains entirely 
without Indians for 20 leagues. 

The extraordinarily limited influence of the Highland on the Montana 
is intelligible mainly in terms of unlike environmental conditioning of 
these cultures. Highland civilization rested on intensive agriculture on 
land that did not need clearing. A dense population underlay elaborate 
sociopolitical organization; economic surplus permitted religious, artistic, 
and industrial refinements. The Tropical Forest culture was adapted to 
an extremely warm, humid, and densely forested region. The hunting, 
fishing, and slash-and-burn economy produced a low population density 
and small communities. A Highland economy with its social and political 
concomitants could not have been introduced. Similarities between High- 
land and Montafa are largely in items such as clothes and ornaments, 
which are not functionally part of the socio-economic patterns. Such 
similarities are actually fewer than has generally been supposed. 


The Chuncho as a whole also lack common Amazonian traits, such 
as bitter manioc, the tipiti, the vertical loom, trumpets, masks, and clans. 
Other elements, such as hammocks, fish traps, nets, and large communal 
houses, have a limited occurance in the Montafa. 

But Montafia culture was not uniform. The Western Tucanoan tribes 
are transitional between the Witotoan peoples to the north and the more 
typical Chuncho to the south. The Quijo and Cofdn are little known. 
The Jivaro are treated separately because of the relative abundance of 
information about them. Of the Zdparoan tribes, we have only fragmen- 
tary knowledge. The Cahuapanan linguistic group is only slightly better 
known. Most tribes of the upper Marafion, middle Huallaga, and upper 
Huallaga groups were assimilated soon after the Conquest. The Panoan 
tribes of the Ucayali River are comparatively well known through Tess- 
mann’s research. The Chiriguano of Bolivia have been fully described 
by Giannechini, Nino, Nordenskiold, and Métraux. The Arawakan and 
Peban peoples and the Panoan Mayoruna seem, on the basis of scant in- 


af fa ) a ie 


ok ee 


medidas Od 


+ La. < f et | a ; ‘4. i 


Re. OP ape 


; 
“A ~ ; 
24 7 1” eon Seer 0 oh Meas 
r We tts WB wn DA ES ne oA AP 


a 4 P ‘ 
= ‘4 % y es “> Ves tin eit e oe be 

i 4 a, . Path : £ "4, \ OW ag { =F agSY wy ’ ip," a 

} ha My WS, AL A ae 


a 
s 
® 
y 
4 


7 ff ) H fron 7 
— oe * Tut? an d ‘| 
er > 


i ; ess ; | 
FRB og - Rh—-B8Bee0- ) we 
] ‘ae: Ty ene . A's 4 


eso 


miBre dating Sin 


Be hed mi Ak A ; a ' a aah oth 


On i 
Cy bs 


Lae vtdacas sal 


a? ae Oe oe 


AL rf 
le a 
ee i sh ee a 


a al 


| | A Cg e re om on a> 
a eal i . Q | , 
f & aie wee a in) 


a” 


80 
PACIFIC 
OCEAN 

2 

fo) 
2 
4 
6 


8 /- CASCOASOA 
2- AMASIFUIN 
3-TINGANES 
4 - CHUNATAHUA 
5 - BAGUA 
6 - MANAMAB0B80O 


F10 


A, 


On : 
, ATAPOLITA 
i! MA » Ay 
CORREGUAJE < any A) 

) A 

OLo ba 
ry 7 
& 
Ce. 


YUBER! 
CATAWISHI sipo 


ARIKEM [urvea_] 


KEPIKIRIWAT = “*Az, [10 


Map 5.—The native tribes of the Montafia and the western Amazon Basin. Locations areas of first contact with Europeans. Compiled by J. H. Setward 
from original sources, but Juru4-Purds area after Rivet, 1924, and Uaupés-Caqueté region based on information from Irving Goldman.) 


653838—48 (Face p. 508) 
4 \ 


vA we R ned, a 
f¢ a us 


= . ‘cA 


. Ne oh ii! a Nays” 


ae 


. a. is ARO 


ie ey Jf #7 . : La © Shlaysead-\ 8 
\y + \ # , A om) 
\> iP : zs j ; wine ca ge 
2 an ’ Le) ‘ ia ae 7 : TAWA PANT © 
ad és ’ | 7 
7g > . 3 ~ pet PA SRT RAID © ® 
vsake 7 ; As va RAL SY, in J — eo 
ee >) \ (/aipey - © Oe. wert 
i ; b Vi SA den 5 AhekARM - 9 
ae 7 ? i GLAS t, r f 
or he yo ae a 
rae J : j ¢ \ > : of . ) 
™ * Fa » a 
AAT ee | 
eeu / r : } “y 
iol fA ; 
7 Po 
ar ‘ . 
“ ah ern 
a> os ‘ | 
— = fms , 
ef . 
te 
és : 
j : 
, wet : : 
“ w 
oe ‘ \ — 
was ™ f \e a | 
ites > : : 
1 7 ' 7 
f J \ i 
. . 3 rs _ a 
7 \ “ 
al 


ok ceolonett baat @ eth K? i tt bikse x tabauld ado asindi wv Don tA 
ig ban P00! uv isi nada pote dusk i’ Te vtech dorset eter a% i 


—a , ns n 

a ae o 45 veer . on) , 
. ‘ +s 
vf | fi 


j Mf Pa) 
Lt Day ore, rie Sil 7 ae an 4 ; os oy a 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 509 


formation, to possess some distinctive features. The Arawakan, Panoan, 
and Catukinan peoples of the Jurua and Purtss Rivers were similar to 
many of the Chuncho but are described elsewhere (this volume, pp. 657— 
686). 


HISTORY AND SOURCES 


The mountainous terrain, deep jungles, and swift rivers with their 
many rapids (pongos) make the Montafia difficult of access. Efforts to 
penetrate the area from the Andes began in prehistoric times, but were 
rebuffed by geographical as well as cultural and military factors. White 
soldiers, missionaries, and colonists have encountered such great difficulties 
that, although the tribes along the main waterways are now greatly ac- 
culturated or assimilated, those in the hinterland of the rivers retain more 
aboriginal culture than is found among most South American Indians. 
Some of these tribes, like the Jivaro and the Campa, still present excellent 
opportunities for studies of functioning aboriginal cultures. Others af- 
ford fields for acculturation studies. 

Inadequacy of archeological information from the Montafia leaves the 
question of cultural origins in obscurity and provides no evidence bearing 
on Tello’s (1922, 1942) suggestion that the early Andean peoples came 
from the Tropical Forests. In Ecuador and Pert, Highland type ruins 
stop abruptly at the Montafia. In Bolivia, a “Derived Tiahuanaco”’ in- 
fluence, seen mainly in pottery, is evident east to the Llanos of Mojos. 
This is followed by periods with Arawak, and then Inca influence, the 
latter manifest in forts built along the historic territory of the Yuracare, 
Chané, and Chiriguano (Bennett, 1936, pp. 400-412). 

Ethnographic data and Inca tradition corroborate archeological evi- 
dence. Arawakan penetration from the east evidently separated the 
Northern Panoan and Southern Panoan groups, perhaps at the time it left 
an impress on Bolivian archeology. Prehistoric uca conquests, though 
extending 2,000 miles along the Andes, were halted by the Montafia 
jungles. Tupac Yupanqui (ca. 1448-82) conquered the Highland 
Canari but failed against the Jivaro, while his expedition to the Musu 
(Mojo) and Chiriguano did little more than stimulate trade (Means, 
1930: 

Despite the failure of their expeditions, the /nca doubtless had some 
influence on the Chuncho. Metal and other trade objects had reached 
these people. The Canelo, Lama, Chasutino, and Quijo probably adopted 
the Quechua language in prehistoric times. Similarly in Bolivia, some of 
the Chimane and Mosetene already spoke Aymara when first described in 
1677 (Meléndez, 1682). The influence, however, was surprisingly slight. 
The Campa, for example, who adjoined the Quechua in the region of 
Cuzco, have few culture elements—the cushma, feather fire fan, satchel, 
coca chewing—that are indisputably attributable to Highland influence. 


510 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


In Bolivia, Andean influence extended farther east than in Perti and 
Ecuador. Mojo and Bauré pottery from the mounds of Mojos (Norden- 
skidld, 1913, 1917 b) are Highland (Tiahuanaco) influenced. The cul- 
ture of the historic Mojo (p. 412) has Andean features, and that of the 
Chané of the Andean foothills was even more deeply influenced. The 
Guarani (p. 69), who invaded Chané territory in waves at the end of 
the 15th century and raided the Inca frontier, absorbed many Highland 
traits. Still farther south in Northwestern Argentina, the cultures had 
become basically Andean; these are described in Volume 2 of this Hand- 
book. 


The post-Contact history brought considerable culture change, even 
among tribes which today retain a predominantly aboriginal culture 
(map 6). The 400 years since the Conquest is tentatively divided into 
three acculturation periods. The dates differ somewhat for the various 
regions. Future utilization of archival and manuscript material will 
correct these periods and fill in cultural detail. 


(1) Exploration and Conquest, 1532-1643. During this period Spanish 
contacts had little lasting influence on the Indian. Exploration, 1532-60, 
seeking El Dorado, brought no settlers. The Conquest, 1560-1600, 
established towns on the western fringe of the Montafia but these were 
abandoned by 1600. An interim of comparative inactivity followed to 
about 1630. 

(2) Mission or Colonial Period, 1630-1830. Two subperiods are 
roughly that of (a) Jesuit success, 1640 to 1767, and (b) a period of 
decadence after the Jesuit expulsion. 


(3) National Period, 1830-present. After national independence from 
Spain there was gradual penetration by Whites but no systematic policy. 
The period brought more regular exploration as well as settlement. The 
abrupt shock of the rubber boom came about 1890 and lasted to 1915 and, 
subsequently, the area has been gradually opened to more permanent 
settlement. 


(1) Exploration and Conquest.—The first explorations were carried out mainly 
from the west by adventurers seeking the lengendary empire of fabulous wealth 
thought to lie east of Pert and variously called El Dorado, Mojo, Sevilla del Oro, 
Gran Para, Beni, the Kingdom of the Omaguas, and Paititi. In 1532, Gonzalo Diaz 
de Pineda reached the juncture of the Coca and Maspa Rivers. From 1539-42, 
Gonzalo Pizzaro explored the region of the Coca and Napo Rivers and Orellana 
continued on down the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean. About the same time, Pedro 
de Candia with Pedro Anzules reached the Beni River, and Almagro visited the 
Caravaya region. Between 1539 and 1570, nine expeditions from Pert sought 
El Dorado in vain. Outstanding among these was that of Ursua, 1560, which 
passed down the Huallaga and Marafiédn Rivers to the Ucayali River, and Mal- 
donado’s, 1567, which reached the upper Madre de Dios River. As the adven- 
turers found neither vast cities, wealth, nor important quantities of gold, the vision 
of El Dorado faded during the following century. These explorers and con- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 51i 


querors had had little influence on the Indians and left no important ethnographic 
sources. 

The Conquest began with the establishment of three short-lived towns in the 
Carabaya region in 1542. By 1560, small towns had been founded in the territory 
of the Quijo, Cofdn, Canelo, Jivaro, and tribes of the Huallaga and upper Marafion 
Rivers. The Quijo and their neighbors then numbered 30,000. Indians were en- 
slaved on encomiendas in great numbers. In the Quijo region in 1576, for example, 
Baez had 5,013 Indians; Avila, 2,613; and Archidona, 2,377. Excessive labor in 
fields, households, and mines, ravages of diseases, especially smallpox, and mal- 
treatment, including use of dogs to track down fugitives, brought a rebellion and 
abandonment of virtually all these towns by the end of the century, before any 
lasting influence had been made on the Indians. Because of language difficulties, 
the missionaries had made slight impression. During the next 30 or 40 years, 
little was done in the Montafia, though the foundation of Borja, 1619, opened the 
region for subsequent missionary penetration. The most important source for this 
period is the journal of Juan de Salinas Loyola (1897), describing his trip in 
1556 through Jivaro territory, the Province of Mainas, and the Ucayali River. 

(2) Mission Period, 1630-1830.—Missionary work, carried out from both 
Ecuador and Pert, was mainly in the hands of the Franciscans and Jesuits, the 
Dominicans playing a more restricted role. The Franciscans directed their efforts 
toward the Montafia after the foundation of Hudnuco, 1542, but it was not until 
1631 that missions were established among the Tingan, Panatahua, Carapacho, and 
other tribes of the upper Huallaga River, and 1632 that the Cefio (Sunu?), 
Becaba, Encabellado, and Omagua were converted. Missions among the latter 
group of tribes, however, were abandoned in 1649 and were not renewed until 
1686, when efforts were concentrated on the Putumayo and Caqueta regions. 
Success here was slight, and many converts were lost through slavery and rebellion. 

In southern Pert, the Franciscans founded their famous Cerro de la Sal mis- 
sions among the Campa and Amuesha, 1635. Later, they reached the Cholon, 
and in 1661 missionized the Panoan tribes of the Ucayali River. The foundation 
of the Colegio de Santa Rosa de Ocopa in 1732 gave great impetus to their work 
and from 1733 to 1742 they penetrated the Gran Pajonal. At the peak of their 
success, 1742, when they claimed 10,000 converts in 10 missions, the insurrection 
led by Santos Atahuallpa brought a serious setback to their work. The Fran- 
ciscans still have missions on the Ucayali today, but other events have over- 
shadowed their influence on the Indians. 

The Dominicans restricted their activities to the Canelo, where their missions 
remained many years. 

The Jesuits, with a more vigorous policy than either of the rival brotherhoods, 
enjoyed 130 years of considerable success until they were expelled in 1767. The 
foundation of the town of Borja, 1619, on the Marafion River below the Pongo 
of Manseriche, had provided a springboard for penetration of the more remote 
areas. About 1638, the Jesuits entered the territory of the Jivaro, Yameo, 
Cahuapanans, Zdparoans, and Cocama in Ecuador and Peru. 

The total converted population of the regions of Mainas and of the Huallaga 
and Pastaza Rivers in 1660 was estimated at 70,000 (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 
202) and in 1663 at 56,000 (by Figueroa), doubtless considerable exaggerations. 
By 1666, the Jesuits had 13 large missions on the upper Marafién River near the 
mouth of the Pastaza, Huallaga, and Ucayali Rivers. They missionized the Tacanan 
tribes in 1680, the Mojo in 1683, the Apolista in 1690, the Cayuvava and Movima 
in 1693, the Canichana in 1695, and the Chiquito about the same time. 

The Indians were profoundly influenced by the missions, even when they did 
not remain permanently in them. Formerly isolated in extended family groups 


5 bye SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


which frequently moved their homes, they were assembled in large permanent 
villages. The latter did not wholly allay intercommunity and intertribal hostility, 
but they created contacts which were a condition for diffusion of native as well 
as Spanish culture elements. To meet the food problem in these villages, new 
plants, including bananas, rice, sugarcane, and other Old World species were 
grown. Steel tools so greatly facilitated farming and technology that they were 
a major inducement for the Indians to enter the missions. To meet the language 
difficulty, Quechua was made the Lengua Geral, and Highland Indians were even 
brought in to introduce it (map 6). A Quechua school was also founded in Borja 
to train boys and girls from native tribes. 

But the missionary work entailed great difficulties, and the missionaries, with 
their fanatical zeal, met these with little success. When disease periodically took 
its devastating toll and created panic among the converts, the Fathers strove to 
baptize as many as they could of the dying Indians. When the Indians resented being 
brought into the missions by force of arms and being required to observe Spanish 
social customs, disciplinary measures were tightened or the Indians were bribed 
through presents of iron tools. The ban on polygyny, for example, was espe- 
cially intolerable. The importation of Highland Indians and the presence of 
Mestizos also served to incite theft and insubordination. The policy of uniting 
members of different and hostile tribes caused a perpetual unrest and accounted 
for many desertions. Portuguese slave raids, starting in 1694, and efforts of local 
colonists to seize Indians for encomiendas continually menaced the missions, al- 
though they also tended to force the Indians to seek refuge under the Fathers’ 
protection. 

The success of the missions was at best tenuous. Death so reduced the native 
population that Figueroa (1904, p. 182) thought that two-thirds had died by 1665. 
Some estimates claim that smallpox took 44,000 in 1660, another 20,000 in 1669, 
and such numbers in 1680, 1749, 1756, and 1762 that survivors fled the missions 
into the bush. Converts were also continually lost through desertion. Open re- 
bellion and massacre of the Fathers punctuated the history of every mission. In 
the Ucayali region, hostility had long hindered the missionaries, and revolts of 
1686, 1695, 1704, 1742, and 1767 had made conversion nearly impossible. 

The uprising of 1742, led by a remarkable messiah, swept the missions from the 
area and brought death to 70 or 80 Fathers. The instigator was a Cuzco Indian 
who had been to Spain and returned calling himself Juan Santos Atahuallpa Apo- 
Inca and claiming to be the son of God as well as a descendant of the Jnca Emperor 
Atahuallpa. Pretending to have the wisdom of Solomon and the ability to make 
mountains fall, he declared that God had sent him to restore His kingdom. (See 
also Handbook, vol. 2, p. 385.) There was also a series of revolts in 1660 and 
1667 in the lower Maranhén-Napo area and among the Chimane and Canichana. 
The Jivaro had never been successfully converted. Other tribes, such as the Campa, 
resisted so continuously that they became a haven for refugee Indians and a con- 
stant menace to the Spaniards. The most serious blow to mission activity was 
the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767. Their missions were either secularized or 
taken over by the Franciscans in the capacity of curates, which greatly handi- 
capped them. The missions declined so rapidly that few survived in the first part 
of the last century when the wars of independence occurred. The effect on the 
Indians was directly proportionate to the duration of their missions. In the 
Huallaga-Ucayali area, there were some 160 Catholic missions in the 18th century, 
but only 9 remained in 1875. In the Province of Mainas, there had been 12,909 
Indians in 24 villages in 1746, and 9,111 in 22 villages in 1787, but only 4,455 
remained in these same villages in 1798 (Gonzalez Suarez, 1890-1903, vol. 6). 
In 1806, the lower Marafién and Huallaga had 6,525 Mission Indians; Mainas 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 5s 


had 3,329 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:1-9). Indians that had been converted earliest, 
for example the Patagén, Cofdn, Chuache, Cahumari, Quijo, Caliseca, and Maparina, 
have vanished as tribes. Others, who remained more or less continuously under 
mission influence, such as the Mosetene, Itonama, Cayuvava, Movima, Leco, and 
Apolista, not only became nearly extinct by the present century, but had lost 
virtually all trace of their native culture. Some tribes, such as the Jivaro, Campa, 
Piro, Conibo, Shipibo, Zdparo, Cahuapana, Chébero, and Chayawita, maintained a 
spirit of independence—revolts occurred as late as 192l—and survive today in 
some numbers. These especially would still reward investigation of aboriginal 
ethnology. 

The most important sources for the Mission Period are Diego de Cordoba y 
Salinas (1651) ; Rodriguez (1684) ; Figueroa (1904) ; Laureano de la Cruz (1900) ; 
Acufia (1891); “Noticias autenticas del Gran Rio Amazonas,’ compiled by Father 
Maroni and published by Jiménez de la Espada (1889-92) ; Escobar y Mendoza, 
1637 to 1767 (1769) ; Fritz, 1686-1723 (1922); Veigl to 1768 (1785); Chantre y 
Herrera, 1637-1767 (1901); and Amich (1854), written in 1768. Many original 
accounts and letters by Franciscan missionaries written up to the present century 
have been reproduced by Izaguirre (1922-29) in his monumental “Misiones 
franciscanas ... del Pert.” Franciscan and Jesuit reports are also included in V. 
Maurtua’s collection of documents (1906). The first scientific exploration was 
made by Lacondamine, 1743. 

(3) National Period, 1830—present.—Absorbed in internal affairs, the new 
nations paid less attention to their undeveloped oriente. The missions passed from 
the Franciscans to the secular clergy, which was poorly trained and which mal- 
treated and exploited the Indians, then back to the Franciscans. Settlers gradually 
penetrated the main waterways—the Marafidn, Huallaga, Ucayali, Napo, and 
Putumayo Rivers—reducing the more accessible Indians to virtual serfdom on 
their plantations. Of the Awishira, Omurana, Amuesha, Chamicuro, Yameo, and 
Zdparo, only acculturated fragments survive today under their patrones. As the 
settlers came mainly from the Highland and spoke Quechua, they served to spread 
this language even farther into the Montafia. (See map 6.) In general, the 
tribes living between the main rivers escaped continuous mission influence and 
best survived White settlement. 

Tribes on the fringe of the area suffered the violent shock of the rubber boom 
after 1890. The lower Maranon, Napo, Putumayo, and Madeira Rivers and all 
the Jurua-Purts drainage were most affected, but the Ucayali, Pastaza, Curaray, 
and Huallaga River peoples felt it only indiretly through the dislocation of tribes 
to their east. 

The present century has brought a renewal of missionary activity by both Catho- 
lics and Protestants. 

The surviving Montafia tribes now appear to be on the threshold of rapid as- 
simulation. Improved travel, especially roads and use of the airplane, and many 
new and potential commercial developments in the jungles are already bringing 
Whites in increasing numbers. 

The National Period has been one of scientific exploration. The more important 
traveler’s journals are Maw (1829), Péppig (1835-36), Smyth and Lowe (1836), 
Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, vol. 1), D’Orbigny (1839), Armentia (1887-88), Galt 
(ms. of 1879-74), Castelnau (1851), and Keller-Leuzinger (1874). 

Ethnographic monographs date from the present century. Nordenskidld’s col- 
lections and studies of the material culture of Bolivia started about 1900. Rivet 
and Créqui-Montfort classified linguistic families of eastern Peri and Bolivia. The 
Jivaro were studied by Karsten, Up de Graf, and Stirling. The Tribes of eastern 
Pert and Ecuador were surveyed by Farabee. The Masco and Yagua have been 


514 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Mar 6.—The post-Conquest expansion of Quechua into the Montana. 
(Compiled by J. H. Steward.) 


studied by Fejos. The most monumental and important work is by Tessmann 
(1930) on the same tribes. Its value to studies of material culture is outstanding, 
but its findings on social and religious culture can only be accepted with skepticism 
because Tessmann often did not make first-hand observations, relying on poor 
informants, and because he lacked interest in modern techniques for social analysic 
and was prepossessed with the theory that the Indians had no High God concept. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 515 


MONTANA CULTURE AND CULTURE CHANGES 


Important recorded changes in Montafia culture during the historic 
period underline the fallacy of compressing ethnological observations 
covering four centuries in a single, two-dimensional picture. Post-Contact 
developments may, in fact, be greater than is known, for without fairly 
definite records it is difficult to ascertain whether many Indian elements 
diffused in pre- or post-Columbian times. 


Some elements obviously came directly from Europeans: Iron tools and 
other manufactured objects; new domesticated plants; more complete 
garments and some European styles of clothing; occasional art styles; 
some technological processes, such as the roller sugarcane press and the 
iron smelter; and certain Christian marriage practices, death customs, 
religious beliefs, and mythology. Other changes probably resulted in- 
directly from post-European innovations: Greater facility in making 
canoes, houses, household furniture, weapons, fishing gear, and the like 
with iron tools; improved agriculture with the iron ax and machete for 
clearing land; intensification of warfare and slaving expeditions; larger 
villages and amalgamation of individual families into extended patrilineal 
families; and decreased isolationism and consequently increased inter- 
tribal contacts which furthered trade and diffusion of various cultural 
elements. Many native elements diffused in the post-Contact period: the 
blowgun replaced the bow; various aboriginal narcotics and drugs, 
especially tobacco and cayapi, became more widespread and general; and 
cushmas, shirts, skirts, hammocks, platform beds, and canoes spread after 
as well as before the Conquest. Doubtless other features, which cannot 
be identified with certainty, also diffused or were modified after the Con- 
quest. 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Indians of the Montafia [wrote Skinner (1805, pp. 283-284) ] find some dif- 
ficulty in subsisting without implements of husbandry, which is not owing to any 
deficiency of soil and rivers, since these are most fertile in fruits, birds, quad- 
rupeds, and fishes; but they cannot dispense with certain roots which require culture. 
Of these, the principal is the yuca [manioc], with which they made the masato 
[chicha], their only comfort and drink. They seldom taste water, which, in con- 
sequence of the heat and of the innumerable morasses, is of a very noxious 
quality ... Their attention is, however, so little occupied by agriculture and manu- 
factures, that it may be asserted that their sole occupations are hunting, fishing, 
and war. 


Although all tribes were horticulturists, the relative importance of 
hunting, fishing, and collecting wild foods varied with local habitat and 
with devices used. Thus, fishing outweighed hunting among the Jivaro 
because of scarcity of game, among the Awishira because they used only 
spears to hunt, and among many other tribes such as the Aguano, Cando- 


516 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


shi, Yameo, and Yamuiaca because of local abundance of fish. Hunting, 
on the other hand, was a pursuit of prestige to the Yamiaca. Chébero 
farming was handicapped by infertile soil, and the Mayoruna’s swampy 
habitat made it easier to rely on wild fruits than on farming. June, when 
shoals of fish swarmed up the Maranon and its tributaries, was a time 
of intensive fishing for many tribes. 


TABLE 1.—Cultivated plants used by the tribes of the Montaiia 


Tribe 

§ 
2 
SOW eI & 
Plant A a ‘E 3 = & 

n s CO) a 
$ | § eee pee | = 

3 & ° s GI b = b 2 & 3 
deh | AEN Sp et | CRT VW | Gave perg isi eect) Scnitatee WR am tie 
= se <a i a) o a Fis a =} x hee 3 
Xie N rm | A Oo =) = 2) Ay = < H 

Sweet manioc or 

yuca (Manihot 

utilissima aypi)| X X Xx x x x XK DX |X Xo eX x 
Bitter manioc 

(Manihot utilis- 

im@)e .RtB lees XxX ».¢ R O O Roshisee ais O COI Ce) OW © (X) 
Maize (Zeamays)} X| X] X| XX] X} XX} XX] XK] XY] xX le ae xX 
Sweet potato (Ipo- 

moea batatas)..| X x x X x x x x DEN x 
Peanut, mani 

(Arachis hypo- 

GEG) re patos viens SG eons 6 x De x Dek x >. Dealt SX Kisil poke D4 
Bean (tuber) x xX x x x x x Xx x 
Chonta palm .... x x x xX xX >, Gal sete x ».4 
Potato (Solanum) Xx O oO O One X (X) 

Yam beans (Pa. 

chyrrhisus) ...|+-+- x xX 
Pepper (Capsi- 

CUM) eka eccrees NET vateta hlheneteae ltorscere xX x 
Papaya (Carica 

papaya) ...... Cin | hcchalel ia olrroy|[iocucun x xa lis x 
Macabo (Xantho 

SD) Shiewielets oieellte sie x x xX xX aX aX x 
Sicana (Sicana 

odorifera) ....|-++- armee donee coh ees ttgend ltr teers >. Gul kecrg Aan loreal IO Cuatol honeys ¢ x xX 
Pumpkin (Cucur- 

Bria): Hardest ai teers He x x x xX xe x cal ease xX 
Piantaini Gates... x x x X | .-.. XG ax Xx liars Sade 
Beaticinict sn eteeriete ere x x x x xX x x x x ax x 
Sugarcane! eee x xX x D4 x x ax xs x xX 
Yam (Dioscorea)|..-- x D4 xX DS xX xX D6 x D.¢ 
PRATOIAS wiereters stele stel| le arts x hoc 
Tobacco 

(Nicotiana)....).... x >, xX x 
ISOLEOT etespacierees ill cusiacs xX x Xx xX x x SA APEC xX 
BESEeeh SAagadallnago D.€ x >. xX x 
Bixa (Bixa ore 

Pages) ee etevoieisssi| (oxen D4 x x aoe eat || 2s ; 

(Cocay perc tasers sreucioy| aatsrs x >. 4 (X) x 
Ycka x 


1X, presence; O, known absence; R, rare; blank, no data. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 5) ab 


The native staple was sweet manioc, the bitter variety not having spread 
south of the Quijo and Encabellado, though it was recently introduced 
to some Zdparoan and Cahuapanan tribes. Other native crops of general 
distribution were sweet potatoes, peanuts, pumpkins, beans, the jicama 
or yam bean, papayas, macabo, pepino and several palms, especially chonta. 
Maize was grown more for making chicha than bread in 1664 (Figueroa, 
1904, p. 206.). Potatoes were restricted to high altitudes—Quijo, upper 
Marafion, and some Arawakans. 

New crops and implements introduced during the historic period pro- 
foundly affected the subsistence pattern through facilitating horticulture. 
The iron ax made slash-and-burn farming immeasurably easier. The 
plantain (possibly aboriginal, see Sauer, Handbook, vol. 6), banana, yam, 
and sugarcane, all well adapted to the Tropical Forests, became more im- 
portant than most native species and seem to have relegated manioc to 
use primarily for making chicha. Humboldt calculated that the yield of 
plantains compared with wheat is 133 to 1 and compared with potatoes 
44 to 1. Other introduced plants which attained a more limited dis- 
tribution are watermelons (Bolivia), pineapples (Bolivia), papaya 
(Jivaro, Chébero), taro (Peruvian Panoans, Arawakans, and Iquito), 
and orange, lemon, lime, and fig trees. Rice, though introduced by the 
missionaries, was not liked by the Indians. Like the Highland Indians, 
the Chuncho apparently adopted no garden vegetables, such as carrots, 
beets, lettuce, and the like, at least for their own use. Other special plants 
are mentioned under tribal headings. 

The farming pattern seems to be the same everywhere. Families 
cultivate and harvest their own plots, though men assist one another in 
felling trees and are rewarded with chicha. 

Game animals in the ancient Province of Mainas included 10 kinds of 
monkeys, punchanas, armadillos, land turtles, lomuchas (burrowing 
animals caught with nets), peccaries, and birds of all kinds, but neither 
iguanas, capivaras, nor anteaters. Deer seem generally not to have been 
eaten, probably because of some notion that they were reincarnated people. 

The principal aboriginal devices for hunting had been the bow and 
spear, but during the historic period most tribes abandoned the bow in 
favor of the blowgun for hunting small game and birds. Other methods 
seem to have had a spotty distribution, owing to the incomplete nature 
of our sources; traps and snares (fig. 72), pitfalls (Zdparoans, Pebans, 
Panoans, Jivaro), nets (Zdparoans, upper Marafion, Arawak, Panoans), 
blinds (Pebans, Panoans, Cahuapanans, Arawak), slings (Cashibo), dead- 
falls (Encabellado), and sloping sharp stakes planted in game trails 
(Arawakans). The hunting dog was generally used but seems not to 
have been native. 

The main reserves of meat came from manatee, which are huge river 
mammals, and large water turtles. The former were killed with a harpoon 


518 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


4 i 
\ 
¥, Sy ay 
be poe ‘ ; ’ Cor 


Ficure 72.—Coto traps. a, Deadfall; b, spring pole. (After Tessmann, 1930, pl. 42.) 


to which a wooden float was attached, then dragged to the shore, ma- 
neuvered into the canoe, and taken home, where the meat was roasted and 
placed in a large pot covered with manatee oil, which prescribed it for half 
a year. Salting meat is a post-Columbian practice. Turtles were caught 
at any time with harpoons or arrows (pl. 48, bottom); or, in October 
when laying their eggs, they were captured in large numbers by turning 
them on their backs after which they were taken to the village and kept in 
penned pools. The meat supply was considerable, for 6 men could take 
500 turtles in a short time and each turtle sufficed 30 people for one meal. 
The eggs were salted, soaked, or the oil extracted by smashing the yokes 
in a canoe so that it rose to the surface. The oil was preserved in jars for 
cooking and illumination. Later, it became an important item of trade 
with the White man (Veigl, 1785 a, pp. 194-198). 

The rivers also supplied caimans, dolphins, electric eels, yacu puma or 
water wolves, and numerous varieties of fish. Fishing methods showed 
much local variation and some historic change. Nets were of little value 
in streams filled with driftwood, especially in Bolivia, and were little used 
despite missionary attempts to introduce them. Hooks evidently had a 
limited pre-Columbian distribution, but became more general when iron 
hooks were introduced. Drugging was general, Tephrosia toxicaria and 
Clibadium vargasti being used in Ecuador and Pert and the solinan or 
manuna tree (Hura crepitans) in Bolivia. Barbasco (Lonchocarpus 
nicou) was widely cultivated in Pert and Ecuador; Tephrosia was some- 
times cultivated. The poisonous plant was pounded and put into a lake 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD D19 


or into a stream above a wythe fence. People in canoes or wading then 
gathered up the stupefied fish (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 274). The fish spear was 
widely used, but the harpoon, thrown usually with an atlatl, had been 
used mainly by the Tupi, Zdparoan, Quijo, and Cahuapanan tribes. It 
could be thrown as far as a bow would shoot and was preferred in that 
it required but one hand, the other being used to manipulate the canoe 
(Veigl, 1785 a, p. 274). But the bow, which had been used among the 
Bolivian tribes and the Peruvian Panoans, Arawak, and Tupi, replaced 
the atlatl among many of these tribes and was used with harpoon arrows. 
Arrows, harpoons, and spears were greatly improved with iron points, 
and the adoption of canoes by many tribes was an aid to fishing. 


Among wild foods, palm fruits and terminal shoots predominate. The 
more important species utilized are chonta (Guilielma ciliata and G. 
palma), achua (Mauritia flexuosa), Jessenia bataua, Iriartea ventricosa, I. 
deltoidea, Scheelea tessmannii, S. bassleriana, Astrocaryum huicungo, 
A, vulgare, and Aitalea tessmannii. Only the Arawakan peoples 
use the climbing ring. Honey, palm beetle larvae, and ants are greatly 
relished. 

The only domesticated animals were the llamas and alpacas on the 
upper Marafion River, llamas and guinea pigs kept by the Jivaro, a few 
guinea pigs in the Province of Mainas (probably Zdparoan tribes), and 
probably the Muscovy duck. The acquisition of pigs and chickens greatly 
augumented the food supply. By the 17th century, the hunting dog was 
used by many tribes, but Veigl denies that it was native in the Province 
of Mainas and it may be post-Columbian everywhere. All tribes kept 
many tame monkeys, parrots, and other birds and mammals. 


Food is most commonly ground in a wooden trough or on a flat wooden 
grinder with a wooden rocker. Wooden mortars are recorded only from 
the Jivaro, Panoans, and Tupi; stone grinders from the Panoans and 
upper Marafion tribes. The babracot is generally used to smoke meat 
so that it will last a few days, but the pottery stove, which, like the tipiti, 
is used in making farinha of bitter manioc, is unknown. Cooking pots 
ordinarily rest on three supports. 


HOUSES AND FURNISHINGS 


House types varied from the single or double lean-to of the Atsahuaca, 
Yuracare, Moseten, Chimane, and Pacaguara to large and complicated 
structures. Some Tacanan and Arawakan houses are round. Most 
eastern Peruvian and Ecuadorian dwellings are rectangular, with and 
without center posts (pl. 49, top). More commodious houses were intro- 
duced during the post-Columbian period to accommodate the enlarged 
social groups. Special clubhouses were built only by the Chacobo and 
Yuracare. The Canelo palisaded village was unique in the area. 


520 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


All tribes use a men’s seat which, in contrast to the well-made product 
in most of the Amazon, varies from a rough-hewn half log to a stool 
crudely carved from a single piece of wood. Women sit on mats on the 
ground. The platform bed was aboriginally used by the tribes nearest 
the Andes—Quijo, Canelo, Candoshi, Andoa, Cahuapanan, upper Mara- 
non, Huallaga, Yuracare, Chiriguano, and Chané. It subsequently spread 
eastward to some of the Panoan peoples and to the Yameo, Leco, Mose- 
tene, and Chimane. In native times, the hammock had spread to the 
western Tucanoans and some of the Zdparoans, the Mayoruna, the pe- 
ripheral Panoans, and perhaps the Southern Panoans, the Guarayit and 
Pauserna. It was later adopted by several Zdparoans, Pebans, Panoans, 
and Bolivian tribes. 

A tightly-woven mosquito tent or net is used by the Western Tucano, 
Zaparoans, Yameo, Panoans, Tupi, Yuracare, Araona, and perhaps 
Middle Huallaga peoples. 


CLOTHING AND ADORNMENT 


Complete lack of wearing apparel in native times was not common, 
though many tribes used only some genital cover. The narrow breech- 
clout, although old in the Highland civilization (Nordenskiold, 1920, 
p. 59), was used only by Chiriguano and Chané men and Tacanan women. 
Elsewhere, the penis was tied (pl. 50) or held up with a string, or men 
wore a broad breechclout, poncho, or shirt. The broad breechclout, 
which hung over the belt and virtually surrounded the body like a skirt, 
was used by the Quijo, Itucale, Zaparoans, Omurana, and Cocama. A 
wrap-around skirt occurred among the Jivaro, Panobo, and some Z4- 
paroan tribes. The poncho was restricted to the Western Tucano, Jivaro, 
Chané, and Chiriguano. 

Women used a small apron, shirts, or a skirt that pulled over the head 
(pl. 50, left), the last more characteristic of the Ucayali Panoans. 


Adoption of a shirt was furthered by missionary precepts of modesty. 
Some are waist length, but the typical form is a long robe, known as the 
cushma, or tunic (pl. 50, top, right). This is typically a man’s garment, 
though worn in some tribes by women. Poncholike in construction, it is 
made of a single piece of bark cloth or woven cotton and has a slit for the 
head. Some Chama tribes make it of two pieces. The cushma differs from 
the Andean woman’s mantel in that the latter is wrapped around the body 
and from the eastern Bolivian and northern Chaco tipoy, which is a single, 
tubular piece of cloth worn with the warp running horizontally around the 
body and pinned over the shoulder. The tipoy occurs only among the 
Chiriguano and Chané. The Jivaro woman’s dress supported over one 
shoulder may be related to the Highland mantel. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD Bel 


Seemingly all the tribes of Pertti and Ecuador stain their teeth black by 
chewing certain herbs and ashes, which produces a stain that lasts several 
days (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 63). 

Two types of head deformation were once practiced. The Quijo, 
Peban, Ucayali Panoans, and Tupi compressed the forehead against the 
cradle. The Awishira and probably some of the other Zdparoan tribes 
lengthened the head by pressing laterally on the temples. The Pebans 
also removed a child’s nose cartilage, and the Jquito pressed the face and 
nose to make the face flat. 

Tooth filing, perhaps of Negro origin in South America, is restricted 
to the modern Aguano, Tupi, and Quijo. 

Other mutilations formerly had a wide distribution but seem not to 
have characterized cultural areas except that the Western Tucano and 
Pebans were famous for their large ear disks (whence the name Ore- 
jones), the Arawak for nose ornaments, and the Remo and Mayoruna 
for the great number of labrets a person wore (pl. 51). 


Tattooing had a wide distribution but seems to have spread farther in 
post-Contact times. 


All tribes formerly painted their faces and bodies, often as much for 
protection against insects as for ornamentation, but only the Jivaro and 
Tupi used a stamp. Chagua juice was used to allay itching. 

Hairdress takes many forms, characteristic styles being the Coronado 
tonsure and the custom of shaving the head on the upper Marafion and 
among the /quito. Depilation is general; the Zdparoans, Pebans, and 
Panobo pull out hair with melted resin. Composite combs are used to 
groom the hair; the Western Tucano and Zdparoans also use rosin 
mirrors. 

Ornaments consist of necklaces, arm and leg bands, bands of beads 
crossing on the chest, and feather crowns. In aboriginal times, a few 
metal ornaments had come from the Highlands, especially to the Qujo 
and Tupi. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Insufficient data make comparative analysis of carrying devices im- 
possible. Baskets, infant carrying bands, and men’s bags seem to have 
a wide distribution. Nets are reported only on the middle Huallaga 
River and among the Arawak. 

In modern times, all the Chuncho make canoes except those on small 
streams, like the peripheral Panoans, the Arawakans and the middle 
Huallaga people, who make only rafts. But aboriginal use of canoes is 
certain only for the Ucayali River Panoans and the Tupi. It is probable 
for the Jivaro and possible for the Cahuapanans. Other tribes learned 


523 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


canoe building and maneuvering from the Panoans and Tupi under mis- 
sion influence: the Western Tucanoans, Zdporoans, Mayoruna, and 
Pebans. 

For rafts, the preferred material is palo de balsa (Ochroma sp.). 


MANUFACTURES 


Complete absence of stone everywhere except in the higher altitudes 
requires use mainly of vegetable and animal products for manufactures. 

Baskets.—Baskets seem to conform to the usual Tropical Forest styles, 
a hexagonal weave being mentioned most frequently. The Zdparo and 
Cahuapanans make a double-walled vessel. The long “telescope” basketry 
container is ascribed only to the Arawak. 

Textiles.—Textiles are made of various fibers, some preference being 
given even by missionaries to wild-plant fibers over cotton because they 
lasted better in this hot, humid climate. An excellent cloth called cachi- 
banco is made of achua palm fibers (Mauritia flexuosa), especially by 
the Zdparoan tribes. Chambira palm is also widely used, being the main 
fiber of the Western Tucanoans, Pebans, and Mayoruna. The Quijo 
uniquely used agave and the upper Marajfion tribes llama and alpaca wool. 
Use of Cecropia characterizes the upper Ucayali. The Tupi, Cahuapanan, 
Panoan, upper Marafion, and middle Huallaga Indians emphasize weav- 
ing in cotton. The Western Tucanoans use a little cotton, and the Quijo 
adopted it recently. 

A horizontal loom, probably of Highland origin, is used by the Zdpar- 
oans, Cahuapanans, middle Huallaga, Ucayali, and Arawakan tribes. A 
verticle loom is restricted to the Jivaro and Campa. The peculiar 
“Ucayali” loom occurs among some of the Panoans and Arawakans. 

Bark cloth.—Bark cloth, made preferably of trees of Ficus and 
Couratari, occurs among the Western Tucano, Zdparoans, Jivaro, and 
Arawak. 

Pottery.—All Montafia tribes make pottery, though Spanish wares seem 
to have been introduced on the upper Marafion and Huallaga Rivers. 
Tessmann’s data (1930) permit only a tentative classification of native 
wares. Vessel forms of general distribution are large cooking pots, water 
and chicha jars, and bowls. The first are always unpainted and are 
ornamented, if at all, only with incised, fingernail impressed or punched 
geometric figures, usually in bands around the neck. Jars and bowls 
carry several art styles, some of them coexisting in the same tribe. 

The most striking style is a fine geometric polychrome (pl. 52, a—c; figs. 
73, 74) that is best developed among the Ucayali River Panoans but also 
occurs among tribes bordering the Marafion River (Cocama, Omagua, 
Yameo, Aguano, Urarina, Munichi, and Jivaro). The style seems def- 
initely related to that of Marajé and the lower Amazon, having geometric 
designs formed of widely spaced, heavy lines which are outlined by one 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 523 


SS 


orcs eres 


h J. Angling 
Ficure 73.—Montafia pottery types. a, b, Chama; c, d, Cashibo; e, Panobo; f, Piro; 
g, h, Chama. (f, Redrawn from Farabee, 1922, pl. 6; a, b, g, h, redrawn from 
Tessmann, 1928, pls. 4 and 5; c-e, redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, color pl. 4.) 


653333—47—36 


524 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


| SR a 
A 
eT 
° / 2 3 4 5 6 Inches. 
2 % 6 FF jor, le ae Cin: Black White Red. 


Ficure 74.—Montafia pottery types. a, Aguano; b, Chayawita; c, Aguano (with pot 
rests) ; d, Chayawita. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, color pls. 5, 8, and map. 11.) 


or more fine lines. The Montafia style employs red and black on a cream 
background, and it lacks the incised lines, the occasional zoomorphic 
motives, and the modeled decoration of Marajé. A few examples of the 
style are white-on-red (Cocama, Panobo, fig. 79). 

A second polychrome style, perhaps a modification of the last among 
the Maranon River tribes (Jivaro, Chébero, Aguano), uses a large num- 
ber of closely spaced parallel lines of equal width to form geometric figures 
(plye2; dshei/5): 

A simpler and cruder geometric style employs white-on-red (Yameo, 
Chayawita, Omagua, pl. 52, e, f) or red-on-cream (Yameo, Coto, Cocama, 
Jivaro, pl. 52, g,h). This style differs from the first two in having bolder 
geometric elements and more uncertain brush work as well as in the color 
combination. 

Jars with the lower half red, the upper white, occur also on the Marafion 
(Yameo, Chébero, Yamorai, Chayawita, Lama). 

Tribes living away from the main rivers usually had simpler wares 
(pl. 55). The Jtucale, Yagua, Zaparo, Roamaina, and Mayoruna seem- 
ingly used no painted designs; their bowls were red outside, smoke- 
blackened inside. The Western Tucanoans, however, were accredited 
with an elaborately painted ware (fig. 75, a, b). 

Use of a genipa wash for red and of a copal (payuru) varnish is com- 
mon in the Montafia. 

Calabashes.—Calabashes are painted (Zdparoans), varnished (Zdapa- 
roans), and incised (Tupi). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 525 


Ficure 75.—Montafia pottery. a, b, Coto; c, d, Jivaro; e, f, “Simaku.” (Redrawn, 
from Tessmann, 1930, pl. 35, color pl. 7, pl. 59, and color pl. 8.) 


Metals.— Metallurgy was known in native times only to the Quijo, who 
smelted gold (Gonzalez Suarez, 1890-1903, 6:59). Post-Contact placer 
mining in Jivaro territory started no important native use of metals, 
though the Zdparo collected some gold. Through missionary influence, 
the Arawak adopted iron smelting. 

Fire making.—The fire drill was probably used everywhere, although 
the Yagua, Cahuapanans, Urarina, Campa, and Zdparoans are accredited 
with use of two stones. The missionaries introduced flint and steel. 


526 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Weapons.—At the time of discovery, these tribes used the spear thrown 
with the atlatl and the bow and arrow in both hunting and warfare. Sub- 
sequently, the blowgun and poisoned dart widely replaced the bow and 
arrow for hunting small game, while the bow and harpoon arrow took 
the place of the atlatl and harpoon in fishing. The spear is still used in 
hunting large game and in warfare, but is thrown without the atlatl. 

The earliest mention of the blowgun in the area is Saabedra’s account 
of the Maina (Stirling, 1938), but it may have been used earlier, for 
Cieza de Leon saw it in Colombia in 1540. The number of tribes then 
using the bow is not known, but several have since abandoned it in favor 
of the blowgun for hunting: the Jivaro during the 17th century; the 
Western Tucano, who once used it with poisoned arrows but now use it 
only to shoot harpoon arrows at turtles; and perhaps the middle Huallaga 
tribes, the Ucayali Panoans, and the Mayoruna, who use it only in fishing ; 
and the Cahuapanans among whom it is now atoy. The Tupi and Ucayali 
River Panoan tribes, contrary to the general trend, recently adopted the 
bow for warfare. The Pebans never had it. 

The blowgun, on the other hand, has become universal among all groups 
except the Arawakans, and peripheral Panoans, who continue to use the 
bow for both hunting and warfare. 

The basis for the shift from the bow to the blowgun is unquestionably 
availability of poison, without which the blowgun is worthless. It is 
true that some arrows had formerly been poisoned, for example among 
the Western Tucanoans, but it is unlikely that the deadly curare was 
used. In recent times, in fact, the Zdparoans, Western Tucanoans, 
Cahuapanans, and perhaps others imported their poison. The Lama, 
Canelo, and the Pebans were main sources; and the last evidently never 
used the bow. Most of these tribes had a much livelier trade in the his- 
toric period, when canoes and mission influence brought about greater 
intertribal contacts. It seems very possible, therefore, that availability of 
poison, together with what seems manifest superiority of the blowgun 
over the hunting bow, brought about the change. 

The abandonment of the bow for warfare is more difficult to under- 
stand, for the blowgun was never used to kill anything but game. Perhaps 
a spear for fighting and a blowgun for hunting were all a warrior could 
carry. 

The atlatl was once used by the Maina, the Cahuapanans, and the upper 
Marafion tribes for warfare and by the Jivaro and the Panoans for both 
warfare and hunting, but all these tribes have given it up. It is now 
restricted to the Pebans and the Tupi, who use it only to throw fish 
harpoons. 

All tribes except the Arawakans used shields of various materials— 
wood, basketry, tapir hide. The club once had a wide distribution, but 
seems to have been used less frequently in recent times. Pitfalls and 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 527 


trenches with sharpened stakes were used everywhere to protect villages ; 
the Quijo palisades are unique. 

Other weapons attained a more limited distribution. The sling, 
doubtless of Highland origin, has been reported only among the Lama, 
Cashibo, Arawakans, and Tupi. Bone daggers occurred on the upper 
Marafion River; caltrops are Arawakan; weapons planted in the bush 
with automatic release are limited to the Jivaro; and automatic alarm 
drums are Tui. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRUCTURE 


The aboriginal Montafia community typically consisted of one to a 
few families—15 to 30 persons—each family living in a small house 
(upper Maranon and Huallaga Rivers, Western Tucanoans, Pebans, Ara- 
wakans, Southern Panoans, and Tacanans). Houses were scattered at 
intervals of a few hundred yards to a few miles along water courses, or, 
as among the hinterland Panoans, Western Tucanoans, and others, were 
isolated in the bush for protection from war and slave raids. They were 
moved every 2 or 3 years. Occasionally, clusters of 5 or 10 houses made 
small villages. A few tribes, however, had much larger communities: 
Tupi villages numbered several hundred persons; Cayuvava settlements 
averaged 540 per village in 1696; Mosetene communities averaged 166 in 
1682. These sizes seem to be native, but it is uncertain whether they 
depended upon greater local resources and an unusually dense population 
or upon a more developed political sense. 

A tendency toward increase in community size occurred in the historic 
period, though it is remarkable that the mission villages of several hun- 
dred to a thousand persons each disintegrated at the close of the mission 
period when the people tended to resume their native separatism. The 
Chébero, who remained in a single village, and the Aguano, Chasutina, 
Chacobo, and Araona are exceptions. Other tribes, such as the Western 
Tucanoans, the Pebans, and some of the Arawakans began to live in large 
communities and adopted communal houses. In addition to direct mission 
influence, it is likely that adoption of canoes, better agriculture, and im- 
proved intercommunity relations were factors in the trend toward larger 
villages. 

The social structure of these communities can be described only in gen- 
eral terms. The single-family house contained the elementary family 
consisting of father, mother, and children. When several families lived 
together in the molaca, a strong tendency to patrilocal residence, despite 
bride service, made the community an extended patrilineal family, with 
the family head as chief. Tessmann (1930) speaks of many of these as 
“kins,” but there is no evidence that they were sibs, nor are there grounds 
for postulating that they ever had been sibs. In fact, a better case could 
be made that they represent a condition from which sibs might develop. 


528 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


They resulted from congregation of patrilineally related families under 
a single roof. The Lama, however, may have had patrilineal moieties. 
The Ucayali River Panoans, in contrast to other Montafia peoples and to 
the hinterland Panoans, were matrilineal and had a hint of totemism which 
opens the possibility that they had clans. 


These communities normally lacked any groupings, such as classes, 
castes, or societies, although some Pebans were alleged to have had some 
kind of nobles. Until trade with the Whites made slave traffic profitable, 
captives taken in warfare were incorporated into the local group, except 
among the Quijo and Tupi, who aboriginally had kept them in slave status. 


Political authority centered in the family head, who controlled travel, 
warfare, and farm clearing. Chieftainship of greater consequence occurred 
only during temporary war alliances and in very recent times, when it 
seems clearly to be an institution imposed by the White man. Shamans 
often assumed leadership but only the Quijo regularly made them chiefs. 


WARFARE 


The pattern of warfare was very similar among all tribes, differences 
being found in emphasis and in details of weapons, cannibalism, and 
trophies. The Jivaro are distinctive in their absorbing interest in warfare 
which, however, may be a post-Contact intensification of a widespread 
aboriginal pattern. 


The “Noticias Autenticas” (Maroni, 1889-92, 27 :254-265) described 
the early war complex of the upper Amazon area in some detail. The 
motive for warfare was head hunting, and, though the occasion for a war 
expedition was presumably revenge of some wrong, usually witchcraft, 
it did not matter whether the foe had perpetrated the supposed crime. 
The decision to fight was made in a council. To insure victory, the 
shaman fasted and was chaste and silent; after a victory, he was rewarded 
with loot. Defeat was attributed to breaking a taboo. Warriors attired 
themselves in all their ornaments, and the chief whipped their legs to give 
them courage and put red pepper juice in their eyes to enable them better 
to see and dodge arrows and to shoot. The main stratagem was surprise 
attack, though villages were protected by trenches with stakes, by cal- 
trops, and by automatic alarms. Warriors were killed and their heads 
taken to be shrunken and kept as trophies. Later, the heads were deco- 
rated with colored feathers and used in a dance during which the victors 
boasted and taunted them. Women and children were taken captive 
and incorporated in the conquering tribe. 

Trophy skulls are recorded among the Quijo, Western Tucano, Zapa- 
roans, Cahuapanians and Tupi. The Jivaro, Chébero, Panoans, and 
Ttucale (?) made shrunken heads (pl. 63). Cannibalism was less wide- 
spread: Encabellado, Zaparoans, Cahuapanans, and Mayoruna. The 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 529 


Peban peoples, who wore human-tooth necklaces, may also have used 
other trophies. Scalping is attributed only to the Chama. 


LIFE CYCLE 


The life cycle has little of interest. Abortion and infanticide were 
once fairly common, probably resulting from disturbances of the Contact 
Period. The couvade has a spotty distribution. The Western Tucanoans 
killed both twins; the Zdparoans and Tupi killed one, probably because 
one of twins was thought to be a spirit’s child. Zdparoans and Cashibo 
practiced some kind of girl’s circumcision soon after birth, and the 
Zaparoans also ceremonially flogged girls and put pepper in their eyes. 

Girls’ puberty observances seem to have been limited to the first menses, 
when the Arawakans isolated a girl for 6 months. Special observances 
include Arawakan and Chama circumcision, deflowering, and whipping, 
Tupi removal of the clitoris, the Jivaro tobacco festival for strength, and 
Awishira and Chébero flogging and putting pepper in the eyes for 
strength. 

No boys’ initiation is known, though the Jivaro held a cayapi festival 
for youths. 

Homicide of the aged and infirm was formerly practiced by the 
Panoans and Zdparoans. Disposal of the corpse has taken many forms: 
Leaving it in the house (Jivaro, Zaparoans) ; burial in the house (Pebans, 
sometimes with reburial; Panoans, sometimes in a canoe; Western Tuca- 
noans, in a hammock) ; burial outside the house (some Panoams) ; urn 
burial (Aguaruna, Tupi, and Chébero, the last both primary and secon- 
dary; formerly some Panoans); endocannibalism of the cooked corpse 
(Panoans, Zaparoans) ; cremation of the corpse and drinking the ashes 
with chicha (Western Tucanoans and some Panoans) ; mummification of 
chiefs (Quijo). Mission influence increased the use of cemetery burial. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Chicha (masato) is a beerlike drink made from manioc or other fruits 
or vegetables fermented with the aid of a chewed mash and prepared in 
a wooden trough, e. g., the bulging trunk of paxiuba palm (Jriartea ventri- 
cosa), or in huge pottery jars. It is consumed by all tribes, and often 
occasions drunken brawls. The Canelo uniquely distilled a hard liquor by 
means of a pot and bamboo tubes, undoubtedly a post-Conquest innova- 
tion. 

Several plant narcotics and stimulants were used aboriginally, but 
gained wider distribution and more general use when culture patterns 
began to change in historic times. These are of two general classes: 
intoxicants taken, usually by shamans, to produce visions or a sense of 
supernatural power; stimulants, taken by anyone, for their effect in 


530 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


anesthetizing or allaying fatigue and hunger. The first class includes 
cayapi and Datura, the second, yoco, coca, and guayusa. Tobacco 
served both purposes. A species of Cyperus is widely used by shamans 
but its virtue is evidently more magical than physiological. 

The use of guayusa, yoco, Datura, and perhaps other wild species is 
less widespread than their natural occurrence. 

Tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) formerly was largely restricted to shamans 
but later came into general use. The tribes of eastern Ecuador take it in 
the form of juice or cigars, several tribes also chewing it. The Ucayali 
River Panoans and Arawakans and the Tupi smoke pipes and snuff 
powder. The Tupi also smoke cigarettes. 

Cayapi (also called yagé, huni, hayac-huasca, and ayahuasca) is prob- 
ably used throughout the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Montafia except 
among the Panoans. It is mainly a shaman’s drink, though its consump- 
tion became more general during the historic period. Three very similar 
species occur in the region: Banisteriopsis inebrians, B. caapi, and B. 
quitensis. All are used and all produce the same effect: First, somewhat 
violent behavior; then deep sleep with vivid visual hallucinations, which 
among these tribes are usually of animals; and finally, a sense of losing 
one’s body and of seeing distant things. Some people become addicts 
(Morton, 1931; Reinburg, 1921). Huanto (Datura arborea), also called 
floripondia, campana, and borrachera, is used by the Zdparo, Canelo, and 
Jivaro to foretell the future. It produces strong intoxication which lasts 
several days and is so dangerous that anyone taking it is guarded by a 
friend (Reinburg, 1921). 

Guayusa (Ilex sp.), anesthetizing and sustaining rather than exhila- 
rating but serving also as an emetic, is used only by the Quijo, Zdparo, 
and Jivaro. Yoco (Paullinia yoco) is also sustaining in its effect, though 
strong doses serve an emetic (Simson, 1879 a, p. 213). This and related 
species of the creeper occur widely, but are used only by the Sioni, Corre- 
guaje, Cofan, and Highland Quechua of Ecuador. The Indians make an 
infusion of the bark and drink it (Schultes, 1942). Coca is limited to 
the Quijo, the middle Huallaga tribes, the Arawakans, and some Panoans. 
Ic is chewed with lime, and is intended only to allay fatigue, except for 
some ritual use of it among the Quijo. 

There is considerable uniformity in musical instruments. Transverse 
and longitudinal flutes and panpipes are used everywhere. The signal 
drum occurs among all tribes north of the Marafion River except the 
Pebans. Two-headed monkey-skin drums, though probably of Spanish 
origin, had reached all tribes. Gourd or other hand-shaken rattles are 
unknown; instead, jingles on the belt and legs are characteristic. The 
musical bow is fairly general. Trumpets, though of minor importance, 
are made of a variety of materials: Armadillo shells (Zdaparoans), snail 
shells (Jivaro and Mayoruna), wood (upper Marajion), cane (Panoans), 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 531 


bark (Mayoruna), and human skulls (Arawakans). None are sacred or 
associated with secret men’s rites. 

Amusements are also comparatively uniform. Maize-leaf ball games, 
wrestling, and humming tops occur everywhere; rubber balls are re- 
stricted to the Tupi. Slings of various kinds are used in the Peruvian 
and Ecuadorian Montafia. A ring-and-pin game is recorded only from 
the Panoans. 

RELIGION 


Montafia beliefs about supernatural beings are not adequately recorded 
but seem to be a minor consideration in daily affairs. Most supernatural 
beings are animistic nature spirits, the most prominent of which are the 
monstrous water snake (Zdporans, Jivaro, Pebans, Tupi) and bush 
demons, often thought to be anthropomorphic and generally somewhat 
dangerous (Zdparoans, Pebans, Middle Huallaga tribes, Panoans). Con- 
cepts other than simple animism are clarified only in the case of the 
Jivaro, who believe in an impersonal supernatural power that resides in 
certain plants and animals. 

The only community religious rites are the puberty observances pre- 
viously mentioned, certain rites to strengthen warriors, shamanistic per- 
formances, and the Peban feast of the dead. But various Christian rites 
were adopted in the historic period (pl. 48, center). There are many 
magical practices, especially the use of Cyperus for curing, for increasing 
fertility, for obtaining hunting and fishing luck and for other purposes. 
The Quijo are unique in divining with zoomorphic images made of coca. 

Beliefs about life after death are variable and confused, but a few facts 
seem to stand out. The Jivaro, Zdparoans, Arawakans, Tupi, and some 
Panoans believe that souls are reincarnated as animals, the Arawakans and 
possibly the Panoan naming the deer. This may explain a very wide- 
spread taboo on killing and eating deer. The Quijo and Yameo believe 
that souls become guardian spirits; the Pebans and Cahuapanans that 
souls merely wander in the bush. 


SHAMANISM 


The principal function of the shaman is to cause and cure sickness, 
but among the Jivaro and probably other neighboring tribes, he also per- 
forms magic for war parties, makes rain, gives love potions, and predicts 
the future. During a period of instruction, he learns to control a magical 
substance. Spirit helpers, though indicated for only a few tribes, are 
probably widespread. The Jivaro spirit helper is a blowgun, snake, door, 
bird, or insect; Maina, a bird; Canelo, a python; Pebans, birds and 
animals; Cahuapanans, birds; Lama, plants including Brunsfelsia grandi- 
flora; Iquito, a Cyperus root. The Panoan shaman obtained help from a 
bird, the Arawakan from tobacco and cayapi, and the Tupi from the spirit 
of a deceased shaman in a virola or cottonwood tree and from a bird. 


5a SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The narcotic or stimulant, particularly tobacco, taken by the shaman 
seems generally intended to enhance his sense of power, but Datura and 
ayahauasca more specifically produce second sight. Chantre y Herrera 
(1901, pp. 80-83) said that in the Maranon region the shaman induced 
spirits to come by fasting or by drinking ayahuasca. Ina large hut where 
people had gathered, he first led singing, then drank ayahuasca to coax 
the spirit. Another dose of ayahuasca made him first violent, then coma- 
tose, when his soul departed and the spirit spoke through him. Later, the 
shaman revealed what he had learned. A similar account by Jiménez de 
la Espada (1892, p. 55) states that the shaman and perhaps other mem- 
bers of the community take both Datura and ayahuasca to acquire visions 
of the future or of the identity of a murderer. Words of the intoxicated 
person are carefully noted. 

Sickness is generally attributed to a sorcerer, who injects a magic sub- 
stance into his victim. This substance is conceived to be a magical 
“thorn” or “dart” which the shaman keeps inside his body and which 
returns to him after his victim dies, but the Western Tucanoans believe 
it to be Cyperus and the Cahuapanans a magic “mass” acquired from an 
owl. 

The Jivaro attribute sickness also to the water monster, the Tupi to a 
river dolphin, the Canelo to ghosts, and the Lama to bush demons. There 
is a widespread idea that shamans control snakes, jaguars, and other 
dangerous animals, and the Jivaro and Arawakans hold the were-jaguar 
concept. 

The soul-loss concept of disease is recorded only from the Coto and 
Tupt. 

To cure, the shaman takes a narcotic, blows smoke on the patient, and 
sucks out the “thorn” or other substance. The narcotic helps reveal the 
sorcerer. 

Many substances, including herbs, are accredited with magical proper- 
ties. Cyperus, the most important, is variously thought to cure, to increase 
female and plant fertility, to serve as love magic, to cause thunderstorms, 
and to accomplish other desired ends. Tobacco and pepper are common 
ingredients of magic. Pepper rubbed in the eyes is widely thought to 
give strength. A deer horn is prepared as an antidote to poison and snake- 
bite; wearing a crocodile tooth is thought to protect against poisons. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Myth features of comparative interest are legends of the flood 
(Zdparoans, Pebans), the theft of fire (Jivaro, Panoans), the twins and 
the jaguars (Tupi, Zdparoans, Jivaro), and the trickster element in the 
twin tale (Zdparoans). There is no clear-cut culture hero, except that 
certain birds in a Panoan myth introduce some customs to mankind ; other- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE MONTANA—STEWARD 533 


wise, the origin of plants and other useful things is variously explained. 
Creation tales tend to have celestial characters. 

There is some indication that myths and folk tales are being forgotten. 
Biblical themes and other evidence of Christian influence are, however, 
scarcely discernible. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1891; Amich, 1854; Armentia, 1887-88; Bennett, 1936; Castelnau, 1851; 
Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Cordova y Salinas, 1651; Cruz, 1900; Escobar y Mendoza, 
1769; Farabee, 1922; Figueroa, 1904; Fritz, 1892, 1922; Galt, n.d.; Gonzalez Suarez, 
1890-1903; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, vol. 1; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Jiménez de la 
Espada, 1892; Keller-Leuzinger, 1874; Maroni, 1889-92; Maurtua, V., 1906; Maw, 
1829; Means, 1931; Meléndez, 1682; Morton, 1931; Nordenskidld, 1913, 1917 b, 1920; 
Noticias auténticas . . . (see Maroni, 1889-92) ; D’Orbigny, 1839; Péppig, 1835-36; 
Reinburg, 1921; Rodriguez, 1684; Salinas Loyola, 1897; Schultes, 1942; Simson, 
1879 a; Skinner, 1805; Smyth and Lowe, 1836; Stirling, 1938; Tello, 1922, 1942; 
Tessmann, 1928, 1930; Veigl, 1785 a. 

See also pages 509-514. 


TATED GAY 
Stil iad ; re | 
"qe ia ie Ms 
Tae \reaemetly Gienin Meiedlaeeals tckieabo owgibot'h itis 
atieryend: git aicelen Blot hire edt ane tad sptmvibdbanetee # 14 
eoaworl il a Hevaini(D. Wa stems vy ollie ‘bas: anarats ‘ind fd 


a aiivannen Seas 


~ 


ie 


Vit iis titties 


note wictoten.) ONE stucsroll 2a 523! sort 1. baal Mealy + ,OR siete 
4 00 ‘mits. c icol 2amler y eyobro) ¢10V[ evinis + oles 


frat ber tA ¥ inlo 


7 ; ate “Alhatin? | Ha soe PU AVal Shel PO hanes AAV (salt set . ts 
a, a dlr ivi +O S40 li viufarst 3 Pubiy) eter nated G7) PH Aber PT Bore: 
ieee LA Vi pseelirn fl! 4 SO-OR SD bred; PNT cpesigertnae sfewwllodt ghOat Rhee 
eis} an Sit c401 biopaen Se TEC Ts teptaedte ¢ SHOT x Aicials 4 ft st oned 
“OE ciMi Od el oWbRt vm tL : Cave tf, ope) imeiua int 
j Hoare Vi. A ) VO Aol gk ' i : ; ae 
Cher SSOy Me ee) nie pet swe [Ante ’ 
; PB dow V5 OCT NDOT) ema 
r cule joer 
| y= | 
MM tA 
7 
; 


TRIBES OF THE PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 


By Juttan H. STEwarD AND ALFRED METRAUX 


ARAWAKAN TRIBES 


INTRODUCTION 


The Arawakan-speaking Amuesha, Campa, Piro, Machiguenga, Chon- 
taquiro, Masco, Sirineri, and Tuyuneri, who inhabit the headwaters of 
the Ucayali and Madeira Rivers, are a primitive Montafia subgroup (map 
1, No. 3; map 5). As they lack traits found among most Arawak else- 
where, their culture may be proto-Arawakan and probably represents an 
early migration into the Montafia. Like their neighbors to the north, they 
seem to represent a cultural backwash. The Campa, Piro, and Chon- 
taquiro on the Urubamba and Apurimac Rivers, however, share traits with 
adjoining Panoan peoples which the more isolated Machiguenga, Amuesha, 
and Masco lack. 

These tribes are characteristically simple. Social structure is patterned 
around the individual family, which lives in isolation or with a few related 
families. There are no clans, large houses, moieties, cults, large festivals, 
or masked dances. Except for girls’ puberty, even crisis observances are 
simple and essentially practical in nature. Warfare is largely defensive. 
There is neither exo- nor endo-cannibalism, though the Machiquenga at- 
tribute cannibalism to the Masco. Families support themselves by slash- 
and-burn farming with sweet manioc the staple, but grow other crops, 
various drugs including coca, and several plants introduced during the 
post-Conquest period, especially bananas. Their manufactures are simple. 
Cotton is gathered wild and woven on the large belt loom or on the 
“Ucayali” loom. Pottery is inferior, usually unpainted. Houses are 
generally for single families. People sleep on mats and lack hammocks, 
platform beds, and stools. They fight and hunt only with bows and 
spears, lacking blowguns, carved clubs, spear throwers, fishhooks, and 
harpoons. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


Main divisions of the Arawakan are difficult to establish, for authors 
use tribal names with varying degrees of inclusiveness. The /nca called 
these people Anti or Chuncho. Rivet uses TSontikiro (Chontaquiro) as 


535 


536 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


a synonym for Piro and Campa, and includes among them the Anti, 
Camatika, Kimbiri, Pangoa, Catongo, Kirinairi, Matsi ganga (Machi- 
guenga), Pukapakurit, Tampa, Ugunitsiri, and Ugonino in the basin of 
Tambo, Perené, Ene, Apurimac, Urubamba, and Yavero Rivers. Tess- 
mann (1930) includes the Chontaquiro and Simirinche with the Piro and 
distinguishes them from the Campa, the AmatSenge, and the Matshin- 
genga. Galt (ms.) sees the Chontaquiro (Chunt a quiro) on the upper 
Urubamba as Piro and regards them as subdivisions of the Brazilian 
Masha (Maskoo, Mesko, Mosko). Osambela (1896, p. 220) applies the 
name Campa to all the peoples from the Beni to the Camisea Rivers. 
Garcia Rosell (1905, p. 5) places Machiganga, synonymous with Campa, 
from “the first barrier of the Cordillera and the borders of the Pilcopata 
River to the Urubamba,” and Pio Aza (1923 b, p. 395) uses the name 
Machiganga for all the tribes including the Campa from the Madre de 
Dios to the Apurimac, Ene, Perené, Tambo, and Alto Ucayali Rivers. 
Farabee (1922, pp. 1, 53, 77) distinguishes six tribes: the Campa of the 
middle Urubamba; the Machiganga of the middle Urubamba; the 
Acheyenga of the Perené, the Achenega at San Lorenzo; the Piro 
(Chontoquiro, Semirentci) of the headwaters of the Purtia, Mishagua, 
Camisea, and Manu Rivers and formerly of the Urubama; and the 
Mashco (Moeno, Masco, Sinineiri) between the Sutlija and upper Madre 
de Dios Rivers. Marcoy (1875, 1:572) divided the Anti or Chuncho 
Indians of the Gran Pajonal, the Huarancalqui and Yana Rivers, and 
the Apurimac River to its confluence with the Quillamba River, into a 
dozen intercommunicating and mutually peaceful tribes: the Anti, 
Campa (Mesca), Pangoa, Menearo, Anapati, and Pilcosmi to the south; 
the Satipo, Copiri, and Tomiristi to the north; and the Cobaro and Pisiatari 
to the east. 

In the face of this conflicting evidence by recent authors, it seems best 
to base tribal groupings so far as possible on that of early sources. Thus, 
cur main divisions are: The Campa, with several subgroups including 
the Anti of the Perené Valley, possibly the Chicheren (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, 2:89) of the upper Apurimac Valley, and many other local groups 
named after rivers; the Piro, which includes the Simirich and Chontaquiro ; 
the Machiguenga; the Masco; and several unclassified peoples. Farabee’s 
linguistic data (1922) for the Campa of the Etenes River, the Piro at 
Sutlija and Portilla, the Machiguenga of the Paucartambo River, and the 
Masco show a marked difference between these dialects. 

Amuesha.—The Amuesha (Amueshua, Amage, Amuecixa, Omage, 
Amajo, Amaje, Lorenzo, Amuetamo), who are linguistically similar to 
the Campa (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:20), lived, during the 17th century, 
in the Palcazu River Basin and in part of the Pichis River Basin (lat. 
11° S., long. 75° W.). The Lorenzo between the Chuchurras and Pichis 
Rivers were, despite their recent Quechua language, probably Amuesha. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 537 


Father Sala (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:388) considered the Panatahua, an 
upper Huallaga River tribe (p. 596), to be the Amuesha. 


It is probable that in prehistoric times the Amuesha had been in contact with 
many tribes who came to the great salt deposits in Cerro de la Sal in their terri- 
tory (Amich, 1854, p. 19). The first important White contacts started with 
Franciscan missions founded in the region of Cerro de la Sal for the Amuesha 
and Campa in 1635 and Spanish settlements in 1645 and 1649. Indian resentment 
at the Spaniards’ treatment of them and trouble caused by gold seekers soon 
terminated these settlements (Amich, 1854, pp. 20-25). Another burst of mis- 
sionary activity in 1671 and in 1673 gathered more than 1,000 Indians in missions 
on Cerro de la Sal, but soon thereafter the Indians killed several priests in re- 
taliation for their treatment by the lay Spaniards, and activities ceased for another 
35 years. 

The spiritual conquest of the Amuesha was resumed by the Franciscans in 1709 
and endured another 40 years. Nearly all the Indians of the Perené Valley were 
brought into 6 towns, while several missions were established in the Pachitea 
region with 300 Amuesha. The Amuesha, however, were evacuated in 1753 as a 
result of the Santos Atahuallpa revolt (see Campa, pp. 537-539), and the Indians 
moved to Cuchero, where the climate and work as peons killed most of them 
(Amich, 1854, p. 208). More than 100 years elapsed before the missionaries re- 
turned. Meanwhile, the Amuesha of the Pozuzo River may have lost their 
identity, for in 1767 they spoke Quechua and were merely called “Indians of 
Pozuzo.” During the last half of the 19th century, the Indians of the Pozuzo 
and Pachitea headwaters (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:205) and more espe- 
cially of the Palcazu River were known as Lorenzo. (Paz Soldan map of 1880; 
Ordinaire, 1887, p. 130; Sagols, 1902.) 

The Franciscans resumed their labors in 1881 and have continued since. Their 
missions were established near Chanchamayo and Cerro de la Sal, where the 
Amuesha, who, though decreased by disease, numbered about 2,000 and retained 
their identity. 

In 1906, Farabee (1922, map) mapped the Ammwesha between the Pachitea and 
Alto Ucayali Rivers, but in 1925 Tessmann (1930) attributed to them the upper 
Chuchurras River and Oxapampa region, stating that only 100 survived, partly 
because of Campa attacks. Some were comparatively civilized. The 1940 Census 
gives 4,000. 


Campa (Kampa, Camba, Tampa, Thampa, Komparia, Kuruparia, 
Campiti, Ande, Anti, Chuncho, Chascoso.) —The Campa lived along the 
Ene, Perené, and Apurimac Rivers, but they extended through the Gran 
Pajonal northward between the Pachitea and Ucayali Rivers (lat. 10°-14° 
S., long. 72°-76° W.), where they raided the adjoining Panoan tribes, and 
eastward into the Urubamba Valley. Izaguirre (1922-29, 1:226) at- 
tributes to them the valley of the Chanchamayo, Perené, Pangoa, Metraro, 
Ene, and Tambo Rivers and the Gran Pajonal.. The Campa were split 
into small river-named groups. Hervas’ Campa divisions are: Amiem- 
huaca, Curano, Manua, Nanerua, Nesahuaca, Sepaunabo, and Tasio, 
Tessmann’s (1930) are the Campa proper (Atiri), the wild Campa 
(Antaniri), and, farther south, the Amatsenge. Navarro (1924) distin- 
guished four Campa groups: Campa, Machiguenga, wild Campa or 
Unconino, and Chonta Campa. 


588 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Campa of the upper Perené Valley had already been in touch with White 
traders when, in 1635, Franciscans came from their headquarters at Ocopa in 
the Highland to found a mission near the present town of La Merced for the 
Campa and Amuesha. A Campa chief, resenting enforced monogamy, incited the 
massacre of a Dominican expedition and burned the Franciscan mission. None- 
theless, the Franciscans had seven centers in this region by 1640. These were 
finally broken up, however, as a result of trouble caused by Spanish miners who 
entered the region in 1642. 

In 1671, the Franciscans returned, reestablishing the old missions near Cerro 
de la Sal and founding several new ones along the lower Perené River. Among 
the Indians pledging allegiance to the missions were the Pangoa, Menearo, Anapati, 
Pilcosumi, Satipo, Capiri, Cobaro, Pisiatari, Cuyentimari, Sangireni, Zagoreni, and 
Quintimirt (Amich, 1854, p. 35), most of them probably river-named Campa sub- 
tribes, but some perhaps neighboring Panoans. But again, in 1674, a chief, Fernando 
Tarote, rebelled at the prohibition of polygyny. The Campa began drifting away 
from the missions, which were secularized in 1691. A general rebellion in 1694 
thwarted new Franciscan attempts to revive them. 

In 1709, the Franciscans came again to the Perené region and, despite a re- 
bellion in 1724 by the Anti, a subtribe numbering 3,000 in the lower Perené Valley, 
had 8 missions with 1,239 Campa by 1730 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:59). By 1739, 
10 more were founded among the Campa who were scattered in small groups 
in the Gran Pajonal (Amich, 1854, p. 158). Skinner (1805, pp. 450-456) gives 
the incredible figure of 20,000 converts. In 1735, the Franciscans had a total of 
38 missions with 8,333 Indians, most of them Campa, in the area (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 2 :82-83, 752). These figures, evidently based on a careful census, seem 
entirely acceptable. The total population must formerly have been much larger, 
for many Campa probably remained in the forests and others died of epidemics. 
For example, of 172 Indians at one mission, 40 died of an epidemic of dysentery. 
In 1737, 2 of the missions were destroyed by the rebellious chief, Ignacio Torote, 
son of Fernando Torote (Amich, 1854, pp. 160-170). This period of missionary 
activity was violently terminated when Juan Santos Atahuallpa, a messiah of some 
education who claimed descent from both God and the Jnca Emperors, instigated 
a general rebellion and massacre in 1742. The remainder of the century wit- 
nessed only slow penetration of the Perené area from fortified cities (Skinner, 
1805, pp. 450-456), settlers and missionaries working down the Tulumayo River to 
the Perené in the face of hostility from the Campa of the Chanchamayo, Pichis, 
Pachitea, Perené, Pangoa, and Tambo Rivers and the Gran Pajonal (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 7:111-112). This hostility continued for more than 100 years. 

Frustrated in the Perené-Tambo region, the Franciscans turned their attention 
to southern groups of Campa, going from Cuzco in 1743 to the Quillabamba Valley, 
where in 1753 the one mission had seven “pueblos” (Maurtua, V., 1906, 12:140-143). 
In 1782, they went to the 300 Campa of the Mantaro River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
5:151), then later to the Apurimac River north of Rio Pampas, and in 1790 
to Cocabambilla. In 1805 they founded Nuestra Sefiora de Misericordia de Siapa 
in the Urubamba Valley, near the Chontaquiro. At this time, there were also 
Campa in the Yanatili Valley, tributary to the Urubamba, and on the Coribeni 
and Cizialo Rivers. But pagan Campa remained in the upper Apurimac River 
region in 1911 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:253). 

During most of the last century, the Campa of the region of the Perené and 
Tambo Rivers remained hostile. An exploration of the Tambo River in 1850 
was turned back by Campa attacks (Galt, ms.) and the Chuncho of the 
Chanchamayo Valley were hostile in 1851 (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:204). 
In 1870, numerous and warlike apostate Campa held the Gran Pajonal. They 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 539 


were especially bitter toward the Whites and were generally feared by Ucayali 
River tribes. The greatest number was around Cerro de la Sal and Quiniri, the 
site of the first mission, where Peruvian criminals had joined them (Galt, ms.). 
But by 1869, the Campa of Chanchamayo were subdued and the city of La Merced 
founded. These Indians, 100 years after severing intercourse with the Spaniards, 
still had smithies, using bellows and forges and making machetes, axes, knives, 
and hammers (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:253). A new Franciscan attempt to start 
a mission on the Pangoa River ended in revolt, caused by the Campas’ resentment 
at the colonists’ treatment of them (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:152). 

Recent population estimates show that the tribe survives in great number, though 
a wide margin of error enters because of census methods and because of differ- 
ences in tribal classification. Osambela (1896, p. 220) gave 20,000 Campa dis- 
tributed as follows: Carabaya, 4,000; Sandia, 5,000; Madre de Dios, 3,000; 
Convencion, 5,000; Alto Ucayali, 4,000; Alto Madeira, 3,000; Yuruna, 4,000; Puris, 
5,000; Pangoa, 500; Tambo, 1,000; Gran Pajonal, 1,000; Perené, 500. The total, 
evidently including other Indians, is really about 35,000. Navarro’s figure of 10,000 
(1924, p. 3) and Tessmann’s of 3,000 to 5,000 (1930) would seem to indicate a decline, 
but the 1940 census claims 33,000, although A. F. Reifsnyder (personal communica- 
tion) estimates 10,000 to 20,000. 

These data evidently mean that the relatively resistant and isolated Campa have 
until now largely avoided disastrous contacts. Today, though pushed somewhat 
down the Perené Valley, they still occupy the Gran Pajonal, most of the region 
between the Pachitea and Ucayali Rivers, and the country back of the lower 
Perené, Tambo, and Ene Rivers. Avoiding civilization, though a few obtained 
occasional farm employment, they have until recently harassed communications 
over the Pichis trail. But in 1942, when the Gran Pajonal was opened to White 
settlement, the Campa were somewhat more subdued. Many speak Spanish and 
Quechua as well as Campa. 


Machiguenga.—In 1905, Garcia Rosell placed the Machiguenga, 
(Machiganga, Matsiganga) between the Cordillera, the Pilcopata, and the 
Urubamba, stating that around 1835 they had settled on the Tono and 
Pifiipifii, expelling the Tuyuneri. (Lat. 13° S., long. 72°-73° W.) Na- 
varro (1924, p. 3) gives 3,000 to 4,000 Machiguenga; the 1940 census, 
1,000. This tribe could be considered a Campa subdivision. 

Piro.—The Piro (Pirro, Pira, Simirinche) occupied the angle between 
the Urubamba and Tambo Rivers (lat. 12° S., long. 73° W.). The 
Sinmurinche (Simiranch, Semirentci), on the right side of the Tambo 
River, who, at the end of the 17th century were closely associated with 
the Mochobo and Comobo on the opposite side of the river (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 1:294), were almost certainly Piro, as this region was also the 
early location of Piro. Maroni (1889-92, 30:146-148) distinguished two 
Piro groups in 1690: the Upatarinavo, who lived near the Campa, and 
the Cusitinavo, between the Pachitea and Ucayali Rivers and neighbors 
of the Comava (Combo). The Cusitinavo were perhaps a mixed group, 
or they may have been the Simirinche. Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) lists 
three subtribes: Cusitinavo, Manatinavo, and Upatarinavo. The Chon- 
taquiro (Chuntaquiro, Chuntaquiru, Chontaders, Chunt a quiro, Tson- 
tikiro), so named because of their black-stained teeth, are generally known 

653333—47—37 


540 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


as a Piro subtribe. They occupy the Urubamba River and its tributaries 
from the Sepahua River to somewhere near the Yavero (Paucartambo) 
River, and, east of the Ucayali Basin, the Chandless (Araca) River, and 
the region between the headwaters of the Sepehua and Cujar Rivers. 


In pre-Contact times, the Piro were said to have been in contact with the Inca, 
whom they helped build the fort of Tonquini (Farabee, 1922, p. 53) and from 
whom they received gold objects (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 282). 

The Piro around the Tambo River were the first to be in contact with the 
Spaniards. The Simirinche and Piro participated in the murder of the Jesuit, 
Herrera, in 1686, and the Franciscan, Biedma, in 1687 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
1 :254-289 passim). They attacked the Cusitinavo to steal iron tools, twice visited 
a Conibo mission to beg them, and threatened to raid the Conibo (Maroni, 
1889-92, 30:146-148). But toward the end of the century, Father Ricter visited 
the Piro and wrote a catechism in their language. 

In 1790, the Piro occupied the Alto Ucayali, extending over 400 leagues along 
the Paru, Yami (Yanatiri), Tambo, and Cuja Rivers. The first, unstable Piro 
mission was not founded until 1795. Another founded in 1809 had 365 Piro 
families and 32 Pano families. At the beginning of the last century, the Fran- 
ciscans of Moquegua entered Chontaquiro country via the upper Urubamba River 
to establish several missions (Maurtua, V., 1906, 12:192-199). But the century 
drew to a close with the Piro still largely unmissionized. Though numerically 
small, their settlements or trading groups now extended down the Ucayali River 
as far as Sarayacu in Setebo territory (Raimondi, 1862, pp. 116-117). Still 
seeking metal tools, they even requested a mission in 1879; but the mission lasted 
only a year (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:214-325; Galt, ms.; Fry, 1889, p. 49). Early 
in the present century the Piro were victims of enforced labor for rubber gather- 
ing. Farabee (1922, p. 53) thought that 500 to 600 Piro remained in 1922; the 
1940 census gives 5,000 Piro, 1,200 Chontaquiro. 


Masco.—Fejos (ms.) places the modern Masco (Mashco, Moeno) be- 
tween the Madre de Dios, Inambari, and Alto Madre de Dios Rivers and 
the Cordillera of Caravaya (lat. 13° S., long. 72° W.), a flatish, densely 
jungled area; the Stiglich map gives the Jnapari (Inamari) as a Masco 
division around the headwaters of the Rio de Pejes and the left side of 
the Madre de Dios to the Tacanti-manu River, with the Masco between 
the Chilive and Abulija Rivers. Subtribes listed are the Careneri on the 
Colorado River, the Puquiri, the Toyeri, and others (Fejos, ms.). 


An unsuccessful expedition by the Jnca Emperor Yupanqui to this region is 
claimed for 1450. Expeditions during the 16th century probably did not reach it. 
After 1862, several parties descended the Madre de Dios River, or visited the 
region. (Faustino Maldonado, in 1862; Raimondi, in 1863; Baltazar de la Torre, 
in 1873; Robledo, in 1879; Fermin Fiscarrald, in 1890; German Stiglich, in 1902; 
Ernesto La Combe Survey and Teniente Olivera Survey, in 1903; Enrique Llosa, 
in 1906; Leonardo Lama, in 1932; Maxwell Stuart, in 1936; Fejos, in 1940.) 

Fejos’ report covers the Careneri, who are probably the Arasa (Arasaire), 
estimated at 800 in 1940. The Pariquiri in 1940 numbered 3,000 and spoke Quechua. 
The Masco proper numbered 1,800 and lived on the Manu, Madre de Dios, Colorado, 
Iuaneari, and Blanco Rivers. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 541 


Sirineri.—The Sirineri (Sirineyri, Sireneire) lived south of the Masco, 
on the Madre de Dios from its great curve to Ccofiecc (Garcia Rosell, 
1905), on the Marcapata River (Marcoy, 1875, 1:555), on the upper Puca- 
puca River, and near the upper Chilive (Pilcopata) River (Stiglich map). 
(Lat. 13° S., long. 70°-71° W.) They were estimated at 1,000 in the 1940 


census. 
Tuyuneri.—The Tuyuneri (Pucapacuri) adjoined the Sirineri, on the 


Tono, Pinipini and Pilcopata Rivers (Garcia Rosell, 1905, p. 7). (Lat. 
13° 30’ S., long. 70°-71° W.). Cipriani (1902) located them on the 
lower Inambari River; Marcoy (1875, 1:555), on Rio Chaupimayo. 

Huachipairi—The Huachipairi (Huatchipayri) had settlements on 
the Cofiispata (Ccofispata) and Pilcopata Rivers (Garcia Rosell, 1905) ; 
on the Manu (Manuquia) tributaries (Cipriani, 1902, p. 177); on the 
lower Inambari and the Madre de Dios Rivers (Stiglich map). (Lat. 
14° S., long. 72° W.) They are estimated at 1,500 in the 1940 census. 

Puncuri.—This tribe lived on the Puncuri River and numbered 15 to 
20 in about 1900 (Cipriani, 1902, p. 178). 

Pucpacuri.—The Pucpacuri lived on the Camisia and Tunkini Rivers, 
and warred with the Anti and Chontaquiro (Marcoy, 1875, 1:555). 

Several tribes of uncertain affiliation, though probably Arwakan, were: 

The Guirineri, on a right tributary of the Ucayali River below the 
Ticumbinia River near the mission of Siapa. They had almost been 
destroyed by the Masco in 1807 (Maurtua, V., 1906, 12:215; Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 8 :324). 

The Epetineri in 1807 were pagans who seem to have occupied the right 
side of the Urubamba River from the Pijiria River to near the Ucayali 
River (Maurtua, V., 1906, 12:216-218; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:327-328). 


SOURCES 


The 17th- and 18th-century sources have been mentioned previously 

pp. oll, 113). 
“Nineteenth-century travel includes Enock (1908), Herndon and 
Gibbon (1853-54), Sala (1892), Amich (1854), Exploracion de los Rios 
Pichis . . . (1897), Fry (1889), Galt in 1870-72 (ms.), Reich (1903), 
Navarro (1924), and Ordinaire (1887, 1892). 

There is no major scientific account of these tribes, Farabee’s observa- 
tions (1922) of 1906 being of uncertain value and Tessmann’s (1930) 
including only a few data from a Campa encountered on the lower 
Ucayali River. Other sources are Garcia Rosell (1905) on the eastern 
tribes, Fejos (ms.) on the Masco, Cipriani (1902), Fernandez Moro 
(1926-27), and Grain (1942) on the Michiguenga. 


D042 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE 

Farming.—Farming follows the usual Tropical Forest slash-and-burn 
pattern with sweet manioc (yuca) the staple (the Machiguenga consider 
it sacred (Grain, 1942)) and bitter manioc absent. Sixteenth-century 
sources report sweet manioc and bananas among the Amuesha. In 1788, 
Campa plants included lima beans, manioc, and sugarcane, the last intro- 
duced by Whites. Campa crops of the last half century have been yams, 
peanuts, sweet potatoes, bananas, pineapples, tuber beans, macaba, taro, 
sicana, pumpkin, Guilielma palm, sugarcane, pepper, barbasco (Loncho- 
carpus nicou). But some adaptation to habitat is observable: Campa of the 
Sierra grew coca and potatoes in addition to maize. The Campa also 
cultivate a medicinal narcotic, “hitini” (Navarro, 1924). 

Campa clearings usually lie along the river bank, but in times of danger 
are on hill tops. In the Quiempiric region a chief’s plantation was re- 
ported to be 3% league in circumference. But Galt (ms.) observed a 
Piro family in 1872 which had only one stalk of corn, “a dozen or more 
yuca trees, and a half a dozen banana trees,” the produce supplemented 
by an occasional fish or monkey. The Careneri plant circular fields with 
concentric rings of crops: pineapples, pifayo, bananas, manioc, maize, 
and pepper (capsicum) in the center; next, papaya trees; outside, sweet 
potatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and cocona (Fejos, ms.). The Campa and 
Amuesha use paddle-shaped digging sticks; the Careneri, plain sticks. 

Each Machiguenga family has its own clearing, which is made anew 
every 2 or 3 years. Men help one another prepare these, but subsequently 
each woman cultivates and harvests from her own plot (Farabee, 1922). 
A suggestion of nutritional deficiencies is beriberi, which the Machiquenga 
attribute to eating papaya after sungaro fish, roast crayfish, or hipa juice. 
(See Fernandez Moro, 1926-27, for endemic diseases.) 

Fishing.—The Campa take fish with drugs (barbasco, Lonchocarpus, 
Tephrosia, Clibadium) ; the Amuesha use a wild plant; the Machiguenga 
use one called “kogui,” bone hooks (but Farabee denies use of hooks), gill 
nets, hand nets, large nets with sinkers, fish pots, multiprong spears, and 
possibly arrows. They also use a weir and some kind of dam to drain a 
section of river. Notably absent are devices of the lower Ucayali River: 
harpoons, harpoon arrows, atlatls, weirs, and traps. 

Hunting.— Game animals include tapirs, boars, deer, and monkeys, with 
the last of greatest importance. Sloths, snakes (Tessmann, 1930), deer 
heads, and corvina fish (Navarro, 1924) are taboo. The Campa hunt 
with bows and arrows, blinds built near water holes, spring-pole 
traps, sharp sloping stakes placed on animal trails, and recently with 
some rifles. The Machiguenga also smear a glue on tree limbs to catch 
birds. Neither the blowgun nor hunting nets are known (Tessmann, 
1930). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 543 


Gathering.—The Campa supplement their diet with jungle produce, 
among it honey, a root called mabe, ants, and several palm fruits (Euterpe, 
Triartea, Scheelea tessmannii, and Oenocarpus). They use the climbing 
ring to ascend trees. 

Domestic animals.—The dog is used for hunting and is bred by the 
Piro for trade. Chickens are kept in coops; they and their eggs are 
eaten by the Campa, but the Piro eat only the eggs. Pigs are not kept 
(Tessmann, 1930). Only the Machiguenga have ducks. 

Food preparation.—These tribes cook meat on a pyramidal or rec- 
tangular babracot; the smoking thus given it may preserve it for a few 
days. The Campa grind food on a “plate-like wooden piece” with a stone 
mano (Tessmann, 1930); the Piro use a hollowed log as a mortar 
(Farabee, 1922). The sexes eat apart, using wooden spoons, pottery 
bowls, or monkey skulls (Machiguenga). Condiments include rock salt 
from Cerro de la Sal, and pepper (Capsicum). 


HOUSES AND HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT 


Each family erects its own structure; a large communal house is only 
made by the Masco (pl. 54). In 1790, the Campa constructed a hemi- 
spherical, thatched house—evidently a beehive type—and a special shed 
in which batchelors slept and men kept their weapons (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, 7:66). Reich (1903) reports similar structures in the present century, 
but Tessmann believes that beehive houses are for temporary use, the 
more permanent house being rectangular, with side walls and gabled 
roof. The recent Careneri and Machiguenga house is oval, the roof 
sloping nearly to the ground, but Piro houses are rectangular, 20 by 12 
feet (6 by 3.6 m.) long and 18 feet (5.5 m.) high, with elevated sleeping 
storage platforms (Farabee, 1922). The Campa are accredited with 
erecting observation platforms. 

Inside the house is a constant fire. The fire fan is woven. Woven or 
bark sleeping mats are used in place of hammocks. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENTS 


The standard dress is the cushma (pls. 50, right; 53, top, right) with 
a neck opening which runs from front to back for men, from side to side 
for women. It is made of bark cloth or, among the Campa, Piro, and 
Machiguenga, of wild cotton, and is dyed, usually with bixa red, and 
variously ornamented with feathers, beads, etc. This garment seems to 
have varied little from the 16th century to the present day (Izaguirre 
1922-29, passim; Tessmann, 1930; Farabee, 1822), though missionary 
influence probably made its use more habitual. Some customary nudity 
still occurs among the Antaniri Campa, whose men pass a cord around 
the waist and under the genitals (Tessmann, 1930), the Masco (pl. 53), 
the Careneri, who use the cushma only for sleeping (Fejos, ms.), and 


544 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


the Huachipairi (Gadea, 1895, p. 141). Other garments reported are the 
Atiri man’s sleeveless shirt, Machiguenga and Campa bark shirts, the 
Atiri woman’s short fiber apron, and the Piro woman’s rolled hip cloth 
(Tessmann, 1930). For dress occasions, the Machiguenga now wear 
European clothes (Grain, 1942). 

The most characteristic ornament is a pendant, often of silver, sus- 
pended from the nasal septum, but some Campa wear a pin through the 
septum. The Carenert and Machiguenga place pins through the upper 
lip and cheeks, the Campa and Piro through the lower lip. The Campa 
have recently begun to perforate their ears for ornaments (Tessmann, 
1930). The Campa groom the hair with a composite comb, which the 
Careneri lack. Depilation is not reported. The Campa blacken the 
teeth with Piperaceae. All tribes wear many beads, necklaces, feather 
headdress, and arm and leg bands, and paint the body with genipa, both 
as decoration and as protection against sunburn and insects. The 
Machiguenga even paint their animals (Grain, 1942, p. 244). 

The only badges of status reported are chiefs’ birdskin necklaces and 
bark headbands with two feathers behind. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The common carrying devices are tumplines, infant bearing bands, 
and small bags. The carrying net is ascribed only to the Lorenzo 
(Ordinaire, 1892, p. 162). Machiguenga men and women can carry 50 
to 75 pounds 15 miles a day. 

Tessmann denies that the Campa use canoes, but Navarro records 
cedar dugouts. Careneri dugouts are 12 feet (4 m.) long. The Campa 
make pointed balsa rafts held together with chonta nails and cross beams. 

Bark cloth.—Bark cloth for cushmas and mats is probably made by 
all tribes. 

Weaving and spinning.—Cords are made of Cecropia leucocoma bast. 
These tribes weave cotton, but whether they grow it is uncertain; the 
Machiguenga and Piro gather theirs wild (Farabee, 1922). They rest 
the end of the spindle in a gourd or pot. The Campa are accredited 
with the vertical, or “Arawak,” loom for weaving large pieces of cloth, 
and with the “Ucayali” loom (see p. 577) for small bands. A 
horizontal belt loom, varying in size according to the product—cushma, 
bags, arm and leg bands—is reported among the Piro, Machiguenga, and 
all Campa except the Antaniri, who do not weave. 

The Piro make netted bags. 

Basketry.—Baskets include twilled sieves and containers, twined tele- 
scope baskets of Gynerium stalks, and palm-leaf baskets. 

Metals.—Some precious metals from the Highland reached these tribes 
through trade and were made into ornaments. The Campa, however, 
were taught smelting and blacksmithing by the Franciscan missionaries. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 545 


They even exploited iron mines in the Cerro de la Sal (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, 1:190), and smelted with Catalan type furnaces, making iron knives 
(Ordinaire, 1892, p. 152). 

Pottery.—Ceramics are usually crude, a finer ware being procured from 
the neighboring Panoans. The Campa ware is coiled; plates have red 
designs; pots only fingernail impressions (Tessmann, 1930). The 
Machiguenga, Masco, and Piro generally make only crude cooking and 
water pots, the latter being corrugated in part, but some bowls are painted 
(fig. 73, f). They also make ceramic pot rests, used in threes. The 
Careneri make vessels of lumps of clay, forms being pots and jars and 
decorative patterns resembling those used in body paint (Fejos, ms.). 

Weapons.—The bow and arrow have been used from the 16th century 
until the present day (pl. 54), but blowguns and atlatls have never been 
reported. Machiguenga bows are 5 feet (1.5 m.) long, flat, 1% feet 
(% m.) wide, and made of chonta palm. The arrows are of Gynerium 
sagittatum and have cemented, spiraled feathers and points of the usual 
Tropical Forest types, which, however, are never poisoned. The Piro 
shoot left-handed (Farabee, 1922). 

Fire making.—The Campa make fire with two stones; the Antaniri 
(Tessmann, 1930) and Machiguenga (Farabee, 1922) with the drill. 
Cotton, raw copal, or resin serve as tinder. 

Miscellaneous.—Containers are made of calabashes. 

The native Lorenzo ax had a diorite head fastened to the handle with 
rosin. The Campa stone ax head was slightly anchor-shaped (Fry, 1889, 
1:110). Steel axes replaced native types at an early date. 

The Piro used the dried tongue of a “payshi’ fish as a rasp (Herndon 
and Gibbons, 1853-54, pp. 196-197). The Machiguenga still cut with a 
peccary tooth when they lack steel knives. 


ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS 


The small village, consisting of one or a few related families, is largely 
self-sufficient economically. Men hunt and fish collectively and divide 
the take. They also clear farm lands cooperatively, but women sub- 
sequently plant, cultivate, and harvest for their own families. 

Intertribal trade has always been conducted. Some Jnca gold in the 
form of ornaments formerly passed down the Ucayali River (Chantre 
y Herrera, 1901, p. 282). In 1806, the Chontaquiro were reported to be 
trading parrots and monkeys for iron tools at Sarayacu, while the Piro 
and others traveled up and down the Ucayali, giving wax for tools, 
cloth, fishhooks, and beads. It is likely that the excellent painted pots 
among these tribes came from the Panoans downstream. 


546 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS 


Social patterns are mainly those based on the individual family. There 
is no large communal house, no trace of clan or moiety, and no extended 
family, except as a tendency toward patrilocal residence sometimes brings 
patrilineally related families into close proximity. These families usually 
live in separate, neighboring houses. Franciscan accounts of the Apuri- 
mac Basin in 1787 reveal small settlements of 3 to 4 houses and 9 to 
15 people. Ten Campa villages in 1782 averaged 30 persons each. In 
1788, a Campa village had 3 houses, 16 people (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
6:286). In the present century, Reich (1903; p. 134) reported that 
each Campa community had 8 to 12 huts, hidden some distance from 
the river. Machiguenga families live alone or in small groups. (Farabee, 
1922). Some of the modern Campa (Tessmann, 1930) and Masco 
(Fejos, ms.), however, have communal houses sheltering up to 6 families. 

These tribes frequently take captives in warfare, but absorb them 
into the local group. 

Chieftainship ordinarily falls to the community headman and is in- 
herited patrilineally. A chief’s authority is limited to leadership in clear- 
ing lands, hunting, fishing, and fighting. Farabee (1922) claims, however, 
that the Piro have a tribal chief, whose authority is absolute. If true, 
this is probably a recent development. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Life-cycle observances are, if our scant data are indicative, unelaborate 
and little patternized, except those at girls’ puberty. Childbirth is matter 
of fact and lacks the couvade; death observances amount essentially to 
nonritual disposal of the corpse. 

Childbirth and childhood.—Possibly because of demoralization 
through extended White contacts, Campa women eat chantini roots for 
barrenness and Machiguenga women practice much abortion (Fernandez 
Moro, 1926-27, pp. 154-155). A Campa child is born in the house and 
the mother confined 1 week (Tessmann, 1930). A Machiguenga child 
is born in the woods, immediately after which the mother returns to 
routine life (Farabee, 1922). A suggestion of couvade comes from the 
Sirineri only. 

A Campa child is named when it walks; it acquires a new name at 
seven. For misbehavior, children are beaten or frightened with a bull- 
roarer, which is said to be the sound of a jaguar (Tessmann, 1930). 

Girl’s puberty.—The most elaborate girl’s puberty rites are those of 
the Piro. The girl is confined in bed and covered to prevent her looking 
at anyone, even her own family. When leaving the house, she must 
cover herself and avoid people. After 6 months, she is delivered to her 
fiancé, who has been chosen years earlier by her family (Fry, 1889). 
Tessmann (1930) reports some kind of female circumcision among the 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 547 


Piro but probably mistook this for premarital defloration with a bamboo 
knife (Farabee, 1922). Fernandez Moro (1926-27, 43:156) also men- 
tions ceremonial defloration of girls at a feast; the tribe is not mentioned 
but may be the Machiguenga. Tessmann (1930) claims that the Campa 
confine the girl 6 months, during which she spins; Navarro states that 
confinement lasts for “some days,” followed by an orgy of dancing, 
drinking, running, washing, and a final whipping of the girl with nettles, 
which sexually excites the youths present. 

Marriage.—There is no evidence of restrictions on marriage except 
those within the immediate family, i. e., within the community, though 
the Campa are said to permit cousin marriage but not uncle-niece or 
aunt-nephew unions (Tessmann, 1930). Infant betrothal is ascribed to 
the Piro (Farabee, 1922) and may be more general. Polygyny is not 
uncommon. Galt (ms.) cites a Piro settlement that consisted of an old 
man and two wives, each bought for a hatchet from a friendly Campa. 
Bride service is reported only among the Piro, where the youth may not 
speak to his father-in-law while serving him (Fry, 1889, 1:51). Ata 
marriage ceremony the Piro sacrifice a turkey, tapir, or other animal 
specially reared for the purpose (Fry, 1889). Postmarital residence is 
usually patrilocal or independent, but may be matrilocal. Tessman de- 
clares that many Campa are unmarried and that widows and widowers 
do not care to remarry. A Machiguenga may exchange wives with a 
friend or lend his wife to a visitor. 

The extreme lack of death ritual is found among the Machiguenga, 
who not only throw their dead unceremoniously into the river but similarly 
dispose of hopelessly ill people. They bury only persons killed in warfare 
(Farabee, 1922). The Campa abandon the corpse in a clearing (Iza- 
guirre, 1922-29, 7:66; Reich, 1903) or, on the lower Apurimac, burn 
or throw it into a river (Tessmann, 1930). They provision and abandon 
their seriously sick (Chantre y Herrera, 1901). These tribes give up 
the settlement after a death, but the Piro bury in the house, sometimes 
in a canoe, under the platform (Farabee, 1922) ; they cry, cut their skin, 
blacken their bodies and, if a husband dies, throw his goods into the 
river, or, under White influence, pay his bad debts! (Fry, 1889, 1:50). 

The Machiguenga (Farabee, 1922; Pio Aza, 1923 b, p. 379) and Piro 
(Farabee, 1922) believe that the soul enters the red deer, which, there- 
fore, is not eaten. Campa belief holds that souls have immortality in a 
heaven which resembles earth, but wicked magicians hover in the bush 
to teach their arts to youths. Hence, evil shamans are cremated or thrown 
into a river. 


WARFARE 


These Arawakan tribes have long been hostile among themselves and 
toward the Whites. The stronger Ucayali River Campa and Piro have 


548 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


been friendly with each other and with the downstream Panoan, Conibo, 
Shipibo, and Setebo, all of whom victimized the weaker, hinterland tribes— 
the Amuesha, Cashibo, and Amahuaca—with slave raids. In the Madeira 
River headwaters, the Careneri are enemies of the Puguiri, Huachipair, 
and others. 

Campa weapons of attack are the bow and unpoisoned arrows, slings, 
and improvised clubs. For defense, the Campa fill ditches with sharp 
stakes, but the Lorenzo strew chonta-thorn caltrops on trails. 

Navarro states that to acquire courage the Campa chew and rub their 
bodies with ebenque tubers. In 1896, before attacking the Pangoa colony, 
a shaman chewed coca, sang, and told his warriors that if, prior to the 
fight, they blew with all their force, enemy bullets would turn into 
leaves. 


RECREATIONAL AND ESTHETIC ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Too little is known of art styles to attempt characterization. 

Musical instruments.—The following musical instruments are re- 
ported: A two-headed, monkey-skin drum (Campa and Machiguenga), 
5- to 8-tube panpipes (Campa) ; bone flageolet (Campa) ; 6-hole longi- 
tudinal flute and 2-hole transverse flute (Campa) ; musical bow (Campa) ; 
and a trumpet made of a tube inserted in the occipital hole of enemy skulls 
(tribe unknown, Velasco in Maroni, 1889-92, 33:46). The last may be 
foreign, as no trophy skulls are otherwise reported from these tribes. 

Games.—Campa games are the humming top, bull roarer, (whirring 
sticks), maize-leaf balls, and wrestling. Machiguenga boys play at 
archery; girls toss balls made of bladders. Cats’ cradles probably occur 
among all tribes. 

Narcotics.—Narcotics include domesticated tobacco and coca, and sev- 
eral wild species of unidentified plants. The Campa, Piro, and Machi- 
guenga smoke tobacco in pipes like those of the Panoan tribes, or take 
it as snuff through V-tubes. The Machiguenga chew it with ashes (Grain, 
1942, p. 242). Shamans, however, imbibe the juice so as to rub it with 
spittle on their patients or use it while sucking (Navarro, 1924; Tess- 
mann, 1930). Anyone may put young tobacco leaves on his chest for 
colds. 

The Campa grow coca and, when fatigued, chew it with burnt lime and 
the bark of a creeper called chumayro or chamairo (Ordinaire, 1892, pp. 
132-133), which they travel widely to find (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 6:325). 
The Machiguenga chew coca when they can get it (Grain, 1942, p. 242). 
The Careneri take a green powder through the V-tubes (Fejos, ms.). 
Another Campa narcotic is naquire, a creeper, which in small doses 
permits divination but in large doses causes temporary insanity (Navarro, 
1924). The Campa shaman takes cayapi. A Piro hunter and his dog 
eat the seeds of Acacia miopo. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 549 


All tribes except the Careneri make chicha of manioc, maize, sweet 
potatoes, bananas, and other produce, the fermentation of which is started 
by chewing. They intoxicate themselves on festive occasions. 


RELIGION 


Data on religion are entirely unsatisfactory. There is a hint of a 
creator god who retired to heaven (Campa, Machiguenga). Navarro’s 
account (1924) of an Apurimac Campa trinity (Venus as the father, an 
unidentified star as the mother, and Jupiter as the son), of sacred fires 
kept by the shamans, and feasts at the new or full moon for Venus seem 
fanciful. Information on lesser spirits is no more enlightening. 


SHAMANISM AND SICKNESS 


Farabee gives no information on the Machiguenga or Piro shaman, 
indeed denying their existence though his comment that the Piro kill 
witches attests evil shamans. But Ordinaire (1892) describes a Piro 
shaman, who undergoes 2 months of instruction in seclusion, meanwhile 
eating only bananas, remaining silent, smoking much, and vomiting daily. 
Tessmann distinguishes good and evil Campa shamans. During instruc- 
tion, the former diets, takes tobacco, especially juice and snuff, until he 
sees the “mother of tobacco,” a white person with whiskers, and finally 
takes cayapi, whereupon the “mother of cayapi” gives him “thorns” with 
which to kill sorcerers. The sorcerer is taught at night by the souls of 
deceased witches, who lurk in the bush. They appear in the form of bats 
to teach him to throw a “bone” into the victim’s body. 

These tribes probably recognize natural causes of illness. During 
epidemics they flee from their villages. Supernatural beliefs are varied. 
The Campa attribute magical disease and death to a “bone” thrown at 
night by a witch, to a sorcerer who becomes a jaguar, and to snakes 
ordered by a shaman to bite the victim (Tessmann, 1930). The 
Careneri suppose that a spirit, “He who comes at nightfall,” has shot 
invisible arrows into the sick man (Fejos, ms.). 

Many ailments are treated with herbs, but those caused supernaturally 
are treated by shamans. To ascertain the perpetrator of witchcraft, the 
Campa shaman spits coca into his hand, shakes it, and ascertains the 
guilty person through its configuration (Ordinaire, 1892, p. 148). To 
cure, he blows tobacco smoke and rubs coca on the patient, and sucks out 
the “bone” which the witch has put inside the person. Then, smoking and 
drinking cayapi, he endeavors to fell the witch by blowing his “thorns” 
into him. Great supernatural struggles develop between good and evil 
shamans. It is said that shamans successful in killing witches may de- 


velop a lust for killing and turn into jaguars after they die (Tessmann, 
1930). 


550 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


An Amuesha designated as a witch is flogged, deprived of food, con- 
fined in a room with heavy smoke, then taken to the patient and made to 
dig up the “bones,” “thorns,” or other objects he is supposed to have 
buried. He is then killed and thrown into the river (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
12:22-24). Amuesha and Campa children are often accused of witchcraft, 
the Campa even torturing and burning them alive (Navarro, 1924). 
Sala (1905-08) cites a 9-year-old Campa girl who was in danger of being 
killed for witchcraft in 1896. 

The Campa use a number of magical substances. Cyperus piripiri is 
put on a bow to make it shoot well. It is swallowed with tobacco by a 
shaman before a sucking treatment, and is used to wash invalids (Tess- 
mann, 1930). Wildcat hearts are taken for courage, gall bladders in 
order to divine, toad gall for eye trouble, monkey gall for toothache, 
bear excrement against stoutness, pulverized pitiro (a beetle) against 
anemia, and cultivated kitini to narcotize oneself and to stop hemor- 
rhages. The Campa rub scorched palo de balsa leaves on their heads for 
aches (Navarro, 1924). 


MYTHOLOGY 


S. Garcia (1942) has recorded several Machiguenga myths. 

Men were made of palo de balsa by beings called Tasorinchi. The 
Tasorinchi, who were created from nothing, were very powerful. They 
changed many Machiguenga into animals. One of them tried to drown 
the Indians by causing a flood. Another nailed him to trees, where he 
still lives, causing earthquakes by his struggles. A female Tasorinchi is 
the “mother of fishes.” Several Tasorinchi finally became armadillos. 

The Chonchéite, a legendary cannibalistic tribe; the Kugapakuri, a 
tribe of bowmen; and the Viracocha, the people of the Puna, were made 
by a demon, Kientibakori. The last two were created in the underworld. 
The Viracocha emerged when the spirits, the Inkakuna, who were mining, 
dug through to the underworld. The hole was plugged and those remain- 
ing below became the Kamagarini, or demons. Those who survived above 
became people when they ate yuca. The people of the Puna came out 
through a hole dug by a child. 

Formerly, people lacked teeth and ate only potter’s clay. Kashiri 
(Moon) brought manioc roots to a menstruating girl and taught her to 
eat them. He married her and gave manioc, maize, plantains, and other 
foods to her parents. The girl bore four boys, all suns: (1) ihe Sun, 
(2) Venus, (3) the sun of the Underworld, and (4) the sun of the firma- 
ment that gives light to the stars. During his birth, the last son burned 
his mother, so that she died. Kashiri’s mother-in-law then made him 
eat his wife’s corpse. 

Cultivated crops, especially manioc, are closely connected with Kashiri, 
to whom they complain if they are not cared for and eaten correctly. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 551 


A Machiguenga woman had relations with her step-son. Her husband 
sought another woman for the boy, whereupon the wife became angry 
and sought to poison him. He thwarted her attempt, and she hid in a 
tree. When he could not find her, he tied a burning bamboo to himself 
like a tail and went to the sky, where he became a comet. Meteors are 
his tears. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


The Machiguenga reckon time by moons, 12 to a year, by moon quar- 
ters, and by the blooming of certain flowers. They measure short objects 
by spans and half spans, and long objects with poles, but have no weights 
or measures. Travel is estimated by sun positions (Farabee, 1922). 


They regard the Milky Way as a river where animals bathe to gain 
eternal youth (Pio Aza, 1923 b, p. 396). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Amich, 1854; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Cipriani, 1902; Enock, 1908; Exploracion 
de los Rios Pichis, 1897; Farabee, 1922; Fejos, n.d.; Fernandez Moro, 1926-27; 
Fry, 1889; Gadea, 1895; Galt, n.d.; S. Garcia, 1942; Garcia Rosell, 1905; Grain, 
1942; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54; Hervas, 1800-05, vol. 1; Izaguirre, 1922-29; 
Marcoy, 1875; Maroni, 1889-92; Maurtua, V., 1906; Navarro, 1924; Ordinaire, 
1887, 1892; Osambela, 1896; Pio Aza, 1923 b; Raimondi, 1862; Reich, 1903; Sagols, 
1902; Sala, 1892, 1905-08; Skinner, 1805; Stiglich, 1908; Tessmann, 1930. 


MAYORUNA 
HISTORY 


The Mayoruna (Maxuruna, Majuruna, Mayiruna, Maxirona, Mayu- 
zuna, Barbudo, Dallus), who occupy the swamps and forests south of the 
Amazon River between the lower Ucayali and the Jutahy Rivers (lat. 
4°-7° S., long. 70°-74° W.; map 1, No. 3; map 5), were seemingly ex- 
tremely primitive. Fragmentary information from early missionaries and 
from Tessmann’s sketchy report (1930) suggests that they were semi- 
horticultural and lacked many of the hunting devices, technological accom- 
plishments, musical instruments, rites and religious concepts character- 
istic of their neighbors. Their culture may, perhaps, be considered proto- 
Panoan or even proto-Montafia. 


The Mavyoruna avoided residence on the large rivers, partly because 
of hostility with the tribes occupying them. This isolation doubtless 
accounts for their cultural poverty. Linguistically, however, they are 
Panoan. Their dialect, according to Izaguirre (1922-29, 9:202), re- 
sembled that of the Remo; according to Figueroa (1904, p. 115), it 
resembled that of the Chipeo, Cheteo, and Capanahua of the Huallaga 
River. 


52 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Before the Spaniards came, the Mayoruna had raided tribes along the lower 
Huallaga region, menacing the Cocamilla and repelling Chébero, Maina, and 
Cocamilla expeditions against them. Later they fought bravely against a Spanish 
expedition from Moyabamba. 

The Mayoruna’s seminomadic habits thwarted missionary work, but contacts 
with missionaries and with mission Indians somewhat acculturated this tribe. 

In 1654 some Mayoruna traded for iron tools near the Mission of Santa Maria 
de Huallaga. A Cocamilla chief became lay missionary to the Mayoruna and 
initiated peaceful trading, after which Father Raimundo de la Cruz baptized and 
preached among them. Finally, the Mayoruna came voluntarily to the Mission of 
Santa Maria on the Huallaga River, which the Maconagua, one of their sub- 
divisions, were forced to join. An epidemic in 1655 took a heavy toll, reducing 
the mission population to 200 warriors (about 1,000 persons). (See Figueroa, 
1904, pp. 111-123; Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :419-427; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 522.) 

Little is known about the Mayoruna during the next century. In 1755, a group 
was taken to the Mission of San Joaquin de los Omaguas but soon escaped 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 503). Later the Mayoruna entered a special section 
of San Joaquin through friendship with the Omagua. Omagua children taught 
Mayoruna girls to weave and boys to use canoes and spear throwers. For their 
part, the Omagua welcomed the service of the Mayoruna children, especially when 
through marriage the boys became permanent members of their households. 
Mayoruna girls also married Yameo boys. In 1762 additional Mayoruna were 
put in a new mission, Nueva Sefiora del Carmen, somewhat above Loreto de los 
Ticunas (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 521-523). 

The majority of the Mayoruna, however, continued their seminomadic life in 
the country crossed by the lower Ucayali and Tapichi Rivers. 

Since the expulsion of the Jesuits, in 1767, the Mayoruna have occupied the 
marshes and forests south of the Amazon and east of the lower Ucayali, center- 
ing on upper Tapichi and Yavari Rivers. (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:130, 160; Skinner, 
1805, p. 433; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, pp. 184, 193; Galt, ms.) In 1859 there 
were also 250 Mayoruna at Cochiquinas on the Amazon. The village of Maucallacta, 
also on the Amazon, was once occupied by 100 Marubo (Maroba), a Mayoruna 
subdivision (Raimondi, 1862, p. 100). The Mayoruna continued to be more or 
less hostile to their neighbors and, until recently, were victimized by Conibo slave 
raids. The present century found them still resisting acculturation (Tessmann, 
1930). Their number is estimated at 3,000 (Peruvian census, 1940). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Mayoruna have always been seminomadic, living mainly on palm 
fruits gathered in the marshes (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 521). In 
native times they fished little because of their remoteness from the rivers, 
and ate little meat because they lacked the blowgun (Figueroa, 1904, p. 
116), but they took turtles with harpoon arrows and kept them in pools 
(Osculati, 1854, pp. 212-213). In the present century, the blowgun is 
the main hunting weapon; nets, traps, deadfalls, and the bow and arrow 
are not used. The Mayoruna took fish only by means of baskets and two 
drugs, one of them a cultivated plant (Tessmann, 1930). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 553 


Early sources mention cultivation of some maize and bananas (Chantre 
y Herrera, 1901, p. 521). Figueroa (1904, p. 166) adds sweet manioc 
and some peanuts, and Tessmann (1930) sweet potatoes and pumpkins. 

Food was ground in a trough, and meat cooked on the rectangular 
babracot. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


Early Mayoruna villages consisted of three or four houses (Chantre 
y Herrera, 1901), each tightly built to keep out mosquitoes (Figueroa, 
1904, p. 116). Tessmann (1930) describes modern gabled houses with 
supporting posts and auxiliary sheds of similar construction. 

People sleep in Astrocaryum fiber hammocks. Men sit on logs, women 
on mats placed on the ground (Tessmann, 1930). 


TRANSPORTATION 


Missionary sources remark that the Mayoruna learned to make canoes 
from the Omagua at the missions. Tessmann (1930) describes the recent 
vessel as merely a hollowed trunk of [riartea ventricosa, propelled by a 
paddle with a crutch handle. The Mayoruna also use rafts. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Both sexes were naked in early days (Figueroa, 1904, p. 117), painted 
from the head to waist (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:202). Today women wear 
a Ficus bast apron, men a cord to hold up the penis; uruct is the only 
paint used. Tessmann (1930) denies tooth filing or blackening, depila- 
tion, and combs, but states that men tonsure the hair. 

The characteristic ornaments, especially for men, formerly were chonta 
palm splinters and feathers passed through the ear lobes, the nasal alae, 
and the upper and lower lips (pl. 51, top, left). The great number worn 
through the lower lip resembled a beard, hence the name Barbudo 
(bearded). These ornaments have been abandoned. The Mayoruna also 
tattooed the face, and wore a shell in the septum of the nose, feather head 
ornaments, monkey-tooth necklaces, and arm bands (Tessmann, 1930). 


MANUFACTURES 


The Mayoruna make hammocks and bags of Astrocaryum or of wild 
cotton. The spindle for cotton has a crossed stick attached to it in place 
of a whorl and is rolled on the thigh. Cotton is woven into bands and 
ribbons on a small loom attached in some manner to a stick (Tessmann, 
1930). Weaving was perhaps learned from the mission Omagua. The 
Mayoruna do no netting, but weave palm-leaf baskets (Tessmann, 1930). 

Ceramics comprise plain cook pots, bowls, and jugs, the last two with 
red interiors (Tessmann, 1930). 


554. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Early sources list clubs and wooden swords (macanas) (Chantre y 
Herrera, 1901, p. 527), throwing spears (chinganas) and _ shields 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, vol. 9; Figueroa, 1904, p. 115), and note the absence 
of the bow and arrow (Izaguirre, 1922-29, vol. 9) and blowgun (Figueroa, 
1904). Tessmann (1930) denies use of the shield but affirms use of a 
blowgun which seems to be made in one piece. 

Fire is made with a drill and activated with a feather fan. 


TRADE 


The Mayoruna used to trade with their enemies. They went to the 
river and blew bamboo trumpets to signal the traders on the opposite side. 
The latter crossed in canoes and, without landing, held articles for ex- 
change on the points of their spears. The Mayoruna gave parrots, ham- 
mocks woven of wild cotton, feather headdresses, and various small 
objects, and received knives and other iron tools. The traders then 
separated, shooting arrows at each other (Figueroa, 1904, p. 112). 


SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


Tessmann’s scant data (1930) suggest that the sociopolitical unit is the 
patrilineal extended family occupying a single house. Marriage is often 
polygynous, residence patrilocal. 


WARFARE 


The Mayoruna have generally received strangers with hostility. Their 
main weapons of warfare were the javelin, club, and, formerly if not now, 
the shield. Castelnau (quoted by Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:426) accredits 
them with cannibalism, but this probably refers to funerary cannibalism. 
(See below.) 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Birth entails 20 days’ confinement and dieting for both 
parents, the father meanwhile avoiding work (Tessmann, 1930). 

Girls’ puberty.—At her first menses, a girl is confined where no one 
can see her and observes a few dietary restrictions (Tessmann, 1930). 

Formerly, a man often reared a small girl and married her when she 
reached puberty (Jiménez de la Espada, 1889-92, 27:79). 

Death observances.—Characteristic Panoan endocannibalism was 
practiced at death. Osculati (1854, pp. 212-213) observed that dying 
people for whom Christian burial was planned were greatly distressed at 
the prospect of being eaten by maggots instead of by their relatives. The 
corpse was roasted and, with laments, cut into pieces and eaten. The 
bones were then ground, mixed with masato, and drunk. (See also 
Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 275). The head was kept until filled with 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 555 


maggots, when the brains were spiced with aji and eaten with great 
relish (Figueroa, 1904, p. 118). Twenty years ago, the Mayoruna buried 
infants in the house (Tessmann, 1930). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


The Mayoruna had signal drums (Figueroa, 1904, p. 115), bamboo 
signal trumpets (probably not connected with secret cults), snail-shell 
signal horns (Tessmann, 1930), and trumpets with a sounding cup and 
bamboo tube (Tessmann, 1930, table 16, fig. 16). They lacked panpipes, 
musical bows, and transverse flutes, and used the longitudinal flute only 
as a child’s toy (Tessmann, 1930). 

Tops, stilts, ball games, wrestling, and dancing are unknown (Tess- 
mann, 1930). 

Tobacco, the only narcotic, was smoked in a pipe made of an Astro- 
caryum fruit shell with a monkey bone stem. 

Chicha was originally made of fermented sweet manioc and, later, also 
of sugarcane. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Tessmann (1930) secured a hint of a sky god, possibly identified with 
the sun, of an underground deity, and of a belief that souls of the dead 
lingered in the bush, were feared and perhaps sometimes went into deer, 
which were taboo. His assertion that the Mayoruna have no shamans and 
attribute all sickness and death to natural agencies is incredible. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Figueroa, 1904; Galt, n.d.; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54; 
Izaguirre, 1922-29; Jiménez de la Espada (Noticias auténticas . . . 1889-92); 
Maroni, 1889-92; Osculati, 1854; Raimondi, 1862; Skinner, 1805; Tessmann, 1930. 


THE PANOAN TRIBES OF EASTERN PERU 
INTRODUCTION 


A large number of Panoan tribes centered in the Ucayali Valley (map 
1, No. 3; map 5). Along the main river were several large, strong tribes 
which raided and enslaved their smaller linguistic kin, who kept to the 
headwaters of the tributaries. The former were the Setebo, Shipibo, and 
Conibo, whom Tessmann (1928, 1930) collectively calls the Chama 
(Tschama). The Aguano may also have been Panoan. These river 
tribes are the best known ethnographically. The hinterland tribes, on 
whom information is scanty, include the Chamicura, Cashibo, Capanawa, 
Puyumanawa, Remo, Mananava, Nianagua, Amahuaca, Maspo, Amen- 
guaca, Ruanagua, Pichobo, Soboyo, Comobo, Mochobo, Nocomdn, and 
Mayoruna, the last treated separately (p. 551). East of these tribes on 

6533334738 


556 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


the headwaters of the Jurua and Purtis Rivers were many other culturally 
similar, Panoan-speaking tribes who, for convenience, are described else- 
where (p. 657). Two tribes in the neighborhood of the Ucayali River, 
the Carapacho toward the upper Huallaga River and the Urarina (Itucale) 
north of the Amazon River, may have spoken Panoan. Many other tribes 
are merely mentioned in early documents and cannot be classified. 

The two common endings of tribal names, “bo” and ‘“nagua” (nahua, 
nawa), mean “people.” 

Panoan culture does not differ radically from that of other tribes of 
the Montafia. Its more distinctive form occurs on the lower Ucayali 
River. The social, political, and economic unit is the extended family 
occupying a single, large house and supporting itself by slash-and-burn 
farming, supplemented by hunting and fishing. But, uniquely, the family 
is matrilineal, with some clan features. Subsistence is based on sweet 
manioc, but turtles and river mammals are taken in some numbers with 
harpoons and spear throwers and with harpoon arrows. The blowgun 
ard spear rather than bow are used for hunting. 

The Ucayali Panoans lack both the hammock and platform bed and 
sleep on mats on the ground. They use both the horizontal and the 
“Ucayali” loom. They have minimal birth and puberty rites, except for 
subincision and deflowering of girls and Conibo circumcision of boys, and 
they deform infants’ heads and blacken their teeth. Warriors’ nose de- 
formation (Urarina) is unique. These tribes once took trophy heads 
but did not eat their enemies. They practice urn and earth burial, cre- 
mation, and funerary endocannibalism. Beliefs about life after death 
are varied. The Panoans still have a characteristic art style, which dis- 
tinguishes their pottery and other artifacts. They smoke tobacco as 
cigars or in pipes or take it through tubes but lack most drugs except 
cayapi, which is taken by shamans. 

The peripheral Panoan tribes and the upper Ucayali Arawakans are 
culturally similar to each other, and both groups differ from the Ucayali 
Panoans. They probably have a patrilineal household. They depend 
largely on hunting and fishing, but their rivers lack turtles and large, 
aquatic mammals. Bows and arrows, spear throwers and harpoons 
but not blowguns are their weapons. They make primitive ceramics, have 
inferior canoes or no canoes, and use simple wooden clubs. They lack 
circumcision, subincision and head deformation. Unlike the neighboring 
Arawakans, the peripheral Panoans practice endocannibalism and use 
little or no coca. 

The Panoan tribes of the Ucayali River and those of the Jurua-Purtss 
area have several characteristics in common: dependence on sweet but 
not on bitter manioc; turtle hunting; harpoons; apparently an extended 
matrilineal, at least matrilocal, household as the sociopolitical unit, but 
clans not proven; tooth blackening; cannibalism of their own dead but 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 557 


not of enemies; tobacco snuff taken through tubes; shaman’s trance in- 
duced by a drug (cayapi?); a variant of the “Ucayali” loom; and 
domesticated cotton. But, like the peripheral Ucayali Panoan peoples, 
the Jurua-Purts tribes lack the spear thrower and make little use of the 
blowgun; they hunt instead mainly with the bow and arrow. Also, they 
do not deform infant’s heads. Typically non-Montafia, the Jurua-Purts 
area uses hammocks, has ceremonies with accompanying purification to 
celebrate children’s tooth blackening and lip piercing, cuts the girls’ 
hymen at puberty, and uses sacred bark trumpets that are taboo to women 
and children. Some of these traits probably came from the Jurua-Purus 
Arawakan tribes. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


Urarina.—The Urarina (Jtukale, Itucale, Ytucali, Singacuchusca, 
Cingacuchusca, Arucui, Arucuye, Ssimaku, Shimacu, Chimacu, Chambira, 
Chambirino) lived north of the Marafon River on the tributaries of the 
Chambira River (lat. 4° 30’ S., long. 75°-76° W.) ; the Cingacuchusca, 
a subtribe, was evidently on the Tigre River. There were two main 
Urarina divisions: the Urarina proper and the Jtucale (Escobar y Men- 
doza, 1769; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:407), but Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) 
gives Urarina divisions as Barbudo, Itucale, Mayoruno (Mayoruna?, 
see p. 551), and Musino. 

The Urarina are tentatively classed as Panoan. Velasco (1842-4, 
3:208) states that their language was related to Mayoruna, a Panoan 
tongue. (See Tessmann’s (1930) Urarina vocabulary.) Figueroa 
(1904, p. 187), however, alleged that the Jtucale and Cingacuchusca spoke 
the same language as the Cocamilla, i.e... Tupi. The Itucale may have 
migrated in post-Contact times from near the Chamicura and the Cutinana 
on the Samiria River (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:231). The Itucale may 
also have lived south of the Marafién River at one time, for they are very 
similar culturally to the Chamicura. 


The Itucale were first contacted by Father Majano through friendly Cocama. In 
1653 a few were taken to Borja, in 1679 several more Jtucale went to Chamicuros, 
and, in 1712, others were settled in a mission. As only a few of the mission group 
remained in 1730, the Itucale went to the Huallaga River missions and were known 
as Aracut in 1737 (Maroni, 1889-92, 20 :266). 

The Urarina, having been favorably impressed by the missions on the Marafion 
River, accepted a mission of their own on the Chambira headwaters in 1738. More 
than 200 Jtucale eventually joined them. This mission was moved several times be- 
fore the end of the century when the population, reduced from its earlier number, 
was 600. In the present century, although Rivet (1924, p. 674) states that the 
Urarina are extinct, Tessmann (1930) states that 300 largely assimilated Ssimaku 
(Urarina) survived. 


Aguano.—The Uguano (Aguanu, Awano, Santa Crucino), consisting 
of the Aguano proper, the Cutinana, and the Maparina occupied the re- 


558 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


gion of the lower Huallaga and the Marafion (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 
60) down to the Samiria River (lat. 5°-6° S., long. 74°-76° W.). 

The linguistic affiliations of these tribes is uncertain. The Aguano 
proper had adopted Quechua at or soon after the Conquest. But if Rivet 
(1924) is correct that Chamicura is Panoan, the whole group must 
have been Panoan. Rivet (1924) does not, however, recognize an Aguano 
group, mapping the Tupian Cocamilla (Guallaga) in Aguano territory and 
assigning several Aguano subtribes to other linguistic families. 


The Aguano proper had two main subgroups: one included the Seculusepa and 
Chilicagua; the other, the Meliquine and Tivilo. The Tivilo (Tibilo) were Chébero 
according to Beuchat and Rivet (1909), but old sources group them with the Aguano 
(Figueroa, 1904, p. 129; Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :435; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 188- 
189). The Aguano may have been north of the Marafién River when first contacted, 
for the Maina told of “Aguanu” living 2 days’ east of the Pastaza River (Rel. 
geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:143). The Tivilo, however, were on the eastern side of 
the Huallaga River, opposite the Chébero. 

Bitter enemies of the Chamicura and feared by the Spaniards, the Aguano first 
began trade relations with the Cocama in 1653 and the next year, lured by gifts of 
iron tools, entered a mission on the lower Huallaga River. But they had to live in 
three separate villages because of disagreement among themselves. After an epi- 
demic, the whole nation numbered about 1,000 persons. The Tibilo, continually quar- 
reling with the Chamicura, had to be settled separately in San Lorenzo de los Tibilos. 

In 1737, San Xavier de los Chamicuros had 237 inhabitants, and San Antonio 
Abad had 92. In 1758, the Chamicura and Aguano agreed to occupy San Xavier 
together. They had been decimated by epidemics and wars against the Jivaro, in 
which they served as auxiliaries of the Spaniards. (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :427-434; 
Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 188-189; Figueroa, 1904, pp. 124-135.) 

In the last century, the Aguano were concentrated at Santa Cruz on the lower 
Huallaga River where there were 350 persons in 1851 (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 
1:170), 300 in 1859 (Raimondi, 1863). At that time there were 80 Tivilo at Maipuco 
on the Marafion River. 

In 1925, Tessmann (1930, pp. 253-254) found that 100 Aguano survived. They 
were almost completely acculturated. 

The Cutinana are classed by Beuchat and Rivet (1909) as Chébero which is 
Cahuapanan, evidently on the strength of Veigl’s classification (1785 a, p. 36) and 
because of their later association with the Chébero at missions and their subsequent 
location between the Chayawita and the Chébero. Figueroa (1904, p. 125), however, 
identifies them linguistically with the Aguano and Maparina. They were found to 
speak the same language as captive Aguano brought into a mission. 

In 1641, the Cutinana were found on what is probably the Samiria River (Figueroa, 
1904, pp. 75-78, 382-383), which Maroni (1889-92, 26:292) considers their original 
home. That year, 100 families went to the Chébero mission, then entered their own 
mission, Santo Tomé. Some, however, evidently remained on the Samiria River in 
1738 (Figueroa, 1904, pp. 382-383), while others were near the Urarina and between 
the Chambira and Pastaza Rivers, having migrated from the Samiria River (Maroni, 
1889-92, 26:231). In 1737 most of the Cutinana lived with the Chébero (Maroni, 
1889-92, 26 :292). 

The Maparina were also an Aguano subtribe (Figueroa, 1904, p. 187), which 
probably adjoined the Cocama. They apparently fought with the Chipeo (Shipebo) 
in a revolt in 1660 and with the Cocama in 1663 (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:93). Cutinana 
prisoners from these wars were put in a Huallaga River mission (Chantre y Herrera, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 559 


1901, p. 227). In 1681, they lived on the Huallaga River above Santiago, but epidemics 
drove them to join the Cocamilla in the Santiago mission (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:111). 
In 1830, they were reported on the Samiria headwaters; in 1881, on the lower 
Huallaga. They may since have been assimilated. 

The Sicluna were neighbors of the Aguano, but their relationship is unknown 
(Figueroa, 1904, p. 134). 


Chamicura.—The Chamicura (Chamicuro), linguistically closely re- 
lated to the Shipibo, probably lived originally near the Samiria (formerly 
the Chamicuro) River (lat. 5° 30’ S., long. 74° W.), where a few pagan 
Chamicura remained in 1737 (Maroni, 1889-92, 26 :292). 


In 1768, after a smallpox epidemic, 500 Chamicura survived on the Samiria River, 
the others having gone to the Huallaga River (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 57). These were taken 
with Aguano remnants to Santiago de la Laguna on the Huallaga River. In the 
present century, the Chamicura have been dispersed, owing to the rubber boom and 
to acculturating influences. Only 60 largely assimilated plantation workers live at 
Pampa Hermosa on the Huallaga River (Tessmann, 1930), though the 1940 Peruvian 
census gives 1,500. 

The Sicluna (Chicluna) were probably a subtribe of the Chamicura (Veigl, 1785 a, 
ps o7): 


Setebo.—The Setebo (Settebo, Shetebo, Ssetebo, Schetibo, Sitibo, 
Xitipo, Jitipo, Gitibo, Pano, Manoita, Puinahua?, “turkey hawk people’) 
lived north of the Cashibo, centering on the Manoa or Cushabatay River 
and perhaps extending down the Ucayali to adjoin the Cocama (lat. 6°- 
9° S., long. 74° W.). In historic times they gradually withdrew from the 
main river and dwindled in numbers. Meanwhile, the Sensi, Panobo, 
and perhaps Puinahua became separate subdivisions of them. 


The Setebo were first visited in 1657 by Father Alonso Cabellero, who founded a 
few short-lived missions. In 1661, Father Lorenzo Tineo and 200 Payanso established 
two Setebo missions with 2,000 prospective converts, but the Setebo plotted a revolt 
after receiving iron tools. Tineo evacuated the missionaries and 100 Setebo followed 
him to join the Panatahua, Payanso, and other upper Huallaga River missions. Fur- 
ther attempts to found missions resulted in more murders of Spaniards and the 
projects were abandoned. In 1670, smallpox swept the region. The same year, 
Father Lucero took some Setebo, Chepeo (Shipebo), and Cocama to his mission, 
Santiago, on the Huallago River (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 251), but many of 
these died of smallpox in 1680 (Maroni, 1889-92, 28: 105-112). 

During the 18th century, the Shipibo killed many Setebo settled at the mouth of the 
Manoa River and forced others to take refuge in marshes up the Cushabatay River. 
Renewed missionary efforts began in 1754 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:209). An expedi- 
tion in 1757 with 300 Chol6én participants failed, but by 1760, the pitiful condition 
of the Indians and their desire for protection from the Shipibo and for tools to 
cultivate their fields induced them to accept a mission. The Setebo remembered 
something of Christianity after 80 years, having crosses everywhere and baptizing 
babies with lemon juice. The missionaries wrote a Setebo grammar and dictionary. 
The revolt of a division called the Yambo (Yaubo) led by Rungato in 1767 put an 
end to this mission and started the general uprising on the Ucayali River. 

Franciscans returned during the 19th century, founding Sarayacu (pl. 48, center) 
in 1790 with many tribes, but in 1860 a violent epidemic of smallpox destroyed many 
of the Setebo, and in 1861 the missionaries abandoned Sarayacu because of conflicts 


560 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


with the civil governors and traders. The Setebo migrated to the lagoon of 
Cashiboya on the right side of the Ucayali (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9 :254-264). Galt, 
traveling up the Ucayali River in 1870 (ms.) “saw nothing and heard very little” 
about the Setebo, some of whom were said to be at Santuaba, at Lake Santuaba, 
and at Roioboya. Marcoy wrote (1875, 2:47) that the Setebo extended from the 
Cushabatay River, above which lived the Shipibo, along the Ucayali to its mouth. 
In 1925, Tessmann (1928, p. 8) reported that the Setebo were the northernmost 
Chama, with their main settlement at Cruz Muyuna, where there were also Panobo. 
The 1940 census records 3,000, though Tessmann estimated 360. 

The Puinahua, meaning “excrement men” in Panoan and called Hotentot by the 
missionaries because of their filth, were a semilegendary tribe who lived “beyond the 
Isla deseada” on the Marafién River. They were discovered about 1800, but only 
a few persons were ever seen (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:42, 203; 12:437-438). In 
1870, Galt (ms.) thought they were largely extinct, but Tessmann (1928) takes them 
to be the Setebo who once lived along the Canal de Puinagua. 


Panobo.—The Panobo (Manoa, Pano, Pana, Pelado) sprang either 
from Setebo who had gone to Huallaga River missions in 1670 or from 
those of the upper Cushabatay River (lat. 7° S., long. 76° W.). Favoring 
the former hypothesis was the presence in 1681 of Pelado (probably 
Panobo) 5 days above Santiago on the Huallaga River. Even these, 
however, might have moved west from the Cushabatay River, for in 1682, 
there were 7,000 Pelado in the high arid county 5 days (east) from 
Laguna on the Huallaga (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 283). Skinner 
(1805, pp. 407-408) records that the Panobo were alleged to have been 
Setebo of the Cushabatay River who fled Calliseca (Shipibo) attacks in 
1686. Fritz even maps Pelado on the Marafion River below the Ucayali 
River. 

In 1760 the Panabo seem to have formed a separate group in the Cusha- 
batay region (Skinner, 1805, pp. 407-408). Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) 
gives Iltipo and Pelado as Pano subdivisions. In 1863, the Pano were 
reported at Lake Cashiboya. In 1925, 100 to 200 were scattered on the 
Ucayali River, some mixed with Setebo at Cruz Muyuna (Tessmann, 
1930, pp. 106-107; 1928, p. 8) ; these spoke mainly Quechua and Spanish 
and were being rapidly assimilated. 

Sensi.—The Sensi (Senti, Senci, Ssenssi, Tenti, Mananahua) separated 
from the Setebo at the beginning of the 19th century to live on the right 
bank of the Ucayali River, lat. 6°30’ S., long. 75° W. (Marcoy, 1875, 
2:53-57). The subtribes were the Ynubu (Inubu), Runubu, and Casca, 
their number 3,000, and their habitat between the Ucayali and Javari 
Rivers, near Lake Cruz Muyuna and its affluent, the Chunuya River 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:273; 9:38; 12 :436-437). 

The Sensi originally numbered 3,000 but half of them had died of epidemics by 
1800 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:38), most of the survivors being placed in the Mission 
of Chanaya-mana soon thereafter (Marcoy, 1875, 2:176; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:38; 
Sagols, 1902, p. 364), but others remaining in the forests. Chanaya was abandoned 


in 1821 (Marcoy, 1875, 2:176). In 1852 it had 37 Sensi (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:37, 
88, 197). In 1851, Herndon (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, p. 205) found the Sensi 


Vol. 83] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 561 


on the east bank of the Ucayali, above Sarayacu. In 1875 (Marcoy, 1875, 2:47, 77, 
176), 12 to 15 families (100 people) occupied the forests of Chanayamana, especially 
the village of Pancaya, and formed a distinct group. Their northern limit was Lake 
Chanaya (Marcoy, 1875, 2:172). Most of the Sensi were absorbed by other tribes, 
but in 1925, 100 remained on the upper Maquia River (Tessmann, 1930). 


Mayo.—The Mayo, probably a Panoan tribe, were discovered on the 
Tapiche River near the Sensi and Mayoruna in 1790 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
12 :429-431). 

Shipibo (Chipeo, Chipio, Chepeo, Shipipo, Ssipipo, Calliseca).—The 
Shipibo (little monkey people) are identified by Amich (1854, p. 29) with 
the 17th-century Calliseca because the latter lived near the Setebo and 
because their “character” was like that of the 18th-century Shipibo. 
Izaguirre (1922-29, 1:136 ff.) and Skinner (1805) concur, but Herndon 
and Gibbon (1853-54, 1:184) and Tessmann (1930) identify the Calliseca 
with the Cashibo. Both Shipibo and Cashibo lived east of the Tingan in 
the Pachitea and Aguaytia Valleys, but only the former were neighbors of 
the Setebo. Early accounts relate that trips eastward through Payanso 
country reached the Calliseca near the Ucayali. As this Calliseca territory 
is almost certainly that of the Shipibo, we accept the Shipibo as the 17th- 
century Calliseca. 


The Shipibo spoke the same language as the Setebo (Marcoy, 1875, 2:58). They 
originally lived on the upper Aguaytia River (lat. 8° S., long. 75° W.), from which 
they were driven in the 17th century by the Cashibo, who in turn had been pressed 
by the Campa of the Gran Pajonal. The Siipibo themselves drove the Conibo from 
the region of the mouth of the Aguaytia River southward up the Ucayali River to 
Pisqui (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:303-304). They numbered 1,000 or more (Skinner, 
1805, p. 409). 

The Manamabobo and Manava (lat. 10° S., long. 74° W.) were probably Shipibo 
or Cashibo divisions. 

In 1657, missionaries and soldiers visited the Shipibo (then called Calliseca) and the 
Setebo, but were killed by the former (Amich, 1854, pp. 26-29). The Shipibo joined 
the Cocama in hostilities against the Huallaga River missions in 1660 (Chantre y 
Herrera, 1901, p. 226). In 1661, 2,000 or 3,000 Setebo and “Calliseca” were gathered 
in two towns (Skinner, 1805, pp. 444-449; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:136), but they re- 
belled against their missionaries and, in 1670, attacked the Panatahua missions, The 
same year some Shipibo joined the Mission of Santiago on the Huallaga. In 1680, 
after the Cocama fled, many Shipibo who remained in order to “go to heaven” died 
during the smallpox epidemic (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:105-112). From 1686 to 1698, 
the Shipibo were under Jesuit influence, but in 1698 they killed their missionary and 
overthrew White domination (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 296). 

By 1704, all missions were lost in this region and little was done for 50 years. 
Meanwhile, the Shipibo carried on bitter warfare against the Setebo, whom they 
defeated in 1736 (Skinner, 1805, pp. 409, 444-449). In 1764, about 1,000 Shipibo lived 
scattered in family groups (Amich, 1854, p. 239), occupying 20 leagues of the left 
side of the Ucayali River and extending 10 or 12 leagues into the interior (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 2 :237). In 1765 several new missions were founded in the region (Amich, 
1854, p. 239) and by 1766, Shipibo of 5 towns had been reconverted, but the missions 
were lost in the Rungato revolt of 1767 (Skinner, 1805, pp. 410, 448). 


562 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


In 1790, the Shipibo were reported on the Pixi, Tamaya, and Aguaytia Rivers, on 
the Ucayali above the Sarayacu, and on the Cushabatay River. They numbered 
about 275 families in two main villages, with other scattered families (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 8 :223, 239-240, 275, 307). In response to requests, the Franciscans founded 
two missions (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:159, 241). Marcoy (1875, 2:60) attributes to 
them a mission population of 800 to 900 in 1791. The Shipibo were then great 
travelers and salt traders. Another mission was established for 300 families in 1813 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:36). In 1821, the Shipibo inhabited the Pisqui River, from 
Charasmana to its headwaters and the Aguaytia and Cushabatay Rivers (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 9:42). In 1851, Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54) saw Shipibo villages near 
Sarayacu (23 persons), Sucre (25 persons), and Isla Setico (3 persons). Galt in 
1870 saw and heard little of them (ms.), but Marcoy (1875, 2:16, 47) attributed to 
them 180 miles of the Ucayali from the right bank of the Caponcinia River, where 
they adjoined the Conibo, to the Caxiabatay River, where Setebo territory began. In 
1925, Tessmann reported (1928, pp. 11, 12) that many Shipibo workers had with- 
drawn from plantations to live scattered between Contamana and the mouth of the 
Utoquinea River. He guessed their number at 1,300, but the 1940 census records 
2,500. 


Manamabobo (Manambobo)—Though possibly Cashibo or Conibo 
(Hervas, 1800-05, vol. 1), this was more likely a Shipibo subdivision 
who in 1680 were called Chipeo montareces, “wild” Shipibo, and lived 
near the Pachitea River (lat. 10° S., long. 74° W.) but migrated to the 
forests near the Conibo. In 1687, they were put in the Mission of San 
Nicolas Obispo, but fled because of epidemics and were later resettled 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 30:145). 


Manava.—Though possibly Cashibo, the Manava were more prob- 
ably Shipibo who had been taken to Lamas and Laguna after the Cocama 
rebellion. They fled from these towns and, in 1690, attacked the Conibo 
on the Ucayali to steal iron tools. Their mission on the Taguaco River 
was abandoned in 1695. Some Manava on the Cushabatay River 
were taken to Lamas and Moyabamba in 1703 as slaves (Maroni, 1889-92, 
30 148-150). 


Mananamabua.—These were listed by Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) with 
the Manabobo as Conibo subdivisions. 


Conibo.—The Conibo (Conivo, Cuniba, Cunivo, Curibeo, “fish people’) 
had their aboriginal settlements on the Pachitea River and up and down 
the Ucayali River (lat. 9° S., long. 74° W.). The original number at 
the mouth of the Pachitea was 2,000 (pl. 49, top). 


When first visited in the 17th century, the Conibo were raiding other tribes for 
slaves and loot and exchanging the slaves to the Cocama of the lower Ucayali for 
iron tools. But they were friendly to the Spaniards, partly because of a desire for 
iron tools. 

The first contact with Whites was probably in 1682 when the Conibo visited the 
lower Huallaga River and left some of their young people at Santiago to learn the 
language (probably Quechua) and Christianity (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 282). 
In a race to establish the first Conibo mission, the Franciscans came down from the 
Tambo River and the Jesuits ascended the Ucayali River. Father Viedma, a Fran- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 563 


ciscan, established San Miguel in 1685 at the mouth of the Pachitea River, but the 
Jesuits won favor and the Franciscans withdrew. A few other Jesuit missions were 
founded (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:273), all evidently sought by the Conibo because of 
the opportunity they afforded for the Indians to obtain iron tools. Resentment at 
enforced military service on a punitive expedition against the Jivaro in 1691 led to 
revolt and massacre of Spaniards in 1695. The Conibo supported by the Piro, Campa, 
Shipibo, Manamabobo, and Mananamabua repelled a punitive expedition in 1698 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 33 :47-54; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 293-296) and resumed 
their former mode of life. Thirty years later, other missions were started (Skinner, 
1805, pp. 409-410), iron tools again being an inducement for the Indians, though 
jealousy about the quantities given different chiefs and epidemics led to trouble 
(Amich, 1854, pp. 171-175). Another revolt occurred in 1767, the year of the Jesuit 
expulsion, when Conibo, Setebo, and Shipibo under Rungato massacred all the mis- 
sionaries and temporarily terminated their work (Skinner, 1805, pp. 409-410). 

Franciscans later returned to the region and established two missions in 1790 and 
1811 with 556 families (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:241; 9:37). Meanwhile, the Conibo 
had spread along the river and conducted slave raids among all tribes from the 
Mayoruna near the Amazon to the Amahuaca of the upper Ucayali (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 8:131). This produced considerable tribal intermixture. By 1851, their 
villages were scattered north almost to the Cocama (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 
vol. 1) and in 1870 though centering at Sarayacu (which was reduced by smallpox 
from 1,000 in 1860 to 200 in 1872), they were spread from the Pachitea River to the 
mouth of the Ucayali (Galt, ms.). Marcoy (1875, 2:21) found 600 to 700 Conibo 
in 10 or 11 settlements along 200 miles of the Ucayali River from the Capoucinia 
River on the north, beyond which were Shipibo, and to the Paruitcha River in the 
south, where Chontaquiro territory began. A nativistic concept, which probably un- 
derlay the early revolts, held that the Conibo were descended from the Jnca Emperor 
and would ultimately return to power. For this reason the people liked Quechua 
names and spurned miscegenation (Galt, ms.). The same idea seems to have per- 
sisted in 1925, when Tessmann (1928, pp. 3, 11, 13) found that they avoided White 
towns and would not marry Peruvians. They lived mainly along the upper Ucayali 
River from the mouth of the Pachitea to the Sheboya River above Cumaria, although 
many had settled among neighboring tribes. Tessmann estimates them at 1,200; the 
1940 census, at 3,000. 


Cashibo (Cacibo, Caxibo, Casibo, Cachibo, Cahivo, Managua, Hagueti, 
Capapacho?).—The Cashibo occupied the Pachitea and Aguaytia Valleys, 
adjoining the Conibo (lat. 9° S., long. 75° W.). They probably once 
reached the Ucayali River (Sobreviela map), but later avoided it, fearing 
other tribes, and even withdrew in the 18th century from the Pachitea 


proper to its tributaries, the Inuquira and Carapacho Rivers (Marcoy, 
1875, 2:143). 


Apparently the Cashibo were not visited by missionaries (unless the 17th-century 
Carapacho or Calliseca were the Cashibo) until 1757, when they killed one missionary 
and forced others to flee (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:205, 229). In 1790, they were hostile 
to all neighboring tribes and were the main obstacle to navigation of the Aguaytia 
and Manoa Rivers (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:308). In 1820, they had retreated to the 
hills and to the Pachitea, Shipiria, and Aguaytia Rivers (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
9 :42-43) but in 1851 were again on the Pachitea River, though some occupied the 
Aguaytia and Pisqui Rivers. They were at war with other tribes which attacked 
them (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:184). In 1870, those on the Aguaytia River 


564 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


were safe, but in the Pachitea Valley they were victims of Setebo and Conibo raids 
(Galt, ms.). In 1902 (Sagols, 1902, p. 360), they lived from south of the Aguaytia 
River to the Sierra of San Carlos, east of the Pachitea River. In 1925, 1,500 to 
2,000, divided into three groups, the Kakataibo, Cashino, and Rufio (Tessmann, 1930, 
pp. 124-128, 153-154), still avoided civilization, and lived mainly on the upper Aguay- 
tia River, extending south to the Sungaroyacu, a tributary of the Pachitea, north to 
the Pisqui River and perhaps to the headwaters of the right tributaries of the Cush- 
abatay River. The 1940 census gives 5,000 to 7,000 but Reifsnyder (personal commu- 
nication) believes that epidemics have reduced them to only a few hundred families. 
The Cashibo were still relatively isolated in 1925, and retained their native culture 
(Tessmann, 1930). 


Carapacho.—The relation of the Carapacho (lat. 9° S., long. 76° W.) 
to neighboring tribes is obscure. They did not speak Amuesha (Amich, 
1854, pp. 145-153). Marcoy (1875, 2:143) believes that Carapacho is 
a synonym for Calliseca, a 17th-century tribe that may have been the 
modern Shipibo (or possibly Cashibo). But the Carapacho and Calliseca 
were mentioned in 1631 as tribes east of and adjoining the Tingdn of the 
Huallaga River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:81-82), one account stating that 
the Carapacho lived on a small tributary of the Pachitea River in the 
middle of the Pampa del Sacramento. Sobreviela’s map shows them north 
of the Pozuzo River at about lat. 9° 45’ S. They may have been the 
Cashibo. 


They were first contacted in 1631 by Father Felipe Luyando while he worked 
among the Panatahua. The Carapacho favored the missionaries, who were 
threatened by the Chanatahua and Tingdn, Juan Rondon built a mission at their 
request, but it was abandoned in the latter half of the century, the Indians reverting 
to their former mode of life. In 1734, Father Simon Jara found them again after 
2 years of exploration of the Pampa del Sacramento. He made peace, but did not 
missionize them. In 1773, the Carapacho extended over 60 leagues from Mairo to 
Huamancot. In 1794, they were still hostile when visited on the Pachitea River 
near the junction of the Palcaso and Pichis Rivers (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:308). 
Sagols (1902, p. 362) reports them on the Callescas River. 


Capanawa (Kapanahu, Capanagua, Buskipani, Busquipani).—The 
Capanahua lived east of the Ucayali River toward the Javari River, on the 
upper Maquea River, and near the headwaters of the Tejo, Gregorio, 
Libertade, and Breu Rivers, between S40 Pao and Capoeira Rivers, tribu- 
taries of the upper Jurua, and around the headwaters of the Envira River 
(lat. 6° S., long. 74° W.). Other Capanawa were established at the head- 
waters of the Javary, Tapiche, Blanco and from the Maquea (Alacran) 
to the Guanacha River. The latter were also called Buskipant. 

A Franciscan attempt to missionize the Capanawa in 1817 was frustrated by an 
epidemic, and the Indians returned to the bush. In 1925, they lived on the upper 
Tapiche River under a patron (hacienda owner) and on the upper Rio Blanco, 
which rubber workers called the Rio Capanawa. Only 100 survived, as they had 
never been numerous and had been subject to attacks by other tribes during the 
rubber boom (Tessmann, 1930; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Sagols, 1902, p. 363). The 1940 
census figure of 900 must be too high. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 565 


Remo.—The Remo (Rheno), who spoke a Conibo dialect, avoided the 
aggressive Shipibo and Conibo by living on the headwaters of the eastern 
tributaries of the Ucayali River between Cerro de Canchyuaya and the 
Tamaya River (lat. 8° S., long 74° W.). A branch lived on the Jurua- 
mirin River, a left tributary of the Jurua River. 


In 1690, there were said to be 600 family heads, about 3,000 people (Maroni, 
1889-92, 30:151). A century later, some Remo settled with Piro at the Franciscan 
mission of Sarayacu (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:225), but in 1820, most of the tribe was 
still avoiding the shores of the Ucayali River for fear of the Conibo. The Remo 
lived mainly on the Cayaria River. A few of them spoke Sensi, a Setebo dialect 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9 :38-43, 91, 202). 

The first mission in this region was founded in 1859 for the S/ipibo, who later 
abandoned it and attacked a Remo village. The latter took refuge in the interior 
of Piyuya (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:243-244). In 1862, the Remo left the upper 
Cayaria River to enter a mission at Shunumanda, farther downstream, but within a 
few years the Conibo attacked the mission and captured women and children 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:307). In 1870, Galt (ms.) said there were Remo remnants 
at Calleria and above Calleria in the interior, most of the tribe having been killed 
off or enslaved by the Conibo and Shipibo. The rubber boom also took a heavy 
toll, In 1925, Tessmann (1930) reported that most of the surviving Remo occupied 
the sources of the Javari, Tapicho, Ipixuna, and Mos Rivers; others were under 
White settlers on the Javari and Batan Rivers. The 1940 census figure is 2,500. 


Niaragua.—The Niaragua (Niamagua) lived 12 leagues from the 
Ucayali River (lat. 7° S., long. 74° W.), east of Mano (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, 8:264). 

Amahuaca.—The Amahuaca (Amajuaca, Amawaka, Amaguaco, 
Ameuhaque, Ipitinere, Sayaco) preferred to live at the headwaters of the 
tributaries of the upper Ucayali, Jurua, and Purus Rivers because they 
feared slave raids from the Ucayali proper. Amahuaca have been re- 
corded in the following places: Between the Tamaya and Inuya Rivers; 
between the Chesea and Sepehua Rivers (tributaries of the Ucayali and 
Urubamba respectively) ; the Amonya headwaters; between the Guru- 
maha and Purts Rivers; the Amoaca, Tejo, and Sao Jao Rivers, all 
upper Jurua tributaries; and the Tarajuaca Basin. (Lat 9°-11° S., long. 
73°-74° W.) 

In 1686, a village of 12 huts (150 people) was seen on the Coniguati River. 
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Amahuaca remained pagans and were hostile 
to Whites and to other Indians, especially to the Piro, Conibo, and Shipibo, who en- 
slaved them (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:272; 8:160, 308; 9:41; Galt, ms; Herndon and 
Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:195). The only attempt to missionize them failed, and the mission- 
ary was forced to leave. The Amahuaca continued to avoid the Ucayali River peoples 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:308-315, 325; Fry, 1889, 1:100). In 1925, the Amahuaca, 
numbering about 3,000, were still hostile to Whites and to other Indians, except the 
Campa and Cashinahua, the latter their close relatives. They lived at the sources 
of the Jurud, Purtis, and Embira Rivers and on the upper and right tributaries of 
the Ucayali and Urubamba Rivers, from the Tamaya River in the north to the 
Sepahua River in the south. They were little acculturated (Tessmann, 1930). The 
Peruvian Amahuaca were estimated at 1,500 in 1940. 


566 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Amenguaca.— Possibly Amenguaca is a synonym of Amahuaca. These 
Indians lived on the Imiria River. The best known of their many groups 
and subgroups are the Jnuvaqueu and Viuivaqueu. In 1690, Father 
Ricter found them hostile (Maroni, 1889-92, 26 :234-235; 30:150-151). 

Maspo.—The Maspo, mentioned only in 1686, were a tribe which, like 
the Amahuaca, avoided the Ucayali River. There were 26 huts with 500 
people 2 leagues up the Taco River and others 3 days up the Manipaboro 
River, right tributaries of the Ucayali River, lat. 9° S., long. 74° W. 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:272). 

Yuminahua.—This tribe lived on the Riosinho and Tejo Rivers, and 
in the Tarahuaca mountains near the Amahuaca (Villanueva, 1902-03, 
12 :427). 

Ruanagua.—The Ruanagua were reported in 1663 on the Ucayali 
River, above the Maspo, especially at the mouth of the Corjuamia (Cura- 
huania) River (Galt, ms.) and in 1686, 1 day up the “Coraguania” River 
and on the upper Taraba River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:276-277). (Lat. 
11° S., long. 74° W.) They were subsequently associated with the 
Comobo at the junction of the Ucayali and Apurimac (probably Urubama) 
Rivers (Skinner, 1805, p. 429). In 1830 they remained in the same general 
area. 

Pichobo.—The Pichobo (Pichaba) are mentioned in 1663 and in 1686 
as a tribe on the Ucayali at the mouth of the Taguanigua River (Galt, ms. ; 
Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:276). They were mapped in 1830 in the same 
region. 

Soboibo(Soboybo, Sobobo, Soboyo, Soyboibo, Bolbo).—A tribe men- 
tioned in 1686 in the region of the Taguanigua and Cohengua Rivers 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:276), where they remained in 1830 (lat. 11° S., 
long. 74° W.). 

Mochobo (Mochovo, Univitza) —The Mochobo lived in 1663 between 
the Guanini (Unini?) and Guanie Rivers (Galt, ms.), and in 1686 be- 
tween the Guarini and Guanué Rivers, left tributaries of the Ucayali 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:277). (Lat. 12° S., long. 74° W.) They seem 
to have been closely associated geographically and historically with the 
Comobo. 

Comobo (Comavo, Comambo, Univitza).—The Comobo and Mochobo, 
according to Maroni, lived between the Unini and Inua Rivers above the 
Conibo. The Mochobo were on the Unini River, the Comobo on the Inua, 
Sepa, and Mapoa Rivers (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:234-335; 30:137). In 
1686, the Comobo were with the Ruanagua on the upper Tarabo (Tambo?) 
River ; in 1687, on the right side of the Tambo River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
1:227, 294). In 1688, they asked for a missionary. In 1693, those on the 
Sepa River, hard-pressed by the Piro Upatarinavo, went to a Conibo 
mission (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:152). The Comobo are subsequently 
unknown. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 567 


Nocoman.—This tribe was first identified by Tessmann (1930) as a 
people who had been confused with the Cashibo but who really constituted 
a distinct but small group, once living near the sources of the Inua River 
(lat. 11° S., long. 72°-73° W.), thence moving to the Amueya River 
and later to the Tamaya River, where the Chama nearly annihilated them. 
In 1925, only three survived. 

Unidentified tribes of the Ucayali region.—Several tribal names 
appearing on early maps or in early documents without identification were 
probably Panoan. Many of these occupied the hinterland east of the 
Ucayali River where, perhaps like the better-known Remo and Amahuaca, 
they avoided the predatory river tribes, but also escaped the attention of 
travelers. In the general region between the Ucayali and Tapiche Rivers 
were the Ysunagua, Diabu, Sinabu, Viabu, Puyamanawa, and Aguanagua 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29; Sobreviela map, 1830). Other tribes, perhaps in 
the same region or farther south, were the Chunti, Ormiga, and Trompetero 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29). East of the Alto Ucayali, above its junction with 
the Pachitea River, in addition to the Maspo, Amahuaca, Pichobo, and 
Soboyo already mentioned, were the Saninahuaca on the Chesaya River 
and the Camarinagua on the Cumaria River, both shown on the Sobreviela 
map of 1830. 


SOURCES 


The outstanding historical source is Izaguirre’s compilation of mis- 
sionary documents (in 14 volumes, 1922-1929). Other early 17th- and 
18th-century records are found in Maroni (1889-92), Escobar y Mendoza 
(1769), Velasco (1842-44), Rel. geogr. Indias (1881-1897) ; Figueroa 
(1904), Raimondi (1862), Veigl (1785 a), Fritz (1922), Hervas 
(1800-05, vol. 1), Amich (1854), and Jiménez de la Espada (Noticas . . ., 
1889-92). 

The 19th-century travelers include Skinner (1805), Herndon and Gib- 
bon (1853-54, vol. 1), Galt, 1870-72 (ms.), Marcoy (1875), Fry (1889), 
and Ordinaire (1892). 

The principal work of the present century is Tessmann’s general survey 
(1930) and his monograph (1928) on the Chama (i.e., the Setebo, 
Shipibo, and Conibo). Farabee (1922) provides some supplementary 
details. Rivet (1924) has given the most systematic linguistic classifica- 
tion. Other data are contained in Sagols (1902), Villanueva (1902-03, 
vol. 12), Woodroffe (1914), and Fejos (ms.). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—Sweet manioc and maize seem to have been the staple crops 
since earliest records in 1665 (Figueroa, 1904, p. 206; Amich, 1854, p. 
264; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, vol. 1), though plantain now ranks 


568 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


with them (Tessmann, 1928). Bitter manioc has never been grown. Other 
cultivated plants that were probably aboriginal are: pumpkins of several 
varieties, peanuts, cyclanthera, tuber beans (Pachyrhizus tuberosus), 
papaya, red pepper (aji), scitamea (Calathea), sweet potatoes, and 
macabo (Xanthosoma sp.). A banana like the eastern Asiatic Musa 
cocinea with fruit that stands erect is thought native by Tessmann (1928, 
p. 147), but see Sauer (Handbook, vol. 6). Several important 
plants have been introduced during the historic period: Bananas (Musa 
paradisiaca, subsp. sapientum), sugarcane, yams (Dioscorea trifida), 
Chrysophyllum cainito, anona, a variety of macobo, pineapples, taro, and 
beans, the last two in 1791 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:254). Rice, coffee, and 
onions have become important in the last century. Other crops, the origin 
of which is uncertain, are cashew (Anacardium occidentale), Inga, Matisia 
cordata, maranta, and guava. The Chama also grow tomatoes, water- 
melons, and Passiflora quadrangularts. 


The Panoans cultivate cotton for weaving, genipa and uruct for paint, 
reeds for arrow shafts, two species of fish poison, and tobacco. 

Cultivation follows the usual slash-and-burn pattern, men doing the 
heavy work. New clearings are necessary every 2 or 3 years (Herndon 
and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:202). Among the Pano, the settlement helped a 
man clear his fields and was rewarded with a drinking bout (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 8:246). The Chama place their main fields on high ground but 
grow peanuts in sandy soil by the river. They plant sweet manioc, yams, 
and macabo, in the same field, with various palm trees scattered throughout 
and a border of bananas, guava, anona, and other fruit trees. Manioc is 
harvested 7 to 8 months after the shoots are set out (Tessmann, 1928, 
pp. 137-130). 

Fishing.—Fish, turtles, and river mammals are important foods to all 
Ucayali River peoples, and especially to the Aguano. During the historic 
period, salt fish became an important trade item. About 1850, Herndon 
and Gibbon (1853-54, 1:197) estimated that 25 Indians could collect and 
salt 4,000 pieces of fish in 6 weeks, or 4 pieces per day per person. 

Fishing devices used on the main stream of the Ucayali are like those 
of the Tupian and other tribes of the lower Marafién River: the bow and 
arrow with single, multiple, and harpoon points (pl. 48, bottom) ; fish 
spears with single and multiple points (fig. 80, d); and harpoons (fig. 
80, e), thrown mainly with the atlatl (which has recently been discarded). 
Tribes like the Urarina, living along small streams, seem to lack these 
methods (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 68). Most Panoans drug fish with cultivated 
plants, such as Lonchocarpus nicou, Tephrosia toxicaria, and Clibadium 
sylvestre. The Sabela use a wild plant called “mandiko.” The leaves and 
branches of these plants are beaten with a wooden mallet, mixed with 
water in a canoe, and dumped into a stream, after which whole canoe 
loads of fish may be picked up (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 132-133, 145-146). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 569 


Other fishing devices are of spotty occurrence: the dip net (Chamicura, 
Aguano), hand basket (Omurana, Cashibo), and hooks (Omurana, 
Aguano, and Nocomdn), which are probably recent. Herndon and Gibbon 
(1853-54, 1:172-173) note that fish of the lower Maranon, though 
numerous, do not readily take a hook, and Figueroa (1904) said that the 
Aguano first got hooks from the Spaniards. Weirs, perhaps native, are 
placed across the mouths of lagoons and have openings for canoes to pass 
through (Tessmann, 1928, p. 116). 

Turtles (pl. 48, bottom) and turtle eggs, taken during low water in 
late August, were formerly of great importance, but have recently de- 
creased in numbers and laws now restrict their exploitation. They are 
mainly a source of grease, an important article of commerce with the 
White man. The grease is scraped from turtle intestines or rendered from 
the eggs, which are crushed with water in a canoe-shaped trough. The 
grease is skimmed off, boiled, and salted down in jars (Marcoy, 1875, 
2 :33-35). Turtles are sometimes kept in corrals. 


The Ucayali Panoans spear manatee with iron harpoons which have a 
wooden float attached (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:252). They usually avoid 
caimans but occasionally kill them with the bow and arrow (Tessmann, 
1928," p. 113): 


Hunting.—The Panoans eat water hogs, pacas, agutis, squirrels, potos, 
bears, deer, tapirs, peccaries, monkeys, water fowl, parrots, and sometimes 
water snakes and small caimans, but eschew opossum, bats, ant-eaters, 
sloths, snakes, and carrion birds. Monkeys, waterhogs, and young bucks 
are most important (Tessmann, 1928, p. 142), but Woodroffe (1914, p. 
79) declares that Chama will not kill deer. 

The Nocomdn, Cashibo, and Amahuaca use the bow and arrow for 
hunting, but all lower Ucayali tribes use the blowgun for small game and 
the spear, formerly thrown with the atlatl, for large game. Other Panoan 
hunting devices are: hunting dogs (wherever the dog occurs), blinds, 
usually in the form of a small house, pitfalls with sharpened stakes in the 
bottom, hunting nets (sporadically used), and a variety of deadfalls, spring 
noose, and box traps. The Chama also make animal calls of a hollow 
caiman or jaguar tooth (Woodroffe, 1914, p. 66). 

Collecting wild plant foods.—The Chama rarely gather wild plant 
food in great quantities. The main species are palms, especially chonta, 
Euterpe, Astrocaryum, Iriartea, Guilielma, Scheela, and Jessenia 
bataua. Use of the cabbage palm was introduced (Tessmann, 1928, p. 
144). Wild fruits eaten include Pourouma cecropifolia, Noyera mollis, 
Achras sapota, and Lucuma lateriflora. Various nuts were also eaten. 

The Chama eat snails (Ampullaria and Achatina), “crabs” or 
“shrimps,” insects, beetle larvae from Scheelea palm nuts, termites, and 
honey (Tessmann, 1928, p. 143). 


570 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Food preparation.—The Chama and Aguano crush manioc with a 
wooden pounder in a trough and grind maize, manioc, and peanuts on a 
wooden board with a grooved chopper, but the Setebo and Amahuaca use 
a stone grinder. A wooden mortar and pestle is used for plantains (figs. 
78, d; 80, h). The Chama food grater is a paddle-shaped board studded 
with wires—formerly with wooden splinters. The Amahuaca employ a 
thorny root. 

Nearly every house on the lower Huallaga and Ucayali Rivers has a 
roller sugarcane press, but the Cashibo and Nocomdn squeeze the cane 
with a stick, while the Amahuaca and Urarina merely suck it. 

The Chama boil meat, fish, and vegetables in a pot, roast them in ashes, 
or fry them when sea cow (manatee) fat is available. They smoke meat 
and fish on a pyramidal babracot or an improvised frame (Tessmann, 
1928, p. 146). 

These tribes season their foods with several varieties of cultivated 
pepper (Capsicum), spices, and salt, the last obtained from the Cashibo, 
who mine it on the upper Pisqui River and trade it widely (Tessmann, 
1928, p. 163). They eat from pottery bowls, using their fingers, shells, 
or, recently, wooden spoons and drink from incised calabashes or fruit 
shells (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 172-173). 

Drinks, both fermented and unfermented, supply much nourishment. 
Palm fruits, plantains, manioc, maize, yams, sugarcane, and even peanuts 
are mixed with water and drunk. Manioc or maize chicha, or masata, 
fermented with chewed sweet potato, affords both a food and intoxicant. 
Fermented manioc carried on journeys is diluted in water and eaten. 


Domesticated animals.—In aboriginal times, the Panoan tamed wild 
animals, e.g., pigs, parrots (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:245), monkeys and 
agutis (Tessmann 1928, pp. 97-99). They later acquired chickens, the 
Chama believing that theirs came from the Jnca. At first the Conibo ate 
neither chickens nor their eggs, fearing blindness (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
1:310) ; now they consume both, but more often trade them to the White 
man. Ducks were seemingly introduced in the early post-Contact Period, 
though the Muscovy duck may have been native. Domesticated pigs 
are more recent and are found at only a few villages (Tessmann, 1928, 
pp. 97-98). The dog may not be native, but it was used for hunting at 
an early date. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


A large house sheltering one to several families constitutes the Panoan 
village or community. Tessmann believes that the original Chama, 
Amahuaca, Cashibo, and Panobo house had a gabled roof which was sup- 
ported by two or three center posts and sloped to posts forming side walls 
(pl. 49, top). Aguano, Chamicura, and Urarina had a dwelling of the 


ON a 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 571 


Chébero type, 60 feet (20 m.) by 17 feet (5.5 m.), the roof being sup- 
ported by beams and rafters instead of by center posts. The Buifio and 
Huino Cashibo made a beehive type house, while the Nocomdn built 
a conical hut with 4 central posts to support the roof. Under Spanish 
influence, the Chama and perhaps other tribes have recently adopted the 
Chébero type. (See Tessmann, 1928, 1930.) 

The Mayo (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:430) were alleged to have made a 
tightly closed structure inside a gabled roof, the customary darkness of 
which trained their eyes for night fighting! 

In addition to dwellings, the Panoan tribes construct potters’ shacks, 
storehouses, chicken houses, and a variety of shades and temporary 
shelters. The 18th-century Pano built guard houses where they stored 
their weapons and kept a sentry to watch for enemies (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
8 :247-248). 

The Panoan tribes used to sleep on a mat on the ground, though the 
Aguano, Chamicura, Panobo, Pano, Nocoman, Shipibo, and Urarina have 
recently adopted platform beds and use hammocks for resting. Itucale and 
Chanucura infants sleep in hammocks. Only the Amahuaca and Remo 
adults normally sleep in hammocks. To escape mosquitoes, the Chamicura 
use a cover, formerly of mats, now of imported netting, while the Pano 
make a cotton-cloth tent. The Urarina sleep under a densely woven bast 
mosquito net. A wooden stool, made of a half log, is used by men on the 
lower Ucayali, women sitting on mats. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Garments.—Customary nudity was undoubtedly very common at one 
time, despite occasional use of various garments, but missionary precepts 
instilled ideas of modesty, which led first to the spread and more frequent 
use of native garments (pl. 49, bottom), and later to adoption of some 
White man’s clothes. In 1782, the Carapacho (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
5:132) and in 1800 the Capanahua, Sensi, and Mayo (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
9:41; 12:436) were still nude. In 1834, among the Cashibo, who were 
little affected by missions, men continued to go naked but women some- 
times wore cotton loincloths (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:104). Galt (ms.), 
however, found these women still nude in 1871 and saw only one woman 
wearing a loincloth, but in 1925, all Chama were fastidious, even new- 
born babies being immediately clad in shirts, and girls of 5 or 6 changing 
to skirts. The Aguwano wore European dress, and the Cashibo made a 
great virtue of modesty (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 66-67, 120). 

Nakedness in men had a high correlation throughout the Montafia with 
some method of tying up the genitals, the distribution of which is, how- 
ever, spotty. The Cashibo and Nocomdn bound up the foreskin of the 
Penis with a thread (pl. 50), whereas the Amahuaca, Remo, and Setebo 

653333—47—39 


572 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


fastened it up with a string of Astrocaryum passed around the waist 
(Tessmann, 1930, plate 10, map 1.). 

Garments were known long before they gained everyday use. In 1686, 
the Conibo had painted shirts for men, and shirts and shoulder capes for 
women ; these were embroidered with colored threads (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
1:309). But, like the cushma (pl. 49, bottom), which was recorded be- 
fore 1767 (Amich, 1854, p. 264), it was reserved for special occasions. 
Aguano men wore short skirts (Figueroa, 1904, p. 434) ; in 1851, Herndon 
and Gibbon (1853-54, 1:170) found them still unclad above the waist. 
Urarina women wore skirts (Izaguirre 1922-29, 8:106). Herndon and 
Gibbon (1853-54, 1:198) attributed the cushma to the Remo, Shipibo, and 
other Ucayali River tribes. The Chama cushma is made either of bark 
cloth or of woven cotton. Though mainly a man’s garment, Chama 
women also wore it. That of the Setebo is distinguished by its short 
sleeves (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:440). 

The short Shipibo men’s shirt with sleeves and the Nocomdn sleeveless 
shirt are probably recent. 

Women usually wear some form of skirt or apron covering at least their 
genitals (pl. 50). The Amahuaca, Remo, and Campa wear an apron sus- 
pended from a string. A woman’s skirt, consisting of a single strip of 
cloth sewed together at the ends to form a tube, is used among the 
Urarina, Chama, Chamicura, Panobo, and Nocomdn. Yuminahua and 
Amahuaca women wear a cotton skirt and nothing else (Villanueva, 
1902-03, 12 :427). 

A woman’s shawl or mantle, worn over the shoulders and sometimes 
over the head, and used to carry children, is characteristic of the 
Chama. 

All of these garments often have panels, woven of different colors, in 
which are painted designs characteristic of the area (pl. 49). Chama 
paints are red, black, purple, yellow, and white, obtained mainly from 
several plants listed by Tessmann (1928, pp. 157-158). Several other 
plants are used to perfume shirts (ibid, p. 159). 

Head deformation.—The Ucayali tribes—Chama, Cashibo, Shipibo, 
Conibo, and Nocomén—compress an infant’s head for 4 days after birth 
under a pad on the forehead held in place by a board and a band 
passing around the head (figs. 76, 77; Tessmann, 1930, map 2). The 
Conibo of Castafieda’s day compressed the head between two boards for 
a year (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:305-306). Skinner also observed this in 
1805. In 1851, Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, p. 199), reporting defor- 
mation between two boards, one on the forehead, the other behind, said that 
the effect was not observable in adults. But Gabriel Sala, observing this 
in 1896 (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 10:48), said the effect lasted throughout 
life. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 573 


Bu 


MTD 
FBLA AUD) 


a? ANDI 


TT 


fl) 


a 


i) 


J! Anglin 


Ficure 76.—Panoan (Chama) device for head deformation. (Redrawn from 
Tessmann, 1928.) 


— 


ee 


Figure 77.—Panoan (Shipibo) mother and children. The head of the infant is under- 
going artificial deformation, (After Farabee, 1922.) 


574 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Headdress.—The Chama formerly wore their hair long but now cut 
it medium length, with bangs on the forehead. They dye it with the juice 
of genipa or of Justicia inficiens. The Capanahua shave (?) their heads 
(Villanueva, 1902-03, 12:426). Chama combs are made of small reed 
stems, the teeth bound between transverse reeds and woven with cotton 
threads. The Conibo use a jagged seed. Hair is cut with a bamboo knife. 
The Chama originally used no head covering but now wear straw hats or 
handkerchiefs. Festival feather headgear is used by all tribes. 

Depilation.—The Chama pluck their sparse beards with tweezers made 
of two mussel shells tied together; the Nocomdn shave with bamboo 
knives. The Panobo used to smear tree gum on the skin, then remove it 
with the hair adhering to it. 

Ear, nose, and lip ornaments.—The ears, noses, and lips were perfor- 
rated, often with many holes, through which ornaments could be suspended 
(pls. 49, bottom; 51). An early observer counted 28 holes in the nose 
and lips of a Remo (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:208). The Amahuaca passed 
a stick through the nasal septum. The Ucayali River Panoans preferred 
to suspend a silver ball or crescent from a cotton thread through the septum 
but might use sticks, shells, or other materials. Similarly, sticks, feathers, 
and pendants of various materials, silver preferred, were put in the lips 
and through several holes in each ear. 

Tooth blackening.—Stained teeth occurred among the Urarina, 
Chama, Amahuaca, Panobo, Setebo, Shipibo, and Conibo. The Chama 
chewed the stem of a pepper, Piper pseudochurumayu, grown spe- 
cially for this purpose. The Chamicuro darkened their teeth by chewing 
an unidentified fruit. The Aguano filed their incisors to points. 

Miscellaneous ornaments.—All these tribes wear a wide variety of 
forehead bands, necklaces, chest bands, bracelets, rings, and leg bands 
made of seeds, sweet grass, monkey teeth, and other materials. Early 
Aguano wore anklets and garters of human hair (Figueroa, 1904, p. 258). 

Paint and tattoo.—Use of paint on the face, arms, legs, and body was 
common. Chama colors were: black (genipa), red from the fruit shell 
of Bixa, and a reddish yellow from the bark of Bira. The Cashibo 
clean their bodies with grease. 

The Amahuaca tatooed the face, the Remo and Sensi the face and body, 
and the Sensi even the penis. They performed the operation during 
childhood, using a thorn and copal soot. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Canoes and rafts.—Well-made canoes are used on the Ucayali River, 
but some tribes, such as the Cashibo and Amahuaca living on smaller or 
more rapid streams, had no use for boats and used only balsa rafts (Galt, 
ms.), which consisted of five pieces of wood (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:99). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 575 


The Urarina learned to canoe and to fish only after they were settled on 
the Maranon River (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 68). 

In 1800, Conibo canoes were 50 to 60 feet (about 15 to 18 m.) long 
and 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 m.) wide, with both the stern and the prow a 
“pyramidal point.” These canoes, which took a year to build, were made 
of a tree felled with a stone ax. The limbs were burned off, the outside 
was shaped with fire, the inside was burned out, and the canoe was scraped 
with flint until the hull was 3 to 4 inches thick. Then, by filling the canoe 
with water and building a slow fire outside, the cavity was widened and 
braced with crosspieces (Skinner, 1805, p. 443). Seventy-five years later, 
these canoes were described as 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m.) long (Marcoy, 
1875, 2 :37-38). 

The modern Chama and Aguano made dugout canoes of Calophyllum 
brasiliense, mahogany (Swietenia tessmannii), a species of Leguminosae, 
and, most favored, the soft wood of (Cedrela longipetiolulata). The tree is 
felled, moved to the shore on rollers, and hollowed with an adze, fire being 
used only to harden the finished vessel. The canoe is trough-shaped, the 
bow usually having a rhomboid head in which holes are cut and the stern 
being furnished with a square, flat piece. Holes and cracks are tempo- 
rarily filled with clay but are permanently mended with resin of the copal 
tree or of Clarisia racemosa (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 123-124). 

Ucayali River paddles have a narrow blade and a crutch handle (fig. 
78, 1). Shipibo paddles have blades narrower than those of the Conibo. 


Carrying devices.—Chama men habitually carry their pipes and other 
articles in a small woven cotton bag. The hexagonally woven burden 
basket is probably in general use. A child may be carried in the mother’s 
shawl, or in a special band (fig. 77). 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Basketry products are distinctive neither in weave nor form. 
They include woven and twined sleeping mats, women’s sitting mats, fire 
fans, round and square food storage containers, chicha sieves, women’s 
trinket and workbaskets, and carrying baskets. The last, made with a 
hexagonal weave, is produced by most of the tribes, though the Chama 
obtain theirs in trade (Tessmann, 1928, 1930). 


Weaving.—Three-ply cord, used for various purposes, is usually made 
of wild Astrocaryum and Cecropia leucocoma bast, the former being more 
abundant on the upper Ucayali River. The Nocomdn make bast ham- 
mocks, and the Panobo knit bast bags; the Urarina make both, and loom- 
weave loincloths, mosquito nets, cushion covers, and bast bags. 

True weaving is done with cultivated cotton, which is cleaned by hand 
and spun with a spindle having a clay, bone, tortoise-shell or hardwood 
whorl, and resting on the ground or in a calabash or pot. It is woven on 


576 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Garces eet: ae S = =4 


Ro 


D 


=== 


igi 


eS < 


gems 


se 


ear 
pail 


Sas 


—_ 


3. Anglin 
Ficure 78.—Chama and Cahuapana utensils. a, Feather fire fan; }, er fire fan; 
c, wooden spoon; d, wooden food pounder; e-h, wooden clubs (macana type) ; 
i, canoe paddle. (f, Cahuapana, all others Chama.) (a-e, h, 1, Redrawn from Tess- 
mann, 1928, pls. 21, 50, 45, 59, 31; f, g, redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, map 23.) 


vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 577 


two types of loom. The first, used for cushmas, shirts, loincloths, and 
large bands, is the horizontal belt loom: the stick holding the warp at one 
end is attached to the weaver’s belt, the other end to her feet, or, if the 
loom is large, to a house post. The second, called the “Ucayali loom,” 
consists of a small, oval frame. The warp runs between one end of the 
frame and the transverse stick affixed inside the other end. Fabrics 
produced on the belt loom have an ordinary in-and-out weave and are 
made with the help of a weaving sword. The weave on the “Ucayali 
loom” is, as in Guiana, accomplished by first crossing over the warp ele- 
ments and holding them in place with small sticks, then drawing through 
weft strands to replace each stick. Textiles have both woven-in and 
painted-on decoration (Tessmann, 1928, 1930). 


Pottery.—An excellent and beautifully painted pottery ware distin- 
guishes the Panoan from other Montafia tribes (figs. 73, 74; pl. 52). 
Rectilinear designs in red-and-black-on-cream are applied to vessels rang- 
ing from small bowls and jars to huge chicha vessels 2 or 3 feet in diameter 
(pl. 52). These ceramics are best developed among the Conibo (pl. 52, a), 
Shipibo, and Setebo. The Amahuaca and Nocomdn paint none of their 
ware, ornamenting merely with punched elements. The Cashibo make 
only unornamented red bowls and incised cook pots. The Chamicura and 
Urarina make fingernail-decorated cook pots, red and white water jugs, 


Ficure 79.—Panobo bowl, white and red. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, 
color pl. 6.) 


and bowls with smoke blackened interiors. Aguano ceramics include 
punctate-decorated cooking pots and vessels with Spanish shapes and 
ornamentation. 

The Chama vessels are made of various clays mixed with the ashes 
of Licania bark (Rosaceae) ; construction is by coiling. Red and black 
designs are painted with hair brushes over a white slip; small incised 
lines may provide additional decoration. A pot is baked inside an old jar 
filled with ashes; subsequently it is glazed both inside and out with rosin 
(Burseraceae). Bowl interiors are sometimes soot-blackened over a fire 
(Tessmann, 1928). Marcoy (1875, 2:27) states that a woman was sup- 
posed to dance while the Conibo baked a pot and that the vessel interior 


578 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


was glazed with copal gum and the exterior painted black (soot), yellow 
(Guttiferae), blue (indigo), green (pepper leaves), and red (uruct). 

The Amahuaca make pottery tobacco pipes. 

Modeled potsherds with human and animal heads found in the vicinity 
of Yarino Cocha were disclaimed by modern Chama (Tessmann, 1928, 
p. 26). 

Woodworking.—Wood carving is exclusively a man’s industry. 
Chama wooden products include bowls, molds, troughs, stamps, stools, 
sugarcane presses, spoons, and pipes (Tessmann, 1928, p. 95). 

Weapons.—For hunting, the principal aboriginal weapon on the lower 
Ucayali—Panobo, Setebo, Shipibo, Urarina, Aguano, and Conibo—was 
the blowgun, whereas the blowgun was lacking and the bow and arrow 
was used for both hunting and warfare among the hinterland tribes— 
Nocoman, Cashibo (pl. 50, left), and Amahuaca. The bow and arrow 
was probably aboriginal also on the lower Ucayali, but gained importance 
only after the dart and spear thrower were abandoned, when it became 
chiefly a fishing weapon. Firearms are now increasingly used. 

Early Remo bows were 7 to 9 feet (about 2.1 to 2.7 m.) long and 
semicircular in cross section, but in 1834, they were round in cross section 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:91, 104). In 1870, the Cashibo made bows about 
6 feet (2 m.) long of chonta palm (Galt, ms.). Conibo also made chonta 
palm bows (Marcoy, 1875, 2:31). The modern Chama bow is of Guil- 
ielma palm, square or D-shaped in cross section, with a string of Cecropia 
and Astrocaryum fibers (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 140-141). 

The early arrows (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:104; Galt, ms.) were 6 feet 
(2 m.) long and featherless, having a chonta palm point and various 
kinds of barbs. The Cashibo were distinguished for their long arrows. 
Modern arrows have four kinds of points for hunting: bamboo blades 
for large game; barbed palm-rod points for small game and birds; one 
or two pieces of bone arranged to form a barb for small game; and 
a knob head for birds. Only the last lacks feathers; the others have 
flush, wrapped feathers. Chama fish arrows have three prongs (Ama- 
huaca, four) set in the same plane, the points often tipped with barbed 
iron, but for swarms of fish, seven palm points are set around the shaft 
(Tessmann, 1928, pp. 122, 141). The Chama also make two kinds of 
harpoon arrows. One has three detachable parts, the shaft, foreshaft, 
and wooden point with iron barbs, all three held together with a cord 
and separating after being shot into a fish. The other, used to shoot 
turtles, has only two detachable parts; the main shaft and the foreshaft 
are permanently joined, but the plain iron point is detachable. Both 
kinds have two feathers (Tessmann, 1928, p. 122). Cashibo hunting 
arrows resemble those of the Chama, though they are often featherless, 
but war arrows are large and beautifully ornamented, often having 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 579 


Ficure 80.—Montafia artifacts, a-c, Cashibo spear points; d, Aguano two-pronged 
spear ; ¢, Aguano harpoon; f, Aguano wooden dish; g, Aguano quiver with blowgun 
darts; h, Aguano food pounder; i, Chébero feather fire fan. (a-c, 1/13 actual size; 


d-t, 1/16 actual size.) (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, pls. 15, 46, 42, 45.) 


580 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


women’s hair attached. These are the center of Cashibo art interest (Tess- 
mann, 1930, pl. 15, figs. 1-14). 

The Chama blowgun is made of two halves of Jriartea deltoidea wood, 
bound together with wrapping covered with copal and equipped with a 
mouthpiece of two jaguar or crocodile teeth. The largest are 7% feet 
(2.5 m.) long. Darts, bearing poison procured in trade from the Huallaga 
River, are kept in a section of bamboo (fig. 80, g; Tessmann, 1928, 
pp. 138-139). 

Tessmann states (1928, 1930) that the Chama and Panobo formerly 
used a throwing board to cast fish arrows (darts?), but have given it 
up. The Chama fish spear has one or two barbed iron points and a cord 
attached to the butt end by which to recover it if it slips from the fisher- 
man’s hand (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 112, 115). The Chama harpoon has 
a 9-foot shaft, a foreshaft, and a detachable barbed iron head fastened 
to a wooden float (Tessmann, 1928, p. 119). Spears have a varying 
number of barbs (fig. 80, a). 

The macana, or wooden club, was recorded for the Sensi in 1834 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:88) but was probably of general distribution. It 
was used in duels, especially over adultery, more than in warfare. Recent 
Chama specimens are shown in figure 78, e-h. The Sensi shield of 1834 
had a circular rim of creeper covered with hide (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
9:88). For a scalping knife, the Chama carried the upper part of a 
toucan beak, hung around the neck by a cord (Tessmann, 1928, p. 222). 
In aboriginal times, stone knives were also used. Recent Chama 
show some skill in metallurgy: they shape the iron knife with heat, 
burn the blade into the handle, and fasten it with wax and fiber (Wood- 
roffe, 1914, p. 66). 

Skinner (1805) stated of the Chuncho generally that a missionary 
brought from Manoa one of these hatchets [of stone], in shape perfectly resembling 
ours, but which, instead of a handle, was provided with two ears, with a channel to 
secure the extremity by the means of cords. The Indians manufacture them with 
other stones, aided by the chambo, or small copper axe, and then with water and 
patience proceed to sharpen them. 

Fire making.—Tessmann (1930) states that the Nocomdn did not 
know how to make fire and that few remembered using the fire drill. 
Evidently flint and steel supplanted the drill at an early date. The 
Urarina, however, use the drill and, for a stunt, two stones. Fire fans, 
either woven of feathers or made of matting (figs. 78, a, b; 80, 7) are 
of general distribution. The Chamicura use a rosin torch; the Urarina 
one of beeswax or a bunch of certain seeds on a stick. 


ECONOMIC LIFE AND TRADE 


The family was evidently self-sufficient for essential wants, though 
communal assistance in preliminary farm clearing was probably given. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 581 


The large house was community property; so, perhaps, was the canoe, 
chicha jar, and other objects. 

Aboriginal trade is little known, though Tessmann’s information (1928, 
pp. 217-218) in 1925 that the Chama formerly traveled to procure white 
earth for painting pots, copal, white clay, varnish, and poison for blowgun 
darts suggests considerable barter. When iron tools, especially axes, 
became available during the historic period, a lively trade with the White 
man for these coveted objects began. The Pano took cinnamon, peanuts, 
parrots, cotton, and shawls to the missions to trade for iron and were 
willing to exchange a canoe that had required months of work for an 
ax or machete (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:248). In 1791, the Conibo were 
trading “bed coverings” and resin to the Omagua for iron tools; a canoe 
for an iron ax was considered a fair exchange (Skinner, 1805, p. 433; 
Marcoy, 1875, 2:37-38). 

In the last century, several items produced by the Ucayali River Indians 
became major export products: turtle oil, sarsaparilla, vanilla, canelon, 
copaiba, sandi (Marcoy, 1875, 2:176), salt fish (peixe), manatee and 
charipa lard, flor de balsa (for pillows and mattresses), wax, cacao, 
coffee, honey, tobacco, and cedar. The Urubamba River exported cacao, 
coffee, cane, and wax. Although prices became standardized (Galt, ms: 
Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54), exchange was usually in goods. Products 
received today from the Whites are axes, machetes, knives, mosquito 
netting, jackets, pants, handkerchiefs for covering the head, beads, mirrors, 
and guns. Meanwhile, Indians continue to trade among themselves. The 
Campa, for example, obtain cushmas from the Piro. The Comibo trade 
arrows, bows, wax, cotton, and hammocks. The Panobo procure blow- 
guns from the Setebo; the Conibo get theirs from the Chébero in exchange 
for wax. 

SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


The aboriginal Panoan sociopolitical unit was the household, which 
evidently consisted of related families, though its precise composition and 
rules of descent are not known. It was also the political unit, despite the 
proximity of many houses to one another, and was to a large degree 
the economic unit. It acted as a group, moving every few years when 
new farm lands were cleared. It is not known whether the Aguano, 
who now have a single village of 16 houses, formerly conformed to this 
pattern. 

Tessmann calls the Chama unit the “kin,” meaning sib, but fails to 
demonstrate sib characteristics. He states that the Nocoman and Ama- 
huaca lacked the “kin.” 

The household community has persisted since earliest times. Even 
mission life, when scores of people were concentrated in large villages, 
failed to destroy it, for families returned to their aboriginal separatism 
after leaving the missions. The 1,000 Shipibo were, prior to 1800, 


582 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


scattered in communities of a single family each (Skinner, 1805, p. 409). 
The Sensi in 1834 were split into small groups under the leadership of 
family heads (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:88). Herndon’s observations in 
1851 (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:154, 170, 195-203, etc.), show the 
difference between missions or trade towns and native communities. The 
Indian population at some of the former was: Sarayacu, 1,000; Parmari, 
30; San Regis, 210; Urarinas, 80; Laguna (mostly Cocamiulla) 1,044; 
Santa Cruz (Aguano), 350; Chasuta (1,200). Some native communities 
were: 2 Remos houses, 22 people; 2 Conibo houses, 15; 4 Conibo houses, 
33 persons ; 3 Conibo communities with 30, 25, and 9 persons respectively ; 
Shipibo, 25; Piro village with 150 persons or 33 families. 

Of Indian settlements on the Ucayali in 1835, very few were still 
occupied in 1850, although the total population was about the same 
(Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:212-213). In 1870, Galt observed that 
the Indian villages of this area consisted of one, two, or three families. 

The Conibo, Shipibo, Setebo, Piro, Remo, and Amahuaca, wrote Hern- 
don (Herndon and Gibbon, 1854, 1:205), were a roving people who even 
lived in boats. Small communities were still the rule in 1925, except 
where encroaching colonists had reduced the Indians to plantation workers. 
Chama houses tended to be grouped 100 to 200 m. (about 300 to 600 feet) 
apart around lagoons. Amahuaca houses were more widely separated. 

The community on the lower Ucayali River was inferentially an ex- 
tended matrilineal family, for the household was said to consist of the 
headman, his wife, his unmarried sons, and his married daughters with 
their husbands and children. Marriage was matrilocal and polygyny was 
sororal (Tessmann, 1928, 1930), or, according to older sources, a man 
married several women who were bought or captured. These features 
are consistent with matrilineal sibs or clans, though it is remarkable that 
the extended family household elsewhere in the Montafia is patrilineal. 
Tessmann (1930, pp. 127-128, 150) states that the Cashibo are divided into 
three groups, each having several “sibs” bearing animal, plant, or other 
names. Each “sib” seems to be localized in a scattered village, whose 
people will not eat their eponym. The Setebo have also animal-named 
sibs (Tessmann, 1928). Tessmann gives, however, no geneological data 
to indicate the descent, localization, exogamy, or other functions of Cashibo 
or Chama “kin,” so that it is not certain that the exogamy is more than 
avoidance of near relatives or that the group name designates more than 
3 community. The peripheral tribes, except possibly the Urarina, were 
less strictly matrilocal and their communities seem to have been extended 
patrilineal households. 

Slaves, captured from the weaker Panoan tribes of the hinterland, were 
evidently an important element in the communities of the stronger Ucayali 
River peoples. The Pano used to capture Mayoruna, Panatahua, Ama- 
huaca, and Shipibo (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:249; Skinner, 1805, p. 433; 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 583 


Maroni, 1889-92, 30:137). Shipibo and Conibo took Cashibo and had 
nearly exterminated the Remo in 1870. Slaves, wrote Villanueva (1902- 
03, 12:428), were captured in periodic raids; a 10- or 12-year old boy 
was worth 500 soles, a Campa boy much more; a girl brought 300 to 400 
soles. Many captives were sold to the Whites or other Indians, but others 
were incorporated into the community. Americh (1854, p. 90) remarks 
that Piro taken by the Conibo had to cultivate the plantations. 

The aboriginal community headman was doubtless the family elder. 
Recently, the White man created chieftainship and defined its functions 
(Tessmann, 1928, pp. 217-218). 

Division of labor within the household seems to have thrown the burden 
of productive labor on women: tilling the soil, transporting goods, cook- 
ing, weaving, making pottery, and preparing drinks (masato). Tessmann 
(1928, p. 211) states that a Chama man works for his wife’s father, but 
sometimes contributes meat or fish to his own father’s family. A pattern 
of group participation in land clearing and perhaps other labor is sug- 
gested, but this does not affect individual family ownership and harvest 
of farm plots. There is little inheritable property other than the canoe 
and fields which pass from a man to his son (Tessmann, 1928, p. 223). 
This arrangement is conceivable in the case of canoes, but in the case of 
fields, it is quite inconsistent with the matrilineal nature of the community 
and is largely meaningless, because fields were normally tilled for only 
about 3 years. 

Matrilocal residence threw a man into daily contact with his mother-in- 
law, whom he had to avoid. In case of divorce, which was easy, the man 
returned to his own home (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 210-211). 

Chama murder and suicide were unknown. Thieves were required to 
replace stolen goods, physical violence rarely being necessary to coerce 
them. Theft of a wife entailed a combat with clubs between contenders, 
but no one was killed, and the thief kept the woman. Adultery was settled 
by a combat between the husband and paramour during a drinking bout 
(Tessmann, 1928, pp. 221-222), but the Amahuaca might murder in 
reprisal for adultery (Tessmann, 1930). 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and childhood.—A Panoan mother delivers her child in isola- 
tion, assisted by other women. All tribes but the Chamicuro bury the 
umbilical cord and afterbirth. The mother is confined for varying periods, 
the longest being 15 days (Cashibo). Dieting lasts much longer. There 
is no couvade, and few restrictions are imposed on the father, except for a 
day or two of dieting and avoidance of heavy labor. 

The Chama baby is painted and receives the head deformation board 
shortly after birth (fig. 76). Skinner (1805, p. 269) stated that the waist 
and joints of a male baby were bound to give it strength. When old 


584 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


—_— iV 


ARES Reta 
a |e Bi vie 
4 uh \) Ul AM w ‘ 
Figure 81.—Panoan (Chama) walking aid for infants. (Redrawn from 
Tessmann, 1928.) 


enough to stand, a Chama child plays in a pen (fig. 81). For misbehavior, 
children are whipped or threatened with the jaguar. The Chama father 
frightens disobedient children with a disguise of banana leaves and a 
calabash mask. Boys play with toy canoes, bows, arrows, and the like, 
and girls with dolls; there are no group games. Every child is taught 
adult tasks (Tessmann, 1928, 1930). 

Naming involves no ritual, no sib names. The ancient Conibo, how- 
ever, named and baptized children at the age of 1 year, when the head 
press was removed, subjected them to dietary restrictions, and gave them 
herbs to develop desirable qualities and to protect them from witchcraft 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:305-307). 

The Cashibo removed an infant girl’s clitoris at 2 months (Tessmann), 
but the Chama performed this rite at puberty. Other Panoan tribes lacked 
this practice. 

Puberty.—None of these tribes have any initiation rite for boys, except 
that in 1800 the Cashibo were said to circumcize (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
9:42). 

Girl’s puberty rites are usually minimal. At her first menses, the 
Amahuaca do nothing to the girl. The Cashibo and Nocomdn merely 
isolate her for a few days, the Urarina confine her 10 days, the Aguano for 
1 month, but the Cashibo, Conibo, Setebo, and Shipibo have fairly elaborate 
ceremonies, featuring subincision. In 1871, Galt (ms.) said that the 
Conibo held a 10-day festival, after which the girl was tied to a tree for 3 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 585 


days and the operation performed, a rite he attributed also to the other 
three “principal” tribes of the Ucayali—probably the Chama group. Tess- 
mann reports that a group of pubescent Chama girls were assembled at 
full moon while men and women danced all night and drank from special 
zoomorphic pots. Next morning, the girls were painted, stupefied with 
drink, then each laid on a bench where an older woman cut off and buried 
the clitoris and labia. Reich (1903) adds that the girl was deflowered 
with a clay penis representing her fiancé. The girl was then isolated in 
her hut for one month, wearing an “egg-shaped” piece of pottery as a 
pubic cover. (Cf. the pottery “‘fig leaves” of Marajo, Santarém, and the 
upper Xingu River.) 

Cashibo girls were subincised during a feast, which started with a 
contest of shooting chickens, included dances and a song by women 
alluding to flowers, stars, etc., and culminated when the neophyte girl, 
leading dancers, drank herself to unconsciousness, and an old woman cut 
her clitoris. A wild orgy in which men fought each other followed 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:311-114). 

Among most of these tribes, sexual relations are prohibited before 
puberty but condoned subsequently. 

Marriage.—Data on marriage restrictions and preferential unions are 
unreliable. Tessmann states (1930) that the Amahuaua permit aunt- 
nephew and uncle-niece marriages, prohibiting only brother-sister unions, 
and the Pano, Nocomdn, and Chamicura tolerate even cousin marriage, 
but the Cashibo prohibit uncle-niece alliances. The levirate was accre- 
dited to the Chamicura (Escobar y Mendoza, 1769, p. 45), and sororal 
polygyny to the Conibo and probably others. Probably all tribes were 
polygynous which, if not sororal, meant that outside women became part 
of the wife’s family’s household because of matrilocal residence. Galt 
(ms.) cites a Conibo man in 1870 who had four wives, each with children, 
and was on his way to buy more children from the Piro. Chiefs, es- 
pecially, were polygynous, and the missionaries’ attempt to abolish it was 
a major cause of rebellion. 

Unions were sometimes contracted through infant betrothal (Skinner, 
1805), but usually the man sought the girl’s father’s permission, The 
couple went to live permanently with the girl’s family, where the man 
worked mainly for the support of his in-laws. 

Adultery brought some punishment of the woman—the Sensi flogged 
her and spread ants on her—and a duel between the interested men 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:308; Tessmann, 1930). 

Death observances.—Death observances varied considerably, espe- 
cially in disposal of the corpse: cremation, urn burial, canoe burial, and 
earth burial both inside and outside the house. The main feature show- 
ing functional connection with the total culture is parenticide, that is, the 


586 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


occasional killing of aged relatives who had become a burden on the 
community. This custom is not uncommon among similar marginal 
peoples. Endocannibalism coupled with parenticide and with cremation 
also occurred sporadically. 

The Aguano accomplished suicide with barbasco (Figueroa, 1904, p. 
134). The Conibo and Ruanagua killed and ate their parents (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 1:277). In 1871 (Galt ms.), the Cashibo did the same when 
their parents were aged and helpless. Endocannibalism, possibly without 
parenticide, was common. In 1800, the Capanahua were said to eat their 
dead parents (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:41; 12:435-436) ; the Cobino and 
Setebo also ate dead relatives (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:104; Jiménez de la 
Espada, 1892, p. 4). The Remo, Cashibo, Conibo, Yuminahua, and 
Amahuaca coupled endocannibalism with cremation, first burning the body, 
then mixing the ashes with masato, and drinking them during a wake 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :244-748; Villanueva, 1902-03, 12:427; Maroni, 
1889-92, 30:132-133). This was seen among the Remo as late as 1912, 
but the Amahuaca, though still cremating in 1925, did not drink the ashes. 

There is some indication that urn burial, now usually restricted to 
children, was once more general. The Chamicuro were thought to have 
substituted cemetery for urn burial (Tessmann, 1930) ; the Setebo aban- 
doned urn burial inside the house under missionary influence (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 8:250) ; and the Conibo, who buried under the house floor in 
urns in 1875, recently cremated. Burial under the house floor but not in 
urns is reported for the Pano (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :474), the Chama, 
in a coffin made of two canoes (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 214-216), the Piro, 
in a canoe (Herndon and Gibbons, 1853-54, vol. 1), and the upper Manay 
River tribes (Galt, ms.). The Urarina bury in the house, which they 
abandon (Tessmann, 1930). Burial outside the house, not in urns, is 
attributed to the Panobo, and Nocomdn (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:475). 
The Sensi also bury. 

Urn burial for infants occurs among the Panobo and Amahuaca. 

Property of the deceased is pretty generally destroyed, leaving little to 
be inherited. All clothes, utensils, weapons, and personal effects are 
burned or buried with the corpse. Growing crops are preserved. Whether 
houses are burned, abandoned, or kept means little because of shifting 
residence. The chief remaining item, the canoe, is evidently used more 
and more often as a coffin. 

During mourning, close female relatives wail, males maintain cere- 
monial silence, and both sexes wear old clothes, cut the hair, and do not 
marry again for some months. The Remo even mourn deceased pets. 


WARFARE 


These tribes have probably always been in a state of strife because of 
enmities created by slave raids, so that retaliation as well as slaving serve 


Vol. 83] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 587 


as war motives. The main aggressors were the Chama, Shipibo, Conibo, 
and Setebo. Victims were the smaller tribes, away from the main course 
of the Ucayali River. Of the latter, one of the principal victims, the 
Cashibo, made much of warfare and expended their main art talents on 
war arrows, Fights consist of sudden, stealthy attacks by expeditions of 
men. 

The spear thrower was formerly used in warfare on the lower Ucayali. 
but recently the bow and unpoisoned arrow have become the prin- 
cipal weapons. Other weapons are slings (Cashibo), thrusting spears 
(Cashibo), clubs (Cashibo, Amahuaca, Capanahua, Setebo, Nocoman), 
and a knife for cutting up victims (Cashibo). The Sensi formerly used 
circular hide shields (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:436). Caltrops were never 
employed, but the Cashibo and Nocoman set unpoisoned stakes in defen- 
sive trenches. The Cashibo shot from behind palm screens. 

An Urarina warrior slit the skin along his nose to form an arch of 
flesh, its length indicating his prowess (Maroni, 1889-92, 27:72). 

Cannibalism of war victims has not been reported, but various trophies 
were taken: scalps (Aguano, Chama), heads (Cashibo, Setebo), lower 
limbs and forearms (Cashibo). The Aguano wore human-hair belts and 
hung scalps on their leg bands. The Jtucale in 1665 removed and smoked 
the skins from enemies’ heads, then filled them with grass to form masks 
(Skinner, 1805, p. 289). A house full of trophy skulls gave a Setebo 
man social status and helped him get many wives. A Cashibo preserved 
his enemy’s skull and wore his teeth as a necklace. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—A well-defined art style characterizes the Panoan tribes of the 
Ucayali River and extends south among the Avawakan people at least to 
the Campa. The style consists essentially of complex angular, geometric 
designs drawn in rectangular panels. Most characteristically, the design 
is formed by a heavy line outlined by one or two fine lines. Colors are 
usually black and red on a cream or white background, but occasionally 
negative designs, white-on-black, are used. Such decorations are applied 
to most objects—pots (figs. 73, 86), clothes (fig. 82), pipes, rattles, 
paddles (fig. 83), body and face (fig. 84), beadwork, weaving implements 
(fig. 85), etc. 

The beadwork has a striking resemblance to that of parts of the interior 
of the Guiana region and of portions of Central America. 

Realism is restricted mainly to animal effigy jars employed in girls’ 
puberty ceremonies. 

Musical instruments.—Two-headed skin drums, probably of Spanish 
origin, are used by the Urarina, Aguano, Chama, Panobo, and Chamicura. 
The large signal drum was used by the Chamicura and may once have 

653333—47—40 


588 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Ficure 82.—Decorative design from a Shipibo man’s cushma. (After Farabee, 1922.) 


FicureE 83.—Shipibo paddle. The dec n both sides n black paint. 
(Length 68 inches Adan deetiet Farabee 4052.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 589 


Ficure 84.—Shipibo body painting. Used by both sexes. Lines are in black or red. 
Usually neck and forehead are painted black. (After Farabee, 1922.) 


Ficure 85.—Shipibo decorated weaving sword or batters. Used with belt looms. 
(After Farabee, 1922.) 


Black White 


bh 


Ficure 86.—Montafia pottery types. a, Piro; b, Panobo. (a, Redrawn from Farabee, 
1922; b, redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, color pl. 6.) 


590 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


been known to the Remo. Amich mentions (1854, p. 262) Conibo war 
drums carried in canoes. Most music is made with wind instruments: 
panpipes, with 3 to 12 tubes (fig. 87, b); longitudinal flutes, with 4 to 
6 holes, and among the Cashibo made of human bone; transverse flutes ; 
a calabash blown into the hole left by pulling out the stem (Chama) ; 
trumpets (fig. 87, c) ; and a clay instrument with 2 holes or pipes which 
gives a double note (Chama). Skinner (1805) mentions a Conibo 
“horn” made of thick cane and used to announce the peaceful intention 
of strangers approaching a village. The musical bow and fruit-shell 
leg rattles are used by most Panoan tribes. A zoomorphic rattle is shown 
in figure 87, a. 

Singing seems generally to be done by people intoxicated with chicha. 

Dances.—People dance during drinking bouts but dance forms and 
purposes are not known. “They dance with their clubs on their shoulders, 
turning around and yelling like mad men” (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:245). 
Tessmann gives three Cashibo dances: circle, bow and arrow, and skull. 

Games and toys.—Children play individually with miniature imple- 
ments, weapons, and toys rather than in group games. Even maize-leaf 
balls, known to most of these tribes, wrestling, and rubber balls (Nocoman 
only) did not involve real group play. Among children’s toys were stilts, 
humming tops, whirring sticks, various slinglike devices for throw- 
ing stones and maize grains, and possibly the bull-roarer. The Conibo 
played ring-and-pin (pl. 48, top) with a turtle skull (Marcoy, 1875, 2:40). 

The only adult game may be of recent origin: laying stones in grooves 
in the earth and counting them in tens (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 41-43). 

Drinking bouts.—Drinking bouts are frequent and entail considerable 
drunkenness. They provide an opportunity for general release of sup- 
pressed aggressions, especially between men who settled their disputes 
with some violence though without murderous intent (Tessmann, 1928, 
pp. 106-108). 

Intoxicants are made of fermented manioc, maize, sugarcane, and 
other plants. 

Narcotics and drugs.—The Panoan tribes used few narcotic and drug 
plants, despite their proximity to the area of eastern Ecuador and 
Colombia, which is prolific in such plants as yoco, cayapi, and guayusa, 
and to the Highland, where use of coca is customary. The Amahuaca, 
Panobo, and Urarina drink cayapi; the Panobo use coca, drinking it on 
special occasions; the Aguano drink guayusa. 

Tobacco has been coming into more general use; the Cashibo are said 
to have borrowed it recently from the Chama, but the Nocomdn still 
lacked it in 1925. It is smoked in pipes (fig. 87, d) or cigars, taken as 
snuff through tubes (fig. 87, e), or drunk as juice. The last method is re- 
stricted to shamans, except among the Jtucale. The modern Aguano also 
chew tobacco. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 591 


On 2 is 6 SP 70cm: 

Ficure 87.—Artifacts of the Montafia tribes. a, Chama rattle (2 views) ; b, Chama 
panpipes; c, Mayoruna trumpet; d, Chama wooden tobacco pipe; e, Panoan V-type 
snuff inhaler. (a, b, d, Redrawn from Tessmann, 1928, pls. 58, 30, 26; c, e, redrawn 
from Tessmann, 1930, pl. 16 and map 17.) 


592 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


The pipe in 1790 consisted of a hollow reed with a small, tubular mouth- 
piece (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:162), but the recent Chama and Panobo 
pipe is made of wood and has a stem (fig. 87, d). The Amahuaca pipe 
is of clay. The Urarina and Chamicura formerly smoked only cigars 
but the latter have borrowed the Chama type of pipe. Smoking, once 
restricted to men, is spreading to women. 

Tobacco powder is taken through V-tubes (fig. 87, e), one of which 
is inserted in the nose while an assistant blows through the other. This 
method has been used by both sexes on the Ucayali River from 1790 to 
recent times (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:162; Tessmann, 1928, 1930) and is 
also used by the Amahuaca and Panobo. 


RELIGION 


Recorded beliefs have some mixture of Christian and native ideology. 
Tessmann denies that the Chama had any concept of a soul, ghost, life 
after death, gods, or spirits (1928, pp. 183-184). 

Galt (ms.) agrees with Tessmann that the Chama have no High God 
concept, but Skinner (1805, p. 274) recorded the belief that God came 
to earth to count men, causing an earthquake. The Conibo held that 
God, Mueraya, controlled the heavens and the jaguars, and aided shamans 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:317). Other myths (below) of a god or creator 
have an undetermined Christian element. 

The Panoan tribes believe in some bush spirits, the Cashibo regarding 
them as anthropomorphic giants and pygmies and as spirit animals, which 
molest and frighten people at night (Tessmann, 1930). 

Beliefs about life after death are so extraordinarily varied that a com- 
mon denominator is difficult to recognize. Castafieda wrote (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 1:317) that souls of good people went to a sky above the sky, 
but wicked people roamed until chained for eternity by Mueraya-sent 
jaguars. The Conibo soul (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:131) first lingered near 
the corpse and was then attracted to heaven by the sun which imparted to 
it indestructibility. Most Amahuaca souls went to heaven where they 
married and ate, but did not molest the living; others went to the under- 
world to live with a spirit called Tjaxo. The Cashibo soul lived an idylic 
existence in heaven, but the Chamicura soul remained alone without food 
or shelter in heaven. The Panobo, Urarina, and Nocoman believed that 
the soul remained on earth, immortal, the first two tribes regarding it 
as harmless ; the Nocoman, as likely to kill wanderers at night (Tessmann, 
1930). 


SHAMANISM AND CURING 


The shaman’s major function is the cause and cure of disease, though 
Jiménez de la Espada ascribed to Conibo shamans the power to foretell 
the future. Tessmann credits shamans solely with the ability to manipulate 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 593 


a magical substance, usually conceived as a “thorn,” but other sources 
hint at spirit helpers. Castafieda wrote (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:313-316) 
that Conibo shamans (mueraya) drank tobacco juice to get in touch 
with the God or spirit also called Mueraya (see above). The Shipibo 
shaman, called mucroya, entered a hut, covered his head with leaves, 
chanted, whispered, shouted, and shook himself until a spirit appeared 
(Ordinaire, 1892, pp. 220-221). 

Illness is thought to be caused by a magical substance controlled by a 
sorcerer; it is generally cured by a medicine man. The sorcerer’s art 
is learned during months of instruction from an experienced practitioner, 
except among the Amahuaca, where the neophyte, insensate with cayapi, 
travels to receive thorns from the soul of a former magician. The pupil 
learns to take the magical substance—a “thorn” or splinter (Chama), a 
monkey bone (Amahuaca)—into his own body and becomes immune 
to it. The Panobo witch is supposed actually to swallow a bow and four 
arrows, but the Nocoman magician merely learns to use his thorn and 
thorn thrower. During this period of instruction the neophyte diets 
(Chamicura, Shipibo, Urarina, Panobo), smokes cigars (Chamicura, 
Urarina), smokes a pipe (Panobo, Chama), takes tobacco juice (Cha- 
micura, Panobo, Urarina), drinks cayapi, observes continence (Chama), 
and learns magical chants (Chama). 

To cause sickness, the Amahuaca sorcerer smokes, vomits his “thorns,” 
and throws them at his victim at night. The Panobo magician operates 
similarly with his bow and arrow. The Chamicura and Urarina magician 
spits or blows his “thorns” from a distance; a drunken man is especially 
vulnerable. The Chama sorcerer swallows tobacco juice, coughs up his 
“splinter,” and sticks it in his victim. The Cashibo magician coughs up 
packages of poison, dons a feather headdress, changes into a bird, and 
flies to his enemy. He turns himself into a small man to enter the victim’s 
house, throws the poison on him, turns again into a bird, and flies home. A 
Nocomdan witch soaks his “thorn” in a “poisonous” red herb, waylays 
his victim, and flips the thorn at him with a short stick. Unless removed, 
the magical object quickly causes death, after which it returns to its 
owner. 

The Comnibo attributed illness to animals and stones as well as to 
sorcerers (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:313-316). Tessmann (1930) records 
that a magician may transform a venomous snake or mice into jaguars 
and send them to attack a person. These ideas may be in the pattern 
already described. 

The Nocoman concede no remedy for illness caused by magic. The 
Cashibo say it can be cured only herbally, not magically. But the Panobo, 
Chama, Amahuaca, Urarina, and Chamicura shaman may cure as well 
as kill. Smoking and massaging, the Panobo medicine man withdraws 
and exhibits the magical “arrows” but the patient usually dies of “internal 


594 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


injuries.” The Chamicuro and Urarina shaman dreams the identity of 
the sorcerer while smoking, then, blowing cigar smoke over his patient, 
sucks out the “thorn,” exhibits it, and swallows it in order to use it 
against others. He is paid for a cure, which is rare. The Chama shaman 
smokes and sucks out the “splinter,” which he draws into himself. The 
Amahuaca shaman smokes, sings, sucks out the “thorns,” and throws them 
away (Tessmann, 1930). 

In addition to these procedures, Galt (ms.) mentions burning leaves 
as a “conjuring” device to cause sickness. Tessmann adds that a Cha- 
micura shaman may send a jaguar not only to kill people but to hunt 
game. 

Tessmann states that magicians are not accused of sorcery because people 
fear their power. Galt (ms.) cites the murder of a Cashibo by a Combo, 
who suspected him of practicing black magic against his family. 

Medicinal practices.—Among nonmagical cures are bleeding, bathing, 
and administration of herbs. 

Father Leceta (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:51) wrote that Ucayali River 
tribes gave the patient a monkey-broth purgative, after which the bleeder 
bit his arm and sucked his blood. 

The Chama take cold baths to cure fevers. 

Herbal remedies comprise a considerable pharmacopia ; some were gen- 
erally used, some administered only by specialists; many were cultivated. 
Their true pharmaceutical properties are not known, but some are clearly 
magical in function. The Carapacho cured wounds with cane shoots 
(Gynerium sagittatum) according to Izaguirre (1922-29, 2:71). The 
Chama take Brunfelsia grandiflora roots as an aphrodisiac ; Tabernaemon- 
tana sananho for costiveness and constipation; the sap of a Ficus 
for biliousness, anemia, and as a purgative; and various medicines to 
increase strength when hunting or weaving, to help children learn to 
walk, and for other purposes. The Amahuaca rub leaves of Dracontium 
longpipes into snake bites, but the Urarina use Cyperus. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Native mythology is greatly confused with Biblical narratives. Thus, 
Cashibo creation stories in which the Sun (Nokoya) and Moon (Kamu), 
a man and his wife, create the world and things on it, including people, 
may be Christian in plot. The Chamicura believe that God, Yusi, dwells 
in heaven; he made the world and everything on it, and retired when the 
Jews persecuted him, but he still helps mankind in planting and in busi- 
ness (Tessmann, 1930). The Chama tale of the origin of cultivated plants 
is more aboriginal. A couple and their daughter ate only genipa fruit 
mush. Two birds, Mashentari and Ruirui, visited the daughter alone at 
the house. Mashentari refused her offer of genipa and told her to strike 
his knees with a stick. She did so and ripe plantains fell out. Next time 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 595 


he came, she struck plantain plants from one knee, and manioc, sweet 
potatoes, yams, maize, and other plants from the other knee. The bird 
then instructed her in planting them. In another tale, an Inca, Yoashiko, 
gave the Chama roasted maize and other plants (Tessmann, 1928, pp. 
199-200). 

The story of the origin of fire is also native. A small parrot belonging 
to the Shipibo asked Yoashiko for food. When a coal was thrown at 
him instead, he took it home and thereafter had fire. A Cashibo version 
also relates that a pygmy parrot stole fire from the Inca (Tessmann, 1930). 

An early historic document (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:305) records a 
semihistoric Conibo story. The first Conibo lived with his family on a 
mountain in the west. Becoming numerous, his people migrated to the 
Gran Pajonal, thence to the Ucayali River. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


Some Sensi constellation names are: Canopus, the “thing of the day”; 
Mars, “forward”; Capella, “spoon”; Southern Cross, “dew fall” (Hern- 
don and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:205). The Chama have names for the Morn- 
ing Star, Evening Star, and Pleiades (Tessmann, 1930, p. 182). 

According to the Conibo, the sun (Bari) is the son and the moon 
(Usé) is the daughter of Habi. The sun smeared the moon’s face with 
genipa (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:317). The Pleiades are seeds changed 
into children who had adventures with a caiman and climbed to heaven. 
The Southern Cross is the skeleton of a manatee which God killed. The 
Great Nebulous is a jaguar preying on deer. Various stars are also named 
(Castafieda, im Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:320). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Amich, 1854; Beuchat and Rivet, 1909; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Escobar y 
Mendoza, 1769; Farabee, 1922; Fejos, n.d.; Figueroa, 1904; Fritz, 1922; Fry, 1889; 
Galt, n.d.; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, vol. 1; Hervas, 1800-05, vol. 1; Izaguirre, 
1922-29; Jiménez de la Espada, 1892, (Noticias auténticas .... 1889-92) ; Marcoy, 
1875; Maroni, 1889-92; Ordinaire, 1892; Peruvian Census, 1940; Raimondi, 1862; 
Reich, 1903; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97; Rivet, 1924; Sagols, 1902; 
Skinner, 1805; Tessmann, 1928, 1930; Veigl, 1785 a; Velasco, 1842-44; Villanueva, 
1902-03; Woodroffe, 1914. 


THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY TRIBES OF 
THE UPPER HUALLAGA RIVER 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Early sources mention a large number of tribes on the upper Huallaga 
River (map 1, No. 3; map 5), south of the Hibito and Cholon, but give 
little idea of their linguistic affiliations and their culture, except that it 
seemed to resemble that of the Tropical Forests rather than that of the 
Highland. 


596 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


These little-known tribes are as follows: 

Tepqui.—tThis tribe adjoined the Cholén and occupied the Santa Marta 
River, a tributary of the Huallaga River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:81-82), 
lat. 9° S., long. 76° W. Diego de Cordova (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :386) 
states that they may have been related to the Panoan-speaking Mayoruna. 

Muzape.—This was mentioned only as a tribe hostile to the Cognomona 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:126). 

Comanahua.—The Comanahua (Cumanahua) were 3 days’ travel 
from the Tepqui and ajoined an Inca tribe (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1 :123- 
126). 

Quidquidcana (Chuquidcana?).—This tribe was a neighbor of the 
Tepqui and occupied the Magdalena Valley (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1 :81-82, 
123-125), lat. 9° S., long. 76° W. 

Chupacho.—The Chupacho were said to live in the forests of the 
Chinchao, Monzon, and other left tributaries of the Huallaga River, 
almost to Moyobamba (Maurtua, A., 1919, p. 6), which, however, would 
overlap Cholon and Hibito territory. (Lat. 9° S., long. 77° W.). 

Panatahua.—The Panatahua lived on the left bank of the Huallaga 
River, between the Coyumba and Monzon Rivers, on the lower Chinchao 
River, which was the center of the upper Huallaga missions, and on the 
headwaters of the Pachitea River. (Lat. 9°-10° S., long. 76°30’ W.) 
Izaguirre (1922-29, 12:386) quotes Padre Sala’s improbable assertion 
that the Panatahua language seemed to be related to that of the Amuesha 
(Lorenzo). Pulgar Vidal (1943) notes that the Panatahua were sup- 
posed to be related to their various neighbors; their language is, however, 
not recorded. 

This tribe was split into many independent groups. 

Chunatahua (Chinatahua).—Near the Panatahua on the right bank 
of the Huallaga River and near the mouth of the Chinchao River (Iza- 
guirre, 1922-29, 1: 81-82), lat. 9° S., long. 76°30’ W. 

Tulumayo and Sisinpari.—On the Tulumayo (modern Azul?) River 
(Izaguirre, op. cit.), and the right side of the Huallaga River between 
the Mufia and Aguaytia Rivers (Maurtua, A., 1919, p. 6), lat. 9° S., 
long. 76° W. 

Tingan.—Extending eastward from the mouth of the Monzon River 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1 :81-82), lat. 9° S., long. 76° W. 

Timayo, Huatsahuana, Ninaxo, Guatinguapa, Mailona, and 
Muzape.—Somewhere near the Panatahua and Chusco (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, vol. 1). 

Chusco.—Many divisions of Chusco lived near Huanuco (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 1 :81-82), lat. 10° S., long. 77° W. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 597 


HISTORY 


In 1557, the Franciscan, Arias de Avila, entered Panatahua country, but the In- 
dians burned their houses and fled. The Sisinpari, Panatahua, and Chupacho also 
resisted him or fled eastward into the forests. But in 1631, a Franciscan mission was 
established at Tonua at the mouth of the Chinchao River with 1,000 Panatahua and 
Chunatahua. The missionaries, though well received by the Panatahua, were, at the 
instigation of an old female shaman, threatened by a war party of 500 Chunatahua, 
Tingan, Quidquidcana, and Carapacho. Observing that the Carapacho favored the 
missionaries, the war party became peaceful. Fray Juan Rondon settled the Cara- 
pacho, and during the next 12 years, Father Luyando founded 8 new missions in the 
region of the Panatahua (Skinner, 1805, pp. 444449), all controlled from San Fran- 
cisco de Chusco. Meanwhile visits to the Quidquidcana and Tepqui accomplished 
only the baptism of a small number of Indians. The upper Huallaga River missions 
declined because of heavy mortality caused by epidemics of smallpox, measles, and 
mumps (papera) in 1662 and again in 1670. In 1691, only 200 Indians remained in 
4 small villages in the Panatahua region. In 1700, the Shipibo or Cashibo attacked 
the Payanso. Soon the Franciscans abandoned the region. In 1704, the Panatahua 
mission was declining and the Indians returning to the bush. The last Christian In- 
dians were assembled on the Tulumayo River, but the settlement was attacked by 
Indians and the survivors moved to Cuchero (Amich, 1854, p. 126). 

By 1704, disease and the Calliseca had ended missionary work among the Payanso. 
From 1726 to 1755, the missionaries did little in this region. After 1760, the region 
was crossed by parties en route to the Ucayali via Huanuco and the Panchitea River, 
but penetration of the Ucayali River was suspended by revolts of 1767 (Skinner, 
1805, pp. 444-449). The Panatahua tribes seem to have become assimilated to Peru- 
vian national life, while the Tulamayo, Chunatahua, Tepqui, and others have blended 
with the Cholon and Hibito. 


ETHNOGRAPHIC SUMMARY 


Brief notes in Izaguirre (1922-29, 1:99-130, 12 :384-386; Cordova y 
Salinas, 1651, bk. 1, ch. 25; Pulgar Vidal, 1943) reveal some 17th- 
century culture. 

The Panatahua grew maize and sweet manioc, took fish, gathered honey, 
and drank chicha. 

Weapons included clubs (macanas) and lances or spears of chonta 
palm (Panatahua) and bows and arrows (Panatahua). The Tepqui 
made good pottery and wove cloth. 

Many of these tribes seem to have gone naked, the Panatahua painting 
themselves with genipa. The Tepqui wore the hair in bundles down 
the back. The Panatahua wore shell necklaces and breast bands. The 
Panatahua passed a bone splinter through the nose and wore a bone labret. 
The Tepqui and Quidquidcana painted the face with stripes. 

The Tepqui were described as canoe Indians. The Panatahua built 
bridges over the rivers. 

The Tepqui were monogamous. A newly married couple set up an in- 
dependent household. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Amich, 1854; Cordova y Salinas, 1651; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Maurtua, A., 1919; 
Pulgar Vidal, 1943; Skinner, 1805. 


598 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1483 


TRIBES OF THE MIDDLE HUALLAGA RIVER 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


South of the Cahuapanan-speaking tribes of the lower Huallaga River 
lived the Cholon and several tribes, whose aboriginal languages were un- 
known (map 1, No. 3; map 5). Among these were the Lama, Tabalosa, 
Payanso, Cascoasoa, Amasifuin, Suchichi, Chedua, Alon, Cholto, Huata- 
hua, Nindaso, Pandule, Zapazo, Nomona, Cognomona, Mapari, Cumbazd, 
and Hibito. Many of these names may be synonyms or subtribes of one 
another or of better-known tribes. By the beginning of the 19th century, 
only the Cholén, Hibito, and Lama survived. 

Most of these tribes, especially the Lama or Motilon (Rivet, 1924, p. 
669) and their immediate neighbors, spoke Quechua when first discovered. 
It is possible that they had previously spoken other languages, for 
Quechua quickly supplanted many native languages of the Montafia in 
post-Columbian times and this region was entered by the Spaniards by 
the way of Moyobamba in the 16th century. Linguistic diversity is indi- 
cated for the Tabalosa, Pandule, and Suchichi by the fact that the mis- 
sionaries were handicapped by the different languages when an interpreter 
who spoke Quechua died (Letra anua del Pert de 1635, in Rel. geogr. 
Indias, 1881-97, 4:cLx111). On the other hand, Quechua may, as Tess- 
mann (1930) believes, have been introduced to some of these tribes in 
pre-Columbian times. We are unaware of the evidence to support Beu- 
chat and Rivet’s (1909, pp. 619-620) claim that the Lama, Lamisto, and 
Tabalosa spoke Cahuapanan. In 1830, Poppig (1835-36, 2:320) found 
that all the tribes of the Huallaga Valley between the Huayabamba River 
and Chasuta, i.e., those listed above, spoke Quechua (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
9:80). 

Lama.—The Lama (Lamisto, Lamista, Lamano, Motilon, not to be 
confused with the “Motilones” of eastern Colombia) occupied the general 
area of the Moyobamba (San Miguel) River, around Moyobamba Lamas, 
and Tarapoto, and even extended along the Huallaga River to Chasutino 
(Poéppig, 1835-36, vol. 2), lat. 6°-7° S., long. 66°-67° W. 


In 1554, Pedro de Ursua founded a short-lived town in Lama territory. The 
Lama, Amasifuin, Cascoasoa, Suchichi, and Tabalosa were finally converted by a 
Jesuit, and in 1654, brought under the government of Lamas centering in the city of 
Lamas (Santa Cruz de los Motilones y Lamas), which came to consist of Indians 
and Mestizos from Moyobama and Chachapoyos. Many of them settled in the 
Mission of San Francisco Regis on the Paranapura River (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :99- 
101). In the 18th century, the Indians, all serfs of Lamas, occupied three small 
pueblos, Cumbaza, Tabalosas, and Pueblo del Rio. In 1735, San Francisco Regis had 
about 100 people (Figueroa, 1904, p. 295), and in 1737, 60 Lama fugitives occupied 
the village of Baradero on the Paranapura River (Zarate in Figueroa, 1904, p. 387). 
In 1767, they passed under Franciscan authority (Amich, 1854, p. 271). At the end 
of the 18th century, there were only 4 towns in the area: Santa Cruz de Motilones 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 599 


y Lamas, Cumbaza, San Miguel, and Tabalosas (Velasco, 1841-44, 3:248; Skinner, 
1805, p. 179). In 1829, only the Lama of Chassuta retained their native culture. In 
1925, there were 1,000 or more Lama (Lamista) in the mountains southwest of 
Yurimaguas on the middle Mayo River and on the upper Cainarache and Sisa 
Rivers, centering at Lamas. They were partly acculturated but retained some native 
religious beliefs (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 219, 234). 

Tabalosa.—The Tabalosa (Tavaloso) probably lived on middle Mayo 
River, a little above Lamas, where the present village of Tabaloso stands, 
lat. 7° S., long. 67° W. (Beuchat and Rivet, 1909, p. 620).1 Chantre 
y Herrera (1901, p. 60) locates them in the Huallaga region. In 1630, 
the Tabalosa, Suchichi, and Pandule numbered 11,000. 

Suchichi.—The Suchichi (Suchiche, Suriche) were the Indians of 
Tarapoto. In the 17th century, a Franciscan missionary, Manuel Casiano 
visited them. Later came the Jesuits. There were 281 Indians at Tara- 
poto in 1790. (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 7:175, 251, includes Sobreviela’s 
census. ) 

Cascoasoa.—The Cascoasoa (Coscanasoa, Chasutino) originally occu- 
pied the right bank of the Huallaga River between the Chapillisa (Cha- 
pisa)River—not shown on the recent maps—and Lupuna River at the 
mouth of the Huayabamba River (lat. 7°30’ S., long. 67° W.). In 
1790, there were 262 Cascoasoa at Cumbaza Mission (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
7:175, 241). 


In 1851, there were 1,000 docile and peaceful Indians, probably Cascoasoa, under a 
priest at Chasuta. They were good hunters and expert canoeists (Herndon and 
Gibbon, 1853-54, p. 164). 

In 1925, several thousand Chasutino (Cascoasoa) lived in several villages along 
the middle Huallaga, at Charuta, Yarifia, Pucaarca, Chapaja, and lower Sisa River 
at Boca de Sisa and Buenaparte (Tessmann, 1930). Their dialect is nearly identical 
with that of the Lama. The people were largely assimilated, but independent and 
quarrelsome. 


Amasifuin.—The Amasifuin lived on the left bank of the Huallaga, 
across the river from the Cascoasoa (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 7:175, 251) 
between the Cahuapanan and Cholonan stocks (lat. 7°30’ S., long. 
a7 WW.) 

Payanso.—In the middle 17th century, the Payanso (Payango) were 
found along the right side of the Huallaga River from the Huayabamba 
tc somewhat north of the Chipurana River (lat. 7°-8° S., long. 77° W.). 
According to Skinner (1805, pp. 444-449), this was an area of 4 by 25 
leagues, lying in the Cordillera and extending from the Huanuco River to 
the Sacramento Plain. Although numbering 20,000 originally, the 
Payanso have either become extinct or are represented by the modern 
Quechua-speaking peoples. Their original language is entirely unknown. 


In 1644, the Payanso were first visited by Father Ignacio de Irarraga. By 1650, 
Franciscan missions among the Payanso were: La Santisima Trinidad, 3,000 


1 According to the Relaciones geogrdficas de Indias (4:cxix111), the Tabalosa, Pandule, and 
Suchichi lived around the town of San Miguel de Avisama. 


600 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


people; La Limpia Concepcion, 800; San Luis, 3,000; San Francisco, 200; another 
village, 150. The total mission population was 7,150. In 1662, the population had 
decreased through epidemics and infant mortality, but the region had many large 
villages with streets and churches, and the Indians, a large number of whom spoke 
Spanish, were expert tailors, barbers, and blacksmiths. A smallpox epidemic oc- 
curred in 1670. In 1704, the missions were destroyed by a Shipibo (Calliseca) 
invasion from the east, and the Franciscans abandoned the region (Izaguirre, 1922- 
29, 1:128-139), Later, Skinner (1805, p. 408) listed the Payanso as a tribe near the 
Setebo. 


Huatana, Nindaso, Nomona, and Zapaso.—These were tribes living 
in the middle 17th century in the Huallaga Basin, near the Payanso 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:133), lat. 6°30’ S., long. 77° W. The Zapaso 
were probably on the Saposoa River, a tributary of the Huallaga at lat. 
Agito. 

Chedua, Alon, and Cholto.—In 1685, these tribes lived on the 
Huambo River (Skinner, 1805), connected with the Mission of Santa 
Rosa de Huambo, lat 7° S., long. 77° W. (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :391). 

Cumbaza.—The Cumbazd (Cumbasa, Belsano) inhabited Balzapuerto 
on the Huallaga River (Marcoy, 1875, 2:172) and Tarapoto on the Shil- 
cayo River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:204). The Mapari in 1850 were a 
Cumbaza subgroup living between Santa Catalina and Yanayacu, in the 
mountains between the Huallaga and Ucayali Rivers at the headwaters 
of the Cuschiabatay River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:204). (See also Ca- 
huapanan, Yamorai, pp. 606, 607). 


The Cumbazé had entered Franciscan missions in the 17th century, then, after a 
dispute with the Chébero in the 18th century, migrated to the Pampa del Sacramento, 
and, finally, became dispersed in Setebo missions on the Ucayali River (Marcoy, 
1875; 2172): 


Cognomona.—The Cognomona, friends of the Tepqui lived 20 leagues 
from the Panatahua and near the Payanso (lat. 8° S., long. 76°30’ W.). 
In 1640, a party of them visited the Franciscan missions (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 1:81-82). 

Hibito.—The Hibito (Ibito, Jibito, Zibito, Xibita, Chibito) had an 
isolated language, which was spoken from Monte Sion to Lupuna and 
Pachiza. It still survived in 1834, although Quechua had supplanted all 
native languages farther down the Huallaga River. (Lat. 7°30’ S., long. 
76°30’ W.) 

Although visited by Jesuits about 1670, the Hibito were converted in 1676 by 
Franciscans. The missionary, José Araujo, founded Jesus de Ochanache and wrote 
an “arte,” vocabulary, and catechism in the Hibito language (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
BAS). 

In -_ the Hibito were collected in two missions and, in 1789, the town of 
Pachisa was founded with Indians from Pajaten. The wild Indians who roamed 


between the Huayabama River and the Jelache, may have been Hibito from Pajaten 
mixed with Conibo. In 1790, there were 205 Hibito at Sidn and 372 at Del Valle 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 601 


(Skinner, 1805, pp. 417-418). Hibito was spoken in 1834 from Sidén to the mouth of 
the Huayabama River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:80). In 1851, there were 500 Hibito 
at Tocache, Lamasillo, Isonga, and Pisana (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, p. 146). 


Chol6én.—The Choldén occupied the Huallaga Valley above the Hibito 
(lat. 8° S., long. 77° W.) and spoke a distinctive language. 


During the 17th century, Indians east of Cajamarquilla, probably including the 
Cholon, had often raided the Highlands and even destroyed the villages of Condur- 
marca and Collay. But in 1670, they peacefully received a shepherd from Cajamar- 
quilla and later requested a priest. Beginning in 1676, the Franciscans undertook to 
Christianize the Cholén. The Mission of Buenaventura de Apisonchuc was built by 
Father Francisco Gutierrez de Porres, who wrote a grammar, a dictionary, and 
several religious books in the Cholén language (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:197). Appar- 
ently some attempt had been made to include the Hibito and Cholén in the same 
mission, for quarrels required their segregation, and each was placed in 2 missions 
(Skinner, 1809, pp. 406-408), the 4 having 1,800 persons in 1767 (Amich, 1854, pp. 
75-80), though in the same year Izaguirre (1922-29, 2:198) estimated that the 
Cholon and Hibito together numbered 4,800 persons. In 1790, there were 204 Indians 
at Playa Grande, 205 at Pampa-hermosa, 325 at Pajaten, and 378 at Buenaventure 
del Valle. In the missions, the Indians were divided into bands and companies and 
had regular hours of labor. The Cholén numbered about 900 to 1,000 in 1829 (228 
families in 6 missions (Poppig, 1835-36, 2:320-321)). Herndon and Gibbon (1853- 
54, p. 134) reported 188 docile Cholén under church influence at Tingo Maria. In 1925, 
they occupied the area south of Pachisa between the Huallaga River and Rio del 
Valle (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 546-547). Their language still survives, though many 
speak Quechua. 


SOURCES 


Some historical information is contained in early mission records com- 
piled by Izaguirre (1922-29), Raimondi (1862), and Maroni (1889-92). 

Later explorers adding fragments of historical and ethnographic mate- 
rial are Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54), Skinner (1805), and Péppig 
(1835-36). Tessmann (1930) arrived in the area after most of the 
native culture had disappeared. Miscellaneous compilations include Rivet 
(1924), who, however, has no linguistic material; Brinton (1892) on 
language; and Father Pedro de la Mata, who published the first part of a 
Cholén grammar (1923). 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 


Farming.—The Payanso cultivated maize, peanuts, and sweet manioc, 
and took game and fish. In the 17th century, the Cholén and Hibito grew 
bananas, sweet manioc (yuca), peanuts, coca, cotton, and chonta palms. 
They caught and salted fish, hunted monkeys and peccaries (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 12:395), and gathered wild fruits. The ground kernels of 
chapaxa palm fruits were a substitute for yuca. In the late 18th century, 
farming and fishing were essential sources of food (Amich, 1854, p. 75). 


602 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Tessmann (1930) listed as 20th-century Lama crops: bananas, plantains, 
maize, yams, sweet manioc, peanuts, sweet potatoes, beans, pumpkins, 
solanum, macabo, and sugarcane. 

Agricultural ceremonialism is suggested by a Hibito (?) feast which 
was held when ground was cleared for the priest at Sidn in 1850. People 
danced, drummed, played fifes, and drank chicha (Herndon and Gibbon, 
1853-54, pp. 149-150). 

Hunting.—The Lama hunted with spears and the blowgun, the darts 
of which were poisoned with a liana sap (Tessmann, 1930). A century 
ago the Cholén believed that to kill vultures, hawks, and armadillos would 
spoil their hunting poison; that to kill snakes would make their blowguns 
crooked ; and that to kill caimans would ruin their rifles. Poppig (1835- 
36, 2:320) said that these Indians gave their dogs a plant juice (Taber- 
naemontana sananho) to sharpen their scent. Choldn hunters of 1830 
wore necklaces of Annonaceae and Achras seeds and carried amulets 
in their pouches. 

Fishing.—The Lama fished with harpoons, spears, bows, multiprong 
arrows, harpoon arrows, dams, drugs made of Tephrosia and Clibadium, 
and, recently, with nets (Tessmann, 1930). The Choloén used barbasco 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 6:183). 

Food preparation.—The Lama ground food on a wooden slab or ina 
stone mortar, cooked in a pot set on three stones, and smoked meat on a 
babracot (Tessmann, 1930). Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, p. 140) 
observed Cholén cooking animals in their skins and eating monkey 
foetuses. Salt came from the hills of Callana Hacu, up the Huallaga 
River. 


HOUSES 


The 20th-century Lama house is gabled, side-walled, and thatched. The 
Payanso built rectangular palisaded houses in groups of 6 to 10 forming 
villages. The houses had loop holes for shooting. 

In 1830, the Cholén slept on mats and in hammocks purchased from 
the Maina. The 17th-century Payanso and the modern Lama sleep on 
platform beds. The Lama use no mosquito nets (Tessmann, 1930), 
though Skinner (1805) described Hibito or Lama mosquito nets that 
were rigged on canoes. The Lama use footstools. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


In 17th-century missions, the Cholén, Payanso, and Hibito were clad 
in painted cotton cushmas for everyday purposes, but for dress costume 
men wore pants and women wore long dresses and shawls, which they 
procured in trade (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:199; 12:391-392). The Pay- 
anso wore belts sewn with snail shells. In 1851, the Hibito painted their 
faces with red (achote) and blue (huitoc) daubs (Herndon and Gibbon, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 603 


1853-54, p. 146). The men of Balzapuerto (Cumbazd?) suspended 
colored feathers from their necks (Maw, 1829, p. 125). Modern Lama 
dress is Spanish in type, but feathers, bracelets, and red (bixa) paint may 
still be seen (Tessmann, 1930). The 17th-century Payanso suspended a 
bead, bone, or shell from the nasal septum, perforated the ears for bone 
sticks, and tattooed the nose. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The 17th-century Cholon and Hibito used carrying baskets (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 12:393), but Maw (1829, p. 125) reported carrying nets in the 
Balsapuerto region (Cumbazd) and Izaguirre (1922-29, 6:226) men- 
tions them among the Cholon. Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, p. 158) 
state that an Indian on the lower Huallaga River could carry 75 pounds. 

The Cholon used pouches, like the Andean chuspa, for small objects. 

Tessmann (1930) ascribes to the Lama rafts but no canoes. River 
craft were probably no better developed upstream. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Fragmentary information on baskets seems to indicate the 
usual Tropical Forest types. Mats were woven of two large palm fronds. 

Weaving.—The Cholén and Hibito probably grew and wove cotton 
in native times. The 20th-century Lama use a drop spindle and horizontal 
loom ; the Chasutina had adopted a Spanish type loom. 

Ceramics.—Modern wares are: (1) incised cooking pots; (2) 
“pitchers” with the upper part white, the lower part red; and (3) red or 
black bowls (Tessmann, 1930). 

Fire making.—In recent times, the Lama made fire with flint and steel 
and activated it with feather fans. 

Weapons.—All tribes used blowguns (Figueroa, 1904, p. 95; Maw, 
1829, p. 125) and spears. The former were made of two half tubes 
glued together or of one tube inserted in another. The darts were poisoned 
with a mixture of a liana sap, cayenne pepper, barbasco, sarnango, and 
other ingredients (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, pp. 135-136), known 
as “poison of the Lamistas,” which the Hibito and Cholén bought from 
the Lama (Raimondi, 1862, pp. 111-112). Izaguirre (1922-29, 7:251), 
however, reports that the Lama obtained poison from the Ucayali River, 
near the Manoa River. The Lama, Payanso, and Cholén use clubs, and 
the Lama is the only tribe in the area to use the sling (Tessmann, 1930). 
Only to the Cholén have been ascribed the bow and arrow (Izaguirre, 
1922-29, 6:215). The Payanso use lances or spears. 


TRADE 


In the 17th century, the Cholén and Hibito traded coca for Spanish 
garments and iron, making 8-day trips to Cajamarquilla for this purpose 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 2:199; 12:391-392). 

653333—47—41 


604. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


By the end of the 18th century, the Huallaga River region had con- 
siderable trade. Local products were salt fish, woven pouches, bees’ wax, 
manioc meal, “vegetable bougies” from a tree, feathered hats, container 
lids (Skinner, 1805, p. 423), coca, and fish lines. These were sold or 
traded to the Highland peoples. 


SOCIAL CULTURE 


Information on nonmaterial aspects of the culture of these tribes is 
extremely limited. Social and political patterns and birth, puberty, mar- 
riage, and death practices have been obscured if not entirely displaced 
by Christian customs. 

For the Lama, Tessmann (1930) claims an arrangement unique in the 
Montana: patrilineal “sibs” (apparently each a separate settlement), 
which are paired into mutually hostile groups. 

There is no means of knowing whether the individual family huts of 
the Chasutina area of 1851 (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, 1:154) were 
native. 

A century ago, a pubescent Cholon boy drank a strong purge and a 
decoction of certain creepers, which were kept from his view lest they 
lose their power. He remained for a month fasting in his hammock 
(Poppig, 1835-36, 2:320-321). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Games.—Games and toys mentioned are humming tops, maize-leaf 
balls, and stilts. 

Musical instruments.—Recent Lama musical instruments include two- 
headed drums, panpipes, and longitudinal flutes. The Hibito had bone 
flutes. In the Hibito region, Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, p. 142) saw 
four trumpets, each made of a section of hollowed wood, joined together 
with twine wrapping and wax and fitted with a reed mouthpiece. These 
were blown to announce a friendly visit when approaching a settlement. 

Beverages.—Chicha made of manioc is an old trait (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 
6:185). The Balzapuerto Indians made chicha of manioc, maize, plantains, 
and chonta fruit. Maize chicha was made of crushed and boiled grains 
to which a small quantity of chewed cumal (probably kumara, sweet 
potatoes) was added and the mixture boiled again. It would not keep 
longer than a week (Maw, 1829, p. 157). Banana chicha was brewed 
of overripe fruit which was crushed, boiled, and strained through a rush 
sieve and boiled again. 

Narcotics.—Tobacco was taken as juice and smoked in cigars and pipes. 
The latter were formerly of wood with a bone stem and recently of clay. 
Coca was chewed with lime (Tessmann, 1930). It was cultivated along 
the Huallaga River from Tingo Maria to Pachiza (Raimondi, 1862, p. 
134). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 605 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Data on native religion are lacking. These tribes were all good Catholics 
in 1830 (Poppig, 1835-36, 2:321) and probably earlier. 

Lama shamanism had some peculiar features. The neophyte sorcerer 
dieted and took tobacco juice, cigars, ayahuasac, and, uniquely, Brunfelsia 
grandiflora and another liana. He acquired a general power from these 
plants but no internal “thorns.” To cause illness, he impregnated a 
splinter with his power and cast it at his victim. To cure it, a shaman 
sucked out the splinter. Anthropomorphic bush demons might also cause 
sickness. 

Cyperus was used only as a curative. The sap of an Apocynaceae and 
the seeds of Jatropha curcas were used to prepare a powerful purgative. 
The Cholén were reputed to be powerful doctors in 1830. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Amich, 1854; Beuchat and Rivet, 1909; Brinton, 1892 a; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; 
Figueroa, 1904; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, vol. 1; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Letra anua 
del Pert de 1635 (in Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97) ; Marcoy, 1875; Maroni, 1889-92; 
Mata, 1923; Maw, 1829; Poppig, 1835-36; Raimondi, 1862; Rivet, 1924; Skinner, 1805, 
1809; Tessmann, 1930; Velasco, 1841-44. 


THE CAHUAPANAN TRIBES 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY ? 


Owing to incomplete and often contradictory statements by the earliest 
observers, to paucity of linguistic material, and to the change of termi- 
nology in the course of centuries, the true affiliation of many tribes 
included in this section can only be guessed. It would only serve to 
perpetuate possible errors were the doubtful tribes to be pigeon-holed as 
Cahuapanan with the appearance of certainty. Some tribes, which Rivet 
and Beuchat appear to class as Cahuapanan on the basis of geographical 
position, we list as doubtful. There is linguistic material on the Cahua- 
pana language (Beuchat and Rivet, 1909, pp. 622-634 ; Rivet and Tastevin, 
1931), but not for the Cahuapanan affiliation of other tribes, such as the 
Chébero, Paranapura, Chayawita (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 93; 
Zarate in Figueroa, 1904, p. 386), and Munichi (Veigl a, 1785, p. 37). 
Early sources, moreover, are not consistent in classifying these tribes. 

Cahuapana and Concho (Chonzo).—When first described these 
tribes lived together in the quebradas of the mountains of Chayavitas 
toward Moyobamba (lat. 5° S., long. 77° W.) 


Until 1691, they hid in their mountains, avoiding missionaries and slavers, but 
obtained iron tools, clothes, and poison from the Indians of Moyobamba and Lamas. 


2 See Map 1, No. 3; map 5. 


606 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Their first mission, 1691, soon failed, but later, when a secular priest attempted to 
Sell them into slavery, they migrated across the Chayavita mountains (probably to 
the south) and settled in a village under missionary care (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, 
pp. 300-301, 312-313). About this time, 200 Concho, the remnant of a much larger 
tribe which had been destroyed by the people of Moyobamba, were taken to the 
Mission of Nuestra Sefiora de los Cahuapanas y Conchos. In 1737, 518 Indians re- 
mained at this mission, and other Concho were still in the forests (Maroni, 1889- 
92, 26:215; 28:413). They moved in 1757 to the mouth of the Cayapanas River 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 312-313). In 1767, Spanish raids had reduced the 
Cahuapana to 600 (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 42). In 1925, some 150 Cahuapana remained in 
two villages on the Cahuapanas River (Tessman, 1930). 


Chébero.—The Chébero (Xévero, Xébero Jébero, Shiwila; not to be 
confused with the Jivaro or Hibito, each a wholly distinct tribe) spoke 
the same language as the Chayawita, which is Cahuapanan (Beuchat and 
Rivet, 1909). Two subtribes are the Chébero proper (lat. 5° S., long. 
76° W.) and the Paranapura (Chébero-Munichi), the latter an offshoot 
of the Chébero who settled among the Munichi in 1654. It is likely that 
both the Cufinana and Tivilo are subtribes of the Aguano (this volume, 
pp. 557-559) who, having moved into Cahuapanan territory in historical 
times, were thought to belong with the latter.? 


The Chébero were originally scattered in the angle between the Marafién and 
Huallaga Rivers, extending west along the Marafién and to the Sierras of Chayabitas 
and Cavapanas (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 143; Veigl, 1785, p. 35). When first 
visited by Father Lucas de la Cueva in 1638, they were 1% days’ travel up the 
Apeina River (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :393) scattered in small settlements, 2 to 6 leagues 
apart (Figueroa, 1904, pp. 33-78). The Chébero, terrified by punitive expeditions 
hunting down rebellious Maina, readily accepted mission protection (Figueroa, 1904, 
pp. 33 ff.), and Concepcién de Xéveros was founded in 1640 with 2,000 Indians 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 525). In 1643, believing that the baptismal records 
were a census made to facilitate enslaving them on encomiendas and fearing punish- 
ment for their part in assaults against the Maina, the Chébero abandoned the 
mission. They warred against other tribes but soon starvation and threats of being 
taken as slaves to Borja impelled them to return to the mission (Figueroa, 1904, 
pp. 33-78). 

Meanwhile, neighboring tribes were missionized, but, mistrusting one another and 
attributing deaths to witchcraft, they were placed separately in three annexes to the 
original Chébero mission: San Pablo de los Pambadeques, 1646, for the Cocamilla; 
Santo Tomé, 1641, for the Cutinana; and San José, 1648, for the Ataguate (Figue- 
roa, 1904, p. 72). It was not until about 1690, when suspicions and hostilities were 
sufficiently allayed, that these tribes agreed to assemble in a single, new mission, 
Concepcién de Maria, which had 2,500 Cocamilla, Cutinana, Ataguate, Chébero, 
Aunale, Jivaro, Ticuna, and Mayoruna—the last three from remote regions. 

Subsequently, the Chébero were very helpful in supplying sweet manioc and bananas 
to missionary parties in the region (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 116 ff.). In 1737, 
there were 1,757 people in Concepcién, which included Cutinana and other tribes 
as well as Chébero (Zarate in Figueroa, 1904, p. 383). In 1769, the Chébero mission 
included Alabano, Jivaro, Mayoruna, Yameo, and Ataquate. A census in 1840 
showed 5,000 Chébero. In 1859, Raimondi (1863, pp. 85-86) estimated that there 


8 Beuchat and Rivet also class Velasco’s Ataguate and Velasco’s and Hervas’s Cutinana and 
Tivilo as Chébero. Figueroa (1904, p. 125), a 17th-century source, classes the Cutinana as Aguano; 
Veigl (1785, p. 36), as Chébero. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 607 


were 3,000 Chébero. They were peons of the inhabitants of Moyobamba, specializing 
in making blowguns, torches, and wax candles for trade. In 1925, 600 Chébero lived 
at Concepcion. They retained some of their aboriginal culture, but about 80 per- 
cent could speak Quechua (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 415-416). 

The Paranapura (Xévero-Munichi) were Chébero who had fled from Moyobamba 
slavers to the Paranapura River, where they intermarried with the Munichi and 
adopted their language. They numbered about 150. Father Raimundo de Ja Cruz 
assembled them with some Chayawita at the Mission of Nuestra Sefiora de Loreto de 
Paranapura in 1654; only 192 Indians remained in 1692 (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :435 
-443). 

Beuchat and Rivet (1909, p. 619) name the Ataguate as a Chébero subtribe, no 
doubt because of their proximity to the latter, that is, toward the source of and on 
the right side of the Aipena River and perhaps at Atagua Lagoon, east of the village 
of Chébero. The Ataguate were placed in the Mission of San José in 1648 by 
Fathers de la Cueva and Peréz (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 142). 


Chayawita.—The Chayawita (Chawi, Tshaahui, Chayhuita, Chayabita, 
Shayabit) were thought by Tessman to include the Cahuapana, Chawi, 
and Yamorai as Chayawita subtribes, but previous usage restricted Chaya- 
wita to what is probably Tessmann’s Chawi (Tshaahui) subdivision (lat. 
5° S., long. 77° W.). The Chayawita and Chébero languages were so 
similar as to be mutually intelligible (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 37). Their original 
home was in the mountains where the Sillay River has its headwaters. 


The Chayawita had been greatly reduced in numbers by early 17th-century slavers. 
In 1654, the Jesuit, Raimundo de la Cruz, visited one village of 100 people, but the 
bulk of the tribe was scattered in the mountains at the headwaters of the Paranapura 
River. They were placed in a mission that year with Munichi and Chébero but 
gradually drifted away after the missionary had departed (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :434- 
443). The Mission of Nuestra Sefiora de la Presentacién was later founded and, in 
1737, had 442 inhabitants. Veigl (1785 a, p. 37) reports 600 Chayawita in 1767. 
In 1925, a few hundred Chayawita (Tessmann’s Chawt) remained on the upper 
Sillay and upper Paranapura Rivers and in Balzapuerto (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 378- 
382). They retained some native culture. 


Yamorai.—Yamorai (Balzapuertino) is a tribal name used only by 
Tessmann (1930) to designate 500 to 1,000 Indians living in 1925 on the 
upper Paranapura River and near Santa Rosa on the left side of the 
Huallaga River, with a few on the middle Paranapura and Shanusi 
Rivers. As no early sources mention tribes precisely in this territory, 
it is impossible to identify the Yamorai. Possibly they were related to 
the Pambadeque to the north (p. 608). 

Munichi.—The Munichi (Otanave, Otanabe, Munitsche, Munichino), 
lat. 6° S., long. 76° W., had, according to Beuchat and Rivet (1909), two 
subtribes: the Churitana, for which Velasco (1841-44) is the authority 
and which are evidently the Churituna mentioned by Chantre y Herrera 
(1901, p. 60) in the Huallaga River region; and the Muchimo, for which 
Hervas (1800-05, vol. 1) is the authority. 


The Munichi originally had 3 villages on a small tributary of the Huallaga River, 
3 days’ journey above the Paranapura River (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:434443). In 


608 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


1654, a Jesuit father found only 64 family heads (a total of about 320 persons) in 
their main village. Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 60) places them on the Huallaga 
River. In 1661, the population was 92. 

The Munichi refused to join the Chayawita and Paranapura in the Mission of 
Loreto and held out until two missions of their own were founded in 1652 (Escobar 
y Mendoza, 1769, p. 52). These missions had been opposed by the settlers of Moyo- 
bamba, who regarded the Munichi as their slaves. By 1737, the missions were com- 
bined, but the total population was only 151 persons (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :435-443; 
Zarate in Figueroa, 1904, p. 387). In 1850, there were 150 to 200 Munichi (Rai- 
mondi, 1863, p. 82). 

In 1925, about 200 Munichi remained in 25 houses in a village called Muniches, 
no doubt the early mission site, on the lower Paranapura River. A few, largely 
assimilated Munichi lived in another village by the same name on the lower Itaya 
River near Iquitos, where they had moved several decades ago. They retained 
traces of aboriginal culture (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 303-304, 310). 

Pambadeque and Cingacuchusca.—The Pambadeque were, accord- 
ing to Beuchat and Rivet (1909, p. 620), Cahuapanan living between the 
upper Aipena and Paranapura Rivers, i.e., between the Chayawita, 
Chébero, and Yamorai. Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 156) mentions them 
in connection with the Cingacuchusca of the lower Huallaga River. Mem- 
bers of both tribes were taken to an annex of the Mission of Concepcion de 
Maria. There is a possibility that the Pambadeque were Cocama. (See 
p. 688.) 


SOURCES 


Historical material with fragmentary ethnographic information occur 
in old missionary accounts: Figueroa (1904), Chantre y Herrera (1901), 
Maroni (1889-92), Izaguirre (1922-29), and Veigl (1785 a). Unless 
otherwise specified, cultural data which follow come from Tessmann 
(1930), who found the Cahuapanan tribes so acculturated that many 
aboriginal customs were mere traditions. Many other customs, though 
native in character, were probably in large part of recent origin, e.g., 
clothing, use of tobacco, house types, and many foods. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE 


Farming.—Aboriginal Cahuapanan staples were sweet manioc, maize, 
and bananas (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:408). Other early Munichi plants 
were sugarcane, camarico, and pumpkins (Figueroa, 1904, p. 92). Bitter 
manioc, though not aboriginal, was introduced to the region at the end of 
the 18th century to furnish provisions for explorers. Izaguirre (1922- 
29, 7:238) mentions its cultivation by the Chébero, who made farinha 
for sale. Other Cahaupanan plants are listed on page 519. 

Tessmann considers Chébero land to be very infertile. Figueroa (1904, 
p. 73) remarked that these Indians cleared new land every 2 years when 
the soil became exhausted, and Maroni (1889-92, 28:408) observed that 
fields had to remain fallow for years. The Chébero farmed with a dibble 
and a spatulate cultivating stick. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 609 


Hunting.—Game was too remote from the Chébero village to be im- 
portant. Formerly, the blowgun was the main weapon (Munichi, Chébero, 
Chayawita), with spears used for larger game (Yamorai). Only the 
Chayawita used the bow and arrow (Tessmann, 1930). Today firearms 
have largely replaced native weapons. Hunting blinds are ascribed to the 
Chébero and Chayawita. About 1800, a box trap of some kind with a dog 
lure was used to take jaguars (Skinner, 1805, pp. 421-422). Tessmann 
reports a similar Chébero and Chayawitta trap for birds and a larger one 
for tapirs. 


Fishing.— Drugging fish with Tephrosia and Clibadium was Rete 
general. The Chébero formerly fished with the bow and arrow, but use 
them now only as children’s toys. Spears are used by the Municht and 
Chayawita, harpoons by the Munichi. Aboriginal use of hooks is un- 
certain; importation of iron hooks has certainly extended their use. The 
Mumichi and Chayawita used nets, the latter a type that was dragged. 
To take manatee (Trichechus inunguis) the Chébero stretched a strong 
net across the opening of a weir. One hunter drove the animal to the 
opening, where it was caught in the net or speared by a man standing on 
a platform (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:414). 

Food preparation.—The Cahuapanan tribes ground food in a wooden 
trough or bowl (fig. 89) or on a flat wooden slab, and smoked meat on a 
babracot. Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, p. 174) described preparation 
of farinha during the last century by an unidentified tribe in the region. 
Manioc pulp was put in a sack which was suspended and stretched like the 
tipiti to squeeze out the poisonous juices; then it was roasted and sold. 
Salt, obtained nearby from Laguna Pilluana near Chapillisa and Cachi- 
huafiusca north of Valle Hermoso, was an important trade item on the 
Huallaga River (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 7 :250). 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


The aboriginal house type may have been the gabled, side-walled struc- 
ture (Tessmann, 1930). The platform bed was used by the Chébero 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:395), Munichi (fig. 88), and Chayawita (Tess- 
mann, 1930). Hammocks served the Chayawita and Chébero only for 
resting and were used among the Munichi by children. Unelaborated 
footstools were common. 


Ficure 88.—Cahuapanan (Munichi) low platform bed. (Redrawn from 
Tessmann, 1930.) 


610 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


The Cahuapanan formerly went nude much of the time, though Chébero 
women sometimes wore a skirt and men a sacklike shirt which was open 
at both ends and extended only to the waist. Whether naked or not, men 
held the penis up under a string passed around the waist (Figueroa, 1904, 
pp. 32, 68; Maroni, 1889-92, 28:405). Similar garments may have been 
used by the Chayawita. Spanish clothing had been adopted by the 18th 
century, but on festive occasions Chébero women wrapped themselves in 
a large, fringed cloth fastened with a silver pin over the shoulders and 
tied around the waist ; it was dyed blue for married women, and red, blue, 
and brown for spinsters (Veigl, 1785, p. 40). This costume suggests the 
Jivaro woman’s garment. Men wore their hair to the shoulders ; women, 
as long as it would grow. Strings of fragrant seeds and colored tubes, 
animal-tooth necklaces and perfumed grasses and feathers in the hair band 
were also worn (Veigl, 1785 a, pp. 32-33). Twentieth century survivals 
of native costume and ornaments (Tessmann, 1930) include arm and leg 
bands (Chayawita), blackened teeth (Chayawita), ornaments in ear per- 
forations (Chébero, Chayawita), paint (Chayawita), tattooing (Yamorat 
and Chayawita, done with a palm needle and rubber soot), and feather 
headgear (Chébero, Chayawita). 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Chébero carried goods both in baskets and knitted bags. Canoes 
were probably made by all tribes, but those of the Chébero were said to 
be inferior. Figure 89 shows two paddle forms. 


MANUFACTURES 


Weaving.—Hammocks and bags of Astrocaryum fiber were made by 
the Munichi, Chébero, and Chayavwita, the first also making fish nets of 
this fiber. 

Considerable cotton was grown and woven, and the Chébero were 
famous in Colonial times for the blankets and featherwork which they 
made for the Whites (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 7:232). Cotton was spun on 
a spindle suspended in the air (Munichi) or twirled on the ground (Ché- 
bero, Chayawita). The whorl was usually of ornamented tortoise shell. 
The loom was, according to Tessmann (1930), horizontal like that of 
the Chama. 

Basketry.—At least three basket forms are known among the Munichi, 
Chébero, and Chayawita: containers, sieves, and carrying baskets, the 
last having a hexagonal weave (Tessmann, 1930). The Chébero also 
made waterproof containers by weaving a double-wall basket of split 
creeper strands and stuffing leaves in between (Veigl, 1785, p. 41). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 611 


Ficure 89.—Chébero and Aguano utensils. a, b, Chébero canoe paddles; c, Chébero 
wooden bowl and pounder. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, pl. 76.) 


Pottery.—The Munichi make pottery bowls (pl. 52, c), the upper 
halves of which are white, the lower red. They also make Spanish-type 
vessels. The Chayawita and Chébero make fingernail-decorated and in- 
cised cooking vessels (fig. 90), jugs with the upper portion white, the 
lower red (Tessmann, 1930, table 80, figs. 1, la, 7), and ornamented 
drinking bowls (pl. 52, d, f). 


Ficure 90.—Chébero pottery. (kedrawn from Tessmann, 1930, color pl. 10 and pl. 80.2 


612 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Weapons.—Chébero blowguns were made of two half-tubes and were 
10 spans long (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 33). These were sold to other tribes 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:355). Some of the Cahuapanan purchased their 
poison from the Lama. Both thrusting spears and javelins were used, 
Chébero spears being of chonta wood, 9 spans long (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 33). 
During warfare of 1661, a tribe of this region, perhaps the Chébero, used 
spear throwers and shields (Figueroa, 1904, p. 265). Clubs were also 
used, but bows have not been reported, possibly having been replaced by 
the blowgun at an early date. 

Miscellaneous tools.—Veigl (1785 a, pp. 33-34) mentions other 
Chébero implements: a wood-carving tool made of the tooth of a fish, 
pig, or monkey; a plane or smoother made of the rough bone under the 
tongue of a large fish called paice; axes with polished stone heads fitted 
into a socket at the end of a stick. 

Fire making.—Fire was made with the drill by the Chébero and 
Chayawita. Cotton served as tinder. The Chébero fire fan was braided. 
The Chébero use a copal torch. They set their pots on three clay supports, 
but the Munichi use three stones. 


SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


Virtually no information on aboriginal social structure, social behavior, 
or crisis rites is available, as these tribes became almost completely accul- 
turated to Spanish customs at an early date. 

Tessmann (1930) believes that the Chébero always had a single large 
village instead of the small “kin” groups found elsewhere in the Mon- 
tafia, but Izaguirre (1922-29, 12:396) states they formerly were scat- 
tered in small groups along the southern bank of the Marafion and were 
later gathered into their large village. This village, laid out on the 
Spanish plan with a central plaza and church, is one of the few instances in 
which Montafia Indians remained in a mission center, whether missionaries 
were present or not, and did not revert to their aboriginal separatism. 
Chayawita villages consisted of one to several houses. 

Recorded chieftainship is probably the result of Spanish influence: 
the Chébero village chief with 10 assistants; the Chayawita chief with 
4 or 5 assistants. But a reference in 1661 (Figueroa, 1904, p. 265) 
mentions a war dance, during which high chiefs sat in hammocks and 
lesser chiefs on stools, while warriors danced. 


LIFE CYCLE 


The Chayawita still confine parents for a few days after a birth. 

At puberty, the Chayawita seclude the girl for 8 days. Maroni states 
(1889-92, 29:239) that the Chébero, like the Awishira, used to flog girls 
and put red pepper in their eyes to give them strength. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 613 


Some survival of the native marriage pattern is recognizable in the 
Chébero requirement that the bridegroom help his father-in-law and in 
Chayawita matrilocal residence which precedes permanent patrilocal resi- 
dence. The penis bone of the coati is regarded as an aphrodisiac. 

The Chébero formerly flexed a corpse, put it in an urn, and covered it 
with another urn (Jiménez de la Espada, 1889-92, 27:85). Christian 
burial is now general, but the Chayawita place the corpse in a hollowed 
tree trunk and leave it in the bush. 


WARFARE 


These tribes were remarkably peaceful in late historic times; they had 
only brawls among themselves, fought with clubs. But warfare must 
once have been of some importance, for the Munichi formerly protected 
their villages with trenches filled with sharp stakes and the Chébero 
practiced cannibalism. Figueroa (1904, p. 265) recorded a war dance: 
painted male dancers wearing animal skins on their heads and carrying 
spear throwers, ceremonial spears, shields, and straw figures pretended 
tc: assault a house while chiefs drank chicha. Singing and drinking went 
on for days. Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 90) implies that the Chébero 
were unjustly accused of cannibalism because they kept trophy heads, but 
Father Lucas de la Cueva, their first missionary, states that they ate their 
victims’ livers, entrails, and hearts seasoned with pepper (Maroni, 1889- 
92, 28 :389 ; Figueroa, 1904, p. 41). Maroni (1889-92, 28:406) recounts 
that after a war party, the Chébero brought back heads, drank chicha, and 
feasted on the enemy’s liver. They evidently made shrunken heads 
(tsantsas), for Figueroa (1904, p. 263) states that women carried “re- 
duced heads,” singing victory songs and praising the excellence of their 
warrior husbands. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments include two-headed skin drums, leg rattles, longi- 
tudinal and transverse flutes, musical bows, and large and small panpipes. 

Figueroa (1904, p. 264), describing a Chébero dance of 1661, states 
that men, women, and children moved in a circle, while the leader in the 
center, adorned with nose ornaments, uruct, and feathers, lead the sing- 
ing. The dance often ended in rough play. They also danced in palm-leaf 
headdresses accompanied by flutes and panpipes (Figueroa, 1904, p. 94). 
The Chayawrita now use masks of Spanish origin at their festivals. 

The principal toys were humming tops, stilts, maize-leaf balls, and slings. 

Tobacco may once have been used only by shamans, who chewed it, but 
pipe smoking is now general among the Chébero and Chayawita. The 
only other narcotic reported is cayapi, also used by shamans. 


614 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Native religious concepts are unknown except for a Chayawita belief 
in a mountain demon and an idea that souls of the dead went into the 
bush and were harmless. 

A suggestion of the early reaction to Christianity is contained in a 
Chébero tale. To escape the “evangelic rule,” it is said, the Chébero took 
a grass called campana supaya (Datura) and went below the water, 
where they had a good time with their deceased relatives. Taking datura 
caused one village to change into a lagoon (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:402). 
On one occasion, the devil kidnapped a Chébero. The Indians followed 
its tracks, which were first those of a man, then of a child, and finally of 
a jaguar (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:402). Some Indians responded to mis- 
sionaries so literally that they imitated each gesture, crossing themselves, 
spreading their arms, yawning, striking themselves, and even opening 
their mouths each time the missionary did so (Figueroa, 1904, p. 274). 

Fragments of the shamanistic pattern recorded by Tessmann (1930) 
indicate belief in “thorns” and perhaps birds as the source of power. 
Chébero and Chayawita shamans received a magic mass with “thorns,” 
which, according to the Chébero, was brought by an owl which taught 
the shaman songs. The shaman took cayapi and chewed tobacco. Dis- 
ease was caused by injections of these “thorns” into the victim and cured 
by sucking them out. 

The Chébero attributed magical virtues to cyperus and used it to 
prevent snake bites and jaguar attacks, to bring fishing and hunting suc- 
cess, and to increase the fertility of women and of manioc. The Chaya- 
wita used it only against snake bites. The Chébero took Datura to make 
themselves invisible in addition to the purposes already mentioned. 

The Chébero believed that earthquakes occurred when God arose in 
the place where sky and earth meet. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Beuchat and Rivet, 1909; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Escobar y Mendoza, 1769; 
Figueroa, 1904; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54; Hervas, 1800-05, vol. 1, Jiménez de 
la Espada (Noticias auténticas . . . 1889-92); Maroni, 1889-92; Raimondi, 1863; 


Rivet and Tastevin, 1931; Skinner, 1805; Tessmann, 1930; Veigl, 1785 a; Velasco, 
1841-44. 


TRIBES OF THE UPPER MARANON RIVER 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Deep in the Andean valleys of the upper Marafion River in North 
Central Perti were several tribes which, in contrast to the Quechuan peo- 
ples, who occupied the higher mountain masses that nearly surrounded 
them, apparently had diverse languages and Tropical Forest cultures. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 615 


They are known only from a sketchy report by Diego Palomino (Relaci- 
ones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97, 4:28-33). These tribes were the 
Patagon, Chinchipe, and Bagua, who were possibly related to one another, 
and the seemingly distinct Chirino, Tabancal, Sacata, Copallin, and Cha- 
chapoya (map 1, No. 3; map 5). 

Linguistic data from these tribes consist of four words each from the 
Chirino, Patagoén, and Copallin, three from the Bagua and Sacata, and 
five from the Tabancal, not all of them comparable. On the basis of 
these, Rivet (1924, p. 664) classifies the Patagén as Cariban. Disre- 
garding broader affiliations, which seem too tenuous to postulate, Patagdon 
and Bagua have in common one or two similar words. It was said that 
the Indians of Perico (probably Chinchipe) and of Jaén (probably Pata- 
gon) spoke the same language, and that the Chinchipe and Bagua were 
related. Thus, these three adjoining tribes may have belonged to a single 
linguistic group. The other brief word lists have nothing in common. 
Moreover, both the Tabancal and Sacata were said to be linguistically 
different. The language of the Indians of Copallin, Llanque, and Lomas 
de Viento was also said to differ from that of their neighbors. They 
may have spoken Quechua, but as Quechua is also mentioned as a dis- 
tinctive language, this seems unlikely. 

Patagon.—The Patagén lived somewhat inland from the left side of the 
Chinchipe River, occupying the territory from Perico or from the con- 
fluence of the Chinchipe and Chirinos Rivers down to the Maranon 
River and a short distance up the Utcubamba River (lat. 5°30’ S., long. 
78°30’ W.). According to 16th-century encomienda lists, the Indians 
of Jaén and of Paco, Chacainga, Olipanche, and Pueblo de la Sal, all 
villages north of Jaén (Jaén was originally at the mouth of the Chinchipe 
River) were Patagén. (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4 :28-29.) 

Chinchipe.—The Chinchipe (Chenchipe) occupied both sides of the 
lower Chinchipe River from the mouth of the Chirinos River to the 
Marafion River and lived along the Marafion River to the mouth of the 
Chamaya River (lat. 5°-6° S., long. 79° W.). 

Bagua.—The Bagua had a few settlements up the Utcubamba River, 
just beyond the Patagon (lat. 6° S., long. 78°30’ W.). 

Chirino.—The Chirino lived along the Chirino River and seem to have 
extended across the mountains north of the Patagén down to the Marafion 
River (lat. 5° S., long. 78°30’ W.) (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4 :28-33). 

Copallin.—Indians whom we call Copallin were those of Llanque, 
Copallin, and Lomas de Viento, east of the Marafion River and north of 
the Utcubamba River (lat. 6° S., 68° W.). They differed linguistically 
from their neighbors. 

Sacata.—The Sacata were an isolated linguistic group living between 
the Chamaya and Sacata River, on the Paramos de Sallique and on the 
Tabaconas River (lat. 6°30’ S., long. 78°30’ W.). 


616 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Tabancal.—The Tabancal were said to be an independent group be- 
tween the Chirinos and Aconipa Rivers, tributaries of the upper Chin- 
chipe River. 


HISTORY 


Juan Porcel, having been granted the privilege of conquering the Indians of the 
region of Jaén and the Chinchipe Basin, entered the country in 1542. After a brief 
and abortive attempt at colonization, he left and was succeeded in 1549 by Diego 
Palomino, who founded the city of Jaén de los Bracamoros* near the junction of the 
Chinchipe and Marafidn Rivers. As the subsequent history of these Indians is not 
known, it is presumed that they became encomienda laborers and soon merged with 
the rural, Quechua-speaking population. 


ETHNOGRAPHIC SUMMARY 


These people seem to have had simple culture, basically like that of the 
Tropical Forests but with a few Highland features. Living in deep 
valleys, rarely above 3,000 or 4,000 feet (1,000 to 1,300 m.) and usually 
under 1,000 feet (300 m.), they grew maize (the Chinchipe had a crop 
every 4 months), sweet potatoes, sweet manioc (Chirino), peanuts 
(Chirino and Copallin), many fruits, such as guava, guayaba (guaya- 
voa?), pears (?), caimito, lucuma, barbarry figs, zapote, and genipa, and 
such tubers as schiras and aracachas. The Patagén and perhaps others 
even grew potatoes. 

Llamas, typical of the Highlands, were kept by the Chirino, and alpaca 
by the Copallin, who consequently had wool for garments. Several other 
tribes used woolen garments, and may have reared these animals, though 
cotton was more common. 

Hunting and fishing devices are mentioned only in the case of the 
Chinchipe, who used fish nets, hunting nets, and hunting snares. Wild 
honey was gathered. 

The Patagén ground food with stone grinders (batanes) or wooden 
troughs (a manera de camellon). 

The Chinchipe lived in open sheds ; the Copallin and Patagon, in round 
houses, those of the latter thatched to the ground. Chirino and Patagon 
houses held single families. The platform bed was used by the Patagén 
and Chirino. 

Chinchipe men ordinarily went naked with the penis tied up with a . 
string, whereas Utcubamba River Copallin men wore a breachclout (bra- 
quero). Probably men of all these tribes wore a shirt, that of the Chin- 
chipe, Utcubamba River, Tomependa, and Chirino being of cotton, that 
of the Patagén and Lomas Indians of wool or cotton, and that of the 
Chirino and Copallin more often of wool. Shirt lengths varied, extending 
to the navel among the Patagén of Perico and to the knees at Jaén. On 
festive occasions, Patagén men wore several shirts, each with tassels. 


éThe Bracamoro Indians are the Jévaro of the Zamaro Valley. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 617 


Chinchipe women wore a skirt extending to the calf, and a cotton band 
around the chest. The more typical woman’s garment was a blanket 
(manta) wrapped around the body, with one arm exposed. Copallin 
men shaved their heads, while women wore their hair long. On the 
Utcubamba River, the hair was worn in one large braid behind, two small 
ones on each side. 

Ornaments consisted of feathers, a reed through the earlobe, a splinter 
through the lower lip, a shell or silver plate suspended from the nose, and 
string of beads around the arms and legs. A Patagon chief's ornament 
was a chest plate of white shells pieced together like armor and a large 
shell pendant. 

All these tribes probably used the lance and spear thrower and perhaps 
the spear. The Chirino lance was of chonta palm, 30 palms long. Clubs 
and bone daggers were also reported. The Chirino shield was of wood, 
that of the peoples of Lomas de Viento of wood or tapir hide. 

These Indians were good swimmers and used rafts. 

The only suggestion of social life is that Patagén villages were close 
together and each consisted of 5 to 10 houses with 3 or 4 inhabitants 
each, so that a chief might rule as many as 10 houses, or 30 to 100 people. 


THE JIVARO 
INTRODUCTION 


The Jivaro, (Chiwaro, Siwaro, Jibaro, Givari, Xivari, Chivari, Givaro, 
Zibaro, Jivara, Hibaro, Jivira etc.)—not to be confused with the Cahua- 
panan-speaking Chébero of the lower Huallaga River or the Hibitoan- 
speaking Hibito—comprise a linguistically isolated group in the Montafia 
of Ecuador north of the Marafién River (map 1, No. 3; map 5). There 
were formerly three, possibly four, main divisions: the Jivaro proper, 
the Malacata, the Palta and perhaps the now extinct Bracamoro. The 
Palta, aboriginally a Highland type tribe, has been assimilated into the 
Quechua-speaking population of Highland Ecuador, and is described by 
Murra in the Handbook, Volume 2, page 801. 

The Jivaro proper are typical of the Montafia except in emphasis. They 
have little that is directly traceable to the Highland. They practice the 
rain forest type of farming, hunting, and fishing, but once kept a few 
llamas and guinea pigs. The principal weapons were formerly the bow 
and arrow, which were later superceded by the blowgun, spear, and atlatl. 
Men’s dress is typical of the Montafia; women’s robes pinned over the 
shoulder may be of Andean origin. Canoes, baskets, and ceramics are of 
Tropical Forest types, but men’s weaving on a vertical loom is unique in 
the region. The extended, patrilineal family occupying a single large 
house is a Montafia feature, especially of the late post-Contact period. 


618 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


But Jivaro preoccupation with warfare is an extreme development of a 
pattern common to neighboring tribes, and the shrunken head complex, 
though not unique, is outstanding in its importance and persistence. 
Crisis rites are distinctive only in the boys’ and girls’ feast or tobacco 
ceremony, and in disposal of the dead in hollow logs placed inside houses. 
The shamanistic complex includes the concept of spirit helpers and magic 
“darts” as the cause of disease. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Jivaro proper probably now occupy the same territory that they 
held in aboriginal times (lat. 2°-5° S., long. 77°-79° W., map 5). There 
are four principal divisions, each split into innumerable communities or 
jivarias, named after rivers: (1) The Antipa, on the right bank of the 
Santiago River from the Zamora to the Alto Marafion River; (2) the 
Aguaruna, on the right bank of the Marafién between the Nieve and Apaga 
Rivers (lat. 5° S., long. 78° W.) ; (3) Huambiza, on the right bank of the 
Morona and Mangosia Rivers and the left bank of the Santiago River 
from the Cordillera of Cuticu to the Marafion; and (4) the Achuale 
(Achuare), between the Pastaza and Morona Rivers, from Lake Puralina 
to Andoas (Stirling, 1938; pp. 24). 

The Palta and Malacata were probably Jivaro living in the Highland 
near Loja (lat. 4° S., long. 79° W.) and speaking closely related languages 
(Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 3:213). For their Jivaro affiliations, 
Verneau and Rivet (1912-22, p. 37) cite Benavente’s expedition (Rel. 
geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:30). Benavente crossed the Paute and Minas de 
Santa Barbola Rivers, the latter probably a tributary of the former, and 
entered what was presumed to be Jivaro territory, where the Indians spoke 
the same language as the Malacata. 

The Bracamoro (Pacamuru, “tailed Indians”) were the Jivaro of the 
Zamoro River, but the name was also applied to Indians of unknown 
speech in the region of Jaén de los Bracamoros. 

Many attempts have been made to conquer the Jivaro because of the placer gold 
in their territory but none succeeded. Two Jnca Emperors, Topa Inca and his son, 
Huayna Capac, both failed to subdue either the Jivaro or the Bracamoro. The 
latter, who were nearest Spanish posts in the Highland were, however, conquered 
in 1542 and the city of Jaén founded in 1549. The same year, the Benavente expedi- 
tion visited the Jivaro proper. Trips by Juan de Salinas, beginning in 1557, led to 
the founding of several colonies, but the Jivaro destroyed them in 1599. The 
Bracamoro subsequently disappeared from the literature, probably having been as- 
similated, but the Jivaro proper retained their independence. During the next cen- 
tury, military and missionary conquests failed. It was not until 1767 that the Jesuits 
gained a foothold among the Jivaro, but they were expelled the same year, and the 
Franciscans carried on the work from 1790 to 1803. Missionizing subsequently be- 
came mainly a subterfuge for treasure seeking until 1850, when it was resumed with 


greater sincerity. The Jesuits returned in 1869 but there was an uprising in 1873 
and the Jesuits were again expelled in 1886. The remainder of the century brought 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 619 


more travelers, missionaries, and military expeditions, but none had a lasting influ- 
ence. During the present century, Protestant missionaries have entered the field. 
But the Jivaro remain unsubdued and only partially acculturated, though many speak 
Quechua, They showed aggression against the Whites as late as 1915, 1925, and 1928 
(Stirling, 1938, pp. 3-28). 


POPULATION 


On the basis of a partial census of 1580, Stirling (1938; pp. 36-37) 
placed the aboriginal population at about 30,000. Modern estimates 
range from Rivet’s 20,000 and Karsten’s 15,000 to 20,000 to Tessmann’s 
10,000 to 12,000. 


SOURCES 


The Jivaro have probably received more attention than any other South 
American tribe; the scientific literature on them is enormous. Never- 
theless, many aspects of Jivaro culture are imperfectly known. 

Old missionary and explorers’ accounts contain only fragments of in- 
formation. (See p. 511 and Stirling, 1938, for a bibliography of these.) 
Ethnological studies tend to treat only limited aspects of the culture or to 
reflect strong theoretical views of the authors. Karsten’s many publica- 
tions, which are summarized in his comprehensive work (1935), were 
based on 3 years of field work, though he only twice spent more 
than 8 days in a single village. His theoretical interest in religion is very 
manifest, and it is frequently impossible to distinguish his own or his 
informant’s views from his first-hand observations. Nonetheless, it is 
the main source on social and religious culture. Rivet’s studies are com- 
pilations of older sources; he never visited the Jivaro. Up de Graf’s 
(1923) work is designed for popular appeal. Tessmann (1930) adds 
only a few fragments of information from an Aguaruna informant. Stirl- 
ing (1938) is the first to recognize the importance of change in the 
historic period; he also adds new detailed data on blowguns, preparation 
of shrunken heads, shamanism, weaving, and warfare. 

Present needs include adequate studies of technology (which are now 
only partially available), clarification of social structure and function and 
of marriage practice through a genealogical approach, verification of the 
patterns of religion and shamanism, analysis of property rights, and study 
of agricultural methods. There is also abundant opportunity for investi- 
gation of local variations in this large and widely distributed tribe. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 
Jivaro crops of the 16th century were “seeds,” maize, and a root, 
doubtless manioc. Fish, deer, tapir, wild fruits, cacao, nuts, and curassow 
supplemented the diet. Recently, however, the Jivaro have eaten neither 
deer nor tapir, fearing the spirits in them. 
653333—47—42 


620 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Farming.—Present-century crops appear in table 1 (p. 516). They 
are cultivated with much ritual (Karsten, 1935) in fields located around 
the communities. Nonfood crops include cotton, tobacco, mycot, natima, 
bixa, and barbasco (Stirling, 1938). 

Agricultural rites.—Karsten (1920 a, 1935) reports certain agricul- 
tural rites of the Jivaro. When planting manioc to be consumed during 
a tobacco feast in her honor, a woman and her companions squat near 
the cuttings and chant an incantation. Then they address Nungui, the 
Earth Goddess, who is symbolized by a stone of curious shape. The 
first manioc cutting is painted red, and the woman to be honored places 
it against her groin. Each woman who plants the cuttings sits on a 
manioc tuber. After the field has been planted, a ceremonial digging 
stick is stuck into the ground and the people pray to Nungui. 

The female owner of a field may not paint herself with genipa, or wear 
a bracelet around the forearm. 

When planting banana trees, men observe various tabooes and pray to 
Shakaema, the husband of the Earth Goddess. 

For 5 successive nights after planting their fields, Jivaro women dance 
and chant, asking the Earth Goddess to make their manioc grow. They 
also practice a magic ceremony to expel rodents which attack the crops. 
Tubers gnawed by these rodents are covered with ashes and thrown into 
the forest. The people chant an incantation, requesting the rats not to 
harm the young plants. 

Hunting and fishing.—Aboriginal hunting weapons were the bow and 
arrow, the spear, and the atlatl. The blowgun has replaced the bow for 
hunting small game; and spears, thrown without the aid of the atlatl, are 
used for large game. Firearms are becoming more general (Stirling, 
1938). Other devices include deadfalls, spring noose traps, and pitfalls 
with stakes in their bottoms (Tessmann, 1930). Stirling describes a 
communal peccary hunt carried on with the aid of dogs; the game is 
speared from trees or is driven into the water and pursued in canoes. 
Karsten (1935) gives no data on hunting methods but describes magic: 
Pepper is put in the eyes of hunters and their dogs to improve their 
vision; men take tobacco and paint their bodies red for strength; they 
do the same to their dogs; they keep animal trophies to insure future 
success ; dogs are prevented from eating the bones of game; many charms 
are used ; and hunting dogs are subjected to an elaborate ceremony involv- 
ing manioc planting, fasting, drinking guayusa, and feasting. 

Fish are caught by hand, drugged with barbasco and Clibadium, 
speared, harpooned, and taken with hooks, with traps placed under rapids, 
and with both hand nets and large casting nets. The antiquity of the 
hook is uncertain; bone hooks preceded iron. The Aguaruna catch fish 
ascending creeks in weirs (Villanueva, 1902-03, 13:79). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 621 


Domesticated animals.—The aboriginal Jivaro were unusual among 
Montafia tribes in keeping a few llama and guinea pigs. It is doubtful 
whether the dog was native. Chickens and pigs were introduced by the 
Spaniards and, according to Karsten, were sacrificed in many ceremonies. 

Food preparation.—Food is ground on a flat wooden slab and in a 
mortar. It is seasoned with capsicum pepper and with both a natural 
and a prepared salt. 


HOUSES AND COMMUNITIES 


The Jivaro community is and always has consisted of a single large 
house (jivaria), usually located for defense on a steep hill at the head 
of some stream. It is moved at least every 6 years as new farm land is 
needed. 

The house is elliptical, about 40 feet (13 m.) by 80 feet (26 m.), and has 
a thatched, gabled roof supported by interior posts and a side wall 8 to 
10 feet (2.4 to 3 m.) high, made of strong, closely-spaced staves so as 
to be impervious to attack (pl. 60, bottom). One end of the house is 
occupied by men, the other by women. Furniture comprises sleeping 
platforms (fig. 91), storage platforms, hooks, and footstools. The Agua- 
runa were ascribed palm-fiber hammocks (Villanueva, 1902-03, 13:81). 


Ficure 91.—Jivaro platform bed. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930.) 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Prior to missionary influence, nakedness was common although two 
garments seem to have been native: a wrap-around skirt for men (pl. 
62, top, right) and a full-length robe for women. The latter is pinned 
over the right shoulder, the left shoulder remaining bare (pl. 62, bottom, 
right). These clothes are generally of brown cotton, but poor people 
may dress in bark cloth (Stirling, 1938). Some individuals also use 
ponchos (Tessmann, 1930). 


622 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


A variety of fashions of coiffure are shown by Stirling (1938, pls. 
3-10). Ornaments include fur and feather headdresses, ear pins, women’s 
lower lip labrets, tattoo, red bixa and black (genipa) paint applied 
with a roller stamp, blackened teeth, wrist and leg bands, and elaborate 
bead collars and chest bands. Status and other special badges include 
hunters’ ornaments made of tayo bird femora, warriors’ girdles with 
human hair attached, face paint, head rings, and women’s upper arm bands. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Goods are transported in hexagonally-woven baskets held by tumplines. 
Babies are carried in bands (pl. 60, top, left). 

Dugout canoes of some size and excellence seem to be aboriginal, but 
they have never been adequately described. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Hexagonally-woven carrying baskets and mats are men- 
tioned, but basketry techniques have not been analyzed. 

Spinning and weaving.—Men do all spinning, weaving, and knitting. 
Astrocaryum fibers are used to knit bags with an eyed needle and to 
make fish nets. Cultivated cotton is spun with a kind of drop spindle, 
the cotton being fed from an elevated container. Belts and clothing are 
woven on a nearly vertical loom set in a frame. The warp is wrapped 
continuously around the upper and lower bars, producing a cylindrical 
piece of cloth. Women color textiles with brown vegetable dyes (Stirling, 
1938). 

Pottery.—Women are potters. They use a coil technique (pl. 62) and 
make cooking vessels, bowls, and large chicha jars. Some vessels have 
incised zigzag decorations. Others are fired, then colored red with copal 
(Stirling, 1938) or uruci (Tessmann, 1930; Karsten, 1935) (pl. 52, h). 
Some bowl interiors are decorated with white geometric designs represent- 
ing mythical figures. Aguaruna bowl interiors are painted red-and-black- 
on-white and are varnished with carafia. Some bowls have rattling 
pebbles inside a double bottom. 

Skin work.—Several fur products are made, including head bands and 
bags. Preparation of shrunken heads (p. 625) also involves techniques of 
skin and hair preservation. 

Metallurgy.—The Jivaro have remained very indifferent to the con- 
siderable placer gold in their territory. Of Highland metal objects, they 
acquired only a few copper axes. 

Fire making.—Fire is made with the drill and activated with a feather 
fan. 

Weapons.—Weapons of warfare reported in 1540 were lances and 
round shields; in 1571, spears, spear throwers, round shields of tapir 
hide and wood, and copper axes; and, in 1582, throwing spears, thrusting 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 623 


lances, and stones (for slings?). The bow and arrow and spear were 
used in 1582 for hunting. 

During the late 17th century, the bow and spear thrower were aban- 
doned, and the blowgun and hand-thrown spear became the principal 
hunting weapons. In the present century, blowguns, spears (pl. 62), and 
firearms are used for hunting. Spears are often tipped with iron, but 
heads of human bone or chonta palm wood are preferred, the latter for 
their magical potency. The shield is now made of hide or of a single piece 
of wood to resemble three concentric, superimposed circular slabs. 


SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


The sociopolitical unit from pre-Columbian times to the present day 
has been the household, which formerly consisted of 80 to 300 persons 
and occupied a single dwelling (jivaria), but today has only 30 to 40 
persons. Each house stands in a more or less isolated, defendable site, 
one-half to several leagues from its neighbor. 

The group occupying the jivaria is described as patrilineal, but no 
analysis of its composition or structure is available. Karsten’s assertion 
(1935) that, after a period of matrilocal residence, a newly married 
couple established its own house scarcely fits the picture of a patrilineal 
household which would require ultimate residence in the groom’s father’s 
house. 

Each community is independent, having its own headman, but half a 
dozen friendly jivarias may unite temporarily for warfare. After the 
16th-century rebellions against the encomenderos, large numbers of 
jivarias formed alliances against the Spaniards. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Jivaro women know vegetable abortives. During child 
birth, a mother is isolated lest she contaminate other people. Afterward, 
both parents are subjected to food taboos and to various restrictions on 
their activities in order to protect the infant, but the father does not 
remain in bed. Unlike many neighboring tribes, the Jivaro do not kill 
one of twins. They practice infanticide only on deformed babies (Karsten, 
1920 a). 

Puberty.—Tessmann (1930) denies that the Jivaro have menstrual 
observances, but Karsten (1920 a, pp. 13-28) describes measures to 
protect menstruating women from spirits which seek to make her preg- 
nant and a tobacco ceremony designed to give a girl strength after her 
first menses and to reinvigorate an older woman. The ceremony begins 
with a crop fertility ceremony and the slaughter of specially raised pigs 
and chickens, after which the girl takes tobacco juice to cause vomiting 
and to produce visions. He also describes a feast to initiate boys into 
manhood (Karsten, 1935, pp. 237-242), but there appears to be no secret 
cult. 


624 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Marriage.—A man may marry his cross-cousin and his sister’s daugh- 
ter (Karsten, 1935, p. 186). Polygyny is common, especially because of 
high male mortality in warfare. Stirling describes marriage by purchase, 
often of pre-pubescent girls (1938), but Karsten states that bride service 
to the girl’s father is given during several years of matrilocal residence 
in lieu of a price. The levirate is required. 

Death.—Archeology indicates some former urn burial in Jivaro terri- 
tory (Stirling, 1938), though recently only the Aguaruna have practiced 
this method (Tessmann, 1930). In the historic period, an ordinary 
person was placed in a hollow-log coffin in a special hut; a chief’s coffin 
was left in his dwelling, which was abandoned. The deceased was sup- 
plied with food and drink for 2 years, at the end of which he was supposed 
to become an animal or bird (Stirling, 1938). Some children, however, 
were buried in urns, and occasionally adults were given earth burial 
(Karsten, 1935, p. 460). Among all Jivaro, missionary influence has 
made earth burial more frequent. 


WARFARE 


The Jivaro differ from other Montafia tribes neither in the causes, 
methods, nor weapons of warfare but in their extreme zeal for war. 
Excited to rebellion during their 16th-century reduction on Spanish 
encomiendas, the Jivaro became formidable foes who have never been 
truly conquered to the present day. But their more absorbing military 
efforts have always been directed toward other Jivaro communities. The 
desire to avenge the death of members of their own household or to re- 
taliate against imagined sorcery, together with social prestige attached 
to military success, has, despite intervillage kinship bonds, pitted com- 
munities against one another in unending reprisals. Peace, concluded 
through the ceremony of burying the lance, may readily be broken by 
serving formal notice on the foe. The chronic danger of attack accounts 
for the elaborate rites by which peaceful visitors must approach and be 
received into a village. 

Warfare is directed by a special chief of considerable though temporary 
authority. It begins with a dance of excitation while a shaman drinking 
cayapi invokes supernatural assistance. The aggressors attempt a surprise 
attack, using spears but never blowguns. Around their village the de- 
fenders have placed lances and firearms, both automatically released by 
bent poles, and barricades, pitfalls, and trenches filled with sharp stakes. 
If worsted, the villagers call for help with their signal drums and barri- 
cade themselves in their houses, shooting through loop holes. The victors 
shrink the heads taken from their foe and go home to celebrate a victory 
dance. The shrunken heads are proof that the ancestors have been 
avenged. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 625 


Shrunken heads.—Shrunken heads (tsantsas) are now most typical of 
but not peculiar to the Jivaro (pl. 63). The skin is cut and removed from 
the skull, the lips are everted and pinned or sewed together, and the 
whole head skin is boiled with a plant which somewhat shrinks it and 
fixes the hair. It is further reduced by placing hot stones and sand inside 
it; then it is smoked, polished, and kept in a jar. When victim’s heads 
cannot be taken, sloth or other animal tsantsas may be substituted. 

Many fraudulent shrunken heads, made from unclaimed dead in city 
morgues, are on the market and in museums. They generally lack one 
or more of the following characteristics of genuine Jivaro tsantsas: Lips 
sewn or pinned, the forehead compressed laterally, nostrils dilated, all 
facial hair except eyebrows removed (mustaches frequently reveal falsi- 
fied tsantsas), the skin smoked-blackened and polished, and little orna- 
mentation except the lip threads. The Jivaro, moreover, never preserve 
the whole body. (See Stirling, 1938.) 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—The principal Jivaro art products are carved spear handles, 
feathered head ornaments, and mythological paintings on pots and other 
objects. 

Musical instruments.—Jivaro musical instruments include: Hollow- 
log signal drums used singly (fig. 92; pl. 62); two-headed skin drums 


Figure 92.—Jivaro drum. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, pl. 59.) 


played both by dancers and by shamans; transverse and longitudinal 
flutes ; musical bows; snail-shell signal trumpets; and jangles of shell and 
other materials attached to belts and leg bands. The Aguaruna make 
primitive two-string violins in imitation of Spanish models. Panpipes 
are merely children’s toys. 

Drinks and narcotics.—Chicha is made by fermenting manioc and 
other plants. Narcotics include tobacco, cayapi, Datura, and guayusa. 
Tobacco, the most important, was formerly taken only for magical pur- 
poses but is now generally smoked for enjoyment. Karsten (1935) 
describes the use of tobacco in boys’ initiation rites, in women’s tobacco 
ceremonies, in curing, in general magic, and in vision seeking. It is 
smoked as cigars, or else the juice is drunk or blown up the nose. 
Placed in the eye, it is thought to counteract bad dreams; painted on the 
body, it gives protection. 


626 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Cayapi is used by shamans or by people wishing to contact ghosts or 
to provoke divinatory visions. 

Datura is drunk or taken as an enema through a straw by warriors 
desiring to gain power and to foretell the future. 

Guayusa is a purgative and emetic and is believed to give strength. 


SHAMANISM 


The Jivaro shaman seems to have a greater variety of functions than 
his colleague among other Montafia tribes, though the incomparably 
richer material on the Jivaro (Stirling, 1938) may be responsible for this 
impression. He assists in warfare, makes rain, manufactures love potions, 
gives miscellaneous advice when under the influence of guayusa, causes 
disease, and cures illness by both herbal and supernatural means. 

A neophyte shaman is instructed for 1 month, dieting for 5 days and 
taking five drugs, including tobacco juice, cayapi, and three others, one 
of which may be Datura. He learns to control several disease-causing 
spirits: the spirit of the blowgun; the ray fish, most dangerous of all; 
snakes; a doorlike spirit causing barrenness; the woodpecker and toucan, 
which cause stomach trouble; the night bird, which brings various ills; 
and insects, which cause skin troubles. 

To cause sickness, a shaman blows one of the spirits he controls into 
his victim by means of tobacco smoke (Stirling, 1938) or, with the aid 
of his spirits, he sends a magical “thorn” or “dart” (Tessmann, 1930; 
Karsten, 1935) into him. A water monster may also cause illness. To 
cure, a shaman sings, plays his drum, takes Datura, tobacco, and cayapi, 
and sucks out the “thorn.” Shamans may also reveal the identity of a 
sorcerer. Some shamans may turn into jaguars to attack people. 


RELIGION 


Jivaro religion is based on the concept of a supernatural essence 
(tsarutama) that gives power to both objects and spirits. This essence 
is in the Rain God, who inhabits mountain peaks, in various animals in- 
cluding the Anaconda God, who lives in rapids, in demons, in the sun, the 
moon, the earth mother (whose importance is repeatedly stressed by 
Karsten), and, among plants, especially manifest in the chonta palm. It 
is in many fetishes, such as shrunken heads, fur balls taken from animal 
stomachs, certain brown stones, seeds, and jaguar teeth (Stirling, 1938). 
Though feared, these various spirits and demons are the object of no 
organized cults. The supreme god, Cumbanama, is remote and has no 
interest in human affairs. 

Karsten mentions an ancestor cult, which seems to be linked with 
ideas of reincarnation. Recorded beliefs about life after death, however, 
are too varied and conflicting to reveal a clear pattern of ancestor wor- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 627 


ship. Souls of warriors become, according to the qualities of the deceased 
man, either ferocious animals, such as jaguars, or innocuous anirnals, and 
children become birds. Shamans turn into dangerous monkeys, bears, 
and deer (Stirling, 1938). Karsten also describes a belief in trans- 
migration of souls to plants as well as to animals. Potential danger from 
one’s ancestors motivates vengeance of their death, but it is not clear that 
they are propitiated to procure their direct intervention in worldly affairs. 
No formal ancestor cult with secret initiation, like that of the Tucano 
tribes, is indicated. 

There is some hint of a guardian spirit concept in Karsten’s statement 
(1935) that animals, birds, and other spirits seen under the influence of 
narcotics help the dreamer in various ways. These spirits, called the 
“old ones,’”’ seem to have some connection with the concept of reincarna- 
tion. 

Karsten describes five ceremonies which employ magic. These, men- 
tioned above, are the victory celebration and the ceremonies for the benefit 
of children, young men, women, and dogs. It is curious that pigs and 
chickens, both post-Columbian elements, have a prominent role in these 
rites. 


MYTHOLOGY 


Despite the continued vitality of Jivaro culture, mythology is being for- 
gotten. 

The creation myth recounts that Cupara (Compadre?) and his wife 
were parents of the Sun. They created Sun’s wife, Moon, of mud. 
Among children of the Sun and Moon were Manioc and various animals, 
including the Sloth, which was the first Jivaro. Ensuing adventures of 
the parents and children account for a large portion of Jivaro culture 
(Stirling, 1938). 

The myth of the star brothers is very similar to the Tupi tale of twins. 
A jaguar killed his Jivaro wife, but his mother secretly reared his two 
sons, who became stars. When adults, they killed the jaguar to avenge 
their mother, then returned to the sky by means of an arrow chain 
(Karsten, 1935, pp. 523-526). Other tales recount the flood, the theft of 
fire by Hummingbird, and the acquisition of salt, potter’s clay, and 
pumpkins (Karsten, 1935). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Karsten, 1920 a, b, 1921, 1935; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97; Rivet, 
1924; Stirling, 1938; Tessmann, 1930; Up de Graf, 1923; Verneau and Rivet, 1912-22; 
Villanueva, 1902-03. 


628 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ZAPAROAN TRIBES 
INTRODUCTION 


Zéparoan-speaking tribes occupied a large territory between the 
Marajfién, Napo, and Pastaza Rivers (map 1, No. 3; map 5). The main 
tribes were the Maina, the Coronado and closely related Oa, the Andoa 
and closely related Gae and Semigae, and the Pinche, Roamaina (Omur- 
ana), Iquito, Awishira, Zéparo, Zapa, and Canelo. In addition, there 
were several tribes of doubtful affiliation in this area: The Aunale, 
Alabono, Curizeta, Sucumbio, Coronado of the Aguarico River, Neva, 
Comacor, and others mentioned below. 

Zéparoan culture is characterized by considerable variation, the result 
perhaps of the extreme isolation of the communities, the native lack of 
canoes for communication along rivers, and the presence of Witotoan and 
Tucanoan tribes to the north, the Andean peoples to the west, and the 
Marafién and upper Amazon tribes to the south and east, which subjected 
them to diverse influence. 


Subsistence was based on sweet manioc, though the bitter variety was 
introduced to the Maina and Roamaina at the end of the 18th century. 
The Zdparoans did much hunting and fishing, but with simple devices. 
Blowguns and spears were used for hunting, but poison for the blowgun 
was imported. The spear thrower was probably aboriginal but was later 
abandoned. Bows were used little, if at all. Drugs, some nets, and pos- 
sibly hooks were the main fishing devices. 

Early houses and communities were small; the large communal house 
may be post-European. Mosquito tents and hammocks of cachibana or 
Astrocaryum were well developed. Transportation devices are distinc- 
tive only in the aboriginal lack of canoes. Among manufactures, the 
development of cachibana cloth is outstanding; chambira fiber and cotton 
products are not unusual. 

The aboriginal sociopolitical unit was probably the extended patrilineal 
family, perhaps smaller than among neighboring tribes. The couvade 
is strongly developed. The Awishira, who adjoined the Western Tucan- 
oans, may have initiation rites. Bride service with ultimate patrilocal 
residence resembles that of other Montafia tribes. The practices of earth 
burial, urn burial, scaffold burial, and endocannibalism bring widespread 
features into new combinations. 

Wars were fought with spears and shields, the victims eaten, and 
trophy skulls taken. Musical instruments are remarkable only for the 
presence of armadillo-shell trumpets, the absence of musical bows, and 
the near absence of panpipes. The signal drum is a northern feature. 
Narcotics include tobacco, cayapi, guayusa, and Datura; coca is not used. 

Religion is typically based on animism, with beliefs in bush and water 
demons. Shamanism involves spirit powers as well as “thorns.” 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 629 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


Rivet (1930, p. 696) classified Zdparoan as an independent family, 
with resemblance to the Tupian Miranya (Bora), and named five dia- 
lects—Zdparo, Konambo, Gae, Ando (Semigae, Simiga, Shimagai, or 
Ga), and Jquito—and 39 subtribes. Many of these so-called subtribes, 
such as the Blanco, Conambo, Curaray, Iginori, Mauta, Meugano, Napo- 
toa, Shiripuno, Supinu, Tiputini, and Yasuni (Beuchat and Rivet, 1908, 
pp. 237-239) are merely local groups that were named after rivers, a 
common practice in the Montafia, and consequently merit no further con- 
sideration. Grubb (1927, pp. 75-76) lists as modern Zdparoan subtribes 
the Andoa, Yasuni, Pinche, Zaparo, Auca (numbering 2,000), Nushino, 
and Supinu. Auca, however, is a generic term in the Montana for pagan 
as contrasted to Christian Indians. Yasuni, Nushino, and Supinu, prob- 
ably named from rivers, are difficult to equate with the older terms. Ortiz 
(1940, p. 101) gives the following Zdparoan dialects: Gae, Semigae, 
Iquito, Iginori, and Panocarri, several of which also are evidently river 
names. 


LIST OF TRIBES 


The list of tribes included here as Zdparoan in speech does not entirely 
correspond to that of Rivet. For the Zdéparoan affinity of Andoa, Iquito, 
Gae, and Zdparo, Beuchat and Rivet (1908, pp. 241-249) have published 
linguistic material. Evidence that the Coronado and Roamaina spoke 
Zaparoan, although Beuchat and Rivet (1909) assign them to the Cahua- 
panan family, is cited below. Similarly, we include Awishira as Zdpa- 
roan, although Rivet (1924, p. 686) considers them Tucanoan. 

Maina (Mayna, Rimachu).—The Maina, the most famous tribe in the 
ancient Province of Maynas, occupied the lower Morona and Pastaza 
Rivers down to the Marafién River (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 29), and the 
Marafion River almost to the Pongo de Manseriche (lat. 4°-5° S., long. 
77° W.) (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:cxt). Their attacks had forced 
the Indians of Nieva (probably the Aguaruna) to retreat from this region 
toward Nieva. The territory was subsequently occupied by the Chaya- 
wita and other Indians of the Potro River (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 
4:cxLi1). The Maina centered, however, at Laguna Grande de Rimachu 
(hence Rimachu), now called Laguna Rimachuma or Rimachi, west of 
the lower Pastaza River (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:218). 

Tessmann’s classification of several tribes in this region must be dis- 
regarded, because he states (1930) that Rimachuma and Maina are syno- 
nyms for Kandoshi, whom he divides into two subtribes, the Murata and 
Shapra (Chapra, Chapa). The Murata, however, were a subtribe of the 
Andoa, and the Zapa a subtribe of the Roamaina. 


Captain Alonso Mercadillo, descending the Huallaga River in 1538, may have 
visited the Maina, but Juan de Salinas, who found them in 1557 below the Pongo 


630 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


de Manseriche, was the first to describe them. Salinas explored the lower Pastaza 
River and Rimachuma Lagoon. About 1580, an attempt to build a settlement at the 
Rimachuma Lagoon apparently failed (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:34-35). Dur- 
ing the 16th century, Spaniards from Santiago de las Montafias on the Santiago 
River and from Nieva frequently raided the Maina to capture slaves or to avenge 
Maina attacks, some of which reached their settlements above the Pongo de Man- 
seriche and even approached Santiago. 

After a punitive expedition against the Maina in 1616, the Spaniards made peace 
with several of their chiefs. In 1619, Diego Vaca de Vega took possession of the 
Province of Maynas, which had been granted to him, established Borja, and sent 
his son, Pedro Vaca de Vega, to subdue the Maina of the Pastaza River and Rima- 
chuma Lagoon (which he called Maracaybo Lagoon). His son brought 4,000 of 
this tribe from Rimachuma to Borja (Rel. geogr. Indias, 4: LxxI-LXXIII, CXXXIX- 
CXLV, CLU-cLIv; Figueroa, 1904, pp. 13-33; La jornada del Capitan Alonso Merca- 
dillo, 1895), where, according to Maroni (1889-92, 29:191-203), 600 Maina “family 
heads” (about 3,000 Indians) were distributed among 60 Spaniards as vassals for 
their encomiendas. Figueroa (1904, p. 15), places the figure at 700 family heads, 
about 3,500 Indians. 

Epidemics and warfare had, by 1636, reduced the Maina at Borja to 400 families, 
or 2,000 Indians (Figueroa, 1904, p. 15). In the general revolt of 1640, the Maina 
killed 34 Spaniards but failed to take Borja (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 120-122). 
A new governor, Don Pedro Vaca, pursued them, brought about half back to Borja, 
and called upon Jesuit missionaries to help pacify them. The Indians were dis- 
tributed among 21 encomiendas, where the Fathers traveled to baptize them, but the 
Jesuits estimated that only 1 out of 10 survived the brutal treatment they received. 
In 1642, the Maina were again decimated by epidemics (Maroni, 1889-92), and in 
1661, only 200 “tributaries” (about 1,000 Indians) remained at Borja. This number 
included other Indians more recently brought in but excluded some 500 who had fled 
(Figueroa, 1904). The total population was about 1,500. 

In 1668, Father Juan Lucero founded three Maina missions: San Luiz Gonzaga. 
with 70 family heads (350 Indians) ; San Ignacio de Loyola, with 110 family heads 
(550 Indians) ; and Santa Teresa, with 91 family heads (455 Indians). 

There remained in 1737 only one village of Maina encomendados, San Ignacio, 
near Borja, with a population of 63 people (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :191-203). A few 
pagan fugitives were on the Samiria River (Maroni, 1889-92, 26 :292). 

In 1752, Christian Indians from Chayawitas helped to found a mission for the 
Maina at Rimachuma. Another mission, San Juan el Evangelista, was established 
below the mouth of the Pastaza (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 520). In 1768, the 
Maina population had greatly decreased because of revolts, smallpox, suicide, and 
infanticide, although missionaries had brought in a few more families from the 
forests (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 30). Izaguirre (1922-29, 12:396-397) considers that the 
Maina are now extinct. 


Zaparo.—The Zdparo (Curaray, Zdpara), named from their wicker- 
work baskets, cannot be located with certainty because many Zdparoan 
groups seemingly bore this name. 


The Zdparo proper were first found by Father de la Cueva below the junction of 
the Noxino (Oas) and Curaray Rivers, some distance inland (lat. 2°30’ S., long. 
76° W.) (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:230). The mission of Los Santos de Zaparas must 
have contained Zdparo though it is not so stated explicitly (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 308). In 1848, Father Castrucci found Zdparo on the Bobonaza River, 
7 days’ travel from its mouth, and near the Tigriacu and Napo Rivers, the whole 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 631 


tribe numbering 1,000, a sharp contrast to Osculati’s estimate of 20,000 persons a 
few years later. 

In the second half of the 19th century, the Zdparo were divided into two groups: 
one, the more numerous, between the Curaray, Napo, and lower Arajuno Rivers, 
the other, centering in a village on the upper Curaray River but including settlements 
along the Lliguino, Nushinu, Nuganu, Supinu, and other rivers (Pierre, 1889, p. 90; 
Simson, 1886, p. 166). Of numerous groups named after rivers—Muegano, Curaray, 
Tupitini, Matagen, Yasuni, Manta, Shiripuno, Nushino, Andoas, Rotuno, and others 
(Villavicencio, 1858, p. 170)—many are probably Zdparoan subtribes. A large num- 
ber of these spoke Quechua in addition to Zéparo. 

In 1925 Tessmann (1930) guessed that only a few hundred Zdparo remained; they 
occupied the sources of the Curaray, Villano, and Cononaco Rivers. 

More recently, a small group of Zdparo has been discovered on the Putumayo 
River in Colombia at Salado Chico, between Puerto Leguizamo (formerly Caucaya) 
and Puerto Montclar del Putumayo. These Indians had originally lived on the Napo 
River, near the Witoto-Caimito. The Zdparo of the upper Napo River speak only 
Quechua (Ortiz, 1940, p. 99). 

Zapa (Cepa, Iiuru).—The Zapa, so-called because the women wore a 
shell pubic cover, were apparently distinct from the Zdparo, being linguis- 
tically and culturally close to the Roamaina, whose history they shared 
(Figueroa, 1904, pp. 135-136). (Lat. 4° S., long. 76° W.) These are 
perhaps Tessmann’s Shapera (Sapa), a division of his so-called Kandosht. 

Gae and Semigde.—The Gae (Gaye, Siaviri) and Semigde (Semi 
Gaye, Ssemigde, Soronotoa?) were so closely related linguistically, cul- 
turally, and geographically that they might be considered a single tribe. 
(Lat. 2°-3° S., long. 76°-77° W.) Rivet’s Gae vocabulary is also very 
similar to that of the Andoan Murata. 

The Gae lived between the Tigre and Bobonaza Rivers, the latter being 
the home of the Coronado, their bitter enemies. They occasionally visited 
the Bobonaza River, but their villages were some days travel in the in- 
terior. (Figueroa, 1904, p. 155, however, placed them on the Bobonaza. ) 
From subsequent historical accounts (below) the Gae seem mainly to have 
occupied the Beleno (present Villano?) and Callana-yacu Rivers, both 
headwaters of the Curaray River (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:85). Chantre 
y Herrera (1901, pp. 207, 214, 249, 307-308) locates them near the 
Bobonaza River between the Pastaza and Napo Rivers, which they visited 
to fish. Veigl (1785 b, p. 50) states that Gae and Semigde territory was 
between the upper Tigre, Napo, and Curaray Rivers. 

The Semigde were east of the Gae, on the Curaray River above the Awishira 
and were neighbors of the Neva (Neova) and Zdparo (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :229, 
261-264). Semigde subdivisions were the Aracohor, Mocosiohiro, Usicohor, Ichoco- 
mohor, Itoromohor, and Maithiore, the last sometimes appearing as an independent 
tribe (op. cit.). The Comacor on the upper Tigre River might, judging by the name, 
be a Semigde subdivision, but a Semigde informant mentioned them in connection 
with the Neva (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:232). As the Neva were neighbors of the 
Semigde, this might imply that the Comacor were either a distinct tribe or a 


Roamaina subdivision, or that Comacor was a synonym for the Iquito, who were 
also called Mamacor and Omacacor. 


632 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull, 143 


The Gae were first visited by Dominicans on the upper Pastaza River near the 
Canelo in 1581 (Pierre, 1889, p. 135) but subsequently eluded all missionaries and 
slavers (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:29, 85-86, 231-235, 246) until 1672, when a few of the 
tribe entered their first mission, San Xavier, on the Gaye River (Maroni, 1889-92, 
29:255; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 250). But continued slave raids from the 
Pastaza River region and intermittent missionary activity prevented complete stabil- 
ity of the mission until Father Nicholas Durango settled at San Xavier in 1696. 
Meanwhile a Gae cacique induced some of the Semigde to enter San Xavier and 
others to join Mission Santa Cruz on the Pastaza River (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, 
p. 308). 

In 1707, when the Indians killed Father Durango, the Semigde and most of the Gae 
fled from San Xavier. The chief who instigated the murder went to the Neva and 
Zdpara in the role of a missionary, but was finally killed (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :256). 
The next year, many Semigde and the Gae who had remained at San Xavier went 
to the Andoa mission, Santo Tomé. The Gae who stayed in the bush were practically 
wiped out within 2 years by Spanish slavers from Borja. By 1768, the Gae were 
extinct, while only a few Semigde survived, some in the mission of Andoas, others 
wild (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 51). 

In modern times, Ortiz (1940) found two Semigde dialects, one on the Tigre River, 
related to Andoa and another on the Curaray River. 


Andoa.—The Andoa were closely related linguistically and culturally 
to the Gae and Semigde (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 307-308), which 
led Tessmann (1930) incorrectly to believe that Semigde is merely a 
synonym for Andoa. They lived aboriginally between the Pastaza and 
Morona Rivers (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 47) above the Maina (lat. 3°-4° S., 
long. 77° W.). Three Andoan groups mentioned in early sources—the 
Guallpayo (Toqueoreo), Guasaga, and Murata—appear to be post- 
Columbian subdivisions, which had separated from the Andoa proper. 


Andoa was a name applied not only to the tribes of the Pastaza River above the 
Maina, but in 1582 to the Indians of the encomiendas of the Santiago River, who 
had probably been brought by slavers from the Pastaza River. The Andoa taken 
from the Guasaga River (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :261-263) to the region of Borja on the 
Marafidén River were called Guasaga. Those who escaped the encomiendas and re- 
turned to their homes became known as Guallpayo. A hamlet of 56 Andoa remained 
at Del Alto or Nuestra Sefiora de las Nieves opposite Borja in 1737. 


Toward the end of the 17th century, the Andoa remaining in the Pastaza River 
region were settled by Father Tomas Santos on the Bobonaza River, somewhat above 
the Mission of San Xavier, but the settlement did not thrive. In 1701, the Andoa on 
the Guasaga River were collected in a mission by Father Nicolas Durango, then they 
moved to the Gae mission, but fled in 1707, fearing the Semigde who murdered 
Father Durango. Subsequently they joined the Gae, Semigde, Guallpayo, and 
Guasaga in the Mission of Santo Tomé de los Andoas built in 1708 on the Pastaza 
River near the Bobonaza River. In 1737, this mission had 447 people (Chantre y 
Herrera, 1901, pp. 307-308, 419; Maroni, 1889-92, 26:227; 29 :261-263) and in 1768, 
400. There were also Andoa at Borja and a few wild families in the bush. In the first 
half of the next century, the tribe lacked a mission and became a constant victim of 
Jivaro and Murata raids. In 1846, however, Father Castrucci gathered 450 Andoa 
into their ancient village. In 1925, only 12 families remained at Andoas (Tessmann, 
1930). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 633 


The Murata (Murato), erroneously included by Tessmann (1930) as a Kandoshi 
(Maina) subtribe, were not known previous to 1744. The Andoa at Santo Tomé 
had long reported that a tribe called the Murata lived near their territory and men- 
aced them when they hunted in the bush and carved canoes on the Guasaga River. 
They said that the Murata were related to them (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 43; Escobar y 
Mendoza, 1769, p. 58, expresses the same opinion), but a vocabulary supposed to be 
Murata, published in 1928 (see Rivet, 1930) bears no resemblance to any Zdparoan 
dialect. The Murata fought off Jesuit missionary expeditions in 1748 and in 1754, 
but the next year a Murata was captured and sent back to his tribe with presents, 
after which they agreed to have a mission. Nuestra Senora de los Dolores was 
founded on the Guasaga River with 158 Indians (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 477- 
482). In 1762, many Jivaro joined the Murata. 

In the first half of the 19th century, the Murata were reported attacking the Andoa 
and, about 1846, they and the unidentified Machine Indians frequently came from the 
Manacaro-yacu and Mitu-yacu Rivers to assault travelers on the Pastaza River. 
These tribes still inhabit the marshy region between the Pastaza, Morona, and 
Marafion Rivers. 

The Guallpayo were the Andoa who escaped from encomiendas near Santiago de 
las Montafias on the Santiago River, where they were listed in 1582 (Relacién de 
la gobernacién de Yahuarzongo y Pacamurus, in Rel, geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:34- 
35), and, to avoid slavers, settled near the Gae (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:263) at the 
headwaters of the Tigre River. They might originally have been an Andoan enclave 
among the Jivaro on the Santiago River, but more likely they had been brought from 
the Pastaza River by slavers who raided the Maina and Gae in the 16th and 17th 
centuries (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 71-73, 146, 152-154; Figueroa, 1904, pp. 13- 
33). Some of the Guallpayo joined the Mission of San Xavier (founded in 1672), 
but were subordinate to Gae. In 1684, others were reported in the forests pirating 
on the Asarunatoas River, fighting the Asarunatoa, and intimidating other tribes. 

The Guallpayo were last mentioned in 1708, when a few of them with 100 Guasaga 
were building a mission on the Pastaza River near the Bobonaza River. The mission 
later included Gae, Semigdée, and Andoa, and it is presumed that the Guallpayo be- 
came submerged in this population. 


Coronado (Jpapiza, Hichachapa, Quilinina).—These Indians were 
called Coronado because of their triangular, crownlike hairdress. Early 
references variously located their habitat on: the Pastaza River near the 
mouth of the Bobonaza River, 1656 (Figueroa, 1904, p. 157) ; the Aarra- 
bima River, a right tributary of the Pastaza somewhat above the Bobonaza 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 26:216) ; and the Tigre River, 2 days below its head- 
waters and 1 day overland from the Bobonaza River (lat. 3° S., long. 
77° W.). The Coronado of the Aguarico River (Maroni, 1889-92, 
29 :183) were probably a totally different tribe, perhaps Tucanoan, who 
bore this name because of a similar hairdress. 

The Taroqueo (probably distinct from the Toqueoreo, an Andoan 
subtribe), spoke the same language as the Coronado. In 1681, 6,000 
Taroqueo lived near the Coronado, Gae, and Zdparo (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 273). The Chudavina, whom Maroni calls “friends of the 
Coronado,” and whom missionaries wished to unite with them (Figueroa, 
1904, p. 158), may also have spoken the same language. The Miscuara, 


634 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


mentioned as living near the Coronado on both sides of the Pastaza River 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 60), were perhaps also related to the latter. 

Beuchat and Rivet (1909, p. 619) classify the Coronado as Cahuapanan, 
accepting Chantre y Herrera’s statement that the former were south of 
Pinche, between the Pastaza and Tigre Rivers, at about lat 3° 50’ S., 
adjoining the Maina. Earlier references, however, not only place them 
north of this supposed location, well within Zdparoan territory, but ex- 
plicit statements link them with the Zdparoans. Figueroa (1904, p. 155) 
calls them “kinsmen” of the Oa, while Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 239) 
states that the Oa spoke the same language as the Awishira. Father 
Lucero wrote in 1676 that the Awishira understood the language of the 
Coronado and Gae (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :246), the latter unquestionably 
Zaparoan. 


The Coronado were first contacted by slavers who subsequently captured many of 
them. The tribe remained elusive, however, until 1656, when two Coronado slaves 
sent by a Jesuit, found them at the mouth of the Bobonaza River. Only 43 persons 
remained of the once large tribe, the others having been killed by the Gae, the Maca 
(probably a Jivaro subtribe), and the Spanish slavers. Seven families fleeing from 
the Gae had migrated north to join their kinsmen, the Oa. 

In 1659, Brother Antonio Fernandez de Enciso stayed among the Coronado 7 
months, building the Mission of Jestis de los Coronados, but no other missionary came 
after his departure and they returned to the bush. In 1702, Father Gasper Vidal 
brought them back to this mission, hoping to settle them with the Semigde, but as 
their name disappears from the literature, they probably died off or were assimilated 
(Figueroa, 1904, pp. 153-160; Maroni 1889-92, 29:88). 


Oa.—The Oa (Oaqui, Deguaca, Santa Rosino), close relatives and 
neighbors of the Coronado, lived near the Aarrabima River near the junc- 
tion of the Bobonaza and Pastaza Rivers (lat. 2° 30’ S., long. 77° W.). 
Spanish slavers and Gae hostility drove them to the Tigre headwaters, 
thence to the Nushino (Nonxino) River, where some Coronado families 
joined them. They were put in a mission in 1659, then transferred to 
a mission on the Ansupi River, and finally placed under secular authority 
at Santa Rosa (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:118-119). They have since disap- 
peared from the literature. 

Roamaina.—The Roamaina (Numurana, Hunurana, Omurana), totally 
distinct from the Maina, lived at the headwaters of the Chambira River 
(lat. 3°30’ S., long. 76° W.). The Zapa seem to have been an intimately 
associated tribe or subtribe. The Pinche, Pava, and Araza, who spoke 
the same language and lived in the same region as the Roamaina (Maroni, 
1889-92, 29 :264-266), may also have been subgroups of this tribe. The 
Habitoa, found in 1684 with the Pinche on a tributary of the upper 
Tigre above the Asarunatoas River (the Asarunatoa might have been 
an Andoa subtribe), may or may not have been another of their sub- 
tribes (Maroni, 1889-92, 32:142-143). The Uspa, who lived with the 
Pinche and Araza in the Pastaza Basin and were taken to the same 


# my poet we 
ge A Se Set ORE i= pO EL OA OO LE 
fs : 


PuatrEe 48.—Panoan Indians of the 19th century. Top: Conibo playing ring-and- 
pin game. Center: Procession of the Immaculate Conception, at Sarayacu, on 
the Ucayali River. Bottom; Conibo Indians shooting tortoises. (After Marcoy, 
1869.) 


Puate 49.—Conibo Indians. Top: Village on the Pachitea River. (After 
Castelnau, 1850-59.) Bottom: Group wearing cushmas. Some have lip plugs. 
(Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Puiate 50.—Cashibo and Campa garment types. Left: Cashibo man and wife. 
Right: Campo boy incushma. (After Tessmann, 1930.) 


PLatTeE 51.—Montania ear, 
Bottom, left: Marahua. 
ments for ornaments: 
Ricaurte, 1936.) 


nose, and lip ormanents. 


(After Marcoy, 1869.) 
Coto-Orején, above; 


Right: 


Top, left: Mayoruna. 
Types of ear enlarge- 


“Sarayacu,’ below. (After 


PTF 


PLATE 52.—Montaiia pottery t;pes. a-—d, Polychrome: black-and-red on cream; 
e, f, white-on-red; g, h, red-on-cream. a, Conibo, fine-type polychrome; 
b, Aguano: c, Munichi: d, Chébero: e, Yameo: f, Chayawita: g, Yameo: h, Jivaro. 
(a, Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia; b-h, after Tessmann, 1930, 
color pls. 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13.) 


PLATE 53.—Masco Indians. Top, left: Group beside large communal house. 
Top, right: Man dressed in cushma beside small hut. Bottom, left and right: 
Men with labrets. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


we 


‘. if Fa - 


Puare 54.—Archers of the Montafia. Top: Masco. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 
Bottom: Amuescha. (Courtesy James Sawders.) 


55.—Masco rack of pottery and temporary wind shelters. (Courtesy 
Paul Fejos.) 


Puate 56.—Acculturated Canelo Indians. Top: Canelo chief, war captain, and 
two Barias judges, with canes of authority, a Spanish heritage. Bottom: Canelo 
at Paci Yuca, Ecuador, wearing Spanish dress and ponchos. (Courtesy 
American Museum of Natural History.) 


Puate 57.—Canelo Indians. Top; The chicha shampoo in progress on the last 
day of the feast, Paci Yacu. Bottom: The dance around the cross, Paci Yacu. 
(Courtesy American Museum of Natural History.) 


(68ST ‘P2101q 10yJy) *AINyuad YIGT OY) JO SuRIpuy OfPaURQ—ge auLvIg 


2 news a NN i gr ENN ome 


- . enn: see 


Piare 59.—Zaparo Indians of the 19th century. Top: Zdparo in hunting and 
war dress (at left); Encaballado chief and woman (at right). Bottom: Com- 
munal house (malocea) on the Napo River. (After Osculati, 1854.) 


ommenna 


of Natural 


Museum 


merican 
ssmann, 1930.) 


Indians. (Top, Courtesy A 
History; bottom, after Te 


1varo 


, 


Puate 60.—J 


INQ "M MoYVIBYA ASozZINO 


ot 
NS Xe 


a 


Puatre 62.—Jivaro Indians. Top, left: Warrior with European-type drum. 
Top, right: Lances used for hunting and fighting. Bottom, left: Pottery mak- 
ing. Bottom, right: Woman’s dress. (Courtesy Matthew W. Stirling.) 


American 


Courtesy 


( 


the Jivaro. 


Museum of Natural History.) 


3.—Human heads shrunken by 


Je 


PLATE € 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 635 


missions, may also have been a Roamaina subtribe (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 308). 

Beuchat and Rivet (1909, p. 620) classify the Roamaina as Cahua- 
pana. ‘This is doubtful, because although they adjoined the Maina, who 
conceivably were Cahuapanan, they also adjoined the indisputably Zapa- 
roan Andoa on the north and the Jquito on the northeast. To the south 
were the Panoan Urarina and Itucale. Moreover, the Pinche are thought 
to be Zdporoan, even by Beuchat and Rivet. 

Beuchat and Rivet (1909, p. 619) include the Chapa (doubtless the 
Zapa; Rodriguez, 1686, gives Chapa as a synonym for Zapa) as a Roa- 
maina subtribe, but Tessmann, although linking the Zapa with the Roa- 
maina, divides the Maina (Kandoshi) into the Murata and Chapa. But 
the Murata is an Andoan subtribe (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 477), 
and it is very doubtful that the Chapa and Zapa were distinct peoples. 


The first White contact with the Roamaina seems to have been in 1641, when a 
number were captured to serve as interpreters. Plans to missionize the Roamaina 
and Zapa in 1656 were postponed by enforced serfdom at the new colony of San- 
tander on the lower Pastaza River and by epidemics of influenza, smallpox, and 
dysentery, which reduced the population of the two tribes from an estimated 10,000 
in 1654 to 1,500 in 1660. Jesuit influence brought the abandonment of Santander and, 
in 1659, the Mission of Santos Angeles de los Roamainas was established on the 
Pastaza River. By 1695, however, epidemics and desertion left only five Roamama 
in the mission. 

The Roamaina subsequently joined the Mission of San José de los Finches in 1708, 
but deserted in a few years at the instigation of a chief who insisted on carrying 
on sororal polygyny. In 1737, 20 to 40 Roamaina families were discovered on the 
Capirona River. They were ready to accept Christianity but reluctant to go to 
the Pastaza River (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:265; Zarate in Figueroa, 1904, pp. 142-155, 
395). 

In 1925, only 21 Roamaina (Omurana) survived. They claimed to have moved 
from the Marafién or possibly the Pastaza River to the Uritu-yacu, a small, left 
tributary of the Marafién, where they lived under a patron, spoke Quechua in addi- 
tion to their own language, and were largely assimilated (Tessmann, 1930). 


Awishira.—The Awishira (Ixignor, Awishiri, Avirxiri, Abixira, 
Avixira, Avijira, Abigira, Abisjira, Auishiri, Agouisiri, Auhishiri, 
Auxira, Abira, Ahuishiri, Ashiri) were classified by Rivet (1924, p. 
686) as Tucanoan but Father Lucero stated in 1676 that they understood 
the language of the Zdparoan-speaking Coronado and Gae (Maroni, 
1889-92, 29:246). Their proper classification must await better lin- 
guistic data, which can still be obtained. Their original territory lay 
between that of the Tucanoan and Zdparoan tribes on the lower Curaray 
River and extended northward to the Napo River (lat. 2°30’ S., long. 
Bo- UW. o)ic 

Though the Awtshira were probably seen by the Orellana expedition of 1540, it 
was not until after 1620 that visits by missionaries, explorers, and Christianized In- 


dians together with the baptism of a few of their own tribe paved the way for their 
first mission, founded at San Miguel in 1665. At this time, the Awishira were 


653333—47—-43 


636 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


numerous, extending some 50 leagues along the right bank of the Napo River, 
opposite the Tucanoan Encabellado (Cruz, 1900, p. 36), and southward to and along 
both sides of the Curaray River (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :182-183 ; 29 :224-225). Within 
two years, the chief, objecting to the missionary’s ban on polygyny, instigated the 
murder of the missionary. A punitive expedition entered their territory in 1676 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :85-87). 

In 1755, 118 Indians called “Abijira Encabello” were transferred to the Napo 
River missions, but most of them escaped. 

One hundred years later, the Awishira occupied their original territory (Osculati, 
1854, p. 183; Pierre, 1889, p. 90) but were definitely hostile to both the Encabellado 
and Whites. Their feeling toward the latter was in part due to Portuguese slave 
raids (Simson, 1886, p. 152). They lived on the right bank of the Napo River 
opposite the Orejon or Coto and were closely associated with the Jquito and 
Mazane, but retained their own language and customs (Villavicencio, 1858, p. 175). 
In 1925, the main group of Awishira, reduced through warfare with the Peruvians 
and neighboring tribes to between 30 and 50 persons but still savage, moved to the 
Tiputini-Shiripuno River region. Another group of some 25 Awishira lived under 
a patron at Lake Vacacocha near the lower Curaray River; these had lost most of 
their native culture (Tessmann, 1930). 


Iquito.—The Jquito (Iquita, Ikito, Amacacore, Hamacore, Quiturran, 
Puca-uma), closely related linguistically to the Gae (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 345), were evidently unknown before the 18th century. They 
are not mentioned in the early literature and do not appear on Fritz’s 
map of 1707. They seem to have lived north of the Yameo, occupying 
most if not all of the drainage of the upper Nanay River and its tributary, 
the Rio Branco (probably Chimbira River), and extending from the 
Tigre to the Napo River (lat. 3°30’ S., long. 75° W.) 

The Iquito had three subtribes: the Jquito proper, the Maracano, and 
the Auve. The Iquito proper lived up the Yuracnamu or Yracanamu 
(probably the modern Yaraca-yacu) River, a tributary of the Tigre, and 
extended from the Tigre to the Curaray River. Tessmann erroneously 
classed modern Jquito as a distinct language, and named two divisions, 
the Jquito and the Cahuarano (Tessmann, 1930), the latter perhaps being 
the older Maracano. 

The Maracano (Moracano) occupied the Guashchamoa (Necamumu) 
River, a tributary of the Rio Branco. This may be Tessmann’s Cahua- 
rano (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 348-349, 387-389, 486-490, 544-550). 

The Auve lived near the Encabellado of the Curaray River. 


The [quito proper, first visited in 1737, were eventually enticed by gifts to enter 
two missions. One of these was abandoned in 1749 and the Indians scattered, some 
going to other missions and others reverting to a primitive life along the Rio Branco. 
More Jquito later joined missions, and even helped convert their kinsmen (Chantre 
y Herrera, 1901, pp. 348-349, 544-550; Figueroa, 1904, pp. 379-382). In 1925, there 
were several hundred Jquito on the middle Nanay River and 1,000 Cahuarano on 
the lower Curaray River. The latter still retained some of their native culture 
(Tessmann, 1930). 

The Maracano were missionized in 1748, but moved several times. In 1858, 
Villavicencio (1858, p. 175) reported some Maracano on the Amazon River. They 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 637 


had acquired some elements of European culture through contact with the Christian- 
ized Indians. The Cahuarano are perhaps their descendants. 


The Auve, who were always hostile to Whites, have not been men- 
tioned since Chantre y Herrera’s account (1901, pp. 400-405). 

Pinche.—The Pinche (Pintsche), with its subtribes, the Pava, Araza 
(Arasa, not to be confused with the Arawakan Arasa of Bolivia), and 
Uspa (Uchpa, Utschpa, Uchupa, Liepa), lived in the mountains between 
the Pastaza and upper Tigre Rivers, (lat. 3° S., long. 76° W.) (Veigl, 
1785 b, p. 44; Escobar y Mendoza, 1769, p. 56). It is impossible to dis- 
tinguish their territory sharply from that of the Roamaina, whose language 
they spoke, or from that of their neighbors, the Semigae, Pava, and 
Camacor (possibly a branch of the /quito), but it is probable that they 
lived north of the Roamaina and south of the Semigde and Zdparo. 


The Pinche and Havitoa, the latter an unidentified tribe, were visited by Father 
Tomas Santos in 1684 (Maroni, 1889-92, 32 :142-143). The Pinche, Pava, Uspa, and 
Araza were first placed in two missions in 1698. They numbered about 500 warriors 
(some 2,500 people) in 1700. The mission was twice moved, most of the Pinche 
and Pava dying soon thereafter and others following the Roamaina into the bush 
in 1713. In 1731, 50 Araza joined the mission, San José, at the invitation of the 
Andoa. In 1737, the Pinche mission had only 136 inhabitants, but wild Pinche 
and Uspa were reported in the area between the Chambira and the Pastaza Rivers. 
Only 100 Pinche survived in 1846. (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :264-266; Figueroa, 1904, 
pp. 297, 395; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 308; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 9:167.) In 1925, 
there were still savage and hostile Pinche on the upper Tigre River. 


Canelo.—The native language of the Canelo (Canela, Kanela, Napo, 
Santa Rosina, Lorreto) is unknown because they quickly adopted Que- 
chua when they, one of the first Amazonian tribes to accept Christianity, 
were placed in a mission by the Dominicans in 1581. (Lat. 2° S., long. 
78° W.) Reinburg (1921) believes the Canelo are Zdparo; Karsten 
(1935, pp. 9-10) that they are a mixture of Jivaro, Zaparo, and Quechua. 
The mission, located at the mouth of the Pindo River, a tributary of the 
Pastaza River, included also Gae and three tribes of unknown identity, 
the Ymmunda (Ynmuda), the Guallingo, and later the Sante (Santt), 
none of whom are subsequently mentioned in early chronicles. All of 
these Indians were indiscriminately called Canelo (Pierre, 1889, pp. 106, 
135). Other tribes mentioned in connection with the Canelo, such as 
Penday, Chonta, and Canincha, were probably named from rivers. 


Jivaro raids eventually forced the mission to be moved to Chontoa, then to the 
Pastaza River, where it still exists, though the raids continued through the last 
century. By 1775, the Canelo were decimated by smallpox, but their number was 
augmented by Jivaro converts. 

At the end of the last century, the Canelo (Napo) had lost their identity, being 
lumped with the Quechua-speaking peoples of the upper Pastaza and Napo Rivers. 
They were distinguished from the Jivaro, Encabellado, Zadparoan, and other pagan 
jungle tribes, all called “Auca,”’ by the fact that they ate salt, wore more clothes 
(pl. 56), were more completely Christian, and would not associate with the latter. 


638 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


In 1877, they occupied Canelos and Sarayacu on the Bobonaza River, upper Curarai 
village, the left bank of the Napo River down to the Coca River, the villages of 
Napo, Aguano, Santa Rosa, Suno, Archidona, San José, Avila, Baez, Papallacta, 
Tena, Loreto, Concepcién, Payamino, and Cotapino (Simson, 1886, pp. 153-154). 

Of these villages, Canelos, founded in 1712 (Maroni, 1889-92, 1:234), had about 
30 people in 1730, its population consisting of refugees from encomiendas. In 1780, 
it had 100 people; in 1870, about 70 Quechua-speaking families or 350 persons 
(Orton, 1870, p. 172). In 1877, when the mission was in ruins, it had only 150 to 
200 people, many of whom spoke Jivaro (Simson, 1886, pp. 98-100). In 1894, there 
were 600 people (Rimbach, 1897, p. 372). At the turn of the present century, the 
Canelo were scattered in several villages on the Bobonaza and numbered between 
1,000 and 1,300 (Tessmann, 1930). Reinburg (1921) states that they were scattered 
in isolated families, but gathered twice yearly in missions to observe Christian rites 
and festivities. About 2,000 now remain at Canelos under Dominican missionaries 
(Karsten, 1935, p. 10). 


TRIBES OF DOUBTFUL AFFILIATION IN OR ADJOINING ZAPAROAN TERRITORY 


Many of the following names may designate little-known tribes: 

Alabano.—The Alabano lived on the upper Tigre River. They were 
in the Mission of San Xavier for a while but, decimated by smallpox, 
returned to the bush in 1764. Some later settled with the Jquito in the 
Mission of Santa Barbara (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 555). 

Neva (Neova).—The Neva lived on the Tiu-yacu, an upper Tigre 
tributary (lat. 3° S., long. 76° W.) (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:232), and 
may have been a Roamaina subdivision. 

Asaruntoa.—The Asaruntoa were situated near the Roamaina and 
Andoa, and were perhaps a subdivision of the latter. 

Aunale.—The first location of the Aunale is shown on Fritz’s map of 
1691 between the Curaray and Tigre Rivers, south of the Abijira. But 
Maroni (1889-92, 26 :233) puts them on the right side of the Tigre below 
the Yuracnamui (the modern Yaraca-yacu?) River. The Aunale are 
first mentioned in 1743 when Yameo scouts sent by Father Brentano 
traveled 2 weeks up the Tigre River and found 11 houses of Quechua- 
speaking Aunale who had deserted the Chébero mission of Concepcion. 
(Lat. 3° S., long. 75° W.) Nearby lived some Jtucal. Twenty Aunale 
called on Father Brentano, who sent them back with an invitation for 
the others to visit the mission. The Aunale were at Concepcion during 
the 18th century (Maroni, 1889-92, 28 :412; 31:70-71). 

Curizeta.—The Curizeta were Indians who fled from the encomiendas 
of Archidona on the Napo River near the Curaray to the headwaters of 
the Cosanga River, a tributary of the Coca River (Maroni, 1889-92, 
28 :118). 

Coronado of the Aguarico River.—Although, like the Coronado 
of the Pastaza River, these people were probably named for their crown- 
like hairdress, they were not related to the latter and may have been 
Tucanoan. They were found in 1621, 12 leagues below San Pedro de 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 639 


Alcala del Rio Dorado. Their most ancient settlement was at the town 
of San Francisco de los Coronados. There were 20 families in 1621, all 
good boatmen and Christians (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:183). 

Inemo dikama.—tThe existence of this tribe was revealed by a vocabu- 
lary collected by M. de Wavrin (Rivet, 1930) from two Indians living 
between the upper Curaray and Napo Rivers. It does not have the 
slightest resemblance to any Zdparoan dialect and is apparently an isolated 
language. According to one informant, his language was called Tei and 
his tribe Inema dikama. The neighboring tribes were called the Sapeiné, 
Tuie, Wau, and Emi, all unidentifiable names. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 


The Zdparoans were all slash-and-burn farmers, but depended in vary- 
ing degrees on other foods. The Andoa relied greatly on collecting wild 
fruits; the Awishira in 1858 were primarily hunters and fishermen. 

Farming.—The main crops were those common to tropical South 
America, with sweet manioc the staple. In post-Columbian times, bananas 
and plantains were also major foods. The Awzshira received bananas 
even before they came in contact with the Whites. Bitter manioc had not 
spread in aboriginal times west of the Encabellado and Quijo, but it was 
introduced to the Maina and Roamaina at the end of the 18th century, so 
that they might make farinha and sell it to explorers as a traveling ration 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:28). Other crops are listed on page 516. 

Fields were cleared with stone axes (which the Awishira used until 
the 19th century), burned, and tilled with a dibble. Bush and weeds 
were kept down with a large chonta knife, which was later replaced by 
the machete. 

Hunting.—Hunting weapons had a sporadic distribution. The blow- 
gun for hunting birds and monkeys has been ascribed the Roamaina, 
Zaparo, Canelo, and Maina, but the bow only to the Roamaina. The 
Awishira and Iquito used neither blowguns nor bows, and hunted only 
with spears, which placed them at some disadvantage. Spears were used 
by all tribes for large game. The Zdparo resorted to spears whenever they 
exhausted their stock of blowgun poison, which they obtained only through 
trade (Simson, 1886, p. 167). 

These tribes used trained hunting dogs. The Zdparo, like the Jivaro, 
put tobacco juice in their dogs’ throats and noses to improve their scent. 
Zdparo hunters used bone whistles to lure monkeys by imitating their 
calls and to communicate with other hunters by imitating birds (Simson, 
1886, p. 168). Other hunting devices included nets and traps (/quito), 
pitfalls with pales for taking pigs (Jquito, Pinche), and bird snares 
(Pinche). 


640 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


An Jquito hunter who had slain a wild pig took its head as a trophy and 
left his spear with a few of the animal’s hairs at the site of the kill. 

Canelo hunting ritual is described in detail by Karsten (1920 a, 36-42). 

Fishing.—The principal fishing method was drugging with barbasco 
(all tribes), Clibadium (Roamaina, Zéparo, Awishira), and Tephrosia 
(Zaparo, Awtshira, Iquito). Fish spears were Canelo and Zéparo 
weapons, but the harpoon was limited to the Canelo. Bows and fish 
arrows were used only by the so-called Kandoshi among whom they were 
children’s toys (Tessmann, 1930). The fishhook may have been native 
to the Iquito and Zdparo, the latter using a gorge. The Canelo and 
Zdparo had fish nets; the former placed several nets, each 5 feet (1.5 m.) 
by 20 to 25 feet (6 to 8 m.), end to end across the mouth of a stream 
(Simson, 1886, p. 157). The Roamaina fished with dip baskets. 

The Awishira occasionally took turtles in the Napo River (Maroni, 
1889-92, 29 :85-87). 

Collecting.—During certain seasons, wild fruits, especially of chonta 
and achua palms, were important foods. Fat palm grubs and certain 
flying ants were also relished. 

Food preparation.—Food was grated either on a thorny piece of wood 
or on a board studded with pebbles and thorns. For grinding, the Roa- 
maina and Iquito used a wooden trough. 

Fermented manioc provided a food as well as an intoxicating beverage. 
A mass of the tubers was pounded, then slightly fermented with saliva; 
it was stored in a jar and consumed after adding water. As it kept for 
a long time, it was always the main provision for a long journey. 

Because mineral salt could be obtained only through trade from the 
Marafion River tribes, most of these Indians used certain plant ashes 
instead. 

Domesticated animals.—Each Indian household was surrounded with 
pets, but there were no domesticated animals until the missionaries intro- 
duced chickens. 


HOUSES AND HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT 


The long communal house predominated in the area. Awishira dwell- 
ings were about 75 feet (22.5 m.) wide and 300 feet (90 m.) long. The 
Coronado built equally large houses and closed them tightly against 
mosquitos. In the last century, the Zdparo lived in open sheds sufficiently 
large to protect 25 to 30 people from the rain, but now use side-walled 
houses. The Canelo formerly built palisaded villages, with secret en- 
trances (Pierre, 1889, p. 144). In 1894, they had rectangular, palm- 
thatched houses with walls of thin posts (Rimbach, 1897, p. 372). Most 
houses in the area are built of lathes made from the tarapote tree (/riartea 
ventricosa), which splits easily. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 641 


To avoid mosquitos, the Roamaina and Kandoshi sleep under tightly 
woven tents, the former using palm bast or cachibana, the latter, Astro- 
caryum. The Roamaina sleep on the ground, the Canelo and perhaps 
Andoa on platforms, though some Canelo use hammocks. The Zdparo, 
Awishira, and Iquito sleep in hammocks. Men’s log seats are standard 
equipment of most houses. 

The Awishira built interior storage platforms, and the Jquito had 
special stands for spears. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Complete nakedness was customary among both sexes of Coronado and 
among Awishira and perhaps Gae and Semigde men. In other tribes, at 
least the genitals were covered. Roamaina and Zdparo men used a short 
flap of bark cloth or of cachibanco cloth; the Iquito tucked the penis under 
a belt. On important occasions, Maina, Zadparo, and Awishira men wore 
a bark-cloth tunic, the Zdparo decorating theirs with blue, red, and black 
geometric designs; Roamaina men wore capes (capuces) of cachibanco 
cloth. Canelo men, however, used either the breechclout or European 
drawers or pants and a poncho (Galt, ms; Simson, 1886, p. 154) and both 
sexes now wear Spanish costumes (pl. 56). 

Women of all tribes except the Coronado wore some covering. Among 
the Zdparo, they used a leaf and, more recently, a belt so narrow as to 
conceal nothing. Zapa women wore a shell pubic cover. Women of other 
tribes were clad in a wrap-around skirt, those of the Canelo and Awishira 
being of cotton, the latter painted and hanging to the ground. Iquito 
skirts were beautifully woven of cachibanco cloth, crudely painted, and 
trimmed with jingling animal teeth, seeds, and shells. Maina women 
dressed in a short, palm-fiber skirt and sometimes cloaked their upper 
bodies with a cloth passed over one shoulder and under the other (Veigl, 
85° by) p: idl): 

Ear ornaments varied greatly: large shell disks glued to the end of 
wooden sticks, triangular shell pendants, and bone tubes (Jquito), fruit 
shells and other jingles or colored wooden disks 3 inches (7 cm.) in 
diameter (Zdparo), a stick worn by men (Awitshira and Andoa), and 
reed ear tubes with tufts of feathers (upper Nanay River). 

The Iquito suspended triangular shell plates from their noses. The 
Itucale and Urarina were widely famous for mutilating the nose in a 
manner unique in South America. They detached a strip of skin along the 
ridge of the nose and placed a rolled leaf under it. Because of this 
peculiarity the Quechua-speaking Indians called them Singacuchuscas 
(Cut-noses). Only the Awishira are accredited with lip ornaments. Galt 
(ms.) remarked that Zéparo women stained the lower lip black; this 
perhaps resulted from blackening the teeth, which was practiced by the 
Iquito, Awishira, Zaéparo, and Maina. The Maina accomplished this by 


642 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


chewing a certain grass with ashes; they cleaned their teeth with maize 
leaves and renewed the stain every day or two (Chantre y Herrera, 1901. 
p. 63). 

Necklaces of teeth, fruit shells, beetle wings, and other materials and 
bracelets, armlets, anklets, and feather diadems have no striking 
peculiarities. 

The Coronado owed their name to a triangular tuft of hair projecting 
above the forehead, though the Roamaina and Zdpora evidently fixed their 
hair similarly. The Jquito singed the tops of their heads and smeared 
them thickly with uructi and rosin, which gained them the nickname. 
“Puca-uma”’ (“redheads” in Quechua). 

Tribes on the Nanay River removed eyebrows, eyelids, hair on the 
front of the head, women’s pubic hair, and men’s beards. They spread 
hot gum on the hair, then, after it hardened, pulled it and the hair off 
(Galt, ms.). In a similar manner, the Zdpora used resin to pluck their 
eyebrows, and body hair. Beauty operations were performed with mir- 
rors of black rosin (Iquito). 

Uructti and genipa paint provided decoration for formal occasions. 
Status badges are not reported, but Maina men were alleged to have worn 
as many ankle rings as they had wives. 

Only the Awishira deformed infants’ heads; lateral pressure somewhat 
lengthened the skulls (Tessmann, 1930). The Iquito and Zdparo, how- 
ever, pressed babies’ noses in some way to make the face broad. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Babies were carried in a sling. A Zdparo man kept his comb, tinder, 
poison, and other essentials in a small pouch. 

The Awishira, Zaéparo, Iquito, and perhaps other Zd4paroan tribes lacked 
canoes in aboriginal days, perhaps because they lived away from the main 
streams. The Kandoshi were thought to have learned canoe making from 
the Cocama. Canoes were introduced to the Awishira by a tribal member 
who learned about them from his Spanish captors, but in the last century, 
this tribe still preferred rafts and made only poor two-passenger canoes 
of hollowed bombana palm with the ends stopped with clay (Simson, 1886, 
p. 199). But certain unidentified tribes of the area made canoes that held 
20 people. The best canoe material is cedro blanco and cedro colorado 
(Icica altisima). 


MANUFACTURES 


Spinning and Weaving.—Cordage was usually made of chambira 
fibers. 

Woven and knitted products were of chambira, cotton, and cachibanco 
(achua palm fibers), the last being preferred despite the greater strength 
of cotton. The Jquito either knitted chambira or wove it for loincloths 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 643 


and bags. The Jquito, Roamaina, and Zdaparo made clothes, mosquito 
tents, and bands of cachibanco cloth. For this they extracted the fibers 
from terminal palm shoots (cogollo) and spun them to make large skeins. 
The spindle and loom are not described but may have been similar to 
those used for cotton. Cachibanco cloth was colored with various veg- 
etable dyes. Most of these tribes also wove cotton, the Zaparo and Awi- 
shira using a small, horizontal loom, 

Bark cloth.—Bark cloth was made by several of these tribes, probably 
being used when woven cloth was not available. 

Basketry.—Little is known of baskets except that the Zdparo were 
named after theirs, which had lids and double wickerwork walls of split 
creepers and were somehow water-proofed. These were used to store 
personal possessions. 

Potiery and other containers.—The Roamaina, Zaparo, Awishira, 
and Jquito made chicha jugs, bowls and punctate or fingernail-decorated 
cooking pots. Maina decoration was red, black, and white (Rel. geogr. 
Indias, 1881-97, 4:cxlvi). Certain Roamaina vessels were red outside, 
black inside. Jquito bowls were undecorated. Canelo bowls, jars, and 
cups have geometric and conventionalized black and red designs on an 
orange or cream background (Karsten, 1935, pls. 19, 20). 

The Maina made wooden bowls and containers of calabash, the latter 
painted and varnished with parinari fruit (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 8:117). 

Weapons.—The principal hunting weapon was the blowgun. Bows 
were used for hunting only by the Roamaina. The blowgun was made 
of two wooden half-tubes carefully glued together. One of the earliest 
records of the use of the blowgun in South America is for the Mama 
in 1571. (See Stirling, 1938, p. 12). Later accounts attribute it also 
to the Andoa and Zdparo, but deny that the Awishira and Iquito used it. 
The Zdparo imported their poison from the Tucuna (Villavicencio, 1858, 
p. 367) and, when their supply ran out resorted to spears (Simson, 1886, 
p. 167). The Canelo make poison, but obtain a stronger brand in trade 
(Karsten, 1935, pps $45,152): 

For war, the Zdparoans typically carried large bundles of javelins and 
hurled them in rapid succession. The Canelo could throw them 45 to 
60 feet (15 to 20 m.). Jquito and Gae lances were tapered at both ends, 
tipped with sharp chonta or bone points, and were decorated with feathers 
and basketry sheaths having alternating black and white design elements. 
Only Iquito lances were poisoned. The Zdparo used thrusting spears as 
well as javelins (Villavicencio, 1858, p. 171). 

The spear thrower and club (macana) are ascribed to the Maina in 
1571 but are not mentioned subsequently. 

Large shields of palo balsa covering most of the warrior’s body have 
been used throughout the historic period. Some were round, e. g., 
Zaparo,; others, rectangular, e. g., that of the Jquito, which was 6 inches 


644 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


(15 cm.) thick, 18 inches (45 cm.) wide, and 5 feet (1.5 m.) long 
(Figueroa, 1904, p. 380). Basketry shields were also common, those of 
the /quito being rectangular and woven of creepers. The Jquito used 
tapir-hide shields (Jiménez de la Espada, 1889-92, 27:77). 

Axes.—Axes had a polished greenstone head inserted in a hole in a 
wooden handle. 

Metallurgy.—Practice of metallurgy in pre-Columbian times is doubt- 
ful, but within the historical period the Gae traveled from the Bobanaza to 
the Napo River to collect gold dust (Chantre y Herrera, 1901 p. 249). 
The Santa Rosina (Canelo) also produced some gold (Galt, ms.). 

Fire making.—The fire drill was native, but flint and steel were 
preferred after their introduction. Tessmann’s reference to “two stones” 
(Andoa and /quito) may mean flint and steel. Fire fans were woven 
of feathers. 


TRADE 


There was some local pre-Columbian specialization in manufacture and 
trade, though trade increased greatly after the Contact. A main article 
of exchange has always been the excellent chambira hammock made on 
the Napo River and sought by the aboriginal Indian tribes as eagerly 
as by modern Mestizos. Iron knives, which the Zdaparo received for their 
hammocks, were traded on to more remote tribes. The Roamaina were 
a source of palm-fiber mosquito tents (Figueroa, 1904, p. 151). 

To obtain salt, the Canelo made arduous journeys requiring months 
to the Chasuta mines on the Huallaga River. When bartering salt to 
the Whites, a man exchanged the amount he brought back for 30 varas 
of cloth, of which he made clothes and mosquito tents (Simson, 1886, 
pp. 158-160). The Canelo also gathered sarsaparilla for sale. All of 
these tribes undertook long trips to the lower Napo and Amazon to 
purchase curare from the Tucuna and Pava and went to the Napo River 
to obtain signal and dance drums (Pierre, 1889, p. 144). 


SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


Aboriginal sociopolitical groups are not adequately described. In 
1664, the warlike Awishira were dispersed in very small groups, each 
occupying a house located 2 to 4 leagues from a river. These house- 
holds so mistrusted one another that Father de la Cueva’s Awishira mes- 
senger needed a Chébero escort when approaching a village to announce 
the missionary’s arrival (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :85-87). 

Within the last century each Zdparoan community consisted of several 
families occupying a single, large house. The Canelo village, for example 
had only one large hut which sheltered several families, each with its “plat- 
form” (bed?) (Pierre, 1889) ; in addition, each family had a hut in the 
bush near its plantations to which to retire from the village but where 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 645 


people might come to visit, and another hidden hut that was known only 
to the family (Simson, 1886, pp. 157-158). A Zdparo settlement had about 
100 people, living in the midst of their plantation, but members were 
not strongly united and continually wandered in “small hordes” (Simson, 
1886, p. 172). Orton (1870, p. 171) calls these communities “isolated 
ranches.” Later, Tessmann (1930) found that only about 3 families 
occupied each house and constituted the community. In 1871, the Nanay 
River Indians were living in small, peaceful groups of 10 to 14 people 
each (Galt, ms.). Recent Jquito villages had 1 to 4 houses each (Tess- 
mann, 1930). 

Every tribe was patrilocal, suggesting the existence of extended patri- 
lineal families, though some villages may have been made up of several 
extended families. 

War captives were incorporated into the social group. 

Etiquette——A Coronado or Gae who had been away was received by 
his community with tears and laments. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and childhood.—The widespread belief that the penis bone of 
the coati is an aphrodisiac is shared by the Zaparoan. 

During childbirth, women are generally isolated; they are assisted by 
other women. Jquito women gave birth in special huts built some distance 
from the village. Among the Zdparo, the oldest woman of the village cut 
the navel cord. Restrictions of varying rigor and duration are imposed 
on both parents. Zdparo parents are confined 10 days, the father avoid- 
ing work. The Murata father spends 4 days in bed. Both Awishira par- 
ents remain in their hammocks for 2 weeks, dieting ; quito parents, for 
3 days. The Roamaina mother is isolated 1 month, and the father does 
not work for 5 days. Canelo parents diet and the father avoids working 
or hunting for several days. 

Abortion is evidently common. One of twins is generally killed among 
the Zdparo, Roamaina, and Canelo, the Canelo burying it alive. 

An Iquito girl was circumcised one week after birth. The reference 
to ceremonial flogging and to the Awishira custom of putting red pepper 
in the eyes to make a person “strong, courageous, vigilant, and diligent” 
may allude to initiation rites. A few Montafia tribes used pepper also 
to improve hunters’ vision. Initiatory whipping occurred among the 
Eastern Tucanoan tribes but not in the Montana. 

The Jquito frighten recalcitrant children with masks—the only use 
of masks in the area. 


Puberty.—Girls’ puberty is marked by a period of confinement: Two 
days (Roamaina), 1 week (Iquito), 8 days (Kandosht). The Awishira 
isolate a pubescent girl from men, the Jquito from the view of everyone 


646 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


except her mother. After her confinement, the Roamaina and Zdparo 
bathe her and hold a chicha feast. . 

Marriage.—Child betrothal is common among the /quito; a man 
rears a girl until she is old enough to marry him. To court a girl, the 
man usually places firewood by her hut, then makes a formal request 
of marriage to her father or brother. The marriage ceremony is simple: 
the couple sits in a hammock and drinks chicha. According to the usual 
marriage pattern, a man works for his father-in-law in return for his 
bride, either contributing food (Jquito), helping on his plantation 
(Roamaina, Zaparo), or living with the wife’s family in temporary bride 
service (1 month, Awishira; one to two years, Kandoshi, Andoa). Resi- 
dence is patrilocal, either immediately after marriage or following bride 
service. Zdparoan marriage ties are loose, there being frequent exchange 
and theft of wives and promiscuous sex relations (Simson, 1886, pp. 
172-173). 

Polygyny is a chief’s prerogative. Some /quito headmen used to have 
as many as 12 wives; some Zdparo, 3 or 4. Maroni (1889-92, 29 :265) 
mentions a case of sororal polygyny among the Pinche. 

Death.—The Zdparo occasionally killed hopeless invalids who had be- 
come a burden on the community. They also sometimes buried a child 
alive with its dead mother (Simson, 1886, pp. 175-176). 

Methods of disposing of a corpse varied greatly: earth burial, urn 
burial, and scaffold burial, various forms of reburial, and endocannibalism. 
The Iquito placed the body, either flexed or vertical, in a round pit and 
covered the grave with clay. The Zdparo bury inside the house, placing 
weapons, utensils, and food with the corpse (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :472; 
Tessmann, 1930), but they or their predecessors at Aguano had once 
practiced urn burial (Simson, 1886, p. 135). The Andoa and Kandoshi put 
the body in a canoe, place it on a scaffold, and later rebury it in an urn. 
The Andoa, however, sometimes bury the canoe in the earth and later re- 
bury in urns. The Awishira leave the deceased in his hammock for 3 days, 
collecting the fluids of decomposition in an urn, and then bury him in the 
house. They burn his possessions. In 1664, the Roamaina laid the corpse 
in his hammock and suspended it in a deep pit. When the flesh had rotted 
away, they collected and cleaned the bones and placed them in an urn 
decorated with appliqué figures. A year later they buried the urn 
(Figueroa, 1904, p. 249). According to Tessmann (1930), however, 
the Roamaina recently cremated men and buried the remains in anthro- 
pomorphic jars, but buried women directly in the earth inside the house. 

The house was not abandoned after death, except among the Jquito, 
who did so only when the owner died. 

The Roamaina and Zapa were said to have eaten their deceased rela- 
tives (Figueroa, 1904, p. 150), the practice perhaps being akin to that of 
the Panoan tribes (p. 586). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 647 


The Canelo play games after a death (below), those of maize grains 
and die casting serving as a means of distributing the deceased’s property 
(Karsten, 1935, pp. 466-478). 


WARFARE 


These tribes are now largely pacified, except perhaps the Awishira. 
Accusation of witchcraft used to be the main cause of hostility between 
the tribes and communities. The generat pattern of fighting was to launch 
a surprise attack, kill the men with spears, capture the women and chii- 
dren, and retreat rapidly. Jquito warriors smoked tobacco to make them- 
selves invulnerable. The spear was the principal weapon of attack, 
though the Roamaina used bows and clubs. Shields, previously described 
(p. 643), were used in defense. Villages were protected by trenches and 
pitfalls filled with sharp stakes, which were poisoned among the Murata. 
The Canelo used palisades. 


CANNIBALISM 


Cannibalism and trophy taking was formerly common. The Roamaina 
and Zapa ate their slain enemies; the Gae boiled their flesh and took it 
home to eat (Figueroa, 1904, p. 150). The Yameo and Encabellado ac- 
cused the Jquito of cannibalism, but the missionaries found no evidence of 
it (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 90). Maroni (1889-92, 29:224) at- 
tributes cannibalism to the Awishira. Funeral endocannibalism has been 
mentioned. 

The Roamaina and Canelo held trophy skull feasts. The former placed 
the skulls on T-shaped poles, women dancing around them while the men 
drank (Figueroa, 1904, p. 263). The Awishira drank from enemies’ 
skulls. They and probably other tribes made necklaces of their victim’s 
teeth. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Musical instruments.—The Zdparoan tribes used transverse flutes 
(Andoa, Kandoshi), two-headed skin drums (probably post-European), 
and belts with jingles (Zdparo). Curiously, panpipes are ascribed only to 
the Andoa and Iquito and denied for the Zdparo, Roamaina, and Kan- 
doshi (Tessmann, 1930). The musical bow does not occur. The Canelo 
made signal and dance drums 18 inches (45 cm.) long, 12 inches (30 cm.) 
in diameter, scooped from a hollow log (pl. 57; Simson, 1886, p. 106). 
Other tribes including the [quito may also have used the signal drum. The 
Zdparo have whistles to lure monkeys and trumpets made of armadillo 
shells. The Canelo carved fiddles, after Spanish models, from a solid 
block of wood (Simson, 1886, p. 156). 

Toys and games.—Amusements included children’s humming tops, 
slings attached to sticks, the maize-leaf ball game, and men’s wrestling. 


648 SOUTH AMEnICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Drinking and dancing.—At festivals, chicha and cayapi were always 
drunk. The chicha is made principally of various fruits, especially fer- 
mented manioc. The Jquito strengthened their chicha with a fungus that 
grows on decayed trees and on manioc stems. The Canelo constructed a 
still of pots and bamboo tubes, a device seemingly unique and surely 
post-Columbian in South America (Simson, 1886, pp. 162-163). 

The Awishira dance with a palm-branch costume, flourishing their 
weapons and accompanied by drums and flutes (Maroni, 1889-92, 29: 
236). During a Zdparo feast, Osculati (1854, pp. 173-174) observed a 
woman’s circle dance, a jaguar dance in which a man raced to and from 
the plaza with a woman whom he struck with his stomach, a parrot and 
monkey dance, and finally a circle dance for men whose song was an- 
swered by the women. Old men sat apart drinking and singing of the 
deeds of their ancestors. Canelo cayapi and chicha drinking bouts lasted 
8 days (pl. 57). 

Games.—After a death the Canelo play several games, evidently of 
Highland origin: casting a wooden die; tossing maize grains into holes 
on a board; blindman’s bluff; blowing a ball of burning cotton; seeking 
a concealed pin; and a game in which one person took a position in a row 
of people (Karsten, 1935, pp. 466-478). 


Narcotics.—Narcotics used in this area include tobacco, Datura, cayapi, 
and guayusca, but not coca. 


Tobacco may once have been somewhat restricted to magical use, 
especially by shamans; in fact, Tessmann (1930) believes that formerly 
the Zdparo, Awitshira, and Iquito lacked tobacco altogether. But Rein- 
burg (1921) affirms that the Zdparo drank tobacco to produce vomiting 
and a dream state, its effect being similar to that of cayapi, and Simson 
(1886, pp. 148, 164-170) mentions it as a general remedy throughout the 
Napo-Putumayo region. The Roamaina also drink tobacco juice. The 
cigar, formerly used perhaps only by some shamans, recently became 
general among the Zdparo and Andoa. Tobacco chewing is a recent 
Zaparo practice (Tessmann, 1930). 


Huanto (Datura arborea) is taken by the Zdparo and Canelo to foretell 
the future. 


Cayapi is generally drunk to produce a trance and visions. Zdparo 
warriors drink it to foretell the success of warfare, and shamans take it to 
invoke spirits which reveal the cause of sickness (Reinburg, 1921). The 
Awishira drink cayapi after chicha; Canelo drinking bouts have already 
been mentioned. The Jquito wear a special woven headgear while drink- 
ing cayapi; they see visions of animals (Tessmann, 1930), the significance 
of which is obscure. 


Guayusa, which is anesthetizing rather than exhilarating, was drunk 
during dances. The Pinche took it to increase their endurance on arduous 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 649 


trips. The Zéparo plant and drink it as a curative. The Iquito, Roamaina, 
and Awishira, however, are said not to have used it. 


RELIGION 


The Canelo and their neighbors are essentially Christian today, but 
native animism doubtless survives among many Auca, or pagan tribes, 
of the lower jungles. Missionary influence has probably faded among the 
latter, though Simson (1886, p. 118) found the Zéparo practicing a mean- 
ingless ritual long after they had lost their priest. 

To the Zdparo the monstrous water snake or python was dangerous, 
but water spirits were harmless. The forest demons were usually con- 
ceived to be anthropomorphic and menacing. The Iquito believed in bush 
dwarfs, giants, and other anthropomorphic spirits, and the Awishira in a 
skeletonlike being with a visible heart. According to the Zdparo, a black 
spirit, mungia, devoured travelers in the bush. 


The souls of brave Zdparo men were thought to be reincarnated in birds 
and those of cowardly persons in reptiles (Villavicencio, 1858, p. 371), 
but shamans were held to become jaguars or pythons. The Canelo be- 
lieved that souls of deceased shamans turned into demons. Other tribes 
stated that the soul went to the bush and became innocuous (Tessmann, 
1930). 

Shamanism.—-Shamanism in this group of tribes is described on 
page 650. 

Cyperus is or was taken by most of these tribes for hunting and fishing 
luck, fertility of manioc, female fertility, and as a general curative (Tess- 
mann, 1930). To stop storms, the Zdparo chewed piri-piri grass and spat 
it into the air. 


MYTHOLOGY 


We have three fragments of Maina flood legends. (1) The flood was 
caused by a god whom people had thrown into a dirty pit because he was 
covered with sores; the only survivor was the man who rescued and 
cleaned him. (2) A man and woman took refuge on a zapote tree, which 
grew up to the sky. They ate its fruits until the flood subsided. (3) A 
flood of the Rimachuma Lagoon destroyed all mankind except one man 
who lived in a hut where he found food prepared daily ; he discovered that 
it came from two parrots who flew to his house and became women, one 
the mistress, the other her servant ; he married the mistress, hence women 
are now lazy (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:xxii-Ixxiii). 

A Zéparo tale related that the moon was formerly a man who had sexual 
intercourse with his sister. To locate her lover, the girl smeared his face 
with genipa. Moon’s wife became a night bird. The Zdparo creator is 
called Piietzo (Osculati, 1854, p. 169). 


690 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The Tupi-Guarani twin story was recently recorded among the Zdparo 
(Reinburg, 1921). A woman, apparently the sister of the moon, was 
pregnant with twins. Her husband abandoned her, but the voices of her 
unborn babies guided her in her search for him. She was misled to the 
house of the jaguars who devoured her, but gave the twins to their old 
jaguar mother. Later, the twins killed the jaguars. One of the twins 
spoiled everything that his brother attempted to do for the benefit of 
mankind. 

The Roamaina thought that earthquakes occurred whenever God raised 
the hand in which he supported the earth. The Maina believed that they 
signified that God was inquiring the whereabouts of people; in answer, 
the people stamped the ground and shouted, “Here we are” (Jiménez de 
la Espada, 1889-92, p. 52). 

The Maina explained that gods coming from the west and east had 
opened the Pongo de Manseriche so that they could meet. One god, 
Innerre, lives with his wife, a large serpent, in a cave above the Pongo. 
Three Indians once visited this god; two were killed by the large number 
of bats in the cave but the third obtained medicines from Innerre (Jiménez 
de la Espada, 1889-92, p. 52). 


SHAMANISM 


The shaman, probably still functioning among many tribes, is both 
sorcerer and curer. His power, acquired and utilized with the aid of 
narcotics, comes from plants and animals, but is materialized in the form 
of “thorns.” 

During his instruction, the Andoa, Awishira, Canelo, Roamaina, and 
Kandoshi shaman takes cayapi in order to “see better.”” Tobacco, how- 
ever, gives the true power. The Andoa and Roamaina smoke it; the 
Roamaina, Zéparo, and Kandoshi take it as juice. The Jquito and Canelo 
shaman takes Datura and Cyperus instead of tobacco. 

An Awishira shaman’s power is his breath; the Jquito’s is Cyperus 
root; the Kandoshi’s, a magical bird; the Canelo’s, a python spirit; and 
the Andoa’s, Roamaina’s, Zdéparo’s, and Kandoshi’s, “thorns.” 

Disease is caused by sending the power or “thorn,” sometimes by means 
of a bird, into the victim, but the Awishira shaman sent a snake or his 
breath, and the Iquito his Cyperus root, whereas the Roamaina might 
make a water demon seize the person. Cure consists of blowing smoke 
and sucking out the disease substance, that is, the “thorns.” 

The Canelo believe that some illness is caused by ghosts, which they 
drive away with shouting. 

The Jquito buried sorcerers alive (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 564). 

A shaman made contact with his spirits either by fasting in a small, 
isolated cabin or by remaining in his hut where he lay in his hammock or 
sat taking cayapi on a platform surrounded by other people. After long 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 651 


persuasion, the spirits came, took possession of the shaman, and spoke 
through his mouth. Meanwhile, the shaman’s spirit had wandered far 
away to acquire knowledge of the future. 

Miscellaneous cures.—Cyperus and tobacco juice were general cura- 
tives. Snake bites were treated among the Zdparo with a creeper, itiningi 
or Soga de San Pablo (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:420). On the Napo River 
(Canelo?), salt, tobacco, and red pepper were administered and the 
patient was required to observe taboos, such as not eating grease or 
toothed fish or passing a pregnant woman (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:420). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Beuchat and Rivet, 1908, 1909; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Cruz, 1900; Escobar y 
Mendoza, 1769; Figueroa, 1904; Galt, n.d.; Grubb, 1927; Izaguirre, 1922-29 ; Jiménez 
de la Espada (Noticias auténticas .. . 1889-92) ; Karsten, 1920 a, b, 1935; La jornada 
del . . . 1895; Maroni, 1889-92; Ortiz, 1940; Orton, 1870; Osculati, 1854; 
Pierre, 1889; Reinburg, 1921; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97; Rimbach, 
1897; Rivet, 1924, 1930; Simson, 1886; Stirling, 1938; Tessmann, 1930; Veigl, 1785 b; 
Villavicencio, 1858. 


THE COFAN 


The Cofdn (Kofdn) lived in the upper Aguarico River region, near 
its junction with the Azuela River (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:245). (Lat. 
0°-1° S., long. 75°30’-77° W.; map 1, No. 3; map 5.) Archidona and 
San Pedro Alacala del Rio, founded near the Coca River in 1536, were 
the first Spanish settlements. The Jesuit Father, Rafael Ferrer, visited 
the Cofdn in 1599 and founded several missions, especially Bendoa, but 
the Jesuits left the Cofdn following disagreement with the Spanish civil 
authorities. Ferrer returned in 1608, but the Spaniards of Alacala were 
enslaving the Indians, and he was killed by the Indians in 1611. In 1635, 
the Franciscans, Domingo Brieva and Pedro Pecador, visited the 
Cofdn at Alacala de Oro (Maroni, 1889-92, 26:245). Subsequent Jesuits’ 
efforts were ineffective, and the Cofdn continually decreased. 

In 1940, there were 206 Christianized Cofdn in Konsaya Puerto Asis 
to Cuembi, Achote (tributary of the Guamués), San Antonio del 
Guamués, Abusia River, and San Miguel River (Igualada and Castellvi, 
1940, p. 97). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Barnuevo, 1942; Castellvi, 1938; Igualada and Castellvi, 1940; Maroni, 1889-92; 
Rodriguez, 1684; Velasco, 1841-44. 
UNIDENTIFIED TRIBES OF THE UPPER PUTUMAYO-NAPO 
RIVER REGION 


Several tribes in this region which are of uncertain identity are as 
follows : 
653333—47—44 


652 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Sucumbio.—This tribe was visited by missionaries in 1633 east of 
Quito (Cruz, 1900, p. 14). Probably the Sucumbios or San Miguel 
River, a branch of the Putumayo River, was named from them, and they 
are the San Miguel Indians, who in 1877 lived between the Macaguage 
and Pioje divisions of the Encabellado and occupied the San Miguel, 
upper Aguarico, and Santiago Rivers (Simson, 1886, pp. 192-193). Their 
habitat was close to if not within that of the Cofdn. 

Sento (Sufio).—A tribe below the Sucumbio, north of the Putumayo 
River near the equator, visited in 1633 by Fathers Anguita and Cararubia 
(Cruz, 1900, p. 18). 

Becaba (Pecaba).—A tribe, less numerous than the Sefo, on the 
Putumayo River, 8 days downstream from the San Miguel River, living 
on islands in the river when Fathers Lorenzo Fernandez and Juan Cayado 
found them in 1635. Attempts to missionize them were given up (Cruz, 
1900, pp. 18-19). 

Several other tribes, the Andacui and Otequa, are mentioned with the 
Encabellado, Macaguage, and Payagua as having had a numerous popula- 
tion in 16 villages in 1700. By 1780, they were decimated to only six 
reduciones around the headwaters of the Putumayo and Caqueta Rivers. 
They had raided and destroyed the Spanish towns of Mocoa, Ezija, and 
Sibundoy along the mountains. 


THE QUIJO 
INTRODUCTION 


The Quijo (Kicho, Quixo, Napo, Santa Rosino), not to be confused 
with the Jquito, were, according to Rivet (1924), a Chibchan-speaking 
people. They lived in the region of Baeza and Archidona, at the head- 
waters of the Coca River, and were in close contact with the Panzaleo of 
the Highlands (lat. 0°-1° S., long. 75°30’-77° W.; map 1, No. 3; map 5). 

Quijo culture has a number of elements which link it with the Highland, 
especially with other Chibchan tribes: potatoes, metallurgy in gold, 
mummification, bone-bead money, coca divination, dwellings scattered 
through farm lands with central villages for only temporary occupancy, 
and great political power of chiefs. Cieza de Leon observed that the 
Quijo were not very different from the Panzaleo (Handbook, vol. 2, p. 
795), a Chibchan tribe, with whom they maintained close relations. A 
Quijo chief was reported to be related to chief of the Latacunga, a Pan- 
zaleo division. 

Many Quijo traits, however, are typically selvan: slash-and-burn agri- 
culture, with manioc, sweet potatoes, and other lowland crops as staples, 
hunting with the blowgun, fishing with drugs, the shamanistic power 
from “thorns,” and belief in nature spirits. Although it is possible that 
the Highland traits and the Chibchan language diffused from the nearby 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 653 


Andes to replace older Tropical Forest traits, it is more likely that the 
Quijo was a Highland Chibchan tribe which moved into the Montafia 
and adapted certain features of its culture, especially its economic pattern, 
to the jungle. 


HISTORY 


Gonzalo Dias de Pineda, the first White man to visit the Quijo (in 1536), found 
them hostile. Colonization of Quijo territory started with the foundation of Baeza 
in 1559 and later of Avila on the Suno River. Resentful of the harsh treatment 
to which they were subjected by the encomenderos, the Indians revolted in 1577. 
The revolt failed, the priests who led it were either killed or deported to Quito, and 
many Quijo were sent to the coast, where they soon died. The Spaniards estimated 
the population at about 30,000 in 1559. Deportation, infanticide, and smallpox epi- 
demics after the revolt reduced it in less than 50 years to 2,829 (Rel. geogr. Indias, 
1881-97, 1:crv). 

In the last century, the Quijo were reputedly among the Christian Indians who 
looked down upon the “Auca,” the pagan tribes of the lower forest regions. But 
they still had a native economy, fished with poison, used the blowgun, and wore 
aboriginal ornaments (Orton, 1870). In 1925, Tessmann (1930) found that several 
thousand Quijo lived on the Tena, Suno, and Payomino Rivers, all left tributaries 
of the upper Napo River, where they were divided into villages. Prolonged mission 
and lay Spanish contact had left little of the aboriginal culture; Spanish and 
Quechua had supplanted their previous tongue. 


SOURCES 


The main source on the ancient Quijo is Don Diego de Ortegon’s 
“Descripcion de la Provincia de los Quijos,” written in 1577 (Rel. geogr. 
Indias, 1881-97, 1:c-cx11), from which Gonzalez Suarez (1890-1903, 
6:55-60) and Jijon y Caamafio (1940-41, 1 :291-294) took their material 
on these Indians. These Indians are also mentioned by Rodriguez (1684). 
Last-century information can be found in Orton (1870) and Simson 
(1886). Tessmann (1930) has some material on the acculturated Quzjo. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE 


Farming consisted of slash-and-burn cultivation of maize, sweet manioc 
(yuca), potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, beans, pumpkins, Guilielma 
palms, pepper (Capsicum sp.), yams, macabo, cocona (Solanum sp.), anda 
Cyclanthaceae (Tessmann, 1930; Ortegon, “Descripcion .. . 1881”). Cul- 
tivation of bitter manioc is mentioned only in recent sources. Introduced 
European foods include plaintains, bananas, sugarcane, pigs, and chickens. 
Other crops are tobacco and barbasco, the latter a fish drug. 

Typical of the Forest Tribes, the Quijo gather wild fruits, especially 
palms. In the 16th century, they fished with dams and barbasco; recent 
sources mention use of drugs (barbasco and Clibadium), landing nets, 
spears, harpoons (?), and bone hooks. The Quijo hunt with two-piece, 


654 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 142 


chonta wood blowguns, the poison for which comes from the Tucuna, and 
with spears, darts, and some traps. 

The Quijo grind food with both a flat and a trough-shaped grinder and 
smoke meat on the babracot. In the 16th century they prepared a “pan de 
yuca,” probably cassava. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Ancient houses were built of posts stuck in the ground and plastered 
with mud. Settlements had an average of four houses, but were occupied 
only on market days. Like the modern Indians, the people probably 
spent most of their time in huts closer to their fields. 

Modern Napo River Indian huts are rectangular with a gabled roof, 
the frame obviously copied from the Whites. The ancient Quijo slept 
on the ground; today they sleep in bedsteads, and use hammocks for 
resting. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


In the 16th century, men in the region of Avila and Baeza wore two 
capes (mantas) knotted over the shoulders. In Archidona they went 
naked with the penis tied up. In both regions women used cotton loin- 
cloths. The most conspicuous ornaments were golden nose ornaments 
and breastplates. A thin labret, probably of resin, was worn through 
the upper lip. 

Modern Quijo dress exactly like the Mestizos, but still wear armbands 
and place feathered sticks through the ear lobes. Feather circlets were 
festive ornaments of the last century. The Indians now blacken their 
teeth, paint themselves with genipa and uruct, and tattoo. 

The 16th-century Quijo deformed infants’ heads fronto-occipitally be 
tween two boards, a custom which has entirely disappeared. Some modern 
Quijo have adopted the Cocama custom of filing the incisors. 


MANUFACTURES 


The ancient Quijo were expert goldsmiths and good weavers, cotton 
blankets constituting a large part of the tribute they paid to their en- 
comenderos. The modern people make nets and bags of agave or Astro- 
caryum fibers, crude pottery (fig. 93), and some mats and baskets. 


TRADE 


Markets played an important part in the economic life of the ancient 
Quijo. At these, they sold clothes, jewels, foods, and slaves. They had 
a sort of money (carato), consisting of strings of 24 bone beads, which 
was used to fulfill social obligations and to pay workers. 

The modern people undertake long trips to the salt mines of the lower 
Huallaga and exchange their salt for dress material. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF PERUVIAN AND ECUADORIAN MONTANA 655 


Ficure 93.—Quijo pot on stone rests. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, map 11.) 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Childbirth occurred near a river, where the mother 
washed herself and baby, then remained for a certain time, while the 
husband observed a strict diet, drinking only chicha beer. 


Marriage.—Child betrothal is said to have been common. In early 
times, the suitor paid bone money (carato) to the girl’s parents. The 
marriage was sealed after the bridegroom deposited wood, a bundle of 
straw, and food at the girl’s doorstep, but sometimes a husband had to 
give several years of bride service before taking his wife to his own 
home. Caciques and frequently commoners had many wives. Our 
earliest source records that hospitality required the host to lend his wife 
to a guest, who repaid him with bone money. 


Death.—Common people were buried indoors under the hearth, after 
which a 1-day wake was held and the widow washed. Chiefs were 
mummified, the corpse being eviscerated, smeared with tar, and smoked 
over a fire. The deceased’s jewels were placed inside the stomach cavity. 
Funerals were celebrated with dances and drinking bouts. 


Modern Quijo bury their dead in the hut in a coffin made of a part 
of a canoe, but they do not abandon the hut. The night following the 
burial, the deceased’s relatives and friends play several games (Karsten, 
1920 a, pp. 92-95): <A blindfolded man representing the deceased tries 
to catch his comrades, who tease him; players blow small burning cotton 
balls toward each other; a person with closed eyes tries to find a needle 
hidden in the corpse’s clothes; a man representing the deceased stands 
at the head of a line and must catch the last one of the line, who tries 
to take his place. At dawn the mourners walk on all fours, barking. 
They catch and kill chickens. A funeral meal ends the wake. 


656 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 

Political power was in the hands of priests or shamans, as among 
many Chibchan tribes. On certain occasions, including market days, 
chiefs received a tribute of food, fruits, and other presents. They 
had slaves to work in their fields. 


WARFARE 

The Quijo fought with spears, javelins, wooden swords, and shields 
(?). For defense, large boulders were placed along mountain slopes and 
loosened to roll down on the enemy passing underneath. Villages were 
protected with caltrops. The Quijo cut off the heads and hands of 
their enemies to decorate chiefs’ houses. Diego de Ortegon attributes 
cannibalistic victory feasts to them. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Musical instruments.—Musical instruments include panpipes, trans- 
verse- and end-flutes, two-headed skin drums, musical bows, and hum- 
ming tops (Tessmann, 1930). 

Narcotics and stimulants.—The Quijo chewed both coca, mixed with 
a substance containing the ashes of several plants, and ground tobacco, 
mixed with honey. Today they take guayusa infusions, tobacco juice, 
and cayapi (ayahuasca), which play the same part in their religious life 
as in other tribes of the area. 

Women prepare chicha of boiled yuca. The fermented mass is often 
the only provision while traveling. Both the ancient and modern Quijo 
prepare a drink of roasted yuca. 

Toys.—Tessmann mentions maize-leaf balls, humming tops, and slings. 


RELIGION 

The early Quijo worshiped birds, trees, and other natural objects. In 
their houses they kept carved stones, in which they ground coca, and 
figures called coquindes, which they worshiped. They gave great im- 
portance to divination, which consisted in examining a coca quid spat 
in the hand. The modern Quzjo still believe in dangerous bush demons. 

Reincarnated souls of relatives become guardian spirits. 

Modern shamans acquire power from spirit helpers and from “thorns,” 
the latter sometimes embedded in a magical substance, which they take 
into their bodies. They induce a state of trance by fasting and by drink- 
ing cayapi, Datura, or tobacco water. The last also “feeds” the “thorns” 
so that they multiply within the body. To kill, a shaman shoots the 
“thorns” into his victims; to cure, another shaman sucks them out. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Cruz, 1900; Gonzalez Suarez, 1890-1903; Jij6n y Caamafio, 1940-41; Karsten, 
1920 a; Laureano de la Cruz, 1900; Ortegon (Descripcioén de la . . . 1881) ; Orton, 
1870; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97; Rivet, 1924; Rodriguez, 1684; 
Simson, 1886; Tessmann, 1930. 


Part 4. TRIBES OF THE WESTERN AMAZON BASIN 


TRIBES OF THE JURUA-PURUS BASINS 


By ALFRED METRAUX 


INTRODUCTION 


The basins of the Jurua and Purts Rivers (map 1, No. 4; map 5), 
which drain a large area of lowlands in the southwestern portion of the 
Brazilian Province of Amazonas, were the habitat of many tribes speak- 
ing dialects of Panoan, Arawakan, and Catukinan, These languages had 
an irregular distribution within the area, probably because of the easy 
communication afforded by the many connecting waterways. 

Panoan and Arawakan dialects also occur in neighboring areas among 
tribes who are culturally similar to those of the Jurua-Purts Basins, so 
that the line dividing these areas is somewhat arbitrarily drawn. It is 
not unlikely that the Remo, Maspo, Nianagua, and other Panoan tribes 
on the smaller eastern tributaries of the Ucayali River were even more 
closely related to the Jurua-Purts tribes than to the Combo, Shetebo, 
Shipibo, and other large Panoan tribes of the Ucayali proper, for they 
had retreated into the deep forests as fugitives from slave raids and lacked 
many culture traits dependent on a habitat on the main river. We have, 
however, drawn the line between the Ucayali area (described p. 555) 
and the Jurua-Purus more or less along the watershed, and included 
with the former the Amawaka, Capanahua, and Remo, which straddled 
the watershed. The reason for this is historical. The tribes east of 
the Ucayali River were, like those on the river, visited and described 
by missionaries, and were even taken into missions long before the Jurua- 
Purts tribes were known. For similar reasons, the Arawakan-speaking 
tribes have been divided; the Piro, Campa, Chontaquiro, Masco, Sirineri, 
and Tuyuneri are included with the Ucayali River peoples, and the Mani- 
teneri, Inapari, and the tribes to the north and northeast of them are 
treated in the present chapter. 

The Panoan-speaking Mayoruna, who live in the hinterland of the 
Amazon River below its confluence with the Ucayali River, also occupy 
part of the lower Jurua Basin, but, since their culture is somewhat aber- 
rant, they form the subject of a special chapter (p. 551). 


657 


658 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The inclusion of the Purts tribes within the same area as those of 
the Jurua may seem arbitrary. It is very likely that the Avawakan In- 
dians and the Panoans presented differences which might have justified 
their separation in two different chapters. Actually, our information is 
too patchy to allow a sharp line to be drawn between them. Great care 
has been taken to specify to which tribes the culture data pertain. 

The linguistic relationships of the various tribes and subtribes of the 
Jurua-Purts Basin were the most confused in South America until 
Rivet and Tastevin (1921, 1919-24) established their classification 
on the basis of new data. Most of the problems presented by this 
area resulted from the loose application of the same names to unrelated 
tribes. The name Catukina, for instance, was given to three groups of 
Indians who spoke entirely different languages. Three tribes known as 
Canamari speak Arawakan, Panoan, and Catukinan respectively. There 
are Curina (Culina, Culino) who belong to the Arawakan family and 
Curina (Culino) who are Panoan. 

Although these tribes must once have been numerous, the influx of 
civilization during the 19th-century rubber boom, which was facilitated by 
the excellent waterways, left the native population decimated and largely 
assimilated. Many towns sprang up; the Territory of Acre at the head- 
waters of the Jurua and Purus Rivers had, in 1920, a civilized population 
of about 92,000. The present Indian population of the entire Jurua-Purts 
area is thought not to exceed 10,000. 


SOURCES 


Tribes of this area are little known historically. Early explorers and 
missionaries largely by-passed them. The majority of the early accounts 
of travels and explorations of the Purts and Jurua Basins date from the 
latter half of the 19th century and contain only fragmentary information 
on the Indians. 

Thanks to Capistrano de Abreu’s (1914) collection of native Cashinawa 
texts, we have not only precise and abundant data on the ethnography of 
these Indians, but also a considerable number of myths and tales. Capi- 
strano de Abreu (1938) has also written a valuable ethnography of the 
Cashinawa based on these texts. More data on these Indians may be found 
in Sombra’s (1913) article. 

Ehrenreich’s (1891 a) and Steere’s (1903) descriptions of the Arawakan 
tribes of the Purtis River are useful monographs, as is Wallis’ (1886) 
short but dependable account. 

Much ethnographical information is included in Father Tastevin’s geo- 
graphical studies of the Jurua and Tarauaca River Basins. He also re- 
corded several myths. Lange’s (1912) description of the Mangeroma 
(Tucun-dyapa), however, must be used with a certain caution. Consider- 
able material on the various linguistic families of that area, assembled by 


Vol. 3) TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 059 


Father Tastevin, has been published in collaboration with Rivet (Rivet 
and Tastevin, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1927-29, 1938). A detailed ethnic map 
of the Purtis-Jurua area established by these authors was published in 1921. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


PANOAN TRIBES 


Espin6.—On the Curumaha River, above the Cujigeneri Indians (lat. 
Mees done. 72° WW), 

Marinawa (Aguti Indians).—On the Furnaya River, a tributary of the 
upper Embira River (lat. 11° S., long. 72° W.). 

Tushinawa (Yellow Indians).—On the Humayta River, tributary of 
the upper Murti River, and on the Furnaya River, tributary of the upper 
Embira River (lat. 10° 30’ S., long. 72° W.). A tribe by the same name 
is also reported on the Jutai River, above the Catukina. 

Shahnindawa.—On the right side of the Embira River, along the 
Riosinho River. 


Yura.—Around the headwaters of the Jurua River, on the Piqueyaco 
and Torolluc Rivers (lat. 10°30’ S., long. 73° W.). 


Pacanawa (Dagger Indians).—On the headwaters of the Embira 
River (lat. 10° S., long. 72° W.). 

Contanawa (Jacy Palm Nut Indians).—On the upper Tarauaca and 
Humayta Rivers, right tributaries of the upper Muri River (lat. 9° S., 
long. 72° W.). These Indians are probably a branch of the Amahuaca. 

Yaminawa (Yuminawa, Jaminawa).—Settlements of this numerous 
tribe are widely scattered along the Yaminawa River, a right tributary of 
the Embira River; and on the upper Tarauaca; the Humayta, a tributary 
of the Muri River; the Igarapé de Besta or Riosinho; the Valparaiso, 
Amoaca, Tejo, and SAo Joao Rivers, all of which are tributaries of the 
upper Jurua River. (Lat. 9° S., long. 71° W.; lat. 8°-9° S., long 73° W.) 

Catukina.—On the left side of the Gregorio River, near the headwaters 
of the Reconquista River. The Catukina of the Javari-alto River and the 
Catukina on the Katukina River, a tributary of the Tarauaca, and on the 
upper Embira River (lat. 7° S., long. 73° W.) belong to the same tribe 
according to Rivet and Tastevin (1921, p. 460). These Panoan-speaking 
Catukina should not be confused with the Catukinan linguistic family men- 
tioned below. 

Cashinawa (Bat Indians).—Settlements along the right side of the 
Embira River and its tributary, the Parana do Ouro River; on the upper 
Murt River and its tributaries, the Iboagu and Humayta Rivers; and on 
the upper Tarauaca, Gregorio, and Libertade Rivers (lat. 8° S., long. 
72° W.). About 1920 there were only 42 Cashinawa families lett 
(Tastevin, 1925, p. 413). 


660 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Shipinawa (Monkey Indians).—Between the upper Libertade and 
upper Valparaiso Rivers and along the Amoaca and Grajahu Rivers, all 
right tributaries of the Jurua River (lat. 8° S., long. 73° W.). 

Ararawa (Arara, Shawanawa).—These Panoan-speaking Arara, not 
to be confused with the Madeira River Arara, are on the upper Libertade, 
Humayta, and Embira Rivers. 

Yauavo (Yawabu, Peccary people ).—On the Acuria River, right tribu- 
tary of the Jurua River (lat. 9° S., long. 73° W.). 

Saninawa (Parrot Indians) —On the Valparaiso River, right tributary 
of the Jurua (lat. 8° S., long. 73° W.). They are probably related to the 
Saninauacana, who live between the Coniguati and Oncano Rivers, tribu- 
taries of the Ucayali River. 

Sacuya.—Between the Tamaya and upper Jurua Rivers (lat. 8° S., 
long. 72° W.). These Indians are probably a subgroup of the Remo. 

Cuyanawa.—Between the Moa and Parana dos Mouras Rivers. 

Nucuini (Jnukuini)—On the upper Moa River, extending to the 
Sungaru River. 

Nawa.—On the upper Jurua River, somewhat above the mouth of the 
Libertade River. 

Curina.—Curina are reported by Samuel Fritz (1922) along the right 
side of the Amazon River, from the lower Javari River to the mouth of the 
Jandiatuba (Eneate) River. These Indians are to be identified with the 
Panoan-speaking Culino, who lived on the Jutai River, above the Arawakan 
Marawa, on the lower Jandiatuba and Comatia Rivers, and on the right 
side of the Javari River. They should not be confused with the Arawakan 
Culino. 

Canamari (Kanamari).—On the upper Purus River between the 
mouth of the Rixala and the Curumaha Rivers (lat. 11° S., long. 71° W.). 


ARAWAKAN TRIBES 


Some Arawakan tribes of the basins of the Purts and Jurua Rivers 
form a subgroup within the Avawakan linguistic family to which Rivet 
and Tastevin (1938) have given the name of Avaud. Previously, Brinton 
(1891) had classified the closely related Avaud languages as an independ- 
ent linguistic family. Ehrenreich (1897 b) was the first to suggest their 
inclusion within the Arawakan family. 

The tribes of the Araud subgroup are: 

Araua.—On the lower Cheruan River and Lake Jahiruan, on the left 
side of the Jurua River and on the Igarapé Chiué (right side of the Jurua 
River). (Lat. 7° S., long. 68° W.) In 1877, this tribe was entirely 
destroyed by an epidemic of measles. 

Culino (Kulina, Kulino, Kolina, Kollina or Kurina).—The Culino 
Indians are one of the most important tribes of the Araud subgroup (lat. 
7° S., long. 68°, 69° W.; lat. 8°-9° S., long. 71°-72° W.). They fall 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 661 


into two groups separated by the Yamamadi, but speaking closely relateA 
dialects. 

The first Culino group consists of the Culina (Colina) scattered on the 
right side of the Jurua River along the Marary River and the upper 
reaches of the Tapaua River. They are closely related to the Araud. 

The second and far larger group includes the numerous Culima or 
Curina “sibs” living between the Eru and the Gregorio Rivers. In recent 
years, the Culina have driven the Parawa Indians to the other side of the 
Jurua River and have settled near the mouth of the Gregorio River. 
Their former habitat was probably located between the Embira and the 
Tarauaca Rivers, on the left side of the Murt River (Tastevin, 1925, 
p. 416). 

The Curia on the upper Murti and Embira Rivers, the Curiana on the 
Parana do Ouro River, the Culifia or Karunawa on the Santa Rosa River, 
belong to the same tribe. In recent years these groups seem to have 
migrated to the north and joined forces with their relatives of the upper 
Eri River. There are also some Culina groups on the Purts River. 

The Culina call themselves Madiha (people) and each of their political 
units is called after an animal and sometimes a plant followed by the 
word madiha (e.g., Sinamamadiha, “The aguti-people” ; Camanui-madiha, 
“Paca-Indians” etc.). The Cashinawa Indians call the Culina, Pishinawa, 
“The stinkers,” or Chapunawa, “The rotten ones”. 

Pama.—On the left side of the Madeira River, above the Maparana 
River. 

Pamana (Pammana).—On the Ituxy and Mucuim Rivers, above Lake 
Agaam. 

Paumary (Pamari, Pammari, Pamauri, Kurukuri, Wayai).—On the 
islands and banks of the middle Purts River from its junction with the 
Jacaré River (or with the Tapaua River) up to Hyutanaham (lat. 6°-7° 
S., long. 63°-66° W.). The Paumary, together with the Yuberi, were 
a division of the ancient Purupurt tribe whose name has now disappeared. 
In the 17th century, the ancient Purupurt extended to the mouth of the 
Purtis River. Some remnants of this tribe are mentioned in the middle 
of the 19th century between Lake Jary (Parana-mirim do Jary) and the 
Parana-pixuna, a right tributary of the lower Purts River. Other 
Purupurt are also indicated at the mouth of the Ituxy River. 

Sewacu (Sehuaku).—On the Pauini River, a left tributary of the Purts 
River. 

Sipd (Cipé)—On the Tapaua River, another left tributary of the 
Purus River. 

Yamamadi (Jamamadi, Jamamandi, Kapinamari, Kapand).—The 
habitat of these Indians lies between the Purtis and the Jurua Rivers and 
is bounded by the Mamoria-mirim, Pauini, and Cheruan Rivers. There 
are also Yamamadi groups on the upper Tapaua River. Rivet and 


662 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Tastevin (1938, p. 76) consider the Amamati or Jamamiri mentioned by 
Martius in the basin of the Madeira River and the Anamari of the Mucuim 
River to be related to the Yamamadi. (Lat. 7°-9° S., long. 65°-68° W.) 

Yuberi (Juberi, Jubiri) —On the lower Tapaua River, on the shores 
of Lake Abunini, and on the Purts River below its junction with the 
Mamoria-asu River (lat. 8° S., long. 66° W.). 

According to Rivet and Tastevin (1919-20, 1921-22), the other 
Arawakan tribes of that area belong, together with the Chontaquiro and 
Campa (p. 535), to the “pre-Andean subgroup” of the Avawakan linguis- 
tic family. 

Ipurina (Hypurina, Hyupurina, Jupurina, Kangiitii, Kangite, Kangiti, 
Kankiti, Kankete)—On the Purts River from the mouth of the 
Sepatnyim River to that of the Hyacu River; on the Acre River up to 
lat. 9°45’ S.; on the Ituxi (Iquiri) River; and on the Entimari and 
Punicici Rivers, two tributaries of the Ituxi River (lat. 9°-10° S., long. 
65°-69° W.). 

Casharari (Kacharadi, Kacharari) —The Casharari are an Ipurind 
subtribe living at the headwaters of the Curequeté River, a right tribu- 
tary of the upper Ituxi River (lat. 10° S., long. 66° W.). 

Canamari.—The Canamari of the upper Acre and Abuna Rivers 
speak an Arawakan dialect and must not be confused with the Panoan 
and Catukinan Canamari. The Arawakan-speaking Canamari are re- 
ported on the headwaters of the Acre River; on the Abuna River; on 
the upper Irariapé River, a left tributary of the upper Acre River; and 
on the Hyact River (lat. 10°-12° S., long. 66°-70° W.). The Canamari 
inhabiting the region between the upper Abuna and the Acre Rivers are 
closely related to the Piro and Chontaquiro. 

Maniteneri (Manitineri, Maneteneri, Manetiniri, Manicheneri) —On 
both sides of the Purts River from a point between the mouths of the 
Hyacti and Araca Rivers up to the mouth of the Curinaha River (lat. 
9° S., long. 69°-71° W.). They were also found on the Caspaha River 
and on the Rio de Maloca, a tributary of the upper Acre River. (Lat. 
12° S., long. 69°-71° W.) 

Cujigeneri.—On the Curumaha and Cujar Rivers. 

Catiana (Kateana, Kathyana).—On the upper Curumaha River, left 
tributary of the Purts River. 

Cuniba.—They lived between the Juruasinho and the Jutai Rivers. 
Formerly, they lived on the left side of the Jurua River, opposite Yainu, 
on the Igarapé do Pe. Constantino, opposite Soriano; and on the Mapua 
River, above Taoca (lat. 7° S., long. 69° W.). These Indians are now 
extinct. 

Marawa.—Chandless (1869 a) found them on the canals of Breo and 
Tucuman and on the Caapiranga River near its junction with the Jurua 
River. They are also reported on the lower Jutai River; on the Rio 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 663 


Sapo (I¢apo), a tributary of the lower Jutai River ; and on the small rivers 
between the lower Jutai and the Jurua Rivers. They can still be found 
on the Jutai River, extending toward the Cupatana River, on the 
Caapiranga, and on the Meneru River and its tributary, the Meneruazin- 
ho River. 


CATUKINAN TRIBES 


Tucun-Dyapa (Tukano-Dyapa or Mangeroma) .—Between the Rio das 
Pedras and the Itecoai River, both tributaries of the Javari River (lat. 
we s., long) 72°-W.). 

The territory of the Tukun-dyapa corresponds exactly with that of the 
Mangeroma Indians described by Lange (1912). The names are un- 
doubtedly synonyms. 

Tawari (Tauaré, Kadcekili-Dyapa).—Between the headwaters of the 
Jutai River and San Felipe on the Jurua River (lat. 6°30’ S., long. 
70° W.). The group living near the headwaters of the Jutai River calls 
itself Wadyo-Paranin-Dyapa and is called Kairara or Kayardara by the 
Canamari. These Indians are probably related to the Tauaré, who are 
located between the Riosinho and the Yaminawa Rivers. 

Burueé (Buruhe).—On the Jutai River, above the Tushinawa; also on 
the Bia River, a right tributary of the Jutai River. 

Catukina (Pidd-Dyapa, Jaguar People). —On the middle Jutai River 
and on its tributaries the Mutum and Bia Rivers (lat. 7° S., long. 65°- 
66° W.). A group of these Catukina, the Kutid-Dyapéd (Otter People), 
is settled on the Preto River, right tributary of the Jandiatuba River. 
Not to be confused with the Catukino cited below. 

Parawa.—On the left side of the lower Gregorio River, near San 
Amaro (lat. 7° S., long. 71° W.). 

Ben-Dyapa (Bendiapa).—On the left side of the Jurua River, opposite 
Bomjardin (lat. 7° S., long. 71° W.). Their name means “Mutum 
tribe.” 

Canamari.—From the Tarauaca River to the headwaters of the Pauini 
River and south to the Purts River (lat. 9° S., long. 70° W.) There 
is a Canamari group on the left side of the Jurua River, from the mouth 
of the Pupunha River to the mouth of the Tarauaca River (lat. 7° S., 
long. 68°-69° W.). They extend to the headwaters of the Jutai River and 
to its right tributary, the Bia River. There is another Canamari group 
on the headwaters of the Tapaua River (lat. 7° S., long. 67° W.). They 
came from the region between the Pauini and Jurupari Rivers. 

Catawishi (Hewadie)—On both sides of the upper Teffé River and 
on the headwaters of the Coari River. Their territory extended from 
the Jurua River at the mouth of the Andira River to the Purtss River, 
opposite Parana-pixuna. Their southern limit was the Tapaua River. 
(Lat. 6° S., long. 65°-67° W.) Not long ago there were members of 


664 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


this tribe between Breosinho and the lower Jurua River and near Bacu- 
ruru, at the mouth of the Andira River. Catawishi also lived between 
the Purtis and the Madeira Rivers; on the Pacia, Mary, and Mucuim 
Rivers; and on the Icuam River. In the west, they reached the Ituxi 
River and in the east, the Madeira River, at the junction of the Mamorian 
and Purts Rivers. 

Catukino.—From the right side of the Tarauaca River to the jeft bank 
of the Purts River, south of the Tapaua River (lat. 7° S., long. 69° W.). 
Subgroups were settled on the upper Cheruan River; on the Oiday River, 
right tributary of the Purts River; and near the headwaters of the 
Coari River. Not to be confused with the Catukina, above. 


THE TUPIAN FAMILY 


The Catukina (Catukinart), who about the end of the last century 
lived between the Embira and Embyrast Rivers, two tributaries of the 
Tarauaca River (lat. 9° S., long. 70° W.), are mainly known for their 
famous underground telegraphic system. (See p. 679.) The short 
Catukinarut vocabulary collected by Bach (see Church, 1898, p. 64) is 
mostly Tupian, but it seems unlikely that this tribe belongs to that family. 
Rivet and Tastevin (1921, p. 460) are inclined to classify them with the 
Catunikan or with the Panoan tribes. In 1897, the Catukinart numbered 
196. 

CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming and collecting wild foods.—All the tribes of the Jurua 
and Purts Rivers practiced agriculture, but the relative importance of 
farm crops in their diet varied with the terrain. The Paumary, who were 
proficient fishermen, did not raise manioc, a circumstance which generally 
indicates unfamiliarity, or very recent familiarity, with agriculture. The 
Tpurina cultivated small gardens, but depended for food mainly on fishing 
and to a lesser extent on hunting. Geophagy is often reported for the 
tribes of the Purts. 

The Indians drew their sustenance largely from the forest. The fruits 
of bacaba (Oenocarpus sp.), sorva (Couma utilis), masaranduba (Mimu- 
sops excelsa), jacy, murumu, uricuri (Attalea excelsa), wild cacao, 
Brazil nuts, and the shoots of several palm species gave them a variety of 
wild-plant food. To a variable extent they cultivated manioc—almost 
exclusively the sweet species—maize, beans, bananas, plantain, peanuts, 
sweet potatoes, pumpkins, taia, cara, pineapples, pupunha palms (Guilielma 
speciosa), papayas, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, cayenne pepper, timbo 
creepers (barbasco), reeds for arrows, and coentro for a condiment. 

Farming here did not differ greatly from that of the other regions of 
tropical America, except that sweet manioc was cultivated almost to the 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 665 


exclusion of the poisonous variety. Cashinawa fields were of impressive 
size; over half a mile (2 km.), said one visitor, but 600 to 1,000 feet 
(200 or 300 m.) seems to have been the maximum length. Before the 
Indians had iron tools, they killed large trees by hammering a ring 
around the trunk. Such trees were burned with the underbrush before 
the planting season. Peanuts were always planted in sandy soil. Among 
the Cashinawa, men planted and sowed; the women planted only cotton 
trees, but did most of the harvesting. 

Hunting.—The [purind, Cashinawa, and probably all the other tribes 
frequently left their villages to go on extensive fishing and hunting trips. 
The main hunting weapon was the bow and arrow; in addition, the 
Yamamadi and Tukun-dyapa (Mangeroma) used the blowgun to shoot 
game in trees. 

The Cashinawa prepared themselves for hunting by fasting or by rub- 
bing their bodies or weapons with magically potent plants. They made a 
large supply of new arrows and collected others from those who were 
not joining the hunt. During their excursions in the forest, the hunters 
built cabins with large platforms to which they returned every night to 
sleep and to broil the catch of the day. When they came upon a grove 
of fruit trees frequented by peccaries or other game, they built small 
shelters in which to hide while stalking the animals. During the hunters’ 
absence, the women danced and sang songs expressing their craving 
for meat. When a large number of peccaries, tapirs, monkeys, and 
armadillos had been killed, the party set out for home, with forerunners 
announcing their success. Their first night at home was spent in special 
cabins on the plaza. The following day they feasted their relatives and 
all those who had contributed arrows. 

Fishing.—Drugging fish with timbo and cangui creepers or with assacu 
sap (Amazonian manzanilla, Hura crepitans) was the most common 
fishing method of the Cashinawa, but they also fished with harpoons 
or with tripointed arrows or caught them in small dip nets mounted on 
circular frames. The Purts River Indians used multipointed arrows 
and two-pronged harpoons. A fish trap of the Jpurind and Yamamadi, 
and common in the Guianas, deserves special mention because of its in- 
genuity. A conical basket (fig. 94), attached to a spring pole and placed 
between crossed sticks in a stream, was kept in a horizontal position 
by means of a baited trigger. When the fish touched the bait, the trigger 
was released and the basket swung up into the air. 

Turtles were hunted by the Paumary and other tribes of the Purts 
River more often than any other game. The Indians pursued them in 
large flotillas of 20 to 30 canoes, and shot at them with harpoon arrows 
or captured them as they came onto sand bars to lay their eggs. Turtles 
were stored alive in small corrals “made of stakes placed in the lakes 
near their villages.” 


666 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.BE. Bull. 148 


' " A 4 t 
HS toi diadindy 


Ficure 94.—Yamamadi fish trap. (Rede from Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 35.) 


Domesticated animals.—The Purts River Indians, who had had no 
domesticated animals before the European penetration, were exceedingly 
fond of their many tame birds and animals. Later dogs became in- 
dispensable to hunters, and the Cashinawa paid extravagant prices for 
trained hunting dogs. So great was their affection for dogs that women 
suckled puppies like babies. 

The Paumary kept roosters for the sole purpose of using them as alarm 
clocks. 

Food preparation.—Manioc flour, or farinha, was the customary 
food. All the tribes, even the Pawmary, prepared a substitute flour with 
unspecified tubers and the fruit of a legume. Manioc tubers, both sweet 
and poisonous, were grated on boards strewn with palm thorns and were 
then squeezed either in an oval mat which was twisted like a rag or in 
a cylindrical press (tipiti). The /purid placed the grated mass in baskets 
lined with leaves and soaked it in water for several weeks until it fer- 
mented. Only then did they squeeze it in the manioc press. Manioc was 
also eaten in the form of wafers (beijt). 

The diet of the Cashinawa included a diluted mush of manioc, bananas, 
maize, or peanuts (mingau), cakes of peanuts or maize, roasted maize 
or peanuts, raw or boiled bananas, boiled manioc tubers, and barbecued 
meat. 

The Yamamadi prepared several nonintoxicating drinks from the 
crushed fruits of the bacaba, assai, and pupunha palms. 

Cashinawa and Ipurind mortars were wooden troughs and _ their 
pounders heavy semicircular slabs with lateral handles; the Yamamadi 
used vertical hollowed tree trunks with a cylindrical pestle. 


HOUSES 


During the dry season, the Paumary lived on the sandy banks of the 
river in small oven-shaped huts whose frames of bent rods were covered 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 667 


with palm-leaf mats. When the water rose, they built similar vaulted 
houses on rafts (fig. 95, @) made of light timbers with a floor of palm- 
wood strips tied with vines. These floating huts were anchored by heavy 
stones attached to creepers. 


J. Anqliin ~ 
Figure 95.—Boats of the Jurua-Purts. a, Paumari raft; b, Yamamadi bark canoe. 
(Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 24; and Steere, 1903, fig. 12.) 


The /purind hut must have undergone rapid modification at the end 
of the 19th century. In 1887, Ehrenreich (1891 a) described it as a 
vaulted structure 50 feet (15 m.) long and 33 feet (10 m.) wide, with 
an oval ground plan (fig. 96, top). The frame consisted of bent poles 
leaning against horizontal beams supported by slanting posts. The ridge 
pole rested on the rafters. A horizontal lath along the inside walls 
strengthened the frame. The hut was thatched with split palm leaves 
attached to long creepers. The Ipurind huts seen by Steere (1903) were 
huge gable roofs with rounded ends resting directly on the ground. 
Hammock posts were set up inside. The families lived in compartments 
separated by straw partitions. 

Yamamadi and Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) conical huts were among 
the largest huts known in South America. The dwellings of the former 
were up to 130 (40 m.) in diameter and 70 feet (22 m.) high; those 
of the latter were 150 (46 m.) wide and 40 feet (12 m.) high. The 
framework of the Yamamadi huts consisted of two concentric circles of 

653333—47—45 


668 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 
12 (?) posts which supported the wall plates (fig. 96, bottom). These 
in turn supported long and slender rafters that met in a peak, although 
there were no king posts. 


The thatching was made of the leaves of the 
carandai palms, split and plaited over a narrow piece of wood. The 


0 NVITVOTA FL. UTI RENAL 
Hit he | 
\\WS 
= \\, 
MIME SS NWT A 
i Qh | fh} 
Nil Bll \hy 


i 
I 
E\ 


i! 


4 daqlion 
Ficure 96.—Houses of the Jurua-Purt. a, Jpurind; b, Yamamadi. (Redrawn from 
Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 38; and Steere, 1903, fig. 9.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 669 


intervals between the posts of the outer circle were open. The space 
between the outer and inner circles of posts was divided by horizontal 
poles into 25 family compartments. The Yamamadi vaulted huts 
(fig. 97) that were visited by Ehrenreich in 1887 had an oval ground 


Ficure 97.—Yamamadi shelter. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 29.) 


plan and were of a very different type from, and far less elaborate 
than, those described by Steere (1903). Such a discrepancy between 
the structures attributed to the same tribe is puzzling. The huge conical 
huts of the Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) sheltered up to 258 people. A 
low door and a circular aperture in the roof were the only openings. 

The large communal Cashinawa houses set in the middle of the fields, 
were open sheds with a gable roof resting on a row of low posts. Houses 
of the Canamari, Parawa, and Curina were huge beehive huts in which 
a whole group lived. Each compartment reserved for a family was sep- 
arated from the next one by an horizontal bar (Tastevin, 1920, p. 151). 

Furniture.—Furniture here too consisted mainly of hammocks, wooden 
benches, and interior storage platforms for food. Cashinawa hammocks 
were made either in a net technique or of a solid cotton fabric with blue, 
black, and red stripes. The netted hammocks were made by men and were 
used for traveling. The hammocks of the Arawakan tribes of the Purts 
River were made of palm fiber. The /purind when traveling improvised 
hammocks from three long, broad strips of bark tied together at both ends. 
The Paumary, who slept either on the sandy beaches or in their small 
floating huts, had no hammocks. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Clothing.—The male attire in most tribes was limited to a belt undet 
which the penis was tucked (Canamari) and sometimes hidden by a smal: 


670 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


hanging fringe (Yamamadi (fig. 99, b), Paumary, Ipurind, Cashinawa). 
Women, with the exception of the Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma), who were 
entirely nude, wore a short apronlike (tanga) cotton fringe (Paumary, 
Yamamadi, Ipurind, Canamari, Culina) or a cotton skirt (Cashinawa). 

On ceremonial occasions, Cashinawa chiefs are said to have donned a 
short cotton tunic, and to have thrown over their shoulders a cotton cape 
decorated with feathers and toucan (tucan) skins. A pair of homemade 
trousers completed an outfit which contrasted so strangely with traditional 
Indian costumes that its native origin appears doubtful. 

Ornaments.—Ear ornaments were mother-of-pearl disks either glued 
to a stick (Canamari women, Culina) or fastened to a cord and secured 
behind the head so that the disks showed in front of the ear lobe 
(Yamamadi women) ; plugs of reed or rosin (Yamamadi men) ; long 
sticks with feather tufts (Cashinawa men) ; fruit shells attached to strings 
of beads and fixed to the upper edge and lobe of the ear (Cashinawa 
women) ; and large mother-of-pearl triangles suspended from the ear lobes 
([purina). 

The septum of the nose was generally perforated for the insertion of tail 
feathers (Tucun-dyapa Mangeroma) or of bone or reed plugs into which 
feathers or tufts of feathers were fastened (Yamamadi). The Catukina, 
Tawari, and Cashinawa suspended large mother-of-pearl crescents, pointing 
downward, from their noses. Cashinawa women were sometimes content 
to attach a short string of beads to their nose. 

Ipuriné women placed T-shaped pieces of mother-of-pearl in their upper 
and lower lips; Cashinawa men had both lips studded with thin splinters ; 
and Cashinawa women wore a string of beads hanging from the lower lip. 
The only ornament of the Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) women was a 
wooden labret in the lower lip. 

The best necklaces consisted of various kinds of animal teeth, sometimes 
combined with fruit shells and seeds. The teeth were perforated and joined 
with great skill to form heavy collars, some of which covered part of the 
chest. The Cashinawa often sewed their tooth necklaces to cotton bands. 
It took Jpurind men more than a year to make their long necklaces of 
perforated animal teeth and bone beads with incised spirals. They traded 
these ornaments to their neighbors for high prices. 

Both Cashinawa and Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) men in festive attire 
attached tufts of tail feathers around their wastes in apron or skirt fashion. 
Yamamadi women wore broad red bark or cotton belts; the men, a narrow 
cord with a tassel of feathers or with a tapir’s hoof at one end. The 
Canamari, Culina, and Cashinawa tied strings of white beads around their 
waists. 

Most of the Indians of the area wore arm and leg bands (fig. 99, a) of 
bark strips or knitted cotton, generally finished with fringe and decorated 
with simple geometric designs. The legginglike ankle bands worn by 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 671 


Ipurina women were knitted directly on the leg and could not be removed. 
Cashinawa women wrapped long strings of beads around their legs. 

Feather headdresses were an essential festive adornment among all tribes 
of the area. Feathers were often attached to a brim of “palm leaf with a 
warp of cotton cord.” Such brims without feathers were often worn as 
hats. Cashinawa, perhaps to enhance their hunting luck, put on frontlets 
of jaguar or boa skin. They also had a sort of tiara made of bamboo joints 
sewn together. 

The hair was usually cut across the forehead and allowed to fall down 
the neck; no hair was tolerated on the face or body. 

Painting.—Body painting with genipa and uruct or with rosin mixed 
with soot and ashes was one of the most striking customs of the Cashinawa. 
The combination of arabesques, frets, undulating lines, and other motifs 
differed so greatly in the various groups that a person’s group affiliation 
could be discerned at once. The complete decoration was named after an 
animal, the markings of which were supposed to have served as a model. 
The characteristic Paumary body painting consisted of red stripes of uruct 
mixed with rosin. 

The Catukina, Ararawa, and Tawari tattooed a solid band around the 
mouth and from the mouth to the ears. 

The Cashinawa stained their teeth black with the juice of a plant called 
nixpo, “‘to prevent their decay.” 


NAVIGATION 


The Yamamadi and Ipurind traveled in canoes made of a single piece of 
bark (fig. 95, b), generally jutahy. Yamamadi canoes were “about 16 feet 
[5 m.] long and 3 feet [1 m.] wide, flat on the bottom and the ends were 
drawn up and tied, thus forming hollow beaks” (Steere, 1903, p. 385). 
The Paumary had dugouts 12 or 14 feet (3.5 or 4.5 m.) long, pointed at 
both ends. Paddles were long and pointed and had crutched handles. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—T willed baskets showed the usual combination of black and 
light elements to produce simple geometrical patterns. Cashinawa inter- 
preted the lozenge patterns on their rectangular knapsacks as conventional 
representations of the water serpent. 

Cashinawa women made small baskets of embauba bark, in which to keep 
their small belongings. 

The hexagonal weave (lattice type) predominated in carrying baskets 
and knapsacks. The Paumary plaited simple mats. 

Pottery.—The few references to the pottery of the Yamamadi and 
Paumary stress their lack of any decoration. Ipurind vases were oval or 
elliptic in shape and carefully smoothed with a shell. A mixture of ocher 


672 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


and silicious earth gave the clay various shades of color. The surface of 
the pot was coated with rosin immediately after it was fired. 

Cashinawa earthenware was made of a blackish clay that could be 
obtained only in a few places and was tempered with crushed potsherds. 
Vases were ornamented with geometrical designs similar to those of body 
paintings. 

Weaving.—The only loom that has been described is a small one on 
which the Ipurind (fig. 98) wove armbands. It consists of a triangular 
frame; the warp threads are wound around a cross bar and two parallel 
strings. There is no device to maintain the warp crossed. 


os 


Ficure 98.—I/ purind loom. (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 42.) 


3. Angliny 


Tools.—The Yamamadi chisel for carving arrows was an agouti tooth 
hafted to a long bone. 

Fire making.—The Yamamadi fire drill (fig. 99, c) was of the usual 
type but had a piece of wood lashed to the horizontal stick to permit a 
firmer grip on the drill during the twirling process. The fire fan was of 
basketry. 

Weapons.—The bow and arrow were without exception the main 
weapon of all the tribes of the area. In former times the Jpurind had 
spear throwers, which they discarded during the last century for the bow 
and arrow. 

Bows were carved of palm wood (of pupunha palm among the 
Cashinawa) ; their section was plano-convex (Yamamadi) or elliptical 
(I[purind) ; and the strings were of palm fibers (Yamamadi) or of cotton 
(Ipurina). Cashinawa bows were decorated with artistic cotton wrappings. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 673 


= eae = lll = > 
—— £ = . 
SSS = =—=S= = \ 
—— : —<———S : 
———— NY 


Sangin 


Figure 99.—Yamamadi manufactures. a, Arm band; b, man’s penis cover; c¢, fire- 
drill, (Redrawn from Ehrenreich, 1891 a, figs. 28, 25, 32.) 


The hunting arrows of the Cashinawa were tipped with lanceolate bam- 
boo heads or with vertical rods having bone barbs or toothed edges. The 
Ipurind bartered arrow shafts for the lanceolate arrowheads of the 
Casharari. The poisoned arrows of the Yamamadi and Ipurind were 
tipped with long rods, notched so as to break in the wound (Yamamadt) 
or grooved longitudinally ([purinda). 

The Ipurind feathering consisted of two halved feathers fastened against 
the shaft by a cotton thread wrapped at regular intervals (“wrapped,” or 
Arara feathering). Yamamadi arrows were without feathering but were 
trimmed around the butt with a few short feathers, devoid of any prac- 
tical purpose. 

The blowgun was used by the Yamamadi, Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma), 
and Culina. The Yamamadi blowgun was made of a split sapling, the two 
halves of which were glued together with wax and rosin and wrapped 
with rattan strips. The sight was an animal tooth glued in a lump of wax. 


674 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Darts were needlelike splinters of palm wood, which were carried in a 
quiver of palm leaves or in a special basket. The cotton which was to be 
wrapped around the butt of the arrows just before shooting was carried 
in a separate calabash or in a special basket of wickerwork. In order to 
increase their lung power, hunters drew a wide bark band tightly around 
their waist, directly under the ribs. 


To protect their villages from attack, the Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) 
set traps that were provided with blowguns which shot their darts 
automatically. 

The blowgun was placed horizontally pointing at the path. At the “breech of the 
gun” was a young sapling severed five feet [1.5 m.] above the ground. To this was 
tied a broad and straight bark strip which, when the sapling was in its normal 
vertical position, completely covered the mouth piece. A long, thin and pliable 
climber was attached to the end of the severed sapling which was bent to its extreme 
position and then led over branches, serving as pulleys, right across the path and 
directly in front of the mouth of the blowgun and there was tied to some small root 
covered with leaves. When an enemy passed along the path, he must cut the thin 
bush rope or climber, thereby releasing suddenly the tension of the sapling. The 
bark-flap was drawn quickly up against the mouthpiece with a slap that forced 
sufficient air into the gun to eject the arrow. [Lange, 1912, p. 345.] 


The poison of the Yamamadi, unlike that of the other tribes of the upper 
Amazon River, was fluid. When it was heated until it foamed, the points 
of arrows were dipped into it and passed through the fire to dry. The 
Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) prepared a thick brownish poison (curare?) 
by boiling shavings of one creeper with the crushed pulp of the root of 
another creeper and by adding tocandeiras ants to the mixture. The 
Ipurind crushed about 10 different barks in a mortar, soaked the pulp in 
water, drained off the liquid, and boiled it in a pot until it became a thick 
mass. This poisonous decoction was smeared on arrows with a hair 
brush. Its action seems to have differed from true curare in paralyzing 

Cashinawa men wore a short dagger suspended from the forehead. 
The dagger, which was their most characteristic weapon, was a piece of 
the central organs instead of the peripheral nerves, 

Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) clubs of caripari wood were unusual in 
that six bicuspid black jaguar teeth were embedded in the heavy end of 
the club and projected about 2 inches above the surface of the wood 
(Lange, 1912, p. 370). The Cashinawa clubs, triangular in shape, were 
flat with cutting edges; those of the Nawa were also of the flat type. 

The Yamamadi hunted large animals with spears of a single piece of 
Tecoma wood, from 6 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2 m.) long. Spears were used 
in hunting and war by the Nawa, Yaminawa, and Tawari. 
taquara with deep lateral notches and a handle covered with squirrel-tail 
skin. A long macaw (ara) feather was fastened along the biade (Reich 
and Stegelmann, 1903, p. 136). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 675 


Circular tapir shields, common among the tribes of the upper Amazon 
River, occurred only among the Nawa, Yaminawa, and Tawart. 

The Tucun-dyapa (Mangeroma) protected their villages with surround- 
ing pits, covered by platforms that gave way under the slightest weight. 
The bottom of the pit was wider than the opening and the top wall slanted 
inward, so that it was difficult to climb out. The Tucun-dyapa (Man- 
geroma) and Tawari stuck caltrops, sometimes poisoned with curare, 
along the paths leading to their settlements. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The social unit throughout the area seems to have been the extended 
family, living in an isolated settlement under the leadership of an old 
man. Several families formed large groups, generally called after an 
animal or after a moral or physical peculiarity (the People of the Squirrel, 
the People of the Jaguar, Frog, etc.; also Bone Eaters, Criers, etc.). 
Some authors have called these Panoan groups “totemic clans,” but they 
have presented no other evidence of a sib system. Animal-named social 
groups occur also among the Arawakan Paumary and the Culina, who 
were split into the Caiman, Paca, Monkey, Vulture, Peccary, etc. people. 
The Ipurind village consisted of six to eight families, usually living in two 
large huts separated by fields. 

A Cashinawa informant described the ideal chief as “an old man who 
ewned many things and many crops,” which he generously distributed 
among his people. His main functions were to remind his subordinates 
to live together peaceably, and never to commit adultery. He also ex- 
horted them to be active and to fulfill their duties as useful members of 
the community. Every morning the chief allotted to each his task for the 
day. He took the initiative in organizing hunting and fishing parties, 
and told his people when to open their clearings or to plant crops. He 
was the organizer of drinking bouts and the initiator of the youth. The 
chief’s wife performed similar duties toward the women, prodding them 
to be industrious and cooperative. 


PROPERTY 


The hunting ground of each Cashinawa family was marked by bunches 
of hair (capivara, agouti, etc.) set in a cleft stick along the paths leading 
from the village to the woods. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—When a Cashinawa woman was pregnant, she and her husband 
stopped eating various foods. A woman gave birth standing in an en- 
closure, near her husband, and surrounded by women. She was washed 
with hot water to prevent abdominal swelling, and was then taken to a ham- 


676 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


mock in which she lay for 5 days. Both parents observed food taboos. 
After the confinement, they smeared themselves and the baby with genipa 
to protect it against fever. The husband did not have sexual intercourse 
with his wife until the baby could walk. The birth of twins was regarded 
as inauspicious, and one of them was killed. 

Ipurind women were confined in a special hut in the forest, where they 
were attended by old women, who named the child. After 5 days, during 
which the husband fasted, the mother returned home. For a year the 
father might not eat peccary or tapir meat. If a woman had had inter- 
course with several men before the birth of her child, all of them had to 
provide for its care (Ehrenreich, 1891 a, p. 66). A meat taboo was 
observed by the Pawmary father and even by his father-in-law. A Cata- 
wishi father refrained from any work for a whole month after the birth of 
his child (Tastevin, 1920, p. 149). 

Initiations and Puberty.—Two events with magico-religious implica- 
tions occurred during the childhood of a Cashinawa. When still young, 
he received nixpo fruits which he chewed, thus staining his teeth black 
to insure a long life. Then his lips and the alae of his nose were 
perforated. On both occasions, the adults celebrated a feast during which 
they executed a special dance, called oma. 


During the teeth-staining ceremony, the children were assembled on 
the plaza, seized by the hand, and forced to run to and fro. A fall was 
considered an ill omen. The children were then ordered to lie in their 
hammocks within a mat enclosure, where they remained for 5 days with- 
out eating or speaking, and with their eyes focused on their feet. At the 
end of the ordeal, they purified themselves in a river and henceforth were 
allowed to resume their normal existence. 


The perforation of the lips and nose was accompanied by similar rites. 
The children, decorated with feather diadems and capes, listened to a 
speech in which the chief enumerated all the ceremonial food taboos which 
they were to observe. Then, singing, they walked to a house, escorted 
by the chief, who wore foot jingles and danced. A child who cried 
during the operation brought himself bad luck. The candidates were 
put on a diet of boiled manioc, mush, and peanuts, and were forbidden 
to bathe. Death would inevitably follow any infringement of these rules. 
From the account of the natives, it seems that the feast ended with a 
general purification rite: All the fires in the village were extinguished, 
the people washed themselves in the river, and then built new fires. 

Ipuriné boys had their lips perforated at the age of 8. The first time 
that a Yamamadi child ate meat was the occasion for a ceremony, during 
which the shaman put a piece of meat into the child’s mouth. 

When Cashinawa girls came of age their hymen was cut in the presence 
of the men, who surrounded them holding weapons. The girls and the 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 677 


women who operated on them refrained from eating game for 2 months 
and lived on a diet of broth and bananas. 

Marriage.—The preferred form of marriage among the Cashinawa was 
between cross-cousins. No man could take a wife without the permission 
of the chief. A man who intended to marry asked a female relative to 
make him a large hammock, which he presented to his bride after their 
first night. For the next few days, “feeling ashamed,” he left at dawn 
to hunt and returned after dusk. Residence was matrilocal if the father 
of the bride were alive, patrilocal if the girl were an orphan. Only parent- 
less couples built a house for themselves. Cashinawa folklore stresses 
the necessity for a man to be industrious if he wants to marry. Only 
those with unusual skill and energy could afford two wives. 

In the Jpurina marriage ceremony, the bride pretended to run away 
from the bridegroom, who pursued her. 

Polygyny was common among chiefs (Cashinawa, Canamari). A 
woman past her prime was often abandoned by her husband, who then 
would marry a very young girl. The deserted wife was supported by her 
children or by a very young lover (Cashinawa). 

Death.—The Cashinawa buried the dead and either buried or destroyed 
all his possessions, lest the soul should refuse to depart for the land of the 
spirit and haunt those who had retained some of its belongings. On the 
grave they planted bananas, papayas, and sugarcane. 

Male mourners smeared themselves from head to toe with genipa, but 
women smeared only a portion of their bodies. Failure to observe any 
of these customs aroused the wrath of the soul. 

Many Panoan tribes of the Jurua River Basin ate the roasted or boiled 
corpses of their relatives. They also drank the pulverized bones mixed 
with chicha (Reich and Stegelman, 1903, p. 137). Tastevin (1925, p. 35) 
states specifically that the Cashinawa also practiced endocannibalism be- 
fore their contact with the Whites. 

The Paumary and Yamamadi buried the dead in a squatting position 
in a pit in the bush, and erected a small hut over the grave. The [purina 
interred the dead and their belongings in the huts where they had lived. 
Yamamadi and Ipurind exhumed the bones, smeared them with uruct, 
wrapped them in a bundle, and kept them hanging from the roof of their 
houses. Steere (1903, p. 375) states that the funerary hut was abandoned. 
The [purina celebrated a mortuary feast, during which a man held a bone 
of the deceased while he praised his war deeds. 

The hereafter.—The Cashinawa believed that when a man breathed his 
last, his soul was taken to the sky by a spirit. There it “woke up again” 
and lived forever with the “Great Ancestor’ in a pleasant country with 
no evil and no suffering. The shadow of the deceased remained on earth, 
where it wandered as a ghost, whistling, frightening the living, and some- 
times sucking their blood. 


678 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—The esthetic manifestations of the Puris-Jurua River Indians are 
little known. However, it seems that the Cashinawa and other Panoan 
tribes displayed no little artistic skill in tracing geometric patterris on the 
human body. The style of the motifs used in body painting was the same 
as that traced on pottery. Cashinawa fabrics and basketry were enlivened 
by geometric figures, with a predominance of the meander. The Ipurind 
showed some proficiency in carving bird figures of light wood, which were 
described as dance accessories. The [purind also decorated the interior 
of their houses with straw or bark figures and carved serpents on the ends 
of the horizontal laths of the hut frame. 

Songs and dances.—Judging from the examples recorded by Steere 
(1903, pp. 378, 387), the songs of the Ipurina refer mainly to war; those 
of the Paumary are melodies sung by canoe paddlers. Their words are 
short descriptive sentences of trivial events, such as, “The toucan eats 
fruit in the edge of my garden and after he eats, he sings” (Steere, 1903, 
p. 387). 

The Cashinawa had several types of dances, each called by a different 
name. In all the dances, the men clasped hands and circled or followed 
winding lines. Certain ceremonial dances were wild displays of vitality, 
during which the participants jumped, shouted, invoked the spirits, and 
recited the names of the forest animals. 

Musical instruments.—Huge bark trumpets (fig. 100) played the 
same part in the ceremonial life of the Arawakan tribes of the Purus 
River as they did among the Avawakan tribes of Guiana and Bolivia. 
The Paumary made trumpets of clay, probably of the same type as those 
of the Orinoco River. Panpipes, though probably known to all the tribes 
of the Purts River, are specifically mentioned only for the Pauwmary. 


Ficure 100.—I/purind bark trumpet. (Redrawn from K-hrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 47.) 


The musical instruments of the Cashinawa are: A bamboo flute with 
a@ wax plug near the mouth and with a lateral stop and four other stops 
near the distal end; a trumpet with the bell made of the tail of a tatu 
canastra (large armadillo) ; a musical bow composed of two bows rubbed 
against each other; and a wooden drum covered with a tapir or deer skin 
and beaten with two sticks. Such a drum of European type is undoubtedly 
a recent acquisition. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 679 


A most remarkable combination of slit drums was used by the Tucun- 
dyapa (Mangeroma) on board their canoes. An upright forked stick 
was fastened on each side of a canoe, near the middle. 

About three and a half feet [1 m.] astern of these a cross-piece was laid on the 
bottom of the craft. To this were attached 2 shorter forked sticks. Between each 
pair of upright forked sticks was placed another cross-piece, thus forming 2 hori. 
zontal bars, parallel to each other, one only a few inches from the bottom of the 
boat and the other about a foot and a half [14 m.] above the gunwales. Next 4 
slabs of caripari wood of varying thickness, about 3 feet [1 m.] long and 8 inches 
[20 cm.] wide, were suspended from these horizontal bars, so as to hang lengthwise 
of these canoes and at an angle of 45 degrees. Each pair of slabs was perforated 
by a longitudinal slit and they were joined firmly by finely carved and richly painted 
end-pieces. The operator strikes the slabs with a wooden mallet or hammer, the 


head of which was wrapped with an inch layer of caoutchouc and then with a cover 
of thick tapir-skin. [Lange, 1912, pp. 356—-57.] 


By combining the various tones of their drums, the Indians were capable 
of sending long messages to the villages along the rivers. 

The Catukinaru of the upper Jurua River developed an amazing “tele- 
graph” (cambaryst), consisting of signal drums which when struck 
transmitted vibrations to other drums, sometimes located a mile away, 
“which respond to or echo the blow.” The Indians answered by striking 
the receiving drum in their hut, and the blow was in turn echoed by the 
instrument originally struck. The drum was constructed by placing a 
hollowed palm-wood trunk in a pit on a layer of coarse well-tamped sand. 
The pit was filled to the surface with fragments of wood, raw hide, and 
resins of various woods, and was covered with a layer of hard rubber. 
The drum itself was partly filled from bottom to top with successive 
layers of sand, wood fragments, bone fragments, and powdered mica. 
The center of the drum was empty and its upper surface was covered 
by a hide, a piece of wood, and finally a layer of hard rubber. The 
Indians beat the drum with a club, the head of which was covered with 
hard rubber and raw hide. It is likely that in this region there was “a 
stratum of earth or rock of such composition that it transmitted the 
vibrations of the blow given upon one of the instruments, which being en- 
closed and nearly buried in the earth, certainly did not transmit the sound 
through the air” (Church, 1898, p. 67). 

Games.—Cashinawa games, which unfortunately have not been de- 
scribed, were named after the animals represented by the participants ; 
for instance, the game of the serpent or of the peccary. In the “turtle 
game,” women tried to release a land turtle which had been bound with a 
cord, against the opposition of a group of men who fell over them. 
Other women beat their opponents to free their partners (Tastevin, 1925, 
CUSEaE 

Narcotics.—Tobacco was widely cultivated, not for smoking but for 
snuffing, a habit common to both sexes but predominant among men. 


680 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Instead of tobacco, some groups used parica leaves, which are said to 
contain some nicotine. The tobacco leaves were first dried on u platform 
or exposed to the fire at the end of a cleft stick or on an upturned pan 
or a potsherd, and then pulverized in an ash-heated small mortar, gen- 
erally made of a Brazil nut shell. The powder was mixed in equal pro- 
portion with the ashes of a bark or the hull of cacao beans. It was in- 
haled through two tubes, (fig. 101, b), occasionally through a single tube, 
made of the hollow leg bones of a bird, wrapped together with cotton 


Ficure 101.—Ipurind tobacco container (a) and inhaler (b). (Redrawn from 
Ehrenreich, 1891 a, fig. 41.) 


thread and wax. One end of each tube was rounded with wax so as to 
fit the nostrils. The Cashinawa snuffing apparatus was V-shaped, per- 
mitting the snuffer to blow the powder into his own nose or have it 
blown in by a companion. Even when using the vertical tube, Indians 
were often assisted by a friend who held the powder in the palm of the 
hand. 

The Casharari took parica in the form of clysters administered with a 
rubber syringe. 

The tobacco or carica (i.e., parica) powder was kept in a snuff box, gen- 
erally a snail shell (Pomacea), furnished with a cockle shell and a 
small pouring tube (fig. 101, a). The Cashinawa looked upon tobacco 
snuff as a prophylaxis against colds and influenza. The Ipurind were 
much given to coca chewing and were seldom without a quid in their 
cheeks. 

The Cashinawa induced hallucination by drinking a decoction of the 
bark of an unidentified creeper called honi, probably a species of Banisteri- 
opsis. Under the intoxicating effect of the drug, they perspired, trembled, 
saw dangerous animals, and were seized by homicidal fury. Later they 
perceived swarms of souls calling them, and felt themselves transported to 
the land of the spirits, who showered them with presents. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 681 


Fermented drinks.—Fermented beverages were prepared from manioc, 
peanuts, maize, and palm fruits. The Cashinawa brewed their chicha in 
the hollowed trunk of a paxiuba tree that was generally cut for the occa- 
sion, an act considered symbolical of an approaching feast. 


RELIGION 


The Cashinawa believe in an “Old Father” who lives in the sky with 
his wife, the “Old Mother,” and is the ruler of the Lightning People. 
The main function of this deity is to carry to heaven the souls of the dead 
and to provide them with all kinds of foods and goods. However, he and 
his wife want them to work and be diligent. The “Old Father” is also 
conceived of as a Thunder God for thunder is caused by his tears and 
sobs whenever he remembers his lost children. Capistrano de Abreu 
identifies the “Old Father” with Poka (The Good One), who tried to 
make men immortal and is the father of the culture hero who brought 
darkness. Though nothing more is known about the “Old Father,” it 
may be assumed that he is the Cashinawa equivalent of the Creator and 
Great Ancestor of other South American tribes. 

The folklore of the Jurua and Purts Basins abounds in siories of 
forest spirits and ghosts who frightened and tormented men, yet could 
be deceived and overcome by them. It is difficult to decide how far these 
tales reflect native beliefs and fears. The /purind peopled the forest with 
gruesome bush spirits, but hostile ghosts were of greater concern to them. 

Among the /purind, certain nature spirits, the Kamutshi or Kamatsha 
(kamu in many Arawakan languages means “sun”), were embodied in 
flutes and large bark trumpets hidden in a place known only to the 
shamans. At the feast of these spirits a group of men entered the 
village dancing and blowing the sacred instruments. The women, who 
could not look upon the trumpets and flutes without endangering their 
lives, shut themselves in their houses and expressed their terror in a 
chant. To placate the spirits they gave food and drink to the men, who 
seem to have enjoyed greatly the fear which they caused (Ehrenreich, 
1891 a, p. 70-71). 

The religious life of the Cashinawa, as known to us, did not include 
such elaborate ceremonies. However, dances were often performed to 
influence spirits, in particular the maize spirit, to secure abundant crops 
and bountiful game, or simply to guard the community from malignant 
influences. To bring good luck at hunting, the Cashinawa fumigated 
themselves with the smoke of game hair or bird feathers, inoculated 
themselves with toad secretions, fasted, and wore frontlets of serpent 
skin. Those who found a boa and enumerated the names of game by 
pointing at its spots could rely on abundant catches. Many magically 
potent herbs were taken internally, applied externally, or were carried as 
hunting charms. 


682 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


According to Tastevin (1925, p. 34), the Cashinawa distinguished 
two souls, one of which resided in the eyes and after death went to 
heaven, and the other, identified with the shadow, became a ghost and 
tormented the living. 

No such duality is suggested in the Cashinawa texts collected by 
Capistrano de Abreu (1914, p. 137-140). Dreams were considered as 
adventures of the soul, which left the body during sleep. Sometimes the 
soul reached the land of the spirits, who rejoiced and entertained it. 
After a bad dream, a person remained at home for a day and refrained 
from any activity. 

Fear of bad dreams forced the Cashinawa to keep a vigil before a 
fishing party or an attack on enemies. After returning from an armed 
expedition, they drank a decoction of cayenne pepper and observed a 
strict diet of mush and boiled bananas. 

Ceremonies.—Now and then the Canamari and the Curina organized 
feasts which began with reciprocal flagellations with manatee thongs. A 
man or woman would advance with raised arms to receive a lash and then 
would reciprocate on his partner. Thus the two would turn around a 
hut until one of them gave up. Father Tastevin (1920, p. 150) interprets 
the rite as a duel, but actually it was probably a magic flagellation. 


SHAMANISM 


The Jpurind shaman was a curer and also the leader of religious cere- 
monies. A candidate shaman swallowed crystals that his instructor had 
supposedly vomited, and was thus provided with missiles which would 
bring disease and death to his enemies. Then he lived in seclusion and 
fasted rigorously until he was consecrated as a full-fledged shaman by a 
supernatural jaguar. The main object of medical treatment was to ex- 
tract from the patient’s body the crystals shot at him by a sorcerer. 

A Cashinawa who wished to converse with the spirits and obtain 
magical power from them first had to consent to the cruel fustigation 
which the spirits inflicted on him with thorny branches. After he had 
endured this treatment awhile, the spirits “inoculated” his body with 
small pellets of “poison” (magical stuff: small chips of wood, iron, beads, 
etc.). They also warned him, under penalty of losing his magical power, 
never to eat any game, sweet manioc, sweet potatoes, or yams. The diet 
of a shaman was broth, bananas, raw peanuts, roasted maize, pumpkin, 
and fish. 

Before summoning the spirits, the shaman drank the sap extracted from 
the shoots of several palm trees, which provoked a state of intoxication. 
He also climbed to a treetop and called his invisible friends. They entered 
the hut, whistling, and people could hear them speak in Cashinawa. As 
the spirits feared light, the shaman ordered all the fires put out, but some- 
times he would suddenly light the hut with a torch so that the audience 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 683 


could enjoy the sight of the spirits for a few seconds before they scattered. 
The persons who were present generally asked the spirits about their 
future and inquired about their death. 

A shaman could use magic stuff to kill his enemy, but the soul of his 
victim could recognize him and denounce him to the family of the deceased. 

The medical science of the Jurua Indians did not rest entirely on 
shamanism. They had a wide knowledge of herbs, some of which are 
enumerated by Father Tastevin (1926). Certain herbs had magical 
prophylactic virtues or were good luck talismans; others were purely 
medicinal and were administered internally or externally. Before taking 
a therapeutic bath, the patient had part of his hair shaved, probably to 
facilitate the penetration of the infusion’s virtues. To induce vomiting 
and to evacuate intestinal contents, toad secretions were introduced into 
abdominal wounds inflicted with a fire brand. 

A shamanistic cure that Ehrenreich (1891 a, p. 58) observed among 
the Yamamadi differs from the usual procedure in the silence of the 
practitioner and the absence of the customary blowing and spitting. The 
medicine man pinched the skin around the seat of the disease and rubbed 
his fingers as if to clean them from obnoxious stuff. He then buried 
the disease. Tobacco was applied on serpent’s bites. 


MYTHOLOGY AND LITERATURE 


According to Cashinawa mythology, sun, night, and cold did not exist 
as part of the original universe. Sun and night were kept in two jars 
by a cruel spirit (the trickster), Ica, until Spider succeeded in freeing 
them. In another version, it is Vulture who steals the sun to warm his 
bald head. He puts it in a jar next to that containing cold. In another 
myth, sun, morning, and night were hidden in separate holes guarded by 
three groups of people. As a result of a quarrel, the owners of night 
released it so suddenly that everyone fell asleep in the position in which 
he was caught by darkness. Later, the three groups decided to release 
the elements at set times. Darkness was said to have been in the posses- 
sion of a man who agreed to give some away, but the people who came 
for it brought a very small box and their nights were too short. Later, 
they carried off so much darkness that the harvest season was long past 
when they awoke. Finally, they obtained a satisfactory amount of dark- 
ness. Sloth, ancestor of the Jpurind, created the sun by throwing fruit 
kernels into the water of the flood. 

There is little consistency in the myths explaining thunder and lightning. 
When Xexeu birds dance in their house, there is widespread obscurity, 
thunder, and lightning. Vulture, master of the sun, wants to join them, 
but his stench chases the birds away, and the sun shines again. Thunder 
is also caused by the cracking of the sky when the spirits hack at it with 
their axes. Ants patch the cracks to prevent the collapse of the sky. Some 

653333 —47—46 


684 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Cashinawa believe in a thunder spirit who has a bald head and several 
red-headed children. Whenever he gets angry and beats his children, it 
thunders; lightning is the blinking of his eyes. 

The moon is the severed head of a man (a woman in one version) that 
rolled across bush and rivers to return home. Unable to enter its own 
house, the head ascended to the sky by means of a cotton thread which a 
vulture attached to the celestial vault. There the head became the moon, 
its eyes, the stars, and its blood, the rainbow. Henceforth, women men- 
struated when the moon was full. 

To the [purind, the moon is a young boy who grows alternately fat 
and lean; Orion is a beetle; the Pleiades, a serpent; the Southern Cross, 
a partridge; and the Hyades (including Aldebaran), a turtle. 

In the sky (Cashinawa) is a lake in whose depths is a hole which the 
stork keeps closed with his foot. When the stork goes fishing, rain falls. 
The Cashinawa attribute the destruction of the world and its first inhabi- 
tants to excessive rains, to flooded rivers, and to a general fire caused by a 
spark fallen from the sky. Some versions add that the sky crashed down 
and changed places with the earth. 

The first men were drowned; they either changed into animals, or 
continued to live as spirits in the sky. The earth was repopulated by the 
progeny of the seven children of a sky woman who was struck by lightning. 
The babies were saved and brought up by a crab. In the Ipurina 
mythology, a flood of boiling water was caused by the overflowing of the 
big pot of the sun in which storks cooked all kinds of food. 

Stories of the origin of mankind are varied and unrelated. Men de- 
veloped from maggots growing in the bodies of giants drowned by the 
flood ; they were created by the thunder spirit, Kana, from worms or from 
the blood of game; they fashioned themselves by magic from jacy seeds, 
but the coata monkey provided them with hands and feet, teeth, mouth, 
and nose. The macaco prego monkey taught them to procreate. The 
first man, Ichan, produced his own life in a calabash. Later, he turned 
into a fish. The Cashinawa descended from a girl who was left alone 
after the whole commuunity had changed itself into peccaries. She found 
a baby—the tobacco spirit—whom she took home, and after a few days, 
when the child became a man, she married him. 

Old men might have regained their youth by slipping into a new skin 
had their ancestors correctly understood the message given them by the 
first man who died. He said, “Change your skin,” but they heard, “It is 
finished.” Only a few animals, such as the serpents and the iguana, 
understood the message, and for that reason they are periodically 
rejuvenated. 

Culture heroes.—Culture heroes do not appear in the numerous tales 
collected by Capistrano de Abreu. Tastevin (1925, pp. 23-29), on the 
contrary, found evidence of such mythical characters. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF JURUA-PURUS BASINS—METRAUX 685 


The Cashinawa learned agriculture, as well as arts and crafts, from 
Kuma, who traveled in the company of a trickster, Ica (Inga). Ica often 
displayed his ignorance and stupidity and introduced many unpleasant 
features on the earth. 

The Canamari identified their culture hero, Tamacuri, and his weaker 
companion, Kirak, with the moon and sun. The culture hero of the 
Cama-nawa was a personification of the sun. 

Ichan, the ancestor of men, created birds by molding them of clay 
and projecting life into them. 

Animals often play the part of culture heroes. Ica, the master of the 
sun, was the niggardly owner of fire and crops. Fire was stolen from 
him by a parrot; when he tried to quench the firebrand with rain, 
all the birds covered it with their wings. Ica was also unable to 
prevent a swallow, a lizard, a toad, and a jaguar from robbing him 
successively of a manioc cutting, a grain of maize, a peanut, and a 
banana, which they gave to the Cashinawa. Birds acquired their bright 
colors by bathing in the blood or gall of Ica. According to another 
Cashinawa story, men learned agriculture from a friendly deer, weaving 
from a hummingbird, and pottery and house building from a wasp. 

Metamorphosis.—The transformation of men into animals or of 
animals into men is a favorite theme of Cashinawa stories. An old woman 
without teeth became an armadillo; a widow with long hair turned into an 
anteater; a group of men or children were transformed into a herd of 
peccaries. A cripple, incapacitated for work, chewed a magic leaf, recited 
an incantation, and became a turtle. A little boy went after birds, which 
kidnapped him. 

Animals also assumed human shape. A coati-puru married a woman 
and saved her and her people from famine by magically producing abundant 
crops. A frog changed itself into a man and called on the people who 
had tried to kill it. A toad in the guise of a man called on two women and 
swallowed all their earthenware. 

Many stories are concerned only with the animal world. The Jurity 
fools the Sloth and rubs it with genipa instead of uruct!; the Wasp plays 
tricks on the Vultures; the Turtle by a ruse kills the Tapir, but is in turn 
devoured by a jaguar angry at his boasting. 

Helpful animals.—Animals aid men in distress. A man with a 
gangrenous wound is restored to health by a rat. A jaguar out of grati- 
tude hunts for a man who had extracted a bone from its throat. 

Legends and ghost stories.—Many stories deal with the supernatural 
power of shamans. Ghost stories were also popular. A man finds the soul 
of his mistress, who insists on living with him, but he gets rid of her by 
pushing her into the water. 

Hunting adventures sometimes have a comic touch. A successful hunter 
takes an unlucky one on a hunt and provides him with abundant game; 


686 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


they exchange wives ; then the unlucky hunter plays tricks on his fortunate 
associate, pushes him into a rapid, and scalps him. A successful hunter 
became the favorite of women but remained indifferent to their entreaties ; 
finally, a disappointed woman wounds him. A small child kills a jaguar. 
A man is swallowed by.a serpent; he is rescued although his body remains 
boneless. A man enjoys serpent flesh more than game and forces his wife 
to eat some of it. 

Hero tales.—The adventures of a hero who, after having been betrayed 
by hhis wife, dedicates himself to the destruction of monsters forms a sort 
of epic in prose. This cycle has many analogies to the deeds attributed to 
the culture hero in other folklores. 

Origin of narcotics.—The intoxicating properties of honi (ayahuasca) 
were revealed to men by a water spirit. A man who had observed her 
intimate relations with the tapir, managed to capture her. She took him 
under the water and gave him a decoction of honi, which provoked strange 
troubles in him, but also made him see wonderful visions. He returned to 
this world and revealed the secret to his fellow tribesmen. He was 
swallowed successively by several serpents, but still had time to teach men 
how to use ayahuasco. 

An old man asked to be buried in a deep grave, but always left his tomb 
until he was nailed in it with five paxiuba sticks. Four plants grew from 
his eyes, his nose, and his mouth. They were the pati huni that causes 
visions, the chupa that makes people bellicose and whips up their energies, 
the yura yuti, which is a violent poison, and the tuku huni, which causes 
ulcers. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Abreu, 1914, 1938; Bates, 1892; Brinton, 1891; Castelnau, 1850-59; Chandless, 
1866 a, 1866 b, 1869 a; Church, 1898; Labré, 1889 ; Courboin, 1901; Ehrenreich, 1891 a, 
1897 b; Fritz, 1922; Hassel, 1905; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54; Koch—Griinberg, 
1914; Lange, 1912; Linhares, 1913; Marcoy, 1869; Markham, 1910; Martius, 1867; 
Maso, 1919; Ordinaire, 1887; Petersen, 1886; Polak, 1894; Reich and Stegelmann, 
1903; Rivet, 1920, 1921; Rivet and Tastevin, 1919-24, 1921, 1927-29, 1938; Sombra, 
1913; Steere, 1903; Stiglich, 1908; Tastevin, 1914, 1920, 1924 a, 1924 b, 1925, 1926, 
1928 a, 1928 b; Verneau, 1921; Villanueva, 1902-03 ; Wallis, 1886. 


TRIBES OF THE MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON RIVER! 


By Atrrep METRAUX 


TUPIAN TRIBES OF THE UPPER AMAZON RIVER 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The widespread Tupi-Guarani family was represented on the upper 
Amazon by two powerful tribes, the Cocama and the Omagua, the former 
still numerous, the latter now almost extinct. The material recently col- 
lected by Espinosa (1935) on the Cocama language has not yet been com- 
pared to other Tupi-Guaranian dialects, but research based on a few vocab- 
ularies seems to indicate close connections between the Omagua and 
Cocama dialects and that of the eastern Tupi. The Omagua and Cocama 
migrated to their present territory in pre-Columbian times, but perhaps in 
a not very distant past. Like many other Tupi-Guarani tribes, they be- 
came rapidly adjusted to their new surroundings. Their culture resembled 
in its most fundamental features that of their neighbors on the Ucayali 
and Huallaga Rivers. Living on large rivers with easy navigation and 
abundant resources, they relied for food to an unusual extent upon turtles, 
turtle eggs, large fish, and manatees. The river habitat facilitated farm- 
ing on beaches and flood plains, lessening the labor of slash-and-burn 
horticulture. It was perhaps these ecological factors that made possible 
the existence of large villages, which contrasted sharply with the single- 
house communities found among the Montana people. 

Judging from the few scattered data which exist on their ancient culture, 
little seems to have linked them with their Tupian relatives of eastern 
Brazil: temporary urn burial (Cocama), the marriage of a woman with 
her maternal uncle, the occasional ceremonial sacrifice of prisoners, the 
large communal dwelling, the cultivation of bitter manioc, and preparation 
of casava (Omagua). 

Cocama.—The Cocama were divided into two branches, one, probably 
the more important, was found on the Ucayali River and the other, on the 
Huallaga River. 

The Cocama of the Huallaga River (lat. 5°30’ S., long. 74°30’ W.) 
were generally designated as Cocamilla, the “small Cocama,” to differen- 


1See Map 1, No. 4; also maps 4 and 5. 


687 


688 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


tiate them from the Ucayali River Cocama of the “Gran Cocama”’ (lat. 
5° S., long. 74° W.). There was practically no difference between the 
Cocama and the Cocamilla, except that the latter dressed like their Chébero 
neighbors. 

The Cocama, or Ucayali, lived on both shores of the lower Ucayali River, 
12 days by canoe from its mouth. They were discovered in 1559 by the 
expedition of Juan de Salinas when he ascended this river. 


At the beginning of the 17th century, the Cocama were greatly feared as river 
pirates. Each year during the flood season they crossed from the Ucayali River 
to the Huallaga River by a system of small rivers and creeks and by portages. They 
sailed up and down the latter river and the Marafién River, and entered their creeks 
and small tributaries to attack the Maina Indians and other tribes of that area. They 
returned at the dry season with booty and head trophies. 

When the Chébero revolted in 1644, they found some support among the Cocama; 
for this reason a Spanish expedition was sent to intimidate the Ucayali Cocama, 
who had received Chébero and Cocamilla refugees. The Spanish party was well 
received owing to the presence of a Jesuit Father, Gaspar Cujia, and a Xibitaona 
Mestizo whom the Cocama imagined to be one of their reincarnated chiefs. 

The first Jesuit mission among the Cocama, Santa Maria de Ucayali, was founded 
in 1653 by Father Bartolomé Perez; Father Tomas Majano, who carried it on in 
1657, was, however, soon forced to abandon it. He was followed to the Huallaga 
mission by about 100 families of Cocama converts. (See Maroni, 1889-92, 29: 
73-84.) 

In 1669, the Spaniards sent a punitive expedition against the Cocama, who were 
continually raiding the Indians subdued by the Spaniards, and even their establish- 
ments in the upper Amazon. Father Lucero accompanied the armed force and 
succeeded in winning new converts for the Mission of Santiago de la Laguna, which 
he founded in 1670 on the Huallaga River. This mission soon became the center 
of the Jesuit activities in the zone of the Marafidn. The Cocama of Santiago de la 
Laguna abandoned the mission during the great epidemic of 1680, and took refuge 
among the Omagua, but later they returned to it. 


The Cocamilla (Huallaga, Pambadeque, Pandabequeo) occupied the 
land between the lower Huallaga, the Marafion, and the Simbiria Rivers. 
In 1643, they fled from the Spaniards to the country of the Cocama, but 
returned to their former territory at the request of the Jesuits. In 1649, 
the Mission of Santa Maria de Huallaga was established among them by 
Father Bartolomé Perez. It was later in charge of Father Raimundo Cruz, 
who composed a Cocama grammar. 


At that time the mission had a population of about 600. About 1655, many 
Cocamilla, who had been forced to join the expedition of Martin de la Riva Agtiero 
against the Jivaro, deserted the mission and joined the Cocama. In 1663, some Coca- 
milla, who had banded with Chepeo (Shipebo) and Maparina, resumed their piratical 
operations in the Huallaga-Marafién region; these ceased only when their leader 
was executed by a punitive expedition. Meanwhile, they had lured away from the 
missions a great many converts, stormed the Mission of Concepcion, and killed 
Father Francisco Figueroa, a missionary whose writings on the region and its 
inhabitants are of considerable interest (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 224-231). 

Several smallpox epidemics, in particular that of 1680, decimated the Cocamilla 
of Santa Maria de Huallaga. The survivors were finally shifted to the Mission of 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 689 


Santiago de la Laguna (founded in 1670), where they resided with Cocama and 
Pano until the expulsion of the Jesuits (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :73-84; 30:132). 

After 1767, the Cocama remained in their native country. Today isolated Cocama 
families are scattered along the Ucayali River as far up as Sarayacu and Cumaria, 
along the Huallaga River up to the Yurimaguas, and along the Amazon from the 
mouth of the Pastaza River to Pebas (Tessmann, 1930, pp. 66-67). 

The Cocama withstood better than most tribes of the area, the Spanish colonial 
regime, the slave raids, and the disastrous smallpox and measles epidemics. Their 
number in the 17th century was estimated at 10,000 to 12,000 (Maroni, 1889-92, 
29:81). In 1936, it was reckoned at 9,500 to 10,000 (Tessmann, 1930, p. 66, and 
Peruvian Census). 

Most of the Cocama work as peons for White or Mestizo patrons on the Ucayali 
and Amazon Rivers, but many are said to have migrated to Brazil during the rubber 
boom. They are all Christian in name, but still practice many of their old customs. 
Shamanism has survived among them almost unimpaired. Most of them speak or 
understand Quechua and Spanish in addition to their own language. 


Xibitaona.—The Xibitaona (not to be confused with the Hibito) were 
a colony of Cocama Indians who had settled on the Santiago River near 
the town of Santiago de las Montafias, above Borja. At the beginning 
of the 17th century, they were placed on encomiendas. Their relationship 
with the Cocama was discovered when a Xibitaona Mestizo who in 1644 
accompanied a Spanish expedition to the Cocama could converse with the 
latter (Figueroa, 1904, p. 100). 


Omagua (Umaua, Cambeba, Campeba, Cambela, Canga-Peba (“Flat 
Heads”), Agua, Carari ?).—Orellana’s expedition in 1542 passed through 
the territory of the Omagua, but its chronicler, Carvajal, gives the name 
Omagua to a tribe located below the Trinidad River (probably the Jurua 
River), i.e., to the east of the territory of the Omagua as defined by later 
travelers. According to these sources, the Omagua country began at the 
mouth of the Napo River and extended eastward to the junction of the 
Jutahy River? with the Amazon, lat. 3°-4° S., long. 66°-73° W. (Acuifia, 
1891, p. 115). Therefore, Carvajal’s Omagua were probably not the 
historic Omagua, but must be identified with the Indians ruled by Aparia 
the Great and perhaps by Machifaro. Actually, two native words recorded 
by Carvajal in Aparia’s village are Guarani (coniupuyara, “women”, and 
chise, “stars” not “sun”) (Carvajal, in Medina, 1934, p. 181). The 
Omagua are designated in the accounts of the Pedro de Ursua expedition 
in 1549 as Carari. 


Omagua settlements formed an almost continuous line of houses for 
200 leagues on the shores and islands of the Amazon. When first dis- 
covered, the Omagua were in full expansion. Annual war parties followed 
the innumerable water roads of the Amazon Basin and penetrated remote 
regions to raid villages or settle as independent tribelets. Early mission- 
aries found Omagua colonies far up the Napo, Aguarico, and Quebeno 


2The last Omagua village to the east was Mayavara, below the mouth of the Jutahy River 
(Fritz, 1922, p. 76). 


690 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Rivers. Aparia the Lesser, who is mentioned by Carvajal as a chief of 
the Napo River, may well have been an Omagua chieftain. Like the 
Cocama, the Omagua seem to have deserved the name of “America’s 
Phoenicians” given to them by Hervas (1800-05). 


The Franciscans, among them Father Laureano de la Cruz, made a brief attempt 
to missionize the Omagua in 1647, but a smallpox epidemic wiped out their village 
of San Pedro de Alcantara, after 3 years’ of toil. 

The Jesuits started their missions among the Omagua at the request of these 
Indians, who sought protection against Portuguese slavers. During the 40 years 
following 1641, these slavers had reduced the Omagua from approximately 15,000 to 
7,000 persons (Velasco, 1841-44, 3:235). After 1686, Father Samuel Fritz spent 
many years among the Omagua, traveling, preaching, and founding the missions of 
San Joaquin, Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe, San Pablo Apostol, and San Cristobal 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 30:227-35; Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 284, 297). 

During the war between Spain and Portugal at the beginning of the 18th century, 
the Portuguese attacked and destroyed the 33 Omagua settlements under the juris- 
diction of the Jesuits. In 1710, the Omagua who had not been taken prisoners or 
killed, migrated upstream and formed a new mission, San Joaquin de Omaguas, first 
on the southern bank, later on the right bank of the Marafidn River, somewhat 
below the mouth of the Ucayali River (Velasco, 1841-44, 3:230-336; Chantre y 
Herrera, 1901, pp. 313-315). In 1732, the Omagua, armed by the Jesuits, repelled a 
major Portuguese invasion. The Jesuits succeeded in warding off more Portuguese 
encroachments on their missions until their expulsion in 1767. 

The Omagua population declined rapidly despite the inclusion of Cocama, Yuri- 
magua, and Yameo in their mission. In 1737, San Joaquin had only 522 inhabitants, 
not all of them Omagua. A smallpox epidemic further reduced its population in 
1751 (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 49). In 1925, there were only 120 to 150 Omagua 
left in the two villages of San Salvador de Omagua and San Joaquin, and they were 
rapidly absorbed by the Cocama (Tessmann, 1930, p. 48). 

During the first half of last century there existed another important group of 
Omagua at Sao Paulo de Olivenga. They were the descendants of the ancient 
Omagua who inhabited the islands of Jahuma, Calderon, and Capiahy, and who 
had been settled by force at Olivenca. (Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825, pp. 72-73; Spix 
and Martius, 1823-31, 3:1187; and Marcoy, 1875, 2:340.) These Omagua seem to 
have merged with the Mestizo population of the SolimGes region. 


Omagua-yeté.—The Omagua-yeté (Ariana, Pariana) had been an 
Omagua colony at the mouth of the Aguarico River. In 1635, they were 
taken as slaves to the Sunu River, but they revolted, and some migrated to 
the upper Teputini River, while others joined the bulk of the tribe on the 
Amazon. The Omagua-yeté of the Teputini River were divided into 
four groups—Omagua-yeté, Anapia, Macanipa, and Yhuata, comprising 
about 45 families (Maroni, 1889-92, 26 :243-244). They harassed Spanish 
settlements on the Napo, Sunu, and Payamino Rivers in order to steal 
iron tools. In 1737, there were still some Yeté one day and a half up the 
Aguarico River, near a lagoon called Cocaya (or Taricaya). In 1735, 
the Omagua-yeté united with the Omagua of San Joaquin, but later they 
returned to the Teputini River, where they seem to have disappeared, as 
they are not mentioned after that date (Maroni, 1889-92, 27:50). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 691 


SOURCES 


Carvajal (Medina, 1934) and the chroniclers of the Ursua expedition 
(Jornada de Omagua y Dorado, 1909, pp. 321-322, and Ortiguera, 1909, 
pp. 429-430) give us scattered ethnographic data on the Omagua. A semi- 
fabulous account of the “kingdom” of Omagua figures in the declarations 
made to the Spaniards by Tupinamba Indians who had migrated from 
the Brazilian coast to Chachapoyas. (See Carta de Gobierno del marques 
de Montes-Claros, virrey del Peri A. S.M., in Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881— 
97, 4:CXXIII-CXXXIX). 

The Cocama are lumped together with the Maina in the “Relacién de 
la entrada que hizo el gobernador D. Diego Vaca de Vega al descubri- 
miento y pacificacion de las provincias de los indios Maynas, Cocamas y 
Gibaros” (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:cxxxr1x-cL). 

Figueroa’s “Relacion de las Misiones de la Compafiia de Jesus en el 
pais de los Maynas” (1904) contains some first-hand data on the Cocama 
and Cocamilla. Laureano de la Cruz (1900), the first missionary of the 
Omagua, gives scattered information on the material culture of these 
Indians. The standard authorities for the ancient Omagua are Acufia 
(1891) and Father Fritz (1922), who describe briefly their puberty rites, 
warfare, and religion. Very valuable but disconnected details on the 
Cocama and the Omagua may be gleaned from the “Noticias auténticas 
del famoso rio Marafion” (see Maroni, 1889-92) and from Chantre y 
Herrera (1901). Veigl (1785) refers to the already acculturated Cocama 
and Omagua of the missions and is content to mention a few of their 
techniques and artifacts. The history of the Omagua during the Jesuit 
period has been outlined by Velasco (1841-44, 3 :230-236). 

Fragmentary data on the Omagua and Cocama may be found in La 
Condamine (1745, pp. 78-79), Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825, pp. 72-73), 
Spix and Martius (1823-31, 3:1187), Martius (1867, pp. 433-442), and 
Marcoy (1875, 2:258-61, 340-345). 

On modern Cocama and Omagua, the best source is Tessmann’s 
“Indianer Nordost-Perus” (1930). Father Espinosa (1935) is the 
author of a good monograph on the language and culture of the Cocama. 
Rivet (1910 b) has collected and analyzed the linguistic material avail- 
able on Cocama and Omagua dialects before the publication of Espinosa’s 
work. 

For bibliography, see page 712. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE 
Farming.—The Omagua and Cocama cultivated the same plants as the 


Maina Indians, but only the Omagua grew bitter manioc in early days. 
The present-day crops of the Cocama are maize, sweet potatoes, several 


692 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


tubers—cara (Dioscorea) and taja-cara (Solanum immite), beans, yams, 
sicana, pumpkins, peanuts, pineapples, cayenne pepper, and such fruit 
trees as pupunha palms, caimitos, avocados, zapotes (Matisia cordata), 
guanabanas (Annona muricata), papayas, and guavas (Inga spectabilis). 
Food plants of Old World origin are bananas, which have become a 
staple, sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), sugarcane, oranges, watermelons, 
mangos, and others. 

Plants raised for other than food purposes are cotton, tobacco, barbasco, 
and Clibadium, the last two for drugging fish. 

When crops were planted in the forest, the usual slash-and-burn pattern 
was followed; the main tools to clear the bush were stone axes and 
chonta knives. The ancient Omagua, however, often avoided this labor 
by cultivating on the beaches, planting in June, and harvesting in January 
and February between annual floods (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:197). 

Hunting and fishing.—The principal resource of the rivers is turtle 
eggs, laid on sandy beaches in untold thousands during August and 
September. Indians aboriginally collected these for food and, during the 
post-Contact Period, they also extracted and sold the oil of the eggs 
to the Portuguese. Commerce in oil became so heavy that the govern- 
ments have had to regulate egg collecting. The Omagua and Cocama 
killed turtles with spears and arrows or else captured and kept them in 
corrals by lagoons. 

These tribes took fish during low water with spears—some with two 
prongs—harpoons (formerly propelled by spear throwers), bows and 
arrows (both multiprong and harpoon arrows), hooks (probably of 
European origin), weirs, drugs (barbasco and Clibadium), and by hand. 
To catch manatee and large fish, the post-Columbian Omagua and Cocama 
used an iron-headed harpoon with a float attached to it (Maroni, 1889- 
92, 30:415). 

Hunting was of limited importance, at least to the Cocama. Small 
animals were killed with the blowgun; peccaries were hunted with spears, 
generally as they crossed a river, where they were pursued by the Indians 
in their canoes. The Omagua also used log deadfalls for small game. 

Wild foods included palm fruits, such as Euterpe, Oenocarpus, and 
Mauritia; Brazil nuts; palm grubs; ant eggs; and honey. 

Domesticated animals.—Dogs,’ pigs, and chickens, unknown in the 
pre-Columbian period, reached these Tupian tribes at an early date; 
chickens were introduced before direct contact with Whites. In recent 
times, they were kept in special coops, safe from vampire bats. 


FOOD PREPARATION 


The Omagua kept garnered maize in their houses, but buried manioc 
tubers in leaf-lined pits below river level, often for 1, 2, or more years 


3 Dogs, however, are already mentioned among the tribes of Maina in the middle of the 16th 
century. (See Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:cxtvr). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 693 


After the river began to fall, they removed what they needed, leaving the 
rest buried. They considered rotten manioc better and more nutritious 
than the fresh and from it they made their drinks, flour, and cassava 
bread (Fritz, 1922, p. 50). 

To prepare cassava, the manioc tubers were soaked 4 or 5 days, 
crushed in a mortar, squeezed in a manioc press, strained, and baked 
in a pan. The flour was exposed to smoke in a basket and later made 
up into mush (Maroni, 1889-92, 27:61). 

For grinding food, these tribes used both the cylindrical wooden mortar 
and the wooden trough combined with a semicircular, flat wooden grinder 
typical of many Forest Tribes of eastern Bolivia and Pert. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


Omagua villages were generally situated on islands, beaches, or banks 
of the Amazon River, on lowlands likely to be flooded (Fritz, 1922, p. 50). 
The thatched, rectangular dwellings were occupied by three to a dozen 
families. One door of the house faced the water, the other opened toward 
the jungle. Inside were platforms, made of bark, on which the occupants 
took refuge from high water. At such times they also moored their 
canoes indoors (Fritz, 1922, p. 51). 

Cocama villages were formed by 30 to 40 huts, each sheltering several 
families (Maroni, 1889-92, 29:92). 

The large Cocama house had a gabled roof which descended almost to 
the ground, where it was supported by a low wall of split palms and 
longitudinal beams. The ridge pole rested on the crossed rafters rather 
than on posts. The modern house type with its gabled roof and side 
walls is probably of recent origin (Espinosa, 1935). 

To avoid mosquitoes, the ancient Cocama and Omagua swung their 
hammocks inside tents made of cachibanco (a palm-fiber cloth) or of 
discarded blankets and shirts (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:146; 
Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, p. 101). They also used feather fans to 
drive away these insects. Modern Omagua and Cocama sleep on plat- 
form beds (fig. 102) and use hammocks only for babies. Mosquito nets 
are imported. 


= oi Dita 
a): | Cal 
: ; I\- y a wl 
— = — Tgnalin 
4 


FicurE 102.—Cocama platform bed. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930.) 


694 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Formerly storage platforms, men’s four-legged benches carved from 
a single piece of wood, and women’s mats completed the household furni- 
ture. Houses were lighted with copal rosin wrapped in leaves. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Omagua and Cocama‘ men originally wore the long, sleeveless cushma, 
or tunic, woven of cotton and decorated with painted or woven geometrical 
designs in red, blue, yellow, orange, and green. Women wore knee- 
length cotton skirts and sometimes a little mantle. Today they dress 
like the Mestizo population. 

Gold ear and nose ornaments, probably of Highland origin, are men- 
tioned by the first explorers in Omagua territory, but no reference to 
them appears in the missionaries’ accounts. Cocama men of the 17th 
century perforated the lower lip to hold a piece of leather from which 
hung beads and pendants. They even made labrets of soldiers’ belt 
buckles and of bullets (Figueroa, 1904, p. 103). Today the only mutila- 
tions are the ear perforations among Cocama women. 

Feather headdresses were formerly the most conspicuous ornaments. 
Belts, armlets, bracelets, and anklets of thread or braided hair were 
plain (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 2:145). 

Women painted large surfaces of their body and even their hair with 
genipa; men stained part of their face and their limbs with the same 
pigment. Formerly, wooden stamps were used to decorate the body 
with elaborate designs. Today, body painting is confined to facial 
decorations among Omagua women and some applications of paint against 
sunburn. Modern and probably ancient Omagua stained their teeth 
black, as did most tribes along the eastern slopes of the Andes. Tooth 
filing among modern Cocama may be ascribed to Negro influences. Native 
combs were made of reed splinters bound together. 

Deformation of the skull.—The Omagua were called “flat-heads” 
(Canga-peva) by their neighbors from the shape of their deformed skull. 
They compressed their infants’ heads between a board or a wattle of 
reed placed on the forehead and a plank or trough which served as cradle, 
making the “back and front of the head . . . as flat as the palm of 
the hand.” (See Acufia, 1891, p. 117; Veigl, 1785, p. 68).5 The prac- 
tice disappeared after the Omagua came under Jesuit rule, but at Sao 


“Cocamilla men, like the Chébero, wore a short skirt, and women wore a loincloth (Maroni, 
1889-92, 28:416). 


5Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, p. 99: ‘*Toman la criatura de pocos dias nacida y ciifienle la 
cabeza por la parte del cerebro con una faja de algodén ancha, y por la frente con una planchuela 
que hacen de cafias bravas, que les coje desde los ojos hasta el cabello muy bien apretada, y de 
esta manera lo que la cabeza habia de crecer en redonda, crece para arriba y queda larga, chata 
y muy desproporcionada.” 

Fritz, 1922, p. 48: ‘*. . . they proceed little by little to flatten the tiny heads of their young 
children by applying to the forehead a small board or wattle of reeds tied with a little cotton so 
as not hurt them, and fastening them by the shoulders to a little canoe, which serves them for a 
cradle.” 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 695 


Paulo de Olivenga it seems to have been retained for a longer time. Marcoy 
(1875, 2:345) unearthed in one of their burials a skull with the above 
type of deformation. 


TRANSPORTATION 


For long voyages, warfare, and crop transportation, the Omagua made 
huge dugout canoes of cedar (Cedrela angustifolia) taken as driftwood 
from the river or felled in the forest. These craft were about 45 feet 
(14 m.) long, 4% feet (1% m.) wide. After the log had been hollowed 
and carved, the whole community dragged it to the river over rollers 
and pieces of bark. Individual fishermen used small dugouts which they 
could carry on their backs or drag to and from the river (Veigl, 1785, 
pp. 83-87). 

These tribes carried burdens in large, cylindrical baskets with hexagonal 
weave, suspended by a tumpline. Babies straddled the mother’s hip, 
supported by a sling. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Omagua and Cocama basketry forms and techniques were 
typical of the Tropical Forest: Hexagonal woven (lattice) carrying 
baskets and twilled sieves, mats, containers, and parrot cages. Carludovica 
trigona was the principal material for basketry. 

Spinning and weaving.—Cotton threads were spun by means of a long 
spindle rolled along the thigh; cords of tucum fibers were rolled by 
hand on the thigh. The Omagua and Cocama formerly wove cotton on 
the Andean-type, horizontal loom. Cocama women passed their warp 
threads around two horizontal sticks, one of which was fastened to two 
posts or to the house wall, the other to their waist. They wove with 
the help of a shuttle. Products of their industry were shirts, loincloths, 
arm and leg bands, and mosquito nets. Designs were either woven into 
or painted over the completed textile. Like the Maina and Zdparo, the 
ancient Cocama and Omagua made cachibanco cloth, that is to say, fabrics 
of palm fibers.6 With tucum fibers, the modern Cocama make knotted 
bags, hammocks, and fish nets. 

Pottery.—The first explorers of the Amazon praised Omagua ware for 
its varied forms, beautifully painted ornamentation, and smooth glaze.’ 
The Cocama are still among the best pottery makers of South America 
(fig. 103). 

An Omagua potter only worked in a special hut where she felt safe 
from malevolent charms. She first ground her clay to which she added 


6 Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:146: ‘Su hacienda es mantas, camisetas de algodén blancas 
y labradas de colores con pincel, y cachibangos (petates) del grandor de tapetes, que los hacen 
de cogollos de palmas de que hacen cierto modo de hilaza y los texen muy curiosamente, y dellos 
hacen toldos.” 


7Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 68, ‘tun berniz permanente, vistoso y fino de manera que se 
limpian las piezas con mucha facilidad.”’ 


696 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


charred apacharama bark to serve as an aplastic. Then she built her 
vessel with coils of clay, smoothed it with a stick, and polished it with 
a pebble. After drying it in the sun, she coated it with a white clay 
slip, on which she applied red and black linear designs. She baked it 


ie ca 
ansnanieerase yi ASA NN ETERS EE RATES 


Black White Red J. Anglim 


Ficure 103.—Cocama pottery. (Redrawn from Tessmann, 1930, color plates 2 and 3.) 


in an open fire. While the vessel was still glowing hot, she smeared a 
glaze of Vismia guianensis rosin on the outside and of copal (Hymenaea 
courbaril) on the inside. To decorate the large cooking jars, she merely 
made fingernail impressions in the soft clay around the neck. The 
Omagua made in this manner bowls, plates, and water bottles, but they 
were specially expert at manufacturing large chicha jars. 


Calabashes and gourds.—Cocama and Omagua painted calabashes 
were regarded by both Spaniards and Indians as one of the best expres- 
sions of their arts and were an important article of trade in the area. They 
probably were decorated by the same method as the Yurimagua gourds. 
(See p. 704.) 


Rubber.—In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Omagua were widely 
known for the numerous rubber articles which they manufactured. It 
was even said that the colonists of Para became acquainted with rubber 
and its properties through them. Among the rubber objects made by 
the Omagua were waterbottles and pear-shaped enema syringes. They 
also prepared elastic bands by smearing strips of cauari bark with rubber 


latex (La Condamine, 1745, pp. 78-79; Martius, 1867, p. 440). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 697 


Weapons.—The typical weapon of the Cocama and Omagua was the 
spear thrower. It is described as a small board with tapering ends, a 
bulging central section, and a projecting peg to engage the butt of the 
dart. The darts had a reed shaft and a barbed chonta head. 

There are good reasons to assume that the Cocama and Omagua 
discarded the bow after their migration to the upper Amazon, but that 
they readopted it in more recent times under the influence of their Panoan 
neighbors. In recent times, the Omagua used the bow for fishing and 
hunting, the Cocama mostly for fishing. Omagua arrows had a lanceolate 
bamboo blade or a barbed rod point for hunting, a knobbed head for 
stunning birds, and two to six points for fishing.§ 

Both Omagua and Cocama were already acquainted with the blowgun in 
the 18th century. In our day, they obtained their supplies of curare from 
the Tucuna. Spears and harpoons have been mentioned above (p. 692). 

In warfare the Omagua carried spear throwers, lances, round-headed 
clubs and round shields, made of “reeds split and closely woven,” different 
from those of the Tapuya “which were made of tapir skin, or woven 
hemp-fiber” (Fritz, 1922, p. 50; see also Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 88). 
Ancient villages, like modern plantations, were probably protected by 
concealed pitfalls. 

Fire making.—Aboriginal methods of fire making are not recorded, 
since they were displaced at an early date by flint and steel. The Omagua 
and Cocama activate fires with the feather fans used also to drive away 
mosquitoes. 


TRADE 


The articles which the Cocama traded with their neighbors were cachi- 
banco cloth, tunics, and mantles (mantas) (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 
4:CxLV1). Omagua painted earthenware, calabashes, and cotton cloth 
seem to have been in great demand in Colonial times among neighboring 
tribes. The Cocama and Omagua obtained the curare for their blowgun 
darts from the Peba and Tucuna. Today these peoples have merged into 
the Peruvian national economy, working for Whites and purchasing from 
them industrial products. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The Omagua and Cocama seem to have differed from modern Montafia 
tribes in the size of their villages (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:416). Each com- 
munity consisted of several houses, in contrast to the large, single-house 
communities of the Pano, Zdparo, Witoto, and Tucano. The size of 
Omagua villages may be gaged from population data in missionary 
accounts. The number of the inhabitants in the 34 villages on the islands 


8 According to tradition, the Omagua formerly used slings, but such a weapon seems outlandish 
m an area where stones must be Tare. 


698 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


of the Amazon varied from 16 to 250 (Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, pp. 82, 
84-88). An Omagua village is said to have been divided into two sections 
(moieties ?), each with 30 houses and an average of 50 to 60 people per 
house, but not all the houses reached such proportions, for many were 
occupied only by 3 to 5 families. Like a great many villages along the 
middle course of the Amazon, 17th-century Omagua villages were so close 
to one another that large stretches of the shores were lined by a continuous 
row of huts. 

As elsewhere in the Amazon, the occupants of a large house seemingly 
comprised an extended family. This family was presumably patrilinea) 
and patrilocal, though there is no definite evidence on this point. The 
authority of the Cocama chief seems to have been slight, but the statement 
that the Omagua chief (zana) had more authority than in most tribes ot 
the area may mean that he controlled not merely the household but the 
village. 

Each family owned two or three slaves, captured in war or purchased 
from neighboring tribes. ‘Though required to work hard, these slaves 
were treated kindly and formed part of the family (Maroni, 1889-92, 
30:195). At first, the Omagua refused to sell their slaves to the Portu- 
guese, but later they not only become slavers for the colonists but helped 
the Jesuits to capture wild Indians to be brought up in the missions. 
Omagua slavery may have developed from the widespread Tupi-Guarani 
custom of keeping prisoners for a long time before eating them cere- 
monially. The early Omagua continued to kill prisoners occasionally, but 
had abandoned cannibalism. By the incorporation of prisoners into their 
communities, they began to form a class society. This social stratification 
may have been furthered by an incipient group of nobles, so designated 
during childhood (see below). 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—An Omagua woman gave birth squatting on her husband’s bed, 
and assisted by another woman. The naval cord was cut with a bamboo 
knife and buried with the afterbirth. Both parents were subsequently con- 
fined in the house and observed a special diet from which game meat was 
entirely excluded. These food taboos lasted until the child could sit up by 
itself (Martius, 1867, p. 441). 

Infanticide occurred among the Omagua when the mother was already 
nursing or when the parents had desired a child of the opposite sex. The 
Cocama killed the crippled or deformed children (thought to be the 
children of spirits) as well as illegitimate or unwanted children. In such 
cases, unless one of the parents or some relative lifted it from the ground 
the infant was buried alive with the placenta. Abortion was widely prac- 
ticed. (Cruz, 1900, p. 97; Figueroa, 1904, p. 111; Maroni, 1889-92, 
29 :82.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 699 


In both tribes, the birth of twins was deemed to be an evil omen. One 
of the twins was ceremonially taken to the river in a painted vessel— 
among the Cocama in a basket—and set adrift with the hope that a shaman 
might somehow retrieve and rear it. Then all the women held a purifica- 
tion ceremony in which they broke their pots, cleaned their fireplaces, 
washed their clothes, and bathed themselves (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 
74-76). 

Chantre y Herrera (1901, pp. 83-85) described a ceremony, called 
usciumata, which in his opinion conferred nobility on children of both 
sexes, but which is so strongly reminiscent of the solemn Quechua cere- 
mony of cutting children’s hair that it may well be a kind of rite of passage 
performed during early childhood. It took place when the child was 
about a year old. The parents chose godparents for their children and 
organized a big drinking feast to which all the neighbors were invited. 
They placed the children on profusely decorated stretchers, which were 
carried by a crowd to the chief’s house. Dancers marched at the head 
of the parade, which was followed by four women wrapped in painted 
capes with feathered sticks in their hands. They danced to the rhythm 
of a pottery drum beaten by a woman. At the chief’s house, each child 
was taken by his godparents to the chief, who ceremonially clipped the 
hair and placed it in a vessel. The godparents then cut the child’s hair 
short and brought him back to the chief, who presented him to each person 
in the audience saying, “Aiquiana ne zana” (This is your chief). 

Puberty and marriage.—At her first menses, a girl was hoisted in her 
hammock near the roof of the hut, where she remained motionless for 
8 days and was given only a few yuca tubers and a little water every 24 
hours. Her seclusion lasted a month, during which she spun cotton and 
might not be seen. At the end of her confinement, the girl was taken to 
the river, washed, and half of her body painted and decorated with 
feathers. Then she was ceremonially carried home on a stretcher and 
served chicha by all the women of the community until she vomited. An 
old man struck her on the shoulder with a stick and gave her a new 
permanent name. During the next month, she continued to observe several 
food taboos lest she become sick or be killed by some wild beast. From 
these rites she was supposed to emerge a strong and industrious woman 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 30:194-195). 

Present-day Omagua still shut the girl in a special compartment of the 
hut, where she stays 3 weeks and eats only bananas and fish. No one, 
not even her mother, may see her. The confinement of the Cocama girls 
is less rigorous. At the end of the period, a feast is celebrated during 
which the girl drinks herself into a stupor. She is then taken to a com- 
partment built above the ground, where an old woman cuts the extremity 
of her clitoris. Ashes are rubbed in the wound to stop the blood. This 
rite was obviously borrowed from the Panoan tribes of the Ucayali River. 


653333—47—47 


700 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


After her puberty rites, an Omagua girl may freely indulge in sexual 
life until some young man marries her. 

The preferred, aboriginal Cocama marriage was between a maternal 
uncle and his niece. The Omagua and Cocama bridegroom had to work 
for his father-in-law, after which he took his wife to his own home. The 
mission Omagua, consequently, sought sons-in-law among converts from 
other tribes, for, having no homes to which to return, these young men 
necessarily remained as servants in their wives’ house after their period 
of bride service. —Today men pay money for their wives. 

It is stated that formerly a Cocama man would rear several small girls 
and later marry them (Rel. geogr. Indias, 1881-97, 4:145). Polygyny 
was most common among chiefs. 

A wronged husband killed his wife’s lover only if he surprised him in 
flagranti; otherwise he challenged him to a duel with a club. No punish- 
ment was inflicted on the guilty woman among the Omagua, but among 
the Cocama she was thrashed, and the husband engaged his rival in a 
boxing match. 

Death and burial.—After the death of an Omagua, his whole family 
remained in seclusion for a month and was supplied with game by its 
neighbors (Martius, 1867, p. 441). Three months after the burial, the 
bones were disinterred, washed, painted, and set adrift in a vase ( Maroni, 
1881-92, 27:85). The Cocama combined primary and secondary urn 
burial. They first interred the corpse in a huge jar under the hut. When 
the flesh had rotted, the bones were cleaned and put in a decorated vase, 
which was kept in the house or was carried on their journeys. At the 
end of a year, they buried the bones permanently at a feast called “to dry 
the tears,” after which the name of the deceased was never spoken 
(Figueroa, 1904, p. 250). In the 18th century, both the Omagua and the 
Cocama buried their dead in their canoes with all their personal effects 
(Veigl, 1785, p. 303). Today these Indians have church cemeteries. 

Beliefs about the soul are described under Religion. 


WARFARE 


The Omagua continually harassed the “Tapuya’, ie., the non-Tupi 
tribes on both sides of the river, while the even more aggressive Cocama 
made annual forays in fleets of as many as 45 canoes to raid tribes of the 
Huallaga and Marafién Rivers. The attacks of the Omagua upon their 
neighbors were prompted by the desire of bringing back young captives 
(Fritz, 1922, p. 49). The Spaniards gave loot as the main goal of 
Cocama war parties, but head hunting seems to have been of greater 
importance than indicated by our sources. So warlike were the 
Omagua that they believed dead warriors continued to assail ghost vil- 
lages and to behead their adversaries, thus causing thunder and lightning. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 701 


Among the Cocama, the decision to wage war was made during a 
drinking bout, at which all the men took ayahuasca and went into a 
‘rance. Afterward, their dreams were interpreted as premonitory visions. 
Special importance was attached to the visions of shamans. Before leav- 
‘ng for battle, the men rubbed cayenne pepper in their eyes to sharpen their 
ight and were whipped on the legs by the chief to become more agile. 
After the warriors’ departure, the shamans secluded themselves and fasted 
and were responsible for the outcome of the expedition. 

The main strategy was to surprise the enemy at dawn. The raiders 
generally killed the adult men but enslaved the women and children, who 
were later incorporated in the community. Victorious Cocama warriors 
relebrated their success by drinking and dancing around the trophy heads 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 230). The Tepuitini River Omagua 
decorated trophy heads with paint and feathers. The Omagua, like the 
Tupinamba, killed some captives of high rank or of outstanding courage 
(Acufia, 1891, p. 120) and kept their heads, but threw their bodies into 
the river. In historical times, neither the Omagua nor Cocama practiced 
cannibalism. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Games.—Modern Omagua children amuse themselves with stilts, wrest- 
ling, and tug-of-war. Cocama children play with rubber balls, which they 
strike with their knees, toy spear throwers, and dolls. Both tribes have 
buzzing disks, humming tops, and maize-leaf shuttlecocks. 

Musical instruments.—The most conspicuous Omagua and Cocama 
musical instrument was formerly the large slit drum. Among the 
Cocama, four or five drums of different sizes up to 15 feet (4.5 m.) long 
were beaten simultaneously, producing “diverse and harmonious sounds 
which were heard far away” (Figueroa, 1904, p. 101). The modern 
double-headed skin drum is obviously copied from the Spanish type. A 
unique Omagua percussion instrument consisted of a paddle placed across 
the mouth of a pot and beaten with a rubber drum stick.? Other Omagua 
and Cocama instruments were: End-flutes of reed or bone with six stops ; 
panpipes, with 12 pipes among the Omagua, 10 among the Cocama; 
whistles; and musical bows. Rattles and jingles attached to the knees are 
still used by the Cocama. 

Dances.—There is no information about ancient Omagua and Cocama 
dances. Modern Omagua wear gourd masks at carnivals. The Cocama 
remember a dance performed by men covered with leaves. 

Alcoholic beverages.— Masato, or chicha, a beverage of sweet manioc 
fermented with chewed paste, was a food as well as drink. Diluted in 


®Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 84) . . . “Siguen en sus meneos el tono de otra mujer que 
va dando golpes con una maza de caucho sobre un remo que mantiene en la mano izquierda a la 
boca de una tinaja que lleva colgada como tambor.’’ 


702 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


water, it was drunk daily for nourishment; consumed in large quantities, 
it caused intoxication. Fermented maize, palm fruits (Euterpe sp., 
Mauritia flexuosa), sweet potatoes, sugarcane (Omagua), and bananas 
also produced mildly alcoholic drinks. 

Narcotics.—Both the Omagua and Cocama inhaled powdered curupa 
leaves (Mimosa acacioides), to which they ascribed great therapeutic and 
magical powers. It was blown into the nose through Y-shaped tubes or, 
with the help of small rubber syringes, administered as a clyster which 
provoked agreeable visions. (See La Condamine, 1745, p. 72: Veigl, 
L785, p? 57») 

In order to induce trances and visions, shamans drank ayaluasca or 
floripondia (Datura arborea). 

They cultivated tobacco, and men formerly smoked it in huge cigarettes 
made of bark of a species of Bignonaceae. Today both sexes smoke pipes. 
The Cocama chewed tobacco powder, which they kept in small calabashes. 
Modern Omagua often chew tobacco while smoking. 


RELIGION 


Fritz (1922, p. 50) calls the main god of the Omagua, Zume Topana. 
The first name strongly suggests that of the Tupinamba culture hero 
Sumé. Topana is the name of the Thunder-god, and it has been adopted 
by missionaries for the Christian God. According to a fragmentary myth, 
“Our Lord” (Yara) created mankind between his big and second toes, and 
later made the earth before retiring to a heavenly city. The rainbow was 
conceived to be a huge water serpent dangerous to men. 

The Cocama attribute natural phenomena to spirits called “mama’ 
(mothers). They regard each river, forest, and even trees of unusual 
size or shape as the abode of a spirit. Nature is also full of spirits and 
ghosts that frighten and harm travelers and kidnap the wandering souls 
of sleeping people (Espinosa, 1935, p. 142). So convinced were the 
Cocama that dead people could be reincarnated in living ones, that the 
Xibitaona interpreter in whom they recognized one of their deceased 
chiefs, was immediately given authority over the village of the dead man 
and was visited by his supposed subjects (Figueroa, 1904, p. 102). Souls 
could also migrate into the bodies of animals; those of virtuous men be- 
came noble animals. Therefore, great respect was shown to an animal 
thought to contain the soul of a relative. 

According to the Omagua, every man has two souls. One wanders 
at night and causes dreams, and the other, the “mai,” resides in the 
shoulders and can be projected out of the body only by shamans. The 
Cocama also believe that a man has two souls; after death, one, identified 
with the shadow, goes to heaven, while the other becomes a wandering 
but harmless ghost. 


> 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 703 


SHAMANS 


Early shamanistic practices are little known, though the Omagua were 
famous as the most powerful shamans and best druggists in the region. 
Information comes mainly from the accounts of Tessmann (1930) and 
Espinosa (1935, pp. 145-151) of the Omagua and Cocama of the present 
century. 

An apprentice shaman was trained for 5 or 6 months under the guid- 
ance of an experienced practitioner. He fasted, smoked tobacco, and, 
among the Omagua, took curupa powder and a decoction of the bark of 
the virola tree. In both tribes, the instructor summoned the spirit or 
magic substance belonging to a deceased shaman, which was supposed to 
have gone into a virola tree (Omagua). This power, together with magic 
“thorns” which issued from the instructor’s mouth, were implanted in the 
novice’s body, where they remained for future use against his victims. 
Today during their apprenticeship, Omagua and Cocama novices drink 
ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi). 

Ancient Omagua shamans intoxicated themselves with floripondia 
(Datura arborea) and, like their modern Cocama colleagues, with aya- 
huasca as well, in order to consult spirits from whom they learned the 
causes of diseases, the whereabouts of stolen objects, and the nature of 
future events (Chantre y Herrera, 1901). 

Diseases were often the result of witchcraft. A sorcerer might trans- 
form his magic substance into a bird which flew to the victim and pro- 
jected the “thorns” into his body, or he might go personally to flip his 
small magic “arrows” into an enemy. If the victim died, the “thorns” 
returned to the body of the sorcerer. 

Among the Cocama, some diseases were attributed to the loss of the 
soul, which either had gone astray or had been stolen by a demon. 

To cure disease caused by “thorns,” the shaman blew tobacco smoke 
on his patient and massaged his body to drive away the illness, then 
sucked out and destroyed the “thorns.” Through dreams, he ascertained 
the identity of the sorcerers against whom, in the event of the patient’s 
death, his family took revenge. In a case of illness caused by soul-loss, 
the sick man and his close relatives were put on a diet of thin manioc 
mush. The shaman and the patient then lay side by side in a small mat 
enclosure, and the shaman chanted in a high voice and pleaded with the 
soul, “Do not go away.”’ The audience repeated the appeal. Then fol- 
lowed the customary sucking of the patient’s body. 

Shamans also administered drugs, mostly plant decoctions with real or 
fancied virtues. They required a patient to inhale tobacco juice, mixed 
with cayenne pepper, through his nose or gave an enema made of parica 
tc relieve general depression. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


For bibliographic references, see page 712. 


704 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


TRIBES OF THE MIDDLE AMAZON 


Yurimagua (Zurimagua).—According to Father Fritz (1922, p. 92), 
who converted the Yurimagua to Christianity, they spoke a language “quite 
different from that of the Omagua.” Father Veigl (1785 a, p. 54) also 
states that their language was different from any other in the region. 
Whatever the affinity of the now vanished Yurimagua language, it was 
certainly not a Tupi dialect as has been often stated. 

The Yurimagua lived on the islands of the Amazon from below the 
mouth of the Jutahy River to the vicinity of the junction of the Jurua and 
the Amazon Rivers (lat. 3° S., long. 64°-66° W.). 

Father Samuel Fritz collected them in the Mission of Nuestra Sefiora 
de las Nieves, soon after starting the conversion of the Omagua. Later 
he established a few more settlements (for instance, San José de Yuri- 
maguas) among these Indians and their neighbors.!° In 1708, the Yuri- 
magua who had escaped from the Portuguese slavers migrated upstream, 
and were settled by the Jesuits near the mouth of the Paranapura River, 
on the Huallaga River in a village which still bears their name. Others 
joined the Omagua at San Joaquin. A great many Yurimagua perished 
during the smallpox epidemics of 1760. 

Both sexes went naked until they adopted cotton clothes under the pres- 
sure of the missionaries. Their staple food was manioc stored in pits cov- 
ered by the annual floods. Their favorite weapon was the spear thrower. 
They captured jaguars in corrals where a dog protected by a smaller en- 
closure served as bait; a trigger touched by the jaguar caused a sliding 
door to fall (Izaguirre, 1922-29, 7 :242). 

The Yurimagua painted calabashes were famous and were an important 
trade article. The outer surface of the calabash was first scratched and 
stained black, and then red and yellow was applied, separated by floral 
motives. The vessel was varnished with parinari rosin (Veigl, 1785 a, 
p. 55). The Yurimagua women were also good potters. In Colonial times 
they decorated their vessels with floral motifs, a pattern which still can be 
seen on vessels from the upper Amazon. 

The Yurimagua celebrated a cult reminiscent of the “Yurupary feasts” 
of the Tucano and Arawakan tribes of the Caiary-Uaupés region (pp. 793, 
795; figs. 116-117). It centered around a spirit called Guaricana, whom 
they worshiped in a special hut barred to women and children. During 
the ceremony, they played a big “flute” (probably the Yurupary trumpet) 
and the spirit—actually an old man—whipped the youths with a lash of 
manatee hide, to make them strong (Fitz, 1922, p. 61). 


10 According to Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 288), the missions founded by Father Fritz among 
the Yurimagua were Coary, Santa Ana, and Tracuatuva de Teffé. This is probably a mistake, 
because these villages would have been beyond the territory of the Yurimagua, further downstream. 
If the missions correspond to the modern towns by the same name, they were probably occupied by 
Aisuare and Ybanoma. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 705 


Aizuare (Aysuare, Aissuari, Azuaro)—On Father Fritz’ map, the 
Aizuare appear on the left side of the Amazon. Their territory began 
somewhat below the mouth of the Jurua River and extended to the mouth 
of the Japura River, lat. 3° S., long. 65° W. (Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, 
p. 107; Fritz, 1922, passim). Though culturally they resembled the 
Yurimagua, they spoke a different language. They were collected in the 
Mission of Teffé de Aisuaris in 1688. Harassed by the Portuguese slavers 
they placed themselves under Jesuit protection and migrated together with 
the Yurimagua to the Mission of Yurimaguas on the Huallaga River. 


Among the Aizuare men and women were naked. They lived in thatched 
huts, tightly closed as a protection against mosquitoes. They were excel- 
lent potters, and their painted ware and gourds were in great demand 
among other tribes. They also made shell beads which were highly valued 
by their neighbors, who traded them for slaves. The Aizuare sold these 
slaves to the Guaranacua Indians of the upper Rio Negro for iron tools 
which the latter obtained from the British and the Dutch of the Guianas. 

Ibanoma.—The Jbanoma (Ybanoma) were a little-known tribe of the 
right side of the Amazon from the Jurua to the Purtis River (lat. 4° S., 
long. 73° W.). Like the Aizuare, they had trade relations with the Guiana 
Indians. 

Curuzirari—The Curuzirari (Curucicuri) are reported by Acufia 
(1891, p. 101) from a point 28 leagues below the Jurua River to another 
22 leagues below the Araganatuva River, probably a branch of the Japura. 
Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825, p. 56) located them on the southern bank of 
the Amazon from the Teffé to the Jurua River. Their settlements were 
so close to one another that they formed an almost uninterrupted line along 
both banks of the Amazon (Acufia, 1891, p. 101). They manufactured 
abundant pottery of various shapes (jars, pots, and pans), which they 
traded to other tribes. They wore in their ears and noses a great many 
gold ornaments which they obtained from the Manao of the Rio Negro 
{Acufia, 1891, p. 102-103). 

Paguana (Jaguana, Payana).—A chief named Paguana is mentioned in 
Carvajal’s account. Acufia places these Indians on the Teffé River, but 
Laureano de la Cruz (1900, p. 109) locates them near the mouth of the 
Araganatuva, a branch of the Japura River. (Lat. 4° S., long. 65° W.) 
Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825, p. 57) listed their name among the Indians of 
Fonte Boa. 

Soliman.—The Soliman (Yoriman) were once a powerful tribe on the 
southern bank of the Amazon from below the Japura River to the vicinity 
of the Purts River, lat. 4° S., long. 72°-73° W. (Acufia, 1891, p. 103), 
but they disappeared at an early date. Their villages were of considerable 
size—one of them is said to have been one league and a half long (7 km.). 
They consisted of large communal houses accommodating at least four or 
five families. 


706 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Acufia (1891), Laureano de la Cruz (1900), and Fritz (1922) mention 
two tribes on both banks of the Amazon River from the mouth of the Napo 
to the Rio Negro. They were: Guareicu (Guarayco, Guaraicu), near the 
lower Jutahy ; and the Mayzuna, south of the Omagua. The tribes of the 
Jutahy River enumerated by Acufia (1891, p. 99) were the Tipuna 
(Ticuna?), Guanaru, Ozuana, Morua, Nauna, Conomoma, Mariana. The 
Juana are located by Laureano de la Cruz (1900, p. 105) on the northern 
bank of the Amazon, near the Putumayo River. 

On the Tocantins River lived in the 18th century the Cayvicena 
(Cayuviuna) and the Pariana, who were linguistically related (Ribeiro de 
Sampaio, 1825, p. 61). 


ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA IN CARVAJAL’S ACCOUNT OF THE 
ORELLANA EXPEDITION (1542) 


The account of the Orellana expedition by Carvajal (Medina, 1934) 
contains a few scattered data on the ethnography of the Indians with whom 
he came in contact. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to determine the 
tribe or even the region where his observations were made. 

After he left the domain of Aparia, i.e., the land of the Omagua, Orellana 
sailed through the densely populated country of Cacique Machifaro 
(Yurimagua?). Villages here were never more than half a league apart, 
and some settlements stretched for 5 leagues without intervening space 
(Medina, 1934, p. 198). In each village there were large pens full of 
turtles. 

In the land of Cacique Omagua, Carvajal (Medina, 1934, p. 201) came 
upon a house full of “jars and pitchers, very large, with a capacity of more 
than 25 arrobas, and other small pieces such as plates and bowls and 
candelabra of this porcelain of the best that has ever been seen in the 
world, for that of Malaga is not its equal.” This pottery was glazed and 
decorated with all sorts of painted motifs. In the same village there were 
two idols “woven out of feathers of divers sorts . . . and on their arms, 
stuck into the fleshy part, they had a pair of disks resembling candlestick 
sockets, and they also had the same thing on their calves close to the 
knees; their ears were bored through and very large, like those of the 
Indians of Cuzco and larger.’”’ The conquistadors found there gold and 
silver. 

Below the Rio Negro the Spaniards found a village fortified with a 
wall of heavy timber (Medina, 1934, p. 204). In the plaza of another 
village, Carvajal saw two strange wood carvings which he interpreted as 
the relief plan of acity. Nearby there was a hut containing feather dresses. 
On the lower Amazon the Spaniards thought that the Indians used poisoned 
arrows because two wounded soldiers died 24 hours after they had re- 
ceived some light wounds (Medina, 1934, pp. 224, 226). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 707 


The description of the Amazon kingdom given to Orellana by an Indian 
of the lower Amazon River is undoubtedly a mythical account of the Jnca 


Empire. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
For bibliography, see page 712. 


ARAWAKAN TRIBES OF THE LEFT, MIDDLE AMAZON 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


Until the beginning of the 19th century, several Arawakan tribes, which 
today are almost entirely extinct, lived between the Rio Negro and lower 
Ica River. These were the Manao, Pasé, Cauishana, Juri, and Uainumd. 

Manao.—The most famous tribe was the Manao (Manaus, Manavi, 
Managu, Manoa), whose name first appears in Acufia’s account (1891, 
p. 133), lat. 3° S., long. 63° W. The Curuzirari near the mouth of the 
Japura River told Acufia that the gold objects which reached the Amazon 
had been traded by the Manao (Managu) from the Indians of the Yquiari 
River (Rio Negro). In 1686, Father Fritz met some Manao traders 
among the Yurimagua Indians. Their trade objects were “gold, ver- 
million [uruci], manioc graters, hammocks of cachibanco with various 
kinds of clubs and shields, that they worked very curiously.’ Fritz adds 
(1922, pp. 62-63), “they do not themselves extract the gold, but they go 
to the river Jurubetts navigating the Yquiari, where they obtain it by 
barter, and this is the river much famed for its gold amongst these tribes.” 
Thus, these peddlers of the Amazon were intimately connected with the 
legend of El Dorado and the golden city of Manao on the shores of Lake 
Parima. 


The Yurubeth or Yurubashi River, where the Manao lived near a great lake, is the 
Urubashi River, a left tributary of the Rio Negro, by which one may reach the lakes 
of the Japura River. Actually, Manao territory was more extensive. Ribeiro de 
Sampaio (1825) mentions Manao in the towns of Lamalonga, Tomar (which he calls 
the “Court of the Manaos”), Moreira, Barcellos, Poyares (or Camaru), Carvoeiro 
(Aracary), and Moura. Martius (1867, p. 577) says that these Indians were con- 
centrated between the Xiura and the Uarira Rivers, both southern tributaries of the 
Rio Negro (from Santa Isabel to Moreira) and on the left side of the Rio Negro 
along the Padauiry River. The Manao of the Padauiry River called themselves 
Ore or Ere-Manao. Several Manao families were settled in the city of Manaos, 
where, in Martius’ time, they showed great receptiveness toward European civiliza- 
tion and were already strongly mixed with the Brazilian population. 

In the 18th century, the Manao became slavers for both the Portuguese and the 
Dutch of the Guianas. One of their famous chiefs, Ajuricaba, scoured the Rio 
Negro under the Dutch flag to capture Indians whom he traded for European 
goods (Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825, p. 110). In 1757, a Manao Indian of Lamalonga 
rebelled against the Portuguese and destroyed Lamalonga and Moreira. Then he 
took possession of the island of Timoni and formed a confederacy with the neigh- 


708 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


boring wild Indians to attack Barcellos, but failed. The Manao were converted to 
Christianity by the Carmelites, who settled them in the aldeas enumerated above. 


Pasé.—The Pasé (Passé, Pacé) were closely related to the Manao. 
They seem to have occupied a large territory from the lower Rio Negro 
to the Japura or even the Ica Rivers (lat. 3° S., long. 68° W.). At the 
beginning of the 18th century, they were reported at Tomar, Santo Angelo 
de Cumaru, N.S. de Conceig&éo de Mariua, Barcellos, and Manaos. They 
also formed part of the native population of Fonte Boa on the Solimées 
River. Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825, p. 35) mentions them on the Ica River 
in 1775, where Spix and Martius found them also in the beginning of the 
19th century. In Bates’ time (1864, p. 342), from 300 to 400 Pasé lived 
on the Japura River 150 miles from Ega. About 1820, Martius (1867, 
p. 504) estimated their entire population at 1,500. At present, only a few 
Pasé may be found on the lower Ica River (Grubb, 1927, p. 94). 

The Pasé were considered the most advanced Indians of the middle 
Amazon and were highly esteemed by the Portuguese for their fidelity, 
their mild disposition, and their handsomeness. Those who were not 
killed off by smallpox were rapidly absorbed by the Neo-Brazilian popu- 
lation of the Rio Negro. 

Cayuishana.—The Cayuishana (Cauixéna, Caishana, Caujdéna, Caux- 
dna, Caecena, Cujubicena, Cayubicena) were closely related to the Pasé. 
In the first half of the last century, most of them lived west of Acunauy 
Lake, on the Mauapari River (Martius, 1867, p. 481). (Lat. 2°30’ S., 
long. 66°-67° W.) Other groups had villages near the ancient Pariana 
(another Arawakan tribe), between the lower Japura and Ica Rivers. 
Bates (1864, p. 431) gives the forests near Tunantins as their habitat. 
They numbered 600 in 1820 (Martius, 1867, p. 481), and about 400 forty 
years later (Bates 1864, p. 432). Around 1920 there were still 13 
Cayuishana families on the Mapary River, an affluent of the Japura River. 

Juri.—The Juri (Yuri, Juru-pixuna, “Black Mouth”) were closely 
allied to the Cayuishana and Pasé. They lived between the Ica and Japura 
Rivers (lat. 2°-3° S., long. 68°-69° W.). During the first half of the 
19th century, a great number migrated to the Rio Negro, where they 
became settled and partly civilized (Wallace, 1853, p. 510). 

Uainuma.—The Uainuma (Uaynumi, Uaypi, Uaima, Uaiudna, Ianuma, 
Ajuano) called themselves Inabishana. Martius (1867, p. 501) locates 
them between the Upi River, a tributary of the Ica River, and the Cauinari 
River, a tributary of the Japura River (lat. 2° S., long. 69° W.). About 
1820, 600 Uainumeé still remained independent, the rest of the tribe having 
migrated to the towns of the Rio Negro and Solimées River where, like 
the Juri and Pasé, they were rapidly absorbed by the local Mestizo 
population. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 709 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


All these Indians were good farmers who raised manioc, cara (Dios- 
corea), maize, bananas, sugarcane, watermelons, pupunha palm (Pasé, 
Juri), and other plants. They ate manioc in the form of wafers (beiju). 


HOUSES 


The native house of all these Arawakan tribes was circular with a 
conical roof,! but at an early date this type was replaced by the rectangular, 
wattle-and-daub hut adopted from the Neo-Brazilians. The Juri took 
refuge from the mosquitoes in small ovenlike structures made of earth. 
They all slept in hammocks made of tucum fibers. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Among the Manao, men wore a fringed skirt of miriti, and among the 
Pasé, a kind of apron made of the inner bark of the sapucaia tree. Juri 
men tucked the penis under a belt. Uainumd women used a fringed bark 
apron, and wore earplugs, long reed or wood labrets, woven bands around 
the arms and under the knees (also Cayuishana, Pasé, Juri), and feather 
ornaments. Among the Uainumd, both sexes had the sides of the nostrils 
incrusted with round shell disks. 

The distinctive Uainumd, Juri, and Pasé ornament was extensive facial 
tattooing in wide patches which covered the whole mouth region and often 
reached the eyes. This tattooing was begun in early childhood and in- 
creased during life, until in old age it finally reached its perfection. The 
Juri owe their name, Juru-pixuna, “Black Mouth” (in Portuguese, Boca- 
preta) to their typical tattooing. Among the Uainumd and Pasé, tattooing 
varied according to the groups into which the tribe was subdivided. 


MANUFACTURES 


Canoes.—Manao craft were big dugouts made of the large tree trunks 
of the iacareva (Calophyllum sp.) or angelim (Andira sp.). 

Weapons.—The bow and arrow was used by all these tribes. Poisoned 
javelins are specifically mentioned as a favorite weapon of the Juri, Pasé, 
and Cayuishana. The blowgun, which the Pasé made of two half tubes 
carefully joined, was the main hunting weapon, The Juri were expert at 
preparing the curare for blowgun darts. The Juri and Pasé had large 
shields made of tapir and manatee hide. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


The Manao were divided into groups led by headmen, who were sub- 
ordinate to a supreme chief, who exercised his authority through delegates. 


11 Cauishana huts were 4 fathoms high and 6 fathoms wide. 


710 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


However, the hierarchical system described by Martius (1867, p. 580) 
seems to be somewhat idealized and, if it existed, it must have come into 
being only shortly before the downfall of the Manao, when chiefs like 
Ajuricaba mustered important contingents of allied troups against the 
Portuguese. 

The Uainumd, Juri, and Pasé kept their war prisoners as slaves, who 
were harshly treated and were required to work hard (Martius, 1867, 
7a): 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—After her delivery, a Pasé woman remained in the dark 
for a whole month on a diet of cassava and manioc mush. The husband, 
painted black, lay in his hammock and fasted until the baby’s naval cord 
dropped off. The name of an infant was chosen by a shaman. Among 
the Manao and Cayuishana, the father remained in his hammock and 
fasted for a few days. Circumcision of babies is reported among the 
Manao, The Manao killed misshapen babies by putting them in a grave 
pit around which the family and the inhabitants of the maloca moved, 
knocking soil over the infant until it choked him. 

Puberty.—When a Manao girl had her first menses, she fasted while 
wrapped up in her hammock. She was also painted and had her skin 
incised. Pasé girls were hoisted in their hammocks near the roof and 
fasted for a month. 

As in many Guiana tribes, Manao and Cayuishana boys who had reached 
manhood were cruelly flogged. 

Marriage.—Polygyny, practiced mainly by chiefs, was not common. 
Levirate is specifically reported only for the Pasé. 

Death.—Among the Manao, the dead were wrapped in their hammocks 
or in strips of turiri bark and buried with their possessions in a grave 
dug in the communal hut. After the grave had been filled in, the mourners 
trampled down the soil amidst ritual laments. A fire was kept burning 
on the grave of a beloved child. Large funeral urns for direct burial 
have been unearthened near the city of Manaos (Keller-Leuzinger, 1874). 

According to Ribeiro de Sampaio (1825, p. 79), the Pasé buried their 
dead in large urns, but later removed the bones to smaller vessels, The 
Cayuishana also buried their dead in large urns. 


NARCOTICS 


The Pasé, Juri, and Uainuma blew parica powder into their noses or 
took it in the form of an enema. 
RELIGION 


The Manao are credited with the belief in two gods, Mauari and Saraua, 
the first benevolent, the other evil. They feared several nature spirits, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF MIDDLE AND UPPER AMAZON—METRAUX 711 


such as Gamainha, the water demon, and Camainha pichene, a forest 
demon. 

The only information on Pasé religion comes from Ribeiro de Sampaio 
(1825, p. 79), who says that they believed in a Creator of all things and 
in a future state of rewards and punishments. The upper world was 
divided into several layers in the uppermost of which God resided. The 
stars were his beams. 


CEREMONIES 


The Uainuma celebrated great feasts when certain foods were abundant, 
e.g., at the season of the pupunha fruit and when a migrating water bird 
came to their lakes. 

The principal Manao feast took place at the first full moon in March. 
Preparations for it began several months in advance under the supervision 
of the chiefs, who stored large amounts of crops and fish. At this feast, 
men and women underwent cruel flogging, a magico-religious rite per- 
formed by most Guiana tribes. Men with uplifted arms bore without a 
sign of pain the blows which their partners inflicted on them. Women 
with their arms crossed over their breasts, competed with men in stoical 
endurance. The Juri and Pasé had masked dances. 


SHAMANISM 


Manao shamans enjoyed great prestige. They were trained from an 
early age by long fasts, by strict continence, by periods of silence, and by 
frequenting isolated and gloomy places. When, after a year of seclusion, 
a novice appeared in public, he was painted black and wore scars which a 
jaguar had supposedly inflicted on him. He then danced until completely 
exhausted. Afterward, he had to endure the bites of ants without flinching. 
Tobacco juice was poured in his eyes as a final test. Only then was the 
novice regarded as a full-fledged shaman capable of coping with snakes 
and other poisonous animals and of curing diseases. 

To cure, the shaman, shaking his rattle and muttering incantations, blew 
tobacco smoke on the patient’s body and, after massaging and kneading it, 
sucked out the pathogenic objects, such as red mushrooms (Boletus 
sanguineus), bugs, grubs, centipedes, etc. Shamans had some knowledge 
of herbs, about which they were very secretive. Their medical power, 
however, was regarded as seriously impaired if they married. 

Shamans were also diviners and prophets, who learned about the future 
through the assistance of spirits who visited them in the guise of frogs, 
mosquitoes, snakes, and other animals. Mothers bought amulets from 
them for their children. These consisted of pieces of wood or of claws 
of several birds, for example, Polyborys vulgaris, curajeu (Caprimulgus 
sp.), and cacy (Coracina ornata). 


7i2 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Mythology.—The Manao had a tradition of the destruction of the world 
by a big fire which originated in a mountain and spread through the 
forest. They attributed eclipses to the attempts of a celestial jaguar to 
devour the sun or the moon. Whenever eclipses occurred, they danced 
and wailed to put the monster to flight. The Manao also believed in the 
existence of small people with upturned feet (motacu). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1891; Bates, 1863, 1864; Brinton, 1892 b; Caravajal (see Medina, 1934) ; 
Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Espinosa, 1935; Figueroa, 1904; Fritz, 1922; Grubb, 1927; 
Hervas, 1800-05, vol. 1; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Jornada de Omagua y Dorade, 1909; 
Keller-Leuzinger, 1874; La Condamine, 1745; Cruz, 1900; Marcoy, 1875; Maroni, 
1889-92; Martius, 1867; Medina, 1934; Métraux, 1928 a and b, 1940; Ortiguera, 1909; 
Peruvian Census, 1940; Relaciones geograficas de Indias, 1881-97; Ribeiro de Sam- 
paio, 1825; Rivet, 1910 b; Spix and Martius, 1823-31 ; Tessmann, 1930; Veigl, 1785 a; 
Velasco, 1841-44; Wallace, 1853. 


THE TUCUNA 


By Curt NIMUENDAJU 


HABITAT, HISTORY, AND LANGUAGE 


The Tucuna (Tukuna, Ticuna), not to be confused with the Tucano, 
occupied the jungle tracts of the tributaries of the northern side of the 
Amazon-Solimées River from long. 71°15’ (Peruaté Island) to 68° 
40’ W., and the upper course of the streams on the opposite side of the 
watershed of the Putumayo-Ica River (map 1, No. 4; map 5). They 
avoided the banks of the Amazon-Solimées, fearing the Omagua, their 
traditional enemies of the islands. When the latter disappeared, the 
Tucuna spread out over the islands and shores of the Solimdes as far as 
the Auati-Parana River (long. 66°30’ W.). 

The country is flat, covered by Amazonian jungle. A wide strip 
bordering on the SolimGdes River is subject to great periodical floods. 

The Tucuna, inconspicuous in the history of the Amazon, were first 
mentioned in 1641 by Cristobal d’Acufia. 

Rivet (1912 b) designated the Tucuna language as “‘un dialecte arawak 
trés corropu.” Only a part of his list of lexicological similarities appears 
to be valid, especially as he lacked sufficient reference material on the 
Tucuna language. There is, however, no doubt that the Tucunan vocabu- 
lary has a number of elements which were borrowed from the Arazwakan 
languages, as noted also by Brinton (1901) and Tessmann (1930). 
Tupi influence is greater than Rivet supposed, being revealed in the 
pronouns, which he noted but did not evaluate. Correspondences with 
Yuri are fewer, but not unimportant. It is regrettable that there is not 
more phonetic material on this language. The Tucanan element, which 
Tessmann states is second in importance, is, as Rivet also noted, very 
weak. The Mura element postulated by Loukotka lacks absolute proof. 

Martius called attention to 11 Ge elements in Tucunan; Rivet added 
five more examples. (Both Martius and Rivet include Camacan and 
Masacarian in the Ge family.) But, of Rivet’s 16 Ge elements, only 4 
are valid, 3 being formed of Camacdn elements and only one of 
Ge elements. 

There is, therefore, insufficient evidence for Brinton’s, Rivet’s, and 
Loukotka’s inclusion of Tucunan in the Arawakan family. For the 
present, it is advisable to follow Chamberlain and Tessmann in consider: 
ing it a separate language. 


713 


714 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The main Tucuna crops are bitter manioc, sweet manioc 
(macaxera), cara (Dioscorea), and maize. The last is planted with 
some ceremony. There are also at least three species of edible tubers 
which are not used by civilized people. 

Fishing and hunting.—Fish, of great importance to the Tucuna, are 
taken with four- to nine-pronged javelins, arrows, harpoon arrows, baskets, 
weirs, traps, and a drug made of timbo. The Indians fish almost daily 
from childhood. On the Solimdes, they are expert fishers of piraruct, 
an important article of commerce. 

Hunting today is unimportant, since game has been depleted to fill 
the demand for hides. The Tucuna now use firearms, but formerly 
employed the bow and arrow, spear, and blowgun. They also use pitfalls 
and several types of snares and traps. The blowgun, once the principal 
weapon, is disappearing. 

Gathering.—The wild burity, bacaba, pataua, and acahy palms are of 
great economic value. Some Tucuna plant Brazil nut trees near their 
houses. They eat certain frogs, Coleoptera larvae, and female red ants 
at hiving time. They like wild honey but keep no bees. 

Domesticated animals.—The Tucuna raise a few chickens, but do not 
want hogs or other domestic animals because they dirty the premises. 
They keep young wild mammals and birds uncaged. 

Food preparation.—Instead of a mortar, the Tucuna use a trough 
with a half-moon-shaped rocker of thick and heavy wood. 

The making of manioc flour, introduced by the Neo-Brazilians, became 
one of the principal sources of income among the Tucuna. 


HOUSES 


The old houses had a small rectangular central portion with a short 
ridge pole mounted on props. Each end was semicircular, so that the 
ground plan was oval or nearly round. The walls were of a man’s 
height, and were made of boards of paxiuba or of straw. The house 
could be sealed tight against mosquitoes. Families occupied the lateral 
corridors, the central space being reserved for ceremonies. All houses 
were spacious and well built. 


The introduction of mosquito nets made house walls unnecessary. 
People slept on bunks along the walls, covered with mosquito nets, in- 
stead of in hammocks. Many houses were built without the semicircular 
extremities but with a longer central part, being like an open rectangular 
ranch house with a ridge pole. When the tribe occupied the flood plains 
of the shores and islands, they built houses on piles. 


Puare 64.—Tucuna objects of bark cloth. Top, left: Jaburé. Top, right: 
Garment with mask. Center: Mythological animal. Bottom: Jaguar. (Ani- 
mals are about 4 ft. long; other objects to same scale.) (Courtesy Curt 
Nimuendaji and Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) 


Puatre 65.—Tucuna Indians of the 19th century. Top: Part of girl’s puberty 
ceremony. (After Marcoy, 1869.) Bottom: Tucuna of the upper Amazon; 
a Mundurucié woman in center. (After Osculati, 1854.) 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU 15 


Each residence has a proper name, given by the owner at a special 
feast. Houses are usually clean. 

Household furniture.—Hammocks are made by a netlike technique of 
tucum thread of different colors; they are now used only for daytime 
resting. Clothes are kept in large baskets. 

On the struts and rafters of the house one can often see remnants of 
the paraphernalia of feasts: masks, turury fringes, drums, and dance 
sticks. Ears of maize hang from the frame of the house or are piled 
in the loft. 

The Tucuna never build a fire or eat in the dwelling. The kitchen 
is always a small separate house. Fire was formerly produced by drilling 
a horizontal piece of wood, which was placed over two cross pieces. There 
is, however, a tradition that even in old times they made fire by striking 
two stones. 

Fire fans are made exclusively of large bird wings. 

The Tucuna have plenty of small four-legged stools, either rectangular 
or oval, made from a single piece of wood, sometimes elaborately carved 
in the shape of a chelonian or batrachian. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Formerly, the Tucuna traveled largely on land, although on the small 
streams they used small primitive canoes made of paxiuba palm. From 
the Omagua they learned to make “uba” type dugout canoes, and from 
the Neo-Brazilians to make “casco” type dugouts which were widened 
by heating them over a fire. These are sometimes provided with round 
shields (rodellas) and gunwales. Tucuna canoes are so well made that 
civilized people seek them. Paddles have crutch handles and a round 
blade with a large point. The blade and the crosspiece on the end of 
the handle, but not the handle, are invariably painted black. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTATION 


Formerly, both sexes trimmed their hair slightly over the brows, and 
used a comb made of twigs held between two parallel sticks. 

Both sexes used to pierce their ear lobes; only women do so now. 
Through the hole they usually wore little plates of white wood; on feast 
days they inserted small rods with feathers on the front end, from 
which a small metal plate hung. Women’s plates were triangular, men’s 
moon-shaped. Long ago they pierced the nasal septum, through which 
they had put a little rod of Gynerium. They also used to tattoo the 
face, which at one time may have indicated clans. There are still recol- 
lections of circumcision of girls, but not of men, as described by Father 
Noronha in 1768. 

653333—47—48 


716 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.E.A. Bull. 143 


Men formerly wore a belt with one apron of turury inner bark in 
front and another behind. The penis was stuck under the belt. Women 
perhaps at first went about entirely nude, but later adopted a short cloth 
of turury or of woven cotton, wrapped around the hips. Men wore 
bracelets with long feathers and necklaces of teeth (pl. 65, bottom). At 
feasts chiefs wore a cap of feathers mounted on a cotton or Bromelia 
net, or large diadems. 


MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—Various masks and zoomorphic figures are made of bark 
cloth (pl. 64). 

Basketry.—Clothes baskets are made of uaruma stalks with a round 
opening closed with a lid. Four points are drawn up and down over 
the lid and the bottom, the latter serving as legs. Other baskets have 
a flat square lid and bottom. Both types of baskets are made in all 
sizes, from 2 to 16 inches (4 to 40 cm.) in diameter. Burdens are carried 
in large conical baskets hexagonally woven of liana, or in cylindrical 
baskets of uaruma stalks. These are supported by an embira-fiber tump- 
line. The Tucuna also use pouches of looped tucum threads. 

Pottery.—Women and sometimes men still make bowls, dishes, pans, 
and pots of clay, which are decorated with painted or modeled ornaments. 
Potter’s clay is gathered according to certain rules so as not to anger 
its Owner, a water demon who appears in the shape of the western 
rainbow. 

Gourds.—Gourds are covered with a black lacquer, and may bear de- 
signs in indelible red pigment. Wooden spoons are carved, sometimes 
in fantastic shapes. 

Weapons.—The bow is 6% feet (2 m.) long with the ends notched to 
hold the string. It is now rare, even as a fishing weapon. The 
hunting arrow has a poisoned wooden head and feathering of the 
arched type. Arrows are 5 feet 4 inches (124 m.) long. Spears have 
three types of points: (1) a poisoned, wooden point with four corners; 
(2) an iron point; and (3) a plain pointed stick. The last two are 
still used to hunt jaguars and peccaries. The Tucuna blowgun is over 
10 feet (3 m.) long, and the darts 1 foot (30 cm.) long. The poison 
is the most effective of any made in the Amazon Basin, but its manu- 
facture, which requires much time and care, is now being forgotten. 
Hunting dogs, which are of little use, are, according to tradition, pre- 
Columbian. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The Tucuna are industrious and hard working, kind to their friends, 
honest, patient, and hospitable. But they are more liable than other Indians 
to great outbursts of sudden anger, a trait which sometimes leads them to 
suicide. This is a manifestation of their individualism and desire to live 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU alr 


apart, which is correlated with their lack of social organization other than 
blood ties. When drunk they quarrel and often cause injuries and death. 
In their dealings with the Neo-Brazilians, both parties exhibit their worst 
qualities. Nevertheless, the Tucuna are not unsociable and frequently visit 
one another and hold festive meetings, when they work collectively for 
their host. They retain tenaciously their original spiritual culture, although 
hard work has brought important material improvements. They now have 
good firearms, tools, clothes, and sewing machines, and they live in finan- 
cial independence. Some, however, enticed to industrial establishments 
(rum factories) of the civilized people, become proletarian and then de- 
generate. 

Moieties and clans.—The Tucuna are divided into two exogamous, 
unnamed patrilineal moieties, associated respectively with the east and 
west. One has 15 unlocalized, patrilineal sibs with tree names; the other 
has 21 sibs with bird names. Neither the clans nor moieties have outward 
distinguishing features, except for the private use of certain musical in- 
struments on ceremonial occasions. There is no clear relationship between 
clan members and their eponym, except that a person’s name refers ob- 
scurely to certain qualities of the animal or plant, thus revealing his clan. 
A person is named by his maternal relatives the day after his birth. 

The Tucuna maintain moiety exogamy with strict inflexibility, and in 
1941 still punished violations with death. They regard incest as a sin 
against the goddess Taé, who punishes it by making one insane during his 
life and by annihilating his soul after his death. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and childhood.—After coitus, conception depends on Taé, who 
gives a soul to children. Abortion and infanticide are practiced, especially 
when the father is a Neo-Brazilian, as the child would be disqualified for 
sib and moiety membership. Otherwise, it is believed that infanticide is 
a sin and that Taé punishes the soul of the perpetrator after death. 

Childbirth takes place in a temporary shelter prepared in the bush near 
the house. The newborn child is immediately painted with genipa. Both 
parents are confined and diet until the umbilical cord drops off. Children 
are carried in a woven cotton sling passing over a shoulder. Slings are 
double in part, so that a child sits in one portion while the other supports 
its back. 

When a child begins to crawl, there is a feast in which it is painted with 
uruct and covered with bits of parrot feathers while the paint is still sticky. 
At another feast, formerly celebrated when the child was 2 but now when 
it is 4, its hair is pulled out and its ears pierced. Contrary to certain 
authors, this operation does not endanger a child’s life. About 8 months 
later there is a supplementary feast when the hair, having grown again, is 
trimmed, and the relics of the previous feast are burned. 


718 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.E.A. Bull. 143 


More than among other tribes, Tucuna children receive corporal punish- 
ment, especially with the external application of nettle flowers that are 
grown for this purpose at the edge of the yard. They play with dolls 
carved of muirapiranga, figures of animals, little canoes, small bows and 
arrows, and buzz-disks of gourd shells. 

Boys’ puberty observances.—There is a tradition that in former times, 
young men were initiated when their voices changed, being secluded and 
then perhaps formally admitted to the secrets of the megaphone (ta/ki) 
through an application of snuff called ka/vi, which is still used occasionally. 

There are no vestiges of homosexuality, as claimed by Tessmann (1930, 
P2563). 

Girls’ puberty rites.——At her first menstruation, a girl is secluded in 
the house loft. This is not so cruel as certain travelers (Bates, 1863, 2 :406) 
proclaim. Every girl submits willingly, convinced that her peculiar condi- 
tion requires it and that its omission would be dangerous, as she is sur- 
rounded by invisible “immortals” and demons, who seek contact with her 
and at times cause extraordinary supernatural experiences. Many stories 
told to a girl in seclusion illustrate this dangerous state. 

The people hasten to prepare for the girl a circular seclusion room 
adjacent to the east or west wall of the house, according to her moiety. 
They decorate the walls with painted bands and lines, and figures of the 
sun, moon, morning star, and deer, the last a symbol of vigilance and not 
a “totem.” 

Preparations for the feast sometimes require months. They prepare 
roast meat and beverages and make the house ready. The girl’s father is 
host, but her paternal uncle and his wife direct all ceremonies concerning 
her person, being wholly responsible for her. Friends and acquaintances 
receive two invitations to the feast; the second, which specifies the date, 
is issued to the sound of the bark trumpet, which is carried hidden in the 
canoe. 

In the exterior portion of the house, corresponding to the girl’s seclu- 
sion room, a long fence is made with straw walls to conceal the megaphone 
(ta/ki), its statues, and the bark trumpet which operate behind it each 
night of the feast and are removed before daybreak and hidden under- 
water in the creek. People are chosen and invited to operate these instru- 
ments by the head of the house when the time comes ; there is no permanent 
assignment. Inside the fence of the megaphone, snuff (ka/vi) or tobacco 
powder is taken with several ingredients (but not parica). The snuff is 
kept in a snail shell and blown into the nose by means of an apparatus 
made of a tubular bone and two quills of royal sparrow hawk feathers, 
or by means of a simple taboca (bamboo) tube. Boys of 7 or older cus- 
tomarily are given snuff, after which they may see and touch the instru- 
ments within the fence, which are taboo to women and to boys who have 
not yet had it. 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU 719 


At this feast, as at the feast of children’s depilation and ear piercing, 
masks are used (pl. 65, top). These are made, used, and cared for by 
the guests, who portray anything they wish, such as imaginary demons 
and fantastic animals. They are in no way associated with individual 
persons, societies, or other groups. The masked persons customarily re- 
main unidentified until they deliver their masks to the host. About 90 
percent of those wearing masks are men, 7 percent boys, and the remainder 
girls and young women. For costume, clothing is cut and sewn from the 
bast fiber of certain trees (Ficus sp.), sometimes in the shape of pants, 
sleeves, and fringes, and at other times in the form of a tight gown with- 
out sleeves, extending half way down the leg. The face, generally a 
horrendous caricature of a demon (pl. 64, top, right), may be attached 
to or separate from the costume. The mask representing the storm demon 
is distinguished by an enormous face and a phallus nearly 18 inches (14 m.) 
long. Nearly all clothes are painted with vegetable dyes. Sometimes the 
motif of the mask is identified by the song rather than by the appearance 
of the mask, which is entirely a product of the individual’s imagination. 
The masked people, sometimes numbering 40 to 50, gather in a special 
place in the woods, and go to the house in groups up to 10, some of them 
running up and down at a furious pace, and others approaching slowly. 
They come for a drink, then disappear to make way for another group. 

At the appointed time the guests arrive at the house with their families, 
sometimes numbering more than 300 persons. They are received inside 
along the walls, the center being left open for the ceremonies. When all 
have assembled, they go to the kitchen to be painted with uructi and to have 
their faces decorated with royal sparrow hawk down. After everyone 
receives a piece of roast meat, all return in a solemn procession to the house 
and put their meat on a stand on the side of the seclusion room. On the 
other side are the vessels of beverages. The feast now begins. Henceforth, 
everyone goes around the central space in the house singing to the accom- 
paniment of small drums and carrying his dancing stick on his shoulder. 

Early in the morning, the girl is brought through a door from the 
seclusion room to the fenced place around the megaphone where, with 
her face turned to the proper cardinal point, she is adorned with genipa 
and white turury that have been ceremonially prepared. Before sunset, 
she is decorated in the seclusion room with streamers of royal sparrow 
hawk plumage, a long macaw feather diadem, feather bracelets with white 
turury fringes, strings of feathers made of toucan abdomens and tails, 
shell bells with bone clappers, and ear pegs, which are prepared by skilled 
persons and tried out by her relatives. The women fan her with broad 
leaves. She then stands in her room facing the place where the megaphone 
and trumpet are sounded and scratching herself with a little stick. The 
guests in the main room are given meat and fish stew and cooked bananas. 


720 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.E.A. Bull. 143 


Several hours after midnight, half a dozen of the girl’s relatives, holding 
her around the waist while her eyes are covered by the feather diadem, 
dance back and forth toward the wall, which is cut open with a knife so 
that they finally pass through into the main room. As she is now more 
exposed to invisible forces, the relatives dance with her until near dawn, 
then slowly go outside and circle the house. At sunrise they uncover her 
eyes and have her throw a burning stick against a pole marked to represent 
the “enemy.” She now walks without assistance and dances freely with 
the others in the house. 

Depilation follows. The girl sits on the tapir hide in the middle of the 
room while three to six women pull out her head hair in little bunches, 
accompanied by a small drum (tambor) and rattle. She endures the 
operation calmly, not even drink being given to alleviate the pain. Her 
paternal uncle in a vigorous speech then instructs her about her future 
duties as a marriageable girl. 

The masks are now surrendered, each owner receiving a piece of roast 
meat. The disguises are piled around the girl, until only her head pro- 
trudes. The cloth is then ripped and the shreds thrown over the house 
beams. The turury cloths, which now belong to the host, are wound up 
and put away. 

The seclusion room and roast-meat stand are dismantled. The par- 
ticipants divide the pieces, going in a solemn procession to toss them into 
the river. The girl is carried on the tapir hide held by five or six men 
over their heads in the procession. She undresses, and, kneeling in 
shallow water where a magic arrow protects her against water demons, 
she is washed by all the men who have magical powers. She then re- 
decorates herself and joins the dancers, who perform in the house until 
the last drop of beverage is drunk. At the end of the feast, everyone 
bathes hilariously together, tossing each other into the water. 

Formerly, in order to bring a large haul of fish, the girl was washed 
again after the feast with a solution of timbo at an appropriate spot on 
the creek. 

Six to eight months later there is a supplementary but less ceremonial 
feast to trim the girl’s regrown hair. 

Subsequent menstruations entail few restrictions: a woman stays in 
her yard because the spirits of certain trees may injure her with an arrow 
and because contact with her would make a man inefficient in any 
undertaking. 

Marriage and adulthood.—Sexual intercourse with prepubescent 
girls is unthinkable; with young women it brings shame on the whole 
family. There is no instance of ravishment. Rape is a grave offense to 
the parents. 

A request for marriage is made to the girl’s paternal uncle, but if the 
girl refuses peremptorily, she cannot be forced to marry. Public notice 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU 721 


is unnecessary ; a boy and girl may meet at a feast and leave married at 
the end. The wife’s parents never renounce their authority over her and 
do not permit the husband to take her far away, which results in a certain 
matrilocal tendency. 

Polygyny even today is considered licit, but cases of bigamy are rare. 
In the only case known, a famous man who was both priest and chief had 
three sisters as wives simultaneously. Other cases of sororate have oc- 
curred. The levirate, also formerly frequent, was considered desirable. 

Jealousy may cause violent quarrels between husband and wife, but 
never murder and rarely divorce. Adultery, though causing scenes, is 
insufficient reason for divorce. Guilt is always placed on the woman. The 
father’s authority in the family is great. 

In case of robbery, the offended party requires restitution and sometimes 
is extremely severe with the thief. 

Injuries and death occur almost exclusively when people are drunk 
during a feast, for alcohol stimulates certain Tucuna to fight. Drunken- 
ness absolves the murderer from responsibility, but the victim’s relatives 
always feel resentful and hostile toward him. 

A house is the property of its builder, i.e., the head of the family. The 
clearing belongs to the woman by whom it was made. 

The Tucuna no longer have chiefs as they are too individualistic to 
accept authority and as the civilized people have discredited the office by 
designating chiefs through whom they could exploit and oppress the 
Indians. Formerly, chiefs of local groups were heads of large families 
whose magic powers, intelligence, and ability in dealing with foreigners 
gave them prestige. There was never, however, a chief for the entire 
nation. 

Death.—Until the end of the past century, the deceased and all his 
ornaments were placed in a large chicha jar which was covered with a 
vessel, buried in a cemetery, and the site sometimes marked with a rod of 
muirapiranga. Well-liked people sometimes were buried in the house. 
They put a little food, beverage, and a fire on the grave, periodically 
renewing it. Tessmann (1930, p. 564) incorrectly attributed secondary 
burial to the Tucuna. 


WARFARE 


The Tucuna are not warlike. They defended themselves against the 
Omagua, their principal enemies, and drove them to the banks of the 
Solimées River only when the latter had invaded their lands. They fought 
with arrows, poisoned spears, and round tapir-hide shields, and protected 
their paths with poisoned caltrops. They did not take prisoners or keep 
trophies from slain enemy. They never fought civilized people, except to 
avenge personal insults. 


(Pe SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.E.A. Bull. 148 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—The Tucuna were fine sculptors. Their carved figures on the 
dancing sticks, stools, and tucuma nut figures in their necklaces are at 
times very artistic. Painting is restricted mainly to masks and pottery 
ornamentation. 

Music.—During feasts, the Tucuna sing in a falsetto voice so low that 
it can hardly be heard. Three important instruments are: (1) a wooden, 
tubular megaphone into which they speak and sing and which is 22 feet 
(6%4 m.) long with an opening 5 inches (12 cm.) wide and a mouthpiece 
2 inches (5 cm.) long; (2) a conical trumpet 13 feet to 1914 feet (4 to 
6 m.) long made of a strip of bark wound spirally; and (3) a piston 
whistle made of liana bark. The last is always sounded before the other 
two. In any ceremony there is always a faithful imitation of the European 
drum and a Thevetia-shell rattle, the latter taking the place of the con- 
ventional maraca, which is unknown. The old form of drum was possibly 
the shell of a chelonium, which now is used only in one ceremonial. There 
are also panpipes, bone flutes, and bamboo horns. 

Adult games.—In shuttlecock, a maize-husk ball is batted into the air 
with the palm of the hand by men standing in a ring. In a tug-of-war 
in which a thick liana is used, one team of men competes against another. 
A ring-and-pin game is played by two men facing each other. Grown 
girls make cats cradles with threads wrapped around the fingers, toes, and 
head. 

Beverages.—Women make alcoholic beverages from maize, cooked 
bitter manioc, and half-burned cakes (beijui) of manioc; the last was 
adopted from the Neo-Brazilians. Today many men are addicted to rum. 


SHAMANISM 


Even today many Indians possess magic powers to help or harm others. 
These powers come from intercourse with the spirits of certain trees with 
which an old shaman puts his disciple in contact. The neophyte shaman 
receives a magic substance which contains invisible thorns. He throws 
these into his victim’s body, where they reproduce and cause his death 
unless another shaman sucks them out and completes the cure by applying 
herbs. The shaman chews tobacco (formerly, he used a tubular wooden 
pipe with an opening on the side for the mouth) to become possessed of 
the spirit which supplied the magic pathogenic substance to the witch 
doctor. Chewing tobacco identifies the evil shaman. 

Children fall ill when the spirits of the trees kidnap their souls. Epi- 
demics come from the sun and are spread by the wind. 

When the Tucuna are convinced that a shaman is responsible for one or 
more deaths, their revenge even reaches his relatives. In 1942, three 
Tucuna killed a much-feared shaman and his two sons. The avengers 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU (23 


undergo a ceremony performed by some competent shaman, who seeks 
mainly to protect them from the soul of the murdered witch. 


RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY 


The upper world.—The upper world, which is much lower than the 
stars, is divided into two parts. One is inhabited by men, who are like 
Indians, but live under very different conditions. The other is the resi- 
dence of the goddess Taé (Our Mother) and of the souls of the deceased 
(naae) who have been righteous. On their way to the upper world, souls 
must pass through a sort of gate made of two wooden posts which move 
back and forth in opposite directions and exclude the souls of incestuous 
persons, infanticides, murderers, and evil sorcerers. If, however, an evil 
soul reaches the residence of Taé, she releases two fantastically shaped 
monsters which demolish it, or else she throws it back to earth, where it 
becomes a small frog and eventually dies. Taé orders her monsters to 
purify the souls of occasional sinners by licking them from head to feet. 
An infanticide’s soul has to appear before Taé with the body of the child 
across his mouth and eat it as a pap. 


Taé is not all-powerful, and makes some careless mistakes. She is not 
the creator and has no connection with the two culture heroes, who equal 
her in importance, nor with demons, tree spirits, priests, or shamans. But 
the Tucuna greatly respect her because of her close connection with the 
punishment of sin, both during and after life, and her role as mistress of 
that part of the soul called naaé (thought, sense). 


The other part of the human soul (natcii) is manifest after death as the 
“shadow of the deceased.”’ It haunts old house sites and takes a human 
shape at night but at dawn is transformed into some small animal. It is 
somewhat feared because of its desire to suck one’s blood and eat one’s 
flesh and bones, leaving only the empty skin. Brave and smart people, 
however, easily fool it. 


The lower world.—The oldest beings in the world are the demons of 
the underworlds (naae) ; some are grouped in many clans, and others 
are unaffiliated. Though mortal, many are superior to or are very dan- 
gerous tomen. Their appearance, represented in certain masks, is usually 
strange and horrible, though they sometimes assume human shape. Most 
of them live in different kinds of underground and subaquatic regions 
(napi), which are entered through caves. Certain napi are inhabited by 
anthropomorphic beings with strange defects, such as blind men, dwarfs, 
and men without anuses. 

The most important subaquatic demons are the dyévae, who have the 
shape of gigantic silurides or ophidians. One, the master of fishes, shows 
itself in the eastern rainbow. Another, the master of potter’s clay, appears 


724 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.E.A. Bull. 143 


as the western rainbow. Some cause the dangerous whirlpools of the 
Solimées River, but can be calmed by the priests. 

The culture heroes.—The most outstanding character in Tucuna 
religion is Dyai, the culture hero, who made people, established all tribal 
laws and customs, and gave mankind the most important elements of 
material culture. He was the demons’ most feared enemy. At times harsh 
and cruel, he is never deceitful. Even toward his brother, Epi, an intruder 
and shameless liar, he is indulgent and kindly, mocking him and punishing 
him only occasionally. The Tucuna avoid using the name Dyai and call 
him Tanati (Our Father), Baia, or Bui. Sometimes Dyai is called 
Téginénapii-va-ya (the one of the right knee), and Epi is called, Tave- 
napii-va-ya (the one of the left knee). 

A long myth cycle recounts the origin of Dyai and Epi and their deeds. 
Dyai, with a blowgun in his hand, and his sister Mavaca, with a net pouch, 
were born from the right knee of Nutapa; Epi, with a spear, and his sister 
Aikine, with a carrying basket, were born from the left knee of Nutapa, 
who was later killed by a jaguar. The brothers avenged his death and 
resurrected him. Afterward, Dyai acquired daylight, sleep, fire, and cul- 
tivated plants, and saved Epi from a series of difficulties into which he had 
thrown himself. The brothers were joined by Teci-ari-nui, daughter of 
Aikine, whom Epi had seduced. Dyai punished the seducer by compelling 
him to grate himself when he grated the genipa for painting the son of 
Teci-ari-nui. After he again took a human shape, the two companions 
created men from fish caught with a hook. Finally, they separated, Dyai 
going east and Epi west. 

On the bank of the upper Igarapé Preto de SAo Geronymo the Tucuna 
showed the former site of Taivegine, Dyai’s house; Epi’s house, called 
Déi, is somewhat downstream. There Epi’s son, Teku-kira, lives today 
with many other immortals (iine, or ma/gita), the men whom Dyai and 
Epi fished out of the water. At night during the full moon one can hear 
them feasting but no one dares approach for fear of becoming insane. 
Some mortals (dyunati) have become immortal by taking a drink offered 
by the iine, whereupon they accompany the immortals to their residence. 


The Tucuna have a legend of a world conflagration and a subsequent 
deluge. 

The eclipses of the moon are caused by the struggle of a star with a 
heavenly demon of the Jaguar clan. 

Messianism.—The Tucuna messianic movement springs from a con- 
sciousness of having offended Dyai, the culture hero, by corrupting their 
ancient spiritual (not material) culture under the influence of the civilized 
people, and from a fear that the cataclysms of former times will be re- 
peated. It also involves the tendency of immortals to appear during a 
person’s puberty. In repeated visions, a pubescent man or woman in 
seclusion sees and talks with the immortals (ma/gita), who sometimes may 


Vol. 3] THE TUCUNA—NIMUENDAJU 725 


carry his soul (naae) to their abode and keep it there for a time. The 
immortals foretell an imminent cataclysm, which threatens to destroy 
civilized people, and instruct the Indians to save themselves by gathering 
at a sheltered place and performing certain ceremonies. As soon as the 
Indians assemble, the civilized people quash the movement, fearing a 
threat to their interests. This happened in 1941, when the Tucuna met in 
Taivegine, following the visionary instruction of a 13-year old boy named 
Narane. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Acufia, 1891; Bates, 1863; Barbosa Rodrigues, 1882 c; Berredo, 1905; Brinton, 
1901 (1891); Castelnau, 1850-59; Chamberlain, 1910; Cruz, 1879 (1900); Fritz, 
1691; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54; Loukotka, 1939; Marcoy, 1866; Maw, 1829; 
Monteiro Noronha, 1862; Nimuendaju, 1930 b, 1932 a, ms.; Orton, 1875 (1870) ; 
Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825; Rivet, 1912 b; Spix and Martius, 1823-31, vol. 3, Atlas; 
Tessmann, 1930. 


(Reyilvi 
hie 


ites 
me 


7) 


+ als 


cme 
"of ot 
-) fee wi 


{ 
OR) ie 


THE PEBAN TRIBES 


By Jutian H. STEwarpD AND ALFRED METRAUX 


INTRODUCTION 


The Peba, Yagua, and Yameo, which are the main Peban tribes, occupy 
the region of the lower Putumayo and Napo Rivers, north of the Amazon 
(map 1, No. 4; map 5). They are technologically and socially simpler 
than their neighbors and seem more affiliated with the Zdparoans to the 
west than with the Witotoans to the north or with the tribes to the east 
and south. 


The structure and function of Peban culture is probably exemplified by 
the Yagua (Fejos, 1943). The Yagua practice slash-and-burn farming 
with sweet manioc the staple, fish only with barbasco poison, hunt only 
with blowguns and poisoned spears, make rafts but no canoes, dress in 
simple clothes of fiber, and manufacture unelaborated pots, chambira-fiber 
bags and hammocks, simple baskets, and mats. The sociopolitical unit 
is the exogamous, patrilocal, patrilineal, extended family occupying a 
single communal house. The social pattern allows no individualism or 
cohesion of special groups within the community. There are no social 
strata, secret societies, clubs, occupational groups, or other divisions. The 
main alignments are on a sexual and age basis. There are no prestige 
activities; except for the shaman and the elective chief, all community 
members are noncompetitive, equals and conformists. The community is 
close-knit and strongly cooperative within itself but offish and suspicious 
of outsiders. The only religious observances are shamanistic rites carried 
out for curing, for protection against evil, for prognostication, and for 
weather control. Birth and girls’ puberty rites are designed to protect 
the community by isolating the woman. Warfare is minimal and only for 
self defense. A woman’s pursuits are noncooperative, but are generally 
carried on in contact with other women. The main integrative force is 
hunting, which is the predominating interest and the principal cooperative 
pursuit. Dancing, chicha drinking, house building, and communal fishing 
are secondary group activities. 

It is perhaps this passive integration that has preserved Yagua culture 
against change, despite the mission influence and many subsequent White 
contacts. 


727 


728 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Yameo, Peba, and Yagua are generally named as the three prin- 
cipal Peban tribes, but Fejos (1943) considers the Peba to be merely 
those Yagua who live on the Marafion River. Citations of the Peba as 
distinct from the Yagua are made in order to preserve all possible informa- 
tion on local differences. 

Izaguirre (1922-29, 12:414) stated that the Peban and Tucunan lan- 
guages are related, but Rivet (1911 b) groups the Peba, Yagua, and 
Yameo in an independent Peban linguistic family, and Nimuendaju con- 
siders the Tucuna to be linguistically isolated (this volume, p. 713). 

Peba (Peva, Pava, Pehua).—The Peba, occupying the Chisita River 
(lat. 3°30’ S., long. 72° W.), are divided into three subtribes: Cauwachi 
(Caguacht, Cavachi), Caumarit (Caumar, Cahumari), and Pacaya. Iza- 
guirre (1922-29, 12:408), however, lists the first two as Yameo subtribes. 
The Caumari lived on the Guerari River, a small tributary of the Napo 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12 :414). 


The Peba had, through friendship with the Omagua, been briefly missionized in 
1685, but the Caumari continued to be hostile to Whites (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:380, 
385). By 1732, the Caumari and Cauwachi shared a mission village, but in 1753 the 
former murdered the missionary and fled. Later, 60 Yagua, Tucuna, and Peba were 
added to the mission, which eventually had 700 persons. But in 1757 it suffered a 
smallpox epidemic and by 1768, feuds and disease, especially influenza which the 
Peba blamed on witchcraft and avenged by murdering 30 Tucuna, had caused most 
of the Peba to flee to the bush. In 1788, the missionary was assassinated. The 
Peba were subsequently brought into a new mission along with neighboring Indians, 
but the mission was abandoned early in the 18th century. By 1850, they had largely 
relapsed to paganism. Their subsequent history is closely linked to that of the 
Yagua. 


Yagua (Yahua, Llagua, Yava).—The Yagua lived on the headwaters 
of the Yaguas River and the upper Guerari River, lat. 3° S., long. 72°- 
73° W. (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 94). 


In 1769, most of the Yagua were still pagans, though a few had been taken to 
the Mission of San Ignacio during the 18th century. Living remoter from the Ama- 
zon, the Yagua eluded civilizing influences more than the Peba during the 19th cen- 
tury, but both tribes suffered epidemics and the impact of the rubber boom during the 
present century. The Yagua and Peba now occupy the region of the Ampi Yacu and 
Yaguas Rivers, where Fejos (1943) maps 12 villages. Tessmann (1930) estimated 
the combined population of these tribes at 1,000 to 1,500 in 1925; Fejos states that, 
after being reduced by about one-third by smallpox in 1932, it numbered about 
1,000 in 1941. There is some intermarriage with other tribes, especially the Tucuna, 
but native culture remains comparatively intact today. 


Yameo (Llameo, Zameo, Napeano, San Regino, Camuchivo).—The 
Yameo occupy the triangle between the lower Napo and the Marajfion 
Rivers (lat. 4° S., long. 74° W.), being separated from the Peba and 
Yagua by the Tucanoan-speaking Payagua (Coto. Orejon) of the lower 


Vol. 3] THE PEBAN TRIBES—STEWARD AND METRAUX 729 


left Napo River. The neighboring Arda, long thought to represent an 
independent linguistic family, are a small group of Negroes. 

The Yameo proper occupy the region between the Tigre and Nahuapo 
Rivers. Other closely related tribes are the Nahuapo, Amaono, and 
Masamai (Massamae, Masshama, Mazan, Mazana, Parard) extending 
from the Nanay to the lower Mazan River, the Migueano and Napeano of 
the Nanay River, and Parrano, Yarrapo, and Alabono in the mountains 
near this river, and the Pativa, Patara, Zamua, Parano, Necaono, Mueno, 
Maino, Baulin, Molouceo, Nicahala, Mohala, and Motayara (Barbon), 
all probably so-called “kins,” i.e., extended patrilineal families or villages. 

The first White men to contact the Yameo were slave raiders from Boya, whom 
the Indians successfully resisted. The Yameo were temporarily missionized in 1682 
and again in 1700, but were more successfully converted in 1729, with the help of 
Omagua, who taught them much about fishing. Within 10 years, 9 new missions 
had been founded among their more remote villages. In 1769, the Yameo had de- 
creased to 1,000 (Escobar y Mendoza, 1769, p. 47). In 1851, there were 240 at San 
Regis (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54) ; in 1859, 150 (Raimondi, 1862, p. 97). In 1925, 
approximately 50 survived, all of whom had lost their native culture and all but 3 


of whom had adopted Cocama, Quechua, or Spanish in place of their own language 
(Tessmann, 1930). 


POPULATION 


The Yameo originally numbered 3,000 to 4,000, according to Maroni 
(1889-92, 30:48), 6,000 according to Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 302). 
Figueroa (1904, p. 374) estimated them at 8,000 to 10,000 in 1737, 
Escobar y Mendoza at 1,000 in 1769 (1769, p. 47), and Tessmann (1930) 
at 50 in 1925. 

The original number of the Yagua and Peba, who were less continuously 
under missions than the Yameo, is not known. The estimate of 1,000 to 
1,500 for the present century must indicate that originally their number 
was nearly as great as that of the Yameo. 


SOURCES 


Despite frequent mention of the Pebans, little ethnographic information 
was available prior to the Fejos expedition. Traveler and missionary 
sources are found in Gonzalez Suarez (1904), Maroni (1889-92, vol. 30), 
Escobar y Mendoza (1769), Chantre y Herrera (1901), Figueroa 
(1904), “Noticias Auténticas” (1889-92), and Izaguirre (1922-29), all 
of which contain more historical than cultural data. Travel accounts of 
the past century are unsatisfactory: Maw (1829), Castelnau (1850-59, 
vol. 5), Martius (1867), Ordinaire (1892), Raimondi (1862), Marcoy 
(1866, 1875; also published as Saint Cricq, 1853 a), Velasco (1841-44), 
Herndon and Gibbon (1853-54, vol. 1), and Orton (1870). Of works by 
anthropologists we have only Rivet’s linguistic classification (1911 b) 
and Tessmann’s fragmentary data (1930) on Yameo and Yagua culture. 


730 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


As Tessmann’s data were not collected among these Indians, they are 
superseded by Fejos (1943), whose general monograph results from one 
of the few applications of modern concepts and objectives to field work in 
the area. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Pebans depend on slash-and-burn cultivation, growing sweet but 
not bitter manioc, maize, yams, bananas, sweet potatoes, pupunha or 
Guilielma palm, pumpkins, and sugarcane. The Yagua also grow papayas 
and pineapples; the Yameo, peanuts and tuber beans. Farming is done 
with plain and spatulate digging sticks. 

The more important wild fruits are honey, palm larvae, and palm 
fruits. 

When schools of fish run upstream, the Yagua and Yameo use bar- 
basco and the Yameo also use Clibadium to drug great numbers of them. 
The Yagua still refuse to adopt other fishing methods, even iron hooks, 
but the Yameo use not only iron hooks but the bow and fish arrow, multi- 
prong spears, and turtle harpoons thrown with the atlatl, all probably of 
Omagua origin. No Pebans use traps or weirs. 

Among the Yagua, hunting is not only the principal source of food but 
the activity of most consuming interest. Game animals include peccaries, 
deer, tapirs, five kinds of monkeys, agutis, anteaters, large sloths, armadil- 
los, river turtles, and dolphins. Deer, tapirs, and peccaries are hunted com- 
munally under the leadership of the village chief, the game being subse- 
quently distributed among all families. The Yagua use poisoned spears 
and dogs in deer and tapir hunts, but employ blowguns to kill peccaries. 
They generally kill smaller game and birds with blowguns, the hunter 
often concealing himself in a blind. The Yagua make many intricate 
traps (Fejos, 1943) : cage traps for large felines, door traps for monkeys 
and birds (pl. 72), snares, deadfalls, and pitfalls with poisoned stakes in 
the bottom. They also use bird lime. 

The Yameo and a few Yagua keep pigs and chickens, and both tribes 
have many animal and bird pets. 

Food is ground in a wooden trough with a wooden rocker (pl. 68). 
Uniquely, both the Yagua and Yameo are accredited with the tipiti though 
they grow no bitter manioc. The former drink the juice squeezed from the 
manioc. The Pebans smoke meat on a rectangular babracot (pl. 74) and 
boil food in pots set directly on the fire without potrests (pl. 68). They 
originally procured salt on the Huallaga River, but now obtain it from 
the White man. They flavor food with capsicum; the Yameo make a 
sauce of red pepper, grubs, and maize flour. 


PLate 66.—Yagua and Peba Indians. Top, left: Yagua chief. Top, right: 
Peba. Bottom, left: Young Yagua woman with typical hairdo. Bottom, right: 
Peba family. (Left, courtesy Paul Fejos; right, courtesy University Museum, 
Philadelphia.) 


Puate 67.—Yagua Indians. Top: Masked dance. Bottom: Man and woman. 
(After Marcoy, 1869.) 


Pratre 68.—Yagua village scenes. Top, left: Grinding manioc. Top, right: 
Curing meat. Center, , left: Cooking pot on fire. Center, right: Mother and 
child. Bottom; Hair dressing. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Piare 69.—Yagua house construction. Top, left: Lower frame arrangement. 
Top, right: Lashing frame. Bottom, left: Plaiting and placing thatch. Bottom, 
right: Finished house. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Puate 70.—Yagua cutting and carrying logs for a raft. 
stone axes. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Men, at top, are using 


PLare 71.—A Yagua raft. Top, left: Working raft out into stream. Top, 
right: Helmsman. Bottom, left: Lashing logs. Bottom, right: Raft prepara- 
tory to launching. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Cage box trap 


Bottom: 


trap. 


it 


a 
ul Fejos.) 


Ph : x - “j0). 
mew A. 
2) eR aL ME | 


a 


182 


ll la ie tic 
+ ee teen sl in 


Small conic 


ourtesy 


op: 
ap | 


( 


fi 


agua traps. 


PLate 72.—Y 


Csolay [neg AseymMoy) 
‘sqiep Suruostog :7yb1y “yaep sured 1aqu ‘uns Ssuidewiog :7fa7 ‘*sjiVp puke unsMol[q Suliedoid suvipuy ensexX—'¢e) aLVIg 


Cum 


Puare 74.—Yagua blowgun. Top: Manner of holding gun. Bottom: Polishing 
bore. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Puate 75.—Yagua textiles. Top, left: A horizontal belt loom. Top, right: 
Plaiting a hammock. Bottom, left: Making a netted bag. Bottom, right: 
Making and dyeing the upper garment. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


Bottom: Preparing fibers 


— 
D 
° 

= 
(cb) 

<= 

Se 
Gs} 

Ay 
al 
nm 
ov 

~~ 
= 
3 
9 

oO 
~~ 


Top: Pottery making. 


for garment. 


6.—Yagua industries. 


E 7 


Puat 


| 
i 


% 
& 


PuatTE 77.—A Yagua council meeting. Men are holding walking sticks. 


(Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


ne ‘ 2 : y, et . 
“ - co he 7 gies 


Puare 78.—Yagua scenes. Top: Dance following capture of jaguar. Center: 
A canoe secured by trade with neighboring tribe. Bottom: Memorial statuettes. 
(Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


JOS. 


aul Fe 


« 
c 


E 


(Courtesy 


ace paint. 


f 


ying 


Men appl 


i Right: 


wing panpipes. 


c 


Pl 


~n 
~ 
~ 


Y 


omplete costume 


in 


Shaman 


ft: 


Le 


9.—Yagua Indians. 


‘ 


PLATE 


Vol. 3] THE PEBAN TRIBES—STEWARD AND METRAUX Tol 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


The Peban community consists of a single communal house, which has 
a. thatched roof sloping to the ground and is partitioned with mats into 
family compartments (Maroni, 1889-2, 30:51; Orton, 1870, p. 320). 
In 1854, the Yagua house was oval and consisted of poles bent over from 
opposite sides and tied in pairs to form a Gothic arch (Herndon and 
Gibbon, 1853-54). The modern house is similarly constructed and is cov- 
ered with mats woven of pinnate palm leaves (pls. 69, 78). The shaman 
consecrates the house site (Fejos, 1943). 

Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 367) states that each Yameo family for- 
merly had its own house, and Fejos (1943) suggests that the Yagua sub- 
stituted communal houses for small “huts” during the historic period. 

Chambira-fiber hammocks are now used by the Yameo, Peba, and 
Masamai, but their antiquity is doubtful. The Yameo sleep on a mat- 
covered platform bed, using their hammocks merely for lounging. The 
Yagua formerly slept on mats but now use chambira-fiber hammocks, 
though they revert to mats when they can obtain mosquito nets. The 
tightly closed mosquito tent may have been aboriginal among the Yameo. 
The Yagua sit on log stools and mats, the Yameo on four-legged stools. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Peban men were said to wear a bark belt or girdle, sometimes with a 
taillike appendage. (Raimondi, 1862, p. 114; Orton, 1870, p. 320; 
Ordinaire, 1892, p. 254; Figueroa, 1904, p. 273; Maw, 1829, p. 200; 
Tessmann, 1930.) “Noticias Auténticas” (1889-92, 27:67) also mention 
a Peba shredded bark-cloth skirt with a taillike appendage front and back. 
This is probably the Yagua garment described and pictured by Fejos 
(1943). (See pls. 66, 70, 76, 79.) It is made of fibers of the shoots of 
Mauritia flexuosa palm, which hang thatchlike from a belt to cover the 
legs and from a bark band around the neck to cover the chest and the 
back. A woven palm crown completes normal male attire. Izaguirre 
(1922-29, 12 :415-417) shows a similar Yagua garment, stating that they 
keep off mosquitoes. Maroni (1889-92, 31:66) attributes cushmas to 
Caumari men. 

Yameo and Caumari women wore painted skirts of cachibanco cloth 
perhaps similar to the wrap-around cotton cloth skirts (pl. 66, lower, 
right) now worn by Yagua women (Fejos, 1943). Yagua women also 
cover the upper body with palm fibers, but wear no head bands. 

Bark bands are worn around the arms and legs. At one time, the Peba 
hung a shell pendant from the nose (Figueroa, 1904, p. 273), the Yameo 
stuck feathers through the nasal septum (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:66), and 
the Yameo and Masamai wore large wooden earplugs that stretched their 
lobes down to their shoulders (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 64), but no 


653333—47—49 


ae SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


tribe now practices these mutilations. The Yameo formerly also removed 
the nose cartilage of children (Veigl, 1785 b, p. 73). The Yameo (Chantre 
y Herrera, 1901) and Yagua (Fejos, 1943) depilate by means of a resin. 
Hairdress is shown in plates 66, 68, and 75. A crude wooden comb is used. 
The Pebans paint the body with bixa and genipa; the Yagua make 
horizontal designs across the face (pl. 79). Tessmann (1930) attributes 
tooth blackening to the Yagua. Pebans wear necklaces of seeds and, 
on festive occasions, feathers in the arm and head bands. 

The only status badges are warriors’ human-tooth necklaces (Yameo, 
but not Yagua), hunters’ jaguar-tooth necklaces, men’s painted staffs (pl. 
77), and chiefs’ toucan-feather crowns (pl. 66). 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Pebans carry infants in a band (pl. 66), usually astride the hip, 
and transport burdens in a netted bag. The Yameo use a burden basket. 
The Yameo have recently learned to make dugout canoes (pl. 78), but 
the Yagua employ only dugouts obtained from other tribes. Their main 
craft is a balsa raft, often huge enough to transport the entire community 


(pls. 70, 71). 
MANUFACTURES 


Bark cloth.—The Yagua make ground covers of bark cloth from the 
capinuri tree. 

Basketry.—The Yameo employ a hexagonal and probably other basket 
weaves, They make sieves, carrying baskets, and storage containers. The 
Yagua seemingly never made baskets, though they weave mats of pinnate 
palms for roof covers, screens, and temporary shelters. 

Weaving.—The Yameo formerly wove cotton on a loom and made a 
fine cloth (cachibanco) of achua palm fibers. They now make only ham- 
mocks and bags of Astrocaryum and Cecropia leucocoma fibers, apparently 
finger-weaving them. The Peba make chambira-fiber hammocks and bags. 
The modern Yagua use only Astrocaryum, twisting the fibers on the thigh. 
They make loom-wovyen bands, and netted bags and finger-woven ham- 
mocks (pl. 75), crossing over and interlocking the strands (Fejos, 1943). 

Pottery.—The Yagua manufacture large chicha and water jars, cooking 
pots, and bowls, all of a coiled construction (pls. 74, 76). The jars and 
pots are baked but the bowls are merely sun-dried. After being fired, pots 
and jars are sometimes painted with black or red “parallel rings or a run- 
ning-V band” (Fejos, 1943). Yameo pots resemble those of the Panoans. 

Calabashes.—The Yagua drink from gourds painted black inside. 

Skin work.—To make hunters’ pillows, the Yagua scrape and soften 
but do not tan feline and beaver furs. 

Weapons.—The Yagua refuse firearms, preferring the silent blowgun 
and spear. The spear has a detachable point, which is poisoned and 


Vol. 3] THE PEBAN TRIBES—STEWARD AND METRAUX 733 


notched so as to break off in a wound (Maw, 1829; Fejos, 1943). In 
addition to blowguns (pls. 73, 74, 79) and spears, the Peba use the spear 
thrower to cast harpoons, probably having adopted it from the Omagua. 
The Peba and Yagua manufacture their own poison but the Yameo obtain 
theirs from the Chasutina. Peba poison is made with considerable ritual of 
Cocculus toxicoferus, Strychnos castelnoeana (Raimondi, 1862, p. 100), 
and, according to Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 37), 30 herbs, roots, and 
fruits. It is in great demand among neighboring tribes. The Yagua make 
blowgun and spear poison of curare (Strychnos toxifera). They do not 
use it in warfare and have no antidote for it. The Peba antidote is a solu- 
tion of urine, honey, and sugar or ripe bananas (Maroni, 1889-92, 26 :407). 
The Yameo and Peba once used a round shield made of balsa wood or 
chambira fibers (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:50, 130), but the only modern 
Yameo weapon of warfare is the heavy wooden club. 

Miscellaneous implements.—The Vagua use an ax with a stone head 
lashed tangentially to the handle (pl. 70, top), a bamboo knife, and a 
wooden wedge. 


Fire making.—The Yameo now make fire with flint and steel, the 
Yagua with two flints. Both tribes use the feather fire fan. 


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 


The modern Yagua sociopolitical unit is the extended patrilineal family— 
an exogamous, patrilocal group of 5 or 10 families occupying a single 
communal house 6 or 7 miles from its neighbor. Each group is named 
after a plant or animal, but there is no taboo on or belief in descent from 
the eponym nor are there other totemic features (Fejos, 1943). Tessmann 
(1930) calls these groups “kins” and Fejos calls them “clans.” But unlike 
clans, the exogamy applies only to actual patrilineal relatives (no data are 
given respecting possible marriage with one’s mother’s kin), and descent, 
though necessarily patrilineal when residence is patrilocal, may sometimes 
be matrilineal, as when a woman returns to her own group after separation 
from her husband and rears her children as members of her own com- 
munity. 

Each extended patrilineal Yagua family has its own roughly delimited 
territory (Fejos, 1943). But hunting rights are evidently not strictly 
enforced, for a hunter often claims to be trailing game near a neighbor- 
ing community as a pretext for visiting. The house, raft, chicha jar, and 
certain elaborate traps are communal property. 

Chantre y Herrera (1901, p. 367) reports that the Yameo lived in 
small single-family houses, whereas Veigl (1785, p. 73) wrote that each 
local group consisted of blood relatives and was strictly exogamous. 
Tessmann attributes modern Yameo “kins” comparable to those of the 
Yagua. The aboriginal Masamai were divided into 129 groups, which 


734 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 145 


were perhaps extended patrilineal families; each was under a chie, 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 30 :48-77). 

Chantre y Herrera states (1901, p. 83) that the Peba and Cauvachi, 
like the Omagua, had a class of nobles, whose status was formally pro- 
claimed at a drinking bout during their infancy. No other source alludes 
to nobles, and Fejos (1943) expressly describes complete equality of all 
individuals, stating that a lack of competitiveness and of any means of 
gaining status is the striking characteristic of modern Yagua communities. 

The Yagua have an elective chief who, advised by a council of elders 
(pl. 77), initiates and directs communal affairs, of which hunting is the 
most important. 

No special forms of behavior nor taboos between relatives are reported, 
though Yagua in-laws are restrained with one another. In part, this 
may be an aspect of the great embarrassment any Yagua feels when visit- 
ing a strange community. 


LIFE CYCLE 


The Yameo seem formerly to have had the couvade; today, both parents 
observe moderate restrictions after a birth. A Yagua woman delivers her 
child in the woods and is afterward confined for one day; her husband 
stays in his hammock for 2 days and must refrain from any normal activi- 
ties for several more days (Fejos). 

Until they are 6 or 8, Yagua children learn largely from their playmates 
and from experience, with little parental intervention or punishment. 
Subsequently, each child is instructed in adult pursuits peculiar to its 
sex. Boys receive painted staves, symbolizing adulthood. 

At her first menses, a Yameo girl is isolated, especially from men, 
for 1 week; a Yagua girl, for 10 days. Premarital sexual relations within 
the Yagua community are not infrequent. 

The Yagua and Yameo marry outside the community. The Yagua 
husband serves his father-in-law for several months at his wife’s home 
before settling permanently in his own father’s house. Maroni (1889-92, 
30:50-51) states that a Yameo man acquired his wife at a drinking bout, 
then supported his mother-in-law; divorce was uncommon because he 
feared the mother-in-law’s black magic. A Yameo man often reared 
a young girl until she was old enough to marry him. 

A Yameo might commit suicide with barbasco or curare because he 
was unhappy or sexually frustrated (Escobar y Mendoza, 1769, p. 47). 

The Yameo formerly buried their dead in the house and subsequently 
reburied. They celebrated the funeral with a drinking bout, while cremat- 
ing the deceased’s possessions (Maroni, 1889-92, 30:51). They now 
use the church cemetery. In 1870, the Yagua buried inside the house, 
which they burned (Orton, 1870, p. 320; Osculati, 1854, p. 209). Today, 
they still bury in the house but continue to occupy it. Stereotyped me- 


Vol. 3] THE PEBAN TRIBES—STEWARD AND METRAUX 735 


morial figurines of balsa wood made in honor of the deceased (pl. 78) 
are kept in the house. 


WARFARE 


During the historic period, Peban communities fought against one 
another because of witchcraft and against Whites because of slaving and 
other aggressions. They used poisoned spears, round shields, and prob- 
ably trenches with stakes in the bottoms. The only war trophies recorded 
are human-tooth necklaces (Yameo). 

The modern Yagua are entirely peaceful, and recalled having fought 
only the Mayoruna, when they used improvised unpoisoned spears and 
took no trophies. But shamans wear dried sloth heads, reminiscent of 
the shrunken sloth heads which the Jivaro sometimes substituted for 
shrunken human heads (tsantsas). 


RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


The Yagua painted designs on their bodies and on men’s staves and 
made carved wooden memorials of the dead. 

Games and amusements include humming tops spun with a string, 
maize-leaf balls (Yameo only), wrestling, and slings (Yagua only). 

The Peban tribes drink much chicha made of manioc, maize, or Guili- 
elma palm fermented with chewed sweet potato or manioc. The Yameo 
strengthen their chicha with a mushroom and also drink a narcotic called 
chaburaza (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 85). When intoxicated, the 
Yagua usually dance (pl. 78). 

Tobacco is smoked in cigars. Tessmann states that Peban shamans 
also take tobacco juice, but Fejos writes that Yagua shamans only smoke 
cigars. In recent years, shamans have also used cayapi. 

Among musical instruments are panpipes (those of the Yagua have 22 
to 32 tubes and are played by nearly everyone (pl. 79)), longitudinal 
flutes, a kind of whistle with a fruit-shell amplifier on the end, hollow 
sticks to beat rhythm on the ground while dancing, and two-headed skin 
drums of Spanish origin. The large signal drum is not used. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Maroni (1889-92, 31:72) describes a Yameo belief in an invulnerable 
parrot which he calls the “devil” and in spirits which, often disguised 
as parrots, take the ghosts of dead people from their graves to the forests. 
Tessmann (1930) mentions bush demons that kill people at night and 
water demons, including a serpent, that upset canoes and drown people. 
The modern Yagua, among whom there is no trace of Christianity, be- 
lieve in dangerous anthropomorphic bush demons (Fejos, 1943). 

The souls of the dead are thought to dwell on a hill and to have no 
interest in living people except when they return for a chicha feast, 


736 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


at which men wearing Ficus bast masks impersonate them and drink the 
chicha. Yagua belief assigns souls a place in the sky, where they do not 
eat or work but from which they occasionally return unseen to drink 
chicha and to play tricks on the living (Fejos, 1943). Yameo souls were 
thought to become the guardian spirits of their living children. 

The Yagua shaman causes and cures disease, prevents snake bites, 
makes rain, stops bad weather, reads omens, and blows smoke over houses, 
rafts, cultivated fields, and other things to protect them. 

The Pebans attribute all sickness and death to black magic and to water 
demons; they use no herbal medicines. Belief in were-jaguars is seem- 
ingly absent. The Yameo distinguish good and evil shamans, each with 
an animal spirit helper. The Yagua shaman both kills and cures. The 
shaman’s supernatural power consists of magic “thorns” (Yameo) or 
“darts” (Yagua), which are kept in his body. The novice shaman is 
instructed for a long period (Yameo, 1 year; Yagua, 5 years), during 
which he smokes cigars and, recently (Yameo), takes cayapi to make his 
“thorns” or “darts” grow. 


MYTHOLOGY 


The Yagua (Fejos, 1943) recount that people once lived in the sky; 
when they exhausted their game, a brother and sister were lowered to the 
earth and became the first Yagua. There is also a flood legend. Some 
tales explain the origin of pottery, of the markings on a peccary, of pit- 
falls, and of the tapir’s long nose. Others relate various adventures of 
animals, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Castelnau, 1850-59; Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Escobar y Mendoza, 1769; Fejos, 
1943; Figueroa, 1904; Gonzalez Suarez, 1904; Herndon and Gibbon, 1853-54, vol. I; 
Izaguirre, 1922-29; Jiménez de la Espada, 1892; Marcoy, 1866, 1875 (also see 
Saint Cricq, 1853 a) ; Maroni, 1889-92; Martius, 1867; Maw, 1829; Ordinaire, 1892; 
Orton, 1870; Osculati, 1854; Raimondi, 1862; Rivet, 1911 b; Saint Cricq, 1853 a; 
Tessmann, 1930; Veigl, 1785 b; Velasco, 1941-44. 


WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES 


By Jutian H. STEwarp 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


The Western Tucanoan peoples are divided into five groups: The Coto 
(Orejon, Payagua) on the left bank of the Napo River, below the Algodén 
River; the Encabellado (Angutera, Piojé) on the middle and upper Napo 
River and on the Aguarico River ; the Sioni of the upper Putumayo River ; 
the Correguaje with a number of villages on the Oretguaza River in Co- 
lombia (lat. 1° N., long. 75° W.); and the Tama (Tamao), apparently 
closely linked with the Correguaje, on the Orteguaza River (map 1, No. 
4; map 5). 

Coto.—The Coto (Koto, Orején, Oregén, Orechén, Payagua) are 
probably the same as the Tutapischo. Orejoén, meaning “large ears” and 
referring to the huge earplugs (pl. 80), was applied also to a nearby 
Witotoan-speaking tribe as well as to other tribes in South America. 
Payagua is the name most often used for the Cofo in early literature. 


The Cofo originally lived between the Napo and Putumayo River, from the 
Tambor-yacu to the Guerari River, near the junction of the Marafién and Napo 
Rivers (lat. 2°-4° S., long. 73°-74°). A few were brought to missions in 1682. 
The first Coto (Payagua) mission was established in 1722 but was soon abandoned 
because the Indians feared slavery. Another mission attempted in 1729 failed be- 
cause of epidemics and mistreatment of the Indians. By 1739, however, Coto were 
settled with other neighboring tribes in local missions, though some were taken to 
the Huallaga River and placed with Aizuari, where many died of smallpox in 1761 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 283, 321-328, 365-369; Escobar y Mendoza, 1769). 
A century later, Simson (1886, pp. 209, 236) stated that the Coto occupied both 
sides of the Napo River below Rubio Cocha. He considered that the Orejdén of the 
Putumayo region between Tohallo Grande River and Yacare Cocha and Toquella 
Urca were the same as the Coto. In 1925, Tessmann (1930) found some 500 Coto 
surviving on the left side of the Napo River below the Algodén River; today prob- 
ably but a fraction of this number remains. The aboriginal culture is nearly gone. 

The affiliation of the Jeibo on the lower left side of the Napo River (Maroni, 
1889-92, 26 :245-246) is unknown. 


Encabellado.—The Encabellado or Piojé (Pioché, Icaguate, Vcahuate, 
Cieguaje, Santa Maria, Tarapoto, Angutera, Angutero, Ancutere, Ancku- 
tere, Ancutena, Sekoya-gai, Ruma, Rumo, Macaguaje), named Encabe- 
llado because of their long hair, or Piojé, meaning “no” in their language, 


137 


738 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


are Tucanoan-speaking (Rivet, 1924, p. 686). In 1635, they lived on the 
northern side of the Napo River, probably extending from somewhere 
near the Tambor-yacu River upstream to the tributaries of the Aguarico 
River (lat. 303° S., long. 74°-76° W.). Maroni (1889-92, 26 :245) 
gives the Cuyabeno (Cuyabano) River, a tributary of the Aguarico River, 
as their northern limit, but they probably extended northeast to the 
Putumayo River and perhaps beyond, for “Noticias Auténticas” in 1738 
mentioned some near the Caqueta River. Their distribution along the 
Putumayo River is uncertain, but some Encabellado were taken to a mis- 
sion at the junction of the San Miguel and Putumayo Rivers. In the 
middle of the 18th century, after more than 100 years of intermixture with 
other tribes in missions and subsequent redistribution through the country, 
Chantre y Herrera (1901, pp. 374-380) attributes to them the area be- 
tween the Napo and Putumayo Rivers extending from the Cordillera to the 
mouth of the Napo River, an area which, however, includes the territory 
of their neighbors, the Cofdn upstream, the Coto downstream, and the 
Awishira on the south side of the Putumayo River. Toward the end of the 
last century, Simson (1879 a, pp. 210-211; 1883, p. 22) found two 
groups: one, called Santa Maria or Piojé, living on the middle and lower 
Aguarico River and along a considerable stretch of the left bank of the 
Napo River; the other, called Macaguaje, separated from the last by 
tribes of other languages and customs, on the Cocaya River, a tributary 
of the Putumayo River (lat. 0°., long. 76° W.). Izaguirre (1922-29, 
12 :412-413) distinguishes Encabellado, Guaciguaya, Ciguage, and Icagu- 
ate. Tessmann (1930, pp. 291-292) found these two groups in the present 
century in more or less the same area and called them Pioché and Sioni, 
respectively. 

The question of nomenclature is confused by changes introduced during 
the historic period and lack of significant cultural or political divisions. 
The Encabellado were originally divided into independent villages of per- 
haps 50 to 60 inhabitants each. If Father Pedro Pecador and Captain 
Juan de Palacios met anywhere near the 8,000 Encabellado claimed in 
1635, there must have been more than 100 such villages, each probably 
with its own name. Some of the names were taken from the village chief, 
e.g., Paratoas and Curatoas, and others were probably river names. 

The five principal names—Encabellado, Icaguate, Ptojé, Santa Maria, 
and Angutera—are synonyms for the entire group as well as names of 
different divisions used at different periods. Encabellado in early literature 
usually designated the people of the Aguarico River region. Icaguate, for 
which Angutera was later substituted, was often a synonym of Encabel- 
lado, and applied especially to those along the Napo River below the 
Aguarico River. It is said to have been first used for the Guaciguage and 
Cieguage divisions after they were gathered into a single mission in 1722. 
At the end of the last century, Simson, following local popular usage, 


ol. 3] WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 739 


applied Piojé to the people of the lower Aguarico and Napo Rivers, i.e., 
the earlier Encabellado and Icaguate (Angutera), using Santa Maria, 
which had formerly been limited to the peoples of the village of 
Santa Maria, both as a synonym for Piojé and as the designation of the 
more restricted group. He called the people of the Cocaya River and at 
Consacunti, 100 miles below Yasotoaro on the Napo River (Simson, 1886, 
p. 242), Macaguaje, which is perhaps the Amuguage (Amoguaje) who 
entered a mission at the mouth of the San Miguel River 150 years earlier 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 26:251) or the Macaguage known during the 18th 
century near the Highlands. The Pzojé appear in the present century as 
Pioché and seem to include all the early Encabellado, whereas the 
Macaguaje are evidently now called the Sioni, while the Aguarico-Napo 
Pioché are divided into the Sekoya and Campuya (Kampuya), the latter 
including the Angotero, each named after rivers (Tessmann, 1930). 

Other names mentioned in the early literature were probably Encabel- 
lado divisions: 

Cunchi, a division named by Veigl (1785 a, p. 99). 

Cungi (perhaps the Cunchi), a subtribe on the Capoya River or Rio 
de los Atambores. 

Guanvomaya, Indians at San José who may have been Encabellado. 

Javi (Yeis?), an Encabellado division on the Capoya River. 

Mumu, an Encabellado division near the Putumayo River (Chantre y 
Herrera, 1901, pp. 380-381). 

Murcielago (Oto), a group of Encabellado in 1738 near the Caqueta 
River. 

Ruma (Rumo), Encabellado on the left bank of the Napo River below 
the Aguarico River (Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, pp. 78-89). 

Vito (Vitogauge), Encabellado who entered the mission at the mouth 
of the Curaray River. The Vitocuru between the Napo and Curaray 
Rivers, near San Miguel, who moved to San Miguel in 1742, may be the 
same. 

Vuencanevi, Indians at San José, who may have been Encabellado. 

Zapua, Indians at San José, who may have been Encabellado. 

History of the Encabellado.—Shortly after 1599, the Encabellado and their 
neighbors were visited briefly by the Jesuit Fathers, Ferrer and Fernando Arnulf. 
In 1635, the Franciscan Father Pedro Pecador, and Captain Juan de Palacios were 
well received by an alleged 8,000 Encabellado near the mouth of the Aguarico River. 
The same year the Franciscans abandoned their work among the neighboring 
Awishira to found San Diego de los Encabellados. But the Captain was soon killed 
for having offended a chief, the Indians revolted, and the mission was given up in 
1638 (Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, pp. 31-35, 46-50; Izaguirre, 1922-29, 1:323-348; 
2:187). The Encabellado who did not participate in this murder turned on the 
rebels, who fled to Awishira country, where they were soon nearly exterminated 
(Maroni, 1889-92; 29 :223-324). 

The Encabellado seem to have returned to their native haunts for nearly a century, 
although a few may have remained in the Pueblo of San José. They are mentioned 


740 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


only in connection with the transient visit made by the Jesuit, Raimundo Santa Cruz, 
in 1654 while seeking a water route between the Marafién River and Quito. 

Missionary activity was renewed with brief success at the turn of the 18th century. 
After the Jesuits regained the parish of Archidona in 1709, Father Juan de Narvaez 
made several visits to the Jcaguate (Maroni, 1889-92, 28:117). In 1722, Father 
Luis Coronado gathered the Guaciguage and Cieguage into a mission called San 
Xavier de Icaguate, but the murder of a Spaniard caused them to flee. Later a 
new mission was established at the mouth of the Curaray River with /caguaite, 
whom the missionaries had rescued with difficulty from their slavery at Lamas and 
Chachapayas, and with other mission Encabellado. The new converts traveled the 
bush to persuade their kinsmen, who had migrated toward the Curaray River, to 
join them, but encountered hostile Masamai. The ensuing Masamai raids forced 
removal of the mission upstream, where the Vito joined it. In 1733, a new Icaguate 
mission, San José de los Nuevos Icaguates, was founded at the mouth of the 
Aguarico River. 

Meanwhile the Franciscan missions met little success. The Mumu, probably an 
Encabellado subtribe near the Putumayo River, had in 1719 killed their Franciscan 
missionaries. After 40 to 50 years of migration, they returned to the Putumayo, 
where most of them died (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 380-381). The same year, 
the Amuguague at the mouth of the San Miguel River killed their missionary 
(Maroni, 1889-92, 26:251). In 1738 there was a temporary flurry of missionary 
activity in the Aguarico River region, and soon there were nine missions in the 
vicinity of the Aguarico River, with others on its northern tributaries. Previously 
independent groups of Encabellado, each under a strong chief, however, mistrusted 
one another in the large mission villages. The fatal blow came in 1744, when Chief 
Curazaba caused the murder of Father Francisco Real by convincing the Indians at 
Mission San Miguel that they were destined to be sold as slaves in the Highland. 
The Encabellado deserted eight missions and only five remained, but most of the 
fugitives perished at the hands of other Indians or else starved because the chonta 
palms did not bear fruit that year (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 351-354, 395-398). 
In 1769 only two Encabellado missions remained and few Indians survived (Escobar 
y Mendoza, 1769, p. 60). 

One hundred years again elapse until 1858, when Villavicencio (1858, p. 175) 
records that only a few Encabellado survived, living on turtle and manatee on the 
lower Aguarico River. The Angutera lived on the left side of the Napo River below 
the Aguarico River, where they cultivated manioc, yuca, and bananas. The Sania 
Maria were peacefully and industriously growing crops and trading hammocks and 
sarsaparilla (Villavicencio, 1858, p. 176). In 1879 semicivilized but disease-ridden 
(colds, smallpox, and carate) groups of Piojé lived at San José, Cuembi, Yasotoaro, 
Montepa, Consacunti, Cajucuma, Pafiacocha, Angoteri, Oritoyacu, and Tarapoto. 
These, described by Simson (1879 a, 1886), were seminomads who refused to settle 
in large communities, but were in occasional contact with Whites from whom they 
had acquired a nominal Christianity, liquor, and occasional trade goods, especially 
clothing, iron tools, cloth, beads, and a few guns. When not in debt slavery, which 
was sporadic for most of them but permanent detention as servants for some, they 
lived on the country, using blowguns and bows as well as guns. Native social, 
religious, and economic practices seem to have persisted despite a superficial influence 
of European contacts. 

In 1928, Tessmann (1930) found some 200 Encabellado (Pioché) remaining: the 
Sekoya on the Aguarico River, the Campuya on the sources of the Tambor-yacu, 
Santa Maria (both tributaries of the Napo River), and Campulla (tributary of the 
Putumayo) Rivers. They were on the verge of losing their native customs. 


Vol. 3] WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 741 


Igualada and Castellvi (1940) list 86 baptized Macaguaje between Trocha del 
Mecaya and Puerto Restrepo, Pifiufia Negro and San Joaquin, and between Yurayaco 
(Quinoré) and Puerto Boy (Caqueta) and 30 Piojé scattered in the basin of the 
lower San Miguel (Sucumbios) River, though others were doubtless elsewhere. 


Sioni.—The Sioni (Cioni, Siona, and Cefio?) inhabited the upper Putu- 
mayo River, extending downstream from the region of Santiago and 
Sibundoy with its Quechua-speaking peoples, to the equator (lat. 0°, long. 
75° W.). The Ceno were briefly missionized by the Franciscans in 1632 
(Gonzalez Suarez, 1890-1903, 6:86, 104). Some 1,000, most of whom 
could speak Spanish, survived in 1912 (Hardenberg, 1912, pp. 78-86, 
99-100). 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—All Western Tucanoans grew sweet manioc, but only the 
Encabellado cultivated the bitter variety. The Sioni, however, gathered 
the bitter variety wild, and removed the poison by wrapping the pulp in 
bark and squeezing it (Hardenberg, 1912, p. 83). The Orejdén and Coto 
made no use of the bitter (Tessmann, 1930). Other cultivated plants 
were bananas, plantains, sweet potatoes, beans, macabo, Guilielma palms, 
yams, maize, and sugarcane. Peanuts and pumpkins seem not to have been 
cultivated (Tessmann, 1930). 

The Western Tucanoans cultivated with large knives and wooden 
planting sticks. 

Hunting.—The blowgun was the main hunting weapon, the bow being 
limited to the Encabellado, who used a poisoned arrow. Nets are not 
recorded, but the Encabellado used bird traps, pitfalls, and deadfalls 
(Simson, 1886, p. 195). Coto traps are shown in figure 72. In the 
present century, the Siont were using shotguns and machetes as well as 
blowguns (Hardenberg, 1912, p. 81). The Encabellado used hunting 
dogs. 

Species hunted by the Sioni include tapir, peccaries, capivaras, deer, 
monkeys, sloths, armadillos, and other animals and many birds. 

Fishing.—The Sioni fish with spears, chambira-fiber nets, and hard- 
wood or thorn hooks baited with larvae or with Cecropia fruit (Harden- 
berg, 1912, p. 82). The Coto use the bow and arrow and long basketry 
traps but neither nets nor spears. Nets but not arrows are attributed to 
the Encabellado (Tessmann, 1930). All Western Tucanoans fish with 
poison: barbasco (Sioni), cultivated Tephrosia, and wild Leguminosae 
and Clibadium (Coto, Encabellado). 

Domesticated animals.—The Encabellado adopted dogs and chickens, 
the latter both for their flesh and their eggs. 

Gathering wild foods.—Palm fruits, honey, and larvae were gathered 
by all tribes. Hardenberg (1912) lists the papaya, lime (Citrus limon- 


742 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


um), cashew nut, Guilielma palm, and bread fruit (Artocarpus incisa) 
among wild fruits eaten by the Sioni. The Encabellado gathered fruits 
of various palms; Iriartea, Euterpe, Scheelea tessmanni, Mauritia, and 
Jessenia bataua (Tessmann, 1930). 

Food preparation.—The Coto and Encabellado grind food in wooden 
troughs, cook in pots, and smoke meat on rectangular or pyramidal babra- 
cots (Tessmann, 1930). The Encabellado shred bitter manioc on a thorn- 
studded grater, squeeze out the juices in a tipiti, and bake it on a clay 
stove. The Sioni use such stoves to make farinha of sweet manioc. Food 
is eaten from calabash vessels with a shell or small calabash. It is sea- 
soned with pepper (Capsicum) and salt, the latter obtained on arduous 
journeys to the Huallaga River. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


In 1651, the Encabellado had villages of four, six, or eight houses, each 
holding one or two small, biological families (Cruz, 1900, p. 36), a total 
of some 50 to 60 persons in each community. These villages were one- 
quarter to one league apart and one or two leagues away from the river. 
Early Coto houses seem also to have sheltered single biological families, 
though large, rectangular communal dwellings were later adopted (pl. 
80). By 1750, the Encabellado were building longhouses which accom- 
modated 10 families; 14 or 15 of these houses made up a village, which 
now consisted of about 300 persons (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, pp. 414, 
488). In the present century, the Sioni lived in communal houses occu- 
pied by several families, each with its own compartment, fireplace, and 
utensils (Hardenberg, 1912). 

This increase in house size and community size may have resulted 
partly from missionary influence and partly from the adoption of canoes, 
which, affording better transportation, made greater population concen- 
tration possible and, producing greater contact between people, made 
larger groups desirable. 

Construction of the large modern house is described and illustrated 
in Tessmann (1930, table 36, fig. 1). In addition to dwellings, various 
wind screens are erected. 

The Western Tucanoans all sleep in chambira-fiber hammocks. Tess- 
mann (1930) denies use of mosquito shelters, but the small, tightly-closed 
sleeping houses of the Coto may amount to the same thing. Logs or 
carved wooden stools for men are everywhere standard furniture. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


The ancient Western Tucanoans went naked much of the time, though 
the cushma was sometimes worn. The Encabellado and Sioni made the 
cushma of red bark cloth or chimbira fiber, the neck opening running 


Vol. 3] WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 743 


from front to back for men and from side to side for women. The En- 
cabellado also used the poncho, and women sometimes wore short, painted 
skirts. In the last century, Simson (1879 a, p. 214) found many of them, 
especially women, still naked, although European clothing had been intro- 
duced. Some men, however, wore knee-length ponchos sewn along the 
sides to form baggy shirts (perhaps the cushma) and women had cham- 
bira-fiber bands, 8 inches (20 cm.) wide, around their loins (Simson, 
1886, p. 195). Desire to clothe the body was strong in the present cen- 
tury, when Tessmann (1930) reported that Encabellado men who lacked 
European garments wore sleveless unpainted Ficus-fiber shirts, women 
Astrocaryum-fiber hip cloths, and even children some kind of clothing. 
Coto men either used European clothes, or they went naked, with the 
penis tied up, while women wore a sleeveless bast shirt (pl 80). 

The typical Coto ornament was a huge earplug up to 5 inches (13 cm.) 
in diameter (pl. 80). The Sioni also pierced their ears and wore nose 
pins. Although the Encabellado formerly made perforations near the 
corners of their mouths for the insertion of sticks and feathers, Simson 
(1886) and Tessmann (1930) report only nasal perforations through 
which thorns and sticks were thrust. In ancient Encabellado coiffure, the 
hair was carefully braided and wound around the head with a piece of 
cloth—in the present century, a piece of bark—or allowed to fall loose 
behind. Festive headgear in all periods has consisted of a feather circlet. 
The Siont groomed their hair with combs. Depilation was general; 
modern Encabellado pluck both eyebrows and eyelashes. The Coto and 
Encabellado tattooed the face and blackened the lips; the latter also 
stained the teeth red. All tribes attached great importance to face and 
body paint. The Encabellado stuck cotton fuzz on their bodies. Only 
early sources mention mirrors made of copal melted and poured into a 
shallow dish; travelers carried these along with paint with which to 
decorate themselves before entering foreign villages (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 63). Arm and leg bands of woven cotton or of bark cloth, neck- 
laces, bracelets, and chest bands of seeds, animal teeth, and other beads 
were worn in great profusion. Sioni necklaces weigh 10 to 15 pounds. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Carrying devices include burden baskets used by men, bast bags used 
by women, and bast bands for supporting infants. 

Early sources hint and the customary residence of early Encabellado 
some distance from rivers implies that canoes were little if ever used until 
the missionaries established the people on rivers (Chantre y Herrera, 
1901, p. 381). The modern canoe is of wood, never of bark, and paddles 
are long and narrow. Rafts are unknown (Tessmann, 1930). 


744 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MANUFACTURES 


Spinning and weaving.—Most textiles were woven of chambira fiber: 
hammocks, carrying bags, nets, cushmas, women’s loin cloths or skirts, 
and fishnets. Weaving in cotton was seemingly elementary; the Coto 
made cotton string but no cotton textiles, and the Encabellado wove only 
cotton arm bands. 

Basketry.—The Encabellado made men’s carrying baskets, parrot 
cages, and women’s work baskets. Materials used were Carludovica 
trigona and Mauritia stems. 

Bark cloth.—Probably all Western Tucanoans made bark cloth in 
early times, but its manufacture has been discontinued in the present 
century. The Encabellado prepared it with a wooden pounder. 

Pottery.—Wares cannot be defined, but ceramics seem to have reached 
some development. Coto pottery was coiled and painted red-on-cream. 
Sioni pots were said to resemble those of the “Inca” and to be skillfully 
painted. Encabellado vessel forms include jugs, bowls, cooking pots, and 
baking pans (Tessmann, 1930). 

Weapons.—The bow and poisoned arrow are old Encabellado weapons 
but, in 1879, were used only to take turtles in the Solimées River (Sim- 
son, 1879 a, p. 221) and for warfare. The blowgun, not mentioned in 
early sources but not necessarily absent, was the main hunting weapon 
in the last (Simson, 1879 a, p. 221) and present centuries. It is made 
of two half-tubes with a peccary bone mouthpiece and aguti tooth sight; 
the darts are poisoned with a liana sap mixed with snake poison. 

Spears have been used at all times for hunting and warfare. They 
have poisoned chonta tips that break off in wounds, and they are carried 
in bundles of five to seven with their ends sheathed (Simson, 1886, p. 
195). War clubs are mentioned in early but not in recent sources, and the 
use of shields is controversial. 

Fire making.—The Western Tucanoans formerly used the fire drill 
and both the woven and feather fire fan. Recently, they adopted flint and 
steel. 


SOCIOPOLITICAL GROUPS 


There is some evidence that the sociopolitical unit developed during 
the historic period. The Encabellado community of the middle 17th 
century was a small, politically independent group of about 60 people 
living in 4 to 8 houses, each sheltering one or two adult men and their 
families (Laureano de la Cruz, 1900, p. 36). A century later, the average 
community consisted of about 300 people, occupying 10 to 15 houses, 
each of which accommodated some 10 families. The community had a 
chief of considerable authority. Political separatism was still so strong, 
however, that Encabellado from different groups at missions feared to 
associate with one another (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 362). Sub- 


Vol. 3] WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 745 


sequent use of the canoe fostered intercourse which weakened this isola- 
tionism (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 381), though strong political 
cohesion never developed. In 1879, villages were groups of scattered 
huts, which were readily deserted when disease, ants, or floods beset them 
(Simson, 1879 a, p. 215). Modern villages also consist of scattered 
houses, each occupied by 4 families (Tessmann, 1930). 

Chieftainship had once developed so that all the Sekoya were under a 
single leader, but this arrangement was abandoned. The modern Siont 
live in large, multifamily houses, and elect a governador and capitan, both 
obviously post-Spanish offices. Among the Coto, the shaman is com- 
munity leader. 

Fragmentary evidence seem to rule out the existence of patrilineal sibs, 
like those of the Eastern Tucanoans in the Vaupés-Caqueta region (p. 
780) and even of extended patrilineal families. Originally, Encabellado 
and Coto exogamy probably applied to families, not to villages. The Coto, 
moreover, were matrilocal. For the Encabellado, Tessmann (1930) denies 
restrictions on marriages, except those between near relatives. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Child birth.—The Encabellado and Coto confine parents for several 
days after a birth; the Coto father stays in the house, the mother in a 
special hut; the Encabellado father is isolated and fasts for 3 days, even 
if away, and the mother is confined for 2 weeks, doing no work and bathing 
daily (Tessmann, 1930; Simson, 1879 a, p. 222). 

Twins were formerly buried under the wings of the house roof so that 
rainwater would drown them (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 434). 

Puberty and marriage.—At her first menses, the Coto girl is isolated 
3 days in the house, dieting. The Encabellado girl was confined for 1 day 
in a special hut. 

Aboriginal marriage was probably somewhat unstable. Simson (1879 a, 
p. 213) states that more binding unions had come into fashion because of 
church influence and the prestige value of imitating the White man. A 
marriageable woman must have matured physically; a suitable husband 
had to have proficiency in hunting, in clearing farmland, and in making 
hammocks. The Encabellado man gave presents to his bride’s parents; 
a Coto husband rendered some bride service to his father-in-law. Polygyny 
occurred mainly among chiefs. 

Death.—The modern Encabellado clothe a corpse in his garments and 
ornaments, wrap him in a hammock and bury him under the house floor, 
and then cremate his possessions and abandon the house. The ancient 
Icaguate, however, cremated the body and drank the ashes mixed in chicha 
(Jiménez de la Espada, 1889-92, vol. 27). 


746 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


SOCIAL USAGES 


An Encabellado guest sat on a bench, while the host touched him on the 
shoulder, and asked, “Have you come?” to which he replied, “I have come” 
(Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 418). 

The aboriginal Encabellado had feast halls holding 300 to 400 persons 
and furnished with benches. In 1651 these were used for dances and gath- 
erings (Cruz, 1900, p. 40). 


WARFARE AND CANNIBALISM 


The Western Tucanoans were not notorious warriors but nonetheless 
engaged in both offensive and defensive fighting. The special enemy of 
the Encabellado were the neighboring Awishira, a belicose people who 
continually raided them for loot and women. Encabellado warriors fought 
with spears and bows, Coto with spears and clubs; use of the shield is 
uncertain. Villages were defended with trenches having sharpened stakes 
in the bottom. 

The Encabellado took trophy skulls (Chantre y Herrera, 1901, p. 164) 
and practiced cannibalism (Maroni, 1889-92, 29 :224). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Recorded art is limited to body and face painting. Basketry, 
textile, and ceramic designs are not known. 

Games.—Modern amusements include humming tops made of Astro- 
caryum fruit spun with a cord, a toy sling to throw fruit, and wrestling. 
Such characteristic Montafia toys as maize-leaf balls and dolls were not 
used (Tessmann, 1930). 

Musical instruments.—All tribes made two-headed skin drums. The 
Encabellado but not the Coto had large signal drums. Other instruments 
included panpipes, flutes with four to six holes, transverse flutes, leg rattles, 
musical bows (Tessmann, 1930), and bamboo tubes blown through one 
hole while the tone is modulated by placing a hand over the other hole 
(Simson, 1879 a). 

Stimulants and narcotics.—Fifty years ago, Simson (1879 a, p. 213) 
denied that the Encabellado made fermented drinks, though he described 
much drunkenness on alcoholic beverages obtained elsewhere. Tessmann, 
however, records use of fermented drinks made of various plants and 
fruits. Drinking was purely recreational, and, though done at festivals 
held in large dance houses, had no connection with a secret cult like that 
of the Eastern Tucanoans. 

Narcotics include tobacco, cayapi, yoco, and coca; Datura was not used. 
Fifty years ago, tobacco was taken by the Encabellado in the form of a 
thin paste kept in a bottle and transferred to the mouth by means of a 
feather or stick (Simson, 1879 a). Today the Encabellado and Coto 


Lome es 


r v3 ; c = an ae te See 
- ae elke Ss aiaaiel oo a . 2 Si eit IR Se is coat Se eae eS, ee 


Piate 80.—Coto Indians. Top, left: Man. Top, right: Family group. Bottom: 
House on Sucusany River. (After Tessmann, 1930.) 


Vol. 3] WESTERN TUCANOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 747 


drink tobacco juice and smoke cigars; the latter also snuff the powder and 
- chew the leaves. 

Cayapi was mainly the shaman’s drink, though other persons might 
take it for its intoxicating effect, which led to broils (Simson, 1886, p 
196), and as a malaria cure. Yoco, like coca, was taken for its sustaining 
and refreshing effect, though in strong doses it is an emetic (Simson 
1879%a; *p: 213). 

The Correguaje are the only Western Tucanoans to use coca (Schultes 
1942). 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Tessmann records a modern Encabellado belief in a remote supreme 
being in the heavens, but he found no evidence of ideas of lesser gods or 
spirits. Concepts of life after death appear to be Christian. 

The pattern of shamanism centers around the belief that “thorns” are 
the cause of disease, although the Coto are unique in the Montafia (but 
linked with the upper Amazon Tupian tribes) in holding that soul-loss, 
that is theft of a dreamer’s soul by a ghost, also caused illness. The 
Encabellado shaman received 3 months of instruction during which he 
drank much cayapi. His instructor put in his body three “thorns,” which 
multiplied themselves. To cause illness, the shaman went, in the capacity 
of sorcerer, into the bushes to draw the “thorns” from his own body with 
the aid of tobacco smoke or juice, and to blow or throw them at the 
victim, who generally died 5 days later. To cure, the shaman sang, 
drank cayapi and tobacco juice, smoked, blew, and sucked out the “thorns.” 
The Encabellado shaman used roots of Cyperus piripiri instead of sucking 
to remove the thorns. This procedure is unclear, but is probably related 
to the Zdparoan practice. Shamans sometimes fought each other with 
“thorns,” drinking cayapi to see the adversary better. 

Cyperus piripiri was rubbed on the hands and fishing gear for good 
luck and on tired hunting dogs to restore their strength (Tessmann, 1930). 
Men scratched their arms with scorpion stings or let ants bite them to 
acquire skill in shooting the bow (Simson, 1879 a, pp. 221-222). 


TRIBES OF UNCERTAIN AFFILIATION IN THE UPPER 
PUTUMAYO REGION 


Several tribes of uncertain affiliation are reported on the right side of 
the Napo River and along the Curaray River, above the Awishira and 
south of the Encabellado. 

The Ssabela, a Quechua-speaking people in 1925, lived on the upper 
Yasuni, Tiputini, and Chiripuno Rivers, right tributaries of the Napo 
River (Tessmann, 1930). This is very near the location of a branch of 
the Omagua. The Ssabela were divided into the Tihuacuno (Tibacuno) 
and Chiripuno. In 1925 they were still hostile to the Whites. 

653333—47—50 


748 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.BE. Bull. 143 


Tessmann’s notes (1930), though fragmentary, indicate that the Ssabela 
resembled their neighbors. They grew sweet manioc, maize, yams, pea- 
nuts, sweet potatoes, beans, and Guilielma palms, but not bitter manioc. 
They took fish with poison but not with nets or hooks, hunted with the 
blowgun, and lacked dogs, pigs, chickens. They slept in hammocks in 
gabled houses (Simson says houses were thatched to the ground, 1886, 
p. 237). People went naked, men tying up the penis, women wearing a 
leaf suspended from a cord. They wore a stick through the nostrils and 
ear lobes, blackened the teeth, and had various ornaments, including woven 
cotton arm bands. They used dugout canoes and carrying baskets. Man- 
ufactures included Astrocaryum-fiber hammocks and bags, pots that were 
sometimes painted red, and spears. They did not have poisoned spears, 
bows and arrows, or shields. For warfare, they used spears and clubs. 
They buried the dead in the house and abandoned it. They used neither 
tobacco, coca, nor guayusa, and took cayapi only as a medicine. Musical 
instruments were limited to a long flute with one hole above and two or 
three below. Witches produced disease by blowing thorns at the victim. 

Several other tribes occupied territory close to the Ssabela, Omagua, 
and certain Zdporoan peoples and perhaps were related to some of them. 
These included the Avacore and Parana on the Curaray River, who were 
known to but not visited by the early missionaries (Veigl, 1785 a, p. 111), 
and the Meguana on the Tiputini River, enemies of the Zéparo (Simson, 
1886, p. 188). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Chantre y Herrera, 1901; Escobar y Mendoza, 1769; Gonzalez Suarez, 190-1903; 
Hardenberg, 1910, 1912; Igualada and Castellvi, 1940; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Jiménez 
de la Espada (Noticias Auténticas), 1889-92; Cruz, 1900; Maroni, 1889-92; Rivet, 
1924; Schultes, 1942; Simson, 1879 a, 1883, 1886; Tessmann, 1930; Veigl, 1785 a; 
Villavicencio, 1858. 


THE WITOTOAN TRIBES 


By Jucian H. STEwarp 


INTRODUCTION 


The Tupian-speaking Witotoan tribes occupy the Para-Parana and 
upper Caqueta Rivers, splitting the Tucanoan-speaking peoples into an 
eastern and western division (map 1, No. 4; map 5). Their culture is 
typical of the Tropical Forest, but, like most tribes of the upper Amazon, 
they lack several eastern Amazonian traits, such as the cotton hammock, 
the vertical or “Arawak” loom, bark canoes, and elaborately carved wooden 
stools. A large number of important features, however, place them with 
the Tucanoans (pp. 764-766) in a distinctive Northwest Amazon culture 
area, though others distinguish them as a subarea. 

Traits in which the Witotoan peoples resemble the Tucanoans but 
differ from the Zdparoan, Jivaroan, Cahuapanan, Tupian, and Panoan 
tribes to the south are: cultivation of bitter manioc and considerably 
greater use of hunting traps and nets; the use of weirs, baskets, and 
hollow-log traps instead of harpoons and atlatls for taking fish ; fire making 
with two stones but not with the fire drill; cooking on a pottery stove 
instead of on a flat plate supported by three potrests; bast hammocks in 
place of sleeping platforms or mats; nakedness among women and the 
bark breechclout for men as against the tunic; finger weaving, almost 
exclusively with wild basts, instead of the belt or horizontal loom and 
cotton; the rolled (“Bororo” type) spindle in place of the dropped 
(Andean) spindle; the use of coca but not of guayusa; consumption of 
cigars and tobacco juice but no tobacco pipes; failure to practice 
head deformation; minimal girl’s puberty rites, but the couvade strongly 
developed ; possibly a boy’s initiation into an ancestor cult, like that of the 
Tucanoan tribes; cannibalism of enemies rather than of deceased rela- 
tives ; use of the signal drum and bark trumpets, the latter kept secret from 
women; use of masks; and possibly patrilineal sibs. 

But the Witotoans lacked several traits characteristic of the Tucanoans: 
the bow for hunting and warfare; fishing; cayapi (a narcotic) ; intox- 
icating beverages; and perhaps aboriginally the dugout canoe, 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND HISTORY 


Ortiz (1942, p. 383) believes that the Witotoan tribes may be the an- 
cient Cambela (Cambeba), but these are more likely the Tupian Omagua. 


749 


750 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


He also identifies them with the Quiyoya of the Franciscan missionaries 
and with the Cafuane (not related to Cofdn) mapped by Codazzi and Pay. 
Other early names were Orején, Orelludo, and Mativitana. Ortiz’s three 
main divisions in this region are: 

(1) Wéitoto proper (Uitoto, Huito, Ouitoto, Huitato, Huitota, Gui- 
toto, etc.), with the following subdivisions: Kaime, Xtra, Séuent, Jay- 
ruya, Mekka, Menekka, and Bue. (Lat. 0°-2° S., long. 72°-75° W.) 

(2) Differentiated dialects: Bora (Boro, Miranha, Miranya, Mi- 
rana-Carapana-Tapuyo, Uirauasi-Tapuyo, Mirayo, Marayo, Miragua, 
Mariana, Miraia, Meamuyna), lat. 1°-2° S., long. 71°-73°W.; Nonuya 
(Achote, Achiote), lat. 1°-30° S., long. 72°-73° W.; Okaina (Ocaina, 
Dukatya), lat. 1°-2° S., long. 73° W.; and Muenane, lat. 1° S., long. 72°- 
30° W. The Fitita may be an Okaina subdivision. 

(3) The Eastern and Southeastern dialects: Orején (“large ear,” 
not to be confused with many other tribes with this name, especially the 
nearby Tucanoan Coto, also called Orején) and Coéruna (Koéruna), lat. 
1°-30° S., long. 71° W. 

The affiliation of the Eraye and Soina, between the Yagua and Bora 
(Izaguirre, 1922-29, 12:415) is not known. 

Many of these subdivisions may be village or sib names. For example, 
Pinell recorded 136 Witoto subdivisions in 1909, Tessmann gave 50 to 60 
in 1928, and Ortiz listed 39 in 1942, a marked decline in the number of 
local groups. 

The place of Tessmann’s Resigero (lat. 1° S., long. 72° W.) and 
Andoke (lat. 30° S., long. 72°-74° W.), both probably Wuitotoan, in 
Ortiz’s classification is not clear. 


The Witotoans were little known until the end of the 19th century. Padre 
Ferrer visited the Putumayo River in 1605, and the Witoto were first mentioned by 
name in 1695, but their first real contact with the White man started about 1886, 
when rubber gatherers moved into the Putumayo district. This contact was essen- 
tially exploitative; the Indians collected rubber in return for machetes, beads, 
mirrors, fishhooks, tin bowls, cans of sardines and a few guns and ammunition. 
Exploitation was intensified in the first decade of the present century and these 
tribes, especially the Witoto, victimized by ruthless measures, rapidly declined 
(Hardenburg, 1912). At the same time, they gradually moved away from their 
aboriginal habitat. 

It is estimated that the population of the Putumayo district declined from an 
aboriginal total of 50,000 to some 7,000 to 10,000 during the first decade of the 20th 
century (Casement in Hardenburg, 1912, pp. 336-337). This decline has continued 
despite amelioration of the rubber abuses. In 1910, estimates of the Witoto were 
15,000 (Whiffen, 1915), 25,000 (Preuss, 1921-23), or 30,000 (Casement im Harden- 
burg, 1912, pp. 269-70). Whiffen also estimated the other tribes as follows: Bora, 
15,000; Okaina, 2,900; Muenane, 2,000; Nonwya, 1,000; Resigero, 1,000; and Andoke, 
10,000. By 1940, only a fraction of the Witoto survived and most of these had 
moved to new regions. Igualada and Castellvi (1940) list 3,652 Wutoto, including 
Mekka, Menekka, Ifikuene (Caimito), and Bie in Amazonas, Putumayo, and Ca- 
queta Provinces, Colombia, Ortiz (1942, p. 384) estimates that 1,500 Witoto survive 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 751 


on the Caqueta and Putumayo Rivers, with small, separate groups on the Negro, 
Apaporis, Muritiparana, Napo, and other rivers. The Bora decreased from 15,000 
~ in 1910 to 12,000 in 1926 (Tessmann, 1930) and 427 in 1940. Today both Bora and 
Witoto are being further dislocated from their habitat and assimilated. The Orejdn 
(Coto), estimated at 500 in 1926, and the Coéruma are probably extinct. 


SOURCES 


Fullest accounts of the Witotoans come from the present century. Cas- 
telnau’s account (1850-59) of his visit of 1843-47 and Crévaux 
(1883) have little of value. The first ethmological accounts are by Koch- 
Grtinberg (1906 a, 1906 b) ; the fullest are by Whiffen (1915). Preuss 
(1921-23) studied mythology and religion. Farabee (1922) records some 
second-hand information. Tessmann (1930) gleaned many fragments of 
information, much of it flatly contradicting Whiffen. Fejos’ investigations 
in 1941 are not yet published, but he has kindly criticized and augmented 
the present summary. The great need is clarification of social structure 
and religious concepts, as both Tessmann and Preuss approached the field 
with strong theoretical bias. It is probably not too late to record essential 
data on native cultures. 


CULTURE 
SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Whiffen noted that the Witotoans seemed chronically on the verge of 
starvation and that clay eating was a vice. Like the Tucano, they subsist 
mainly on bitter manioc, but the Witoto devote much attention to fishing 
and all tribes to hunting. Today they keep pigs and chickens. 

Farming.—Cultivated plants include both sweet and bitter manioc, 
plantain, bananas, yams, pawpaws, sweet potatoes, pineapples, mangos, 
Guilielma palms, peanuts (Witoto), tuber beans, macobo, solanum, cacao 
(Theobroma bicolor), sugarcane, and some maize (Muenane, Orejon). 
Nonfood plants grown are coca and tobacco. Cotton is raised in small 
quantities by the Bora. Cacao is also collected wild. 

Fields are usually one-half mile from the village, where a special house 
stands. A clearing is good for two crops of manioc. Men, sometimes 
assisted by their friends, who are rewarded with a feast, do the heavy work, 
clearing the fields by slash-and-burn, in which they formerly used a stone 
ax. Women plant and cultivate with a wooden digging stick and harvest 
ground crops. Men, using climbing rings, gather pawpaws and palm 
fruits. 

Wild foods.—Local game animals include peccaries, tapirs, pacas 
(Coelogenys paca), capybaras (Hydrochaerus capybara), agoutis, small 
ant bears, armadillos, deer, sloths, parrots and other birds, frogs, turtles, 
turtle eggs, and monkeys, the last being the most important animal food. A 
few species, especially carnivores, are taboo, but it is not known whether 


T52 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


there are prohibitions on killing and eating animals because they are sib 
totems. Game is divided communally by the household head. 

For small game and birds, the blowgun and poisoned dart are used; 
for large game, hunting dogs and poisoned spears. The bow is not used. 
Other hunting devices are traps, pitfalls with poisoned stakes or with 
deep mud in the bottom, and deadfalls with logs. Tessmann and Whiffen 
disagree about the use of hunting nets; Farabee claims that nets 6 feet 
high and 1,000 or more feet long were used for deer, peccaries, and tapirs. 

Fish are taken with dip nets, large drag nets, spears, bows and arrows, 
long basket traps set in dams or weirs, and hollow-log traps. They are 
also drugged with Tephrosia toxicaria, Clibadium sylvestre, and barbasco. 
Spear throwers are unknown and fishhooks appear to be recent. Harpoons 
have been used since the rubber era for obtaining the large payshi fish. 

Honey, larvae, and a variety of fruits, especially palms, are the principal 
wild foods. 

Food preparation.—Meat is broiled, i.e., smoked, on a three- or four- 
legged babracot, but is never preserved. Manioc is grated on a thorn- 
studded board, sifted, and, among most tribes, squeezed in the tipiti. The 
Bora, however, are said not to remove the starch; heating or even drying 
is sufficient to remove the volatile prussic acid. (See pp. 000.) Cooking 
is done on a pottery stove, i.e., a flat plate, supported by vertical slabs. 
Whiffen emphasizes the lack of salt, but Tessmann records that it is made 
from leaf ashes of Scheelea tessmannia and from a bark. Pepper (Cap- 
sicum) and a spice from bitter manioc are condiments. 

Miscellaneous utensils include: woven fire fans, wooden tree-trunk 
mortars and pestles, pottery, and bark vessels. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


The typical Witotoan community consists of a single large multifamily 
house (pl. 81), though some villages have several large houses, the 
Muenane as many as 10. A dry site is chosen some distance from the 
river for protection from enemies and mosquitoes. Communities move 
to a new site when new clearings are needed or when local game animals 
have migrated away. Movements are probably within a fairly circum- 
scribed area. 

The houses are 30 feet (10 m.) high and either tend to be rectangular 
in ground plan, 30 feet (10 m.) by 60 feet (20 m.), or circular, 60 to 70 
feet (20 to 23 m.) in diameter. They have a sloping thatched roof and 
a low side wall (pl. 81; fig. 104). The interior is divided into family 
compartments, in which the hammocks are usually swung to form a tri- 
angle around the fire. The dance place is either inside or just outside 
the house. 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 753 


Ficure 104.—Witoto house. (After Crévaux, 1891.) 


Household equipment consists of rough wooden stools, usually made 
of a split log, fire fans, palm-leaf brooms, pots, etc. Mats are said to be 
recent. 

Some villages are protected by shallow trenches embedded with poisoned 
stakes. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Witotoan women are characteristically nude, while men, as among the 
Tucano to the north, wear a bark-cloth breechclout after the age of 5 or 
6 years (pls. 85, 86, 87). Other attire consists of ornaments: ear plugs, 
nose sticks both in the septum and alae, necklaces, armlets, and leg bands 
or ligatures. For festivals, men are adorned with elaborate feather head- 
dresses, but women wear dance girdles and glue bird down on their 
bodies. Leg rattles are also used. Teeth are blackened for esthetic pur- 
poses and as protection against “worms.” There is a little tattooing but 
more body painting, colors being black (genipa), red (bixa), yellow 
(clay or pollen), and white (pl. 88). The hair was formerly worn long 
and groomed with a composite comb; beards and women’s eyebrows are 
plucked by applying a sticky sap. Head deformation is not reported. 

No item of attire seems to be a badge of status, except that men vaunt 
their hunting and fighting ability by wearing necklaces of animal and 
human teeth. Farabee, however, states that chiefs wear two extra labrets. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Burdens are transported in carrying baskets or by means of a bark- 
cloth tumpline. 


754 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Tessmann believes that only the Muenane originally had canoes. All 
tribes now make dugouts. A tree is grooved, felled, and then burned 
and hewn to shape; manufacture and ownership is communal. There 
are no bark canoes or rafts. Temporary canoes may be made of the 
bulging stem of a palm tree. 

Bridges consist of trees felled across a stream. 


MANUFACTURES 


As stone does not occur in Witotoan country (the stone axes came 
from an unknown source), the only materials for manufactures are vege- 
table and animal products—mainly wood, bark, bone, and teeth. 

Basketry and weaving.—The Witotoans make containers, carrying 
baskets, and tipitis or manioc squeezers. The predominating technique 
is a plain, often twilled, weave. Twining, though known to the Tucanoans 
to the north, has not been reported. 

Hammocks and bags are made of twisted Astrocaryum fibers, but loom 
weaving is unknown. Cotton is used only by the Bora, who make a few 
head ornaments of it. 

Fire fans are made of feathers, the lower ends of which are braided 
together to form the handle. 

Nets are made for hunting and fishing. 

Mats are said to be of recent manufacture, and are made only for 
trade with the Whites. 

Bark cloth.—Bark cloth is used in place of textiles and serves for 
carrying-bands, masks (p. 83), breechclouts, and girdles. 

Skins.—Animal skins are not tanned ; they are used only in the form of 
furs, for pouches and shields. 

Pottery.—Each Waitotoan tribe seems to have a different ceramic 
technique and ware. The Bora and Muenane make a monochrome or un- 
decorated ware, which is modeled from a hollow lump (Tessmann, 1930). 
The Witoto made a paddled ware which is smoothed but not decorated. 
The Menimehe apparently make or made red and black pots. Ceramic 
products include pots and flat plates on which to bake manioc cakes. 

Miscellaneous.—Knives are made of hardwood, scrapers of a paca 
tooth, and borers of a capybara tooth. 

Weapons.—Weapons of the hunt include the two-piece blowgun, the 
darts for which are poisoned with curare (Strychnos toxifera), pani 
(Cocculus toxicoferus), and a putrified substance. Spears have various 
kinds of points, including detachable, poisoned chonta points and blunt 
ones for birds. They are carried in bundles up to four. The Witoto 
can hurl them 60 to 75 feet (20 to 25 m.). 

These tribes lacked bows and arrows and used slings only as toys. 

Fire making.—According to Whiffen, fire making is unknown, so that 
a perpetual fire is kept. Tessmann and Farabee, however, report the 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 755 


use of two stones to strike a spark, and Farabee claims the use of the 
fire drill, Hardenberg (1912, p. 156) describes maguey or chonta 
torches impregnated with resin. 


ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS 


Sexual division of labor is clear-cut: men fight, hunt, clear fields, 
harvest fruit that requires tree climbing, build houses, and manufacture 
weapons, poisons, nets, hammocks, wooden objects, and beverages, 
especially ceremonial drinks ; women cultivate crops, keep house, and make 
hammocks, pots, and baskets. 

Intercommunity trade is minimal because of a high degree of self- 
sufficiency and because of intertribal strife. Trade consists of such items 
as ligatures, blowguns, Menimehe pottery, Witoto tobacco and hammocks, 
Bora mats and other woven products, and Carijona poisons. 

Communal property seems to include the house, dugout canoe, and 
large, hollow drum. Fields, although sometimes cleared with community 
help, are individually owned and inherited. There are some kinds of 
rights to fishing stations. Most personal possessions are buried or cre- 
mated when the owner dies; others might be inherited by a man’s brother. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


The sociopolitical unit is the exogamous, patrilocal community which 
usually occupies a single large house and is divided into family groups. 
Local exogamy seems to prevail even when the community has several 
houses, e.g., among the Muenane, whose villages may have as many as 10 
houses scattered a few minutes’ walking distance from one another. The 
community averages about 100 members among the Witoto and Okaina, 
perhaps 300 among the Bora. Hardenberg states that the Wutoto sub- 
tribe ranges from 25 to 500 persons. Its territory averages about 100 
square miles among the Witoto and Okaina, about 50 among the Bora. 
Whether territory is community-owned is not certain but hunting and 
fishing rights of some kind are claimed. 

If the community were no more than an exogamous, patrilocal, ex- 
tended family, it would have to be considered a patrilineal band (Steward, 
1936). Comparison with the Tucano, however, where each community 
is a sib and where sibs are grouped into three phratries, suggests that the 
Witotoan tribes had similar groups. Whiffen’s data throw no light on 
this problem, but Tessmann describes each Miranya community as a “kin” 
group, stating that the Witoto had 50 to 60 “kin.” His list of 20 Bora 
“kin” includes such names as Red Arara, Parrot, Palm, Moon, Manioc 
Meal, Dirt, and Firewood; some of these names occur in several tribes. 
But there is no hint of phratries, quite explicably because Tessmann did 
not use the genealogical method in collecting his data. Inconsistent with 


756 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


a true sib organization is the apparent failure of any “kin” to extend 
beyond a single community and to carry with it exogamy which is more 
than local exogamy. But individuals retain group (stamme) member- 
ship, regardless of locality, as Preuss’ census of several villages shows, 
and a woman continues to feel solidarity with her own as against her 
husband’s group. The presence of an ancestor cult, which the Tucanoan 
tribes link to their sibs, is uncertain, but Preuss (1921) records Witoto 
origin myths, one for each of 31 groups. These designate the group 
“father” and account for the group name, which is usually a plant or 
animal. There are also sets of group names, which are given to children 
(Preuss, 1921-23 ; Hardenburg, 1912). Whiffen was convinced that initia- 
tory whipping did not occur among the Witoto. Careful field work is 
needed to clarify the nature of the Witotoan “kin.” 

Regardless of whether the Witotoan concept of the kin group warrants 
its classification as a sib, i.e., as a nonlocal group, its function is pre- 
dominantly localized. Local exogamy coupled with patrilocal residence 
makes the community consist of the household head, his sons and his 
son’s wives, and unmarried children. Each household is the political 
unit, the headman only rarely extending his influence beyond the village 
and then only when communities unite in an emergency, as against the 
White man. The headman inherits his office patrilineally, from his father 
or brother, with the approval of the council. He leads his people in 
warfare, festivals, and work in the fields. His power to punish has been 
granted only recently, at the insistence of the Peruvian Government. The 
council discusses hunting, warfare, and wrongdoers. Agreements are 
sealed by a tobacco ceremony—licking tobacco juice mixed with pepper 
from a stick. 


WARFARE 


Considerable hostility has prevailed between the Witotoan tribes and 
even between communities of the Witoto. Causes of war are the desire 
to take prisoners and vengeance against shamans, who are presumed to 
have caused sickness. Attacks are usually made by stealth. Weapons 
are flat clubs (macanas), poisoned spears, and thrusting lances, which 
recently have had iron points. Blowguns are not used. Whiffen states 
but Tessmann denies that bows and arrows are used. Whiffen records 
that these tribes use the round tapir-hide shield; Tessmann disagrees 
with this, but attributes to them a tunic armor of hide. Villages are de- 
fended by means of shallow ditches in which sharp poisoned stakes are 
concealed. 

Young persons are taken captive and later merge into the community ; 
old people are eaten. Cannibalism of war victims is attributed to the 
Muenane, Witoto, and Bora, alleged motives being, in the order of their 
importance: (1) to liken the enemy to animals by eating them; (2) 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 757 


need of food; (3) to acquire the qualities of the victim; and (4) lack 
of salt. The victory or cannibal feast consists of dancing, singing, and 
orating. The captive is stretched between two posts and killed with a 
lance or dagger. Only men eat parts of the body, after putting tobacco 
juice in their cheeks. After the meal, they make themselves vomit. 
Preuss describes the use of animal masks in this feast. The victim’s skull 
is cleaned and hung as a trophy, the long bones are made into flutes, and 
the teeth are used for necklaces. 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth and childhood.—Pregnant women are not permitted to eat meat. 
Birth occurs in the forest. The couvade is practiced by all tribes. Ac- 
cording to Preuss (1921-23, p. 164), the Witoto mother does not work for 
14 days after birth, the father for 5 days. Other sources, however, say 
that the father remains in the house, avoiding all animal food and refrain- 
ing from any work until the infant’s umbilicus is healed, 3 to 6 weeks 
later, when the child is given a secret name. Both Witoto parents paint 
their hands and feet red lest the child die. Deformed infants are killed. 
Children are given a “kin” name, but may be called by an animal nick- 
name. 


Children are punished physically, but are not frightened. 


Puberty observances.—At her first menses, a Witoto or Bora girl is 
merely confined for 1 night. But among the Okaina and Muenane, a 
girl is seemingly married at this time, when she is confined with her 
husband for 2 weeks while both diet and remain silent though the guests 
dance and feast. 


It is possible that the Witotoan tribes, like the Tucano to the north, 
combine features of boys’ puberty or initiation with a sib cult festival, 
but inadequate knowledge of social organization and of festivals leaves 
this matter obscure. 


Marriage.—Marriage follows the rule of local, ie., “kin,” exogamy, 
but Tessmann and Whiffen disagree as to whether a man may marry 
into his mother’s group. Whiffen states that marriage with the mother’s 
sister’s daughter is allowed, but, with patrilineal descent, this relative 
would normally belong to a different “kin” or community than that of 
one’s mother or father. An exception to the rule of local exogamy is that 
when the chief needs a successor, his daughter weds a man who has been 
adopted into the community. 

Personal preference in the choice of a spouse is ordinarily permitted, 
thought there is some infant betrothal. The Witoto suitor offers the 
girl’s father a load of firewood and a large bag of coca. He must demon- 
strate his hunting skill and his ability to clear farm land by working for 
his prospective father-in-law for perhaps one-half year. 


758 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Polygyny is usually the privilege only of community headmen and 
shamans. 

Death and burial.—An old or hopelessly infirm person is abandoned 
on the theory that only those who are useful to the group should survive. 
After epidemic deaths, the house is burned and the group moves away. 
Normally, the deceased is wrapped in his hammock and buried in a squat- 
ting position in the house. The house is abandoned only when a chief 
dies. A person’s possessions, perhaps including his dog, are either cre- 
mated or buried with his corpse. The Bora hold a feast of the dead some 
months after a death. 

The soul leaves the body to go into the bush (Muenane) or to heaven 
(Bora) or the air (Witoto), where it subsequently lives an ethereal and 
innocuous existence. 

An image, purely memorial in purpose, is made of any deceased mem- 
ber of the chief’s family. It is always accompanied by a second image of 
the opposite sex (pl. 82). 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Technologically and conceptually, art is limited. Crude carving 
is done on house posts, dance staves, various utensils, and tooth beads, 
though some Witoto and Ocaina incise excellent conventionalized floral 
designs on gourds and nuts. Baskets have simple rectilinear designs ; 
Menimehe and Orején pots carry black and red geometric figures. The 
most elaborate art is applied to the human body: feather headdresses, 
bark-cloth masks, complicated geometric painted figures, and a variety of 
ornaments. 

Games and toys.—Adult sports are mainly wrestling (Witoto, Muen- 
ane) and a festival game in which a rubber ball is struck with the knees 
(Muenane) or the knees, hands, and feet (Witoto). The sling is a toy, 
nota weapon. Stilts, humming tops (Bora, Witoto), whirling disks (Bora, 
Muenane), and whirling sticks (Bora) also provide amusement. 

Music and musical instruments.—The large hollow-wood signal 
drum, played in pairs of “male” and “female,” is a characteristic Witotoan 
trait (pl. 81; fig. 105). It is beaten with rubber-headed sticks and is 


t 


me 


Ficure 105.—Witoto drum. Five feet (1.5 m.) long and 2 ft. (0.6 m.) in diameter, 
is made from a log burned out through the holes and slit. (After Farabee, 1922.) 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 759 


capable of four notes—two on each drum. By prearranged codes, the 
Witoto, Bora, and Okaina can send fairly complicated messages 6 to 8 
miles (10 to 12 km.). A smaller two-headed skin drum is probably of 
European origin. 

Other instruments are three-tube and many-tube panpipes, bamboo and 
human- or animal-bone flutes, longitudinal flutes with a hole in the center 
played in pairs at festivals, rattles affixed to the legs or to sticks, castanets, 
and sacred bark trumpets. 


Dances.—Dances accompany community festivals which seem to be 
mainly religious in nature, and are occasions for hundreds of people to 
assemble. These are described below. Others seem to be purely recre- 
ational and are accompanied by games, airing of grievances, and drinking 
nonintoxicating beverages. The celebrants used to go from house to house 
during several days. 


Narcotics and beverages.—Yoco is not used. Coca, grown locally 
by these tribes, is toasted, pulverized, and taken with leaf ashes. Eaten 
in lieu of food, it has a sustaining effect. Tobacco is made into long cigars 
or is mixed with water and drunk; only men use it. The Orejon take 
tobacco powder by mouth. Cayapi is not taken. Some kind of a snuff is 
taken by an individual using a pair of tubes in V-shape or by two friends 
using crossed tubes (fig. 106). 


Ficure 106.—W toto taking snuff. Powder is blown up nostril by the partner. 
(After Crévaux, 1891.) 


Various beverages are made, but no tribes south of the Japura River 
ferment them, except the Orején (Tessmann, 1930). 


760 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


RELIGION 


Little information is available on concepts of supernatural beings. The 
belief in a beneficent creator called ‘father,’ who lives above, and a ma- 
levolent god, who lives below and causes sickness, may reflect Christian 
ideas, though there has been little missionary influence on these tribes 
and a similar high god concept is recorded among the Tucanoan tribes to 
the north. 

There is some evidence that an ancestor cult, similar to that of the 
Tucanoan peoples, occurs among the Witotoan tribes. Festivals, masks, 
and sacred trumpets have been described but their meaning has not been 
clarified. 

Among lesser supernatural beings are the sun and his wife, the moon, 
both benevolent and unimportant; spirits of both animate and inanimate 
natural objects, which are potentially evil, especially the jaguar and boa; 
and demons, which formerly inhabited the earth but were killed in a flood 
and went underground. 


SHAMANISM 


Witotoan shamanistic practices, though described with some confusion 
and contradiction by Whiffen and Tessmann, apparently conform to an 
old Amazonian pattern in general outline and to the practices of neighbor- 
ing tribes in details. The shaman, probably with spirit helpers, causes and 
cures disease; the were-jaguar concept is well developed. The super- 
natural cause of disease is a foreign object sent into the victim by the 
shaman ; the cure is its removal by sucking. 

Shamanism is usually inherited from father to son (pl. 87, top, right). 
As hirsuteness favorably predisposes to acquisition of supernatural power, 
shamans do not depilate themselves. A neophyte undergoes a period of 
instruction, observing dietary restrictions and taking tobacco and coca. 
These induce visions, during which the magic substance from the body of 
a deceased shaman (“balls,” Witoto; male and female “beings,” Bora; 
“thorns,” Muenane) enters the youth. 

The shaman apparently has some spirit helpers, both bird and animal. 
Whiffen remarks that he controls condors by means of their claws and 
lizards and snakes by means of their skins, but the role of these animals is 
unclear. The most important animal is the jaguar. The shaman may 
change into an invulnerable jaguar to attack his victims. 

The Witoto and Bora recognize natural causes of death, such as snake 
bite, drowning, warfare, and old age, but the Muenane attribute all death 
to supernatural malpractice. The evil magician always belongs to a for- 
eign group or tribe. Shamans kill their victims by several means: use of 
actual poisons ; turning themselves into jaguars and attacking ; sending the 
the magic substance from their own body into the victim, i.e., a “ball,” an 
evil spirit, a magical “being,” or a “thorn.” The Muenane believe that the 


Vol. 3] THE WITOTOAN TRIBES—STEWARD 761 


shaman sends an animal, which turns into a human being, to throw the 
“thorn” into the victims. These sickness-producing substances return to 
the body of the shaman after the victim dies. Sickness is also caused by 
the evil god living below the earth. 

A cure may be accomplished with herbs or by strictly shamanistic 
means. The shaman—shouting, beating, imitating bird and animal calls, 
taking coca and tobacco to induce dreams, which he interprets, shaking a 
rattle, blowing, and performing sleight-of-hand tricks—undertakes to 
remove the disease object. He massages, breathes on the patient, and 
sucks out the object, which he may exhibit. The Witoto object may be 
gold, silver, wood, or bone (Farabee, 1922). The shaman is paid for 
his cure. 

In addition to causing and curing disease, the shaman divines who has 
worked evil, advises on warfare, and forewarns of attacks. 


FESTIVALS 


Certain Witotoan festivals have characteristic features of the Tucanoan 
ancestor cult, especially the sacred trumpets and seclusion of women, and 
most of them seem linked to an earth god and the original subterranean 
home of men and animals. Whiffen is explicit in his belief that initiatory 
whipping is not practiced, for the scars it leaves are unmistakable. Other 
festivals employ bark masks representing spirits, but their purpose is not 
clarified (pls. 83, 84). 

Apparently all festivals were occasions for dancing and drinking non- 
intoxicating beverages. The cannibal feast has already been described. 
Others were held at the harvest of certain fruits. Tessmann lists seven 
festivals. The Whirling Beam involves dancing on a pivoted log; in it 
the Muenane use masks. Farabee interprets this as a planting festival, 
when house and fields are protected against destruction. A Renewal 
feast is held by men blowing trumpets of spiralled bark, which the women, 
who are confined inside the house, are not permitted to see. This has 
some connection with house building and is seemingly held at the begin- 
ning and completion of construction. All tribes hold this festival, but 
only the Witoto use masks. The Guilielma palm feast occurs at the 
harvest of these fruits; among the Bora and Muenane, but not the Witoto, 
male dancers wear masks. Another festival features the rubber-ball game. 
Tessmann believes, without convincing evidence, that a celebration in 
which men and women dance indoors, using decorated dancing staves 
with rattles attached, is a feast of the dead. The Witoto have two other 
festivals: in one, various animal masks are used; in the other, masks and 
the large drum. 


762 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MYTHOLOGY 


People came through a hole from underground, whence also came 
animals (Farabee, 1922). The Earth God, below, and these animals and 
people, “his children,” underly Witoto festival concepts, songs, and myths 
(Preuss, 1921-23). 

The culture hero, according to the Witoto, was the Sky God, who gave 
people manioc. But means of propagating it were found by the daughter 
of a virgin whose father had been a manioc plant; the girl instructed the 
women in planting manioc stalks. There are also tales of the flood, of 
Amazon women, and of many adventures of animals, each of which has 
definite characteristics. For example, the capybara or agouti is the 
trickster. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Castelnau, 1850-59; Crévaux, 1883; Farabee, 1922; Hardenburg, 1912; Igualada 
and Castellvi, 1940; Izaguirre, 1922-29; Koch-Griinberg, 1906 a, 1906 b; Ortiz, 1942; 
Preuss, 1921-23; Rivet, 1911 a; Steward, 1936; Tessmann, 1928, 1930; Whiffen, 1915. 


PuLAatTE 81.—Bora drums and Witoto communal house. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


(sofoq [neg AsoWNOD) (‘UT AjeyeuTTxoIdde YYSIOF{) “SeInSY [VIIOULBU UBPOOM PaAIBI 0JOJIMQ—ZR ALVIg 


"ee 


a my: 


4 
a ‘ 
* a tii 


ey 


PiaTe 83.—Witoto bark-cloth masks and dance costume. Bottom, right: 
Pounding stave. (Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


ea eo 


semen 


PLATE 84.—Witoto dance. 


(Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


(Courtesy Paul Tejos.) 


painting. 


> 


i. 
no} 
fo) 
= 
2 
a 
QO 
w 
o 
a 
—_— 


rie 


85.—Bora types. Va 


BE 


PuaT 


ig 


ee 


Piate 86.—Witoto men and women in festive decorations. (Courtesy Paul 
Fejos.) 


87.—Witoto types. Top, right: Ashaman. (Courtesy Paul Fejcs.) 


(Courtesy Paul Fejos.) 


“i 
=I 
= 
= 
os) 
i—" 
me 
ao) 
i] 
2 
—] 
— 
o 
— 
CO 
OO 
& 
< 
=) 
AY 


TRIBES OF THE UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION 


By Irvinc GOLDMAN 


INTRODUCTION 


The area designated here as the Uaupés-Caqueta region (map 1, No. 4; 
map 5; map 8, No. 2) lies within a rough quadrilateral, bounded on the 
north by the Guaviare River, separating the Colombian- Venezuelan Ilanos 
from the rain forest to the south; on the east by the Rio Negro, and its 
principal affluent, the Guainia River; on the south by the upper reaches of 
the Caqueta River ; and on the west by the wall of the Andes. Except for 
some bare stretches of high plateau—sabana (savanna)—the eastward 
sloping land is heavily wooded and cut by many quick-moving, rapids- 
blocked streams; westward it is hilly, the shallow streams rock-bedded. 
The main streams of the area all drain into the Amazon: the Caqueta, 
Apaporis, Tiquié, Papury, Icana, Vaupés (Caiari), Cuduiari, Querari, 
Aiari, Xié, Guainia, and Negro. 

Within this network of rivers, draining virtually all of northern South 
America, live people of diverse linguistic families—Arawakan, Cariban, 
Tucanoan, Witotoan (Miranyan), and unclassified—but having sufficient 
cultural resemblances to merit preliminary classification within a single 
culture area. Primarily for convenience, the Eastern Tucanoan-speaking 
peoples are treated here as the culture center, with the Arawak forming 
a northeastern periphery and the Carib a western. The Wutoto-Bora- 
Miranya group, which forms a southern periphery, and the Western 
Tucanoan tribes, who live beyond the Witoto on the Napo and upper 
Putumayo Rivers, are each described in a separate chapter. No culture- 
historical implications are assumed by this treatment. This particular 
center of gravity has been chosen because more detailed information is 
available about the Tucanoan groups in this area than about any other 
group. 

Among the distinctive cultural features of this area, to which will be 
noted numerous exceptions, may be listed the following: Primary em- 
phasis upon bitter manioc cultivation and fishing, with hunting of sec- 
ondary importance; the use of large multifamily houses, each constituting 
a local kinship group, rather than villages; a complex of men’s rites 
associated with an ancestor cult, inadequately referred to in the literature 
as yurupary ; the existence of patrilineal sibs; painted bark-cloth masks, 

653333—47—51 763 


764 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


unevenly distributed in the area; frequent and prolonged chicha drinking, 
with intoxication common; chewing of powdered coca mixed with leaf 
ash and use of vision-inducing lianas; shamanism associated with the 
jaguar; and striking emphasis upon sorcery. Tribal organization is 
either weak or absent, with authority vested in the leader of the sib or 
local kin group. Cannibalism has been attributed to most of the tribes 
in the area. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


Tucanoan tribes.—The Tucanoan-speaking tribes, usually known as 
Betoya, though linguistic affiliations have been established on fragmentary 
bases, fall into an eastern and western group separated by a Cariban and 
Witotoan wedge. From the sparse data on the Western Tucano (p. 737), 
it is clear that they are culturally differentiated from the others. The 
reputed but not conclusive absence of sibs among them, the absence of 
such traits as masked dances and coca chewing, their cultivation of 
cotton, and weaving on a simple loom link them more closely with the 
neighboring Panoan stock. (See pp. 449-463). 

The Eastern Tucanoan tribes may tentatively be classified into 18 sub- 
tribes as follows: 

The Tucano proper (self name, Dachsea; called by the Cubeo, Xwévewa, 
“Toucan people”) are stated to fall into three groups, occupying some 
30 to 40 sites on the Vaupés River from the first cataract of Ipanoré to 
the lower Vaupés River, and along the Tiquié and Papury Rivers, and 
in the neighboring Curicuiari River region (lat. 0°, long. 70° W.). Some 
small groups living in single-family huts are found on some of the tribu- 
taries of the Rio Negro. Their present population is estimated at around 
1,000; Coudreau estimated them in 1883 at close to 2,000. 

The Desana (self name, Wind) occupy sites on the Papury River and 
on the Tiquié (lat. 0°, long. 69° W.). Their population in 1900 was 
about 200-300 on the Tiquié River, and 600-800 on the Papury. 

The Buhdgana (Karauatana-mira, “Blowgun people”) live on the Pira- 
pirana and Dyi-Igarapé Rivers (lat. 0°, long. 70°-71° W.). Probably 
Buhdgana sibs or subtribes are the following Dyi-Igarapé River groups: 
Oméoa, Sara, Dod, Tsdina, Tsdloa. 

The Tuyuca (Dochkdfuara, “Clay people,” or Tejuca, “Mud people,” 
as they call themselves) live on the upper Tiquié and Cabary-Igarapé 
Rivers (lat. 0°, long. 70°30’ W.). Their population in 1900 was esti- 
mated at 150-200. Whether they constitute a subtribe or a sib of the 
Tucano is not clear. 

The Bard (medicine) live on the headwaters of the Tiquié River (lat. 
0°, long. 71° W.) and in 1900 had a population of about 100. They are 
closely related to the Tuyuca and are probably to be regarded as a Tucano 
sib. 


99 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 765 


The Macuna, represented in 1900 by only two large houses on the 
Apaporis River below the mouth of the Piraparana River (lat. 1° S., 
long. 70° W.), are closely linked with Buhdgana, and are probably a sib. 

The Cuerett (Coretus) live on the Caritaya River, a tributary of the 
Miriti-Parana River, and on the right bank of the Caqueta River, opposite 
the mouth of the Apaporis River (lat. 2° S., long. 70° W.). Martius 
located some single families in SAo Joao do Principe. 

The Yahuna occupied some 8 houses on the lower Apaporis River (lat. 
1°30’ S., long. 69° W.), with an estimated population in 1900 of 150-200. 
They comprise many subgroups or sibs, among them the Opaina (Tanim- 
boka) and Datuana. 

The Yupua (Japud, Jupihud) were a very small group in 1900 living at 
Thota, an arm of the Apaporis River. They are probably a sib. 

The Hobacana (Yabahana, Japuana, Chapoannas) live on the Inabu 
River, a northern tributary of the Rio Negro. When first encountered by 
the Brazilians, they occupied the Marauia River, a tributary of the left 
bank of the Rio Negro, north of Castanheiro Novo. A branch of this 
tribe was found on the Pacimoni River by Spruce in 1854. They are 
closely related to the Macuna, and may also have been a sib. 


The Arapaso (Korea, “woodpecker” ) occupy three house sites on the 
middle Vaupés River between Yavarete and Ipanoré (lat. 30’ N., long. 69° 
30’ W.). Together with the closely related Neenod, Yohorod and Uiua 
Tapuyo, they are probably to be regarded as sibs of the Tucano. 

The Piratapuyo (self name, Uaikena, “Fish people”) live partly on the 
middle Vaupés River, and along the small tributaries below Yavarete on 
the Vaupés, but for the most part on the lower Papury River (lat. 1°30’ 
N., long. 70° W.). In 1900 they were estimated at about 600-800. They 
may be a subgroup of the Uanana. 


The Uanana (Ananas; self name, K6titia) consist of two groups: one 
is above the mouth of the Querari River; the other, at Carurt, is divided 
into a number of sibs (lat. 1° N., long. 70° W.). The present population 
may be close to 500. Martius places them first at the Serra de Madua- 
caxes near the Orinoco River, from where they presumably moved by 
way of the Padauri River to Guaracapury on the Vaupés River. They 
are closely intermarried with Cubeo sibs of the Cuduiari and Querari 
Rivers. 

The Uaiana (Yuriti-tapuyo, “Dove people” ; called by the Cubeo, Hiila- 
liua) live mainly on the Paca-parana River, and occupy some house sites 
on the Dyi-Igarapé River (lat. 30’ N., long. 71° W.). They are a sib 
of the Uanana. 

The Carapand (self name, Mochda, “gnats”) live between the Yuru- 
pary Falls of the Vaupés River and the Paca River, a tributary of the 
Papury River. 


766 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


The Udsona (Pisd-tapuyo, “Net people”) live on the Paca-Igarapé 
River, with one small group at Manapialia, a tributary of the Vaupés 
River. : * 

The Pamoa (Tatuyo, Tatu-tapuyo, “Armadillo people”) i e,near the 
Karapanas River (lat. 30° N., long. 71° W.). Their present pbpulation 
may be close to 300. é 

The Cubeo (Cobbeos, Kobeua; self name, Pamiwa, “First people”) 
comprise at present 31 patrilineal sibs grouped into three unnamed 
phratries occupying a section of the Vaupés River, from the falls of the 
Guaracapuri River to the small Caruri River, and the Cuduiari, Pira- 
baton, and Querari Rivers (lat. 1° N., long. 71° W.). The present popu- 
lation is about 2,000. 

Arawakan tribes.—The Arawakan-speaking tribes of the area form a 
northern and northeastern boundary to the Tucanoan groups, and occupy 
principally the Rio Negro and its tributaries, the Icgana, Aiari, Xié, 
Guainia, and Inirida Rivers. A small Arawakan enclave, the Cauyari, is 
encountered deep in Tucanoan territory, between the Vaupés and the 
Apaporis Rivers (lat. 1° N., long. 71°30’ W.). As in the case of the 
Tucanoan groups, the nomenclature of the Arawakan tribes is subject to 
serious confusion as to distinction between tribe, sib, and local group. 
They may be tentatively classified into 10 ill-defined groups as follows: 

Baniva (Baniwa, Manibas, Kariutana, Korekaru, Baniba) is the term 
frequently applied to all the Arawak of the region (lat. 3° N., long. 67°- 
68° W.). Following Koch-Griinberg, it is used here to refer only to the 
Arawak of the Guainia River. 

The Carutana (Maniba, Baniwa; called Karutana by the northern 
Arawak) are a small group occupying single-family huts on the lower 
Igana River (lat. 1° N., long. 67°-68° W.). 

The Siusi (Oaliperi dakeni, “Star people”) comprise three groups: on 
the lower Caiari River, on the middle Aiari, and on the Icana River 
from the mouth of the Aiari to its large rapids (lat. 1°30’ N., long. 69°- 
70° W.). 

The I[peca (Kumata Minani) occupy sites on the Icana River above 
the Siusi, and at the Yavarate-Parana River (lat. 2° N., long. 69°-70° 
W.). They probably are a sib of the Siusi. 

The Catapolitani live primarily at the village of Tunuhy above the 
Umaca-Igarapé River, a left branch of the Icana River (lat. 1° N., long. 
68° W.). They are mostly Christians. The population in 1900 was be- 
tween 100-150. 

The Caua (called Maulieni by the Siusi) live along the middle Aiari 
River and some of its tributaries (lat. 2° N., long. 70°-72° W.). They 
are mixed with Cubeo and had adopted the Cubeo tongue. In 1900 they 
were returning to the use of Arawak. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 767 


The Arekena (Uarekena, Arequena, Uerequena, Guariquena) lived 
originally on the Icana and Xié Rivers (lat. 2° N., long. 67°-68° W.), 
but were subsequently removed by missionaries, in the middle 19th cen- 
tury, to Barcellos (Mariua). They have little contact with the Arawak 
of the Icana River. 

The Baré live on the Guainia River (lat. 2°-3° N., long. 66°-67° W.) 
and are closely related to the Arekena. 

The Huhttem live on the lower part of the Aiari River (lat. 1° N., 
long. 69° W.). 

The Tariana occupy some 20 houses in the vicinity of Yavarete on the 
Vaupés River (lat. 0°, long. 69° W.), and are the only Arawak on that 
river. Koch-Grtnberg asserts that they had originally been brought to 
the Vaupés River from settlements on the Icana and Aiari Rivers by 
missionaries. The present population may be close to 500. 

Cariban tribes.—The Carib in the western part of the area (lat. 1° S.- 
3° N., long. 72°-75° W.) are called Umaua by the Tucano and have often 
been known as Omagua or Omague (not to be confused with the Tupian 
Omagua of the Amazon River). Martius placed them along the stony 
savanna in the region east and northeast of the upper Yapura River. Wal- 
lace listed them with Vaupés tribes, and Coudreau placed them at the 
headwaters of the Vaupés and the upper Apaporis River. Koch-Griinberg 
(1909-10), who groups all these Cariban as Carijona (Carihona, “people” 
in Carib) identifies the following subgroups or “hordes”: Hianacoto 
(eagle) with 8 houses on the Cufiary River; Tsahatsaha (diving bird) 
with 3 houses on the Cufiary and Mesay Rivers; the Mahotdyana (fire) 
on the Macaya River; and Caikuchana (jaguar) with 4 houses on the 
Apaporis River. Relatively little is yet known about these people, who, 
according to Whiffen (1915, p. 59), numbered 25,000 in 1915. Accord- 
ing to Martius, they are fierce nomadic cannibals who live in conical multi- 
family houses. Their attire is characterized by the broad tururi girdle 
under which the penis is fastened to the body. Both sexes cut the hair 
short, and the women are naked. They do not have the masked dances 
found among the Tucana and Arawak to the east, but use the elaborate 
feather headdresses of the region when dancing. 


TRIBAL HISTORY 


The absence of archeological evidence and of early detailed missionary 
and travelers’ accounts prevents the reconstruction of the culture history 
of the area. A trait comparison with adjacent areas points, however, to 
the composite character of this northwest Amazon culture. Tupi influence 
would seem to be indicated by the following common characteristics: 
Large communal houses, a system of fortification, slavery, frequent shift- 
ing of village sites, extended patrilineal families, household chiefs, naming 
a child from an ancestor, and practically the entire manioc and food- 


768 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


gathering complexes. Tucano traits of material culture are shared with 
adjoining Arawakan and Cariban tribes and unilaterality in reckoning 
descent is shared with the Tucana and with the coastal and Rio Negro 
Arawak. There is evidence to suggest the intrusion of Arawak and 
Carib into the area but there is nothing to show the origin of the Tuca- 
noan tribes. The elaborate network of large streams draining a vast area 
of northern South America presumably facilitated a ceaseless movement 
of peoples. But whether the Tucanoan peoples have been moving west- 
ward from the slopes of the Andes or eastward cannot be determined at 
present. 


The Vaupés River is first mentioned in the accounts of the expeditions of Hernan 
Pérez de Quesada (in 1538) and of Phillip von Hutten (in 1541). These sources 
refer vaguely to a mighty people on the Guapes (Vaupés) River, whom they called 
the Uape. The people are not described. 

In 1784, the Portuguese, Manual de Gama Lobo do Almada, ascended the Vaupés 
as far as Panoré and established mission stations as nuclei for Indian settlements 
at San Jeronimo, Sao Joaquim de Coané, Terra Cativa, Jukira-Apecona, and at 
Yavarate. None of these settlements took root. The Jesuits established contact 
with the Indians of the Rio Negro in the 17th century, and, at the end of that 
century, the Carmelites founded missions on the upper Rio Negro and Rio Branco. 
Indian rebellions in the early and middle 18th centuries, led by chiefs of the Manao 
tribe near the present site of Manaos, virtually destroyed missionary influence in 
the area for almost a century. A Carmelite mission established in 1852 at Caruru 
on the Vaupés River lasted a short time only. Between 1852 and 1880 missions 
were organized on the Vaupés River some three or four times, only to be abandoned. 
A number of Franciscan missions established after 1881 on the lower Vaupés among 
Tucano, Uanana, and Cubeo managed to survive until the present. 

Except in the immediate vicinity of mission stations or in regions dominated by 
intensive rubber gathering activities in the first decade of this century, no profound 
changes appear to have occurred as a result of White contact. Some interpenetration 
of Christian ideology in native religious practices and beliefs is, however, evident 
in all but the most remote tribes; and dependence upon White trade commodities, 
such as machetes, fishhooks, and firearms, is more or less general. In relatively 
recent times, the introduction of White-manufactured hunting and fishing imple- 
ments has uniformly raised the standard of living; the developing trade in farinha, 
a dry manioc flour, has stimulated increased manioc production, placing a new 
emphasis upon the economic value of women as the chief agriculturists. The impact 
of this on social organization cannot be generalized, however. White contact has 
also diversified agriculture and in varying degrees developed some animal husbandry— 
chicken and, in a few instances, pig raising. But against the benefits of an improved 
technology must be weighed the frequently harsh consequences of callous exploi- 
tation of Indian labor by rubber gatherers. On the Putumayo River, for example, 
80 percent of the Indian population, according to some estimates, died during 10 
years of the rubber boom prior to 1920. 

The earliest detailed account of Indians of the Rio Negro and Vaupés River is 
that of A. R. Wallace (1853), who lists the tribes of the region, describes in frag- 
mentary form material culture, social organization, and religion, and adds some brief 
word lists. Like his successors in the area, Wallace fails to analyze social organi- 
zation and religion intensively enough to be reliable. The botanist, Spruce (1908), 
adds little to Wallace’s account. More ambitious studies of religion are those of 
H. Coudreau (1886-87) and Stradelli (1890). The failure of both reports to employ 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 769 


native religious terminology and their ethnocentric evaluation of native institutions 
considerably diminishes their value. By far the best and most detailed published 
accounts of Northwest Amazon culture come from the pens of Koch-Grtinberg 
(1905-08, 1909-10) and of Whiffen (1915), the latter an English Army officer. 
Koch-Griinberg is particularly unreliable on social organization; he is excellent in 
describing artifacts but not technology. As an amateur’s report, the work of Whiffen 
is outstanding. The present information on the Cubeo is based on the unpublished 
field work of the present author during 1939-40 on the Vaupés and Cuduiari Rivers. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—Dependence upon bitter manioc as the basic and virtually 
unfailing food crop is characteristic of the entire area. In gardens which 
men clear by the slash-and-burn method, women cultivate manioc and 
prepare it as food in the form of cakes or dried flour (farinha), as a 
tapioca porridge, and as a fermented beverage. A nonseasonal crop, 
manioc may be planted at any time and harvested after 8 months, when 
the roots have reached maturity. New clearings are usually prepared just 
before the beginning of the rainy season to take advantage of more rapid 
growth during the wet months. The Cubeo follow a regular pattern of 
harvesting and replanting from the shoots, so that one cannot really speak 
of a planting season. 

A single Cubeo woman produces approximately 5 tons of manioc a 
year, using a clearing which comprises about one acre (4 sq. km.) ; she 
harvests an average of 25 pounds a day. Each day’s harvest is converted 
into a single flat circular cake, called beiju in Portuguese, and meets the 
normal needs of an adult for 2 days if other food is also available. Part of 
the manioc, the pure starch extract, is consumed as a porridge mixed with 
fruit or crushed berries. 

Not all manioc is produced for home consumption. Where farinha 
flour is traded to Whites, as much as 10 percent of the manioc is diverted 
toward the acquisition of cloth, jewelry, and other items of trade. An 
additional 15 percent goes into the brewing of chicha, a weakly fermented 
beverage of considerable nutritive value. Variations in social status 
among the Cubeo are linked with surplus manioc production. 

The only factor limiting manioc production is labor; land is relatively 
limitless. Variations in production between families are related to the 
number and industry of the women in each. 

A relatively wide variety of other crops, apparently recently introduced 
and upon which the Indians do not greatly depend, are also grown. 
Among these are sweet potatoes, bananas, plantains, squash, pineapples, 
yams, mangoes, batatas, some maize, papaya, umari, guayaba, /ngu, urama 
roots, Marantaceae (arrowroot), and sugarcane. Chili peppers, tobacco, 
coca, and the pupunha palm appear, however, to be old and well-estab- 


770 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


lished crops. The Cubeo eagerly adopt any crops that will grow in their 
soil. 

The periodic exhaustion of the soil by manioc produces a seminomadic 
tribal life. But mobility is limited not only by tribal boundaries but by the 
necessity of maintaining contact with the gardens nearing exhaustion. To 
avoid abrupt transitions, the Indians select a new site not too far from the 
old one and begin to plant it many months before moving. They continue 
to harvest the abandoned gardens until the entire new crop has reached 
maturity 8 months to a year later. Abandoned fields are reputedly not 
replanted, although their owners may continue to harvest the fruit trees 
for a considerable time. Presumably according to its quality, the soil 
is exhausted in 3 to 5 years. 

Work habits in manioc processing.—The processing of manioc from 
garden to table normally occupies approximately 75 percent of a woman’s 
working time and, when chicha is being prepared for a drinking festival, 
all of it. The process follows a very regular rhythm, compared with the 
more sporadic hunting and fishing pattern of men. 

Cubeo women adhere to an alternate work-day cycle. One-half day, 
starting from sunrise or from shortly after dawn, is spent in the manioc 
garden, harvesting, clearing, replanting; part of the afternoon is devoted 
to preparing part of the manioc. The following day is spent entirely at 
home, when the remaining tubers are processed. 

Wild food collecting.—Fullest use of wild foods is made by all tribes 
in the area. Women gather various kinds of edible ants, grubs, berries, 
and roots. Wild food gathering is not a regular activity; it is undertaken 
sporadically, either to make up deficiencies in the fish and game diet, or 
for variety. The known ripening of fruits and berries is almost invariably 
an occasion for a gathering expedition. 

Hunting.—With some minor exceptions, all tribes in the area hunt, 
usually selecting the short dry season when animals congregate around the 
main streams. They take virtually all animals that are not beasts of prey: 


Ficure 107.—Spring-pole trap, Curicuriari River. (Redrawn from Koch- 
Grinberg, 1923 b, p. 135.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN vara 


peccaries, tapirs, paca, deer, caimans, monkeys, birds, armadillos, and 
agoutis. Where the muzzle-loading shotgun has been introduced, it is the 
basic hunting weapon. Formerly, and to a considerable extent today, the 
Indians used the lance, blowgun, bow and arrow, snare and fall traps. 
(See figs. 107, 108, 109.) Hunting techniques vary with the animal to 


FicgucE 108.—Northwest Amazon blowguns. Top: Blowgun (showing cross section) 


and dart, Igana-Aiari region. Bottom: Blowgun of the Yapura region. (After 
Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) 


ue 


be hunted. The peccary is usually hunted by a group of men, the paca 
is hunted at night with flares, and the tapir, shortly before sunset at a 
salt lick. On extended hunts, women accompany the men and maintain 


Ficure 109.—Poisoned arrow point of the Guariua, northwest Amazon. Yapura River 
region. Cross section below (actual size), (After Koch-Griinberg, 1906 a.) 


camp. Compared with farming and fishing, hunting is a minor activity 
and was probably even less important before the gun was introduced. 

Fishing.—Everywhere in the area, fishing is a man’s chief industry 
and the main source of protein. Although all men may fish daily, the 
tempo of fishing is seasonal. Its height comes during the dry season, when 
fish founder in the drying streams, and at the beginning of the rainy season, 
when the fish again ascend the streams. Periods of high water are, on 
the whole, seasons of protein deficiency. 

The fishing techniques chiefly used are: steel hooks and lines ; bows and 
arrows; three- or four-pronged spears; weirs set with basket traps; hand 
nets (pl. 101, center) ; and poison. The hook and line are often suspended 
from boughs overhanging the river’s edge and inspected from time to time, 
or else dangled from a pole placed alongside the fisherman in his canoe. 


772 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


Children fish from the river bank. Worms and berries are the usual bait. 
The bow and long arrow are most suitable in shallow water, especially 
during the dry season. The arrow, consisting of a reed shaft 5 feet 
(1.5 m.) long, into which has been set an 18-inch (0.5 m.) hardwood stem 
with a barbed bone point, is aimed with the point just above the water 
level and rather close to the fish. For flare-light fishing at night, the 
pronged spear is used. In almost all small streams and rapids conical 
basket traps of varying sizes are set, either in a lattice-work weir (pl. 89, 
top) or in rock crevices at rapids. Some basket traps are as much as 3 
feet (1 m.) in diameter and about 5 feet (1.5 m.) long. Shallow streams 
and ponds are saturated with a variety of fish poisons and drugs and the 
stupefied fish shot with arrows or scooped up with hand nets or with the 
bare hands. The varieties of fish in the upper Amazon are considerable. 
A list of nearly 100 edible types was obtained from the Cubeo. The most 
popular variety, however, is the guaracu, known in Tucano as borikaku. 

Domesticated animals.—Dogs are universal in the region, and are 
trained as hunters or as watch dogs, or else are simply kept as pets. Among 
many of the tribes almost any animal susceptible to taming is eagerly 
sought. Among the common household pets are monkeys, dogs, chickens, 
parrots, lemurs, agoutis, toucans, cats, pigs, and ducks. No animals are 
domesticated for home consumption. Chickens are sold to Whites but 
rarely eaten by the natives. Dogs are well cared for, being frequently pro- 
vided with a sleeping platform in the house to protect them from chiggers. 

Food preparation.—Manioc is eaten as a flat circular bread, about 2% 
feet (0.7 m.) in diameter, that is prepared fresh daily. Although the 
highly volatile prussic acid in the bitter manioc is readily removed by 
boiling, by soaking in water, or by desiccation, most tribes practice a highly 
complex process which simultaneously extracts not only the prussic acid 
but the starch, which is consumed separately. From the garden, manioc 
tubers are taken to the river and washed. They are then carried to the 
house, where the woman peels, grates, pounds, presses, and sifts the manioc 
until, only slightly moist, it is spread in a flat open oven and roasted into 
a bread. The process is lengthy and, to a large extent, arduous. 

The manioc skin is stripped off, either with a knife or with the teeth, 
and then grated on a board set with stones. Sitting with her feet 
stretched straight out and with the board resting on her legs, one end 
braced against a house post and the other resting against her abdomen, 
the woman takes up two roots, one in each hand, and scrapes (pls. 89, 
bottom; 90, bottom) with alternate arm movements, putting most pres- 
sure on the forward stroke. The action is vigorous, involving not only 
full arm movements but the entire torso. The resulting mash, which piles 
up at the far end of the board, is next pounded through a shallow, tightly 
woven basket set on a tripod. Pounding with her fists, the woman drives 
the liquid starch through the “sieve” and prepares the thickened mash 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN tis 


for the long tipiti or squeezer (pl. 90, top). It emerges almost completely 
dry from the tipiti and, after passing again through a coarse sieve, is 
ready for the oven. The starch, which has been collected in pottery 
bowls, is permitted to dry and lose its prussic acid. To facilitate desicca- 
tion, ashes are strewn upon the first hardened film. 

Farinha is prepared in a similar way, though with minor modifications. 
The peeled tubers are soaked in water for 3 days, all liquid is removed 
by squeezing them in the tipiti, and the meal is strewn on the stove and 
stirred with a paddle until completely dry (pl. 90, center). If kept well 
wrapped and off the ground, farinha lasts almost indefinitely. The per- 
petual manioc harvest, however, does not require storage, so that farinha 
is prepared only as an emergency ration for journeys or for trade. 

Manioc starch boiled with bananas, pineapples, or berries is taken as 
the first meal of the day. 


Fish are usually stewed or boiled with chili peppers, but may also be 
wrapped in leaves and roasted in hot ashes, barbecued, or smoked. Smok- 
ing preserves properly dried fish for about a week. Boiled fish are 
frequently mixed with powdered chili peppers and pounded into a paste 
that is spread on manioc bread. Fish are never eaten unless well seasoned. 
Game is similarly prepared. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


The large multifamily house is the basic type in the area. A single 
house frequently comprises the settlement, although it is not uncommon 
to find one large house and a number of small single-family dwellings at 
the same site. Settlements are relatively small, having from 20 to a little 
over 100 persons. On the Vaupés River a single settlement may be 
occupied by a particular sib. A settlement is abandoned when the house 
is in poor condition, the soil exhausted, or the chief or headman dies. 
A well-constructed house may, with proper repairs, last from 3 to 5 
years, the average period required to exhaust the soil. Among the Cubeo, 
at the death of the headman—the “owner of the house’—the house is 
abandoned, the new headman building a new one within convenient dis- 
tance of the manioc plantations. Besides availability of food and water 
and safety from floods during the rainy season, social relations of the 
tribe and defense devices influence choice of house sites. Vaupés River 
tribes rely for protection on deep trenches set with poles surrounding the 
settlement. Settlements here are almost invariably upon high banks of 
streams. Groups hostile to the Whites prefer the smaller, more remote 
streams. 

Houses with both circular and rectangular floor plans occur in the 
area. (See pls. 91, 92, 93.) Among most tribes of the lower Apaporis 
River, a conical roof and circular floor plan prevail (pl. 91, bottom) ; 


774 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


elsewhere, a rectangular floor plan with a roof of two or four eaves is 
used. The rectangular, sharp-gabled multifamily dwellings most common 
in the northern section of the area are equally large, often measuring as 


YG 
uvneananny My 
TEE Ty 


iy inmneatl 


ee ee ee ee 
Ficure 110—Cumaca hut. End, side, and ground plan views. (After Stradelli, 1889.) 


much as 50 by 70 feet (15 m. by 21 m.) and about 30 feet (9 m.) high, 
and accommodating as many as 12 families. Smaller houses in the area 
are usually square, with four-sided thatched roofs. Among the Tuyuca, 
Koch-Griinberg reported multifamily houses with the rear semicircular 
in shape, a form observed by Wallace on the Vaupés, but now extinct. 
A variety of temporary shelters are known, the most frequent type, which 
can be built in a few minutes, consisting of a narrow, arched, palm-leaf 
roof set across a pole fastened between two trees. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 775 


On the Vaupés River, multifamily houses are designed with a wide 
central corridor, the dance floor, flanked by narrower aisles, which serve 
as sleeping quarters. The front, kept free of kitchen utensils, is the re- 
ception quarter for guests and the burial ground for house members. 
Manioc is prepared toward the rear, which is usually known as women’s 
quarters. Many houses have atticlike structures built over the sleeping 
quarters and used for storing ceremonial paraphernalia and hunting and 
fishing tools. Small objects, such as fishhooks and arrows, are thrust into 
the thatch of the sloping roof. Among the Cubeo, the headman prefers 
a central section extending across either side of the house as living 
quarters for himself and family, but earlier evidence suggests that during 
the period when houses with the semicircular rear were fashionable, the 
headman lived in the back portion. The Cubeo regard the headman as the 
house owner, and his wife or wives are responsible for keeping it clean. 
The small clearing at the front of the house has special significance as 
the place where dances are prepared, and is always kept very clean. 
Houses with a rectangular floor plan always have a front and rear door 
that are swung up and propped up with a pole and one or more small side 
exits facing away from the river to permit rapid escape. 

Single-family residences follow a variety of constructional plans (fig. 
110), but are most often square, with four-sided roofs. 

Largely because of the spasmodic character of work in the area, the 
construction of a multifamily dwelling may be prolonged for the better 
part of a year. Accessibility of building materials, particularly palm 
leaves for thatching, also affects the construction time. Among the Cubeo, 
and presumably elsewhere, house building is the collective enterprise of 
the men directed by the local chieftain, referred to as “owner of the house.” 
The headman provides the 3 pairs of central posts, is responsible for 
drafting the floor plan, and assigns the work. Nonparticipants in the 
building, it is assumed, will leave the group. Stability of the structure 
depends greatly upon the accuracy with which the floor plan is laid out. 
Right angles are estimated, and, as a rule, rather accurately, but distances 
are carefully measured with special poles. Three pairs of central posts 
about 6 inches (15 cm.) in diameter, placed about 13 feet (4 m.) apart 
form the structural skeleton. Cross beams are lashed to each pair, and 
shorter posts set upon each cross beam to form an inverted T support the 
roof ridge poles. A secondary set of shorter upright posts, set parallel to 
the central posts, about 13 feet (4 m.) apart, and connected by transverse 
poles, are then added to support the series of sloping roof poles. The 
entire structure is secured by temporary lashings of palm-bark fiber; when 
the framework is complete, a permanent set of lashings is introduced. As 
an indication of the quantity of material employed in constructing a multi- 
family dwelling may be mentioned (pl. 91, center) six heavy central posts, 
10 secondary shorter and lighter posts, 72 roof poles, 76 transverse con- 


776 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


necting poles, and 560 bundles of thatching material. About 5 bundles of 
thatch can be transported in a large canoe. Roofing proceeds from the 
bottom upward, and, as soon as one side is roofed over, it is immediately 
occupied. All salvageable material from the preceding house is utilized 
in the new construction. 

Household equipment is relatively meager (pl. 93, bottom), the posses- 
sions of each family being easily portable. Heavy equipment, owned 
usually by the headman, consists of a number of large pottery and wooden 
chicha containers, a flat manioc oven, a sugarcane press, and two long, low 
guest benches. Each individual family also owns its hammocks, a small 
collection of cooking pots, water gourds, baskets, trays, manioc presses, 
manioc grating boards, typical hourglass pot supports, and one or two low 
stools. 


ENGINEERING WORKS 


In addition to defensive moats, now going out of fashion since the in- 
troduction of the gun and the gradual suppression of warfare, engineering 
works are limited to narrow time-worn paths, and the occasional bridging 
of a stream with a convenient tree trunk. Log staircases with handrails 
are sometimes erected at particularly steep banks leading to the house, and 
a number of logs may be laid along a swampy approach. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Nakedness among women was apparently universal before White con- 
tact, but some pubic covering for men has always been reported. Among 
the Carib, a wide bark-cloth girdle enveloping the body from hip to breast 
is worn by the men (pl. 104, bottom, right), but elsewhere a narrow 
breechclout of bark or cloth is the conventional attire. Elaborate multi- 
colored feather headdresses of a type similar to that found among coastal 
Arawak are characteristic of the area, and are worn only on ceremonial 
occasions. Elaborate tapirage is found in the western part of the area. 
The highly-prized man’s dancing costume consists of a woven palm crown 
set with heron, toucan, and parokeet feathers (pl. 99, bottom, left), and 
with a short thick tail of braided monkey hair appended behind; a neck- 
lace of jaguar teeth; a belt of vertebrae; and feathered anklets and wrist- 
lets. Heron down is frequently used as a headdress, and is pasted to the 
body in some pattern. White quartz cylinders, which are very highly 
prized, are worn about the neck. Men wear woven ligatures just below 
the knee, and children, both below the knee and above the ankle to make 
the calf swell (pl. 103, right). 

Body painting is widely practiced by both sexes, elaborate designs being 
produced by a roller dye. Women paint the under surface of the jaw 
and the throat with genipa to achieve a curious sculptured effect for 
ceremonial occasions, and smear the face with red pigment to ward off 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 777 


danger on working days. Although the back is crudely splattered with 
genipa (pl. 89, bottom), care is taken with painted designs on the legs, 
thighs, breast, and face. Among the Cubeo, individual painted designs for 
the face have been noted. Geometric designs with frequent use of cross- 
hatching are most common. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Canoe transportation is basic throughout the area, but, on short hauls, 
women carry manioc in large woven baskets. All canoes are hollow-log 
dugouts prepared by either hacking or charring and widening by dry heat 
(pl. 94, top). Canoe sizes found in any particular settlement vary from 
the small one-man fishing canoe to the large half-ton type. Paddle shapes 
are distinctive, the broad elliptical blade being common on the Vaupés 
River and Rio Negro, and the narrow elliptical blade on the Apaporis 
River. The crutch handle is, however, universal in the area. 


MANUFACTURES 


Domestic utensils are manufactured by women among the Witoto, but 
on the Vaupés, Negro, and Icana Rivers men make all the household 
utensils except pottery. 

Pottery. It is prepared 
by the reduction method, i. e., in a covered fire, and is unglazed. Pebble 
polishing gives a shiny surface. The black ware is most common in the 
region. Women mold huge pottery chicha containers, which the men sub- 
sequently envelope with an openwork basketry wrapper. Fine ash is a 
common temper. Pottery from other Northwest Amazon regions is often 
decorated by painting (figs. 111, 112). 


SUA YYW O) 


oj. 


gcllg 7 a 


Ficure 111—Baniva pottery. (Redrawn from Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) 


Calabashes.—Drinking dishes are made from calabashes, the inner 
surfaces of which are lacquered with black made by applying urine-soaked 
manioc leaves to them. Frequently geometric patterns are incised on the 
outer wall (fig. 113). 


778 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


e f SE Anglim 


Ficure 112.—Northwest Amazon pottery types. a, Desana; b, Tucano; c-f, Igana 
River Arawak. (Redrawn from Koch-Grtinberg, 1909-10.) 


Manioc graters.—The stone-set manioc grater, a valuable trade object, 
is not universally distributed in the area. The more remote groups use a 
flat stone as a grater; Arawakan and Tukanoan tribes employ elaborate 
graters set with quartz embedded in a pitch matrix and arranged in a for- 
malized pattern. The best graters are reputedly made by Arawakan women 
of the Icana River and are traded as far as the Tiquié and Yapura Rivers. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 779 


- Basketry.—Most basketry in the area is woven, with checkered, twilled, 

and hexagonal techniques most frequently, but some baskets are twined 
(pl. 95). Decorative geometrical patterns, produced by twilling with two 
contrasting colors of warp and weft strands, are most highly developed 
among the Arawak and are either completely absent or reduced to a mini- 
mum among the Cubeo. Twilled work is employed for shallow serving 
trays, manioc-flour sifters, and the tipiti or manioc press. Large carrying 
and storage baskets, in which weight saving is desirable, are made with an 
open hexagonal weave or a loose checkered technique. Small containers 
for drying hot chili peppers are made of parallel rows of splints bent to 
form an oblong tube with a narrow opening ; the splints are lattice twined, 
with a maximum of four or five rows of more flexible wefts. Other types 
of small ovoid containers are similarly made. Manioc carrying baskets, 
about 20 inches (0.5 m.) tall and of an almost equal diameter, are of 
checkerwork with straight walls, four-cornered bases, and circular rims, or 
are twined. Basket rims are rigid, the warps being finished over a circular 
frame. 

Bark cloth.—Bark cloth is widely used in the preparation of cere- 
monial masks, pouches, breechclouts, and aprons (pl. 94, bottom). For 
masks, white bark cloth is preferred, the darker or reddish type being used 
for more ordinary purposes. The bark is removed from the tree by chop- 
ping the narrow trunk into suitable lengths and then pounding until it is 
loosened sufficiently to be slipped off. The bark cloth is then paddled 
until properly stretched. Bark-cloth masks are known only to the Arawak 
and Tucano of the area and are not reported among either Witoto or the 
western Carib groups. 

Weaving and cordage.—Weaving is apparently unknown to the 
Tucanoan groups, but the Carib and Arawak who use looms weave tight 
hammocks (pl. 101, right, center, and right, bottom). A variety of palm- 
leaf fibers are rolled on the thigh to make fishing lines or are braided into 
heavy ropes by all the tribes in this region. True textiles are apparently 
rare, although knitted ligatures, woven hammocks, and knitted wallets 
are reported to be common among the Yahuna. A simple loom, undoubt- 
edly of European origin, is found among the Tucano, Desana, Tariana, 
and Arawak of the Icana and Aiari Rivers, but not among the tribes of 
the Tiquié and upper Vaupés Rivers. Cotton is unknown anywhere on the 
Icana or Vaupés Rivers. The characteristic hammock (pl. 101, right, top) 
on the Vaupés River is made of heavy twisted tucuma fiber bound in widely 
spaced parallel roles with lattice twining at broad intervals. Balls of fiber 
for hammocks are an important trade item. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


In the absence of adequate field studies of most tribes no comprehensive 
areal account of social and olitical organization can yet be given. Investi- 


653333—47—52 


780 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


gations by the present author in 1940 among the Cubeo of the Cuduiari 
River disclosed a social organization based upon patrilineal sibs. Whether 
careful study of the Cariban- and Arawakan-speaking peoples of the region 
would also uncover sib organizations is, of course, uncertain. But, in the 
light of the Cubeo data, the conclusions of Wallace (1853), Koch-Griin- 
berg (1909-10), and Kirchhoff (1931) that sibs do not exist in the area 
cannot be taken as final. The accounts of Wallace and of Koch-Griinberg 
on social organization appear to be contradictory: the former reported 
marriage with blood relatives ; the latter asserted that marriage was always 
outside the tribe. Kirchhoff, attempted to explain this apparent contra- 
diction by attributing “tribal exogamy” to the Tucano and marriage with 
blood relatives to the Arawak, but overlooked the possibility that cross- 
cousin marriage accompanied by sib exogamy avoids the contradiction en- 
tirely. His classification of the northwest Brazil area as a region of gross- 
familien, that is, bilaterally extended families, in this case with patrilocal 
residence, is contrary to the evidence for the Tucanoan-Cubeo, whose so- 
cial organization has been studied more intensively than that of any other 
group in the area. The intimate relations between the Tucanoans of the 
Vaupés River and the Arawakans of the Icana River and the virtual iden- 
tity of almost all described traits suggest a parallel social organization 
among both groups as not at all improbable. 

The patrilineal sib among the Cubeo is basically a local group, all its 
male members and their wives inhabiting one or more multifamily houses, 
each divided into 8, 10, or 12 “apartments.” Some large Cubeo sibs oc- 
cupy as many as five such houses, all closely adjoining. In some regions, 
sib members have individual houses, but these are grouped together. In 
a few cases, particularly after a serious quarrel, individual families may 
move some distance away from the sib site, but they never lose member- 
ship in the sib nor relinquish sib obligations. Cubeo sibs are further 
grouped into three unnamed exogamous phratries, each occupying a more 
or less continuous territory, so that in some cases marriage would be with 
someone at a considerable distance. Thus all sibs on the Cuduiari River, 
except for one at its source, constitute a single exogamic unit, and mem- 
bers of these groups choose their wives from among Cubeo sibs on the 
Vaupés River or on the Querari River. It is presumably this necessity 
of choosing a wife from a geographically distant branch of the tribe that 
has given rise to the mistaken impression of tribal exogamy. This phratric 
system introduces a number of difficult problems of sexual adjustment in 
view of the broad compass of incest restrictions. While marriage within 
the phratry is never tolerated, discreetly conducted sexual affairs that are 
not intrasib are frequently overlooked. 

A lengthy Cubeo origin myth narrated by the elders at all phratric 
gatherings formulates the historical background for the sib and phratric 
arrangement: The first people emerged from three different sites along 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 781 


the lower Vaupés River, thus accounting for the tripartite grouping. 
These first ancestors emerged in the form of anacondas from the rocks 
forming the river rapids. As each pair of anacondas shed their skins, 
they became brother and sister and sought others in marriage. The off- 
spring of each of the males formed the present sibs. Of course, brother 
and sister, as well as people emerging from the same site, were forbidden 
to marry. The first male to emerge, the ancestor of the first ranking sib, 
named all of the succeeding sibs of his phratry. The names of the sibs 
describe some characteristic trait, e. g., “Fat people,” “Cassava grater 
people,” “Jaguar children people,” ““Scabby people,” “Wasp people,” etc. 
The ancestor of each sib gave the first sets of personal names to his off- 
spring, many of them being names of birds, animals, and fish. Each sib 
thus has its own set of names, and no sib member may eat the bird, animal, 
or fish represented among the list of names of his sib. This taboo is no 
longer in force. When the population of the sibs had grown, the groups 
moved up the Vaupés River, and its tributaries, and settled among their 
present sites. Subsequently, certain readjustments in the composition of 
the phratries took place. Sibs of different exogamic groups decided to 
establish a firm friendship by forbidding intermarriage between them and 
by settling in adjacent sites. Another sib reputedly split to form two sibs, 
now very closely related. Another that, according to tradition, had come 
from the Papury River to the Cuduiari River was admitted to the 
exogmic group of that river and friendship sealed by forbidding intermar- 
riage. Koch-Griinberg has stated that one of the “subtribes” of the upper 
Cuduiari River was formerly an Arawakan-speaking group of the Baniva 
tribe that had become affiliated with the Cubeo. He adds that most of the 
Cubeo of the Querari River were of Arawak descent. Unfortunately, he 
offers no concrete evidence to substantiate the claim. But it does suggest 
the interesting possibility that the phratric structure of the Cubeo may have 
resulted from a persistent series of intermarriages with other tribes, a 
possibility enhanced by the absence of reported phratries from the area. 
As will be seen subsequently, Cubeo marriage practices are not incon- 
sistent with this possibility. 

The sib house is composed of a group of brothers, their wives and 
children. Each individual family occupies its own hearth, prepares its 
own food; each woman cultivates her own manioc garden. Though pro- 
duction is based almost exclusively upon the small family, food must be 
shared within the sib house. Though a man may leave the sib house with 
his wife and children and set up an independent household, he never re- 
linquishes his sib affiliations. He continues to bring his portion of manioc 
chicha to the sib drinking party, chooses his children’s names from the sib 
genealogies, and may at any time resume his rights to sib-owned fishing 
sites and to a manioc garden. From birth to death, an individual remains 
a member of the same sib. Property inheritance is from father to son. 


782 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Political authority is nowhere very strong. There is no phratric chief. 
At present, the Colombian authorities are attempting to set up certain 
Indians as phratric chiefs but with little success. Within the house, the 
“house owner” has a certain limited authority. He is the man who has 
first set up main house posts, and those who desire to live in the great 
house with him assist in building it, their willingness to cooperate being 
a sign of confidence in the builder. He is the host at drinking parties, the 
first to welcome guests, and to assign them a portion of the manioc garden 
if they are going to stay long. His wife or wives are responsible for the 
cleanliness of the house. He must be the leader of the ceremonies. A 
war chief is selected as the occasion demands. At the death of the house 
owner, the house is abandoned. With few exceptions, he is an elderly but 
vigorous man. 

The relationship system stresses sib conditions, residence, and the vary- 
ing functional degrees of relationship with other sibs, both within and 
outside of the phratry. In the first ascending generation father, father’s 
real brothers, and all men of the sib of father’s generation are referred 
to by the same term, though they are distinguished in terms of address. 
Similarly, mother and mother’s sisters are equated. Mother’s brother and 
father’s sister are called father-in-law and mother-in-law respectively. In 
one’s own generation, cross-cousins call one another “my in-law,” a term 
also meaning sweetheart, but once a cross-cousin has married, he or she is 
addressed by a more distant term. Parallel cousins are differentiated on 
the basis of actual sib affiliation, so that father’s brother’s children are 
equated with own siblings, but mother’s sister’s children—unless they 
should be the same as father’s brother’s children—fall into another cate- 
gory, that might be called a phratric category. The terms for brother-in- 
law and sister-in-law depend upon whether the marriage has been legalized 
by the payment of a bride price or by brother-sister exchange. The term 
for wife means “my children’s mother,” but before children are born she is 
addressed simply by the expression, “listen.” After the first child she 
may be addressed as “child’s mother.” Children are addressed by their 
age classification, as baby, grown person, etc., but terms of reference dis- 
tinguish between lineal descendants and the collateral lines. 

Kinship terminology between sibs of the same phratry is based upon 
actual degrees of friendship, propinquity, and tradition. In closely 
related sibs, one calls men of his father’s generation by the term for 
father and applies the term for parallel-cousin not of his sib to his own 
generation level. Where friendship between two sibs is not marked, they 
call one another simply “relative” or, in other cases, “distant relative.” 
The Cubeo refer to all sibs of the same phratry as “the same people,” but 
the affinal sibs are referred to as ‘“‘her people.” 

Phratric unity is maintained by ceremonial bonds, by a common origin 
tale, and by propinquity. The sibs come together at drinking parties 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 783 


to recite the phratric origin saga; they share the secret men’s initiation 
rites. At the latter ceremony, the first phratric ancestors, represented by 
four sets of flutes called the Ancients, appear in the house. The boys 
are whipped to the sound of these flutes, after which the men of the 
phratry take turns in whipping one another. The purpose of the ceremony 
is to make the boys grow to the reputed size of the Ancestors. Horns 
representing the Ancestors may not be seen by the women, who flee the 
house at the first sound as the men bearing them come up the river. In 
the ceremony of naming a child, the name is sib property but the recita- 
tive chanted over the infant by the oldest male of the sib, a grandfather, 
is the common property of the phratry. The elaborate mourning rites, 
in which masked dancers representing all the Beings of the universe 
appear, is also a phratric function. Theories about life after death 
also reflect the phratric-sib organization. The spirits of the dead are 
thought to live in the sib house at a site near the villages, but all the sibs 
of the phratry have houses at the same site, so that there is actually 
a phratric village of the dead. 

Cross-cousin marriage is preferred, and wherever possible brother- 
sister exchange. Although a bride price is acceptable in lieu of an ex- 
change, it is regarded as undesirable, because it does not make for marital 
stability. The bride price is never refunded. A study of marriage records 
shows decided preference for taking a wife from the mother’s sib. This 
is because the men are reluctant to visit an in-law sib in which they 
have no blood relatives for fear of a hostile reception. An analysis of 40 
marriages of one sib shows that 75 percent of the marriages were with 
other Cubeo Indians, that an additional 25 percent were with such closely 
related Tucanoan-speaking peoples as the Yuriti and Guanana. This 
was because one of the sibs that reputedly entered the phratry later had had 
very close ties with these tribes and had taken all their wives from them. 
But of the marriages within the Cubeo tribe, more than one-third of the 
wives were taken from the mother’s sib. This created a particularly close 
tie between two intermarrying sibs. 


ETIQUETTE 


Eating, and the reception of guests are subject to the most formalized 
procedure. Among the Cubeo, for whom the most detailed account of 
social relations is available, the sexes eat separately, the men in a group 
eating first, after which the women eat what is left. Most meals are 
of a communal nature. Each woman, having prepared food at her own 
hearth, brings her offering to the center of the house floor, along with 
a tray of manioc bread. The men and the young boys gather in a circle 
and each eats something from each service. The Cubeo eat slowly and 
rarely to repletion. Gorging oneself is definitely in bad taste, particularly 
as a portion must be left for the women. Courtesy also requires that 


784 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


before the men have finished eating, they pass out among the women small 
preliminary portions of food, such as meat or fish on small pieces of 
manioc bread. Sharing food, even when it consists only of a few small 
sardines, is, though not obligatory, regarded as an essential of proper 
social behavior. On the other hand, no open criticism is ever voiced of 
less cooperative individuals. Censure of individuals and invidious com- 
parisons are as a rule avoided, except in cases of extreme breaches of 
conduct. 

The reception of guests is extremely formal at all times, and during 
ceremonies becomes virtually a ritual. A visitor arriving at a house stands 
in the doorway until greeted. He takes a few steps within the house and 
greets each person by the appropriate kinship designation, each occupant 
replying “You have come, my in-law,” etc., depending upon the relation- 
ship. A stool is placed near the door for the visitor, while each woman 
in the house sets out an offering of chili pepper sauce and some manioc 
at the center of the house. The visitor eats sparingly of each of the 
offerings and retires to his stool, where he is served a calabash of chicha. 
When guests are received at a drinking party or at any ceremony, the 
men visitors form a line outside while the men of the house form a sim- 
ilar line inside; then each guest is greeted with a lengthy harangue, 
explaining why he had been invited, and the guest replies at length, ex- 
plaining how pleased he is to come. While addressing a stranger, the 
gaze is averted, as only a close relative may be looked in the eye. Women 
are received by the women of the house by way of the rear door, if the 
reception is formal. A serious breach of etiquette is for a man to enter 
a house through the rear door. Should this occur accidentally, the visitor 
is ignored until he notices his faux pas and appears at the proper door. 


ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION 


The only detailed account of economic organization from this area is for 
the Cubeo. Among these people, property attitudes are dominated by sib 
considerations. Each sib lays claim, primarily on the strength of the sib 
tradition of the wanderings of its ancestors, to a definite sib territory, the 
most important boundaries of which are river frontages. Uncultivated 
jungle is not claimed as territory. River frontages, traditionally deter- 
mined, are usually delimited by creeks, and all fishing rights in the sector 
are jealously guarded, though navigation rights are free. Where weirs 
are employed along a river occupied by a number of sibs, a definite protocol 
is maintained regulating the times when the weir may be closed and when 
it must be kept open. Serious conflict over infringements of river rights 
are not common. Petroglyphs at rocky sites are stated to be the creation 
of sib ancestors and are cited as territorial validation. These petroglyphs 
are renewed from time to time. Travelers must receive permission from 
the headman to fish on the territory of another sib. Hospitality regulations 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 785 


require that visitors be fed; but guests staying for any length of time are 
permitted to fish, and their women allowed a section of manioc garden to 
harvest. 

Territory is divided among the adult sib members by agreement of the 
headman and the informal male council. Individual family ownership 
comes into play after some labor has been put into the development of a 
site, planted manioc gardens or prepared clearings becoming the property 
of the individual family that did the work. Each family can add to its 
grounds by cutting the clearing deeper into the forest. Older men get 
preference in the choice of sites for weirs, but each man uses, though he 
does not own, his preferred spot for fishing by other techniques, but the 
sib river frontage is never subdivided. 

Title to the sib house resides with the headman, called literally “owner 
of the house.” Each male sib member establishes his residence rights by 
contributing toward its construction. Ownership of a house means that 
if the headman dies or leaves the house it will be abandoned because no 
one may occupy that which he does not own. The same principle applies 
to garden land. Should the cultivator of a garden die, the plot is abandoned 
and allowed to grow over. But some sib member, a brother or son, in- 
herits both the weir and the site on the river. 

Much household and fishing equipment, though individually owned, is 
shared within the sib, particularly objects that are difficult to make, such 
as large canoes, sugarcane presses, chicha troughs and jugs, fish nets, and 
weir screens. As a rule, the headman, assisted by the other men, makes 
the equipment listed above; it is then spoken of as his property, but may 
be freely used by any sib member. The one or two manioc ovens in the 
house serve the entire household. All other objects, such as pots, small 
fishing canoes, and other hunting and fishing equipment, are individually 
made and owned, but are freely shared. 

Wealth differences are rather insignificant—a rich man is one who has 
a complete dancing outfit of feathers, quartz cylinder, necklace, and jaguar- 
tooth belt. Such an outfit, acquired patiently over a long period of time, 
is very highly valued and suffices as a bride payment. No social distinc- 
tion, however, accrues to its owner, who is obligated to share his dancing 
regalia with his poorer sibsmen. Since there is equal access to the means 
of production for everyone, wealth differentiation arises only from dif- 
ferences in skill and enterprise. Under modern conditions, the harder 
working men and women acquire a greater share of White trade goods. 

On the whole, the Cubeo show relatively little attachment to their pos- 
sessions. Loss of property through theft or otherwise is never viewed with 
alarm. Often a canoe that has drifted from its moorings is not even sought, 
the Indians taking it for granted that eventually someone will find and 
return it. 


786 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


The sexual division of labor gives women a vital economic role. As 
producers of manioc, they furnish the basic food supply, the chicha essen- 
tial for ceremonies, and the highly desired machetes, cloth, matches, am- 
munition, etc., obtained from the Whites in farinha trading. Cubeo women 
are the potters ; men make all the other household implements, such as the 
hammocks, stools, baskets, and manioc presses. 

The basic supply of cultivated food is individually produced, each woman 
working in her own garden and preparing her own manioc bread or fa- 
rinha. Fish and game are taken either individually or collectively, depend- 
ing primarily upon circumstances (see p. 785), but, regardless of the 
method of food production, the final product is generally shared within 
the sib. Each woman, cooking over her own hearth in her own pots, pre- 
pares the fish or meat her husband has brought in. When the food is ready, 
each woman sets her pot and tray of manioc in the center of the house, and 
all the men gather about, each eating some from each woman’s pot. If 
only one man has brought in fish and game, that is also shared. There 
are times when an entire household will feast on a few sardines stewed with 
chili peppers—the contribution of one family. 

The patterns of food sharing appear to present two difficult problems: 
hoarding and shirking. There are some persons who, during periods of 
food shortage, do not share; husband, wife, and children eat in their own 
“apartment” not looking up, and ignored by the others. No punishment 
has been devised for such people. Similarly, equal license is allowed the 
shirkers. But as hostility toward such people inevitably increases, they 
eventually leave the house and go visiting. Ultimately, it is said, they 
become such nuisances that someone poisons them. 


WARFARE 


Wars are waged for revenge and to capture women and children as 
slaves. Trespass by a distant group or tribe usually precipitates hostilities 
that continue for generations. Except on the larger streams close to 
White settlements, wars are frequent even today, though they are rarely 
very bloody. War parties seem, as a rule, to be small. They are led 
either by the local headman or by a specially designated war leader. A 
surprise night attack is the chief tactical weapon and fighting is hand to 
hand, with heavy war clubs favored over bows and arrows. Dead enemies 
are eaten at a dance celebrating the victory. The penis and scrotum are 
cut off, smoked until dry, and worn by a dancing warrior over his own 
genitals. At the conclusion of the dance, the Cubeo warrior’s wife eats 
the penis to become fertile. Men prefer the loins, although arms and ribs 
are also eaten. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 187 


LIFE CYCLE 


Birth.—Parturition occurs in the woman’s manioc garden, never in the 
house. In her first delivery, a woman is aided by her mother-in-law and 
by the other elderly women of the sib. After the first child, she is un- 
assisted ; alone, she either cuts or bites off the umbilical cord. 

When the expectant mother announces that she is going to the garden 
to deliver a child, her husband begins the couvade observances that last 
5 days. He spends most of his time in the house, scrupulously careful to 
avoid doing anything that would bring harm to the child. It is believed, 
for example, that should the father stumble, the infant would also fall. 
Should he drop something, it would be equivalent to dropping the child. 
He eats nothing but stale manioc and takes some water. He does not 
simulate labor pains. 

The child is brought home immediately after birth, bathed in warm 
water, painted with genipa to ward off harm and, a day later, is covered 
with red spots to make it resemble the jaguar, who will thus spare its life. 
The woman joins the husband in the couvade. Both submit to the same 
food taboos, do no work, and avoid accidents. It is stated that the 
monsters of the earth, angered at the birth of a human child, seek to de- 
stroy it and its parents. More dangerous are the river monsters, among 
them a huge anaconda who lashes the water like thunder. To overcome 
the anaconda, an old man courageously goes to the river and blows 
tobacco smoke across the water, thus forming a protective sheath through 
which the anaconda cannot penetrate. But if the parents go near the river, 
they are certain to be killed by some water monster. 

At the conclusion of the period of couvade, the headman of the sib or 
some other old man must charm all the fish and game so they would cause 
no harm to the child. For example, he says to a spiny fish, “You spiny 
fish, let no spines lodge in the throat of our little one.” 

At the age of about 6 months, “when it is old enough to know what is 
going on,” the child is given a name from the genealogy of the sib. The 
“grandfather” holds the child in his lap and chants a recitative referring 
to the first ancestors of the sib. In one hand he holds a small calabash 
of milk drawn from the breast of the father’s sister. At the conclusion 
of the chant, he dips his index finger into the milk and touches it to the 
breast of the child to make it grow. He then asks the child, “What is 
your name?” and its father replies for it. Then the old man touches the 
child on the bridge of the nose, whence the soul escapes at death, so that 
the child’s soul might not be imprisoned. A literal translation of the 
chant recited by the Cubeo is as follows: 


Milk of our soil 

That the little ones may grow 
That we may see them grow 
Milk of the calabash he drank. 


788 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


A child was being born to the “great fat one” 
A little child—etce. 


Puberty.—No important puberty practices for girls seem to be preva- 
lent. At their first menses, girls remain in the house for 10 days, use the 
scratching stick, and paint their faces red. Among the Cubeo, an old man 
deflowers the girl with his finger and announces that she is now a woman. 
It is then declared that she had been deflowered by the moon, which was 
responsible for the onset of menstruation. Food taboos are enjoined at 
this time. 

The cult of the Ancestors or Ancients comes closest to puberty rites 
for boys, but initiation begins well before the onset of physiological 
puberty. In the dry season, when Jnga berries are ripe, the elders take 
all the young boys (from about the age of 6 to postpuberty) on a berry- 
picking expedition, during which they show them the secret hiding place 
on the river bank of the sacred Ancestor horns. Each sib has its own 
set of three or four pairs of horns, the large ones like trumpets made 
of wound bark and the smaller ones flageolets. Each pair of horns bears 
the name of one of the sibs’ ancestors and is believed actually to represent 
the Ancestor. The women, who are forbidden under pain of death to 
see the horns, are led to believe, when the horns have been sounded, that 
the Ancients have come to visit the sib. 

After the horns are uncovered and shown for the first time to many 
of the boys, everyone bathes to the music of the Ancients and, toward 
dusk, returns to the settlement. As the horns come into earshot, the 
women run to their manioc gardens, and the men take over the house. 

The essential feature of the ceremony inside the house is the whipping 
of the boys and all the men. The child steps to the center of the dance 
floor, his hand raised high above his head, and is whipped three times, 
once across the back, the abdomen, and the back of the knees. The strokes 
are hard and meant to draw blood. This is “to make the child grow.” 
No concern is shown if the child cries out, but fortitude is greatly admired. 
After the children have been whipped, the men take turns in lashing one 
another to exhibit their endurance. 

When the whipping is concluded, the horns are withdrawn from the 
house and the women called back. In a well-darkened house, the women, 
seated with averted faces, are also whipped to the accompaniment of the 
singing of the Ancients, whom they cannot see. 

This is actually a sib cult rather than a puberty rite, but its purpose of 
making the young males grow and the adults strong is analogous to that 
of “rites de passage.” All adults past the age of puberty are expected to 
bathe with the Ancestors every morning before dawn to get strength. 
(See also p. 795.) 

Death and mourning.—Death resulting from illness is always at- 
tributed to sorcery, hence the immediate response to a person’s dying is 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 789 


grief mixed with fear and anger at the malevolent sorcerer. Before 
burial, all members of the household and all other sib and phratric relatives 
who can come quickly enough gather about the hammock in which the 
deceased is laid and each delivers a funeral oration which follows a formal 
pattern. First he announces his relationship to the deceased and nar- 
rates some incident to illustrate the relationship, then he expresses anxiety 
that the wicked person who had killed a sib member would probably 
try to kill others, and finally he utters a curse and a threat of vengeance 
against the sorcerer. The headman, last to deliver his funeral oration, 
usually names the sorcerer, assisted by broad hints given by the medicine 
man, and promises vengeance. 

At dawn, the deceased is wrapped in his own hammock and placed on 
his back, the legs drawn up, in his own canoe, which has been cut into 
two equal halves for the purpose, one-half serving as a cover. With 
him are laid a calabash, a walking staff, a fishing line, and bows and 
arrows. The grave is dug in the house beneath the dance floor and, as 
the coffin is lowered in place with ropes, a male relative blows tobacco 
smoke in each of its corners. The deceased, whose spirit makes a river 
journey and then a short overland trip, is provided with all necessities, 
including tobacco. The calabash is for water. 

Between the burial and the mourning rites, which may come as much 
as 6 months later, only the widow remains in mourning. She greets 
all visitors to the house with loud lamentations, leading them to the grave 
site and weeping over the grave. 

The headman prepares for the mourning rites, known in Tucano as 
oyne, “weeping,” by requesting all kinsmen to make the bark-cloth 
masks and other paraphernalia used in the ceremony (pls. 96, 97, 98). 
These objects are destroyed at the conclusion of the rites. 

The mourning ceremonies appear to have a threefold function among 
the Tucano. They serve, first, to provide the occasion for the expression 
of grief by all the kinsmen of the departed; second, to have the grief 
assuaged by the solacing presence of the Ancestors and the Beings of 
the world, including the forest monsters and all the fish, insects, animals, 
and birds; and, finally, to drive the ghost of the deceased out of the house, 
when the ceremony ends. Henceforth, the deceased is to be forgotten 
and his name never mentioned. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Art forms in the Uaupés-Caqueta region are developed in the 
decorative treatment of domestic utensils, in body decoration, and espe- 
cially in the production of ceremonial paraphernalia. Lozenges, hatched 
or solid triangles, and crude frets predominate as art motifs. Arawakan- 
and Tucanoan-speaking peoples in the area have elaborated the symbolic 
representation of animal, fish, insect, bird, and mythological beings in 


790 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


their bark-cloth mourning masks and in the realistic representation of 
fish (pl. 102, center) and birds, either painted on wood or constructed 
of palm leaves. Gourd rattles are blackened with genipa dye and are 


r. FIGURE 113.—Cubeo engraved gourd rattle. 


incised; hollow stamping tubes are also incised in elaborate patterns. 
Geometric and anthropomorphic designs, in white, yellow, and dark red, 
are painted on house posts in some parts of the Northwest Amazon area 


(fig. 114). 


Ficure 114—House decorations of the northwest Amazon. White, yellow, and dark 
red. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) 


Games.—Children play a number of games representing mythological 
incidents and also spin tops; boys use stilts (fig. 115, right) ; and adults 
play catching games with rubber balls. Gambling is completely absent. 
Cat’s cradles are known but are of no great significance. 


Dances.—Frequent dances, at which much weakly fermented but never- 
theless intoxicating manioc chicha is consumed, are characteristic of all 
tribes in the region. Most dances are primarily social, are held as fre- 
quently as a sufficient supply of chicha can be prepared, and are attended 
at times by 200 or more people. Food is rarely served at these gatherings. 


TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 791 


Vol. 3] 

Except for the funeral ceremony described earlier, where a specific dance 
routine portrays a particular being, dances consist of two main types: 
the circle dance, in which all men, women, and children participate; and 


DPN MID 


UST 


Ficure 115.—Indian children of the northwest Amazon. Left: Cubeo baby in hanging 
chair, Cudinary River. Right: Siusi boy on stilts, Acari River. (Redrawn from 


Koch-Grtinberg, 1909-10, fig. 87 and fig. 66.) 


792 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


another dance involving a smaller group. In the circle dance, the par- 
ticipants line up outside the house in order of size, the tallest in the center. 


Ficure 117—Tuyuca “Yurupary” dancer. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 793 


Each places his left arm around the next person’s shoulder and in his 
right hand bears a hollow dance stave for pounding the rhythm. The 
entire group enters the house and, forming a huge circle, moves side- 
ward a number of steps, then sways backward, then forward, and con- 
tinues the side step. The dance rhythm is given by appropriate songs 
and emphasized with the dancing staves. The dance usually ends out- 
side the house. In smaller group dances, the male dancers play panpipes 
or long flageolets, always with one arm about the partners shoulder. In 
the dance with the panpipes, a group of five men, constituting an orchestra, 
dance side by side to the accompaniment of their own panpipes, character- 
istically with three heavily accented steps and then, after a single step 
backward, three quick steps forward. Women join the dance by thrust- 
ing their heads beneath the yoke formed by the arms of the men placed 
around the shoulders of their male partners and leave before the men 
have finished dancing. The flageolet dance has similar dance steps, but 
involves only two men; women do not participate. 

Music and musical instruments.—A wide variety of instruments is 
known in the area, including panpipes, played individually or as an or- 
chestra of five distinctively keyed instruments; flageolets, ranging in size 
from small reeds to large paxiuba palm instruments 5 feet (1.5 m.) long; 
flutes of reed or bone; and huge trumpets 10 feet (3 m.) long (pl. 101, 
left). A European type of drum is also widely known. Men are the only 
musicians and no woman is even permitted to touch a musical instrument. 
Songs are all associated with dances. 

Narcotics.—Coca prepared as a fine dry powder and mixed with leaf 
ash is chewed by adults of both sexes and even children, principally dur- 
ing dances (pl. 100, d, e). Considerable care is taken to deposit the powder 
at the side of the mouth with a small wooden spoon or leaf to avoid choking. 
At more formal and elaborate ceremonies, cayapi is taken to induce color 
visions and to increase intoxication. The ultimate effect of this extremely 
bitter drug is a total blackout of vision followed by a brief loss of con- 
sciousness. 

Intoxicating beverages.—Manioc chicha parties, which are not sacred 
and in which both men and women participate, are very frequent. They 
last sometimes for 2 or 3 consecutive days or until all the chicha is con- 
sumed, for no drinking party may end until the last drop has been drunk. 
The addition of sugarcane extract to the chicha produces a relatively in- 
toxicating beverage. Fights and sometimes serious quarrels are an in- 
evitable consequence of these sprees. 


RELIGION AND SHAMANISM 


Supernaturalism centers about an ancestor cult—mistakenly referred to 
in the literature as yurupary—and a richly elaborated shamanistic com- 
plex. Supplicatory rites to a deity are apparently absent, although two 


794 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Figure 118—Wooden cigar-holder, northwest Amazon, Tiquié River. (1/6 actual 
size.) (Redrawn from Koch-Grinberg, 1909-10.) 


deities, known among the Tucanoan-speaking groups as Kuwai and Hiimé- 
nihinki, figure prominently in mythology as creators. Hitménihinku., 
the Supreme Deity, is possibly an acculturated Christian concept, 
and is actually so regarded by many Indians. This god has a house in the 
sky where he lives with his wife, and receives the spirits of the dead, who 
give presents to enter the house. The creation of the earth and the rivers 
is attributed to him, but he does not intercede in the affairs of men. The 
Cubeo, who are familiar with the Httménihinkt deity, maintain at the same 
time the belief that the spirits of the dead retain their sib ties and occupy 
sites a short distance from the sib territory, where they can be heard talk- 
ing and singing at night. Kuwai, the culture hero of the Tucano groups, 
is more intimately associated with men and displays trickster and trans- 
former characteristics. He created some of the rivers, taught the people 
agriculture, fishing, and all their arts and industries, introduced death and 
all the dances and ceremonies now practiced, and was in constant difficul- 
ties with mortals, who interfered with his plans and even sought to kill 
him. At present, Ktiwai, mortified by the treatment he had received at the 


Puare 89.—Cubeo fishweir and manioc preparation. Top: Fishweir. At the 
extreme right a lower section can be opened to pass a canoe. _ Bottom: Scraping 
manioc. Note the genipa paint on woman’s back. (Courtesy Irving 
Goldman.) 


Puare 90.—Food preparation, northwest Amazon. Top: A manioe squeezer 
(tipitf). Center: Drying farinha on a pan inside a Baniva house. (Courtesy 
American Museum of Natural History.) Bottom: Cubeo woman grating manioc. 
(Courtesy Batista Venturello.) 


a 3 ¢ 7 apa ¥ « a ‘ 3 % y A 
VIN ARORA \ 
VL AALVAR MAS i: ete 
‘BAL: hg nr pafmayh > > ce 
a; fi 3 Z . S| ‘ aA T\ 
7, 
s 


PuiarE 91.—House types of the northwest Amazon. VTop: Baniva house. 
(Courtesy American Museum of Natural History.) Center: Framework of a 
multifamily Cubeo house. (Courtesy Irving Goldman.) Bottom: A Macitina 
house, Apaporis River. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1909-10.) 


(O1-606T ‘Sxoquary-yooy Joyyy) “esnoy BARD Y— ZG TLV Id 


eV VC VV Gersavatare. _ 


tem anit 


aA XE OX é : 


wee 


’ : oR ; ra eat tt ig Ps eee 
> a Ree) et Pe 


Piate 93.—House types of the northwest Amazon. Top: Tucano house of the 
a 


upper Papony, Colombia. Bottom: Interior of a Baniva house. (Courtes 


American Museum of Natural History.) 


ad 


Puate 94.—Cubeo manufactures. Top: Spreading a dugout canoe by heat. 
Bottom: Making bark eloth. Man in center is pounding log from which cloth 
will be stripped; man at left has removed cloth; man at right is stretching it. 
(Courtesy Irving Goldman.) 


eee ¥7 ES 
eu cg ES 


maa ee fe 
saa w a 8 BH 
Es 


ee * | é 


4, 
, 
4% 


oy LP hie eale - 
ES he ag dak, 
pee ‘i? 


ee aie 


Puate 95.—Cubeo baskets. Top, left: A twined and a twilled manioc carrying 
basket. Top, right: Twilled serving tray resting on an “‘hourglass’’ potstand. 
Bottom, left: Twilled serving tray. Bottom, right: Twined manioc carrying 


basket. (Courtesy Irving Goldman.) 


3 


he 
> ae 
a 
- 
1 


PLATE 96.—Cubeo mourning ceremony. Top: Men lined up for dance with danc- 

ing staves. Man in center is headman, having jaguar belt and vertebrate neck- 
Bottom: Dressing for dance. Manat right is headman of sib. 
Irving Goldman.) 


lace. 


(Courtesy 


CueuIpfor) sulAry Asoyimno0yg) ‘soup ur pasn squids 
ysy Suyusseider sosvury -7ybry “Aoq Aq 1aAO0 poyooyo Sureq vIpRSoa s0uUBp UL UBT -}foT “Rl[esei vouep SuluINoW oaqng—7/6 ALVIg 


PLtare 98.—Cubeo mourning ceremony. Top and bottom, right: Bark dance 
masks. Bottom, left: Women entering rear of a house to attend mourning 
ceremony. (Courtesy Irving Goldman.) 


har hedvteey ue 
aie he ¥ 


ee | 


PLATE 99.—Northwest Amazon drum and ceremonial objects. Top: Tucano 
drum. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) Bottom, left: Tucano feather head- 


dress. Bottom, right: Effigy of bark dance mask. (Courtesy Museu Paraense 
Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) 


Puate 100.—Northwest Amazon manufactures. 


a, Tucano snuff tube; 6, Tucano 
calabash for snuff; c, a wooden mortar and pestle from the Aiari River (much 


reduced) ; d, Bora bark-cloth bag for coca with a bone tube; e, Bora bone dipper 


for coca. (a, b, d, e, Courtesy Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) (e, 
After Koch-Griinberg, 1909-10.) 


COI-6061 ‘Steqund4y-Yyooy aaqyy) “JOAN Wery “WooT uo poinjgoRjnueUL ‘yoourUTBY wIMoN4, 
AABOTT 2107709 ‘Wybry = AOATY, BABOBY ‘UINON} JO YoouruTBVY UBAOM ATOSO[D ‘vaqwad “Wybry “ABATY ery “yooururey 
uid Arvurpag :doz -7ybry §=(‘azis Tenjgow 8% qnoqy) ‘sary Wery ‘syou diq ‘waywagQ (‘seyout gg Ajoyeurtxoad 
-de qysty jenjoy) “wan vuedy ‘sqyodumn1i, Sutuep vuiwyny -zfeyT “soinjovjnueul uozeuly jsoMYyWION— [QT ALVIg 


‘ 


PPA 
hy 


(OT-6061 ‘S10qunry-yooy Jayyy) “soar Wery 


‘ ” ¢ =] . . ¥ 
soouUBp 7B USIIOM AQ UDAOM ‘SpBaq Jo SyITYQ /yybry (‘ozs [enyoR 214 AToyeuUIIxo1ddy) ‘SUOIPBIGI]OO [BLING OJ YSY UBpooM oaqny 
‘waMag) §=(-ozIs yenjow % Ajoyeutxodddy) “aoary ery ‘sXoq <q poprout sounSy xv A, VoT “Sseanjoevjnueul uozeury jsomyyI0N—"ZOT GLVIg 


. é i : %, ‘i 
¥ ypeutanngeextiad atsA SEE RENE eeper ep wy 


a 


4 ; ‘ 


EEA 
od 
y 4 


we 


Ss 


ae 


fy 
Mh hy 


tise 


aint 


$f ao Fat bert 


COL-606L ‘SIOGUNAL)-YIo Vy 191JV ) dip soup UT DInNhn |, V 
1ybvy  “SpfelyS puUw SseDUR] YIM OUWNONT siajquay “AGBIO OFIRT UJIM ouvony, Wo. 


faT “UOZRUTY JSOMYIIOU ay} JO SURIPUT—EOT TLVTg 


A 


PLare 104.—Indians of the northwest Amazon. Top, left: Cubeo mother and 
child. Top, right: Old Cubeo couple. (Courtesy Irving Goldman.) Bottom, 
left: Guanana girl. Bottom, center: Isana women. (Courtesy Batista Ventu- 
rello.) Bottom, right: Hiandkoto-Umédua Kaudnamu man, Macdya River. 
(After Koch-Griinberg, 1909-10.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 795 


hands of the Cubeo, is said to have retired to a solitary existence on some 
distant mountain site. The elders narrate with amusement the difficulties 
Kuwai had with women. His wives, frequently taken from among the 
Indians, either deserted or proved faithless. Even when he created a wife 
out of a tree, she eventually eloped with a fish. An extensive body of folk- 
lore deals with Kuiwai. No moralistic connotations are associated with 
Kuwai, except among groups subjected to prolonged mission influence. 

Besides these two major deities, all peoples in the area believe in the 
existence of a host of forest and river creatures, usually malevolent. The 
forest monsters, abuhuwa (also inaccurately designated in the literature 
as yurupary ), invoked by parents to scare children, are generally described 
as hairy, humanlike creatures with double-faced heads and with cannibal- 
istic tendencies. There are many varieties of these monsters. Some are 
linked together, like Siamese twins. These are single at first, but when 
the male monster sees a woman and jumps at her, she sticks to his side 
permanently and becomes a cannibal. The female monsters seize men in 
the same fashion. Another group catches children and kills them by toss- 
ing them high in the air; others cut a hole in the top of the victim’s head 
and suck him dry while kneading his body to soften it, and then leave the 
dry skin on a tree. During a lunar eclipse the monsters can be seen by 
human beings but are visible always toa shaman. Hair from the armpit of 
the cannibal monster seized during a lunar eclipse is regarded as a potent 
weapon of sorcery. 

Among the river monsters, the white anaconda is most menacing to 
menstruating and postparturient women. The river men, short fat crea- 
tures, seize men who have violated couvade regulations. Other river crea- 
tures are harmless, causing only the night fog. 

The Ancestor cult.—Major religious activity centers about the cult of 
the Ancestors or Ancients, the founders of the sibs. These beneficent 
beings, who are invoked at every sib gathering, are usually represented 
by trumpets or depicted in ancient petroglyphs, and are regarded as the 
protectors of the sib and imparters of strength to the men. The trumpets 
representing the Ancestors may not be viewed by the women. Men and 
boys who seek strength and courage bathe each morning to the sound of 
the Ancestor horns. Collectively, the Ancestors are known in Tucanoan 
as Bekwiipwanwa (the ancient people), but each sib venerates its own 
particular Ancestors. During the mourning ceremonies, the sole female 
Ancestor in the pantheon comes to assuage the grief of the mourners. (See 
also p. 789.) 

The afterworld.—The human spirit is believed to leave the body dur- 
ing sleep and wander about at close range; toward morning it reenters the 
head via the mouth and the sleeper awakes. The shaman can capture the 
spirit and thus cause death. Shortly before death the spirit departs from 
the body permanently and hovers about the house until driven ott by burn- 


653333—47—53 


796 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ing dried chili peppers. Such ghosts are troublesome and are believed to 
be seeking to carry other relatives off with them. When frequent deaths 
follow one another in the same house the site is abandoned as “haunted.” 
Normally, the ghost finally settles down at the ancestral site and joins all 
the other sib members. The ghosts of wicked people and of those captured 
by sorcerers are transformed into birds, insects, or animals, and, under 
the control of the shaman, are likely to be troublesome. The spirit of a 
shaman enters a jaguar and never joins his sib ancestors. 

Shamanism.—The shaman in the area is generally referred to as a 
jaguar, and combines the functions of medicine man and sorcerer. Older 
shamans assume the guise of the jaguar and are particularly feared. Every 
jaguar who attacks human beings is assumed to be a shaman, and the 
shaman who is suspected of such an attack is not infrequently put to death. 
As the spirit of a murdered shaman enters another jaguar, however, little 
relief is expected from killing them. The shaman is credited with powers 
to cure, to kill by sorcery, to bring storms and generally to control the 
weather, to locate lost objects, to divine the cause of death, to affect human, 
animal, and plant fertility, and to cause dreaded lunar eclipses. Many 
grades of shamans are recognized, ranging from simple practitioners— 
old men who can cure a hangover by blowing tobacco smoke at the top of 
the skull—to those whose powers are virtually limitless. Although the 
profession is open to both sexes, women shamans are rare. Power is 
generally associated with length of experience and heredity. The son of 
a powerful shaman will have greater powers than a newcomer. The 
power of the shaman derives from his control of a number of animal 
spirits, to which are added the captured spirits of victims. In addition, the 
shaman contains within his body quantities of black palm needles, which 
he “shoots” at his victims. 

The shamanistic novice spends a month learning the art from at least 
two professionals. He obtains tree resin, dupa (Tucano), and inhales it 
in a powdered form for 4 days. Then, under the guidance of his mentors, 
he “loads” his body with the palm needles. These are placed on the 
upper forearm and on the chest. Next, he inserts tips of eagle feathers 
up his nostrils. Thus “loaded,” the novice sings with his mentors until 
a thunderstorm breaks over the house. He then departs for a 5-day 
solitary vigil in the forest, subsisting on manioc flour and water and 
practicing his songs. Upon his return, he is tested; when his singing can 
produce a thunderstorm, he is acknowledged to be a shaman. There- 
after, for a period of months he is abstinent and only gradually arrives at 
a full diet. 

Curing requires the extraction of some intrusive body, either a crystal- 
line substance or black palm needles, and consists of applying the palm of 
the hand to the affected area or of sucking. The crystalline object thus 
removed is “blown” away. When the illness is diagnosed as the presence 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF UAUPES-CAQUETA REGION—GOLDMAN 797 


of palm needles, the shaman pours water over the patient. More obdurate 
illnesses require lengthy sessions of singing and the application of both 
techniques. The extraction of palm needles is among the shaman’s more 
spectacular demonstrations of power. Filling a deep black pottery bowl 
with water, the shaman spreads broad banana leaves, within which he has 
secreted the palm needles, on the surface. When he scoops up water with 
a calabash, the needles, virtually invisible in the water, are also doused 
over the patient. The bystanders are then asked to hunt for the needles. 

The fear of sorcery constitutes an ever-present threat to the stability of 
social relations, even within the individual family. All illness and non- 
violent death is attributed to sorcery, and such an occurrence invariably 
provokes bitter recriminations and open battles. Among the Cubeo, sibs 
have often been reduced to a mere handful of people following the accusa- 
tion that they practice sorcery. Fear of sorcery not infrequently interferes 
with ceremonies and sometimes restricts attendance at drinking parties, 
which are ordinarily popular, to members of the immediate household. 
All adults are believed capable of practicing sorcery, and the number of 
alleged techniques is considerable. Certain persons, whom the Cubeo 
call “powerful monsters,” are said to wander about between darkness and 
dawn, to possess night visions, to be invisible, and to attack the victim in 
his sleep. When caught, such sorcerers are tortured with fishhooks, tear- 
ing the flesh from the limbs bit by bit to insure a slow and painful death. 
Particularly suspected are persons with long nails on the index finger, 
under which a “poison” may be secreted to be flicked into the victims food 
or drink. Among the more common “poisons” are plant substances which 
cause genital disturbances, abdominal swellings, gastrointestinal disorders, 
general wasting away, and, in effect, every affliction common to the region. 
As such “poisons” are accessible to everyone and are very easily utilized, 
the danger from “poisoning” is ever present. A number of counter 
charms furnish some security. 

Other sorcerers, known as “blowers,” are men with shamanistic skill, 
but who are not shamans. By blowing tobacco smoke at a victim from any 
distance, they can induce paralysis, illness, and death. Body “dirt” boiled 
with hot chili peppers is another technique of sorcery and is used especially 
to avenge a death. Scrapings of skin, callouses, some fingernails, and a bit 
of hair from the deceased are boiled, while the sorcerer, sitting over the 
pot, chants a spell and orders the victim to cut off his ear or other parts of 
the body. Finally, the soul of the victim in the form of a butterfly or 
other insect falls into the pot, the pot is quickly broken, and the victim 
dies. 


MYTHOLOGY AND LITERATURE 


Folklore includes a series of animal tales with the tapir and tortoise as 
prominent figures, a culture-hero cycle, stories of human experiences with 


798 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


supernatural forest monsters, and lengthy sagas about the adventures of 
tribal or sib ancestors. Of cosmological significance are tales dealing with 
the moon, but there are none concerning the stars. A flood tale with a 
moralistic theme is found among the Cubeo. Tapir is usually worsted in 
encounters with Tortoise. The culture-hero cycle explains the origin of 
social practices, of techniques, such as agriculture and fishing, of various 
insects, death, illness, and so on. The Tucano culture hero, Kiwai, is 
frequently worsted in relations with human beings, but overcomes all 
obstacles when involved with animals or supernatural beings. Moon seeks 
to copulate with young girls, explores new graves, and prevents the theft 
of his lamp when it is inadequately covered by the thief. The narration 
of the Ancestor saga is an important feature of all ceremonies and has 
something of a sacred character. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Albis, 1861; Appun, 1871; Aranha (see Figueirédo Tenreiro Aranha, 1907) ; Ar- 
caya, 1920; Avé-Lallemont, 1860; Barbosa Rodriguez, 1885; Beuchat and Rivet, 
1911; Bollaert, 1860; Brett, 1868; Brown, 1876; Carvajal, 1892; Chaffanjon, 1889; 
Church, 1912; H. Coudreau, 1886-87; De Goeje, 1928; Ehrenreich, 1904; Fabo, 
1911; Farabee, 1916 b, 1918 b, 1922, 1924; Farson, 1938; Figueirédo Tenreiro 
Aranha, 1907; Fritz, 1922; Gilij, 1780-84; Grupe y Thode, 1890; Gumilla, 1791; 
Hamilton, 1934; Hardenburg, 1912; Humboldt, 1852-53; Im Thurn, 1883; Jahn, 1927; 
Jeménez Seminario, 1924; Kirchhoff, 1931; Koch-Griinberg, 1900, 1905-08, 1906 b, 
1906 c, 1906 d, 1907, 1908, 1909-10, 1911, 1913 b, 1913-16, 1922, 1923 b; Marcoy, 1867; 
Markham, 1895, 1910, 1911; Matos Arvela, 1908; Martius, 1867; Mason, 1940; 
Medina, 1933; Melgarejo, 1886; Miller, 1919; Mochi, n.d.; Montolieu, 1877; Nor- 
denskidld, 1924 a, 1930 a, 1931 b; Perez, 1862-63; Pinell, 1928; Preuss, 1914 and 
1920-21, 1921-23; Reinburg, 1921; Rivero, 1883; Rivet, 1912 a; Rocha, 1905; 
Schomburgk, 1848; Schumann, 1882; Speiser, 1926; Spix and Martius, 1823-31; 
Spruce, 1908; Steinen, 1892; Stradelli, 1890; Tavera-Acosta, 1907, 1927; Triana, 
1907; Vifiaza, 1892; Wallace, 1853; Whiffen, 1915. 


Part 5. TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS AND THE 
LEFT AMAZON TRIBUTARIES 


TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS 


By JoHN GILLIN 


INTRODUCTION 


The area here considered to comprise the Guianas lies in northern 
South America (map 1, No.5; map7). Bounded coastally by the Atlantic 
Ocean to the east and north, its northern interior boundary is the right 
bank of the Orinoco River where, from the mouth of the Apure River 
to the ocean, its course takes a general east-to-west direction. The Delta 
of the Orinoco River is thus not included in our region. The southern 
boundary is the left bank of the Amazon River from its confluence with 
the Rio Negro to its northernmost mouth. The islands of the Amazon 
Delta, including the Island of Marajdé, are thus also excluded. The west- 
ern boundaries of the Guianas, for present purposes, may be described 
as the right bank of the Orinoco River, upstream from its meeting with 
the Apure River to its head; an arbitrary straight line from the head of 
the Orinoco River southeastward to the mouth of the Catrimani River, 
a right tributary of the Rio Branco; the left bank of the Rio Branco 
southward to its confluence with the Rio Negro; and the left bank of 
the Rio Negro southeastward to its meeting with the Amazon River. 

The landscape in the region of the Guianas is of four kinds. (1) Coastal 
plains and deltas, such as border most of the Atlantic shore, are low, 
somewhat swampy, subject to partially inundating seasonal floods, and 
covered with thick swamp forest of medium height. Such a landscape, 
as, for instance, the Pomeroon coast of British Guiana and the Parimaribo 
coast of Suriname, extends inland from the shore to a variable depth, 
usually 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 km.), seldom farther than 100 miles 
(160 km.). (2) Inland forests cover a large portion of the Guianas. 
The elevation is somewhat higher than that of the coastal plains, the 
jungle cover is higher and more pervading, and, because the topography is 
level or rolling, vistas open only for short distances on the rivers, as on 
the Barama River drainage and the Oyapock River drainage. (3) The 
savannas and partially forested regions are level or mildly rolling, and 


799 


800 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


occasionally mountains are visible along their borders. The Rupununi 
savannas of southern British Guiana and the Gran Sabana of eastern 
Venezuela are relatively dry, but the savannas intermittently bordering 
the left bank of the Amazon River and the smaller ones of the lower 
Oyapock River and the Aruka savanna of British Guiana’s Northwest 
District are semiswampy at all times and during portions of the year 
may become inundated meadows. (4) A considerable portion of interior 
Guiana is mountainous, with a rough and broken topography as in the 
Sierra Pacaraima, Sierra Parima, and the Tumuc-Humac Mountains, 
but with a fair amount of mountain rain forest, except among the rockier 
masses, such as Mount Roraima. 

In all but the mountain areas, some of the streams or waterways are 
suitable for intermittent canoe navigation, although rapids or falls break 
their upper courses. Lakes are rare in the Guianas and most of them lie 
near the Amazon River or in the coastal region of Brazilian Guiana. 

Tribal languages representative of at least 10 aboriginal linguistic fam- 
ilies are known to have existed in the Guianas during historic times. 
These families are Arawakan, Auakéan, Cariban, Calidnan, Mactan, 
Muran, Salivan (or Macuan), Shirianén, Tupian, and Warrauan (or 
Guaraunan). Two of these families, Tupian and Muran, were apparently 
intrusive into the region in the post-Columbian period. A list of tribes 
follows, classified by linguistic family; under family the tribes are listed 
alphabetically according to the spelling which is used most frequently in 
modern literature, where that is available. Each tribal name is accom- 
panied by synonyms or variant spellings, if either the synonyms or the 
variant spellings are significant for the identification of the tribe. The 
location of each tribe is given and also, in several cases, the location of the 
tribe at different dates. Such a summary, primarily for identification, 
should not be considered a chronological record of the movements of the 
tribe. In many cases a reference or two on the identification and location 
of the tribe is provided for the convenience of the reader, but these refer- 
ences are not to be taken as a bibliography of cultural information. To the 
list of tribes of known linguistic affiliation is added another list of lin- 
guistically unidentified tribes. These unidentified tribes are mentioned in 
the literature and geographically located, but linguistic material either does 
not exist or has been insufficiently studied to permit linguistic identification. 
When the tribal name is followed by the family name with a question mark 
(Apirua (Arawak?) ), the family identification, on the basis of the liter- 
ature, seems probable, but is not certain. 

Three areas of culture may be tentatively distinguished in the Guianas: 
(1) the coastal area, (2) the inland mountain-savanna area, and (3) the 
Amazonian area. Not only have migration and mixing of culture ele- 
ments blurred the distinctions which may have been clearer at one time, 
but lack of information may also lead us astray. Later studies may well 


FARACOTO 
CALINA 1646-1696 3 
a 


GALIS/ 17 ¢ 
)ARICAR/ 
G32 1743" 


EMERILLONS 
1728 


TOYUNOIENNE 
(729 


XP 
% 
OBO 


. 
KIRIKSRISCOT ACcOK WAq We 


R.Gossipore 


PIN O'ARA, 
VY ecnonan!*0e 
1618 
MACAPA 
1762 


84 


oot 


COUSSAH/ CURUCUAN 
(74) 


“ie, 
Ss. Si 
Tat eT 


\CAICUSHIANA 
1890 


698 
INDIANS ARAWAK 


MARAON 
"741 


- MACAPA 
WAYAP/ 1638 


HARRI 

1656 

, ARIANE 
e 1698 


MENEJOU 
1698 


etwise, date of location is given 


a.) 


652323—48 (Face pv. 800) 


wet 
Ue AS 

in arr 
dae 


a 


Arn i 


se 


65° 


RINIACO 


QU/RIQUIRI PA 
IGUARICOTO 
1800 


pony hy 


R. Cuyuni 


margco p 


+ 
> of (MARACOTO 
ele oe GuagurRI aw TAPARITOS bod iy tts 

wy S) 
CURASICANA eye ABLE z v Aqui RIG O7O 


eS Achinicoro 9 
L 1800 


ARINAGOTO 


@ACAWAL 


ACAWAS Ny 


TABAJARI A 
80: 


ee et ES pg 
WARIWA 
“ ‘4 WARANA waniwaoy — a % 
s) S SURE Coop Rd 2 2 WARAU 
a 
cy Moa RUAN: MACS iv SEREGONG & ts 
& 0 
AREVIRIARA Y 1G) KENQLOCO \ CIPARICOVE 
3 1004 MAUITS), \ ~ 64 
MAYONG mee i A GUACABAYO 
MA K / R ae ¥ = > cA Lif 75 "4 acynia 
ITARE y pt nS “Hs 
a / 
v we ) 
SUIPUITENE ¥ VAN - 2 q 
\ a © 
wea via d ay a  paranouane \S = 
Fa 
R Merevori MA My f 6, e Fi 
- & caliaha WAK 5 3 > e 
ye CUNUAWA # ep Xl CAVA 
\F ‘ 
plot ot OCOMESIANE 2 > Aree” “ > A ak 
2. = WAICA 
1) ¥ sn al Le & oy é 


oor, . Cave x 
b, CS 


o \ 
EMERILONS” AC OK WAg 
“ 


|AMAR/2, 
ATORA 


curierawo \S ph 
D URI Na RisQ@ana ! i, can FUN, 1657 i727 
: wilt Moyne eb seen tion 
Pt me p 4 MACUSN) 
as ICIMONAR! y 


CUSSART 
16% 


CAPUE WA igs \? A Sep ¢ S ad 


\ZANNA CUNIPUSANA 


Ge Na 


g arektwa \-\ \o a p_A- : 6 
— p EWNE > 
su =”. zi aA x 3 BARAUANA C 5 om 5 ! Le Ru, TENE oh 7 
ce (PART-T & _ = CURIVAURAWA ODRLNA 4 e Lr, ane : 
a ORB U=T % = 4 YABAMNA 2 le a k 1038 
= > Ne, CAICUSHIANA 
S ~ 2 Ca , 
2S ' (AWACA y C $ 
€ : = = 
= 2 = fo, € 
2 ADs ARIYNA *% 2 
& © é 
» ec 
» 


AREQUENA 
98 


CASHUENA 


rondweae 


UASSAHY Itho do Morajé 


© CABURICENA 
as 


z : 
0 
WARIWA - TAP 0 
—_—_—_=_ ss é 00% 
Macy - 


BOAN ARS ; - 
50°? 


e 
6s? 60° a 


Map 7,—The tribes of the Guianas. Solid underlining, modern tribes; broken underlining, extinct portions of tribes; otherwise, date of location is given 


under the tribal name. Tribes not underlined are extinct. (Compiled by Curt Nimuendaji.) a 


ge 


oe 


As Oy 
& a 


° ~ os 

a { 

2 = \ ne ah 

~+* Weecees / : Dow 
4 al - OND >a nerd SD A? ee 
Fa ‘ 
‘ 
‘ 


. ~ iT i id r by thd ea 
aa “oth 4 
. at Sr f+ ry } ‘J 
: we “I ; sade 
" , ¥ : i o 
ae One en 
‘4 > ¥ t as x i Pend Lav} 
: bg tae ° 


j 
: 4 } 2 
¢ P : 4 f onptou: m, , 


—) 
«ft tor r 
? : ¥ - "4 
- i - , A 
3 , ~ 
4. if : ‘“ m 
+ ¥; “ao 
~~ ~~. s ta ae ad ~ 
ira > Vv 4 A }* Se® < 
ta, 2 7 yaad . ti 
~ ~ os << - 
‘ a a ~~ a 
¢ ° i om. ‘ ahras 4 = a : 
r ( j — nwa , 
4 —_ Sie ne ‘ 
‘ Le : wee 4 z yt prise W 
‘ ornate wee 
~- f 4 -— as 
a Ae RA VWA AR L 
j es eo Lt a 
ae ¢ oe» 6 20% wes 5 ve ee 
"7 Ce" - 7 z . 
A 5 
: 7. an =. 
2) al wou eile 7 
ied ay A? * a A 
-s al % * P 
F 
a 2 
ee oe ? rs é %,* 
ee: Oe ba ney 
- 2 
4 »_ . a ~~ 
' ~ 
we 3 ‘ o ee | 
- r nl 
> “on 
ae . : ee 
4 1 c 
\ 4! aa 
» 7 . J 
, . 4 : I 
9 7 Oy 
. > - 
. - 4 . 
al \ ° My n 
+,G 
i 
oa * f° 


f pois sys Ha 4 

- ot mle rene va wr Ee) phe a 2 

a= KZ . d Ly. > ; 
‘~. ee) srs, aes 


a IS af of gene a fog) 
a +e wee ee _s a Sa a 
“a e ~ oo eee * 7 
rd a! 
“ 
fc 4 . 
\ hae e 
« * ji 
: {> i 
,. any - 
: o 
i « . Cc ; 
il - ) - 
“« bed. 4 
= . . > oe 
~ — \ %. 
a enn >> . ~* oo 
~ en 7 - 
¥? i Cf = a > Sh. . “> 
* an 0 a a * 
_ — 
< 
. 
P d S 
i A ' 2) \ 
4 : \ 
aed =! a 
aed 
| ed 4 
—& 
ay ‘ 
~~ 
eee 


gE a RS RE RE STE et 


aniy Ore ease asdint oiFeor Rta | 
p @ibal eeiss. Tribes owt rie 
sy 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 801 


indicate changes and subdivisions. The Amazonian area is so incom- 
pletely known that its culture type cannot be accurately described, although 
evidently it has greater affinities with the southern Amazonian area than 
have other portions of the Guianas. The inland mountain-savanna area 
contains many elements which in more elaborated form are native to the 
Rio Negro region. The coastal area is populated mainly by Carib and 
Arawak tribes, but also by some Warrau who have apparently migrated 
from the Orinoco Delta. A special section (p. 870) deals with the Delta 
culture of the Warrau, and the Guiana culture of the Warrau has been 
discussed merely to indicate the extent of their divergence. 

Characteristic traits of the inland mountain-savanna region are the lance, 
blowgun, tobacco-chewing, use of parica, circular houses with walls, san- 
dals, discoid paddle blades, possibly cremation as an earlier trait, nose 
flutes, dance sticks, turtle-shell friction drums, and more elaborate cere- 
monial costumes, star lore, and puberty and mourning ceremonies than 
those of the coastal region. These traits are not all common to all the in- 
land tribes, and, although they are found with greater frequency in the in- 
land area, they are not unknown to all the coastal tribes. Characteristic 
coastal traits seem to include a more frequent use of the rectangular, wall- 
less house and of houses built on piles, wooden shields, clay and bamboo 
trumpets, more emphasis on aboriginal cannibalism, greater elaboration of 
watercraft, greater dependence upon, and elaboration of, the bow and 
arrow, and more emphasis upon hunting ceremonials and magic. 

Thus, no clear-cut lines of culture dissimilarities are discernible among 
the various regions of the Guiana area; rather the culture area must be 
distinguished on the basis of tendencies, emphasis, and statistical averages. 
Even the Guiana area as a whole is not strikingly distinctive, for it shares 
many traits and configurations in common with the other tropical regions 
of South America. 


TRIBAL DIVISIONS* 


THE ARAWAKAN FAMILY 


Amariba (Amaripa, etc.) —A brother tribe of the Wapishana, which 
lived near the Atorai in 1787 in the source region of the Tacutt and Rupu- 
nuni Rivers (lat. 2° N., long. 60° W.) (Koch-Grinberg, 1922, p. 220; 
Richard Schomburgk, 1922-23, 2 :387-388, reported only one old woman 
remained in the 1840’s). 

Apirua (Arawak?)—On the Camopi River in 1722 (lat. 3° N., long. 
53° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 

Aramisho (Arawak? but possibly Cariban (see p. 805) ).—On the 
Araoua River, upper tributary of the Maroni, and downstream on the 
Maroni River (lat. 2° N., long. 54° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 


1 See map 7. 


802 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Arawak (Aroaqui, Aruac, Aruaki, Aravaco, Arouage, etc.).—Scattered 
along the Guiana Coast from the Moruca River in British Guiana to the 
French-Brazilian boundary region, also between the Rio Negro and Ja- 
munda River. Their own name for themselves is Locono. 

Arekena (Arequena, Guariquéna, Uariquéna, Warekéna, etc.).—On 
the upper Rio Negro and Atabapo River (lat. 2° N., long. 67° W.). 

Arua (Aruan, etc.).—Formerly, on the north bank of the lower Amazon 
River and the Island of Marajo (lat. 1° S., long. 50° W.) ; now extinct 
(Ehrenreich, 1904, p. 48). A few are said to live on the Uaca River. 
They moved northward by migration from the Island of Marajo, gave 
trouble to Portuguese missionaries in the 18th century, and in 1722 at- 
tacked the village of Moribira, giving rise to a French-Brazilian interna- 
tional incident, in which the Brazilians accused the French of supplying 
the Indians with arms. (Nimuendaju, 1926, pp. 7-17; Rio-Branco, 1899, 
4 :226, 240, 242, and 3:53, 67, 101; Lombard, 1928.) 

Atorai (Atorya, Attaraya, Attorraidi, Atorad, Daurai, Dauri, Tauri, 
etc.).—In southern British Guiana at the sources of the Rupununi and 
Tacutt Rivers (lat. 2° N., long. 59° W.). Now absorbed by the Wapi- 
shana, according to Farabee (1918 b). 

Baniva (Vaniva, Baniwa, Abane).—In the region of the Venezuelan- 
Colombian border on the Atabapo and Guainia Rivers (lat. 3° N., long. 
68° W.) (Gumilla, 1791; Crévaux, 1883, p. 531; Grasserie, 1892). 

Baraiina (Baraudna, may be same as Baré).—On the upper Padauri 
River and its right tributary, the Marari River (lat. 1° N., long. 65° W.) 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 222; Coudreau, H., 1886-87, 2:119, 394). 
Formerly, at the end of the 18th century, on the upper Catrimani River, 
then in the village of Casmo on the Rio Branco. 

Baré (Barre, etc.)—On the Casiquiare River (lat. 3° N., long. 
67° W.) 

Caberre (Caverre, Cabre, etc.)—Gave name to the Guaviare, or 
Guayabero, River; extend along this stream up to the Ariari River from 
the Zama and Orinoco Rivers (lat. 4° N., long. 71° W.) (Roth, 1924, 
p. 725; Gumilla, 1791). 

Cariaya (Carahiahy, Cariai).—On the Rio Negro, near the mouth of 
the Rio Branco, where Spix met them (lat. 1° S., long. 63° W.) 
(Chamberlain, 1910). 

Guinau (Ginyau, Quinhau, Quinhao, Guainare, etc.).—On the upper 
Caura River; Robert Schomburgk found them in the 1840’s in all villages 
on the Merevari and Padamo Rivers, also on the Cunucunuma River (lat. 
4° N., long. 65° W.) Now they are mostly absorbed into the Yecuana, 
according to Koch-Griinberg. Their own name for themselves is Temo- 
moyamo (Gama Lobo, 1903). 

Inao.—On the middle Caura River around the Michave, a right tribu- 
tary. Chaffanjon found an abandoned village near the Island of Chaparro 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 803 


and the portage of Piritu (lat. 4° N., long. 65° W.). They may be the 
same as the Guinau. 

Locono (Lokono).—The Arawak name for themselves. 

Macapa (Macapai, Makapa, Makapai; Arawak?).—Between the 
Camopi and Yaroupi Rivers, left tributaries of the Oyapock (Oyapoque) 
River (lat. 2° N., long. 52° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 

Maipure (Maypure, Maypoye, etc.)—On the Ventuari and Orinoco 
Rivers, around the mouth of the Ventuari (lat. 4° N., long. 67° W.) 
(Gumilla, 1791, 1:161). 

Maopityan (Mapidian, Pidian, Moonpidenne).—Said to be a subtribe 
of the Atorai. In 1884 they lived on the Brazilian slopes of the Acarai 
Mountains at the sources of the Apiniwau, or Curucuri, River (lat. 2° N., 
long. 59° W.), which region they have abandoned to migrate to southern 
British Guiana. 

Marawan (Maraén, Marauand?, etc.).—In the coastal region around 
the mouth of the Oyapock River (lat. 3° N., long. 52° W.). Rivet identi- 
fied them with the Palicur, but Nimuendaji has shown them to be a 
distinct tribe, now extinct. Only two words of their language were 
recovered by Nimuendaju, so that the linguistic classification is not con- 
clusive. Apparently they preceded the Palicur, Galibi, and Arawak on the 
Oyapock River. 

Marourioux (Arawak ?).—On the Ouanary River in 1729 (lat. 3° N., 
long. 53° W.). Taken to the mission of Ouanari with the Tocoyen and 
Marawan (Lombard, 1928). 

Palicur (Palikur).—In Brazilian and French Guiana and the drainage 
of the lower Oyapock and Uaga Rivers (lat. 3° N., long. 52° W.) (Nim- 
uendaju, 1926). 

Parauana (Barauana).—On the Ayarary River, west tributary of the 
Rio Branco in 1755 (lat. 2° N., long. 63° W.) (Ferreira, 1903). 

Parauien.—An extinct branch of the Tarumd (q.v.) (lat. 3° S., long. 
60° W.) (Rivet, 1924). 

Pauishana (Pauixana, Pauisiana, etc.).—On the Catrimani River, a 
left tributary of the Rio Branco (lat. 2° N., long. 62° W.) (Nimuendaju 
gives this as Carib.) 

Piapoco.—On the middle course of the Guaviare River (lat. 3° N., 
long. 70° W.) (Crévaux, 1883, p. 508). 

Pino (Arawak?).—West of the Acokwa (lat. 3° N., long. 54° W.) 
(Lombard, 1928). 

Purui (Pourouwi; Arawak?).—On the left bank of the Couyary River, 
across from the Amicuana (lat. 2° N., long. 52° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 

Taruma (Arawak?).—According to Nimuendaju, the Tarumd spoke 
an independent language. They were formerly in the lower Rio Negro 
region, west of the small Ajurim River in 1668, according to Pedro da 
Costa Favella, who also reports “Aroaqu” in this region (lat. 3° S., 


804 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


long. 60° W.). By 1808 Governor José Joaquim Victorio found no trace 
of them. Robert Schomburgk in 1837 heard of the Tarumd numbering 
at that time about 500, at the head of the Essequibo, Kuyuwini, and 
Cassiquity Rivers. They have also been reported at the head of the 
Courantyne River. Apparently, they were formerly located in the Amazon 
Basin and migrated northward to British Guiana in the 18th century. 

Tocoyen (Arawak?).—On the Ouanary River in 1730 (lat. 3° N., 
long. 53° W.). Later they migrated southwest (Lombard, 1928). First 
cited by Fauque, 1729, on the middle Oyapock River; later they were 
taken to the mission of Ouanari by P. Joseph d’Ansillac. They were 
mentioned by Lombard in 1730 (H. Coudreau, 1891 a). 

Wapishana (Warpeshana, Mapeshana, Wapisiana, Ouapisiana, Ouapi- 
chane, etc.).—Now located on the savannas of southern British Guiana. 
Formerly, they occupied the basin of the Tacutu River (lat. 3° N., long. 
60° W.). In recent times they have invaded the plains of the middle 
Rio Branco and absorbed the Atorai and Paraviyana. 


THE AUAKEAN FAMILY 


Auaké (Awaké).—An independent linguistic family with representa- 
tives located at the head of the Paraua, a left tributary of the Caroni River 
(lat. 5° N., long. 64° W.) (Rivet, 1924, p. 651; Koch-Grinberg, 1913 a). 


THE CARIBAN FAMILY 


Acawai (Akawai, Acawoio, Akawoio, Wacawai, Waica, Waika, 
Capohn, Kapohn, Capong, Kapong, etc.).—During the 19th century, 
their center was the Cuyuni River, with outlying groups on the Barama, 
Barima, and upper Pomeroon Rivers, and elsewhere (lat. 6° N., long. 
607 Ws). 

Acokwa (Akokwa, Acoquoi, Acoqua, etc.) —On the Camopi and 
Approuague Rivers in 1720 (lat. 3° N., long. 53° W.) (Lombard, 1928, 
pu t23). 

Acuria.—Between the Nickerie and Copename Rivers, in Dutch Guiana 
(lat) 5° Ni, Tone:'55° Wy): 

Amicuana (Amicwan, Amikwan, Amicouan, Amikonan; Carib?).—In 
1720-30 located between the sources of the Oyapock and Couyary Rivers 
(lat. 2° N., long. 53° W.), with evidence indicating probable earlier resi- 
dence southward toward the Amazon (Lombard, 1928, p. 124). Martius 
(1867, 1:709) places them at the head of the Anauira-paci River. 

Apalai (Aparai, Arakwayt).—Now on the Part River, formerly also 
on the Jari and Curua Rivers (lat. 1° S., long. 55° W.) (Speiser, 1926). 

Apurui (Apouroui, Upurui, Piriou, Pirio, Piriu) —On the lower Jari 
River (Crévaux, 1883, p. 234; Grillet and Bechamel, 1698). Fauque 
and Lombard mention them about 1730 as on the middle Oyapock River, 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 805 


(lat. 3° N., long. 53° W.). About this time they were placed in the 
mission of St. Paul d’Oyapock by P. Arnaud d’Ayma (Coudreau, H., 
1891 a). In 1830, Leprieur (1834) found a few on the Armontabo 
Creek and near the mouth of the Camopi River. 

Aracaret (Aracaré, Aricari, Arikari, Racalet, etc.)—According to 
Grillet and Bechamel (1698), they were the ancient inhabitants of the 
Isle de Cayenne, where they were located in 1673 (lat. 4° N., long. 53° 
W.). They may be the Racalet of Biet (1664), who were allied with the 
Galibt (H. Coudreau, 1891 a). According to Lombard (1928), they 
were the first Indians to contact the Whites and the first to disappear, 
being extinct by 1730. 

Aramagoto (Armagoto; Carib?).—West of the Couyary River in 
1730-41; reported around sources of the Camopi River in 1731-43, and 
on tributaries of the Oyapock in 1763 (lat. 2° N., long. 54° W.). Prob- 
ably mixed with the Aramisho during the 18th century, after being 
attacked and dispersed by Tupi slave hunters (Lombard, 1928, pp. 
125-126). 

Aramisho (Aramichaux, Aramisa; Carib?, but possibly Arawakan, 
see p. 801).—On the Ouaqui River in 1742 (lat. 2° N., long. 54° W.) ; 
the Araoua River in 1767 (Lombard, 1928, pp. 124-125). 

Arebato (Carib?).—Reported by Chaffanjon (1889, pp. 94-99) as on 
the middle Caura River, around the village of Cuchara and the Raudal 
del Para (lat. 7° N., long. 65° W.). 

Arecuna (Arekuna, Aricuni; in British Guiana are known as Tauli- 
pang, Taurepdng, Jaricuna, Jarécoune, etc.).—Used to occupy the Uaupés 
River drainage; now in the mountains and savannas around the sources 
of the Caroni, Cuyuni, and Mazaruni Rivers, with a branch in the Ro- 
raima region (lat. 4° N., long. 62° W.) (Koch-Grtinberg, 1923 a). 

Arigua (Carib?).—Reported by Chaffanjon (1889, p. 82) on the Tauca 
River, right tributary of the Caura River. 

Arinagoto (Aringoto).—On the upper Caroni River (lat. 4° N., long. 
63° W.) (Rivet, 1924, map). 

Atroahy (Atrohai, Atroahi, Atruahi)—On the Rio Negro and 
Jauaperi and Alalahtt Rivers (lat. 1° S., long. 62° W.); related to the 
Crichana (Lima Figueirédo, 1939; Grubb, 1927, p. 96). 

Attaraya.—At the bend of the Mazaruni River (Hilhouse, 1834 a, 
p. 26). 

Bonari (Boanari).—On the Uatuma River. Language similar to the 
Jauaperi River Indians (the Yauoperi) (Hibner, 1907). Around the 
mouth of Rio Negro (lat. 3° S., long. 58° W.) (Ehrenreich, 1904, p 50). 

Cadupinapo (Kadupinapo; Carib?).—On the Erevato River (Koch- 
Griinberg, 1922, p. 235). 


806 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.H. Bull. 143 


Caicouchiane (Calcucheen, Caicusian, Kaikusian, Caicuchana, Kaiku- 
chana; Carib?).—In the region south of the Ouaqui River (Lombard, 
1928). 

Calina. See Carib. 

Camaracoto (Kamarakoto).—On the upper Caroni and Paragua 
Rivers (lat. 6° N., long. 62° W.) (Rivet, 1924; Simpson, 1940). 

Carabinani (Carabeana; Carib?).—On the Rio Negro and Jauaperi 
River (lat. 0°, long. 62° W.) (Lima Figueirédo, 1939). Destroyed 
villages between the Trombetas and Urucurt Rivers in 1727 and lived 
on the Kixauat River, a Trombetas tributary ; were warlike and attacked 
the Purucuato (San Mancos, 1903). 

Caran (Karan; Carib?).—(Lat. 4° N., long. 52° W.). In 1663, they 
were enemies of the Nourage and lived to the east of them. In 1738, they 
were in the mission of St. Paul d’Oyapock (Grillet and Bechamel, 1698; 
Lombard, 1928). 

Caranariu (Karanariu; Carib?).—Probably same as the Caran. They 
lived about 1730 in the same locale as the Maye. They came from the 
south and lived as slaves of the Palicur. Now they are extinct (Lom- 
bard, 1928). 

Carib (Caripuna, Carinye, Karinye, Calina, Kalina, Pure Carib, Cali- 
bite, Caribi, Caribice, Galibi, etc.).—A widespread group of tribes or 
hordes in British, French, and Dutch Guiana. They are scattered on the 
Mazaruni, Cuyuni, and Pomeroon Rivers, and are now in exclusive 
possession of the Barama and Barima Rivers; they were formerly on the 
Courantyne, Rupununi, and Guidaru Rivers. The Caribice of the lower 
Essequibo River are said to have retreated when the Dutch settled there 
(Hilhouse, 1832, p. 236). The Galibi was the most important tribe of 
coastal Guiana in Biet’s time (1652). In the 1880's the largest groups were 
on the left bank of the Maroni River (Coudreau, H., 1891 a). Inland 
groups became slave hunters in Colonial times. (For the Barama River 
Carib, see Gillin, 1936.) 

Cariguano (Carib?).—At the head of the Trombetas River (Martius, 
1867, 1:708). 

Cariniaco (Kariniako).—On the Orinoco, near the mouth of the Caura 
River (lat. 7° N., long. 64° W.) (Rivet, 1924, p. 661). 

Cashuena (Kashuené).—On the Casuro (Cashorro) River, right trib- 
utary of the middle Trombetas River (lat. 1° S., long. 58° W.). 

Catawian (Katawian).—On the Katcana River, south of the Puricoto 
(Grubb, 1927, p. 107). 

Cereu (Carib?).—In 1727 on the Goayhini River, tributary of the 
Trombetas (San Mancos, 1903). 

Chayma (Sayma).—Hilhouse (1834 b, p. 331) refers to this group, 
a subtribe of the Acawai, as living on the Waini (Wayena) and Barama 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 807 


Rivers (lat. 8° N., long. 60° W.). Sayma are mentioned by Raleigh 
(1928, p. 50) as inhabitants of Cumana. 

Chikena (Sikena).—On the Katcana River, south of the Puricoto 
(lat. 1° N., long. 58° W.) (Grubb, 1927, p. 101). 

Chiricoume (Carib?).—Supposed to be between the Jamunda and 
Mapuera Rivers, but were not found by O. Coudreau (1903 a). 

Comani (Cumani; Carib?)—On the Aniba River (Martius, 1867, 
1:708). 

Comayana (Carib?).—On the upper Aroué River ; allied to the Oyari- 
coulet. In 1780, they were masters of the Itany River, but about that 
time were driven into the interior by the Rucuyen (Oyana) (Cou- 
dreau, H., 1893, pp. 58, 79). 

Conduri (Cunuri; Carib?).—Between the Jamunda and Trombetas 
Rivers (lat. 3° N., long. 57° W.) (Martius, 1867, 1:708; Acufia, 1641). 

Coritanahé (Caril?).—On the Ajubacalo River, a Trombetas tribu- 
tary, in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Couryenne (Carib?)—At the mouth of the Orapu River in 1722 
(Lombard, 1928). 

Crichana (Krischand, Kirishané).—On the Jauaperi River and the 
Rio Branco, up to the sources of the Uraricoera River (lat. 2° N., long. 
62° W.) (Barbosa Rodrigues, 1885; Coudreau, H., 1886-87, 2-895). 

Cuacua (Kuakua, Mpoyo, Mapoyo).—Between the Paruaza and 
Suapure Rivers, right tributaries of the Orinoco (lat. 7° N., long. 67° W.) 
(Rivet, 1924). 

Cunuana (Kunuana, Cunuara, Kunuara).—Closely related to the 
Decuana and Yecuana (Maquiritare, Maiongcong). On the right bank 
of the upper Orinoco; also on the Cunucunuma, Padamo, and other right 
tributaries of the upper Orinoco (lat. 4° N., long. 65° W.). Chaffanjon’s 
“Maquiritare’ (Yecuana) vocabulary may have been taken from this 
group. 

Curasicana (Kurasikdna, Curashikiana, Kurashikiana, Curacicana).— 
At the sources of the Biehita River, a tributary of the Suapure (lat. 6° N., 


long. 66° W.) (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 234). See Yabarana. 

Curcucuan (Kurkukuan; Carib?).—On the upper Cassiporé (Cachi- 
poure) River (Lombard, 1928). 

Cusari (Kusari, Coussani).—Carib identification not certain. (Lat. 
1° N., long. 52° W.) They began a slow migration about 1720 on the 
Courouaie River near the coast. Some reached the mission of Kourou; 
others the Cassiporé River. Eventually, they spread in all directions and 
were gradually acculturated to the Tupi. 

Custumi (Carib?).—On the upper Oyapock River in 1730 (lat. 3° N., 
long. 52° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 

Decuana (Dekuana).—A branch of the Yecuana, on the left side of 
the middle and lower Ventuari River (lat. 4° N., long. 66° W.). 


808 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.BE. Bull. 143 


Diau.—See Yao; also Trio. On the Iliau River, 7 days’ above the 
confluence of the Apiniwau and Trombetas Rivers (lat. 2° N., long. 
57° W.). 

Gabinairi.—On the Camanat River, a left tributary of the Rio Negro 
(Grubb, 1927, p. 96). 

Garipon (Carib?).—On the lower Oyapock River to the mouth of the 
Camopi River (lat. 3° N., long. 53° W.). 

Guacara (Guacari).—Placed by Martius (1867, 1:708) between the 
Jamunda and Trombetas Rivers (lat. 2° S., long. 57° W.). 

Guaynungomo (Waiomgomo, Carana-cuna).—Same as the Yecuana 
and Decuana. In the village of Achagua on the right bank of the Caura 
River, just below the mouth of the Erebato River; also on the Carana 
Cuna, right tributary of the Caura River (Chaffanjon, 1889). 

Guayuno. See Pariagoto.—Spanish name for Carib of Venezuelan 
Guiana, the Cuyuni River, etc. ; otherwise known as the Pariagoto (Burr, 
1897, pp. 306-307). 

Guimara.—On the upper Maraca River (Gama Lobo, 1903). 

Heurd.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Ichu.—Probably a branch of the Yauaperi, on the Camanat River, a 
tributary of the Jauaperi (lat. 2° S., long. 60° W.) (Grubb, 1927, p. 96). 

Thuruana (/hududna).—A branch or horde of the Yecuana, living at 
the head of the Ventuari River (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 230). 

Ingarico (Ingariko, Engarico).—Neighbors of the Taulipang and 
Arecuna, north and northeast of Mount Roraima (lat. 5° N., long. 60° W.) 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1922, pp. 211-212). 

Ituan (Carib?)—On the upper Cassiporé River (Lombard, 1928). 

Macuani (Macouani; Carib?).—On the upper Oyapock River in 1729 
(Lombard, 1928). 

Macushi (Makusi).—On the savannas of southern British Guiana and 
adjacent regions (lat. 3°-4° N., long. 58°-61° W.). In 1778 on both 
sides of the upper Essequibo River, according to Surville’s map (Caulin, 
1779). In 1787, the Portuguese report places them in the same region 
“from Macarapan Mountains to sources of the Mahu (Ireng).” They 
then had five chiefs, were completely wild, and did not come down to the 
Rio Branco (H. Coudreau, 1886-87, 2:392). They were visited by 
Natterer in 1832, at which time they lived on the Pirarara River which 
falls into the Mahu, a tributary of the Tacuti and thus of the Rio Branco. 
Robert and Richard Schomburgk were in contact with them between 
1835-44. At present their center lies between the Ireng, Tacutu, and 
Rupununi Rivers in the borderland between British and Brazilian terri- 
tory. From there they stretch to the Cotinga River and across it, on both 
banks of the Surumt River, and south therefrom in the hilly savannas 
near the Wapishana to the region of the upper Parimé-Marua River. On 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 809 


the right bank of the lower Uraricoera River, near its confluence with the 
Tacutu River, there are only a few settlements mixed, as on the Surumt 
River, with Wapishana. The most western outpost is on the Island of 
Maraca at the village of Santa Rosa, on the east point of the island 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1922, pp. 206-208). They are divided into five impor- 
tant and mutually distrustful hordes, according to Koch-Griinberg. Ac- 
cording to Roth (1924, p. 734), they are also to be found on the Parima 
River, and along the Pacaraima and Kanuku Mountains, 

Maitsi (Mauitzi).—A sister tribe of the Maiongcong (Yecuana), men- 
tioned by Robert Schomburgk (1840, p. 403, large map) on the upper 
Paragua and the Ventuari Rivers. Koch-Grtinberg (1922, p. 231) was 
unable to find any trace of them. 

Maye (Carib?).—On the savannas of the Coupipi River in 1684; near 
the mouth of the Oyapock River in 1730 (lat. 3° N., long. 52° W.). 
They lived like slaves of the Palicur; they probably originally came from 
the south (Lombard, 1928). 

Mersiu (Carib?).—At the sources of the Arataye River, right trib- 
utary of the Oyapock River (Lombard, 1928). 

Nourage (Norage, Nolaque).—On the upper Approuague and upper 
Cassiporé Rivers in Cayenne (lat. 3° N., long. 52° W.) (Barrére, 1743, 
pp. 11, 237). Between the Comté River and Arataye in the 1730’s (Lom- 
bard, 1928). 

Ouayeoué.—Probably the same as Waiwai. O. Coudreau (1903 a) 
identifies them as a Carib group she met on the Mapuera River. 

Oyana (Ojana, Ajana, Ouyana, Uajana, Upuri, Oepoeroei, Rucu- 
yen, Orcocoyana, Orkokoyana, Urucuiana, Alucuyana, Alukuyaia).— 
In the southern border regions of Dutch and French Guianas and on the 
upper Part, Jari, Marouini, Lawa, Paloemeu, and Tapanahony Rivers 
(lat. 2° N., long. 54° W.). (De Goeje, 1908 a, map; Rivet, 1924, p. 662; 
Roth, 1924, p. 735.) 

Oyaricoulet (Ovyacoulet, Ojarikoelle) —On the upper Tapanahony and 
Oulémary Rivers. H. Coudreau suggests (1893, p. 32) that they may be 
the ancient Amibouan, or “Longears,” mentioned by P. Lombard in 1729 
and by Thébault de la Monderie in 1819, in the region of the upper Oya- 
pock River. In Dutch Guiana they occupy the region between the Oranje 
and Tumuc-Humac Mountains, according to De Goeje (1908 b, map). 

Palank (Palonque).—Now extinct, formerly on the middle Apirua and 
Yaroupi Rivers, on the left bank of the Unare River, and to the north 
of the Tamanaco River, according to Rivet (Lombard, 1928). 

Panare.—At the sources of the Cuchivero River, a right tributary of 
the lower Orinoco (lat. 7° N., long. 66° W.) (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, 
p. 235). On the Mato River, a left tributary of the Caura River, accord- 
ing to Rivet (1924). 


810 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Paraviyana (Parauidna, Paravilhana, Parauillana, Palaquiyang, Para- 
uana).—About 1910 on the Catrimani River and north and east of the Rio 
Branco (lat. 2° N., long. 60° W.). Only a few remained in the border 
region in Schomburgk’s day, and apparently they have wandered south 
fairly recently (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 214; M. R. Schomburgk, 1847- 
48, 1:315). Now absorbed by the Wapishana, according to Rivet (1924). 
(For their culture in 1777, see Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1850.) On the Ocahy 
River in 1755 (Ferreira, 1903) ; on the Catrimani River (Gama Lobo, 
1903) ; and on the Guanauau River in 1755 (Ferreira, 1903). 

Pariagoto.—On the lower Orinoco, in Venezuelan Guiana, and the 
Cuyuni River (lat. 7° N., long. 62° W.) (Burr, 1897, pp. 206-207). 

Pariqui.—On the left bank of the Amazon, between the Rio Negro and 
Uatuma River (lat. 3° S., long. 58° W.) (Freitas, 1914). 

Patamona (Partamona, Patomana, Paramona, Paramunt).—Probably 
a branch of the Acawai; Dance (1881, p. 216) mentions them among the 
tribes he met from Cumapuru Rapids to beyond the Great Falls of the 
Demerara River. They are mentioned as “mountaineers” by Hilhouse 
(1832, p. 240). On the Potaro River (Rivet, 1924, map). 

Pauxi.—On the right bank of the Cumina River, a tributary of the 
Trombetas (lat. 2° S., long. 57° W.) (Rivet, 1924, p. 660). 

Peritaua (Carib?).—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 
1903). 

Pianocoto (Pianoghotto, Piannocotau, Pianogoto, Pianacoto, Piana- 
koto).—On the upper Courantyne (Corantin) River, on both banks of 
the Cumanaou River (lat. 3° N., long. 57° W.) (Richard Schomburgk, 
1847-48, 2:478). Ehrenreich (1904, p. 50) places them on the upper 
Trombetas and Jamunda Rivers, whither they probably came in recent 
times from the Guianas to the north. At the source of the Cumina River 
(Grubb, 1927, p. 107). 

Pirio (Piriou, Pyrion). See Apurui—Near the Acokwa in 1673, 
according to Grillet and Bechamel (1698). 

Pishauco (Pischauco, Pischauko, Pshavaco, Pichauco, Pichauko).— 
In the Serra Tepequem, north of the Island of Maraca (lat. 3° N., long. 
62° W.). Now extinct. (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 215.) 

Puricoto (Jpuricoto, Parukutu, Purucoto, Purukoto, Purucutu, Pro- 
goto, Porocoto, Porokoto, etc.).—On the Uraricapara River, tributary of 
the upper Parima River (lat. 3° N., long. 62° W.). Said to be extinct now 
as a tribe (Koch-Griinberg, 1913 b, p. 449). Also mentioned on the upper 
Trombetas and between this stream and the Mapuera River. Barbosa 
Rodrigues (1885, p. 135-145) regards them as ancestors of the Macushi 
and Crichana. 

Purucuato (Parucuato, Purucutu, Purukutu)—On the lower 
Jamunda River in 1728; also reported between the Mapuera and Trombe- 
tas Rivers and at the head of the Trombetas (lat. 3° S., long. 57° W.). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 811 


Quiri-Quiripa.—On Gumilla’s map, at the head of the Caura River. 
Chaffanjon (1889) places them on the Orinoco, above the Moitaco River 
at the village of Kamurika; also on the Purguisi, right tributary of the 
Orinoco, just below the Caura (lat. 5° N., long. 64° W.). 

Rouorio (Carib?).—On the coast around the mouth of the Oyapock 
in 1720 (lat. 3° N., long. 51° W.) (Lombard, 1928). 

Saluma (Saloema).—On the upper Uanabe (Trombetas tributary) ; 
south of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains (lat. 1° N., long. 56° W.). 

Sapara (Zapara).—Along the south side of the Island of Maraca and 
on the east end of the island (lat. 3° N., long. 61° W.) (Koch-Griinberg, 
1922, p. 216). On the Cauamé and Uraricoera Rivers (Monteiro de 
Noronha, 1903) ; on the Mucajahy River (Gama Lobo, 1903) ; in 1755 
on the Ocahy River (Ferreira, 1903). 

Serecong (Serekong, Sarracong, Sarrakong, Sericuna, Serikuna).— 
On the upper Mazaruni River (lat. 5° N., long. 60° W.). (Schomburgk, 
O. A., 1841, p. 385; Uhle, 1913; Schomburgk, M. R., 1847-48, 2 :237, 
253.) 

Suppaye (Sapaye).—In 1673 on the lower Approuague River, on the 
Atoroui, and in Suriname (Grillet and Bechamel, 1698). 

Taira (Tayra).—Between the Moroni and Oyapock Rivers (lat. 3° N., 
long. 53° W.). According to Patris, in 1762 they drove the Emerillon 
from the Camopi River. They were at war with the Emerillon in 1766. 
H. Coudreau (1893, p. 257) mentions one village at head of the Mana 
River, another at the head of the Abounami River. 

Tamanac (Tamanak, Tamanaco).—On the middle Caura River and 
westward; on the southern bank of the middle Orinoco and southward 
(lat. 7° N., long. 65° W.). Now extinct. 

Taparito (Taparita)——On the middle Caura River and westward; 
between the Caura and Cuchivero Rivers (lat. 6° N., long. 66° W.) 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1922, p. 235). 

Tapicari (Carib?).—On the upper Mucajahy River, formerly on the 
Rio Branco (Gama Lobo, 1903). 

Terecuma (Taracum, Sericuma).—Between the Auavilhana and 
Uatuma Rivers (Martius, 1867, 1 :708). 

Teweya.—Eastern border of the Taulipdng area (lat. 4° N., long. 
60° W.). 

Thuruana.—On the upper Ventuari River (Rivet, 1924, map). 

Tiverighotto.—On the Rio Branco (Roth, 1924, p. 743). 

Tonayena (Tunayana).—On the Katcana River (lat. 2° N., long. 
56° W.) (Grubb, 1927, p. 107). 

Trio (Drio, Diau, Kilin).—In the 18th century, lived all along the 
Tapanahony River; now on the upper Paloemeu River, upper Courantyne 
River, and upper courses of the Amazon tributaries arising in this region 
(lat. 3° N., long. 57° W.). Linguistic identification is uncertain, inas- 

653333—47—54 


812 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


much as H. Coudreau (1893, p. 79) states that the true language has 
no resemblance to Rucuyen (Oyana). 

Uassahy (Carib?).—On the Jauaperi River (lat. 2° S., long. 62° W.) 
(Freitas, 1914). 

Upurui.—In southwest Suriname (lat. 2° N., long. 55° W.). On the 
Paloemeu River, they are mixed with the Oyana and speak the same 
language (De Goeje, 1906, vocabulary). 

Wai (Ouay, Ouen).—Near the junction of the Jamouri and Apirua 
Rivers (Lombard, 1928). 

Waica (Waika, Uaica, Uaika).—On the Cuyuni River (lat. 6° N., 
long. 60° W.); show close linguistic resemblance to the Arecuna and 
Macushi, according to Tavera-Acosta (1921-22). Rivet places them in 
the Yuruari River region of Venezuela and on the Barama River of 
British Guiana (Rivet, 1924, p. 663) ; but there were none on the Barama 
in 1932-33 (Gillin, 1936). Not to be confused with the Shiriand Waica 
(pp. 861-864). 

Waimiry (Uaimiry, U-ah-miri) —On the Rio Negro and Jauaperi, 
Mahua, and Campinas Rivers (lat. 1° S., long. 61° W.). (Grubb, 1927 
p. 96). 

Waiwai (Woyamana, Waiwe, Ouayeoue).—On the upper Essequibo 
River drainage and south (lat. 1° N., long. 59° W.). Probably on the 
Mapuera River. 

Wayumara (Waiyamara, Waéamara, Uaiumaré, Wuaiamare, Uaimard, 
Oyamara, Guimara).—On the Island of Maraca and its region (lat. 3° 
N., long. 62° W.) (Koch-Griinberg, 1922, pp. 216-217). Are these the 
same as the “U-ah-miri’ (Waimiry) placed on the left bank of the Jaua- 
peri River by Payer (1906, p. 219)? 

Wociare (Uiquiare, Uiquire, Uaiquire, Weciare).—At the sources of 
the Paro, or Part, River, right tributary of the Wanapiari (Koch- 
Griinberg, 1922, p. 234). Close to, if not a dialect of, the Yabarana. 

Yabarana.—There are now 20 to 30 Yabarana on the middle Ventuari 
River (lat. 5° N., long. 65° W.) ; it was formerly the principal tribe, with 
language very different from the Maquiritare (Yecuana). They have 
two dialects, the Curasicana and Wékiare. The former is spoken on the 
upper Biehita River ; the latter on the upper Part River (Koch-Grtnberg, 
1922, pp. 233-234). 

Yao (Jao, Anacaioury, Caripou-Yao, Yaye).—Identified as Carib by 
Adam (1890 b). Nimuendaji (1926, p. 17) places them at the mouth 
of the Oyapock River in the 17th century (lat. 4° N., long. 52° W.), 
and calls them Arawak. Keymis (1811) says that in 1596 they were 
fighting the Arawak who lived on the Barima River and who, in league 
with the Spanish, drove the Yao out of the Moruca (Moruga) River. 
Harcourt (1613) states that the Yaio, Arawacca, Sappaio, and Paragoto 
were allied against the Carib. Rivet (1924) places the Yao on the 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 813 


Ivaricopo (Brazil) and Kaw Rivers. Wilson (1906) refers to them as 
Yaye. 

Yapacoye.—On the left bank of the Itany River, south of the Comayana 
(lat. 2° N., long. 55° W.). They understand the Oyana language and 
have similar customs (Coudreau, H., 1893, p. 84). 

Yauaperi (Yauapiri)—On the Jauaperi River (lat. 2° S., long. 
GLE WW.) 

Yecuana (Yekuana, Maquiritare, Makiritaré)—Macushi call them 
Maiongking, Maiongcong, Maiongkong, Mayongong, Maingcong, May- 
onggong, Maschongcong, Maschongkong, and Waiomgomo. On the 
Merevari, Paraba, and upper Mazaruni Rivers (lat. 4° N., long. 65° 
W.). (Roth, 1924, p. 734; Crévaux, 1883, p. 379; Koch-Griinberg, 1913 b, 
p. 459; R. H. Schomburgk, 1841 b, p. 215; O. A. Schomburgk, 1841, p. 
467 ; Chaffanjon, 1889, ch. 19.) According to L. Williams (1941), they 
are found on the Erebato and Cunaracuni Rivers, upper left tributaries of 
the Caura River. 


THE CALIANAN FAMILY 


Caliana (Kaliana).—An independent linguistic family on the upper 
Paraua River, a left tributary of the Caroni River (Rivet, 1924; Koch- 
Grinberg, 1913 b, 1922, p. 227). Not to be confused with the Tupian 
Caliand of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains. 


THE MACUAN FAMILY 


Macu (Maku, Maca, Maucu, Mahacu).—An independent linguistic 
family on the middle Auari River, a left tributary of the middle Urari- 
coera River (Koch-Grinberg, 1922, pp. 227-228). Not to be confused 
with the Maci of the Rio Negro and Japura River, who are of the Puinave 
family ; the Maci of the Ventuari River, who are of the Saliva family ; nor 
with the Maco of Lake Cuyabeno (Ecuador), who are of the Cofan family 
(Rivet, 1924, pp. 670-671). (See pp. 864-867.) 


THE MURAN FAMILY 


Mura.—A small acculturated group is reported on the right bank of 
the lower Urubt River (Grubb, 1927, p.96). (See pp. 255-266. ) 


THE SALIVAN OR MACUAN FAMILY 


Ature (Adole).—Five leagues up the Orinoco from the mouth of the 
Meta River (lat. 6° N., 68° W.) (Gumilla, 1791, 1:291). Chaffanjon 
(1889) states that they have become extinct. (See Piaroa below.) 

Macu (Maku).—Occupy the savannas of the right bank of the middle 
and lower Ventuari River, from its mouth to several days above the 


814 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


mouth of the Cunucumina River (lat. 4° N., 68° W.) (Rivet, 1924, 
pass): 

Piaroa (Atures)—On the Sipapo River and the right bank of the 
Orinoco in the region of Atures and Maipures Falls; on the upper Cata- 
niapo River; also on the lower Orinoco tributaries, Zama and Mataveni, 
according to Tavera-Acosta and Crévaux. According to Chaffanjon, they 
extend as far as the mouth of the Guaviare River and on the right Orinoco 
bank from the Paraguasst River to the Ventuari (lat. 5° N., long. 68° 
W.). Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 236) found them on the savannas of 
middle and lower Ventuari and on the upper courses of its tributaries, 
the Camani and Mariéte; they are also believed to live on unexplored 
right tributaries of the Orinoco, above the mouth of the Ventuari, such 
as the Jao and Puruname Rivers. Tavera-Acosta (1907, p. 76) identifies 
them with the ancient Ature (q. v.). 


THE SHIRIANAN FAMILY 


The Guaharibo, Shiriand, and Waica are described elsewhere (pp. 
861-864). 
THE TUPIAN FAMILY 


Apanto (Apoto).—On the Jamunda River and eastward to the Trom- 
betas (lat. 2° S., long. 57° W.). (Acufia, 1891, p. 176; Martius, 1867, 
1:708 ; Métraux, 1928 a, p. 32.) 

Caliana (Calayoua, Calayona, Kaliané).—On the southern slopes of 
the Tumuc-Humac Mountains (lat. 2° N., long. 55° W.), near the 
Oyampi. 

Camacom (Kamakom).—Around sources of the Paraparantuba River 
in Brazilian Guiana, west of the Cusari (lat. 2° N., long. 53° W.) (Rivet, 
1924, map). 

Cusari (Kusari).—Probably originally Carib, now acculturated to 
Tupi. On the Anauira-puct’ River, Brazilian Guiana, near the Amazon 
mouth; at the head of the Araguary River (lat. 1° N., long. 53° W.) 
(Rivet, 1924, map). On the upper Arawari and Napari Rivers (Le- 
prieur, 1834). 

Emerillon.—Along the east Brazilian coast from the Amazon mouth 
north into French Guiana (lat. 4° N., long. 54° W.). At present they 
form one nation with the Oyampi. They migrated from the south, begin- 
ning about 1736-37, into the basin of the Oyapock River, where former 
residents were Carib. Probably preceded the Oyampi into the Guianas 
(Métraux, 1928 a, pp. 33-34; Coudreau, H., 1893, pp. 156, 392, 596). 

Guayapi. See Paikipiranga. 

Oyampi (Oyambi, Aipi, Aiapi, Uajapi, Oaiapi, Guyapi, Ayapi, Guaiapy, 
Waiapi, Wayapi, Paikipiranga (q. v.))—In French Guiana and on the 
Brazilian coast north of the Amazon mouth (lat. 2° N., long. 53° W.). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 815 


Now a single nation with the Emerillon. They came from south of the 
Amazon about 1736, because of fear of the Portuguese, but, after arriving 
in Guiana, they aided the Portuguese in slave hunting, their victims being 
mainly the Carib. They entered French Guiana about 1800-20. Those 
already settled in Guiana pushed northward again in 1828, as a result 
of an epidemic. Since 1850, they have been strongly influenced by the 
Oyana (Métraux, 1927, pp. 30-34). They are also reported on the 
Yary (Jari) and Guarataburt Rivers. 

Paikipiranga (Parichy).—At the head of the Maraca River (Rivet, 
1924, p. 690; Métraux, 1928 a, p. 32; Nimuendaju, 1927; Farabee, 
1917 b). Mentioned by Vasconcellos (1859) as being at the head of the 
Araguary River and wishing to settle in Cachoeira on the Anauira-puct 
(Villa Nova) River. They were at Macapa in February 1860. The 
Indians whom Farabee (1917 b, p. 139) called Paikipiranga called them- 
selves Ayapi or Wayapi, and Nimuendaju considers them to be Oyampi. 
This group disappeared, dying off and intermarrying with rubber workers 
(Nimendaju, 1927). 

Uara-Guacu (Araguaju, Uagu).—Near mission of Urubuquara, be- 
tween the Part and Gurupatuba Rivers. (Métraux, 1928 a, p. 32; Mar- 
tius, 1867, 1:708; Nimuendaju, 1926.) 


THE WARRAUAN FAMILY 


The Warrau are described elsewhere (pp. 869-881). 


LINGUISTIC FAMILY UNIDENTIFIED 


Acarapi.— At the source of the Parimé River (Gama Lobo, 1903). 

Aniba (Anoiiiba).—On the Aniba River (Martius, 1867, 1:708). 

Aramayu.—On the Oyapock River, near Anotaye in 1730 (Lombard, 
1928). 

Aritarai (Harytrahe).—On the Gurupatiba River (Martius, 1867, 
1.708). 

Armabut6o.—At the head of the Anauira-puci' River (Martius, 1867, 
1:708). 

Aturajuz.—On the Guanauau River (Résumé . . ., 1903) in 1755 
(Ferreira, 1903). 

Axina.—On the Camoo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Baenna (Mbae-una).—On Lake Saraca (Martius, 1867, 1:708). 

Cabareijo.—On the Hetabti River (San Mancos, 1903). 

Calauamai.—In 1727 on the Trombetas River (San Mancos, 1903). 

Calcou6.—On the Coromud River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Camara.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Camaré.—On the Camoo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Canahaubo.—On the Camoo River (San Mancos, 1903). 


816 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Caparanao.—On the Coromuo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Chaperu.—On the Caiai River (Monteiro Noronha, 1903). 

Guajura.—On the Ocahy River in 1755 (Ferreira, 1903). 

Heno.—On the Camoo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Hoaluxa.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Hureana.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Japy.—On the upper Mapuera and Tueréné Rivers (Coudreau, O., 
1903 a). 

Juhi.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Macacabo.—On the Cabremen River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Macorei.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Makenu.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Maprouan.—According to Grillet and Bechamel (1698), a few on the 
Oyac River in 1673, remains of a tribe formerly living in the Amazon; 
were attacked by the Arian. 

Maracana.—Along the Uraricapara River (Roth, 1924, p. 735; Koch- 
Griinberg, 1922, p. 227). On the Uraricoera River (Lima Figueirédo, 
1939). Enemies of the Shiriana (Grubb, 1927). 

Maruaru.—Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 235) heard of them north of the 
Ventuari River. 

Matocoxima.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Maxaro.—On the Trombetas in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Mayoyana Naucu.—In the interior of the Trombetas drainage ; come 
occasionally to the Urucurin River (San Mancos, 1903). 

Moroux.—Between the Pino, Macapa, and Apurui (Lombard, 1928). 

Morulaboca.—On the Camoo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Oanahauh6.—On the Camoé River in 1827 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Oanu.—On the Ajubacalo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Ojemuna.—On the Ajubacalo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Orabaru.—On the Jorua River (San Mancos, 1903). 

Orekia.—On the Ajubacalo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Paranacori.—On the Ajubacalo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Paraugoaru.—On the Cabo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Patuo.—On the Coromué River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Pujala.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Seden.—On the left bank of the Amazon, between the Negro and 
Uatuma River (Figueirédo, 1939). 

Taguari.—Between the Jamunda (Yamunda) and Trombetas Rivers 
(lat. 2° S., long. 58° W.) (Martius, 1867, 1:708). 

Tamocom.—On the Moucourou and Carapanatoube (upper tributaries 
of the Jari River) ; in contact with the Oyampi during the rainy season 
(Leprieur, 1834). 

Taucu.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 817 


Tucane. 
1903 a). 

Tucuju. 
1867, 1:709). 

Tutumu.—On the Camoo River in 1728 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Uariua.—Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 235) heard of them on the Mariéte 
River. 

Uayoru.—On the Caiai River (Monteiro Noronha, 1903). 

Waruwadu.—Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 235) heard of them living in 
the high mountains of the watershed between the upper Ventuari and 
Erebato Rivers. 

Xibiliana.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 

Xikiana.—On the Huheini River (San Mancos, 1903). 

Xumi.—On the Trombetas River in 1727 (San Mancos, 1903). 


On the upper Mapuera and Tueréné Rivers (Coudreau, O., 


On the Tueré River (lat. 2° S., long. 53° W.) (Martius, 


ELMS TORY 


Historical documents concerning the native peoples of the Guianas prior to the 
last decade of the 16th century do not exist. The area had been ignored by Europe. 
Spain, busy with the consolidation and exploitation of her territories in western 
South America, had made no serious attempt to extend her dominion east of the 
Orinoco River, other than to found the settlement of San Thomé on the Orinoco 
River, as the nucleus of the intended province of Spanish Guiana. Portuguese 
settlements had not reached the mouth of the Amazon River by 1600, and it was 
only in 1612-15, as defense against the increasing activities of Dutch and English 
trading posts in the lower Amazon, that the Portuguese outpost of Para was estab- 
lished. Between Para and the outposts of the Spanish Main stretched the “Wild 
Coast,” or Guiana, practically unknown. 

To the Dutch and English, in fear of the Spanish and Portuguese, the possibilities 
of Guiana were enhanced by its multiplicity of rivers, which made attack by the 
Iberian powers difficult. The earliest English explorers were in quest of El Dorado 
or the fabled city of Manzo. Sir Robert Dudley, in 1595, sent a boat’s crew 16 
days up the Orinoco River, and later in 1595 Sir Walter Raleigh journeyed 400 
miles up the river. Besides establishing a lasting reputation for friendly dealings 
with the Indians, Raleigh wrote the first book, albeit somewhat fanciful, on the 
region. In 1596, Lawrence Keymis, a companion of Raleigh’s first voyage, landed 
on the west side of the Amazon Delta and proceeded along the Guiana coast to the 
mouth of the Orinoco River. He surveyed the whole coast, giving the first 
systematic outline of the location of tribes (Keymis, 1811), rivers, and products. 
The tribes were apparently moving eastward from one river valley to another in 
advance of the Spanish penetration of Venezuelan Guiana. Keymis ascended the 
Oyapock River to the first falls and found the region inhabited by Arawak. 
Leonard Berry, in 1597, penetrated the Oyapock, Marouini, and Courantyne Rivers 
to the first rapids of each and was well received by the natives. In 1598, the first 
recorded Dutch expedition arrived on the Guiana coast to be hailed by a party of 
Carib on the Caurora (Cayenne) River, asking if they were “Anglees.” In 1604, 
Charles Leigh planted the first settlement, an English one, on the Oyapock River 
and a period of English and Dutch exploitation began. The English, Dutch, and 
French Guiana colonies of the 17th century were under private companies which, 
with limited means, established trading factories rather than plantations. Their rela- 


818 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


tions with the Indians were good; they did not attempt to enslave the natives nor 
to seize their lands. On the Oyapock River, the Arawak induced Leigh to defend 
them against the Carib on the Wia and the Cayenne Rivers. Leigh’s colony on the 
Oyapock River failed after his death in 1605, and was succeeded in 1609 by Robert 
Harcourt’s colony. Harcourt (1613) gave us the first extensive account of the man- 
ners and customs of the Indians of the Guiana coast. With the building of a Dutch 
factory and fort by Groenewagen in 1616 on the Essequibo River at the mouth of the 
Mazaruni River (Kyk-over-al) and of another Dutch factory in 1624 on the Berbice 
River, the Dutch interests in the region were established and have since persisted in 
spite of many territorial readjustments. The French, who at first suffered a series 
of massacres at the hands of the Carib, obtained a permanent foothold around the 
Cayenne River during the second quarter of the 17th century. 

Although, beginning about 1616, the English and Dutch had established a number 
of factories and plantations along the right bank of the Amazon River, as far as the 
mouth of the Tapajéz River, they were cleared out by 1625, after a series of Portu- 
guese attacks from Para. Relations with the Indians were reported to be friendly, 
but details are lacking. From 1625 until the middle of the 19th century, Portuguese 
activity north of the Amazon River was confined largely to missionary explorations, 
desultory general exploring, and the establishment of a few towns. On the other 
side of the area, the Spaniards, in what is now Venezuelan Guiana, suffered some- 
what from the raids and revolts of the Carib, who occasionally allied themselves 
with the English and Dutch. In the 18th century, Capuchin missionaries reduced 
to mission status a considerable number of Carib living on the right tributaries 
of the Orinoco River, particularly around the lower Caura and Caroni Rivers. 
During the same period the Dutch developed a slave-hunting partnership with 
certain Carib, particularly the Acawai, whereby the latter hunted members of less 
warlike tribes in the interior, even as far as the Portuguese territory beyond the 
head of the Essequibo River. Such slaves, however, were eventually superseded 
by Negroes, as large sugar and rice plantations developed along the coasts of the 
English and Dutch colonies. From the first quarter of the 18th century, relations 
between the Indians and Europeans of these areas were on the whole friendly, 
the Indians retiring into the interior from such lands as were given over to 
plantations. Since the interior was not exploited to any extent by Europeans, 
White culture influences were for the most part confined to trade. Up to the 
present, Indian contacts with the Whites of interior Guiana have been predomi- 
nantly with traders, small-scale placer miners, ecclesiastics, occasional ranchers (as 
on the Rupununi savannas), and explorers. European conquest and direct labor 
exploitation have not been characteristic of the region. 

At the present time all the governments of the region have made some provi- 
sion for the “protection of the aborigines” of the interior, which places certain 
restrictions upon their contact with, and exploitation by, outsiders. While the 
basic outlines of aboriginal culture still predominate among most of the tribes 
of the interior, numerous borrowings have affected the details of the culture of 
practically all of the Guiana tribes—borrowings of certain European and African 
words, occasional Christian religious concepts, a few Africanisms in myth and 
ritual, and artifacts, such as iron cutting implements, trade cloth, and steel needles. 


SOURCES 


The ethnography of the Guianas suffers from the lack of systematic 
modern studies of individual tribes. Roth’s publications constitute the 
standard compilation, but they underemphasize many aspects of non- 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 819 


material culture and fail to cover thoroughly the material of Brazilian and 
Venezuelan Guianas. Ahlbrinck’s “Encyclopaedie der Karaiben” (1931), 
another compilation of Carib material, is useless to much of the scholarly 
world by reason of its being published in Dutch. Most of the earlier in- 
formation must be combed out of the accounts of missionaries and ex- 
plorers. Among the better of these for ethnographic purposes are Barrére, 
Stedman, Brett, Waterton, Kappler, and Quandt. Among the scientist- 
explorers, who usually give reliable, if sometimes incomplete and unsys- 
tematic accounts, are the brothers Schomburgk, Koch-Griinberg, Farabee, 
Crévaux, Appun, and H. Coudreau. Modern systematic accounts deal- 
ing with single tribes are to be found under the names of Ahlbrinck, Gillin, 
Nimuendaju, A. P. and T. E. Penard, Simpson, and Speiser. Because of 
the material, it is difficult to determine precisely the pre-European patterns 
or even the modern distribution of traits and movements of peoples 
throughout the area. The literature on the Brazilian portion of the Guianas 
is of little value, except for inferences regarding the geographical locations 
and historical movements of tribes. The same is only slightly less true of 
the literature of the Venezuelan portion. 


ARCHEOLOGY 


The archeology of the Guianas has not been systematically investigated 
by planned field surveys and coordinated excavations. Our present knowl- 
edge is derived from reports of chance finds by ethnologists and travelers, 
plus a few exploratory excavations. Perhaps because of the relative 
paucity of European settlements and travel in the interior, the bulk of 
the finds have been made around the geographical margins of the area. 
In the absence of a comprehensive picture of the actual archeological 
resources of the interior, statements regarding prehistoric distributions 
of culture and population for the Guianas as a whole must remain highly 
tentative. Furthermore, chronological determinations are almost entirely 
lacking. Typological divergence of artifacts from types used by historic 
tribes implies prehistoric status, of course; but, although typological 
cross-dating to dated sites outside the Guianas seems to offer an approach 
to a more refined prehistoric chronology, it has not been accomplished 
successfully, nor as yet hardly attempted. 

We may summarize the principal types of sites from which archeological 
material has been reported as follows: (1) Caverns or caves, (2) arti- 
ficial burial wells, (3) shell mounds or sambaquis, (4) open surface sites 
with scattered artifacts but no structural remains, (5) painted or incised 
rocks usually found in the interior near rapids or falls of rivers, (6) 
stones circles or alignments, and (7) graves dug below the surface of 
the ground. 


Cave sites of archeological interest have been reported only in the Amazon 
River drainage and on the Orinoco River. One of the best known is the group 


820 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


of caves on a small tributary of the Maraca River, which joins the Amazon 
River from the left, just west of the Island of Maraj6o. The site was reported 
by Ferreira Penna (1877) and Hartt (1885). In a number of small natural 
caverns in the escarpment of the plateau, at some distance above the river, were 
found numerous funerary urns representative of human and animal forms and 
of fruits. The urns had been set in regular order about the floors of the caves, 
indicating that the latter were special mortuary chambers. Hartt discovered that 
the site was composed of three groups of caves, quite distinct from each other, 
but all overlooking the same stream. Some jars held a pelvis encircled by long 
bones standing on end around the inside of the jar with a skull on top, a feature 
also found by Nimuendajii at the site of Rebordello, Island of Caviana, at the 
mouth of the Amazon River (Nordenskidld, 1930 a, pp. 21-22). The urns are 
mainly cylindrical and are crudely decorated in relief—molded, applied, and in- 
cised—with thick elephantine “arms” and “legs” the most striking feature. The 
style is quite distinct from that of Pacoval (Marajé), and the pottery is inferior 
in all respects. The paste contains much sand, the walls are thick and irregular, 
and the surface is poorly smoothed, unpainted, and colored red from imperfect 
firing, while the interior portions of the paste remain black or greenish. 

Other cave sites along the left bank of the Amazon include Miracan-uéra, 14 
miles (22.5 km.) upstream from Serpa, and a site near the mouth of the Trombetas 
River, in the district of Obidos. The first series of caves is 5 miles (8 km.) long; 
the second stretches along the river bank for 2 miles (3 km.) (Ferreira Penna, 
1877). Both sites yielded funeral urns made of fine clay richly decorated. The 
Miracan-uéra urns are distinguished by a white slip which gives a porcelain 
effect to the surface. Nimuendaji also found fragments of urns in caves near 
Ulakte-Uni on Mount Ukupi, near Oyapock River, in Brazilian Guiana. The 
pottery shows a cream and pinkish background and decorations both in brownish 
paint and in long, raised relief, representing eyes, noses, and eyebrows (Norden- 
skidld, 1930 a, pl. 23). 

The one other well-known funerary cavern in the Guiana region is the Cavern 
of Ataruipes on the right bank of the Orinoco River, near the mission of Atures. 
Humboldt (1852-53, 2:289), who reported it, thought it a cemetery of the ex- 
tinct Atures (Piaroa) tribe. In a large cave under a projecting rock he found 
600 human skeletons, each in a quadrangular basket of palm leaves averaging 10 
inches (25.5 cm.) by 3 feet 4 inches (100 cm.). The bones were whitened in 
the sun, dyed red with annatto, or, like mummies, varnished with odoriferous resins, 
and wrapped in the leaves of the Heliconia or plantain. According to the Indians, 
bodies were exposed for several months and the skeletons then scraped with sharp 
stones for sepulture. Near the baskets were urns, measuring as much as 5 feet 
(1.5 m.) in height and 3 feet 3 inches (1 m.) in width, green in color and of a 
graceful oval outline. Applied handles or lugs in the form of crocodiles and 
serpents formed the decoration, as well as painted labryinths, meanders, and frets. 
Unfortunately, much of Humboldt’s collection was lost. (See Wickham, 1827, 
for a later description of the site.) 

Near this site, on the Island of Curcurital in the Orinoco River, Crévaux (1883, 
p. 561) reported finding a cave high in the rocks, containing a large number of 
skeletons, each enclosed in a pottery vessel, and a number of other skeletons cov- 
ered with palm matting. Chaffanjon (1889, p. 183) also reported funeral urns in 
the grotto of Arvina at Punto Cerro near the Atures rapids. 

In summary, two centers of the use of natural caverns as mortuary chambers 
containing funerary urns of pottery, in which bones were secondarily buried, 
have been reported for the Guiana region, the left bank of the lower Amazon 
and the right bank of the middle Orinoco. Differences in detail in pottery and 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 821 


burial styles would indicate possible derivation from a common cultural source 
rather than a close cultural connection between the two centers in the Guiana 
region itself. Further explorations may indicate that secondary urn burial in 
caves was more widespread. The trait has not been reported for any Guiana 
tribe in historical times. 

Specially constructed burial wells were discovered by H. Coudreau at the site 
of Monte Curt, on the small Igarapé da Holanda, a left tributary of the Cunani 
River, and fully reported by Goeldi (1900) and Pinto Lima Guedes (1896), 
as the result of an expedition under Goeldi’s leadership from the Museu Paraense 
in 1895. The Igarapé da Holanda enters the Cunani River at the fifth falls, 
and the Monte Muri, a small hill, rises some 1,300 feet (400 m.), upstream from 
the creek’s mouth. The site was marked by a piece of worked granite in the 
form of a truncated pyramid on the summit of the hill, somewhat similar to those 
used as land markers by Europeans. Twenty-six feet (8 m.) on either side 
were two large granite disks, each about 20 inches (50 cm.) in diameter and 5% 
inches (14 cm.) thick, which were found to cover two wells each about 8 feet 
(2.5 m.) deep. In the bottom of each well was an excavated area, shaped like 
an imperfect sphere about 3 feet (90 cm.) in radius, opening into the well shaft 
toward the east. In these vaults were found pots of various forms and sizes, 
the largest in the center, the smaller ones ranged about the sides. Some were like 
earthen pans with small cavities in the bottom, others like a tray divided into 
four quarters; one was like a small cylinder, and two were like large spheres. 
In addition were several large-bellied urns decorated with modeled face and head, 
with pierced ears, and small spindly arms and legs. The urns contained frag- 
ments of calcined bones in such number that it was thought that each urn was 
the receptacle for the remains of more than one individual. The pottery was 
decorated not only in relief but also with dichromatic designs, although the colors 
are less brilliant and the relief is more rigid and less elaborated than the designs 
from Pacoval (Marajo). 

Disks similar to those covering the wells at Monte Curtt were found south of 
the Amazon River, according to Teodoro Sampaio (1922), in Ceara (Ceriri ter- 
ritory) ; at Carui, with sculptured figures about the periphery; at Coronzo; Sertao 
de Inhamuns; Icé; and Pirangi; as well as in the States of Piaui, Rio Grande 
do Norte, Pernambuco, Baia (site of Cachoeira), and Alagoas (site of Riochao, 
Municipio de Vigosa). The Cunani nucleus, like that of Marajd, is linked by 
Uhle (1913) to finds on the Napo River (eastern Ecuador) and to the Chibchan 
cultures of Colombia and Costa Rica. Numerous other writers have considered 
the Marajé pottery, at least, to be the work of Arawak who migrated from Central 
America along the Guiana coast to the mouth of the Amazon River and thence 
spread upstream into the interior of the continent. (See Nordenskidld, 1930 a.) 

Shell mounds have been reported from the coastal region of British Guiana, 
particularly in the vicinity of Morawhanna; Akawinni Creek, and the upper 
Pomeroon River (Roth, 1924, p. 77), and from various sites on the left bank 
of the Amazon as far as the mouth of the Trombetas River. Among the sites 
on the Amazon the best known are Pinheiro, some miles north of Belém, and 
Lago Grande de Villa Franca, near Obidos. Various specialists have advanced 
varying estimates, based on conchological studies, of the antiquity of the Amazonian 
shell mounds (or sernambys) without reaching a definitive conclusion. At present 
we may say that they indicate the presence of a fishing population of some antiquity 
along the Guiana coast and in the lower Amazon valley. 

Open surface sites have been reported in all parts of the area. Some of the 
principal locations and the type of archeological material found at them follow: 
Sandhills on the Demerara River: elongated, curved, double-edged celts engraved 


822 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


with head of akuri (Roth, 1924, pl. 3, A, B) and a pestle 7 inches (17 cm.) long. 
The Demerara and Essequibo Rivers: small celts with trimmed and rounded butts, 
straight ground cutting edges (ibid., pl. 3, C-E). The Courantyne River: large 
rounded heavy celts with truncated butt and rounded cutting edge (ibid. p. 75), 
also a chipped celt of gray limestone with thick ovoid blade. The Kanuku Moun- 
tains: flat, side-notched celts (ibid., pl. 4, A, B). Kanuku Mountains and Rupununi 
River: notched celts of ground technique (ibid., pl. 4, C, D). East bank of 
Demerara River: ground constricted-neck celts (ibid., pl. 4, E). Barima River: 
wide-notched ground celt (ibid., pl. 4, F). Dadanawa on the upper Rupununi River: 
stone knives and fragments with chipped, irregular edge of the same type used 
by Waiwai for cutting cassava (ibid., pl. 6, G). Pacaraima Mountains: chipped 
stone scrappers (ibid., pl. 6, H-K). Skeldon on the Courantyne River: stone 
mortars in round, ovoid, and elongated shapes. Potaro River: stone pestles. 
Demerara River: stone pestle (ibid., pl. 82). Various other sites of this type 
have been reported, for instance, Kouriabo on the Barima River where the soil 
‘4s composed almost entirely of flint utensils, idols of clay, broken ollas, and 
cinerary urns. Here without doubt existed a native pottery-making shop” (Toro, 
1905, pp. 130-132). Although no geological evidence is available, it is doubtful 
that these open sites antedate European occupation for any considerable period. 

Painted or incised designs on rocks occur throughout the Guianas, where rock 
surfaces are available, usually near rapids or falls of the rivers. Speculation upon 
whether the designs had religious significance or whether they were applied simply 
as amusement by canoe men resting at a portage are inconclusive at present. But 
on the whole, the painted designs are more elaborate and seem more often to be 
of possible ceremonial importance. Pecking of designs is to this day a favorite 
occupation of resting canoe travelers, according to the reports of many explorers. 

As examples of Guianese pictographs and petroglyphs we may mention the fol- 
lowing: Cerro Pintado, 7% miles (12 km.) south of the Atures rapids on the 
Orinoco: designs of a lizard, centipede, square-bodied men, a bird, various bizarre 
figures, and a lizard and a serpeant about 400 feet (120 m.) long pecked in granite 
porphyry (Chaffanjon, 1889, p. 189, illustration). Cerro Teramoto, between the 
lower Cuchivero and Caura Rivers: 2 rocks in the middle of a plain inscribed with 
2 tangent “suns” and a figure taken to be the moon (ibid.). Urawan River, a 
branch of the Cuyuni River: painted frogs (McTurk, 1882, p. 129). Curiebrong 
River, a branch of the Potaro River, at Amailah Falls: red painted human figures 
on sandstone (Brown, 1876). Monte Alegre, left bank of the Amazon River: red 
painted figures of caimans, birds, and circles on a high cliff (Wallace, 1889, p. 204). 
Ihla da Pedra, on the Rio Negro just below its junction with the Rio Branco: 
numerous engravings of men, birds, animals, 13 men dancing in a row, and 2 ships 
under sail (Schomburgk, Robert H., 1841 c, p. 261). Casiquiare River, just south 
of Pomoni, circles and lines on granite (ibid., p. 248; Koch-Griinberg, 1907, figs. 2, 
8, 10). Numerous sites in the western Guianas (Rojas, 1878, pp. 176-198). Maroni 
River, near the Ile Portal (Crévaux, 1883, p. 143). Montagne d’Argent, between 
the Cayenne and Oyapock Rivers (ibid., p. 145). Oyapock River (ibid.). Rupununi 
River (Schomburgk, Robert H., 1836 b, p. 275; 1840, 1:320; Im Thurn, 1883, p. 
394). Yapore on the upper Essequibo River: a human head incised on rock by 
rapids (Roth, 1924, p. 605). Camuti or Taquiari Rocks on the upper Essequibo 
River: pecked designs (Robert Schomburgk, 1841 a, p. 159). Kuyuwini Creek 
on the upper Essequibo River: pecked designs on blocks of green sandstone (ibid., p. 
168). Babumana Creek, upper Essequibo River: monkeys and frogs (Brown, 1876, 
p. 244). Quitaro River, beyond Ataraipu Rock: rising sun with human face incised 
(ibid., p. 152). Several sites on the Berbice River (Schomburgk, Robert H., 1837 a) ; 
temehri (“Carib”) Rock, Courantyne River: gigantic engraved figures, one of which 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 823 


measured more than 10 feet (3 m.) in height (Brown, 1876, p. 314). Rio Branco, 
12 miles (19.3 km.) from Marau: incised designs on granite boulders 300 to 400 
feet (91.5 to 122 m.) high (Schomburgk, Robert H., 1841 b, p. 213). Suquadie River, 
a branch of the Ireng River, near Twin Falls: flat jasperous sandstone rocks in the 
savanna carved with figures of the sun, snakes, spirals, and circles (Brown, 1876, 
p. 288). To the north of Serro do Panellio, between the Parimé and Surumu Rivers: 
pictographs made with a sharp pointed stone, as demonstrated by Macushi and Wapi- 
shana Indians (Koch-Griinberg, 1907, p. 28). Upper Parimé River, Pedra Pintada: 
a large rock completely covered with scratched pictographs (ibid., fig. 18). Various 
sites on the Rio Negro (Schomburgk, Robert H., 1841, pp. 186 ff.; Wallace, 1853, 
pp. 151 ff.; Koch-Griinberg, 1906 c, pp. 293 ff.; Netto, 1885). Cumina River (Cou- 
dreau, O., 1901, pp. 33 ff.). Serra do Ereré, west of Monte Alegre (Hartt, 1885, 
pp. 300 ff.). Near Noura on left bank of Rio Negro (Barbosa Rodrigues, 1885, 
pp. 168-170). Numerous sites have been reported from the lower Amazon River 
(Costa, 1938, pp. 125 ff.). As Pinto (1935, p. 58) points out, the majority of the 
designs represent dangerous animals, such as those which are powerful spirits of 
the Carib medicine man, heavenly bodies, flying or grotesque human figures, or masks. 
In so far as this is true, the designs may be thought of as mythological, if not cere- 
monial. On the other hand, numerous more common designs appear, apparently the 
product of mere whimsy or crude attempts at representation. Neither rock inscrip- 
tions nor paintings figure in the ceremonial life of any tribe of the area reported 
by Europeans, whereas the practice of this form of art as an amusement or time 
killer has been fairly widely reported. 

Several possible stone circles, alignments, or dolmens have been reported from 
the area. For example, in the Waetipu Mountains on the way from Cara-Cara to 
the Ireng River is a line of small white quartz rocks set close together in a row 
50 yards (46 m.) long, while red painted figures on the walls of a cave nearby are 
said to commemorate a Carib killing of a tiger (Brown, 1876, p. 189). On the 
Cuchivero River, to the east of the sierra, Chaffanjon reports stone alignments, with 
the remark that the ancient inhabitants of the region are said to have come here to 
worship the moon. In a grotto in the Raudal of Chicharra, in the same region, is 
a stone structure somewhat like a dolmen with a table rock on top and on the 
interior walls simple designs as well as fantastic figures (Chaffanjon, 1889, pp. 57- 
58). In the middle of the savanna on the Island of Bouche de |’Enfer on the Orinoco 
River are three rocks, 20 to 24 feet (6 to 7 m.) distant from each other covered 
with inscriptions one-third of an inch (1 cm.) deep and several depressions made 
by polishing stone artifacts. Chaffanjon thought the rocks might have been placed 
in position by human beings (ibid.). 

Finally, in various parts of the area, skeletal material, together with artifacts, has 
been found in shallow graves in the ground. Since many of the present-day tribes 
practice burial within the house floor, these finds are not necessarily to be considered 
of great interest archeologically. However, west of the lower course of the Caura 
River, near the deserted village of El Benco, Chaffanjon found several rocks placed 
as if to mark tombs. Skeletons covered by turtle shells, rock, and wood, were found 
under, or at the foot of, the rocks, 8 inches (20 cm.) deep, with head on knees, arms 
folded around legs, small vases held between the hands, and accompanied by two 
figurines. 

As to artifacts, other than pottery, the region has yielded chipped stone knives or 
scrapers but no stone arrowheads or spearheads (Roth, 1924, p. 77). Although the 
ground-stone ax is commonly found, socketed or perforated heads seem to be absent. 
One distinctive artifact remains to be mentioned, the muyraquita, or “stone of the 
tribal chief” (Tupi: Mira, “nation”; ki, “chief”; ita, “stone’). These small, per- 
forated, zoomorphic pendants made of green nephite have been found in a restricted 


824 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


region about the mouths of the Jamunda and Trombetas Rivers and the neighboring 
lakes and backwaters (Barbosa Rodrigues, 1875 a, b; Heger, 1924). Mello (1924) 
reported a specimen from Pernambuco which shows that this trait traveled south of 
the Amazon River, if it was not indigenous there. Nordenskidld (1930 a, pls. 39, 
43) illustrates two statuettes, one in the form of a stylized bird of gray slate from 
near the confluence of the Igarapé do Nazario and Arapuins River; the other, in the 
form of an animal in gray greenstone from Sao Joaquim, between the Igarapé de 
Franceza and the Couanany River. He also shows a muyraquita in greenstone and 
cites Heriarte’s (1874) rare description of the Tapajéz Indians of the 17th century 
who used the same type of pendants, called by them buraquita. According to 
Heriarte, beads were made in round, oblong, droplet, bird, and beetle shapes from a 
green clay which later hardened into rock. The same author says that similar objects 
were made by the Indians of the Trombetas River, who also used a remarkable clay 
for pottery. The Araquiz (Arawak; Aroaqui, according to Nimuendaji) between 
the Tapajéz and the Madeira Rivers had the same types of pendant idols and also 
pottery which, according to Heriarte, they traded to tribes as far away as the Orin- 
oco River. These indications, together with evidence of a radiation of Santarém 
pottery forms into the region north of the Amazon (Palmatary, 1939), would speak 
for some culture interchange between Brazilian Guiana and the region to the south. 

Another remarkable type of artifact from the region deserves mention, namely 
the medium-sized idols of which Nordenskidld (1930 a, pls. 40, 41) illustrates two. 
One was found at Sacurujti, on the left bank of the Trombetas River, below the falls. 
It is 7 inches (17 cm.) high and has the form of a man seated, with mouth wide open, 
orbits empty, six-fingered hands in front, and head held between the paws of a lizard- 
like animal mounted on his back. The material is brownish soft stone and the base 
is perforated by two parallel holes. A second specimen in the same general style 
came from the shore of Lake Jacupa, between Lake Sapukua and the Trombetas 
River, a place called Boa Vista de Santa Anna. This specimen is 11 inches (27.5 cm.) 
high and represents a woman with mouth open, orbits empty, with an animal similarly 
mounted on her back and with two parallel perforations in the base. Harcourt (1613, 
p. 109) heard from a Carib Indian that his tribe near the headwaters of the Oyapock 
River kept such an idol in a special house. Bettendorf (1910, p. 353) speaks of 
mummies and possibly stone idols among the Tapajéz River Indians, and Joao Daniel 
(1840-41, p. 480) definitely mentions stone idols on the Tapajéz River in the 17th 
century. 

A review of our somewhat scattered knowledge of the archeology of the Guianas 
and an examination of the older records suggest that at least the margins of the 
area were occupied in prehistoric times by peoples whose pottery, burial customs, 
and religion were more advanced or elaborate than those of the Indians described in 
the 18th century and later. As Nordenskidld remarks, no Indians of modern times 
in the Amazon River region, with the exception of a few groups such as the Arawak 
and Betoya of the Rio Negro, show a culture of the level which seems to have sur- 
vived in the lower Amazon River as late as the 17th century. 

There is only one noteworthy example of the use of archeology to illuminate the 
post-Columbian movements of tribes in the Guianas. 

On the upper Jari (Iratapuru) River, Nimuendajii (1927) found open sites near 
a stream which yielded pottery of considerable excellence, bearing both incised and 
applied relief. One pot was anthropomorphic. The pots had convex bottoms, con- 
cave or straight sides, and were decorated in heavy horizontal bands with incised 
spirals, parallel lines, and quadrangular elements. Nimuendajt attributes these ves- 
sels to the Oyampi, who, he believes, left them on their journey northward into the 
Guianas in the early 18th century. The sherds are similar to material from old 
Guaiapy sites of the middle Xingi River, and Watapy (Guaiapy) is the Aparai 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 825 


name for the Oyampi. The Guaiapy disappeared from the Xingu River about the 
same time that the Oyampi appeared in Guiana; and the trip from the Xingu River to 
the Jari River would be easy because ¢he mouths of these two rivers are opposite 
each other on the Amazon River. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—The majority of the tribes farmed by the slash-and-burn 
method. Bush was usually cleared by the men, each working alone at his 
convenience, or assisted by relatives, or “peitos” (see p. 849) ; occasionally, 
they worked in gangs fortified by drink furnished by the owner of the field 
(Bates, 1892, p. 221). Stone axes were formerly used to girdle large 
trees, which were then burned. Now most tribes have iron axes. Large 
trees generally lie where felled, but the smaller trees and the brush are 
piled and burned at the end of a dry season. Wood ashes are used to 
improve the soil, but other fertilizers are not generally used. Soil ex- 
haustion required either a constant cutting of new fields or alternation of 
planting and fallowing, the latter seldom being reported, because of the 
rapid regrowth of the forest. 

Fields are seldom more than 1 or 2 acres (4,000 or 8,000 sq. m.). 
Planting is usually done between the stumps and fallen logs of a clearing, 
immediately after the burning (pl. 111, top). Probably the only aboriginal 
implement was the digging stick, which was used primarily for loosening 
the soil or for digging holes in the ground in which to plant cuttings or 
seeds. The “shovels” mentioned by Gumilla (1791, 2:29) were appar- 
ently elaborated digging sticks. The soil was rarely cultivated after 
planting ; but the garden was weeded. The machete, or cutlass, introduced 
by European trade, is now used for weeding and for cutting brush. Pos- 
sibly clubs were used aboriginally to knock down brush, as Gumilla speaks 
of them, Although Roth (1924, p. 214) states that planting is women’s 
work, there are numerous tribes in which only the men plant, e.g., Cama- 
racoto (Simpson, 1940, p. 387), or in which both sexes cooperate, e.g., 
Carib (Gillin, 1936), Taulipdng (Koch-Griinberg, 1923 a, 3:50), and 
Acawai (Hilhouse, 1832). Weeding, however, is generally women’s 
work, as is harvesting the crops, except for kraua grass, of which men 
make cords and baskets. 

Manioc, which is planted from cuttings, is everywhere the basic crop. 
Both “sweet” and “bitter” varieties, especially the latter, are grown. 
Other aboriginal cultivated plants include the pineapple, papaya, coco- 
nut(?), calabash, sweet potato, arrowgrass, cotton, tobacco, pepper, 
avocado, and maize. Practically all the tribes now cultivate one or more 
of the plants introduced by the Europeans, such as the banana, plantain, 
yam, edo, sugarcane (pl. 112, top) and, sporadically, citrus fruits. Beans 
do not seem to have been cultivated aboriginally nor are they common 


826 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


now. Although squashes and pumpkins are now common, we hear little 
about them in earlier times. 

A number of tribes seemed to have practiced no horticulture, but main- 
tained themselves on a hunting-gathering-fishing economy. Among these 
were the Waica (the more backward tribe of the Shiriandn family), the 
Mac (who may now have some cultivation but were traders in Koch- 
Grinberg’s time), and the Caliana. These groups live in the mountainous 
interior and may be regarded as refuge groups. Several other tribes which 
seem to have acquired horticulture from their neighbors in recent, if not 
post-Columbian times are the Warrau of the coast and the Shiriand and 
Auaké of the mountainous interior. These tribes are described elsewhere 
(pp. 869-885, 861-867, 862). 

Collecting.— Wild fruits, honey, insects, and reptiles are collected by 
all the tribes, although invariably such sources play merely an accessory 
role in the food supply. Among the vegetable foods collected are hog 
plums, fruits of various palms, and palm cabbage (along the coast and 
near the Orinoco Delta), guava, mushrooms, sapodilla, custard apple, 
Brazil nut, various berries, sweet tree beans, and wild bananas. No special 
collecting methods are used, although trees are sometimes felled for their 
fruit. Tree climbing is reported, with loops pinning the feet and support- 
ing the back. Certain trees are especially useful. For example, Schom- 
burgk and Gumilla state that the buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa), pro- 
vided the Warrau leaves for roofing houses, fibers for thread, and rope 
used to make hammocks, edible pith, material for sandals from the leaf 
sheath, conelike fruits regarded as a confection when soaked in water, 
sap for the manufacture of an alcoholic drink, and the edible larvae of a 
beetle. According to Gumilla, wild rice was used on the Orinoco River. 
In case of famine, the seeds of the mora, greenheart, dekamballi, and 
pario trees are grated and baked into cakes on the cassava pan. Honey 
is collected by smoking out the bees and is usually eaten in the comb, 
along with any larvae which may be present. Occasionally, honey is 
mixed with water, but is neither fermented nor stored. 

Among the more usual animal foods collected are the turtle and tortoise, 
iguana, lizard, caiman, frog and toad, crab, mollusks, worms, caterpillars, 
beetles, ants, wasps, bees, and tree grubs. Frog eggs are taken by hand 
from streams, and frogs are sometimes trapped in small pits dug in the 
bottom of ponds. Snakes are seldom, if ever, eaten, but are captured with 
a noose or sticks to sell to traders. Shellfish and snails, gathered from 
rocks in river beds and elsewhere, formed a large item in the menu of 
the coastal peoples, to judge by the middens. Neither worms nor any 
available insects are despised as a food. 

On the whole, however, the resources of the Guiana region are not 
such as to make a life which depends primarily upon food collection a 
satisfying one even to people of very low culture. 


Puare 105.—Guiana house frames. Top: Mapidian. Bottom: Waiwat. 
(Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Pxuate 106.—Guiana houses and villages. Top: Tarwma Indians and house. 
(Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) Bottom: Arabupu, an Arecuna 
village on the savannas at the jungle border. (Courtesy T. D. Carter and the 
National Geographic Magazine.) 


PLATE 107.—Guiana houses. Top: Macushi. Bottom: Waiwai house interior 
with three tiers of hammocks. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


<< 


i 


VG aly” 


Top: Yecuana-Ihurana cone-shaped 


PLars 108.—Guiana house construction. 
Bottom: 


roof. The roof is covered from the inside out with palm leaves. 
Completed hut. (After Koch-Griinberg, 1923 b.) 


Piate 109.—Fishing in the Guianas. Top: Waiwai crushing a vegetable fish 
Bottom: Wapisiana shooting fish. (Courtesy University Museum, 


Philadelphia.) 


drug. 


Piare 110.—Panare blowgun. Top: Using the blowgun. Bottom: Preparing 
curare dart poison. (Courtesy Llewelyn Williams.) 


PLATE 111.—Growing and preparing manioc in the Guianas. Top: Taruma 
cassava field. Center: Tarum& woman squeezing manioc in tipitf. Bottom: 
Macusht woman grating cassava. (Courtesy University Museum, Phila- 
delphia.) 


Puare 112.—Guiana industries. Top: Macushi cane-press Bottom: Wairwar 
pig traps. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Puatre 113.—Guiana Indians in the late 19th 


sloth (man on trunk using climbing ring). 


bark canoe. Bottom: Galibi making pottery. 


century. Top, left: Hunting 
Center, right: Oyampt making 
(After Crévaux, 1891.) 


be. Sk ay Ws Jz ‘ oes 4 i ; ~ ie ts : Bia 
PRAY NA eae ae eS He Be gl RGB SMR S| Sacer 
YT IE ES Mi VEE NOES PYLE, PORE Ae SNe eS 
Pruare 114.—Rucuyen Indians fishing and hunting. Late 19th-century draws 

ings. Top: Killing fish. Bottom: Shooting birds from a blind. (After 


Crevaux, 1891.) 


PLaTE 115.—Guiana women weaving and spinning. 
Waiwai spinning. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Top: Wapisiana, Bottom: 


OO ae 


sae MS 


Pirate 116.—Guiana weaving and woodwork. Top: Wapisiana woman weaving 
Macushit woman weaving a skirt of beads. Bottom, left: 
have been set. 
(After Koch- 


a hammock. Center: 
Yecuana man painting a manioc grater after the stone splinters 


Bottom, right: Smoothing the manioec board with an adze. 
Grunberg, 1923 b.) 


Puarre 117.—Guiana household and camp scenes. Top: Wapisiana making 
fire by drilling. Center, right: Eating. Bottom, right: Smoking monkeys on 
babracot. Left: Interior of Macushi house. (Center and bottom, right, after 
Farabee, 1918 ¢; others, courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


a_i 
Be j gee 


PLatE 118.—Guiana artifacts. a-—c, Pottery vessels of the Aparai. (Courtesy 
Carlos Estevio.) d, Aparai basketry device, in shape of a fish, for holding ants. 
It is applied to the body during certain ceremonies. f, g, Yauwapert maracas, 
or basketry rattles. h, Tanga, or bead apron, worn by women. (Courtesy 
Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém.) e, Stone ax hafted in hardwood, 
Dutch Guiana. (Courtesy Nitanb Etnogr4fico de la Facultad de Filosofia y 
Letras, Buenos Aires.) 


& 
es 


Puare 119.—Guiana religion, dances, and burial. Top: Macushi Christian 
service. Center: Mapidian dance. Bottom: Urn burial from the Macushi 
area. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Piare 120.—Guiana cremation, curing, and ceremonialism. Top: Rucuyen 


cremation. Center: Apalai shaman curing by blowing cigar smoke. Bottom: 


Rucuyen feast of the dead. (After Crevaux, 1891.) 


Pare 121.—Guiana costumes and transportation. Top, left: Apalai festive 
dress. Top, right: Wapisiana carrying wood. Bottom, left: Parikutu. Bot- 
tom, right: Parikutu chief. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


¥ 


. Guiana women. (Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Watwai dancer 


Philadelphia.) 


Bottom: 


Museum, 


University 


a 
o 
os 
3 
ge} 
S 
~ 
3 
‘Ss 
nH 
‘S 
Qa 
8 
nN 
= 
= 


Top 
(Courtesy 


costume. 


tive 


fes 


in 


Pirate 123.—Guiana types. 


Pharr 124.—Guiana types. Top: Panare women. Bottom, left: Watwat men. 
Bottom, right: Mapidian men. (Top, courtesy Llewelyn Williams; others, 
courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 827 


Hunting.—All tribes hunt with a variety of weapons: blowguns (pl. 
110, top), bows and arrows, spears, harpoons, traps (pl. 112, bottom), and 
dogs. The blowgun has a spotty distribution, and centers in the west- 
central part of the area, among the Macushi, Taulipang, and Arecuna. The 
bow and arrow has a more general occurrence. Arrows have barbed 
points for game, blunt points for birds, and sometimes poisoned points 
for monkeys. Clubs are perhaps used to dispatch wounded animals. Traps 
include arrow traps, deadfalls, nooses, and spring snares; some are baited, 
some unbaited. 

Usually, only one or two men hunt with dogs although encircling drives 
for deer and even monkeys are not infrequent. Grass burning to drive 
deer in the savanna country is practiced by the Macushi. Blinds made of 
leaves and branches are used in hunting accouri and certain birds (pl. 114, 
top), such as the powis (Crax sp.). “Calls” for attracting game animals 
are common but the apparatus consists merely of folded leaves. In hunt- 
ing nocturnal animals, such as labba, torches are used to blind the animal 
when it is surprised on the trail or at the water hole. Stealth and trailing 
ability mark Guiana hunting methods, and large organized hunts with 
special officials are not reported. 

Dogs are trained to assist in hunting and receive special care; burrow- 
ing insects are removed from their feet and skin and, to sharpen their 
olfactory powers, preparations such as pepper juice or mashed caterpillars 
are injected into their nostrils. 

Hunters usually prepare to protect themselves magically for the hunt. 
Most widespread is the use of binas, plant or animal substances, or species 
intimately associated with the individual hunter and believed to charm 
the game. Taboos of various types are likewise frequent; somewhat 
less common is purification through biting ants held in special triangular 
basketry frames, as reported for the Macushi (Roth, 1924, pp. 178-179). 
Hunting magic is further discussed under Religion. 

Among the commonly hunted game animals in most parts of the area 
are the accouri (Dasyprocta aguti) ; armadillo, usually dug out of its 
burrow; anteater (Myrmecophaga), hunted for its hide but seldom eaten ; 
peccaries (Tayassu pecari and T. tajacw); deer of several varieties; 
manatee, or sea cow, usually hunted with arrows from a canoe; monkeys, 
usually taken with blowgun or arrows; otter, hunted from canoes, but 
seldom eaten; the three-toed sloth, hunted, at least by Acawai; tapir, 
(pl. 113, top, left), or bush cow, the largest animal of the region; the 
capybara, or water hog, usually found feeding in the grass and reeds 
along stream banks; and many types of birds, of which powis, wicissi 
ducks, and tinamou are most preferred for food, and parrots and macaws 
for feathers. Ducks are occasionally seized by underwater swimmers 
(Dance, 1881, p. 233). Water turtles are hunted with arrows shot into 
the air, by diving, and by turning them on their backs when ashore. 

653333—47—55 


828 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Land turtles are occasionally hunted with dogs. Iguana are shot with 
bows and arrows or caught with slip-noose traps (Pomeroon River 
Carib). Iguana eggs are also collected. Caimans are captured with 
loops or lassos or heavy traps, or shot in the eyes with poisoned arrows. 
The tail and eggs of the caiman are particularly prized. 

Domesticated animals and pets.—Dogs were the only aboriginal 
domesticated animals of the Guiana region, although most tribes kept 
smaller wild animals and birds as household pets. At present chickens 
are found in many Indian settlements ; they are admired for their fighting 
qualities and appearance but they and their eggs are seldom eaten. Turtles 
are sometimes kept alive in ponds for future food. 


Fishing.—In this region of many rivers, fishing is of first importance 
to a almost all tribes. In general the methods may be classified as follows: 
(1) Hook and line; (2) poisoning; (3) traps; (4) nets; (5) killing 
with arrows or spears of various types; and (6) miscellaneous methods. 
Although the methods are arranged in the order of their frequency of 
use, certain methods cannot be assigned exclusively to certain tribes. In 
modern times metal hooks have become ubiquitous through trade, but 
the aboriginal hook seems to have been of the gorget type, baited, and 
used on a throw line, drop line, rod, spring line of several types (Roth, 
1924, pp. 197-198), or on a set line, although the last may be a European 
introduction. Lashing the water with a rod is also effective seasonally in 
certain regions (pl. 114, top). Poisoning (pl. 109, top) is usually done 
in relatively quiet water and necessitates building a fence across the 
stream against which the dead or stupified victims may be caught. The 
commonest poison throughout the area is derived from the roots of various 
species of Lonchocarpus, the active ingredient of which is the chemical 
compound, rotenone. Leaves, seeds, and fruits of various species of 
Clibadium are used either to poison the water or to poison the fish directly 
when they swallow the poison in the form of balls. Tephrosia toxicaria 
is reported used by the Macushi. Other fish poisons include the juice 
of the leaves of Phyllanthus conami, nebi (“bush rope,” liana), chips of 
moraballi wood, roots of the sinapou, and wild agave seeds. 

In addition to spring lines and set hooks, the Indians caught fish in 
a variety of enclosing and holding traps, such as fence weirs, enclosing 
baskets, and cone-shaped wicker baskets which are usually used with 
fences although occasionally they are rigged into a spring trap which 
hoists the basket out of the water after the fish has entered it. Dip nets 
of kraua fiber appear to be a western (Rio Negro, Rio Uaupés) trait, 
as they are reported only from the interior and not along the coast. 
Harpoon arrows (pl. 109, bottom) and throwing spears, often with 
multiple heads, are a secondary method employed only in clear water. 
The modern Warrau use a harpoon. Miscellaneous methods mentioned 
in the literature include the use of bait, such as insects, cast on the water 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 899 


to entice fish to the surface, where they can be clubbed or killed with 
cutlasses; catching by hand; the building of dams, the impounded water 
of which is bailed out and the fish captured; and the muddying of the 
water to force the fish to the surface. 

Food preparation.—Throughout most of the area, manioc is peeled, 
grated (pl. 111, bottom), squeezed in a basketry tube press (pl. 111, 
center) and baked in thin discoid cakes on pottery disks (now iron) 
over the fire. Manioc graters (pl. 116, bottom) were formerly made of 
a block of wood set with chips of stone; the stone is usually imported 
from the mountainous interior. Their manufacture has deteriorated 
of late years, however, and the block of wood is now covered with 
a sheet of perforated tin. Certain of the central tribes used to carry 
on a considerable trade in graters which they manufactured. In Brazilian 
Guiana, farina, instead of cakes, is prepared by drying the pressed mash 
on plates over the fire. Except in Brazilian Guiana and among the non- 
horticultural groups, cassava bread constitutes the staff of life and may 
be smoked, wrapped in leaves, and stored under the roof of the house. 
Maize is eaten green, either boiled or roasted, or is made into a fermented 
drink; it is never ground dry. Surplus meat is dried and smoked over 
a low fire on platforms (pl. 117, bottom, right) of green saplings, with 
or without being previously salted. Fish after being split dorsoventrally 
in the sagittal line, are similarly heated. Meat and vegetables are usually 
boiled together in the “pepper pot,’ which is kept constantly simmering 
over the fire and seasoned with peppers and the expressed juice of the 
bitter manioc. Pieces of meat and fish are also roasted over the fire, 
impaled on pointed sticks. 

Fermented drinks are described elsewhere (p. 854). Nonintoxicating 
beverages are made from various cultivated plants as well as from berries 
and the sap of the ite palm and the fruits of a number of other palms 
(Oenocarpus, Euterpe edulis, Astrocaryum tucumoides, Bactris minor). 
Nonfermented drinks are usually taken as fresheners upon arising. Red 
pepper and the boiled juice pressed from the bitter manioc were the stand- 
ard aboriginal condiments ; salt was available on the surface in some parts 
of the savanna, was boiled out of sea water by coastal groups, and was 
obtained from the ash of certain palm trees, particularly the central rib of 
the kokerit leaf. Many tribes, however, used no salt. Earth eating is 
occasionally mentioned (Trio, Macushi), but it seems to be an individual 
peculiarity. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Relatively small settlements, seldom if ever containing more than 200 
individuals, oftener 30 to 40, are the rule; this size is presumably deter- 


830 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


mined by the limitations of the food-producing techniques. Guiana set- 
tlements tend to be impermanent because of the exhaustion of the soil, 
intertribal wars, the exigencies of trade, and customs demanding the aban- 
donment or destruction of dwellings upon the death of their owner or resi- 
dents. In forested country, the settlement is usually located at some dis- 
tance from the navigable river bank, often as protection. Other means of 
protection are rare. Palisades are mentioned occasionally: two Arawak 
villages on the Demerara River, an Arecuna village, and an Acawai village 
on the upper Mazaruni River. Poisoned spikes in the paths approaching 
the village are mentioned in the early accounts of the Acawai and among 
the Carib (?) on the Oyapock River. House building everywhere seems 
to be primarily a male occupation. 

The men of all tribes build temporary shelters of a number of different 
patterns for overnight protection on the trail and on hunting and trading 
expeditions. These consist essentially of a framework of saplings sup- 
porting a hastily thatched roof, and can be erected within half an hour. 
In form they may be described as lean-to’s, triangular flat-roofed (fig. 
119, a), gable-roofed (fig. 119, b), or some combination of these forms. 


a 
Ficure 119.—Guiana banabs, or temporary shelter frames, a, Simple, triangular form; 
b, rectangular form. (Redrawn from Roth, 1924, figs. 69, 68.) 


Small structures for the shelter of the hollow-log drinking trough are 
present in most villages. 

The basic type of permanent dwelling seems to be the single-family 
house, grouped into small settlements. The beehive type, round in ground 
plan, conical-roofed, and thatched down to the ground on a frame of 
saplings bent over and tied together at the top without interior support, 
may have been an early type, but now has nearly disappeared. The 
Rucuyen sleep in such structures as protection from mosquitoes. These 
huts have a single low entrance. More common is the rectangular house 
with pitched roof and supported horizontal ridge pole (fig. 120, a). Pos- 
sibly the older form of this type was provided with sapling rafters in- 
serted into the ground along the sides and bent over to the ridge pole 
at the top (fig. 120, c), providing basis both for thatched roof and wall. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 831 


This type is reported among many eastern Carib groups. Simpler is the 
wall-less rectangular house with pitched roof, supported on four or six 
upright posts (Barama River Carib, coastal Warrau). The rectangular 
type is widespread throughout the area. Large circular houses occur in 
the central area among such groups as the Arecuna (pl. 106, bottom), 
Taulipang, Wapishana, Macushi, etc. This type is structurally different 
from the simple beehive type, having a central supporting post and a cir- 
cular wall frame with uprights, rafters, and tie-beams (pl. 105; fig. 120, d). 
Large houses of this type, 50 feet (15 m.) in diameter and 70 feet (21 m.) 
high, are apparently confined to the westerly reaches of the area, again 
indicating influence from the western Amazon region (pl. 108). 

Walls are relatively rare among forest tribes but more common among 
savanna dwellers. The aboriginal pattern made use of wattle, closely-set 
poles, and thatch or bark. The daubed and adobe walls found in the 
Caroni and Rupununi River savanna country appear to be influenced by 
European prototypes. Rectangular pile houses with floors are reported 
from the early coastal Warrau and from the Galibi of Cayenne (French 
Guiana) and Suriname; otherwise only earth floors were seen. Many 
transitional house forms occur, such as the rectangular ground plan with 


J Ang tion 


Ficure 120.—Guiana house frames. a, Permanent house, rectangular, 2-post type; 
b, permanent house, lean-to type; c, permanent house, arched type; d, circular 
house. (Redrawn from Roth, 1924, figs. 75, 70, 71, 72.) 


832 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


apsoidal ends used by the Camaracoto (fig. 121), Arecuna, and Barama 
River Carib. Several types of houses were sometimes used by a single 
tribe, the Camaracoto having three, the Macushi four, and the Arecuna 
(pl. 106, bottom) three. From few tribes do we have any mention of 
house decoration although painted designs on posts or walls are reported 
from the Rucuyen, Apalai, and Macushi. 


H 
NAYS 


~ 


MENMNTRAMMMAMAMMMMMNW WRAY 


a \ \ , 
oe TT \\ 
ae 


ie) oleh Hi BS =") \\ 
ST Cee AS 


ii 


MAIR SS 
_—_— 


Ficure 121.—Caramacoto house. (Redrawn from Simpson, 1940, fig. 6.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 833 


What appeared to be a bachelor house is mentioned in early accounts 
of the Cayenne Carib. A special house for dances and assemblies is also 
mentioned. 

Household furniture is sparse (pl. 117, left), consisting essentially of 
hammocks used for sleeping and daytime lounging (pl. 107, bottom) ; 
wooden benches of the elongated, four-legged type (fig. 122), often carved 


AL ED 3B 


FicurE 122.,—Guiana wooden seats. a, c, Common form for Arawak, Carib, Warrau; 
b, d, Acawai, and b is also an Oyana type; e, Macushi; f, common Arawak and 
Carib form; g, Macushi; h, Baniva; i, Patamona, Macushi; j, Arawak ; k, Arecuna; 
I, Macushi; m, Arawak; n, Macushi; 0, Barama; p, Macushi; q, Warrau. (Re- 
drawn from Roth, 1924, fig. 81.) 


834 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


into stylized animal shapes; logs smoothed for sitting purposes; and fire- 
places consisting of two or more stones around a pile of ashes. Numerous 
domestic implements are usually found in the houses. Telescoping baskets 
are commonly used as containers, although many objects are stored under 
the roof thatch, hung by strings from the rafters, or placed on the tie 
poles under the roof. 


ENGINEERING WORKS 


Paths or trails, rather than roads, are characteristic of this region. 
Streams are bridged, if at all, simply by felling a log across the water. 
Occasionally a handrail of wood or of bush rope is provided. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Permanent ornamentation by deformation of the head is mentioned occa- 
sionally among the Cayenne and Suriname coastal Carib, Tarumd, and 
Maopityan, although the evidence is not clear that the deformation was 
intentional. Frontal deformation occurs on the coast, and fronto-occipital 
and side-to-side in the interior. Filing of teeth is also not universal, being 
mentioned for the Cayenne Carib, Wapishana, and Guajajara. Perfora- 
tion of the lower lip and the insertion of a pin or pendant ornament (pl. 
121, bottom, right) may be an original Carib trait, for it is almost uni- 
versally practiced among these people and to some extent among Arawak 
groups (the Wapishana). Mura men perforate both lips. Piercing of 
both cheeks and the insertion of parrot feathers is practiced among the 
Acokwa of the Cayenne River, certain unspecified Suriname River coastal 
groups, and the Tarumd. Perforation of the nasal septum and the inser- 
tion of bars or pendant ornaments was formerly very general, being re- 
peatedly reported from Arawak, Carib, and Warrau groups. Perforation 
of the ear lobe is widespread while the perforation and decoration of the 
helix is limited to the Taruma, Berbice River Arawak, and some other 
groups. Depilation of eyebrows and of the face generally is almost uni- 
versal, although many Carib groups favor the preservation of the mustache 
and beards in the men. Eyelash removal is rare but has been reported in 
two instances. Pubic hair is removed by both sexes among most Arawak 
and Warrau, by neither sex among the Rucuyen, by females only 
among the Shiriand and Barama River Carib, and variably among the 
Carib tribes. Tattooing is widely practiced, but its application by the 
individual is restricted. Facial tattooing is more prevalent among the 
Arawak and Warrau and among some Carib. Tattooing is most com- 
monly found on the forearm, where it is often associated with magic, such 
as the puberty ordeals and the use of hunting binas and other charms. The 
method was either incision with animal teeth or pricking. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 835 


Impermanent ornamentation includes the use of body unguents and 
oils of various kinds to give a shiny appearance and to protect the body 
against insects. Body and face painting occurs widely (pls. 121, bottom; 
122, bottom). The Arawak emphasize painting the total body, and the 
Carib and Warrau only the face. Annatto, uruct, and genipa provide 
vegetable stains, usually black or dark red. Women are often expected 
to paint the designs on the men’s bodies. Designs are applied for cere- 
monies, dances, and war parties. Sticking tufts of down or feathers on the 
body is common, with the Carib groups preferring the forehead thickly 
covered with white down. The use of crab oil for dressing the hair is 
ubiquitous among the coastal peoples. Hair dressing styles are varied 
and show no regularity of distribution. One of the more common styles 
is a center part with the hair in the middle enclosed in a wrapping which 
hangs down the back; another is a straight fringe across the forehead 
with a “high-bob” around the head. The Carib of the Caroni River re- 
gion shaved their heads, leaving a topknot. Two-bar single-type combs of 
palm splinters were used among the central and southern groups. Head- 
dresses include peaked palm-leaf hats; crowns of wickerwork decorated 
with multicolored feather patterns; net caps covered with feathers; filets 
of cotton decorated with tassels, knots, feathers, and insect wings; and 
forehead bands similarly decorated. Chiefs and others of distinction 
among some tribes wear specially elaborate ceremonial headdresses (pl. 
121, top, left). True masks, either for face or body, are unknown, except 
for a full-length costume worn by the Rucuyen in their whipping 
dance. Arm and leg bands of cotton and liana fiber, sometimes decorated, 
are common, especially among Carib tribes. The Carib of both sexes fre- 
quently produce abnormally bulging muscles by wearing tight ligatures 
above and below the calf and bicep. Necklaces of all kinds of available 
materials, but not of metals, are worn by all tribes. Rings carved from 
nutshells and girdles made of cotton, hide, hair, or bark are ubiquitous. 
The Patamona and Macushi produce hollow-cylinder plaited belts of vine 
fiber. 

Accounts of absolute nakedness among the Carib are so common in the 
early literature as to raise doubt as to whether the use of loincloths or 
aprons, now so general, was ever an aboriginal custom. The use of an 
apron of trapezoidal shape by women may have originally been an Arawak 
trait; the beaded aprons (pl. 118, #) of the Wapishana and other tribes 
are a late improvement. Materials used for loincloths or aprons in early 
days appear to have been bark cloth, unwoven cotton threads, and pos- 
sibly woven cotton textiles of small size. Bark cloth used for sleeveless 
shirts was formerly made, at least in Venezuelan Guiana, from the inner 
bark of the same trees which furnished cigarette wrappings. Sandals of 
palm fiber and of hide are worn by the present-day Indians of the 


836 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


savannas, but, as the term for sandal frequently seems to be a corruption 
of Spanish “pisar,” or of “zapato,” they may be a recent introduction. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Carrying devices.—No domestic animals are used for transport in this 
region. On land, all transport is by human beings; on water, by a number 
of types of boats. The principal carrying device is the rimmed carrying 
frame—a wickerwork or basketry container attached to a rectangular 
frame and suspended on the back by means of a tumpline over the head 
(pl. 121, top, right). The container is typically open at the top end and 
on the rear side, and closed on the bottom end and on the right and left 
sides. The load is kept in position by lashings running back and forth 
across the open rear side between the right and left edges. (See Roth, 
1924, pp. 375-377, for descriptions and illustrations.) The load is usually 
protected from rain by a covering of leaves or occasionally by specially 
prepared mats. Such carrying baskets show a number of minor varia- 
tions from the basic pattern and in fineness of workmanship. For carry- 
ing small objects, “satchels’” or “handbags” of matting, often showing 
elaborate twilled designs, are used. These look somewhat like a modern 
woman’s handbag in shape and size and are suspended from the shoulder 
by a cord or strip of hide. Baby slings, woven cotton bands about 9 to 
12 inches (22 to 30 cm.) in width, are usually worn over the right shoulder 
and passed under the left arm, which is used to steady the infant, who 
rides in the sling against, usually not astride, the mother’s left hip. 

A good deal of attention is given to tracking and to marking trails, par- 
ticularly by the jungle-dwelling tribes. Among trail-blazing techniques 
are the breaking of branches in a given direction as one passes along, 
notching or slashing trees along the trail, setting up pointers in forked 
sticks, and laying stones in piles or on the ground to indicate direction. 
Possibly some of the pictographs and petroglyphs usually found either 
at rapids or along trails were formerly used as direction markers. Aside 
from the crude bridges, mentioned above, no labor is expended on the 
improvement of trails, which are usually narrow and are traveled by 
groups walking in single file. 

Boats.—Water transport is by dugout canoes, bark canoes (pl. 113, 
center, right) or “woodskins,” and rafts. A number of tribes, like the 
small independent linguistic families of the Parima Range and surround- 
ing area, had no water transport. The Shiriand now have dugouts, a 
recent acquisition according to Koch-Griinberg. Certain tribes of the 
Savanna, like the Camaracoto, used their boats almost solely for ferrying 
across streams (Simpson, 1940, p. 514). Dugouts are made in a variety 
of sizes and patterns, the larger and more elaborate being reported from 
the Cayenne coast. Usually the tree is hollowed by burning, is spread 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 837 


Ficure 123.—Guiana bark canoes. a, Construction of bark canoe, (Arecuna, Tau- 
lipadng, etc.) ; b, canoe of Barama River Carib. (Redrawn from Koch-Griinberg, 
1923 a, fig. 5; and Roth, 1924, fig. 336.) 


with hot water, and wooden braces are inserted. On the Cayenne coast 
among Carib and Arawak (Palicur: Nimuendaju, 1926, pp. 39-40) we 
hear of apparently aboriginal gunwhales being raised by attaching planks, 
and of the bow and stern occasionally being made of separate insets of 
wood or of lumps of clay. A tent of thatch or leaves is often built amid- 
ships for the protection of cargo. Rectangular lug sails made of split 
palm-leaf stems are reported in very early accounts from the Cayenne 
coast, Suriname, and the Antilles. 

The crutch-handled paddle is everywhere in use and the elongated, leaf- 
shaped blade is most common. The circular, or discoid, blade is confined 
to the western Guianas and the margin of the Amazon River. 

The woodskin canoe is of very shallow draft, made of a single piece of 
bark stretched on a rectangular frame with the ends folded up a few 
inches above the water (fig. 123). It is used mainly in the upper reaches 
of the rivers, where its shallow draft and light weight are particularly 


8388 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


adaptable. Rafts, propelled by poles, are used in this region, primarily 
as emergency craft or as a transport for heavy loads in relatively calm 
water. Various savanna- and swamp-dwelling tribes, for instance the 
Palicur, use poles for propelling canoes. 


MANUFACTURES 
Bark cloth.—The making of bark cloth has been mentioned (p. 835). 
Basketry.—The Guiana Indians reach their highest technical proficiency 


and artistic virtuosity in the making of basketry and matting. A great 
variety of products and designs are produced, but the basic techniques are 
confined to wickerwork, checkerboard, and twilled weaving, with a little 
twining in the making of “roll up” mats of parallel lathes. No coiled, 
sewn, or imbricated basketry is known to have come from this region. 


Ficure 124.—Rucuyen woman spinning. (After Crévaux, 1891.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 839 


Technically the most complicated achievements are shown in edging, in 
changing diameters of the basket, and in drawing three-dimensional into 
two-dimensional shapes. (See Roth, 1924, ch. 18, for complete illustra- 
tion of the various techniques.) Among the products are tubular manioc 
presses (tipitis), cassava and farinha sifters, fire fans, plated rectangular 
boxes, wicker pot stands, sitting mats, carrying baskets, handbags, 
rectangular telescoping two-piece containers for household goods, trays 
for holding cotton with or without supporting wooden legs, rectangular 
and round hanging trays, deep bucket-shaped utility baskets, bottle-necked 
farinha baskets, fish traps, conical landing baskets for fish, hourglass- 
shaped containers, rattles for babies (pl. 118, f, g), cover nets for the 
suspension of pots, knapsack covers, and hollow-woven belts. All of these 
articles are carefully decorated either by creating designs from the surface 
texture of the weaving or by using elements of various shades of color. 
Painting or pitching baskets to make them waterproof is not practiced. 
Basketry is usually a man’s work. 

Spinning and cord making.—Raw stock of single-ply cotton thread 
is first ginned by hand and then spun on a hooked spindle with a bone or 
calabash whorl (fig. 124). The spindle is rolled against the thigh and 
then allowed to spin freely in the air (pl. 115, bottom). The whorls are 
occasionally decorated with engraving. Two-ply yarn is spun on spindles, 
but three-ply is first looped around the toes, twisted around the leg, and 
then spun. Multi-ply yarn is usually spun on the thigh without a spindle, 
although the Wapishana spin it with a bow-driven spindle. Various types 
of cording (see Roth, 1924, ch. 2, for full illustrations) are made by a 
series of braiding techniques (fig. 125). Multi-strand yarns, cords, and 
braids are used as leading lines of hammocks, and for belts, girdles, fish- 
lines, and tying cords. 

Fabric making.—Among fabricating techniques of the Guiana Indians 
are one-, two-, and three-string cording; strand plaiting, simple and 
overcast; loop plaiting with four and five loops; needle plaiting with a 
single flat needle (said to be exclusively Carib) and with two flat needles ; 
crotcheting with a single hooked needle and with two hooked needles ; and 
“knitting” of a sort, with four and six rounded split-eye needles and with 
two long sticks. Plaited cotton bands seem to be an original specialty of 
the Carib tribes. Possibly loom techniques (pl. 115, top) were introduced 
into the area by the Arawak. Miniature two-bar looms are used by tribes 
of both families for weaving very narrow cotton bands used as belts and 
forehead bands. 

Twine is made from other substances than cotton: Mauritia flexuosa 
(palm), leaves, Bromelia, or silk grass (“kraua”), and a variety of other 
grass and tree fibers available in various districts. The outer sheath of 


840 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


YESIES, 
LKFG > 


Ficure 125.—Guiana cotton cord making, Using a single flat split-eye needle. 
(After Roth, 1924, pl. 8.) 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 841 


the Bromelia leaf is removed by pulling the leaf roughly through a loop 
of cording. Twisting is done by rolling the fibers on the thigh or by 
twisting them in the hands after looping one end around a post or tying 
both ends to uprights. Two- and multi-ply cords are made for hammock 
ropes, fish lines, carrying straps, and “bina strings,” knotted cords which 
are pulled through the nose and out of the mouth. 

True loom weaving is confined to the making of bands, aprons, and 
hammocks (pl. 116, top). Materials for hammocks include primarily 
cotton and Mauritia fiber, with a number of lianas and other “bush straps” 
used for temporary purposes. The Warrau (fig. 130), who probably did 
not aboriginally have cotton, specialize to this day in Mauritia hammocks. 
All hammocks in this area are woven on a continuous warp which is 
crossed at regular intervals by “bars” of weft, each consisting of two weft 
threads twined on each other or of four weft threads alternately inter- 
twined in passing through the warp to produce a series of semiloops. The 
loom itself appears in three forms: (1) two vertical bars with warp 
horizontal and weft vertical (fig. 126) ; (2) two horizontal bars supported 
on vertical bars, warp vertical and weft horizontal (fig. 127); and (3) 
two horizontal bars or ropes equidistant from the ground with warp 
horizontal (fig. 130). In the third type, which is confined to the Warrau, 
the hammock is actually made by a netting technique, for the “weft” is 
one continuous strand which is passed over and under the warp elements 
with a needle in a series of loops which progressively locks them. The 


i 
=| z | 


i —— 
io 


= im 


i 


| i. 


Ficure 126.—Guiana hammock making. Frame of two vertical posts with horizontal 
warp and vertical weft; each weft bar consists of two threads. (After Roth, 
1924, fig. 195.) 


is 


842 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


Ficure 127,—Guiana hammock making. Frame of two horizontal timbers. Left: Ver- 
tical warp is run indirectly over a head stick (4) which, when finally pulled out, 
allows the article to be removed whole, Right: Separator is inserted below the 
permanent one in order to bring forward the posterior layer (of the front set) of 
warps, so as to get plenty of space. (After Roth, 1924, figs. 199, 202.) 


second type of loom has a number of improvements used by various tribes 
(figs. 128, 129): (a) a headpiece, around which the warp passes at the 
lower end, rather than being directly attached to the lower bar, permitting 
the whole fabric to be rotated around the main bars and removed without 
cutting; (b) shuttle spools for carrying the yarn; (c) shed rods for 
separating layers of warp; (d) heddles of string loops; (¢) wooden 
laminae for keeping bars of weft horizontal and equidistant; (f) leveling 
strips for keeping bars of weft even; and others. Miniature looms of the 
same continuous warp type, usually of the vertical-bar variety, are used 
for such weaving as bands and baby slings. The weft is double twined 
at each end of the fabric but is continuous between the ends. A sword 
beater is used for consolidating the weft. Beaded aprons (pl. 116, center) 
are made on a loom consisting of a bent switch with a bar tied across 
the open ends to make a D-shaped frame (fig. 131, g). The straight side 
forms the lower bar of the loom, and a series of cotton cords tied in one 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 


- Pn 


SS 


—=— 


a 


ANY 


i NW 


wn 
: a I iN 


au slash 


843 


Ficure 128.—Guiana hammock making. The temporary separator being removed, the 
posterior layer of (front set of) warps resumes original position, but is now under 
control of the raiser. The level is next attached and the first chain-twist made by 


taking up every alternate warp at a time. (After Roth, 1924, fig. 204.) 


653333—47—56 


844 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Ficure 129.—Guiana hammock making. The raiser, on being pulled upon, drags for- 
ward the posterior layer of (front set of) warps, and in this position the temporary 
separator, heater, or presser, is inserted behind it. (After Roth, 1924, fig. 205.) 


strand between the curving sides, at a proper distance from the bar, forms 
the other “bar.” Into this bar are twined the warp threads (fig. 132), 
which are then attached to the straight wooden bar. Each element of weft 
consists of two threads, one of which passes over and one under each warp 
thread. Between the warp threads, they are held together by the beads 
which are strung on them (fig. 133). 

Skin preparation.—Hides are used sporadically for sandals, the heads 
of drums, pubic coverings, pouches for carrying small articles (probably 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 845 


is 


— 


NT 


Tl SoS 
— 


ee aan, SE $C, ——>—A~ 


) 


ST — OST 


So Lo Ee 
‘a 


) 
ae 


ae | = SS 
IC STS eS 
VSS “i [——oS SSeS a n 
SSeS Se 
Sa 


SS 


Ficure 130.—Manufacture of a Guiana (Warrau) ite (sensoro) hammock. 
(After Roth, 1924, fig. 209.) 


post-Columbian, because they require sewing), and straps. Hides are not 
tanned, and leather working, properly speaking, does not exist. 


Pottery and calabashes.—Pottery (pl. 113, bottom; 118, a—c) made 
by the aborigines of the Guianas since the time of European contact is 
less distinguished both technically and artistically than is much of that 
recovered from archeological sites. (See pp. 819-825.) Ash or crushed- 
shell (rarer) temper, coiling, firing in the open, and glazing with vegetable 
resin occur throughout the region. Crude and unsystematic decoration 
with vegetable paints and incising are occasionally used. Pottery is 
primarily utilitarian. Most tribes have a variety of shapes, such as large 
containers for liquids, cooking pots, and the like. The scarcity of smaller 
pottery vessels may be due to the universal use of calabashes for drinking 
cups and water bottles. These, too, are often decorated with incised 
designs. In recent times, the coastal Arawak and Carib have taken to 
making zoomorphic (fig. 131, a, b) and other shapes of highly decorated 
pottery (fig. 131, c) for sale to Europeans. 

Weapons.—Only one type of the blowgun (pl. 110, top) has been 
reported—that with an inner and outer tube. The inner tube is made 
from the Arundinaria schomburgku, which seems to grow only in the 
Parima River region. Although the blowgun is reported among some 
Arawak tribes (e. g., Guinau, Pomeroon and Demarara River Arawak), 
it is more common among the westerly Carib (Yecuana, Camaracoto, 


846 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


persat 


GOIZE 
WAG: 
UY NU A SELEE: 


J.anglim 


Figure 131.—Guiana manufactures. a, b, Modern Suriname Carib pottery figurines; 
c, pottery plate, same Indians; d, e, Waiwai fish gorges made of palm spines; 
f, Waiwai (?) wooden mortar; g, Acawai bead apron, frame, and warps; h, rubber 
syringe. (Redrawn from Roth, 1924, pls. 22, 46, pl. 17, fig. 4; b, redrawn from 
Roth, 1929, pl. 92, a.) 


Vol, 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 847 


{ 
te 
‘ 

' 
t He 
ot ‘ 
CHa G 


JUUU 
es 


vt 


Ficure 132.—Guiana bead-apron technique. Close up of technique of making warps. 
(After Roth, 1924, pl. 17.) 


Taulipang, Arecuna, and Acawai), which suggests that it was introduced 
into the Guiana area from the Rio Negro and western Amazon region, 
perhaps by Carib movements or trade. The weapon is unknown among 
many of the easterly groups, such as the Warrau, Barama River Carib, 
and Suriname Arawak. In the central area, a considerable trade is carried 
on in blowguns and poison. The Yecuana and Guinau, according to 
Koch-Griinberg (1923 a, 3:338-342), obtain their poison from the Piaroa 
of the lower Ventuari and middle Orinoco Rivers; however, the Guinau 
and Yecuana, controlling the source of supply for the inner tubes, carry 
en a thriving trade with neighboring tribes. The principal dart poison of 
the area is curare, of which Strychnos toxifera is the most important toxic 
ingredient (pl. 110, bottom). A number of other poisons have been re- 
ported (Roth, 1924, pp. 151-152). 


848 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


i 
I 
Cc) 
PigSigiS = 
re Sisipiait 


Mm mm it 
Sars 


iit) 


rien 
ay Dt 


siniy 


apron. (Redrawn from Roth, 1924, pl. 16.) 


The bow, made from a variety of woods, is generally long. It is either 
a self bow or is strengthened by several lengths of surplus bowstring 
carried in a groove along the back. Arrows—generally made of reeds, 
which are sometimes cultivated—were formerly tipped with wood or with 
animal or fish bone, but are now tipped with iron. Use of stone points 
on arrows is doubtful, although they were used by some tribes on lances. 
A variety of point shapes is made for different types of game: single, 
double, and multiple-barbed, blunt-ended (for birds), and harpoon-point 
(for fish). Primary and secondary releases have been reported, probably 
others are in use. 

The spear or lance, with wood or bamboo head, has a westerly distribu- 
tion in the Guianas, a fact which, as in the case of the blowgun, suggests 
introduction from the upper Amazon. Clubs, although formerly widely 
used in war and ceremonies, were employed little in hunting. 

Miscellaneous.—Drilling seems to have been the only pre-European 
method of fire making (pl. 117, top). 

A wide variety of gums, glues, and resins are obtained from the forest 
trees and widely used for fastening points to arrows, for calking boats, 
and for other purposes. Most pigments used in the area are vegetable. 
Rubber was made into balls, rings, and syringes (fig. 131, h) by a number 
of Carib tribes mentioned in the literature. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Beyond the immediate family, the settlement is everywhere the basic 
social unit, a group usually of 15 to 50 members, sometimes as large as 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 849 


200. Typically, a group of blood relatives with their spouses constitutes 
the kernel of a settlement, if not its entire membership. Among the 
Barama River Carib, individuals and families may be drawn to a settle- 
ment solely by reason of friendship, fear, or a desire for economic oppor- 
tunity (Gillin, 1936, pp. 99, 101-140). Politically, the settlement is under 
the supervision of a headman, who receives informal advice from the 
mature married men of the group, frequently through the mechanism of 
uninhibited discussions at drinking sprees. Formal councils and consti- 
tuted officers are not typical. The headman is usually only nominal head 
of the settlement, and true tribal chiefs are everywhere absent. 

Three configurations of social organization are present in the area 
(Kirchhoff, 1931): (1) Society organized into matrilocal, matrilinear, 
and unlocalized clans is characteristic only of the Locono, or coastal 
Arawak, but not, so far as is known, of the Wapishana and Guinau, or 
“Central Arawak.” Coastal Arawak tribes are the only ones in the area 
having sib organization of any kind, and the matrilinear pattern is char- 
acteristic also of the Arawak of the Antilles. It should be noted however, 
that one Arawak tribe, the Palicur, according to Nimuendajui (1926), 
have seven existing and four extinct patrilinear gentes. This may be an 
eastward extension of the second configuration. (2) A patrilinear influ- 
ence is seen in the patrilocal marriage and patrilocal settlements of the 
Aparai and Wapishana. In patrilocality the Wapishana belong with the 
Arawak of the Rio Negro region, rather than with the coastal Arawak, 
a fact which suggests their relatively recent migration from the southwest 
into their present location. In patrilocality the Aparai differ from all other 
Carib tribes of the Guianas, a fact which, likewise, may indicate their 
former connection with the west. The Tucanoans of the Vaupés River 
region have patrilocal, patrilinear, and localized gentes (p. 780). (3) 
The composite type of settlement organized on a permanent or tem- 
porary matrilocal basis is characteristic of the remainder of the known 
tribes of the region. 

Among the matrilocal tribes, as well as most of the others, the bride is 
won through service of some sort to the future father-in-law, or at least 
through a preliminary residence under his control. Among the Rucuyen 
and Orinoco River Carib, at least, the relationship has generalized 
into the peito institution. Peito includes not only servile sons-in-law but 
among a number of Carib tribes it includes war captives and unattached 
men who have placed themselves under the direction and protection of a 
headman. This institution represents an incipient system of graded status, 
the only indication of this sort of thing in the area. Cross-cousin marriage 
is preferred in all tribes, but is not regularized. Among the Carib tribes, 
it is widely permissible to marry a sister’s daughter, a usage reflected in 
the kinship terminologies. Such a marriage frees the groom from the 


850 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


service features of marriage and the peito status, since the father of the 
bride is already under the control of the groom’s father in matrilocal tribes. 

Polygyny is permissible everywhere, so far as data go, with the sororal 
type generally preferred, but it is not widely practiced. Certain tribes, 
for instance, the Macushi, are comparatively monogamous. Usually plural 
wives live in their husband’s house, although in individual cases they may 
continue to live in their father’s village. Tribal exogamy is not generally 
prohibited ; among a number of Carib tribes it was used as a technique of 
political domination and absorption. The levirate is also common, as is 
marriage with the stepdaughter. Both child betrothal and independent 
courtship occur, with no significant regularity of either. 

The village headman is either chosen by acclaim or else inherits his 
position. In the matrilocal tribes the son-in-law is frequently the heir; 
but in certain matrilocal tribes (Macushi) the oldest son is the heir and 
does not move away from the settlement. Inheritance is paternal among 
the Aparai, Rucuyen, and Galibi. Among the Warrau, according to 
Richard Schomburgk (1922-23), the daughter’s son is heir, a unique usage 
in this area. Among the Locono, the headman has a number of wives and 
is economically supported by their families. 

Complete kinship terminologies are too rare to permit generalizations. 
Those available are bifurcating in type. 

The tribe nowhere appears to be more than a loose, unorganized lin- 
guistic, territorial, and cultural unit. 


ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION 


Money or other universal media of exchange are unknown; likewise 
surplus goods are not valued as wealth, nor is there any other concept of 
economic wealth per se. Nevertheless, considerable barter formerly took 
place, with certain tribes specializing in trade. However, no market insti- 
tution existed among the tribes; traders traveled singly or in groups and 
bartered during irregular visits. The Taulipdng specialized in making 
blowpipes or the inner tubes for them; the Macushi, manioc graters and 
curare poison; the Guinau hammocks, cassava graters, aprons, and 
feather decorations; and the coastal Warrau, dugout canoes. The 
Acawai were everywhere known as traders and made extensive expeditions 
from Manaos through the interior to the coast and the mouth of the 
Orinoco River. In Colonial times they made their trading experience 
available to the Dutch and became the principal slave hunters and traders 
of the interior. No formalized immunity for traders developed and it 
seems often to have been necessary for trading expeditions to fight. 
European trade with the Indians of the interior is still carried on by 
barter. In addition to new goods the Europeans have introduced the 
practice whereby Indians give their labor in return for goods. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 851 


LIFE CYCLE 


Childbirth.—Accouchement takes place in the bush, in a temporary 
room of palm leaves in the house, or in a separate house. Mechanical 
abortion is probably known among all tribes, most of whom claim vege- 
table abortifacients although these have not been scientifically identified. 
The umbilical cord was reported to be bitten off among the Warrau; 
elsewhere a knife is used. Arawak mothers keep the cord to be passed 
on to the child when it grows up. The after-birth is buried immediately. 
Food and action taboo are required of both parents before and after birth. 
The couvade is well developed, at least among the Arawak, Carib, and 
coastal Warrau tribes. The essential idea is that a connection exists 
between the soul or spirit of the child and its father, and that harm will 
befall the child if the father goes into the bush or leaves the settlement 
for a given length of time after the child’s birth. Babies are nursed for a 
year or two and are carried in baby slings. There seems to be no taboo 
on intercourse during lactation. Although cradles are unknown, the infant 
sometimes has a small hammock of its own for night use. Clothing is 
usually not worn before puberty. Instruction in adult activities is informal 
and imitative. Toy tops, weapons, household utensils, and wooden and 
fiber dolls combine amusement with the formation of adult habit patterns. 
A hanging chair, or “walker,” is used in some tribes when the child begins 
to walk. Personal names, which are usually given at the end of the 
couvade and are often bestowed by the medicine man, are of the nickname 
type and refer to the child’s appearance or to his resemblance to an animal 
or plant. Names are not used in direct conversation and are taboo after 
death. 

Puberty ordeals are usually phrased as preparation for marriage. The 
Maraké ceremony for boys among the Rucwyen (Crévaux, 1883, p. 
307) subjects them to stinging ants held in frames against the skin. Work 
ordeals, such as hunting, cutting a field, or building a house, are common. 
Girls are secluded either in the bush or in a special structure during their 
first menstruation and are required to observe certain food taboos. Among 
the Macushi, girls are whipped during their seclusion. 

Mourning is generally observed by the family’s cutting their hair, 
deserting the hut or village, and foregoing the use of ornaments. Burial 
in the floor of the house in a hammock or in a hollowed log or old canoe 
was common among historical tribes. Cremation is rare. However, 
among the Rucuyen the corpse is cremated (pl. 120, top) in a sitting 
position, and the ashes are kept in a pot by the widow; and among the 
Atorai, the corpse is cremated and the ashes buried. From archeological 
evidence, it appears that cremation and urn burial were formerly common 
along the Orinoco River and in Brazilian Guiana. Exhumation and re- 
distribution of the bones among relatives or reburial is mentioned for 


852 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


some Arawak. Mummification is mentioned for the Piaroa and for the 
medicine men of the Rucuyen. The final mourning ceremonies, 
known as mukuari, seem to have been typical of the Arawak, although 
historical coastal Warrau also practiced them, and the pono and toulé 
dances of the Rucuwyen have what may be borrowed makuari features. 
The makuari ceremonies drove away evil spirits by the systematic whip- 
ping of the participants with sacred whips (pl. 120, bottom). An effigy 
of a white crane, which gave the ceremony its name, was carried in 
the burial procession and interred. A drinking spree concluded the 
ceremonies. 


WARFARE 


The Carib were the most warlike of the tribes. According to early 
accounts (Fermin, 1781, for Suriname Carib), a warlike expedition was 
preceded by a council called by the headman. The participants boasted 
to stimulate their courage, invoked the jaguar spirit in an exciting imi- 
tative dance, and imbibed manioc drink mixed with worms from the 
putrid brains, heart, and liver of jaguar, camudi snake, and slain enemies. 
Arms and weapons were likewise smeared with the putrid stuff. Calls 
were sent to outlying warriors by shell trumpets or by setting up signs, 
such as a barbed arrow on a ttrail. Although the Island (Antillean) 
Carib had special war captains, evidence for them in the Guianas is 
conflicting. The usual tactics were to attack an enemy village at night 
by stealth. Defense included the concealment of the village, sunken logs 
to impede enemy navigation, traps along the trail, and, rarely, the use 
of stockades. Coastal tribes, both Arawak and Carib, used light wooden 
shields. The blowgun was not usually used in war. The principal 
weapons were arrows, sometimes poisoned ; spears; and, for close fighting, 
clubs of hardwood in a variety of shapes. The Acawai had a wooden 
dagger-shaped club. Motives for war seem to have been revenge, cap- 
tives, and, in Colonial times, slave raiding. It is doubtful whether scalping 
was aboriginal in the region, although it was practiced by coastal tribes 
in historic times. Cannibalism was practiced not only by the Carib but also 
by the Arawak. Although reports on cannibalism in the Guianas are con- 
fused, it appears to have been based primarily upon revenge rather than 
upon an appetite for human flesh. Cayenne Carib are reported to have 
kept the head temporarily as a trophy and to have made thigh and arm 
bones into flutes. Disarticulated human bones are found in the shell 
heaps of the coast, indicating probably prehistoric cannibalism. Slaves 
were taken in war and constituted the peito class among the Macushi and 
certain other Carib tribes. The captive men often married the daughters 
of their captors. Among some Carib tribes, “peito” (see p. 849) is 
used for both “captive” and “son-in-law.” Central Arawak use the 
term ‘‘maku” in the same way. The Macu Indians themselves seem to 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 853 


have been singularly peaceful and furnished many captives to more war- 
like tribes. The war pattern has now practically disappeared from the 
area. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Art.—Decorative art is little developed in this region, except for woven 
designs on baskets and feather ornaments, and headdresses. Painting 
and incising of pottery and carving on wooden clubs are crudely done. 

Dances and music.—The most ubiquitous social amusement is the 
drinking spree combined with singing, dancing (pl. 119, center), and sex 
play. Long cycles of highly formalized dances are not typical in historical 
accounts but among the more structuralized dances are the “humming- 
bird dance” of the coastal Arawak and Carib (Penard, F. P. and A. P., 
1907-08, 1:167-170), the Aruhoho dance of the Warrau (Roth, 1924, 
pp. 471-472), and the parishara dance of the Macushi, Patamona, and 
Wapishana (Roth, 1924, pp. 475-580). The parishara is a variety of 
the hummingbird dance. Other dances imitative of animals and birds 
are mentioned. Special dance houses or assembly halls are accredited 
at least to the Suriname Carib. Miniature clubs and other weapons are 
used in some of the dances. The Macushi men engage in foot races before 
certain dancing and drinking sprees (Im Thurn, 1883, p. 325). The 
singing is usually done to an accompaniment of flute, drum, and (in 
modern times) fiddle music, played by specially recognized musicians. 
A few simple tunes are typical, to which a variety of words may be im- 
provised or well-known verses repeated. We do not hear of long, stylized 
sets of words which must be carefully repeated on pain of punishment. 

Games and miscellaneous amusements.—Other recreation includes 
informal and semidramatized storytelling in the camp or house during 
the evening, and playing practical jokes. There are a number of ball 
games (sporadic distribution), team wrestling, a pushing game with 
shields (Warrau), making of highly developed string figures and cat’s 
cradles (widely distributed), and the children’s games already mentioned. 
Swimming and diving amusements are notably absent, except among 
coastal Warrau children. Gambling, perhaps because of a typical lack 
of emphasis on wealth, is not mentioned in the literature. 

Musical instruments.—Aerophones include: clay trumpets (Carib? 
and Pomeroon and Morka River Warrau) ; wooden flageolets (?) in- 
serted in wooden animal effigies (used in Macushi parishara dances: Roth, 
1924, p. 454) ; bamboo, wooden, and bone flageolets (general distribu- 
tion) ; side flutes of bamboo and wood (general), sometimes nose-blown 
(Central Carib and Oyana) ; voice flutes made of large-diameter bamboo 
(Roth, 1924, fig. 235: Carib of Moruka); ocarinalike instruments of 
gourd, clay, or wood (general) ; simple whistles of nut shells and wood 
(general) ; panpipes of reed with from 3 to 10 pipes (general) ; and 


854 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


compound clarinet-trumpet (serdre) with interior vibrating reed (Warrau 
only). 

Cordophones, probably introduced by Europeans or Negroes, occur 
in several forms: self-cord fiddles, the strings (usually three) of which 
are raised over bridges and are cut from, and are still attached to, the 
bamboo or ite palm stalk forming the body of the instrument (wide 
distribution) ; monochord of ite stalk, with a cord of kraua twine, bridge, 
and revolving peg (Warrau) ; compound fiddle of bamboo section with 
tail piece, three kraua or cotton strings, bridge, and three revolving pegs; 
and cheap violins obtained in trade, usually played with three strings. 

Idiophones include: rattles of wood, clay, bamboo, seeds, gourds, and 
insect wings, either used as pendants, which are usually worn on strings 
in dances, or placed on handles and universally used by medicine men; 
and dance sticks tamped on the ground in time with dance rhythm. The 
latter are hollow and sometimes have skin stretched across one end and 
rattles attached (Wapishana, Macushi, Arecuna, Patamona). It is prob- 
ably a western (Rio Negro) trait. 

There are three kinds of membranophones. The double-headed skin 
drum is probably of European origin. It is played on only one head 
with one or two sticks; the other head is used as a resounder and has 
a tightening cord stretched across it. The frame is a piece of hollow 
wood; the heads are attached with hoops and tightened with European- 
type drawstrings. Wooden drums, though widely used in upper Rio 
Negro, are not found in the Guianas. The foot drum consists of a hole 
in the ground covered with a sheet of bark which is stamped on (Ru- 
cuyen). The friction drum is made of turtle shell and has a hole 
through which a notched stick is rasped (Wapishana, Macushi) ; it is 
probably a Rio Negro trait. 


Intoxicating beverages.—Fermented drinks are made from manioc 
bread, maize, sweet potatoes, pineapple juice, wild cashew, and, since 
their introduction, sugarcane and bananas. Except in the case of pine- 
apple and cane juice, the substance is chewed, left to ferment or mold, 
mixed with water, and allowed to “work.” These drinks are usually 
consumed at community parties, which may continue, with singing and 
dancing, for several days. Intoxication is the rule. 


Narcotics and stimulants.—In addition to alcoholic drinks, tobacco 
is universally used. It is grown in crop fields, and smoke-cured, and 
preserved either in the leaf or in rolls or plugs. Most commonly it is 
smoked in cigarettes wrapped in thin tree bark or leaves. True cigars 
of the upper Rio Negro and Uaupés River type were not used aboriginally, 
nor were the associated cigarholders or forks. Tobacco chewing seems 
to have been restricted aboriginally to a few of the central tribes (Pata- 
mona, Acawai, Arecuna). Tobacco is mixed either with the pulverized, 
salty-tasting shell of the freshwater alga, Mourera fluviatilis, and baked 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 855 


on cassava pans into a cake (Patamona), or it is mixed fresh with a black 
niter-containing earth (Arecuna). An infusion of tobacco leaves is com- 
monly drunk by medicine men to induce séance. Pipe smoking is sporadic 
and appears to have been introduced by the Whites. 

The use of parica in snuff, paste, or cigarette seems to be another 
western trait which had barely reached the fringe of the Guiana area 
at the time of our earliest knowledge. Its use is mentioned for the 
Mura, the Maué, and the Parima River tribes. The use of pepper juice 
as a cure for congestion and possibly as a stimulant is widespread. The 
Macushi pour pepper water into the nostrils from long-necked gourds, 
and the Pomeroon River Arawak administer it as an enema by means 
of an animal-bladder syringe. 


RELIGION 


A lack of formalism, as in other aspects of Guiana culture, is typical 
of religion. The cosmogony of the known tribes follows certain patterns. 
A deity or “boss spirit” is usually recognized but not worshiped. This 
individual is mentioned in myths, but is not clearly conceived as the 
creator of the universe. The world as it is known to man is usually 
thought to have been created by a culture hero (e. g., Avawak Yaperi- 
Kuli, Haburi; Warrau (?) Kororomanna; Carib Macunaima, Amalivaca ; 
etc.). A number of mythological themes in which such heroes figure 
are found throughout the Guianas. The hero frequently creates animals 
or their distinctive peculiarities from a magical tree, often a silk-cotton 
tree. Various parts of the tree are broken off and turn into animals, 
or the animals develop their present characteristics through trying to 
pick the fruit from the tree. The hero in some cases has a twin brother, 
both of whom are children of the sun or of some other heavenly body 
(e. g., Macunaima and Pia of the Macushi). Another frequent figure, 
especially in Carib mythology, is a supernatural snake, which is usually 
killed by the hero. However, from the snake’s body develop men, 
animals, or binas (hunting charms). In addition to these figures, the 
mythology of all the tribes contains numerous incidents in which animals 
and birds figure as creators or as teachers of man. For example, among 
the Carib the bunia bird is frequently credited with teaching the Indians 
the use of cultivated plants and other culture traits. 

Animism and magic characterize the religion of the whole area. Prac- 
tically everything or class of things or beings is credited with spirits; for 
example, each tree, manioc, etc. In addition, a number of general classes 
of spirits are recognized. The jaguar spirit exercises a general and more 
powerful influence over the affairs of men. Familiar spirits are char- 
acteristic only of medicine men whose social influence depends largely 
upon their ability to contact spirits intimately for the benefit of laymen. 
While fetishes are known in the form of beeswax, clay, and wooden 


856 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


images, they are used either privately or as part of the equipment of 
the medicine man. In historical times, there seem to have been no 
true cults in the Guianas, although stone images (see p. 824) seem to 
have been well developed earlier in Brazilian Guiana, and we have at 
least one historical account of a stone god venerated in a special cult 
house or temple among Carib (?) of the upper Oyapock River (Harcourt, 
1613, p. 109). It could thus be argued that the religious systems of the 
area have suffered a decline during the last 400 years. 

There is universal belief in bush spirits, “kanaima,’’ which some tribes 
thought of as debased human beings, others as semisupernatural creatures 
who roam the bush seeking to torture and annoy unwary human beings. 
They stupify and torture their victims by supernatural means and are 
everywhere feared. There is some evidence that ordinary men use 
“kanaima” as a means of revenge (Gillin, 1934). 

Contagious and homeopathic magic enters almost all phases of the 
individual’s life in the Guianas. The practices are too numerous to 
list here. 

Although ghosts of the dead are considered annoying and for this reason 
the house of the deceased is usually abandoned, systematized concepts con- 
cerning their ultimate disposition or the general picture of the afterlife are 
lacking. 

Clownish spirits, the “hebu” of coastal tribes, appearing in the mytholo- 
gies of most tribes, are usually grotesque in appearance and serve as the 
stupid butts of tricks played upon them by mortals. 


SHAMANISM 


The medicine man, or shaman, a specialist in all things supernatural, is 
found in every community. The Carib designation is “piai” and its de- 
rivatives, or “mariri” (Caroni River); the Arawak root seems to be 
derivatives of these terms. In historical accounts, no distinctive func- 
tions or status differentiated a Carib medicine man from an Arawak one. 
Their stock in trade consists of a carved bench, a rattle containing stones 
or crystals representing the medicine man’s familiar spirits, a doll or 
manikin, a specially built hut or cubicle usually of palm leaves in which 
séances are held, a prepared drink (usually the juice of green tobacco) 
which induces visions, and a cigarette whose smoke, when inhaled by the 
operator, has magical properties. The training of a Suriname Carib 
shaman is typical of the Guiana pattern (Andrés, 1938; Penard, A. P., 
1928-29; Ahlbrinck, 1931), although variations occur among different 
tribes. Good spirits are introduced into the shaman, so that he can work 
with them, and he learns how to go into trances, so that he may enter 
the world of spirits and converse with them. Six or more candidates are 
initiated in a special house by an established medicine man, assisted by 
an old woman and a pubescent virgin for each candidate. The course lasts 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 857 


24 days and nights, and involves various ordeals, such as drinking tobacco 
water, putting pepper water in the eyes, fire jumping, and dancing without 
sleep. 

Medicine men conduct a few communal ceremonies, such as magical 
rites to encourage the growth of tobacco or manioc, but on the whole they 
serve in an individual capacity as advisers, seers, and curers of disease. 
Not infrequently the headman of a settlement is a medicine man, but the 
curer, as such, has no constituted political power other than that of an 
adviser to war parties and the like. He usually preserves myths and tra- 
ditions. Among the Arawak there seems to be a stronger tendency than 
among the Carib for medicine men to band together, but even this tend- 
ency is rare. 

Some tribes possess sorcerers (e.g., Barama River Carib ; Gillin, 1936), 
who have no relations with spirits, but who specialize in discovering 
offenders and in directing the use of black magic in reprisal. They are 
consulted by individuals on a fee basis. 

To effect a cure, the medicine man holds a séance with the patient in a 
special hut, consulting with the spirits, blowing tobacco smoke over the 
patient (pl. 120, center), massaging him, sucking, and placing taboos on 
certain food and actions. Nonreligious medical treatment is also prac- 
ticed in all tribes. Treatment may be ordered by a medicine man, but, as 
often as not, laymen on their own initiative use purgatives, emetics, enemas 
(using syringes of rubber or bladders), cold and warm baths, bleeding, 
and medicinal leaves as “plasters” to ulcers and sores. Anyone may also 
remove chigoes and other boring insects. (See Roth, 1924, Ch. 36.) 

Binas and hunting charms have been discussed (p. 827). 


LORE AND LEARNING 


Star lore is better developed among the savanna tribes than among those 
living in dense forests. The seasons of the year are reckoned by the stars 
or by the appearance of fruits or leaf changes in the forest. The month 
is reckoned by the moon. For keeping track of future dates, the knotted 
cord (an eastern version of the Peruvian quipu idea?) is universal; a 
knot is tied for each day intervening between the present and the event 
to be remembered, and untied as the proper time intervals elapse. Similar 
time counting is done with notches cut in sticks (Macushi), or holes bored 
in sticks from which a peg is removed for each day, or bundles of sticks 
from which one is removed for each day. Distances are usually reckoned 
in terms of the number of days required to travel between them, or in 
terms of the change in position of the sun. Houses are measured and laid 
out with poles cut to proper length by eye estimate. Writing is, of course, 
entirely unknown. 


858 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ETIQUETTE 


Hospitality toward friendly persons is common, although unformalized. 
Newcomers usually announce their arrival with shouts or by pounding 
the trunks of trees, and pause at the outskirts of a settlement until in- 
spected by the men of the settlement, whereupon they are escorted to a 
house. A man does not enter a house nor stay in a settlement where only 
women are present. Once in a house, the guest is given drink from a 
gourd, tobacco with which to make a cigarette, and a place to hang his 
hammock. During drinking sprees, the drink is usually served by women, 
and a refusal to partake is regarded as an insult. Among the matrilocal 
tribes, at least, avoidance and respect tinge the relations between in-laws, 
although rigid toboos are unknown. Respect is also accorded a headman, 
although informally. Most reports indicate that the normal relations be- 
tween members of a settlement are friendly and even playful. Teasing and 
joking is common, but formalized “joking relationships” are not reported. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY? 


Acufia, 1641 (1682, 1859, i1¥91); Adam, 1878, 1879 a, 1879 b, 1890 b, 1892 a, 1892 b, 
1893, 1897, 1905; Aguerrerere (see Exploracién de la .. ., 1939); Ahlbrinck, 
1922-25, 1924, 1925-26, 1931; Aldenburgk, 1627, 1930; Alexander, J. E., 1832, 1833; 
Altolaguirre y Duvale, 1908 [1909?]; Alvarado, 1912, 1921, 1925; Amador de los 
Rios (see Oviedo y Valdés, 1851-55); Anderson, 1909; André, 1904 [19387]; 
Angyone Costa, 1934 (1938); Appun, 1868-69, 1871; Armellado, 1936; Bakhuis, 
1902, 1908; Balen, 1930; Ballet, 1875; Bancroft, 1769; Barbosa Rodrigues, 1875 a, 
1875 b, 1875 c, 1875 d, 1879, 1885, 1892 a, 1899; Barrére, 1743; Bates, 1892; Baum- 
garten, 1882; Bauve, 1833-34; Bechamel (see Grillet and Bechamel, 1698, and Labat, 
1730) ; Beebe, 1910; Bellin, 1763; Benjamins, 1924-25; Benoit, 1839; Berkel, 1695, 
1789; Bernardino de Souza (see Souza, Conego Francisco Bernardino de) ; Berneau, 
1847; Bettendorf, 1910; Beyerman, 1934-35; Biet, 1664, 1896; Blanchard, 1882; 
Blanco-Fombona, 1915-16; Boddam-Whetham, 1879; Boekhoudt, 1874; Bolingbroke, 
1807; Bonaparte, 1884; Bosch, 1829-43; Bosch Reitz, 1886; Brazil e Guyana 
Franceza, n.d., 1899, 1899-1900; Breton, 1665; Brett, n.d. a; n.d. b; 1900-02 (1849), 
1851, 1852, 1880; Bricefio-Iragorry, 1930; Brinton, 1871; Broekhuijsen, 1926; 
Brown, 1873, 1876; Bueno, 1933; Burr, 1897; Bushnell, 1910; Caitano da Silva, 
1861; Campbell (see Holmes and Campbell); Capitan, 1882; Capelle (see Van 
Capelle) ; Carrocera, 1935; Caulin, 1779; Cerqueira e Silva, n.d.; Chaffanjon, 1887, 
1889; Chamberlin, 1910; Cisneros, 1912 (1764); Cohen (see Meillet and Cohen) ; 
Coll (see Van Coll) ; Constant and Gras, ms.; Cooksey, 1912; Copazzi, 1841; Coreal, 
1722; Costa (see Angyone Costa) ; Costambert, 1861; Coudreau, H., 1883, 1886 a, 
1886 b, 1886-87, 1891 a, 1891 b, 1892, 1893, 1899; Coudreau, O., 1900, 1901, 1903 a, 
1903 b, 1903 c; Crévaux, 1879, 1880-81, 1882, 1883; Cruls, 1930; Currier, 1897; 
Dalton, 1855; Dance, 1876, 1881; Daniel, 1840-41; Darnault, 1934; De Goeje, 1906; 
1908 a, 1908 b, 1910, 1924, 1924-25, 1928, 1929, 1929-30 a, 1929-30 b, 1930, 1930-31, 
1931-32, 1932-33, 1934-35, 1935, 1937; De Laet (see Laet, Joannes de); Denis, 
1823; Denis and Famin, 1837; Deuber, 1926; Deyrolle, 1916; Dixon, 1895; Duff, 
1866; Dumontier (see Focke, Landre, van Sypestein, and Dumontier) ; Dupont, 


2 Dates in parentheses after a date signify other editions. Queries are in brackets. Cross refer- 
ences are in parentheses, 


t 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF THE GUIANAS—GILLIN 859 


1875; Dutertre, 1654 (1667-71) ; Ehrenreich, 1891 a, 1891 b, 1904, 1915; Emmerich- 
Hogen, 1922; Endriss, 1911; Ernst, 1870, 1886-87, 1888, 1889; Exploracién de la 
Gran Sabana, 1939; Famin, 1839 (also see Denis and Famin); Farabee, 1916 a, 
1917 a, 1917 b, 1917 c, 1918 a, 1918 b, 1921 a, 1921 b, 1924; Febres, 1931; Federmann, 
1557; Fehlinger, 1925; Fermin, 1765 (1769, 1781) ; Fernandes de Souza (see Smyth, 
1836); Ferreira, 1903; Ferreira Penna (see Penna); Figueirédo (see Lima 
Figueirédo) ; Flu, 1911; Focke, 1858; Focke, Landre, van Sypestein, and Dumontier, 
1855; Fogg, 1927; Franssen, 1917-18; Freitas, 1914; Friederici, 1929; Froédin and 
Nordenskidld, 1918; Froidevaux, 1894; Furlong, 1915; Galard de Terraube, 1799 
(1800) ; Gama Lobo de Almada, 1903; Gilij, 1780-84; Gillin, 1933, 1934, 1935, 
1936; Glasenapp, n.d., 1937; Gli, 1934; Goeldi, 1896, 1897, 1900; Goreaud, 1934; 
Goslings, 1935; Gras (see Constant and Gras) ; Grasserie, 1892; Grillet (see Labat, 
1730) ; Grillet and Bechamel, 1698; Grubb, 1927; Grupe y Thode, 1890; Guedes, 
1896; Guianas Boundary, 1890; Gumilla, 1791; Hancock, 1835 (1840) ; Hanson, 1933, 
1938; Harcourt, 1613 (1626, 1928); Harlow, 1928; Hartsinck, 1770, 1893; Hartt, 
1885 [1886?]; Heger, 1916, 1924; Heriarte, 1874; Herrera y Tordesillas, 1601-15; 
Herskovits (see Panhuys, Mordini, and Herskovits, 1934); Hervds, 1800-05; 
Heshuysen, 1925-26; Hilhouse, 1832, 1834 a, 1834 b; Hitchcock (see Tate and Hitch- 
cock) ; Holden, 1938; Holdridge, 1931, 1940; Holmes and Campbell, 1858; Horn- 
postel, 1923; Hiibner, 1898, 1907 (also see Koch-Griinberg and Hiibner, 1908) ; 
Humboldt, 1814, 1852-53 (1881) ; Ignacio de Oliveira, n.d., 1935; Ihering, 1904; Im 
Thurn, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1890[?], 1892, 1934; Jahn, 1929, 1935, 1939; Jansen, 1931; 
Jenman, 1907; Joao Daniel (see Daniel) ; Joest, 1893; Josselin de Jong, 1919-20, 
1919-21; Joyce, 1912; Kappler, 1854, 1881, 1887; Kemys, 1811; Kessler, 1930-31, 
1936-37 ; Keye, 1672; Keymis (see Kemys) ; Kirchhoff, 1931; Kirke, 1898; Klipfel, 
1859; Koch-Griinberg, n.d., 1900, 1905, 1906 c, 1905-08, 1907, 1908, 1913 a, 1913 b, 
1920, 1922, 1923 a, 1934; Koch-Grtinberg and Hiibner, 1908; Krieger, 1935; Labat, 
1730, 1931; La Borde, 1704; Lacerda e Almeida, 1841; La Condamine, 1745; La 
Croix, 1904; Laet, 1625 (1630, 1633, 1640), 1644; Landre (see Focke, Landre, van 
Sypestein, and Dumontier) ; Lans, 1842; Lasch, 1910; Lawner, 1930; Leblond, 1813, 
1814; Leigh, 1906; Lelyyeld, n.d.; Leprieur, 1834; Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, 1819 
(1780-83) ; Level, 1850, 1873; Lima Figueirédo, 1939; Linné, 1925, 1937; Lisandro, 
1921; Lodares, 1929-31; Lombard, 1928; Lopez Borreguero, 1875; Lopez de Aranjo, 
1884; Lovén, 1924, 1928; Luquet, 1933; Lutz, 1912 a, 1912 b; McTurk, 1882; 
Manouvrier, 1882; Marcano, 1889 b; Marcgraf (see Piso and Marcgraf); Martin, 
1886; Martius, 1863, 1867 (also see Spix and Martius); Massa, 1936; Matallana, 
1937; Matos Arvelo, 1903, 1912; Maurel, 1882; Meillet and Cohen, 1924; Mello, 1924; 
Mello Moraes, 1858-63; Mentelle, 1782; Métraux, 1927, 1928 a; Michelena y Rojas, 
1867; Miller, 1917; Milthiade (in H. Coudreau, 1893); Mocquet 1645; Monteiro 
Baena, 1870; Monteiro Noronha, 1903; Montezon, 1857; Morais, 1924; Mordini, 
1931, 1934 (also see Panhuys, Mordini, and Herskovits) ; Moura, 1922; Navarrete, 
1895; Nelson (see Rippy and Nelson); Netto, 1885; Niemeyer, 1885; Nieuhoff, 
1707; Nimuendaji, 1926, 1927; Nordenskidld, 1930 a (also see Frédin and 
Nordenskidld) ; Normand, 1924; Noronha (see Monteiro de Noronha); Nufiez, 
1936; Oramas, 1917; Ounque, 1906; Oviedo y Valdés, 1851-55; Palmatary, 1939; 
Panhuys, 1897, 1897-98, 1904 a, 1904 b, 1904 c, 1906 a, 1906 b, 1910, 1912, 1913, 
1920-21, 1921-22, 1922, 1924-25, 1925, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1934, 1934-35; Panhuys 
[Paniuijs?], Mordini, and Herskovits, 1934; Pareau, 1898; Passarge, 1933; Pauwels, 
1903; Payer, 1906; Pelleprat, 1655; Penard, A. P., 1925 a, 1925 b, 1926 a, 1926 b, 
1926 c, 1927 a, 1927 b, 1927 c, 1927 d, 1928-29; Penard, A. P. and T. E., 1917, 1925- 
26 a, 1925-26 b, 1926, 1927; Penard, Ph., 1927; Penard, F. P. and A. P., 1907-08, 1913; 
Penna, 1877; Pereira da Silva, 1922; Perkins, 1885; Perret, 1933 a, 1933 b; Pinto, 
1935; Piso and Marcgraf, 1648; Pistorius, 1763; Pitou, 1807 (1805) ; Plassard, 1868; 


563333—47—57 


860 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Pons, 1806; Prudhomme, 1798; Quandt, 1807, 1900; Raimondo, 1934; Raleigh, 1928; 
Regueira, 1894; Reinburg (see Rivet and Reinburg) ; Reise . . ., 1930-32; Résumé 
. . - 1903; Ribeiro de Sampaio, 1825, 1856 (1839), 1872 (1850), 1903; Rice, 1921, 
1928; Riemer, 1833; Rio-Branco, 1899; Rippy and Nelson, 1936; Rivet, 1923, 1924; 
Rivet and Reinburg, 1921; Robertson, 1822; Robinson, 1918; Rodrigues Barata, 1903 
(1798-99) ; Rodrigues Ferreira, 1885-88; Rodway, 1891-94, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1912; 
Rojas, 1878; Roop, 1935; Rosny, 1884; Roth, W. E., 1908, 1909-12, 1911, 1912, 
1915, 1920, 1924, 1929; Rousseau, 1901; Roux, 1936; Sack, 1810, 1821; Saegham, 
1663-70; St. Clair, 1834; Salas, 1908, 1920 (1921); Sampaio, A., 1933; Sampaio, T., 
1915, 1922; Sanderson, 1939; San Mancos, 1903; Sanson, 1856; Schmeltz, 1897, 1910; 
Schomburgk, M. R., 1847-48; Schomburgk, O. A., 1841; Schomburgk, Richard, 
1879, 1922-23; Schomburgk, Robert H., 1836 a, 1836 b, 1837 a, 1837 b, 1840, 1841 a, 
1841 b, 1841 c, 1841 d, 1842, 1843, 1845, 1848; Schuller, 1911; Schultz, 1850; 
Scott, ms.; Shaw, 1940; Shedd, 1933; Sievers, 1887; Sijpesteijn [Sypestein?] 
(see Van Sijpesteijn); Silva, 1861; Simon, 1861; Simpson, 1940; Smyth, 1836; 
Souza, Conego F. B. de, 1873; Speiser, 1926; Spix and Martius, 1823-31 (1846) ; 
Staelhelin, n.d.; Stahel, 1921-22; Stampaert, 1924-25; Stedman, 1796; Steere, 1927; 
Stockum (see van Stockum) ; Stoel, 1937; Stradelli, 1889; Strickland, 1896; Sur- 
ville, 1778; Tate, 1930 a, 1930 b; Tate and Hitchcock, 1930; Tavera-Acosta, 1905-13, 
1906, 1907, 1913, 1919, 1921-22, 1923, 1927, 1930; Tello (see Zuloaga and Tello) ; 
Ten Kate, 1887, 1888, 1924; Tibiriga, 1936; Tony, 1843; Toro, 1905; Uhle, 1913; 
Van Capelle, 1903; Van Coll, nd. 1909; Vasconcellos, 1859, Van Sijpesteijn 
[Sypestein?], 1854 (also see Focke, Landre, van Sypestein, and Dumontier) ; Van 
Stockum, 1905; Viegl, 1785; Vellard, 1931; Veness, 1875, Venezuela-British Guiana, 
1898; Verrill, 1918, 1925; Vidal, 1862; Vincke, 1935; Voyages et avantures. . ,, 
1749; Voyages et travaux .. ., 1857-61; [Waldeck, 1939; Wallace, 1853, 1889; 
Waterton, 1891; Weiss, 1915; Whitley, 1884; Whitney, 1912 a, 1912 b; Wickham, 
1827; Williams, J., 1924, 1928, 1928-29, 1932, 1936; Williams, L., 1941; Williamson, 
1923; Wilson, 1806; Winter, 1881; Zanten, 1925; Zuloaga and Tello, 1939. 


THE HUNTING AND GATHERING TRIBES OF THE 
RIO NEGRO BASIN 


By ALFRED METRAUX 


THE SHIRIANA, WAICA, AND GUAHARIBO 
TRIBAL DIVISIONS 


On the upper reaches of the Orinoco and along the Uraricoera River 
extend vast unexplored regions in which roam many groups of forest 
nomads (map 1, No.5; map7). These little-known bands are surrounded 
with mystery and legends. Judging from short vocabularies recorded by 
Koch-Gritinberg, the Shiriand language is isolated. In many respects, the 
Shiriand and Waica have the same relation to the sedentary tribes of the 
Guianas as the Macu of the Rio Negro and Caiari-Uaupés River, the 
Siriono of eastern Bolivia, and the Guayaki of Paraguay. They represent 
a very ancient population which in some places has been destroyed or 
assimilated, but in other areas has succeeded in surviving. 

Shiriana.—The Shiriand (Shiliana, Shilianaidya) are mentioned for 
the first time by Schomburgk (1847-48), who places them in the region 
of the Parima Mountains and identifies them with the Guaharibo. (Lat. 
3° N., long. 64° W.) He calls them Kirishana, a term which has caused 
them often to be confused with the Cariban Crichana of the Jauaperi 
River. 

In 1911-12, Koch-Griinberg (1923 a) met two Shiriand groups, one 
from the upper Uraricapara River, a left tributary of the Uraricoera 
River, and the other established on the right side of the Uraricoera 
River, opposite the Marutani Mountains, on the Motomoto River. Though 
Koch-Griinberg was able to obtain a vocabulary only from the first group, 
he is convinced that it is closely related to the second. 

The Shiriand of the Uraricapara River obtain European goods from 
Cariban tribes of the Paragua River by the intermediation of the Auaké, 
who are true peddlers. The Shiriand also maintain relations with the 
Taulipang, Macushi, and Wayumard. 

The Shiriand of the Motomotd River have been influenced in many 
respects by the Macu of the Auari River who, among other things, taught 
them agriculture. 

The Shiriand are very warlike people who succeeded in dominating 
several weaker tribes. 


861 


862 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Waica.—The Waica (Waikd, Oiaca, Uaica, Guaica), who roam in the 
same region as the Shiriand, are regarded as fearsome savages. (Lat. 
2° N., long. 65° W.) They are even less known than the Shiriand, to 
whom they seem to be linguistically and perhaps culturally related. Ac- 
cording to Koch-Griinberg, the Waica formerly extended more to the east, 
for they are mentioned on the sources of the Parimé-Marua River and 
on the upper reaches of the Rio Branco. Koch-Griinberg heard that they 
lived in the Marutani Mountains. There are also Waica at tine head- 
waters of the Orinoco River, where they are mentioned together with the 
almost unknown Guaharibo. 

Guaharibo.—The term Guaharibo (Uariba, Iaribu, Uajaribe, Uaha- 
ribo), like Macu and Tapuya, is a collective designation for any wild 
Indians and, therefore, it is very likely that Waica and Guaharibo are 
closely related and perhaps are the same tribe. Carib tribes call all these 
Indians Shirishana. On the Matacuni River, a tributary of the Padamo 
River, the Yecuand succeeded in settling a group of these nomads. (Lat. 
3° N., long. 65° W.) 

Auaké.—On the upper Paragua River, there are still a few remnants of 
the once more numerous tribe of the Auaké (Oewaku, Uakys, Aoaqut), 
who lived on the Uraricapara River (lat. 5° N., long. 63°-64° W.). 
Today they are held in a state of vassalage by the Shiriand, who have oc- 
cupied their former territory. Their simple culture has been greatly 
modified by influences from their Cariban neighbors. 

Caliana and Maracana.—Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 227) was told of 
the existence of two small tribes speaking isolated languages: the Caliand 
(Cariana, Sapa, Saha) of the upper Paragua River (lat. 4° N., long. 
63° W.), and the Maracand (Maracajia), who were driven away from the 
Uraricapara River (lat. 3° 30’ N., long. 62°-63° W.) by the Shiriana 
and migrated to the south of the Uraricoera River, where they constantly 
attack other Indians. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


The Shiriand, Waica, and Guaharibo are forest nomads who subsist 
mainly on hunting, fishing, and collecting, but the two Shiriand groups 
seen by Koch-Griinberg (1923 a) raised manioc, Dioscorea, bananas, and 
sugarcane in large clearings. They admitted, however, that they had 
learned farming from their more advanced neighbors. Hunting was done 
mainly with the bow and arrow and, very rarely, with the blowgun. The 
only fishing method which could be ascertained was shooting with bow 
and arrow. 

Every year at the season of the Para, or Brazil, nuts the Guaharibo de- 
scended below Guaharibos Creek to collect them. This was the time 
chosen by the civilized Indians to attack these Indians and enslave them. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIO NEGRO BASIN—METRAUX 863 


The Shiriand grated manioc on rough stones, and, instead of using the 
manioc press found among their Cariban neighbors, they squeezed it in 
a mat twisted with both hands. They prepared a beverage made of 
bacaba fruits, and ate a fat, whitish clay kneaded in the shape of balls. 


HOUSES AND VILLAGES 


An informant told Spruce that Guaharibo huts 


were annular, the low roof sloping slightly outwards and being only 2 or 3 varas 
[yards] in width, while the whole of the center was open to the sky. The roof and 
outer wall were made of the long, broad, simple leaf of a palm, apparently like the 
Bussti of Para. [Spruce, 1908, 1: 397.] 


In an abandoned Guaharibo village, Chaffanjon (1889, p. 305) saw a few 
flimsy conical huts made of poles, about 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 m.) high, 
stuck in the ground and fastened together on top. These dwellings were 
said to have been only 32 inches (80 cm.) in diameter. 

The Shiriana village visited by Koch-Grinberg (1923 a, 3:300, pl. 43) 
consisted of nine open sheds built in a circle around a plaza. The huts, 
which perhaps were only temporary shelters, were simple lean-tos sup- 
ported by four and sometimes by only three vertical posts (pl. 125, 
bottom). The Shiriand are said to have rectangular communal huts, 
which they might have copied from the Taulipang sheds. 

These Indians sleep in hammocks made of a bundle of fibers loosely 
joined by transverse twined cotton threads. 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 


Koch-Griinberg’s Shiriand had partly adopted Carib costume, but 
among the Motomoté River Shiriand, men still wore a belt of thieads 
under which they tucked the penis. In both Shiriand groups, women 
use a small fringed apron, which also seems to be a recent acquisition. 
Men tie cotton threads or woven bands around the upper arms and under 
the knees ; the women wear the distinctive Carib bands around the ankles. 

The Motomoté River Shiriand had their ear lobes, nasal septa, and 
lower lips perforated for the insertion of sticks. Women wore as many 
as three sticks through the nose, and they passed sticks through the 
corners of their mouth. In the same group, men wore a tonsure smeared 
with uruct, but this fashion was unknown to the Waica and the 
Uraricapara River Shiriand. Women cut their hair along the forehead 
and the nape. Both sexes painted themselves with uructt and genipa. 


TRANSPORTATION 


Originally, neither the Shiriand nor the Waica had boats. To cross 
streams, the Guaharibo built ingenious bridges, which have been carefully 
described by Chaffanjon (1889, p. 311). At short intervals they stuck 


864 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


poles crossed in the form of an X in the river bed. On these, they laid 
poles on which to walk, while holding to a railing made of other poles. 
The bridge was supported by lianas attached to trees on both shores. 
Today the Shiriand of the Uraricoeraé River have long dugout canoes 
(pl. 125, top) with raised and pointed ends, which they propel with 
paddles like those of the Taulipang and Macushi. 


MANUFACTURES 


Shiriané baskets (carrying baskets and deep trays) are carefully made 
and are very strong, but, unlike most basketry work in the area, they are 
twined. 

The pots collected by Koch-Griinberg were plain and had perhaps been 
traded from some Carib tribe. On the other hand, the Yecuand and 
Guinau told the German explorer that they obtained their best pots from 
the Shiriana of Parima Mountain. 

Shiriand bows are 1.9 to 2.3 m. (about 6 to 8 feet) long. They are flat 
on the back and somewhat convex on the belly, with shoulders cut at both 
ends for a Bromelia string. 

Arrows are of three main types: war and hunting arrows, with a large 
lanceolate bamboo head; hunting and fishing arrows, tipped with a simple 
barbed rod or with a bone spur; and arrows with a poisoned wooden head. 
The poison used is curare. There are no blowguns, except those obtained 
in trade from the Yecuand and Taulipang. 

Musical instruments are transverse flutes with three stops and a whistle 
with three stops made of a fruit. 


DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD 


From an Indian who had visited a Guaharibo village, Spruce learned 
that, 
they burn the bodies of their dead, collect the calcinated bones, and pound them in a 
mortar, and keep them in their houses in globular baskets of closely woven mamuri. 


When they move their residence or travel, they carry with them the bones of their 
ancestors. [Spruce, 1908, 1:398.] 


THE MACU 


The name Macu is given to three different tribes of Indians who lin- 
guistically are completely unrelated: (1) A group, by far the most numer- 
ous, which includes a large number of bands which roam between the Rio 
Negro and the Japura River (lat. 1°-3° S., long. 64°-69° W.); (2) a 
little-known tribe of the Uraricoera region (lat. 3°-4° N., long 64°-65° 
W.); and (3) a subdivision of the Piaroa tribe of the Orinoco River (lat. 
4° N., long. 67° 30’ W.). Each group will be treated here separately. 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIO NEGRO BASIN—METRAUX 865 


THE MACU OF THE RIO NEGRO AND CAIARI-UAUPES RIVER 


r 


Tribal divisions and history.—(he name Macu is given by the 
Tariana and other Arawakan tribes of the Rio Negro and the Caiari- 
Uaupés River basin to various groups of forest nomads whose culture is 
practically unknown. The Brazilians call them “Indios do matto.” It is 
yet uncertain whether all these Macu are linguistically related or not, but 
the vocabularies recorded by Koch-Grtinberg (1906 b, 1922) and Fathers 
Tastevin and Kok (see Rivet and Tastevin, 1920; Rivet, Kok, and 
Tastevin, 1924-25) from Macu of the Curicuriari, Tiquié, Papury, and 
Jurubaxy Rivers, show, despite considerable dialectal differences, affini- 
ties which justify their inclusion into a linguistic group related to Puinave. 
(See Rivet and Tastevin, 1920.) The differences between the Jurubaxy 
and Papury dialects are particularly great. The isolation of the Macu and 
the strong influences to which they are subject explain the disintegration 
of their dialects, which are being replaced by the language of their 
Tucanoan and Arawakan neighbors. 

The Mac of the area defined above are divided into several groups 
named according to the specific region where they have been seen or men- 
tioned by travelers or by other Indians. One large group occupies a vast 
territory between the Japura River, the middle and lower Rio Negro, and 
its tributary, the Curicuriari River. These Macu are generally desig- 
nated as Guariba, a Guarani word meaning “the howling monkeys.” 
Undoubtedly, they are closely allied to another group of acculturated Macu 
Mansos (“tame” Mact), who live between the sources of the Cumapi, a 
tributary of the Japura River, and the headwaters of the Alegria (Ariraha) 
River, an affluent of the Rio Negro. Most of these “tame” Macu are 
settled on the left banks of the Jurubaxy River, which is also a tributary 
of the Rio Negro. The “tame” Macz call the Guariba, Nadob, and them- 
selves, Nadépa, a word meaning “people.” 

Another group of Macz is found between the upper Caiari-Uaupés River 
and its tributaries, the Papury and Querari Rivers. These Indians must 
probably be identified with the so-called Yapdoa. 

Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 261) considers the Bahtina, Baloava, and 
other groups who today speak Cubeo to be former Maci who had been 
assimilated by the Cubeo. He also assigns the same origin to the Huhitem 
of the lower Aiari River and to the Catapolitani of the middle Icana River, 
who now belong to the Arawakan linguistic family. 

At the beginning of the present century, there were on the Tiquié River 
many Mac who were bondsmen of the Tucano and the Tuyuca. 

The Rio Negro Macu are generally considered to be the last represen- 
tatives of an ancient people who occupied vast areas of the Amazon Basin 
before they were exterminated or assimilated by the Carib, Arawak, and 
Tucano, the carriers of a more advanced culture based on farming. Even 


866 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


today the territory assigned to the Macz is still considerable and their 
number seems to be high. 

The recent history of the Japura and Rio Negro Mact-Guariba has been 
told in great detail by Father Tastevin (1923 b). It consists of a series of 
stealthy attacks on the rubber stations, each followed by a punitive expedi- 
tion. The “tame” Mact, though not actually a group distinct from the 
Mact-Guariba, have remained at peace with the Whites, and, for their 
own security, disclaim any connection with their warlike brothers. 

The Arawakan and Tucanoan tribes of the upper Rio Negro, Caiari- 
Uaupés, and Tiquié Rivers have since time immemorial waged merciless 
war against the Macu, whom they enslave or reduce to serfdom. Some 
small groups of Macu come to work for the sedentary Uanana and Desana 
and, after a few months, disappear again into the bush. The Tucano of 
the Tiquié River subjected a large group of Macu to their rule, but on 
the slightest suspicion of sorcery, they were prompt to attack them and 
to sell their captives to the Whites. 

Culture.—Anthropological data on the Rio Negro Mact are meager. 
Those of the Caiari-Uaupés River are described by Koch-Griinberg as 
forest nomads subsisting on hunting, fishing, and collecting. Some of their 
abandoned huts were flimsy pyramidal structures covered with branches 
and leaves. 

The Macu-Guariba of the regions between the Rio Negro and the Japura 
River seem to differ from the Caiari-Uaupés Macu in a very important 
respect: they are good agriculturists who live in large, permanent com- 
munal houses (pl. 126). A Macué settlement found on the Igarapé Preto 
de San José by a punitive expedition, consisted of two large huts sur- 
rounded by 15 small cabins. In the huts were numerous hammocks slung 
at different heights. The village was surrounded by large plantations of 
manioc, bananas, pineapples, and pupunha palms. 

The “tame” Mac are in many respects culturally inferior to the wild 
Mact-Guariba, but their miserable dwellings and their small, ill-kept fields 
may be the result of decadence following their contact with the Whites. 
The “tame” Macu are, however, skillful basket makers. They weave mats 
for roofing their huts and fine baskets in which alternate yellow and black 
aruma strips produce geometrical patterns. 

Their blowguns, about 6 feet (2 m.) long, are made of two palm tubes, 
one inserted into the other and firmly glued together with rosin. The inner 
tube projects a centimeter at the opening. The blowgun has no sight. 
The darts are splinters of palm wood smeared with curare (Tastevin, 
1923 b). 

The Mact of the Curicuriari River have long bows and several kinds 
of arrows, some of which are tipped with rods of palm wood and are 
poisoned. They also have blowguns and clubs. The tribes of the interior 
still use stone axes. They make pots and bowls. They sleep on leaves 


-@ 
a pt 

Pe 5 J 
tend . “ 


OF Bot 


Puare 125.—Shiriana Indians. Top: Shiriand in a dug-out, Uraricoera River. 
Bottom: Shirianad screen for protection against weather. (After IKXoch-Griin- 
berg, 1923 b.) 


(Sz6L ‘evry teqigy) ‘“uoryezurd puv vooy[em noeyl—'9zZT ALVIg 


Vol. 3] TRIBES OF RIO NEGRO BASIN—METRAUX 867 


on the ground. They lack canoes and cross rivers by swimming or wading 
(Koch-Griinberg, 1906 b, p. 879). 


THE MACU OF THE URARICOERA BASIN 


In 1912, Koch-Griinberg (1922, p. 227) collected a short vocabulary 
from a Macu tribe on the middle Auari River, a left tributary of the 
Uraricoera River, in Brazilian Guiana. Their language is entirely isolated. 
These Guiana Macu (Maca, Mahacu), who were first mentioned in the 
18th century, are famous traders. Every summer they descend the 
Uraricoera River to reach the villages of the Taulipang and Macushi, 
where they barter their products for European goods. They are on 
friendly terms with the Shiriand of the Motomoto River, whom they have 
greatly influenced (Barboza Rodriguez, 1885, pp. 139, 145). 


THE MACU-PIAROA 


The Uraricoera Macu must be carefully distinguished from other Macu 
(Maco) who are a subgroup of the Piaroa. The latter, mentioned by 
Humboldt on the headwaters of the Cataniapo River, live today in the 
savannas between the lower course of the Ventuari and the Orinoco Rivers. 
They may be found on the upper Camani and Mariete Rivers. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barboza Rodriguez, 885; Chaffanjon, 1889; Koch-Griinberg, 1906 b, 1922, 1923 a; 
Rivet and Tastevin, 1920; Rivet, Kok, and Tastevin, 1924-25; Schomburgk, M. R., 
1847-48; Spruce, 1908; Tastevin, 1923 b. 


ary 3 


ee 


THE WARRAU 


By Pau. KircHOFF 


LOCATION, HISTORY, AND SOURCES 


The Warrau live in the intricate Delta of the Orinoco and the area 
between it and the Pomeroon River (lat. 7°-10° N., long. 60°-63° W., 
map 1, No. 5; map 7). Except for a few patches of higher land, these 
regions are inundated many months every year. 

Nothing is known of localized differences in Warrau culture. The 
Warrau of the main part of the delta, especially the western section, 
are known only through a few short paragraphs left us by Gumilla 
(1791). The area best known is that east of the delta toward the Pome- 
roon. This, however, seems to be precisely the area in which Arawak 
and, to a lesser extent, Carib influences made themselves felt most strongly. 
Aruacay, the famous 16th-century Arawak (?) town, located a little 
above the delta, on the banks of the Orinoco, may have influenced the 
Warrau. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge of the Warrau closest to 
this Arawak center makes it impossible to clarify this matter. Until 
a study of the Warrau of the western delta has been made, our recon- 
struction of original Warrau culture must remain inadequate. 

The Warrau (Araote, Farute, Guarau, Guaraon, Guaraunan, Guaratina, 
Guarauno, Guaraune, Guaraounoe, Guaranu, Guarano, Guararini, Guara- 
oun, Guaraouno, Guaranne, Houaroux, Uarau, Uarao, Uarauno, Uarow, 
Oraw-it, Ouavaous, Varaa, Warrau, Warow, Warraw, Warrow, Warran, 
Warouwen, Warray, Waraweete, Tibitibi, Tivitivi, Tivitiva) are divided 
into subtribes, some 20 according to Plassard (1868). Among them are 
the Mariusa, between the Imataca, the Macareo, and the Manamo Rivers; 
the Chaguane (Ciawani) on the right bank of the Orinoco from the 
Cafio Piacoa to the Sierra Imataca; and the Warrau proper on the banks 
of the Orinoco from the Cafio Piacoa to the sea. 

There is a possibility that in times not far back the Warrau, or tribes 
closely related to them, occupied certain regions to the north and the 
west of the delta. Trinidad may have had originally a Warrau, or a 
Warrau-like, population. 

At the end of the 16th century, the region was visited by Sir Walter 
Raleigh, and missions were founded in 1682. During the 18th century 


869 


870 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


various governors, Spanish and English, tried to pacify the Warrau and 
reduce them to settlements. This caused many Warrau to migrate to 
Suriname, where they made friends with the Dutch and where some of 
them still live along the Courantyne River. Our only data on demography 
is Gumilla’s (1791) statement that there were from 5,000 to 6,000 Warrau 
in his day (the middle of the 18th century). 

Gumilla (1791), Crévaux (1883), Plassard (1868), Schomburgk, 
M. R. (1847-48), Hilhouse (1834 b), and Roth (1915, 1924) are our 
most important sources on the Warrau. 


LANGUAGE 


The Warrau language constitutes an independent family. In Spanish 
times it was used as lingua franca by the neighboring tribes as well as 
by the Spaniards. 


CULTURE 


SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES 


Farming.—Manioc cultivation is probably due to Arawak influence. 
The Warrau call the starch derived from manioc by the same term they 
use for the starch extracted from the Mauritia palm. On the Barima 
River they mix it with greenheart seeds (Nectandra rodiaei) and the 
pith of the Mauritia palm. Today, plantains, chile pepper, sugarcane, 
and watermelons are cultivated in addition to bitter manioc. Felling 
trees is the collective work of the men, who celebrate afterward. The 
rest of the farming is done by the women. 

Fishing.—The most important subsistence activity is fishing. The 
Warrau fish with unfeathered arrows, some having the point attached 
so as to form a barb, and others with three hardwood prongs. They 
also use harpoon arrows (a double-barbed, detachable point fastened to 
the shaft by a cord), harpoons thrown like spears, light spears, hooks, 
including triangle spring hooks, and cylindrical fall-traps made of the 
bark or a hollowed-out branch of the trumpet tree and used for the 
haimara fish. With vegetable poison (Phyllanthus conami) they stupefy 
the fish, which are then taken out of the water with a scoop. Formerly, 
they used a hook made of a palm spine sharpened at both ends, with 
a line tied to its center; a double type was made by crossing two spines. 
Low-low (Silurus sp.) are caught with several baited hooks connected 
with a strong cord which is tied to a float made of empty calabashes. 
When fishing with bow and arrow, the Warrau throw fruits into the 
water as bait. 

Hunting.—Hunting is not as important as fishing. The bow and arrow 
seems to be the only weapon used. The arrows have two feathers, at- 
tached with two or three sets of wrappings. Arrow poison is unknown. 
The peccary was formerly caught in simple creel traps placed behind 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 871 


hollow trees out of which the animals were driven with sticks or fire. 
Rats are trapped and eaten. Small birds are captured, mainly by boys, 
in multiple snare traps fixed over the nest. Dogs are used in hunting. 
To carry a slain peccary and deer, the hunter ties the legs together and 
passes his arms through them as if they were shoulder straps. He 
leaves his game at some distance from the house, and the women bring 
it in. The men cut up larger animals such as the tapir, peccary, and 
deer, while the women clean and prepare the entrails. Women also 
cut up and clean small game. 

Gathering wild foods.—The vegetable staple of the Warrau is the 
Mauritia palm (ite). Gumilla (1791), who deals at length with the 
uses of this tree for building, manufacturing, and food, gives the follow- 
ing description: A tree is felled and a tunnellike opening is made in it 
for the sap to collect. The sap is gathered every evening and made 
into a fermented drink (according to Roth it is also sometimes drunk 
fresh) ; after a few days, it turns to vinegar and is used in the preparation 
of fish and palm worms. When all the sap has been taken out, a spongy 
mass remaining in the trunk of the tree is washed, strained, dried, and 
ground into a starch called yuruma to be used for making bread. Roth 
(1924, pp. 215-216) gives a somewhat different description: 

When an ite tree begins to fructify it is cut down, a large slice is cut off one side, 
and the stringy substance of the interior is cut into shreds, the remainder of the 
trunk serving as a trough, in which it is triturated with water, by which is disengaged 
a considerable quantity of starch. The fibrous particles are then extracted, and 
the sediment, or aru, formed into molds like bricks. This is spread out on stones 


or iron plates over the fire, and makes a very nutritive but at the same time un- 
masticable bread. 


Both the meat and the kernels of the Mauritia palm fruit are eaten. 
The former is beaten and prepared as a refreshing drink. 

The Warrau presumably collect greenheart seeds, sweet potatoes, yams, 
and pineapples, although some of these are only mentioned in myths. 
Crabs and the larvae of certain beetles are collected, the latter in holes 
made in trees. 

Resin (Protium heptophyllum) is saved for lighting fires. Gum de- 
rived from the Tabebuia longipes is obtained by making incisions in the 
tree. Mixed with beeswax and finely powdered charcoal, it is used for 
fastening arrow points, for waxing thread and fishing lines, and for 
chalking canoes and cordage. 

Food preparation.—The principal method of preparing food is the 
barbracot: horizontal sticks supported by four upright posts. Meat and 
fish seem to be eaten mainly, or exclusively, smoked. For the prepara- 
tion of cassava the same methods are used by the Warrau as by the 
neighboring Arawak and Carib (tipiti, strainer, sifter, etc.). Green- 
heart seeds are grated, put into fresh water to separate a starchy sub 


872 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


stance, repeatedly washed to lessen the bitterness, and mixed with rotten 
wood, previously pounded and sifted. 


VILLAGES AND HOUSES 


Rectangular pile dwellings are typical of the delta, while farther east 
on higher ground rectangular huts without piles are built. In Gumilla’s 
time, the Warrau constructed their houses, streets, and plazas upon a 
common platform, which rested on poles sunk through the mud until they 
reached firm ground. In the 19th century, Hilhouse (1834 b) described 
a village, probably smaller, in which the house platforms were built on 
the trunks of Mauritia palms left standing, with a resulting irregular 
distribution of piles. The platform or floor of the houses consisted of 
two layers of tree trunks and an additional layer of clay. Some of these 
houses could hold 150 people. On the Barima River, M. R. Schomburgk 
(1847-48) mentions a settlement consisting of miserable huts 7 to 8 
feet (2 to 2.5 m.) long. Although in Gumilla’s time settlements in 
the delta must have been large, today the eastern settlements (not on 
poles) are small, consisting of 6 to 8 houses. 

Houses have a gabled roof thatched with palm leaves, and two central 
forked posts supporting the ridge pole. Ends and sides are open, but 
the roof slopes nearly to the ground. 

Household furniture includes hammocks of Mauritia palm fiber (today 
only the warp is made of this fiber, the weft being of cotton), used for 
sleeping, and little wooden stools. The last often have a concave seat 
and in some cases are zoomorphically carved. 


DRESS AND ADORNMENT 


Men go naked except for a bast penis sheath or a string around the 
waist to tie up the prepuce. They wear high pointed caps of the spathe 
of the truli palm, moistened and stretched. Jaguar-skin caps, on the 
other hand, may have been restricted to chiefs. On festive occasions, men 
wear feather crowns on a basketry foundation or rings made of the fiber 
of the Mauritia palm. 

Women wear aprons of Mauritia palm fiber strings or of bark cloth, 
which are tied to a string around the waist (Gumilla, 1741). 

Men and women tie broad woven cotton bands below their knees. 
Adults wear necklaces, and children use armlets made of fruit kernels 
and seeds. 

Both sexes remove all hair from the face, including the eyebrows, 
and also all pubic hair. As soon as a child starts crawling around its 
hair is shorn. Both sexes wear bangs. Men wore their hair to their 
shoulders ; women tied theirs with a palm-fiber string. On the Essequibo 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 873 


River, men shave the hair off around the ears, while women wear it 
very long (Bancroft, 1769). 

Widowers, widows, and, occasionally, other close relatives of a dead 
person cut their hair short. 

Men and women paint their faces with the juice of Bignonia chica, 
Bixa orellana, and Homalium sp. Men paint lines ending in dots on their 
faces ; women paint two bands around the forearm and one below the knees. 

Men and women tattoo the face with a palm thorn and the juice of the 
korowatti fruit. Tattoo designs take the shape of a curled-up moustache 
and eye brows. 

Formerly, the Warrau perforated their ears, but it is not known what, 
if anything, they wore in the holes. Both sexes wore oval silver plates 
hanging from a hole made in the septum and covering the upper lip. The 
holes in the ears and nose were made soon after birth and were kept open 
with bits of wood. 

Rain protectors, partly woven of big palm leaves, were carried over the 
head. 


TRANSPORTATION 


The Warrau have two kinds of canoes. One, made of bark, is flat bot- 
tomed, with a capacity of not more than 3 persons. The other, a dugout, 
is made from the silk-cotton tree; it holds up to 50 persons and lasts for 
10 years. While dugouts have been characteristic of the Warrau for a 
long time, having earned such fame that Arawak Indians sometimes go to 
remote Warrau villages to buy them, the original absence of stone axes 
(see below) makes it likely that the truly native Warrau craft is the bark 
canoe, notwithstanding that one of their cultural heroes is said to have 
been the inventor of the dugout. 


MANUFACTURES 


Basketry.—Artifacts woven out of palm leaves, plaited, or twilled, 
include: mats, baskets, and boxes of many shapes and techniques, circular 
concave trays, fire and mosquito fans, the tipiti, the “finger-catcher,” and 
frames for the application of ants in ordeals. Some baskets are woven out 
of a single leaf. Baskets are usually made by men, but also occasionally 
by women. Plaitwork is also used to keep together the two calabashes used 
as floats in fishing (p. 870). 

Weaving.—Hammocks and cotton bands used as anklets, forehead and 
waist bands, and baby slings are today woven by women on a loom similar 
to that of neighboring tribes. Thirty years ago men did the weaving. Rope 
and string were made by the women with one, three, or eight strands. 

Axes.—Axes were originally absent, the felling of a tree having been 
accomplished in Gumilla’s time exclusively by the use of fire. Double- 
edged stone celts were sometimes imported from other tribes. 


874 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Calabashes.—Calabashes are boiled for about an hour, scraped out, 
and used for receptacles. 

Ceramics.— Pottery is made, but the details are unknown. According 
to M. R. Schomburgk (1847-48), the Warrau dry their pottery in the sun 
and smear it with a varnish prepared from the soot of old pots mixed with 
the sticky gum of the Mimosa. 

Large drinking troughs have handles at both ends. These sometimes 
crudely represent a caiman’s head. 


TRADE 


In Gumilla’s time (middle of the 18th century), hammocks and the 
starch of the Mauritia palm were the main articles of trade. More recent 
sources mention, in addition, smoked fish, canoes, cassava sifters, and 
cotton hammocks. 

There seems to have been a special ceremonial for bartering. First 
there is bargaining, then conversation, and, finally, drinks to confirm the 
deal, the whole ending up with a general dance. It appears as if trade 
goods were stored in some villages. 


SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 


Little is known on this subject. Each settlement had a headman, whose 
authority was greatest in time of war. If settlements were larger in the 
past, as Gumilla’s data suggest, the headman’s authority may also have 
been greater. 

According to M. R. Schomburgk (1847-48), the daughter’s son suc- 
ceeds the headman, but a nonrelative could assume power upon the death 
of a chief if he possessed the courage and ability to hold his own against 
the deceased’s family. 

Polygyny seems to be the rule, and the Warrau are considered the most 
polygamous tribe of the Guianas. Most men have two or three wives, 
znd chiefs have four or five, generally sisters. 

A widow and her children are inherited by the brother or nearest rela- 
tive. If she rejects him, the provoked blood relatives revenge themselves 
by forcing their way into her house and thrashing her, whereafter she is 
free to live as she pleases. There are special ceremonies for the remarriage 
of a widow. She is beaten with a whip by her future husband and by 
other men; after this the husband is whipped in a similar fashion; during 
the procedure both stand with their hands joined above their heads. 

Sexual relations between certain kinds of cousins (probably parallel) 
were forbidden. 

In cases of intertribal marriage only the children of Warrau mothers 
were considered Warrau. 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 875 


To splash a woman with water during the communal bathing is an 
indication of courting. A man who aspires to marry must show his fit- 
ness, by clearing a certain piece of land within a given time. 

The parents of a girl choose a bridegroom at a very early age and hand 
her over to him at a later period without any further ceremony. From 
the day of the betrothal, the boy must work for her parents until he reaches 
manhood, when he takes the girl to the hut he has built. A man may ask 
a father for his daughter and, if he is accepted, he removes his property 
to his father-in-law’s hut and hunts, fishes, and clears a field for him. 
The second and third wives are obtained by purchase. When his wife 
becomes old (20 years), a man takes a little girl of 7 or 8, and his wife 
instructs her in household duties until she is old enough to marry him. 

A mother-in-law and son-in-law never communicate their orders or 
requests directly to each other but use intermediaries. 

As a proof of friendship between members of the same sex, the younger 
person adopts the name of the older. 

Kanaima (p. 856) is sometimes found among the Warrau. 

When a man considers his, or his wife’s, reputation injured, he becomes 
so angry that he kills the offender and even the offender’s whole family. 

A Warrau chief greets his visitor, while sitting on a low stool sur- 
rounded by his men, all armed with war clubs. 

At drinking parties held on special occasions, as upon the clearing of a 
field, the Indians never leave their seat or hammock. 


LIFE CYCLE 


There are indications that sexual intercourse is not always considered 
necessary for pregnancy. A miscarriage is thought to be the result of 
pregnancy caused by water spirits. There is a belief that in the past 
women did not bear children, but that they were sought and found in the 
woods. A myth explains the origin of childbirth. 

Childbirth.—During childbirth, a woman is isolated in a hut that is 
distinguished by bunches of ite shreds. Other women help her only in 
difficult cases. The umbilical cord is bitten off and tied with a strand. 
During confinement she is considered impure and a dangerous influence. 
Her confinement ends with a bath. After the birth the father goes into 
seclusion and refrains for some time from eating deer, from various cus- 
tomary activities, and from intercourse with his wife or any other woman. 
Otherwise the child will die. Children suckle up to 3 or 4 years. 

On the Pomeroon River children are named after creeks of the Orinoco 
region, where the Warrau originally came from. 

Puberty.—At the time of her first menstruation, a girl’s hair is shaved 
by her mother, or occasionally by her father. The girl is secluded in the 
confinement hut, already mentioned, and lies in a smaller hammock than 

653333—47—58 


876 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


usual. She must neither speak nor laugh during the 2 or 3 days of the 
period or she will lose all her teeth at adulthood. The first thing she is 
allowed to eat is a little cassava flour wrapped in a leaf. 

During a celebration, probably at the end of the confinement, the girl 
is adorned with strings of beads and with white feathers glued to her 
shaved head, arms, and legs. Originally women seem to have been 
secluved during every menstruation. While menstruating they must never 
eat the flesh of large animals, such as tapir or turtle, nor of certain fish, 
The meat of animals caught with the help of dogs is specially forbidden 
them lest the dogs never again be good for the chase. Menstruating 
women must cook their own food in special small vessels, but may not 
prepare any food for others and must never extinguish a fire. Finally, 
they may not touch boats, fishing gear, or anything else connected with 
water. During this time women are especially open to sexual attacks from 
the spirits of the bush and of the water. 

At puberty, boys are subjected to severe trials. They have to slash 
their chest and arms with a tusk of a wild hog or the beak of a toucan. 
They can take this test a second time if they have failed in the first. 

Young people of both sexes may not marry until they have gone through 
the ant ordeal. The ants are placed on the body, either directly or by 
means of special plaited frames, while the subject is resting in a hammock. 
If a boy cries out he is condemned to celibacy ; if a girl cries out it means 
that she cannot work and, therefore, does not deserve a husband. 

Death.—Several kinds of burial have been reported. In the case of 
high chiefs, i.e., of a subtribe (?), the body is allowed to putrefy and the 
skeleton is then suspended in the chief’s house. The skull is decorated 
with feathers and the dead man’s gold plates (not mentioned otherwise) 
are hung around the bones. Or else, the body is tied to a rope and left a 
whole day hanging in the river until the fish have cleaned it to the bones. 

The bones are then put in a basket, placed in order from the smallest 
to the largest with skull on top, and the basket is hung in the house. 

In some cases, a coffin made of hollowed tree trunk or a canoe is placed 
on two forked sticks thrust into the ground (fig. 134) near the hut, or on 
several sticks placed together in an abandoned hut. It is not clear if this 
method is reserved for chiefs, shamans, and other important people or is 
used during inundations when burial in the ground seems hardly feasible. 
in other cases, the corpse, rolled up in a hammock, is buried in a sitting 
position in a grave 3 feet (1 m.) deep. 

The corpse is always disposed of on the spot where the person expired. 
On one occasion, a shaman was buried in the house where he had died 
and the whole village was burned down. 

In one instance, an old woman’s grave was dug by four young women, 
and, in another, the earth of the half-closed grave of a man was trampled 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 877 


down by the wailing widow and sisters. In the case of important people, 
a fire is kept burning close to the grave for several days, or even weeks. 


Ficure 134.—Warrau burial. (After Crévaux, 1891.) 


In some cases the dead person’s belongings, including his ornaments, 
weapons, utensils, and dog, together with dried fish, fruit, and bread, are 
buried with him, either in the hollowed tree, canoe, or in the ground. 
Sometimes the dead man’s belongings are burned, but no case of cremation 
of the body has been reported. In other cases the dead person’s belongings 
are buried separately several days after the body. 

The women sit by the grave and direct sad songs to the dead. 

According to Crévaux (1883), among the Warrau near the mouth of 
the main branch of the Orinoco, the widower lies down in front of the 
dead body, crying and singing, whereupon, all men who once have had 
relations with the dead woman must step forward and do the same. 

Women sit by the grave and direct sad songs to the dead. In some 
cases the widows pull up all plants from the dead man’s fields. When a 
person dies, a drink may be prepared immediately by others than the 
deceased’s relatives, but the drinking bout may occur several days later, 
when the wife’s hair is cut and the dead man’s belongings are buried. Or 
the festival may be postponed until the manioc planted by the deceased, 
or that planted after his death on his behalf, has grown sufficiently to 
furnish drink for the guests. At this festival the widow or widower is 
given permission to remarry. On the Wani River, about a week after 


878 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 143 


death a dance is held inside the house, attended exclusively by men. At 
this dance, one of the dancers may whip the ground at intervals. 

The Warrau believe that every man has a soul in his heart, in his saliva, 
in his shadow, and in his footprints. At death, that of the heart leaves 
the body and becomes a hebu, or anthropomorphic bush spirit. There is 
no known account of the fate of the other souls. 


WARFARE 


In 1596 Sir Walter Raleigh found two chiefs of Warrau subtribes war- 
ting with each other and with neighboring tribes, especially the Caribs. 

Weapons are the bow and arrow and both a paddle-shaped and block- 
shaped club. Rectangular “shields” are used in a sport (p. 879), but 
probably not in warfare. 


ESTHETIC AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 


Dances.—There are several kinds of dances. The most important 
imitate the movements of the bush hog. Women participate only occa- 
sionally in some dances, but they are essential to others. All dancing is 
accompanied by singing, drinking, and sexual laxity. 

The Aruhoho festival is probably of foreign origin, although the only 
description of it comes from Warrau sources. When the manioc is ripe, 
the men go to sea and catch crabs while the women prepare special cassava 
cakes which, upon the return of the men, they eat together. Then a young 
man and woman are placed in the center of a circle, separated by an arrow 
stuck in the ground with the tip pointing upward, upon which is stuck a 
wooden doll. The man has a new hammock tied around his neck and 
folded behind the buttocks; he locks his fingers together across the lower 
part of his chest while the girl has hers folded over her little apron. The 
dance consists of a few single steps on the spot, different for men and for 
women. Both have to stare at each other without any movement what- 
ever of eye or mouth. The slightest sign of laughter disqualifies either 
one, who is thereupon bundled out of the ring and the crowd shouts, “That 
man (woman) is no good. He (she) will never get a wife (husband).” 
Music is supplied by two oboe players, who are the only ones to wear 
special feather headdresses. All others wear the ordinary cotton forehead 
band. 

Music and musical instruments.— Musical instruments include reed 
flutes, ocarinas made of calabashes, a special kind of oboelike flute (with 
glotis, vibrator, and gourd resounder), and two kinds of signal trumpets, 
one made of pottery in the shape of an 8, and another of bamboo sections. 
Drums, beaten with a stick, are made of hollowed logs covered with the 
skin of the peccary, acouri, monkey, deer, or sloth. The silent skin is 
crossed by a string with a small wooden resounder or tongue in its center. 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 879 


Every Warrau settlement has its own music master, who teaches the 
young boys and men to blow on a kind of oboe. Almost every evening 
the young men hold a concert in the middle of the settlement under their 
teacher’s guidance. The musical tone varies in pitch according to the size 
of the bamboo stem and its reed. Although each instrument only gives 
one note, the musical director knows the tone of the combined instruments 
so exactly and gives his directions so correctly that “a basis of harmony 
rules the sound” (M. R. Schomburgk, 1847-48). Certain stringed in- 
struments (both monochord and violin type) made by raising the fibers 
of the rib of an ite leaf and placing a bridge under it, must be of European 
or Negro origin. 

The rattle is the shaman’s instrument. 

Miscellaneous.—Children’s and adult’s playthings include tops (some- 
times of the buzzing type), buzzers, ‘finger catchers” woven out of palm 
leaves, and a great variety of string figures. 

Girls have wooden dolls made by their fathers and miniature hammocks. 
Boys play “fishing”: A boy dives, takes a cord thrown at him between 
his teeth, and is hauled out. 

Rectangular “shields” made of the leafstalks of the ite palm lashed 
together across a frame are used today in “pushing matches” played by 
pairs of opponents. The champions, especially dressed for the game, 
stand behind their respective shields and, firmly grasping its edges with 
both hands, try to push their opponents off the playground. Each cham- 
pion comes to the contest with two backers. Today these matches are 
mainly for sport, although they are used occasionally to settle personal 
disputes. Possibly they may be a survival of a former mode of warfare 
consisting of a series of individual duels, as found in some other tribes 
of this cultural level. 

Intoxicating beverages.—In addition to the fermented drinks made 
from the Mauritia palm, the Warrau prepare intoxicating beverages from 
cultivated plants, such as manioc (the drink is prepared from toasted 
cassava bread), maize, and, today, sugarcane. Fermented drinks are 
prepared and preserved in large wooden troughs. 


RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY 


A belief in a supreme being has been reported. Competent students 
doubt whether this is an original Warrau belief, but no details are known. 
According to the Warrau, the moon is a male who used to be a human 
being. The stars and constellations are thought of as living beings who, 
together with plants, animals, and men, are the actors in Warrau myth- 
ology. 

The most important figures in Warrau mythology are the two tribal 
heroes; Abore, the father of all inventions, and Korroremana, the creator 


880 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


of the male half of humanity. Women are thought to have been created 
by another deity. 

The most directly important supernatural beings in the life of the 
Warrau are the hebus, who are the spirits of the bush, the water, and the 
sky (Gumilla, 1791). The spirits of the bush are hairy, with such promi- 
nent eyebrows that they can look up only by lying on their backs. They 
have teeth on their stomachs, and hearts of fire instead of rumps. One of 
them, called Maihisikiri, is specially attached to women but remains in- 
visible to men; women who have relations with him die after a short time. 
The spirits of the water, which are divided into those living in rivers, 
those living in the ocean, and those living at the very bottom of the water, 
are also prone to ravish women; such relations always end in abortions. 

The spirits of the bush cause illness and death to human beings and may 
transform them into animals; they are also blamed when fermented drinks 
do not turn out well. 

Plants, animals, and human beings all come out of a silk-cotton tree, 
except the neighboring Carib, who are thought to have descended from 
animals. At one time the Warrau lived in the sky, from where they 
descended through a hole, on a cotton rope; at the very last a woman got 
stuck in the aperture, so that they were unable to return. The woman is 
recognized as the morning star. 

Men once were immortal, but lost their immortality as a punishment. 
They received fire from the two sons of the sun, whole stole it from 
Nayobo, the big frog. 


SHAMANISM AND SORCERY 


The shaman (wishidatu or wisedaa) is an important personage. Some- 
times the headman is also the shaman. Female shamans seem to be rare. 
The shaman has a little hut built of kokerite leaves, where he keeps his 
insignia. It is called the spirit house and is taboo. Shamans carry around 
with them, in a special basket provided with a lid, a ceremonial stool 
(ornamented with a jaguar, turtle, macaw, or caiman head), a crudely 
carved figure, a rattle (sometimes double), and quartz crystals. Some- 
times such crystals were put in the rattle instead of the usual pebbles. 
Tobacco has a special relation to the shaman; it was brought to this world 
by a colibri (hummingbird) from an island inhabited by women, and, 
therefore, the colibri is considered to belong to the shaman. 

At the ordeal of initiation, a novice shaman has to fast and then drink 
an enormous quantity of tobacco juice, which reduces him to a deathlike 
state of sickness. His death is loudly proclaimed. About 10 days later 
he recovers sufficiently to come out of the sacred hut. For the next 
10 months the new shaman can eat only the smallest kinds of fish, and 
he abstains from intoxicating drinks. In the Pomeroon district, he 
wears a special cotton headdress at the initiation ceremony. 


Vol. 3] THE WARRAU—KIRCHHOFF 881 


Shamans do not eat meat or any other food from outside their area. 
No details are available on curing methods. When a shaman imposes 
a diet on a patient, the latter’s parents and brothers and sisters join him 
in it. The shaman has control over spirits that harm mankind; he can 
foresee the future and interpret dreams. If a sick person dies, the 
shaman’s rattle and crystals lose their power and are buried. At the 
anniversary of the death of the headman, the shaman blows over the 
grave in the direction of the person who is thought to have caused the 
death. Evil spirits are driven from the dancing grounds by blowing 
a small flute. Blowing, as a magic procedure, may be used by others 
than shamans. To drive away clouds, people will blow into one closed 
hand and dash it upward toward the clouds. Parents blow on the face 
or the hand of their children when they cry or when, as adults, they 
start out on a hunting trip. 

Rain may be caused by burning the carcass of a certain snake (camuchi). 

A hunter must never bring an animal to his house or he will lose his 
hunting luck. Hunters call their dogs by the names of animals known 
to be good hunters, such as sharks, wild dogs, a certain crab, and a 
species of wasp. 

Certain words must not be used while one is traveling by canoe. 
Travelers must never wash the pot spoon in the river or ocean, lest big 
squalls or storms arise. 

When looking at a mountain for the first time, a Warrau shuts his 
eyes to avoid attracting the shadow of the Spirit toward him. When 
one person looks at another, he draws the other’s shadow toward himself. 

People can transform themselves into animals simply by dressing in 
their skins. Parts of plants or animals are used as charms to obtain 
the fulfillment of certain wishes, including the love of the desired one 
or pregnancy. This whole complex, according to the Warrau themselves, 
is of Carib origin. When a Warrau woman wants a baby, she pounds 
up a certain fungus in water and drinks the infusion. 

In contrast to many other of the Guiana and Orinoco tribes, the War- 
rau are said to care well for their sick. In cases of rheumatism, some 
of the Warrau let a certain species of ant bite the painful spot a few times. 


LORE AND LEARNING 


The new year begins with the rise of the Pleiades at sunset. 
Strings with knots, one to be untied each day by each party, serve 
to keep appointments. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bazcroft, 1769; Crévaux, 1883; Gumilla, 1791; Hilhouse, 1834 b; Plassard, 1868; 
Roth, 1915, 1924; Schomburgk, M. R., 1847-48. 


Part 6. CuLTuRE AREAS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS 


By Jutian H. STEwarp 


INTRODUCTION 


In the present state of knowledge, the features which distinguish the 
various subdivisions of the Amazon Basin have to be presented geo- 
graphically, in terms of their distribution in areas, rather than anthropo- 
logically, in terms of their integration in cultural structures. To a very 
large extent, their occurrences seem random and capricious, inexplicable 
in environmental, historical, or functional terms. Nonetheless, the present 
article undertakes to recognize the general forms suggested by many 
small fragments and to present a broad picture which is frankly hypo- 
thetical, sketchy, and preliminary. The present tense is used, but the 
data refer to aboriginal cultures. 


The distribution of culture elements and complexes reveals at least 
one broad pattern. The basic Tropical Forest cultures occur mainly 
in the areas accessible by water routes, both the coast and the great rivers, 
whereas simpler or Marginal cultures tend to be distributed in a vast U 
around the periphery of the Amazon Basin. Significantly, this U, which 
includes the Amazon-Orinoco watershed, the eastern slope of the Andes, 
parts of Mato Grosso, and some of the Highlands of eastern Brazil, 
has today the greatest number of unacculturated Indians. The country 
is remote and the streams are small, making it difficult of access in pre- 
Columbian times no less than in modern times to essentially riparian 
peoples. The inference is clear that what is thought of as a typical 
Tropical Forest or selvan culture—a developed agriculture and a tech- 
nology manifest in twilled and woven baskets, loom weaving, cotton, 
hammocks, ceramics, and other material traits—flowed along the coast 
and up the main waterways, stopping where streams were less navigable 
and leaving the hinterland tribes on a more primitive level. Some of 
these tribes, such as the Shiriand, Guahibo, Mact, and Sironéd remained 
preagricultural nomads. Others, such as the Mura and the groups herein 
designated the Northwestern Marginals, Western Marginals, and South 
Amazon Marginals, adopted some agriculture but otherwise acquired 
few of the basic Tropical Forest traits. Some of these traits, such as 
manufactured items, simply did not reach them; others, such as canoes 


883 


884 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


and devices for taking fish and aquatic game in the large rivers, were 
precluded by the environments. On the other hand, the Marginals more 


Map 8.—Cultural divisions of the area included in the present volume. 1-6, Basic 
Tropical Forest cultures: 1, Guianas, 2, Northwest Amazon, 3, Montana, 4, Jurua- 
Purts, 5, Mojos-Chiquitos, 6, Tupian (a, Madeira-Tapajoz ; b, lower Xingu-Tocan- 
tins; c, Tupinamba and Guarani). A, B, Submarginal tribes: A, Western Mar- 
ginals, B, Mura. I-III, Marginal tribes: J, Guiana Internal Marginals; JJ, North- 
western Marginals; JJJ, Southern Amazon Marginals. 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 885 


often than the developed Tropical Forest peoples have sibs, moieties, 
and other social elaborations. 

A further inference of these distributional data is that the developed 
Tropical Forest culture spread southward along the Atlantic Coast to 
the Amazon and along the Amazon tributaries, predominantly upstream. 
There was relatively little cultural diffusion overland, either from the 
Orinoco Basin or from the Andes, though a few traits may have spread 
from Colombia via the upper Orinoco. The Guianas and the lower 
Amazon are postulated as the center of dispersal on the evidence of the 
probable direction of cultural flow within the Tropical Forest and of 
the rich archeological remains in these centers rather than on the eth- 
nography of the historic tribes, who, unfortunately, became extinct or 
absorbed before their culture was described. In Volume 4 of the Hand- 
book, the ultimate source of the Tropical Forest culture will be traced 
to the Circum-Caribbean area. The Tropical Forest technology spread 
up the Amazon to the Andes in Peru, passing around the less accessible 
Western Marginal peoples and reaching the very border of the Inca Em- 
pire. Some Highland influence is recognizable in isolated material items, 
but the fundamental economic, social, political and religious patterns of 
the Montafia are those of the Guianas and eastern Amazon rather than 
of the Highland. A significant number of basic Tropical Forest traits 
was also adopted in the Northwest Amazon which, however, is distinc- 
tive for its patrilineal sibs and ancestor cult. South of the Amazon, the 
Tropical Forest culture spread up the Jurua and Purts Rivers, but 
largely failed to reach the Western Marginals situated on the watershed 
between the sources of these rivers and of the Ucayali and the Madre 
de Dios. It may have been carried by Arawakan tribes up the Madeira 
River through the lowlands at its headwaters to the Ilanos and forests 
of eastern Bolivia in the Provinces of Chiquitos and Mojos, where again 
it bordered the Andean civilizations. The culture of this area, however, 
has a few Andean traits of material culture, a tendency to a class- 
structured society, and a god cult with priests, all of which are char- 
acteristic of the Sub-Andean cultures found in northern Colombia and 
Venezuela rather than of Tropical Forest culture. A Tropical Forest 
culture also reached Bolivia in a very roundabout manner, being carried 
by the Tupi, in part down the Atlantic Coast to the mouth of the Rio 
de la Plata, and inland from some point on the coast across Paraguay 
to the foot of the Andes. Tupian peoples are notable for their skill in 
navigation and for their warlike nature and their extreme cannibalism. 


From a technological and ecological point of view, the basic Tropical 
Forest culture is strikingly uniform so far as present data reveal. In 
fact, its distribution coincides almost exactly with that of tropical rain 
forests. (Compare with vegetation map, Handbook, vol. 6.) The 
greatest differences are between shore lines and interfluvial areas. Tribes 


886 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


on the main watercourses and sea coast could exploit fish and aquatic 
game as well as forest resources; in addition, they had easier means of 
travel and transportation. Unfortunately, however, these tribes were 
the first to succumb to the Conquest. It is known that their villages 
were large and numerous, but the social and political concomitants of 
a dense population are not recorded. So far as agriculture, hunting, 
and gathering are concerned, important local differences have not been 
indicated. Sweet manioc was general, and bitter manioc became the 
staple throughout the area of its distribution, but no local cultural fea- 
tures seem to correlate with the cultivation of these or other species 
under the universal slash-and-burn farming. Similarly, general patterns 
of hunting and gathering appear to have been fairly uniform, regardless 
of local exploitative devices, such as blowguns, bows, traps, or climbing 
rings. In short, the important ecological differences were those between 
water-front and hinterland peoples, and these were little effected by 
specific exploitative devices. The differences were in resources, and these 
partly determined population density and community size, which in turn 
conditioned the sociopolitical patterns. 

The more conspicuous and the most often mentioned differences be- 
tween the Tropical Forest peoples are such readily observable items 
as dress, ornaments, body painting, tattoo, and featherwork. These ex- 
ternal features, however, distinguish tribes and individuals even more 
than major areas; the culture elements involved have highly diversified 
distributions. The same is probably true of ornamentation, form, and 
other secondary features of bows, basketry, ceramics, and the like; if 
these features do characterize culture areas, their correlations will prob- 
ably have to be shown statistically rather than through any inner, logical 
relationships between them. 

In drawing lines between the main cultural subdivisions of the basic 
Tropical Forest cultures, therefore, we are brought to sociological and 
religious patterns, which, though recorded with annoying incompleteness, 
are often clearly discernible. 


THE BASIC/TROPICALsKOREST CULTURES 


THE GUIANAS 


Because the Guianas have the greatest number of traits regarded as 
characteristic of the Tropical Forests, they may be postulated as a center 
of dispersal, though not necessarily of all items. The Guianas were 
not culturally homogeneous, but it is impossible at present to establish 
their subdivisions with certainty. It would be profitable to examine 
further the distinctions between the coastal area, the inland mountain- 
savanna area, and the Amazon area, which Gillin (p. 800) has sketched. 
Systematic comparisons of Arawakan and Cariban culture would also 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 887 


be helpful. From the point of view of dispersal of these cultures, more 
knowledge of the coastal and Amazon tribes is essential. As these dis- 
appeared before their culture was recorded, the problem is thrown squarely 
to archeology. For the present purposes, the Guianas are considered 
as a whole. 

The Guianas have a long list of cultivated plants, including both bitter 
and sweet manioc and the typical processes for utilizing the former. They 
have fish drugs, traps and weirs, probably aboriginal fishhooks and nets, 
the bow and arrow, blowgun (northern, especially among the Carib), 
climbing ring, pepper juice and ants used in hunting ritual, the pepper pot, 
and the domesticated dog. Bark canoes are used on the smaller streams, 
but well-developed dugouts, even with planked gunwales, are found on 
the coast. 

Characteristic Tropical Forest manufactures are all present: plain and 
twilled basketry highly developed and in profusion ; many basketry forms, 
such as pack baskets, “telescoping” storage baskets, various containers, 
sifters, and manioc squeezers (tipitis) ; twined mats; developed netting; a 
large variety of plaiting techniques (perhaps attributable to the Carib) ; 
true weaving on the vertical loom (perhaps attributable to the Arawak) ; 
bark cloth; rubber work, including balls, syringes, and rings; hammocks ; 
and elaborately carved wooden benches. 

Both round and rectangular houses are found, and some settlements on 
the coast were protected by palisades and poisoned stakes. 

Bodily ornaments occur in profusion and head deformation is reported 
from the coast. 

The Guianas tend to be strongly matrilineal, although patrilocal and 
presumably exogamous settlements occur among the Aparai and Wapi- 
shana. The common pattern is one of matrilocal, extended families, each 
probably constituting the village, and there is strong bride service. The 
coastal Arawak have matrilineal, nonlocalized, exogamous clans. Chief- 
tainship is basically patrilineal, but some features are adjusted to matri- 
lineal descent. 

The communities have not been accredited with age groups or social 
classes, except that Carib chiefs may have a following of sons-in-law, 
unattached men, and captives, called “peito,” who comprise a kind of 
lower class. Arawak captives, called “macu,” form a similar class. 

Crisis rites include the couvade, girl’s seclusion at puberty, and earth 
burial. Distinctive are Arawak work ordeals (hunting, cutting a field, 
building a house, etc.) for boys. Rucuyen ant ordeal for boys, whipping of 
girls (Macushi), cremation (Atorai, Rucuyen), mummification (Piaroa), 
and a whipping ceremony at burial to drive away evil spirits (Arawak). 

Warfare is especially developed among the Carib, who formerly fought 
to avenge wrongs and to take captives, but, since the Conquest, have also 
taken slaves to sell them to Whites. They have a dance of excitation, and 


888 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


fight with arrows, which are sometimes poisoned, and with spears, clubs, 
and shields. Both Carib and Arawak practice cannibalism as a means of 
revenge, make flutes of their victims long bones, and keep heads as tem- 
porary trophies. Captives are incorporated into the tribe, and are not, as 
among the Tupi, subsequently killed and eaten. 

The Guianas have foot races, rubber-ball games, and many dances, 
especially those imitating animals. Numerous musical instruments are 
recorded (p. 853), including dancing staves, clay and bamboo trumpets, 
turtle-shell friction drums, hollow wooden drums (western), and foot 
drums. Fermented drinks are in general use, but the only narcotics are 
tobacco, which is smoked in cigarettes or chewed (central tribes), and 
parica. Pepper juice is used as a curative; the Pomeroon Arawak take 
it in an enema syringe. 

The most important supernatural beings are nature spirits, particularly 
the jaguar spirit, and dangerous bush demons. Only shamans have familiar 
spirits. There is a culture hero and creator who, in many tales, makes 
animals from different parts of a magical tree or who kills a supernatural 
snake and makes men and animals from it (Carib). In some legends, the 
Hero has a twin brother, both of whom are children of the sun or other 
celestial body. In public festivals, the mourning ceremony is distinctive. 
There are also prayers to nature spirits for more abundant foods. 

The shaman obtains power from supernatural spirits and uses a rattle, 
a bench, tobacco juice, and cigarettes. Shamans both cause and detect 
black magic. They cure by sucking, massaging, and blowing smoke. They 
also conduct rites for tobacco and maize growing and act as seers and 
advisors. The were-jaguar concept is predominent in shamanism. 

The Manao and other Arawakan tribes of the left, middle Amazon (p. 
707) apparently belong to the Guiana area. They have the blowgun, bow, 
parica, flogging of boys (evidently not in connection with an Ancestor 
cult), harvest festivals rather than puberty or cult feasts, war prisoners 
kept as slaves, and some form of simple social organization without sibs. 


NORTHWEST AMAZON 


The Eastern Tucanoans and their neighbors on the Vaupés and Caqueta 
Rivers, the Witotoans, the Tucuna, and probably the Yurimagua, form a 
block of tribes which are somewhat marginal in their technology (particu- 
larly the Witotoans) but are sharply distinguished from their neighbors 
by their well-developed sib system and initiation rites. 

Subsistence is based on farming, with bitter manioc staple. These 
tribes have the blowgun, the bow and arrow (except Witotoans), bark 
cloth, the dugout canoe, fish weirs, traps and drugs, carrying baskets, 
pottery stoves, twilled baskets (twining also survives among the Tuca- 
noans), the Amazon type rolled spindle, and weaving, mostly of bast with- 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 889 


out a loom. The Carib and Arawak have looms, but make only hammocks 
on them. Tucuna hammocks are netted. Tucuna pottery is modeled and 
painted ; that of most of the other tribes is painted, but among the Tuca- 
noans it is plain. 

The village generally consists of a large, communal house. The Tuca- 
noans and possibly also the Arawak and Carib of the Vaupés-Caqueta 
area and the Witotoans have patrilineal sibs, those of the Tucanoans being 
totemic and grouped into three phratries, each with an origin myth. 
Each sib tends to be localized and to form an exogamous, patrilocal house- 
hold. The Tucuna have patrilineal, exogamous sibs grouped into moieties, 
but they are not localized and households even tend to be somewhat matri- 
lineal. Each sib has musical instruments for its private use. 

The Tucanoan boy is initiated into an Ancestor Cult, really a sib cult, 
when he is whipped and is shown the sacred trumpets, which are identified 
with the Ancestors. A pubescent girl is deflowered and uses the scratch- 
ing stick. The Witotoan sacred trumpets may also have been connected 
with an initiation and an Ancestor cult. Twucuna children pass through 
stages signaled by hair trimming, ear piercing, and the like, and at puberty 
boys take snuff and are initiated into the secret of the megaphones and 
the bark trumpets. Girls are first secluded, then feasted and made to 
dance while the secret trumpets and megaphones are sounded and masked 
dances are performed. Their hair is pulled out, and they are bathed. The 
Yurimagua seem to have a similar initiation in which spirits are repre- 
sented by sacred trumpets and youths are whipped. 

These tribes have rubber-ball games, pounding staves (Tucanoans), 
hollow-log drums (Witotoans), maize-leaf shuttlecocks (Tucuna), cigars, 
and taking of tobacco juice and chicha (except Witotoans). Coca (Wito- 
toans) and cayapi are used on the Uaupés-Caqueta. 

Warfare is less emphasized than elsewhere. Slavery of captives and 
cannibalism are found among the Witotoans and in the Vaupés-Caqueta 
region, but neither trophy taking nor cannibalism occur among the Tucuna. 

There is a general belief in upper and lower worlds, each with its gods. 
Missionary influence has been suspected in this belief, but, as little mis- 
sionary work has been carried on among the Witotoans, Tucanoans, and 
Tucuna, it may be native. 

The principal public religious festivals are the initiation rites and the 
Tucanoan and Witotoan masked mourning ceremonies. These contrast 
with the harvest and fertility rites of the lower Amazon, but the mourning 
ceremonies may be connected with those of the Guianas. 

Shamans among the Tucuna acquire power from a tree spirit. Among 
the Witotoans and Tucanoans, they are associated with the jaguar and 
are accredited with power to transform themselves into jaguars. Magic 
“thorns” are the source of shamans’ power to cause disease and must be 
sucked out of sick patients. 


890 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


THE MONTANA 


Crowded against the Andes in Pert and Ecuador but extending down 
the Marafion, Huallaga, and lower Ucayali Rivers is a large number of 
linguistic groups with the basic Tropical Forest culture. The more im- 
portant and best known of these are the Panoans, Cahuapanans, and 
Jivaroans. Their fundamental economy, technology, and social and reli- 
gious patterns are those of the Tropical Forests; Highland influence is 
observable only in particular items, which have a limited distribution 
among the tribes. 

The economy is based on slash-and-burn farming, without bitter manioc, 
and on river resources. There is much use of hunting blinds, traps, pit- 
falls, harpoons, spear throwers, blowguns, and nets, the last perhaps of 
Andean origin. Highland influence is observable in the cultivation of the 
potato among only a few tribes at higher altitudes, in llamas and alpacas 
on the upper Marafion, and llamas and guinea pigs among the Jivaro. 
Muscovy ducks were general. The mortar is the main utensil in food 
preparation among the larger tribes. 

Highland influence was greatest in dress and ornaments: the breech- 
clout, cushma, woman’s skirt and apron, poncho (some tribes), head de- 
formation, and a few metal ornaments. Tooth blackening is a trait 
limited to the Montafia. 

Houses are of the Tropical Forest communal type, but platform beds 
and special mosquito-proof sleeping enclosures are used. 

Manufactures are also of Tropical Forest types: dugout canoes, carry- 
ing baskets and carrying bands, woven baskets, cotton weaving on the 
“Ucayali” loom, a modified Guiana type (p. 841), calabash work, and 
pottery. All these, especially the pottery, suggest a derivation of the 
main items of Montafia culture from the lower Amazon rather than from 
the Highland. But Andean influence is seen in such things as the hori- 
zontal loom, drop spindle, and feather fire fan. 

Socially, Montafia tribes have the extended, patrilineal household, ex- 
cept that the Panoans are strongly matrilineal and perhaps have clans. 
They devote considerable energy to warfare and take prisoners; captives 
acquire a slave status among the Tupi and Quijo. Trophy heads, skulls, 
and shrunken heads are characteristic, and there is some cannibalism. 

Crisis rites are not well developed, and girl’s puberty is variously 
marked by removal of her clitoris, a tobacco festival, flogging, or putting 
pepper in her eyes. Urn burial marks the Tupi and their immediate 
neighbors, but endocannibalism—either eating the corpse or drinking the 
cremated remains with chicha—is found in most other tribes. 

There is a variety of musical instruments, but handshaken gourd rattles 
and sacred instruments connected with secret rites are absent. Maize-leaf 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 891 


shuttlecocks, humming tops, and slings are common toys. Tobacco is the 
only narcotic. 

No clearcut god concepts, group worship, or other organized religion 
are reported; even culture heroes are in doubt. The supernatural being 
most widely reported is a monstrous water serpent. Bush spirits, how- 
ever, are generally feared, and the Jivaro believe in a magical, mana-like 
power. Belief that souls are reincarnated in animals is common. Ritual 
is for warriors, pubescent girls, and weather control, and not for food 
resources, ghosts, or boys’ initiations. 

The shaman has a spirit helper, that of the Tupi being a dead shaman. 
A magical “thorn” or “dart” is the shaman’s inner power; such objects 
are projected into a person to cause disease and must be sucked out. This 
concept occurs also to the east, south of the Amazon, but receives greatest 
emphasis here. Magical virtues are widely attributed to various plants, 
especially to Cyperus piripirt. The werejaguar concept prevails. 


THE MURA 


The Mura have been sometimes described as nonhorticultural nomads, 
but Nimuendaju (p. 258) believes they did some farming. In any event, 
they are essentially rivermen and fishermen with a somewhat meager 
material culture and with certain distinctive social and religious traits, 
especially those connected with taking parica snuff and with whipping. 

The Mura travel and almost live in bark canoes, fishing with the bow 
and arrow and taking large aquatic species with harpoons. They have 
palm-frond baskets and ornamented gourds, but lack blowguns, pottery 
(the Piraha certainly, the Mura, possibly), hammocks, and perhaps 
weaving. 

Several poorly built houses, each sheltering a single family, constitute 
a village. Social structure is based on the simple monogamous family, 
and bride service is not recorded. Natively, the Mura were fairly peaceful. 
Pubescent girls are confined; boys are allowed to take parica snuff and 
are whipped. People are buried wherever they die. 

Great emphasis is placed on parica, which is taken both as a snuff and 
as an enema, being used especially during feasts, when men whip each 
other. Flagellation is also the central rite of a ceremony to promote manioc 
growth. Stinging ants are used for fishing success. 


THE JURUA, AND PURUS RIVER TRIBES 


Three main linguistic families—Panoan, Arawakan, and Catukinan— 
are described in the article on the tribes of the Jurua-Purts region (p. 
657), but cultural comparisons show a great difference between the 
Panoans and Arawakans. Data on Panoan technology, however, are 
inadequate, and this group seems to be set off from the Arawakans most 
in social and religious customs. The Panoan puberty rites with tooth 


653333—47—59 


892 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


staining, lip and nose piercing, and deflowering of girls, the anthropophagy 
of the dead, and the religion involving belief in a high god, ghosts, and 
bush spirits, use of magical herbs, and fertility ceremonies are all unlike 
recorded Arawakan features. Although the Panoan Cashinawa are in- 
tensive farmers, as contrasted to the gathering and fishing Arawakans, 
they lack the blowgun, spear thrower, and perhaps other traits of the 
latter. Thus, so far as we know, they belong with the Western Marginal 
tribes rather than with the Jurua-Purts area. 

The Arawakans, on the other hand, have most elements of the de- 
veloped Tropical Forest culture and are thus also distinguished from 
the Western Marginal Arawakans farther south at the headwaters of 
the Jurtis, Acre, and Madre de Dios Rivers. As the tribes of the latter 
area, especially the Canamari and Mamiteneri, are virtually unknown, it 
is difficult to say precisely where the line should be drawn. 

The Catukinans, though covering a large area immediately south of 
the Amazon, are classed with the Jurua-Purts Arawakans for lack of 
knowing where else to place them. 

Information on the Arawakans of the Jurua-Purts area comes mainly 
from the Paumari of the Purts River and the Jpurina southwest of them. 
These tribes are fishermen on the large rivers, using dugouts (Paumari) 
or bark canoes. They hunt with the bow, blowgun, and spear thrower, 
and make twilled baskets, plain pottery, hammocks, and loom-woven 
bands. They live in large communal houses, the social group evidently 
being some sort of animal-named, patrilineal household. Crisis rites in- 
clude boy’s lip perforation (/purina) and the exhumation and preserva- 
tion of bones of the dead in the huts. Parica is used and tobacco is 
taken as snuff. Religion centers around a feast of nature spirits, with 
sacred flutes and bark trumpets which women and children are not per- 
mitted to see. 


THE MOJOS-CHIQUITOS AREA 


The Mojos-Chiquitos area of eastern Bolivia has material culture of 
the Tropical Forest type but its social and religious patterns are Sub- 
Andean. Socially, it is distinguished by a tendency to a class system 
and by a religious cult with a priesthood rather than one connected with 
initiation rites. The typical tribes are the Mojo, the Chiquito, and the 
now-extinct Manasi and Xaray. The Canichana, the Movimd, the Ta- 
canans, the Guarayu and Pauserna, the Southeastern Panoans, and the 
Chapacurans belong to this area, though several of their tribes preserve 
certain primitive features resembling the Marginal tribes. The Chiri- 
guano may also be included, though their culture is fundamentally Tupian 
with Andean additions. The southern half of the area described in 
“Tribes of the Right Bank of the Guaporé River” (p. 371) seems to 
belong with Mojos-Chiquitos, the northern half with the Tapajoz area. 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 893 


Subsistence is based on intensive slash-and-burn farming (though bitter 
manioc is little grown), but combines hunting methods of the jungle with 
types found on the open savannas to the south: the bow and poisoned 
arrows and the blowgun for hunting in the forest; game drives, sur- 
rounds, disguises, and bolas in the savanna. The post-Columbian de- 
velopment of cattle raising among the Mojo is a plains feature. Of special 
interest are the strong development of jaguar hunting and ceremonialism, 
the aboriginal domesticated duck, and incipient apiculture (Paressi). 

Villages are unusual for the fairly consistent arrangement of houses 
in streets and for a central plaza with a temple or men’s club house in 
it. Some villages are protected by palisades. 

The Chiquitos-Mojos area has the main Tropical Forest diagnostic 
material traits: cotton, hammocks, loom weaving, bark cloth, carved 
wooden stools, mats, pottery, bow, poisoned arrow, blowgun, hollow-log 
drum (Mojo), large trumpets (sometimes combined in rows, Mojo), 
ear, lip, and nose ornaments, featherwork, and rubber balls. In addition, 
it shows Highland influence in the cushma or tunic, coca (Araono), 
ornaments of precious metal traded from the Andes, head deformation 
(Tiatinagua), carrying nets as well as carrying baskets, pottery metates 
as well as wooden troughs and mortars for grinding food, feather fire 
fans, bolas, spear throwers, slings, and clay missiles with poisoned spikes 
embedded in them. Pottery is varied in fineness but attains some excel- 
lence in the Mojo area. 

Communities are characteristically large. Each has a chief, and strati- 
fied classes, some of which suggest castes. Among the Mojo, Bauré, and 
Paressi, and especially among the Manasi, the relative rank of classes 
is: chiefs, priests, commoners, and slaves (war prisoners). Social 
structure reveals neither sibs, moieties, nor unilinear descent, though the 
Tiatinagua have some degree of community exogamy. 

Warfare is emphasized, with capture of slaves the primary motive. 
The Paressi are unique in the Tropical Forest for their wars of conquest. 
In contrast to the Tupi, there is no cannibalism, except among the 
Canichana. 

Religion is somewhat distinctive in having elements of wide distribu- 
tion patterned in the temple cult with its sacred god symbols (images 
and musical instruments), a distinction between priestly and shamanistic 
functions, and ceremonies held in the men’s club or temple and restricted 
to men who dance, sing, and become riotously drunk. The Mojo and 
Manasi keep all persons from the inner sanctum where the priests con- 
sult the gods, but the Paressi-Cabishi only exclude women and the 
Tacanans merely prevent women and children from seeing their god 
symbols. a. “te is suggestion of a Tacanan men’s cult to which boys 
are initiated. The purposes of the temple cults are obscure, but evidently 


894. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


differ among the tribes. The Mojo cult features the jaguar, and its 
rituals are conducted partly for slain enemies. 

The shamanistic pattern is that of the Tropical Forest, the only feature 
of interest being the belief that the intrusion of an evil spirit as well 
as a foreign substance into the body may cause sickness. 


TUPIAN TRIBES 


The Tupian-speaking peoples, who spread over a large area, partly 
through comparatively recent migrations, form three cultural subgroups: 
(1) the Tupinamba and Guarani, scattered along the Atlantic Coast and 
some of the interior from near the mouth of the Amazon to the Rio 
de la Plata; (2) the block of small tribes along the lower Tocantins; 
and (3) the tribes of the Tapajéz and the lower Madeira Rivers. The 
Tupi of the upper Amazon are classed with the Montafia. The primitive 
enclaves of Tupian-speaking Guayaki among the Guarani have been de- 
scribed in Volume 1 of the Handbook (p. 435). 

The Tupian tribes have slash-and-burn farming. All were exceptionally 
good canoemen, except for tribes between rivers. The Parintintin, Tupi- 
Cawahib, and Cayabi in the Madeira-Tapajéz area make only bark canoes ; 
the others also dugouts. 

Technology is simple, with not all basic Tropical Forest traits present. 
Twilled basketry is general, though the Parintintin and Tupi-Cawahib 
make only palm-leaf baskets. All tribes make pottery, but only the 
Tupinamba and Guarani ornament it elaborately. Hammocks and other 
articles are twined, though cotton is generally used; weaving on the 
vertical loom is restricted to the Guarani and Tupi-Cawahib. Weapons 
are the bow, lance, spear, some clubs, and, in eastern Brazil, the shield. 
Blowguns and spear throwers are not found. The Guarani acquired the 
tipoy and loincloth for men and the breechclout for women from the 
west, but other tribes have only the usual Tropical Forest profusion of 
featherwork, body paint, and ornaments. 

Communities generally consist of several multifamily houses, the 
largest being on the coast, but among some interior tribes, such as those 
of the lower Xingu and the Mawé, they are made up of only a few, single- 
family houses. The lack of a ceremonial or men’s house, except among 
the Mundurucu, evidently correlates with the absence of cult religion and 
of a men’s tribal society. 

These tribes are strongly patrilineal, possibly a consequence of a pre- 
dominantly aquatic life, which is a masculine concern. Among the 
coast Tupi, the 50 or more families occupying each house probably consti- 
tute an extended patrilineal family. The Mundurucu, Parintintin, and 
Tupi-Cawahib have patrilineal, exogamous sibs, those 013715 first two 
nonlocalized, and those of the Mundurucu assigned to exoge.nous moie- 
ties. Bride service is general, regardless of descent or postmarital 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 895 


residence. There is always a secular village chief and often additional 
house chiefs, but shamans exercise much political power, especially among 
the Guarani, whose chiefs are always shamans. 

The couvade occurs throughout these tribes. Pubescent girls are 
usually isolated, and the coastal tribes cut or shave their hair, whereas 
the Arapium and Tupinamba may also scarify or bleed them. Differences 
appear in boys’ maturity observances: youths are subjected to the ant 
ordeal near the Amazon (Maué, Arapium, Amanayé, Parintintin), re- 
ceive labrets (Tupinamba, Guarani), or are tattooed and go to the men’s 
house to live (Mundurucuv). Earth burial in the house is usual, but the 
Munduruck and Apiaca often rebury, and the Arapium eat the flesh and 
consume the bone ashes mixed with drinks, a practice more characteristic 
of the upper Amazon. 

All these tribes are outstanding warriors and the greater number of 
them are trophy-takers and cannibals, often killing and eating even 
children whom they have captured and reared. Trophies are most often 
made of heads or skulls, but other parts of the body may be used and 
flutes of human bones are commonly found. 

The principle musical instruments are gourd rattles, trumpets, flutes, 
panpipes (except Tupinamba and Guarani), and clarinets, with drums 
very rare. Tobacco is recorded only among the peoples of the coast and 
the Tocantins-Xingt region, where it is smoked. Chicha is made by 
most though not all Tupians. Narcotics include maté (Guarani) and 
parica snuff taken by the Maué. Wrestling and footraces are the main 
sports. Group singing and dancing is a favorite diversion as well as 
ceremonial exercise. 

In Tupi religion, the prominent supernatural beings are a creator or 
culture hero, many bush demons or spirits which are feared, and ghosts. 
The creator or culture hero, who is variously associated with the sky, 
sun, moon, and thunder, is the object of something of a cult among the 
Guarani, Tupinamba, Parintintin, and Apiacd. Ceremonies are devoted 
to ghosts among the lower Xingu peoples and to bush spirits among the 
Tupinamba, Munduruct, and Guarani. Festivals for better harvests or 
for more abundant wild species are held by the Tupinamba, Guarani, 
Maué, and Munduruct. 

These religious patterns have no features of secret societies with their 
initiation rites, such as are found in other areas, except that the Mun- 
durucut have men’s festivals with sacred trumpets for sib ancestors, as 
in the Northwest Amazon. 

The shamans have familiar spirits in most tribes, but the Guarani medi- 
cine man obtains power from chants given him by dead relatives. Disease 
is thought to be caused by the intrusion of a foreign object, which the 
shaman sucks out of the victim. Shamans also lead ceremonies, prognosti- 
cate, control nature, and perform other functions. 


896 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 
THE MARGINAL CULTURES 


GUIANA INTERNAL MARGINALS 


In the mountainous, savanna region on the southern headwaters of 
the Orinoco and the northern headwaters of the Rio Negro are several 
little-known hunting and gathering tribes—the Shiriand, Waica, Gua- 
haribo, Auaké, Caliand, and the Maracand. 

In native times, these tribes had no horticulture. They hunt with the 
bow, most of them lacking the blowgun, and fish only with the bow and 
arrow. Houses are small, and flimsy, but in some groups they are fur- 
nished with hammocks. There are no canoes. Shiriand basketry—the 
only reported—is twined. Shiriand pots are said to be well made. 

Little is known of religious customs except that the Guaharibo preserve 
the cremated bones of their dead. 


NORTHWESTERN MARGINALS 


The Northwestern Marginal tribes do not all fall within the areas 
described in the present volume, but may be mentioned here as they 
form part of the pattern of marginal tribes around the Amazon Basin. 
They include the Cariban Cartjona (p. 767), the Cabarre, Guahibo, 
Yaruro, and several Arawakan tribes near the Andes, which will be 
described in Volume 4. Perhaps also with them belong the Catapolitani, 
Huhuteni, and some of their neighbors, who may originally have been 
Macu, but who are now more or less assimilated to Arawakan culture. 

All these tribes are little known. The Carijona are merely described 
as fierce nomadic cannibals who live in multifamily houses, lack masked 
dances, and have elaborate feather dance regalia. 


THE WESTERN AMAZON SUBMARGINALS 


Two groups of tribes preserving many primitive features occupy isolated 
portions of the western headwaters of the Amazon. One, which includes 
the Zdparoans, Pebans, and Western Tucanoans, lives north of the 
Marafion and extends to the Putumayo River; the other, which consists 
of various Panoans and Arawakans, dwells in the back country which 
forms the watershed between the Ucayali, the Jurua-Purts, and the 
Madre de Dios Basins. These two groups would form a continuous block 
but for the Tupians, Cahuapanans, and Panoans, who are typical Tropical 
Forest tribes of the upper Amazon and Marafién Rivers. The southern 
group extends into the Andes and immediately adjoins the Jnca on the 
upper Ucayali and the Aymara nearer Lake Titicaca. Some of the tribes 
are somewhat transitional, particularly the Zdparoans and the Pebans, 
who absorbed some culture from the tribes along the lower Marafion. 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 897 


Although farmers, these tribes rely more than the Montafia peoples 
on hunting, fishing, and gathering. Arawakan farms are very small and 
the Mayoruna subsist mainly on wild fruits in their swampy habitat. The 
Pebans fish only with poison, and most of the tribes lack harpoons and 
spear throwers. The bow is the principal weapon, except north of the 
Marajion, where the blowgun is of great importance, the Pebans being 
particularly famous for their manufacture of blowguns and curare. 

In contrast to the Montafia tribes, the Western Submarginals use 
grinding troughs or slabs instead of mortars, hammocks in place of plat- 
form beds, bark-cloth and wild palm-fiber textiles rather than cotton cloth, 
the vertical instead of the horizontal loom, palm-leaf baskets often in place 
of woven ones, ceramics that are much cruder than the Montafia poly- 
chromes, and in some instances carrying nets instead of baskets. Until 
the historic period, they lacked canoes altogether. 

Their social structure is based on the extended patrilineal family, but 
the communal house is smaller than in the Montafia. In warfare, these 
tribes are generally victims rather than aggressors. Esthetic and recrea- 
tional activities, religion, and shamanism, on the other hand, seem to con- 
form rather closely to Montafia patterns, except in a few traits wherein 
the tribes north of the Marafidn River differ from the southern group. 
The former not only smoke but chew tobacco and drink the juice; in 
addition, they take Datura, cayapi, guayusa, and yoco. They also have 
the signal drum. 


MARGINAL TRIBES OF THE SOUTHERN AMAZON PERIPHERY 


Several tribes living on the small tributaries at the headwaters of the 
Tocantins, Xingu, Tapajéz, and Guaporé Rivers are so isolated that they 
received few traits diagnostic of the Tropical Forest cultures and retain 
an extremely primitive mode of life, especially on a technological level. 
These peoples include the Caraja, the Tapirapé, the tribes of the upper 
Xingu, the Bacairi, and the Nambicuara, the last the most backward of 
all. The Tenetehara (Guajajara) and Guajd, nearer the Brazilian Coast 
to the northeast, also may be classed as marginal. To the west, a Tropical 
Forest culture spread westward through the low regions of the Madeira 
headwaters to form the eastern Bolivian culture, but enclaves of Sirion6 
retain the more primitive practices. To the north, a few small tribes 
living between but not on the large rivers also retain certain backward 
characteristics. 

All of these tribes but the Siriondé adjoin the Bororo, Guatd, and Ge 
tribes to the south and east (these are described in Volume 1), and the 
Tapirapé and Carajd are really an enclave within the Northern Cayapé, 
a Ge division. In a sense, therefore, they are part of the huge area of 
Marginal peoples who occupy the greater part of eastern Brazil and the 
southern third of the continent. The justification for including them in 


898 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 


the present volume is largely their linguistic affiliation with the Tropical 
Forest tribes (especially, Tupians and Arawakans) and their possession 
of a few Tropical Forest traits. 

None of these tribes except the Guajd entirely lacks farming, but the 
nomadism of the Nambicuara and Sirioné contrasts sharply with the in- 
tensive farming of neighbors such as the Apiacd and Mojo. 

Dwellings and villages reflect nomadism. The Nambicuara build no 
houses; the Siriond, structures which, though large, are crude and tem- 
porary ; the Guajd, small temporary shelters. 

No Nambicuara and few upper Xingu tribes have hammocks. 

The Siriond, Nambicuara, and Tapirapé lack canoes altogether. Those 
of the upper Xingt are made of bark; only the Carajé have dugouts. 
Basket making, weaving, and ceramics are technologically primitive. The 
Sirioné, like the Mura, Munduruct, and Tupi-Cawahib, make only plaited 
palm-leaf baskets and the Carajd only twined ones, though the other 
tribes make twilled forms of Tropical Forest types. True loom weaving 
occurs among most of these tribes, but tends to be secondary to twining 
and netting. Loom weaving on the upper Xingu is limited to the 
Arawakans ; among the Nambicuara it is used only for belts and bands, 
and among the Sirioné, Tenetehara, and Tapirapé it is lacking. Pottery 
is either crude or absent. The eastern Nambicuara and the upper Xingu 
tribes, except the Arawakans, make none, while the remaining tribes make 
a plain ware. Szrion6 pottery is tempered with burned seeds. 

Weapons are restricted to the bow and unpoisoned arrow and club. 
The blowgun is absent except among a few tribes on the upper Guaporé. 
Former use of the spear thrower is indicated for the upper Xingu and 
for the Caraja. 

Chicha is lacking on the upper Xingu and among the Tapirapé and 
Carajdé, and the only narcotic is tobacco, usually smoked in a pipe. 

Social organization presents a variety of forms, distinguishing the 
several Southern Marginal tribes from one another. The Nambicuara 
seem only to have a simple family organization and the Sirioné extended, 
matrilocal families, but on the upper Xingu, there are some indications of 
patrilineal sibs in certain tribes and of matrilineal sibs in others. The 
Tapirapé, the Tenetchara, and the Carajd have patrilineal, nonexogamic, 
ceremonial moieties, the last two along with matrilineal, extended house- 
holds. By contrast, the neighboring Tropical Forest Tupi have patrilineal, 
extended households (Tupinamba, Tupi-Cawahib, Mané, lower Xingu, 
etc.) or exogamic, patrilineal sibs (Mundurucu, Parintintin). 


There are no secret cults with formal initiatory rites, but the Nambr- 
cuara have ceremonies to the Thunder god, with sacred flageolets which 
are taboo to women and children, and the Carajd restrict their ceremonies 
to men. Stages of child growth are marked by lip piercing for labrets, 
cutting the hair, scarifying, painting, etc., as among the Tupi. There are 


Vol. 3] CULTURE AREAS OF TROPICAL FORESTS—STEWARD 899 


no ordeals, in contrast to the ant ordeal of the Tupian tribes nearer the 
Amazon. 

On the whole, these tribes are peaceful. They lack the cannibalism 
which is so characteristic of the Tupi. 

Religious and shamanism beliefs and practices are not unusual. The 
concept of a creator or culture hero, who is identified with the sky, sun, 
or moon, the fear of bush spirits, especially of the jaguar spirit, and fear 
of ghosts are basic. Masks occur among the Carajd and some upper 
Xingu tribes. There are ceremonies for plant or game fertility (upper 
Xingu, Tapirapé, Tenetehara). The Siriond, however, are outstanding 
for their primitive religious concepts: lack of any god, except the mytho- 
logical culture hero, Moon; fear of bush spirits; and a belief that the 
dead become spirits and that their bones are useful in magic. 

It is remarkable that the Siriono lack shamans, performing curing magic 
with human bones; that the Bacairi have few shamans; and that the 
Caraja shaman only mediates between the living and ghosts, curing being 
a secular function. Other tribes have highly developed shamanism. The 
Tenetehara and Tapirapé emphasize the shaman’s control of spirits, a 
Tupian concept. The Nambicuara and upper Xingu tribes feature tle 
magic “arrow” as the cause of disease (the source of the shaman’s power 
is not stated). 


= fan wen . a 
aha wihkendh ‘abt Rory il ey) et fp ie 
ie) PART brit sta, andeiy ‘pean 
” pits ieee Aanitee @ioneot Lig Cndart SRS OAR 
7 AD Dai Ay Jeary hen bibl {¢] hy ce a taal ie ieturvtatt?: take ¥ 
Pane OER KY Rak LORNA RY SVE) eh Pv ever ala; 


sind andl gre ga Miueln sien UV SASAT ENP Mtge ANRC NT CAN ali 
aa at it ‘ , . . 3 

me ese pu} 
~ gdibeiws: 


; iY, ak | 


GLOSSARY’ 
(Sp., Spanish; 1.g., Lingua Geral, which is largely Tupian) 


Achiote. See Bixa. 

Aldeamento. A settlement about the same size as an aldea. 

Atlatl. See Spear thrower. 

Atura. A large cylindrical basket used for transporting Brazil nuts. 


Babracot. A wooden grill supported by three or four posts for smoking and 
drying foods, especially meat. 

Bahia, baia. A drainage canal; a small lake connecting with a river. 

Balsa. (1) A raft on which the Indians live; (2) timber, palo de balsa. used in 
the construction of small rafts used for navigation on the upper rivers of the 
Amazon Basin. 

Beiju. (1) A kind of cassava (manioc) ; (2) a kind of biscuit or cake made from 
manioc. 

Bixa. A red paint or dye made from Bira orellana. 

Bugre. A name applied to the savage Indians by the seringueiros. 


Caboclo. A backwoodsman; a rural Brazilian or mixed White and Indian blood; 
a generic term for Mestizo, including curiboca and mameluco. 

Cabra. A Mestizo who obviously has Negro blood in him; a dark mulatto. 

Cachibanco. A fine cloth woven of palm fiber. 

Cachirim. (1) A native beer made by fermenting boiled manioc; (2) a kind of 
food prepared with beiju soaked in water. 

Cachoeira (Sp., cachuela). A series of small drops in a section of a river; a 
cascade, a rapids. 

Cafuso, cafus. A person of mixed Negro and Indian blood. 

Caicuma. A porridge of tucupi thickened with manioc flour. 

Campestre. A small high campo surrounded by forest. 

Campina. A treeless plain; a natural pasture. 

Campo. (1) A natural prairie or savanna; a broad, flat plain without forest cover, 
or having only a few trees; (2) an encampment. Campo cerrado—savanna 
with scattered thickets of deciduous scrub forest. Campo limpo—a treeless 
savanna. 

Caxiri. See Cachirim. 

Chicha. Native beer made by fermenting various fruits and vegetables. 

Climbing ring. A loop placed around the feet to assist in climbing tall, clean 
trunks of trees. 

Cipo. Any kind of vine or liana, used for a great variety of purposes. 

Coxo. A wooden vessel constructed of unhewn logs in which manioc decays and 
ferments under water so as to produce manioc starch (farinha). 

Curare. Blowgun dart poison made from Strychnos toxifera. 

Curiboca (Sp.). A dark-skinned person between a caboclo and a Negro in color. 


Farinha. A starchy food made from bitter manioc (see p. 450). 


Genipa. A black dye or paint made from Genipa americana. 
Gentio (Sp., gente). Approximately synonymous with bugre. 


1 This glossary has drawn heavily upon the ‘‘Glossary of Brazilian Amazonian Terms” compiled 
from the Strategic Index of the Americas by the Research Division of the Office of the Coordinator 
of Inter-American Affairs. 


901 


902 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Ig. (l.g.) Water. 

Igarapa. (l.g.) A wide canal; a very long branch of a river; see Igarapé. 

Igarapé. A narrow natural channel between two islands or between an island 
and the mainland ; a canoe passage. 

Ipadu. A substance which the caboclos chew to ward off hunger, made from 
coca leaves (Erythroxrylon coca), mixed with tapioca and other substances. 


Juruti. A dove or pigeon. 
Lingua Geral. A lingua franca based on the Tupi-Guarani language. 


Macana. A flat, swordlike wooden club. 

Maloca (Sp., maloca). (1) A hut, a small and poorly built house; (2) an Indian 
camp or village, a large communal dwelling of certain Indian tribes; (3) herded 
cattle on a fazenda; (4) a gang, e.g., of gypsies. 

Mameluco. In Brazil, a Mestizo; esp., the offspring of a White man and an Indian 
woman. 

Maqueira. Hammocks manufactured with tucum fiber. 

Maraca. A gourd rattle. 

Mato. (1) Uncultivated land, ground covered with brush; (2) a clearing; (3) the 
country, as opposed to the city. 

Mestico (Sp., mestizo). Any person of mixed blood, often a Negro-White cross; 
contrast Mameluco. 

Mutum, hocco. A forest turkey of the genus Crax. 


Parana. An oxbow in a river. 

Peconho. Climbing ring. 

Pepper pot. A stew of pepper, meat, and vegetables to which new ingredients are 
added from time to time. 

Piassava. A fiber used for mats, ropes, and brushes, derived from the leaf 
sheaths of the palms, Attalea funifera and Leopoldimia piassava. 

Piracu. A flour made from dried fish—especially piraruci and tambaqui—which 
have been ground with a mortar and pestle; it keeps for a long time and 
hence is a favorite food for fishermen, hunters and travelers. 

Pirahem. (l.g.) Dried fish. 

Piranha. A river fish of the genera Pyrocentrus and Serrasalmo, feared because 
of its extreme voracity and tendency to attack animals of all sizes in great 
numbers. 

Pirarucu (Sp., paiche). A very large Amazonian fish (Arapaima gigas), of the 
family Osteoglossidae. 


Sertao. Inland country; the thinly peopled wilderness beyond the frontiers of 
concentrated settlement. 

Spear thrower. A short stick, one end of which is grasped in the hand while 
the other engages the butt of a spear or harpoon, serving as an extension of 
the arm when throwing. 

Ticuna. See Curare. 

Tipiti. An elongated basketry tube which is pulled lengthwise so as to compress 
its diameter and squeeze the juice from manioc (pl. 90). 

Tucum. Fibers of tucuma (p. 10) used for making rope and thread. 

Uba. A fire-hollowed wooden canoe. 

Uruct. See Bixa. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY TO VOLUME 3 


ABBREVIATIONS 
Abhandl. K. Bayer. Akad, Wissensch. Abhandlungen der Koniglichen Bayerischen 
Munchen. Akademie der Wissenschaften. Munchen. 
Abhandl. Konig]. Gesellsch. Wissensch. Abhandlungen der K6niglichen Gesellschaft 
Gottingen. der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen. Ber- 

lin, Germany. 

Acta Acad. ADOCHSIS... 6ca tis vies anv Acta Academiae Aboensis. Abo, Finland. 

LNB, INGLI URODE 5 cab ooo ow OH Ob en Hono ee American Anthropologist. 

Ammer. Geogr. Soc. Spec. Publ... .:.<.. American Geographic Society, Special 
Publications. New York, N. Y. 

Amer, Journ, Phys, Anthrop:, 25.2 .0-2-- American Journal of Physical Anthropol- 
ogy. Washington. 

PTI AES AD eR erie) StrsasraGae eee occas Anales de la Biblioteca Nacional. Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, 

An. Bibl, Acchiv., Pub. Para. 6.6 o.s acc Annaes do Bibliotheca e Archivo Publico 
do Para. Belém do Para, Brazil. 

An. Bibl. Nac. Rio de Janeiro........... Annaes do Bibliotheca Nacional. Rio de 
Janeiro, Brazil. 

Any Pac (Ciene. d) Parana. «ssi aera = Anales de la Facultad de Ciencias de la 
Educacioén. Parana, Argentina. 

Age Inst. Einogr. Amen «: 465 nas oo <6 Anales del Instituto de Etnografia Ameri- 


cana de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. 
Mendozo, Argentina. 


An, Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires........... Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos 
Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol.......... Annual Report of the Bureau of Ameri- 


can Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. 
Washington, D. C. 


iN GAY HAGA SOD: rey ie tad icskvaiet ter sit Annals of the New York Academy of 
Sciences. New York, N. Y. 

An. Soe. Gient. Argentina «. «4.00... s0.<: Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. 
Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

An. Univ. Central Venezuela........... Anales de la Universidad Central de 
Venezuela. 


Anthrop, Pap. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. .. Anthropological Papers, American Mu- 
seum of Natural History. New York, N.Y. 


WAEHEO TS REGS ohio a 8 ub. a's de eteosanead Anthropological Review. London. 

Anthrop, Ser. Catholic Univ. ¢.:20.06. 0: Anthropological Series, Catholic Univer- 
sity. Washington, D. C. 

PERT EUTEGS {CNS terete ac bon itis newer RS ee Anthropos. Ephemeris Internationalis Eth- 
nologica et Linguistica. 

Archiv, “Antrop: Eitnol: ....... «00064 <% Archivio per l’Antropologia e la Etnologia 
Florence, Italy. 

PATENT ATIENTOPy s . crc sees oa bios a eae Ree Archiv ftir Anthropologie. Brunswick 
(Braunschweig), Germany, 

Archiv., Soc, Amer, France, ......<9a2e Archives de la Société Américaine «- 
France. 

Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro...... Archivos do Museu Nacional. Rio de 
Janeiro, Brazil. 

IBAGSSIE RATE Miva pcre ae LE Oe Baessler-archiv, Berlin, Germany. 

Bibl. Boliv, Geogr) Hist s.00% browses see Biblioteca Boliviana de Geografia e Ilis 


tOna we leaelyaz 


903 


904 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Bibl. Cienc: Polsy Soe, 6 s...6... asxeree Biblioteca de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales. 
Madrid. 

Biblwtine, Aimer, Paris... tc. ceceecn. ¢ Bibliothéque Linguistique Américaine. 
Paris, France, 

BislerPeday. senasile.. eee. wea cnycecss Biblioteca Pedagogica Brasileira. Sao 
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Bole pcade Nac. Fists crais ai 9 anes ainye't aie Boletin de la Academia Nacional de la His- 
toria. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Bol. Acad. Nac, HIst, Oita. ws sac. a0< x Boletin de la Academia Nacional de His- 
toria. Quito, Ecuador. 

BoleeAcadsiv enezolatias | seme erie s. Boletin de la Academia Venezolana. Cara- 
cas, Venezuela. 

Eo mini, Nac Onto... eaten se oo Boletin de la Biblioteca Nacional de Quito. 
Quito, Ecuador. 

Bole B ible NacmVienezusns seem orice: cris Boletin de la Biblioteca Nacional. Caracas, 
Venezuela. 

JS Ye) Like WE el 00 rT lr RU nC a ete Boletin de Historia y Antigiiedades. Acade- 
mia Colombiana de Historia. Bogota, 
Colombia. 

Bol. inst. Geogr. Argentino... .......:--: Boletin del Instituto Geografico Argentino. 
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 

Bole NinisGoeldizscc.ot tee a ten caine 52 Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi 


de Historia Natural e Ethnographia. 
Belém do Para, Brazil. 


Bol. Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro.......... Boletim do Museu Nacional. Rio De Janeiro. 

Bol. Serv. Geol: Mim Brasil... 2.2 Boletim do Servigo Geologico e Minera- 
logico do Brasil. 

Bol. Soc. Ecuatoriana Estud. Hist. ..... Boletin de la Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Estu- 
dios Historicos. Quito, Ecuador. 

Bol. Soc. Geogr. Hist. Santa Cruz...... Boletin de la Sociedad Geografica e His- 
torica de Santa Cruz. Bolivia. 

Bolvisoec-Geoer, Italianal 2.0.2 .. 2... Bollettino della Societa Geografica Italiana. 
Rome, Italy. 

Bol) Soc Geogr Wa Pagans «iis. is tae Boletin de la Sociedad Geografica de La 
Paz. Bolivia. 

Bol soc: Geogr. Eimae ... 00 o ac: on os Boletin de la Sociedad Geografica de Lima. 
Pert. 

Bol Sec. Geogr, Madrid... 22.2. tote.) - < Boletin de la Sociedad Geografica Nacional. 
Madrid. 

Bol. Soc. Venezolana Cienc. Nat. ....... Boletin de la Sociedad Venezolana de Cien- 
cias Naturales. Caracas, Venezuela. 

BullwAmer, EthnolsSock.css 2. s.oees. Bulletin, American Ethnological Society. 
New York, N. Y. 

Bil, Assoc: Pranc. Adv. Sti... .--.¢--.. Bulletin de 1l’Association Francaise Pour 
l’Avancement des Sciences. 

Boll Bure amer. Pythnoleen. ec een -cre - Bulletin, Bureau of American Ethnology, 
Smithsonian Institution. | Washington, 
D.C, 

Bull. Mém. Soc. Anthrop. Paris......... Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’An- 
thropologie de Paris. France. 

Bull, Pag Amer. Umi. 4 is0 5052-5 Bulletin, Pan American Union. Washing- 
iors), ID) 

Bull joc, Amer Bely: ascica cess ent Bulletin de la Société des Américanistes de 


Belgique. Brussels, Belgium. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 905 


Ball SoecvAnthrop:. Parisians... tdqueliacene Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie de 
Paris. Paris, France. 

Bull. Soc. Geogr. Commerciale Paris ... Bulletin de la Société de Géographie Com- 
merciale de Paris. Paris, France. 

Bulls Soc Geogr. Paris! . ails. das <lgartas Bulletin de la Société de Géographie. Paris, 
France. 

Bull. Geogr. Soc. Philadelphia.......... Bulletin, Geographical Society of Philadel- 
phia. 

Bull. Soc. Normande Géogr. .......... Bulletin de la Société Normande de Géo- 
graphie. Rouen, France. 

Cols rlist.( Chile ni. cacnne eens cae Coleccién de Historiadores de Chile. San- 
tiago, Chile. 

Comp, Ethnogr. Stud): 56s sec) ss sina ¢ Comparative Ethnographical Studies. 
Gothenburg (Géteborg), Sweden. 

one Mant ASM fais icc sinc ori ieee Congreso Internacional de Americanistas; 
International Congress of Americanists; 
etc. 

Contribs Mus® Bot Amazonases.. 2... - Contribuigaos do Museu Botanica do Ama- 
zonas. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

CulturapNacionalaeeeeeeet. eerie ee Cultura Nacional; Revista Literaria y 
Cientifica, Caracas, Venezuela. 

DaskAnslandesen eens. cae ers Das Ausland, Wochenschrift fiir Erd- und 
Volkerkunde, Stuttgart. 

Dic. Hist., Geogr., Ethnol. Brasil...... Diccionario Historico, Geographico e Eth- 


nographico do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro, 
(Imprensa Nacional, 1922), Brazil. 


Doc VEMst boliviands asad dey owe Documentos Histéricos de Bolivia. La Paz. 

B thn ols Studsemishaten, 25 sted eehieeaio Ethnological Studies ; Ethnologiska Studier. 
Gothenburg (G6teborg), Sweden. 

Etud. Ethnog. Soc: Ethnol.c 7: o2 sie Etudes d’ethnographie, de sociologie et 
d’ethnologie. Paris, France. 

Geomrenoutiic Acts: eedase aide atencaont The Geographical Journal. London, Eng- 
land. 

Gear nee nas tds cepeaisn ereees awe Geographical Review. New York, N. Y. 

GIGBUSH socio be nas cal ee eee Globus. Illustr. Zeitschrift fiir Lander- 


und Volkerkunde. Brunswick (Braun- 
schweig), Germany. 

Goteborgs Kungl. Vet. Vitt. Handl. .... G6teborgs Kungliga Vetenskapsch Vitter- 
hetssamhalles Handlingar. Gothenburg 
(G6teborg), Sweden. 


Pagpers Mag. i sthanbe feck. bwreesaares Harper’s Magazine; MHarper’s Monthly 
Magazine. New York, N. Y. 

Iibero-Amer -Atchivasenero-n eee Ibero-Amerikanischer Archiv. Berlin, Ger- 
many. 

Caytis. aad cn Pees hs oa Inca; Revista Trimestral de Estudios An- 


tropolégicos. Organo del Museo de Ar- 
quelogia de la Universidad Mayor de San 
Marcos de Lima. Lima, Pert. 

indNotessMiono cman ee een oe Indian Notes and Monographs, Museum of 
the American Indian, Heye Foundation. 
New York, N. Y. 

Int Archiv. thrio gees abate LA ace oiosvors Internationales Archiv fiir Ethnographie. 
Leiden, Holland. 


906 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Int? Journ) Amer, CLing oa. . ov. sen clears International Journal of American Lin- 
guistics. 

Journ) Amer Folk-lore.oo.. 0.2 50.04% Journal of American Folk-lore. New 
York, N. Y. 

Journ, Ethnols Sec) London. 0. 2) 2s 2 Journal of the Ethnological Society of 
London. England. 

hoa Geopiiy ttc sen ae inne Journal of Geography. 

Joan Ornithols Se erica seciee ere Journal fiir Ornithologie. Berlin. 

Journ. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. Journal of the Royal Anthropological In- 

Ireland. stitute of Great Britain and Ireland. Lon- 

don, England. 

Journ. Roy. Geogr..Soc.. «2. 22s. hee. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. 
London, England. 

Journ. Soe? Amer! Parisn. Ae eee 206 Journal de la Société des Américanistes de 
Paris. France. 

Kansas City Rev. Sci. Industry......... The Kansas City Review of Science and 
Industry, Kansas City, Missouri. 

IROSIMOSE Beer a AE eLne lake, Se ae Kosmos. Revista Artistica, Scientifica e 
Litteraria. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

aANGeOpe sd .., BERRA cok ile oN tons Ses La Geographie. Paris, France. 

BR Annce linge ah... 5002 b 4 ocho Uhm L’Année Linguistique. Paris, France. 

An thinopi td ab eee Bee cael actarelt oe L’Anthropologie. Paris, France. 

Tes MAISEON: «x. con ee on eee aR Le Muséon. Louvain, Belgium. 

PENT OR HSER s 4h ok SE L’Ethnographie. Paris, France. 

etmtour du Nondete ase pies seen aa Le Tour du Monde, Nouveau Journal des 


Voyages. Paris, France. 
Mededeelingen Konig. Akad. Wetensch. Mededeelingen Ko6niglichen Akademie van 


Afd. Wetenschappen, Letterkunde. Amster- 

dam, 

Mem. Anthrop. Soc. London........... Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of 
London. 

Mem-sSoc. Anthropy Parise... ese Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie d 
Paris. France. ; 

Menmiun Soce einem anisnass aster ee . Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique de 
Paris. France. 

Mitt. Anthrop. Gesell. Wien. ........... Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesell- 
schaft in Wien. Austria. 

Mitt. Gesell. f. Volkerkunde........... Mitteilungsblatt der Gesellschaft fur Volk- 


erkunde, Leipzig, Germany. 
Monatsschr. f. Kriminalpsychol. u. Straf- Monatsschrift fiir Kriminalpsychologie und 


rechtsreform. Strafrechtsreform. Heidelberg, Germany. 

Mus. Journ. Univ. Pennsylvania........ Museum Journal, University of Pennsyl- 
vania. Philadelphia, Pa. 

NatsGeoer, Magno: atc. geen e mena National Geographic Magazine, National 

Geographic Society. Washington, D. C. 

INA BR Stee A. ts HE Re. Natural History. The Magazine of the 


American Museum of Natural History. 
New York, N. Y. 
Pap. Peabody Mus. Arch. Ethnol. Har- Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archae- 
vard Univ. ology and Ethnology, Harvard Univer- 
sity. Cambridge, Mass. 
Peteriiatins’ Mitts... i. eR Eas Petermanns Mitteilungen. Gotha. J. Perthes. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 907 


ExnySISe ae Aeea e re ros cote ti ere naan Physis. Revista de la Sociedad Argentina 
de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires, 
Argentina. 

PTLOGPAIMeD VANTION SOC) Semacee emer ee Proceedings of the American Antiquarian 
Society. Worcester, Mass. 

Broce; Amer, Philoss Soct saerceecee cee Proceedings of the American Philosophical 
Society. Philadelphia, Pa. 

Proc, Pan Amer. Ser ‘Congr, 722... Proceedings of the Pan American Science 
Congress. 

Proc? Roy. Geogr? Soca... Seen. os Proceedings of the Royal Geographical So- 
ciety. London, England. 

Pabl. Univ Nac. Tucaman=:. 020000... Publicaciones de la Universidad Nacional 
de Tucuman. Argentina. 

RelGeogr! Indidswasrene ce < «ore cee ere Relaciones Geograficas de Indias. Madrid, 
Spain. 

RelSsoc. Arges Antrop > icecr. cscs. es Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de 
Antropologia. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 

Revere Amenicanan anne eo seloelale ene tien Revista Americana. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

eva Anthro pi. aesetercc acts clorns ctatraene ceeke Review Anthropologique. Paris, France. 

ReveArchivarbibls Mnisteass aces seer Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. 
Madrid, Spain. 

ReveeArqe MiunsSao0!Baulo:. aeaescceeee Revista do Arquivo Municipal de Sao 
Paulo, Brazil. 

Rev. Fomento (Venezuela)............ Revista de Fomento. Caracas, Venezuela. 

Revekthnograrbaris*eeriniaceeesGion ane Revue d’Ethnographie. Paris, France. 

Rey). Geiis SG OSG tens. Pan SAE Revue Générale des Sciences. Paris, France. 

Revepiist, (ishontene aseeemer seca: Revista de Historia. Lisbon, Portugal. 


Rev. Inst. Antrop. Univ. Nac. Tucuman. Revista del Instituto de Antropologia de la 
‘Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, Ar- 


gentina. 
Rev. Inst. Arch. Hist. Geogr. Pernambu- Revista del Instituto Archeologico, Histé- 
cano rico e Geographico Pernambucano. Re- 


cife, Brazil. 
Rev. Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. Tucuman.. Revista del Instituto de Etnologia de la 
Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Ar- 


gentina. 

Revalnst., bist) Geogr, Brasilge secede. Revista do Instituto Histérico e Geogra- 
phico do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Sao Paulo...... Revista do Instituto Histérico e Geogra- 
phico de Sao Paulo. Brazil. 

Re VALIS tw bdistiae see cee eae saelatereacns Revista do Instituto Historico. Rio de 
Janeiro, Brazil. 

Revaslbing? anise... sactaciocioge aetee.crree Revue de Linguistique, Paris. 

Reve Marie Coloniale: tertereroeei eters ae Revista Maritime et Coloniale. Paris. 

evan iitist camel atin eras cient Revista del Museo de La Plata. Argen- 
tina. 

Reva vinismPatilistamastecern cite a coi Revista do Museu Paulista, Brazil. 

Revesocs Cientabaragtiaye cs .ce- seeks Revista de la Sociedad Cientifica del Para- 
guay. Asuncion, Paraguay. 

Rev. Soc. Estud. Paraenses. .:......... Revista da Sociedade de Estudos Paraenses. 
Belém do Para, Brazil. 

Rev. Soc. Geogr. Rio de Janeiro........ Revista da Sociedade de Geografia do Rio 


de Janeiro. Brazil. 
653333—47—60 


908 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Rev. Trim. Hist. Geogr. Brasil......... Revista Trimensal de Histéria e Geo- 
graphia or Jornal do Instituto Histdérico 
e Geographico Brasileiro. Rio de Janeiro, 


Brazil. 

Rev. Prim, Inst. |\Cearas nsiogs't2sineiepecciat Revista Trimensal do Instituto do Ceara. 
Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. 

Rev. Univ. Buenos Aires............... Revista de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. 
Argentina. 

rev? Wniv: |Cuge0ng.:s daca dae aemeiine Revista Universitaria del Cuzco. Pert. 

Roy 450. AMHGQUATIES 1 ..0)26) ec) of evsre,e Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 
Dublin. 

Scot Geosh Mage ki. 0t sho pews i The Scottish Geographical Magazine. Edin- 
burgh, 

Smithsonian Misc: Coll jxcecd 8 sje are ohare Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 
Smithsonian Institution. | Washington, 
DE. 

SOCe cis MEUMCA. oayrstle.= ao nerinaanies Societas Scientiarum Fennica. Helsingfors. 
(See Finska Vetenskap Societeen. Hel- 
singfors.) 

Texas Agr. Exper. Station, Bull. ....... Texas Agricultural Experimental Station, 
Bulletin. 

Tijdsch. Ned. Aardr. Gen, ...........-. Tijdschrift van het Konink. Nederlandsch 
Aardrijkskundig Genootschap. Amster- 
dam. 

AUIS Lathes eee syelens fel a ciiearsisioveraetecds tos sake Timehri. The Journal of the Royal Agri- 


cultural and Commercial Society of 
British Guiana. Demerara, 


Trans. Ethnol,,Soc. London:....: i.4.... Transactions of the Ethnological Society 
of London. England. 
Miranis, oAamen Mil SOC.fas)<)5 i qo--.s ease teres Transactions of the American Philosophical 


Society. Philadelphia, Pa. 
Verhandl. d. Gesell. f. Erdkunde zu Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft fiir Erd- 


Berlin. kunde zu Berlin. 
Verhandl. d. Berliner Gesell, £. Anthrop., Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft 
Ethnol., u. Urgeschichte. fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie, und Ur- 
geschichte. 
Verhandl, Gesell. Deutsch. Natur. u. Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft Deutscher 
Arzte. Naturforscher und Arzte. Leipzig. 
Verhandl. Schweiz. Naturf. Gesell. ..... Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Na- 
turforschenden Gesellschaft. Zurich. 

Wastineton Acad: Sct.cjaccch «ses ennat Washington Academy of Sciences. 

Wel ttriV VISSER. Bi mcicin peenerae a aidovevaioere oe Welt und Wissen. Berlin 

BY ALLE Ey ta yoce:scs net ssebenasees acohspomneeenerepcrvede euoharegene Ymer. Tidskrift utg. af Svenska Sallskapet 
for Antropologi och Geografi, Stockholm, 
Sweden. 

Heitaethnols saccceracen: ceelse eee eae Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie. Berlin, Germany. 

Zeits £. Rassenkundes)..4%. ercc}a- cies sider Zeitschrift fiir Rassenkunde. Stuttgart. 

Zeit. £. Sexualwissenschaft............. Zeitschrift fiir Sexualwissenschaft und Sex- 
ualpolitik, Leipzig. 

Zeit. Gesell. £.. Erdicunde sofia sen ites Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde 
zu Berlin. 

Zeit. Missions. u. Religion. ........... Zeitschrift fiir missionswissenschaft und 


Religionwissenschaft. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 909 


ABBEVILLE, CLAUDE D’. 

1614. Histoire de la mission des péres Capucins en l’isle de Maragnan et terres 
circonvoisines, Paris. 

ABENDROTH, ROBERT. 3 

1871 a. Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Ucayali. Globus, vol. 19, No. 24, pp. 377- 

379. 
1871. b. Ein Menschenhaupt als Gé6tterbild bei den Jivaros-Indianern in 
Ecuador. Globus, vol. 19, No. 20, pp. 317-318. 
ABREU, JOAO CAPISTRANO DE. 

1895. Os Bacaeris. Rev. Brasil., 1st anno, Nos. 3 and 4. (Reprinted in 
“Ensaios e estudos,” 3a Serie, Rio de Janeiro, 1938.) 

1914. Ra-txa hu-ni-ku-i, a lingua dos caxinauas do rio Ibuagu, affluente do 
Maru (prefeitura de Tarauaca). Rio de Janeiro, 

1938. Os Caxinauas. Jn “Ensaios e estudos (critica e historia),” 3a Serie, pp. 
275-357. Rio de Janeiro. 

ACCIOLI DE CERQUEIRA E SILvA, IGNACIO. 

1833. Corografia paraénse, ou descrip¢ao, fisica, historica, e politica, da Provincia 

do Gram-Para. Bahia, 
AcuNA, CRISTOBAL DE. 

1641. Nuevo descubrimiento del gran rio de las Amazonas por el padre 
Christoval de Acufia . . . Al qual fue, y se hizo por orden se Su 
Magestad, el afio de 1639. Por La Provincia de Quito en los reynos 
del Peri... Impr. del reyno. Madrid. 

1682. Relation de la riviere des Amazones. Traduite par feu M. de Gomberville 
de l’Academie francoise. 2 vols. Paris. 

1698. A relation of the great river of Amazons in South America. Containing 
all the particulars of Father Christopher d’Acugna’s voyage, made at 
the command of the King of Spain. Taken from the Spanish original 
of the said Chr. d’Acugna, Jesuit. Jn Voyages and discoveries in South 
‘America . . . London. 

1891. Nuevo descubrimiento del gran rio de las Amazonas . . . Coleccién de 
libros que tratan de América, raros o curiosos, vol. 2. Madrid. 

ADALBERT, PRINCE OF PRUSSIA. 

1849. Travels of His Royal Highness Prince Adalbert of Prussia, in the south 
of Europe and in Brazil, with a voyage up the Amazon and Xingu. 
Trans. by Sir Robert H. Schomburgk and John Edward Taylor. 
(Trans. of author’s “Aus meinem reisetagebuch, 1842-43,” 1847.) 
2 vols. London. 

1857. Reise Seiner k6niglichen Hoheit des prinzen Adalbert von Preussen nach 
Brasilien. Nach dem tagebuche Seiner k6niglichen Hoheit mit héchster 
genehmigung ausztiglich bearb. und hrsg. von H. Kletke. (Second edi- 
tion of author’s “Aus meinem reisetagebuch, 1842-43,” 1847.) Berlin. 

ApAM, LUCIEN. 

1878. Examen grammatical comparé de seize langues américaines. Paris. 
(Extrait du Compte-rendu des travaux du Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 2, 
Luxembourg, 1877, vol. 2, pp. 161-244.) 

1879 a. Examen grammatical comparé de seize langues américaines. Congr. Int. 

Amer., sess. 3, Bruxelles, vol. 2, pp. 309-366. 
1879 b. Du parler des hommes et du parler des femmes dans la langue caraibe. 
Paris. 

1889. Notice grammaticale sur la langue mosetena. Rev. Ling. Paris, vol. 22, 

pp. 237-246, 


910 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


1890 a. Arte de la lengua de los indios antis o campas; . . . conforme al manu- 
scrito original hallado en la ciudad Toled por Charles Leclere con un 
vocabulario metodico i una introduccién comparativa por Lucien 
Adam. Bibl. Ling. Amér. Paris, vol. 13. 

1890 b. Trois familles linguistiques des bassins de l’Amazone et de l’Orénoque. 
Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 7, Berlin, 1888, pp. 489-497. 

1892 a. Langue Oyampi. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 8, Paris, 1890, pp. 610-612. 

1892 b. Langue Roucouyenne. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 8, Paris, 1890, pp. 612- 
614. 

1893. Matériaux pour servir a l’établissement d’une grammaire comparée des 

dialectes de la famille caribe. Bibl, Ling. Amér. Paris, vol. 17. 
1896. Matériaux pour servir a l’établissement d’une grammaire comparée des 
dialectes de la famille Tupi. Bibl. Ling. Amer. Paris, vol. 18. 
1897. Esquisse grammaticale et vocabulaire de la langue guaraouno. Congr. 
Int. Amer., sess. 11, Mexico, 1895, pp. 479-489. 
1897-98. Pronoms et indices personnels de l’Itonama. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, 
vol. 2, pp. 48-52. 
1905. Grammaire de l’Accawai. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s. vol. 2, pp. 43-90, 
209-240. 
See also Crevaux, Jules, Sagot, P., and Adam, L., 1882; and Cueva, R. P. 
de la, 1893. 
ApaAM, LucrENn, and Henry, VICTOR. 
1880. Arte y vocabulario de la lengua chiquita con algunos textos traducidos 
y explicados compuestos sobre manuscritos inéditos del XVIII° siglo. 
Bibl, Ling. Amér. Paris, vol. 6. 
ApAM, Lucren, and LECLERC, CHARLES. 
1880. Arte de la lengua de los Indios Baures de la Provincia de los Moxos 
conforme al manuscrito original del P. Antonio Magio. Bibl. Ling. 
Amér. Paris. vol. 7. 
AGUERRERERE, S. E. See EXPLORACION DE LA GRAN SABANA, 1939. 
AGutAr, FAUSTO AUGUSTO DE. 
1851. Relatorio do Presidente da Provincia de Gram Para... on August 15, 
1851... Para. 
AHLBRINCK, W. 
1922-25. De Karaib en zijn taal. Onze Missien in Oost en West-Indie, No. 5 
(1922), p. 233; No. 6 (1923), pp. 241, 392; No. 7: (1924), pp. 33, 
159; No. 8 (1925), pp. 20, 100, 177. 
1924. Carib life and nature. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 21, The Hague, pt. 1, 
pp. 217-225. 

1925-26. Over de Geesten en geestenberzweerders bij de Karaiben. Het Mis- 

siewerk. ’s-Hertogenbosch. Vol. 7, p. 144 ff. 

1931. Encyclopaedie der Karaiben, behelzend taal, zeden en gewoonten dezer 

Indianen, Verhandelingen der Koninklijke akademie van wetenschappen 
te Amsterdam, Afdeeling letterkunde, n.s., vol. 27, No. 1. 
Apis, MANUEL Marfa. 
1861. The Indians of Andaqui, New Granada. Bull. Amer. Ethnol. Soc., No. 1, 
pp. 53-72. 
ALBUM GEOGRAPHICO DO Estapo po Matto Grosso, 1914. 


ALBUQUERQUE LACERDA, ADOLFO DE BARROS. 
1864. Relatorio apresentado 4 Assembléia Legislativa da Provincia do Ama- 
zonas, etc., 1° de Outubro de 1864. Pernambuco. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 911 


AvcayYA, Drikco FELIPE DE. 

1906 a. Relacién del Padre Diego Felipe de Alcaya, Cura de Mataca. In Juicio 
de limites entre el Peri y Bolivia, vol. 9, pp. 124-144. See Maurtua, 
Victor M., 1906. 

1906 b. Informaciones hachas por Don Juan de Lizaraza sobre el discubri- 

miento de las Mojos. Jn Maurtua, Victor M., 1906, vol. 1, pp. 
124-144. 
ALDENBURGK, JOHANNES GREGORIUS. 

1627. West-Indianische Reisse, und Beschreibung der Belag- und Eroberung 
der Statt S. Salvador in der Bahie von Todos os Sanctos im dem 
Lande von Brasilia. Welches von anno 1623. bis ins 1626 verrichtet 
worden. Coburgk. 

1930. Reise nach Brasilien, 1623-1626. Neu herausgegeben nach der zu 
Koburg bei Friedrich Gruner im jahre 1627 erschienenen original- 
ausgabe. (Vol. 1 mm Reisebeschreibungen von deutschen beamten und 
kriegsleuten im dienst der Niederlandischen west und ost-indischen 
kompagnien, 1602-1797, hrag. von S. P. L’Honoré Naber.) Haag. 

ALEMANY, AcusTIiNn. 
1906 a. Castellano-shipibo ; vocabulario de bolsillo. Lima. 
1906 b. Castellano-piro; vocabulario de bolsillo. Lima. 
ALENCASTRE, JOAO MARTINS PEREIRA D’. 

1857. Memoria chronologica, historica e corographica da Provincia do Piauhy. 

Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 20, pp. 5-164. 
ALEXANDER, [CApPT.] JAMES Epwarp. 

1832. Notes of two expeditions up the Essequibo and Mazaroony rivers in 
1830 and 1831. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 2, pp. 65-72. 

1833. Transatlantic sketches comprising visits to the most interesting scenes 
in North and South America, and the West Indies. 2 vols. London. 

ALMANACH DE LIMA. See SouTHEY, Rosert, 1817-22, pp. 199-210. 
ALMEIDA PINTO, ANTONIO RODRIGUES. 

1906. O Bispado do Para. Annaes do Bibliotheca e Archivo Puiblico do Para, 

vol. 5. 
ALMEIDA PRADO, J. F. DE. 

1939. Primeiros povoadores do Brasil (1500-1530). Bibl. Pedag. Brasil., 

Serie 5a, Brasiliana, vol. 37, Sao Paulo. 
ALMEIDA SERRA, RICARDO FRANCO DE. 

1869. Navegacao do Rio Tapajéz para o Para (1779). Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 

9, pp. 1-16. 
ALTAMIRANO, DIEGO FRANCISCO. 

1891. Historia de la mission de los Médjos. Publicado por M. V. Ballivian. 

Doc. Hist. Bolivia, La Paz. 
ALTOLAGUIRRE Y DUVALE, ANGEL DE. 
1908. Relaciones geograficas de la gobernacién de Venezuela (1767-1768). 
Con proélogo y notas de D. Angel de Altolaguirre y Duvale. Madrid. 
ALVARADO, LISANDRO. 
1912. Ensayo sobre el caribe venezolano. Bol. Acad. Nac. Hist. Caracas, 
vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 43-67. 
1943, Glosario de voces indigenas de Venezuela. Caracas. 
1925. Venezuelan ethnology. Bull. Pan Amer. Union, vol. 59, pp. 223-231. 
ALVAREZ, JOSE. 

1941. Mitologia, tradiciones y creencias religiosas de los salvajes huarayos. 

Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 27, Lima, 1939, vol. 2, pp. 153-161. 


912 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ALVAREZ VILLANUEVA, FRANCISCO. 

1892. Relaciédn historica de todas las misiones de los P. P. Franciscanos en 
las Indias. Madrid. 

AMADOR DE Los Rios, José (EDITOR). See Oviepo y VaALpEs, GonzALO FERNANDEZ 
DE, 1851-55. 
AMBROSETTI, JUAN BAUTISTA. 

1893. Sobre una coleccién de Alfarerias Minuanes, recojidas en la Provincia 
de Entre-Rios. Bol. Inst. Geogr. Argentino, vol. 14, pp. 242-265. 

1894. Los Paraderos precolombianos de Goya (Provincia de Corrientes). 
Bol. Inst. Geogr. Argentino, vol. 15, pp. 401-422. 

1895 a. Los Indios Caingua del Alto Parana (Misiones). Bol. Inst. Geogr. 

Argentino, vol. 15, pp. 661-744. 
1895 b. Los cemeterios prehistéricos del Alto Parana (Misiones). Bol. Inst. 
Geogr. Argentino, vol. 16, pp. 227-257. 

1896. La leyenda del Yaguareté-aba (el Indio tigre) y sus proyecciones entre 
los Guaranies, Quichuas, etc. An. Soc. Cient. Argentina, vol. 41, 
pp. 321-334. 

1903. Cabeza humana preparada segtin el procedimiento de los indios jivaros, 
del Ecuador. An. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, ser. 3, vol. 2, pp. 519-523. 

AMEGHINO, FLORENTINO. 
1880-81. La antigiiedad del hombre en el Plata. 2 vols. Paris and Buenos Aires. 
AMICcH, Jose. 

1854. Compendio histérico de los trabajos, fatigas, sudores y muertes que los 
ministros evangélicos de la serafica religidn han padecido por la 
conversién de las almas de los gentiles en las montafias de los Andes, 
pertenecientes a las provincias del Peru . . . Paris. 

ANCHIETA, JoSE (JOSEPH) DE. 

1812. Epistola quamplurimarum rerum naturalium, quae S. Vincentii (nunc 
S. Pauli) provinciam incolunt, sistens descriptionem. Collecgao de 
noticias para a historia e geografia das nacgdes ultramarinas que vivem 
nos dominios portuguezés, ou lhes sao visinhas. Lisbon, vol. 1. 

1846. Informagio dos casamentos dos Indios do Brazil. Rev. Trim. Hist. 
Geogr. Brasil, vol. 8, pp. 254-262. 

1876-77. Cartas ineditas. An. Bibl. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 1, pp. 44-75, 

266-308 ; vol. 2, pp. 79-127. 
1877-78. Carta del Hermano Joseph que scriuio del Brasil a los padres y 
hermanos de Jesus en Portugal. An. Bibl. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, 
vol. 3, pp. 316-323. 
ANDERSON, C. WILGRESS. 
1909. The aboriginal Indians. Handbook of British Guiana (G. D. Bayley, 
ed.), pp. 105-114. Georgetown; London; Boston. 
ANDRE, EUGENE. 
1904. A naturalist in the Guianas. London; New York. 
ANGYONE CosTA, JoAo. 

1934. Introducdo 4 arqueologia brasileira. Etnografia e historia. (Bibl. Pedag. 
Brasil., ser. 5, Brasiliana, vol. 34.) Sao Paulo. (Second edition, Rio 
de Janeiro, 1938.) 

ANNAES Do BIBLIOTHECA E ARCHIVO PUstico po ParA. 

Vols. 1 and 2: Cartas Regias, etc. 
ANNUAE LITTERAE, 1589, a | 
ANONYMOUS. 

MS. a. Illustracgio necessoria e interessante relativa ao gentio da nagao Mura. 
1826. Documentos para a historia e ethnographia do Para copiados 
no Rio de Janeiro (Bibliotheca Nacional) pelo Dr. R. R. Schuller. 
1912. MS. no Museu Paraense. Part 2: Observagées addicionais. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 913 


MS. b. Vocabulario Portuguez—Lingua geral—Maué. Fragmento. Bibliotheca 
Nacional. Rio de Janeiro. (The author is probably the geologist 
Charles Frederick Hartt.) 
1856. Nova navagacao. 
AntHony, H. E. 
1921. The Jivaro Indians of Eastern Ecuador. Nat. Hist., vol. 21, pp. 146-159. 
APARICIO, FRANCISCO DE. 
1923. Un nuevo tipo de representaciones plasticas. Rev. Univ. Buenos Aires, 
vol. 51, pp. 94-106. 
1925. Un nuevo documento relativo a la colocacién de las asas zoomorfas en 
la ceramica del litoral paranense. Physis, vol. 8, pp. 244-249. 
1928. Notas para el estudio de la arqueologia del sur de Entre Rios. An. Fac. 
Cienc, Ed. Parana, vol. 3, p. 126. 
1928-29. Noticia sobre el hallazgo de cuentas de vidrio en un paradero indigena, 
caracterizado por la presencia de representaciones piasticas. 
Physis, vol. 9, p. 456. 
See also Frenguelli, Joaquin, and Aparicio, Francisco de, 1923. 
APPUN, KARL FERDINAND. 
1868-69. Unter den Guaratinos-Indianern. Das Ausland, vol. 41, pp. 793-796 
(Auf dem Orinoco), pp. 891-897 (In Zacupana) ; vol. 42, pp. 175- 
179, 204-208 (El Rey de los Guaratinos). 
1871. Unter den tropen. Wanderungen durch Venezuela, am Orinoco, durch 
British Guyana und am Amazonenstrome in den jahren 1849-1868 
2 vols. Jena, 
ARANHA, BENTO DE FIGUEIREDO TENREIRO. See FIGUEIREDO TENREIRO ARANHA, 
‘BENTO DE. 
ARAUJO BRUSQUE, FRANCISCO CARLOS DE. See BrRUSQUE, FRANCISCO CARLOS DE 
ARAUJO. 
ArcAaYA, PEDRO MANUEL. 
1920. Historia del estado Falcon. Caracas. 
Arcomosa, Don MANUEL ANTONIO DE. 
1906. Informe de Don . . ., Governador de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, sobre el 
estado de las misiones de Mojos y Chiquitos. 6 de Febrero de 1737. 
ARLET, STANISLAS. 


1781. Lettre du P. ..., de la Compagnie de Jésus, au Révérend Pére Général 
de la méme Compagnie. Jn Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, vol. 8, pp. 
39-51. 


ARMELLADO, CESAREO DE. 

1936. Bellezas del dialecto taurépan (lengua caribe). Bol. Acad. Venezolana, 

vol. 3, pp. 208-223. 
ARMENTIA, NIcoxAs. 

1887-88. Navegacién del Madre de Dios. Bibl. Boliv. Geogr. Hist., vols. 1 

and 2. La Paz. 

1902. Arte y vocabulario de la lengua Tacana, manuscrito del R. P. Fray 
Nicolas Armentia con introduccién, notas y apéndices por Samuel A. 
Lafone Quevedo. Rev. Mus. La Plata, vol. 10, pp. 63-172, 297-311. 
(See also Gili, Antonio, 1902.) 

1903. Relacién histérica de las misiones franciscanas de Apolobamba, por otro 
nombre, Frontera de Caupolican. La Paz. (Nicolas Armentia is sup- 
posed author.) 

1905. Descripcidn del territorio de las misiones franciscanas de Apolobamba, 
por otro nombre Frontera de Caupolican. Ed. Oficial. La Paz. 
(Nicolas Armentia is supposed author.) 


914 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


1906. Arte y vocabulario de la lengua Cavinefia, manuscrito del R. P. Fray 
. . . ordenado con notas por Samuel A. Lafone Quevedo. Rev. Mus. 
La Plata, vol. 13, pp. 1-120. 
ARQUIVOs DA DirEcTortIA DE INpios. 1848. Cuyaba. 
ARQUIVOs DA INSPECTORIA DO PaRA. See SERvICGO DE ProtEccAo aos INDIOs,... 
1942. 
ATLAS SHOWING MISSION FIELDS OF THE CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ATLLIANCE, 
Revised ed., New York, 1924. 
Aucusto MarQguEs, Cezar. See MARQUES, CEZAR AUGUSTO. 
Avé-LALLEMANT, ROBERT CHRISTIAN BERTHOLD. 
1859. Reise durch Siid-Brasilien im jahre 1858. 2 vols. Leipzig. 
1860. Reise durch Nord-Brasilien im jahre 1859. Leipzig. 
Ayres CARNEIRO, JOAO ROBERTO. 
1910. Itinerario da viagem da expedicao exploradora e colonizadora ao Tocan- 
tins em 1849. An. Bibl. Archiv. Pub. Para, vol. 7. 
AYRES DE CASAL, MANOEL. 
1817. Corografia brazilica, ou, Relacdo histérico-geographica do reino do 
Brazil ...2 vols. Rio de Janeiro. (Other editions 1845, 1943.) 
AYROSA, PLINIO. 
1943. Apontamentos para a bibliografia da lingua tupi-guarani. Universidade 
de Sao Paulo, Boletim 33. 
AzA, JosE Pio. 
1923 a. Tribus florestales del oriente peruano. Inca, vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 394-397. 
1923 b. Vocabulario espafiol-machiguenga. Lima. 
1924. Vocabulario espafiol-machiguenga. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 41, pp. 


41-78. 
AZARA, FELIX DE. 
1809. Voyages dans l’Amérique Méridionale .. . 4 vols. Paris. 
1904. Geografia fisica y esférica de las provincias del Paraguay, y misiones 
guaranies....En la Asuncién del Paraguay. Ano de MDCCXC. 


(Manuscrito en la Biblioteca nacional de Montevideo.) Bibliografia, 
prologo y anotaciones por Rodolfo R. Schuller. Montevideo. 
Bacu, Moriz. 

1838. Das land Otuquis in Bolivia. Nach einem originalberichte des herrn 
Moriz Bach...mit beziehung auf allgemeine sitidamerikanische 
verhaltnisse beschrieben von Dr. Georg Ludwig Kriegk. Frankfurt am 
Main. 

1929. Descripcién de la nueva provincia de Otuquis en Bolivia. (3rd ed.) 
asPaz: 

Bapariott1, NICOLAO. 

1898. Exploragao no Norte do Matto Grosso. Regido do Alto Paraguay e 
planalto dos Parecis. Apuntamentos de Historia natural, Ethnographia, 
Geographia e impressoes. Sao Paulo. 

BaENA, ANTONIO LapisLAu Montetro. See Monteiro BAENA, ANTONIO LADISLAU. 
BAENA, MANOEL. 

1839. Ensaio Corographico sobre o Para. Para. 

1885. Informacdes sobre as Comarcas da Provincia do Para. Para. 
BaxkHuls, L. A. 

1902. Verslag der Coppename-Expeditie. 

1908. De sde wetenschappelijke Expeditie naar het binnenland van Suriname. 
Tijdsch. Ned. Aardr. Gen., vol. 25, pp. 94-113. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 915 


BaLpus, HERBERT. 
1929. Ligeiras notas sobre os indios Guaranys do littoral paulista. Rev. Mus. 
Paulista, vol. 16, pp. 83-95. 
1935. Ligeiras notas sobre os Indios Tapirapés. Rev. Arq. Mun. Sao Paulo, 
vol. 16. 
1937. Ensaios de etnologia brasileira. Sao Paulo. 
BALEN, WILLEM JULIUS VAN. 
1930. Inca’s in Suriname? De West-Indische Gids, vol. 12, pp. 353-359. Amster- 
dam, s’Gravenhage. 
BALLET, J. 
1875. Les Caraibes. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 1, Nancy, vol. 1, pp. 394-438. 
BatiiviANn, M. V. See EXPLORACIONES Y HIDROGRAPHICAS DE LOS Rf0S DEL NORTE 
DE BoLiviA; also RELACION Y DESCRIPCION DE LAS MISIONES . . . DE APOLOBAMBA. 
BaLLtOn LANDA, ALBERTO. 
1917. Los hombres de la selva; apuntes para un ensayo de sociologia aplicada. 
Tesis doctoral, Universidad mayor de San Marcos. Lima. 
BALTASAR DE LODARES, PADRE. See LODARES, BALTASAR DE. 
Bauzan, LUvIGcI. 
1894. Un po’ pit di luce sulla distribuzione di alcune tribu indigene della parte 
centrale dell’America meridionale. Archiv. Antrop. Etnol., vol. 24, 
pp. 17-29. 
BANCROFT, EDWARD. 
1769. An essay on the natural history of Guiana, in South America... 
London. 
BaArRBoSA RopriGuEs, JOAo. 
1872. Os Indios Tembé. Revista da Exposigao de Anthropologica Brasileira. 
Rio de Janeiro. 
1875 a. Exploracado e estudo do valle do Amazonas. Rio de Janeiro. 
1875 b. Exploracaéo do Rio Jamunda. Rio de Janeiro. 
1875 c. Exploragao dos Rios Urubu e Jatapo. Ministerio de Agricultura, 
Commercio, e Obras Publicas. Rio de Janeiro. 
1875 d. Idolo amazonico, achado no rio Amazonas. Rio de Janeiro. 
1879. Antiguidades do Amazonas. Rio de Janeiro. 
1882 a. Munduruct. Revista de Exposigao de A1-thropologica Brazileira. 
Mello Moraes Filho, ed. Rio de Janeiro. 
1882 b. A Emancipacao dos Mauhés. Revista da Exposigao Anthropologica 
Brazileira dirigida e collaborada por Mello Moraes Filho. Rio de 
Janeiro. 
1882 c. Tribu dos Ticunas. Revista da Exposigéo Anthropologica Brazileira 
dirigida e collaborada por Mello Moraes Filho. P. 52. Rio de 
Janeiro. 
1882 d. Muirakitan precioso coeva do homem anti colombiano. Rio de 
Janeiro. 
1885. Rio Jauapery. Pacificagao dos Crichanas. Rio de Janeiro. 
1892 a. Antiguidades do Amazonas, Velloria. Contrib. Mus. Bot. Amazonas, 
vol. 2. 
1892 b. A Necropole de Mirakanguera. Velosia, II. (2nded.) Rio de Janeiro. 
1899. O muyrakyta e os idolos symbolicos; estudo da origem asiatica da civili- 
zacao do Amazonas nos tempos prehistoricos. Rio de Janeiro. 
Barco CENTENERA, MARTIN DEL. 
1836. La Argentina, o la conquista del Rio de la Plata, poema historico... 
In Angelis, Pedro de. Coleccién de obras y documentos relativos 4 la 
historia . . . del Rio de la Plata, vol. 2. Buenos Aires. 


916 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.BE. Bull. 148 


1912. La Argentina; poema histérico. Reimpresiédn facsimilar de la primera 
edicién, Lisboa, 1602; precedida de un estudio del doctor Juan Maria 
Gutiérrez y de unos apuntes bio-bibliograficos de Don Enrique Pefia. 
Buenos Aires. 
BARLAEUS, CASPAR (KASPAR VAN BAERLE). 
1647. Casparis Barlaei rerum per Octennium in Brasilia et alibi nuper gesta- 
rum, sub praefectura illustrissimi comitis I. Mauritii Nassoviae, etc. 
... historia. Amstelodami, (Dutch tr., ’s Gravenhage, 1923; Portu- 
guese trans., Rio de Janeiro, 1940.) 
BARNUEVO, Roprico. 
1942. Relacién apologética, asi del antiguo como nuevo descubrimiento del rio 
de las Amazonas hecho por los religiosos de la Compafiia de Jess en 


Quito . . . Quito. 
Baro, RovuLox. 
1651. Relation du voyage de.. ., interpréte et ambassadeur ordenaire de la 


compagnie des Indes d’Occident, de la part des illust. seigneurs des 
Provinces unies au pays des Tapuies dans la terre ferme du Brasil. 
Traduit d’hollandois en francois par Pierre Moreau de Paray... 
Paris. Ed. by M. Morisot. (This relation forms the second part of 
“Relations veritables et curieuses d’isle de Madagascar et du Brasil . . .” 
Paris. ) 

Barrace, FATHER. Jn LETTRES EDIFIANTES ET CURIEUSES .. ., 1780-83. 

BARRERE, PIERRE. 

1743. Nouvelle relation de la France équinoxiale, contenant la description des 
cétes de la Guiane; de l’isle de Cayenne; le commerce de cette colonie; 
les divers changements arrivés dan ce pays; et les moeurs et cotitumes 
des différents peuples sauvages qui l’habitent. (Piget) Paris. 

Bates, HENRY WALTER. 

1863. The naturalist on the river Amazons... London. (Other editions pub- 

lished in 1864 and 1892.) 
BAUMGARTEN, JOHANNES, COMP. 

1882. Abenteurerleben in Guyana und am Amazonas nach selbsterlebnissen von 
Emil Carrey, Bouyer, Jusselain, Agassiz u. a. 2., bedeutend erweiterte 
und vollstandig umgearb. aufl. von Robin Jouet’s fahrten und erlebnisse 
in den urwaldern von Guyana und Brasilien. Stuttgart. (Originally 
published under title: Robin Jouet’s abenteurerliche fahrten und erleb- 
nisse in den urwaldern von Guyana und Brasilien . . . Stuttgart, 1877.) 

Bauve, ADAM DE, and Ferré P. 
1833-34. Voyage dans l’interieur de la Guyane. Bull. Soc. Geogr., Ist ser., vol. 
20, pp. 201-226, 265-282; 2nd ser., vol. 1, pp. 105-144, 165-178. 
BAYERN, THERESE PRINZESSIN VON. 

1908. Reise studien aus dem Westlichen Siidamerika. Vol, 1. Bringt einiges 
tiber die Chiwaro, auch Abbildungen. Berlin. 

BéCHAMEL, Francors. See LaBat, JEAN Baptiste, 1730, vol. 3, pp. 134-350, and 
vol. 4, pp. 345-424. 

BE&CHAMEL, FRANCors, and GrRILLET, JEAN. See GRILLET, JEAN, and BECHAMEL, 
FRANCOIS. 

BEEBE, Mary Brarr, and BEEBE, CHARLES WILLIAM. 

1910. Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expedi- 

tions to Venezuela and to British Guiana. New York. 
BELLIn, JAcQuEs NICOLAS. 
1763. Description géographique de la Guiane . . . Paris. 
BENJAMINS, H. D. 
1924-25. Iets over den ouden handel met de Indianen in Guiana. De West 
Indische Gids, vol. 7, pp. 179-186. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 917 


BENNETT, WENDELL CLARK, 

1936. Excavations in Bolivia. Anthrop. Pap. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 35, 

pp. 329-507. 
BEwoItT, PIERRE JACQUES. 

1839. Voyage a Surinam; description des possessions néerlandaises dans la 

Guyane. Bruxelles. 
BERKEL, ADRIAAN VAN. 

1695. Amerikaansche voyagien, behelzende een reis na rio de Berbice, gelegen 
op het vaste land van Guiana, aande wilde-kust van America, mitsgaders 
een andere na de colonie van Suriname, gelegen in het noorder deel 
van het gemelde landschap Guiana. Amsterdam. 

1789. Beschreibung seiner Reisen nach Rio de Berbice und Surinam. Memmingen. 

BERNARDINO DE Souza, Coneco Francisco. See Souza, Coneco Francisco Ber- 
NARDINO DE. 
BERNAU, JOHN Henry. 
1847. Missionary labours in British Guiana . . . London. 
BErREDO, BERNARDO PEREIRA DE. 

1905. Annaes historicos do estado do Marahaé, em que se da’ noticia do seu 
descobrimento, e tudo o mais que nelle tem succedido desde o anno 
em que foy descuberto até o de 1718. Maranha6d. (lst ed. 1749; 2nd 
ed. 1849.) 

Bertoni, Morsés SANTIAGO. 

1920. La lengua guarani como documento histérico ... Puerto Bertoni, Alto 
Parana, Paraguay. 

1922. La civilizacién guarani. Alto Parana, Paraguay. 

BETTENDORF, JOAO FILIPpPe. 

1910. Chronica da missio dos padres da Companhia de Jesus no estado do 

Maranhiao. Rio de Janeiro. 
BeucHat, Henri, and Rivet, PAUvL. 

1908. La famille linguistique Zaparo. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n. s., vol. 5, 
No. 2. 

1909. La famille linguistique Cahuapana. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 41, pp. 616-634. 

1909-10. La langue Jibaro ou Siwora. Anthropos, vol. 4, pp. 805-822, 1053- 
1064; vol. 5, pp. 1109-1124. 

1911. La famille Betoya ou Tucano. Mem. Soc. Ling. Paris, vol. 17, pp. 117- 
136, 162-190. 

BEYERMAN, J. J. 
1934-35. De Nederlandsche Kolonie Kerbice in 1771. De West Indische Gids, 
vol. 15, pp. 313-317. 
BIBoLotti, BENIGNO, 

1917. Moseteno vocabulary and treatises, .. . from an unpublished manuscript 
in possession of Northwestern University library, with an introduction 
by Rudolph Schuller. Evanston and Chicago. 

Bret, ANTOINE, 

1664. Voyage de la France equinoxiale en l’isle de Cayenne, entrepris par les 
Francois en l’anne’e MDCLII .. . Paris. 

1896. Les Galibis, tableau véritable de leurs moeurs, avec un vocabulaire de 
leur langue. Rev. et pub. par Aristide Marre. Paris. (Extrait de 
Rev. Ling., July and Oct. 1896, and a reprint of part 3 of author’s 
“Voyage de la France equinoxiale en l’isle de Cayenne,” Paris, 1664.) 


918 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


BicorRE, FRANCOIS. 

1916. Les Missions catholiques. Lyon. Vol. 48, pp. 414-416, 430-432, 441-442, 
448-450, 465-466, 478-480, 488-490, 501-504, 513-516, 524-527. 

1917. Chez les sauvages Tapirapés. Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, vol. 
89, No. 531, pp. 110-122. 

BINGHAM, HIRAM. 

1914 a. Along the uncharted Pampaconas. Harper’s Magazine, August 1914. 

1914 b. The Pampaconas river. Geogr. Journ., vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 211-214. 
BLANCHARD, M. R. 

1882. Flute des Galibis. Bull. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 3rd ser., vol. 5, pp. 652-653. 
BLANCO-FoOMBONA, RUFINO. 

1915-16. Tribus del alto Orinoco. Las Americas, vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 26-28. 
Branco, Jose Marfa. 

1931. Los martires del Caaro e Yjuhi; compendio de la historia de los padres 
Roque Gonzales de Santa Cruz, Alonso Rodriguez y Juan del Castillo, 
primeros martires de las misiones guaraniticas. Buenos Aires. 

BoppAM-WHETHAM, JOHN WHETHAM. 

1879. Roraima and British Guiana, with a glance at Bermuda, the West 

Indies, and the Spanish Main. London. 
BopE, KLAuDIUS. 

1918. Die Tupistamme und ihre Sprache in der Capitania S. Vincente 
(Sao Paulo). Korrespondenz-Blatt der Deutschen Gesellschaft ftir 
Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte. Braunschweig, 49 
Jahrg, pp. 51-58. 

BoEKHOuDT, W. 
1874. “Uit mijn verleden.” Bijdrage tot de kennis van Suriname. Winschoten. 
BOLINGBROKE, HENRY. 

1807. A voyage to the Demerary, containing a statistical account of the 
settlements there, and of those on the Essequebo, the Berbice, and 
other contiguous rivers of Guyana. London. 

Bo.fvar, GREGORIO DE. 

1906. Relacion de la entrada del Padre Fray Gregorio de Bolivar en compafiia 
de Diego Ramirez de Carlos, 4 las provincias de indios Chunchos, 
en 1621. In Maurtua, Victor M., 1906, vol. 8, pp. 205-237. 

BoLLAERT, WILLIAM. 

1860. Antiquarian, ethnological, and other researches in New Granada, 
Equador, Peru and Chili, with observations on the pre-Incarial, 
Incarial, and other monuments of Peruvian nations. London 

1863. On the idol head of the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador exhibited... . 
Trans. Ethnol. Soc. London, n.s., vol. 2, pp. 117-118. 

See also Raimondi, Antonio, 1863. 
BonAPARTE, RoLAND NAPOLEON, PRINCE. 

1884. Les habitants de Suriname: notes recueillies a l’exposition coloniale 
d’Amsterdam en 1883. Paris. 

BoneLann, A. See HuMBoLDT, ALEXANDER VON, and BoNPLAND, A. 
Borsa, TELEMACO MorociNEs. 
1904. Observagdes sobre os indigenas do Estado do Parana. Rec. Mus. 
Paulista, vol. 6, pp. 53-62. 
Borja, ANTONIO. 
1881-97. In Rel. Geogr. Indias, vol. 3, pp. 120-126. 
Boscu, GEVARDUS-BALTHASAR. 
1829-43. Reizen in West-Indié .. . 3 vols. Utrecht. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 919 


BoscH Reitz. See LA Borne, PERE DE, 1886. 
Bossi, BARTOLOME. 
1863. Viage pintoresco por los rios Parana, Paraguay, S"® Lorenzo, Cuyaba 
y el Arino tributario del grande Amazonas; con la descripcion de la 
Provincia de Matto Grosso... Paris. 
BRAZIL E GUYANA FRANCEZA. 
1899. Frontiéres entre le Brésil et la Guyane Francaise. Atlas contenant un 
choix de cartes antérieures au traité couclu a Utrecht le 11 avril 
1713 entre le Portugal et la France... Paris. 
1899-1900. Frontieres entre le Brésil et la Guyane Francaise. Mémoire 
présenté par les Etats Unis du Brésil au gouvernement de la 
Confédération Suisse ... Vol. 6, Paris. 
n.d. Mémoire contenant l’exposé des droits de la France dans la question des 
frontiéres de la Guyane Frangaise et du Brésil ... 
Breton, RAYMOND. 

1665. Dictionaire caraibe-francoise, meslé de quantité de remarques historiques 

pour l’esclairoissement de la langue. Auxerre. 

1666. Dictionaire frangois-caraibe (with Dictionaire caraibe-frangois). 

Auxerre. (A facsimile copy of this edition was published in Leipzig 
in 1900.) 
Brett, WILLIAM HENRY. 
1851. Indian missions in Guiana. London. 
1852. The Indian tribes of Guiana... New York. (Second edition pub- 
lished in London in 1868.) 

1880. Legends and myths of the aboriginal Indians of British Guiana. (In 

metrical form.) London. 

1900-02. A short grammar of the language of the Arawak Indians, British 
Guiana. Guiana Diocesan Magazine, Georgetown. 

n.d. a. Acawodio Indian language: First part of Genesis and the Gospel of 
St. Matthew, with supplementary extracts from other Gospels, in- 
cluding the parables of Our Lord. Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge. London. 

n.d. b. Simple questions on the historical parts of the Holy Bible for the 
instruction of the Acawodio Indians at the Missions in Guiana. 
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London. 

BRICENO-IRAGORRY, MARIO. 
1930. Notas sobre argueologia venezuelana. Caracas. 
Brinton, DANIEL G. 
1871. The Arawack language of Guiana in its linguistic and ethnological re- 
lations. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., ns., vol. 14, pt. 3, Art. 4, pp. 
427-444. 
1891. The American race: a linguistic classification and ethnographic descrip- 
tion of the native tribes of North and South America. New York. 
(Second edition published in Philadelphia in 1901.) 

1892 a. Further notes on the Betoya dialects; from unpublished sources. 
Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. 30, pp. 271-278. 

1892 b. Studies in South American native languages. Proc. Amer. Philos. 
Soc., vol. 30, pp. 45-105. 

BROEKHUYSEN, W. N., and OTHERS, EpirTors. 
1926. Van Nieuw-Guinee tot Curacao. Wageningen. 
Brown, CHARLES BARRINGTON. 
1873. Indian picture writing in British Guiana. Journ. Roy. Anthrop Inst., 
vol. 2, pp. 254-257. 
1876. Canoe and camp life in British Guiana. London. 


920 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


Bruninc, Hans H. 
1928. Reisen im Gebiet der Aguaruna. Baessler-archiv., vol. 12, pp 46-85. 
BRUSQUE, FRANCISCO CARLOS DE ARAUJO. 

1862. Relatério apresentado 4 Assembléa Legislativa da Provincia do Para 
em 1° de Setembro de 1862. Para. 

1863. Relatério apresentado 4 Assembléa Legislativa da Provincia do Paraé 

. pelo Sr. Presidente da Provincia, ..., em 1° de novembro de 
1863. Para. 
BuENo, RAMON. 

1933. Apuntes sobre la provincia misionera de Orinoco e indigenas de su 
territorio, con algunas otras particularidades. Los publica, con un 
prologo, Mons. Nicolas E. Navarro. Caracas. 

BureELa, J. BENJAMIN. 

1912. Contribucién al estudio de la etnografia boliviana; distribucién geogra- 
fica de los indigenas actuales del departamento de Santa Cruz. Congr. 
Int. Amer., sess. 17, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 447-458. 

BurcEs, FRANCOIS. 

1781. Etat des missions des péres Jésuites de la province du Paraguay, parmi 
les Indiens de l’Amérique méridionale appellés Chiquites, et de celles 
qu’ils ont étabiles sur les riviéres de Parana et Uruguay dan le méme 
continent. Tiré d’un mémoire espagnol envoyé a Sa Majesté Catho- 
lique par le pére Francois Burges, de la Compagnie de Jésus, procureur- 
ate: de la province du Paraguay. Jn Lettres édifiantes et curieuses 

. vol. 8, pp. 337-373. Paris. (Also in Lettres édifiantes et 
curieuses, vol. 5, pp. 205-227, Lyon, 1819.) 
Burr, GeorGe LINCOLN. 

1897. Report of the evidence of the Dutch archives as to European occupa- 
tion and claims in Western Guiana. U. S. Commission on Boundary 
between Venezuela and British Guiana, vol. 1, Historical. Washington. 

BuSCHAN, GEORG. 
1914-16. Die Sitten der Volker ...3 vols. Stuttgart. See also Krickeberg, 
Walter, 1922. 
BusHNELL, Davi I., Jr. 

1910. The bows and arrows of the Arawak in 1803. Man, vol. 10, No. 2, 

pp. 22-24. 
CABALLERO, LUCAS. 

1933. Relacién de las costumbres y religidn de los indios manasicas, .. . 
Estudio preliminar y edicién del ms. de 1706 por Manuel Serrano y 
Sanz. Madrid. 

CABELLO DE BALBOA, MIGUEL. 

1906. Carta del P. ... al Virrey, Marqués de Cafiete, sobre la conversion de 
los indios Chunchos. 11 de setiembre de 1594. Published in Juicio 
de limites entre el Peri y Bolivia, vol. 8, pp. 140-146. See Maurtua, 
Victor M., 1906. 

CABEZA DE VacA, ALvAR NuNeEz. . See HERNANDEZ, PEpRo, 1852 and 1891. 
CAITANO DA SILVA, J. 

1861. L’Oyapoc et Amazon. 2 vols. Paris. 
CALDAS, JoAO AUGUSTO. 

1887. Memoria historica sobre os indigenas da Provincia de Matto-Grosso... 
Rio de Janeiro. 

CALTUNAR, HERMANN. See RoMANO, SANTIAGO, and CALTUNAR, HERMANN, 1916. 
Catvo, Vic. See PALLARES, FERNANDO, and CALvo, VIc. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 921 


CAMPANA, DOMENICO DEL. 

1902. Notizie intorono ai Ciriguani. Archiv. Antrop. Etnol., vol. 32, pp. 17-139. 
1904-06. L’arte plumaria dei Munduructi (Brasile). Archiv. Antrop. Etnol., 
vol. 34-36, pp. 177 ff. 

CAMPBELL, W. H. See Hotmes, Sir W. H., and CampseLt, W. H., 1858. 

CapPELo, JoAguin. See ZAvALA, MIGUEL J., 1895 b. 

CAPISTRANO DE ABREU, JoAO. See ABREU, JOAO CAPISTRANO DE. 

CaPITAN, L. 

1882. Sur les procédés qu’emploient les Galibis pour la fabrication de la 
poterie. Bull. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 3rd ser., vol. 5, pp. 649-651. 
CAPPELLE, HERMAN VAN. 
1903. De biennenlanden van het district Nickerie. Baarn. 
CARDIEL, JOSE, 
1900. Declaracién de la verdad. Buenos Aires. 

CARDIM, FERNAO. 

1939. Tratados da terra e gente do Brasil. (Bibl. Pedag. Brasil., Serie 5a. 
Brasiliana, vol. 168.) Rio de Janeiro. 

Carpus, Jose. 

1886. Las misiones Franciscanas entre los infieles de Bolivia; descripcion del 
estado de ellas en 1883 y 1884 . . . Barcelona. 
See also Lafone-Quevedo, Samuel A., 1905. 

CARRASCO, FRANCISCO. 

1901. Principales palabras del idioma de las cuatro tribus de infieles: Antis, 
Piros, Conibos y Sipibos. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 11, pp. 205-211. 

CARROCERA, CAYETANO DE. 

1935. Las lenguas indigenas de Venezuela y su classificacién por familias. 
Revista de Espafias, vol. 10, pp. 316-321. Madrid. 

CARTAS ANUAS DE LA PROVINCIA DEL PARAGUAY, CHILE Y TUCUMAN DE LA 
CoMPANIA DE Jesus, (Vol. 1, 1609-14; vol. 2, 1615-37.) Documentos para la 
historia argentina, t. 19-20. Iglesia. 

1927-29. Publicadas por el Instituto de investigaciones historicas. Buenos 
Aires. 

Cartas Recias. See ANNAES DO BIBLIOTHECA ... 

CARTILLA Y CATECISMO NOVISIMO DE LA DOCTRINA CRISTIANA EN EL IDIOMA DE LOS 
INDIOS DE GUARAYOS, CON EL CASTELLANO AL FRENTE, POR EL R. P. PREFECTO DE 
AQUELLAS MISIONES. SUCRE, 1889. 

CARVAJAL, GASPER DE. See MEDINA, José TortBio, 1934. 

CARVAJAL, JACINTO DE, 

1892. Relacién del descubrimiento del rio Apure hasta su eee fen al Orinoco 
. Leon. 
CASEMENT, ROGER. "® 
1912. The Putumayo Indians. The C /sntemporary Review, vol. 102, pp. 317- 
328. London. \ 
CASTELLVi, MARCELINO DE. 
1938. La lengua Kofan. Journ. Soc. Ameér. Paris jn.s.j vol 30, pp. 219-233. 
See also Igualada, Francisco de, and Castellvi, Marce fino de, 1940. 
CASTELNAU, FRANCIS DE. 
1850-59. Expédition dans les parties centrales de l’Amérique hie Su 
de Janeiro 4 Lima, et de Lima au Para; exécutée par oru. 
gouvernement francais pendant les années 1843 4 1847. 14 vols. 
in 16. (Part I, Histoire du voyage. 6 vols. 1850-51.) Paris. 

CASTILLO, JOSEPH. 

1906. Relacién de la provincia de Mojos. Documentos para la historia geogra- 
fica de la Republica de Bolivia compilados y anotados por Manuel V. 


922 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Ballivian. Serie primera. Epoca colonial, vol. 1, Las Provincias de 
Mojos y Chiquitos. La Paz. 
Castro, MIGUEL JoAo DE, and FrANGA, ToME DE. 
1868. Diario de viagem que fizeram os capitaes .. . Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 31, 
pt. 1, pp. 107-160. 
Castrucci [DE VERNAZZA], GUISEPPE EMANUELE. 
1849. Viaje practicado desde el Callao hasta las misiones de las dos tribus de 
infieles Zaparos y Jivaros. Lima. 
1854. Viaggio da Lima ad alcune trib barbare del Pert: e lungo il fiume 
delle Amazoni. Genova. 
CATALOGUE OF CONTRIBUTIONS TRANSMITTED FROM BritISH GUIANA TO THE LONDON 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Georgetown, Demerara. 1867. 
CATECISMO DE LA DOCTRINA CRISTIANA EN GUARAYO Y CASTELLANO. Yotau. 1916. 
CATHREIN, VICTOR (VIKTOR). 
1914. Die Einheit des sittlichen Bewusstseins der Menschheit. Vol. 3, pp. 
49-55. Freiburg. 
CATTUNAR, HERMANN. See RoMANO, SANTIAGO, and CaTTrUNAR, HERMANN. 
CAULIN, ANTONIO, 
1779. Historia coro-graphica natural y evangelica de la Nueva Andalucia, 
provincias de Cumana, Guayana, y vertientes del rio Orinoco. Madrid. 
(Another edition published in Caracas in 1841.) 
CazaL, MANOEL AYRES DE. See AYRES DE CASAL, MANOEL. 
CERQUEIRA E SitvaA, IcnNacto AccroLt DE. See ACCIOLI DE CERQUEIRA E SILVA, 
IGNACIO. 
CHAFFANJON, JEAN. 
1887. Sur quelques peupladre de la regidén de l’Orénoque. Archiv. Soc. Amer. 
France, n.s., vol. 5, pp. 189-203. 
1889. L’Orénoque et le Caura; relation de voyages exécutes en 1886 et 1887. 
CHAMBERLAIN, ALEXANDER F., 
1907. South American linguistic stocks. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 15, Quebec, 
1906, vol. 2, pp. 187-204. 
1910. Sur quelques familles linguistiques peu connues ou presques inconnues 
de l’Amérique du Sud. Journ. Soc. Amér, Paris, n. s., vol. 7, pp. 
179-202. 
1911. Recent literature of the South American Amazons. Journ. Amer. Folk- 
lore, vol. 24. 
1912. The linguistic position of the Pawumwa Indians of South America. 
Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol. 14, pp. 632-635. 
CHANDLEsS, VV. 
1862. Naes von the rivers Arinos, Juruena, and Tapajés. Journ. Roy. Geogr. 


é. pi vol. 32, pp. 26gbons 2 
a. ent of tae H ) 
6-118, ad bis, 
1866 b. Notes on the River /- Aquir>, the principal affluent of the river Purts. 
oum. Roy, @ Geogr. Soc., vol. 36, pp. 119-128. 
1869 a. Notes pf “ a journey up the River Juruda. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 
A hols 39, pp. 296-311. 
1869 b. Ascent of the River Purts. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 39, pp. 
86-118. 
1870. Notes on the rivers Maué-assi, Abacaxis, and Canuma, Amazons. 
Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 40, pp. 419-432. 
CHANTRE Y HERRERA, JOSE. 
1901. Historia de las misiones de la Compafiia de Jestis en el Marafion espafiol. 
(1637-1767). Madrid. 


“s. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 36, pp. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 923 


CHARLEVOIX, PIERRE FRANCOIS XAVIER DE. 
1757. Histoire du Paraguay. 6 vols. Paris. (Other eds. of this work pub- 
lished in London in 1769 and in Madrid in 1910-11.) 
CHoME, IGNACE. 
1819 a. Lettre du Pére Chromé, missionaire de la Compagnie de Jésus, au 
Pére Vanthiennen, de la méme Compagnie. Jn Lettres édifiantes et 
curieuses . . . Lyon. vol. 5, pp. 143-149. 
1819 b. Lettre du Pére Ignace Chomé, missionaire de la Compagnie de Jésus, 
au Pére Vanthiennen, de la méme Compagnie. In Lettres édifiantes 
et curieuses . . . Lyon, vol. 5, pp. 180-204. 
CHuRCH, GEORGE Ear. 
1898. Notes on the visit of Dr. Bach to the Catuquinarti Indians of Amazonas. 
Geogr. Journ., vol. 12, pp. 63-67. 
1901. Northern Bolivia and President Pando’s new map. Geogr. Journ., vol. 
18, pp. 144-153. 
1912. Aborigines of South America. London. 
CrpezzaA, MARCELLINO DA. See LAUREANO DE LA Cruz, 1900. 
CrprtAnI, César A. 
1902. Exploracién del Bajo Inambari por el ingeniero César A. Cipriani. In 
“Vias del Pacifico al Madre de Dios,” pp. 153-189. Lima. 
CISNEROS, JOSEPH LUIS DE. 
1912. Descripcién exacta de la provincia de Benezuela. Reproduccién de la 
edicién de Valencia, 1764. Madrid. 
CLarK, Hynde. 
1879. Note on the Zaparo vocabulary. Journ. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. Great 
Britain, Ireland, vol. 8, p. 227. 
CLAUDE D’ABBEVILLE. See ABBEVILLE, CLAUDE D’. 
CoELHO, JERONYMO FRANCISCO. 
1849. Falla dirigida 4 Assembléa Legislativa Provincial no dia 1° de Outubro 
de 1849. Para. 
CoHEN, Marcet. See MEtet, A., and CoHEN, Marcet, 1924; and Rivet, PAvL, 
1924. 
CoLetiI, GiovANNI DoMENICO. 
1771. Dizionario storico-geografico dell’America Meridionale. Venezia. 
Cotinr, GrusEPPI ANGELO. 
1883. Collezione etnogrifica degli indigene dell’ alto Amazzoni ... Roma. 
(Also in Bol. Soc. Geogr. Italiana, ser. 2, vol. 8, anno. 17, pp. 287 ff.) 
Cott, C. vAN. 
1903. Gegevens over land en volk van Suriname. Bijdragen tot de taal-’s- 
Gravenhage, land-en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 55, pp. 
451-640. 
1907. Contes et légendes des Indiens de Surinam. Anthropos, vol. 2, pp. 
682-689. 
CoLonEL Lasrét. See LaBrt, COLONEL. 
CoMENTARIOS DE ALVAR NUNEz CABEZA DE VACA. See HERNANDEZ, PEDRO, 1852. 
CoMMISSAO RONDON, PUBLICACAOES. 1911 and later. Rio de Janeiro. 
CONDAMINE, M. DE LA. 
1778. Relation abregée d’un voyage fait dans Jl’intérieur de 1l’Amérique 
méridionale. Maestricht. (Paris edition, 1745.) 
Conr, Emitio A. 
1925. Los Guaranies y el antiguo Tucuman. Rev. Univ. Buenos Aires, 2a 
serie, sec. 2, vol. 2, p. 17 ff. (Reprint No. 27.) 


653333—47—_61 


924 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CoNnsTANT and GRAS. 

MS. Journal du voyage que les Sieurs Constant et Gras ou fait par l’ordre de 
Monsieur Dorvilliers, Gourveneur de Cayenne et que nous avon exémté 
sout celui de Monsieur La Motte Aigron, Major el Commandant dudit 
lieu . . . Archivs Coloniales Collection Moveau de Sait-Mery. Paris. 

CONTRERAS, FRANCISCO, 
1924. Prefectura Apostdlica del Ucayali. Lima. 
CooKsEY, FATHER. 
1912. The Indians of the Northwest District. Temehri, 3rd ser., vol. 2, pp. 
327-335. 
Copazzi, Acustin. 
1841. Resumen de la geografia de Venezuela. Paris. 
Cérpova y SALINAS, DIEGO DE. 

1651. Cordnica franciscana de la religiosissima provincia de los Doze Apostoles 
del Pert, de la Ordén de N.P.S. San Francisco de la regular 
observancia. Lima. 

CorEAL, Francots [FRANCISCO]. 

1722. Voyages de Francois Coreal aux Indes Occidentales, contenant ce qu'il 
y a vu de plus remarquable pendant son séjour depuis 1666. jusqu’en 
1697... .2 vols. Paris. (Other eds. Amsterdam, 1722, 3 vols.; 
Amsterdam, 1738, 3 vols.; Bruxelles, 1736, 2 vols.) 

Cornejo, Martano H., and Osa, FELIPE DE. 

1905. El Peri admite al agente diplomatico del nuevo Estado def Ecuador.— 
Afio 1831. Documentos anexos a la Memoria del Pert, vol. 1, pp. 
207-208. Anexo 28. 

Corrabo, ALESSANDRO Marta. 

1884. El Colegio franciscano de Tarija y sus misiones. Noticias hist6ricas 

recogidas por dos misioneros del mismo colegio. Quaracchi. 
See also, Giannecchini, Dorotéo. 
CorRREA DE MirANDA, MANOEL GOMES. 

1852. Falla dirigida 4 Assembléa Legislativa Provincial ... em 5 de Setembro 

de 1852. Manaus. 
CorTAMBERT, M. E. 

1861. Coup d’oeil sur les productions et sur les peuplades géophages et les 
autres populations des bords de l’Orénoque. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, 
ser. 5, vol. 1, pp. 208-220. 

Costa, ANGYONE. See ANGYONE CostTA, JoAo. 
Costa MARQUEZ, MANOEL ESPERDAO DA. 

1908. Regido oriental de Matto-Grosso. Rio de Janeiro. 
Costa PINHEIRO, MANOEL THEOPHILO DA. 

1915. Exploragao do Rio Juruena. Commissaéo das Linhas Telegraphicas 
Estrategicas de Mato Grosso ao Amazonas. Relatorio 3. Annexo 
No. I. Rio de Janeiro. 

CoupDREAU, HENRY ANATOLE, 
1883. Les richesses de la Guyane Francaise. Cayenne. 
1886 a. L’Amazonie. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Commerciale Paris, vol. 8, pp. 
122-164. 

1886 b. Voyage au Rio Branco, aux montagnes de la Lune, au haut Trombetta, 

mai 1884-avril 1885. Extract “Bull. Soc. Normande Geogr.”, Rouen. 

1886-87. La France équinoxiale. 2 vols. and Atlas. Paris. (Vol. 1. Etudes 

sur les Guyanes et l’Amazonie. 1886. Vol. 2. Voyage a travers 
les Guyanes et l’Amazonie. 1887. Atlas.) 

1891 a. Notes sur 53 tribus de Guyane. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, 7th ser., vol. 

12, pp. 116-132. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 925 


1891 b. Dix ans de Guyane... Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, 7th ser., vol. 12, pp. 
447-480. 

1892. Vocabulaires méthodiques des langues Ouayana, Aparai, Oyampi, 
Emérillon. Bibl. Ling. Amér, Paris, vol. 15. 

1893. Chez nos Indiens; quatre années dans la Guyane Francaise (1887-1891). 
Panis: 

1897 a. Voyage au Tapojoz, 28 juillet 1895-7 janvier 1896. Paris. 

1897 b. Voyage au Tocantins-Araguaya, 31 décembre 1896-23 mai 1897. Paris. 

1897 c. Voyage au Xingu, 30 mai 1896-26 octobre 1896. Paris. 

1899. Voyage au Yamunda, 21 janvier 1899-27 juin 1899. Paris. 


CoupREAU, OLGA. 


1900. Voyage au Trombetas, 7 aotit 1899-25 novembre 1899. (Apres des notes 
de carnet d’ Henri Coudreau.) Paris. 

1901. Voyage au Cumina, 20 avril 1900-7 septembre 1900. Paris. 

1903 a. Voyage a la Mapuera, 21 avril 1901-24 décembre 1901. Paris 

1903 b. Voyage au Maycurt, 5 juin 1902-12 janvier 1903. Paris. 

1903 c. Voyage au Rio Curud, 20 novembre 1900-7 mars 1901. Paris. 


CouRBOIN, ALBERT. 


1901. Chez les Indiens, notes et souvenirs d’un séjour dans l’Amazonie. Anvers. 
(Extrait du “Bulletin de la Societé royale de Geographie d’Anvers.”) 


CouRTEVILLE, ROGER. 


1938. Le Matto-Grosso. Paris. 


Covina, JoACHIM JosEPH. See Ropricues FERREIRA, ALEXANDRE, n.d. 
CréQgui-MontTForT, GEORGES DE, and RIVET, PAUL. 


1912. Linguistique bolivienne. Le groupe Otuké. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, 
n.s., vol. 9, pp. 317-337. 

1913 a. La famille linguistique Capakura. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 
10, pp. 119-171. 

1913 b. Linguistique bolivienne. Les dialectes pano de Bolivie. Le Muséon, 
n.s., vol. 14, pp. 19-78. 

1913 c. La langue Lapaéu ou Apolista. Zeit. Ethnol, vol. 45, pp. 512-531. 

1913 d. La langue Kani¢ana. Mém. Soc. Ling. Paris, vol. 18, pp. 354-377. 

1913 e. Linguistique bolivienne. Les affinités des dialectes Otuké. Journ. Soc. 
Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 10, pp. 369-377. 

1913 f. La langue Saraveka. Journ. Soc. Amér, Paris, n.s., vol. 10, pp. 497- 
540. 

1914 a. Linguistique bolivienne. La langue Kayuvava. Le Muséon, n.s., vol. 
15, pp. 121-162. 

1914 b. Linguistique bolivienne. La langue Mobima. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, 
n.s., vol. 11, pp. 183-211. 

1916. La langue Itonama. Mém. Soc. Ling. Paris, vol. 19, pp. 301-322; vol. 20, 

pp. 26-57. 

1917-20. Linguistique bolivienne. La langue Kayuvava. Int. Journ. Amer. 
Ling., vol. 1, pp. 245-265. 

1921-22. La famille linguistique Takana. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 13, 
pp. 91-102, 281-301; vol. 14, pp. 141-182. 


CrEVAUX, JULES NICOLAS. 


1879. Voyages d’exploration dans l’intérieur des Guyanes. Le Tour du Monde, 
vol. 37, pp. 337-416. 
1880-81. De Cayenne aux Andes. Le Tour du Monde, vol. 40, pp. 33-112; 
vol. 41, pp. 113-176. 
1882. Sur les Indiens Roucouyennes. Mém. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 2nd ser., 
vol. 2, pp. 250-258. 
1883. Voyages dans l’Amérique du Sud. Paris. 


926 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


CrévAux, JULEs Nicotas, Sacot, P., and ApAM, LUCIEN, 
1882. Grammaires et vocabulaires roucouyenne, arrouague, piapoco et d’autres 
langues de la région des Guyanes. Bibl. Ling, Amér. Paris, vol. 8, 
Crus, GASTAO. 
1930. A Amazonia que eu vi, Obidos-Tumucumaque. Rio de Janeiro. (1938 
ed. in Bibl. Pedag. Brasil, ser, 5a, Brasiliana, vol. 113. Rio de Janeiro.) 
Cruz, GUILHERME FRANCISCO DA. 


1874. Relatorio com que . . . passou a administragao da Provincia do Para 
ao exmo Sr. Dr. Pedro Vincente de Azevedo. 17 de Janeiro de 1874. 
Paras 


Cruz, LAUREANO DE LA. See LAUREANO DE LA CRUZ. 

CUADRO ESTADISTICO DE LAS TRIBUS DE LA MONTANA DEL PEru, segtin los informes 
enviados a la comisiOn central del censo, por los maestros de escuela y jefes de 
las guarniciones militares. Baluarte. Junio, 1940, pp. 8-9. Lima. 

CuERvo MARQUEZ, CARLOS. 

1893. Prehistorica y Viajes. Tierradentro, Los Paeces, San Agustin, El Llano, 
etc. Bogota. 

Cueva, R. P. bE La. 

1893. Principes et dictionnaire de la langue yuacare ou yurujure composés par 
le R. P. de la Cueva et publiés conformement au manuscrit de A. 
d’Orbigny. Bibl. Ling. Amér. Paris, vol. 16. 
CunnHA, José JoAQUIM DA. 


1852. Falla que... dirigiu 4 Assemblea Legislativa Provincial ... no dia de 
10 de Outubro de 1852. Para. 

1853. Falla que o exmo Snr... . Presidente da Provincia dirigiu 4 Assemblea 
Legislativa Provincial... no dia 15 de Agosto de 1853. Para. 


CuRRIER, CHARLES WARREN. 
1897. Origine, progrés et caractéres de la race caribe. Congr. Int. Amer., 
sess. 11, 1895, Mexico, pp. 504-511. 
Datton, HENry G. 
1855. The history of British Guiana. 2 vols. London. 
DANCE, CHARLES DANIEL. 
1876. Recollections of four years in Venezuela. London. 
1881. Chapters from a Guianese log-book . . . Georgetown, Demerara. 
DANIEL, JOAO. 
1840. Second part of the Treasure discovered on the Amazon River. Rev. 
Inst. Hist., vol. 2, pp. 329-364, 447-500. (Ed. in Portuguese pub. in 
1858.) 
1840-41. Parte segundo do thesouro descoberta no Rio Amazonas: Noticia 
geral dos indios seus naturaes, e de algumas nacdes em particular 
... Rey. Trim. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, vol. 2, pp. 329-364, 447-500; 
vol. 3, pp. 39-52, 158-183, 282-297, 422-441. 
DaRNAULT, P. 
1934. [Note on Galibis Indians of Guiana]. La Geogr., vol. 61, pp. 49-51. 
De GogjE, C. H. 
1906. Bejdrage tot de ethnographie der Surinaamsche Indianen. Int. Archiv. 
Ethnogr., Supplement to vol. 17. 
1908 a. Verslag der Taemaekhoemak-expeditie. Tejdsch. Ned. Aard. Ge- 
nootsch., vol. 25, pp. 945-1168. 
1908 b. Beitrage zur V6lkerkunde von Surinam. Int. Archiv. Ethnogr. 
1910. Etudes linguistiques Caraibes. Johannes Miiller. Verhandelingen der 
Koninkly ke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, Afdeeling 
Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks, deel 10, No. 3. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 927 


1924. Guayana und Carib tribal names. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 21, The 
Hague, pt. 1, pp. 212-216. 

1924-25. Karaiben an Guiana. De West-indische Gids, ’s Gravenhage Martinus 

Nijhoff, vol. 6, pp. 465-471. 
1928. The Arawak language of Guiana. Verhandelingen der Koninkly ke 
Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, Afdeeling Letterkunde, 
Nieuwe Reeks, deel 28, No. 2. 
1929. Mysterie-wijsheid bij de Karaiben. Rep. Kol. Wkbl., Maart 14, 1929, 
p: iZi: 
1929-30 a. A Ph. Penard, over Inwijding En Wereld-beschouwing der Karai- 
ben. Overdruk uit “De West-Indische Gids,” vol. 11, pp. 275- 
286. (Elfde Jaarang, No. 6, ’s Gravenhage Martinus Nijhoff.) 
1929-30 b. Het Merkwaardige Arrawaksch. Iverdruk uit “De West-Indische 
Gids,” vol. 11, pp. 11-28. (No. 1, March 1929, ’s Gravenhage 
Martinus Nijhoff.) 
1930. The inner structure of the Warau language of Guiana. Journ. Soc. Amér. 
Paris, vol. 22, pp. 33-72. 
1930-31. Het merkwaardige Warau. Rep. “De West-Indische Gids,” 12 Jr. No. 
1. ’s Gravenhage Martinus Nijhoff. Vol. 12, pp. 1-16. 

1931-32. Ouheden uit Suriname. Op zoek naar de Amazonen. De West- 
Indische Gids, deel 13, afl. 10-11, pp. 449-530. 

1932-33. Het merkwaardige Karaibisch. (Een ethnologisch verhaal voor den 
gewonen lezer). De West-Indische Gids, vol. 14, pp. 99-123. 

1934-35. Curiositeiten uit Guyana. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 16, pp. 72-76. 

1935. Fiinf Sprachfamilien Siidamerikas. Mededeelingen Konig. Akad. We- 
tensch., Afd. Letterkunde, deel 77, Ser. A, No. 5. 

1937. Laut und Sinn in Karibischen Sprachen. Sartryck source “Melanges de 
linguistique et de philologique offerts a Jacq. van Ginneken a l’occasion 
du soixantiéme anniversaire de sa naissance’ (21 avril 1937), pp. 
335-339, 

DELGADO, EULOGIO. 
1896-97. Vocabulario del idioma de las tribus Campas. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, 
vol. 5, pp. 445-457; vol. 6, pp. 96-105, 230-240, 347-356, 393-396. 
Detcapo, Evarista. See VERGARA Y VERGARA, JOSE Marfa, and DeLcapo, EveErIsTA. 
Detcapo O., E. See ExpLoraciON DE LA GRAN SaABANa, 1939. 
DENGLER, HERMANN. 
1926-32. Das Haar-Ausreissen bei den Ticuna-Indianer West-Brasiliens. Der 
Erdball. 6 vols. 1 year. 

n.d. O desenhista Hermann Dengler vizitou os Parintintin do Rio Madeira em 
1927 ou 1928. 

1928. Eine Forschungsreise zu den Kawahib-Indianern am Rio Madeiro. Zeit 
Ethnol., vol. 59. 

DENIS, FERDINAND. 

1823. La Guyane, ou histoire, moeurs, usages et costumes des habitans de cette 
partie de l’Amérique. 2 vols. Paris. 

1851. Une féte brésilienne célébrée 4 Rouen en 1850. Paris. 

DENIS, FERDINAND, and FAMIN, STANISLAS Marie CEsar. 
1837. Brésil, Colombie et Guyanes. Paris. 
DESCRIPGAO GEOGRAPHICA DA CAPITANIA DE MAtTTo Grosso. ANNO 1797, 
1857. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 20, pp. 185-292. 
DESCRIPCION DE LA PROVINCIA DE LOS QUIJOS. 
1881-97 (Written in 1577 by Don Diego de Ortegon.) Rel. Geogr. Indias, vol. 
1, pp. C-CXII. 


998 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


DESCRIPCION DE LAS MISIONES DE APOLOBAMBA, pertenecientes al obispado de La Paz, 
7A: 
DESCRIPCION DEL TERRITORIO DE LAS MISIONES FRANCISCANAS DE APOLOBAMBA, por 
otro nombre frontera de Caupolican. La Paz, 1905. 
Des Forest, Jesse. See Forest, JESSE DES. 
DEvuBER, ARNOLD. 
1926. Musikinstrumente und Musik der Aparai. Jn Speiser, Felix, Im Diister des 
brasilianischen Urwalds, pp. 320-322. Stuttgart. 
DEYROLLE, EMILE. 
1916. Notes d’anthropologie guyanaise. Les Indiens Maraouanes. Bull. Mém. 
Soc. Anthrop. Paris, ser. 6, vol. 7, pp. 153-164. 
Diaz CASTANEDA, CESAR. 
1923. Kunibo. Inca, vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 398-409. 
Diaz DE GuzMAN, RuI. 
1914. La Argentina; historia de las provincias del Rio de la Plata... An. 
Bibl., vol. 9. 
DICCIONARIO HISTORICO, GEOGRAPHICO E ETHNOGRAPHICO DO BRASIL . . . introducgao 
geral... vol. 1, Rio de Janeiro, 1922. 
DrecK, ALFRED. 
1912. Die Waffen der Naturvélker Siid-Amerikas. Mit 1 Karte. Inaugural- 
Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwiirde bei der Philosophischen 
Fakultat der Albertus-Universitat zu K6nigsberg i. Pr. Stallupdnen, 
1912. 
DinwippiE, Howarp B. 
1924. Ecuador: a missionary survey. New York. 
Dixon, Georce G. 
1895. Four months of travel in British Guiana. Geogr. Journ., vol. 5, pp. 
337-345. 
DoprizHorFeErR, [DopritzHOFER], MARTIN. 
1784. Historia de Abiponibus equestri, bellicosaque Paraquariae natione ... 
3 vols. Vienna. (Also pub. London, 1822.) 
DocTRINA CRISTIANA EN LA LENGUA JIVARA. Lima, 1903. 
Dont, Gustavo Luiz GUILHERME. 
1873. Descripgao dos rios Parnahyba e Gurupy. Maranhao. (Later edition 
pub. in 1939 in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.) 
DomincuEz, MANUEL. 
1918. El alma de la raza. Asuncion, 
DoMVILLE-FIFE, CHARLES WILLIAM. 
1924. Among wild tribes of the Amazons . . . London. 
Dorsey, GEorGE Amos. 
1898. A bibliography of the anthropology of Peru. Field Columbian Museum, 
Anthrop. ser., vol. 2, pp. 55-206. 
Ducci, ZACARfAS. 
1895. Diario de la visita a todas las misiones existentes en la reptiblica de 
Bolivia-America Meridional, praticada por el m.r. P. Sebastian Pifferi. 
Asis. 
Durr, RoBERT. 
1866. British Guiana. Glasgow. 
DumonttrR, F, A. C. 
1858. Iets over de bereiding van het Wourali-vergift door de Indianen. West- 
Indie, Part 2, pp. 286 ff. 
See also Focke, H. C., Landré, Dh., Sypestein, C. A. van, and Dumontier, 
F, A. C., 1855-58. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 929 


DuNHA, JOSE JoAQUIM DA. 
1853. Falla que o exmo. snr... . Presidente da Provincia dirigiu a Assembléa 
Legislativa Provincial ... August 15, 1853. Para. 
DuPont. 
1875. Les indigénes de la Guyane francaise. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 1, Nancy, 
vol. 1, pp. 392-394. 
DUTERTRE, JEAN BAPTISTE. 
1654. Histoire generale des isles de S. Christophe, de la Guadeloupe, de la 
Martinique, et autres dans l’Amérique. Paris. 
1667-71. Histoire generale des Antilles habitées par les Francois. 4 vols. Paris. 
(Revised ed. of 1654 ed.) 
Dyott, Grorce M. 
1929. The search for Colonel Fawcett. Geogr. Journ., vol. 74, pp. 513-542. 
1930. Man hunting in the jungle. Indianapolis. 
EBERHARDT, CHARLES C, 
1910. Indians of Pert. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 52, pp. 181-194, 
EBERLEIN, BALDOMERO. 
1915. La onomatologia corografica del Departamento de Santa Cruz. Bol. Soc. 
Geogr. Hist. Santa Cruz, 12th year, vol. 5, No. 19. 
Ever, FereNcz [FRANcIS] XAVER [XAVIER]. 
1791. Descriptio provinciae Mojitarum in regno peruano, quam e scriptis... 


e Soc. Jesu... (annis XV. sacri apud eosdem Curionis) digessit, 
expolivit, et adnotatiunculis illustravit abb. et consil. reg. Mako. Budae 
[Budapest]. 


EDMUNDSON, GEORGE. 
1922. Journal of the travels and labours of Father Samuel Fritz in the river 
of the Amazons between 1686 and 1723. London. 
EcuiILuz, DIEGO DE. 
1884. Historia de la Mision de Mojos en la republica de Bolivia, escrita en 
1696... Lima. 
EHRENREICH, PAUL. 

1891 a. Beitrage zur V6lkerkunde Brasiliens. Jn Ver6ffentlichungen aus dem 
kG6niglichen Museum fiir Volkerkunde, Berlin, vol. 2, pp. 1-80. 

1891 b. Die Einteilung und Verbreitung der Volkerstamme Brasiliens nach 
dem gegenw4artigen Stande unsrer Kenntnisse. Petermanns Mitt., 
vol. 37, pp. 81-89, 114-124. (Portuguese ed. in Rev. Soc. Geogr. 
Rio de Janeiro, vol. 8, 1892.) 

1892. Beitrage zur Geographie Central-Brasiliens. Verhandl. d. Gesell. f. 

Erdkunde zu Berlin, vol. 28. 
1895. Materialien zur Sprachenkunde Brasiliens. V. Die Sprache der Apiaka 
(Para). Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 27, pp. 149-176. 
1897 a. Anthropologische Studien iiber die Urbewohner Brasiliens vornehmlich 
der Staaten Matto Grosso, Goyaz und Amazonas (Purus-gebiet). 
Braunschweig. 
1897 b. Materialien zur Sprachenkunde Brasiliens. Vokabulare von Purus- 
Stammen. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 29, pp. 59-71. 
1904. Die Ethnographie Siidamerikas im Beginn des XX Jahrhunderts unter 
besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Naturvélker. Archiv. ftir Anthrop., 
n.s., vol. 3, pp. 39-75. 

1905. Die Mythen und Legenden der Siidamerikanischen Urvoélker und ihre 
Beziehungen zu denen Nordamerikas und der alten Welt. Zeit. Ethnol., 
Supplement to vol. 37. 


930 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


1915. Distribuigao geografica das tribus indigenas na época do descobrimiento. 
Rev. Inst. Archeol., Hist. e Geogr, Pernambucano, vol. especial, 2nd 
part, p. 493. 
Etfas Ortiz, Sercio. See Ortiz, Sercio ELfas. 
EMMERICH-HOGEN, FERDINAND. 
1922. Die Kariben in Guayana. Regensburg. 
Enopriss, G. 
1911. Die Corantijnexpedition von Leutn. Kayser. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 57, 
No. 5, p. 250. 
ENFORMAGAO DO BRAZIL, E DE SUAS CAPITANIAS (1584). 
1844. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brazil, vol. 6, pp. 404-435. 
ENnock, CHARLES REGINALD. 
1908. The Andes and the Amazon; life and travel in Peru. London. 
Ernst, ADOLF. 
1870. Anthropological remarks on the population of Venezuela. Mem. Anthrop. 
Soc. London, vol. 3, pp. 274-287. 
1886-87. Ethnographische Mitteilungen aus Venezuela. Verhandl. der Berliner 
Gesell. fiir Anthrop., Ethnol., u. Urgeschichte, vol. 4, pp. 514-545; 
vol. 5, pp. 295-296; and im Zeit. Ethnol., vols. 18 and 19. 
1888. Praehistorische und ethnographische Gegenstaende aus Venezuela, 
Verhandl, der Berliner Gesell. fiir Anthrop., Ethnol., u. Urgeschichte, 
Jahrg. 1888, p. 467. 
1889. Petroglyphen aus Venezuela. Verhandl. der Berliner Gesell. fiir Anthrop., 
Ethnol., u. Urgeschichte, Jahrg. 1889, pp. 650-655. 
EscoBar y MENDOZA, FRANCISCO DE. 
1769. Noticia de las misiones de Maynas. 
See also Osma, Felipe de, 1908(?). 

Espinosa, Lucas. 

1935. Los Tupi del Oriente peruano, estudio lingitistico y etnografico. Pub- 
licaciones de la Expedicién Iglesias al Amazonas. Madrid. 

ESTADO DE LAS MISIONES Y EXPLORACIONES DEL PADRE PALLARES POR LOS Rfos 
PiscHgul, CHuNyA y Tampo. 1852-1854. See Izacuirre Ispizua, 
BERNARDINO, 1922-29, vol. 9, pp. 196-218. 

Etré, GUILLAUME D’, 

1819. Lettre du pére Guillaume d’Etré, missionnaire de la Compagnie de Jésus, 
au pére Joseph Duchambre, de la méme Compagnie. Jn Lettres 
édifiantes et curieuses, Lyon, vol. 5, pp. 150-171. 

L’EVANGILE. 

1861. Une Expédition. Scénes et paysages dans les Andes. 2nd ser. Paris. 

EXPLORACION DE LA GRAN SABANA. Rev, Fomento (Venezuela), 1939, Afio 3, 
No. 19, pp. 501-730. (By S. E. Aguerrerere, Victor M. Lopez, E. 
Delgado O., and C. A. Freeman.) 

EXPLORACION DE Los Rfos PicHis, PACHITEA y ALTO UCAYALI Y DE LA REGION DEL 

Gran PajonaL. Lima. 1897. 
EXPLORACIONES Y NOTICIAS HIDROGRAFICAS DE LOS R{0S DEL NORTE DE Bo tivia. 
1890. Primera parte. Traducciones, reproducciones y documentos inéditos publica- 
dos por M. V. Ballivian. La Paz. (Folletines de “El Comercio,” No, 2.) 

Faso, PEDRO. 

1911. Idiomas y etnografia de la regién oriental de Colombia, Barcelona. 

FAMIN, STANISLAS Marie CEsar. 

1839. Columbien und Guyane. In Welt Gemaelde-Galerie oder Beschreibung 
aller Laende und Voelker, ihrer Gebraeuche, Religionen, Sitten usw. 
Stuttgart. 

See also Denis, Ferdinand, and Famin, Stanislas Marie César, 1837. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 931 


FARABEE, WILLIAM CURTIS. 

1909. Some customs of the Macheyengas. Proc. Amer. Antiq. Soc., Oct. 1909. 

1915. Conebo pottery. Penn. Univ. Mus. Journ., vol. 6, pp. 94-99. 

1916 a. Some South American petroglyphs. Jn Holmes Anniversary Volume, 

pp. 88-95. Washington. 
1916 b. The Amazon expedition of the University Museum. Mus. Journ. 
Univ. Penn., vol. 7, pp. 210-244. 

1917 a. The Amazon expedition of the University Museum. To the head 
waters of the Amazon. Mus. Journ. Univ. Penn., vol. 8, pp. 61-82. 

1917 b. The Amazon expedition. The Tapajés. Mus. Journ. Univ. Penn., vol. 
8, pp. 126-144. 

1917 c. A pioneer in Amazonia: the narrative of a journey from Manaos to 
Georgetown. Bull. Geogr. Soc. Philadelphia, vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 57-103. 

1918 a. The Arawaks of northern Brazil and southern British Guiana. Amer. 
Journ. Phys. Anthrop., vol. 1, pp. 427-441. 

1918 b. The central Arawaks. University of Pennsylvania, The University 
Museum, Anthrop. Publ., vol. 9. 

1919. Mummified Jivaro heads. Mus. Journ. Univ. Penn., vol. 10, pp. 173-183. 

1921 a. Explorations at the mouth of the Amazon. Mus, Journ. Univ. Penn., 
vol. 12, pp. 142-161. 

1921 b. The central Arawaks: A reply to Dr. Roth. Amer. Anthrop., ns., 
vol. 23, pp. 230-233. 

1922. Indian tribes of eastern Peru. Pap. Peabody Mus. Arch. Ethnol. 
Harvard Univ., vol. 10. 

1924. The central Caribs. University of Pennsylvania, The University Museum, 
Anthrop. Publ., vol. 10. 

Farson, NEGLEY. 
1937. Transgressor in the tropics. London. (Pub. in New York, 1938.) 
Fawcett, P. H. 

1911. Further explorations in Bolivia: the river Heath. Geogr. Journ., vol. 37, 
pp. 377-397. 

1915. Bolivian exploration, 1913-1914. Geogr. Journ., vol. 45, pp. 219-228. 

1925. Letter received from Colonel Fawcett. Geogr. Rev., vol. 15, p. 696. 

FEBRES CORDERO, TULIO. 
1931. Mitologia Venezolana. An. Univ. Central Venezuela, vol. 19, pp. 387-396. 
FEDERMANN, NIKOLAUS. 

1557. Indianische historia. Ein schéne kurtzweilige historia Niclaus Feder- 
manns des jiingern von Ulm erster raise. Hagenaw. (Jn Klipfel, K., 
ed., N. Federmanns und H. Staden reisen in Stidamerica 1529 bis 1555. 
Stuttgart, 1859, pp. 1-86. Reprinted in “Bibliotek des Litteriarische 
Vereins in Stuttgart, 47.”) 

FEHLINGER, H. 

1925. Die Ehe bei den Guiana-Indianern. Zeit. £. Sexualwissenschaft, vol. 12, 

fasc. 9, pp. 274-278. 
FEejos, PAUL 

n.d. MS. on Mascho of Peruvian Montajfia. 

1940. Mimeographed report of the Wenner-Gren Scientific Expedition to His- 
panic America, 1940, to his Excellency Gunnar Reuterskidld, Envoy 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Sweden. Lima. 

1943. Ethnography of the Yagua. Viking Fund, Publ. in Anthrop., No. 1. 


932 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


FERMIN, PHILIPPE. 

1765. Histoire naturelle de la Hollande équinoxiale. Amsterdam. 

1769. Déscription générale, historique, géographique et physique de la colonie de 
Surinam. 2 vols. Amsterdam. (Revised and enlarged ed. of the 
author’s “Histoire de la Hollande équinoxiale.”’) 

1781. An historical and political view of the present and ancient state of the 
colony of Surinam, in South America. London. (An abridged 
English ed. pub. by W. Nicoll.) 

FERNANDES DE SOUZA, CONEGO ANDRE. 

1870. Noticia geographica da Capitania do Rio Negro no grande Rio Amazonas. 

Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brazil, vol. 10. 
See also Smyth, Lieutenant (Wm.), 1836. 
FERNANDEZ, JUAN PATRICIO. 

1895. Relacion historial de las misiones de indios Chiquitos que en el Paraguay 
tienen los padres de la Compajiia de Jesus. (Coleccién de libros raros 
O curiosos que tratan de America, vols. 12-13. 2 vols. Madrid.) 

FERNANDEZ Moro, Rev, P. Fray WENCESLAO. 
1926-27. Estudios de etnografia y medicina salvaje. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, 
vol. 43, pp. 1-29, 149-164; vol. 44, pp. 75-90. 
FerrRE P. See BAuve, ADAM DE, and Ferre P., 1833-34. 
FERREIRA, ALEXANDRE Ropricues. See RopRIGUES FERREIRA, ALEXANDRE. 
FERREIRA, FRANCISCO. 

1903 (1755). Renseignments sur le Rio Branco. Limites entre le Brésil et 
la Guyane Anglaise. Annexes au premier mémoire du Bresil, 
vol. 3, Paris. (Fin Ach. du Conseil et Outre-mer, Bibl. Nat., 
Lisbon. ) 

FERREIRA PENNA, DomMINGos Soares. See PENNA, DoMINGOS SOARES FERREIRA. 
FERREIRA PENNA, HERCULANO. 

1853. Relatorio do Presidente da Provincia do Amazona. 
FEsTA, ENRICO, 

1909. . . . Nel Darien e nell’ Ecuador; diario di viaggio di un naturalista. 

Torino. 
Ficuerrépo, Lima. See LIMA FIGUEIREDO, JOSE DE. 
FIGUEIREDO TENREIRO ARANHA, BENTO DE. 
1907. Archivo do Amazonas. Anno I, vol. 1, No. 4, Manaos. 
FIGUEROA, FRANCISCO DE. 
1904. Relacién de las misiones de la Compafiia de Jesus en el pais de los 
Maynas. Madrid. 
Finot, ENRIQUE. 
1939. Historia de la conquista del oriente boliviano. Buenos Aires. 
FISHBACH, AGNES IRENE. 
1929. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay: A description and historical study. 
Master of art thesis. Kennedy School of Missions. Hartford. 
FLORENCE, HERCULES. 
1941(?). Viagem fluvial do Tieté ao Amazonas de 1825-29. Sado Paulo. 
See also Steinen, Karl von den, 1899. 
ILtu, PAUL CHRISTIAN. 


1911. De filaria-ziekte in Suriname . . . ’s-Gravenhage, Algemeene lands- 
drukkerij. 
Focxe, H. C. 


1858. De Surinaamsche Negermuzijk. West-Indie., 2nd section; by A. C. 
Kruseman, Haarlem. Pp. 93-108. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 933 


Focxe, H. C., LANpre, Du., SypesteyN, C. A. vAN, and Dumontirr, F. A. C. 
1855-58. West-Indie. Bijdragen tot bevordering van de kennis der Neder- 
landsch West-Indische Kolonien, 2 vols. 


Foce, PH. M. 
1927. Die Wai-Wai Indianes am unteren Amazonas. Welt u. Wissen, vol. 14, 
pp. 57-61. 


Fonseca CouTINHO, ANTONIA CARLOS DE. 

1873. Noticias de voluntaria reducgao de paz e amizade de feroz nacgao do 
gentio Mura nos annos de 1784, 1785 e 1786. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 36, 
part 1, pp. 323-392. 

FoNnsEcA, JOAO SEVERIANO DA. 
1880-81. Viagem ao redor do Brasil, 1875-1878. 2 vols. Rio de Janeiro. 
(Another ed. 1895, Rio de Janeiro.) 
ForEST, JESSE DES. 

1899. Description de la coste d’west de la Riviére des Amazones—Rio Branco: 
Frontiéres entre le Brésil et la Guyane Frangaise. Vol. 2, Memoire. 
Berne. 

FRAGMENTO DA VIAGEM DAS AMAZONAS E Rio NEcRO. 

1906. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 67, lst part, pp. 272-281. 

FRANGA, CARLOS. 

1926. Ethnographia brasilica, segundo os escriptores portugueses do seculo 16. 
Rev. Hist. Lisbon, vol. 15, Nos. 57-60, pp. 129-152. 

FRANCA, TOME bE. See Castro, MicuEL JoAo DE, and Franga, ToME bE, 1868. 
FRANCISCO DE NUESTRA SENORA DOS PRAZERES. 
1891. Poranduba Maranhense. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 54, pt. 1, pp. 92-77. Rio 
de Janeiro. 
FRANSSEN, J. 
1917-18. Indianen. Onze Missien in Oost en West, vol. 1, pp. 99-149, 
FREEMAN, C. A. See EXpPLoRACION DE LA GRAN SABANA, 1939. 
FREITAS, AFFONSO ANTONIO DE. 

1914. Distribugdo geographica das tribus indigenas na época do descubrimento. 

Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Sao Paulo, vol. 19, pp. 103-128. 
FRENGUELLI, JOAQUIN, and Aparicio, FRANCISCO DE. 

1923. Los paraderos de la margen derecha del Rio Malabrigo (Departmento 
de Reconquista, Prov. Santa Fé). An, Fac. Cienc. Ed. Parana, vol. 1, 
pp. 7-112. 

FRIEDERICI, GEORG. 

1925. G6ttingischer gelehrter Anzeiger. 

1929. Bemerkungen zur Entdeckungsgeschichte Brasiliens. “Sonderdruck aus 
In memoriam Karl Weule. Beitrage zur voélkerkunde und vorge- 
schichte,” pp, 335-354. Leipzig. 

Fritz, SAMUEL. 

1691. Mapa Geographico del Rio Marafion. Amazonas. 

1892. Karte von Maynas. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Madrid, vol. 33, p. 72. 

1922. Journal of the travels and labours of Father Samuel Fritz in the river 
of the Amazons between 1686 and 1723. (Trans. from the Evora ms. 
and edited by the Rev. George Edmundson.) The Hakluyt Society, 
2nd series, No. 51. London, 

Fropin, Otro, and NorDENSKIOLD, ERLAND, 

1918. Uber Zwirnen und Spinnen bei den Indianern Sitidamerikas. G6teborgs 
Kungl. Vetenskaps-och Vitterhets-Samhalles Handlingor (Fjorde 
Fiiljden), No. 19. Goteborg. 

Frores ABREU, SYLVIO. 
1931. Na terra das palmeiras; estudos brasileiros. Rio de Janeiro, 


934 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


FROIDEVAUX, HENRI. 

1894. Explorations frangaises a l’intérieur de la Guyane pendant le second quart 
du XVIII° siécle (1720-1742). Bulletin de géographie historique et 
descriptive, pp. 218-301. Paris. 

FRONTIERES, SECOND MEmMorrE. See R1o-BRANCO, BARAO DE, 1899. 
Fry, CARLOos. 

1889. La gran regién de los bosques; o rids peruanos navegables: Urubamba, 

Ucayali, Amazonas, Pachitea, y Palcazu. Diario de viajes y explora- 


ciones por Carlos Fry en 1886, 1887 y 1888... 2 vols. Lima. 
FUENTES, HILDEBRANDO. 
1908. Apuntes geograficos, histéricos estadisticos .. . de Loreto 1906. Larra- 


bure, vol. 17, pp, 3-277. Lima. 
FuENTES, MANUEL ATANASIO. 

1861. Antiguo Mercurio Peruano, Bibliotheca Peruana de Historia, Ciencias, y 
Literatura. Collecidn de escritos del anteridr y del presente siglo de 
los mas acreditados autores Peruanos. Lima. 

FuRLONG, CHARLES W. 

1915. The red men of the Guianan forests. Harpers Mag., vol. 131, pp. 527- 

537: 
FurTADO, FRANCISCO JOSE. 

1858. Relatorio que a Assembléa Legislativa Provincial apresentou ...em o 

dia de 7 de Setembro de 1858. Manaus. 
Gaps, WILLIAM M. 

1875. On the Indian tribes and languages of Costa Rica. Proc. Amer. Philos. 

Soc., vol. 14. 
GABRIEL SALA, R. P. Fray. 
1905. Diccionario gramatico y catecismo Castellano, Inga, Amuexia y Campa. 
Lima. 
GADEA, ALBERTO L. 
1895. Arbol del damajuhato. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 4, pp. 132-143. 
GAFFAREL, PAUL. See LrerRy, JEAN DE. 
GALARD DE TERRAUBE, Louis ANTOINE MARIE VICTOR DE. 

1799. Tableau de Cayenne ou de la Guiane francaise. Paris. (Published 

anonymously.) (1799, German ed., Leipzig; 1800, Dutch ed., Leyden.) 
GALT we, L. 

n.d. Diary of F. L. Galt, doctor to the expedition exploring the headwaters 
of the Amazon in eastern Peru. MS. in Manuscript files, Bureau of 
American Ethnology, Washington, D. C. 

1878. The Indians of Peru. Smithsonian Ann. Rep. for 1877, pp. 308-315. 

GaMA Loso DE ALMADA, MANUEL DA. 

1903 (1787). Description relative au Rio Branco et Son territoire ... Limites 
entre le Brésil et la Guyane Francaise. Annexes au premiere 
mémoire du Brésil, vol. 3, pp. 271-290, Paris. 

GAMA MALCHER, JOSE DA. 

1878. Relatorio com que... passou a administragao da Provincia do Para 
ao exmo. Snr. Dr. Joao Capistrano Bandeira de Mello Filho em 9 de 
Marco de 1878. Para. 

GAND{A, ENRIQUE DE. 

1929 a. Historia del Gran Chaco. Buenos Aires. 

1929 b. Historia critica de los mitos de la conquista americana. Buenos Aires. 

1935 a. Historia de la Provincia de Santa Cruz. Buenos Aires. 

1935 b. Historia de Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Buenos Aires. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 935 


GANZALEz Ruiz, FELIPE, 
1937. Geografia e historia del Amazonas. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 54, 
pp. 3-31. 
Garcia DE Freitas, José. 
1926. Os Indios Parintintin. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 18, pp. 67—73. 
Garcia ROSELL, RICARDO, 
1905. Paucatambo; sindpsis, exploraciones y descubrimientos. Lima. 
Garcia, SECUNDINO, 
1942. Mitologia de los salvajes machiguengas. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 27, 
Lima, 1939, vol. 2, pp. 229-237. 
Garcia y MERINO, MANUEL. 
1893. Los nombres vulgares de nuestras plantas. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 
5, pp. 294-301. 
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA, 
1918-20. Los comentarios reales de los Incas. 5 vols. Lima. (Coleccidn de 
historiadores clasicos del Peru, vol. 1, 3-4.) 
GarricA, ANTONIO. 
1906. Linderos de los pueblos de las missiones de Mojos, declarados y con- 


firmados por el Padre Provincial . . . en su visita de 10 de octubre de 
1715. Juicio de limites entre el Peru y Bolivia, vol. 10, Mojos II, pp. 
3442. Madrid. 


GENNEP, ARNOLD VAN. 
1914. Etudes d’ethnographie sud-américaine. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., 
vol. 11, pp. 121-133. 
GHINASSI, JUAN. 
1938. Gramatica tedrico-practica y vocabulario de la lengua Jibara .. . Quito. 
GIANNECCHINI, Dorortéo. 
1896. Reglas elementares de la lengua Chiriguana. Obra postuma del R. P. 
Alejandro Maria Corrado. Lucca. 
Also see Romano, Santiago, and Cattunar, Hermann, 1916. 
GipBoN, LARDNER. See HERNDON, WILLIAM LEwis, and GiBBon, LARDNER. 
GIGLIOLI, ENr1co HILLyYEr. 
1906. Appunti sulle condizioni attuali delle trib: indigene dell’alto Madeira e 
regioni adiacenti (Brasile e Bolivia). Raccolti dal Dott. Andrea Landi. 
Archiv. Antrop. Etnol., vol. 36, pp. 219-228. 
GiLt, ANTONIO. 
1902. Arte y vocabulario de la lengua Tacana (continuacién). Catecismo 
Tacana por el R. P. Fr. Antonio Gili... Rev. Mus. La Plata, vol. 10, 
pp. 297-311. 
See also Armentia, Nicolas, 1902. 
Gitrj, Frttppo SALVADORE. 
1780-84. Saggio di storia americana; o sia, Storia naturale, civile e sacra de’ 
regni, e delle provincie spagnuole di Terra-Ferma nell’ America 
Meridionale descritto dall’ abate F. S. Gilij. 4 vols. Rome. 
See also Veigl, Franz Xavier, 1785 b. 
GILL, RicHarp C. 
1940. White water and black magic. New York. 
GILLIN, JOHN. 
1933. Die Strafe bei den Cariben des Barama-Flusses in Britisch-Guyana. 
Monatsschr. f. Kriminalpsych. u Strafrechtsreform, Jahrgang 24, pp. 
654-667. Heidelberg. 
1934. Crime and punishment among the Barama River Carib of British Guiana. 
Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 36, pp. 331-344. 


936 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


1935. Social life of the Barama River Caribs of British Guiana. Scientific 
Monthly, vol. 40, pp. 227-236. 

1936. The Barama River Caribs of British Guiana. Pap. Peabody Mus. Arch. 
Ethnol. Harvard Univ., vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 1-274. 

GLASENAPP, HELMUTH VON. 

1937. Die Inder in Trinidad und Guayana. Zeit. f. Rassenkunde, vol. 6, pp. 
307-311. 

n.d. Die Indianer in Guayana und West Indien, Ibero. Amer. Archiv., vol. 
7, pp. 295-305. 

GLI ABORIGENI DELLA GUIANA INGELESE. 
1934. L’Universo, Florencia, vol. 15, pp. 452-453. 
Gogje, C. H. bE. 
See Dr Gogje, C. H. 
GoeEtLpr, Eminio A. 

1896. Estado atual dos conhecimentos sobre os indios do Brasil. Bol. Mus. 
Paraense, vol. 2, pp. 397-418. 

1897. Eine Naturforscherfahrt nach dem Litoral des siidlichen Guyana zwischen 
Oyapock und Amazonenstrom. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 43, pp. 59-68, 
107-113. 

1900. Excavagdes archeologicas en 1895. Executadas pelo Museu Paraense 
no Littoral da Guayana Brazileira entre Oyapock’ e Amazonas. Pt. 
I. Memorias do Museu Paraense de Historia Natural e Ethnographia. 
Para. (Rev. in Globus, Sept. 8, 1900, pp. 136-140.) 

See also Guedes, Aureliano Pinto L. 
GOLDMAN, IRVING. 
n.d. Field notes on the Cubeo. MS. 
Gdémara, FRANCISCO LOPEZ DE. 

1852. Primera parte de la historia general de las Indias. Historiadores primi- 
tivos de Indians, vol. 1, pp. 157-294. Madrid. (Bibl. de autores 
expafioles, vol. 22.) 

GoMES, VICENTE FERREIRA. 

1862. Itinerario da cidade da Palma, em Goyaz 4 cidade de Belém no Para. 

Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 25, pp. 485-513. 
GONGALVES DA FONSECA, JOSE. 

1826. Navegagao feita da cidade do Gran Para até a boca do Rio de Madeira 
. . . Collecgao de noticias para a historia e geografia das nag6des ultra- 
marinas que vivem nos dominios portuguezes ou que lhes sao visinhas, 
vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1-141. Lisbon. 

1874. Primeira exploragéo dos rios Madeira e Guaporé . .. em 1749. In 
Mendes de Almeida, Candido, editor, Memorias para a historia do ex- 
tincto estado do Maranhao, vol. 2, Rio de Janeiro. 

GonpIM, JOAQUIM. 

1938. Etnografia indigena (estudos realizados em varias regides do Amazonas, 

no periodo de 1921 a 1926) .. . Ceara. 
GonzALEz SuAREZ, FEDERICO. 

1890-1903. Historia general de la republica del Ecuador. 9 vols. Quito. 

1904. Prehistoria ecuatoriana: Ligeras reflexiones sobre las razas indigenas, 
que poblan antiguamente el territorio actual de la Republica del 
Ecuador. Quito. 

GorEAUD, JEAN. 

1934. Les derniers Indiens guyanais. Regards sur le monde, No. 25, pp. 15-17 

(17 mai 1934). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 937 


GorinG, Eutocio. 

1877. Informe al Supremo Gobierno del Pert, sobre la expedicidén 4 los valles 
de Paucartambo en 1873, al mando del coronel D. Baltazar La Torre. 
KimaG@?): 

GosLincs, B. M. 

1935. De Indianen en Boschnegers van Suriname. Gids in het Volkenkundig 
Museum XIII, Koninklijke vereeninging Koloniaal Instituut. Amster- 
dam. 

GossE, PHitip. See LaBAt, JEAN Baptiste, 1931. 
GRAIN, JosE Ma. 

1942. Pueblos primitivos—Los Machiguengas. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 27, Lima, 
1939, vol. 2, pp. 239-244. 

Gras and Constant. See CONSTANT and Gras. 
GRASSERIE, RAOUL DE LA. 

1890. De la famille linguistique Pano. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 7, Berlin, 1888, 
pp. 438-449. 

1892. Esquisse d’une grammaire et d’un vocabulaire baniva. Congr. Int. Amer., 
sess. 8, Paris, 1890, pp. 616-641. 

GRILLET, JEAN, and BECHAMEL, FRANCIS. 

1698. A journal of the travels ... into Guiana in the year 1674. In Voyages 
and discoveries in South America, pt. 3, London. 

See also Labat, Jean Baptiste, 1730, vol. 3, pp. 134-350, and vol. 4, pp. 
345-425. 
GROETEKEN, AUTBERT. 

1907. Bischof Armentia O. F. M. und die Erforschung des Rio Madre de 

Dios. Anthropos, vol. 2, pp. 730-734. 
Gruss, KENNETH G. 

1927. The lowland Indians of Amazonia; a survey of the location and religious 
condition of the Indians of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, 
Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia. London. 

GrurE y THODE, G. 

1890. Ueber den Rio Blanco und die anwohenden Indianer. Globus, vol. 57, 

pp. 251-254. Reprinted from Rev. Mensual Soc. Geogr. Rio de Janeiro. 
GuajarRA, BARAO DE (RAIOL, DoMINGos ANTONIO). 
1896. Historia Colonial do Parad. Rev. Soc. Estud. Paraenses, vol. 2, Belém. 


GuEDEs, AURELIANO PinTo LIMA. 
1896. Relatoria sobre uma missado ethnographica e archeologica aos rios Maraca 
e Anauerapuct, dirigido ao Dr. E. A. Goeldi, Director do Museu. 
Bol. Mus. Goeldi, vol. 2, pp. 42-64. 
GuIANAS BouNDARY. 
1890. The Guayana boundary dispute official report. Washington. 
GuILLAUME, H. 
1890. Recent explorations in Peru and Bolivia. Scot. Geogr. Mag., vol. 6, 
pp. 234-245. 


GUIMARAES, CONEGO JOSE DA SILVA. 

1865. Memoria sobre os usos, costumes, linguagem dos Appiacas, e descobri- 
mento de novas minas na Provincia de Mato Grosso. Rev. Inst. Hist., 
vol. 6, pp. 305-325. (2nd. ed.) 

GUMILLA, JOSEPH. 

1791. Historia natural, civil y geografica de las naciones situadas en las riveras 

del rio Orinoco. 2 vols. Barcelona, (1st ed., Madrid, 1741.) 


938 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


HaeENKE, THADDAUS (THADEO, TADEO). 

1900. Noticia de la vida y trabajos cientificos de Tadeo Haenke . . . Descripcién 
geografica, fisica é histérica de las montafias habitadas de la nacion 
de Indios Yuracarées. Parte mas septentrional de la Provincia de 
Cochabamba. An. Bibl., vol. 1, pp. 172-185. 


Hamy, E. T. 
1873. Nouveaux renseignements sur les indiens jivaros. Rev. Anthrop. ser. 1, 
vol. 2, pp. 385-397. 


Hancock, JOHN. 
1835. Observations on the climate, soil and productions of British Guiana .. . 
London. (2nd ed. 1840, London.) 


Hanson, Ear. P. 
1933. Social regression in the Orinoco and Amazon Basins. Geogr. Rev., vol. 
23, pp. 578-598. 
1938. Journey to Mandos. New York. 


Harcourt, ROBERT. 
1613. A relation of a voyage to Guiana. London. (2nd ed. 1626, London; 
also in works issued by the Hakluyt Society, 2nd ser., No. 60, 1928, 
London.) 
HARDENBURG, WALTER E. 
1910. The Indians of the Putumayo, Upper Amazon. Man, vol. 10, pp. 134-138. 
1912. The Putumayo, the devil’s paradise; travels in the Peruvian Amazon 
region and an account of the atrocities committed upon the Indians 
therein. London. 
Hartow, VINCENT T. 
1928. El Dorado and the way thither. Introduction to Raleigh, Walter, The 
discoverie of the large and bewtiful empire of Guiana, pp. XIV—XCvI. 
London, 
HartTsINCcK, JAN JACOB. 
1770. Beschryving van Guiana, de wilde kust, in Zuid-America. 2 vols. 
Amsterdam. 
1893. The Indians of Guiana. Timehri, n.s., vol. 7, pp. 44-74. 
Hartt, CHARLES FREDERICK. 
1871. The ancient Indian pottery of Marajé, Brazil. The American Naturalist, 
vol. 5, pp. 259-271. 
1876. Notas sobre algumas tangas de barro cosido da ilha de Marajé. Archiv. 
Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 1, pp. 21-25. 
1885. Contribuicdes para a ethnologia do Valle do Amazonas. Archiv. Mus, 
Nac. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 6, pp. 1-174. 
See also Anonymous, MS. b., Vocabulario Portuguez—Lingua geral—Maué. 
HaseMan, J. D. 
1912. Some notes on the Pawumwa Indians of South America. Amer. An- 
throp., n.s., vol. 14, pp. 333-349. 
HASSEL, JorcE M. von. 
1902. Vocabulario Aguaruna. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 12, pp. 73-86. 
1905. Las tribus salvajes de la regi6n Amazénica del Pert. Bol. Soc. Geogr. 
Lima, vol. 17, pp. 27-73. 
HeEaTH, Epwin R. 
1883. Dialects of Bolivian Indians. A philological contribution from material 
gathered during three years’ residence in the Department of Beni, in 
Bolivia. Kansas City Rev. Sci. Industry, vol. 6, No. 12, pp. 679, 687. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 939 


Heaton, W. C. ep. See Meprina, José Torrsto, 1934. 
HEcER, FRANZ. 
1916. Sonderbar stilisierte Menschenfigur auf der Innenseite einter seltlichen 
Endplanke eines Holzkanus aus Franzosisch Guayana. Mitt. Anthrop. 
Gesell. Wien, Rep. vol. 46 (3rd series vol. 16). 
1924. Muyrakitas. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 20, Rio de Janeiro, 1922, vol. 1, 
pp. 255-260 and 7 plates. 
HENNEPIN, Louts. See La Borve, Sreur DE, 1704. 
Henry, Victor, See AvAM, LucIEN, and Henry, Victor, 1880. 
HERIARTE, MAURICIO DE. 
1874. Descripgao do estado do Maranhdo, Para, Corupé e Rio das Amazonas. 
Vienna. 
HERMESSEN, J. L. 
1917. A journey on the Rio Zamora, Ecuador. Geogr. Rev., vol. 4, pp. 434449. 
HERNANDEZ, PABLO. 
1913. Misiones del Paraguay. Organizacién social de las doctrinas guaranies 
de la Compafiia de Jests. 2 vols. Barcelona. 
HERNANDEZ, PEpRO. 
1852. Comentarios de Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca. Biblioteca de autores 
espafioles. Historiadores primitivos de Indias. Vol. 1, pp, 549-599, 
Madrid. 
1891. The commentaries of Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca. The Hakluyt 
Society, No. 81. London. 
HERNDON, WILLIAM Lewis, and GIBBON, LARDNER. 

1853-54. Exploration of the valley of the Amazon....2 vols. (Vol. 1 by 

Herndon; vol. 2 by Gibbon.) Washington. 
HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, ANTONIO DE. 
1601-15. Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas i tierra 
firme del mar océano. 4 vols. Madrid. 
HeErreERO, ANDRES. 
1834. Doctrina y oraciones cristianas en lengua mosetena... traducidas en 
espafiol palabra por palabra. Rome. 
Herskovits, M. J. See PaANuHuys, L. C. vAN, Moprint, A., and Herskovits, M. J., 
1934. 
HervAs y PANDURO, LORENZO. 

1800-05. Catalogo de las lenguas de las naciones conocidas, y numeracion, 
division, y clases de estas segtin la diversidad de sus idiomas y 
dialectos. 6 vols. Madrid. 

HERzOG, THEODOR. 
1913. Vom urwald zu den gletschern der Kordillere; zwei forschungsreisen in 
Bolivia. Stuttgart. 
HESHUYSEN, F. vAN. 

1925-26. Mémoire sur les Indiens 4 Suriname, 22 sept. 1800. Uit he Surinamer- 
chief in London (Surinam, 1801 to 1804, vol. 2, Colonial office 
transmissions No. 71. Miscellaneous). De West-Indische Gids, vol. 
7, pp. 346-349. 

HESTERMANN, FERDINAND. 
1910. Die Pano-Sprachen und ihre Beziehungen. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 16., 
Vienna, 1908, vol. 2, pp. 645-650. 
1913. Nachtrag zur Quellenliteratur der Panosprachen, Bolivien. Anthropos, 
vol. 8, p. 1144. 
1914. Die Schreibweise der Pano-vokabularien. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., 
vol. 11, pp. 21-33. 


653333—47—62 


940 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


HiILHousE, WILLIAM. 
1832. Notices of the Indians settled in the interior of British Guiana. Journ. 
Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 2, pp. 227-249. 
1834 a. Journal of a voyage up the Massaroony in 1831. Journ. Roy. Geogr. 
Soc., vol. 4, pp. 25-40. 
1834 b. Memoir on the Warow land of British Guiana. Journ. Roy. Geogr. 
Soc., vol. 4, pp. 321-332. 
HINTERMANN, HEINRICH. 
1925. Beitrag zur Ethnographie der Kuluena- und Kulisevu- Indianer. 
Verhandl. Schweiz. Naturf. Gesell, vol. 106. Hanresversammlung 
vom 8 bis II, 1925, Aarau, II Teil, pp. 176-178. 

1926. Unter Indianern und Reisenschlangen. Ziirich and Leipzig. 
Hitcucock, C. B. See Tate, GeorceE Henry HAmitton, and Hirtcucock, C. B. 
HoEHNE, FREDERICO C. 

1937. Botanica e agricultura no Brasil no seculo XVI. Bibl, Pedag. Brasil. 

ser. 5a, Brasiliana, vol. 71. 
HoeELier, ALFREDO. 


1932. Grammatik der Guarayo-sprache. 1. Aufl. Guarayos ... Guarayo- 
deutsches worterbuch ...1. Aufl. Guarayos ... Stuttgart. 
Hoipen, W. H. 


1938. Civilization and sudden death. 
Ho.pripGE, DESMOND. 
1931. Notes on an exploratory journey in Southeastern Venezuela. Geogr. Rev., 
vol. 21, pp. 373-378. 
1939. Feudal Island. New York. 
1940. Scientific exploration of the Gran Sabana, Venezuela. Geogr. Rev., vol. 
30, pp. 319-320, 
Hottoway, H. L. 
1932. Por la region del rio Napo. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 49, pp. 221-233. 
Hoimes, Sir. W. H., and CAMPBELL, W. H. 
1858. Report of an expedition to explore a route by the rivers Waini, Barama, 
and Cuyuni, to the goldfields of Caratal, and thence by Upata to the 
Orinoco. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 2, pp. 154-157. 
HoL_TtEN, HERMANN VON. 
1877. Das Land der Yurakarer und dessen Bewohner. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 9, 
pp. 105-115. 
HorNnBostTeEL, ErIcH MARIA VON. 
1923. Musik der Makuschi, Taulipang und Yekuana. Jn Koch-Griinberg, Theo- 
dore, Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, vol. 3, pp. 397-442. Stuttgart. 
HORSCHELMANN, WERNER VON. 

1918-20. Die Brasiliensammlung Spix und Martius. Berichte des Museums fiir 
Volkerkunde (Ethnog. Mus.) in Miinchen, vol. 8, in Miinchner Jarh- 
buch d. bildenden Kunst. 

Horta Barsésa, Nicolau BUENO. 
1916. Exploracao e levantamento dos rios Anary e Machadinho . . . Commissao 
de Linhas telegraphicas estrategicas de Matto-Grosso ao Amazonas. 
Publicagao 48. Issued as Annexo No. 2 to the Relatorio of the Com- 
mission. Rio de Janeiro. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 941 


HUpner, GEorc. 
1898. Reise in das Quellgebiet des Orinoco, Deutsche Rundschan fiir Geograpie 
und Statistik, vol. 20, pp. 14-20, 55-65. 
1907. Die Yauapery. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 39, pp. 225-248. Kritisch bearbeitet 
und mit Einleitung versehen von Theodor Koch-Griinberg. 
See also Koch-Griinberg, Theodor, and Htibner, Georg, 1908. 
HumpBoipt, ALEXANDER VON. 
1814. Researches, concerning the institutions and monuments of the ancient 
inhabitants of America; with descriptions and views. (Tr. from the 
French by Helen Maria Williams.) 2 vols. London. 
1852-53. Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of the New 
Continent, 1799-1804. 3 vols. 
1881. Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of America, during 
the years 1799-1804. 3 vols. London. 
HuMBOoLpt, ALEXANDER VON, and BoNPLAND, A. 
1807-35. Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du nouveau continent, fait in 1799, 
1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, et 1804. 23 vols. Paris. 


HyazintH, P. 
1911-12. In Katholische Missionen, pp. 297-299. 


IDIOMA SCHIPIBO. (Vocabulario del idioma shipibo del Ucayali.) Bol. Soc. Geogr. 
La Paz, vol. 1, pp. 43-91, 1898. 
IGNACIO DE OLIVEIRA, AVELINO. 
1935. Atraves da Guiana Brasileira pelo rio Erepecuri, Estado do Para. Bol. 
Serv. Geol. Min. Brasil, No. 31. 
1929. Bacia do Rio Branco (Estado do Amazonas). Bol. Serv. Geol. Min. 
Brasil, No, 37. 
IGUALADA, FRANCISCO DE, and CASTELLVi, MARCELINO DE. 
1940. Clasificacién y estadistica de las lenguas habladas en el Putumayo, 
Caqueta y Amazonas. Amazonia Colombiana Americanista. Centro 
Investig. “Cileac,” vol. 1, Nos. 2-3, pp. 92-101. Sibundoy. 


IHERING, HERMANN VON. 
1895. A civilisacao prehistorica do Brasil meridional. Rev. Mus. Paulista, vol. 1, 
pp. 33-159, 
1904. Archeologia comparativa do Brasil. Rev. Mus. Paulista, vol. 6, pp. 
519-580. 
1906. The anthropology of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sao Paulo. 


Im THuRN, EveRARD FERDINAND. 
1882. On the animism of the Indians of British Guiana. Journ. Roy. Anthrop. 
Inst., vol. 11, pp. 360-380. 
1883. Among the Indians of Guiana. London. 
1884. Notes on West Indian stone implements; and other Indian relics. Timehri, 
vol. 3, pp. 103-137. 
1890. Primitive games. (Reprinted from Timehri.) 
1892. British Guiana; the North-Western District. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 
vol. 14, pp. 665-687. 
1934 Thoughts, talks and tramps. London. 
TRAZOLA, F. FRANCISCO. 


1916. Viaje de exploraciédn por la zona central de infieles: Apurimac, Ene, 
Perené, Pangoa. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 32, pp. 183-196. 


942 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 1438 


TRIBARNE, Eva A. 
1937. Algunos vasos indigenas de las margenes del Parana inferior. Rel. Soc. 
Arg. Antrop., vol. 1, pp. 181-190. 
ITINERARIO DEL VIAJE DE IQUITOS AL RIO CURARAI I AL RI0 NApPO.. 
1904. Larrabure, vol. 17, pp. 535-543. 
ITINERARIOS DE LOS VIAJES DE RAIMONDI EN EL PERU. 
1905. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 17, pp. 241-263, 361-447. 
Izacuirre IspizuA, BERNARDINO. 
1922-29. Historia de las misiones franciscanas y narracién de los progresos 
de la geografia en el oriente del Peri. . . 1619-1921. Lima. 
1927. Descripcién histérico-etnografica de algunas tribus orientales del Pert. 
Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 44, pp. 5-36. 
Izikow!ITz, Kart GUSTAV. 
1932. Les instruments de musique des Indiens Uro-Chipaya. (Tr. from 
Swedish by A. Métraux.) Rev. Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. Tucuman, 
vol. 2, pp. 263-291. 
1935. Musical and other sound instruments of the South American Indians: 
a comparative ethnographical study. Gdéteborgs Kungl. Vetenskaps— 
och Vitterhets—Samhalles Handlingar, 5th fdljden, ser. A, Band 5, 
No. 1. Goteborg. 
JAHN ALFREDO. 
1927. Los aborigenes del occidente de Venezuela, su historia, etnografia, y 
afinidades lingiiisticas. Caracas. 
1929. Aspecto fisico y origenes etnicos de Venezuela. Sevilla. 
1935. Las exploraciones etnolégicas de Venezuela y sus problemas. Cultura 
Nacional, vol, 1, pp. 89-97. 
1939. Nombres geograficos indigenas de Venezuela. Bol. Soc. Venezolana 
Cienc. Nat., vol. 6, pp. 1-4. 
JANSEN, PIETRO GERARDO. 
1931. Gli indios del Venezuela. La vie d’Italia e dell’ America latina, vol. 8, pp. 
1269-1274. 
JARQUE, Francisco. See XARQUE, FRANCISCO. 
JENMAN, GEORGE SAMUEL, 
1907. To Kaieteur. Georgetown. 
Jiy6n y CAAMANO, JACINTO, 
1919. Contribucién al conocimiento de las lenguas indigenas que se hablaron en 
el Ecuador interandino y occidental con anterioridad a la conquista 
espafiola. Bol. Soc. Ecuatoriana Estud. Hist., vol. 2, No. 6, pp. 340-413. 
1940-41. El Ecuador interandino y occidental antes de la conquista Castellana. 
2 vols. Quito. 
JIMENEZ DE LA EspapA, MARrcos. 
1892. Una antigualla peruna. (Tipografia de Manuel Genes Hernandez, Impre- 
sor de la Real Casa.) Madrid. 
1896. Revista geografica de Madrid. 
1897. La jornada del capitan Alonso Mercadillo 4 los indios Chupachos é 
Isacaicingas. Impr. de Fortanet, Madrid. (Reprinted from Boletin 
de la Sociedad geographica de Madrid, vol. 37, 1895.) 
See also Noticias auténticas del famoso Rio Marafion y Mision ... de la 
provincia de Quito . . . 1889-1892; Relaciones geographicas de 
Indias ; and Vocabulario general de la Lengua... 
JIMENEZ SEMINARIO, AUG. 
1924. Bemerkungen tiber den Stamm der Bora...am Putumayo. Trans. 
from Spanish by K. Th. Preuss. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 56, pp. 83-93. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 943 


Jivaros pI MENDEZ E GUALAQUIZA EcuaTore. Torino. 1906. 
Joest, WILHELM. 
1893. Ethnographisches und verwandtes aus Guayana. Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., 
Suppl. to Band 5. 
JoHNSON, GEorGE R. 
1930. Peru from the air. Amer. Geogr. Soc. Spec. Publ. No. 12. 
JoRNADA DE OMAGUA Y Dorapo, 
1909. Nueva biblioteca de autores espafioles, vol. 15. Historiadores primitivos 
de Indias, vol. 2. Madrid. 
JOURNAL OF A TRIP FROM ST. THOME DE ANGOSTURA, IN SPANISH GUAYANA, TO THE 
CAPUCHIN MISSIONS OF THE CARONI. 
1820. Quart. Journ. Sci., vol. 8, pp. 260-287; vol. 9, pp. 1-32 and map. 
JOSSELIN DE JoNG, JAN P. B. bE. 
1919-20. Karaiben. Indie, vol. 3, pp. 243, 272, 291, 307. 
1919-21. Arowakken. Indie, vol. 3, pp. 403, 451; vol. 4, pp. 3, 19, 35, 83, 99, 
131, 451, 467, 483, 499, 515, 547, 563, 579, 595, 611, 723. 
Joyce, THomMaAs ATHOL. 
1912. South American archaeology. London. 
IKAPPLER, AUGUST. 
1854. Sechs jahre in Surinam. Stuttgart. 
1881. Hollandisch-Guiana. Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen wahrend eines 43 
jahrigen Aufenthalts in der Kolonie Surinam. Stuttgart. 
1887. Surinam, sein Land, seine Natur, Bevélkerung und seine Kultur- 
verhaltnisse mit bezug auf kolonisation. Stuttgart. 
KARSTEN, RAFAEL. 
1920 a. Contributions to the sociology of the Indian tribes of Ecuador. Acta 
Acad. Aboensis, Humaniora, vol. 1, No. 3. 
1920 b. Beitrage zur Sittengeschichte der siidamerikanischen Indianer. Acta. 
Acad. Aboensis, Humaniora, vol. 1, No. 4, 
1921. La lengua de los Indios Jibaros (Shuara) del Oriente del Ecuador. 
Gramatica vocabulario y muestras de la prosa y poesia. Helsingfors. 
1935. The head-hunters of Western Amazonas; the life and culture of the 
Jibaro Indians of eastern Ecuador and Peru. Soc. Sci. Fennica, Com- 
mentationes Humanarum, Litterarum, vol. 8, No. 1. 
KATE, HERMAN FREDERIK CAREL TEN. Sce TEN KATE, HERMAN FREDERIK CAREL. 
KatzeEr, FRIEDRICH. 
1901. Zur ethnographie des Rio Tapajés. Globus, vol. 79, pp. 37-41. 
KELLER-LEUZINGER, FRANZ. 
1874. The Amazon and Madeira rivers. London. 
Kemys, LAWRENCE. 
1811. A relation of the second voyage to Guiana, performed and written in the 
yeere 1596. In Hakluyt, Richard, Collection of early voyages, travels and 
discoveries. London, 1809-12, vol. 4, pp. 160-188. 
KeErsTEN, LupwIc. 
1905. Die Indianerstamme des Gran Chaco bis zum Ausgange des 18. Jahr- 
hundert. Ein Beitrag zur historischen ethnographie Siidamerikas. Int. 
Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 17, pp. 1-75. 
KeEsster, C. K. 
1930-31. De Bevolking van onze west. De Indianen. Tropisch Nederland, pp. 
275-323. Amsterdam. 
1936-37. Zwarte en roode bewoners der binnenlanden van Suriname. Tropisch 
Nederland, pp. 232-237, 247-251. Amsterdam. 


944 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


KeyE, OrrTo. 
1672. Kurtzer Entwurff von Neu-Niederland und Guajana. (Tr. from the 
Dutch ed. of 1659.) Leipzig. 
Keymis, LAURENCE. See KEMys, LAWRENCE. 
Kittie, ELLSwortH P., and SmitH, ALBERT C. 
1931. The use of fish poisons in South America. Smithsonian Ann. Rep. for 
1930, pp. 401-408. 
KinpeEr, P. LEOPOLDO VON. 
1936. Introduccién a la gramatica y vocabulario de la Lengua Huitota. Pasto. 
KircHHOFF, PAUL. 
1931. Die Verwandtschaftsorganisation der Urwaldstamme Siidamerikas. 
Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 63, pp. 85-193. 
1932. Verwandtschaftsbezeichnungen und Verwandtenheirat. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 
64, pp. 41-71. 
Kirke, HENrRy. 
1898. Twenty-five years in British Guiana. London. 
KISSENBERTH, WILHELM. 
1912. Uber die hauptsachlichsten Ergebnisse der Araguaya-Reise. Zeit. Ethnol., 
vol. 44, pp. 36-59. 
KLeETKE, H. 
1857. Reise Seiner K6niglichen Hoheit des Prinzen Adalbert von Preussen nach 
Brasilien. Berlin. 
KLUPFEL, Kart Aucust, Eprror. 
1859. N. Federmanns und H. Staden Reisen in Siidamerica 1529 bis 1555. Stutt- 
gart. 
KocH-GrunBErG, THEODOR. 
1900. Zum Animismus der siidamerikanischen Indianer, Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., 
Suppl. to vol. 13. 
1902. Die Apiaka-Indianer (Rio Tapajés, Mato Grosso). Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 34, 
pp. 350-379. 
1905. Anfange der Kunst im Urwald. Indianer-handzeichnungen auf seinen 
Reisen in Brasilian gesammelt. Berlin. 
1905-08. Indianertypen aus dem Amazonasgebiet. 3 vols. Berlin. 
1906 a. Die Indianerstamme am oberen Rio Negro und Yapura. Zeit. Ethnol., 
vol. 28, pp. 166-205. 
1906 b. Die Maki. Mit fiinf Abbildungen nach Aufnahmen des Verfassers. 
Anthropos, vol. 1, pp. 877-906. 
1906 c. Die Maskentainze der Indianer des oberen Rio Negro und Yapura. 
Archiv. f. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 4, pp. 293-298. 
1906 d. Les Indiens Ouitotos: étude lingustique. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 
vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 157-189. 
1907. Siidamerikanische Felszeichnungen. Berlin. 
1908. Die Hiandkoto-Umaua. Anthropos, vol. 3, pp. 83-124, 297-333, 952-982. 
1909-10. Zwei jahre unter den Indianern. Reisen in Nordwest-Brasilien, 1903- 
1905. 2 vols. Berlin. 
1910 a. Die Miranya (Rio Yapura, Amazonas). Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 42, pp. 
896-914. 
1910 b. Die Uitdéto-Indianer. Weitere Beitrage zu ihrer Sprache nach einer 
Worterliste von Hermann Schmidt. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 
vol. 7, pp. 61-83. 
1911. Aruak-sprachen Nordwestbrasiliens und der angrenzenden Gebiete. Mitt. 
Anthrop. Gesell. Wien, vol. 41 (ser. 3, vol. 11), pp. 33-143. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 945 


1913 a. Meine Reise durch Nord-Brasilien zum Orinoco, 1911-1913. Zeit. 
Gesell, f. Erkunde, pp. 665-694. 
1913 b. Abschluss meiner Reise durch Nordbrasilien zum Orinico, mit be- 
sonderer Berticksichtigung der von mir besuchten Indianerstamme. 
Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 45, pp. 448-474. 
1913-16. Die Betédya-Sprachen Nordwestbrasiliens und der angrenzenden 
Gebiete. Anthropos, vol. 8, pp. 944-977; vol. 9, pp. 151-195, 569- 
589, 812-832; vols. 10-11, pp. 114-158, 421-449. 
1914. Ein Beitrag zur Sprache der Ipurina-Indianer (Rio Purus, Brasilien). 
Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 11, pp. 57-96. 
1918. Ueber die Kultur der Indianer Guayanas. Jahrbuch des staetischen 
Museums fiir Volkerkunde zu Leipzig, vol. 7, pp. 63-66. 
1920. Indianermarchen aus Siidamerika. Jena. (Also 1927 ed. Jena.) 
1922. Die Volkergruppierung zwischen Rio Branco, Orinoco, Rio Negro und 
Yapura. Festschrift Eduard Seler, pp. 205-266. Stuttgart. 
1923 a. Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, Ergebnisse einer Reise in Nordbrasilien 
und Venezuela in den jahren 1911-1913. Vol. 3. Stuttgart. (5 vols. 
pub. Berlin, 1917-28.) 
1923 b. Zwei Jahre bei den Indianern Nordwest-Brasiliens. Stuttgart. 
1932. Worterlisten “Tupy,” Maué und Purtbora. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, 
n.s., vol. 24, pp. 31-50. 
1934. Am Roroima bei meinen Freunden, den Indianern yom rosigen fels. 
Leipzig. (This is a reprint of vol. 1, chs. 1-8, of Vom Roreima zum 
Orinoco... .) 
See also Snethlage, Emil Heinrich, and Koch-Griinberg, Theodor. 
KocH-GRUNBERG, THEODOR, and HUBNER, GEORG. 
1908. Die Makuschi und Wapischana. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 40, pp. 1-44. 
KoENIGSWALD, GUSTAV VON. 
1908. Die Cayuas. Globus, vol. 93, pp. 376-381. 
Kok, P. See Rivet, PAuL, and FatHeErs Kok, P., and TastEvin, CoNSTANT. 
KoprE., B. See STUBEL, ALFONS, REIss, W., and Koppet, B. 
KosEr1TZ, CARLOS VON. 
1885. Bilder aus Brasilien. Leipzig and Berlin. 
KRAUSE, FRITZ. 
1911. In den wildnissen Brasiliens; Bericht und Ergebnisse der Leipziger 
Araguaya-Expedition, 1908. Leipzig. 
1936 a. Die Waura-Indianer des Schingu-Quellgebietes, Zentral-Brasilien. 
Mitt. Gesell. £. Volkerkunde, No. 7, pp. 14-31. 
1936 b. Die Yaruma- und Arawine-Indianer Zentralbrasiliens. Baessler-archiv., 
vol. 19, pp. 32-44. 
1936 c. Forschungsaufgaben im Schingu-Quellgebiet, Zentrallbrasilien. Tag- 
ungsberiche der Gesellschaft fiir V6lkerkunde in Leipzig. Bericht 
liber die 2 tagung, pp. 160-172. 
1939. Gegenstande der Waura-Indianer, Schingu-Quellgebiet, Zentral Brasilien. 
Mitt. der Deutschen Gesell. f. V6lkerkunde, No. 9, pp. 25-40. 
KRIEGER, HERBERT W. 
1935. Indian cultures of northeastern South America. Smithsonian Ann. Rep. 
for 1934, pp. 401-421. 
Krieck, Georc Lupwic. See Bacu, Moriz, 1838, 1929. 


946 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


KRICKEBERG, WALTER. 
1922. Die Volker Siidamerikas. Jn Illustrierte Volkerkunde, George Buschan, 
ed. Stuttgart. 
Kruse, ALBERT. 
1934. Munduruct moieties. Primitive Man, vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 51-57. (Correc- 
tions and additions to this paper are in vol. 10, No. 1, p. 16.) 
1935. Uber die Wanderungen der Munduructi in Stidamerika. Anthropos, vol. 
30, pp. 831-836. 
See also Missionarios Franciscanos. 
KrusEMAN, A. C. See Focke, H. C., 1858. 
KuNERT, AUGUST. 
1890. Rio grandenser Alterthtimer. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 22, pp. 31-37. 
1891. Das Alter der im Gegiete des Rio Cahy und Forromecco gefundenen 
Steinwaffen. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 23, pp. 339-345. 
1892. Siidbrasilianische Hohlen und Rickstande der friiheren Bewohner. Zeit. 
Ethnol., vol. 24, pp. 502-504. 
KunIKE, Huco. 
1911. Ethnographisches und Archidologisches aus der Guayaqui-Region. 
Amtliche Berichte aus der k6niglichen Kunstammlung, 22 Jahrgang, 
No. 7. Berlin. 
Lasat, JEAN BAPTISTE. 
1730. Voyage du chevalier Des Marchais en Guinée, isles voisines, et 4 Cayenne, 
fait en 1725, 1726 and 1727. 4 vols. Paris. 
1931. The memoirs of Pére Labat 1693-1705. Tr. and abridged by Philip 
Gosse. London. 


La Borde, SIEUR DE. 

1704. Voyage qui contient un relation exacte de l’origine, moeurs, coiitumes, 
réligion, guerres et voyages des Caraibes, sauvages des isles Antilles 
de l’Amerique, faite par le Sieur de la Borde, employé a la conversion 
des Caraibes, et tirée du cabinet de Monsr. Blondel. A. Leide, Chez 
P. van de Aa, 1704. In Hennepin, Louis, Voyage ou Nouvelle 
decouverte, pp. 517-604. Amsterdam. 

1886. History of the origin, customs, religion, wars, and travels of the Caribs, 
savages of the Antilles in America. Tr. by G. J. A. Bosch-Reitz. 
Timehri, vol. 5, pp. 224-254. 


LasrE, COLONEL. 

1889. Colonel Labre’s explorations in the region between the Beni and Madre 
de Dios rivers and the Purus. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc., ns., vol. 11, 
pp. 496-502. 

LACERDA E ALMEIDA, FRANCISCO JOSE MARIA DE. 

1841. Diario da viagem do Dr. Francisco José de Lacerda e Almeida pelas 
capitanias do Para, Rio Negro, Matto-Grosso, Cuyaba, e S. Paulo, 
nos annos de 1780 a 1790. Sao Paulo. 

La CoNDAMINE, CHARLES MARIE DE. 

1745. Relation abrégée d’un voyage fait dans l’interieur de l’Amérique Méridio- 

nale. Paris. (1st English ed., 1747, London.) 
La Crorx, ABBE DE. 

1904. Déscription ... de la Guyane Frangaise. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 

vol. 1, pp. 133-151. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 947 


LaET, JOANNES DE. 

1625. Nieuvve Wereldt, ofte Beschrijvinghe van West-Indien, wt veelderhande 
Schriften ende Aen-Teeckeninghen van verscheyden Natien by een 
versamelt door Ioannes de Laet, Leyden. (2nd Dutch ed., 1630, 
Leyden; Latin ed., 1633, enlarged; French ed., 1640, Leyden, tr. from 
1633 Latin ed.) 

1644, Historie of te Iaerlijck Verhael van de Verrichtinghen der Geoctroyeerde 
West-Indische compagnie. Leyden. (Portuguese tr. pub. in “Officinas 
graphicas da Biblioteca nacional,” 1916-25, Rio de Janeiro.) 

1899. Mapa. Rio Branco: Frontiéres entre le Brésil et la Guyane frangaise. 
Atlas. No. 60. Paris. 

See also Rio-Branco, Bardo de, 1899. 
LAFONE-QUEVEDO, SAMUEL A, 

1905. La lengua Leca de los rios Mapiri y Beni segtin los mss. de los PP. 
Cardis y Herrero. An. Soc. Cient. Argentina, vol. 60, pp. 5-20, 49-64, 
97-113, 168-180. 

1909. Etnologia argentina. La Universidad Nacional de La Plata en el 4th 
Congreso cientifico (1st Panamericano), pp. 176-215. Buenos Aires. 

1910-11. Las lenguas de tipo guaycurt y chiquito comparadas. Rev. Mus. La 

Plata, vol. 17 (2nd ser., vol. 4), pp. 7-68. 
See also Armentia, Nicolas, 1902 and 1906; and Schmidel, Ulrich, 1903. 
Laco, Antonia F. P. po. 
1822. Estudo historico e geografico da Provincia do Maranhiao. Lisbdéa. 
La JorNADA DEL CapitAN ALONSO MERcaADILLo. See JIMENEZ DE LA Espapa, 
Marcos, 1897. 
Lanprf, Du. See Focxe, H. C., Lanprt, Du., Sypesteyn, C. A. vAN, and Du- 
MONTIER, F, A. C., 1855-58. 
LANGE, ALGOT. 
1912. In the Amazon jungle; adventures in remote parts of the upper Amazon 
River, including a sojourn among cannibal Indians. New York and 
London. 
1914. The lower Amazon. New York and London. 
LANGcLotrs, Louis. 

1940. El Valle del Utucubamba. Mus. Nac., Lima. 
Lans, W. H. 

1842. Bijdrage tot de kennis der Kolonie Suriname. ’s Gravenhage. 
Las CASAS, ENRIQUE DE. 

1935. Monografia de la provincia de Huallaga. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 
52, pp. 335-354. 

Lascu, R. 

1910. Zur siidamerikanischen Amazonensage. Mitt. Anthrop, Gesell. Wien, vol. 

2, pp. 278-289. 
LAUREANO DE LA CRUZ. 

1900. Nuevo descubrimiento del rid de Marafion llamado de las Amazonas 
(1651). Madrid. (From a ms. in the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, 
written in 1653.) (“Saggio di Bibliografia geografica storica etnografica 
Sanfrancescana por Fr. Marcellino da Cibezza,” in edition of 1879.) 

Lawner, Hans N. 

1930. Die Cuiapo-Pihiki. Ein neuent deckter Indianerstamm am Orinoco. Der 

Erdball, vol. 4, pp. 304-306. 
LEBLOND, JEAN BAPTISTE. 

1813. Voyage aux Antilles, et a l’Amérique meridionale. Commencé 1767 
et fini en 1802. Paris. 

1814. Description abrégée de la Guyane Francaise. Paris. 


948 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


LEcLERC, CHARLES. See ADAM, LucIEN, and LEcLERc, CHARLEs, 1880; and ADAM, 

Lucien, 1890 a. 

LEHMANN-NITSCHE, ROBERT. 

1924. La astronomia de los Chiriguanos. Rev. Mus. La Plata, vol. 28, pp. 

80-102. 
1936-37. El avestruz galaxial de los Guarani. Obra del cincuentenario del 
Museo de la Plata, vol. 2, pp. 201-205. 

LEIGH, CHARLES. 

1906. Captaine Charles Leigh his voyage to Guiana and plantation there. In 
Purchase, Samuel, Hakluyt’s posthumus or Purchase his pilgrimes . . ., 
vol. 26, pp. 309-323. Glasgow. 

LEIrTE, SERAFIM. 

1943. Histéria da Companhia de Jesus no Brasil. Vol. 3. Rio de Janeiro and 

Lisboa. 

LELYVELD, TH. VAN. 

1919. De kleeding der surnaamsche bevolkingsgroepen in verband met aard en 
gewoonten. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 1, pp. 247-268, 458-470; vol. 2, 
pp. 20-34, 125-143. 

LEPRIEUR, M. 

1834. Voyage dans la Guyane central. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, 2nd ser., vol. 1, 
pp. 201-229. 

Léry, JEAN DE. 

1880. Histoire d’un voyage fait en la terre du Brésil. Nouvelle édition avec une 
introduction et des notes par Paul Gaffarel. 2 vols. Paris. 

LETTRES EDIFIANTES ET CURIEUSES, ESCRITES DES MISSIONS ETRANGERES, PAR QUELQUES 
MISSIONNAIRES DE LA COMPAGNIE DE JESus. 1780-83. 26 vols, Paris. (Lyon ed., 
1819, also cited in this volume.) 

LEvEL, ANDRES EUSEBIO. 

1850. Informe sobre el estado actual de los distritos de reduccién de indijenas 
Alto Orinoco, Central y Bajo Orinoco, y medidas que reclaman. 
Caracas. 

1873. El Delta del Orinoco tornado de la Esploracién al alto bajo Orinoco y 
central en 1850. Memoria de la Direccién General de Estadistica al 
Presidente de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela. Vol. 3. 

Lévi-Strauss, CLAUDE. 

1943 a. The social use of kinship terms among Brazilian Indians. Amer. 

Anthrop., June. 

1943 b. Guerre et commerce chez les Indiens de l’Amerique du Sud. Renais- 

sance, No. 1. New York. 

n.d. a. Notes on the Tupi Indians of the Upper Gy-Parana. MS. 

n.d. b. Tribes of the Machado-Guaporé hinterland. MS. 

LIMA FIGUEIREDO, JOSE DE. 

1939. Indios do Brasil. Bibl. Pedag. Brasil, ser. 5a, Brasiliana, vol. 163. 

LINHARES, MAxXIMo. 

1913. Os indios do territorio do Acre. Journal do Commercio, domingo 12 de 
Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro. 

LinnE, SIGVALD. 

1925. The technique of South American ceramics. G6teborgs Kongl. Vet. Vitt. 
Handl., 4 fdljden, vol. 29, No. 5. 

1928 a. Archaologische Sammlungen des Gotenburger Museums vom unteren 

Amazonas. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 22, Rome, 1926, vol. 1, pp. 
583-597. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 949 


1928 b. Les recherches archéologiques de Nimuendaji au Brésil. Journ. Soc. 
Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 20, pp. 71-91. 

1936. A sepulchral urn from Paraguay. Ethnos, vol. 1, pp. 133-136. 

1937. Notes on the archaeology of Venezuela. Ethnos, vol. 2, pp. 21-32. 
LIsANDRO, ALVARADO. 

1921. Glosario de voces indigenas de Venezuela. Caracas. 

Lister Maw, Henry. See Maw, Henry Lister. 
LizARRAGA, REGINALDO DE. 
1909. Descripcion breve de toda la tierra del Peri, Tucuman, Rio de la Plata 
y Chile. Jn Nueva Bibliotéca de Autores Espafioles, vol. 15. Historia- 
dores de Indias, vol. 2, pp. 485-678. Madrid. 
Lizer, CARLOS. 
1918. Presentacién de objetos hechos por los mestizos e indigenas reducidos del 
oriente boliviano. Physis, vol. 4, p. 128. 
Liosa, ENRIQUE S. 
1906. Tribu de los Arazaires. Algunas voces de su dialecto. Bol. Soc. Geogr. 
Lima, vol. 19, pp. 302-306. 
Lioyp, H. E. See Sprx, JOHANN Baptist von, and Martius, KARL FREDERICK VON, 
1824. 
LoparEs, BALTASAR DE. 

1929-31. Los franciscanos capuchinos en Venezuela. 3 vols. Caracas. 
LoHMANN, CHRISTOPH WILHELM, Tr. See PrRuDHOMME, Louis Mart, 1799. 
LoMBARD, JESUIT PIERRE AIME. 

1928. Recherches sur les tribus indiennes qui occupaient le territoire de la 

Guyane francaise vers 1730, d’aprés les documents de l’époque. Journ. 
Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 20, pp. 121-155. 
See also Labat, Jean Baptiste, 1730, vol. 4, pp. 424-681. 
Lopes, RAIMUNDO. 
1925. Les Indiens Arikémes. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 21, Goteborg, 1924, pt. 2, 
pp. 630-642. 
1934. Os Tupis do Gurupy. (Ensaio comparativo). Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 
25, La Plata, 1932, vol. 1, pp. 139-171. 
L6OpeEz BorREGUERO, RAMON. 
1875. Los Indios caribes, memorias interesantes de Venezuela. 2 vols. 
Madrid. 
Lopez DE ARANJO, FRANCISCO XAVIER. 
1884. Relatoria apresentado 4 assemblea geral legislativa pelo ministro dos 
negocios estrangeiros .. . Rio de Janeiro. 
Lépez, Vicror M. See ExpLorACION DE LA GRAN SABANA, 1939. 
Los SALVAJES DE SAN GABAN. 
1902. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 11, pp. 353-356. 
LosE BLATTER po CuruRU. See MISSIONARIOS FRANCISCANOS. 
LotHrop, SAMUEL KIRKLAND. 
1932. Indians of the Parana delta, Argentina. An. N. Y. Acad. Sci., vol. 33, 
pp. 77-232. 
LouxkorKa, CEsTMir. 
1929. Le Seta, un nouveau dialecte tupi. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s.. vol. 21, 
pp. 373-398. 
1932. La familia lingitistica Kamakan del Brasil. Rev. Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. 
Tucuman, vol. 2, pp. 493-524. 

1939. Linguas indigenas do Brasil. Rev. Arg. Mun. Sado Paulo, vol. 54. 
Lovén, SVEN. 

1924. Uber die Wurzeln der tainischen Kultur . . . G6teborg. 


950 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


1928. The Orinoco in old Indian times (economy and trade). Congr. Int. 
Amer., sess. 22, Rome, 1926, vol. 2, pp. 711-725. 
Lowe, F. See SMyTH, WILLIAM, and LoweE, F., 1836. 
LozANo, PEDRO. 
1873-75. Historia de la conquista del Paraguay, Rio de la Plata y Tucuman. 
5 vols. Buenos Aires. 
1941. Descripcion corografica ... del Gran Chaco Gualamba. Pubi. Univ. 
Nac. Tucuman, No. 288, pp. 89-103. (Also pub. 1733, Cérdova.) 
Luppock, JOHN. 
1874. Note on the Macas Indians. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Great Britain, Ireland, 
vol. 3, p. 29. 
LuguEtT, G.-H. 
1933. Exposition d’ethnographie guyanaise au Trocadéro. La Nature, vol. 61, 
No. 2896, January, pp. 30-32. Paris. 
Lutz, FRANK E. 
1912 a. String-figures from the Upper Potaro. Timehri, 3rd ser., vol. 2, pp. 
117-127. 
1912 b. String-figures from the Patomana Indians of British Guiana. Anthrop. 
Pap. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 12, pp. 1-14. 
McTurk, MIcHAEL. 
1882. A journey up the Cuyuni. Timehri, vol. 1, pp. 126-132. 
Macepo Costa, D. 
1875. Der Volkstamm der Apeiacas im Stromgebiet des Amazonas. Ref. in 
Globus, vol. 27. 
MacteEL PARENTE, BENITO. 
1874. Memorial para conservar y augmentar la conquista y tierra del Marajion. 
In Candido Mendes de Almeida, ed., Memorias para a historia do 
extincto Estado do Maranhao. Vol. 2, Rio de Janeiro. 
MAGALHAES, COUTO DE. 
1876. O Selvagem. Rio de Janeiro. 
MAGALHAES DE GANDAVO, PEDRO DE. 
1922. The histories of Brazil. (Tr. into English for first time and annotated 
by John B. Stetson, Jr., with a facsimile of the Portuguese original, 
1576.) The Cortes Society. New York. 
Macio, P. Antonio. See ApAM, LucIEN, and LECLERC, CHARLES, 1880 
Mazz, Morens. 
1862. Téte d’Indien jivaro (Pérou oriental) conservée et momifiée par un 
procédé particulier, avec quelques renseignements sur les Jivaros. Bull. 
Soc. Anthrop. Paris, vol. 3, p. 185. 
Mancetsporr, P. C., and Reeves, R. G. 
1939. The origin of Indian corn and its relatives. Texas Agr. Exper. Station, 
Bull. No. 574. 
Manovuverer, M. L. 
1882. Sur les Galibis du Jardin d’acclimation. Bull. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 3rd 
ser., vol. 5, pp. 602-643. 
Marsdn, PeEpro. 
1898. Relacién de la provincia de la virgen del Pilar de Mojos. Bol. Soc. 
Geogr. La Paz, vol. 1, pp. 120-137; No. 2, pp. 137-161. 
Marcano, G. 
1889 a. Ethnographique station precolombienne des vallées d’aragua republique 
du Venezuela. Bul. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 3d ser., vol. 11, pp. 225-234. 
1889 b. Ethnographie precolombienne du Venezuela. Region des raudals de 
l’Orenoque. Bul. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 3d ser., vol. 12, pp. 391-402. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 951 


MARCGGRAVI DE LieBsTaD, GEorG. See Piso, GULIELMUS, and MARCGGRAVI DE 
LieBsTaD, GrorcE, 1648. 
Marcoy, PAUL. 
1866. De l’océan Pacifique a l’océan Atlantique a travers de l’Amérique du Sud. 
Le Tour du Monde, vol. 14. 
1867. Voyage de l’océan Pacifique a l’océan Atlantique a travers l’Amérique du 
Sud. Le Tour du Monde, vol. 15. 
1869. Voyage a travers l’Amérique du Sud de |’océan Pacifique a l’océan Atlan- 
tique. 2 vols. Paris. 
1875. Travels in South America from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. 
2 vols. London. 
See also Saint-Cricq, Laurent. 
Marta, JOSE DE 
1918. Gramatica y vocabulario jibaro. Bol. Soc. Ecuatoriana Estud. Hist., 
vol. 1, p. 171. 
MARKHAM, CLEMENTS ROBERT. 
1856. Cuzco: A journey to the Ancient Capital of Peru; with an account of 
the history, language, literature, and antiquities of the Incas. And 
Lima: A visit to the capital and provinces of modern Peru; with 
a sketch of the Viceregal Government, history of the Republic, and a 
review of the literature and society of Peru. London. 
1895. A list of the tribes in the valley of the Amazon. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. 
Great Britain, Ireland, vol. 24, pp. 236-284. 
1896. Recent discoveries of the basin of the River Madre de Dios (Bolivia and 
Perit). Geogr. Journ., vol 7, pp. 187-190. 
1907. Bibliography of Peru. A.D. 1526-1907. Publ. Hakluyt Soc., ser. 11, 
vol. 22. 
1910. A list of the tribes of the valley of the Amazons, including those on the 
banks of the main stream and of all the tributaries. Journ. Anthrop. 
Inst. Great Britain, Ireland, vol. 40, pp. 73-140. 
1911. Expeditions into the valley of the Amazons. Hakluyt Soc. 
See also Sarmiento de Gambéa, Pedro, 1907. 
Maron, Pasito. See NOTICIAS AUTENTICAS DEL FAMOSA Rfo MARANON... 
1889-92. 
MARQUES, BUENVENTURA. 
n.d. Vocabulario de la lengua camba, escrito en favor del Colegio de Ocopa. 
MS. 
1903. Vocabulario de los idiomas indicos; conocidos por Cunibos y Panao 6 
Setebos. La Gaceta cientifica, afio 14. Lima. 
MARQUES, CEZAR AUGUSTO. 
1864. Apontamentos para o diccionario historico, geographico, topographico e 
estadistico da Provincia do Maranhao. Maranhao. 
1870. Diccionario historico-geografico da Provincia do Maranhao. Maranhao. 
Marre, Aristipe. See Bret, ANTOINE, 1896. 
Martin, K. 
1886. Berichte tiber eine Reise ins Gebiet des oberen Surinam. Bejdrage tot 
de taal- land- en volkenkunde van Nederlandisch-Indié, vol. 35, pp. 1-76. 
Martius, KARL FRIEDRICH PHILIPP VON. 
1823-31. Reise in Brasilien. 3 vols. Munich. See also Spix, Johann Baptist 
von and Martius, Karl Friederich Phillipp von. 
1863, 1867. Beitrage zur Ethnographie und Sprachenkunde Siidamerika’s, zumal 
Brasiliens. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Zur Ethnographie. 1867, Leipzig. 
Vol. 2, Zur Sprachenkunde. 1863, Erlangen. 


952 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Mas6o, JoAo ALBERTO. 
1919. Os Indios Cachararys. Rev. Soc. Geogr. Rio de Janeiro, vols. 22-24 
(1909-11), pp. 98-100. 
Mason, GREGORY. 
1940. South of yesterday. New York. 
MAssA, PIETRO. 
1936. Prélature du Rio Negro et du Port-Velho. Aprés vingt ans d’apostolat. 
Bull. Salésien, vol. 58, pp. 236-239; vol. 60, pp. 231-235. Turin. 
Mata, PEpRO DE LA. 
1923. Arte de la lengua cholona. Inca, vol, 1, No. 3, pp. 690-750. 
MATALLANA, BALTAZAR DE. 
1937. La Gran Sabana, Tres afios de misién en los confines de Guayana. Bol. 
Soc. Venezolana Cienc. Nat., vol. 4, No. 29. 
MaTHER, KirTLEy F. 
1922 a. Along the Andean front in southeastern Bolivia. Geogr. Rev., vol. 12, 
pp. 358-374. 
1922 b. Exploration in the land of the Yuracarés, eastern Bolivia. Geogr. 
Rev., vol. 12, pp. 42-56. 
MaTHEws, Epwarp Davis. 
1879. Up the Amazon and Madeira rivers, through Bolivia and Peru. London. 
Matos ARVELO, Martin. 
1903. Algo sobre tenografia del Territorio Amazonas de Venezuela. Ciudad 
Bolivar. (Another edition, 1908.) 
1912. Vida indiana; usos, costumbres, religién, industria, gobierno, ceremonias 
y supersticiones de los Indios. Barcelona. 
Mattos, JoAo WILKENS DE. 
1874. Diccionario topographico do Departmento de Loreto na republica do 
Peri sPara: 
MaurEL, Dr. 
1882. Etude anthropologique et ethnographique sur deux tribus d’indiens vivant 
sur les rives du Maroni: les Araconquennes et les Galibis. Mém. Soc. 
Anthrop. Paris, 2nd ser., vol. 2, pp. 369-396. 
Maurtua, ANf{BAL. 
1919. La provincia de Pachitea. Lima. 
Maurtua, Victor M. 
1906. Juicio de limites entre el Pert y Bolivia. 12 vols. Barcelona. 


Maw, Henry LIsTrER. 
1829. Journal of a passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. London. 


MAYNTZHUSEN, F. C. 
1912. tiber verkolumbianische Siedelungen und UrnenfriedhOfe der Guarani am 
Alto Parana. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 17, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 

459-469. 


MEapD, CHARLES W. 
1907. Technique of some South American feather-work. Anthrop. Pap. Amer. 
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 1, pp. 1-17. 


MEANS, Purp AINSWORTH. 
1917. A note on the Guarani invasions of the Inca empire. Geogr. Rev. vol. 4, 
pp. 482-484. 
1931. Ancient civilizations of the Andes. New York. 
MEDINA, ELISIO. 


1933 a. Monografia sobre el descubrimiento del rio Amazonas . . . Bogota. 
1933 b. Monografia sobre Amazonas y las tribus (1540-1640). Bogota. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 953 


MepINnA, JosE Torisio. 

1908. El veneciano Sebastian Caboto, al servicio de Espafia... 2 vols. San- 
tiago. 

1934. The discovery of the Amazon according to the account of the Friar 
Gaspar de Carvajal and other documents as published with an intro- 
duction by J. T. Medina, tr. from the Spanish by T. Lee, and ed. by 
W. C. Heaton. Amer. Geogr. Soc., Spec. Publ. No. 17. 

MEERWARTH, H. 
1904. Eine zoologische Forschungsreise nach dem Rio Acara im Staate Para 
(Brasilien). Globus, vol. 86, pp. 289-296. 
MEILLET, A., and COHEN, MARCEL. 
1924. Les langues du monde. Paris. See also Rivet, Paul, 1924. 
MELENDEZ, JUAN. 
1681-82. Tesoros verdaderos de las Yndias . . . 3 vols. Roma. 
MELGAGo, BARAO DE. 

1884. Apontamentos para o diccionario corographico da Provincia de Matto 

Grosso. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brazil, vol. 48. 
MELGAREJO, SIXTO. 

1886. Vocabulario Guahibo en resumen de las actas de la Academia Venezulana 

Correspondiente de la Real Espafiola de la Lengua. Caracas. 
MELLo, MArro. 

1924. Um mirakitaé pernambucano. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 20, Rio de Janeiro, 
1922, vol. 1, pp. 251-253. 

1929. Os Carnijds de Aguas Bellas. Rev. Mus. Paulista, vol. 16, pp. 793-846. 

MELLO MoraEs, ALEXANDRE JOSE DE. 
1858-63. Corographia historica, chronographica, geneologica, nobilitaria, e 
politica do imperio do Brasil. 4 vols. in 5. Rio de Janeiro. 
MeEmorrIA DA Nova NAVAGACGAO DO Rio ArINos. Rev. Inst. Hist., 1856, vol. 19. 
(Also 1898 ed., vol. 19, pp. 99-118.) 
MENDES DE ALMEIDA, CANDIDO. 

n.d. O Tury-assi. Rio de Janeiro. 

See also Gongalves da Fonseca, José, 1874; and Maciel Parente, Benito, 1874. 
MENESES, JOAO MANOEL DE. 


1919. Diario da Viagem do Governador D....do Para a Goiaz. Subsidios 
para a historia da Capitania de Goiaz. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 84, pp. 
41-294. 


MENsE, P. Huco. See MISSIONARIOS FRANCISCANOS. 
MENSE, P. H. von. 
1935. Der MHochgottglaube der Mundurukti-Indianer. Zeit. Missions. u. 
Religion., vol. 25, pt. 1, pp. 21-36. 
MENTELLE, SIMON. 
1782. Voyage géographique dans l’intérieur de la Guyane frangaise allant de 
Cayenne par la riviere de l’Oyapock aux Indiens Araunchaux aux 
Indiens Emerillons et redescendant par l’Araona et par le Maroni pour 
regagner Cayenne par la cdte d’traconbo, en mars et trois mois 
suivantes, 1767. Feuille de la Guyane frangaise. 
MERCADILLO, CAPITAN ALONSO. See JIMENEZ DE LA Espana, Marcos, 1897. 
Mesones Muro, MANUEL ANTONIO. 
1903. Vias al Oriente del Peri. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 13, pp. 54-89. 
1914. La tribu de los Bracamoros. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 30, pp. 25-26. 
MEtTRAUX, ALFRED. 
1927. Les migrations historiques des Tupi-Guarani. Journ. Soc. Amér, Paris, 
n.s., vol. 19, pp. 1-45. 


954 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


1928 a. La civilisation matérielle des tribus Tupi-Guarani. Paris. 

1928 b. La religion des Tupinamba et ses rapports avec celle des autres tribus 
Tupi-Guarani. Bibliothéque de l’école des hautes études, sciences 
religieuses, vol. 45. Paris. 

1928 c. Un ancien document peu connu sur les Guarayt de la Bolivie orientale. 
Anthropos, vol. 24, pp. 913-941. 

1930 a. Contribution 4 l’étude de l’archéologie du Cours supérieur et moyen de 
l’Amazone. Rev. Mus. La Plata, vol. 32, pp. 145-185. 

1930 b. Etudes sur la civilisation des Indiens Chiriguano. Rev. Inst. Etnol. 
Univ. Nac. Tucuman, vol. 1, pp. 295-494. 

1931 a. Mitos y cuentos de los Indios Chiriguanos. Rev. Mus. La Plata, vol. 33, 
pp. 119-184. 

1931 b. Observaciones sobre psicologia de los Indios Chiriguanos. Solar, vol. 1, 
pp. 89-122. 

1932. Les hommes-dieux chez les Chiriguano et dans |’Amérique du Sud. Rev. 

Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. Tucuman, vol. 2, entrega 2a, pp. 61-92. 

1933. Contribution 4 l’archéologie bolivienne. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 
vol. 25, pp. 279-291. 

1935. La mujer en la vida social y religiosa de los indios Chiriguanos. Rev. 
Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. Tucuman, vol. 3, entrega 3a, pp. 145-166. 

1940. Los Indios Manado. An. Inst, Etnogr. Amer., vol. 1, pp. 235-244. 

1942. The native tribes of eastern Bolivia and western Matto Grosso. Bur. 
Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 134. 

1943. The social organization and religion of the Mojo and Manasi. Primitive 
Man, vol. 16, Nos. 1 and 2, Jan. and April, pp. 1-30. 

MEYER, HERMANN. 

1896. Muschelhiigel (Sambaki) und Urnenfeld bei Laguna (Brasilien). 
Globus, vol. 69, pp. 338-340. 

1897 a. Tagebuch meiner Brasilienreise. 1896. Zweites Heft. 

1897 b. Im Quellgebiet des Schingu. Landschafts- und Volkerbilder aus 
Centralbrasilien. Jn Verhandl. Gesell. Deutsch. Natur. u. Arzte, 
Allgemeiner Teil. 

1897 c. Uber seine Expedition nach Central-Brasilien. Verhandl. d. Gesell. 
f. Erdkunde zu Berlin. 

1897 d. Meine Reise nach Brasilien. Werhandl. Deutsche Kolonial-Gesellschaft. 
Abteilung Berlin-Charlottenburg. Heft 5. Berlin, 

1898. Carta a Virchow de 16 de Junho de 1898. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 30, pp. 

258-259. 

1900. Bericht iiber seine zweite Xingi-Expedition. Verhandl. d. Gesell. F. 
Erdkunde zu Berlin, Nos. 2 and 3, pp. 112-128. 

1904. Uber die Kunst der Xingu-Indianer. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 14, Stutt- 
gart, pp. 455-471. 

See also Krause, Fritz, 1936 b. 
MICHELENA Y Rojas, FRANCISCO. 

1867. Exploracién oficial por la primera vez desde el norte de la America del 
Sur siempre por rios, entrando por las bocas del Orinoco, de las valles 
de este mismo y del Meta, Casiquiare, Rio Negro 6 Guaynia y Amazonas, 
hasta Nanta en el alto Marafion 6 Amazonas arriba de las bocas del 
Ucayali bajada dél Amazonas hasta el Atlantico. Brussels. 

Mitter, LEo E. 

1917. Up the Orinoco to the land of the Maquiritares. Geogr. Rev., vol. 3, 
pp. 258-277. 

1919. In the wilds of South America. New York. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 955 


MItuet DE SAINt-ApDOLPHE, J. C. R. 

1845. Diccionario geographico, historico e descriptivo do imperio do Brazil. 

2 vols. Paris. 
MissAo Ronvon, 

1916. Apontamentos sobre os trabalhos realizados pela Commissao de Linhas 
Telegraphicas Estrategicas de Matto Grosso ao Amazonas. Rio de 
Janeiro. 

See also Rondén, Candido Mariano da Silva. 
MISSIONARIOS FRANCISCANOS. 
Information from Fathers Mense and Kruse, partly published in “Lose Blatter do 
Cururt” and partly furnished directly to Curt Nimuendaji. 
MitrE, BARTOLOME. See SCHMIDEL, ULRIcH, 1903. 
Mocut, ALpo BRANDINO. 

1903. I popoli dell’ Uaupé e la famiglia etnica Miranha. Archiv. Antrop. 

Etnol., vol. 33, pp. 97-130. 
MocQueT, JEAN. 

1645. Voyages en Afrique, Asie, Indes Orientales, et UOccidentales. Rouen. 

(English ed., tr. by Nathaniel Pulku, 1896, London.) 
MOLLINEDO, ANDRES DE, 

1906. Informacién hecha por el Licenciado Don .. ., en virtud de la Comisién 
del Ilmo. Sr. Obispo del Cuzco sobre el estado que tiene la misién de 
los indios infieles contiguos 4 la provincia de Carabaya. In Juicio de 
limites entre el Pert y Bolivia, vol. 12, pp. 68-94. 

See Maurtua, Victor M., 1906. 
Montane, LuIs. 

1903. Chanchas y Jibaros. Cronica médico quirurgica de la Habana, vol. 29, 
No. 22. 

MonTEIRO BAENA, ANTONIO LADISLAU. 

1843. Observagées ou notas illustrativas dos primeiros tres capitulos da parte 
segunda do Theszouro descoberto no Rio Amazonas. Rev. Inst. Hist., 
vol. 5. (3rd ed., 1885, vol. 5, pp. 275-311.) 

1870. Resposta ao illmo e exmo Snr. Herculano Ferreira Penna, Presidente da 
Provincia do Para sobre a communicacgdo mercantil entre a dita pro- 
vincia e a de Goyaz (1847). Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brazil, vol. 10. 

MonTEeErro NoronuHa, Jose. 

1862. Roteiro da viagem da cidade do Para até as ultimas colonias dos Dominios 
Portuguezes em os Rios Amazonas e Negro. 1768. Para. 

1903. Fragments de I’Itinéraire . .. Limites entre le Brésil et la Guyane Anglaise: 
Annexes au premier mémoire du Brésil, vol. 3, pp. 192-203. Paris. 

Mon Tezon, M. F. bE. 

1857. Voyages et travaux des missionnaires de la compagnie de Jésus publiés 
par les péres de la méme compagnie, pour servir de complément aux 
lettres édifiantes I. Mission de Cayenne et de la Guyane frangaise. 
Paris. 

MoNTOLIEU, F. 

Viaje al Inirida—el Tiempo 1877. 

Montoya, ANTONIO Rufz pE. See Ruiz p—E Montoya, ANTONIO. 
Moraes, JOsE DE. 

1860. Histéria da Companhia de Jesus na extincta Provincia do Maranhdo e 

Para. Rio de Janeiro. 
Morats, Luciano JAQUES DE, 
1924. Inscripgdes rupestres no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro. 


653333—47—63 


956 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MorpIniI, ANTONIO. 

1931. Lo spartiacque Guiano-Brasiliano. Roma. 

1934. Les cultures précolombiennes du bas Amazone et leur développement 
artistique. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 24, Hamburg, pp. 61-65. 

See Panhuys, L. C. van, Mordini, A., and Herskovits, M. J., 1934. 
MorerrRA PINTO, ALFREDO. 

1894. Apontamentos para o Diccionario Geographico do Brazil. ‘“Anambé,” 

vol. 1. Rio de Janeiro. 
MorENO, FULGENCIO R. 

1926. La ciudad de la Asuncién. Buenos Aires. 

1929. Cuestidn de limites con Bolivia, negociaciones diplomaticas, 1915-1917. 
2nd ed., vol. 2. Asuncion. 

Morton, C. V. 
1931. Notes on yagé, a drug plant of southeastern Colombia. Washington 
Acad. Sci., vol. 21, pp. 485-488. 
Moura, IGNAcIo BAPTISTA DE. 
1910. Viagem de Belém a Sao Joao do Araguaya. Rio de Janeiro and Paris. 
1922. Etnografia estatica. Dic. Hist., Geogr. e Etnol. do Brasil, vol. 2, p. 134. 
Muratori, Lupovico ANTONIO. 
1754. Nouvelles des missions du Paraguay. 
Mujia, RICARDO. 

1914. Bolivia-Paraguay. Exposicion de los titulos que consagran el derecho 
territorial de Bolivia, sobre la zona comprendida entre los rios Pilco- 
mayo y Paraguay. 4vols. La Paz. 

MULLER, FRANZ. 
1934-35. Beitrage zur Ethnographie der Guarani-Indianer im Ostlichen Waldge- 
biet von Paraguay. Anthropos, vol. 29, pp. 177-208, 441-460, 695- 
702; vol. 30, pp. 151-164, 433-450, 767-783. 
Muratort, Lupovico ANTONIO. 
1754. Nouvelles des missions du Paraguay. 
MuriEL, DoMINGO. 

1918. Historia del Paraguay desde 1747 hasta 1767, obra latina del... tr. al 
castellano por el P. Pablo Hernandez. Jn Coleccién de libros y docu- 
mentos referentes 4 la historia de America, vol. 19. Madrid. 

Narcisso y BARCELo. See SKINNER, JOSEPH, 1809. 
NAVARRETE, RODRIGO DE. 

1895. Excerpts of his voyage of 1544, entitled, “Account of the Provinces and 
Nations of the Aruacos...”’ Arch. de Indias; Patronato. Jn Rodway, 
James, 1895. 

NAVARRO, MANUEL, 

1903. Vocabulario castellano-quechua-pano con sus respectivas gramaticas 
Quechua y pana. Lima. 

1924. La tribu campa. Lima. 

Navarro, Mons. NicorAs E. See Bueno, Ramon, 1933. 

NeELson, JEAN THomas. See Rippy, JAMES Frep, and NELSON, JEAN THOMAS, 
1936. 

Netto, LADISLAO. 

1885. Investigacdes sobre a archeologia Brazileira. Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio de 
Janeiro, vol. 6, pp. 257-555. 

NIEMAEYER, CONRADO JACOB. 
1846. Carta corographica do Imperio do Brazil . . . Rio de Janeiro. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 957 


NIEMEYER, OLYMPIO, 

1885. Os Indios Crichanas. Noticia ethnographica com uma introducgdo de 

Melo Moraes Filho. Rio de Janeiro. 
NIEUHOF, JOHAN. 

1682. Joan Nieuhofs Gedenkwaerdige zee en lantreize door de voornaemste 
landschappen van West en Oostindien. 2 vols. in 1. Amsterdam. 

1707. Voyages and travels into Brasil .. . 

NIMUENDAJU, Curr. 

1914 a. Die Sagen von der Erschaffung und Vernichtung der Welt als Grund- 
lagen der Religion der Apapoctva-Guarani. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 46, 
pp. 284403. 

1914 b. Vokabular der Pariri-Sprache. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 46, pp. 619-625. 

1914 c. Vocabularios da Lingua Geral do Brazil nos dialectos dos Manajé do 
Rio Ararandéua, Tembé do Rio Acara Pequeno e Turiwara do Rio 
Acara Grande, Est. do. Para. Zeit. Ethnol. vol. 46, pp. 615-618. 

1915. Sagen der Tembé-Indianer (Parad und Maranhdo). Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 
47, pp. 281-301. 

1919-20. Bruchstticke aus Religion und Uberlieferung der Sipdaia-Indianer. 

Anthropos, vols. 14-15, pp. 1002-1039. 
1921-22. Bruchstiicke aus Religion und Uberlieferung der Sipaia-Indianer. 
Anthropos, vols. 16-17, pp. 367-406. 
1923-24. Zur Sprache der Sipaia-Indianer. Anthropos, vols. 18-19, pp. 836-857. 
1924. Os Indios Parintintin do Rio Madeira. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., 
vol. 16, pp. 201-278. 
1925. As Tribus do Alto Madeira. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 17, pp. 
137-172. 
1926. Die Palikur-indianer und ihre Nachbarn. Gd6teborgs Kongl. Vet. Vitt. 
Handl., vol. 31, No. 2. 
1927. Streifzug vom Rio Jary zum Maraca. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 73, pp. 
356-358. 
1929 a. Zur sprache der Maué-Indianer. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., vol. 
21, pp. 131-140. 

1929 b. Wortliste der Sipaia-Sprache. Anthropos, vol. 24, pp. 863-896. 

1930 a. Zur sprache der Kuruaya-Indianer. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., 
vol. 22, pp. 317-345. 

1930 b. Besuch bei den Tukuna-Indianern. Ethnologischer Anzeiger. Vol. 2. 
Leipzig. 

1932 a. Idiomas Indigenas del Brasil. Rev. Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. Tucuman, 
vol. 2, pp. 543-618. 

1932 b. Wortlisten aus Amazonien. Journ. Soc. Amér, Paris, n.s., vol. 24, pp. 
93-119. 

1938. Rapports entre les Munduruktit et les Tupi. Anthropos, vol. 33, pp. 
975-976. 

1939. The Apinayé. Tr. by Robert H. Lowie. Anthrop. Ser. Catholic Univ., No. 8. 

MS. Erkundungsreise zu den Gérotire-Kayapé (1939440). 

MS. Os Indios Tukuna. (Data supplied to the Inspectoria of the Indian 
Protection Service in Amazonas and Acre.) Manaus. MS. Archives 
of the Inspectoria. 

MS. Os Tukuna. Para. 1943. MS. of 147 pages given to the Dept. of An- 
thropogy of the Univ. of California. 

MS. Some unpublished material on the Mura and Piraha. 

MS. Texts of legends and songs in the Tucuna language. Unpublished ms. 
Belém. 1943. 


958 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


MS. Results of a 15-day visit in 1929 to the Tucuna of the Igarapé de Belém, 
of the Cajary Lake, and of the Igarapé Preto de Sao Jeronymo. 

MS. Tucuna vocabulary. 

MS. The results of 6 months of study in 1941 and 5 months in 1942 in intimate 
living with the Tucuna in different places in the Brazilian territory. 

MS. Unpublished notes—Turiwara vocabulary. 

MS. Verwandschaften der Yurtino-Sprachgruppe. 

NIMUENDAJU Curt, and VALLE Bentes, E. E. 
1923. Documents sur quelques langues peu connues de l’Amazon. Journ. Soc. 
Amer, Paris, n.s., vol. 15, pp. 215-222. 
NINO, BERNARDINO DE. 
1912. Etnografia chiriguana. La Paz. 
NoRDENSKIOLD, ERLAND. 

1905. Beitrage zur Kenntnis einiger Indianerstamme des Dio Madre de Dios- 
gebietes. Ymer, vol. 25, pp. 265-312. 

1910 a. Archaologische Forschungen im _ Bolivianischen Flachland. Zeit. 

Ethnol., vol. 42, pp. 806-822. 
1910 b. Antropogeografiska studier i 6stra Bolivia. Ymer, vol. 30, pp. 275-284. 
1912. Indianerleben, El Gran Chaco (Siidamerica). Leipzig. 
1913. Urnengraber und Mounds im _ bolivianischen Flachlande. Baessler- 
archiv., vol. 3, pp. 205-255. 
1915 a. Incallacta, eine befestigte und von Inca Tupac Yupanqui angelegte 
Stadt. Ymer, vol. 35, pp. 169-185. 

1915 b. Die religidsen Vorstellungen der Itonama-Indianer in Bolivia. Zeit. 
Ethnol., vol. 47, pp. 105-113. 

1917 a. Die Bevolkerungsbewegung unter den Indianer in Bolivien. Peter- 
manns Mitt., vol. 63, pp. 109-112. 

1917 b. Die Gstliche Ausbreitung der Tiahuanacokultur in Bolivien und ihr 
Verhaltnis zur Aruakkultur in Mojos. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 49, pp. 
10-20. 

1917 c. The Guarani invasion of the Inca empire in the sixteenth century: 
an historical Indian migration. Geogr. Rev., vol. 4, pp. 103-121. 

1919 a. An ethno-geographical analysis of the material culture of two Indian 
tribes in the Gran Chaco. Comp. Ethnogr. Stud., No. 1. 
1919 b. Sydamerika-Kampen om guld och silver 1498-1600. Uppsala. 
1920. The changes in the material culture of two Indian tribes under the in- 
fluence of new surroundings. Comp. Ethnogr. Stud., No. 2. 
1922. Deductions suggested by the geographical distribution of some Post- 
colombian words used by the Indians of South America. Comp. 
Ethnogr. Stud., vol. 5. 
1923. Indianer und Weisse in Nordostbolivien. Stuttgart. 
1924 a. Forschungen und Abenteuer in Siidamerika. Stuttgart. 
1924 b. The ethnography of South-America seen from Mojos in Bolivia. 
Comp. Ethnogr. Stud., No. 3. 

1924 c. Finds of graves and old dwelling-places on the Rio Beni, Bolivia. 
Ymer, vol. 44, pp. 229-237. 

1930 a. L’archéologie du bassin de l’amazone. Ars Americana, vol. 1. Paris. 

1930 b. Karl von den Steinen. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 22, pp. 
221-227. 

1930 c. Modifications in Indian culture through inventions and loans. Comp. 
Ethnogr. Stud., vol. 8. 

1931 a. Ancient Inca lacquer work. Comp. Ethnogr. Stud., vol. 9, app. 2, pp. 
95-100. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 959 


1931 b. Origin of the Indian civilization in South America. Comp. Ethnogr. 
Stud., vol. 9. 
See also Frédin, Otto, and Nordenski6dld, Erland, 1918. 
NorDENSKIOLD, OTTO. 
1927. Siidamerika. Ein Zukunftsland der Menschheit. Stuttgart. 

NorMAND, GILLES. 

1924. Au pays de lor, Récit d’un voyage chez les Indiens inconnus de la 
Guyane francaise. Paris. 

NoTICcIAS AUTENTICAS DEL FAMOSO RIO MARANON y MIsION APOSTOLICA DE LA 
CoMPANIA DE JESUS DE LA PROV. DE QUITO EN LOS DILATADOS BOSQUES DE DICHO RIO. 
Enscribiales por los afios de 1738 un misianero de la misma compajfiia y las publica 
ahora por la primera vez Marcos Jiménez de la Espada. 

1889-92. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Madrid, vols. 26-30. 

NUNES PEREIRA. 

1939, Ensaio de Etnologia Amazonica. Terra Imatura, vol. 3, No. 12. 
1940. Bahira e suas experiencias. Belém. 

NuNEZz, ENRIQUE BERNARDO. 

1936. Una ojeada al mapa de Venezuela. Bol. Bibl. Nac. Venez., 2nd ser., 
No. 42, pp. 164-175. 

NUNEZ DE PINEDA Y BASCUNAN, FRANCISCO. 

1863. Cautiverio feliz y razon de las guerras dilatadas de Chile. Col. Hist. 
Chile, vol. 3. (Captivity 1669; written 1673.) 

O’BRIAN DEL Carpio, BERNARD. 

MS. In Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. Est. 147. Caj-5-Leg. 21. 

OxeA, BontFAcio Maria DE. 

1928. Ensayo gramatical del dialecto de los indios Guaratinos . . . Caracas. 

OLIvEIRA Mriranpa, Oscar. 

1890. Conferencia sobre a expedigao do capitao Telles Pires ao Paranatinga. 
Rev. Soc. Geogr. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 6. 

Omacua y Dorado. See JORNADA DE OMAGUA Y Dorapo. Also SERRANO Y SANZ, 
MANUEL, 1909. 

ONFFROY DE THORON, ENRIQUE. 

1895. Arte de la lengua campa, por M. I. Zavala. Lima. 

OrAMaAS, Luts R. 

1917. Apuntes sobre arqueologia venezolana. Proc. 2nd Pan Amer. Sci. Congr., 
vol. 1, pp.138-145. Washington. 

OrpicnNy, ALCIDE DESSALINES D’. 

1835-47. Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale . . . 9 vols. Paris 
See also Cueva, R. P. de la, 1893. 
ORDINAIRE, OLIVIER. 
1887. Les suavages due Pérou. Rev. Ethnogr. Paris, vol. 6, pp, 265-322. 
1892. Du Pacifique a l’Atlantique par les Andes péruviennes et 1’Amazone. 


Paris. 
ORELLANA, ANTONIO DE. 
1906. Carta del Padre... sobre el origen de las misiones de Mojos. In 


Judicio de limites entre el Pert y Bolivia, vol. 10, Mojos. II. Madrid. 
See Maurtua, Victor M., 1906. 
OrTEGON, Don Dieco DE. See DESCRIPCION DE LA PROVINCIA DE Los Qurjos, 1881-97. 
ORTIGUERA, TORIBIO DE. 
1909. Jornada del Rio Marafion. (Nueva series bibloiteca de autores espafioles, 
vol. 15, pp. 305-422.) Historiadores de Indias, vol. 2. Madrid. 


960 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


Ortiz, SEercio Exfas. 
1940. Lingitistica colombiana. Familia Zaparo o Gae. Univ. Catolica Bolivari- 
ana, vol. 5, No. 15, pp. 97-108. 
1942. Lingitistica colombiana. Familia Witoto. Univ. Catolica Bolivariana, 
vol. 8, pp. 379-409. 
ORTON, JAMES. 
1870. The Andes and the Amazon; or across the continent of South America. 
London. (New York editions 1870, 1871, 1875, 1876.) 
OSAMBELA, CLAUDIO. 
1896. El Oriente del Peru. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 6, pp. 193-223. 
OscuLATI, GAETANO. 
1850. Esplorazione delle regioni equatoriali ... Milano. (Another ed. 1854, 
Milano. ) 
OsMA, FELIPE DE. 
1908 (?). Segun las relaciones de los jesuitas, hasta dénde son navegables los 
afluentes septentrionales del Marafion. Madrid. 
OUNQUE, JACQUES. 
1906. O valle do Rio Branco. Manaos. 
OutTEs, FELIX F, 
1909. La ceramica Chriguana. Rev. Mus La Plata, vol. 16, (ser. 2 vol. 3), 
pp. 121-136. 
1912. Craneos Indigenas del departmento de Gualeguaychu (Provincia de 
Entre Rios). An. Soc. Cient. Argentina, vol. 73, pp. 5 ff. 
1917. El primer hallazgo arqueolégico en la isla de Martin Garcia. An. Soc. 
Cient. Argentina, vol. 82, pp. 265 ff. 
1918. Nuevos rastros de la cultura guarani en la cuenca del Parana inferior. 
An. Soc. Cient. Argentina, vol. 83. 
Oviepo Y VALDES, GONZALO FERNANDEZ DE. 
1851-55. Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y tierra firme de la 
mar océano. 4 vols. Madrid. José Amador de los Rios, ed. 
PALLARES, FERNANDO. 
1883. Historia de las misiones de fieles é infieles del Colegio de propaganda 
Fide de Santa Rosa de Ocopa por los PP. Misioneros del mismo 
Colegio. 2 vols. Barcelona. 
PALLARES, FERNANDO, and CALvo, VIC. 
1870. Noticias histéricas dellas misiones de fieles é infieles del Colegio de 
Propaganda Fide de Santa Rose de Ocopa. Barcelona. 
PALMATARY, HELEN C. 
1939. Tapajo pottery. Ethnol. Stud., No. 8, pp. 1-138. 
PALOMINO, DIEGo. 
1897. Relacion de las provincias que hay en la conquista del Chuquimayo que 
yo el Capitan Diego Palomino tengo por Su Magestad y por el muy 
Ilustre Sefior Pedro Gasca, presidente de la Audiencia Real destos 
reynos del Peru por su Magestad. Jn Rel. Geogr. Indias, vol. 4, pp. 
XLVII-LXV. 
PANHUuyS, L. C. VAN. 
1897. Bemerkungen tiber ein caraibisches Ruder. Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 10, 
p. 156. 
1897-98. Proeve eener verklaring van de ornamentiek van de Indianen in 
Guyana. Met affeeldingen. Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 10, pp. 118 
ff.; vol. 11, pp. 51-72. 
1904 a. Indian words in the Dutch language and in use in Dutch Guiana. 
Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 13, New York, 1902, pp. 205-208. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 961 


1904 b. Beitrage zur Ethnographie, Linguistik und Entdeckungsgeschichte 
Amerikas. Haag. 
1904 c. Are there pygmies in French Guiana? Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 13, 
New York, 1902, pp. 131-133. 
1906 a. Uber die letzte niederlandische Expedition nach Surinam. Congr. Int. 
Amer., sess. 14, Stuttgart, 1904, pp. 427-435. 
1906 b. Naheres tiber die Ornamente der Naturvélker Suriname. Congr. Int. 
Amer., sess. 14, Stuttgart, 1904, pp. 437-439. 
1910. Mitteilungen tiber surinamische Ethnographie und  Kolonisations- 
geschichte: Trommelsprache; Tatowieren; Zauber- und Heilmittel; 
Kurze Bemerkungen tiber Zahlmittel und ein merkwiirdiges Buch 
tiber das Geistesleben der Indianer. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 16, 
Vienna, 1908, pp. 521-540. 
1912. Les chansons et la musique de la Guyane néerlandaise. Journ. Soc. Amér. 
Paris, n.s., vol. 9, pp. 27-39. 
1913. A few observations on Carib numerals. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 18, 
London, 1912, pp. 109-110. 
1920-21. De toekomst van de Indianen in Canada en in Suriname. De West- 
Indische Gids, vol. 2, pp. 513-516. 
1921-22. Het aantal en de woonplaatsen van de Boschnegers en Indianen in 
Suriname. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 3, pp. 83-99. 
1922. De afkomst der Roodhuiden. De Ster der Christelijke Weekbladen. 
No. 4, pp. 307-331. 
1924-25. Boekbespreking: Dr. Gerhard Lindblom. Afrikanische Relikte und 
Indianische in der Kulture der Buschneger Surinams. De West- 
Indische Gids, vol. 6, pp. 419-426. 
1925. Observations on the name Bacove. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 21, GOteborg, 
1924, pp. 321-332. 
1931-32. Uitstervende Arowakken? De West-Indische Gids, vol. 13, p. 537. 
1933-34. Folklore in Suriname. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 16, pp. 17-32. 
1934. Quelques chansons et quelques danses dans la Guyane néerlandaise. 
Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 24, Hamburg, 1932, pp. 207-211. 
1934-35. Het Kikvorschmotief in Suriname en Elders. De West-Indische Gids, 
vol. 16, pp. 361-366.. 
Panuouys, L. C. vAN, Morprtnt, A., and Herskovits, M. J. 
1934. Un manuscrit de 1690 sur la Guyane francaise. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 
24, Hamburg, 1932, pp. 26-31. 
PAREAU, A. H. 
1898. Onze-West. Reisschetsen. 
PASSARGE, SIEGFRIED. 
1933. Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse einer Reise im Gebiet des Orinoco, Caura 
und Cuchivero im Jahre 1901-02. Hamburg. Univ. Abhandl., vol. 39, 
ser. C, Naturwissenschaften, vol. 12. 
PAULOTTI, OSVALDO L, 
1942. Alfareria guarayo. Rel. Soc. Arg. Antrop., vol. 3, pp. 173-188. 
PAuLy, ANTONIO. 
1928. Ensayo de etnografia americana. Viajes y exploraciones. Buenos Aires. 
Pauwe Ls, W.M.I. Borst. 
1903. Over de Wijze van wisschen met het surinaamsche vishvergift Koema- 
parie. Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 16, pp. 42-43. 
PAYER, RICHARD. 
1906. Reisen im Jauapiry-Gebiet. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 52, pp. 217-222. 
Paz SotpAn, Mateo, See RArMonp1, ANTONIO, 1862. 


962 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


PEIXOTO DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO. 
1885. Expedigao ao Rio Paranatinga, Rev. Soc. Geogr. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 1. 
PELLEPRAT, PIERRE. 

1656. Introduction a la langue des Galibis. Jn his Relation des missions des 
pp. de la Compagnie de Jesus dans les isles, et dans la Terre Ferme 
de l’Amerique meridionale. Paris. 

PENARD, ARTHUR PHILIP. 

1925 a. Iets over den Caraibischen Pujai. De Periskoop, 21 and 28 November, 
5 and 12 December. Paramaribo. 

1925 b. Iets over de geboorte en de opvoeding van het kind bij onze Caraiben. 
De Periskoop, No. 41. Paramaribo. 

1926 a. Surinaamsche volksvertellingen. Bijdragen van het Koloniaal Institute, 
vol. 80, p. 325. 

1926 b. Iets over onze Caraibischen Pujai. De Periskoop, Nos. 66, 68, 69, 
71-79, 87, 88, 91, 93, 96, 98, 103-105. Paramaribo. 

1926 c. Iets over de feesten bij onze Caraiben. De Periskoop, Nos. 82, 83. 
Paramaribo. 

1927 a. De Wraak van een Masowijnschen Pujai Meester. De Periskuop, No. 
127. Paramaribo. 

1927 b. De Zondvloed, of het ontstaan der vrouw uit den trouwen hond. De 
Periskoop, No. 133, 3. Paramaribo. 

1927 c. De oorzaak van het uitsterven onzer Indianen of het onstaan der 
Ackornigesknollen. De Periskoop, No. 130, 2. Paramaribo. 

1927 d. De Scalparing van het eerste individu, of het ontstaan der Werusi 
(Pasduif) uit de hersenen van den Tijdegeest Kulupi. De Periskoop, 
No. 128. Paramaribo. 

1927 e. De overtreding der couvadewet of het ontstaan der palmen in Suriname. 
De Periskoop, Nos. 132-133. Paramaribo. 

1928-29. De Caraibsche Taal. De Periskoop, Nos. 175, 178, 182, 184, 191, 198, 
203, 209, 213, 214, 224. Paramaribo. 


PENARD, ARTHUR PHILIP, and PENARD, THOMAS E. 
1925-26. Uit de pers. Iets over het huwelijk bij onze Caraiben. De West- 
Indische Gids, vol. 7, pp. 189-191. 
1927. Wejumakon-Zoonekinderen of het onstaan der tweelingster. De Peri- 
skoop, No. 129. Paramaribo. 


PENARD, FREDERIK PAUL, and PENARD, ARTHUR PHILIP. 
1907-08. De menschetende aanbidders der zonneslang. 3 vols. Paramaribo. 
(1908 ed., The Hague.) 
1913. Surinaamsch bijgeloof. Iets over Wintie en andere natuurbegrippen. 
Bijdragen tot de Taal-, en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indié, Deel 
67, pp. 157-183. 


PENARD, THoMAS E., and PENARD, ARTHUR P. 
1917. Popular notions pertaining to primitive stone artifacts in Surinam. Journ. 
Amer. Folklore, vol. 30, pp. 251-261. 
1925-26. Birdcatching in Surinam. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 7, pp. 545-566. 
1926. Four Arawak Indian songs. Rep. De West Indische Gids, vol. 7, pp. 
497-500. Martinus Nijhoff. The Hague. 


PenNA, DoMINGO SOARES FERREIRA. 
1877-78. Apontamentos sobre os ceramios do Para. Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio de 
Janeiro, vol. 2, pp. 47-67. 
1881. Algumas palavras da lingua dos Aruans. Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio de 
Janeiro, vol. 4. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 963 


PEREIRA DA SiLvaA, LUCIANO. 

1922. Etnografia. Dic. Hist., Geogr., e Etnol. do Brasil, vol. 2, p. 34. 

PEREZ, FELIPE. 

1862-63. Geografia fisica y politica de los Estados Unidos de Colombia. 2 vols. 
Bogota. 

PERKINS, H. I. 

1885. Notes on a journey to Mount Roraima. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 7, 
pp. 522-534. 

PERRET, JACQUES. 

1933 a. Observations et documents sur les indiens Emerillon de la Guyane 
francaise. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 25, pp. 65-97. 

1933 b. Nouvelles observations ethnographiques sur la Guyane francaise. Bull. 
Assoc. Franc. Adv. Sci., n.s., No. 111 (April), pp. 101-105. 

PERU. JUNTA DE ViAS FLUVIALES. 

1902. Vias del Pacifico al Madre de Dios. Publ. de la Junta de Vias Fluviales, 
Lima. 

1904. El istmo de Fiscarrald; informes de los Sefiores La Combe, Von Hassel, 
y Pesce. Publ. de la Junta de Vias Fluviales, Lima. 

PERU-BoLIVIA BOUNDARY COMMISSION 1911-1913. Reports of the British officers 
of the Peruvian Commission. Diplomatic memoranda and maps of the boundary 
zone. Edited for the government of Peru by the Royal Geographical Society of 
London. Cambridge. University Press. 1918. 

PERUVIAN CENSusS. 1940. 

PESCIOTTI, BERNARDINO GIUSEPPE. 

1904. Devocionario del néofito guarayo (America merid., Bolivia). Genova. 

PETERSEN, P. 

1886. Die Paumarys aus G. Wallis’ Nachlass. Das Ausland, vol. 59, pp. 
261-266. 
PETRULLO, VINCENZO (VINCENT) M. 
1932 a. Primitive People of Matto Grosso, Brazil. Mus. Journ. Univ. Penn., 
vol. 23, pp. 84-179. 
1932 b. The fate of Colonel Fawcett. Geogr. Journ., vol. 80, pp. 151-154. 
1939. The Yaruros of the Capanaparo River, Venezuela. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. 
Bull. 123, Anthrop. Pap. No. 11, pp. 161-290. 

PHILLIPS, RICHARD. See Pons, FRANCGoIS RAYMOND JOSEPH DE, 1806. 

Pico, PEpro P. See ZEBALLOS, ESTANISLAO SEVERO, Y Pico, PEpro P. 

PIERINI, FRANCESCO. 

1907. Dos asuntos de actualidad en Bolivia. Buenos Aires. 

1908-12. Informe anual que presenta al supremo gobierno el R. P. Prefecto 
sobre el movimento de las Misiones de su cargo. 

1910. Mitologia de los Guarayos de Bolivia. Anthropos, vol. 5, pp. 703-710. 

[PIERRE, FATHER, DOMINICAN MISSIONARY. ] 

1889. Voyage d’exploration d’un missionarie dominicain chez les tribus sauvages 
de !’Equateur. Paris. 

PicorinI, L. 

1878. Di una collezione etnologica della Repubblica dell’ equatore. Bol. Soc. 
Geogr. Italiana, fasc. 3, del anno 12, vol. 15. 

PINELL, GASPAR DE. 

1928. Excursion Apostdélica por los rios Putumayo... Caqueta... Etno- 
graficos, Filolégicos. Bogota, Colombia. 

Pinto, ESTEvAO. 

1935-38. Os Indigenas do nordeste. 2 vols. Sao Paulo. (Bibl. Pedag. Brasil., 
ser. 5a, Brasiliana, vols. 44 and 112. Rio de Janeiro.) 


964 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Pio Aza, See AZzA, José Pro. 
PIRES DE CAMPOS, ANTONIO. 

1862. Breve noticia que da o capitao . . . Rev. Trim. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Ethnogr. 

Brasil, vol. 25, pp. 437-449. 
Piso, GULIELMUS (WILLIAM, GUILHERME), and Marcccrayi (MARCGRAF) DE 
LIEBSTAD, GEORGE. 
1648. Historia naturalis Brasiliae ... Lugd. Bat. et Amsterdam. 
Pistor1us, THOMAS, 
1763. Korte en zakelijke beschrijvinge van de colonie van Zuriname. Amster- 
dam. 
Prrou, UL. A: 
1807. Voyage a Cayenne. 2 vols. Paris. (First ed., Paris, 1805, 2 vols. in 1.) 
PLAGGE, C. 

1857. Reise in das Gebeit der Guajajara-Indianer in der Brasilionischen Prov- 

inz Maranhao. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 3, pp. 206 ff. 
PLASSARD, Lovuts. 

1868. Les Guaraunos et le delto de l’?Orénoque. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, vol. 15, 

pp. 568-592. 
PLATZMANN, JULIO. 

1896. O Diccionario Anonymo da Lingua general do Brasil. Publicado de novo 

como o seu reverso. Leipzig. 
See also Quandt, Christlieb, 1900. 
Poiak, J. E.R. 

1894. A grammar and vocabulary of the Ipurina language. London. 

Pomso, JosE FrANcIsco DA RocHa. See RocHA PomBo, JoSE FRANCISCO DA. 
Pons, Francois RAYMOND JOSEPH DE. 

1806. Travels in parts of South America, during the years 1801, 1802, 1803 and 
1804. Jn Phillips, Richard, Coll. of modern and contemporary voyages 
and travels, vol. 4. London. 

Popric, EDUARD FRIEDRICH. 
1835-36. Reise in Chile, Peru und auf dem Amazonenstrome wahrend der Jahre 
1827-1832. 2 vols. Leipzig. 
PorTILLO, PEDRO. 
1914. Departamento del Madre de Dios. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 30, pp. 
139-187. 
Post, CHARLES JOHNSON. 
1905. An ethnological paradox. Harper’s Mag., vol. 110, pp. 910-916. 
1912. Across the Andes. New York. 
Preuss, KonrAD THEODOR. 
1914. (Letter to Berliner Gesellschaft ftir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und 
Urgeschichte reported at meeting October 17, 1914.) Zeit, Ethnol., 
vol. 46, pp. 748-751. 
1920-21. Bericht tiber meine archdologischen und ethnologischen Forschungs- 
reisen in Kolumbien. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 52/53, pp. 89-128. 

1921-23. Religion und mythologie der Uitoto. Textaufnahmen und Beobach- 
tungen bei einem Indianerstamm in Kolumbien, Stidamerika. 2 vols. 
Leipzig and Gottingen. 

1923. Stiicke einer ethnographischen Sammlung. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 55, pp. 
91-93. 

1929. Die Darstellung des zweiten Ich unter der Indianern Amerikas. In 
memoriam Karl Weule. Beitrage zur V6lkerkunde und Vorgeschichte. 
Herausgegeben von Otto Reche. Leipzig. 

See also Jiménez Seminario, Aug., 1924. 


a i 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 965 


Prieto, A. S. 

1885. Descripcién de la provincia de los Jivaros. Compte Francisco Maria. 
Varones ilustres de la orden Serafica en el Ecuador. 2nd ed., vol. 2. 
Quito. 

PRIEWASSER, WOLFGANG. 
1903. Compendio de la gramatica del idioma Guarayo. Tarata. 
PRINCE, CARLOS. 

1905. Idiomas y dialectos indigenas del continente hispano sud-americano con 

la nomina de las tribus indianas de cada territorio. Lima. 
PRUDHOMME, Louris Martz, 

1798. Voyage a la Guiane et a Cayenne, fait en 1789 et années suivantes .. . 
Paris. 

1799. Reise nach Guiana und Cayenne. German tr. by Christoph Wilhelm 
Lohmann. Hamburg. 

PULGAR VIDAL, JAVIER. 

1943. La Tribu de los Panatahuas. El Comercio, August 31, p. 5. Lima. 
PurcHAS, SAMUEL. See LEIGH, CHARLEs, 1906. 
QUANDT, CHRISTLIEB. 

1807. Nachricht von Suriname und seinen Einwohnern; sonderlich den 
Arawacken, Warauen und Karaiben ... Gorlitz. 

1900. Des Herrnhuter glaubensboten Christlieb Quandt Nachricht von der 
arawackischen Sprache, besonders und unverandert hrsg, von J. Platz- 
mann. Leipzig. 

QUESTIONS ON THE APOSTLES’ CREED, with other simple instruction, for the Warau 
Indians at the missions in Guiana. London. 1870(?). 
QuaIN, BUELL, 
n.d. The Trumai. MS. 2 vols. 
Raimonpi, ANTONIO. 

1862. Apuntes sobre la provincia litoral de Loreto. Im Mateo Paz Soldan’s 
Geografia del Pert, vol. 1, pp. 593-713. Also, Estudio de la provincia 
litoral de Loreto in Larrabure, vol. 7, pp. 118-278. 

1863. On the Indian tribes of the Great District of Loreto in Northern Peru. 
(Tr. from the Spanish by William Bollaert.) Anthrop. Rev., vol. 1, 
pp. 33-43, 85-86. 

RAIMUNDO, JACQUES. 

1934. Vocabularios Indigenas de Venezuela. Rio de Janeiro. 
RaroL, Domincos ANTONIO. See GUAJARA, BARAO DE. 
RALEIGH, SIR WALTER. 

1928. The Discoverie of Guiana. The Hakluyt Soc. London. (First issued 
in 4 editions, London, 1596.) 

RAMfREz, LuIs. 

1888. Carta, de ...do Rio de Prata, a 10 de Julho de 1528. Rev. Inst. Hist. 
Geogr. Brasil, 2nd ed., vol. 15, pp. 1441. (Also in Medina, L. T., 
1908.) 

RANKE, Kart Ernst. 

1906. Anthropologische Beobachtungen aus Zentral-brasilien. Abhandl. K. 

Bayer. Akad. Wis. Munchen, KI. 2, vol. 24, Abt. 1, pp. 1-148. 
RATZEL, FRIEDRICH. 

1894. Volkerkunde. I. Leipzig und Wien. Abb. p. 509: Gerate der brasilia- 
nischen Indianer zum Reiben und Schnupfen der Samen des Parica- 
Baumes, spater auch des Tabaks. Ethnographisches Museum, Miinchen. 

READ, CHARLES HERULES. 
1904. On two pottery vases from the upper Amazon. Man, No. 32, p. 49. 


966 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


REEvEsS, E. A. 
1910. Note on a map of South Peru and North Bolivia. Geogr. Journ., vol. 36, 
pp. 398-404. 


REGUEIRA Costa, JoAo BATISTA. 

1894. O Brasil prehistérico. Rev. Inst. Arg. Pernambucano, vol. 45, pp. 34. 

REIcH, ALFRED, and STEGELMANN, FELIX. 

1903. Bei den Indianern des Urubamba und des Envira. Globus, vol. 83, pp. 
133-137. 
REINBURG, P. 
1921. Contribution a l’études des boissons toxiques des Indiens du Nord-ouest 
de l’Amazone, l’ayahudsca—le yajé—le hudnto, Journ. Soc. Amér. 
Paris, n.s., vol. 13, pp. 25-54, 197-216. 
See also Rivet, Paul, and Reinburg, P. 

REISE BECHREIBUNGEN VON DEUTSCHEN BEAMTEN UND KRIEGSLEUTEN IM DIENST DER 
NIEDERLANDISCHEN WEST- UND Ost-INDISCHEN KOMPAGNIEN, 1602-1797. 
L’Honoré Naber, Samuel Pierre, ed. 13 vols. Haag. 1930-32. 

Rerss, W. 

1880. Ein Besuch bei den Jivaros-Indianern. Verhandl. d. Gesell. f. Erkunde 
zu Berlin, vol. 7, pp. 325-337. 
See also Stiibel, Alfons, Reiss, W., and Koppel, B. 

RELACAO ABREVIADA DA REPUBLICA QUE OS RELIGIOSOS JESUITAS DAS PROVINCIAS DE 
PorTUGAL E HESPENHA ESTABELECERAM NOS DOMINIOS ULTRAMARINOS DAS DUAS 
MONARCHIAS. Rey. Inst. Hist., 1842, vol. 4. (Also 1863, 2nd ed., vol. 4, pp. 265- 
294.) 

RELACION DE LA ENTRADA QUE HIZO EL GOvERNADOR D. Dirco VAcA DE VEGA AL 
DESCUBRIMIENTO Y PACIFICACION DE LAS PROVINCIAS DE LOS INDIOS MAYNAS... 
Rel. Geogr. Indias, 1897, vol. 4, pp. cXxXXIX-CLXII. 

RELACION Y DESCRIPCION DE LAS MISIONES Y CONVERSIONES DE INFIELES VULGARMENTE 
LLAMADAS DE APOLOBAMBA, ... Written in 1747; published by M. V. Ballivian, 
1886. La Paz. 

RELACIONES GEOGRAFICAS DE INpIAS, 1881-1897. Published by M. Jiménez de la 
Espada. 4 vols. Madrid. 

A RELATION OF THE HABITATIONS AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS OF THE RIvER MARWIN 
AND THE ADJOINING REGIONS. Jn Purchas, Samuel, Hakluytus posthumus or 
Purchas his Pilgrimes . . . 20 vols. Glasgow. 1905-07. 

RENE-MoreENO, GABRIEL. 

1888. Biblioteca boliviana. Catdlogo del archivo de Mojos y Chiquitos. Santi- 
ago de Chile. 

RENGGER, JOHANN RUDOLPH. 

1835. Reise nach Paraguay in den Jahren 1818 bis 1826. Aarau. 

RESTREPO TIRADO, ERNESTO. 

1903. Las invasiones caribes autes de la conquista espafiola. Bol, Hist. Antig., 
afio 1. Bogota. 

RESUME DE QUELQUES NOTIONS GEOGRAPHIQUES FAISANT CONNAITRE LES RIVIERES 
DONT LA NAVIGATION PERMET AUX DOMAINES DE LA COURONNE PORTUGAISE DE CoM- 
MUNIQUER AVEC CEUX D’ESPAGNE ET DES PROVINCES—UNIES D’AMERIQUE. 1764. 
Limites entre le Bresil et la Guyane Anglaise: Annexes au premier mémoire du 
Brésil, Paris, vol. 3, pp. 94-100. 1903. 

REVISTA DE ARCHIvos Y¥ BrBLIoTEcAS. 3 vols. in 4. 1899-1900. Lima, Peri. 

REY DE CASTRO, CARLOS. 

1914. Los Pobladores del Putumayo. Barcelona. 


ome 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 967 


RrBerro, FRANCISCO DE PAULA. 
1841. Memoria sobre as nagées gentias que presentemente habitam o continente 
do Maranhao (1819). Rev. Trim. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, vol. 3, pp. 
184-197, 297-322, 442-456. (2nd ed. 1858.) 
1870. Roteiro da viagem que fez o capitao ... as fronteiras da capitania do 
Maranhao e da de Goyaz... (1815). Rev, Trim. Inst. Hist. Geogr. 
Brasil, vol. 10, pp. 5-80. (First ed. 1848.) 
RIBEIRO DE SAMPAIO, FRANCISCO XAVIER. 
1812. Roteiro da viagem da cidade do Para até as ultimas colonias do dominio 
portuguez em o Rio Amazonas e Negro. Colleccao de noticias para 
a historia e geographia das nagdes ultramarinas, vol. 1, No. 4. Lisboa. 
1825. Diario da viagem que em visita, e correigao das provoacées da capitania 
de San José do Rio Negro fez 6 ouvidor, e intendente geral da mesma 
Fr, X. Ribeiro da Sampaio no anno de 1774.e 1775. Lisbon. 
1856. Extracto da viagem, que em visita e correic¢io das provoagées da capitania 
de S. José do Rio Negro, fez o ouvidor e intendente geral da mesma 
.., no anno de 1774 3 1775; a qual viagem existe manuscripta no 
Archivo de S. M. o Imperador. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, vol. 1, 
pp. 109-122. (Another ed. 1839.) 
1872. Relacao geographica historica do Rio Branco da America Portugueza. 
Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, vol. 13, pp. 200-273. (Another ed. 1850.) 
1903. Journal du voyage que fit l’auditeur et intendant général de la captainerie 
de S, José do Rio Negro .. . en 1774-1775. In Limites entre le Brésil 
el la Guyane anglaise: annexes au prémier mémoire, vol. 4, pp. 3-88. 
Paris. (Vols. 1 and 2 contain the Portuguese text.) 
Rice, A. HAMILTON. 
1921. The Rio Negro, the Casiquiare Canal, and the Upper Orinoco, Sep- 
tember 1919-April 1920. Geogr. Journ., vol. 58, pp. 321-344. 
1928. The Rio Branco, Uraricuera, and Parima: surveyed by the expedition 
to the Brazilian Guayana from August 1924 to June 1925. Geogr. 
Journ., vol. 71, pp. 113-143, 209-223, 345-357. 
1934. Quito to Iquitos by the River Napo. 
RicH, JoHn Lyon. 
1942. The face of South America; an aerial transverse. Amer. Geogr. Soc., 
sp. publ. No. 26. 
RICHTER, ENRIQUE. 
1685. Vocabulario y catecismo de la lengua campapira i cuniba. Quito. 
RIEMBER, JOHANN ANDREAS. 
1833. Missions-Reise nach Surinam und Barbice zu einer um Surinamflusse 
im dritten Grad der Linie wohnenden Freiernationen. Zittau. 
RIMBACH, A. 
1897. Reise im Gebiet des oberen Amazonas. Zeit. Gesell. f. Erdkunde, vol. 32, 
pp. 360-409. 
Rro-BraNnco, BARXO DE. 
1899. Frontiéres entre le Brésil et la Guyane francaise. Second Mémoire. 
Berne. 
See also Laet, Joannes de, 1899. 
Rro-Branco, JosE Marta DA SILvA PARANHOS. 
1897. . . . Mémoire sur la question des limites entre les Etats-Unis du Brésil 
et la Guyane Britannique. London, 
Rippy, JAMES FRED, and NELSon, JEAN THOMAS. 
1936. Crusaders of the Jungle. Chapel Hill. 


968 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


RIveERO, JUAN. 

1883. Historia de las misiones de los llanos de Casanare y los rio Orinoco y 

Meta. Escrita el afio de 1736. Bogota. 
RIVERO, VICTORINO. 

1897, Breve resumen historico de la fundacién de San Lorenzo el real, hoy Santa 
Cruz de la Sierra, seguido de un apéndice que contiene algunas otras 
apuntaciones historicas. Santa Cruz. 

Rivet, PAUL. 
1907-08. Les Indiens Jivaros. L’Anthropologie, vol. 18, pp. 333-368, 583-618; 
vol. 19, pp. 69-87, 235-259. 
1910 a. Les langues guaranies du haut-Amazone. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 
vol. 7, pp, 149-178. 

1910 b. Sur quelques dialectes Panos peu connus. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., 
vol. 7, pp. 221-242. 

1911 a. Affinités du Miranya. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 8, pp. 117-152. 

1911 b. Le famille linguistique Peba. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns., vol. 8, 
pp. 173-206. 

1912 a. Les familles linguistiques du Nord-ouest de 1l’Amérique du Sud. 

L’Année Ling., vol. 4, pp. 117-154. 

1912 b. Affinités du Tikuna. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 9, pp. 83-110. 

1920. Les Katukina, étude linguistique. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 12, 
pp. 83-89. 

1921. Nouvelle contribution a l’étude de la langue des Itonama. Journ. Soc. 
Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 13, pp. 173-195. 

1923. L’orfévrerie précolombienne des Antilles, des Guyanes, et du Vénézuéla; 
dans ses rapports avec l’orfévrerie et la metallurgie des autres régions 
ameéricaines. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 15, pp. 183-213. 

1924. Langues de l’Amérique du Sud et des Antilles. Jn Meillet, A., and Cohen, 
Marcel, Les Langues du Monde, Coll. Ling., Soc. Linguistique Paris, vol. 
16, pp. 639-712. 

1930. Contribution a 1’étude des tribus indiennes de l’orient équatorien. Bull. 
Soc. Amér. Bel., Mars, 1930, pp. 5-19. 

See also Beuchat, Henri, and Rivet, Paul; Créqui-Montfort, Georges de, 
and Rivet Paul; and Verneau, René, and Rivet, Paul. 
Rivet, PAUL, and FATHERS Kok, P., and Tastevin C. 
1924-25. Nouvelle contribution a l'étude de la langue Maku. Int. Journ. Amer. 
Ling., vol. 3, pp. 133-192. 
Rivet, PAUL, and REINBuRG, P. 
1921. Les Indiens Marawan. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 13, pp. 103-118. 
Rivet, PAu, and TASTEVIN, CONSTANT. 
1919-24. Les langues du Purts, du Jurua et des régions limitrophes; 1. Le 
groupe arawak pré-andin. Anthropos, vols. 14-15, 1919-20, pp. 857- 
890; vols. 16-17, 1921-22, pp. 298-325, 819-828; vols. 18-19, 1923-24, 
pp. 104-113. 

1920. Affinités du Maki et du Puinave. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 12, 
pp. 60-82. 

1921. Les tribus indiennes des bassins du Purtis, du Jurua et des régions limi- 
trophes. La Geogr., vol. 35, pp. 449-482. 

1927-29. Les dialectes Pano du haut Jurua et du haut Purtis. Anthropos, vol. 

22, pp. 811-827; vol. 24, pp. 489-516. 

1931. Nouvelle contribution a l’étude du groupe Kahuapana. Int. Journ. Amer. 
Ling., vol. 6, pp. 227-271. 

1938. Les langues arawak du Purts et du Jurua (Groupe araua). Journ. Soc. 
Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 30, pp. 71-114, 235-288. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 969 


RoBertson, J. H. 
1822. Journal of an expedition 1400 miles up the Orinoco and 300 up the Aranca. 
London. 
RoBINsoN, (REv.) ALBAN. 
1918. Some figures in string from the Makushis on the Ireng and Takutu 
Rivers. Timehri, 3rd ser., vol. 5, pp. 140-152. 


RospucHoNn, EUGENIO. 
1907 a. En el Putumayo y sus afluentes. Lima. 
1907 b. Kurze Mitteilung ohne Titel. Larrabure, vol. 13, pp. 431-465. 


RocHa, JOAQUIN. 
1905. Memorandum de viaje . . . regiones Amazonicas. Bogota. 


RocHa Pompso, Jost FRANCISCO DA. 
1905. Historia do Brazil. Vol. 6. Rio de Janeiro. (10 vols.) 


RopriGUES BARATA, FRANCISCO JOSE. 

(1798-99), 1903. (French translation) Journal de voyage que fit dans la colonie 
hollandaise de Surinam le porte-enseigne de la 7e companie 
du régiment de la ville de Para . . . Limites entre le Brézil 
et la Guyane anglaise: Annexes au prémiere mémoire, vol. 4, 
62 pp. at end. Paris. 

RopRIGUES FERREIRA, ALEXANDRE. 
1841. Propriedade e posse das terras do Cabo do Norte pela corda de Portugal 
. .. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, vol. 3, pp. 389-421. 
1885-88. Diario da viagem philosophica pela capitania da Sao José do Rio 
Negro, com a informacdao do estado presente. Rev. Inst. Hist. 
Geogr. Brasil, vol. 48, 1885, pp, 1-234; vol. 49, 1886, pt. 1, pp. 
123-288 ; vol. 50, 1887, pt. 2, pp. 11-141; vol. 51, 1888, pt. 1, pp. 5-104. 

n.d. Explicagao das aquarelas de Joachim Joseph Covina. MS. (Watercolors 

and text in the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro.) 


RopRiGUEZ, MANUEL. 
1684. El Marafion y Amazonas. Madrid. 


Ropway, JAMES. 
1891-94. History of British Guiana. 3 vols. Georgetown, Demerara. 
1894. In the Guiana forest. New York. (Other editions, 1897, London, and 
1911, London.) 
1895. Some Spanish accounts of Guiana. Timehri, June, 1895, pp. 1-20. 
1912. Guiana: British, Dutch, and French. London. 


Rojas, ARISTIDES. 
1878. Estudios indigenas. Caracas. 
RoMANO, SANTIAGO, and CATTUNAR, HERMANN. 

1916. Diccionario Chiriguano-Espafiol y Espafiol-Chiriguano compilado teniendo 
a la vista diversos manuscritos de antiguos misioneros del Apostolico 
colegio de Santa Maria de los Angeles de Tarija y particularmente el 
Diccionario Chiriguano etimologico del R. P. Dorotéo Giannechini, 
Tarija. 

Romero, Carros A. See Urreaca, Horacio, H., and Romero, Carios A., EDS. 
Ronpon, CANpIpO MARIANO DA SILVA. 

1912. Comissao de Linhas Telegraficas estrategicas de Matto-Grosso ao Ama- 
zonas. Relatério apresentado a Diretoria geral dos telégrafos e a 
divisao geral de engenharia (G.5) do departamenta da guerra. Estudos 
e reconhecimentos, vol. 1. Rio de Janeiro. 

1913(?). Ethnographia. Comissao de Linhas Telegraphicas estrategicas de 

Matto Grosso ao Amazonas. Annexo 5. Rio de Janeiro. 


970 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.B. Bull. 148 


1916. Lectures delivered by ... Publications of the Rondén Commission, No. 
43, pp. 192 ff. Rio de Janeiro. (Portuguese text published under 
No. 42.) 


See also Comissio Rondén, 1911; and Misséo Rondén, 1916. 
Roop, WENDELL PRESCOTT. 
1935. Watercraft in Amazonia. Woodbury, New Jersey. 
ROOSEVELT, THEODORE. 
1914. Through the Brazilian wilderness. New York. 
1924. Works... Vol. 6. London. 
ROQUETTE-PINTO, EDGAR. 
1912 a. Rondonia. Rio de Janeiro. (Reprints, 1917, Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio 


de Janeiro, vol. 12; 1935, Sado Paulo; 1938, Bibl. Pedag. Brasil, vol. 


39.) 
1912 b. Os Indios Nambikuara do Brasil Central. A communication to the 
International Congress of Americanists held in London in 1912. 
1912 c. Die Indianer Nhambiquara aus Zentral-Brazilien. Brasilianishe 
Rundschau, Rio de Janeiro. 
1917. Os Indios da Serra do Norte. A communication to the Pan-American 
Congress of Washington in 1917. 
ROSARIO, FRANCISCO DEL. 
1682. Carta de relacién del Padre . . . de todo lo sucedido en la conquista 
espiritual de los Andes del Peru, por la parte de Cochabamba. In 
Meléndez, Tesosoros verdaderos de los Yndias, vol. 3, pp. 812-844. 
Roma. 
ROSELL, ENRIQUE. 
1905. Conquista de la Montafia. Lima. 
1916. Los Machigangas del Urubamba; estudios etnograficos. Rev. Univ. Cuzco, 
afio 5, No. 15, pp. 39-48; No. 16, pp. 2-18. 
Rosen, Eric von. 
1924. Ethnographical research work during the Swedish Chaco-Cordillera- 
expedition, 1901-1902. Stockholm. 
Rosny, L. bE. 
1884. De la mort et des funerailles chez les anciens Caraibes. Archiv. Soc. 
Amér. de France, n.s., vol. 3, pp. 268-278. 
Rossi, C. BARTOLOME. 
1863. Viaje pitoresco por los rios Paran4, Paraguay, San Lorenzo, Cuyaba y el 
Arinos. Paris. 
RotH, Henry LING. 
1920. A loom from Iquitos. Man, vol. 20, pp. 123-125, 
RotH, WALTER EDMUND. 
1908. Catch cradle in British Guiana. Etud. Ethnol. et Soc., Nos. 4-5. 
1909-12. Some technological notes from the Pomeroon District, British Guiana, 
Pt. I, Journ. Roy. Anthrop. Inst., vol. 39, 1909, pp. 26-34; pt. II, 
Journ. Roy. Anthrop. Inst., vol. 40, 1910, pp. 23-38; vol. 41, 1911, 
pp. 72-82; vol. 42, 1912, pp. 529-540. 
1911. Narcotics and stimulants of the Guianese Indians. British Guiana Med. 
Annals. 
1912. On the native drinks of the Guianese Indians. Timehri, 3rd ser., vol. 2, 
pp. 129-134. 
1915. An inquiry into the animism and folk-lore of the Guiana Indians. 30th 
Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. 1908-09, pp. 103-386, Washington. 
1920. Comments: “The Central Arawaks.” Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol, 22, pp. 
291-293. 


———— 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 971 


1924. An introductory study of the arts, crafts, and customs of the Guiana 
Indians. 38th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer, Ethnol., 1916-17, pp. 25-745. 
1929. Additional studies of the arts, crafts, and customs of the Guiana Indians, 
with special reference to those of Southern Guiana. Bull. Bur. Amer. 
Ethnol., No. 91. 
See also Schomburgk, Moritz Richard, 1922-23. 
RoussEAU, GEORGES. 
1901. Les richesses de la Guyane francaise et de l’ancien contesté franco- 
brésilien. Paris. 
Roux, HEnrr D. 
1936. Les néo-Amérindiens en Guyane francaise. Rev. Gen, Sci., vol. 47, 
pp. 225-226. 
Ruiz pE Montoya, ANTONIO. 
1876. Arte bocabulario, tesoro y catacismo de la lengua Guarani. Leipzig. 
(First ed. 1640.) 
1892. Conquista espiritual hecha por los religiosos de la compafiia de Jesus en 
las provincias del Paraguay, Parandé, Uruguay y Tape. Bilbao. 
(Earlier ed. 1639, Madrid.) 
Rypvén, Stic. 
1942. Notes on the Moré Indians, Rio Guaporé, Bolivia. Ethnos, vol. 7, Nos. 
2-3, pp. 84-124. 
SAABEDRA, CRISTOBAL DE. 
1620. Suerte y calidades de los indios y modo de vivir que tienen; frutos y 
sustentos que da la tierra de los Maynas, que esta reducida al servicio 
Real. Lima. (Rel. Geogr. Indias, vol. 4, 1897, pp. 39-48.) 
SaBaté, Luts. 
1877. Viaje de los padres misioneros del convento del Cuzco a las tribus 
salvajes de los Campas, Piros, Cunibos, y Sipibos en el afio de 1874. 
Lima. 
SABIN, JOSEPH. 
1868-92. Dictionary of works relating to America from the discovery to the 
present time. 20 vols. New York. 
Sack, ALBERT (BARON) VON. 
1810. A narrative of a voyage to Surinam. London. 
1821. Beschreibung einer Reise nach Surinam. 2 vols. Berlin. 
SAEGHMAN, GILLIs JOOSTEN. 
1663-70. Comp. Verscheyde Oost-Indische voyagien. Korte en wonderlijcke 
beschryvinge (28 pts. in 2 vols.), pt. 2, No. 9. 
SAGOLS, FRANCISCO. 
1902. Los habitantes de la Pampa del Sacramento. Bol. Soc, Geogr. Lima, 
vol. 11, pp. 357-366. 
Sacot, P. See CrevAux, JULES, Sacot, P., and Apa, L. 
St. CLatr, THOMAS STAUNTON. 
1834. A soldier’s recollections of the West Indies and America. 2 vols. London. 
Sartnt-Cricg, LAURENT. 
1853.a. Voyage a travers l’Amérique du Sud de I’Océan Pacifique 4 l’Océan 
Atlantique. Paris. 
1853 b. Voyage du Pérou au Brésil par les fleuves Ucayali et Amazone. Indiens 
Conibos. Bull. Soc. Géogr. Paris, 4th ser., vol. 6, pp. 273-295. 
Sata, F. R. 
1892. Du Pacifique a l’Atlantique par les Andes Peruviennes et 1l’Amazone 
Paris. 


653333—47—64 


972 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E, Bull. 143 


SALA, GABRIEL. 
1905-08. Diccionario, gramatica y catecismo castellano, inga, amueixa y campa. 
Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 17, pp. 149-227, 311-356, 469-490; vol. 19, 
pp. 102-120, 211-240; vol. 21, pp. 311-341; vol. 23, pp. 81-101. 
SALAS, JULIO C. 

1908. Etnologia e historia de Tierra-Firme (Venezuela y Colombia). Editorial 
—América. (Soc. Esp. Libr.) Bibl, Cienc. Pol. y Soc. Madrid. 

1920. Los indios Caribes, estudio sobre el origen del mito de la antropofagia. 
Talleres Graficos Lux. Madrid. (1921 ed. Barcelona.) 

SALINAS LoyoLa, JUAN DE. 

1897. Descubrimientos, conquistas y poblaciones de Juan de Salinas Loyola. 

Five letters. Rel. Geogr. Indias, vol. 4, pp. 65-101 (Peru). 
Sampaio, A. J. DE. 

1933. A flora do Rio Cumina (E. do Pard-Brasil), Resultados Botanicos da 
Expedigao Rondén a4 Serra Tumuc-Humas an 1928. Archiv. Mus. 
Nac. Rio de Janeiro, vol. 35, pp. 9-206. 

SAMPAIO, FRANCISCO XAVIER RIBEIRO DE. See RIBEIRO DE SAMPAIO, FRANCISCO 
XAVIER. 
SAMPAIO, TEODORO. 

1915. Os naturalistas viajantes do séculos XVIII e XIX e o progresso da 
etnografia indigena no Brasil. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Sao Paulo, 
Tomo especial, pt. 2a. 

1922. Arqueologia Brasileira. In Dic. Hist., Geogr., e Etnol. do Brasil ,vol. 1, 
pp. 847-856. 

SAN MANCOS, FRANCISCO DE. 

1903. Rapport présenté au Roi par le Frére Francisco de S. Mancos, religieus 
de Ordre de la Pitié et Missionnaire dans le village de Nhamondas, 
sur son voyage par la riviére Trombetas, au cours duquel il catéchisa 
les Indiens en les soumettant au vasselage de sa Majesté—6 Janvier 1728. 
Limites entre le Brésil de la Guyane Anglaise: Annexes au premier 
mémoire, vol. 3, pp. 42-52. Paris. 

SANCHEZ LABRADOR, JOSE. 
1910. Noticia de las misiones de los indios Chiquitos. Jn “El Paraguay 
Catolico,” vol. 1, pp. 75-88. Buenos Aires. 
SANDERSON, IvAN. 
1939. A journey in Dutch Guiana. Geogr. Journ., vol. 93, pp. 468-490. 
Sanson, NIcoLas. 
1856. Partie de Terre Ferme ot sont Guiane et Caribane. Paris. 
SAo Jos, Jodo. 

1847. Viagem e Visita do Sertao em o Bispado do Grao Para em 1762 e 1763. 
Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 9. (2nd ed., 1869, vol. 9, pp. 43-107, 179-227, 328- 
375, 476-527.) 

SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA, PEDRO. 

1906. Geschichte des Inkareiches. Abhandl. Ko6nigl. Gesellsch. Wissensch. 
Gottingen, Philologisch-historische klasse, Neue-folge, vol. 6, No. 4. 

1907. History of the Incas. (Translated by C. Markham.) London. 

SCHMELTZ, JOHANNES DIEDRICH EDUARD. 

1897. Gerathe der Caraiben von Surinam (Niederlandisch Guayane). Int. 
Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 10, pp. 60-68. 

1910. Die niederlandische Tumac Humac Expedition in Surinam. Congr. Int. 
Amer., sess. 16, Vienna, pp. 51-54. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 973 


ScHMIDEL, ULRICH. 

1903. Viaje al Rio de La Plata (1534-1554). Notas bibliograficas y bio- 
graficas por Bartolomé Mitre. Prélogo, traduccién, y anotaciones por 
Samuel A. Lafone Quevedo. Buenos Aires. 

ScHMIDT, HERMANN. 
1910. Die Uitéto-Indianer. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 7, pp. 60-83. 
ScuMipt, Max. 
1902-04. Aus den Ergebnissen meiner Expedition in das Schinguquellgebiet. 
Globus, vol. 82, 1902, No. 2, p. 22; vol. 86, 1904, pp. 119-125. 

1903. Nachrichten tiber die Kayabi-Indianer. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 35. 

1905. Indianerstudien in Zentralbrasilien; Erlebnisse und ethnologische Ergeb- 
nisse einer Reise in den Jahren 1900 bis 1901, pp. 135-159, 175-317. 
Berlin. 

1907. Besondere Geflechtsart der Indianer im Ucayaligebiet. Archiv. fir 
Anthrop., vol. 34, pp. 270-281. 

1914. Die Paressi-Kabishi. Baessler-archiv., vol. 4, pp. 167-250. 

1917. Die Aruaken; ein Beitrag zum problem der kulturverbreitung. Leipzig. 

1924. Unter Indianern Siidamerikas; Erlebnisse in Zentralbrasilien. Berlin. 

1929 a. Ergebnisse meiner zweijahrigen ethnologischen und archdologischen 

Forschungsreise nach Matto Grosso. Forschungen und Fortschritte, 
vol. 5, No. 9, pp. 104-105. Berlin. 

1929 b. Ergebnisse meiner zweijahrigen forschungareise in Matto Grosso, Sept. 

1926 bis August, 1928. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 60, pp. 85-124. 

1932. Nuevos hallazgos prehistéricos del Paraguay. Rev. Soc. Cient. Para- 
guay, vol. 3, No. 3. 

1936. Los Guaraytt. Rev. Soc. Cient. Paraguay, vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 158-194. 

1938. Los Chiriguanos e Izozés. Rev. Soc. Cient. Paraguay, vol. 4, No. 3. 

1940. Nuevos hallazgos de grabados rupestres en Matto Grosso. Rev. Soc. 
Cient. Paraguay, vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 63-71. 

1942. Los Iranche. Rev. Soc. Cient. Paraguay, vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 35-39. 

1943. Los Paressis. Rev. Soc. Cient. Paraguay, vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1-294. 

See also Koch-Grtinberg, Theodor, 1902. 
ScHMiptT, WILHELM. 

1905. Diccionario Sipibo . . . herausgegeben von Karl von den Steinen. Mitt. 
Anthrop. Gesell. Wien, vol. 35, pp. 127-130. 

1913. Kulturkreise und kulturschichten in Siidamerika. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 45, 
pp. 1014-1124. 

ScHomMBuRGK, Moritz RICHARD. 

1847-48. Reisen in Britisch-Guiana in den Jahren 1840-44. 3 vols. Leipzig. 

1879. On the urari: the deadly arrow-poison of the Macusis, an Indian tribe 
in British Guiana. Adelaide. 

1922-23. Travels in British Guiana, 1840-44. Tr. and ed. by Walter Roth. 

2 vols. Georgetown. 
ScHOMBURGK, O. A. 

1841. Robert Hermann Schomburgk’s Reisen in Guiana und am Orinoko 
Wahrend der Jahre 1835-39. Nach seinen Berichten und Mittheilungen 
an die Geographische Gesellschaft in London, hrsg. von O. A. Schom- 
burgk. Leipzig. 

ScCHOMBURGK, ROBERT HERMANN. 
1836 a. On the religious traditions of the Macusi Indians who inhabit the 
upper Maku and a portion of the Mocaraima Mountains. Roy. Soc. 
Antiquaries. 


974 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


1836 b. Report of an expedition into the interior of British Guiana. Journ. 
Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 6, pp. 224-284. 

1837 a. Diary of an ascent of the River Berbice. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 
vol. 7, pp. 302-350. 

1837 b. Diary of an ascent of the River Corentyn. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 
vol. 7, pp. 285-301. 

1840. A description of British Guiana. London. 

1841 a. Journey to the sources of the Essequibo. Journ, Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 
10, pp. 159-190. 

1841 b. Journey from Fort San Joaquim . . . to Roraima. journ. Roy. Geogr. 
Soc., vol. 10, pp. 191-247. 

1841 c. Journey from Esmeralda . . . to San Carlos. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 
vol. 10, pp. 248-267. 

1841 d. Geographisch-statistische Beschreibung von British-Guiana. Magde- 

burg. (German version of 1840 ed.) 

1842. Expedition to the lower parts of the Barima and Guiana Rivers. Journ. 

Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 12, pp. 169-178. 
1843. Visit to the sources of the Takutu. Journ, Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 13, 
pp. 18-75. 
1845. Journal of an expedition from Pirara to . . . Demerara. Journ. Roy. 
Geogr. Soc., vol. 15, pp. 1-104. 
1848. On the natives of Guiana. Journ. Ethnol. Soc, London, vol. 1, pp. 253-276. 
See also Adalbert, Prince of Prussia, 1849. 
SCHULLER, RopoLFo R. 
1907. Sobre el supuesto autor del Arte de la lengua de los indios campa y antis. 
Bol. Ministerio Agr. Colonizacién. La Paz. 
1911. La lenguas indigenas de la cuenca del Amazonas y del Orinoco. Rev. 
Americana, vol. 5, pp. 622-661; vol. 6, pp. 25-84. 
1912. Die Bedeutung der bezeichnung Njambiquara fiir siidamerikanische In- 
dianer. Petermanns Mitt., vol. 58, pt. 2, p. 207. 
1916. Discovery of new materials of the Moseten idiom. Amer. Anthrop., n.s., 
vol. 18, pp. 603-604. 
1921. The linguistic and ethnographical position of the Nambicudra Indians. 
Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 23, pp. 471-477. 
1922. The ethnological and linguistic position of the Tacana Indians of Bolivia. 
Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 24, pp. 161-170. 
1927. Wo sassen die Cupaéo-Indianer? Anthropos, vol. 22, pp. 997-1000. 
See also Anonymous, MS. a. 
SCHULTES, RicHaRD Evans. 
1942. Plantae Colombianae II. Yoco: a stimulant of Southern Colombia. Har- 
vard Univ. Botanical Mus. Leaflets, No. 10, pp. 301-324. 
ScHULTz, THEODOR, REV. 
1850. The Acts of the Apostles translated into the Arrawack tongue. New 
York, 
SCHUMANN. 
1882. Arawakisch-Beutsches Worterbuch. Bibl. Ling. Amér. Paris, vol. 8, pp 
69-165. 
Scott, Major JoHN. 

n.d. The historical and geographical description of the great river of the Ama- 
zones . . . and of the several nations inhabiting that famous country, or 
rather mightier Realm, or empire of above three thousand leagues in com- 
pass, part of which I have seen myself (circa 1670). Rawlinson MSS., 
A. 175, No. 356, p. 18. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 975 


SELER, EDUARD. 

1922. Museumsnotiz. Praparierte Feindesképfe bei den Jivaro-stammen des 
oberen Marafion und bei den alten bewohnern des Departements Ica an 
der Kiiste von Peru. Baessler-archiv., vol. 6, pts. 1-2, pp. 82-86. 

Sepp, ANTOINE. 

1819. Lettre du pére Antoine Sepp, missionnaire de la Compagnie de Jésus, au 
pére Guillaume Stinglhaim, provincial de la méme Compagnie dans la 
province de la Haute-Allemagne. Jn Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, vol. 
5, pp. 476-491. Lyon. 

SERRANO, ANTONIO. 
1936. Etnografia de la antigua provincia del Uruguay. Parana. 
SERRANO Y SANZ, MANUEL. 

1898. Los Indios chiriguanaes. Rev. Archiv. Bibl. Mus., vol. 2, pp. 321-339, 
410-421, 514-526, 568-574. 

1909. Relacién verdadera de todo lo que sucedio en la jornada de Omagua y 
Dorado. (Nueva biblioteca de autores espafioles, vol. 15.) Historia- 
dores de Indias, vol. 2, pp. 423-484. 

See also Caballero, Lucas, 1933. 
SERVICO DE PRoTECGAO Aos INDIOs, ARQUIVOS DA INSPECTORIA DO PaRA. 1942. 
SETCHELL, WILLIAM ALBERT. 
1921. Aboriginal tobaccos. Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 23, pp. 397-414. 
SEVERIANO DA Fonseca, JoAo. See FoNsSECA, JoAO SEVERIANO DA. 
SHAw, Ear B. 
1940. The Rupununi savannahs of British Guiana. Journ. Geogr., vol. 39, 
pp. 89-104. 
SHEDD, MARGARET. 
1933. Carib dance patterns. Theater Arts Monthly, vol. 17, pp. 65-77. 
SIEVERS, WILHELM. 
1887. Bemerkungen zur Karte der Venozolanisch-Brasilianischen Grenze. Zeit. 
Gesell. £. Erdkunde, vol. 22, pp. 1-5 and map. 
Sitva, JoAQUIM CAETANO DA. 
1861. L’Oyapoc et l’Amazone. 2 vols. Paris and Rio de Janeiro. 
Simon, PEnprRo. 

1861. The expedition of Pedro de Ursua and Lope de Aguirre in search of El 
Dorado and Omagua in 1560-1, Tr. from Pedro Simén’s “Sixth His- 
torical Notice of the Conquest of Tierra Firma.” Hakluyt Soc., vol. 
28. London. 

Stmpson, GEORGE GAYLORD. 

1940. Los Indios Kamarakotos: Tribu Caribe de la Guyana Venezolana. Tr. 
from English by J. Villaneuva-Ucalde. Rev. Fomento (Venezuela), 
Afio 3, Nos. 22-25. 

Simson, ALFRED. 

1878. Notes on the Zaparos. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. and Ireland, vol. 7, 
pp. 502-510. 

1879 a. Notes on the Piojes of the Putumayo. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. 

and Ireland, vol. 8, pp. 210-222. 
1879 b. Vocabulary of the ZAaparo language. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. 
and Ireland, vol. 8, pp. 223-226. 

1883. Notes on the Napo Indians. Journ. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. and Ireland, 
vol. 12, pp. 21-27. 

1886. Travels in the wilds of Ecuador, and the exploration of the Putumayo 
River. London. 


976 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


SKINNER, JOSEPH. 
1805. The present state of Peru: comprising its geography, topography, 
natural history, etc. London. 
1809. Voyages au Pérou, faits dans les années 1791 a 1794 par les pp. Manuel 
Sobreviela et Narcisso y Barcelo . . . Paris. 
SmirH, A. C. See Killip, E. P., and Smith, A. C. 
SMYTH, LIEUTENANT (WM.). 
1836. Account of the Rivers Amazon and Negro, from recent observations. 
Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 6, pp. 11-23. 
SmytTH, WILLIAM, and Lowe, F. 
1836. Narrative of a journey from Lima to Para. London. 
SNETHLAGE, Emit HEINRICH. 
1913. A travessia entre o Xingu e Tapajéz. Bol. Mus. Goeldi, vol. 7. 
1920-21. Die Indianerstamme am mittleren Xingi. Im besonderen die Chipaya 
und Curuaya. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 52, pp. 395-427. 
1927. Meine Reise durch Nordostbrasilien. I. Journ. Ornithol., vol. 75, pp 
453-484. 
1931 a. Unter nordostbrasilianischen Indianern. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 62, pp. 111- 
205. 
1931 b. Ein figurliches Ikat-Gewebe aus Peru. Sonderdruck: Der Weltkreis, 
z.{. V., Kulture geschichte u. Vulksdunde. 2 Jr., heft 3-4. Berlin. 
1936 a. Nachrichten tber die Pauserna-Guarayt, die Siriono am Rio Baures 
und die S. Simonianes in der Nahe der Serra S. Simon. Zeit. Ethnol., 
vol. 67, pp. 278-293. 
1936 b. Tagungsberichte der Gesellschaft fiir Volkerkunde in Leipzig, Bericht 
tuber die 2 tagung. Pp. 172-180. 
1936 c. Uebersicht uber die Indianer-stamme des Guaporegebietes. Sond. aus 
dem Tagungsbericht der Gesell. fur Volkerkunde. 2 Tagung. Leipzig. 
1937 a. Atiko y:meine Erlebnisse bei den Indianern des Guaporé. Berlin, 
1937 b. Forschungen und Abenteuer. 
1939. Musikinstrumente der Indianer des Guaporé-Gebietes. Baessler-archiv., 
vol. 10. 
SNETHLAGE, EMiL HEINRICH, and KocH-GRUNBERG, THEODOR. 
1910. Zur Ethnographie der Chipaya and Curuahé. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 42, pp. 
609-637. 
SNETHLAGE, EMILIA. 
n.d. The linguistic material of the second trip, on Sipayas and Kuruayas (of 
which Nimuendaju has a copy). MS. 
SOARES DE SouzA, GABRIEL, 
1851. Tratado descriptivo do Brasil em 1587, Rev. Inst. Hist. Geogr. Brasil, 
vol. 14, pp. 1-423. (2nd ed. 1879, vol. 14, pp. 1-374.) 
SoBREVIELA, MANUEL, and Narcisso y BARcELO. See SKINNER, JOSEPH, 1809. 
Somepra, Lutz. 
1913. Os Cachinauas. Ligeiras notas sobre seus usos e costumes. Jornal do 
Commercio, January 11. Rio de Janeiro. 
SoToMAYor, JosE ANTONIO. 
1901. Relacidn de los infieles del Ucayali. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 10, 
pp. 171-178. 
Sotto Mayor, JoAo DE. 
1916. Diario da jornada que fiz ao Pacaja no anno de 1656. Rev, Inst. Hist. 
Geogr. Brasil, vol. 77, pt. 2, pp. 157-179. 
SousA, ANDRE FERNANDES DE. 
1870. Noticias geographicas da Capitania do Rio Negro, Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 
10, pp. 411-504. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 977 


Sousa, Pero Lopes DE. 
1839. Diario da navegacao da armada que foi a terra do Brasil em 1530... 
Publ, por Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen. Lisboa. 
1927. Diario da navegacao .. . (1530-1532). Edicién Eduardo Prado, Rio de 
Janeiro. 
SouTHEY, Rosert. 
1817-22. History of Brazil. 3 vols. London. 
1862. Historia do Brasil. Vol. 5, p. 90; vol. 6, pp. 248-249. Rio de Janeiro. 
Souza, ANTONIO PYRENEUS DE. 
1916. Exploragiéo do Rio Paranatinga. Comissao de Linhas Telegraphicas 
Estrategicas de Matto Grosso a Amazonas. Publicagao No. 34. 
Annexo No. 2. Rio de Janeiro. 
1920. Notas sobre os costumes dos indios Nhambiquaras. Rev. Mus. Paulista, 
vol. 12, pt. 2, pp. 389-410. 
Souza, CoNEGO FRANCISCO BERNARDINO DE. 
1873. Lambrangas e curiosidades do valle do Amazonas, Para. 
1874. Comissao do Madeira. Para-Amazonas. Rio de Janeiro. 
Souza FRANCO, BERNARDO DE. 
1842. Fal la dirigida 4 Assemblea Legislativa Provincial, 14 de Abril de 1842. 
SPEISER, FELIX. 
1926. Im Diister des brasilianischen Urwaldes. Stuttgart. 
Sprx, JOHANN Baptist von, and Martius, KArL FRIEDRICH PHIL. VON. 
1823-31. Reise in Brasilien . . . 1817 bis 1820... 3 vols. Munchen. 
1824. Travels in Brazil - . 1817-1820, Trans. by H. E. Lloyd. 2 vols. 
London. 
1831. Atlas. Muinchen, 
See also Horschelmann, Werner von, 1918-20. 
SPRUCE, RICHARD. 
1908. Notes of a botanist on the Amazon and Andes. 2 vols. London. 
STADEN, HANS. 
1557. Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung eyner landtschaff der Wilnen / 
Nacketen / Grimmigen Menschfresser Leuthen / in der Newenwelt 
America Gelegen / vor und nach Christi geburt im Land zu Hessen 
vnbekant / bisz vff dise y. neehstvergabgene jar / Da sie Hans Staden 
von Homberg ausz Hessen durch sein eygne erfarung erkant / vnd 
yetzo? durch den truck an tag gibt. Getruckt zu Marpurg. (Edicion 
facsimilar por Richard N. Wegner bajo el titulo: Hans Staden, 
Warhaftige Historia etc. Frankfurt a. M. 1925, en la Biblioteca de 
GAEA Sociedad Argentina de Estudios Geograficos. ) 
1928. ... Hans Staden, the true history of his captivity. (The Broadway 
Travellers.) London. 
STADEN, Hans, and FEDERMANN, NiKoLAus. See KLuUpreLt, Kart Aucust, 1859. 
STAELHELIN, F. 
n.d, Die Mission der Brudergemeine in Suriname und Berbice in achtzehnten 
Jahrhundert. Teil II, IJ: 2. Herrnhut. 
STAHEL, GEROLD. 
1921-22. Een Indiaansche rotsteekening aan de Kabalebo-rivier (Coranti jn). 
De West-Indische Gids, vol. 3, pp. 100 ff. 
STAMPAERT, G. 
1924-25. Een bezoek aan de Indianen te Suriname. Zaire. Orgaan der 
Vlaamsche Kolonialen, No. 1, p. 39. 


978 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


STEDMAN, JOHN GABRIEL. 

1796. Narrative of a five years’ expedition against the revolted negroes of 
Surinam in Guiana, on the wild coast of South America; from the 
year 1772 to 1777. 2 vols. London, 

STEERE, JOSEPH BEAL. 

1903. Narrative of a visit to Indian tribes of the Purus River, Brazil. Ann. 
Rep., U. S. National Mus., 1901, pp. 359-393. 

1927. Archaeology of the Amazon. Univ, Michigan Official Publication 29, 
No. 9. Ann Arbor. 

STEGELMANN, FELIx. See REICH, ALFRED, and STEGELMANN, FELIx, 


STEINEN, KARL VON DEN. 


1886. Durch Central-Brasilien. Leipzig. 
1888. Uber seine zweite Schingi-Expedition. In Verhandl. d. Gesell, £. Erdkund. 


zu Berlin, vol. 15, pp. 369-387. 
1892. Die Bakairi Sprache, Leipzig. 
1894. Unter den Naturvélkern Zentral-Brasiliens. Berlin. 
1899. Indianerskizzen von Hercules Florence. Globus, vol. 75, pp. 5-9, 30-35. 
1904. Diccionario sipibo. Castellano-deutsch-sipibo, Apuntes de graméatica. 
Sipibo-castellano. Abdruck der Handschrift eines Franziskaners, mit 
Beitragen zur Kenntnis der Panostamme am Ucayali. Berlin. 
1906. Der Verfasser der Handschrift “Arte de la lengua de los indios antis 6 
campas.” Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 14, Stuttgart, vol. 2, pp. 603-605. 
1940. Entre os aborigenes do Brasil central. Sao Paulo. 
STEINEN, WILHELM VON DEN. 
1899. Steinbeile der Guarayo-indianer. Ethnologisches notizblatt herausgegeben 
von der Direktion des KGniglichen Museums fiir v6lkerkunde in Berlin, 
vol. 2, pp. 35-37. 
STETSON, JOHN B., Jr. See MAGALHAES DE GANDAVO, PEDRO DE. 
STEWARD, JULIAN H. 
1936. The economic and social basis of primitive bands. In Essays in Anthro- 
pology, pp. 331-350. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley. 
STIGLICH, GERMAN. 
1908. La regién peruana de los bosques. In Coleccién de leyes, decretos, reso- 
luciones i otros documentos oficiales referentes al departamento de 
Loreto formada de orden suprema por el doctor Carlos Larrabure i 
Correa. Vol. 15, pp. 308-495. Lima. 
STIRLING, MATTHEW WILLIAMS. 
1938. Historical and ethnographical material on the Jivaro Indians. Bull. Bur. 
Amer. Ethnol., No. 117. 
Stockum, A. J. VAN. 
1905. Een ontdekkingstocht in de binnenlanden van Suriname. Dagboek van 
de Saramacca-expeditie. Amsterdam. 
STOEL, G. 
1937. Over de veelvuldigheid van Kanker bij vershillende rassen in Suriname. 
Geneeskundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indie (Batavia), pp. 2292- 
2304. 
SToPLE, HJALMAR. 
1927. Collected essays in ornamental art: South America; Atlas. Stockholm. 


STRADELLI, E. 
1889. Rio Branco. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Italiana, vol. 26, pp. 210-228, 251-266. 
1890. Leggenda dell’ Jurupary. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Italiana, vol. 26. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 979 


1929. Vocabularios da lingua geral portuguez-nheéngatt e nheéngati-portuguez, 
precedidos de um esboco de Grammatica nheénga-umbué-saua miri e 
seguidos de contos em lingua geral nheéngatii poranduua. Rev. Inst. 
Hist. Geogr. Brasil, t. 104, vol. 158, pp. 9-768. 

STRAUSS, FRITZ. 

1926. Schiggi-Schiggi; abenteuer des Leo Parcus in den urwaldern Boliviens. 

Berlin and Leipzig. 
STRELNIKOV, I. D. 

1928. Les Kaa-iwua de Paraguay. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 22, Roma, vol. 2, 

pp. 333-366. 
STRICKLAND, JOSEPH, ED. 

1896. Documents and maps on the boundary question between Venezuela and 

British Guayana from the Capuchin archives in Rome. Rome. 
STROMER, C. VON. 

1932. Die Sprache der Munduruki. Anthropos: Coll. Int. de Monographies 
Linguistiques. II. Wien. 

1937. Unter den Mundurukt in Nordbrasilien. Die Katholischen Missionen, 65 
Jahrg., pp. 87-90. Diisseldorf, 

Stupart FILHo, CARLOS 

1927-32. Antiguida des indigenas do Ceara. Rev. Trim. Inst. Cear4, vol. 41, 
1927, pp. 167-221; vol. 46, 1932, pp. 105-118. 

1931. Notas historicas sobre os indigenas cearenses. Rev. Trim. Inst. Ceard, 
vol. 45, pp. 52-103. 

STUBEL, ALFONS, ReIss, W., and Koppet B. 

1889-90. Kultur und industrie siidamerikanischer vélker; nach den im besitze 
des Museums fiir vélkerkunde zu Leipzig befindlichen sammlugen 
wa. 2 Vols. . Berlin. 

SuAREZ DE FIGUEROA, LoRENZO. 

1914. Relacion de la ciudad de Santa Cruz de la Sierra por su Gobernador don 

... Anexos, vol. 1, pp. 532-554. See Mujia, 1914. 
SuRVILLE, D. Luts DE, 

1778. Mapa coro-grafico de la Nueva Andalucia provincias de Cuman4, y 

Guayana, vertientes del Orinoco, etc. 
SWANTON, JOHN REED. 

1931. Source material for the social and ceremonial life of the Choctaw Indians. 

Bull. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., No. 103. 
SYPESTEYN, CorNELIS ASCANIUS, jonkheer VAN. 

1854. Beschrijving van Suriname. Pp. 160-162. ’s Gravenhage. 

See also Focke, H. C., Landré, Ch., Sypesteyn, C. A. van, and Dumontier, 
F.A.C. 
TAMAJUNCOSA, ANTONIO. 

1910. Descripcién de las misiones, al cargo del Colegio de Nuestra Sefiora de 
los angeles de la villa de Tarija ... In Angelis, Pedro de, Coleccion de 
obras y documentos relativos 4 la historia antigua y moderna de las 
Provincias del Rio de la Plata, 2nd ed., vol. 4, pp. 187-223. Buenos 
Aires. 

TASTEVIN, CONSTANT. 
1910 a. La langue Tupihiya dite Tupi. Denkschriftten der Kaiserlichen 
Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, vol. 2. Vienna. 

1910 b. La lengua tapihiya dite tupi ou neenge tu (belle langua). Grammaire, 

dictionnaire et textes. Vienna. 

1914. En Amazone. Les missions catholiques. Vol. 46. Lyon. 


980 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


ee 


1920. Quelques considérations sur les Indiens du Jurud. Bull. Mém. Soc. 
Anthrop. Paris, vol. 10, 6th ser., pp. 144-154. 
1923 a. Les indiens Mura de la région de l’Autaz (Haut-Amazone). L’Anthrop., 
vol. 33, pp. 514-533. Paris. 
1923 b. Les Maku du Japura. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 15, pp. 99-108. 
1924 a. Les études ethnographiques et linguistiques du P. Tastevin en Ama- 
zonie. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 16, pp. 421-425. 
1924 b. Chez les Indiens du haut Jurua. Les missions catholiques. Vol. 56, 
pp. 65-67, 78-80, 90-93, 101-104. Lyon. 
1925. Le flueve Muri. Ses habitants. Cropances et moeurs kachimaua. La 
Geogr., vol. 43, pp. 403-422; vol. 44, pp. 14-35. 
1926. Le Haut Tarauaca. La Geogr., vol. 45, pp. 34-54, 158-175. 
1928 a. Le “Riozinho da Liberdade.” La Geogr., vol. 49, pp. 205-215. 
1928 b. Sur les Indiens Katukina. L’Ethnogr., n.s., Nos. 17-18, pp. 130-132. 
See also Rivet, Paul, and Fathers Kok, P., and Tastevin, C.; and Rivet, 
Paul, and Tastevin, Constant. 
TATE, GEORGE HENry HAMILTON. 
1930 a. Through Brazil to the summit of Mount Roraima. Nat. Geogr. Mag., 
vol. 58, pp. 585-605. 
1930 b. Notes on the Mount Roraima region. Geogr. Rev., vol. 20, pp. 53-68. 
TATE, GEoRGE HENRY HAMILTON, and Hircucock, C. B. 
1930. The Cerro Duida region of Venezuela. Geogr. Rev., vol. 20, pp. 31-52. 
TAVERA-ACOSTA, BARTOLOME. 
1905-13. Anales de Guayana. Vol. 1, 1905; Vol. 1 and 2, 1913. Ciudad-Bolivar. 
1906. Rionegro; resefia etnografica, histérica y geografica del Territorio Ama- 
zonas. Ciudad-Bolivar. (2nd ed. pub. 1927 Maracay.) 
1907. En El Sur (Dialectos Indigenas de Venezuela). Ciudad de Bolivar. 
1913. A traves de la historia de Venezuela. Vol. 1. Ciudad-Bolivar. 
1919. Paginas historiales. Ciudad-Bolivar. 
1921-22. Nuevos vocabularios de dialectos indigenas de Venezuela. Journ. Soc 
Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 13, pp. 217-232; vol. 14, pp. 64-82. 
1923. Las provincias orientales de Venezuela en la Primera Republica. Caracas. 
1930. Venezuela pre-coloniana; contribucion al estudio de las analogias miticas, 
idiomaticas y religiosas de los aborigenes venezolanos con los del con- 
tinent asiatico. Caracas. 
TAYLorR, JOHN EDWARD. See ADALBART, PRINCE OF Prussia, 1849. 
TecHo, NIcoLAS DEL. 
1673. Historia provinciae Paraquariae Societatis Jesv. Leodii. 
1897. Historia de la provincia del Paraguay de la Compafiia de Jestis. Madrid. 
(Two ed. pub. in 1897, one in 2 vols., the other in 5 vols.) 
TEJEDoR, P. SENEN F. 
1927. Breve resefia histérica de la Misidn Agustiniana de San Leon del 
Amazonas-Peru. El Escorial. 
TELLO B., MANUEL. See ZULOAGA, GUILLERMO, and TELLO B., MANUEL. 
TELLO, JULIO CESAR. 
1922. Introduccién a la historia antigua del Pert. Lima. 
1923. Wira Kocha. Inca, vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 93-320. 
1942. Origen y desarrollo de las civilizaciones prehistéricas Andinas. Lima. 
TENAN, L. 
n.d. Relatorio da segunda exploragdo a Tapajonio. 20 de Novembro de 1943. MS. 
TEN KATE, HERMAN FREDERICK CAREL. 
1887. Observations anthropologiques recuellies dans la Guyane et la Venezuela. 
Rey. Anthrop., 3rd ser., vol. 2, pp. 44-68. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 981 


1888. Beitrag zwi Ethnographie von Surinam, Int. Archiv. Ethnogr., vol. 1, 
pp. 223-227 and plate 21. 

1924. Notes d’anthropologie sud-américaine. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, ns, 
vol. 16, pp. 183-193. 

TENREIRO ARANHA, JOAO BAPTISTA DE FIGUEIREDO. 

1852. Relatorio que ... sobre o estado da Provincia do Amazonas. 30 de Abril 

de 1852. 
TERNAUX-COMPANS, HENRI. 

1837. Bibliotheque américaine; ou, Catalogue des ouvrages relatifs a l’Amérique 

qui ont paru depuis sa découverte jusqu’a l’an 1700. Paris. 
TESSMANN, GUNTER. 

1928. Menschen ohne Gott. Stuttgart. 

1929. Die Tschama-sprache. Anthropos, vol. 24, pp. 241-271. 

1930. Die Indianer Nordost-Perus. Hamburg. 

TEXEYRA, JOAO. 

1640. Descripgao de todo o martimo da Terra de Santa Cruz. Bibliothéque 
Nationale. Paris. 

TEzA, E. : 

1868. Saggi inediti di lingue americane. Appunti bibliografici. Annali delle 
Universita toscane. Parte prima. Scienze noologiche, vol. 10, pp. 117- 
143. Pisa. 

THERESE, PRINZESSIN VON BAYERN. 
1897. Meine Reise in den brasilianischen Tropen. Berlin. 
THEVET, ANDRE. 

1575. La Cosmographie universelle. Paris. 

1878. Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique: 
et Isles decouvertes de nostre temps. Nouvelle édition avec notes et 
commentaires par Paul Gaffarel. Paris. (Paris ed., 1557; Anvers ed. 
1558.) 

THOoRON, ENRIQUE ONFFROY DE. See ONFFROY DE THORON, ENRIQUE. 
TrpiricA, Ruy W. 

1936. Arqueologia brasileira. Rev. Arq. Mun. Sao Paulo, vol. 24, pp. 137-140; 

vol. 30, pp. 131-142. 
TocANTINS, ANTONIO MANOEL GONGALYES, 

1877. Estudos sobre a tribu Mundurukt. Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 40, pt. 2, pp. 

73-161. 
Tony, CLAUDE. 
1843. Voyage dans l’intérieur du continent de la Guyano. Nouvelles annales 
des voyages, vol. 97, 4th ser., vol. 1, Paris. 
Toro, Evfas. 
1905. Por las selvas de Guayana. Caracas. 
Torres, HELoISA ALBERTO. 

1929. Ceramica de Marajé; Conferencia realizada na Escola de belles artes, 
Rio de Janeiro, 1929, e Rev. do Inst. Arch. de Pernambuco. Rio de 
Janeiro. 

1930. Ceramica de Maraj6. Kosmos, No. 1. Rio de Janeiro. 

1940. Arte indigena da Amazonia. Publicagdes do Servigo do Patrimonio 
Histérico e Artistico Nacional, No. 6. Rio de Janeiro. 

Torres, Luis Maria. 
1913. Los primitivos habitantes del delta del Parana. Buenos Aires. 
TRIANA, MIGUEL. 

1907. Por el sur de Colombia; Excursion pintoresca y cientifica al Putumayo. 

Proélogo de S. Pérez Triana. [Preface, 1907.] Paris. 


982 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 148 


TYLER, CHARLES DOLBy. 
1894. The River Napo. Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 476-484. 
UHLE, Max. 
1889-90. Kultur und industrie siidamerikanischer vélker. Berlin. 
1923. Toltecas, Mayas y civilizaciones Sudamericanas. Bol. Acad. Nac. Hist. 
Quito, vol. 7, No. 18, pp. 1-33. 
UHLE, E. 
1913. Unter den Indianern am Rio Branco in Nordbrasilien. Zeit. Ethnol., vol. 
45, pp. 278-298. 
ULtricH, C. O. 
1906. Die Tapes. Congr, Int. Amer., 14th sess., Stuttgart, 1904, vol. 2, pp. 
473-506. 
Up pe Grarr, Fritz W. 
1923. Head-hunters of the Amazon; seven years of exploration and adventure. 
Garden City, New York. (Also 1923 ed. London.) 
UrguHart, D. R. 
1893. Among the Campa Indians of Peru. Scot. Geogr. Mag., vol. 9, pp. 348- 
359, 
UrteaGA, Horacio H., and Romero, Cartos A., Eps. 
1916-19. Colleccién de libros y documentos referentes a la historia del Pert. 


Voll 12. Lima. 
VAAS DE CAMINHA, PEDRO, 
1812-13. Carta de . . . a El Rei D. Manoel, sobre o descubrimiento da terra 


de Santa Cruz, vulgarmente chamada Brasil. Colleccgao de Noticias 
para a Historia e Geografia das Nacaes Ultramarinas que vivem nos 
dominios portuguezes, ou les s4o visinhas. Vol. 2. Lisbon. 
Vacas GALINDO, ENRIQUE. 
1895. Nankijukima. Ambato, Ecuador. 
VALLE BenteEs, E. E. See NIMUENDAU, Curt, and VALLE BEnTEs, E. E. 
Van Stocxum, A. J. See StockuM, A. J. VAN. 
Van Sypesteyn, C. A. See SYPESTEYN, C. A. VAN. 
VASCONCELLOS, SIMAO DE, 
1865. Chronica da Companhia de Jesu do Estado do Brasil (1663). Lisbon. 
(First ed., Lisbon, 1663.) 
VASCONCELLOS, V. P. See Ronp6éN, CANDIDO MARIANO pA SitvA, 1916. 
VEIGL, FRANZ XAVIER. 

1785 a. Gruendliche nachrichten ueber die verfassung der landschaft von 
Maynas in Sud-amerika, bis zum Jahre 1768. Jn Murr, Christoph 
Gottlieb von. Reisen einiger missionarien der gesellschaft Jesu in 
Amerika, pp. 1-324. Niirnberg. 

1785 b. Nachricht von den sprachen der vélker am Orinokoflusse. Aus dem 
Saggio di Storia Americana ... des herrn abbate ... Gilij. Ins 
deutsche tibersetzt mit einigen verbesserungen ... Jn Murr, 
Christoph Gottlieb von. Reisen einiger missionarien der gesellschaft 
Jesu in Amerika, pp. 325-450. Niirnberg. 

VELASCO, JUAN DE. 
1841-44. Historia del Reino de Quito en la America Méridionale. 3 vols. 
Quito. 
VELLARD, JEHAN ALBERT. 
1931. Pétroglyphes de la région de l’Araguaya. Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, 
n.s., vol. 23, pp. 139-149. 
1934. Notes sur la céramique pré-colombienne des environs d’Asunci6n. Journ. 
Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 26, pp. 37-45. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 983 


1937. Textes mbwiha recueillis au Paraguay. Journ. Soc. Amér, Paris, ns., 
vol. 29, pp. 373-386. 

1939 a. Une civilisation du miel; les Indiens Guayakis du Paraguay. Paris. 

1939 b. A preparacao do curare pelos Nambikwaras. Rev. Arq. Mun. Sao 
Paulo, vol. 59, pp. 5-16. 

VENESS, WILLIAM THOMAS. 
1875. Ten years of mission life in British Guiana. London. 
VENEZUELA-BRITISH GUIANA BOUNDARY ARBITRATION, 1898. 3 vols. and atlas. 
New York. 
VERGARA Y VERGARA, JOSE Marfa, and DELGADO, EvArRISsTo. 

1860-61. The Indians of Andaqui. Popayan, 1885. Tr. from the Spanish and 

published in Bull, Amer. Ethnol. Soc., No. 1, pp. 53-72. 
VERNEAU, RENE. 

1921. Contribution a4 l’étude ethnographique des Indiens de 1’Amazone. 

L’Anthrop., vol. 31, pp. 255-278. 
VERNEAU, RENE, and Rivet, PAUL. 

1912-22. . . . Ethnographie ancienne de l’Equateur. 2 vols, Paris. (Mission 
du Service géographique de l’armée pour la mesure d’un arc de 
méridien équatorial en Amérique du Sud sous le contrdle scientifique 
de l’Académie des Sciences, 1899-1906, vol. 6.) 

VERRILL, ALPHEUS Hyatt. 

1918. A remarkable mound discovered in British Guiana. Timehri, 3rd ser., 
vol. 5, pp. 21-25. 

1925. Indians of Surinam. Ind. Notes Monogr., vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 309-313. 

VipaL, GoMER ELIZABETH JULIE. 

1862. Voyage d’exploration dans le haut Maroni, Guyane francaise (Septembre 

a novembre, 1861). Rev. Mar. Coloniale, vol. 5, pp. 512-548, 638-662. 
VIEDMA, FRANCISCO DE, 

1910. Descripcién geografica y estadistica de la provincia de Santa Cruz de la 
Sierra. Jn Angelis, Pedro de. Coleccién de obras y documentos rela- 
tivos 4 la historia antigua y moderna de las provincias del Rio de la 
Plata. 2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 413-542. Buenos Aires. 

VIEIRA, ANTONIO. 
1735-46. Cartas. 3 vols. Lisbéa. Especial ref. to vol. 1, Carta XLIX. 
VILLANUEVA, MANUEL PABLO. 

1902-03. Fronteras de Loreto. Bol. Soc. Geogr. Lima, vol. 12, pp. 361-479; 

vol. 13, pp. 30-92. 
VILLA REAL, TOMAZ DE Souza. 
1848. Viagem de . . . pelos Rios Tocantins, Araguaya e Vermelho. Rev. Inst. 
Hist., vol. 4. 
VILLAVICENCIO, MANUEL. 
1858. Geografia de la republica del Ecuador. New York. 
ViNnAzA, CrpRIANO MuNoz y MANZANO, CONDE DE LA. 
1892. Bibliografia espafiola de lenguas indigenas de América. Madrid. 
VINCKE, GASTON. 

1935. Avec les Indiens de la Guyane. Avant-propos de Gaston Monnerville. 
Paris. 

VoOCABULARIO GENERAL DE LA LENGUA DE LOS INDIOS DEL PUTUMAYO Y CAQUETA. 

1898. Publicado por primera vez con indagaciones preliminares por el Dr. 
Marcos Jiménez de la Espada. Madrid. 

Voct, (P.) Fr. 

1904. Die Indianer des Obern Parana. Mitt. Anthrop. Gesell. Wien, vol. 34 

(der dritten folge, 4 band), pp. 299-221, 353-377. 


984 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143° 


VOYAGES ET AVANTURES DU CHEVALIER DE .. . 4 vols. in 2. London and Paris. 
1749. 
VOYAGES ET TRAVAUX DE MISSIONNAIRES DE LA COMPAGNIE DE JESuS. 1857-61. Paris. 
Vol. 1: Mission de Cayenne et de la Guyane frangaise, 1857, pp. 1-180. Paris. 
WAGLEY, CHARLES W. 
1940 a. The effects of depopulation upon social organization as illustrated by 
the Tapirapé Indians. Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, vol. 3, No. 1, 
pp. 12-16. 
1940 b. World view of the Tapirapé Indians. Journ. Amer. Folk-lore, vol. 53, 
No. 210, pp. 252-260. 
1942. O estado de extase do page Tupi (Tenetehara e Tapirapé). Sociologia, 
vol. 3. Sao Paulo. 
1943 a. Notas sobre Aculturacao entre os Guajajara. Bol. Mus. Nac. Rio de 
Janeiro, n.s., Antropologia, No. 2. 
1943 b. Tapirapé shamanism. Bol. Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, n.s., Antro- 
pologia, No. 3. 
Wacne_er, HENRY RAUP. 
1926. Sir Francis Drake’s voyage around the world; its aims and achieve- 
ments. San Francisco. 
WaALDECK, Jo BeEssE MCELVEEN. 
1939. Back of beyond in British Guina. Travel, vol. 73, (Oct.), pp. 30-34, 43. 
WALLACE, ALFRED RUSSEL. 
1853. A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. London and 
New York. 
1889. Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. London, New York. 
WaALttiis, G. 
1886. Die Paumarys. Das Ausland, vol. 59, pp. 261-266. Stuttgart and 
Miinchen. 
WATERTON, CHARLES. 
1891. Wanderings in South America. London. 
WaAvrIN, RoBert, MARQUIS DE. 
1927. Investigaciones etnograficas. Leyendas tradicionales de los Indios del 
Oriente ecuatoriano. Bol. Bibl. Nac. Quito, ns., No. 12, Sept.—Oct., 
pp. 325-337. 
WEDDELL, HuGuES ALGERNON. 
1853. Voyage dans le nord de la Bolivie et dans les parties voisines du Pérou; 
ou, Visite au district aurifére de Tipuani. Paris. 
WEEKS, JoHN H. 
1913. Among Congo Cannibals. Philadelphia. 
Wetss, H. 
1915. Vier Maanden in Suriname. Nijerk. 
WERTHEMAN, ARTURO. 
1877. Informe de la exploracién de los rios Perene y Tambo. Lima. 
WHIFFEN, THOMAS W. 
1913. A short account of the Indians of the Issa-Japura district (South 
America). Folklore, vol. 24, pp. 41-62. London. 
1915. The north-west Amazons: notes of some months spent among cannibal 
tribes. London and New York. 
WHITELY, HENRY. 
1884. Explorations in the neighbourhood of Mounts Roraima and Kukenam, in 
British Guiana. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc., vol. 6, pp. 452463. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 985 


WHITNEY, CASPAR. 
1912 a. Adventuring along the upper Orinoco. Harper’s Mag., vol. 125, pp. 
528-538. 
1912 b. The flowing road: a sportsman’s adventures on the Rio Negro and 
the Upper Orinoco. Philadelphia and London. 
WIcKHAM, HENRY ALEXANDER. 

1872. Rough notes of a journey through the wilderness from Trinidad to 
Para, Brazil, by way of the great cataracts of the Orinoco, Atabapo, 
and Rio Negro. London. 

WIENER, CHARLES 
1880. Pérou et Bolivie. Paris. 
WILKENS DE MatrrTos, JoAo. 

1856. Alguns esclarecimentos sobre as missOes da Provincia do Amazonas. 
Rev. Inst. Hist., vol. 19. 

WILLIAMS, HELENA MartiA, TRANS. See HumBoLtpt, ALEXANDER von, 1814. 
WILLIAMS, JAMES. 

1924. The Arawak Indians and their language. Congr. Int. Amer., sess. 21, 
The Hague, pt. 1, pp 355-370. 

1928. The aborigines of British Guiana. The Church Overseas, vol. 1, pp. 
220-227. London. 

1928-29. The Warau Indians of Guiana and vocabulary of their language. 

Journ. Soc. Amér. Paris, n.s., vol. 20, pp. 193-252; vol. 21, pp. 
201-261. 

1932. Grammar, notes, and vocabulary of the language of the Makuchi Indians 
of Guiana. Linguistische Anthroposbibliothek, vol. 8, pp. 389-408. 
St. Gabriel-Médling. 

1936. The aborigines of British Guiana and their land. Anthropos, vol. 31, 
pp. 417-432. 

WILLIAMS, LLEWELYN. 

1941. The Caura valley and its forests. Geogr. Rev., vol. 31, pp. 414-429. 
WILLIAMSON, JAMES ALEXANDER. 

1923. English Colonies in Guiana and on the Amazon, 1604-1668. Oxford. 
WILson, JOHN. 

1906. The relation of Master John Wilson of Wansteed in Essex, one of the 
last ten that returned into England from Wiapoco in Guiana 1606. In 
Purchas, Samuel, Hakluytus posthumus; or Purchas his pilgrimes, 
vol. 16, pp. 338-351. Glasgow. 

WINTER, A. 
1881. Indian pictured rocks of Guiana. Written in aid of the funds of the 
Potaro Mission, New Amsterdam, Berbice. 
Woop, JOHN GEORGE, 
1868-70. The natural history of man. 2 vols. London and New York. 
WoopbroFFE, JOSEPH FROUDE. 
1914. The upper reaches of the Amazon. London. 
XARQUE, FRANCISCO. 

1900. Ruiz Montoya en Indias (1608-1652) ... Coleccién de libros raros y 
curiosos que tratan de América, vols. 16-19. (Reprint of original 
edition of 1662 edited by P. Vindel.) Madrid. 

YEPEZ, JAcINTO M. 

1927. El Puyu y sus costumbres. El Oriente dominicano. Canelos, Ist year, 

pp. 6-7. 


986 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS [B.A.E. Bull. 143 


Yves p’Evreux, (PERE). 
1864. Voyage dans le nord du Brésil fait durant les années 1613 et 1614. 
Introduction and notes by Ferdinand Denis. Leipzig and Paris. 
ZANTEN, J. H. VAN. 
1925. Domografie van de in Suriname levende volken. Mensch en Maatschappij, 
201. 
ZAPATA, AUGUSTIN. 
1906. Carta del Padre ...al Padre Joseph de Buendia, en la que da noticias 
del Paititi. 8 Mayo, 1695. Im Maurtua, Victor M., 1906, vol. 10, pp. 


25-28. 
ZARATE, ANDRES DE, 
1904. Informe que haze 4 Su Magestad el Padre..., de la Compafiia de 


Jhests, Visitador y Vizeprovinzial que acaua de ser de la provinzia 
de Quito, en el Reyno de el Pert, y de sus Misiones del rio Napo y del 
Marafion. Jn Figueroa, Francisco de, Relacién de las misiones de la 
Compafiia de Jess, pp. 341-418. Madrid. 
ZARATE, AUGUSTIN DE, 
1577. Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de la provincia del Pert. Sevilla. 
(Also in Bibl. de autores espafioles, vol. 26, Historiadores primitivos 
de Indias, vol. 2, pp. 459-574, Madrid, 1853.) 
ZAVALA, MIGUEL J. 
1895 a. Arte de la lengua campa. Lima. 
1895 b. Vocabulario de la lengua campa. Jn Capelo, Joaquin, La via central 
del Pert, vol. 2, pp. 155-164. Lima. 
ZEBALLOS, ESTANISLAO SEVERO, ¥ Pico, Pepro P. 
1878. Informe sobre el tumulo prehistorico de Campana. An. Soc. Cient. 
Argentina, vol. 6, pp. 244-260. 
ZuLOAGA, GUILLERMO, and TELLO B., MANUEL. 
1939. Exploracién preliminar de la Sierra de Imataca. Rev. Fomento 
(Venezuela), afio 3, No. 19, pp. 397-430. 


yy U. S. Government Printing Office: 1947—653333 


AMF) ae 
md ae 

y { ‘ 
a 


han i 


rms f a 
aoe k aye 


ae i Sa 


> vee ai 


Sas 


ST 


421 8887