THE TUK-UNA BY 10 CURT NIMUENDAJU Edited by ROBERT H. LOWIE Translated by WILLIAM D. HOHENTHAL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY Volume 45 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS B-ERKkLEY'AND: LOS ANGELES 1952 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY VOLUME XLV EDITORS R. H. LOWIE E. W. GIFFORD D. G. MANDELBAUM R. L. OLSON THE TUKUNA BY CURT NIMUENDAJU Edited by ROBERT H. LOWIE Translated by WILLIAM D. HOHENTHAL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES 1952 UNIVERSITY O CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY EDITORS (BERKELEY): R. H. LowiE, E. W. GiiroRD, D. G. MANDELBAUM, R. L. OLSON Volume 45, pp. ix + 1-210, plates 1-18, 13 figures in text, 1 map Submitted by editors: June 5, 1950 Issued April 16, 1952 Price, Paper, $3.50; Cloth, $4.25 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA -0* CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON, ENGLAND PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE IN 1935 the late Snr. Curt Nimuendajui (who died on December 10, 1945, among the Tukuna Indians) began ethnographic researches on behalf of the Department of Anthropology. The work was financed mainly by the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of California, and in part by the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. So far, three major monographs have appeared as a result of these investigations: The Eastern Timbira (University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 41, Berkeley, 1946) ; The Apinaye (The Catholic University of America, Anthropolog- ical Series, No. 8, Washington, D.C., 1939); and The gerente (Publications of the Frederick Webb Hodge Anniversary Publication Fund, Vol. 4, Los Angeles, 1942). In addition, there are a series of provisional reports antedating complete presenta- tion of the facts, and some minor papers, notably Social Organization and Beliefs of the Botocudo of Eastern Brazil (Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 2:93-115, 1946). These were translated by the editor from the author's German manuscripts, at times revised on details on the basis of years of correspondence between author and translator. In 1941 and 1942, Nimuendajiu, who had spent fifteen days among the Tukuna in 1929, paid them a second and a third visit of six and five months' duration, respectively; the present treatise embodies the results. However, during World War II a regulation of the Brazilian government prohibited the use of the German language in correspondence, so that Nimuendajiu was obliged to write to me in Portuguese, and I to him in English. Since the law extended even to monographs, the paper herewith presented was likewise composed in Portuguese. Its translation was accordingly entrusted to Mr. William D. Hohenthal, who not only lived in Brazil when he was a boy and received part of his education there, but was attached to the Brazilian army as an infantry instructor on loan from the United States Army, 1945-1947, and is married to a -Brazilian lady. As a graduate student in anthropology, he also understands the ethnographic technicalities that sometimes baffle a layman no matter how familiar he is with the language from which he translates. Apart from providing a most conscientious rendering of Nimuendaju's meaning, Mr. Hohenthal has taken endless pains in compiling a glossary of Brazil- ian terms and checking the identification of botanical and zoological species. The present is the last major contribution of Nimuendajiu in the editor's pos- session. Several lesser reports in German on the Northern Kayap6 and some other groups are designed for publication in periodical journals. ROBERT H. LowIE CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE ............................... V I. INTRODUCTION ............................... 1 Tribal name ............................... 1 Physical type ......... ........................ 1 Territory ................................. 2 History .................................. 8 Scientific exploration . ................................. 9 II. HABITATION ................................. 11 Houses . ................................. 11 Communication between settlements ............................ 19 III. SUBSISTENCE ............................... 21 Agriculture ............................... 21 Fishing ............................... 24 Hunting ............................... 26 Gathering .................................. 32 Food ............................... 32 Beverages .................................. 33 IV. APPAREL AND ORNAMENT ............................... 36 Clothing ............................... 36 Artificial body deformation .................................. 38 V. ART ............................... 41 Sculpture and painting .................................. 41 Music ............................... 42 Pottery ............................... 46 VI. CHARACTER AND SOCIAL LIFE ............................... 49 Visits ............................... 53 Festivals .................................. 54 Adult games ............................... 55 VII. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION ........... .................... 56 Clans .................................. 56 Moieties ............................... 60 Exogamy ............................... 61 Law ............................... 63 Chiefs ............................... 64 War .................................. 65 VIII. LiFE CYCLE ............................... 68 Pregnancy ............................... 68 Birth .................................. 68 Infancy and childhood .................................. 70 Puberty .................................. 73 Boys' puberty ......... ...................... 73 Girls' puberty ......... ...................... 73 Marriage and family life .................................. 93 Death and burial .................................. 98 [ vii ] nii (Contents IX. MAGIC AND RELIGION .............................. 100 The shaman . .............................. 100 Execution of a sorcerer .............................. 106 The upper world .............................. 110 The underworld ............................. 118 The culture heroes: the immortals .............................. 121 Messianic movements .............. 137 The Tukuna religion and the Neobrazilians ...... ............... 140 X. VARIOUS LEGENDS ............................................. 141 Legends of cataclysms ........................................ 141 Legends of celestial bodies and related phenomena ............... 142 Legends of demons and monsters ............................... 144 Legends of odysseys and adventures ............................ 148 APPENDixES A. Kinship terms ............................................. 155 B. Linguistic classification ......................................... 156 GLOSSARY ............. ................................ 159 BIBLIOGRAPHY . ............................................. 165 PLATES ........... .................................. 169 INDEX ............................................. 207 MAP The Solimoes River................................................. 5 EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS AND DIACRITICS USED IN TUKUNA WORDS e very open, between e and a e very close, between e and i o between a and o u between u and o c Spanish ch A nasal velar stop The terminology in the list above explains the orthog- raphy used in Tukuna words. In addition, superior "n" indicates nasalization; a short hook below a vowel desig- nates it as postpalatal; an acute accent marks the tonal accent; a colon following a vowel means a lengthened vowel. Certain other symbols, used rarely in the paper (i.e., the solidus or slant), are not explained in the orig- inal manuscript. [ x I I. INTRODUCTION TRIBMA NAME THE TRIBAL NAME has two versions: Tikuna (Tekuna) or Tukuna (Tokuna). Of the earlier writers, Padre Samuel Fritz (1691), Ribeiro de Sampaio (1774), Spit and Martius (1819), and Ayres de Cazal (1831) use the first forms; Acu-ia (1639), Berredo (1718), and Jose de Moraes Torres (1759) use the second; Monteiro Noronha (1768) uses both. Apparently, only the first version is used in Peru; in Brazil, however, both forms are in vogue, and it is noteworthy that some travelers (Herndon and Gibbon, 1853; Orton, 1875) employ the term Tikuna in Peru and Tukuna in Brazil. The Kayuisana, neighbors of these Indians, call them Tukuna, the form that Koch-Griinberg heard among the Indians of the Rio Apaporis. According to Tess- mann, the Tukuna do not have a name for the entire tribe. He quotes Veigl, who says that, although they speak a common language, they regard the tribe as being made up of different nations; this error on Veigl's part may be attributed to the Tukuna use of the Portuguese word "nacao" in referring to their clans. In this lingua franca spoken by the Indians, Tikuna is the most common version; this statement holds true for Brazil as well as for Peru. However, in their own language the Indians of the tribe employ exclusively the form Tukuna, or Tukuna, the first u having a high intonation and a light tonal accent: Tu: 'ku:na. I have verified this pronunciation many times and with Indians of different localities. According to Veigl,1 the Portuguese called the Tukuna "chumana"-a gross error, since the two tribes are clearly distinct. PHYSICAL TYPE The Tukuna are of average stature. According to Barbosa Rodrigues, the mean height of six men and six women measured in Tonantins was 149 centimeters and 145 centimeters, respectively,' figures which very probably are not accurate. The skin is quite dark. The features of the face are in general coarse, the supra- orbital ridges and the cheekbones pronounced. The nose is thick and prominent, the upper jaw strongly developed-not owing to the thickness of the lips but to true prognathism, which becomes immediately apparent when the mouth is agape so that all the teeth are visible. In some exaggerated cases this form of mouth produces an almost Negroid aspect, as Herndon noted among the neighboring Marubo of the Solimoes.' However, I do not believe that this should be attributed to intermixture. The iris is dark brown. The eyelid opening is either narrow or medium; the inclination is generally horizontal, with a few cases of obliquity. During childhood the smooth, thick, black hair is somewhat reddish. Wavy hair is found only in individuals who show other evidences of mixed descent. The eye- brows are normal or scanty; the beard, if it appears at all, is sparse, even at a 1 Quoted in Tessmann, Die Indianer Nordost-Perfis, p. 559; see also Martius, Beitrage zur Ethnographie u. Sprachenkunde, 2:443-483. 2 Barbosa Rodrigues, Tribu dos Ticunas, p. 52. 8 Herndon and Gibbon, Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, 1:243. [1] University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. mature age. I knew of only two adult Tukuna with normal moustaches. The pubic hair is always scanty. Signs of racial intermixture are visible in 20 per cent, more or less, of the mem- bers of the tribe-a small percentage, considering that the Tukuna have lived in peaceful contact with civilized persons for two and a half centuries. Evidently the rigid tribal organization into exogamic moieties has prevented unbridled promiscuity. Defects and diseases.-Serious physical defects of a pathological nature are infrequent. When I inquired about the fate of children born deformed, no one could remember a particular instance. Deformation of the teeth by caries is fre- quent. Some cases of unilateral blindness the Indians attributed to measles. Strangely high (2 per cent?) is the incidence of hearing defects, although I have never seen an Indian completely deaf. Defective hearing appears to be hered- itary, being more frequent in certain families. The most damaging diseases are those introduced by the Neobrazilians. Smallpox has ravaged the tribe on various occasions. The first epidemic, which decimated the Om'agua in 1649, probably reached the Tukuna as well. Also highly devastating was the smallpox epidemic of 1870, which spread from returning soldiers of the Paraguayan war and almost depopulated certain igarapes,' such as the Igarape da Rita. Formerly there was apparently no malaria or intermittent fever (impaludismo) in these tributaries of the Solimoes, in spite of the enormous quantities of mosqui- toes. But many Tukuna who were taken by their masters to the Javary and Jandia- tuba rivers died of this affliction, and others brought it back to the igarapes. Influenza, catarrh, and other respiratory diseases are frequent but cause less damage among the Tukuna than among the other tribes. The presence of intestinal worms among these Indians is less common than among the Neobrazilians. There are no venereal diseases, except perhaps among some emancipated families living in promiscuity with the Neobrazilians. An endemic disease among the Tukuna, which, however, disfigures more than it incommodes, is the puru'-puru',5 a skin ailment that results in great irregular patches of a dark bluish color which eventually turns achromatic. TERRITORY Formerly the territory of the tribe comprised the jungle centers off the left bank of the Amazon-Solimoes from 710 15' (Ilha Peruate) to 680 40' W. longitude; its tributaries, the Atacuari, Loretoyacu, Mariuagu', Tacana, Belem, Cajary, Sao Jeronymo, and Rita, and the upper course of the drainage which empties into the Putumayo-Iga-the Yahuas, Cotuhe, Porete, and Jacurapa. The Tukuna did not then inhabit the banks of the Amazon-Solimoes, for fear of the Omagua, who occupied the islands of that river throughout its course in 4Terms explained in the Glossary (p. 159) and native words in common use are italicized on their first appearance. Tukuna words are given in a simplified form of Nimuendajfi's orthography, which is apparently a normalized phonetic transcription. The following abbreviations are used: P., Portuguese; T., Tukuna; l.g., lingua geral. 5Pinta or mal del pinto, caused by Spirochaeta pintae. In Brazil there are three varieties, called, according to the color of the blotches, "white," "red," and "black." Mexico, mal del pinto; Colombia, carate; Honduras, cativi.-Trans. 2 Nimuendaju: The Tukuna3 Tukuna territory and even far beyond, while the banks of the Putumayo-Ica were held by Aruak tribes-the Mariate, Yumana, and Pase. To the west they had for neighbors the Yahua and the Peba. Today this former Tukuna territory is divided among Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. As the Indians of all these neighboring tribes (with the exception of the Yahua) became fewer or finally disappeared, the Tukuna began to spread out along both banks and on the islands of the Solim6es, where many of them live today, as well as on the lakes and tributaries of the right bank. Similarly, they have settled near the Parana, on the Camatia and along the lower Jandiatuba. Some of their settle- ments are on the lower Icaa, but representatives of the tribe have appeared most recently on the Auati-parana, at approximately 660 30' W. longitude. The region of the lower Javary, where they were encountered in the past century, they have since abandoned, and likewise they have abandoned the Porete region. The entire Tukuna country is part of the Amazon basin, and in the whole region there is not-in the Brazilian part, at least-even one elevation that merits the name of se"ra, nor can any stones be found except a few gravel beds in the upper courses of the igarapes. Lakes and lacustrine topography are found only in the marginal region of the Solimoes and in the lower courses of the igarapes. The jungle centers are firm grojind. At some points this solid ground extends to the banks of the Solimoes, where it forms enormous bluffs twenty-five meters high or more, which are very apt to crumble, especially in times of excessive runoff, and this causes the inhabitants great inconvenience. During the summer the low riverbanks are bordered with mud beaches. In the winter they are covered with water and become lacustrine zones, with lakes and sinks in some places more than a league0 in width. Few of the numerous islands offer a place of shelter from the regular floods; most of them are inundated in the winter to the point of being uninhabitable. These islands with their low banks are also subject to the effects of erosion and inundation to a prodigious degree, the topography sometimes being completely altered within a few years. The climate is hot and humid, and one feels the lack of ventilation in the jungle. Annually in June and July there are sudden very marked cold spells, accompanied by strong winds from the southeast (not the southwest!) and by fine rains which last from one to three days. The year is divided into a rainy winter and a dry summer. The Solimoes floods regularly; beginning to rise in December it reaches its highest point (12 m. above the dry level) in March, April, and May, diminishing gradually in June and July. The months of August, September, October, and November witness the drying up of streams, so that the upper courses of the igarapes become unnavigable. However, there are frequently major departures from this pattern. The virgin Amazonian jungle covers this region throughout. Only at the head- waters of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo are there elevated spots with sandy soil and low vegetation. The jungle itself is rich in vegetable products, of which only timber and rubber are now being exploited. A few decades ago the region was extremely rich in game, but the rise in price of leather rapidly caused the near extermination of such mammals as the tapir 6 The Portuguese league equals 6 kilometers. 3 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. THE SOLIMUR RIVnA KEY TO MAP BiEers and Streams R42 akiti' R35 aru-pane R37 baruri' R47 Cabeceira do Taxy R48 Cano do Taxy R29 6au/mata' R31 daure-ki R44 do6a'nein R17 dyo'lna R26 dyo'naka R33 e/ti R46 b/tiAi-ki R19 eware R52 Igarap6 Agfl R16 Ig. Agri R3 Ig. Berury R15 Ig. Caldeirio R32 Ig. Calixto R7 Ig. Capacete R10 Ig. Capitin Rll Ig. Carana R45 Ig. da Rita R12 Ig. Irineu R53 Ig. Manaca R2 Ig. Mariaassft R8 Ig. Nuaka R43 Ig. Panapani R14 Ig. Piranha R6 Ig. Preto (1) R41 Ig. Preto (2) R4 Ig. Sao Antonio R9 Ig. Sao Jorge R40 Ig. Sao Paulo R13 Ig. Surubim R51 Ig. Tauapfi R28 kuain-ti R38 kwaiat'Aa-ti R39 Maia-ti R22 Ma-ti R24 Mbai R27 me'kira" R34 m6l-para R36 nan/ne'neA R21 napa-ti R23 pakarele R49 Parana Apara R50 Parani das Panellas Ri Rio Javary R5 Rio Tacana R30 tau6ini-ki R25 tau-i R18-tawe'en R20 tine-ti Tukuna Dwellings T14 Augusto Mocario T4 Anto Cazemiro T8 Calixto T9 Cap. Antonio T2 Cap. Feliz T13 Custodio Tll Der8 T5 Juliao Ti J. Tauari T12 Nino T10 Aora'n T3 Ponciano T6 Surara (tapera) T7 taivegj'ne Towns and Settlements S11 Agacaio S6 Aljubarata S16 A. Ramiro S9 Bel6m 55 Capacete S3 J. Mendes 814 Laureano Muller S8 Marupifara S13 M. Geissler S18 Mission 84 Moys6s S10 Palmares S15 Paraizo Si Ramon Castillo S12 Sta Cruz S2 Tabatinga S7 Tupy S17 Va Velha Lakes Li Cajary L2 Curana L3 Lago das Panellas Islands 16 Ilha Cajary I5 Ilha Capiahy I7 Ilha Cariny I4 Ilha Guaribas I1 Ilha Sururua 13 Ilha Tauaru I2 Ilha Tubaroes 4 COLOMBIA BRAZIL tq' ' Arire The Solim6es River (For scale and eastern section, see following pages.) do PogV Rio Jandiatubo THE SOLIMOES RIVER (LETICIA TO TONANTI NS) Surveyed by CURT NIMUENDAJU' 1941 0 5 10 to 30 40 Scale 1:40,000 A Tukuna dwellings * Kokd'ma dwellings x Kaoyusdno dwellings KU. k3K31t= 1Iiho Javary liho Guajaaoj0' eVargem Gronde SAN liho do R10 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. (anta), deer, pig, and agouti (cutia), so that today the jungle is very poor in these species. An almost equal devastation was suffered by the chelonians, especially the great turtle (Emys amazonica). There are still great quantities of fish, which provide the principal food of the population. The piracemas, or shoals of fish which swim upstream to spawn, assume fantastic proportions. The pirarucu of the Soli- moes is an important article of export. The insect pests, not so noticeable along the banks of the Solimoes itself, trans- form the igarapes of the Tukuna into veritable infernos, since they desist neither in the daytime nor at night, nor at any season of the year. The worst persecutors of man are the gnats (carapanas), the mosquitoes (maruins), and the gadflies (mutucas). HISTORY The Tukuna tribe has not been prominent in the history of the Amazon region. It is first mentioned in 1641 by Cristobal d'Acun-a, the historian of the expedition of Pedro Teixeira from Belem to Quito in 1639. Acu-na cites the "Tocunas" as being enemies of the Omaguas of the northern bank of the Solimoes. Laureano de la Cruz mentions the Tukuna, whom he calls "Jaunas,"7 at the time of his journey in 1649, as inhabiting the north bank of the Amazon, above the Putumayo. Heriarte in 1662 does not refer to the Tukuna by name but mentions the fights that the Omigua had with the tribes of the "solid ground" (terra firme). In 1645 the Spanish Jesuits began to catechize these Omagua, and as early as 1650 the first smallpox epidemic caused the tribe heavy casualties. The upper Solimoes was transformed into a battleground between the Portuguese and the Spaniards, the latter establishing their missions from the lower river up to the present Teffe, the former extending the slave hunts, under the name tropas de resgate, "ransom troops," to the upper river. A series of skirmishes, battles, and retreats by each side took place, especially from 1708 to 1710. In 1732 a Portuguese flotilla ascended the Solimoes and the Napo to establish a fort at the mouth of the Aguarico (750 W. long.), which Portu- gal claimed as its western boundary, but it was impeded in this task by the resist- ance offered by the missions. In 1766 the Portuguese occupied the mouth of the Iga, and in 1776 they founded the post of Tabatinga. The result of all this was the disappearance of the Omagua from the islands of the Solimoes, while the Tukuna in their jungle centers probably suffered very little. Some Omagua took refuge on the upper river; two Omagua villages persisted for some time on the Solimoes, but to maintain them it became necessary to repopulate the villages with Indians of other tribes, among them the Tukuna, who during this period were taken to SAo Paulo de Olivenga, Tonantins, Fonte Boa, and even to Teff6. Since they no longer had to fear the Omagua, and since the Mayoruna, their enemies on the right bank of the river, were also weakening rapidly, the Tukuna spread out more and more along the banks and islands of the Solimoes to the Auati- parani, which connects it with the Japura. I Presumably J equals T, a equals ec, in the original manuscript written in 1653 (in Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid). 8 Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Simultaneously, the Kok'ama Indians of the lower Ucayali region began to emi- grate to the Brazilian Solimoes, where they established themselves among the Tukuna, though in separate localities. Their most important period of settlement was in the middle of the nineteenth century at Jurupary-tapera (Santa Cruz) on the left bank of the Solim6es, between the mouth of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo and that of the Igarape da Rita. Today some two thousand of these Indians dwell in Brazil, along the banks and islands of the Solimoes from the vicinity of SAo Paulo de Olivenga to the Auati- parana. They live in peace with the Tukuna but avoid contact and do not meddle with them. The cultural influence of the Kokama on the Tukuna has been practi- cally nil. From 1864 to 1870 Brazil was at war with Paraguay. Even today the Tukuna guard the traditions of the persecutions which they suffered from the "Varavayu"; however, they designate by this name not the Paraguayans but the Brazilian re- cruiting troops, to whom they offered armed resistance. The few Tukuna recruits who returned brought back with them a new epidemic of smallpox, which caused havoc in the tribe. In 1871 there was founded within the bounds of Caldeirao, at a spot immediately below the mouth of the igarape of this name (today Belem), a mission which already had a nucleus of Tukuna Indians and which eventually possessed a chapel, 30 houses, and 171 inhabitants. By 1877, however, this establishment was in complete ruin. In the last two decades of the past century the rubber-gathering industry began its extraordinary development throughout the entire Amazon region. It was for the Tukuna a sad era of exploitation, slavery, and abasement under the heel of greedy patr(es, ignorant men but superior in force, which lasted for almost forty years; to this day they have not yet recovered from the effects, although the last of these squirearchs has long since disappeared. However, even today there are some individuals, living at the mouths of the igarap6s inhabited by the Tukuna, who willfully desire to hold the Indians subject to their selfish patronage. It is to be hoped that the Indian Welfare Service,8 which was established in the region in 1942, will put an end to these anachronistic views. There are no written records of the total number of Tukuna for any period of the past, but very conservatively I estimate their present number in Brazilian territory at more than 2,000, their total number as 3,000; they are therefore one of the most numerous tribes in Brazil. SCIENTIFIC EXI2LORATION Before 1928 no one had studied the Tukuna in their primitive settlements. One or another traveler had been present occasionally at some episode of their celebra- tions, collected from the Neobrazilians of the area some not always accurate infor- mation, or had some Indian of the tribe for a paddler; but it appears that no one had spent even a day among them. The first reports, which many other writers utilized for more than a century, we owe to Padre Jose Monteiro de Noronha and to Francisco Xavier Ribeiro de Sampaio, who were briefly in the Tukuna country 8 Servigo de Proteegao aos Indios. 9 10 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. in 1768 and 1774, respectively. Both apparently used the same informant, since they give almost identical information on the transmigration of the soul, circum- cision at the conferring of a name, the nudity of women, and "idols" (masks). In 1820 Spix was present at a child's hair-plucking ceremony in Tabatinga.' He reproduces in his atlas the entrance of the masked dancers, which he describes; but he fails to give any details of the ceremony, which must have strongly aroused his curiosity since he attended it. I have the impression that his observations as an eyewitness were limited to that entrance alone. He obtained some further infor- mation at second hand and recorded the first vocabulary of the language. Henry Lister Maw, who was in Tabatinga in 1828, also describes a masquerade dance, which he attended in the company of a local missionary.'0 Castelnau, descending the Solimoes in 1846, could hardly have observed the Tukuna culture; however, he gives some notes on curare and a small vocabulary." Paul Marcoy, who met a Tukuna canoe on the Atacuari, furnishes another small word list and gives three portraits.' His account of the phonetics of the language is exa.ggerated. In 1851 Herndon, in the company of a local missionary, surprised and inter- rupted the cure of a sick person in Caballococha.' Bates (1857-1858), gives a description, with an illustration, of a ceremony with masks he witnessed near Sao Paulo de Olivenca. It obviously concerns the end of a puberty ceremony, which the author took to be a wedding. Orton (1867) furnishes scanty information, based on Bates, and a small vocabulary." Barbosa Rodrigues (1872-1874) reports measurements of twelve Tukuna Indians taken in Tonantins and discusses curare." Rivet (1912) offers a study of the Tukuna language, based on four previously published vocabularies." Tessmann (1930 ?) reports on an ex- tensive interrogation of one Tukuna Indian. On some points he is wholly inaccurate. Nimuendajui records the results of a fifteen-day visit he made in 1929 to the Tukuna of Igarape de Belem, of Lago de Cajary, and of Igarape de SAo Jeronymo." He notes the division into clans and moieties, gives a resume of material culture, publishes two incomplete myths, and discusses some poorly understood points. In 1941 and 1942 he paid a second, six-month, visit to the Tukuna, and a third visit of five months, living with the Indians of the Igarapes Mariuacui, Tacana, Belem, Sao Jeronymo, and Rita, and at numerous settlements on the islands and along the banks of the Solimoes. His linguistic material comprises texts of legends and songs in the original language. Since he did not visit the Tukuna of Colombia or Peru, all his data, except where otherwise stated, refer to the Tukuna in Bra- zilian territory. The present work synthesizes the results of the three trips. ' Spix and Martius, Reise in Brasilien, 3:1188; Martius, 1:444, 2:159, 413. "Maw, Journal of a Passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, pp. 211, 218-227 passim. "1Castelnau, Exp6dition dans les parties centrales de l'Am6rique du Sud, 5:23, 41-46 passim, 50, 59, 61-62, 83, 298-299. 12Marcoy, De l'Oc6an Pacifique a l'Oc6an Atlantique a travers de l'Am6rique du Sud, pp. 147- 148. "Herndon and Gibbon, Exploration, 1: 234-248 passim, 252. "Orton, The Andes and the Amazon, pp. 232, 233, 237, 320, 378, 470, 473. "u Barbosa Rodrigues, Ticunas, pp. 52, 53, 152. 6 Rivet, Affinit6s du Tikuna, pp. 83 if. '1 Nimuendajfi, Besuch bei den Tukuna-Indianern, pp. 188-194; Idiomas indigenas del Brasil, pp. 543-618. II. HABITATION THE ORIGINAL Tukuna habitation was a large, isolated, communal dwelling, maloca, occupied by more than one family. All settlements made up of a number of houses together, like Tabatinga, S5ao Jose do Javary, and Caldeirao, owe their origin to Neobrazilian initiative and were so contrary to tribal custom that the complaint was always heard that the Tukuna did not want to be herded together but would spread out again through the jungle. I have often been told by the Indians themselves that in such or such a place there was once a great maloca of this or that clan. I do not know how to interpret this statement, for though the clans of the Tukuna are patrilineal, the family is more matrilocal than patrilocal, so that only in very special circumstances would all the men of one maloca belong to the same clan. However, the clan te'ma (Burity)-if, as tradition says, its members once spoke a language different from that of the other clans-might have been collectively localized. a b Fig. 1. Maloca or communal dwelling. a. Sketch showing roof and interior construction. b. Plan of rafters. HousEs These houses were apparently circular; actually, however, there was always a small, rectangular central section, with a semicircular roof bay at each end (fig. 1). The rafters of this rectangular section, which formerly was only some two or three meters long, rested on a short ridgepole supported by pillars or posts. At each end, a little below the ridgepole and in the angles formed by the two outer pairs of rafters, there was a small horizontal crossbeam fastened to the rafters, and upon this rested the rafters of the roof bay (fig. 1, b). Two series of vertical supports divided the interior into two concentric parts, the inner series-at least, the highest and strongest-being of acapi' wood. The house was covered with carand thatching, the stems being intertwined and attached to a long lath of paxiuba1 wood. The tips of the leaves were split and were also intertwined. The laths with the thatching attached were tied horizontally on the rafters with strips of the inner bark. For the first three or four years, at least, this covering was an absolutely impermeable protection from the tropical rains. The walls, more or less the height of a man, were made of small poles of paxiuba wood, or of the same material as the roof. In a few houses the interstices were filled 1 An exceedingly tough Amazonian palm (Socratea exorrhiza), the roots of which are so thorny that they are used to scrape manioc roots. [11] 12 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. with clay. In Igarape na'in6-tj I saw the remains of a structure of this kind, which had been' inhabited until about fifty years ago. Midway in the wall of the roof bay at either end was a door (in'ya) made of a special and very durable thatching called cati'2 and small poles of paxiuba. The door was completely free from the house and was removed and propped at one side when not in use; it was closed from the inside by a crossbeam. These houses were tightly constructed in order to serve as a refuge from mos- quitoes, for, unlike the Omagua, the Tukuna formerly did not have the mosquito net. Through contact with the Neobrazilians, however, they at once recognized the enormous advantage that this article offers in a region permanently scourged by mosquitoes, and today mosquito nets are found in all Tukuna houses. Modification of house type.-The introduction of the mosquito net completely altered the style of dwelling. Since it was no longer necessary to seal the house hermetically, the walls were abandoned, and today they are only rarely seen. Many Tukuna also gave up one or both of the semicircular roof bays, lengthening the central section to compensate for this, so that an open, rectangular shelter finally resulted. This is probably the type to which Tessmann refers when he speaks of the quadrangular Tukuna houses. Formerly the Tukuna dwelt exclusively on firm ground, and the construction of their houses was not suitable to another environment. After they spread out along the banks and islands of the Solimoes, many found their dwellings periodi- cally invaded by the flooding river. They were therefore obliged either to live on a platform of poles, like the Omagua of old, or to move temporarily to more solid ground. Occasionally I encountered a type of structure for which I have no certain ex- planation, namely, a rectangular house of small dimensions (3 by 4 m.) resting on tall poles 2 m. high or more. This construction is certainly not an adaptation to the floods, for the houses I saw were all on solid ground. With one exception, all were found in the yard of a larger and more usual house. These little dwellings are always inhabited by bachelors or by newlyweds; I am therefore inclined to regard them as derived from the small "loft" which is always found below the highest part of the thatched roof and more or less at the same level as these separate houses. These lofts also serve as dormitories for bachelors or newly- weds. According to the Tukuna, the small houses are a recent innovation, adopted by their inhabitants "because they thought it better that way." Perhaps the inno- vation is due to the growing individualism of the new generation. It does not appear to me to be an element borrowed from another native culture. With the exception of a few dwellings of some Tukuna who snobbishly vie with one another in copying the shanties of the Neobrazilians, the houses of these Indians are even today outstanding because of the elegance of their light yet strong fur- nishings, and their ample and spacious construction. On the Jacurapa, a tributary of the Iga, I measured one that was 31 by 15 m., and 10 m. high, yet this was not one of the largest. These Indians construct such spacious dwellings because their villages have no houses exclusively for festivities and, since all celebrations stem from private ini- 2T., na-ri-konV, "tongue of anteater." Nimuendaju': The Tukuna tiative, they must be held in the several private houses. Furthermore, on these occasions one can count on the presence of perhaps three hundred or more persons; hence houses of the measurements given above are barely adequate, since most of the ceremonies take place inside the house, not in the yard. Names of houses.-Formerly, every house had an individual name given by the owner who built it. Some house owners observe this custom even today. The con- struction completed, the owner invites neighbors and friends to a "hair-trimming party" (the reference is to the irregular tips of the new thatched roof), and on this occasion he announces the name, chosen by himself freely and not dependent on the clan, as are the names of persons. Some examples: ci: 'ru-gjne (ci:'ru, swallow; gi'ne, dwelling); 4ftne (1jj', to soar in the air) ; pa: 'ru (the name of a mythical serra [p. 141] ); Aire-gine (Ai, to float; re, tied together); taive-gi'ne (taive', "tauary, a tree [Coauratari sp.] ), the house of the culture hero dyai'. Interior and living accommodations.-Attached to the walls is the most charac- teristic object of the modern house, a sort of stage or platform of paxiuba palm at least 2 by 1.5 m., but usually much longer. Its elevation varies from 10 to 70 cm. In houses inhabited by more than one family there is a platform for each family, besides the previously mentioned lofts beneath the roof. Seated upon these platforms, the Indians pass the better part of the day, working or conversing. And here at night they spread out large cloths made from the inner bark of the tururi'trees and erect the mosquito nets. Formerly, there was no such platform; it became necessary only when the mosquito net was adopted. Its name, dyura' (l.g., girdu), is Tupi. Originally the Tukuna slept in hammocks (na:'pa) made by weaving tucum thread to make an elastic mesh; beneath, they maintained a small fire on cold nights. Tucum thread, twisted by the women on the naked thigh or abdomen, is today another article of Tukuna commerce with the Neobrazilians. I never saw thread of ambau'va' fibers, which, according to Tessmann, is manufactured by the Tukuna, and none of the Indians whom I consulted had any idea of its preparation. The hammock is made by passing an "endless" thread around two vertical posts, the distance between them equal to the length desired for the hammock. A shuttle of paxiuba wood or, as a makeshift, a leafstalk of the burity palm is used for the weaving. Formerly, hammocks were apparently sometimes made of tucum in a technique of double transversal threads, but the Tukuna themselves say that this type was an imitation of the hammocks of a strange tribe, exactly which tribe they do not know. I never saw cotton used for the woof, as Martius reports. The hammocks, in spite of having "cuffs" (sobrepunhos) are usually short, but, owing to the weaving technique, they stretch enormously in a lateral direction. The Indian women know how to produce various decorative patterns by inserting black threads or even red, yellow, and green. Nowadays, the hammock-which is never set up beneath a mosquito net-serves for the daytime rest, since rocking is the only way of keeping at a little distance the horrible plague of mosquitoes and gadflies. It is offered as a privilege to an honored guest. 8 T., nul knvs, nya ,b. 4 Ceoropia #p.; known also as embadba, imbauiba. 13 14 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Articles of use, clothes, for instance, are kept in a large basket made of uaruma, with a lid and a round mouth. Four pointed bulges woven in the lid and at the bottom serve as feet (pl. 5, b). Another type of uarum-a basket, with a round mouth, has a flat, square lid and bottom (pl. 5, d). Baskets of these two types are found in all sizes, from 4 to 40 cm. in diameter. There are other small conical baskets woven in spiral technique, with flat bottoms. I do not know whether they are aboriginal or are imitations of the Neobrazilian balaios (hampers or fruit baskets). In many houses nowadays one sees trunks that have been purchased from the Neobrazilians. In most houses, however, clothes and tucum fibers are suspended from the crossbeams. Almost always, too, there are the remains of preparations for the last celebration: some costumes hanging from the house posts, fragments of tururi cloth thrown on top of the highest crossbeams, dance batons thrust beneath the roof thatch, small drums tied to the corner rafters, grotesque masks wrapped in bundles of tururi cloth, and rolls of tururi containing ornaments. Frequently, also, one sees ears of maize tied together on the crossbeams or the loft. The kitchen.-Nowadays at least, no one keeps or cooks food in the living quar- ters. For this purpose there is always a special little hut, ten to fifty meters away from the main house. Today this is invariably a rectangular shelter with a ridge roof. According to Bates, the fires were built in the open space in the center of the house.5 But the haphazard construction of the house he describes makes one doubt that this was customary, nor can one understand how the Indians, if they had kitchen fires in the middle of the house, could carry on in it such active ceremonies as the puberty ceremony. Moraes Torres, however, describes a Tukuna house which he saw a few years before, in 1852, perhaps in the same place (near Sao Paulo de Olivenca), in which the space encircled by the inner series of the roof supports "served as kitchen and dance-hall."' It is noteworthy that most accounts give the cook shed its Portuguese name, cozinha (T., kuci'na). All this leads one to believe that such separate sheds were an innovation that appeared when the Tukuna learned the preparation of fermented manioc flour, farinha d'agua, from the Neobrazilians, and that they are variants of the Neo- brazilian oven "houses." At the same time, the Tukuna swear that these sheds have been used since the old days and that the aboriginal type was also circular. In any case, the separate cook shed is today an outstanding characteristic of all the Tukuna settlements, distinguishing their houses at first glance from those of other peoples of the region, who cook beneath the roof of their dwellings or in an attached shed. In the Tukuna shed one finds everything necessary for preparing the daily food, as well as for making manioc flour. The kitchen fire is distinguished by a trempe, a three-legged stand placed over the fire to hold a cooking pot. It consists of three pieces of baked clay, the central part, on which the pot rests, being either pierced or solid. Nowadays, fires are lighted by means of matches or a flint and steel lighter acquired in trade. According to Tessmann, fire was formerly produced by striking 5Bates, The Naturalist on the River Amazons, 2:403. 6 Moraes Torres, Itinerario das vizitas, p. 93. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna two stones; the technique of making fire by the friction of two sticks was unknown.' The Tukuna described to me, also, how the ancients struck two stones (tW'a-cij Af) together, catching the sparks in tinder of taracua, a substance found in the nests of tracua ants. Some, however, still remember well the fire drill used for this purpose, which was made of white envira wood. The drill was a rod about sixty centimeters long, or a shorter piece enclosed in a stem of canna brava. The hearth was a small board of the same wood, which rested on two small sticks. The drill, rotated between the palms of the hands, pierced the little board, and the glowing powder fell through the hole upon the tinder beneath. This apparatus, say the Tukuna, was invented by the culture hero dyoi'. Today, a wing of a parrot, forest turkey, buzzard, or royal hawk serves as a fire fan; the shaft is sometimes wrapped in a piece of cloth and covered with wax. Among the Tukuna I have never seen any fire fans of vegetable material, but the Neobrazilians and the Kokama use them exclusively. All the members of the family capable of working in the garden patch always bring kindling wood when they return. If, in spite of this, there is no kindling, special trips are made for it. Fire tongs are unknown, but once I came across a sort of fork, formed of three branches stemming from a single point, which served to arrange the coals and to place upon them a piece of meat for roasting. The fork was especially made for this purpose and had already been in use for some time. The platform supported on four stakes is never found in the kitchen where things are laid on the ground or are hung from wooden N-shaped hooks thrust into the roof thatch. These hooks sometimes end in a bird's head and are called venkj'Ca (see p. 142). Some of the kitchens, however, have a small platform suspended from the roof, on which dried meat, bananas, and other foods are stored. Jugs, bowls, and plates have their places on an outside platform (girau), at the side of the shed. The jars (l.g., igaQabas), even when empty, are kept in the kitchen. They are turned upside down when not in use, and it is customary to store fruits, and so forth, under them in order to keep the food away from domestic animals and bats. Although the Tukuna habitually obtain their drinking and cooking water from a clean spot, such as the center of the current, it bothers them little if the filled containers remain for hours exposed to the rays of the burning sun. They drink little water, and one often finds the containers empty, but no one seems to feel the lack. Utensils and containers.-All the Tukuna gourds, cuias, are made of shell of the gourd (cuieira) and are generally covered on the inner surface, or in a few rare instances on the outer surface as well, with a black lacquer of cumate juice (fig. 2, a, b). Sometimes the outer surface is decorated with an indelible red paint, urucui, in a design of palm trees and animals. There are large hemispherical gourds, smaller elliptical ones, and little, narrow, long ones. In the kitchen one always finds a number of wooden ladles and spoons, sometimes of a respectable size containing almost a half liter; these represent apost-Columbian 7 Tessmann, p. 561. 15 16 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. a b ~~~"V v c ~~~~d Fig. 2. Gourd decoration. a, b. Interior, red design on black background. c, d. Exterior, engraved edge patterns. Fig. 3. Wooden spoons. x '. influence, as their Portuguese name, colher (T., kuye'ra), proves. The artistic im- pulse of the Tukuna has not, however, been limited to merely copying the European models; they frequently give these utensils fantastic and original shapes. There are double spoons of different sizes, with a bowl at each end of the handle; others with asymmetric, semicircular bowls; still others with the handle carved in the shape of an alligator, and so on. These spoons are also often painted with cumat'e lacquer (fig. 3). There are always some spatulas for stirring the contents of the Nimuendaju': The Tukuna1 pots. Fermented drinks are often stirred with a shoulder blade of the manatee, peixe-boi. For mingau, a sweetened gruel, there is always a little swizzle stick made of arrow cane with a small cross of sticks lashed transversely to the end of the shaft. The Tukuna still use three types of "primitive" containers. One consists of the outer shell of the sacupaia nut in its original form. Another is made from the spatu- late end of the frondstalk of the anaja palm, which has the shape of an oval basin with noticeably raised edges; nothing is done to this either, to prepare it for use. A third is made from the leaf sheath of the aQahy palm,' which is folded into the shape of a small, fiat, rectangular box, about a half meter long, the folds being secured with two small, wooden spits. a Fig. 4. Wooden objects. a. QuiricA or rocking board, x %0. b. Small bench, x Ylo. c. Paddle, x 0. By the side of the kitchen fire one invariably sees a portable rack, moquem, for drying meat, made of three poles, each 1.5 m. long, tied together at the upper ends so as to form a tripod (ko'ya-cikjra', jaw of alligator), between the legs of which the grill is tied. Any meat or fish to be dried is placed on this grill, which is then set over the fire or, if this is occupied, any handy kindling is piled beneath the tripod. Only if there is a large quantity of game or fish is a fixed grill set up, in which case it rests upon four posts and two crossbeams (na:'/tamjn). The spit is rarely used, and then only to roast bits of small game. In order to handle fish easily on the grill the Tukuna press it between two prongs of a flat strip of wood, something like a pair of pincers. The pronigs are passed through the fish's mouth and gills, and the ends are tied together just forward of the tail. Frogs, toads, Coleoptera larvae, shrimp, and small fry are placed on the grill wrapped in leaves, forming small packages tied at both ends. Contrary to what Tessmann says,' the Tukuna do not use the mortar, though it does appear in their legends as an object used by demons. For it the Tukuna sub- stitute a_rocking-board (tau/ta'-cin4ny; l.g., quiriec) of half-moon shape made 8 Euterpe edulis; also, assahy, palmnito doce. The heart of this palm is eaten. 9 Tessmann, loc. cit. 17 18 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. of a heavy wood, cumaru'; it is two fingers thick and as much as 80 cm. long (fig. 4, a), and with it they crush and mill the material in a long semicylindrical trough (tau/ta'), sometimes open at both ends. In this hod they often work with a short wooden pestle; I saw one which ended at the top in a sculptured human head. The cook shed is also the place where they make dry manioc flour, farinha de mandioca, which is probably the Tukuna product most desired by the Neobrazilians today. Formerly, the Tukuna did not know how to use it, but for dry flour sub- stituted beiju', a thin flat cake of fermented manioc dough baked on a clay slab. They also had a flour made of maize cracked by the heat of fire,'0 which went by the name of a/te'e and was eaten with bananas. The Neobrazilians probably taught the Tukuna how to make manioc dry flour, since so many of the Tukuna terms relating to it are Neobrazilian, for instance, the name of the product, u: 'i (l.g., uw), and of the utensils used in its manufacture: e.g., yapu'na, oven (l.g., yapu'na), te'piti, press (l.g., tipity), kucu, hod for the dough (P., cocho). I do not know what shape the earlier grater had; today it is invariably made of a punctured sheet of metal. There are still small graters which are made from the aerial root of the paxiubinha, and others made from the bony part of the tongue of the pirarucui, but they are no good for grating manioc roots; they are useful only in the preparation of certain medicines. Like any other load, the manioc roots are brought from the garden patch in large conical baskets (pl. 4). These are made by the men-who, however, never use them-in an open-mesh technique, usually of split cipo, more rarely of uaruma stems. The Tukuna say that they learned to make this type of basket (vaotura; Tupi, watura) from the Om'agua, who then made war against the Tukuna for copy- ing an Omagua article. Formerly the Tukuna baskets were cylindrical, with a square bottom. All are carried with a tumpline of envira. Baskets of both types are in use today, although the first type predominates. Aside from these carrying baskets, the Tukuna also have a large woven bag, AV'/rj, closed by a drawstring passed through the mesh row of the opening; it often has a tumpline woven of the same material (pl. 7, e). This bag, puga, with the mouth held open by a hoop of cipo or of elastic wood, also serves as a dip net. It is mentioned in the legend of the origin of culture heroes as one of two articles typically used by women and is one of the elements which the Tukuna share with the cultures of eastern Brazil and the Chaco. Formerly, the Tukuna peeled manioc roots with the edge of a large bivalve shell, koru, common along the Solim6es. This is used even today to scrape pineapples for the preparation of a cooling drink. For soaking bundles of manioc roots in plain water the Tukuna invariably use an old canoe near the entrance to the house. The squeezed pulp from the press (tipity) is placed in a hod, open at both ends and set slightly inclined on two sawhorses. Nowadays, the Tukuna make "dry" farinha just as much as "wet"; they rarely bother with tapioca. The pulp is strained through square, large-meshed sieves made of strips of bamboo, taboca, or uarumai (u: 'i-cim/n). For other purposes there is a small fine-meshed sieve, va ira-cin/iL (vaira, 10 The word for popcorn, pipocas, was not used here.-Trans. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna assai). These sieves are identical with those of the Neobrazilians and are probably borrowed from them. The original type of Tukuna sieve is perhaps the round one found occasionally even today; it fits better in the mouths of the jars used in strain- ing the pulp from which beverages are made, the original purpose of these sieves. The paddle for stirring manioc flour in the oven is the same as that used by the Neobrazilians a small board attached to a long stick, if it is not just some old canoe paddle. For turning cassava (mandioca) cakes in the oven the Tukuna use a small board shaped like a segment of a circle, almost invariably a broken section of an old canoe-paddle blade. Flour is kept in cylindrical openwork baskets woven of uaruma in an open-mesh technique, lined with leaves that also seal the top, and tied by a plait of cipo. This is the common form also used by the Neobrazilians. In the kitchen there are always a number of small four-legged benches, Au/ma've (fig. 4, b), rectangular or oval in shape, each carved entirely from a single piece of wood. Sometimes they are made in the form of a tortoise, jaboti (Emys tabulata) (pl. 9, c), and they are always made with some cunning. They are never more than ten centimeters high. These benches are used exclusively by men while partaking of refreshments, whereas the women sit on the floor. Cteanliness.-The house as well as the kitchen is usually clean, since both are swept out at least once daily with a broom made of the leaf ribs of small tucuma' leaves left over from the fibers used in making thread. The Tukuna do not tolerate a stink in the house or in the kitchen. They immediately remove exereta of domestic animals or of small children, including the soiled portion of the earth, with the point of a short, broad blade.' This scrupulousness is the main reason why these Indians have a distaste for raising chickens and never keep pigs. Neither dog fleas nor chiggers (Pulex penetrans; bicho dce pe) become annoying in Tukuna houses, but cockroaches, crickets, and tracua ants are most disagreeable. These last, above all, immediately swarm over any food not on the grill while the fire is burning and invade baskets and trunks with irritating persistency. The Indian chief Calixto daueru'ki fought this plague in Igarapezinho by thrusting thick reeds, open at one end, into the house thatch. In a short time the insects would build their nests in these reeds and, when the reeds were filled, he would shake them out over the fire and again insert the reeds in the thatch. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SETTLEMENTS Formerly, communication between isolated settlements was mainly by land, since the Tukuna, in contrast to the Omagua, were foot Indians, not canoe men. All the igarapes (tributaries of the left bank of the Solimoes) inhabited by these Indians were connected by trails; likewise the different houses along a particular igarape. Castelnau mentions these paths,' which connected the Tukuna habitations of the interior from Caldeirao (Belem) to Tabatinga and Loreto. With the development of navigation many of these trails were abandoned, although some are used even today. Originally, the Tukuna practiced little navigation, being isolated in their jungle centers on solid ground by the Omagua, their superiors in warfare. They had only 1 Tergado, lit., a short, broad sword; probably the machete or faoao.-Trans. 1 Castelnau, p. 50. 19 20 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. small craft made from the trunks of paxiuba barriguda.1' In contact with the Omagua, hostile at first but ultimately peaceful, they exchanged their admittedly primitive craft for their neighbors' uba6-a canoe completely hollowed out from a cedar trunk, with the gunwales not expanded by fire. Finally, they learned from the Neobrazilians the use of the casco (pl. 10, f), a canoe hollowed out from a tree trunk, carved both inside and out, expanded by fire, and finally strengthened by interior braces. Today the Tukuna are excellent canoewrights for craft of this type, their cascos being duly appreciated by the Neobrazilians. They have become a canoe people and sometimes pass entire weeks on trips in this craft. At the same time, though they have neglected their original trails, they have opened up countless paths and passages of all kinds through the flooded jungles in the marginal region along the Solimoes and the igarapes, where they fish and go from one house to another in their canoes. Since these passages are often low and narrow, the Indians use only mats to protect their gear from the rains, not the punacarica or semicylindrical awning common to the entire Amazonian region. Rafts are never used for transport. The casco is propelled almost exclusively by paddling, only rarely by poling. The paddle (fig. 4, c), another article the Tukuna sell in quantities to the Neo- brazilians, has a round blade with a point about the length of the radius of the central part or longer. The shaft ends in a small, slightly concave crosspiece. The Tukuna say that originally the points of the paddles were shorter and less sharp than now. According to Tessmann, the blade was large and round. The blade, the crosspiece, and a small part of the adjacent shaft are invariably stained with cumate paint, only the central part of the shaft remaining white. There are no other decorations on the paddle except those in imitation of the Neobrazilians'. According to J. S. Decker, Flora Brasileira, this species is Iriartea exorrhiza; 1. ventrimooa is known as castigal.-Trans. III. SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE and fishing are the principal sources of Tukuna economy. If forced to, the Tukuna will go for some time without collecting wild fruits or hunting; but the complete lack of garden products and fish simply spells misery to them. The garden patch, cleared and burned out of the virgin jungle, is as a rule made exclusively by the men, often in a communal work party, ucajur$; but some widows, without masculine aid, clear the land and plant in the capoeira or secondary jungle growth. Both sexes pile up the rubbish and burn it, whereas planting is carried out exclusively by women and girls. The original instrument for felling trees was the stone ax, whose appearance no one now remembers, but which, according to legend, the culture hero dyoi' stole from the demon tointa [tUin'ta] (see page 131). The four species of major importance for the Tukuna are bitter manioc, mandioca brava (Manihot utitissima), sweet manioc, macaxera (M. aipi),' maize, and yam, card (Dioscorea sp.).' Lacking any one of these four, the Tukuna have a bad time of it, whereas the absence of other edible tubers, such as the sweet potato, and of other plants like sugar cane, pineapple, peanut (manduvi),' and so on, affects them very little. According to legend, a solitary old woman discovered both the tree which fur- nished macaxera-like fruits and the art of making manioc flat cakes, beiju's. On learning the secret, the men felled the tree and ate up everything; only Deer kept shoots and seeds in a basket (vatu') of which the culture hero dyoi' later robbed him (see p. 131). For this reason the Tukuna refer to a cultivated plant as a pre- Columbian possession by saying that "it first came in Deer's vatu'." Formerly, only sweet manioc was known to them; apparently bitter manioc and the process of making manioc flour were introduced by the Neobrazilians. In planting either variety of manioc, a woman goes ahead, armed with a long, heavy, rounded stake of wood with a sharpened point (about 140 cm. by 7 cm.), with which she makes holes in the ground, a female companion trailing behind to insert the plant slips into the prepared soil. This stake (paye'jnA), when not in use, is kept under water near the entrance to the house or clearing, so that it will not dry out and lose weight. It is removed and dried off only on the eve of planting. Maize was not "in Deer's vatu"' but, according to legend, was given to the In- dians by aria'na, a great coquette of the upper world, who brought it with her from one of the lower worlds, where she was once forced to sojourn against her will. (See p. 112.) The planting of maize, done preferably by men, is accompanied by a certain ceremoniousness that is not observed for any of the other plants. The kernels are placed first of all in a gourd of water. The planter then takes a little of this water in his mouth and sprays it over the kernels in order to make them more savory. Until the plants reach a certain height he must submit to rigorous taboos. He cannot go near the fire, or eat or even touch the following fish: pirarucui (Arapaima ICommonly known in Brazil as aipf.-Trans. 2A tuber also known as inhame.-Trans. 8 'Arachi8 hypogaea; commonly known as amendoim; T., tVtll. [ 21 ] 22 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. gigas), tucunare (Cichla sp.), cachorra (Eynedon hydrocyon, Cast.), or aracut (Leporinus sp.). These last two are forbidden because they eat leaves. The same prohibition holds for the honey of the wild bee, jandatra, and for muxiua, the edible larvae of Coleoptera. The planter of maize must not touch any fish stupefacient (timbo) or blood, or any object the color of blood; if he should touch urucu' or genipapo, the maize would turn red or black. One day, an Indian who had planted maize brought me a fish, a tucunare. Later, the leaves of the maize he had planted turned yellow. To undo the evil effects of the broken taboo he had to wash his hands and arms with envira de matamata, because they had touched the fish, and had to bind his arms and legs with strips of the same liana. If a pregnant woman plants maize, the plant also becomes "enceinte," and it will produce twin ears. Contrary to the statements of Tessmann's informants,4 these Tukuna cultivate the peanut (manduvi) just as much as the sweet potato; of the latter they raise two special types, one for the brewing of beer (chicha), one as a component of curare. The cultivation of the first type is post-Columbian, according to some of my informants, but the second is undoubtedly aboriginal. They also say that a stunted type of sugar cane was "already in Deer's vatu'." The cane is little cultivated. To extract the juice it is crushed first with a club and then twisted, in the way Tessmann has described. The banana, today of considerable economic importance, is post-Columbian, but its culture dates back several centuries. The most common varieties are pai' (large), iru' (small), and the nyeeta're pai' or guariba monkey banana, so called because of its red color. Even today the Tukuna do not plant either kidney beans or broad beans. The malagueta pepper is of recent introduction; formerly only one type of pepper was known-a small, round, yellow pepper called mu'neru ("grasshopper's head"; met, generic name of peppers). Four other plants with edible roots are cultivated in the clearings: e'ru (aria; Maranta lutea Jacq.), also cultivated by the Neobrazilians and formerly exten- sively planted; maikura'ki (maiku'ra, sweet) or dya'matina (l.g. ?), the tubercles of which have a sweet taste; nakj-cane ("penis of tapir"), said to be cultivated by the Kok'ama also; and a: 'tatj, which is occasionally planted by the Neobrazilians of the region.' Cotton (te) was formerly planted more widely than today, but now one finds only a few isolated stands in the clearings, and many Indians no longer plant any at all. Cotton fell into disuse after purchased cloth began to be used for the fem- inine apron, tanga, which was originally the main product of Tukuna weavers. Other articles once made of cotton are now made of tucum fibers, such as bands for arm and leg and the sling (tipoia) for carrying children. In 1941 I met with considerable difficulty in acquiring two spindles (t~-ci'vanQ1) for the ethnographic collection at Belem do Para. The shaft is topped by a small knob; the whorl, of turtle shell (tracaja, turtle; Podocnemis sp.), or of wood, is placed on the shaft from above. 4Tessmann, p. 560. 5 Only arid is identified.-Trans. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Another plant that formerly furnished fibers is the moo'vi (Bromelia sp.; l.g., curaua);' they served especially for bowstrings and for lashing arrows. According to Bates the small bags (tu'/maka) with carrying strap were made of bromelia threads ;7 in them the hunter carried ammunition for his shotgun, and they also served as containers for trifles at home. Today, without exception, they are made of tucum fiber (pl. 7, c). Nowadays bromelia is only rarely cultivated, and then on a lesser scale as a medicinal plant. After the beginning of commerce with the Neobrazilians, tobacco also was culti- vated less frequently, and it has almost disappeared from Tukuna clearings. Its old name was pa:'ri. Pre-Columbian occurrence is probable, since tobacco is used in Tukuna magic ceremonies. Aside from sugar cane and bananas, the Tukuna adopted from the Neobrazilians only the watermelon, vo'racia (from the Portu- guese melancia), and the squash, jurumu'm (Cucurbita maxima), of which they make little use. However, they cultivate almost all the Neobrazilian fruits,8 planting around their houses mangoes (Mangifera indica, Reg.), avocados (Persea gratissima, Gaert.), abiu', atta, biriba, oranges, lemons, papayas (Carica papaya L.), guavas (Psidium guayava, Raddi), cashews (Anacardium occidentale L.), bacuri, and inga. It is difficult to determine whether most of these fruit trees were cultivated by the Tukuna in pre-Columbian times. The genipa and the uruciu figure in the legends of culture heroes; both are found in the house yards. There are a great number of medicinal plants, many of them being cultivated at the border of the house yard so as to be always at hand. For poisonous snake bite the Tukuna apply a liquid prepared from the scrapings of a plant called a/tape-arL-ejn (medicine of jararica; Bothrops jararaca) boiled in water; they give the victim spoonfuls of this at intervals, until the symptoms subside. If the accident occurs in the jungle, far from home, the victim chews the green leaves of a common bush, swallowing the juice in order to retard the effects of the poison. The bulb of a cultivated plant, dyaa'-arj-ejn (diarrhoea medicine) or pu:'cui ("nightingale"), scraped and made into an infusion with cold water, is used for diarrhoea (dya'jn). The dried leaves of 666-arj-ej (medicine for blows; cee, blows), also cultivated, are tied over bruises which break the skin. For earache, the leaves of Auma'&i&arj-ejn (P., trevo rouxo, purple trefoil) are crushed to distill the juice, which is slightly warmed with a firebrand and introduced into the ear by a leaf rolled into funnel shape. This is also a cultivated plant. The root scrapings of e/timaa (bitter; l.g., gapuhy; Martinella obovata) a solid- ground jungle cipo, are applied in the same way for conjunctivitis. If this remedy proves ineffective, an ash from the charred tip of the Mauritia palm, curaua, is dropped into the eye; today this species is planted only for this purpose. Domestic animals.-For domestic animals the Tukuna have only dogs, chickens, ducks, and, rarely, a cat (T., pe'cana; l.g., pichano). According to Tukuna belief, chickens (ota', from the ancient Quechua, atahuallpa)' were caught somewhere in ' The term curaud is also used for a palm (Mauritia curaua).-Trans. 7Bates, 2:403. 8See Glossary for species and description of these fruits. 'Nordenski8ld, Deductions Suggested by the Geographical Distribution of Some Post-Columbian Words Used by the Natives of South America, Comparative Ethnographical Studies, 5:17 ff. 23 24 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. the wild state by the first men, who raised them in their houses. Even today the Tukuna raise very few chickens, since they dislike their dirtying up the house or yard. Their forefathers had an aversion to the flesh but ate the eggs. Of the present generation no one refused to eat chicken with me, but in general they raise them only for sale to the Neobrazilians. The plague of blood-sucking bats forces the poultry raisers to keep their wards almost always locked up at night in well-closed henhouses. These are generally conical in shape; one that I saw even had a veranda! Ducks, which are not very numerous, were recently introduced, as their name "pa'tu" (P., pato, duck) in- dicates. With the exception of large mammals and birds of prey, the Tukuna occasionally raise at home the young of almost every species of wild animal that falls into their hands. These animals, all of which have the run of the place, generally stay only a short time in the possession of their original captors, since they are greatly sought after by the Neobrazilians. Others, upon becoming adult, turn wild or almost wild, coming and going at will from house to jungle and back again; they are given food, but no attempt is made to recapture them. Every year, in the winter, the women and children are in the habit of raising the young of a marmoset called leaozito (little lion)'0 by the Neobrazilians. Some- times two or three may be observed clinging to the hair of their mistress, who thus carries them wherever she goes, giving them masticated food from her own mouth. During the night she shelters them in a conical basket, woven in an openwork technique; it is suspended with the bottom down and is covered with tururi bark cloth, the round entrance being plugged up with a bit of rag. Although these tiny creatures cannot be raised outside this region, they are much coveted by civilized persons. FISHING Fishing is the principal occupation of the men, who rarely let a day pass without indulging in it. A boy is taught to fish, from childhood, accompanying his father in the canoe and maneuvering it at his command. Even at the age of six, both boys and girls pass long hours alone in the igarape or igapo in the small canoes their fathers make for them. At the age of nine or ten many boys are already able to provide the household with the fish required. The equipment consists of the fishhook, javelin, arrow, harpoon, and arrow- harpoon. According to Tessmann, bone fishhooks were formerly used. I did not succeed in getting data from my informants on this point. They were able to tell me only that in the old days the children used to fish for small fry with the man- dibles of the tao6ca, army ants (Ecyton sp.), called va'/cata in Tukuna. If this is true, then the fish certainly must have been only very tiny and of no economic value. However, the fishhook (pa'/va) figures in the legend of the culture heroes as the property of a demon much older than they (see p. 126). Nowadays the Tukuna do not go off in their canoes without taking one or more reeds with fishhooks of various sizes with which to experiment as soon as they arrive at a propitious place. 0 Also called leoncito, saguim leaosinho, and chichico (Cebuella pygmaea pygmaea, Spix).- Trans. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna The javelin (cu/ci) is a length of canna brava some two meters long and having from four to nine points; it was formerly made of smooth wood, today it is made of iron wire with a barbed point. The traders on the banks of the Solimoes complain bitterly of the Tukuna for unceremoniously filching the wire from their fences in order to make these spear points, but they are too unbusinesslike to order rolls of this wire to sell retail to the Indians at a good profit. The fisherman casts the javelin, holding it by its butt end. This procedure always gave me the impression that the javelin was the weapon reproduced in the atlas of Spix and Martius, that was formerly thrown with the estoleca (atlatl); but no one remembers it today. With the javelin in the right hand, and the paddle held close to the blade in the left hand, the CKN l fi fisherman guides his canoe understhe shadowlof thetrees,. silently and slowly. h c u th The ability of the Tukuna to discover fish in the depths <'I or at the bottom is truly extraordinary and can only be NgPi explained by their spending almost half their time since childhood in this activity. If, while traveling, the Indians pass by a spot that looks promising, they constantly hurl (C H RNNE L) the javelin ahead of the canoe and retrieve it, where the Fig. 5. Fish weir. untutored eye sees no sign of fish. The children especially may be seen fishing in this manner and in advantageous places where they do not overlook the slightest possible chance. Especially vulnerable to the javelin are the shoals of fish which swarm up the Solimoes in fantastic numbers and enter the tributaries to spawn during May and June. In the river narrows formed by the crumbling and falling of the solid banks, the fish crowd together in such a way that any cast will bring results. Far less used for fishing than the javelin is the bow and arrow. The arrow (na:/ne) is a length of canna brava, without feathering and with a barbed point, formerly made of the bone of a sloth (Bradypus sp.), nowadays of iron, super- imposed on a wooden foreshaft. The fisherman also often takes with him a reed with a small ball of bone, wax, or heavy wood attached to the end of the line (T., kuin6/jnA; l.g., uapunga). With the ball he strikes the surface of the water, thus imitating the fall of fruits, in order to attract certain fish-especially tambaquis (Colossoma bidens) and pacu (Myteles sp.)-if he does not obtain the same results by tossing the fruit itself. The arrow harpoon (T., vjrR'n6; l.g., sararaca), which today has a barbed iron point or, if used for turtle (Emys tracaja) , four spikes, has been in use since ancient times, but not the long-shafted wooden harpoon which, in my opinion, was adopted only after the Tukuna began to inhabit the banks of the Solimoes. There it is employed especially in fishing for pirarucu', the principal, and for some of the Solimoes Tukuna the only, staple food, as well as an important article of export. At the mouths of the numerous lake channels and at the dead-end arms of the lower courses of the igarapes one almost always finds a weir, tapagem (na: '/pj) constructed of bamboo strips. Where it extends close to one of the banks there is an opening between two posts with a movable door (ko'njn) of paxiuba shoots tied 25 26 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. together with cipo, 180 cm. long, more or less, which permits the fish to enter but not to escape (fig. 5). Nowadays it is the custom to close this door at midnight in order to place the drug (timbo) in the water of the channel by five o'clock in the morning.'1 Formerly, a cone-shaped basket (T., pere:'; l.g., jiquy) was also placed at the entrance of the weir. This was made of anaja strips, its length being 2.5 m., the mouth 1 m. in diameter; from the mouth inward there was a sort of funnel made of stems with sharp points to impede the return of the fish, once they had entered. With this, as has been already mentioned, the Tukuna use the stupefying juices of certain plants, small bushes called generically "timbo" in the lingua geral. The most active poison is provided by a broad-leafed species, e'ji, which crops up nearly spontaneously in old second-growth jungles but is often cultivated as well, even today. Aside from this there are a large-leafed species, va'j/pv, and one with tiny leaves, na:'mi, both being cultivated. The drugged fish are captured with a dip net, puga (described on p. 00). Certain fish, such as acarts, are even caught by hand. The species of greatest economic importance are: Lingua geral Scientific Tulkuna piraruciu Arapaima gigas WU tambaqui Colossoma bidens talmaka6i curimata Prochilodus sp. kaue'ya aracfi Leporinus sp. a'ta tucunar6 Cichla sp. tukuna'ri pacu Myteles sp. anta'6iniki sardinha (P.) Chalcinus sp. a'raviri surubim Platystoma sp. dyu'ta piranha Serrasalmo sp. ucu'ma trahira Macrodon sp. de matrinchan Characinus sp. AMi Aquatic chelonians are shot with the arrow harpoon (sararaca), or are surprised while laying eggs on the beach. The turtle of the species Emys amazonica (ba: 've), now threatened with extinction, is no longer an important food for the Tukuna; but the species E. dumeriliana (tori')u is still abundant, and it, as well as its eggs, plays an important role in the aboriginal kitchen. The matamata (Chelys fimbri- ata; T., nayare) is rare. The peixe-boi, or manatee (Manatus inunguis; T., a'iruv6), is rarely caught. The Tukuna do not kill the red dolphin (Delphinus sp.), notwithstanding their dislike for it because it scares away the fish. HUNTING Game, which was tolerably abundant until about fifty years ago, is now rare because of the rise in the price of leather and the use of modern firearms which are sold to the Indians. In some isolated sloughs a lucky hunter may succeed in killing a tapir, pig, or deer. 11 Literal translation; meaning not clear. Possibly the door is closed at this time in order to collect enough fish during these hours to justify the use of the drug.-Trans. 12 On p. 25 this species is given as Emys tracaja; on p. 22 the author refers to it as Podoc- nemi.-Trans. Nimuendajiu: The Tukuna The Indians go in twos and threes on these hunts. In the jungle close to the settlements, the agouti (Dasyprocta sp.) is the most common game; after that, a rodent, the paca (Coelogenys paca), and the raccoon, coati (Nasua socialis). With some persistence the Tukuna are still able to collect for the obligatory roasts (moquedo) of the feasts enough monkeys of the following species: prego (Cebus sp.), barrigudo (Lagothrix sp.), coata (Ateles sp.), parauacui (Pithecia sp.), and guariba (Alouatta sp.). The following animals are so rare as to lack economic importance: coaGndu (Cercolabes sp.); anteater, mambira (Myrmecophaga tetradactyla); armadillo, tatu' (Dasypus sp.). The otter, lontra (Pteroneura sp.), another enemy of fisher- men, is never eaten. Of feathered game the most important are a forest turkey, the mutum (Mitua mitu); the jacu' (Penelope sp.); and wild pigeons (Columba sp.; Leptoptila sp.). The red and yellow macaws, araras (Ara macao and A. ararauna, respectively), parrots (Amazona sp.), parakeets (Conurus sp.), toucans (Rhamphastos sp.), and japu' (Ostinops decumanus, Pall.) are killed more for their feathers than for their flesh. The vulture, urubu' (Cathartes urubu), is not eaten, nor are the a'nhuma (Pal- amedea cornuta) or the cigana (Opisthocomus hoazin). As for caimans, the Indians will occasionally eat the young of the species called jacare-tinga (Caiman yacare) by the Neobrazilians. The tortoise, jaboti (Testudo tabulata), is little used. The Tukuna will eat some species of snakes. Weapons.-Almost all the Indians now hunt with firearms, some with simple muzzle-loading smoothbores, others with good, breech-loading, double-barrelled pieces. Very infrequently some still use the blowgun, carauatana, originally their national weapon for small game, above all, for monkeys. The Tukuna blowgun (in'6) is the largest of all those known, being usually more than 3 m. long. With the aid of tools now at their disposal, the Tukuna manufacture it as follows. The material they prefer is a solid-ground jungle tree called punau (Iryanthera tricornis, Ducke; T., pu'rune), lacking which they substitute the wood of the bacabinha (Oeno,carpus multicaulis Spr.?), called in Tukuna "nye." They bring to the house a piece of sufficient size, trim it, and later work it into the shape of a long, slender rod with four planed surfaces, 3.5 m. long by 7 cm. After sawing this lengthwise through the center, they gouge out a longitudinal furrow some 6 cm. wide from end to end in each section. Near the house, they then seek a tree, which should have a thick, more or less horizontal limb about 6 m. above the ground. From this limb they stretch a length of cipo guemb e (Philodendron sp.) vertically to the ground, and lash a beam to it horizontally just above the ground, its weight keeping the cipo taut. Around this length of peeled cipo they erect a platform of saplings, permitting a craftsman to stand erect, close to the cipo and about 2.5 m. above the ground; another man stays on the ground below. To the length of cipo they then bind the two lengths of wood, with the grooved sides facing inward, and pour over them water containing sand. The two pieces, now strongly bound together so as to form one unit, they pull up and down, keeping the cipo tightly stretched. With this 1" On p. 19 the author calls this Emys tabulata as well.-Trans. 27 28 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. continued movement the sand widens and deepens the grooves, so that in time the binding has to be drawn tauter until finally the two sections of wood close com- pletely about the cipo. This labor, which is very tiring since it lasts four days, is carried on invariably by two men, one standing on the platform, the other below, working just as if they were sawing boards in a sawmill. Removing the grooved pieces from the scaffolding, but always keeping the cipo bound within, they untie and retie the lashings, section by section, reducing the piece to a round shape instead of the former square shape, the thickness varying from 1 to 1.5 cm. at the muzzle and from 3.5 to 4 cm. at the breech. They then cut off a section at each end-since here the abrasive action of the sand and movement always widens the bore a little too much-and with wax they firmly join the two halves. The two lengths they then bind spirally on the outside, from end to end, with a strip about 3 cm. wide from the smooth cipo guembe, and coat the whole with wax again. At the breech they add a mouthpiece of muirapiranga wood (Cesalpinia echinata; conduri de sangue) in the shape of a hollow spool. About 10 cm. from this they affix a sight made of wax, with a tooth of the squirrel, acutipuru' (Sciurus sp.), set longitudinally with the convex side up. Finally, they polish the barrel with a long wad of dried maize leaves with a cord tied at each end. Placing the blowgun in a horizontal position, two persons, each grasping an end of the cord, pull the wad back and forth through the bore until the desired result is obtained. The Tukuna blowgun never has jaguar (onVa) teeth at the mouthpiece as Tess- mann was informed,14 nor is the muzzle funnel-shaped, as in the plate of Barbosa Rodrigues. In the house the blowgun is bound parallel to and pressed flat against a roof pillar, where it is tied at the top and bottom by two loops of cord. In order to remove any curvature, small wedges are inserted at the precise spot necessary between the weapon itself and the post to which it is lashed. When the weapon is not in use, the cleaning rod is generally left inside it. I greatly admired the agility of the Tukuna in running through the jungle with this weapon, for its length makes it a clumsy thing to carry, and it is too fragile to stand strong knocks. But the Indians shift it from above the head to one side or the other, never knocking it against a tree trunk, and do not appear to be in- convenienced. The dart (oca'gu) for the blowgun is about 30 cm. long and 2 mm. thick. A twist of kapok, sumahuma (Ceiba pentandra), is rolled on at the rear end; below the point of the dart a small circular notch is cut so that the tip will break off in a wound. The darts are kept in a long, small, cylindrical basket, aljava (ya:'ru), with a square bottom and a round mouth. The outside is covered with wax and has tied to it a small sack which contains kapok. The Tukuna do not attach the little curare container shown in Barbosa Rodrigues' plate, since, before leaving the house, they always poison the number of darts they calculate will be needed. They spread the poison on the tip of the dart with a small spatula, then lay the darts so treated 14 Tessmann, p. 560. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna on a beam near the fireplace with the points turned toward the fire in order to dry the poison. Before inserting the dart in the blowgun they moisten the poison by passing the tip between the lips. Curare.-The Tukuna used to be famed for their curare, called in the lingua geral uirars (gu: 'r), which was considered the most efficient of all forms, so that foreign Indians would come from afar to obtain their product. Today this ad- mirable skill is being forgotten and is falling into disuse. Among the Brazilian Tukuna there is only one Indian capable of making good curare, Calixto daueru'kj of Igarapezinho, a tributary of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo. I was present four times, from start to finish, during his preparation of the poison. The principal ingredient, about 70 per cent of the raw material, is the scraped bark of a liana called gu: 're, a solid-ground jungle plant the trunk of which attains a thickness of some 20 cm. A few pieces of the liana are cut, and the bark is scraped at the same place. This used to be done with the edge of a bivalve shell; nowadays it is scraped with a knife. Once at home, the curare maker pours water over the scrapings into a wide-mouthed pot, where the resulting infusion forms a thick, sepia-colored soup. The scrapings are squeezed between the hands and placed on cane1 leaves, tied together so as to form a kind of conical filter (gu:'r6-c'injn). The leaves are held fast by bending them over a hoop and tying them in this posi- tion. The filter is placed on a frame of sticks to keep it about two handbreadths above the ground, the pot is placed beneath it, and the liquid is then poured through the filter. The second ingredient, about 20 per cent of the total, is the scraped root of a plant called in Tukuna tau'-macire' ("anus of toucan"). The vapors released by scraping this plant somewhat irritate the mucous membranes. The infusion, which looks like a dark-brown mud, is placed in another cane-leaf filter beside the first. All the other ingredients are used in quantities so small that, taken altogether, they make up perhaps 10 per cent of the total. Among them are the root scrapings of the fia:bj (jaboti)'7 plant, the infusion of which is poured through a separate filter but into the same pot as the precedin-g ingredients. Filtered into the same pot are also infusions of aA/pa'ra ("cinnamon," jacamim) and a small quantity of a special type of sweet potato called gu:'rg-_ein-kD: 'r, which is scraped with a pirarucui tongue. The other components-scrapings of vota', ova'ru, anj' and dyu'/ne-are considered of little importance. After everything has been filtered several times, the liquids are poured together into a large pot, which is placed over a slow fire. The ash-brown scum that then forms on the surface is skimmed off, mixed with water, and filtered again. The thick, coffee-colored liquid is stirred with a hafted river shell. After some time a dark sediment begins to precipitate and is carefully removed from time to time, the liquid being poured into another pot. This task of removing the scum and sediment is continued for about a week, the preparator working about nine hours a day. It is done with extreme care, for they say that the efficacy of the poison depends largely on this. Pains are also taken not to allow overheating of the decoction, 16 Strychnos toxifera ?-Trans. 6 Ubim, "cane"; also known as guaricanga de bengala. 17 Verga de jabuti (Erisma calcaratum, Warm.?).-Trans. 29 30 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. since it will lose its strength if brought to a boil. If it thickens too much, water is added. The process is tedious and demands much attention. When the liquid has reached the desired thickness, after about ten days, some si2x or eight black beetles called "puna've," which feed on the fungus that grows on rotten wood, are sought in the clearing and are tossed alive into the liquid. These insects exude a fetid, yellow excretion. They are removed after about an hour, and the curare is then thickened with extreme care over a slow fire until the final consistency is that of a very dense honey, which grows even thicker upon cooling. The color is dark brown. The mass is transferred to a small, globular pot (gu:'r6-'e--) especially made for this purpose, its mouth being covered with a banana leaf and securely tied. If the curare thickens too much with the passage of time, it is softened with a filtered infusion of pounded dyu'-ne leaves. 0 0 0 Fig. 6. Cross section of bow. The production of curare is not at all a secret, although naturally each maker has his own individual technique. Although women and children are often present at this operation, they never take part in it beyond helping the husband bring home the raw materials or scraping the roots. Von Hassel's statement that "entre los Ticunas tienen las mujeres ... el oficio de fabricar el veneno" is inexact."8 Some- times they prepare a special little fire for this purpose at the edge of the clearing, but I have also seen them use the kitchen fire itself, the food being cooked to one side. The efficacy of the Tukuna poison is discussed in the works of Barbosa Rodrigues and Santesson,'9 the latter dealing with the curare which I brought from Igarape de Sao Jeronymo in 1929. I myself have seen it used in hunting monkeys. The effect on the wounded animal is to produce immediately incontinence of feces and urine, the creature falling in about three minutes. Calixto daueru'kj told me that, while poisoning some darts for a hunt one day, he wounded himself very superficially in the hand. Immediately the action of the curare produced spasms of the facial muscles, pains, and incontinence of urine and feces. He cured himself by drinking his own urine, which the Tukuna con- sider the only remedy. I was told of another Indian who went alone into the jungle to hunt with his blowgun. When he fired at some arboreal animal, the dart erred in its flight, ricocheted off a tree, and struck him in the back. Later, he was found dead in the jungle. It is because of such experiences that the Tukuna prefer not to go alone while hunting with curare. For large game they do not use the blowgun, but the bow and arrow and lance. The bow (vQra') is sometimes 2 m. long. Figure 6 shows it in cross section. The Hassel, Las tribus salvajes de la region Amaz6nica del Peru, Bol. Soc. Geog., 17:58. C. G. Santesson, Ein starkes Topf-Kurare von den Tucuna- (Ticuna-) Indianern des oberen Amazonas, Acta Medica Scandinavica, 75:1-9. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna ends are notched to receive the bowstring (vQra'-maa'in), which was formerly made of bromelia but is nowadays of tucum fiber. Since it has never been used much for fishing and today is not much used in hunting, the bow is being aban- doned. The arrow (ko:'ru) is made of canna brava. Its total length is 162 cm.; the length of its four-tined point, 9 cm. It is poisoned with curare and kept in a sheath of bamboo (taboca). Its feathering, in the form of a bridge, is tangential (Stegfiederung). Today it is completely obsolete. There were formerly three types of spear, of which two are still in use today. The first was a throwing spear, va:ma'gu, of paxiubinha, 263 cm. long. The poisoned tip, 16 cm. long, looked like an arrow point and, like the arrow point, was protected by a bamboo sheath. In 1929 I saw these spears still in use, but by 1941 they no longer existed. With the second type, de, the Tukuna still hunt wild pigs. It is a thrusting spear some 236 cm. long, a simple staff of maraja wood (Bactris sp.), the point being produced by removal of an oblique slice from one end. The third type is even shorter, a pole, do'ea, which nowadays has an iron point. It is used in hunting jaguars (oncas) brought to bay by hounds. Dogs, T., airu' (a'i, spotted jaguar, l.g., onga pintada), are found in nearly all the houses, but most of them are worthless for the chase, so that a hunter prefers to leave them at home. According to the Tukuna, dogs are pre-Columbian, the first having been mysteriously borne by an Indian woman. Traps.-Formerly the Tukuna knew a number of aboriginal types of traps, most of which fell into disuse after the Indians learned how to make booby traps with firearms. One of these early traps, called "vainpara'ne," which was set up over a deer or tapir run, consisted of two strong but elastic logs, tied together vertically on a horizontal beam at a height sufficient to permit the animal to pass beneath. When the trap was set, the two logs were bent in such a way that the ends were spread apart to the sides of the trail at just the right height. The quarry, passing under the horizontal beam, would spring the trap, the two logs snapping against the animal's flanks. Since each log had three spikes on the inner surface, the game was severely wounded as well as tightly held. For agouti (l.g., cutia) the Tukuna use even today a type of trap known as munde' (deadfall)-or, in Tukuna, yvta'-under which the victim is directed by two brush fences. For small animals accustomed to running about on the ground, the Tukuna make an enclosure in the jungle sometimes a hundred meters long, and with various openings, behind each of which they set a noose. This fence appears in one legend of the culture heroes (see p. 126) and also in the tale of the seller of a songbird, sabia (p. 154). Another type of trap for catching macucauas (Tinamus sp.), rats, and agoutis consists of a baited lasso at the end of an elastic pole (trip noose) bent over to the ground in the middle of a circular enclosure with one opening (bu:'ree). With other traps they catch doves and pigeons by setting a burden basket so that one side is slightly raised, with the bait below. In 1929 I observed a rattrap in the form of a small box with a trip door; I suppose, with Tessmann, that this variant was introduced through contact with the Neobrazilians. 31 32 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. For the deer that invade the plantations, pitfalls (a: 'main) are dug to the depth of a meter and a half, a sharpened paxiuba stake being set vertically at the bottom. In a pitfall that I saw, a dog had died, and a few days later an alligator also fell into it. GATHERING The gathering of wild fruits and the capture of animals that cannot properly be included under hunting are still carried on by both sexes; by men when the oppor- tunity presents itself and by women on trips made for the purpose. There are many varieties of edible wild fruits, although most have no economic importance, being no more than mere tidbits, like the pods of the arara tucupy, the seeds of which are covered with a thin layer of thick, sweet liquid. The only fruits of real economic importance are those of the four palms, burity (Mauritia vinifera), bacabeira (Oenocarpus bacaba), pataua (Oenocarpus pataud'), and agahy (Euterpe sp.). All four species are common in the jungles of the Tukuna. During the period of gathering one always sees large earthenware vessels con- taining burity fruits soaked in a solution to make the rinds come off more easily, and the Indians constantly help themselves. The fruits of these four palms are then macerated in tepid water and a fatty drink is prepared by a process common among the Neobrazilians as well, the separation of the pulp from the stones by treading. The liquid is passed through a very fine sieve (va'iri-`inn-iL, from va'ira, agahy). A sufficient quantity is then prepared so that the neighbors may be in- vited to drink also. The gathering of the fruits and the preparation of the beverage are feminine tasks. The Tukuna are acquainted with the Brazil nut, or niggertoe, castanha do Pard (Bertholletia excelsa), but they eat only the kernels without preparing from them either milk or oil. Nino, an Indian of Igarape da Rita, had planted near his house about ten such saplings, which were then bearing fruit. The Tukuna will not eat toads, though they do not reject various species of frogs; they also eat beetle larvae, which are found in burity palms, and the queens of sau'va ants (l.g., i$a; Atta cephatotes) when they are swarming. Of the various kinds of honey the most appreciated is that of the wild bee, jandaira. Bees are not raised at home. FOOD The most common food is fish, either boiled or freshly smoked and eaten with farinha (formerly with beiju's). Seasoning is obtained by thrusting the fingertip into a small dish with crushed salt and pepper and then licking it. At present, the salt is bought from the Neobrazilians, but it is said that in the old days it was prepared from the ash from burned green maraja palm leaves. Of fish, the Indian takes only as much as he can swallow at one gulp, picking it, with a rapid pinch of the fingers, from the common receptacle. In consequence, the piece of fish shortly assumes such a tattered appearance that it looks like noth- ing more than a dog's dinner. When there is roast game, no one cuts himself a large piece, but each in turn seizes the meat, tears off a chunk with the teeth, and tosses the remainder back Nimuendaju': The Tukuna into the common vessel. This gesture is as common as the pinch of the fingers. The Tukuna eat neither avidly nor hastily. During and after the meal they belch unreservedly and with evident satisfaction. Each one gets up when satisfied, goes to the platform where the water jugs are kept, washes his hands and mouth, and takes a swallow. When the fish or meat have been on the smoking-rack (moquem) for many days and have thus become too hard, they are cooked with scraped green bananas until the mess completely disintegrates, the whole turning into a coarse pap (l.g., mogica). These are the two main foods. Aside from these regular meals, however, someone frequently prepares a little snack over the kitchen fire, roasting either on the coals or on a spit a green banana, an ear of maize, sweet manioc root or yam tuber, or even, on the grill, bundles of green leaves containing a frog, a handful of beetle larvae, or minnows. The yam, especially, may be called the bread of the Tukuna. BEVERAGES I have already mentioned the beverages prepared from the fruits of the burity, bacabeira, pataua, and acahy palms. Later on we shall see the great importance of fermented drinks in the social and economic life of the Tukuna, as well as the injurious effects of intoxication, their one vice. There are three principal fermented drinks for ceremonies: (1) cavi-cj'i, a maize drink (l.g., chicha); (2) 'ain, from boiled sweet manioc (l.g., caipuma); (3) pa'yavaru, from burned manioc flat cakes (l.g., paiauaru). The first and second are pre-Columbian. Tessman's statement that the Tukuna do not use beverages made of maize is erroneous. The paiauarui was probably adopted from the Neobrazilian population which speaks the lingua geral; it is little used by the Neobrazilians of today. For chicha, dry, ripe maize is pounded by the rocking-board; water is placed to heat over the fire and, when it boils, the meal is slowly dropped in and con- stantly stirred. It is permitted to boil until it becomes soft, when it is removed from the fire. A mouthful of a certain, special kind of sweet potato (Batatas edutis or Ipomoea batatas) is masticated and placed on top of the boiled maize, but with- out mixing it. Only after the mass of potato has settled is the combination stirred with a spatula made from the shoulder blade of a manatee (T., ka'ruv6). The person who chews the sweet potato first washes his mouth and chews the leaves of a plant called vo'ca, which stings the mouth and lips, turning them and the tongue black. Finally, the liquid is strained through a sieve into a jar, where it remains. Generally, it will have turned potent by the following day. To prepare caiguma, the Tukuna peel a sweet manioc tuber, cut it into small pieces, and crush it to a pulp with the rocking-board. To the mass they add a gourdful of sweet potato and strain it through a sieve into a jar. A little cane molasses speeds up the fermentation. Paiauaru' is made in the following way. A sufficient quantity of manioc cakes is made, the cakes being baked in the oven until slightly burnt on the surface, when they are placed in a wide-meshed basket and dipped for an instant into hot water. The dough, about two or three fingers thick, is then spread out on banana 33 34 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. leaves laid on the floor of the house. Dry, pulverized leaves (maniva) of a certain kind of manioc are sprinkled on this dough, and banana leaves are placed on top. After two or three days, when the dough is uncovered, it is crusted over with a thick layer of white mould, in which may be seen the contours of the maniva leaves. The dough, which by now has a strong, sweet taste, is cut into strips and placed in a jar, where, little by little, it exudes a liquid that in color and taste somewhat resembles a bad port wine. In time this liquor becomes harsh, corrosive, and strongly intoxicating. At feasts it is served only in individual, small, long gourds and, since the available quantity is generally not great, only to persons of a certain distinction. To prepare paiauariu proper, the women lift the dough from its storage place in the jar and, mixing it with water, strain it into another jar, from which it is dipped in gourds to serve the guests. The preparation of beverages is an exclusively feminine task. Care is taken to prohibit a pregnant women from taking part, since her participation would ruin the product. No one serves himself with his own hands except the women in charge of the jars. At all the celebrations there is a "server"-generally the uncle of the child or girl who is being feted or even a closer relative-whose function is to serve the full gourds to the guests, one by one, when they are seated, or to wait on them if while dancing they pass in front of the jars, thereby indicating their desire to drink. The supply of water for filtering drinks is also entrusted to the server. To me paiauaru' has a disagreeable taste of fermentation and rot, the fibers contained in it making it even more disgusting. The Indians, however, drink it with enormous satisfaction. Becoming drunk, as often happens, they vomit, wash the mouth with water, and continue to swill. If the beverage is to be kept in a "new" jar, used for the first time, they take care to call in the shaman, page, to remove with gestures any invisible substance that might blind those drinking from the container. Besides these three beverages, there are still other fermented drinks, which are, however, rarely prepared, such as d6dne-cj'i from cane (de'dne) juice boiled and fermented in a jar; ui'-cj'ij, a sort of chicha made from yam tubers; a drink made of crushed pineapple, which after two days in the jar becomes potent but is also taken unfermented as a refreshment; and another drink, pururu'ka, made from boiled and fermented bananas. Many of the men are today greatly addicted to cane rum, caxaQa, which they purchase or receive as "treats" in the Neobrazilian establishments. One of the axioms against which no one on the Solimoes will argue is: "Sem caxaga o indio na6 trabalha" ("Without rum the Indian won't work"). The worst influence is naturally exercised by the sugar-cane establishments that have rum stills and where the work is done almost exclusively by Indians. Some owners purposely get the Indians drunk in order to facilitate their exploitation. In Belem I saw the cashier of one place, an incorrigible sot, ply women and girls with rum merely because it gave him pleasure to seem them blind drunk. The itinerant peddlers, too, in order to persuade Indians for their own purposes, habitually initiate the haggling with a glass of rum. On the other hand, neither Nimuendajii: The Tukuna 35 the botanist Ricardo Frr6es (who was with the Tukuna in 1941 at the same time I was)' nor I ever gave rum to the Tukuna, yet they never failed us in the in- numerable times we put our trust in them. We paid them promptly and properly for services rendered, thus gainin-g the enmity of the patroes and traders, who thought that we were undermining their interests by "leading the Indians into bad habits." 20 Ricardo de Lemos Fr6es, botanist also of the expedition to the upper Rio Negro country in 1945, directed by Felisberto Camargo, under the auspices of the Instituto Agronomico do Norte, Bel6m do Par&.-Trans. IV. APPAREL AND ORNAMENT CLOTHING IN GENERAL the Tukuna of today wear the same poor sort of apparel as the Neo- brazilians of the same region, but many of them also have quite regular clothes, some of which they make themselves from purchased material. Their ambition is to possess also a felt hat and a pair of shoes, although even under the best con- ditions shoes incommode them horribly, and few own them. Their best clothing is carefully kept for festive occasions. On workdays they wear only the oldest and most patched fragments, which, though ragged, are not dirty, for the Tukuna will not tolerate the stench of filthy garments. Even today the women of the igarapes will walk about the house or clearing naked from the waist up, and the men, when going to hunt, wear only an old, torn pair of trousers; sometimes they hitch them up by the belt to form a sort of loin- cloth. The children go naked until about five years of age. The reports of the ancient dress vary. The earliest observer, Padre Monteiro Noronha in 1768, states: "The women have no modesty at all; the men still cover the parts destined for procreation with wide fringes of thread twisted from a certain white tow which they obtain from tree bark."' According to Tessmann, the men went completely naked, with the sexual parts in natural position, whereas the women used an unpainted, triangular piece of tururi cloth (Ficusbastzeug). Apparently this account of the men's attire requires revision. Actually, the glans was tucked beneath the waist belt. This custom was not only confirmed by my informants but is also mentioned in the culture-hero legend, which tells of e'pi: "He pulls his penis from behind the waist belt and dances about the fire.... With this his penis was shaken up. t6ciarinui' saw this from her hiding place and could not resist laughing." (See p. 127.) The festive attire of the men was composed of two small semicircular tangas, one in front and one in back. These were made of painted white tururi cloth just like those worn today by the boys during the rites of passage, ceremonias de passagem (pl. 12, mi). It is probably this garment to which Spix refers as "einen zierlichen Giirtel aus Bast," and which Henry Lister Maw calls "a belt of bark round the waist."2 In Spix's plate, however, the Tukuna-except one who is com- pletely nude, with the penis in natural position-are all dressed in a nondescript cloth. According to Castelnau, "une feuille est fixee autour des reins."' The plate in the second volume of Bates's work-probably, in spite of some obvious errors, the best illustration of the Tukuna of early times-shows men and women with a tanga hanging in front of a thick belt. In Barbosa Rodrigues' illustration' the Indian male wears over the sexual parts a small covering, which is not clear in the plate. The text mentions "bands of the same textile [cotton] with which they cover the sexual parts." 'Monteiro Noronha, Roteiro da viagem da cidade do Para, ? 140. 2Maw, p. 211. Castelnau, 5:45. 'Barbosa Rodrigues, Ticunas, p. 53. [ 36] Nimuendajut: The Tukuna Two other items, of purely ornamental character, were apparently part of the ancient daily dress of the men: a necklace of monkey or jaguar teeth and arm- bands decorated with feathers. In Spix's plate these are not shown, but Henry Lister Maw writes of "some rows of teeth round the neck and some feathers on his arms." Castelnau describes them as follows: ... la plupart d'entre eux portent aux bras de tres curieux bracelets, qui sont fait d'un bouquet de plumes en forme de rou, d'une belle couleur orange, et qui proviennent de la queue d'une espeee d'Acari; ils les surmontent d'une outre [sic] bouquet de plumes flottantes arrach6es aux ailes du Savacou, derribre lesquelles paraissent les longues pennes de la queue de l'Ara rouge. On voyait au cou de quelques uns un double collier de dents de tigre ou de singe.5 In Marcoy's plate, the Tukuna wear feathered arm bands (of cotton, according to the text) and a four-strand necklace of monkey teeth. In Barbosa Rodrigues' plate, arm bands also appear, as well as a double necklace of teeth: "The men wear great necklaces of pig's teeth ... and, on feast days, some arm bands made of macaw feathers, the arm bands proper being of small feathers of the scarlet macaw, and the ornaments being of blue and yellow tail feathers from the caninde macaw." Even today, the girls use similar arm bands during the puberty cere- mony; the boys wear arm bands and necklaces of teeth in the hair-plucking and -clipping ceremony. Nowadays the ribbon of the arm band is mostly made of tucum thread woven or plaited on a small frame of rods (pl. 11, b). Women's dress was formerly a very short section of cotton cloth around the hips. In 1929 I knew an Indian woman who was the only one who still wore this regularly, but the girls used it until a few years ago for the puberty ceremony (pl. 12, d). This cloth (napa'), measuring 105 by 36 cm., was of a relatively thin and coarse woven cotton cloth decorated with some longitudinal stripes of black. These cloths, as well as the slings for carrying infants, are woven on a vertical, rectanggular frame of rods (na:'paveru), the threads of the warp being passed over the horizontal rods. The alternate raising of odd and even threads (Fach- bildung) is accomplished by means of a system of threads (na:-a'pRtjna, "navel"). (See pl. 8, c.) The woof is rolled over a small stick and spread apart with a wooden knife (tue'p6ru). Tessmann denies that the Tukuna knew the art of weaving,6 but even Marcoy mentions the tanga, and Barbosa Rodrigues writes of "a large tanga woven of cotton or turury which encircles the hips." Rodrigues also reproduces the feather head ornament the men used to wear, whieh today has completely disappeared, describing it as follows: ". . . a large, feathered forehead band of the wings of the same macaw [caninde] edged with tiny red feathers and completed by four or five long tail feathers of the scarlet macaw in front." The plate shows this piece as a circlet of clipped feathers about twelve centimeters long, fastened together and mounted on a narrow band of some woven material, encircling the head; there are four very long feathers curving to the rear. According to Tessmann, the headdress, called nabatu (i.e., na: -patee), was made of the Scheelea ( ?) palm and feathers. My informants said this piece was a cotton bonnet with short toucan feathers attached to the woven material; it was used 5f Castelnau, loc. oit. 6 Tessmann, p. 561. 37 38 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. only by chiefs, the last who wore it being the maternal grandfather of my in- formant Calixto daueru'kj. This is evidently the same object that Bates describes: "The chief wears a head-dress or cap made by fixing the breast feathers of the Toucan on a web of Bromelia twine, with erect tail plumes of macaws rising from the crown." In his plate, the man leaning against a house post is evidently the chief with his regalia. ARTIFICIAL BODY DEFORMATION The manner of cutting the hair was formerly the same for both sexes. It was trimmed straight across the forehead just above the eyebrows, the rest, which was never cut, being allowed to fall free to the shoulders and sides. All old portraits confirm this. For work, the men rolled up their long hair in back, confining it by means of a twist of hair from below the bun. Others braided it into a pigtail, rolling this up and securing it with a strip of envira. The hair was smoothed with a small comb (tu:/mjn), the teeth of which, made from the frondstalk of the anaja palm, were fastened by fibres interlaced orna- mentally between two pairs of twigs. The last Indian who knew how to make these combs died a few years ago. Today the Tukuna wear their hair in Neobrazilian style and comb it with purchased combs. A few Indian youths follow the custom of allowing their hair to grow exaggeratedly over the forehead and combing, or rather tossing, it all to one side. The beard is not plucked, and thick eyebrows are considered handsome. Many Indians, especially the girls and children, are never completely free from lice, which, however, are not permitted to increase too much but are scrupulously captured and immediately eaten. But there are many individuals of both sexes who carefully keep themselves free of these parasites. Ear piercing.-Formerly the Tukuna pierced the ear lobes of girls as often as those of boys, but nowadays only boys undergo the operation (paici'ni). It is performed during the same ceremony in which the hair is plucked out from children, which formerly took place when the child was two years old; today it occurs at four years of age or over, the implement being a needle made of a bone of the parauacui monkey. The child's paternal aunt pierces the lobe with the in- strument, while another relative grasps the point as it emerges on the other side and finishes drawing it through. In the hole thus made they insert a cotton cord and apply a bit of crushed round pepper (mete). No diet is imposed upon the victim, but he is prohibited from fighting with his companions lest the puncture suppurate and [the boy is told] become "the size of the head of the one with whom you fought." Formerly, both sexes commonly put into the hole small plates of white wood (ochroma, according to Tessmann). On ceremonial occasions they wore in the ears small wands, the tips in front decorated with the red and black feathers of a small bird, the pare'ne, the other end encircled by heron plumes. From this wand there hung a small plate of brass (peVru-pe'ru), half-moon shaped for the men (like a quirica, fig. 4, a), trianggular for the women. I do not know of what material these small plates were made before the Tukuna knew of brass. Even today the girls use these ear decorations at puberty ceremonies (pl. 12, k). Nimuendaju': The Tukuna Piercing of the septum.-The Tukuna have largely abandoned the practice of piercing the septum, which accompanied perforation of the ear lobes. When they pierced it, they wore in the hole a wand of reed or canna brava called ve-6ra'i (from ve, introduce; raA, nose). Tooth filing.-The Tukuna custom, which today has become quite common, of filing to points the upper incisors and, more rarely, the lower as well appears to have been acquired by contact with the Neobrazilians. Yet the mother of one of my informants condemned the practice as improper and ugly and said that this operation was designed to prevent caries, which forms easily between the teeth- an explanation which is perhaps a secondary rationalization. Tattooing.-The question of primitive tattooing among the Tukuna is difficult to settle satisfactorily; some writers probably took for tattooing what was actually only painting with the juice of the genipa (Genipa americana), which is still widely used today. Padre Monteiro Noronha, the first author to devote a small chapter to the tribe, says that they "have the same strokes [as their neighbors the Caca-tapiiya: a wide black stroke, curled at the tip, which begins next to the nose and ends at the sides of both ears] but narrower and shorter." Martius mentions "eine oder zwei schmale, quer iiber das Gesicht la-ufende, tiitowierte Linien. Doch findet sich dieses Merkmal keineswegs gleichmiissig." Castelnau writes: "D'autres avaient sur les joues deux lignes noires transversales," without indicating whether the lines are painted or tattooed. One of Marcoy's plates shows a male Tukuna with a double stroke or line in the shape of a loop that begins next to the ear and ends in a small cross on the cheek with an extension to the corner of the mouth. Bates writes: "Both men and women are tattooed, the pattern being sometimes a scroll on each cheek, but generally rows of short, straight lines on the face." His illustration represents the Indians with two short, parallel lines on each cheek, extending slightly to the side of the nose. Orton, who as far as the Tukuna are concerned seems to have copied Bates, describes them as "tattooed in numbers of short, straight lines on the face." Lastly, the Tukuna of Barbosa Rodrigues has on each cheek a curved line (the curvature pointing downward) from the nose to the ear, and another almost parallel line that begins at the corner of the mouth. There is no indication whether these are painted or tattooed. Today there is not a single Tukuna with tattoo on the face, the bit that appears on their arms being an imitation of Neobrazilians. According to Nino, my best Tukuna informant, tattooing came to the tribe from the cu 'mana (Yumana) Indians. These people, however, used an oval network pattern surrounding the mouth, with ramifications of the design extending to the ears. Nino told me that the members of the macaw clans, cara' and voo', used for- merly to tattoo the cheeks in imitation of the markings of macaws. The lines of the design were first drawn in by burnt cicanta resin and were then punctured by a needle. Another informant told me that "those who were learned" had the figure of a crayfish, caranguejo, and a scorpion tattooed on the forearm or on the back of the hand, and that the dye was the juice of a plant called bu're (see p. 42). 39 40 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Ci-rcumcision.-Another practice which today cannot be properly explained is circumcision. In my opinion, all the references to this custom are based on the ac- count of Ribeiro de Sampaio, who saw the Tukuna briefly in 1774 and repeats a resum6 of data obtained by Padre Monteiro Noronha in 1768. Monteiro Noronha says: A few days after birth children of both sexes are circumcised by their mothers, who are charged with this operation. The males have the tip of the prepuce and the lower ligature which secures the glans cut; the females the exterior excrescence [clitorist]; [but] for a clearer description of this practice the interest of curiosity must bow to the prejudice of modesty. The report is explicit, at least as regards the male sex, but if it is as inaccurate as some of the accounts of this same author on animism and idolatry, it is of little value. Nowadays, at least, there is not the slightest remembrance of male circumcision, and, although the Brazilian Tukuna recall the corresponding operation as being formerly performed on girls, they themselves assert only that this custom once existed-and perhaps even still exists-among their Peruvian congeners. The ref- erence is probably to an excision of the labia minora, made for reasons of hygiene, as they indicated to me, shortly after the child is born. My informants said they would regard the appearance of a woman so circumcised as disgusting. V. ART SCULPTURE AND, PAINTING IN THE FIELD of native art the Tukuna have not only preserved the traditions of their ancestors but have even developed them. Above all, the Tukuna have a curious bent toward sculpture. An Indian, seeing a large, misshapen tree trunk floating near the edge of a lake, will repair to his canoe, lay hands on his hatchet, and give the log the outlines of an enormous alligator. Observing a rounded termites' nest hanging from a high branch bent over the igapo, he will stop, climb up with his machete, and, with perilous acrobatics, transform it into the horrid grimace of a demon. Any knot on a thick tree trunk within reach of his hands invariably receives similar treatment. A Tukuna rubber gatherer I once saw had decorated his smok- ing hearth with plastic figures of animals. (See p. 48.) The sculptured figures of men and women (pl. 9, b) made of muirapiranga, an extremely heavy wood, toys for children, and so forth, are not very artistic; but one finds among the representations of animals (pl. 9, c, d) very handsome works of art, starting with small stools in the form of turtles or bats. The Tukuna taste for sculpture, however, is displayed more strikingly in two classes of objects: dance staves and necklaces of figurines from tucum-a palm nuts. The dance staves (do:'pa), made of a light, white wood and from one to one and a half meters long, are used at ceremonies, the same staff never being used on two occasions. They are carried over the left shoulder; the lower end generally has a hook or button from which is suspended a small drum to be struck with the right hand. The upper part of the staff, which rests on the shoulder, has usually four planed surfaces and is decorated by one or more carved figures, interspersed with geometric designs, the whole being painted in bright colors (pl. 14, a-f). The figurines of the necklaces are carved of tucuma palm nuts (Astrocaryum sp.), generally tucuma piranga, but sometimes ordinary tucuma or anaja nuts (Maximiliana regia) are used. The first two have a surface of brilliant jet, the third is a clear, brown color. The figures are of men firing with a shotgun, women with children, a girl in the puberty-ceremony costume, pairs of dancers, or an infinity of animals, from the crab louse (utra) to the jaguar. These little figurines, separated only by rows of seeds or glass beads, make very striking necklaces (pl.13). In the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo there are a brother and sister, Flavio pi'6 and Raimunda e'kjrane, thirty and thirty-five years old, respectively, who are the best artists in this line. Their products are sought by neighboring Indians and by those of other igarapes, where their motifs are later imitated. Raimunda does not limit herself to copying live models; she showed me a goodly number of figurines which were pure fantasy, and others which she "saw in a dream." For his part, pi'6 likes to reproduce motifs seen in prints of civilized origin. Thus, he carved a dragon, the trade-mark of a certain marketed product, and the United States eagle, com- plete with the shield of stars and stripes on its breast. The Tukuna produce far less painting than sculpture, partly because of their extremely primitive technique, for the Tukuna have not yet invented or adopted [ 41] 42 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. the brush. In its place they use the tips of wood, small rulers, the back of a knife, or even the finger tips, when they do not smear the coloring plant directly on the object to be decorated. All the pigments are vegetable dyes. The juice of one fleshy fruit (T., nalinku) furnishes a dark violet which, upon contact with iron, changes into a clear blue. A bright yellow is obtained from the root of the a9afroa (Amaryllis sp.). The crushed leaves of a jungle plant called bu're provides green; urucui seeds give a bright red. The fresh colors give a brilliant appearance; they are applied indiscriminately and arbitrarily, without the slightest regard to the natural color of the object reproduced. The best products of Tukuna art are the tururi (bark cloth) costumes of the masqueraders (pls. 16, 17, 18). Music Even less developed than Tukuna seulpture and painting are their songs and musi- cal instruments. The Tukuna sing in an almost imperceptible manner; unless one observed the moving lips one would not know that they were singing, since the sound of their voices is completely muffled by the din of the drums and rattles. At celebrations, certain women were pointed out to me as reputedly good singers, and, in the company of others, they sang expressly for me. Even though they were at a distance of three handbreadths from my ear, I could hardly hear the song. The men sing in equally muted fashion and in falsetto. The music is composed sometimes of only two notes infinitely repeated; at other times the melody is a little more varied: The Tukuna have a very peculiar instrument, which at first glance appears to be a horn, of paxiuba wood, 61/2 m. long and slightly conical in the upper part. Its diameter varies from 12 cm. at the mouth to 5 cm. at the mouthpiece. This instrument is called tW'/ki, and to see it is taboo for women and the uninitiated (na'-ut4 ya tW'/ki, "the uaricana is taboo"). The tW'/ki is not, however, a wind instrument but a megaphone through which one sings and speaks. The companion to the to'/kj is the bu'/bu, a true conical horn from 4 to 6 m. long, made from a long strip of bark of the du:'ru tree, rolled into a spiral and secured by two lateral rods tied along the entire length of the instrument. In the lingua geral, the name uaricana is applied to both the ta'/k and the bu'/bu. The sound of the bu'/bu, though loud, is suave and agreeable, and its music, the best the Tukuna have, resembles the very slow playing of a trumpet: _' * I I a A M L _ I__% i r%14 I I -4 - , a I I I I -- I -1 I 'dopi - F- I ad -- 1---- Al %PI ?j '%- -i lw a Nimuendaju: The Tukuna A piston flute, A6'kutj (fig. 7, a), made from the bark of cipo mucuna (Mucuna sp.), completes this group of wind instruments. The tube is 40 cm. long by 2 cm. in diameter; the piston is a small rod with a wad of embira (envira) at one end. Two instruments, used by both sexes, invariably accompany any and all cere- monial acts: the small drum and the rattle stick. The first, tu:'tu (pl. 14, i) is clearly European. The body is a short cylinder of oca de ambaucva wood (Cecropia sp.) from 20 to 30 cm. in diameter. Each end is covered with the dry skin of the guariba monkey or the surubim pegged down by a hoop. The two hoops are wedged fast by another pair of hoops placed over them and connected by zigzag cords. A b c a Fig. 7. Musical instruments. a. Piston flute, x 1/8. b. Panpipes, x 14. c. Bamboo horn, x 2. cord stretched tightly across the drumhead, sometimes with a bead or small piece of metal tied in the center, hums when the drum is struck. The instrument hangs by a loop of cord from the end of the dance staff or dangles from the left hand. The beat, produced with only one drumstick (tu:tu-Aarj-pa/ru'jn) about a hand- breadth in size, made of either muirapiranga wood or bone, is simple and measured, marking the rhythm of the dance but not that of the chant, which is carried on independently of the drumbeat. Anyone observing the Tukuna marching, to the sound of the drum, with meas- ured step in lines of two or three, one behind the other, with the dance staves over their shoulders, cannot but notice the resemblance to the marching of soldiers. I consider it quite possible that the Tukuna formation is nothing more than an imi- tation of the soldiers' march, adopted, together with the military snare drum, from the frequent occasions when these Indians attended military exercises at Fort Tabatinga, founded in 1776. It is strange that neither the drum nor the dance staff, which are seen today in all the houses and are indispensable at any feast, is mentioned by any of the writers 43 44 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. who attended earlier Tukuna ceremonies.1 Maw writes that the arrival of the masked dancers "was announced by a noise (I think by beating a kind of a drum) " and only Bates, in 1857, speaks of a "monotonous see-saw and stamping dance accompanied by singing and drumming."2 There are no drums or dance staves in the illustration "Maskenzug der Ticunas" in Spix's atlas, nor are there any in Bates's. However, the European-type drum was spread among tribes to the north of the Amazon, whence it could have come to the Tukuna through other Indians; and Spix attended a dance among the Pase and Yuiri' that he characterized as a "nationalen Militiirmarsch."' However, in this place there was also a foreign military detachment. Spix gives us an indication of what was probably the original form of the Tukuna drum. Describing the entrance of the masked dancers, he writes: "Den Beschluss machte ein altes hiissliches, ganz schwarz bemaltes Weib welches auf einer getrock- neten Schilkr6tenschale einen einformigen Tact schlug."4 Even today this type of drum, called p0: 'vi, or tori'-from tracaja, "turtle," because it is always made of turtle shell-is used along with the other wood-and- leather drum, although only for specific ceremonies and in a way which differs from that shown in Spix 's illustration. Furthermore, the shell is usually much larger, the ones in Spix's plate being from 50 to 60 cm. long. A rod for striking the drum is securely tied on it in a horizontal position. The drum, with the plastron facing up, is hung horizontally from the house roof, about 1 m. from the ground, the two ends of the rod being held by two men, one of whom handles the drumstick while the other shakes the rattle. The head of the drumstick is wrapped in tururi bark cloth. Grasping the rod of the drum, the two men dance four paces to the front and four to the rear. Behind them dance the others. The text of the chants sung on this occasion refers to the turtle and consists of the repetition of a few words: 1. The turtle is our child. 2. The soft place in the black mud. 3. The cove of the river of half-white water. 4. The grey amba'uvas are his resting place. 5. Like the royal hawk I seize my turtle. 6. His lake has muddied [troubled] water. and so forth. A strange element is the use of Tupi words in these chants: river, panana' (Tupi, parana'; Tukuna, ta/tj), and royal hawk, virava' (Tupi, wjra- wasu'; Tukuna, da:vj). At a fixed moment the two men remove the drum from the cord and, holding it by the ends of the rod, take a few turns with it about the house where the feast is being celebrated, accompanied by the other dancers. This instrument, as well as the dance form, appears to me to be entirely aboriginal. The large xylophone (slit drums), torocana in the lingua geral, were never used by the Tukuna, who only know of them from the Witoto and Miranya. 1 Spix and Martius, p. 1188; Maw, p. 220. 2 Bates, 2:405. 8 Spix and Martius, p. 1186. 4Ibid., p. 1188. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna4 As a signal of alarm they strike blows with the olho do terpado, "eye of the machete,"5 on the keel or sides of an overturned canoe, or against a leaning plank. The rattle stick is a substitute for the gourd rattle, maraca', which is completely unknown among the Tukuna. It is a crude stick, retaining its bark, about 1 m. or more in length and from 2 to 3 cm. thick. The rattles are tied to the lower third. It is not used in the "military march" mentioned above, but it is never absent from any other ceremony. The beat is often at variance with the measure of the drum, owing to its generally much slower tempo. The rattles are almost always made of the hulls of one of two species of vegetable: the fruit of the auai (Thevetia nerifolia; l.g., auai, T., a: 'ru), the other and smaller one called in Tukuna ka'/taru (l.g., auahy do igapo). The hulls are suspended from a narrow web plaited from tucum fiber. The masked dancers also carry these hulls attached to the ends of their staves and spears, and even tied below the knee. An instrument of masculine use, which I do not know whether to consider a variation of the rattle stick or a "stamping tube," is the ba:'/ma, an enormous, thick reed (l.g., tazuarugu'; Guuadua superba Hub.) about 21/2 m. or more long (pl. 14, g). The upper end, in the shape of a caiman's mouth, is open to a depth of 20 to 30 cm. This mouth is toothed in the masculine and smooth in the feminine speci- mens. Below the mouth is the small face of a demon, similar to those of the masks, and below this are tied rattles. The rest of the piece is decorated with a few belts of uruciu on which are glued hawk feathers. The ba:'/ma are always used in pairs, male and female. Two players dance, one in front of the other, each holding his ba: '/ma in both hands and beating the ground with the lower end, the two instruments being crossed. Since the internal nodes are not removed, the sound is negligible. Like the turtleshell drum, the ba:'/ma is used exclusively by certain clans; it also figures in the legend of the culture heroes. Used in conjunction with the ba:'/ma, there are also the kou'iri, horns of thick bamboo some 70 cm. or more in length and 6 cm. in diameter. One end of this instrument is sealed by a node; the other is open and cut into the shape of a caiman's mouth, exactly like that of the ba:'/ma. Like the latter, the koa'iri are decorated with urucui and hawk plumage. About 15 cm. from the closed end there is a rec- tangular opening through which one blows into the instrument to produce its single note. It is used only on special occasions-by both sexes and always by three couples. Like the ba:'/ma, the kogniri are male and female. Aside from these instruments of ceremonial use there are few musical instru- ments; such as there are are somewhat suspect as aboriginal instruments or are clearly post-Columbian. Without doubt the flute (vav6'ru), made from royal-hawk bone (Harpya destructor, L.) is aboriginal, since the hawk occurs in a legend of the culture heroes (see p. 125). It is blown into from one end and has five holes for the fingers-four grouped together on the anterior side and one opposite them on the lower surface. Another flute, cited by Tessmann, is made of bamboo, with two holes close to the lower end; a specimen of this type is in the Berlin Museum. A third flute, with more holes, is just like that used by the Neobrazilian population of the region, but I do not know which was borrowed from whom. 6 This refers to the iron ring helving the blade to the grip.-Trans. 45 46 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. As Tessmann has already observed, there are no transversal flutes or clarinets of the type known as tore. A signal horn made of a simple piece of thick bamboo with a lateral opening, closed on one side and open on the other, is invariably carried in the canoe for signaling the arrival of people and for calling them. Panpipes commonly consist of eight tubes of bamboo (the longest being 15 cm.), joined by two pairs of rattan lashings (fig. 7, b). Panpipes are not played in pairs. The Tukuna name for them is ee'ku or dure'tu (Loreto). Loreto is the name of a sub-Andean department of Peru, pronounced in the Tukuna manner "dure'tu" which makes one suppose that the instrument has come from that region. There is a kind of ocarina (puz'cane) made from the seed of the umari (Pora- queiba sp.), and a clay whistle in the shape of a frog (va:'tav6, a name which imi- tates the frog's croak). Tessmann erroneously calls it to'ke,' which is actually the name of a large megaphone (to'/kj). The Tukuna learned from the Neobrazilians not only how to play the violin but also how to make it, and on the Rio Jacurapa there was an Indian whose violins were sought after by civilized persons-until the authorities of Sao Paulo de Oli- venga ordered his arrest for tax evasion (see p. 138). In spite of the attraction this instrument has for the Tukuna, they produce very little music from it, never play- ing their tribal melodies but only those which they learn from festivities of Neo- brazilians in the region, who, for their part, are far from possessing the musical talent of the northeastern Brazilians. POTTERY One finds evidence in the kitchen that the Tukuna still produce pottery. This art is principally practiced by women, but not exclusively so, for many men also per- form this task to perfection, whereas many women never devote themselves to it. In all the igarapes inhabited by the Tukuna, a plastic potters' clay of good qual- ity is found more or less frequently; it almost always occurs in the sloughs at the foot of the high bluffs along the river. This raw material is accorded a certain respect, since its patron is an aquatic monster, dye'vae, which at times presents itself in the form of the western rainbow. The clay is said to become useless if a pregnant woman touches or even ap- proaches it: it will not bind, and the jars, on drying, will shatter into pieces. It is considered very dangerous for a woman in this condition to go to the bank to fetch clay, as illustrated by the following legend.7 Once, a group of women went to a bank to collect clay for pottery. A woman big with child insisted on accompanying them in spite of the others counseling her not to. The others had already dug out the clay that they needed and had piled it on the bank, where they were still standing when the pregnant woman, seeing nothing suspicious, went down to dig clay, too. She squatted down in the middle of the pit, which was half-filled with water, and took out clay with both hands. Suddenly, dye'vae, down at the bottom, allowed a muffled roar to be heard. The women on the bank heard it and cried out: "The owner of the clay is angry I Cone up quickly I" "What is the matter?" replied the pregnant one. "I heard nothing." And she continued to dig. She had just taken out a good quantity of clay when a muffled thunderclap was heard. 8 Tessmann, p. 561. 7 Cf. the legend of tau/eipe, p. 120. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna "Come up, come up!" screamed her companions. But she replied: "It is nothing. A thunder- storm is approaching." But when she still continued, a stronger clap of thunder was heard. Then, frightened, she attempted to get out of the clay pit, but the furious dye'vae seized her, pulled her to the bottom, and she was never seen again. Ceramic technique.-The clay, at first a yellowish gray, is mixed with a large percentage of husk ash of the caraipe (T., pu'ru),' which gives it a darker color. The potter works with the material on top of a wooden slab, on which is placed a round, green leaf of a sort of liana called eci-pa'ti, one of the Menispermaceae. On the small base of all Tukuna vases one always notes the impressions of the leaf veins of this plant. After making this small, circular, bottom piece, the potter con- structs the vase, raising the sides by laying hoops of clay one on top of the other and pressing them together with the fingers (pl. 7, f). The sides are then scraped a b c d e f g Fig. 8. Pottery. a, b. Large bowls, x 245. c, d. Pots, x F45. e, f. Jars, x 145. g. Jug, x 4/5. to the desired thickness with a rectangular piece of gourd rounded at the corners, or with the plug of a snail shell, and the lip of the vase is smoothed with a piece of moistened fungus (orelha de pau). The potter, coming to the widest part of the vase, props it up so that the still soft sides will not fall in through their own weight; she uses small supports of the frondstalk of the burity palm, or a hoop, with attached supports, made from a piece of the stalk. Propped up in this way, the piece is left to dry slowly in the shade. After the clay has become so firm that the shoring may be dispensed with, the surface of the piece is carefully polished with a seed stone of the anaja palm. The ware is fired in the yard in an inverted position, covered with fine kindling and pieces of dry tree bark. The pots (buete're), when not completely lacking in decoration, show rows of impressions below the lip or at the point of greatest diameter (fig. 8, c, d). The plates and bowls, both called curi in Tukuna, never have handles. Pots and igagabas (T., bari', jars for fermented drinks) are almost always painted with a white or gray mineral base with the designs in red (urucui), which turns maroon after firing. The water jugs, tQ'nn (fig. 8, g; pl. 6, b), are globular or subglobular, with a short neck. The jars, which sometimes have a height of 80 cm. and an almost equal diameter, are conical in the lower part, subglobular in the upper. These are always 8 Licania scabra Hook, a wood rich in silicate. 47 48 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. painted with a meandering pattern of maroon on a white background; sometimes there are also coarsely painted figures of people, animals, and plants. Sometimes, though rarely, the surfaces of the jugs have also plastic decorations in the shape of animals-frogs, toads, lizards, and so forth-which give the impression of climb- ing up the belly of the piece (pl. 6, c). In a rubber-smoking hut made by a Tukuna rubber gatherer (seringueiro), I once even saw a hearth decorated in this fashion. No Neobrazilian rubber gatherer ever felt the urge to give such an object an artistic aspect! Decoration, plastic as well as painted, is used principally on certain small vases serving as containers for trifles, on which the potters lavish all their artistic skill (pl. 6, g). In elegance of form and purity of style of painted decorations the pottery of the Tukuna falls far short of the pottery of their neighbors, the Kokama, and there is no evidence that it was formerly on a higher level than today. VI. CHARACTER AND SOCIAL LIFE AT FIRST SIGHT the Tukuna appear to be a very peaceful, industrious, and good- tempered folk. Some writers, however, accuse them of laziness, the foremost of these being Ribeiro de Sampaio, who opens his description of the tribe in 1774 with the sentence: "Sao os Tecunas de hum natural preguigozissimo" ("The Tukuna are of a most indolent temperament")).' Martius speaks of their "indolence and innate intemperance."' Bates calls them "much more idle and debauched than the other Indians belonging to superior tribes,"' and on the following page he observes: "I found them a harmless, good-natured people." Orton repeats this judgment almost to the letter: "good-natured and ingenious ... but they are idle and debauched."' Herndon calls his Tukuna paddlers "even more lazy and careless than the Sarayaquinos,"' but he later reflects: "Poor fellows! They have been abused and maltreated so long that they are now insensible even to kindness." And again, "The Ticunas that I had with me, however, were far the laziest and most worthless people that I had hitherto had anything to do with."' But again this author remarks: "I believe that this [i.e., worthlessness] is not a characteristic of the tribe, for they seemed well enough under Father Flores at Caballococha, and they have generally a rather good reputation among the whites on the river. I imagine that the prox- imity of the garrison at Tabatinga has not a good effect upon their manners and morals." Barbosa Rodrigues finally declares firmly: "In general they are hard workers and of a peaceful temperament. It is only the civilized white who drives them to it [retaliation] by persecution, rape, robbery or by maltreatment, since these qual- ities cannot be denied them in their wild state." The fact is, that even today one encounters the most contradictory opinions of the Tukuna character, each opinion depending largely on the observer's own atti- tude toward the people. Until about thirty years ago, when rubber was fetching fabulous sums, the Tukuna were brutally tyrannized by their civilized masters, who usurped all of their lands and treated the Indians practically as slaves. Even today there are in the region a few die-hards of this class of domineering squire- archs who arrogate to themselves the trusteeship of the Indians, as though it were their primordial right-indeed, almost duty-as self-appointed civilized persons. Now, however, their power is fast declining, and the Tukuna who recognize this are labeled "rebels," "insubordinate," and "loafers," because they refuse to work any longer under the old conditions; "thieves," because they feel that, even though they steal as much as possible from the Neobrazilians, they cannot possibly steal as much as the Neobrazilians have stolen from them; and "treacherous," because they will not suffer outrages and violences without retaliation. I lived absolutely alone among the Tukuna for many months, and from the be- ginning I always felt completely at ease among them. Even before I became inti- IRibeiro de Sampaio, Diario da viagem ... 1774 e 1775, ? 212. 2 Martius, 1:443. 3 Bates, 2:401. 4Orton, p. 320. 6Herndon and Gibbon, 1:247. aIbid., p. 252. [49] 50 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. mate with them I was always treated courteously. For my canoe they offered more paddlers than I needed. I used to leave my trunks open when I temporarily left the house where I was a guest, the baggage containing articles coveted by the Indians. They would rummage through my gear to the very bottom and knew better than I what each piece contained, but during all this long period of living among them, they robbed me of two cigarettes! This was the experience likewise of the botanist Ricardo Froes, who, as has been said, also lived among them in various localities for several months in 1941. There are, therefore, certain persons toward whom the Tukuna feel a moral obligation, but for this they must be convinced that the person with whom they are dealing is incapable of lying to them or exploiting them, a conviction which presupposes, on the part of the strangers, a frank and friendly attitude toward the native culture. However, with their own tribesmen they do not always consider similar conduct absolutely obligatory, so that one finds examples of notorious hostility, ill will, and even dishonesty. The Tukuna were exemplary in their honesty with Ricardo Fro6es and myself, but I was present once at a feast when an Indian ripped open with his knife another man's sack of clothes, deliberately stealing them; and there are other confirmed thefts from houses during the Indian owners' absence. Actually, under normal conditions the Tukuna are calm and pacific, but some of them become insolent and dangerous when drunk. Frequently, at their drinking bouts at least one major quarrel occurs, and often there are injuries and fatalities. At first I took these scenes only for the end products of old hatreds and resentments, thinking that all these offenses and crimes had some serious motive, more or less unknown, which the Indians concealed. But I was finally convinced that this was not so. The Indians describe these affairs without constraint and in detail, but when one inquires the reason for the disorder, "They fight because they want to" is the only explanation that one obtains, or "So-and-so always fights when he is drunk"; the event is thus sufficiently explained. Strangely enough, a quarrel of this sort never broke out in my presence, though I attended a good number of their drinking bouts. On one occasion an Indian armed himself with a machete to attack another, but my fixing my eyes upon him with the natural interest that the situation deserved was enough to make him pass the weapon to the other and draw off. Accordingly, I believe that if at these affairs a person were present who exercised some moral authority, all such quarrels could be nipped in the bud. The trouble is, that among all these Tukuna there is appar- ently no one whose authority they will recognize. Their individualism, concretely expressed in their habit of living in isolated houses, and in the absence of any bond except the blood tie, will not tolerate the intervention of a chief in their outbursts of anger or in their personal problems. I know of no other tribe in which one may observe such sudden transports of fury and examples of lack of self-control as occur now and then among the Tukuna. From childhood they differ from other Indians in this respect. They quarrel like civilized children, and in their houses I have heard almost as much bellowing from enraged youngsters as in Neobrazilian homes. I have observed little brothers, in childish pranks, chasing each other with a machete or a firebrand. One day a little Nimuendaju: The Tukuna girl nine years old and her brother of seven were at the door of their house. The girl, amusing herself by killing minnows on the bank with a machete, cut herself lightly on the leg and started to wail. The boy, seeing the alarmed father approach- ing on the run, thought it best not to trust to the paternal judgment and, finding his escape blocked, threw himself into the water and fled by swimming, although he was entirely innocent. The father, seeing his blood-stained daughter and the fleeing boy, concluded without further reflection that the latter had wounded his sister. The boy was already out of reach, so the father seized a paddle weighing at least three kilograms and without hesitation hurled it after the fugitive. The missile struck the child's head, by the merest chance not killing him but opening up a wide gash in his scalp. The father, still infuriated, ignored the possible consequences, left the injured boy in the igapo, and returned to the house with the girl. Only at dusk the mother heard the boy's sobs in the jungle and went out to fetch him home. An Indian of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, Cazemiro nuunki, flew into a temper at his wife one day, unjustly suspecting that she had been unfaithful. Terrified at her husband's rage, the woman fled into the jungle and could not bring herself to return, no matter how often and persistently he called her. Then Cazemiro in his fury set fire to the house and with his machete leveled all the fruit trees that he himself had planted about it. A little later he made his peace with the woman, but because their place had been destroyed, he and the woman were obliged to move in with her parents until he had shamefacedly rebuilt it. I know of still another instance of an Indian's destroying all his personal belongings with his own hands. More tragic than these imbecilities are the suicides committed in rage. In 1941 a woman, some thirty years old, who lived with her parents at Barreiras de Belem, went to the riverbank in a mood of drunken melancholy. There she drank a little rum and bought another bottle, which she took to her mother. The latter replied that the daughter could keep the rum; she wanted none of it. With no further word the daughter proceeded to the neighboring garden clearing (roga), dis- solved fish drug (timbo) in a gourd of water, and drank it. Someone heard her faint cry, but since no one suspected what she was doing, no importance was attached to it, and it was not until later that the body of the suicide was found. A week afterward, this same woman's nephew, called Beni, about twenty years old, also committed suicide in the same spot by drinking timbo. Before daybreak he had gone out to fish, returning about nine o'clock with a surubim, which he handed to his wife, a very young girl whom he had married just a short time before. Seeing that the little wife was not overeager to prepare the fish, he grew angry and finally struck her. His stepfather intervened, saying: "Well, and was it to have a woman to beat that you married?" This was enough to send Beni silently out of the house and into hiding, where he took the drug. About the same time, another suicide occurred in Igarap6 de Belem. A boy of sixteen returned with his relatives from a labor festival. He was not drunk, but when the canoe touched the bank, they noticed that he leaped ashore angry, for no perceptible reason. He ran up the slope above, entered the house, where he immediately mounted the platform (giriu), and flung himself under the mosquito 51 52 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. net. His mother and aunt, taking their burden baskets, went to fetch manioc roots, which they had put to soak; the uncle was bathing near by. Aside from the youth, there remained in the house only a little boy some seven years old. Sud- denly the youth fell from the platform, which was about 21/2 m. above the ground, and for some time remained immobile on the floor. Then he said: "Why didst thou quarrel with me ? Now I shall leave!" He arose and took to the jungle. The little boy followed him in bewilderment; but the youth, noticing him, left the trail and hid himself. A little later he returned to the house, staggering, fell upon a box, and there died of the poison he had taken. There is one very serious motive for feuds and murder among the Tukuna: the suspicion that certain persons are using their magical powers to the detriment of others. Without exaggeration, this suspicion affects 10 per cent of the total popula- tion, with varying intensity; it is confirmed and accepted by some, denied by others. In the section on "Magic and Religion" I shall discuss this subject in more detail. Drunkenness.-Drunkenness is the Tukuna's national vice and their only one. At their feasts, men, women, and children drink, and perhaps half the men and a tenth of the women and children become intoxicated. Many continue to dance even when drunk, beating a drum and singing without annoying anyone; but some become troublesome and offensive. Others, exclusively men, drink until they collapse into a hammock or in some corner, or even in the yard, where they vomit and sleep it off; still others grow quarrelsome, provoking more or less serious brawls that result in injuries or even deaths. The small extent to which alcohol arouses the sexual instinct in Indians is notable; the youths drink, dance, and beat drums with their companions through- out the nights and days, apparently having no eyes for the girls, who in groups of two to five are doing the same thing. I have never seen Tukuna youths, whether drunk or sober, fighting over girls. However, at these parties, in some corner of the house or yard there is in- variably a group of men, already more or less senile, who humor themselves with obscene jokes, accompanied by hoots of laughter and illustrative gestures, though they never annoy the opposite sex with their nastiness. Industry.-One cannot tax the Tukuna with being "most indolent," as did Ribeiro de Sampaio; and the yarn about the Indian who lives with his family for a whole week on a bunch of bananas, passing the entire time sleepin-g or swinging in his hammock, appears quite different to a firsthand observer. Except for those who are on the road to ruin because of their dependence upon civilized establishments, above all on rum stills, the Tukuna maintain a stable economy in their own lives. Many of them through their own efforts succeed in obtaining such material improvements as good firearms, iron tools, and sufficient clothing-even sewing machines. Unmarried youths work least-when they do not hire themselves out to the Neobrazilians-but girls and married couples are hardly ever idle except after sundown. Usually, whenever I sought out a Tukuna, it happened that nobody was at home, or at most, only the children were. It was necessary to wait until after- noon when the owners returned to the house from their work. The reason that Nimuendaju': The Tukuna there are no Tukuna who sit around all week eating just bananas is because they like, above all, to eat fish, which obliges them to go fishing almost every day; sometimes the catch is small. Again, once in awhile, they wish to eat game, which they can obtain only by extensive trips through the country. The husband must clear the undergrowth and burn it for his plantation. The house needs repairs, and his weapons and fishing tackle require constant attention. He cuts and sews the clothes for his family, with remarkable ability, makes a canoe for his own use or to sell at a good price, and helps his wife weed the garden, make farinha, and fetch kindling or fruits from the jungle. The wife, who must take care of the children and kitchen, clean the house and clothing, spin tucum thread, make hammocks or baskets or pottery, obviously has no time for swinging in a hammock either. Furthermore, many take enormous pleasure in their planta- tions, spending the better part of the day there. That the Tukuna are neither intellectually lazy nor obtuse in understanding is proved by the many alien culture elements which they have adopted and assimi- lated with real advantage to themselves: first, the uba of the Omagua, then the casco of the Neobrazilians, in place of the small, primitive canoe of paxiuba barriguda; the mosquito net and subsequent modification of the house; the manu- facture of manioc flour, which gives them an appreciable income; clothing, which is a necessity in a land infested by mosquitoes; firearms, sewing machines, and many other items of lesser importance. All in all, most members of the tribe at least are free from that snobbishness which impels some Indians thoughtlessly to ape the Neobrazilians and to depre- cate their own traditions. The Tukuna have preserved the purity of their own language, having adopted not more than two dozen words from the Portuguese, and there is no evidence of bastardization or decadence in the grammar. The puberty ceremonies with their complicated ritual still persist today, and moiety exogamy continues to be rigorously maintained. Similarly, the religion of the Tukuna in its fundamental concepts has been kept free of Christian influence. This is why the Tukuna have survived to this day as a numerous tribe, with their own ethnic characteristics, whereas all the other tribes that were formerly their neighbors have disappeared. VISITS In spite of their rebellious individualism, their occasional choleric outbreaks, and their constant fear of witchcraft, the Tukuna are far from being unsociable folk. Reciprocal visits are extremely frequent, and invitations to festive reunions are at times so numerous that the recipient with the best will in the world cannot attend them all. An Indian may suddenly feel the desire to visit an acquaintance, friend, or relative, frequently one who dwells a few days' canoe journey away. He loads his mosquito net, some tururi cloth, and clothing into a burden basket, placing it in the canoe, together with a hamper of farinha, a cooking pot, some gourds, and his fishing gear, and covering it all with a mat of banana leaves. (P1. 4.) Finally, the family also embarks-the dog, the parrot, and the tiny monkey, too-and they voyage forth through the igarapes, sinks, and lakes. When nearing the house of the person to whom the visit is being paid, the traveler 53 54 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. announces his coming by the sound of his paddling, the strokes of which can be heard from afar. He then draws his canoe inshore but remains seated in it for about half an hour, without glancing at the house, while the host pays him not the slightest attention. Only later do visitor and host approach each other, the former bringing his baggage to the house, in which there is always enough room for him to be lodged without the slightest inconvenience to the inmates. Formerly, the guest was accorded a type of martial reception, which Marcoy describes. When a visitor entered a house, all the men present seized their spears, pointing them toward the newcomer and pretending to bar the way. The guest, however, knowing the meaning of this procedure, pushed the weapons aside with his hands, entered, and seated himself in the first hammock. The owner of the house then asked: "Who art thou? Friend or enemy? Whence comest thou? What dost thou wish ?" The answer was easily given, since the visitor had only come to trade and so forth. They say that in Peru this form of reception is still practiced. The visit customarily lasts several days or even weeks, but does not grow bur- densome to the host, since the !guests bring all they need with which to provide their own food by hunting or fishing. More often than not, the owner of the house shares his meals with the visitors, who do likewise with the host's family. FESTivALS Gatherings by special invitation to selected individuals have much more social and economic importance than personal visits have, whether these guests are invited to participate in collective tasks of major importance-clearing a plantation, pre- paring house thatch, making preparations for great feasts, such as the puberty feast-or to take part in one of the ceremonies of painting and name bestowal, hair plucking and perforation of ears and septum, haircutting, change of voice in youths, first menstruation, or some similar occasion. We have already noted (p. 13) that the thatch trimming of a new house is also carried out with festivities. Labor festivals.-There is a large class of ceremonies for which the guests arrive in the morning, receive a meal and gourds of drink from the hosts, then all go out together to work. That night they drink, dance, and sing until the following day. These gatherings, which are entirely profane, are called vayuri' (uajuri, ajuri) or pi'ta. The first of these terms, vayuri', is an alteration of the Portuguese word for assistance, ajuda, which passed into the lingua geral to designate these gather- ings for communal work without payment; the second, pe'ta, is the Portuguese word for party, festa, pronounced in the Tukuna manner. This suggests that the Tukuna did not have this institution before contact with the Neobrazilians, among whom it is in great vogue; but one must also consider the possibility that it was already known by the Tukuna, who only adopted the present form and the Portuguese terminology. Rites of passage.-The rites of passage have, however, a religious basis and are great ceremonies; the generic designation is dyifl'. Sometimes more than three hundred persons are present at these, and the celebration with its concomitant drinking lasts for three days and three nights. The vayuri' as well as the dy "', are above all drinking bouts, not banquets. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna ADULT GAMES According to my informants, the feasts were not formerly-as they are today- dedicated exclusively to ceremonies, dances, and drinking bouts, for someone would always recite legends and historical traditions to the company, and the guests would gather in the yard for social games. I have found vestiges of the former custom but have never seen Tukuna adults playing games. I was told that the last person to promote such games was a curing shaman of reputation in the Igarap.e da Rita, named Romao, who died in 1936. There were three social games: a ball game, peteca (pa:'/tb), hoop and stick (nainpenjn, hoop), and tug of war. The peteca, from which the first game takes its name, is a ball stuffed with dried maize shucks, which is batted into the air with the palm of the hand, great care being taken that the ball does not fall to the ground. The players, all men, form a circle. Tessmann denies that the Tukuna played ball games, but though I have never seen one, I have myself picked up balls that had been thrown into a corner after a game. The second game is played with hoops of elastic cipo about a half meter or more in diameter, and sticks as thick as one's finger and about one meter long. The players face each other at a distance of some thirty paces, and one throws the hoop vertically to the ground in the direction of his opponent, who catches it with his stick as it bounces high in its course. In South America the gerente of Goyaz have the same game.' The tug of war is also mentioned by Tessmann. The men divide into two teams, which try to vanquish each other by pulling the opposite ends of a long, thick piece of cipo. The Tukuna call this the "jaboti"' ("tortoise") game and say: "ne'ia8 kj iabi' na !" ("Let us play the jaboti"). The reference is to one of the episodes of the well-known cycle of Jaboti legends from the lingua geral. In the Tupi tale, "The Yauti and the Caapura,"9 Jaboti makes the pirahyba and the caapura contend with each other by pulling on a hammock cord. The Tukuna identified the Jaboti of these tales, previously unknown to them, with the meta.re of their own legends. 7Nimuendajfi, The ier6nte, p. 74. 8 T. for jaboti 9 T'astevin, A lenda do jabuti, p. 419. 55 VII. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION CLANS THE TRIBE is divided into some thirty clans, grouped into moieties, whose names I could never discover; I shall therefore refer to them here simply as A and B. The Tukuna language has only one word, kja', for both tribe and clan. In Brazil, moiety A has fifteen clans, moiety B twenty-one. It is possible that in Colombia and Peru there are Tukuna clans that are not represented in Brazil. Descent is patrilineal. Members of different clans but of the same moiety deal with one an- other reciprocally as ma'ine, "brother" (vocative). The Tukuna know that, whether in Peru, Colombia, or Brazil, they form a homogeneous and distinct people compared with the other Indian tribes or the Neo-American nations. However, they have never had the slightest political cohesion. A certain feeling of solidarity unites clansmen, even extending to all the clans of the same moiety. At least I noticed that, if no other considerations were in- volved, in any problem the Indian would automatically place himself and his sympathies on the side of the members of his clan or moiety without, however, being morally obligated to aid them. Of the fifteen clans of moiety A, twelve have the names of trees, two the names of insects, and one the name of a mammal. Clans of Moiety A Clan Related Tree or Animal Additional Correlation a:'ru ..... auahy grande (Thevetia sp.) dyal'; acutipurfi, squirrel (Sciurus sp.) ceveru ... .. auahy pequeno ( t), a bird na'inyQr ... .. safiva (Atta sp.), ant Tessmann's "naika" teku .. ... safiva (another speciest) diva' . .... seringarana, a tree a'i (onQa pintada), spotted jaguar, Tessmann's "aika" n8'/nin ... .. pau mulato, a tree (sp. ?) ne'/ma suguarana (Felis concolor) 'ebb .. ... acapli, tree (Vouacapoua sp.) a'iru, dog e .. ... genipapo (Genipa sp.) dya4'; acutipurd, squirrel, (Sciurus sp.) (another sp. ?) pu'kire ... .. muirapiranga (Brosiumt sp.) Min' .. ... carana (Mauritia carana, Wall.) te'ma ... .. burity grosso (Mauritia sp.) va'ira ... .. aqahy (Euterpe sp.) a'icanari .... . genipapo do igap6, tree (sp. ?) keiture ... .. maracaja grande (Felis pardalis) nyi%niPC ... .. burity fino (Mauritia sp.) [ 56] Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Of the trees, five are identified with animals. Probably the clan ke'turb (maracaja grande; Felis pardalis) is also to be identified with some tree, perhaps with the pu'kire, but of this I am not certain. The identification of trees with mammals is due to the mystic Tukuna conception of the soul (nain-arj ma'-ui) which certain trees possess. The tree's soul leaves it during the night in the form of the animal with which the tree is identified, returning at daybreak. "a'i-kja' na inin ya civa"' ("Clan Jaguar is seringarana") or "a'i na inin na-are ya civa"' ("Ser- ingarana has the soul of the painted jaguar"). In vain I tried to discover the reason for including the two clans having insect names with these clans that have tree names; no soul of a tree takes the sauiva ant as its nocturnal form. Two informants told me independently that the relation between trees and sauiva was that the ants were in the habit of crawling on trees. All the clans of Moiety B have the names of birds. Clans of Moiety B' Clan Related Bird Additional Correlation ta'u .. .. toucan (Rhamphastos sp.) tuyuyu' .. .. tujujiu (Tantalus loculator) aive'ru .... urumuttim (Nothocrax urumuturn) kauri' .. .. japihim (Cassicus cela, L. sp.) barn .. .. japt (Ostinops decumanus, Pall.) Aa' . ... arara vermelho (Ara macao) 6ara' .. .. arara canind4 (Ara ararauna) va' . ... maracana grande (Ara maracana ?) a'/ta .. .. maracana; another species (Ara sp. ?) v6u' .... parrot (Amazona sp.) iiu/nwg .... mutum cavallo (Mitua mitu) Tessmann's "noenoka" maru .... maracana; another species (Ara sp. A) ea .. .. urubfi rei (Gypagus papa) da:'vl .. .. gaviao real (Thrassaetus harkpya) puna'ka .. .. arapaqo (Nasica sp.) ata .. .. chicken 8,/nb .. .. parakeet (Conurus sp. ?) dyaviru .. .. jaburti (Myeteria americana) na'una .. ... 80C (Ardea sp.) or maguary (Ardea cocoi) . The relations between the clan member and the tree or animal the name of which he bears are extremely few and do not follow any rule whatsoever. It is clear that members of the macaw clans, cara' and voo', formerly used facial tattooing in designs similar to the facial feathering of these birds. I did not suc- 1 It will be noted that the author lists only 19 clans here, although he has previously referred to 21.-Ed. 57 58 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. ceed in obtaining any evidence to show whether the other clans also had any characteristic or distinctive facial tattoo, for this practice was abandoned so long ago that the memory of it has been obliterated. The former existence of similar distinctive elements, now lost, would explain some of the differences in the statements of the early writers about Tukuna facial tattooing (see p. 39). Nino once told me that the members of the clan o'/ta' (chicken) could be recognized from afar, since, when walking, they used to nod their heads just like chickens, but as this clan did not live in that locality, he could not prove his statement by concrete examples. In conversation, a certain Indian told some others that he was a runt because he belonged to the clan ce've'ru, the name of a small kind of auahy. Lastly, an Indian once said that I should belong to the clan kaure' (Japihim) because, like that bird, I had blue eyes. In any case, the idea that some characteristic of the eponym should, or may, appear in the members of a clan is not entirely strange to the Tukuna. In the feather ornaments used even today at the rites of passage there is not a single clan distinction. On the wall of the girl's seclusion hut a figure of a deer is painted, not because this animal is related to any clan, but because the deer is the symbol of that vigilance which the girl and those responsible for her should observe. It is said that the members of the clan te'ma (Burity) formerly spoke a lan- guage different from the others', a statement that could be true only if this clan had been collectively localized. There is a legend that refers to the origin of the clans, but not of their names, since it relates only how the culture hero dyai', after fishing, in the company of his brother e'pi, for the first men, separated his people from his brother's, this separation being the origin of the moieties. After- ward he ordered a jacuraru' to be cooked, and all were obliged to taste the broth; thus each one learned to which clan he belonged. According to another versioni, a pot containing a boiled jacuruxy was sent from heaven by ta-V ("Our Mother") for the same purpose (see p. 114). I do not believe that these facts justify classify- ing the Tukuna clans as totemic, as the Capuchin missionary Frei Fidelis, after only lightly touching the subject, would like to do.2 There is not a trace of belief in a mystical parenthood common to members of a clan and the respective tree or animal correlated with it, nor do these correlations represent any emotional value. The personal name.-There is one element, however, by which an informed person may recognize an individual's clan without directly asking him: the per- sonal name, which in veiled fashion indicates or connotes the tree or animal of the clan by reference to some quality, as illustrated in the following tabulation. Clan cival (Seringarana; jaguar) Personal Name Meaning Analysis c uaneY-ki ...... false [jaguar], that is, one that uan6', false; ki, masc does not pursue man name suffix ( nunbeti-ki ... ... evil-eyed [jaguar] nun, bad; e'tj, eye 2 The author's opinion only. Most anthropologists would unhesitatingly dub the phenomenon totemic.-Ed. Nimuendajui: The Tukuna d flu/mei-ki .... .... [jaguar] who places hand on top [of human tracks] d me'mati-kj ..... ... [jaguar] of handsome markings c dya:'ga-ki ..... ... [jaguar] who cries from afar 3 alunki-na .... .... dangerous [jaguar] ? meWitl-na ........ handsome tracks [of jaguar], that is, fresh tracks i cita'-na ... ..... [seringarana] on the ground [i.e., rotten] ? bu :'/n6-na ..... ... plump [seringarana] ? dauflati-na ..... ... red leaf [of seringarana] 59 Refers to supposed custom of jaguar's placing its paw on a man's tracks; if the trail is cold, the animal will not follow it. me, handsome; tl, markings dya: ga, to cry from afar na a'ukima, she is dangerous; na, fem. name suffix m8, handsome; 6au-eitl', my tracks na'il ta, fallen tree bu:'/ne, plump, chubby da'u, red; Aa'ti, leaf It is noteworthy that all the masculine names refer to an animal, the jaguar, whereas the feminine, for the most part, refer to a tree, the seringarana. Personal Name d 66r66-ki ............ Clan a: 'ru (Auahy grande; agou Meaning J tu :'rb6-ki .......... ? dee'-na ............. ? vbgilne-na .......... g ee: 'ni . [fruit] being picked [from auahy tree] [agouti] that likes [to eat fruit of] matamata iti) Analysis nanine88, wider at the bottom; re, lengthened. Refers to the auahy-hull rattles hanging together from a cord so that the volume of the rattles is greater at the bottom than at the top where they are tied. tu:, to hang; re, lengthened. Refers to the pendant hulls of auahy fruit. W6, to pick, pluck v6gi, passing here to there (as a cip6 or harpoon line stretched for dry- ing). Refers to new auahy shoots, which are similar to cipo. vi/vi' reproduces onomatopoetically the noise made by the agouti gnawing fruits. 6e:, envira de matamata; nin, to like [to eat] Clan MiP' (Red macaw, arara Personal Name Meaning d kvaita'einjn-kj ...... [macaw] beating wings [seated] J yuci-ki ........... [macaw] hopping [from one branch to another] ? Aueire-na ........... [macaw that lets] fall the re [of the fruit] i gYle-ki ........... [macaw] that flew vermelho) Analysis tal&injin, wing; na kva'i, beat yuu', to jump from one place to another >st Au, to fall; cire, the rest na'in gale, he flew d vi/vi,6-ki ..... ..... 60 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Clan Au/net (Horse turkey, mtutm cavallc) Personal Name Meaning Analysis e Q'kira-ki ........ [turkey] that grows a tail 9, to form; kjra', tail [of a bird] d' te'aDkira-kj ........ [turkey] spreading tail in fan te, to spread tail in a fan; kjra', tail [of a bird] A aua'`-na ........ [turkey] that arrives suddenly Au, to arrive; al'i, suddenly. The tur- key, after bathing in the clay pit of the taitetius, dries itself by hopping out with a sudden leap. S mbIiti-na ........ [turkey] of good sight me, good; e'ti, eye, vision, sight Certain persons, old women especially, command a rich repertoire of various clan names, hence they are summoned and consulted when a child is to be given a name. According to Monteiro Noronha and those who quote him, the name was given after circumcision, that is, "shortly after birth." "This [circumcision] cere- mony is a result' of giving a name to the children with celebrations [and] dances in the presence of a horrible figure which is said to be the Devil [dance mask]."' Today the name is given when the child is one day old, after the bath; it is con- ferred by a maternal relative, a member of the moiety complementary to the child's, with a preference for the grandmother in whose house the parents and relatives have gathered with the newborn infant. First, however, names are proposed by one of the women who understand these things, as mentioned above, who are invited for this purpose. Afterward the name is newly proclaimed and confirmed at the ceremony of painting the child red with urucui, when it begins to crawl, and at the hair-plucking ceremony, when the child is two years old. The proclamation of the name is always accompanied by the shout of "yen !" and the raising of the child's ornaments into the air. Nowadays, the Tukuna, except some children, are all baptized by Capuchin friars of SAo Paulo de Olivenga and bear Portuguese names, often pronounced so as to be quite unrecognizable. Some persons are known only by their baptismal names, even among their tribesmen; but without exception all have and know their native names, and I never observed on the part of the owners any reluctance to divulge their names when asked to do so. MomrIEs The Tukuna refer to the clan quite frequently, but never to the moiety, yet the latter is of much greater importance. The principal function of the moieties is exogamy, although the Tukuna are not aware of the existence of their dual organ- ization; they know only that members of certain clans may not marry members of certain others. Literal translation. The statements are contradictory: "name given after circumcision"; "[circumcision] a result of giving a name."--Trans. 4Monteiro Noronha, ? 140. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Only one of my informants ever told me a version of the legend of man's creation, attributing the institution of moieties to the culture hero, dyai'. A great number of these people who were first fished for by dyoi' and e'pi were then thrown together helter-skelter, but dyoi' separated his to the east and those of e'pi to the west. [The episode of the institution of clans (see p. 129) follows.] Afterward, he made some marry others. This version, however, is in accordance with the association of the two culture heroes, as well as the moieties, with the east and west, respectively. For moiety A the position of children and of girls at rites of passage, when prescribed, is always with the face to the east, and the girl's seclusion hut in the puberty ceremony is always placed-at least it was formerly-at the east wall of the house. Moiety B is oriented in the opposite direction. Thus, the men created by dyai' and e'pi would be those of moieties B and A (sic) respectively,' but though men of both moieties deal with ta-na'tj ("Our Father"), I never found the slightest indication that some consider themselves the descendants of dyai' and others those of e'pi, the former being always glorified to the disparagement of the latter. In the puberty ceremony there are some significant differences between the two moieties. Thus, the turtleshell drum, pa: 'vi, is used exclusively by clans of moiety A, whereas the stamping tubes, ba:'/ma, and the bamboo horns, kan'iri, belong to clans of moiety B. Lately, the stamping tube has been introduced into the ritual of the Japui and Maguary clans of moiety B, a practice which two of my informants held to be an unwarranted innovation.! EXOGAMY The tenacity with which the Tukuna respect their laws of exogamy even today, their implacable liquidation of the transgressor, and the complete incomprehension of this by the Neobrazilians, even the priests, are the most serious obstacles to frank promiscuity with the Neobrazilian population, and by preventing such promiscuity they efficiently contribute to the preservation of the tribe. The Tukuna regard the civilizados, among whom incest is not uncommon, with a certain contempt, not only because of Indian prejudice but also because the Brazilian law forbids incest, even though they attach no great importance to the law itself. A priest who eventually gives dispensation for the marriage of a man with the daughter of the man's own brother loses the Indians' respect, though a man's marriage with the daughter of his sister is a different matter. Incest, va: 'maci,' includes not only carnal union between individuals of the same moiety, but any disrespect shown the sex of a person in the prohibited degree of kinship, such as a simple, involuntary glance at the Igenitals. According to legend, the first person guilty of incest was e'pi, brother of the culture hero dyoi'. Desiring to take by force half of a royal hawk that his sister mova'ca had concealed between her knees, he touched her genitals. She was immediately transformed into a col- lared peccary (taitetu'), but the demon ma/ci' of the jaguar race killed her with 6There is a discrepancy here. According to the legend given above, dyai"s people (moiety A) are oriented to the east, e'pi's (moiety B) to the west.-Trans. 6 Another discrepancy? The ba:'/ma belongs to moiety B but is also a recent introduction.- Trans. 7"Confused flesh": va:, a jumble of wood fibers entangled with a cip6 or liana; na: -maei, flesh. 61 62 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. an arrow in the form of a hornet. She was revived by dyoi', who killed ma/ci'. The spirit of ma/cii' is in heaven today, where, as soon as the souls of the incestuous arrive, it assaults them. It is then that one hears the muted humming of the hornets of ma/ci'.' Incest is considered, in the first place, to be a sin against the goddess ta-e', who, according to one version of the legend (p. 114) gave to the first men knowledge of their clans by means of jacuruxy broth, which she sent them from heaven. To a man guilty of incest she said: "Thou art corrupting the people !" and punished him in life with madness, giving him the soul of an animal. After death, when his soul succeeded in passing unharmed through the poles of the gate to/ri'ta and arrived at the house of ta-e', she loosed upon him two monsters (6ar6'ruma), which tore him to pieces.' An incestuous act committed casually but not repeated is strongly censured and ridiculed, the guilty one being labeled an "e'pi," although this offense does not expose him permanently to collective scorn to the point of exclusion from social activities. After his death, ta-e' will send the two CarV'ruma to lick his soul from head to toe, thus cleansing it of the sin it bears so that it may be received like any other soul. Prolonged and public incest causes horror and repugnance, constituting a dis- grace and intolerable shame for the relatives and, like similarly prohibited unions, may result in blood tragedies. A man named cie formed an incestuous alliance with the daughter of his paternal uncle and had several children by her. One day, when he had appeared at a celebration of one dya'iva, his nephew, the latter accused him to his face of the sin. In a fury ce threatened his nephew with a machete, but dya'iva killed him with one shot. His partner in incest fled with her offspring and was never seen again. During my stay among the Tukuna of Igarape Tacana in June, 1941, the follow- ing incident occurred. An Indian named Abilio murdered a woman and her suck- ling babe, "naturally" because of jealousy, said the Neobrazilians. The real reason, however, was this: Abilio's father-in-law, Joaquim tauaru' of the a'i clan, some fifty years old and several times a grandfather, began to maintain sexual relations with a daughter of his deceased brother. His wife and her son Moaca did everything to dissolve this union, but Joaquim tauaru' paid no attention to anyone, turning furious if anyone discussed the situation. As is the custom among Indians, the affair took a long time to reach the boiling point, which happened only after the girl had a child. It was then that Moaca and his mother, who had left the house in disgust and had fallen gravely ill, decided to put an end to this shameful state of affairs. As the offender's son, Moaca was loth to take action personally and so persuaded his brother-in-law, Abilio, of the same clan as Joaquim tauaru"s wife, to kill the girl and her infant. Abilio lured her to a secluded spot in the igapo, stunned her and the child with blows of his paddle and finished them off with his machete, tied the two bodies together, and threw them into the river. The bodies were discovered a little farther down, near the riverbank; the Indians immediately understood what had occurred, but their Neobrazilian boss in Belem also received 8 See the legends, "The Dishonor of mwva'6a," and "dyJi' and e'pi Kill the Demon ma/ci'," pp. 124-125. 9 See the legends relating to ta-e', pp. 114-115. Nimuendaj'i: The Tukuna word of the crime and sent someone to investigate. Learning this, Abilio voluntarily went to Belem to declare that he was the killer. His explanation that "they lived like dogs" was no reason at all to the Neobrazilians, who did not understand it, so he returned home. A few days later the subprefect of police ordered his arrest; but after several days he was released, to the great satisfaction of the Indians of Tacana, who were said to have been determined to free him by force. As a matter of fact, after all this, Joaquim tauaru' did appear to me to be mentally unbalanced when I encountered him. The Indians said that he had already acquired the nature of a dog: one girl, who watched him from a hiding place, observed that he dug the earth with his fingernails like a dog! LAW Crimes.-I have never heard of theft occurring among the compound families characteristic of Tukuna local groupings, but it does happen away from their con- fines, even among fellow tribesmen. The person robbed, eventually aided by his relatives, deals personally with the thief. Willful thieves cannot hope for very gentle treatment on the part of the victims. A certain naina'kj of Igarape de Belem broke into a trunk during the owner's absence, stealing the contents, but was sur- prised and forced to return everything. Some time later he repeated the misdeed in another house, but not so cleverly as to avoid suspicion of robbery. Since naina'kj obstinately refused to return his loot, the victim promptly shot him; but the wound was not fatal. The great majority of crimes involving death or injury take place during the work parties and celebrations, being due to drunkenness. As I have already indi- cated, they are almost always without a serious motive, simply because alcohol, in certain Tukuna, arouses not the sexual instinct but the desire to quarrel, which is directed most of the time against their own relatives. A fight at Igarape da Rita that ended with the death of one person and the wounding of two began with in- sults which an Indian for no apparent reason hurled at his father. Strangely numer- ous are the quarrels among drunken brothers-in-law. Could this be some a priori subconscious hostile feeling against the intrusion of another clan into the family? Moreover, in the language of the Guarani, who have no such clan organization as the Tukuna, the word for brother-in-law, tovayda(ra), means also "competitor," and the verb ahovayd means "to be against." In any case, as I have already explained, the Tukuna appear to consider drunk- enness an extenuating circumstance, which absolves the criminal almost completely of responsibility. This point of view appears in the lack of concern about such incidents: "He was soused !" they say, and that is the end of it. Even a murdered man's own relatives, at first naturally enraged, gradually accept this point of view, which they would never do if the crime were committed in cold blood.10 However, a certain aversion to the slayer always remains, and if he is so imprudent as to glory in the deed, the relatives of the victim may still have a sudden and violent reaction and seek revenge. It is, however, true that a killing by a drunken man will not per se provoke reprisal. 10 See pp. 106 ff. for the story of the execution of an evil shaman. 63 64 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Property.-The Tukuna apparently lack the concept of a rigidly delineated territorial zone as the tribal patrimony. They never protest against Neobrazilian usurpation of almost all the lands formerly at their disposal, nor do they squabble over boundaries with the Neobrazilians or with other tribes. In fact, the region is so immense and the population so scanty that difficulty over land rarely arises, as it may do when a civilizado forces an Indian to abandon his own plot because the land now belongs to the former or when sharpers extort "taxes" from the Indians inhabiting lands which never belonged to any civilized person. Formerly the Tukuna were restricted to certain areas by the presence of neigh- boring tribes, some of them avowed enemies, like the Omagua and the Mayoruna. With the disappearance of this pressure the Tukuna began to spread out beyond their territorial limits, knowingly, but without any scruples. A Tukuna will not quarrel with a Neobrazilian over land or over fish in the igarape; even less will he quarrel with his tribesmen. As for land, he desires only that it be productive; it does not enter his mind to pass land on to his descendants, nor does he sell it as his own property. If his children move, they lay no claim even to the fruit trees their parents planted at the old site. Everywhere there are Tukuna taperas (abandoned, jungle-grown plantations) with numerous fruit trees. Who planted them and where the former owner is now living is well known, but once he abandons his property, anyone who so wishes may take possession. A house is the property of the person who constructed it or ordered it built- usually the head of the family-who may abandon, sell, or give it away over the protests of other family members. The clearing belongs, not to the man who felled the trees, but to the woman who planted and weeded it, as we have seen in the discussion of divorce, though the entire family, if normally organized, benefits from its produce. In general, each person, even a child, is the owner of whatever he makes or of whatever is made for him. Inheritance.-Objects used exclusively by men may not be inherited by women, and vice versa. When I asked an Indian, who had neither sons nor brothers, who would inherit his shotgun, he answered that it would belong to his son-in-law. If the couple should separate, he said, his daughter would keep the weapon and give it to her next husband; thus, the actual inheritor was the daughter. Normally, the legacy passes from father to son or, if there are no sons, to a brother, brothers-in- law being considered only if there are no sons or brothers. Correspondingly, daugh- ters inherit their mother's property. I have never observed any disappointment or disagreement over inheritance, even when the objects were relatively valuable, such as firearms or a sewing machine. CHInFS There is absolutely no political organization today. The Tukuna never had a su- preme head, and a clan government could not obtain because the clans were not localized. But what they apparently did have until not too remote times were chiefs of local groups inhabiting the various igarapes tributary to the Solim6es. These heads of large families possessed magical powers, intelligence, and ability to deal with strangers, especially with the civilizados. Owing to these qualities, they gained a limited ascendancy over fellow members of the group who would approach them Nimuendaju': The Tukuna with their problems in search of aid and advice. In spite of this, they had no right to punish or coerce anyone who balked at their admonitions. The Tukuna title of these men was tV'/tj; on feast days they were distinguished by their feather caps, na:patee (described on pp. 37-38). According to the legend of the origin of languages (p. 130), the first of these chiefs was a certain davj, who was also the first man caught by the culture hero dyoi'. The last on Brazilian soil appears to have been Domingos cu'nekj of Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo. The institution was undermined by the Neobrazilians, who, as lords of the rubber forests and the Indians, pressed these chiefs into their own service. In place of the tV'/tj, who exercised their main influence within the traditional tribal limits, there arose the tuixauas (in Brazil) and curacas (in Peru), whom their masters appointed and made into mere instruments. These poor devils were condemned to lie to their "charges" in order to please their masters, and to lie to the latter so as not to be completely despised by their fellows. As late as 1929 I knew a few of these: all ended by being bullied by other Indians of their own group, who at heart never recognized their authority. There are today a few Indians of recognized superiority, like Calixto daueru'kj of Igarapezinho de Sao Jeronymo (pl. 10, e) and Nino ev6njnkj of Igarape da Rita, to whom the others resort as they formerly did to the te'/ti, but these owe to the Neobrazilians the dubious honor of nomination. WAR The Tukuna are not warlike; their few fights with the Neobrazilians are isolated acts of vengeance or defense. 'Weapons.-War weapons are the bow, vera' (p. 30), the curare-tipped arrow, ka: 'ru, and the equally poisoned lance, va: ma'gu, above all, the last named. Ac- cording to Tessmann, the Tukuna do not use clubs. On several occasions during ceremonies I observed men carrying four-sided clubs with a rounded grip, va: 'ra, about a meter in length. Possibly, these are in imitation of clubs used by the north- eastern Neobrazilians, who customarily attend celebrations so armed, for the In- dians are by no means the only ones who fight on such occasions. Formerly, the Tukuna also used a round shield, naci'n6, of tapir leather. The blowgun was not used in warfare. They defended the paths leading to their dwellings with pointed stakes of paxiuba poisoned with curare (tupe'). This method is described in the traditional story of the "Tapera Surara." In the abandoned plantation of this name, on the left bank of the Alto Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo, in the old days a Tukuna killed a relative. The dead man's parents complained to the authorities at Sao Paulo de Olivenga, who sent soldiers to the igarap6 to arrest the murderer. But the inhab- itants of the place put poisoned stakes on the path. Several soldiers were wounded, and the rest returned without completing their mission. The Tukuna, however, abandoned the place from that time on. War with the Omagua.-The most feared enemies of the ancient Tukuna-one might say their only enemies-were the Omagua. "[The Omagua] attacked by canoe, with great spears. They captured many; some of them were sacrificed to their idols and the rest served as slaves in their husbandry." A Tupi-speaking tribe 65 66 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. of canoe warriors, they had a culture noticeably superior to that of the Tukuna, who in many ways were influenced by them. According to Padre Samuel Fritz, in 1691 they inhabited twenty-three villages, situated exclusively on islands of the Rio Solim6es, between 67 and 72 degrees longitude. The Tukuna called them a'/vane ("of water"; awa, the Omagua name for themselves). 'I B d II IJc - F trap. Fig. 9. Booby trap. Myths of the culture hero brothers tell of the first appearance of the Omagua (p. 128). In a different way the same subject is referred to in the legend of m6ta're and va'in ci'kj (p. 145). There is no report of a Tukuna attack on the Omagua islands, because in the old days Tukuna navigation was still very primitive. They limited themselves to defense when attacked in their igarapes, and to eventual pursuit of the enemy to the banks of the Solim6es. Legends and tradition contain many references to these battles: witness the following. The Tukuna descended the Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo and, arriving at the mouth, blew their horns. Then the Om'agua came up the igarape in their dugouts just as the Tukuna were gathered for a feast in a large maloca which used to be at dyumariti', on the left bank of the igarape, just above the mouth of the maina-tj. After capturing and killing the Indian who had gone to invite his comrades to the celebration on his return trip, they attacked the maloca where all were gathered. In the same hour, however, the Tukuna from the upper igarape arrived to take part in the feast also and, seeing what was taking place, immediately fell upon the Omagua, killing them all. One of these, already wounded by a poisoned lance, still wished to steal one of the uarieana statues and dragged it to the steep bank. There his strength left him, and he, together with the t I I I I I I I I I Nimuendaju': The Tukuna statue, rolled over the edge and disappeared with it in the waters of the igarap6. Even today the song of the drowned statue may be heard sometimes. All the Tukuna now gathered together at dyumariti', awaiting the Omfigua. They came two days later in great numbers and attacked with arrows. The battle was hotly disputed, the warriors standing sometimes ankle deep in blood. The Tukuna killed many Omfigua on the battlefield and killed others during the retreat; those who escaped foundered in the whirlpool at the mouth of Igarape de Saio Jeronymo and were drowned. At the battlefield the earth became spongy with the worms feeding on the bodies, and sank; [the depression] may still be seen there today. The worms were later transformed into little acari fish. Another time, the Omagua assaulted a festive gathering of the Tukuna, this time far up the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo in the vicinity of Igarape dyu'/na. At the mouth of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, the Tukuna had placed guards, who repelled the Omagua while these were fighting the crosscurrents at the mouth of the igarape. Once, the Tukuna set up an ingenious booby trap (fig. 9) at one of their own houses at which they expected an attack. Anticipating the arrival of the Omagua, they cut two assahy palm trees with thin and very elastic trunks, fifteen to twenty centimeters in diameter, so long that they stretched from one of the two doors of the house to the opposite one. On the outside of the house they tied one of the trunks (c-d) firmly at the posts of door A in a horizontal position a meter and a half above the ground; they tied the other trunk (e-f) at the posts of door B in the same way. They then bent trunk c-d, pressing it against the outer house wall, and held it at point c, beside door B, with a loop of cipo passed through the wall. In the same way they set trunk e-f, bending it and securing it at f. This completed, all shut themselves inside the house to await the arrival of the enemy. Espying the Omaguas' approach through cracks in the house wall, they waited until the enemy were all inside the yard and surrounding the house, and then they cut the cipos simultaneously at c and f. Tied now only at one point, the elastic trunks, with a strong backlash, returned to their normal straight positions, d-d' and e-e', knocking down and wounding many of the enemy. Unlike the Omagua, the Tukuna never took prisoners or kept trophies from the enemy dead. 67 VIII. LIFE CYCLE PREGNANCY AFTER INTERCOURSE, conception depends on the will of the goddess ta-e': it is she who gives the fetus its body and soul. When, overburdened with tasks, ta-e grows careless, the child is born with defects in mind or body. We have already noted (pp. 22 and 46) the effects of a pregnant woman's intru- sion in a clay pit or at maize planting, but on the whole there are few restrictions for her. She eats peppers lest the fetus become too fat, which would complicate birth; she eats the tripes of the alligator (jacare-tinga) so that the child shall be born with a clear skin; and drinking the water of the cipo barn during pregnancy produces the same effect, as does staring at persons of white skin. Whoever eats double bananas will have only daughters. A real diet during pregnancy appears never to have been prescribed. If a girl is bitten by a type of ant called kae'na, she will subsequently have children of a dark complexion. Voluntary abortion.-A woman sometimes produces abortion in order to avoid the shame of having a "disqualified" child, i.e., one that belongs to no clan because its father is a Neobrazilian. Thus, an Indian girl named Neca, of the Rio Jacurapi, finding herself pregnant by a Neobrazilian, confessed her condition to her mother; both then concealed the affair from the girl's father, whom they feared, because he was a somewhat violent man. When Neca could no longer hide her pregnancy, the mother took her into the garden patch, where she succeeded in aborting the child by treading on the girl's belly. According to legend, after an abortion, the cadaver of the fetus goes to ta-e', who cooks it in a pot until it disintegrates. When the pan becomes full, the goddess keeps it until the death of the sinner, and thus addresses the soul when it arrives: "Thou hast slain the child I gave thee; now eat of thy property!" The sinful mother must eat the stew to the last morsel, however much she may beg and wail that she can eat no more. Twins.-Twins (ta tare'/pj; tare, two) are not overly welcome since they in- crease the mother's work, but they are not killed. I myself knew a married couple in Igarape de Sao Jeronymo who had twins; the reason was given me by an Indian, who asserted that the mother, while yet a child, had eaten double bananas. Others simply say that twins are due only to the will of ta-e. BIRTH When parturition is near, the husband erects a temporary platform close to the ground and hidden in a thicket some thirty paces behind the house. As soon as the pains begin, the woman is conducted there, where her hammock and mosquito bar are rigged up, and a piece of tururi bark cloth is spread over the platform. Her mother, aunt, or eldest sister attends her, the husband remaining in the house. If there are difficulties, a medicine man is sent for; smoking a tauary cigarette, he makes gestures with his hands as if he were opening some invisible object from below. Blows on the back with the mouth of a manioc press are also recommended in difficult labor. The woman squats on her heels on the platform, with her arms [ 68 ] Nimuendaju: The Tukuna held behind on the hammock, and the woman assistant embraces her from behind. The umbilical cord is tied with cotton thread and cut with a small sliver of bamboo or canna brava. Even today an iron instrument is not used for this purpose. The wound is lightly cauterized, being touched once or twice with charcoal from a small treegnawed round in circular fashion by a certain insect. The afterbirth is called na:'ana/ (mouth) "because the child in the maternal womb nourishes itself by it"; it is buried at the place of birth. Infanticide.-Infanticide immediately after birth occurs, though rarely, and then usually of an unmarried woman's offspring, the child being buried alive. In general, the Tukuna consider it a great sin, which ta-e' will surely punish. An Indian I knew whose unmarried daughter became pregnant suspected her of planning infanticide and threatened her with death should she carry out her intention. Another reason for infanticide is that the child is "disqualified." For example, when do'tanina had a child by a mestizo, the son of a Tukuna woman, her own father did not wish her to raise it, hence she buried it alive. After death an infanticide ascends to heaven with the child's corpse held crosswise in her mouth, "like a bitch carrying her whelp." Many Tukuna fathers show an exaggerated preference for male children, to the detriment of daughters. I once, quite intimately, observed the disgust of a couple with their first-born, merely because it was a girl; they became vexed to the point of planning to kill her some weeks after birth. However, the mother's brother, as protector of his niece, reproached and threatened the couple so unmistakably that they never again dared discuss the subject. After the birth.-The newborn child's mouth is immediately cleansed and the skull is manipulated, being pressed laterally between the fingers into the proper shape. The infant's body is washed in tepid water, the mother's in hot water. With a little stick a bit of the umbilical blood is rubbed on the child's cheeks so that they may become ruddy, just as a little of the first feces is rubbed on the eyebrows to make them grow thick and black, a feature very much esteemed. The Mongoloid birthmark on the skin of the sacral region is also attributed to these first feces. After the hammock and the mosquito bar are taken down, the platform is knocked apart, the tururi cloth is buried, and the midwife, followed by the mother, carries the child to the house. Even before the birth the midwife takes care to scrape genipapo, with which the child is painted from head to toe on the first day, an old custom instituted by the culture hero dyoi' (see p. 128). This is considered an efficient protection against any evil that might befall the newborn infant. It is also the custom to thread small bits of the root of a grass called ma'ina-arj-c'u'pj (peripery [ ?], "of otter") as beads, tying them around the child's wrist and hand. Father and mother must be cautious and must diet until the umbilical cord drops off. The mother sallies forth from her mosquito bar only to attend to her necessities and to bathe herself with tepid water; both parents eat only small fish, small birds, bananas, and manioc cakes, avoiding all acid foods. Except for going to the river to bathe, the father may not leave the house grounds, and he is for- bidden to touch a firebrand, a paddle, an ax, or a bow. If he touches his bow, the child will develop a crooked spine and become a hunchback. 69 70 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. The father may drink paiauariu in small quantities, but only if it is sweet; drinking more would make the child a drunkard and would also cause it to cry excessively. Even after the period of restriction the father may not approach his child if he has touched some object that might harm it. At Igarape de Sao Jeronymo I was told that the father is not subject to any dietary or other restrictions, pro- vided that he does not touch the child. The Tukuna, like the Apinaye,' believe that the acts of the parents are reflected in their children's health, and vice versa, not only in the period immediately sub- sequent to birth but also throughout life. Thus, when a sick person submits to treatment by a shaman (page) the parents as well as the children must for one week avoid eating salt, peppers, and viscous fish. Once the umbilical cord has fallen off, it is thrust among the roots of a pupun- heira tree or, better yet, into a crevice opened by the edge of an ax in the bark of the tapereba, since this tree "does not die," even when chopped to pieces. After the birth of a child, the husband avoids his wife for one year, more or less. INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD The infant is carried slung across the shoulders in a sling, tipoia (pl. 8, b), some ten centimeters wide, which is double, so that the child sits on one strip while the other supports its back. This sling (T., na: -cimin) was formerly woven of cotton or tucum fiber, or even at times made of tururi bark cloth. Nowadays it is almost always of purchased material. Amulets protect the child against disease purely by their magical powers. Thus, the child has the skull, minus the beak, of a miua (Phalacrocorax vigna) suspended from its neck so that it shall not fall sick of fever. A necklace of certain seeds with a penetrating odor protects it against catarrh; and the claw of a tatui canastra (Cheloniscus gigas), hung from the wrist, guarantees the child's becoming an expert worker, especially a good canoewright. The Tukuna have not the slightest conception of the "evil eye." If one goes at night into the dark jungle with a nursling, the infant runs the risk of losing the soul from its body. To prevent this, one must whistle and call the child by name. The tree spirits also like to steal children's souls, as do the water demons called dye'vae (see p. 119), which threaten it during its bath in the igarape; for this reason the mother is accustomed to thrust a magic arrow into the bath water. Children less than two years old crying alone attract the shades of the dead (na-cii'), who separate their souls from their bodies. All these cir- cumstances require the intervention of a shaman. The child receives its name on the day after birth, as already described (p. 60). At the age when they begin to crawl, children are subjected to a ceremony called te-ta' esmatj (paint them), at which they are daubed with red urucui and decorated with feathers plucked from parrots. Children submit-formerly at the age of two, nowadays at four years or later- to a second festive ceremony called bua te ta be'eru (pluck the children's hair), at which the ears are also pierced and boys have the septum of the nose pierced. Today only the hair is plucked-if, indeed, it is not cut with scissors-and the lNimuendajiu, The Apinay6, p. 102. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna girls' ear lobes are pierced. The direction of this feast (pai-ci'nj), as that of the painting ceremony, falls to the paternal aunt. Both follow the procedures common to all the rites of passage, which are described in detail in connection with the puberty ceremony. Spix relates that at the ceremony which he personally attended in Tabatinga (though from the evidence he apparently witnessed it only from afar!) the hair was plucked from a child two months old, and he says that this ceremony fre- quently cost the life of the child ! But the boy shown in his plate "Maskenzug der Ticunas" has a bald head, is held in a woman's arms (it should be in a carrying sling), and appears to be about two years old. In any case, I have never seen or heard of a single instance where this operation caused the slightest harm to the child. The hair-plucking ceremony, celebrated with all the elaboration of the major festivals, lasts two or three days. On the morning of the second day the child is decorated with thick urucui paint on which hawk plumage is glued (pl. 12, o). Horizontal lines are painted to encircle the arms, forearms, thighs, and legs; two vertical lines are drawn on the front of the torso and two behind, and spots are daubed on the cheeks and forehead. On the arms are placed bands made from feathers (see p. 37), other bands are placed on the legs. In the process of weav- ing these bands, short locks of hair from one of the child's relatives are inserted. A boy has a necklace of monkey teeth placed about the neck, and he is dressed in a double tanga of painted white tururl cloth (see p. 36). For a girl, a tanga of cotton cloth is used, for which nowadays purchased material is substituted. Pec- toral strings of beads complete the feminine attire. Today, even though the child undergoing this ceremony has already passed far beyond the age where it requires the carrying sling, the aunt seats it in a sling of tururi ornamented with painted triangles and dances with it thus in the midst of the guests. The ears are pierced in the manner described on page 38. Before the hair plucking no drug is given to the child. I observed that the children differ individually very much in sensitive- ness. All the children cry quite enough, but it was extraordinary to see a boy at least four years old struggle and bellow so desperately that a man had to hold him while three women were plucking his hair. In the end, the little one was com- pletely exhausted and without a vestige of the ornaments worn at the beginning of the ceremony. His mother, seated near by without taking part, eyed her son with an indignant look and with evident disgust at his deportment, which ap- peared to shame her. Some eight months afterward the child celebrates the dyupa'kb6 (na-pa'kee, forehead), a complementary feast of slight importance during which the hair, by then grown anew, is clipped straight across the forehead. On the same occasion the leftover decorations from the preceding ceremony, which have been kept on purpose, are burned. Childhood.-The lives of children run a rather monotonous course, owing to the lack of opportunity for them to associate with one another. Once in a great while, with the exception of a feast, where the preoccupation is different, one may see a number of them joined in play. Their toys are dolls of muirapiranga wood (see 2'Spix and Martius, p. 1188. 71 72 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. pl. 9, b) and animal figures, also of wood, miniature canoes, and small bows and arrows. Not uncommonly one will see a spinning-top (fiuntomacM; Tessmann, n6tomas) made of a tucumA nut, with a lateral hole and a wooden peg; it is spun by a cord twisted about this peg, the loop fastening the top bein-g jerked by the left hand, which secures it. Contrary to what Tessmann says, the Tukuna do have the whirligig or buzzer disk (Surrscheibe, mu'ukj; l.g., mutuca, or gadfly)' made of a piece of gourd with serrated edges. The bull-roarer (brinquedo do cao) is rare; some say that it came to the Tukuna as a Neobrazilian game. Little girls and young maidens sometimes pass the time making cat's cradles with an endless cord, stretching it between the fingers and toes and using the teeth as an aid. Very early, a small burden basket is made for a girl, with which she accompanies her mother to the clearing. A boy receives a small paddle and javelin and goes with his father in the canoe to fish. Furthermore, children begin to take active part in festivities at an early age, dancing with their little companions of the same age and sex and partaking of alcoholic beverages when their parents permit it. Later on, even though they can scarcely propel a canoe, they begin to play for hours on end in the igapo, killing small fry and eating tiny fruits. Because they all, from the age of two years, know how to swim, there is no danger of drowning. Similarly, while searching for fruits they learn to climb trees with astonishing dexterity; they sometimes spend hours perched on tree limbs simply from sheer pleasure at being aloft. I have already referred (p. 50) to the fact that children here squall and fight among themselves much more than in any other tribe I know of; also, the parents frequently punish them physically but on the whole do not scold them much with yells and insults, correcting them with a sudden gesture and with few words or none. With remarkable calm they discipline children under two years of age who become naughty or cry obstinately. With a silencing gesture the mother or father orders the eldest sister to fetch a flower of a species of nettle (l.g., pinupiniu; T., na: -ku'), of which a few specimens are planted for this purpose around the clear- ing, and it is placed at the child's side without a word. If he obeys, very well; otherwise, if he touches the flower lightly with the naked skin of his limbs and body, the contact produces a painful burning sensation, which, however, is con- sidered beneficial to the health of the infant. Usually the child recognizes the nettle on sight and is terribly afraid of it. Adults apply it as a remedy for local pain, poisonous insect bites, or rheumatism. Some fathers, moved by their predilection for male children, permit boys all sorts of abuses and naughtiness up to the age of three or four, while they oblige their daughters to bear silently the frequent, and not so innocent, attacks of the brothers' petty tyranny until the day of reckoning arrives. Then, the father, deciding that the cup of patience is filled, suddenly punishes the boy in such a way that he never again trusts in paternal forbearance, never again feels secure, and flees at the slightest suspicious move- ment (see p. 51). 8 In Brazil, non-Indians make this toy out of a button with a string threaded through the holes, the free ends being knotted together. Holding the extreme ends of the double loop in both hands, the operator winds up the string tightly by a looping motion for which the button provides the weight. The extreme ends of the string are then pulled taut, and the button rapidly untwirls the string, producing a whining sound like that of a gadfly (mutuca) .-Trans. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna From the age of six or seven years, brother and sister no longer play together, each participating in the adult interests of his or her own sex until the age of puberty approaches and with it the major rites of passage tenaciously preserved to this day. PUBERTY BOYS' PUBERTY Many Tukuna still vaguely recollect that in the old days the boys were placed in seclusion when their voices changed, but I could not obtain details of this cere- mony, since it fell into disuse many generations ago. Castelnau refers to the fact that the youths "ont, avant d'etre admis parmi les guerriers, a subir des rudes epreuves," and then describes a ceremony of forcing boys to submit to ant bites, a practice which certainly never existed among the Tukuna.' Homosexuals.-Tessmann presents very precise information on homosexual intercourse between boys and youths: "Knaben und Jiunglinge pflegen ailgemein gleichgeschlechtlichen Verkehr, zumal auf den Plitzen im Busch wo sie spielen und kleine Hiiuschen errichten. Dieser Verkehr wird nicht bestraft wenn der Vater davon h6rt, sie werden nicht verachtet. Es giebt auch echte Gleichgesch- lechtliche, die tawuenangi genannt werden."' If this is really so, I myself should have seen some indication of these practices among the Indians; however, not only did I fail to observe anything of the kind, but I was soon obliged to seek informa- tion from various trustworthy informants. All were aware that this vice exists among the Neobrazilian riverbank laborers, but they could cite no instance of its occurrence among the Tukuna. When I inquired the significance of Tessmann's term for homosexuals, pronouncing it in all possible ways, it remained completely incomprehensible to the Indians, except for the first syllable, ta (we). GIRLS' PUBERTY As soon as a girl senses her first menstruation she removes all her ornaments and, if her mother is absent, hangs them in the house so that they will be seen immedi- ately; she then hides in a thicket near the house. When the mother arrives, she realizes from the ornaments what has happened and goes out to seek her daughter, who responds to the maternal call by striking one piece of dry wood against an- other. Round the bed of the girl, which is almost always on the upper floor of the house, the mother then promptly erects a partition made of mats of uruceuri thatching, to which she conducts the girl as soon as night falls. Seclusion.-From then on, the adolescent is treated as a "var&kj," remaining in seclusion, completely invisible and inaudible to all except her mother and paternal aunt, though not required to observe any diet. There are the most fantastic and inaccurate reports of this phase of seclusion. For e xample, Bates writes: "The Tukuna have the singular custom ... of treating their young girls, on their showing the first signs of womanhood, as if they had committed some crime. They are sent up to the girao under the smoky and filthy roof, and kept there on a very meagre diet, sometimes for a whole month. I heard of one poor girl dying 4Castelnau, p. 46. 6 Tessmain, p. 563. 73 74 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. under this treatment."' The upper platform is not full of smoke, for the Tukuna do not use the dwelling for cooking, and it is no dirtier than the rest of the house. No diet is prescribed; and, if one girl did die during this seclusion, her death was certainly not due to any cause related to it. Herndon, after some relatively good information, continues: "It is said that she frequently conceals her situation from her family, preferring a sound beat- ing, when time betrays her, to the dreary imprisonment."7 Certainly, many civilized girls would act in the same way under the same conditions, but that a Tukuna girl would resort to similar expedients appears very improbable to me for the simple reason that, like her relatives, she considers seclusion a measure demanded by her delicate condition and promptly submits to it for fear of the evil consequences of some oversight. This cautious behavior is because the indi- vidual of either sex is believed subject, above all at the time of puberty, to extraordinary and supernatural experiences and to contact with immortals, jj'ne (see p. 137). The varekj is surrounded by invisible demons, ADD' (see p. 89), so that any carelessness on the part of those responsible for her, primarily her mother and paternal aunt, or any negligence of her own may have the gravest conse- quences. Many stories illustrating this danger are told to the girl, as witness the following tales: a) The puberty ceremony was drawing to a close. Just before midnight the paternal uncle insisted that the var6ki be withdrawn from seclusion before waiting for the proper hour [before dawn; see p. 88]. He and the rest of the guests were already drunk. He no longer knew what he was doing. They brought down the varbki from the seclusion room but, instead of dancing with her until daybreak, they left her standing alone in the center of the house and, paying her no further attention, proceeded to get completely soused. Then there arrived a demon, a/mi' [a monster in the form of a gigantic lizard], which had taken the shape of a handsome youth. He danced with the vgreki up and down the festive house, then outside in the yard, and finally carried her off to the forest, where there was a ruined old house, his dwelling. In this house there was still an old rocking-board [quiricfi]. He placed the girl beside him in the trough [of the quirica], sucked out her flesh and blood, and killed her. When the assembled guests awoke from their drunken stupor, they immediately searched for the voreki, first in the seclusion room and then in the yard. Following the trail of hawk feathers with which she had been decorated, they finally found her at the bottom of the quirica beside a/mi', who had covered himself with the girl's toucan feathers.8 When they lifted her up, her dry bones rattled inside her empty skin. They killed a/mi', whose lizard feet were the size of a small bench, more or less [5 cm. in diameter]. b) The final rites of the puberty ceremony had started. In the feast house they were drinking, and no one, not even the mother, paid any attention to the var6ki, who was still in the seclusion room. But instead of passing the night on foot, as tradition prescribes, the vzrekl lay down in her hammock and slept. Behold, a band of monsters in the shape of enormous black grasshoppers came and jumped over her, sucking out her flesh and blood. Finally, her mother, remembering the girl, thrust her hand through a crack in the wall of the seclusion room, shaking the edge of the hammock, and called: "Awake, my daughter!" With this, she heard the sound of dry bones rattling. Entering the room, she discovered that in the hammock lay only the skin of her daughter with the bones inside. The guests assembled at the feast searched the trail and discovered the crack through which the monsters had entered. They were still clinging to the outside wall of the house, bloated with their repast, and there they were all killed. 6 Bates, p. 406. Herndon and Gibbon, 1:237. See the description of the girl's ceremonial costume. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna ?) A girl was in seclusion; a feast was about to be celebrated. Aside from her, there was no one in the house. In the kitchen there lay beneath a cover on the platform (giriu) all the smoked game for the feast. Suddenly, through a crack in the wall of her room, the vorek1 observed a smoked monkey descend from the platform. Seizing a blowgun, it began to dance with this up and down the kitchen. Then a roasted sloth also clambered down, going first to the fireplace to warm itself, then it searched for the rattle stick, which was already prepared for the feast, and in its turn began to dance to and fro. After some time both returned to the platform. As soon as her mother returned to the house, the vareki told her what she had seen. The mother went to the smoked meat on the platform, examined the sloth, and, seeing that it was dirty with ashes, believed what her daughter had told her. "Nothing like this has ever happened before; I believe that you are going to die!I" she said to her daughter. And sure enough, the following morning the girl lay dead in her seclusion room. Formerly, a small room, na-pinin (pl. 11, a) was made for the girl as soon as possible, against the east wall of the house if she belonged to moiety A, against the west wall if she belonged to moiety B. This little retreat was circular, two meters in diameter or a little more, and had no floor, since the vorekj sleeps in her hammock throughout her seclusion. The walls are made of long, white strips of burity, tied with cipo firmly together in horizontal bands. These extend from the floor to the roof thatch, where their tips are bent toward the front. On the left side (looking at the room) there is a door, closed by a kind of hanging mat made from burity frondstalks set in a horizontal position and held firm by two vertical rods. Often today the seclusion room is square and is not erected where it should be, because the position of the house on the banks of the Solimoes or igapo does not permit it. In general, to make such a room, people are called together for a work party (uajuri) to which, above all, members of the clans of the vorikj's moiety are invited. Preparations for the feast.-The preparations for the feast which now begins may take more than two months, sometimes requiring even one or two more work parties. Nowadays, what really delays completion of the preparations is the diffi- culty of collecting a sufficient quantity of smoked game for the number of guests; game is now rare in the country (p. 26), and even fish are not caught easily. The game is roasted on a forked grill, first in the jungle and later in the kitchen, where it is then stored on its own large, covered platform. When the last pieces arrive, the first are already desiccated to the point where they more or less re- semble charred wood. At the same time, the women prepare alcoholic drinks, of which a sufficient quantity is required not only for the feast itself but also for the preliminary work party. In the meantime the date of the celebration must be calculated, so that the invitations may be issued. Invitations.-Two invitations are given for any celebration: the first advising of the approximate time with relation to the phase of the moon ("in the first full moon"), the other fixing the exact day that the ceremony begins. Feasts are pre- ferably held during the full moon, not because any magical influence is attributed to it but simply because it is much more agreeable to have the house and yard of the ceremony flooded with moonlight than plunged in darkness. Invitations are delivered personally by the host, that is, by the vor&kf's father or by a person especially charged by him. The messenger travels from house to house informing the residents that the celebration is drawing near and that the 75 76 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. host suggests the bringing of masks, tucum fibers, and so forth. These trips generally take two days, and only persons with whom the var&kj's family maintain good relations receive an invitation. A Tukuna will rarely dare to come uninvited. In general, the definite invitations are given on the eve of the festivities, usually simultaneously by messengers in two canoes, one going upstream, the other downstream. Each man carries a large bark horn, bu'/bu (see p. 42), covered with banana leaves to conceal it from the glances of women and children when the canoe touches shore. Blowing this instrument, the sound of which may be heard from afar, the messengers travel from one house to another, telling the owner the exact day and hour (by the sun's position) when the ceremony is to start, and ascertaining the prospective attendance or absence of the invited guest. Final arrangements.-While the guests are preparing masks, tucum fibers, small drums, and festive attire in their homes, the final arrangements are being made at the host's house. At the quarter of the house where the vor&kj's seclusion room is erected, outside the house a corral is made, consisting of two thatched walls, higher than a man, perpendicular to the house wall (pl. 17, c). The distance between the walls, which are about 12 m. long, is about 7 m. in this enclosure, called ta'/ki-pinin (to'/kj, a ceremonial musical instrument, see below; pinin, enclosure) various cere- monies are carried out with the vor&kj. She has access to it through a small door which, except for these occasions, is firmly lashed to the house wall. During the festivities the musical instruments are kept in the enclosure at night. A cleared path extends from this corral to a spot on the bank of the river or igarape several hundred meters from the house, where the musical instruments and the statues used in the ceremony are kept in water during the day, to prevent the former from drying out and to conceal the latter from the uninitiated. From nightfall on, only the persons in charge of the ceremonial instruments9 may fre- quent this path, as the host expressly advises the guests. The yard is cleaned and enlarged, and the other paths are closed off by poles, except one that remains open for the necessities of the guests. A large platform about 2 m. high is constructed inside the house for the smoked meat; it is to the rilght of the seclusion room. The jars, water jugs, sieves, and gourds remain near the door to the left side of the retreat. The outside surface of the wall of the seclusion room (inside the house) is decorated with paintings, that is, bands or crisscross designs composed of tri- angles, rhomboids, and circles. In one of these quarters is painted the figure of a deer, the symbol of vigilance. At the top there is always a sun with a conven- tionalized human face, a star, and a new moon. Apparently, these four designs were the only ones painted in the old days, but today the wall is filled with less traditional figures. A photograph of such a wall, taken by a Capuchin missionary, shows a watch, machetes, a tent, a soldier, a woman, and so on; I myself have observed paintings of steamships and airplanes, because nowadays any guest may take advantage of the smooth, white wall to paint whatever comes into his head. All objects are removed from the floor of the house and are piled on top of the dwelling platform, where the inmates accommodate themselves so as to leave the greatest possible space for the free movement of the guests and for the ceremonies. 9 These persons are called Afi'-tanin (iaa', demon) or ta/ki-tanij (to'/ki, ceremonial instrument, described below). Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Before describing the performances, however, some explanation is necessary of the two elements that play such an important role in them-the ceremonial musical instruments and the masks. The musical instruments.-We have already seen that the term "uaric-na" serves to designate two quite different instruments, which share only their enor- mous length, their taboo character for women and children, and their almost wholly ceremonial use. One, the bu'/bu, is a conical horn made of a section of bark, rolled into a spiral; the other, the to'/kj, is a wooden megaphone. Instruments of the bu'/bu type are very common in the Amazon basin and in the region adjacent to the Guianas. The to'/kj, in my opinion, has never been met with except among the Tukuna, for whom it is of the greatest importance, being the voice of a demon; whereas the bu'/bu is merely an accessory instrument. The to'/kj was formerly invariably accompanied by two statues of muirapiranga wood (T., pu'kir6). Of those that I saw on the Rio Jacurapa, one was a little under, the other a little over, a meter in length and crudely made, but I was informed that in the old days they were the height of a normal man. Into these entered the shades of demons, who sang through the to'/kj, with no one approach- ing it; there were no men players. In those times the instrument was painted with clay of various colors; neither it nor the statues were kept in water, but they were housed in a small, closed compartment within the dwelling. I did not succeed in learning the names of the personages represented by these statues. One person told me that the masculine statue was entered by the spirit of an ancient shaman of the Omigua, who had been slain by the Tukuna. During the festivities, the to'/ki and bu'/bu-there are always two or more of the latter-are brought to the enclosure each day after nilghtfall and are removed before dawn. The host selects an old man versed in the ritual to take care of these instruments, and also chooses other persons from among the guests, ad hoc, to transport and play them (ta'/k4-narj-peru'/ni, player).'? No society, nor even an individual (aside from the host), is permanently in charge of the uaricanas. Each instrument is carried in a horizontal position on the shoulders of two persons, while behind them a third plays it once or twice during the procession. In front of the ceremonial instruments march two or three piston-flute (ne'kutj) players (see p. 43), and a few beaters (kvaidun/j) armed with clubs, with which they run round the feast house and beat on the thatched covering, to frighten the women and children. The instruments are placed in the enclosure on forked sticks or sawhorses, with the mouthpiece at a convenient height and the bell turned toward the wall behind which the girl stays in seclusion. With some intermission, the bu'/bu and to'/ki are blown all night. In the enclosure there is always a pot with drink for the players and also for the instruments themselves, for a gourdful is poured into their mouths as a libation. The ta'/ki and bu'/bu were invented by the culture hero dyai'. Each to'/kj bears a name given it by its owner: that of dyoi' is called e: ta-ve ("Of the Star"). Other ta'/k names are ea ("King Vulture," urubui rei), i'rava (urubiu gereba), maina' ("Otter"), and so forth. First, dyoi' painted his instrument with carajurii (Arrabidea chica, Bur.), but an immortal counseled him to paint it with clay of 10 The p in peru'/f is pronounced with incomplete closure of the lips, almost like f. 77 78 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. different colors, for which he and dyai' went out to search in a claybank at the headwaters of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo; it is in this paint that the taboo of the to'/ki is especially concentrated. The legend of tooa'na reflects the implacable punishment by dyoi' of a transgressor. The following is a literal translation from the original Tukuna text. dyai' was making ready his feast. He made the uaricAna rise. Then toa'ina wished to see the uaricana of dyoil. With her sister she went round them to the front. She climbed up [a tree] in front while her sister hid to one side of the path. They came beneath her with the uaricanas. She suddenly became frightened at a painting of herself. She asked them: "Oh, grandfather, where didst thou kill thy alligator?" [By now hallucinated because of the uaricana painting, she thought she saw an alligator.] She urinated much and, pa'! ,fell. Then they took advantage of the situation, to kill her. Later, they returned after having killed taoa'na. They cut her into quarters in the place of the uaricanas on the banks of the eivar5 [a small tributary on the right bank of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, a little below the place where dyai' dwelt], and that is why the e'vare is the color of blood, because they quartered ta'eIna there. Afterward they smoked her flesh. At midnight the uaricina sounded again. They brought the mush [made of to'bena's flesh] to the feast. dyai' summoned everyone, including her mother and sister. dyai' painted the hollows beneath their eyes with soot from cooking vessels, in order to kill them if they smeared the soot by weeping. Then dyai' called her soul [through the uaricAna]: "The piston flutes [that is, the players who go before the uaricAnas] have already slain me, oh, Mother ! In the time when I was alive, oh, Mother, when thou didst leave me for a while, the beads about my waist did move before thee, oh, Mother I In the time when I was alive, oh, Mother, when thou didst send me to the spring, my hair waved before thee, oh, Mother I Yonder on the spit of land tawegiPne [name of dy,i"'s house] my flesh is smoked, oh Mother I" In the journal of Padre Samuel Fritz there is a report on the use, in 1691, of the uaricana, probably the bu'/bu, among the Yurimagua of the now extinct vil- lage of Nossa Senhora das Neves (which was on an island of the Solimoes near the present Fonte Bo5a). What I unearthed was unusual in this Yurimagua village; they were celebrating a feast when, from the hut where I lay, I heard the playing of a flute which caused me such a fright that I could not suffer its sound; I ordered them to cease blowing, and inquired what it was; to which they answered that in this manner they signaled and called to Guaricana," who was the Devil, and who since the times of their forefathers came and attended their villages visibly, and for whom they always made a house away from the village in the forest, and there they brought him drink and the ill for him to cure. I went on to ask with what visage the figure appeared. The curaca'2 named Mativa answered me: "Father, I cannot explain it, I know only that it is horrible, and when it comes all the women and children flee, only the brave remain, and then the Devil takes a lash, which we have prepared from a strip of leather from the sea cow, and he whips us on the breast until much blood is drawn. In the absence of the Devil, the whipper was an old man from whom we received great scars on our breasts. This is done, it is said, to make us valiant. The form that he used to take was that of a tiger, pig, and other animals; sometimes he became a giant, at other times a dwarf." I asked further if he had said anything about me to them, or whether he would kill me, but they said that the words were not clear, "and since thou didst come," said the curaca, "the first time that thou didst plant the Cross, he does not wish to come any more to the village, or to cure any more the sick which some carry to his house; for this purpose we now bring them to you, so that they may receive the Gospel and not die." 11 "Guaricuya" in the Evora ms. '2 In Peru, a native chief who receives his authority from the whites, i.e., a cacique; in Brazil he is called a tuizxdua. Nimuendaju: The Tukuna This is what I was informed, on this occasion, in regard to the Devil, about whom there had been a previous report that conforms to what is said also about the Aisures, which farther below they call Solim5es, and the other nations which have similar communications.13 The ceremonial taking of snuff.-As far as I could establish, flagellation was never practiced by the Tukuna, who have, however, another ceremony linked directly with the ceremonial musical instruments-the taking of a coarse snuff called ka'/vj. The principal ingredient is a powder of toasted tobacco. The other constituents are bark ash of cupuhy, bark ash of pau mulato, ash of green banana peel, ash of the fruit rind of envira de matamata, and a yellow lichen that grows preferably on the bark of the javari palm, from which it is scraped. This lichen is said to belong to a demon named pa'pane. The mixture is rubbed through a piece of woven cloth so that an extremely fine powder is formed. Parica (Piptadenia peregrina, Benth.) does not enter into its composition. The powder is kept in a special container made from a large, white snail shell (me'ru), the aperture of which is sealed by a plug of mirror glass held by wax. Thrust into the apex of the shell, and also held firm by wax, is a short tube of hollow bird bone, about the thickness of a pencil, through which the powder is removed. Formerly, for the taking of this snuff, there was a device called ta'ru, made of a bamboo tube or tubular bone of the royal hawk, bifurcated by quills of the same bird to form two tubes, firmly joined with wax. (ta'ru also means "fire fan"; kvekura'/n is "snuffer.") Today this device is replaced by a single bamboo tube some seven centimeters long. The ka'/vi is taken within the enclosure, by night if in the presence of the uaricana, by day, in its absence. The host administers it to the men who present themselves, placing the snuff in the bamboo tube, inserting one end of this in whichever nostril the taker may desire, and then blowing strongly at the other end. Formerly, the forked quills of the device allowed the ka'/vi to be blown into both nostrils simultaneously. As soon as a man receives the first application, he immediately closes his eyes, bows his head, and seeks a place where he can lie down or can lean against something. He is visibly stupefied, supporting his head on his hand or knees, yet I have never seen anyone lose his senses, and after some three minutes the effect passes. When the uaricanas are in the enclosure at night, there invariably appear some little boys seven years of age and over, who circle the corral, full of curiosity and eager to learn what is taking place. Since they know what will happen to them if caught by the to'kj-tanij (the persons in charge of the uaricanas), and they are afraid, they dare each other in order to get up their courage, until finally the men in charge of the uaricanas pounce on them and force them to take ka'/vi. At that age the effect is even more violent, especially as regards loss of the senses, but I have never heard that it stimulates dreams or visions. When it takes effect, the boys are permitted to drink from the jar that stands next to the instruments, lean- ing against the wall of the enclosure; henceforth they have free access to the en- closure, being allowed to see and touch the statues and instruments. Perhaps in the old days this initiation of the boys into the mysteries of the ceremonial instru- ments was more solemn than now, when it is already on the road to disappearance because of increasing profanation of these mysteries. 18 Fritz. Diario, p. 378. 79 80 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. The costumes.-Tukuna costumes are not related to the ceremonial musical in- struments. The costumes appear as often at the hair-plucking and ear-piercing ceremony as they do at the girl's puberty festival, but not at the hair-clipping ceremony or at the work parties. Not actually taboo, they are brought secretly to the festive spot, where all the owners meet in one or two places hidden in the jungle near the house. There the costumes are put on and are removed after the occasion. It is not in good taste for those who brought no disguise to the gathering to visit these spots; the owner and wearer of the costume should remain unknown until the moment he removes it, in the feast house, to hand it over to the host. On the whole, the costumes are entirely profane, and adults and children of both sexes seize the wearers by the back to accompany them in their races. Spix's plate shows two little girls holding on to the principal masqueraders by the fringes of the costume. Use of the costume is the privilege of no specific person, society, or any other organization. The host of the feast, on issuing the invitations, asks anyone he wishes to bring his outfit. Whoever would like to oblige prepares a costume and face mask, the choice of design being entirely up to him; its execution is largely left to his imagination provided he respects certain traditional characteristics. The generic name of the outfit is na: -re'ijn, a word which commonly means "tail" (of a mammal, reptile, or scorpion; na:-kjra is the word used for the tail of a bird or fish), but actual tails are rarely used. Tessmann calls the mask costume "to'ero," a name (T., toj'-6ru) that designates only a certain type representing the demons of the clan toj' (caiarara monkey). I ascribe about 90 per cent of the costumes to men, 7 per cent to boys between eight and fifteen years old, and the remaining 3 per cent to 'girls and young women. Thus, the wearers of the two maize outfits shown in plate 17, a are a girl of ten and a woman of twenty. A legend concerning the origin of costumes explains that they represent demons, iaa' (Marcoy gives mhoho; Ribeiro de Sampaio, ho ho; Spix, itoho; Martius, iticho). a) In a cavern in the mountains there lived many demons (fija'): aYma (the tempest), ma'vi (the araparyrana tree), tal' (caiardra monkey), the female demon beru' (butterfly), whom the Tukuna identify with the Yurupari of the lingua geral, and the chief of them all, 6erilne. They wished to have a feast, and in order to obtain enough smoked meat they assaulted a Tukuna maloca one stormy night, killing all the inhabitants and dragging off the bodies to their cavern in order to eat them. After some time the Indians of another maloca went to see their neighbors and, not finding anyone, followed the tracks of the corpses dragged off to the mountains. But as soon as they arrived near the cavern, the fao' leaped out to seize them; however, they managed to escape and returned to their maloca. [For continuation, see c.] b) A number of Tukuna went off to visit their countrymen who lived in va'i-a, at the headwaters of the Rio Cotuhe, a tributary of the Iega. Halfway through the journey, they found a shelter in which to spend the night. While they were camped there, a woman of the group gave birth; because of this event they resolved to remain a few days until she was in condition to accompany them farther. They went out to hunt, but found nothing and had to sleep hungry. In the darkness of the night they heard a gnawing sound. They surrounded and killed the rodent, which was an enormous paca. All except the parturient and her husband ate of the meat, and on the following day they went out to hunt again, leaving the woman and her little child alone in the shelter. Suddenly she saw a fiaY in human shape approach, saying that the paca had been his son, whose death he came to Nimuendaju': The Tukuna1 avenge. At midnight the aoi' would come, blowing a snailshell trumpet; those who had not eaten of the paca's flesh must climb a certain species of tree, peeling the bark behind them. When the hunters returned, the woman recounted to her husband what had occurred, but he answered that this was nonsense; perhaps an old lover had visited her. She then tried to warn her sister-in-law, who replied that she was obviously in a good humor because she had given birth to a male child. Her brother paid her no attention, either. Then, before nightfall, she tried to find a tree of the species stipulated by the Atoo. At midnight the Aaai left their mountain cavern, blowing "teu-teu" on their horns and each one yelling to his own taste. The woman immediately tried to awaken her companions: they did not move, even when she spilled dripping resin from a torch on them. She bit her husband to arouse him, and finally he followed like a sleepwalker. The two climbed up with the infant into the tree selected, peeling the bark behind them. Soon they heard the cries of the rest, who were all massacred by the ioa'. At daybreak when the family returned to camp they found nothing of their companions except their hammocks. Then they returned to the maloca, where they told what had happened. c) [Continuation of a and b] Conscious of disaster, the Tukuna, counseled by an old shaman, made a clearing exclusively for the planting of peppers. When the fruits were ripe, they gathered them and went to the cavern of the Afa'. There they closed the entrance with stakes of paxiuba barriguda, leaving only one opening, where they lighted a great fire. Into this they threw an enormous quantity of peppers, so that the fumes would penetrate the cavern. Soon a great racket arose from the interior; the Tukuna yelled inside for those among the tAoo who had not eaten human flesh to come out, and thus it happened: there appeared 6erj'ne playing the turtleshell drum, which was his invention, preceded by a few other AQY, playing their bamboo horns (ka-iri). These were allowed to depart in peace, and they quickly entered another cavern close by, for another part of the underworld. Afterward, two beru' [female butterfly demons] also approached the exit, lamenting and attempting to smother the fire with their enormously elongated breasts. Then they recalled their homes in the mountains, singing their names [see p. 13]. The female demon vai6i'navb also arrived, dripping wet as always, and fell upon the fire in order to put it out with the moisture from her body. All the fiaa who had eaten human flesh, and whose masks for this reason bear even today a red stripe of urucu in front, died. When the noise within the cavern had ceased, the Tukuna ordered one of their servants of the Yagua tribe to enter; he did not return because some of the toot were still alive and killed him. They again smoked out the cavern, ordering another servant inside to verify the effect. This one walked around the cavern, observing well, and then came out to announce that all the Aiio were dead. The Tukuna contemplated the bodies carefully, noting all the details, and later copied the tLoa in their costumes. The costumes are made from the liber [fibrous bark] of certain species of Ficus (l.g., tururi), whose name in Tukuna is not "aichama," as written by Ribeiro de Sampaio and others following his lead, but, according to their quality, p6yi, nune'v6, or na'inci. The first two species have a dark brown inner bark, but the third is white. A log some twenty centimeters in diameter and of the desired length is cut, and the inner and outer bark are removed by beating with a small, flattened muirapiranga club that has no cutting edge. The bark is peeled off from the wood by being turned inside out, like a glove, ending up in the shape of a tube. Care is taken during this task lest the sun strike the section, which would make the inner bark brittle; for this reason some palm fronds are made into a shelter over the place of work. Also, the presence of children is not permitted, since this would result in prolonged rains. The inner bark, which separates easily from the outer bark, is washed and stretched out to dry. Most of the time the tube is opened so a.s to form a rectangular piece, which is more easily worked, but a garment may also be made from the whole tube itself. 81 82 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. The sewing is done with an eyed bone needle and tucum thread. For certain types of disguises, trouser legs are made from the same piece, and sleeves of at- tached pieces are obligatory. Some forms cover the wearer from the head to the middle of the calf with one section. Some of these also have sleeves, others only lateral openings through which the arms are thrust. In still others the wearer's arms remain within the garment, being held close to the body and invisible. Those which do not cover the head are closed about the neck by a threaded string; the garments covering the head have the face represented in the appropriate place on the same piece. The costumes with the head fashioned as a separate section have a kind of cap or sack of tururi that covers the entire head to the breast. In manufacturing face masks, no matter what the design may be, the Tukuna seem to vie with one another in producing the most horrible countenances, with cheeks of black pitch from the unani (Moronobea sp.), protuberant eyes of mirror fragments (formerly bits of mother-of-pearl), great, circular, protruding ears, an enormous, hooked or pointed nose, and a distorted mouth with huge, threatening teeth. Other masks simply have a face painted on the tururi. Further, a few face masks carved of wood (for example, those which represent the sun) have pleasant, human features. Still other masks cover only the head to the torso with one piece, but enlarge the stature of the invisible wearer to the height of two and a half meters by means of a body woven of uaruma strips that rests on the bearer's shoulders. This type ends in an artificial head, which always represents some animal, and never the grimace of a demon. All the costumes, whether they end in trouser legs or a skirt, have at the hem fringes of envira de matamata or tururi, which fall to, or almost to, the ground. The most characteristic motifs represented are the following: alma, the demon of the wind. (Pi. 16, a.) The costume is always of red tururi, with legs and sleeves and with few designs. It is equipped with an erect phallus a half meter in length, slightly conical in shape, and testicles the size of a closed fist. It is with this phallus that Wind knocks down the trees of the jungle. The face mask is enormous, seventy centimeters or more in length, and of corresponding width. The ears are almost a half meter in diameter. I also saw one costume that had on its head an enormous bush of vines and second-growth plants which made it even more disproportionate. In his hand o'ma bears a globular whistle (pl. 16, d) with an attached air tube, made of a small calabash and a bamboo tube, the whole covered with tururi. With this instrument, which produces a low, mournful cry, he imitates the noise of a storm. Especially when the hour approaches to hand over the mask, o'ma attacks the spectators with his phallus, particularly the men, since the women soon flee, and tries to knock them down during the pursuit. If he turns against the women, it may happen that one of the more resolute, amid general hilarity, will seize and hold him by the phallus. Speaking in Portuguese to the Neobrazilians, the Tukuna call a'ma the "Mother [ I ] of the Wind." b6ru', the female butterfly demon. (P1. 17, b.) This demon is also represented in a red turur! costume with sleeves and trouser legs. On the chest are painted the elongated breasts that char- acterize her. On the outside of both sleeves is a wheel of cip6, 60 cm. in diameter and covered with tururi, representing the wings. The face mask, however, is much smaller than that of the preceding costume. The nose is fashioned of a spiraled strip of liana, in imitation of a butterfly's proboscis. dye'va6, the water demon. (P1. 16, c.) This figure is 2.6 m. tall, not counting the feelers. It has neither arms nor legs. The head, which resembles that of a catfish, has a mouth opened upward and is garnished with long feelers. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna ma'vl, the araparyrana tree. (PI. 18, b.) The fruits of this tree have an odor and anciently had an agreeable taste, since lost because the culture hero epi dropped them into curare before leaving the earth. The costume of red or white tururi, which sometimes has sleeves but never trouser legs, covers the wearer from head to foot. The faceless head is conical and has on top a plume of uaruma strips to the tips of which are attached small white placques of burity frond- stalks, rhomboid or divided, which represent the fruit of the araparyrana. The characteristic ornament of the costume consists of a painted, toothed J, simple or double. A rod is carried in the right hand, while the left holds a long, slim bamboo whistle introduced into the mouth through a small orifice in the tururi; today this whistle is almost always replaced by the long stem of a papaya leaf. cavi', maize. (P1. 17, a.) The outfit, of white tururi painted with vertical stripes, has no face, no arms, and no legs. The conical head ends in a tuft representing a corn tassel. Two imitations of ears of corn are attached to each side, one about the height of the elbow, the other just below. tai', caiarara monkey (Cebus albifrons) (pl. 18, a) and taikire', prego monkey (Cebbus fatuellus) (pl. 18, c) are the two commonest types of costumes. Individually, the representation differs greatly, and in neither can one distinguish the animals whose names the represented demons bear, except that one or the other is shown with a phallus in the shape characteristic of the species. The faces are always diabolical; the garments, of red or white tururi, have no trouser legs and rarely have sleeves, the arms protruding through lateral openings. The imagination of the wearers has free play in the ornamental painting of the tururi, so that one observes modern airplanes represented side by side with tradi- tional designs. These outfits are characterized by rattles suspended by wooden hooks, or on fantastically long and thick spears, or even on a smooth stick of wood 25 cm. in length by 2 cm. in diameter; with these the masqueraders rhythmically beat against the hooks. Once I saw nine of these masqueraders holding a log as thick as a man's arm horizontally before them, with which they beat out the meas- ure. Another carried a handful of slim, pointed rods of anaja ribs or similar mate- rial, which he threw, two or three at a time, like assegais, against the wall of the girl's seclusion room, where they remained sticking. The spectators shouted for him to throw them at the figure of the deer painted on the wall. These ta4' masqueraders always comport themselves in a very impetuous, cocky manner, beating on the house thatch before entering, and galloping furiously to and fro through the center of the festive house, with no regard for those who may be inside. After a while they present themselves in a threatening attitude before the jars, demanding drink, some of the ta4' giving in exchange "their son" (pl. 16, d), a doll of tururi in more or less human form with a demon's face, which is carried suspended from the backs and which after the feast serves as a play- thing of the little girls. Those who have a face mask in one piece with the body costume drink by means of the tube of a papaya leafstalk. Afterward they again race off to disappear in the jungle, where they remove and store their masks; they never rest or sit down while in the house. As soon as a masked dancer, regardless of his type, enters the house, a few persons, sometimes even the owner or his wife, array themselves behind him and, holding on to his costume, accompany him in his mad career through the dwelling; to escort the taikirV' or toj' thus is no simple matter, but it forms the favorite entertainment of the older children of both sexes. Probably this is what Spix meant to show in his plate with the two little girls holding the fringes of the masquerader in front of the rest. 83 84 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. On the third day of the feast, sometimes even on the second, but always after the vorekj's hair is plucked, the masqueraders, after receiving a fee in the form of smoked meat, remove their costumes in the center of the house and leave them in a heap to be turned over to the host. A few more comments may be made on the three illustrations of the masked race of the Tukuna in the literature with which I am familiar, the accounts of Spix, Marcoy, and Bates. Spix's artist, when he recomposed the scene, evidently no longer had the masks which Spix had collected or, if he did have them, they were in- complete, so that all or most of them were reconstructed from memory. Only in this way may be explained the following details: the strange cloth tan!gas worn by some Indians of both sexes; the nudity of nine of the thirteen masqueraders, who are shown wearing only headdresses, which never happens; the lack of fringes on the costumes (which probably had already been removed when Spix acquired the costumes) ;` the uncovered face of one of the masqueraders, which is contrary to all the elementary rules; the child carried in the arms instead of in a sling; and the turtleshell drum being beaten from the wrong side. Finally, the solemn pace of the persons in the illustration disagrees with the text, which states that they danced and leaped about like goats. Equally in disagreement with the text are the age of the child as portrayed and the color of the woman playing the drum. Even less accurate, however, is the representation of the masquerade in Marcoy's work; it suggests that the author never attended such a ceremony and never had at hand the costumes, which he probably never succeeded in seeing. The best of the three accounts is that of Bates, who, however, conveys the erroneous impression that the ceremony he saw was a wedding. Songs of the masquerades.-It appears that anciently each type of masked dancer owned its own songs, which the performers sang when they presented themselves. But nowadays very few know how to recite them, and many chants are already forgotten, just as are many stories referring to the origin of certain costumes. The following three songs are literal translations from Tukuna texts. SONG OF THE Two SAGUINS The feast was ending. In the hut she was making a sieve. She caressed the marmoset [saguim] and said to him: "dya/dyu, if only thou wert a man to sing for food for me!" He then left. On the way he met his brother-in-law. "Let us enter [the feast house] I" he sang. He repeated what his mistress had said to him. "My mistress, dybku'6ina, said to me: 'dya/dyu, if only thou wert a man to sing for food for meII" They gave her smoked meat from the feast. His brother-in-law daYkara-cini [long ears] answered. He sang: "Go aheadI Put it [the smoked meat] on top of my ear; thou shalt see how tiny my hand is ! " SONG OF THI MAzE MASQUAD4DE O mortalI If thou hadst not been well guarded already, I should not have been taken away for thee from the underworld A8ca'ku. In ancient times aria'na, by being immortal, took me from the underworld fi6a'kuI (See pp. 112 f.) SONG OF THE ROTTEN-LOG MASQUKaADE Penica-pau"l5 yata'-yata', slowly or thou wilt splinter 8'ranbn6' [name of the rotten log], the customary place of the yellow macaws, the jutting end [of the log] ! 14 These fringes are removed after the presentation of the masks. See p. 90. 15A southern Brazilian variant of pica-pau, "woodpecker." Nimuendaju: The Tukuna Beginning of the ceremony.-By this time, if not before, the paternal uncle of the present or prospective var&kj has assumed his function as director of the cere- mony, called var6kj-c'fl', "drink of the girl." Sometimes he hangs his hammock next to the front wall of the seclusion room, since he is responsible for the girl. He is aided by his wife and the var&kj's mother, and by other relatives if necessary, in serving the drinks. The girl's father takes no part in the ceremony that directly concerns her person; the guests are his responsibility. The arrival of the guests.-In the afternoon the first canoe bringing guests draws up to the feast house. If the guest is someone of importance, the owner of the house, beating his drum and accompanied by some members of the family, who strike the rattle stick on the ground, goes to the door to receive and conduct the visitor. The guest goes up to the house, with long tucum fibers trail- ing down behind his back. His costume, if he has one, remains concealed in the canoe. Some time later, his K ; ,;t~. \~. wife also goes up, with the burden basket and the chil- dren, to hang up the hammocks in the feast house in l \\\\@h * the place indicated by the hosts. The recent arrivals greet all those who are already in the house with: "Nu'ma !," and all respond with the same word. Every- one is daubed with genipapo on the face, the women more liberally than the men (fig. 10), and the savage Fig. 10. Facial paint (geni- appearance that this paint gives to the features often papo) for a ceremony. contrasts strangely with the civilized clothing and the perfume flask, the neck of which protrudes from the coat pocket. The sides of the house are filled with hammocks and baggage, but the center remains free for the dance and the ceremonies. The men, almost all of whom carry their carved and painted dance staves (see p. 41) and their own small drums, seat themselves on long benches, which are customarily placed at the edge of the central space. Here the "uncle" of the var6ki first gives them a swallow of paiauarui brew in a small gourd and then afterward serves the paiauarui proper in a large gourd. The beginning of the dance.-Soon some arise, place the dance staves across their shoulders, hang the little drums on the lower tips, and, hitting the drums with a measured beat, begin to march by'twos and threes in single file around the margin of the central space. They are preceded by the owner of the house with his drum, or by some other member of the family who occasionally takes over, it being a question of honor for the players not to stop the drumbeat once the cere- mony has started. Thus passes the eve of the celebration. Preparation for dressing the girl.-After midnight, about two or three o'clock in the morning, the var6ki ceremony begins with the preparation of genipapo dye with which to decorate her, and also of white tururi for her costume. A basket containing some forty genipapo fruits is placed in the center of the house, together with a scraper, some leaves of a plant called nunun (Aroidea ?), two muirapiranga mallets, and two sticks of white tururi, 2.5 m. long and 5 cm. thick. Half a meter below the upper tip of these a circular furrow is cut in the bark. 85 86 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. The paternal uncle selects three persons from among those present, preferably from the clans of the var&kj's moiety, and hands them the genipapo and the two wooden mallets. A man, beating a small drum, and a woman with a rattle stick remain standing to one side, as is customary in all ceremonial acts, while the other guests continue their march around the group to the sound of the drums. The man holding the genipapo lets loose a loud, prolonged cry: "ye !" The chorus responds with the same yell, and immediately the three persons selected fall to their task, one scraping genipapo, the other two peeling off the tururi bark by rhythmic beat- ing with the mallets. From time to time, for the three workers the uncle substitutes three others; to scrape genipapo he calls upon women as well as men. Slowly the tururi bark, turned inside out, begins to descend, and the mass of scraped genipapo mounts higher on the nunun leaves. However, before this work is started, the paternal uncle goes to the girl's retreat to close her nostrils by a magic gesture that consists of twisting something; if she smells the odor of genipapo prematurely, she will die. Out in the enclosure is heard the blast of the uaricanas. The vor&kj's mother goes to the seclusion room to measure the length needed for the tururi fringes of the armbands. As soon as the two pieces of tururi are peeled to this length, the bark is pulled back to its natural position, and the two bark tubes are separated from the wood simultaneously by a circular cut. The scraper is placed in the basket, the leaves containing the genipapo pulp in front of it, the two peeled logs to the side, and the tubes of tururi are doubled and placed on top. It is now 5 A.M. Shortly thereafter the genipapo scrapings are squeezed. The paternal uncle with his clan companion, both clutching rattle sticks and accompanied by drummers, carry the two pieces of tururi in a solemn procession to the water's edge, where they remove the outer bark, being careful to give a sudden jerk to both pieces at the same time, and lift each into the air while a cry of "y~: !" comes from all par- ticipants. The pieces are washed carefully until they become whitish, after which the performers carry them back with true solemnity, marching with them round the feast house three or four times before entering. The sections of bark are opened by a lengthwise incision and are hung on the uaricana enclosure to dry in the sun. The painting of the girl.-Now follows the ritual of painting the girl with the previously prepared genipapo dye. A basin containing the dye and two corncobs is placed in the uaricana enclosure, from which the instruments have already been removed at daybreak. The women open the little door of the seclusion room which opens into the enclosure and lead out the vor6kj, who is completely naked; she covers her eyes with her hands to protect them from the sunlight. On her knees and ankles she wears narrow bands woven of tucum (formerly of cotton). Once in the enclosure, she is placed erect on the leaves containing the squeezed genipapo pulp, facing toward the side belonging to her moiety. However, on two occasions when I was present the vorekj stood on a large, flattened ball of tucum fibers, which her uncle removed at the end of the ceremony. She had made these threads during the period of her seclusion, to prove that she would be a hard- working girl and in gratitude to her uncle for all his care of her. The enclosure is full of women. One of them arranges the vorekj's hair-the locks of the forehead are drawn to the front, the others to the back-tying them Nimuendaju': The Tukuna with a horizontal fillet in this position. The shaman arrives, and grasps the hair of the girl's forehead, making gestures as if he were wrenching it. Still holding the girl firmly by the hair of her forehead, he calls all the relatives so that each one of them, first the men, then the women, may cut off a lock of hair, which they bear off with a shout of "dye: !" and immediately hand over to the uncle. The shaman twists the ends of the hair clipped from the forehead, because, when the culture hero dyoi' first cut the hair from a vor&kj's forehead, a lot of blood ran from the cut. One by one the male relatives now dip a corncob into the dye and paint a curved line on each side of the var&kj's spine from bottom to top (fig. 11), raising the corncob high each time they complete the upward sweep and shouting in chorus: "dye: !" Afterward the female relatives finish painting her completely with the same dye. AO% This done, she again returns to the seclusion room, the leaves with the genipapo pulp are carried behind her, and the door is once more securely locked. It is now eight o'clock in the morning., Transportation of the smoked meat to the feast house.- Now the rites which have as a direct object the person of the var&kj are interrupted by another act of general character, which some, however, quite properly, celebrate on the eve of the feast. At nine o'clock in the morning the host gathers all the guests together in the house and, always beating the drum, conducts them, decorated with tucum fibers, three times in a column round the house and finally to the kitchen. Upon their Fig. 11. Painting arriving there, a woman, generally the uncle's wife, paints on of girl with geni' each cheek of every person a small spot of urucu, with her fin- berty ceremony; de- gertips, sticking a bit of hawk down on each spot. As always, sign on back. another person, standing to one side, shakes the rattle stick. Going one by one in single file to the kitchen, the guests receive from the uncle, who stands next to the platform holding the smoked meat, a piece of meat, which each guest places on his shoulder. Then, always with the host in front, they again circle the house three or four times; when they enter, the uncle is already waiting by the other platform next to the seclusion room. One by one they hand him the pieces of meat they have received, and these are laid in their new places. After- ward the procession, making a few turns about the house to the beat of drums, again passes before the uncle, the guests handing him the bundles of tucum previously requested, and he hangs these from a beam near the seclusion room. The masked races customarily start at this hour, groups of five to ten persons, or even individuals, participating. The girl's costume.-The feather and other ornaments of the girl are piled on top of a tururi cloth with the aid of a cord stretched horizontally between two poles set vertically in the floor in the center of the house. The uncle directs this service, which is carried out at his request by qualified men from among the guests. The feather bracelets have already been woven by female relatives on the eve of the ceremony (pl. 11, b). The main task is mounting and painting the macaw-feather crown and the confection of fringes for the bracelets, which are 87 88 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. made of the pieces of white tururi the preparation of which began the ceremony. About two or three o'clock in the afternoon all is ready (pl. 12, a-h), and the vgr6ki's male and female relatives try the pieces on themselves, the men and women alternately dancing with them. In general, the var6ki is decorated before sunset, within the uaric'ana enclosure, or in the seclusion room if it is already dark and the uaricanas have been re- turned. The girl again stands facing in the proper cardinal direction. In addition to the black dye which she has already received, she is now painted with uruciu as well, on which hawk plumage is glued. She receives a cotton tanga, and over it is placed a kind of wide belt or tanga of strings of white glass beads of an anti- quated type; she also receives pectorals of glass beads. Then ornaments are placed on her arms: bracelets woven with toucan throat feathers, long macaw (caninde) feathers thrust vertically into the bracelet, and the fringes of white tururi. In front and back, falling from the neck to the hips, are two or more cordons of white tururi, each one with between fifteen and twenty toucan tails, which have been removed in one piece with the white abdominal feathers of the birds, interspersed with bird skins with bright plumage and snailshell rattles with bone clappers. Finally, on the vor&kj's head is placed the crown of tail feathers from the red macaw and plumes from the heron and royal hawk (pl. 12, a). If the ceremony takes place within the uaricana enclosure, the var6ki takes care to cover her eyes with the tururi fringes. Then one of the women brings a heap of nunun leaves, which she distributes among the others; the var6ki squats on her heels; all walk slowly round her and tap her lightly with the leaves, reversing the direction of march several times. At last all shout in chorus: "dye: !" and throw the leaves on top of the roof thatch. Perhaps it was this ceremony that Marcoy, without having seen it, wished to reproduce, and that appeared in his plate as a scene of flagellation. The vor&kj is again locked up in the seclusion room, where she must stand until the hour of release on the following dawn, with her hands supported on a hori- zontal beam and her face turned to the correct quarter of the house wall, behind which the musical instruments sound without interruption. She is not permitted to scratch herself with her nails, but must use a personal little stick, thrust behind her into the house thatch. According to one of my informants, in the old days, for this purpose a piece of wood was carved in the form of a hand with the fingers curled. The festive mush (mogica).-At nightfall the vor&kj's relatives bring a large pot full of mush (mogica) from the kitchen to the house. This food is distributed among the guests, who eat it, then continue to dance and drink through the night until about two or three o'clock in the morning, when it is time to remove the vor6ki definitely from seclusion. Removal of the girl from seclusion.-The paternal uncle, his wife, the vor&kj's mother, her female relatives, and some brother or cousin enter the seclusion room by the side door. They seize the girl very carefully on each side, pull the feather crown down over her eyes, and begin to dance with her, as well as the space will permit, always four paces forward to the front wall and four paces back. Nimuendaju': The Tukuna The cipos securing the laths of burity palm frond are cut, and the laths are pushed to the two sides like curtains, so that the vor&kj and her retinue may pass through. Very slowly, always advancing and retreating, the group approach the aperture, delay further in leaving, moving forward and falling back, and finally arrive at the central place in the house where they continue their seesaw dance, changing places slowly at the front. It is believed that in this hour the girl is exposed to the greatest danger, hence her relatives hold her by the arms with the greatest care, supporting her in front and back and holding the feather crown firmly over her eyes. The way Bates explains the care taken of the var6ki by the female relatives is amusing. Convinced that he was witnessing a marriage, he writes: "During this whole time16 the bride, decked out with feather ornaments, was under the charge of the elder squaws, whose business seemed to be seduously to keep the bridegroom at a safe distance until the end of the dreary period of dancing and boozing." And in the plate we see the "bride" between two women, while a little farther away is the "bridegroom," making sheep's eyes. During this dance with the var6ki it was customary to sing certain verses no longer generally known today. A literal translation from the original Tukuna text follows. 1. Oh, what is it now that our voreki has come among us, all covered with plumage? 2. Oh, what dost thou say now of her: toucan feathers? 3. Like a caterpillar [in chrysalis] our var6kl was placed in seclusion by us 1 4. [Challenging the guests' slight animation]: Art not thou absolutely ashamed to chatter like agoutist 5. I shall not become a disagreeable anthill! After five o'clock the group with the vor6ki slowly commences to go forth into the yard in their backward-forward dance, continuing to dance there and passing several times around the house until sunset, when the group halts, the feather crown is raised from the var6ki's eyes, and her arms are released. A shaman lays a firebrand before her. With rapid movements of his fingers he removes some invisible object from his own head and, with a gesture of rolling it in front of his body, lays it on the firebrand. Then, handing this to the vor&kj and pointing out to her a pupunheira tree-or, if there is none, any other tree-he tells her: "Throw it at our enemy !" She throws the firebrand against the tree, saying: "tnni! ca-rj-u'anin na ma dooan,6!" (?; 'a-ri u'anin, my enemy; dooan,', "not to bear, support"). From this moment on she can again move about freely without her relatives' protection; she then usually places herself behind one of the mummers to race with him, and so she continues to dance among the others until the hour of depilation arrives, before or shortly after midday. The depilation.-Interrupting the dance, the paternal uncle pulls out a lock of hair from the varjkj, then she is led to the center of the house, where she is seated on a tapir hide-nowadays this is almost always superseded by a tururi cloth. A jar full of paiauarui and a smaller pot containing a brew of this drink are placed before her. The uncle and another person with a rattle stick remain beside these jugs. Three to six women sit in a circle round the var&kj, on the hide, and immedi- 16 Three or four days ! 89 90 T;tiversity of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. ately begin to pluck out her hair in small swatches by rapid, vigorous tugs. According to Tessmann, this is done "with the aid of the milk of a tree"; most of the time, however, no auxiliary substance is used at all. Only rarely do the Tukuna apply friction to the scalp with ashes and lemon juice or with ant (tracua) eggs, repeating the treatment twice. Nor do they regu- larly get the girl intoxicated in order to make her stand the operation better. Some girls even reject the drinks which are offered them. Most of them bear the oper- ation with evident calm, only occasionally giving some slight demonstration of discomfort when hairs are plucked from the temples and from the nape of the neck. Nevertheless, I saw one girl soon show pain (probably more than she actually felt); although she did not cry out, she twisted and lashed about desperately. They then gave her several doses of paiauarui broth, with which she became so drunk that she was very nearly unable to carry out the rest of the ceremony. The plucked hair is piled together on a mat and then placed in a sack of tururi. Since it is regarded as of no importance, I easily succeeded in obtaining hair for my collection. At the end there is left only a small lock on top of the head, which is anointed with red urucui and twisted, finally being jerked out by the uncle and raised into the air, accompanied by shouts of "dye: !" Immediately thereafter, the vor6ki replaces the feather crown on her head and gets up; the uncle seizes her by one arm, another relative grasping her by the other; and away they 'gallop in a crazy charge around the room, gesturing, with the last lock of hair plucked out, toward the spectators' genitals. Today the uncle rarely fulfills his ancient obligation of preaching to the varekj an energetic sermon on her future duties while she listens and sobs. Seated on the tapir hide in front of her, after the depilation, he lectures her more or less as follows: "You may now leave seclusion and marry. Be diligent! A lazy girl will also have a lazy husband, like herself. Keep respect in your words to your parents and brothers. Be obedient to your mother, never going against her wishes. Above all, you should never abandon her! Even after you are married, take care of her." And so forth. The presentation of the masks.-The masqueraders make their last entrance, run in a frenzy through the house, each immediately receiving drink and a piece of smoked meat from some member of their own families, and rapidly remove their costumes. These are piled around the var6ki, who is again seated on a piece of tururl cloth in the center of the house so that her head scarcely peeps over the top. While the dance of the others continues about her to the sound of drums, the women of the house, seated together on the heap of costumes, take them up one by one, separate the face masks, undo the seams of the costumes, remove the fringes, and roll up the tururi cloths in a large cylindrical package, which will be stored. They are now the property of the host and of the var&kj's mother. The girl's bath.-Before the vor&kj bathes herself, an arrow with a round wooden tip is stuck at the entrance to the house, slightly inclined outward. All among the present company that possess magical powers-and there are some- times a half dozen-approach the girl, gesturing over her, a process that may well last an hour. Afterward, some five or six men related to the vor6ki lift her up, Nimuendaju': The Tukuna still on the tapir hide, and carry her to the river's edge, where the mother and the paternal uncle's wife remove her ornaments, while the arrow is stuck in the water some four meters from shore. Completely stripped, the vQr&kj kneels naked in the water, and the same shamans who were busy with the arrow now wash her with handfuls of water, always passing the liquid from feet to head to prevent her becoming prematurely pregnant. If the shamans overdo in this task, the girl will never have children; if, afterward, a girl is sterile, the same shamans must be called in again to undo the spell. Finally, the var6ki crawls on all fours between the legs of one of the shamans, who remains standing in the water next to the arrow. Giving a leap and circling the arrow, she dives several times into the deeper water. While she is going ashore to be decorated anew, one of the shamans pulls out the arrow and holds it vertically over the surface of the river, while with the other hand he makes gestures with water toward the arrow. Once I saw a vorekj, who was not carried to the bath but went afoot, throw before her path handfuls of ashes, on which she walked in order to protect herself against some malignant influence emanating from the earth. The close of the ceremony.-The seclusion room and the platform beside it for the smoked meat are demolished, the wreckage being piled in the center of the house. This is swept, and all the rubbish, which is naturally considerable, is heaped up in burden baskets. Each guest takes an armful of the debris, and the women carry away the burden baskets full of rubbish, while others bundle up the dance staves, spears, and masquerade hooks. Thereupon all follow in procession to the river, where they throw their loads into the water (pl. 11, c). Unless this is done, all the residents of the house will sicken and slowly die. On this occasion everyone takes a bath without removing his clothes; that is, men, women, and children drag and toss one another into the river. Soon the clayey edge, wetted down by those entering and leaving, becomes so slick that any push is sufficient to force a person to slip into the river. The scene arouses great hilarity and at times has a certain erotic stamp, but it is still an excellent refresher to raise the spirits of those who have drunk to excess. The guests change their wet and muddy festive attire for workaday clothing, load their canoes, and leave, but those remaining behind take to their hammocks only after emptying the jars to the last drop of paiauaru'. The house is again care- fully swept and, as the only memory of the feast, there remains the var6ki with a cloth wrapped round her head (pl. 15, a), costume fringes thrown over the highest rafters, a few costumes dangling from the house posts, and some dance staves that escaped destruction thrust beneath the roof thatch. No remedy is applied to the var&kj's denuded head; however, I once saw a woman with a beautiful head of hair rub it over the girl's cranium immediately after the depilation. I have never seen, or heard it said, that the operation has any disagreeable consequences for the girl except that she must wear a handker- chief tied round her head until the new hair has grown. In the old days there was an additional ceremony immediately after the close of the feast, of which a remembrance is preserved in legends. The var6ki was taken by her relatives to some fishing spot in the igarape and, standing erect in the water, was washed with a solution of the drug timbo. It was hoped that this 91 92 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. would ensure a grand catch of fish. The following legend, "The Son of Timbo," concerns this ancient ceremony. The relatives of the varek1 took her with them into the jungle in order to pull timb6 for her bath. While so occupied they left her sitting on a nodular outgrowth of a timb6 root, where she remained waiting the entire time while the relatives were busy in the timb6 stand. Without having had any sexual relations whatsoever she became pregnant by the spirit of the timb6 and gave birth to a son. When, after six months, she carried the child for the first time to take a bath in the igarap6, she noticed that as soon as she dipped the little boy into the water, the fish died in great numbers around him. When, in the second bath, this phenomenon was repeated, she realized that the boy was the cause and that he was the son of timb6. From then on she no longer bathed him in the igarap6, for fear that all the fish might die, but bathed him on land. When the boy grew older, his relatives used him to kill fish, allowing him to swim a little in the igarape. Koch-Griinberg collected an Arekuna legend of a boy who produced the same effects."7 A couple of hours [boat trip] above the settlement of Santa Rita an igarape debouches from the left bank of the Solim6es; the old maps give it the name of Quiria, but today it is called Igarape da Rita. This name, which it bore even before the founding of Santa Rita in 1870, gave rise to the following story. In this igarap6 there was a Tukuna girl called Rita in Portuguese. One day, after her puberty ceremony, her relatives prepared a solution of timb6 in a large basin made from a paxiuba spatulate. Taking the girl, they all went for a turn about the igarape, where the present homes of Nino and Sebastiao are now, and where there is a very deep sink (popo), which never dries up. They seated Rita on a horizontal fallen log in the igarap6 and washed her with timb6. The fish began to die, and the current carried them off downstream. Everyone followed the prize, leaving Rita seated alone on her log. When they returned she had disappeared, and not the slightest trace of her was ever seen again; hence they were convinced that some immortal had carried her off. Supplementary ceremony.-After six or eight months, when the vorkj's hair has grown again, a supplementary ceremony is celebrated, like the one after the first depilation (see p. 90), and like it called dyo-pa'kM (to cut the hair across the forehead). The owner of the house, when he wishes to celebrate it, says: "ce 'i ne'i e' ca gu'u" ("I shall burn the fleas"), since they believe that, unless this is done, fleas will increase in a disagreeable way. For this feast drinks are also pre- pared, but a smaller group of guests is invited and no costumes are requested. Uaricanas and seclusion are also lacking. On this occasion the leftovers from the previous celebration are burned in the center of the house-the masks and fringes but not the tururi cloth of the cos- tumes, which they utilize as mats. The coals of the fire are passed round the heels of those present to prevent them from being attacked by fleas. Subsequent menstruation.-There are few restrictions for this. Only if the flow is very strong does the menstruating girl retire for a while. The spirits of certain trees such as the kapok-sumahuma (voci'ne), which the Tukuna identify with the curupira of the Neobrazilians-have the tendency to wound menstruating women with "arrows," even by day; this is why women do not like to stray far from the house yard while menstruating. Contact with menstrual blood makes a man inefficient (l.g., panema; T., iiejp) in hunting and fishing, and even in other activities. A pepper bath is the most efficacious antidote. 17 Koch-Griinberg, Vom Roroaima zum Orinoco, 2:70. Nimuendaju': The Tukunna MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFmE According to my Tukuna informants, theoretically a girl may marry as soon after the puberty ceremony as she wishes. However, in practice I have never heard of a girl marrying until the hair had grown anew and had been clipped again, while many remain spinsters for some years afterward, if not for their entire lives. Even today sexual intercourse before the puberty ceremony is unimagin- able and, according to some, this held formerly for premarital intercourse as well. I have reason to suppose that nowadays the jungle and the silent waters of the igapo, over which the small fishing canoes rapidly glide without leaving any be- traying evidence, conceal the secrets of many lovers, whose parents suspect noth- ing. The Tukuna, however, because of the few barriers to marriage apart from incest rules, vigorously resent any deceit on this score, which may result in very serious conflicts. Parents consider secret relations between a man and their daughter a -grave offense; they demand an explanation from the imprudent man who did not respect "their home" and advise him that he had better marry the girl. If he refuses, which almost never happens, his only recourse is flight. Some thirty years ago a certain Marcolino caita' married the elder of two daughters of one daura'fikj. After some time he became enamored of his sister-in- law. If he had asked permission to marry her, daura'Akj probably would have given it, but caita' abandoned his wife and fled with her sister. Accompanied by his brother, daura'Akj furiously pursued the pair and overtook them; he slapped them both, bound the girl and threw her into his canoe, and let caita' go scot free on the beach. As soon as the son-in-law found himself free, he jumped on daura'ikj, who killed him with a club during the struggle. Rape never occurs among the Tukuna, who know of this crime only from the Neobrazilians. When I attempted to get some concrete information on this, those whom I approached merely answered: "If she will not-who may take her?" Cer- tain civilizados who assumed that such a crime could be committed with impunity against an Indian woman have come off very badly with the Tukuna. A trader called Joaquim Balieiro arrived in his craft, manned by two civilized paddlers, at the place of an Indian on Lake Cajary, where he found at home only a young boy named Izidoro 666a'kakj and his virgin sister. The trader requested permission to pass the night in the house, which was granted. Later on, the three Neobrazilians conceived the plan of getting the boy drunk so as to be able to take advantage of the girl. They gave him plenty of cachaQa, but let the cat out of the bag pre- maturely, before he had become sufficiently drunk. Thus 666a'kaki understood what was afoot and attacked the three with fury, shooting and killing the trader, while the paddlers barely succeeded in escaping. One of them, whom I knew per- sonally, was gravely wounded. Back among their own kind, they said that 666a'kaki had assaulted them with intent of robbery. Again, in a certain igarape there dwelt an Indian who had two young daughters; farther upstream lived two rubber gatherers. Going down to their tent on the bank of the Solim6es one day, these two found the Indian there. Seeing that he was lingering, the two hurried back, entered his house, deflowered the two girls, and then left in their canoe for their camp. Shortly after, the Indian returned 93 94 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. and, learning what had happened, called some relatives, scouted out the two rubber gatherers by land, fired at them from the beach, and killed them both. Courtship and marriage.-A type of marriage preferred by the Tukuna is illustrated in figure 12: A marries the sister of B, while B marries A's sister. Generally, the suitor asks for the girl through her paternal uncle, who also exer- cises decisive authority in this matter. The initiative never stems directly or in- directly from the girl. In ancient times the parents and uncles arranged the mar- riage when bride and groom were still children, sometimes only five years old, I was told. After puberty the young people were obliged to carry out the agreement made by the parents and were requested to "get used to each other." Personally, I have never come in contact with an arrangement of this sort. Some youths who realize their moral or economic unfitness for marriage, or who are afraid of the girl's parents, delay excessively the declaration to her paternal uncle while continuing to boast before their comrades: "She is mine !" Thus they come to excite ridicule and are finally forced by their companions' derision to desist or finally to declare themselves. Perhaps the only intermediary the swain can procure is the girl's father; he, however, always sends the suitor to the girl's uncle, who has the right of veto, since the parents habitually avoid opposition in order not to provide a motive for future discord between the families. It is only afterward that the girl's mother has an understanding with her future son-in-law, seriously advising him to treat her daughter well; otherwise, she Will take her back. Meanwhile the request and subsequent declarations are so handled that per- sons not concerned are never aware of them; any attempt by an outsider to inter- fere would be considered an affront. If the girl peremptorily refuses to accept the suitor, not even her uncle, notwithstanding that he has given his consent, can force the issue. A curious reason for refusal was given by dD/tanjna when one bere' proposed marriage. She rejected him because he was "too hard a worker." bere' is known as one of the most diligent Indians in the region-a planter of large clearings, an assiduous fisherman, and an able canoewright. daotanjna, known as a sluggard, has nothing and does not know how to make anything, lives at her brothers' expense, and with good reason was afraid that, if bere' were her hus- band, his activities would mean too much work for her. Apparently, some suitors muster the necessary courage to declare themselves only after imbibing a good quantity of paiauarui at some feast attended by the girl's family. Even so, the business is broached without the other guests' being aware of it, since the youth never publicly announces his request but asks the girl's uncle privately, in some corner where no attention will be attracted. At the close of the party the numerous guests suddenly learn, though with no great sur- prise, that So-and-so and What's-her-name are already married (que fulano e sicrana ja estao casados). It is not the custom to give presents either to the bride or to her parents, nor do the latter demand chores from the bridegroom before the wedding. Polygamy.-It is legitimate for a man to marry more than one woman at the same time, but polygamy is rare. I heard of only one Indian who had three wives, viz., the late Domingos cu'nekj, who died between 1910 and 1920, last chief at Igarape de Sao Jeronymo and a famous shaman. He married three sisters whom Nimuendaju': The Tukuna their father had turned over to him, one after the other, because of his high regard for c'u'nekj. Besides this typical example of sororal polygyny, I know of three other unions in which an Indian married two sisters simultaneously. The levirate is said to have been formerly frequent and considered meritorious, but not obligatory. I myself have never encountered it, but I do know of two widowers each of whom married the widow of his brother; each widow already had children. More numerous are instances of bigamy in which the two women are not sisters and belong to different clans; I knew of eight such unions. Sometimes the particular circumstances that prompt bigamy are interesting. Antonio juruti', though married for many years, never had any children, so he took another wife, a niece of the first-but with the same result. When Joao Arapago va'iicakj's first wife had a child, at his wife's request he summoned her niece to his house to help her, since the niece was getting on badly with her step- father, who could not abide her. Some time later, va'i&akj took this nurse of his child as his second wife, with her aunt's full consent. The wife of a certain Jeronymo of the Rio Jacurapa happened to fall ill just when his large crop of manioc should have been made into flour, for which reason he asked for, and received in marriage, his second wife. There are, however, women who will not consent to their husband's taking a second helpmate. The best sculptress of tucuma figurines, e'kjrane, was married to Anastacio daune'kj, who never begot a child with her. He then proposed to her that he marry a second woman, but she resolutely opposed this, preferring a separation. Anastacio did marry the other woman, who lived only in a state of illness, being passed from one shaman to another, for she also was barren. In general, two wives live in harmony and help each other unless the difference in their ages is too great. If it is, the situation becomes a bit whimsical. Rufino ba/kj'rakj, some forty years old and married to a woman of the same age, was the father of various children. His eldest daughter was already married and expect- ing her first child when, at his second daughter's puberty ceremony, he married a girl eighteen years old. The natural consequence of the striking difference in the ages of the two wives was that the second, instead of considering herself the com- panion of the first, associated with the young girl, her stepdaughter. Jeolousy.-According to Tessmann, in case of adultery the husband fights his rival. But I know of no fights between persons of the same sex because of jealousy. On the other hand, among spouses jealousy causes violent scenes (see p. 51), which may lead to separation. A husband who realizes that his wife has just reasons for jealousy forces him- self to bear calmly vituperation and even a shower of blows, "if he is a serious man," according to the expression of one of my informants, who very calmly confessed that in fifteen years of married life he had been thrashed some twenty times by his jealous wife. The wife receives the same treatment, but such scenes, unless unduly repeated, cause little scandal. Divorce.-I never heard of a husband's having murdered his wife, but what may happen, if there is dissension, is that either will obtain a divorce. The wife's relatives will not permit gross maltreatment of her by the husband; hence, if he maltreats her and conciliatory intervention proves fruitless, they force her to re- 95 96 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. turn to the paternal house. The clearing that her husband made, and which she planted and took care of, is hers, since "a man has arms to make another." In general, a divorced woman's children remain with her, but the former husband may demand them for himself; if so, he cannot be denied them. Also, if the wife's family is in economic difficulties, she may oblige the divorced husband to care for and support the children. Often, women divorced in this way do not marry again but carry on relations with whom they please, that is, away from the parental roof. Several times I heard older Indians complain of the increasing fickleness with which certain youths contract, and shortly thereafter dissolve, marriages. I ob- served two marriages in which the young husband abandoned his wife after a week, leaving her for no apparent reason, never to return. It appears to me that fickleness in marriage is not only increasing among the youths but is also prev- alent, on a smaller scale, among the girls. It is related to the increasing prole- tarianization of a certain section of the tribe through the influence of industrial establishments in the region. Many of these establishments provide food and prosti- tutes for the young men whom they employ, making marriage unnecessary for them. Adultery.-In adultery, the woman is the only one considered responsible. Per- haps the informant cited above on defloration would say of this also: "If she will not-who may take her?" A single commission of adultery on the part of either spouse, even though established beyond a doubt, is not held to be sufficient cause for divorce, the problem being solved merely by a blow; only if the act is repeated, does this solution fail. Adultery appears extremely rare in economically well- balanced families. Throughout my entire stay among the Tukuna not one divorce took place in families with a stable economy, nor was there in such families any scandal involving adultery. Tendency to matrilocal residence.-If the Tukuna are right in saying that in the old days malocas were inhabited by families of only one clan, residence must then have been patrilocal. Today there is no fixed rule, but there is a well- established tendency for parents not to let a daughter out of sight and free from their control even after marriage. Compare with this the uncle's counsel to the var&kj: "Never abandon your mother, and look out for her even after marriage" (p. 90); and the prospective mother-in-law's threat to the suitor that she will reclaim her daughter if the latter is not well treated (p. 94). One family of Igarape da Rita was visibly disgusted by the marriage of a daughter to an Indian who later went to live with her in the neighborhood of Belem, about twenty-five kilometers away as the crow flies. It appeared that the parents were waiting only for some pretext to dissolve the union, since they were already openly discussing this eventuality. Usually the husband first lives for some time in the house of his in-laws. Some never leave, but most later set up their own establishments not far away. The preferred type of marriage, described earlier in this section, favors this tendency to a certain extent. Daily life.-I should emphasize the fact that family life among the Tukuna runs with extreme calm and monotony. I have associated for months with certain families without noting the slightest altercation. The transports of rage to which Nimuendaju': The Tukuna I have occasionally referred and the excesses committed during drunkenness, though characteristic of these people, do not seriously alter the general picture. Among the inhabitants of a house, who are always of the same family, the authority of the father or of the grandfather is supreme, being recognized in an argument, without dispute. The mother or grandmother shares in this authority, especially in the treatment of the daughters. The old man is the owner of the house, though others may have contributed to its construction. If he wishes to move to another locality, all accompany him, even if they are dead set against it. The inhabitants of neighboring houses are generally in some way related, per- haps representing today the ancient communal dwelling. They share their neces- sities and likewise distribute any surplus among themselves, always in the most intimate sociability. The diagram (fig. 12) shows the composition of one of these , . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I . ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ , Zr '^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~or (p.' ~ ~ (9 Y~~~~~ Fig. 12. Clan relationships. Dotted circle, Clan diva' = seringarana = a'i = onga. Solid line circle, Clan Au/nQn = mutum fava. local groupings of related families, comprising three houses with thirty-two in- habitants. Note that A marries the sister of B, and B marries the sister of A. C marries successively two sisters of A; his two sons-in-law live with him; and F, another brother-in-law, lives with A. The group is therefore composed of sons, sons-in-law, grandsons, and great-grandsons of X, deceased. Widows and orphans.-In these groups, widows and orphans always find the necessary shelter. A certain widow living with her daughters of thirteen and fifteen years old apparently has her economic life perfectly balanced. The three females plant in the clearing which they themselves are able to clear of under- growth with a machete; they make farinha; they fish; and they make tucum fiber hammocks for sale. A married son, who lives close by, helps them whenever neces- sary. Small orphans are adopted by an uncle or aunt, who bring them up with their own children. Formerly, also, the levirate often relieved the situation of a widow and her children. A widower alone with his small children is in a less favor- able economic situation; his place is always in a run-down condition, and the children, during the necessary absences of their father, naturally try to make up to the neighboring relatives. Sooner or later, the widower either remarries or, following the example of his sons, moves in with the family of a relative. This is an outstanding demonstration of the economic importance of the Tukuna woman. 97 98 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. DEATH AND BURIAL When a person is dying, all the kin within reach gather round him; otherwise the agony would be much prolonged. Hippolyto's wife fought death for two hours until the arrival of Nino, her husband's paternal uncle, who sent for her husband. Already unconscious, she expired as soon as Hippolyto arrived at her side. Paternal male relatives, primarily brothers and uncles, dig the grave, but other kin also help. They clip the hair, if it has grown excessively during illness, placing the surplus hair next to the body. Nino told me that, on the occasion of his father's death, his mother had the shaman Romao called in, who took down the invisible hammock of the deceased's soul (nacii'), rolled it up, and placed it beside the body. At the dead person's side of the house are placed a bit of food and a little drink that he liked when he was alive. All the Tukuna whom I consulted agreed that in ancient times the body was buried, with knees flexed, in an urn; it was decorated with armbands, tooth necklaces, and glass beads. The deceased never had his weapons with him in the grave, lest his nacii' use them against living persons. A pot was placed upside down over the mouth of the urn. Thus it was carried to the cemetery (ta'uke) and buried, not very deeply. Over the grave, which was sometimes marked with a stake of muirapiranga wood, the food was placed which previously had been put at the side of the corpse when it was in the house, or a little maize, water, and fire; otherwise, the nacii' would come at night and disturb the provisions kept in the house. Highly regarded persons, especially children, were buried inside the house, which was not burned down. There are no reports of secondary burial. Weeping of relatives for the deceased was, and is, moderate, and there are no attempts at suicide, mutilations, or in- juries motivated by mourning. Upon returning from the burial, all bathe, rubbing themselves with calabash tree (Crescentia cuyete) leaves to free themselves of the smell of the corpse. The house is swept, but not the path to the cemetery. On that, however, they scatter the leaves of a plant called dfatv, which serve as flails, arraias (lit., rays, skates) for the nacii', impeding their return. On the left bank of the Igarape da Rita, a little above Hippolyto's place, an ancient cemetery was discovered, containing many burial pots with bones and beads, covered with flat receptacles. Bates also refers to Tukuna urn burial: "The dead bodies of their chiefs are interred, the knees doubled up, in large jars under the floor of their huts." Tessmann describes a form of burial so different that his informant must have referred to funeral customs of some other tribe with which he was acquainted: Alle Leute, Hiiuptlinge, gewohnliche Leute und Kinder werden gleichartig bestattet und zwar in einem Kanu das mit Holzplatten zugedeekt wird. Dieser Sarg wird nicht in den Hiiusern begraben sondern ausserhalb, in der Pflanzung.... Bei Zauberern wird die Leiche nicht wieder ausgegraben, wohl aber bei Lichtmenschen. Es gesehieht nach etwa vier Monaten. Die Schadel und alle Knochen werden herausgenommen, sauber gereinigt, in KRrbe betan und an einer besonderen Stelle, die Tauke genannt wird, von neuem bestattet. Es soil ein kleiner Hugel uiber dieser Stelle aufgehiiuft werden. Canoe burial was practiced by the Omagua, of whom Heriarte wrote in 1662: "When they die they are buried, taken to the river with great ceremony and with Nimuendaju': The Tukuna 99 all that they possess of their property. And he who died is placed in a small canoe, which they say he uses for travelling in another world." The last instances of urn burial probably took place at the end of the last cen- tury, since Nino's deceased mother told him that she had attended one. In their heyday, the rubber-collecting patr6es obliged the Tukuna to bury their dead in Christian cemeteries and according to Christian custom, so that even today most of the Indians are thus buried. These graves are no different from those of the Neobrazilians. Those found a short distance behind the houses of isolated Indians never have a cross; in its place a post is sometimes put up. Since ancient times, the Tukuna have been accustomed to visit the graves at intervals, taking leaf packages containing food and gourds with beverages. On these occasions they drink manioc beer at the grave, first taking care, however, to permit the nacii' to drink first, lest, in the form of a weasel (ira'ra), it destroy the crops. Under Christian influence this ceremony later was set for All Souls' Day [Dia de Finados], the se ond of November. Lately, seeing that the Christians were removing and enjoying the Indians' offerings to the dead, the Tukuna have abandoned this practice of leaving food at the graves. IV. MAGIC AND RELIGION THE SHAMAN ACCORDING TO Bates, each Tukuna band "obeys [I?] a chief of more or less influence, according to his energy and ambition, and possesses its page or 'medicine-man' who fans their superstitions."1 The impression I had was that magical knowledge constituted a prerequisite for the office of chief, but very few of those who have this knowledge show at the same time the necessary qualifications for the post. Today not one chief remains, but there are still shamans of greater or less efficiency and prestige; and since this job represents no public function but rather a personal and private one, there are bands with more than one shaman. The Tukuna term for shamans is dyu'vita. The origin of their art is given as follows. When au6'mana was two years old, she used to cry a great deal during the night. Her mother became angered by this and expelled her from the house, closing the door. au6Ymana wept alone in the yard the whole night until a cunauarfi toad2 came and carried her off. She remained in his company until she became a young girl, learning from him all the magical arts, from killing to curing by suction. Later she returned to live among men in order to practice magic. Many learned the art she taught; theretofore magic was unknown. aue'mana grew very old and, when her physical strength deserted her, she asked some girls to prepare her food; but these refused because they did not like her. Then during the night, while they were sleeping, aue'mana extracted their leg bones from their bodies. The next morning they saw her seated beside her fire eating the marrow of the bones, since this was her only food. How- ever, the girls could no longer get up. When this became widely known, the people slew aue'mana, cutting her neck with a stone knife. She caught the blood that ran down, in her cupped hand, blew it toward the sun, and said: "u:u ta'ta pe gi na Ae'i pe nu a'eel" ["The soul enter into thee, also I "] Since then, the soul of a victim enters the body of the killer. This legend shows that between the sorcerer who inflicts disease and the curing shaman who removes disease, there is not that essential difference to which Tess- mann refers.! According to him, the Tukuna name for the curer' is "dyo'wue"' and for the sorcerer "nokewue," a name which I have never heard and cannot explain. Once in a great while I have heard the sorcerer called dyuvjkj, but kj means only "person," and in general the term dyu'vjta is employed for both kinds of shaman. The shaman may kill one person and cure another. The fact that he possesses, among other magical attributes, the power of espinhos, "thorns," does not mean that these are all he uses; on the other hand, if he does not possess this power, he may acquire it at any time. One may constantly observe that among the Tukuna no shaman is ever free from suspicion. Source of power.-Magical powers of the shamans stem from their relations with tree spirits (nain arj ma:'n). These trees have nothing to do with those whose souls (naa'6), as we have seen (p. 57), roam the night in the form of a spotted jaguar, puma, dog, or agouti. Luckily, not all trees have spirits; otherwise, clearings could not be made, since the planter must spare spirits' trees on pain of being shot by 1 Bates, p. 401. 2fHyla venulosa; T., e'pive. 8 Tessman, pp. 562, 563. 4 The word used is curados, but the sense indicated is curandeiro, "curer."-Trans. 5 T., dyu'vita; see above.-Trans. [ 100] Nimuendaju: The Tukuna the spirits' arrows. Also, the spirits of dead trees may be present anywhere in the neighborhood and wound those with whom they collide. A person with an over- heated body feels the arrow wound from a spirit as a fillip with the fingertips. This is the supposed cause of some deaths, due ultimately to the malefactions of some shaman. The most dangerous tree of all is the caapi cipo (Banisteria sp.), which the Tukuna know only by its Peruvian name of ayahuasca, sometimes cor- rupted into eueuva'cu. It is strange that they are unaware of the plant's qualities; because of this ignorance they do not prepare from it any narcotic, as do the neigh- boring Indians. Thus, they know that the Kokama possess a plant which produces visions; but only one Tukuna, now deceased, learned from them its use as a nar- cotic, and he did not pass the knowledge along to anyone else. According to my informants, the chief Domingos cu'neki, a curing shaman (p. 65) had a different method of stimulating visions. There is a cultivated tree with small, white, calycine flowers which, when broken open, exhibit a liquid. Placing drops of this in his eyes, cu'nekj succeeded in seeing the demon dye'vae (see p. 120), as well as other demons (Aao'), and the tree spirits; he could also discover his enemies. Other trees possessing spirits are the kapok, sumahuma, whose spirit is identified with the forest demon Caapora of the lingua geral, the manixy (?), the agacu (Hura crepitans), the muirapiranga, the ucuhuba (Virola sp.), and a tree which reaches at the most a diameter of fifteen centimeters and is called in Tukuna na'in-ya-dyu'j, that is, "shaman log." Its wood has an odor similar to that of laurel, and the soil around its trunk is always barren. Instruction of a shaman.-Any person who wishes to become a shaman must be placed in contact with the spirits of the trees by another person already initiated. Some shamans begin to educate their sons when the boys are six years old. Usually, however, the aspirant betakes himself to a master of recognized fame, whom he pays for instruction. This teacher begins only after sunset. Within only two months' time the disciple (ny6na'rjkatj) possesses the most necessary knowledge for curing through suction and by the application of herbs or other medicinal substances. During this period of instruction he must abstain from sexual intercourse and must follow a diet, eating only certain fishes (cachorra, trahira, sardinha, curimata, caraiuacui vermelho, and jejui, but no scaleless fish) and green bananas, taking care that these last are straight and not curved as they usually are. Among birds espe- cially recommended to him are macucaua (Tinamus sp.) and tangurupard (Monassa sp.). All of his food must contain very little salt; he should completely abstain from pepper, fats, sweets, and alcoholic beverages and should also avoid exposure to the sun. Initiation is in two parts: in the first, the master presents to the disciple a portion of the magical substances in his body; in the second, he places him in contact with the spirits of the trees. The disciple is specially prepared for the initiation; he must drink a gourdful of tobacco infusion so as to vomit all impurities (puya) acquired through sexual contact; after which he must wash out his mouth. The infusion leaves him in a state of narcosis. The master, by massaging his own body, directs toward his mouth all the magical substances which he possesses, vomiting them in the form of slime (ta: 'kaka; l.g., tacaca, a beverage of manioc starch). Holding the slime in the palm of his hand, he shows this to the disciple, inviting him to 101 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. choose [the powers he desires]: "Do you want these two?' They are good ones. Or those two? They are bad ones. Or these others?" The disciple swallows the ones chosen. On the following day the master teaches his pupil the songs of the tree spirits, and at night asks one of them to visit the pupil. It comes to him in a dream in human form, about the size of a four-year-old child, and hands the dreamer a small gourd with a tobacco infusion, which he drinks. Then the spirit asks him what he wishes, and the disciple indicates his desire to have the spirit as an assistant. Then the spirit sings his song (na'ae), which the novice learns and sings after the visitor's departure. When this initiation is completed, the master does not fail to advise the learner in forceful and energetic terms never to abuse his acquired powers but to employ them exclusively against "our enemies," that is, against evil sorcerers, so that he will not, beneath the cudgels of avengers, die before his time. Witchcraft through "thorns".7-However, for a shaman the temptation to em- ploy his acquired powers against any object of private disaffection is great and, if the new shaman has not already received any magical substances (ta:'kaka) of evil effect, he asks one of the spirit trees that possess thorns, especially the pupunha palm and the acacu', for them. At the foot of one of these trees he clears a spot, and on it he places a small gourd with a cigarette rolled in the inner bark of tauari lying across the top. The following morning he finds in the pot the ta: 'kaka, which contains (in an altered state) the thorns requested; this he swallows. The thorns, the sorcerer's "arrows," are placed on his right forearm; the "bow" is his left forearm. Even so, the sorcerer does not shoot his projectiles with the motion of an arrow release. Going alone into the jungle after sunset, he concentrates the magic sub- stances on his right thumb, and, giving a flick with the thumbnail placed beneath the nail of the third finger, he speeds the thorns on their way toward the victim. Some shamans, as far as can be ascertained, vomit the ta: 'kaka, afterward throwing it with the hand. The thorns, always male and female, penetrate the body of the bewitched invisibly, and usually insensibly; there they meet and reproduce in great numbers, spreading throughout the entire body via the bloodstream, cor- rupting it and causing death, unless a competent person intervenes in time. The sick person has recourse to a shaman, whose first care is to see in a dream the perpetrator of evil. Afterward, by feeling the patient he locates the thorns and extracts them by sucking. A treatment with vegetable medicines completes the cure (see p. 23). The medicinal properties of many plants are general knowledge, and they may be used by anyone; it is only hoped that the shaman may have more extensive knowledge of them. Occasionally the Tukuna employ a curious medicine to provoke vomiting. In the igapos of their territory, a tree frog (Phyllomedusa sp.; T., ba'kara, in imita- tion of the croak) is found fairly frequently, which has a vivid green back, a whitish belly, and on its flanks a slime of soapy consistency that disintegrates in water. The creature moves extremely slowly, hence it is easily captured. The Indians 6 Magical substances are always in pairs, male and female. Espinhos: lit., "thorns," "boils," "afflictions." After examination of the context, I believe that "thorns" is the best term.-Trans. 102 Nimuendaju: The Tukuna catch it by means of a leaf and transfer the slime directly to the skin of the arm, in order to produce vomiting, for example, after a drinking bout. Other witchcraft.-Thorns, however, are not the only means by which the sor- cerers destroy the objects of their malevolence. Some harbor a venomous snake in their body and send it against the enemy. Others sing to the spirit of the "shaman log" rotting on the riverbank, transforming it into a snake that will bite the enemy as he passes. Not all snake bites are caused by witchcraft, however; there are snakes that, without having any connection at all with shamans, bite anyone who passes. Again, sorcerers send the ghosts of ferocious animals against the persons whom they wish to eliminate, causing the victims to provoke bloody quarrels in which they are killed. Others, by a method I failed to learn, cause madness in their vic- tims, who commit suicide. The suicides described earlier, and one not mentioned, were all attributed to the malefactions of the celebrated warlock, u'iru, whose death I shall relate farther on. An interesting observation concerning this madness caused by witchcraft was made to me by Calixto daueru'kj, himself a shaman of no mean reputation: "The sorcerer can injure only fools, against the wise he can do nothing." For this reason the Tukuna believe that their warlocks are powerless against civilized persons. Quirino, who died in 1932, swore that, among the Tukuna of Peruate, Peru, he had been an eyewitness to an act of sorcery, which he described as follows. One day, while yet a boy, he followed an old man going into the jungle. There Quirino watched him weave the figure of a jaguar from uaruma, on which he placed a strip of tururi stretching from the tip of the muzzle to the tip of the tail. He had re- ceived this tururi, as well as the uaruma, from the underworld, na: 'pj (the habita- tion of the demons). He stretched the tururi until it covered the figure entirely, afterward painting it with black spots like those of a jaguar. Then he turned to the boy and said, "Do not be alarmed !" and tossed the figure on top of an anthill (cupim). Immediately it was transformed into a live jaguar, which ran off howling into the jungle. This jaguar killed people and brought their bodies to the old man, who ate them. Quirino told his father what he had seen, and the news spread, coming to the attention of the civilized Peruvians, who ordered the old man arrested and burned. This story is interesting because it proves that warlocks maintain relations also with the demons of the underworld. Identification of a murdering sorcerer.-When a person is considered to have died as a result of witchcraft, his relatives do not always take the trouble to have the murdering sorcerer discovered. Sometimes, however, they call in a competent shaman, who smokes beside the corpse, goes to sleep, and sees in a dream the soul of the slayer coming to eat his victim. Formerly there were shamans who, after obliging everyone else to leave the house, sang in sight of the cadaver, smoked, and opened the earth invisibly by means of magic gestures with their hands. Through this aperture they invoked the warlock's soul, and as soon as it appeared they struck it down. The wounded soul immediately returned to the body of the sorcerer, who died within the hour. Nino ~v6njnkj told me the following about the death of Marcellino, the famous sorcerer and chief of the cara' clan, at which he was present in 1938. The soul 103 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. (naa'i) of Marcellino had left his body in a dream and gone far up the Solimoes to kill people in Peru. There it was wounded by a shaman's knife, and when it returned, Marcellino died of this wound, blood welling up from his mouth. He vomited two potfuls of ta:'kaka, after which he bade farewell to all: "The soul of my deceased mother has just arrived; now I shall go with her !" he said, and died. Calixto daueru'kj told me that the magic songs leave the shaman's body in the form of wasps, lizards, and other small creatures, coming forth from the mouth and disappearing immediately. Nino, in spite of the experience related above, was of the opinion that the magic substances "died of hunger" within the body of the shaman. The shaman's trance.-Every shaman has certain specific methods of curing, according to his own personal experience. Nino told me how the old shaman Romao proceeded when he undertook cures, at which the informant had been present many times. First, the doctor placed a wad of cut tobacco in each cheek, sat down next to the sufferer-later ordering a cleared place prepared behind him-and began his invocations. After some time, he coughed, fell backward and, shaking his knees, began to sing. It was a tree spirit that had entered his body, singing now through his mouth and declaring that it had caused the disease by command of sorcerer So-and-so. The voice came from Romao's throat as if it came from one of those thick bamboo horns, ko'inri, used at the puberty ceremony by moiety B. It was said that he had a bumblebee in his throat which caused the sound. When Romao became senile, the insect abandoned him, and he never sang again. After the song, Romao got up to suck from the sufferer's body the pathogenie material. Songs and sucking were thus repeated several times. After the cure was completed, he spat out the tobacco into a special little pot, which he threw away afterward. It appears to me that it was a cure of this type which Lewis Herndon surprised and interrupted in 1851 at Tabatinga: After dark he [the missionary] proposed that we should go out and see some of the incantations of the Indians for the cure of the sick. We heard music at a distance, and approached a large house whence it proceeded, in which the padre said there was almost always someone sick. We listened at the door, which was closed. There seemed to be a number of persons singing inside. I was almost enchanted myself. I never heard such tones, and think that even instrumental music could not be made to equal them.... I had heard nothing like this before. The tones were so low, so faint, so guttural, and at the same time so sweet and clear that I could scarcely believe they came from human throats; and they seemed fitting sounds in which to address spirits of another world.... The noise we made in opening the door caused a hasty retreat of some persons, which we could hear and partly see; and when we entered, we found but two Indians-an old man and a young one-sitting on the floor by a little heap of flaming copal, engaged in chewing tobacco and spitting it in an earthen pot before them. The young man turned his face to the wall with a sullen look, and although the old man smiled when he was patted on the head and desired to proceed with his music, yet it was with a smile that had no mirth of satisfaction in it and showed plainly that he was annoyed, and would have expressed his annoyance had he dared." Shamans' pipes.-Formerly, the shamans also smoked pipes instead of tauari cigarettes. These pipes, cimjta'pa (6imi, centipede), made of black maraja palm wood, were from 15 to 20 cm. long and cone-shaped. The bowl in which the tobacco was placed was between 3 and 4 cm. in diameter. The pipe was smoked through a 8H erndon and Gibbon, 1:236. 104 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna lateral hole, a little below the tip. It was so described to me by Nino, who had seen one used by old Romao. I myself never got to see one. Soul loss.-We have already seen (p. 101) how the spirits of the trees may cause disease, not only at the request of a sorcerer but also spontaneously. In addition, there are still two categories of disease: those caused by soul loss and those caused by epidemics of post-Columbian origin. The tree spirits kidnap the souls of the living, but apparently only those of children, as do the aquatic demon dye'vae and the ghosts of the defunct (nacii'). For this purpose they whistle and call a child by name when the soul accompanies it by night through the jungle. Nino told me how the soul of his daughter, Aua'cina, had been stolen when the child was being given a bath in the igarape. As a result, she became pallid and weak and, had not the shaman Thomaz intervened, she would have died. At night- fall he sang, as the child lay in her mother's arms; he blew smoke over her from heel to head and in the opposite direction, then placed the extinct cigarette butt below the nape of her neck and went to sleep. At midnight he awoke and inquired about the child's condition. She was already nursing again, and her eyes were normal. He then ordered the parents to suspend the cigarette butt from her neck until it should fall of its own accord. When a child under two years of age cries alone, the shades of the dead arrive and carry off its soul. A shaman may force its return to the body again by the process described above, but the danger is that the soul may have already tasted the food of the shades. In this event, the child begins to eat earth, coal, and so forth, and always dies sooner or later. Cure of epidemics.-Epidemics come from the sun, where their presence is indi- cated by a greenish aureole. Without the sun's desire they are carried off by the wind, which spreads them among men. On the occasion of a serious epidemic of catarrh, a certain shaman called the people together, collected the invisible path- ogenic substance from each, placed it in an urn, and rendered it harmless by smoking. Dreams.-During a dream, the soul (naa'6) abandons the body and has its own adventures, which are real and may be of great consequence. Through dreams the shaman acquires his spirit assistant, gets in touch with the tree spirit, or identifies the sorcerer responsible for a patient's illness or death. We have seen how an injury to the soul of a warlock in a dream excursion caused the warlock's death. Some adventures of the soul in dreams are warnings of things to come in the near future. If a bank subsides or a tree falls on a person in a dream, it is because others plot against him. If he sees himself painted with genipapo, this means blood and that he will be murdered. An encounter with a jaguar in a dream indicates the arrival of a companion or of a member of the civa' (jaguar) clan, whereas the visit of an Auahy clan member is announced by a dream of a snake. If the snake turns aggres- sive, however, disease is on the way. Female untchcraft.-Contrary to what Tessmann was told, there are no female magicians in contact with tree spirits or capable of causing death or of removing the spells put on others. What can happen is this: a woman, in order to injure the object of her hatred, plucks a few of her victim's hairs, which she places in an ant nest. Or she ties them to some branches on the riverbank where their seesaw 105 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. motion in the current will cause madness in her enemy. If the matter is referred to a shaman, he will discover, through a dream, where the hairs are and remove them. However, this practice appears to me to have been borrowed from another people, perhaps from the Neobrazilians themselves, since the Tukuna generally do not recognize clippings of hair and similar objects as of any value for magical practices, whereas this is a common Neobrazilian belief. EXECUTION OF A SORCERER However, nothing proved more instructive to me as to Tukuna magical beliefs than the elimination of a famous sorcerer, during my stay in 1942, by persons with whom I was intimately associated, and who accordingly recounted to me all the details without the slightest hesitation. On the occasion of my first visit to the Tukuna in 1929 I had heard reports that a few years before, two Tukuna of Igarape de Belem had killed a man, after des- perate resistance, whom they had accused of instigating the death of various chil- dren. They chopped the body to bits with machetes, throwing the pieces into the igarape. One of the killers was arrested by the owner of a bazaar in Belem and was condemned to forced labor and deported for this purpose to another industrial establishment of the same owner at a great distance from Belem. One day the owner observed that the Indian wept secretly. Asking the reason, he learned that the prisoner was weeping because for a long time he had received no news from his family, who in his absence must surely be suffering many privations. The owner was thunderstruck that a brute who had hacked one of his own kind to bits should also have such worthy sentiments. He did not understand that it was real love for his children that had led the Indian to eliminate the peril which threatened their lives, nor did he realize that this ferocious murderer was actually regarded as a benefactor by his tribesmen, since his deed had freed them from the constant threat which the existence of the sorcerer constituted for all. The story of a sorcerer.-Some ten years later, an Indian of the e clan (genipapo clan) gradually became the terror of the Tukuna. They gave him the nickname u'iru (ouro, gold). Owing to his complicated life, he used several Christian names, the commonest one being Izidoro. One day this Indian killed his father-in-law and two brothers-in-law, with a cudgel, suspecting that they had caused the death of his mother through witchcraft. He was imprisoned in Sao Paulo do Olivenga for a long time,9 but succeeded in escaping twice. Finally he managed to escape to Peru. He later returned from there, bringing with him a great reputation as a sorcerer. He tried to establish himself in various places successively, but in no place could he remain, because of the immediate suspicion he aroused. Also, he behaved so imprudently that any person acquainted with the Tukuna could have predicted an early and disastrous end for him. Especially when befuddled with drink, he bragged, before everyone, of the knowledge of witchcraft he had acquired in Peru, and of his victims. The refusal of a cigarette was enough to make him threaten any person with death by sorcery. He even publicly claimed the credit for three suicides that had occurred a short time before in the vicinity of Belem when he lived in the igarap6 of that name. 9 There is no death penalty in Brazil.-Trans. 106 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna Threatened with death, he fled to the Rio Jacurapa, a tributary on the left bank of the Iea. At the Igarape da Rita, when I arrived there in May, 1942, they had accused him of having caused the death of the wife of an Indian named Hippolyto 66'r6ki, nephew of Nino ~v6njnkj; the death of another Indian's wife; the grave illness of the wife of Sebastiao, Nino's brother; and finally, the illness of Hippolyto himself. I encountered Hippolyto in a condition already quite serious, treated him with medicines and an adequate diet during my entire first stay in the igarape', visited him daily, and finally effected a cure. A day later, however, he again awoke sud- denly in a desperate state. As soon as he recovered his speech he told us that during the night he had seen the soul of the warlock u'iru climbing up the door of the house, armed with a club with which to kill him. In fact, u'iru struck him many blows on the head, knocking him off the platform on which he slept. While Hip- polyto still lay struggling on the floor, his little boys ran to call relatives who lived close by, Sebastiao and Nino. These immediately ran to Hippolyto's aid and found him stretched out senseless on the floor. However, he recovered rapidly, especially after the intervention of the shaman Benedicto, to whom I myself paid a knife, a handful of cheap glass beads, and a piece of tobacco to make him treat the case, seeing that what Hippolyto needed most was spiritual medicine in accordance with his mentality. That is how I left him when I moved from Igarape da Rita to Igarape de Sao Jeronymo on the twenty-second of May. On the fifth of June, Christovao e'kjraki, another brother of Nino and uncle of Hippolyto, while fishing in the Rio Solimoes suddenly espied u'iru and his family descending the river below toward the Jacurapa, and advised his kinfolk immediately. Hippolyto then decided that the hour of vengeance was at hand, in which decision he was supported by his uncles Nino and Christovao. With all speed the three pursued u'iru in two canoes. They caught up with him in the middle of the Solimoes, overpowered him, bound him hand and foot, and threw him into the river. They struck the oldest child, some three or four years old, with their paddles, also throwing it into the water. The youngest child was torn from its mother's arms and was also drowned. They struck the woman several times and tossed her into the river, too, but Chris- tovao pulled her into his canoe and thus saved her life. The kinsmen of Hippolyto had deliberately carried out the slaughter of the sorcerer without spilling blood, for the spilling of blood would have greatly complicated the subsequent purifica- tion rite. The three slayers returned immediately to their houses, which were situated a short distance from one another on the Igarape da Rita. Shortly before arriving at Christovao's home they landed the woman at the door of Custodio, a friendly, hard-working old Indian with a large family, who was the father-in-law of Chris- tovao and Nino. This woman succeeded in so frightening old Custodio, lest Hip- polyto and his uncles attack and destroy him and his household, that from one hour to the next he decided to flee with his entire family, very much against the wishes of his adult son, who had a good plantation at his place and all the necessary material ready for a new house. But they did leave, taking with them u'iru's widow, and sought refuge among a group of Tukuna inhabiting a tributary on the left bank of the lower Rio Jandiatuba. 107 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Nino and Christovao did not stop at home but, without eating or speaking to anyone, immediately left together on a hurried trip to Igarape de Bel6m in search of a certain shaman for the purification the situation demanded. Hippolyto, how- ever, weak from his long illness, arrived home so exhausted that he was again prostrated for days, incapable of following his uncles. The latter, after battling the strong currents of the Solimoes all day, entered the Igarape de Belem on the seventh. They should not have eaten anything before submitting to the purification rite, but their strength began to fail them, so they comforted themselves with a little farinha d'agua they had, eating it with spoons fashioned from leaves in order to prevent the soul (naa'6) of the murdered man from entering their bodies with the food. If they had shed blood, they would also have used a stick to scratch with, instead of their fingernails, since, if blood is shed, the slayer's body becomes full of invisible blood. They did not converse during the trip, but spoke occasionally to a tree or to an ant nest as if these were people, saluting and taking leave of them and leaving them a bit of food, as if they were members of the family. Had they not followed such procedure, the soul of the slain would have entered the body of someone in the slayer's family. Finally, they approached the residence of the shaman Geraldo, of the iia4' clan (red macaw clan), whom Nino as a member of the same moiety addressed as ma' e, "brother" (p. 59). Showing themselves to him from afar and signaling, they made Geraldo realize that something extraordinary had happened, so he immediately went to meet them and asked what had occurred. They answered in a few words in a low voice, and he ordered them to draw the canoe ashore a bit farther ahead. Geraldo, returning to his house, bade his daughters scrape genipapo and prepare food, saying to them: "They did a turn for all of us; they killed our enemy !" Then he joined the two men, ordered them to squat before him, and, passing his hands over them from the heels to the crown of the head, removed from them the soul of the slain, joined it together in front of them, and hurled it away, saying: "Go away! We have done this to you because you were the enemy of everyone !" Then he gave each man three peppers to eat and finally painted them with genipapo, which he had already brought on top of some leaves. He led them to the house, gave them food, and bade them farewell. Spurred by anxiety for their families, who had been left hiding in their plantations, the two again left for the Igarape da Rita, where they arrived the morning of June 9. As stated above, Hippolyto could not accompany the others on the trip they made in order to purify themselves, and he treated himself as best he could. Under these circumstances, the slayer, feeling the dead man's soul squeezing his heart, must for two months drink a brew made from pupunheira root (Gulielma sp.). Meanwhile I was attending a puberty ceremony celebrated in a house half a league up the mouth of the Igarape da Rita, on the Solimoes, where some other guests informed me of the event. After the feast I went down to the settlement of Santa Rita, where the Neobrazilians told me with evident satisfaction that "the Indians of the igarape had all fled." I at once entered this tributary, where I found all the Indians except the family of old Custodio, who had actually fled but later on returned at my invitation. From place to place the Indians accompanied me, increasing in number at each stop, until we were all gathered at Nino's house, 108 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna including the slayers, who had arrived that morning, horribly painted with black from head to foot. The atmosphere was rather anxious, and their satisfaction at seeing me so unexpectedly was obvious, especially on Nino's part; if I had not come, they would have searched for me the following day at Igarape de Sao Jeron- ymo, where I made my headquarters. Calmly and clearly Nino told me what had happened: "We had to do it. But now that it is done I don't want to fool with anyone else, just live in peace," he said. But naturally the case was not closed. The civilized authorities, though aware of what had happened, made no move, but a brother of the dead man, informed by another relative, came from the out- skirts of Belem with his three grown sons in pursuit of the slayers. Strangely enough, the party first came ashore at the place of another brother of Nino and Christovao who lived by himself on the banks of the Solimoes, and he immediately sent to warn his kinsman. It is clear that if the sorcerer's brother had come to avenge u'iru's death immediately, he would not have pulled ashore at the house of the murderers' brother. However, Nino, Christovao, and Hippolyto passed the night together with loaded shotguns and machetes at hand. The night was absolutely dark. About nine o'clock, when I rashly went down to the landing, accompanied by Nino's three sons, we saw slowly approaching from the river a small light, resembling the lighted cig- arette of a person silently rowing inshore; it finally stopped. Frightened, the chil- dren ran to the house while I went down to the landing, where I discovered that the light was due to a large firefly that had lit on one of the canoes inshore. I turned back with the insect in my hand, when all the Indians in the house came from all sides to meet me, for they were terrified at my unheard-of audacity. The point was that the arrival of a sorcerer's soul is announced in the dark by a small firefly-like light that emanates from the tucum-nut ring the sorcerer, like most Tukuna, wears on his finger. My attitude in abstaining from all criticism or moral judgment and in accepting the tragedy as a consummated fact visibly cleared the atmosphere and calmed their spirits. When I returned to Igarape de Sao Jeronymo on the following day, the situation was almost back to normal. In fact, until my departure in September nothing untoward occurred. However, I believe that the brother of the murdered u'iru will still try to avenge him at the first opportunity. Another method of purification.-According to what he himself told me, Calixto daueru'kj, to whom also killers repair for purification, has a method slightly dif- ferent from that of his colleague Geraldo. First he washes the slayer's arms from top to bottom with envira de matamat'a. Then he invokes the soul of the slain, by means of a song and tobacco smoke. The dead man's soul, surrounded by the smoke, which it involuntarily swallows, finally crouches down, weak and in- offensive, before the shaman, who covers it with still more smoke and, fanning the smoke, makes the soul disappear. Afterward he paints with genipapo dye only the forearms of the killer. Even with this, however, the dead man's soul is not com- pletely annihilated. Thus, after the death of cu'na, a Peruvian sorcerer who had fled to Brazil, where he was killed by pursuers from his own country, his soul "shot" his brother-in-law with "arrows," a fact recognized by the shaman Airui of Ilha dos Guaribas, who succeeded in curing the sufferer. 109 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. TBE UPPER WORLD Heaven, the upper world (na: 'n6), is not the abode of the sun, the moon, or the stars, which are still far beyond it. It is divided into two or perhaps three sec- tions. One is inhabited by men more or less like us, even though the conditions of life there are somewhat different from those on earth. The second is the dwelling place of ta-e' and the souls of the dead (naa'6), with certain exceptions. The third may be the habitation of the king vultures, urubui rei (Vultur papa), if these are not perchance merely inhabitants of the first section who are able to transform themselves into birds. Like the souls of the dead, they never return to earth to tell the living about conditions above. It is manifestly impossible for a living person to enter heaven; not even a shaman can do so while dreaming. Hence, knowledge of things there is confined to the experiences of the few human beings who, carried up by celestial girls wishing to marry them, later returned. There is also the story of a sorrowing widower who was borne thither by his wife's soul but who never returned to earth. Legends of the upper world.-The following legends of the upper world were collected. The Widower The wife of an Indian had died. He wept bitterly and could not forget her. Once when he went alone into the jungle to procure his sustenance, he got tired and sat down to rest, remembering how she used to accompany him on the hunt and carry home the monkeys he killed. Then he said, weeping: "A woman like that one I shall never find againI" Thus he was once walking with bowed head, thinking of her. When he raised his eyes, he saw that she had come to meet him. She said she had come to fetch him since he wept so much for her. He was overjoyed to hear this. She bade him shut his eyes and, when she permitted him to open them again, they were already in heaven. He espied from afar the house of ta-e', which is all of glass. On the road leading to the house there sat a dove (auyakva) which, upon seeing a soul arrive, began to sing: "Tee ake yada'e?" ["Whose son is this who comes this way?"] Then ta-e' ordered all the souls to congregate so that relatives might recognize the newcomer. Everyone wept, and they carried him off with them. Before one arrives at the point where the dove waits for souls there is a kind of gate (to/ri'ta) formed of two horizontal poles, thick as a pestle, which move constantly one past the other in opposite directions, one to the left, the other to the right. The arriving soul addresses the ta/ri'ta: "tta' Aei !al" ["Grandfather, open your mouth I "] If the soul has many sins, the gate vibrates with such speed that passage is impossible; otherwise it stops for an instant, thus permitting free entry. This gate is of parapard wood [Cordia u'mbracudifera?; e'nin], for which reason the Tukuna never use this wood for kindling. As the man entered ta-el"s house, he saw outside two animals, the 6ore'ruma, tethered in a corral. ta-e' made one of them come and lick the man from his heels to the top of his head in order to purify him of his sins. These animals have the body of a tapir and the head of a dolphin. ta-e' looses them to tear apart the soul of a sinner who manages to slip through the gate. As soon as they sight a soul they throw themselves into the waters of the Rio 6ovati, which flows through the upper world, swim to the opposite bank, dive in again with a tremendous roar, and return. One hears this roaring on earth; if at the same time a strong thunderclap is heard, then the 6are'ruma are tearing some soul to bits. Now in the house of ta-' there is suspended a large hornets' nest, ma/ci' [see p. 62], that was not formerly there. When the assembled souls weep upon receiving a recently arrived soul, ta-e' shakes the nest so that the hornets within raise a buzzing which smothers the outery, since if this were heard on earth it would cause sickness and wreak havoc there. These are the hornets that sting a person who, even involuntarily, glances at the private parts of a relative of the opposite sex. 110 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna D'rktana aYrbtana dwelt in heaven in the company of her parents and siblings. She said to her sisters: "I know of a handsome youth on earth. Let us bring him up to heaven for us!" "Then he shall be mine I" immediately cried the youngest, but aYretana replied: "We shall see which of us he will choose." This youth was the only son of an old woman, and he was still very young (about eighteen years old). "Mother," he said to the old woman, "let us clean up our clearing!" "Yes," she replied, "let us do so !" While they were working in the clearing she asked: "What have we to eat?" The son, who heard the cries of pigeons in the distance, answered: "I'll go to kill those pigeons for us 1" He took his blowgun and quiver, following the direction of the cries, which suddenly stopped. Advancing cautiously and without a sound, for a few more paces, he saw V'rbtana and her sisters seated on a long bench in a jungle clearing. They called him to join them and asked him what he was looking for. Full of shame, he answered that he had followed the cries of the pigeons in order to shoot them for his mother. They played with him and painted him with urucfi around the eyes and on the legs like a pigeon. They laid his blowgun across two branches, and it immediately turned into a snake, while the quiver became a hornets' nest. Then they asked him which of them he desired, and he chose Y'retana. She laid the lad's head in her lap, pressing her body against his so that he could no longer observe anything. Immediately the four seated persons rose to heaven, stopping in front of the house of the girls' father. o'retana still held his eyes shut so that the great brightness would not frighten him, and thus led him inside. When finally they permitted him to look around, and he saw the inhabitants of heaven, he thought to himself: "These people from above are really very handsome ! " But they immediately divined-what he was thinking and answered: "Have we not the faces of grasshoppers?" o'r6tana's father and siblings, however, were greatly pleased with the newcomer. On the following day a'retana showed him the upper world, but at first would not permit him to glance about, making him walk with bowed head, and only little by little did she allow him to raise his eyes. Then he saw the Rio 6a'vat1, large but placid, which flows through the upper world, and, beyond, the great multitude of souls who dwell there, separated from the sky people and having no relations with them at all. On the other side was the house of ta-e', with many flowers in front. Before the house lay the tethered 6greruma, domestic animals of ta-e', about the size of a mosquito bar [about 5 x 1 m., or 5 x 1.5 m.], which resemble no animals on earth. When ta-e' releases them for a swim, they plunge into the waters of the river, which spring apart only to rush together again with a thud. When earth men hear this noise, sometimes it is a sign that the end of the world is imminent; sometimes it is just a mistake. Vtrbtana's father ordered his daughters to prepare manioc beer (caiguma). In heaven, sweet manioc (macaxera) grows like fruit on the branches of bushes. The youth, seeing the girls gathering only two of these fruits about a palm in length, thought that this would not suffice for anything, but o'retana, divining his thoughts, answered that he would soon see whether or not it was enough. They peeled and chopped the sweet manioe into pieces, forming two large heaps. Then they cooked them, but under the pot they placed only one coal. Also, they did not grind the fruit but chewed it. The beverage filled five jars, each the height of a man, and they had a grand spree, for the inhabitants of heaven are many. Afterward o'retana told her husband that she heard the weeping of his mother on earth. The lad listened, but heard nothing. She washed his ears and cleaned them with cotton, then he heard the weeping. o'retana's father advised them to go visit the old woman and console her. The two sat inside a hod, she closed his eyes, and so they descended to earth and directly to the little rancho in the clearing, where his mother sat weeping. He went up to her, saying: "You needn't cry for me, mother! I am alive, and only just now have I had time to visit you!" yaretana also came and presented herself to the old woman. Then the youth went to fetch his blowgun and quiver, finding them still at the same place, and went hunting. He killed a tapir for his mother and left the prize at her door, telling the old woman that he had killed only a small agouti. When his mother found the tapir she was overjoyed. The couple again returned to the upper world, and o'retana had a son. Then o'rbtana expressed the opinion that the old woman should also come to heaven. Accordingly, the three again descended illl 112 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. to earth, where the old woman greeted her little grandson, and for her part showed a desire of moving to heaven. With the same precautions as had been taken for the youth, she was transported to heaven and introduced to the household. The father of Y'retana ordered a gourd of water brought from ta-e"s house, and after he had washed the old woman with it, she became a young girl again. They are still there today in heaven. aria na There was a little girl who had been an orphan since her infancy. The uncle and his wife with whom she lived did not like her. She walked alone along a jungle path and wept. ta-e' came to her, but the little one did not recognize her. "Why do you cry?" asked ta-e'. "Mother," answered the little girl, "my uncle does not like me and treats me very badlyI" "Come to my arms!" said ta-e'. She embraced the little one, and without the child's noticing anything they ascended to heaven. She washed the little girl, gave her the name of aria'na, and reared her. aria'na became a very pretty young woman. Many men of the celestial people desired her, and she had love affairs with many of them; but because of this she also had many enemies, some of whom invited her one day for a stroll. They went with her to where the upper world ends, where they suddenly transformed themselves into toads (kure've), hopped in all directions, and dis- appeared, leaving aria'na alone. aria'na took the shape of a swallow and flew up to the Sun. Flying just above him, she plucked out a lock of red hair and one of blue hair. With these aria'na attempted to decorate her arm- bands, which would make her even prettier and irresistible. The Sun, however, exasperated at her audacity, fetched her such a kick that she went flying through heaven and earth, finally stopping in the underworld called Aieca'ku. When she returned from there, she brought maize for the inhabitants of the earth. pava'ru Some Indians went to a celebration in a house on dry land. Near the house they stopped to make still more fringes for their costumes. pavaWru was with them. The others prepared their outfits and went on, leaving pava'ru behind, alone. When he also was at last ready and went to follow his comrades, two japihins [Cassicus sp.] came flying behind him on the path, passing him by and playing in flight. Just ahead of him they came to rest on the path and took human form. They were aria'na and a companion. The two girls went up to pova'ru and asked where he was going. When he answered that he was going to a feast, they persuaded him to stay with them instead of continuing. He agreed and deposited the costume fringes at the side of the trail. His companions later found them there upon returning from the celebration and, though there was not the slightest confirming trace, at length concluded that a jaguar must have carried off the youth. aria'na made him shut his eyes, and when he opened them again they were already in the upper world, where aria'na married him. However, she did not permit him to eat celestial food, because if he ate it he could never again return to earth. She stole food from the earth to feed him, and people were amazed at the way their provisions disappeared. From time to time, pova'ru returned to earth, where he told people that he was married to aria'na in heaven, but no one believed him; they merely laughed, saying that he wished to impress the girls with these yarns. He always arranged with aria'na the time and place for them to meet again on earth, whereupon she would again carry him to heaven with her. When pava'ru arrived in heaven the first time, ta-a' strung the 60rU'ruma on a cip6 as if they were fish [thrusting the liana through the gill apertures so as to make it protrude from the mouth], so that they would not attack. Once, when pavafru was alone, he watched one of these monsters for a long while; its body shuddered convulsively from time to time, and because he had watched this, pava'ru fell ill. aria'na carried him to earth so that he might be treated there by a shaman. When the shaman fell backward in a tranee, the eare'ruma sang from his mouth. Then everyone believed that pava'ru really had been in the upper world. When he was again up and around, some white-lipped peccaries (queixadas), appeared one day near the house. pova'ru seized his blowgun and ran after them, but did not kill a single one. He accompanied them and remained living among them for a long time. Finally, the pigs again Nimuendaju': The Tukuna appeared near the house, and the hunters who pursued them caught sight of pzva'ru amongst them. They surrounded and captured him, much against his will, and carried him home. He said that, every day at sunset, the pigs formed a circle about their chief. The chief masticated a fruit called le'v6, whereupon a round, well-constructed house appeared in which the pigs passed the night. aria'na returned and again carried pgva'ru off to heaven. He got accustomed to living there, but returned to earth as often as he wished, since aria'na had by now furnished him with feathers. However, in the upper world there are many girls, and pDva'ru began to dally with them. This annoyed aria'na, who forced him to return to earth again. pava'ru, however, had by now obtained some of the celestial magical substances, and as a result the earth maidens also pursued him. pava'ru had relations with many girls and poked fun at aria'na before them, saying: "This aria'na, when she doesn't wish coitus, she makes her genitals vanish I " When aria'na received word of this she became furious and, soiling his feathers with resin, made it impossible for him to fly, so that he could never again return to heaven. Somewhere in heaven live the king vultures. They are human in form, disguising themselves as birds only when they descend to earth. The King Vultures A girl one night placed in the house yard a water-filled earthen vessel for her brother to bathe in the next day, but the following morning she found the container empty except for some small manioc flat cakes. The next night she again placed the vessel with water in the same place, and the following morning discovered a piece of smoked meat in place of the water. So the following night she placed the vessel at the edge of the igarap6 and waited to see what would happen. At dawn a king vulture alighted in the house yard, glanced about, and said loudly enough for the girl to hear: "Today I have no bath water!" But going down to the igarap6 he found the earthen vessel there. He removed his feather dress, lay down backward a moment, and, now in human form, bathed himself. While he was pouring water over himself, the girl, who had come behind him, removed the feather dress, hiding it in the house. Finished with his bath, the king vulture looked about everywhere for his costume, finally fleeing without it to hide in the jungle. His daughter, waiting in heaven for his return, finally went down after him. Soon the costume in the house began to speak, telling the girl that the king vulture's daughter had arrived. Upon hearing this, the girl arranged with her brother that he should steal the daughter's cloak also. The daughter descended the aerial path of her father, eircled above the yard of the house, and finally landed. Seeking and finding her father's trail, she followed it to the igarap6, where, feeling the urge to bathe, she removed her feathers. But while she was pouring water over herself, the girl's brother stole her cloak. Searching for it, she thought: "This must have happened to my father, also!" Then she again followed her father's trail and found him hidden in the jungle. "So, here you are," she said, "and where is your feather dress?" "They stole it," replied the king vulture. "And where is yours?I" "They stole mine, too." "Then we must remain seated in the jungle for five days until our new feathers grow I " declared the king vulture. Slowly the feathers began to grow. Meanwhile, the brother and sister tried to put on the stolen feathers in order to fly. The vulture and his daughter managed to fly again and, circling above the two mortals, decided to carry them to the upper world with them. The stolen garments cried out: "We are here, father! " Hearing this, the siblings thought to hide the feathers outside the house and ran with them into the plantation. The king vulture, in human form, ran after them and asked them what they were doing. They did not recognize him, replying that they were attempting to put on the feather costumes. Then the king vulture showed them how to do so, first pressing their limbs together so that they could get into the costume, and later releasing them. Then the siblings managed to put on the costumes, but, once dressed, they could not take them off again. Thereupon the king vulture and his daughter put on their costumes of new feathers also, and took the two with them to heaven, where the king vulture married the girl and his daughter married the boy." 10 See also the legend, "1oe' in the Underworld." 113 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Such are the legends. The idea of heaven as an upper world similar to the earth and with inhabitants like those of the world below is encountered in the legends of the culture-hero brothers relating to the theft of fire (see p. 130) and the origin of languages. These tell how in the old days there was free passage between the two worlds, how this was interrupted, and how thereafter an attempt was made to reestablish it. All these motives are so common in American mythology that they do not merit further comment. ta-e' and the souls.-Quite different, however, is the concept of the most im- portant personage of the upper world, ta-e'. I do not know of any similar figure in the religion of other tribes. Nothing is known of her origin. She is apparently as ancient as the heaven in which she lives, and is immortal but definitely not omnipo- tent, nor omniscient, nor infallible. Overburdened with tasks, she may involun- tarily cause damage to men through her mistakes. Nothing material in the world was created by her, nor does she govern anything; therefore she is neither the "Common Mother" nor the "Primary Mother" in Baldus' terminology. Prayers are not directed to her, nor does she receive sacrifices. She has nothing to do directly with the culture-hero brothers, who equal her in importance, or with the spirits of the trees or the demons (ioo') of the lower world. No shaman is in communication with her. Nevertheless, for the Tukuna she is a figure of great importance and respect, because of her inseparable connection with the notion of sin and subsequent punishment, in life or after death, since she is the mistress of that part of the human soul called "naa'e." With the other part of the soul, called "nacii"' (shade of the deceased), she has nothing to do. ta-e' does not represent a divine justice that tots up the sins and good deeds of the soul. She takes into consideration only three categories of crime: incest, infanticide (including voluntary abortion), and murder through witchcraft. She does not bother with such trifles as theft or a hot-blooded killing. Incest (vo: 'maci) is a transgression of the law of exogamy which she established when she taught the first men to which clan each belonged, making them taste the jacuruxy broth (see pp. 58 and 130); this was the only time, however, that she intervened in the work of the culture heroes. Incest is the only crime for which ta-e' eventually punishes the sinner, by madness while he is still living. I have already discussed the fate of an infanticide's soul (p. 69). When the soul of a sorcerer appears before ta-e', she treats it in the same fashion as she does that of an infanticide; in fact, the three sins mentioned above are considered almost equal. The gravity of a crime depends upon whether the sin was committed thoughtlessly and with some extenuating circumstances, and whether it is re- peated. If there are extenuating circumstances, the sinner is purified by one of the ore' ruma, which licks him from toe to crown. However, even if the naa'% of a perverse and stubborn sinner slips past the to/ri'ta gate, it is torn to shreds by the 6arV'ruma or rejected by ta-e', who orders lightning to cast it down on the earth again, or even sends it below to the underworld (na:'pi), where it is trans- formed into a tiny frog (nu: 'gu), with whose death it vanishes. It is noteworthy that the Tukuna regard as crimes these three sins which not only harm the individual but are also ruinous for humanity as a whole: "Thou 114 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna art ruining the people !" says ta-e' to the soul of an obstinate sinner. Further- more, when I once spoke of the social consequences which incest brings to an incestuous son, a Tukuna cut short my words with: "It's not only that; he dis- graces the people." The Christian ta-e'.-Up to this point the concept of ta-e' and her activities, as well as the concepts of soul, sin, and punishment, do not appear to me to have been influenced by Christianity. It is easily understood however, that within this cycle of religious ideas concerning the souls of the dead and an upper world, there have been introduced Christian elements in the form of entire legends. This is due, not to contact with a Christian population, but to incomplete instruction received long ago through missionaries.' There is another ta-e', a caricature of the Virgin Mary appearing in conjunction with "Our Father," ta-na'ti, who unites within himself elements of God the Father and especially of Jesus Christ. There are also the dyure'u [judeu, Jew], a combination of the Jews, the story of the Passion of Christ, and the devil. It is amazing how many episodes of the evangelists have contributed to this grotesque conglomeration represented in the following legend of ta-e', ta-na'tj, and the dyure'u: ta-e', ta-naltj, and the dyure'u ta-na'ti coveted ta-e' while she was yet a girl, but she rejected him. Then he transformed himself into a flower by the wayside. ta-e' plucked the flower, smelled it, and merely because of this became pregnant. She was quite astonished, because she had had sexual relations with no one; at last, however, she realized that ta-na'ti had impregnated her. When after five [sio] months she gave birth to a boy, ta-na'ti addressed her from afar: "Do you seet You did not wish me but you shall always have my son 1" ta-na'tj was the wisest of all men. With his magic arts he used to kill the dyure'u (demons with tails like barrigudo monkeys), a more ancient race than men. They resolved to kill ta-na'ti. They tied him to a stake, put out his eyes, and left him exposed to the sun. "We want to see if he is really tupa'naI" [l.g., for "god," or "saint"] they said. tana'tl recovered from this. They crucified him with nails and pierced him with arrows, but he again recovered. Then they strangled him with a rope passed round both his neck and the stake to which he was bound, and this time he died. They laid the body of ta-na'tj in a coffin, and afterward killed his chickens and sheep. But while they were seated at the table, the roast chicken suddenly sprang up and cried: "ta-na'ti Aiiua I ["ta-na'ti is alive ! ], whereupon the pieces of the butchered sheep joined one another and bleated: "be: I It's a lie I" When the dyure'u went to look, the coffin with ta-na'tl's body was already at a hand's height from the ground and was rising rapidly. The dyureu tried to pull it down by a rope passed round it, but the coffin rose without stopping, carrying the dyurePu hanging from the rope. Because of this they are also in heaven. Since then, nothing has been heard of ta-na'ti; today he still lives in heaven, but far away from all the others. The road to ta-il's house is partly overgrown by the jungle; the other path, however, which leads to the habitation of the dyure'u is a broad, fine road of sand. The dyure'u duck the arriving souls into a pot of boiling pitch, so that only their fingertips peep out. Afterward they remove them and weigh them, repeating this until the soul has become light enough to appear before ta-e'. She, however, still scolds the soul before admitting it. The Tukuna commonly give the title of ta-na'tj ("Our Father") to the twin culture heroes, a title justified by the fact that these are the creators of humanity, or at least the greater part of it, especially of the Tukuna. According to Tessmann, tana'te means "god": "Er hat die Welt gemacht, die Tiere und Berge, Sonne, 11 Spaniards? See use of the garrote in the following legend. la I could learn nothing more of this son. 115 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Mond und Sterne und auch die Menschen, letztere aus Erde." It is clear that this description refers to the Christian God, not to a personage of the ancient religion. Even today the Tukuna regard the Jewish peddlers, who sometimes appear in their territory, as the direct descendants of the legendary dyure'u, believing them to be tailed, or that at least one of them' is so adorned. The souls.-The naa'6 or soul is, according to an expression of the shaman Calixto daueru'ki, "what we think" (or thought)."4 This type of soul is given the fetus while it is still within the womb; if ta-6' is careless, the child is born spiritually defective. Dreams are the adventures of the soul, and in them the soul of a wicked sorcerer may commit his crimes in far-off places. The soul, not the body, is responsible for our acts. Its abandonment of the body causes death, after which the soul normally returns to heaven. The shades of the dead.-Quite different from the role of the naa'e is that of man's second soul, the nacii'. Nevertheless, I have repeatedly gained the impres- sion that the Indians do not always distinguish the two clearly. The nacii' is the shade of the dead. It "is of no importance," the Tukuna told me; it remains on earth near the place where the individual died. At abandoned house sites (taperas) the nacii' congregate, preferably assuming the forms of nocturnal swallows, bacuraos (Caprimulgus sp.), but also sometimes those of toads or other creatures. Ribeiro de Sampaio probably referred to this belief when he wrote: "In their philosophy they profess the miserable dogma of metempsychosis, or the Pytha- gorean doctrine of transmigration of souls to another body, even to irrational [sic] ones."1" Most of the time, however, a man's nacii' appears in the exact form he had in life, only betraying its nature by certain whimsical habits. The nacii' are moderately dangerous, owing to their mania for sucking blood, flesh, and bones of living people, so as to leave only the empty skin. In the Tukuna idiom this is called "to put the genipapo on someone," because of the black color of the marks left by sucking. A few legends will give a better idea of the nacii"s habits. due' and the nacii' An Indian named dub' went out to hunt deep in the jungle; he saw that he was near a house he recognized, in which he thought to spend the night. Dusk was falling when he reached it and found it deserted. The ground inside the house was already covered with mould. The inhabitants had gone fishing on Lake Curana [between the Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo and the Solim6es], where the Omagua attacked them, killing everyone. dub, climbed up under the roof of the house to spend the night there, but just as it turned completely dark he heard on the path the cries of many swallows, which began to talk among themselves in the human language. They were the shades of the murdered people of the house, which had returned home. "Daughter," he heard a woman say, "go up to the loft and fetch a little maize so that we may prepare mingau I " Soon the girl, in the form of a swallow, came up by the mota [l.g. for notched-log ladder] to the platform where dub, lay prone. He seized her and commenced to tear out her feathers. "Come quickly, my daughter !" said the mother. "I cannot," answered the girl swallow. "This man here is plucking out my feathers I " Then dub, threw her down from the platform to the floor, where she died; then he pulled the ladder up beside him. The shades gathered round the dead swallow. "We shall put the genipapo marks on this fellow I" they cried. They searched all around 1' The sense of the passage indicates that these Jewish peddlers travel in pairs.-Trans. 14 The word means "judgment"; ku ne ate, "thou hast no judgment." 15 Ribeiro de Sampaio, ? 212. 116 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna the house for all the lumps of clay and piled them on top of each other in front of the loft, so that they could mount the pile, but when it was almost high enough, dub' knocked it down with his blowgun. "A snake I a snake!" shrieked the nacii', scattering, full of fear. Then they tried to make a new pile, but dub' knocked it down again with his blowgun. Thus they tried all night. When day was dawning, due' took his blowgun and quiver and started to climb down from the loft. The shades, taking the blowgun for a snake and the quiver for a hornets' nest [cf. p. 111] fled, terrified, in the form of newts, opossums, and toads. due' at the Feast of the naciii' The same dub' decided one day to go to a long-uninhabited tapera, to gather vard fruits. His wife wished to accompany him, but he would not let her, for he knew that there were shades of the dead at that very place. Gathering the fruits, he delayed more than he intended, and, as the sun was already low, he resolved to pass the night at the tapera. Quickly he made a shelter with the leaves of the numerous bacabeiras growing around the place, since a heavy rain was approach- ing. When this had passed and darkness had set in, he heard a noise of many people approaching. They were the shades of the dead coming to the site where the house once stood, and suddenly due' realized that he was there once again in the house as he had been in former days. Soon the shades of the dead began their celebration. The musical instruments sounded. dub' was pleased with the antics and decided to participate. He had eaten cupfl [a wild chocolate, Theobroma sp.]; now he took the seeds which remained in the membranous and viscous hulls, gluing the hulls to his body and penis, and in this disguise began to dance in the midst of the nacii'. Seeing him, they cried: "It is a manl He shakes his penis [with the movements of the dance] I" But because of the hulls they dared not touch him. Finally, however, they decided to "paint him with genipapo," but du&' escaped them, taking refuge in the burrow of a giant arma- dillo [tatd canastra; Cheloniscus gigas]. One of the nacii' wished to dig him out, but when he had almost reached dub,, the Indian rattled his quiver. His pursuer, thinking that the noise was that of a hornets' nest, fled. Another na0ii' tried to finish digging him out, but dub', with the same trick, made him scamper away, as he did all the rest, too, who dared try it. Suddenly, at dawn the house again vanished, and the shades, transformed into little animals, dispersed in all directions. The Old Woman and the nacii' An old woman whose son had died went with her four daughters to an abandoned house site in order to fish with timb6 in the igarape near by. They placed their catch on a smoking grill; at dusk they slung their hammocks among some near-by bacabeira trees and fell asleep. Awakening after some time, they discovered with dread that their hammocks were hanging in a large cere- monial house where there were many people dancing. At first the old woman was embarrassed and remained seated with her daughters; finally, however, she took from the grill a package of leaves containing small fry and offered it to one of those present. He, however, answered: "Give it to that one!" She went with the gift to the person indicated, but he sent her to a third, who gave her the same answer. Then the old woman replaced the package on the grill, again sitting down next to her daughters, since she recognized that she was dealing with the shades of the dead. Meanwhile, a naMii' in a corner spoke to the shade of her son, who was also there: "It looks as if that is your mother!" The son went over, recognized her, and they conversed. She offered him the smoked fish, but he explained: "We nafii' no longer eat that kind of food " Then he advised his mother that it would be better if she left; if not, the shades might want to "paint her with genipapo." The old woman, however, objected, saying that she could not walk in the dark. The son then brought her a resin torch, but when the old woman reached out to take it, it moved; it was a snake, for snakes are the torches of the nafii'. The old woman shrieked in fear and let fall the torch, whereupon all the shades gathered around, laughing at her. The son remained at her side until, at daybreak, the feast house disappeared and the nafii' ran away, transformed into small animals. 117 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. cuta'nena and the nacii' 6uta'nena lived with her husband about a day's journey from her parents' house. She had two sons, of whom the younger was gravely ill. Because of this she decided to take him to her father so that he could cure the child. Since her husband did not wish to accompany her or permit her to leave the older boy with him, Mutalnena set off with both children. It was already very late when she arrived at her father's house, which she found abandoned, for the Omagua had slain all the inhabitants five days before. Willy-nilly, 6uta'nena with her two sons had to spend the night in the deserted house. When it had grown dark, she heard the inhabitants arriving. Her father came at the head of the file. They all looked exactly like living people. The father greeted his daughter, who asked him to cure his little grandson. Suddenly she noticed that the last persons to arrive were bringing a large quantity of bamboo leaves, which are the fish of the nafii'. She asked her mother what they were going to do with all those leaves, and received the answer: "Well, aren't they fish?" At the same time she heard the quirica, with which a woman was crushing sweet manioc, singing in a human voice: "c'uta'nena 6anij nya-a nya-al" [referring to 6uta'nena's privates], which made her uneasy. Meanwhile her father ordered her to fetch him tobacco, of which he thrust a wad in each cheek. Then he uttered his magic formula and began to suck at the sick-child. He sucked its ribs and completely emptied its skin. Suddenly he fell backward and, with trembling knees, sang in a guttural voice: "I died a long time agol" [See p. 104.] The son was already dead. Then 6uta'nena wondered how she might escape. She told her father that the older boy had diarrhoea and that it was necessary to take him into the bush, whereupon the old man replied: "Go, my daughter I" She took a lighted torch, which she placed on end in the jungle at a spot visible to the shades, and in spite of the darkness went with the boy toward her own house. As soon as she arrived, she told her husband of her adventure. He then called his friends, and all went together to bury the child's body. They found it completely black with the "genipapo" of the naZii'. After burying it they returned home. THE UNDERWORLD The most ancient beings of the world are the demons, uAo'. This is also the most insulting name used among the Tukuna. Some demons belong to one of numerous clans, others are merely isolated individuals. They are not immortal, though many have powers making them superior, or at least dangerous, to men. Their appearance, as represented in certain masks, is almost always strange and terrible. Sometimes they are represented in human form; their nature, however, revealed involuntarily, is completely different from that of human beings. Some of these demons dwell right here on earth; others, like the dyure'u, in heaven. But the great majority live in subterranean lands (na:'pj), to which they have access by caverns. The subaquatic regions are part of this underworld, which comprises various lands with different conditions and separate entrances. The demons are not their sole inhabitants; other residents are human, although with strange defects: blind men, dwarfs, people without an anus. Information on the subject is given in the following legend of 6oW'. 69F in the Underworld The Tukuna c6a& was hunting in the jungle, in order to accumulate the necessary game for a feast he was going to celebrate. He made a little hut, with a platform on which he deposited the smoked game, covering it with leaves, then he again went into the jungle. Meanwhile, in spite of his efforts, the pile of smoked meat never grew larger, and it even diminished. He lay in wait, and at midnight he saw the foreleg of a jaguar that was stealing the meat. ioe' told his companions what he had seen, and added: "Tomorrow I'm going to cut off 118 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna that jaguar's foreleg P" He again lay in wait, and when the foreleg appeared he cut it off. He carried the trophy, together with the meat, to the house, where he showed it to the assembled people, who passed it from hand to hand. Among those present was a king vulture, who himself, in the guise of a jaguar, had stolen the meat. When doe' passed the severed foreleg to him also, he cried: "This arm is mine!" and immediately replaced the severed member in its proper posi- tion. Then he rapidly tore out cb&"s eyes, flying with them to his dwelling in heaven, where he wrapped them in a leaf and with a cip6 suspended them from the ridgepole of the house. A little grasshopper came to blind 6aet to ask for smoked meat. do' promised to give him what he wished if the grasshopper would throw down his eyes, which were in heaven. The grasshopper flew to heaven. He gnawed until his jaws bled, but he could not sever the liana with which the package of leaves was tied, and so he received no smoked meat. Then, a termite, of the species which constructs its covered galleries on wooden surfaces, came with the same request, which 6o8' promised to grant if the termite could bring back his eyes. Termite called his companions; they had built their gallery quite close to the package before the king vulture discovered and destroyed their work. The last arrival was the termite that cuts his galleries inside wood; he asked for meat and was promised it in exchange for 6ae"s eyes. With his companions he opened a path inside the post and framework of the house, reached the package, and cut the liana. Allowing it to fall, he shouted: "There go your eyes'I" The king vulture, who was burning his clearing, heard the shout and immediately ran over, but coe' had already caught the package and, taking out his eyes, popped them back into place. &' fled, pursued by the king vulture, and came to where there was an old woman who was a buzzard (urubfi gereba). "Take my old canoe and flee before King Vulture comes I " she counseled him. coet seated himself in the canoe and pushed off with such force that he broke through the earth and came to stop in the underworld AiMa'ku. The first people he met there were the Blind Ones. Their eyes were permanently closed, but they had a great quantity of provisions, of which doe' appropriated a little to eat. Right away, however, the Blind Ones discovered the theft. "This is 6ab, who is robbing us I" they cried. With arms linked, they formed a line and advanced against him, beating at random with cudgels. But he evaded them and escaped. Then 6oe' came upon the pygmy people, whose adults are only of the height of our six-year-old children; this is why doe' thought that he was dealing with young folk. Going up to the first couple he saw, he asked: "Boy, where is your father?" Then turning to the woman, he said: "Where is your mother, girl?" The dwarf sprang up and called his comrades: "Look you! doe' treats us like children because we are small and he is big !" They all gathered around, shouting: "Let us play a little with him, and we shall see if he is a real man I" In spite of their small stature these pygmies had prodigious strength. They suspended 'Cob by the tips of two of his fingers, and thus passed him from hand to hand. Then they threw him up into the air, stopping his fall with the palm of a hand. Finally, they sent him away. Farther on, 6o& encountered a people who lacked an anus. They had lots of provisions but could not eat them, limiting themselves to inhaling the odors that drifted up from the cooking. He married a woman of this people. When she observed how her husband ate, she wanted at all cost to imitate him. In spite of 6a&'s advising her not to, she began to eat and found it good. Shortly afterward, however, she began to feel violent pains. 6oew counseled her to try to vomit, but she did not succeed. Finally, no longer able to bear the agony, she asked her husband to rip up her anus with a knife. daet carried out the operation, and she defecated, but she died shortly after. Then doe' returned to the earth's surface. This underworld where 6W sojourned, the same from which aria'na brought maize, is called A66a'ku, "without flower," I do not know why. It is distinct from the other underworld, na:'pj, where the demons live. The demons.-The most characteristic demons of the subaquatic world are the dye'vae, monsters in the form of gigantic snakes or catfish, which cause treacherous currents. Some are multicolored, like the rainbow, which is nothing but one of these demons. Until the turn of the century there was a dye'vae at the mouth of the 119 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Igarape de Sao Jeronymo on the Solim6es, which caused an extremely dangerous current costing many lives (see p. 67) and sometimes made it impracticable for anyone to enter the igarape. The shaman Domingos cu'nekj-who was the last true chief of the Tukuna of this igarape and was grandfather of the shaman Calixto daueru'ki-once passed this place with four other Indians and, finding the current extraordinarily violent, said: "Someone must have irritated the dye'vae !" He made an infusion of tobacco in a gourd, drinking it through his nostrils, rolled two long tauari cigarettes and smoked for a long time. What he did later, Calixto, who was still a boy, did not see, because he slept during the ceremony, but by the next morning the rough current was smooth and quiet. Later, he heard the old man tell how he had almost failed to return from his visit to the dye'vae, and say that now the demon was his friend because he had given him a tobacco infusion to drink through his nostrils. The demon had also told the name of the person who had enraged him, and since then the spot has not been dangerous. Twice a dye'vae tried to run aground on his back, "like on a beach," the canoe in which Calixto was traveling. On one of these occasions the leaves of the trees appeared to him like a kaleidoscope of colors from the reflection of the dye'vae's colors. Calixto saved himself by hanging onto the paddle with all his strength. Once, during a thunderstorm, in a deep sinkhole (pogo) in the Rio Solimoes, near the old village of Santa Cruz dos Kokama, Calixto saw a dye'vae raise his head and neck in the form of a hook above the waters of the river, slowly sinking again. When the head touched the surface of the water, there was a flash of light- ning, produced by the demon's opening his eyes beneath the water. This dye'vae owns the fish in the Solimoes" and appears as the eastern rainbow; the dye'vae of the western rainbow is the owner of potter's clay [see p. 46]. The legendary mortal enemy of all the dye'vae clan is tau/cipe', who, though of human origin, by his education in the subaquatic world acquired demoniacal qualities that at last turned him into an enemy of humanity. tau/cipe' A woman in the last stage of pregnancy went to fetch clay with which to make pottery. dye'vaz, the owner of the clay, beeame infuriated, pulled her beneath the water, and swallowed her. Arriving home, he vomited her up and quartered her. He and his companions kept the fetus for roe. A female of the large rays asked for it, and they gave her the fetus. She cradled it carefully beneath the undersurface of her flat body, swimming with it to the calm water near the bank. There she deposited it, curving her body over it, and brooded over it a long time. At last she heard the child cry. She removed him and gave him suck. Then, with great care, so as not to drown him, she carried him to her dwelling beneath the water. The ray brought up the child and gave him the name of tau/Uipb'. She told him that she was not his mother, who had been killed by the dy6'vab. She made a magic basketwork, placed it on the boy's head, and interlaced his hair with it so that the hair, and with it the boy's strength, would increase. tau/eipe' wanted to kill the dye'vae immediately, but the ray advised him not to try it yet, because he was still very weak. When he was six years old, his hair had already grown down to his belt, and he again insisted on attempting to fight the dy&'vab, but his foster mother still would not permit it. Two more years passed, and by then his hair had grown down to his heels; then he wished to delay no longer. He broke off branches of the taxyzeiro tree'7 with fire ants 16 See the legend of manmane'ki, pp. 151-153. 17 Tachygalia sp. or Sclerolobium sp. I 120 Nimuendajiz: The Tukuna [Pseudomyrma dendroica] clinging to them in swarms, tying the branches round his body. Thus he climbed up a tree branch that hung over the water's edge and challenged the demon to come and fight him. dye'vae6 appeared, gave him a. shock like that of an electric eel, poraqud [GGymnotuw electricus, L.] and swallowed him. "It was thus that he swallowed my mother," said tau/6ipb' to himself. Later, however, dyevae' felt such a burning in his stomach from the bites of the fire ants that he vomited up tau/cipe'. Thereupon the hero transformed himself into a large snake and fought with dye'vae, in spite of all the ray's advice. Lacerating each other with their jaws, they rolled to and fro until tau/6ipi' who, owing to the ray's magic, could squeeze the harder, succeeded in bursting his adversary. Because of this the other dye'va8 hated him. tau/6ip8', in human form, went ashore, where he gathered a large quantity of cicanta resin,l with which he smeared the bench [seat] of the great snakes, which got stuck to it and died. Other demons he challenged to combat, battling with them in the form of a snake. They tore at each other with their jaws until he had killed them. Then he heard it said that somewhere on dry land his elder brother, named pava'ru, still lived. He sought him out and invited him to be his companion. To give them both equal strength, tau/cipe' made his brother a magic belt like the one made by the ray. But precisely because of their magical powers the two became hated by all men. When the two brothers later learned that evil was being spoken of them, they transformed themselves into great snakes, dug under their enemies' dwellings, and undermined the houses so that they sank with all their inhabitants.9 Thus they killed many people. The survivors waited for an occasion when the two brothers were in their midst and, springing at them with poisoned spears, killed them. Other demons of the subaquatie world are the t6n6nb'naa, who have the shape of caimans, of whom the following legend is told. The End of Maloca Kuyariui Au'Ea gave birth to a son. Then they [the tribesmen] killed the daughter of tenene'naa. The father of tenene'naa appeared and asked her [Au6'a]: "Where did my dear [daughter] go, 0 fiu'raY" Au',a replied: "They killed her; I, however, did not eat of her because my dear [son] here is just born." [She was under restrictions.] Then the tenene'naa sang the following: "Go, and if it is the truth, 0 Au'6a, that you refused her [flesh], there is a sorva tree [Couma sp.]. and a cicanta tree [Protiwm heptaphyllum, Aubl.], one in front of the other. Anoint the soles of your feet with cicanta, and then make balls for yourself with burity seeds and still more cicanta, if it is true that you rejected tenene'naa, 0 Aiu'6a!" ntu'a told this to the people, who laughed at her: "Au'la is lying because she has a male child on her lap!" Then she remained silent in regard [to the subject]. At midnight the tenene'naa began to roar. They [the inhabitants] became furious and ran up and down with their spears, but Au'6a ran in silence. To all sides she threw burity seeds rolled in cicanta and rubbed cicanta on the soles of her feet. She threw the burity seeds in every direction [to lead the demons astray with the smell of cicanta]; those which fell into the igarap6 went "Pung " and the others which she threw went "Pang!" Then she followed those which went "Pang!" and with that escaped. The earth [undermined] split asunder and slid [into the water], and she also went to na:'pj [here the subaquatic world] and there hung up her hammock. THE CULTURE HEROEs: THE IMMORTALS In the old days the most bloodthirsty enemy of the demons was the culture hero dyoi', the personage of major luster in Tukuna religion. He is the creator of human- ity, the originator of all tribal laws and customs, and the one who invented or F From Protium heptaphyllum, Aubl. 19I was shown the spot where this happened, on the left bank of the Igarap4 de Sao Jeronymo, not quite a kilometer above its mouth. "0 Literal translation of the original Tukuna text. Kuyarfi is a lake on the Rio Jacurapa, a tributary of the Rio Iga. 121 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. acquired the most important elements of material culture. At times hard and cruel, he is never the rascally deceiver of humanity represented by the culture heroes of certain other mythologies. Even with his shameless brother, e'pi-a fool, a med- dler, and a liar-he is indulgent and helpful, and only once exacts punishment. The Tukuna do not like to call him dyai', but give him the title of ta-na'tt ("Our Father"), baia' or bu'i, when they do not call him ty'gjne ua'pjj' va ya ("He of the right knee"), in contrast to tavV' iia'pj' va ya ("He of the left knee"), the name by which they refer to e'pi. The Origin of dyai' and His Siblings2' Au'/tapa grew angry with his wife from time to time. Finally, he tied her to a tree. The hornets stung her genitals. A cancan above her cried: "ka'-ko-kaI" ma: '/pana said: "Oh, if you were a man, 0 cancan, you would untie me!" The cancan transformed himself into a man because of her. He untied her. He rolled the hornets' nest between his palms [to diminish its size]. Then he gave her the hornets' nest. "With this you will be revenged !" said the cancan. Au'/tapa recog- nized her at once; he played on the Panpipes for her: "Who does not recognize this ma:'/pana standing on the point of land!" She tried in vain to surprise him. She crouched at the foot of a sapopema, hiding, but Au/tapa recognized her at once. Finally she lost her judgment and ran after him. ma:'/pana threw the hornets' nest at his back. The hornets stung Au'/tapa all over his body; he swelled up. Later the swelling from the hornets' stings subsided; only his knees did not reduce in size, and finally he had a fever. Then Au'/tapa sat outside in the sun and called his children. "Dear ones, look at what is hurting me soI" he said. They looked. "Papa, it is only a man in your right knee who is planing his blowgun," said AWu/tapa's children, "and another person sewing her purse net!" [See p. 18.] Then they looked at his left knee: "Papa, it is only a man in your other knee who is scraping his spear, and another person weaving her burden basket ! " Then dyai' [in the right knee] had finished: "Let us go I I must fish [with the purse net] !I" he said. Answered e'pi [in the left knee]: "Let us gol I must spear pigsl" he said. Answered a'lkina, e'pi's sister: "Let us go ! I must dig manioc ! " she said. iiu'/tapa Dead and Revived The four siblings when they emerged from Au'/tapa's knees were the size of children five years old, and they immediately began to walk. Aiu'/tapa recovered slowly. After some time he went out alone to fish with timb6, when a jaguar attacked and devoured him. The four brothers and sisters remained in the care of tape'tine, AWT/tapa's mother, who never left off bewailing the death of her son, but when the children asked why he had been killed, she would answer: "It was ashes that killed him." Then the children filled a burden basket with ashes, spilling it over themselves, but they did not die. They again asked the grandmother and she replied: "An amb6 leaf fell on him." The children waited beneath an ambe plant until a leaf fell on them, but it killed no one. Only when they were fully grown did tope'tine tell them the truth. Then dyai' and e'pi made a high corral of acapiu trunks and on top of it a platform three times as high as a man, on which they lay down. dyail plucked out one of a'ikina's long hairs and interlaced the ends so as to form a circle, which he slowly drew together. Soon, beginning at the north, the earth grew smaller, forcing all the animals to run south and to the corral, where they had to pass by the brothers' platform. One jaguar after another passed, and they asked each one: "By any chance was it you who devoured Au'/tapaI" But all replied: "No, the one who did it is still behind me!" Finally the slayer of Aiu'/tapa arrived. She made a horn from the victim's stomach and on it she was playing: "Au'/tapa ari tieri' duru'ru!"; but seeing the two brothers on the platform, she quickly swallowed the stomach and began to weep and lament: "Oh, my grandchildren I Such a toothache!" Then dyai' brought a chain [sic] and, showing it to the jaguar, said: "Look at your necklace, grandmother!" 2 Literal translation of the original Tukuna text. 122 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna The jaguar permitted them to place the chain round her neck, and so she was a prisoner. "Let's see your teeth!" said dyoi', and struck her on the nose with a stone; the jaguar fell senseless, but she clenched her jaws. With difficulty dyji' managed to pry them open at last with a binet of acapfi wood. And there in the jaguar's gullet appeared the tip of nu'/tapa's stomach. e'pi tried to get it out with the end of a pole, but proceeded with such ineptitude as to make it rebound, flying far away in a great curve. It fell into the water, where a gigantic caiman swal- lowed it. The brothers killed the jaguar, breaking all her bones. Then they tried to reach the caiman, throwing ants' nests into the water until a dry surface was formed, with the exception of a pool wherein the creature lay. They made a loop of the chain and, hanging it from the tip of a pole, passed it over the caiman's head. They throttled him, bringing him ashore; but his jaws had locked, and it cost them a tremendous amount of labor to open them. When finally they had succeeded, the bumbling e'pi again exerted such force that niu/tapa's stomach sprang suddenly from the caiman's gullet to some distance away, and was gulped down by a forest lizard, tai. In vain the two brothers strove to open grandmother's mouth; she stubbornly refused to give up the prize. dyai' was obliged to hunt for a live coal and apply it to the lizard's throat, and this is why it has a red mark to this day in the corresponding place. Au'/tapa's stomach appeared in "granny's" mouth, but again e'pi made it spring out suddenly with the tip of his pole, the stomach coming to rest between the wings of a big, blue butterfly [Morphos menelaus]. The butterfly closed its wings and would not give up the stomach for any price. They had to burn a hole in its wings. This time dyai' did not permit e'pi to meddle. He himself took out the stomach and, with it and the flesh and bones found in the jaguar's belly, recomposed Aiu/tapa's body. He stamped his foot on the ground, whereupon Au'/tapa sprang up, saying: "My son, you have frightened me!" Version collected in 1929.-The two preceding episodes were told to me in quite a different way by "Captain" Felix of Igarape de Belem in 1929.' ngutapa became angry with his wife; he tied her with her legs spread so that her privates were exposed to hornet stings. The cancan freed the woman, who made the hornets attack ngutapa. The hornet stings caused an enormous swelling in ngutapa's right knee, from which finally came two boys, dyoi' and ipi, and two girls, ai'ke and muwa6a. ngutapa, in the form of a deer, was eaten by a jaguar in the jungle, but dyoi' and ipi resolved to avenge him. They made cannibal fish (piranhas) and put them in the igarape, where the jaguar was accustomed to cross over on top of a log bridge. This they made slippery by daubing it with ambafiva juice so that the jaguar slipped and fell into the water, where she was killed by the voracious fish. They placed her cadaver on shore, taking from her belly the remains of ngutapa, which dyoi' put together again and reanimated with a kick. ngutapa got up and asked how long he had been sleeping. This version is quite condensed, and on one or another point perhaps I may not have understood the narrator well, but the way in which he told of the jaguar's death is noteworthy because of the parallels in other mythologies. The Acquisition of Daylight In early times a permanent darkness reigned on earth. A sumahuma tree covered the entire sky with its foliage, permitting no light to pass through. The nocturnal monkey used to pass by every day. He had eaten nanene-cane fruits [l.g., arara tucupy] and, because of this, each time he let fall his excrements one would see a glow. dyai' observed him and, following him secretly, found the fruit tree. He gathered a quantity of hulls from the ground and invented the hurling-fork.23 With it he threw hull after hull against the leafy cover. The projectiles pierced it, and through each hole a small light appeared. Thus the stars were formed. 22Nimuendajfi, Tukuna-Indianern, p. 189. 28 T., kvirurud'/, a stick split at one end with a cord tied below the split. The cord is rolled round a seed, placed in the cleft, and cast with a forceful snap of the forearm. Speiser observed similar instruments among the Aparai, Ryd6n among the Toba, and I among the eer6nte. 123 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Having verified in this way that light existed above the foliage, he, together with his brother e'pi and aided by ants and termites, began to fell the tree. Cutting the trunk, they severed it completely, but the tree did not fall. They thought that some liana was holding it above, and dyQi' promised aljkina, e'pi's sister, in marriage to anyone who would climb up and loosen the tree. A number of suitors appeared, but none succeeded in reaching the top. The big squirrel [acutipurl] tried, but climbed only as high as a house roof and soon returned. When the little squirrel [ta'lne] also presented himself, everyone thought that the result would be even worse. He, however, climbed to the topmost branches and saw that it was not a liana but a two-toed sloth [Bradypuw didactylus] that was holding the tree up. The squirrel returned, collected many fire ants [T., un/ne], placed them on his flattened tail, and climbed up again. Coming up to the sloth, he threw the ants into its eyes, then quickly descended, since the sloth immediately let go of the tree and began to fall. The squirrel had not yet reached the ground when the tree crashed, and from the force of the rebound his tail was bent over his back. He married aikine. The Acquisition of Sleep The only one who possessed sleep in the old days was pe'ta, who belonged to a generation much older than Au'/tapa. He slept like a dead man, but dyoi' and his kinfolk could not sleep. dyoi' went to see pe'ta and asked him to give him a little of his sleep. pe'ta grasped the hair on top of his own head with one hand and then, placing the hand on dyai"s head, said: "Take the sleep 1 " But it was a lie; he gave nothing to dyai', who as before was unable to sleep. So he waited until pe'ta was asleep and then sneaked up to him. With both hands he lifted off the sleep from pe'ta and placed it on himself, but only over his chest and face so that he would not fall into too deep slumber. pe'ta's domestic animal was the toad vaa'. Seeing what dyai' was doing, she cried out: "Wake up, master ! Someone's trying to steal your sleep" 1" pe'ta, who had been dreaming, awoke in a rage at the disturbance and seized his lance, but vaa' quickly set a pot containing uruciu dye on her head. pe'ta thrust his lance into the pot and, examining the tip, mistook the red uruceu for blood, and lay down again satisfied, but he could not sleep. After some time vaa' again shouted: "Wake up ! Here comes a wild beast ! " and again quickly set the urucfi pot on her head. Again p6ita aimed the lance at her, which struck the pot instead, so that examining the lance head he still thought it was blood. Only after the third time did he realize that he had been fooled. dyoi' and e'pi in the Royal Hawk's Nest dyoi' and e'pi set out to kill a royal hawk whose nest was in a tall and enormously thick tree. They tied poles together as a ladder and climbed up. Arriving at the top, e'pi looked down and said: "Dear brother, I think the ladder is falling!" And immediately the ladder came apart, the pieces falling to the ground. The two could no longer climb down, and so they remained sqautting in the nest until they both were half dead from thirst. Suddenly dyji' saw an ai6a' bird flying past and said: "Oh, if you were only a man and could bring us water! " The bird assumed human form and brought them a small gourd filled with pamA-fruit juice. e'pi drank first and, as dyoi' remained silent, drank excessively, but he still did not empty the gourd; then dyoi' also drank. Presently e'pi wished to urinate, but dyAi' yelled at him: "Restrain yourself, my brother I " e'pi squeezed his penis, but the urine oozed out from between his fingers and became transformed into the spiny- barked cipd ambe. Finally, the last drops fell upon a branch, but one very far below, and there the cip6 became attached. Then dyji' urinated straight down. His urine became transformed into the smooth- barked cip6 amb6, and as the last drop fell on the branch where they were, the plant attached itself. They killed the royal hawk with a blowgun when he returned to the nest, and he fell to the earth. Then dyoi' transformed himself into a nocturnal monkey and e'pi into an opossum, in which shapes they both clambered down the liana. The Dishonor of mova'ca dyoi' and e'pi carried the dead royal hawk home, but when they divided the kill among themselves, e'pi insisted absolutely that he should receive the right half. dyoi', however, thought that his 124 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna brother should get the left half, since dyai' had emerged from iu'/tapa's right knee and e'pi from the left. e'pi continued to wheedle, but dyai' remained firm, giving the right half to mava'ca, insisting that she exchange the halves. mava'ca hid her half between her knees and, when e'pi sought to snatch it away, he touched his sister's privates. At once she was transformed into a collared peccary (taitetfi) and ran along the bank of the igarap6, where she began to eat swamp snails. There the demon ma/6i' of the Jaguar clan found her and, realizing that she had been dis- honored by her brother, shot her with one of his hornet-shaped darts. mova'6a ran back to the house, where she fell dead. dyoi' examined her carefully, forbidding epi to approach, but the latter, promising to cover his eyes with his hands, kept inching forward and peeping through his fingers, and thus saw dyoi' eventually discover the hornet's sting in mava'ca's sexual parts and remove it. After some time she began to stir, and by afternoon she was well once again. dyoi' and elpi Kill the Demon ma/ci' dyoi' and e'pi made a fish weir in the igarap6, but every day the paturi [a small duck]24 opened the enclosure in order to swim through. Finally dyoi' grew angry and threatened to kill her. She heard the threat and replied: "Grandson, why do you wish to kill me instead of your enemy who sings your names [derogatively] I Really, your hearing is quite bad. Come here and rest your head on my lap I " She plucked a feather from her wing and with it removed a quantity of royal- hawk plumage from the two brothers' ears, so that at once they heard the jaguar demon ma/ci singing and mocking them because of their sister mQva'sa's dishonor. The duek gave them the form of two pigeon fledgelings. In a torrential downpour she arrived with them at ma/Ji"s house, asking for a place near the fire for herself and her little grandchildren, and her request was granted. ma/?i was seated by his mortar.25 He called ambauiva leaves to come so he could pound them up in the mortar and eat the resulting paste, but the leaves did not come as before. At length ma/6i' arose to fetch them himself. On the way he stopped, glanced back, and caught sight of a ripe fruit on the trunk of an abifi tree hardly a handbreadth above the ground. Hurrying back, he tried to pick it, but as he approached, the fruit rose higher and was soon out of reach. Seeing this, he again set off after the ambafiva leaves, but, turning his head, he saw once more the abid fruit quite close to the ground. He ran back as fast as he could, but the fruit again rose beyond his grasp. Then he gave up and went to search for amba'uva leaves, but did not find any. He returned to the house in a rage and, brandishing a club, dashed toward the little pigeons. "Is it perchance dyai' who is doing this to me9!" But the duck held her wings over the two in pro- tection, pleading for her grandchildren's lives. ma/ci' again set out to hunt for ambafiva leaves. The scene with the elusive fruit was repeated and again he did not find what he sought. At last dyui' cried: "Abifi, do not flee!" And when ma/ci' came by, the fruit remained within reach. Promptly he seized it with both hands, but it turned into a wasps' nest, the inmates of which attacked him without mercy. He ran to the house and cried: "Mortar, help me !" But the mortar turned into a tarantula, which bit him. "Help me, club!" he screamed, but the club turned into a snake and also bit him. Thereupon dyai' and e'pi resumed human form and attacked him with clubs, killing him. A jaguar, passing by and seeing what occurred, cried out: "Don't crush his skull I I want to make a horn for myself !" The duck asked for the wrist bones, and the brothers kept the thigh bones for themselves in order to make flutes from them. The soul of ma/di' is now in the upper world. There it attacks the souls of the incestuous when they arrive. Then one hears on earth the muted humming of ma/ci"s hornets.N Version collected in 1929.-In 1929 I collected in the Igarape de Bel6m the fol- lowing quite incomplete and poorly understood version of this episode: dyoi' and ipi met in the jungle the female [ ?] demon ma6i making coca [ I parica I ] powder and singing the two brothers' names. These two created poisonous snakes, scorpions, and centipedes at the foot of an ambafiva tree, forbidding the leaves to fly to ma6i when she called them in order to burn them [ambafiva-leaf ash is mixed in with paricA powder]. When the leaves failed to 24Querquedula brasiliensis? 25 T., ka'6/t, an object never used by the Tukuna. " See p. 110. 125 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. appear at ma6i's call, she went to the tree herself, where she was bitten by the poisonous creatures and died The brothers made flutes from her leg bones, abandoning the rest of the skeleton to various animals for similar purposes. e'pi Liberates Gnats and Mosquitoes dyoi' and e'pi each made, in the jungle, a long fence with some openings, in which they set nooses to catch the birds and small animals that might attempt to pass through [see p. 31]. In one of dyAi"s snares a forest turkey became trapped by one leg. e'pi, who visited the traps every hour, discovered it first. Removing it and placing it in his own snare, he ran to tell his brother that he had caught a turkey. The fowl was so tame that he decided to keep it as a pet. It slept on the ridgepole of the house, and at dawn began to sing: "dyoi"s snare caught me by the leg; e'pi carried me to his!" e'pi, enraged at hearing this, went to fetch a long pole, with which he killed the bird on top of the house. His sister carried it to the edge of the igarape to take out the tripes. As she removed the stomach, she heard within it a humming sound. She did not open it but hid the stomach. At this point e'pi arrived and asked: "Sister, where is the forest turkey's stomach?" "I threw it away," answered the girl. "SWhere did you throw it? I want it!" demanded e,pi, but she refused to show him where she had hidden it. Then e'pi waited until she returned to the house, then searched along the bank until he found the stomach hidden beneath a tree trunk from which they used to dip water. But when he opened it, out poured a cloud of gnats and mosquitoes which attacked him with such fury that he fell dead upon the spot. After the turkey had been prepared, dyoi' called in vain for his brother. Searching for him, he went down to the landing and found him dead at the water's edge, covered by a cloud of insects. dyA'i fetched him a kick in the backside, whereupon e'pi sprang up at once, crying: "My brother, how you have frightened me I" e'pi on the ba't Demon's Hook A ba'e demon was seated on the bank of an igarap6, fishing with a hook, which got entangled at the bottom of the creek. dyoi' came along with e'pi, who saw that the bate did not know what to do, and took pity on him. In spite of his brother's advice to the contrary, e'pi decided to release the baJe's hook. Transformed into a small otter, e'pi swam toward the hook, but this leaped at him, hooking him. The ba'e pulled him ashore, killed him, and carried him to his [the demon's] own house. After pondering for a long time what he should do, dyoi' decided to rescue his brother in the afternoon. All the demons had gone off to the work party of one of them when dyai' entered the house. Taking poison from the vaa' toad, he mixed it with the drink, caiquma, that was in the jars. e'pi's body was in a pot, transformed into mush. As soon as the bald demons returned from work, they began to swill the poisoned beverage. At first they felt nothing, but when they wished to begin their meal they fell dead, one after another. Only one, who had been delayed on the path and arrived late, saw the others dead on the floor and fled. Then dyai' came out of his hiding place, removed the flesh and bones of e'pi from the pot, and recomposed his brother. He stamped his foot on the ground, and at once e'pi sprang up, saying: "My brother, you have frightened me!" Version collected in 1929.-A fragment of this episode, also poorly understood in part, was given to me in 1929 by "Captain" Felix. The brothers met in the forest the u'kai demons,27 who were returning home to eat. The two waited until the demons had gone into the jungle again, and then poisoned their drinking water with toad ashes. In the afternoon the Vrkai returned thirsty, drank the poisoned water, and fell dead, one after another. Only the last to arrive became suspicious and fled. e 'pi in the ba't Demon's Snare dyoi' and e'pi found in the jungle a noose set by some ba'e. "Do you want to see, brother," asked e'pi, "how I kick at this?" But dyai' advised him to leave the snare as it was. e'pi trod on the -7According to the most recent information, the belief is that these demons live on the earth's surface, below the jungle undergrowth. 126 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna noose and was caught in it by the buttocks. In vain, dyoi' strove to untie the knot, which was tied in a certain way known only to the bate. Then he rapidly wove a basket of uaruma and placed it over e'pi's head, thereby transforming his brother into a deer. By then the ba'e was arriving to examine his snare. He killed the deer, sucked its nose, and then untied the knot without the slightest difficulty. dyoi' observed everything from his hiding place. The base lifted the kill to carry it home but, finding it too heavy, set about to make a carrying strap of envira. He found a matamatA tree, but the envira was no good."8 He found another tree, but that was even worse. On the third tree the loosened strip grew wider and wider at the top and could not be pulled free in spite of all the bald's efforts. Finally, he was obliged to climb the tree in order to cut the bark free at its upper end. Meanwhile dyai' revived his brQther and both fled. The Girl of the Umari Fruit dygi' and e'pi went to attend the puberty festival of their niece, the daughter of the squirrel, taline, who had married their sister a'lklna [see p. 124]. e"pi no longer recognized his brother-in- law and, while the brothers were returning from the celebration, he repeatedly asked who had been the host, but dyoi' always replied that he did not know either. At the feast it had been arranged that dyai', not e'pi, was to get the girl. However, e'pi insisted that he wanted to marry her and for this purpose wished to return to taline's house, but he could no longer find the way. Meanwhile, the girl had already arrived at the brothers' house. In the yard there stood a large umari tree [T., t4'6i]. She transformed herself into an umari fruit, the only one on the tree, whence her name tMi-arl-Aul' ["Girl of Umari"]. As soon as he saw it, e'pi wished to pick the fruit, but dyai' forbade him. Then e'pi swept the ground clear beneath the tree in order to find the fruit as soon as it should drop, and bided his time. dyai' went hunting, killed many birds, and returned, tired and stained with blood. Giving the birds to e'pi for cleaning and plucking, he went off to bathe. Meanwhile the umari fruit fell. The girl again assumed human form andwaited for dyai',who soon joined her. He rolled her between the palms of his hands, thus reducing her size until he was able to conceal her inside his bone flute. Much later, e'pi finished his labors and, returning to the house, saw at once that the fruit was neither on the tree nor on the ground. He accused his brother of having eaten or hidden it, but dyoi' answered that probably some agouti had carried it off. For four days dyoi' went nightly to bring the girl to his hammock, playing with her in silence. Always just before daybreak he hid her once more in his bone flute. On the fifth night she laughed with him and the little snailshell bells on her armbands tinkled. "My brother," immediately asked e'pi, "with whom are you laughing?" "Nothing," answered dyai'. "The broom laughed because I tickled itI" Then e'pi got up, fetched a broom, tied a snailshell bell on it, lay down with the broom in his hammock, and began to tickle it. "Brother," he complained, "the broom does not laughl"1 "So?" answered dyai'. "Mine does!" When on the following night e'pi again heard the girl's laughter, he began to ask who was with dyoi', and the latter replied that he was playing with the rocking-board. e'pi at once got up to bring a rocking-board to his hammock and began to tickle it. However, it did not laugh. tMiariAui' was now dyail"s wife, but he continued to hide her in the bone flute every day before dawn, so that e'pi would not see her. However, the latter was convinced that his brother had a wife and he searched for her everywhere. One day when dyoi' had gone hunting, e'pi took his bow and arrows and shot a large quantity of small fish [ai'ke] in the igap6. He brought them home, where he poured them into a large potsherd, which he placed over the fire. When the sherd grew hot, the still living fish began to jump about. e'pi then pulled his penis free of his waist cord and danced around the fire, singing: "6au tarakunydl-nyb'-ny& I" With this, his penis began to flop up and down. tb6iarjlui' saw this from her hiding place and could not resist laughing. At once e'pi stopped and looked all around, listening carefully, but as he discovered nothing he continued his dance. Once more tb6iarlnui' had to laugh, and this time e'pi discovered her inside the flute. He pulled 28 The bast of the envira de matamatA (Eschweilera sp.) may be ripped away from top to bottom, after the initial cut has been made, the long strips being of equal width. 127 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. her out, fornicated with her, and afterward attempted to place her in the flute again, but he could not do so, for she was already big with child. Then e'pi went to collect some paxiubinha fruits and rubbed the white paste on his glans. Thus he went to meet his brother and, when he saw him approaching, he cried: "Look, brother I I still have all this tallow from the very beginning on my glans!" [That is, he had not yet enjoyed coitus.] So saying, he pulled back the foreskin and the white paste fell out. However, dyai' realized what had happened and paid no attention to e'pi or to teciarjfiui' who, being pregnant, was seated in the house. Irritated, he threw the game to one side, roasting a toucan for himself and eating it alone. The next morning the boy tvku-kjra' ["Tail feather," a name of the kY'u clan] was born. dyai' ordered e'pi to bring genipapo fruits in order to paint his son black. e'pi climbed up the genipapo tree, but the more he climbed the higher the tree grew. He had already climbed so high that he could see the Rio Solim6es [about five leagues away] from his perch. "Brother," shouted e'pi, "I think I see the Omfigua coming downstreaml" "Hold your tongue!" dyoi' ordered angrily, "What did you have to say that forI" "No," answered e'pi, "these people are good for us to fight." That is why the Omigua were the deadly enemies of the Tukuna. e'pi finally picked a genipapo fruit on the topmost branch of the tree and began to climb down, but in order to punish him dyji' caused an enormous fungus [orelha de pau] to grow horizontally round the circumference of the trunk. e'pi, transformed into a tucandira ant, finally managed to overcome the obstacle. dyai' ordered him to grate the genipapo. After grating the fruit, e'pi asked: "Is this enough?" "Not yet," replied his brother, "keep on grating!" "Is it enough now?" elpi asked after a while, but dyAi ordered him to continue. epi grated his hands, his arms, and finally all of himself, so that he became mixed in with the genipapo. dyai' took this to teeiariAui' so that she might paint the child black, advising her not to lose any of the residue. This remained for three days in a leaf bowl of agahy spatulate. Version collected in 1929.-My informant of 1929 told this story in the following way. In the jungle there was a woman with her little daughter, fleeing from the u'kai, who had already devoured all her kin. Seeing the path blocked by a copse of tiririca shrubs the girl began to cry and refused to go on. Then the mother ordered her to go with dyoi'. dyoi' made the girl climb an umari tree, where she was transformed into a fruit; hence her name, tb6ariui. In the afternoon she began to sing, and at night she took human form and went to play with dyoi'. ipi, hearing her laughter in the darkness, asked who was with dyoi', and dyoi' replied that the rocking-board was laughing because he had tickled it. ipi got up, brought a rocking-board and tickled it, but it did not laugh, and the same thing happened with the grinding-trough and with the broom, which he tried successively in accordance with his brother's answers. By morning tb6ariui again transformed herself into an umari fruit, singing the brothers' names from her branch. In vain, ipi searched for the singer while dyoi' was in the jungle. At midday the fruit ripened and fell, and ipi at once ran forward to seize it, but she hid herself. ipi swept the ground surrounding the tree, with a broom, but failed to find her. At night, tb6ariui again went to dyoi"s hammock; she was already a young woman [i.e., nubile]. She laughed no more but slept with him. In the morning dyoi' hid her in his bone flute before going off into the jungle. ipi went to the igarap4 to catch tamoatds. He brought a basketful to the house, kindled a fire beneath the oven, and spilled the fish into it. The tamoatis jumped about in the hot oven, and ipi danced round them. tb6ariui saw this from her hiding place and laughed. At once ipi searched for her but could not find her. Twice more he repeated this scene with the fish until he finally discovered her in the flute. Blowing on this, he forced tecariui out and had coitus with her until his sperm exuded from her mouth and nostrils. Afterward he wished to return her once more to the flute. Since she was pregnant, she could no longer enter. Then ipi grew fearful of his brother. He smeared the white paste from tucum nuts over his glans to give the impression that he had not had intercourse for a long time; thus he went to meet dyoi'. dyoi' at once realized what had taken place; seizing tb6ariui, he shook her, and with this she gave birth to the boy 6iekin. Then dyoi' ordered his brother to fetch genipapo fruits to 128 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna paint the child. He forced ipi to climb the tree upside down and to pick the fruits with his feet. From above, ipi shouted that in the distance he could see people: they were the Omigua who were coming down the Rio Solimoes, riding the current in their dugouts. dyoi' caused an enormous fungus to grow round the tree trunk, but ipi, in the form of a tucandira ant, passed over the obstacle. Then dyoi' caused a spiny bush [nanahy] to appear at the foot of the tree, but ipi, in the form of a fleck of cotton, let himself fall lightly and reached the ground unharmed. Then dyoi' ordered him to grate the fruits. When these had been grated, he would not permit ipi to stop but compelled him to grate his hands, his arms, and finally him- self, he being mixed in with the grated fruits. dyoi' painted the boy with it [the mixture], left the rest in the igarap6, and constructed an enclosure round it. Many small fish remained impris- oned within the enclosure, and so they grew up, feeding themselves from the substance. The Creation of Mankind dyai' went hunting, but when he returned he gave nothing to tffiarjnui', so she suffered from hunger. She thought: "Oh, if e'pi were only here I should not be hungry I " dyoi' read her thoughts and asked: "Do you want my brother againt" "Yes," she replied, "because while he was here I lacked nothing." Then dyai' ordered her to throw the remaining genipapo into the waters of the igarap6 where she and the child were wont to bathe. Afterward he went to hunt and brought her many monkeys and birds so that she might eat her fill, since he was no longer angry with her. Afterward he constructed a fence of anaji palm stalks round the residue. From the substance was generated a large number of small fish, but e'pi was not among them.29 dyai' began to angle for them with a hook, using a stone as bait at first. As soon as he pulled these fish out of the water they were transformed into jaguars. Then he tried with bait of urucuri hulls, and the fish he caught were transformed into squirrels. He tried fishing with tucuma hulls, and the fish thus hooked were changed into pigs. Finally, using sweet manioc as bait, he caught a fish which was transformed into an Indian. He continued to fish with this bait until he had caught a large number of people. Suddenly, he sighted e'pi approaching in the shape of a fish with a golden spot on its head. dyoil threw the bait to him several times, but e'pi did not bite. Then dyai' called tMiariftuil and handed her the hook; hardly had she thrown the line, when e'pi darted at the bait, allowing himself to be hooked and pulled ashore, where he immediately resumed his human form and began to tell this tale. He had come from the land of gold [T., u'iru, l.g., ouro, gold] in the east and, as soon as they should part again, would return there where there was this brilliant thing; and he said that dyoi' should go to the west. However, dygi' first of all ordered him to fish for men also. But e'pi killed all his fish as soon as he had caught them, giving them no chance to become transformed into people, until tMiarifiui' showed him how to proceed. Version collected in 1929.-The legend was told me in 1929, as follows. When the fish in dyoi"s enclosure were large, he baited his hook with a stone and went there. All the fish he pulled ashore became pigs; because of this [the stone bait?] they have strong teeth. Then he fished with green maize, and the fish were transformed into Tukuna Indians; because of this [the maize bait?] they have teeth of poor resistance. Afterward he tried in vain for a long time to angle for his brother. At last, giving the hook to tb6ariui, he said: "See if you can take out your lover!" ipi at once seized the hook, allowing himself to be pulled ashore, where he resumed his former shape. dyoi' then handed him the hook in order that he also should catch his people. ipi, however, killed all the fish he caught, before they had time to become people. dyoi' had to instruct him how to proceed, and then ipi with sweet manioc bait eaught the Kokama and the other tribes of the Peruvian Amazon. Finally dyoi' made Negroes from the rest of the genipapo. Clan Recognition A great number of these first people caught by dyoi' and e'pi were jumbled about without dis- tinction. But dyai' separated them, putting his -to the east and epi's to the west. Then he ord.ered 10 The name e'pi is also applied to a small fish with a golden spot on its head. 129 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. that a jacurarfi be cooked, and compelled everyone to taste the broth. Thus each one became aware of the clan to which he belonged. Afterward dyoi' ordered the members of the two groups to marry between themselves. According to another version, a pot with jacuruxy stew was sent from the upper world by ta-6' for the purpose of differentiating the clans. The Origin of Languages The first man caught by dyoi' was dovil. After communication with the upper world was inter- rupted [see the following tale] he tried to reestablish it. He called together all the men for a work party in order to pile up earth so that from the top one could reach the upper world. For the feeding of all these people dovi' had only two hummingbird eggs. The mountain of earth had already reached an enormous height when a certain nyb'kae6a stole the two eggs and ate them himself. At once no one could understand the speech of his fellows. When d&vj' discovered the theft and demanded in a loud voice who the thief was, no one under- stood him, and all cried out in different tongues. At the same time, the mountain of earth subsided, forming the various mountains that still exist today. Because of the lack of understanding among themselves, the men could not undertake the task again, and the tribes left, each in a different direction. davi' remained at the spot with the Tukuna, becoming their first chief. dyoi' Steals Fire tope'tine, dyoi*s grandmother [see p. 122] had a foster son whose face and body were all covered with warts, for which reason they called him bei-nat1 ["Father of Warts"]. dyoi' could not stand him and mocked him incessantly. For this reason tope'tine took bQi-natI and moved to the upper world, which was still linked to earth by a notched-log ladder by which men could climb and descend at will. Only tzpe'tine possessed fire. She took it with her to the upper world, and on earth there was none. dyoi' resolved to steal it. While the Father of Warts was sleeping in a partitioned space, dyoi' assumed his shape, pretended to be very cold, and asked tape'tine to let him get warm at her fire. She consented, and as soon as she had gone out for some task, dyai' went to fetch the Father of Warts from his compartment. He waited until a great chunk of kindling was well ablaze, seized it, dealt the Father of Warts a blow in the belly, and fled with the fire. It was some time before the vietim was able to call his foster mother. When she learned what had happened, she hunted for the ax in order to cut the log ladder leading to the earth, but, since she could not find the tool at once, dyoi' had already reached the earth with his firebrand by the time she finally succeeded in cutting the lianas seeuring the ladder. According to another version, dyoi' himself destroyed the ladder because he saw that many people preferred the upper world and were migrating there. "Why do you want to move to the upper world ? Your place is here on earth !" he said, and ordered the ladder destroyed. dyoi' also invented the friction fire sticks of cupu' do matto wood. Still another version of the origin of fire is found in the following legend. The Acquisition of Cultivated Plants An old woman lived alone and far away from other people. She had a hard time of it, since the Indians of that period did not yet know of sweet manioc. One day she observed some safiva ants carrying a white substance. She took a piece and smelled it. "What an agreeable smell I " she said. She followed the ants until she came to the edge of a pool in the igarap6, where on the bank was a large tree bearing all kinds of sweet manioc fruits. These fell into the water, where they got softened. She took a piece, placed it in her armpit, and dried it by her own body heat. Afterward she tried the dried substance and liked it. She gathered a large quantity, dried it in the sun, and took it 130 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna home. One day her grandchildren came to visit her and ate of it. They thought it delicious and asked their grandmother where she had got it. However, the old woman would not tell them; when they persisted, she only answered that it was a present from ta-e'. She had a crony, the nocturnal swallow [bacurao], which had fire in its beak. The two no longer dried the sweet manioe in their armpits or in the sun, but secretly made fire and baked manioc flat cakes in the oven. Everyone who had a chance to try these found them excellent, but when people inquired about their prepa- ration, the old woman merely answered that they were baked in the sun. When the swallow heard this lie from the old woman, she could not resist laughing, and the flames burst from her mouth. Seeing this, some of those present thought: "Has she fire in her mouth " One day a boy noticed the old woman take fire from the night swallow's mouth and light the fire under the oven. When he told the others this, they decided to take the fire away from the swallow, bacurao. But she, seeing so many people coming, quickly removed all the fire from under the oven and placed it in her mouth, which she stubbornly refused to open. Finally, the men pried open her beak by force and removed the fire. This is why swallows have such gaping beaks. However, they still did not know where the sweet manioc came from. At last one man secretly followed the old woman and saw the tree bearing the fruit. Back at the house, he again asked the old woman whence the substance came; when she refused to tell, he informed her that he already knew where she got it and from which tree it was. He took the others to the spot, and they not only picked all the fruit but dug up all the roots as well. The tree died and fell, and no one had sweet manioc thereafter. The deer had been coming to the tree, had seen what the men were doing, and had broken off branches of all kinds with slips, which he kept covered in his basket. dyQi' and his companions were fishing with timb6 in the igarap6 when the deer came by; slung from his body was his covered basket, which he never let out of his sight. A little way off he sat down and ate. As soon as he had finished and gone away, dyoi' went to examine the spot, where he found several bits of sweet manioc, yams, and potatoes. He tried them and thought highly of the deer's food. Then he shouted behind him, "We are going home now! Don't you want to gather the fish we have left in the water?" and pretended to leave with his companions. But he returned secretly and transformed himself into a tree by the riverbank, extending his arms as branches over the surface of the water. The deer came, saw that many dead fish still remained in the igarap6, and entered the water. But his covered basket hindered him, so he finally hung it on one of the branches overhanging the igarape. dyoi' made the dead fish float downstream with the current and, when the deer went after them, seized the basket and made off with it. The deer, seeing this, cried, "So it was dyoi"s arm? Well, I'll help you anyway I Plant in a new clearing I " dyoi' took the basket to his companions. Opening it, they found that the top was full of a quantity of sweet manioc and yam tubers, and potatoes, and below this they found the slips and seeds of all cultivated plants. They ate the tubers and planted the slips and seeds according to the deer's instructions. The Acquisition of the Stone Ax A benign spirit in human form named tuil'ta owned the stone ax, with which he used to knock on tree roots (sapopemas) at night. "With what is he knocking?" pondered dyoi'. He followed tu1D'ta until he came to a patch of second growth, where a wild-chocolate tree [cupfi], bearing fruit was standing. dyoi' took the shape of a cupfi fruit beneath the tree. tujn'ta came and, seeing the fruit, said, "There is my wild chocolate!" He seized it, but the fruit bit his finger and would not let go. The spirit realized that he had been tricked, and cried, "Let me go, dyoi'l" "No, I won't I " dyai' answered. "Release me I " "Only if you give me the stone ax I " "No, you shan't have it I Let me go I " "Only if you give me the stone ax I " Thus the two bickered for some time, until at last dyoi' exerted more pressure on the finger, forcing the spirit to give him the ax. dyai' seized it with both hands, released tuIl'ta's finger, and fled, hotly pursued by the spirit. They arrived at a large kapok tree, around which dyoi' began to dash in a circle, relentlessly followed by the spirit, until the latter grew tired and dyoi' escaped. "Give me my ax l" howled tu1D'ta behind him. "No, I'll not give it back I" answered dyoil, already away. tuljl'ta made another stone ax; even today one may occasionally hear him beating on tree roots with it. 131 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. dyoi' Imprisons the Child-eating Jaguar The jaguar peti' had already killed many children. As soon as he would hear a wailing child, who had been left alone by its parents, he would take the form of the child's mother and carry it away, saying, "Put your nose directly against my anus I" Then he would kill the child by breaking wind and would devour it. dyoi' assumed the shape of a child. With his carrying sling [tipoia] over his arm, he stationed himself by the side of the path and wept. peti' arrived, took him on his back, and told him to place his nose directly against the anus; dyoil, however, placed it to one side. The jaguar broke wind repeatedly, but in vain. Each time he ran faster and faster. When he passed a house the inhabitants cried out, "Where are you going with ta-na'ti [Our Father] t" Then p@ti' realized with whom he was dealing and begged him to dismount, but dyoi* would not. petit ran again. He entered the underworld through a mountain cavern, constantly begging dyAi' to let him go free. dyzi' ordered peti' to return to the place where they had met. At that place there was a muirapiranga tree that had a smooth hole in its trunk. Through this, dyoi' thrust both of the jaguar's arms and secured them firmly. From the other side of the trunk peti' grabbed his dance tube of bamboo"' with both hands and began to sing. He called for the bat to come and wipe his breech. Other demons of the Jaguar clan arrived and gave him food. At times even today one may hear their racket in a place called naime'kj, on the left bank of the Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, in a patch of second growth next to the abandoned fazenda of the Tukuna Tiberio Tuyuca. baia' (dyoi') and the ba't Demons baia' went hunting, leaving his wife and three children at home. A bate demon came along, carrying arara tucupy fruits, and passed the house. When the woman saw him, she thought, "If he would only give me those fruits!" The ba'e read her thoughts at once and asked her to lie with him. Observing that he had no penis, the woman thought, "What in the world can he want with me?" Again the bate divined her thoughts and, stepping to one side, shouted, "nyoni'kQ nyapenainkQ u: ! " And at once his penis appeared, which was this long [1 m.] and this thick [a handbreadth]. The woman died of the intercourse. The ba's devoured her and threw the bones to the edge of the clear- ing; only her empty skin remained. The bate's sister arrived. The demon ordered her to sit by the side of the door and covered her with the dead woman's skin. Then he went away; but not very far from the house he climbed a tree from which he could see anyone passing by. baia"'s eldest son, who had seen everything, went to meet his father on the path; however, the latter already knew what had taken place. With his blowgun he went to the tree in which the bate was sitting and shot one poisoned dart after another at him, but the demon only murmured, "it1kV nani nununI" ["How many deer flies 1"] Then baia' uttered a magic formula beneath his breath, so that the demon would let slip the secret of how to kill him, and in fact the ba'e did say, "Don't you know how I may be killed? The white mould on aeahy fruits will kill me at once I " baia' went to search for agahy fruits, tipping his darts with their white mould; then he again shot and struck the bate's foot. At once the foot began to melt like hot resin, then the leg, and then the other leg, the body also, and the arms. The pieces dripped down to the ground, and the base said each time, "There goes my foot ! There goes my leg ! " and so on. Finally, his head also melted. baia' returned to his house and asked the woman [the ba'e's sister], "Your relatives are numerous?" "Yes," she replied. "What is the drink that they like best?" "They like a drink made of wild-chocolate fruits." Then baia' said, "Wild chocolate!" and at once a great quantity of this fruit appeared. The woman broke up the fruits and filled the jars with the beverage. Afterward he ordered her to go invite all her kin, and they arrived late that afternoon. They had human shape, but large faces and thick noses. They drank and got drunk. After midnight, baia' ordered the woman to take his youngest son to the plantation and pluck his hair, but told her to pluck the hairs out one by one. As soon as she had gone, baia' told his two older boys to thrust their blowguns through the wall, and shut the house. Then he transported himself through the air to the place in the east where the 80 Ceremonial object of the Jaguar elan, a thick section of bamboo 3 m. long. See p. 45. 132 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna 133 sun rises and the ground glows with embers. Taking a bit of the incandescent substance, he returned to the house shortly before dawn. He threw the fire into the house, which at once burst into flames, while his two sons escaped through the bore of their blowguns. With the coming of daylight, the house and all the bate in it were a heap of ashes. Then baia' stamped his foot on the ground, and at once the house reappeared in its old location as it was before. Meanwhile, the bate woman in the plantation was plucking the hairs of baia"s son, one at a time. She repeatedly tried to suck out the child's brain through the now bald spot, but baia' had foreseen this and had magically hardened the boy's skull. At last she finished her task and returned with the child to the house. When she arrived, she found no trace of the ba'e. "Where are my relatives?" she inquired. "They finished all the drink and have gone off," replied baia', and ordered her to sweep the house. The woman began to sweep, and soon found a charred hand in a corner. "Is this not a hand of my brotherI" she asked. "No," answered baia', "it is the paw of a barrigudo monkey!" Then he ordered her to wash the jars, but compelled her to fetch the water first in a strainer, then in a burden basket. At last he made a large burden basket waterproof by lining it with resin and attaehed a tumpline of thin tucum fiber to it. "My deceased wife," he informed the woman, "did not suspend the line from her forehead but from round her neck!" The woman followed his adviee, but when she returned with the heavy basket, filled with water, the cord was almost cutting through her neck. "Help me take off this basket!" she cried. "Just stand it one more instant!" replied baia', stepping behind her and jerking the cord, which cut through her neck. Her head fell to the ground. baia' transformed himself into a deer and fled, pursued by the head. He arrived at a steep slope on the edge of which there was a termites' nest, which he knocked over. It rolled down the bank while he sprang to one side and concealed himself. Hearing the noise of the rolling termites' nest, the head pursued it, thinking it was baia', and finally came to a halt beside it, all the while look- ing about attentively. baia' returned to the woman's body and saw that the severed neck had already grown to a finger's width. Two days later the base of the skull had formed again. Other bate visited the headless body and fed it through the severed neck. Then baia' again transported himself to the east to bring more of the red-hot sun mass. On his return, he tied caiaai palm [Elaeis melanococca, Gaertn.] fibers over his genitals, because all the bate have very thick hair on their pubes. Perceiving his approach, the body inquired: "Are you a relative of mine?" "YesI" "Then let me touch youI" She touched him and was convinced that it was really a bate who had arrived. "Open your neck I I want to feed you I " commanded baia', but as soon as she opened her gullet, he threw in some of the fiery substance, and her entire body went up in flames. With the rest of the incandescent stuff, baia' went to where the head lay. It had already grown a new neck and shoulders. Transformed into a small bird [pore'ne, see p. 38], he flew directly above the head, which was attentively glancing about, and let fall upon it the fiery substance, the ineandeseent sun-mass, that he held in his claws. The head of the bawe woman was instantly consumed by the flames. baia' went to search for the bones of his wife, killed by the bate, recomposed them, and stamped his foot on the ground, whereupon the woman was revived and cried out: "My husband I You have frightened me I" Henceforth they lived together again. Two other informants gave me the name of these ba't as u'kai (see pp. 126, 128). dyai' Transforms Deer and Anteater In ancient times the deer was a man-eating jaguar. In order to stop his depredations, dyAi' gave him a punch under the jaw that knocked the ascending rami through the top of his skull, where they appeared as antlers. Since then the deer has been inoffensive. Another dangerous animal in the old days was the anteater, mambira [Myrmecophaga tetra- dactyla; T., a:'rbva]. He was as agile as a barrigudo monkey in climbing and skipping about the tree limbs, so that no one could deal with him, even when he attacked and ate people. dyai' captured the anteater, broke the creature's paws backward, and, rubbing its muzzle between the palms of his hands, squeezed it so that it became long and slender with only a tiny opening. Then he ordered the anteater to eat termites. University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. dyoi' Paints the Uaricana dyai' had invented the uaricana of paxiubinha wood for the hair-plucking festival of the boy Teku-kira', painting it red with carajurd [Arrabidea chica]. One of the immortal companions, I don't know which, criticized the painting. "How should I paint it, thent" asked dyoi'. The other explained, "At the headwaters of the Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo there is a high bank with clays of all colors. It is soft, but you must not touch it with your hands; remove it by thrusting your blowgun into it so that the clay sticks in the bore !" That very evening the two transported themselves to the spot mentioned, where dyoi' thrust his blowgun into all the clays of different colors, each time to the depth of a handbreadth. On return- ing home, he reamed the clay out with a cleaning rod, and then painted the uaricafna anew. The taboo which surrounds this instrument is concentrated in the appearance of this paint." The Present Status of dyoi' and e'pi At last dyDi' and e'pi decided to part, and so they went away-dyail' to the west and e'pi to the east. But dygi' could not readily find the west, and at night he secretly reversed the earth so that ePpi remained in the west, while he himself remained in the east. No one ever saw dyai' again. A long time ago a Tukuna journeyed to the rising sun, where he arrived at dyoi"s house. He entered but did not succeed in seeing dyai'. Wherever he looked he saw only his own image, because the walls of the house were made of mirrors. dyoi' sent word for him to go back, since he did not want to see him nor did he wish to be sought out. Probably this tale has as its underlying basis the visit of some Indian in the mirrored salon of some governmental palace where he was denied the audience requested of the governor. Version collected in 1929.-In connection with the tale related above "Captain" Felix in 1929 brought to my attention the following episode. Later, the two brothers began to quarrel and argue over the division of the world, disputing which of them should receive the east and which the west. ipi demanded absolutely that he should go down the Solim5es (east) and left for that region with his followers; but while he slept, dyoi' turned the world about so that ipi and his people remained in the west, whereas dyoi' and his people remained in the east, as he had wished. dyoi' lives in the land of the rising sun, beyond the the sea, in a place called mu'ruapi. ngutapa and tWariui are with him, also, but no mortal can ever reach there. In ancient times a few came close enough to see mu'ruapi from afar, but when they came nearer, everything turned into flowering bushes. On the left bank of the upper Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, almost two days' canoe trip above the farthest Tukuna settlement, there is a very old plantation. Calixto daueru'kj used to call this place bu-e (from bu, child) because it was believed to have once been the dwelling of fiu'/tapa, where dyai', e'pi, and their sisters appeared in this world. Generally, however, the Tukuna call this plantation taivegj'ne, which was the name of dyoi"s house. According to the Tukuna, one may still see there the remains of very ancient posts belonging to the house and to the fence with the platform upon which the brothers waited for the jaguar that had devoured Au'/tapa. The place where the two caught the giant caiman was also pointed out to me. Not far above this spot the Igarap6 vor&-kj ("Girl Creek") empties from the right. There in ancient times the celebrants of a puberty ceremony once took the virgin to her bath after the depilation, as was the custom. When she dived into the " See legend, "tjooYna and the Breaking of the Uaricfina Taboo." 134 Nimuendaju: The Tukuna shallow water she disappeared forever without a trace. No one ever learned what became of her; undoubtedly the immortals carried her off. Another girl, at the close of her puberty celebration, declared that she wished to move away from where her parents lived because there she felt a weight press- ing on her head. They moved with her to a mountain range where they entered the underworld, but the girl declared that that did not suit her either. Accord- ingly, they left for dyoi"s abandoned plantation and entered the house through the floor, just as if they were crawling in beneath a mosquito bar. The girl thought it pretty and asserted that she was satisfied since she no longer felt the weight on her head. She is still there today with her festive companions. Below taivegj'ne there also empties from the right the Igarape e'vare. At its source stands elpi's house, which bears the name of de'i. There tku-kjra', son of e'pi, still lives today in the company of many other immortals. Sometimes on a night of full moon one may hear, very far off but yet clearly, the sounds of their merrymaking, but no one ever succeeds in reaching the place. An old Tukuna named Miguel, who for many years was the last inhabitant of Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, attempted it once, but in vain. After Miguel another Indian I knew, Cazemiro, tried it again but got drunk, lost his bearings, and finally returned. The Indians are convinced that the immortals will punish with madness anyone who dares to break the taboo of this creek. They believe that dyoi' and e'pi left the hook, with which they angled for the first men, in the water back at the mouth of the e'vare; there it was transformed into snakes and rays which guard the entrance. The mouth is now overgrown with vegetation. The Origin of Old Age and Death This first race of men which dyoi' and e'pi fished for is called ma:'/gita (from ma: 'gi, "to throw something from the tip of an elastic wand," and ta, plural suffix) or it'ne (the immortals). They do not die as we do; their descendants, the yuna'tj (mortals), however, live even today in an enchanted state in the region where they were created, or far away to the east with dyoi'. The difference [between the immortals and mortal men] arose in ancient times through the error of a girl who was in seclusion for her puberty festival at the time when dyoi', in the com- pany of the immortals, called for everyone to follow him. The girl did not answer, but shortly after, when the spirit dya: [Old Age] was announcing his coming with shouts of "Vavi'-vavi'- vavi'l euniP dya: u: I" she responded, "May dya: comeI" dya: entered her cell and, pulling at his hair, stripped off his own skin. Then he took off the girl's skin in the same way and exchanged them. He himself was transformed into a youth, and went off, whistling on his fingers. The girl remained an old, decrepit woman, without strength even to stand up. Very early in the morning her mother called her, "Daughter! Sweep your cell I" She obeyed, sitting on the floor and slowly pushing before her the aqahy-leaf container holding the rubbish. The mother urged her to hurry and finish the chore before the inhabitants of the house should awaken. At last the mother peered into the little room and saw in place of the girl an old crone with a wrinkled skin. The festival was called off, and since then men grow old and die. There is another story of a var&-kj who responds to the immortals' call: The Origin of the Lunar Aureole A virgin was in her seclusion cell. Suddenly, she heard immortals entering the house, walking without touching the ground with their feet, and calling, "Vavi'-vavi'-vavi' I eunil i'lne u: I" She 135 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. immediately answered that she wished to become immortal also. Her puberty festival was being celebrated simultaneously with a child's hair-plucking ceremony. Among the guests was also a girl betrothed to mbta'r."3 However, she disliked him because he would eat only tree fungi (orelhas de pau). She was enamored of il'/tave6ine'm and chased after him wherever he went. The host called everyone inside to witness the beginning of the virgin's depilation. Only in'/tavecine and his paramour remained outside, painting each other with genipapo dye. She merely entered the house for an instant, drank some paiauarli, and rejoined her lover. m8ta're, standing next to the jars containing the beverage, saw her, and said under her breath, "You may go ! " The var8kj' and the other celebrants were seated on top of the tapir hide in the center of the house. The turtleshell drum was sounding, and the guests were dancing. Suddenly the tapir hide began to move, rising into the air. m8ta're climbed up on the roof to reach it also, but he was too late. The two lovers outside noticed nothing of what was taking place until suddenly the girl said to in'/tavecine, "Listen I The drums are sounding up above I " Lifting her eyes, she saw the celebrants of the festival on the tapir hide already far up in the sky. Weeping, she called to her mother and brothers, who were also on the hide. The brothers threw her the end of a thin liana with a trans- verse piece of wood lashed to it, commanding her to put her feet on this and hold the liana with her eyes shut. She obeyed, and they began to pull her up to join them. There was only a short distance to go to reach the hide, when she opened her eyes and, seeing how thin the liana was, exclaimed, "The liana is going to breakI" Instantly it broke, and she fell to the ground, at once turning into a bird called mainyu, and flying away to cry forever "main! main!" ("Brother.") Even today she may be heard thus calling her brother. il'/tave6ine also was transformed into a small hawk, and flew off. meta're broke the jars, and the paiauaru, which was full of worms, spilled upon the ground. Ants and all other creatures that shed their skins licked it up, and for this reason they never grow old. Afterward, meta're turned into a bird [japiu] and flew after the others to the upper world. The tapir hide and the celebrants of the festival seated upon it may still be seen today when the moon has a ring around it.> According to another version the lovers and the guests at the festival are visible in the Pleiades. In the old days whoever wished to become immortal submitted to a diet of maize and Coleoptera larvae and, when he bathed, rubbed his entire body with burity fruits. Then one day in the jungle he would meet an unknown boy who would bid him prepare for a feast on such and such a day. On the appointed day, in the afternoon, aquatic birds of all species would appear and perch in the trees near the house. At nightfall the dance would begin inside the sealed house. Some time later an immortal in human form would knock at the door. They must let him enter and conduct him to the jars, where he would give the host a small gourd containing the immortals' drink, yita'ki cij, which must be mixed in with the festive beer (chicha), because to become one of the immortals one must partake of their beverage. At dawn all the immortals would enter, dance, drink, and choose consorts, the unmarried mortals doing the same; sometimes even married couples would sepa- rate in order to join the immortals. At daybreak the spirits, while dancing, would conduct all the celebrants outside the house, and after some fifteen paces would command them to close their eyes. When they opened them again, they would already be far away in the abode of the immortals. 82Identified in the lingua geral with Jaboti or Tortoise of the legends. Im A small, red-legged falconid which feeds on small birds. "Other exploits of meta're are related in the legends, "meta're and 9'vjkjna," "meta're and vai'Mi'kl," and "meta're and tu'6uru." 136 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna A typical episode is related in the following legend.' dyue-a'ciki The wife of dyun_aP6ikj died. Then he went to look for the immortals. The people went to see his dwelling; they searched for him. He saw them. At once this irritated him. He went to another place. There he made another plantation. Then his daughter attained puberty. He constructed her seclusion cell and left her there. Then a small bird appeared before her. He held [in his beak] a grain of maize. She tried in vain to take it from him; he did not give it to her. She told her father. "Hold your tongue, dear one," he said. "This is an immortalI" Then the immortal again appeared. He gave her the grain of maize. The father planted it. His maize ripened. Then he began his [daughter's] puberty festival. He concluded it. He alone removed her [from seclusion] and sang with her. "Oh, what did you do, dear one," he said to his daughter, "that he [the immortal] gives no sign?" Then dyun-a'6ikj grew very tired. He fell asleep. The daughter sat next to him in the hammock. Then, in spite of himself, dyun-aPeiki was awakened by those [the immortals] who had already entered. This made him really very happy. He looked at his daughter; she was already seated in the hammock with her husband. Then he called everyone. They led her outside and round the house. They they reentered. They gave dyun-aP'iki a wife [immortal]. Then they took them [outside]. They made them close their eyes. When they looked [again] they were already in a different land [that is, the immortals' country]. According to this version the miracle was accomplished because the immortals' maize brought by the little bird and planted by dyun-a'cikj was mixed with the ordinary maize from which he made the festive beer (chicha) that he and his daughter drank. The Girl Carried Away by the Immortal The puberty festival was drawing to a close. The virgin's uncle, his wife, and several women of related clans led her to the river for her bath, but the uncle was then so drunk that he could no longer perform the ceremony properly. His wife was still at the girl's side when a youth appeared in the form of a tapir. He was one of the immortals who had remained in the vicinity of the ancient dwelling of dyQi' after dyQi' had left with his companions. He carried off the girl and married her. Much later she reappeared to her mother in the plantation. She brought her son with her in a carrying sling. She told her mother that she had been living among the immortals and asked if her mother would brew an especially strong drink (paiauarf) for the hair-plucking ceremony of her younger brother. Her parents compiled with her wishes, and she came to the celebration with her busband. He brought a little of the immortals' beverage. He filled a tiny gourd and gave each of the celebrants a sip. All got drunk and in this condition went away with the married couple to the dwelling of the immortals in Igarap6 e'vare. MEssINIC MOVEMENTS Messianic movements are based collectively on four principal features of Tukuna religion: (1) the personality of dyoi', the creator and founder of tribal culture; (2) the feeling of having offended him by the corruption of the primitive spiritual (not material!) culture owing to influences of civilization; (3) the possibility of the repetition of the cataclysms of ancient times; (4) the existence of the im- mortals and their tendency to appear to persons at the age of puberty. a Literal translation of the original Tukuna text. 137 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Customarily, these manifestations are the following. A boy, or a girl in seclusion, begins to have repeated visions during which he or she converses with the ma: '-gjta (p. 135), who sometimes conduct the young person's soul temporarily to their dwelling. From these immortals the visionary learns of the imminence of a cata- clysm that will destroy the civilizados, and of the means by which the Indians may survive the disaster. Escape generally depends on their assembling in some indicated spot sheltered from the catastrophe, and on the performance of certain ceremonies. However, as soon as this assembly takes place, the Neobrazilians, judg- ing the Indians by themselves, fear a revolt and with more or less brutality inter- vene to crush the movement. Such interference, however, does not prevent its resurgence at more or less lengthy intervals, as long as the four features cited above remain in vigor. Thus the Tukuna told me that forty or fifty years ago the prophecies of a girl in Peruvian territory resulted in a gathering of Indians from both Peru and Brazil. One day Neobrazilians surrounded the assembly and attacked it with fire- arms, killed some Indians, thrashed the rest, and carried off the girl prophetess to an unknown fate. Some ten years ago a young Indian named Aureliano, of Cuyarui on the Rio Jacurapa, began to experience visions. They made him a house set aside from the others, where he remained alone to receive the revelations of the immortals. Since the conduct of the assembled Indians offered not the slightest excuse for inter- vention on the part of the civilizados, they finally arrested Aureliano for failure to pay taxes on guitars and fiddles he had made. The seer of Sao Jeronymo.-I am a little better informed on the last movement of this nature, which took place in January, 1941, two months before my second visit to the Tukuna. In a spacious house on solid ground on the left bank of Igarape de Sao Jeronymo lives the Indian Jose Nonato with his wife, daughter, and four sons. In order to reach the house from the bank of the igarape it is necessary to cross over almost a kilometer of igapo. Parents and children appear to be pure-blooded Indians, the woman belonging to the Mutum clan, the father and children to the Muirapiranga clan. None of the family speaks even the most elementary Portuguese. All exhibit the Tukuna physical type, at best very coarse, in its crudest form. Only the second son, iora'ne, is distinguished from the rest by his slightly more attractive features and a more intelligent look. In 1940 he was about thirteen or fourteen years old. When I saw him, I observed no pathological signs. As 1940 wore on, the lad suddenly began to have visions. While he was fishing in his little canoe near the edge of the igapo, some distance away from the house, a white man appeared to him. (Later the lad repeatedly affirmed that the man looked just like me!) Seated alone in a canoe, the stranger approached the boy, sprang ashore, and began to talk to him, asking if he had caught anything. When flara'ne said yes, the man asked for the catch, and left in his canoe, promising to meet nora'ne at the same spot three days hence. The boy returned home, where his changed demeanor aroused the attention of his parents and siblings: the merry youth had suddenly grown serious and taci- turn. His mother extracted the confession that he had seen an immortal. She 138 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna scolded the boy, saying that this business of seeing an immortal was a lie, and what he had seen was probably a demon (iaW'). But three days later, iara'ne again met the apparition at the spot, as arranged. This time the visitant promised that on the following day he would visit the boy at his parents' house. In fact, the boy did catch sight of his figure the next day at the edge of the jungle surrounding the house and, springing up, at once ran off to meet him. His parents and siblings, who had been watching suspiciously, thought the boy insane, and ran after him to catch him, but nara'ne disappeared in the jungle, and in spite of a careful search they failed to find him. Three days later he suddenly appeared of his own accord. He declared that the son of e'pi, t&ku-kjra' (Aora'ne always referred to him as ta-na'ti, "Our Father!") had taken him far up the igarape to his house on e'vare Creek, where he dwelt with the immortals in possession of all the blessings of civilization. ta-na'tj charged him to tell the Tukuna the following: Everyone should assemble at the site of dyai"s abandoned house, taivegj'ne, clear a big plantation, and erect a large house in the old style for celebrating certain festivals. Afterward, a huge flood would come and annihilate all the civilizados, but the Tukuna at taivegi'ne would be spared. Then, a kinsman of Jose Nonato went up to the igarape to find the place de- scribed by Aora'ne, but failed. At last Jose Nonato communicated the message to the other Indians of the igarape, and most of them obeyed the instructions with the utmost alacrity. Jose Nonato's family was the first to move to taivegj'ne, while the others were still manufacturing the necessary farinha for the projected move. According to the opinion of many, this premature departure of Nonato was an error; he should have waited until all were ready. By January, 1941, most of the Indians from Igarape de Sao Jeronymo were assembled at taivegj'ne. Since Jos6 Nonato himself had not the slightest authority in religious matters, an old shaman named Juliao assumed command, but evidently his ability to direct such a move- ment was also deficient. Immediately a very extensive clearing was made with admirable speed, but the construction of the great house met with difficulty since no one possessed the requisite technical knowledge. Meanwhile, the patrao of the Tukuna at Igarape de Sao Jeronymo, Senhor Quirino Maifra of Perpetuo Socorro on the banks of the Solimoes, got wind of the movement and immediately realized that, even if the religious part of the movement failed, the success of the economic and social aspects of the program alone would result in his losing the services of the Indians for his own purposes and, consequently, his control over them. In order to forestall this economic threat, he traveled to the Indians' gathering place, ridiculed the prophecies as absurd lies, and threatened to deport fiora'ne to Rio de Janeiro and to have the government annihilate the assembled Indians by aerial bombardment. (The Tukuna knew of aerial warfare from the Leticia territorial dispute between Peru and Colombia in 1933.) At the same time ta-na'ti announced through itoralne that he was with- drawing his aid from the Indians gathered at taivegi'ne because one of them had committed incest-that is, had broken the exogamic moiety restrictions-with one of Juliao's daughters. As a result, the Indians returned home, each one to his old dwelling place, and for the time being the movement was a failure. 139 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. fiora'ne continued to have visions from time to time, almost exclusively of the feasts which ta-na'tj and his companions celebrated at Igarape e'vare, which were apparently carried out in the fashion of rich civilizados, with roasted oxen to eat, and so on. In his visions he also encountered me several times, since I was among ta-na'tj's companions. Since I always treated Aara'ne kindly, giving him several small presents, he ,grew greatly attached to me and was unable to conceal his delight in my company, embracing me and following me about wherever I might go. Aara'ne spoke not a word of Portuguese; he told his revelations preferably to several women and girls related to him, from whom I in turn heard them. THE TUKUNA RELIGION AND THE NEOBRAZIIANS The Indians will give absolutely no explanation of their religion to the Neobra- zilians, especially to the priests. To satisfy importunate interrogators they usually affirm belief in "tupana" (l.g. for "god" or "saint") and fear of the "yurupari"' (l.g. for "devil"), but they reveal nothing about dyai' or ta-e' or about their ani- mistic beliefs. References in the literature, from Ribeiro de Sampaio in 1884 to Tessmann, are proof of this: there is always apparent the pretense of a belief in Christianity without any basis in fact. The Capuchin missionary Frei Fidelis has for several years been making praiseworthy efforts to learn something of the native religion. Until 1941, at least, he had learned nothing-nor had the Tukuna learned anything from him. They treat him well; they like him for his simple and affable ways but are secretly convinced, in spite of everything, that he can be only an enemy of their religious traditions; hence they continue to pull his leg with yarns of tupa'na and the yurupari'. To illustrate the extent of Tukuna pretense of Christianity I might mention only that, at a puberty ceremony, I saw on a masquerader, and afterward acquired, a mask of tao' that sported the miter, cross, and reddish beard (imitated by hair of a squirrel's tail) of the prelate of SaJo Paulo de Olivenga. I also saw another demon masquerader who brandished as a dance staff a cross that could have come only from some Christian grave. 140 X. VARIOUS LEGENDS LEGENDS OF CATAOLYSMS THE BELIEF in dyai', e'pi, and the immortals is in a way associated with the idea of cataclysms, past and future, and of the Mountains of Salvation, vaipj' or pa: 'ru. World Fire and Deluge This happened after dyai' and his companions had left for the east. The earth began to move in the west, and at once men began to die. Fire burst forth from the ground and came steadily nearer; one could hear its roaring. The immortals, and with them those who had answered their call, thus becoming immortal, left for Mount vaipi', which they say is below Manaos, I don't know exactly where. The slopes of this mountain constantly drip water [na-va'i, it is wet], so the world fire did not reach it. In the west a girl with her little sister had been left alone in the seclusion cell. When the earth moved, only their room stayed firm, and, while all the others lay dying, the two sisters remained alive. They climbed a tall genipapo tree at the edge of the house yard, covering their faces with wild-chocolate hulls to protect them from the smoke. When they removed the hulls a little, they saw all around them the charred trees of the once-virgin jungle sinking below the earth, which had become completely soft. In the immediate vicinity of the house, however, everything remained as it had been. Finally the fire burned out. For months the two sisters ate maize that had been stored in the house. Then the camap, [Physalis sp.] began to appear and produced fruit at the edge of the clearing; the two sisters gathered and ate the berries. While thus engaged, the younger sister went too far astray and sank beneath the still-soft earth; behind her, flames and smoke sprang up. The elder sister was now all alone and wept despondently. Then she heard a noise: it was the water, which, bursting forth from the ground and rapidly increasing, flooded everything. A large blue butterfly [Morphos menelaus] came to the girl, saying that surely she must also die now. But, through magic he made the girl's body light' and then ordered her to hold on to his abdomen while he attempted to fly with her. But she failed to do so, and the flood was already entering the house. Then the butterfly commanded the girl, painted red with urucfi, to imitate the motions of the dragonfly in flight; and so with the butterfly's assistance she at last managed to fly away and escape to where dyai' lived. When the deluge reached Mount vaipi', the mountain, with the immortals' dwelling on its top, grew in height so that they were preserved from the waters. The Deluge An Indian once owned a dog. One day the animal began to speak in the human language, saying that there would be a great flood; that he, the dog, was going to Mount vaipj' and his master had better accompany him if he wished to save himself. The master, however, did not wish to go, for he did not know where the dog was going to lead him. Then the animal advised him to have a great canoe ready to save himself and his family in the hour of the flood. So saying, the dog departed for vaipi'. The waters burst boiling out of the earth and flooded the entire surface. The Indian and his family embarked in the canoe that had been prepared and moored to a tree by a very long liana. However, the waters steadily rose, and the current pulled the canoe this way and that, so that they were obliged to lengthen the liana repeatedly and had by then long lost track of where they were. But finally they landed on Mount vaipi', where they remained until the waters subsided. They abandoned their canoe on the mountain-where, it is said, it may still be seen today- and, guided by the lengthened vine, returned to their former home. The canoe on Mount vaipj' is obviously an element from Christian mythology and apparently is the only Christian motif in the Tukuna cataclysmic mythology, See the legend of 6imidyuei, pp. 148 ff. [ 141] University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. since even the dove motif, which so easily penetrates foreign mythologies, is not found in the Tukuna legends. LEGENDS OF CEuEsTIAL BODIEs AND REiLAT& PHENOMENA The sun.-The slight importance the Indians attach to celestial bodies is worthy of note. Of the sun they told me that it was hot to the point of charring anyone who approached it, and that its headdress was a crown of red macaw tail feathers similar to that used today by a virgin at her puberty festival. I have seen the sun represented in this fashion three times, by a mask with a face carved in wood and with human, not demoniacal, features. There is a legend called "The Canoe of the Sun" (Qakj'-ve'i-i), but, try as I might, I did not succeed in recording more than a fragment. There is no longer anyone who can recite the entire story. The Canoe of the Sun A solitary youth was fishing when the Sun arrived in a canoe and asked him if he had caught anything. The boy answering in the negative, the Sun invited him to join him, since they should have caught something by this time. The youth sat in the prow while the Sun steered. The Sun asked him which was the "Pathway of the Sun." Thus the youth realized that he was in the Sun's company, although the Sun had made the boy insensible to the heat. They paddled along. The boy thought that they were still paddling down here [on the earth] but they were already up there [in the sky]. A pirarucei this long [1 m.] appeared. The Sun seized the fish, threw it into the canoe, and baked it with his heat. Some time later they halted in order to eat lunch in the canoe. The youth finished his share first. The Sun invited him to eat more, but the boy was obliged to decline with thanks. The Sun ordered him to bend his head forward, and then slapped him on the back of the head. At once a great number of cockroaches fell out of the boy. "That was the reason that you felt stuffed," said the Sun. The boy regained his appetite. They ate the entire fish. The Sun collected the scales and bones, put the fish together again, and threw it alive into the water. The shaman Geraldo sent the soul of the murdered sorcerer u'iru to the "Canoe of the Sun" to be burned. The moon and stars.-L unar eclipses are caused by the moon's meeting the demon vn3kjca of the Jaguar clan, who battles with her. The word "v'kjica" is used for a hook made of a special wood in the form of an N, from which household implements (especially kitchen utensils) are suspended. The v~nkjca of the heavens is Orion. The story of the terrestrial venkjca and the incident which justifies his name of "hook" is related in the legend of cimjdyu6' (pp. 148 ff.). If the jaguar in the eclipse should kill the moon, mankind would die; for this reason it is necessary that people aid the moon, scaring away her adversary with as much noise as possible. I myself witnessed an attempt of this sort during the eclipse of August 25 and 26, 1942. As soon as the Indians were aware of the phenomenon-directly after the eclipse began-an alarm broke out that spread from house to house, up and down the igarape, reaching to the inhabitants of the banks of the Solim6es. Some beat with paddles on the keels of overturned, beached canoes; others belabored with the backs of their machetes a large plank resting on a support; others shot off firearms. Nino ev6ninkj, in whose house I was staying, seriously explained to his children what was taking place. The noise continued until the moon was com- pletely free of the earth's shadow. 142 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna 143 The Spots on the Moon In one of the large malocas in the old days there lived, among other persons, a boy with his sister. At night the youth secretly crept to his sister's hammoek and had intercourse with her. [The houses were tightly sealed at night because of mosquitoes and therefore were completely dark.] She slept so soundly that she was unaware of anything; only in the morning did she realize what had happened because her sexual organs were moist. The following night she tried to stay awake, but failed, and the same thing happened to her as on the preceding night. At last she ,=~~~~~I a PoO 0 o . .~~ LUPUS V 1A 4C L iqC TEA ofO oU 0 'b Fig. 13. Jaguar and anteater. a. Carved figures on a dance staff, x %. b. Constellation. became pregnant and had a son. As was the custom, she grated genipapo to paint the child black, and at night placed the pot containing the dye next to her hammock. When in the darkness her brother came again to lie with her, she thrust her hand into the dye and rubbed it over his face. He recognized the genipapo from its odor and immediately made off to the edge of the jungle, where he picked leaves to wipe his face. As soon as he threw away a soiled leaf it turned into a forest turkey, an anum [Crotophaga minor, Gm.], or some other black-colored bird. Then he went to the creek and washed his face. For this reason the Igarap6 de Si3o Jeronymo is black even to this day. He was never again seen by anyone, but went up to the sky, where he became the moon. Jaguar and Anteater The jaguar once met the great banded anteater [tamandud bandeira] and said, "My strength is in my teeth and claws. Where is yours I" Replied the anteater, "In my arms and claws." "And where is your heart?" again inquired the jaguar. "In my arm," was the reply. The two fought. University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. The jaguar bit and clawed the anteater's arm, but the latter did not die of the wounds. "Are you sure that your heart is in your armt" asked the jaguar finally. "Certainly," answered the anteater, "and where is your heart?" "In my breast," the jaguar admitted. Hearing this, the anteater tore open the jaguar's chest with his claws and killed him. Then with his long tongue he sucked out the jaguar's liver. On clear nights one may still see starred in the sky the fight between the two, and the anteater's final victory. The bodies of the two contestants are formed by two black rifts ("Coalsack") in the Milky Way, in the constellations of Scorpius and the Southern Cross. The double star of the first forms the jaguar's eyes. When the constellation becomes visible, the anteater is lying on its back, while the jaguar is standing over it; afterward the shapes of the two animals rise and, when the constellation sets, the jaguar is on its back under the anteater (fig. 13). Other beliefs.-The shooting stars are chasing after their sweethearts. It is well not to speak of them, or one might do the same thing. Children should not speak of moving clouds because they might be kidnaped by them. If a cloud in human shape lowers its head toward the observer, that person will soon die. LEGENDS OF DEMONS AND MONSTERS The Monster flaiva' In the old days, in a battle between the Tukuna and the Omigua near Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo, an Omagua shaman named flaiva' was gravely wounded but succeeded in escaping and hid himself beneath the bank. When the other Omagua departed, he was left behind, and he lived for a long time in a subterranean lair called vai'pi, the entrance of which was under the water. It had a tall, hollow paxiuba-palm trunk for a chimney, so that no one in the jungle could spot the smoke from his fire. This place was next to an old cemetery on the right bank of the Igarap6 de Sao Jeronymo, just below the mouth of Igarap6 a:'ru-pana. When the Tukuna children bathed and played in the creek, naiva' would sneak toward them under the water, pierce them with his lance, and carry the children off to his lair to devour them. Once, a man was watching the children bathe; suddenly, in the still water he saw faiva' emerge from his cave, kill the children, and drag them inside. He at once called together all the inhabitants of the vicinity. They barred the cave's exit with stakes, and flaiva' died of starvation in his lair. At first, however, they could hear him screaming, "ku 6editl ku 6eci'I" ["I shall kill you!"]; then he died. When they opened the cave they found it full of children's bones. m6ta'r6 and o'vvkjna The sorcerer de'vene fed himself by plucking out men's eyes at night and eating them. He also ate the eyes of a woman in the last stages of pregnancy who lived by herself. When the blind woman felt the first pangs of childbirth, oYvikina heard her screams. a'vikina had a great number of daughters of all ages, but not one son. She ran to the side of the parturient, without the other woman's being aware of it, and awaited the birth. As soon as the child was born, the sightless mother felt its body and verified that it was a boy. When she laid him down beside her, oYvikina stole him, substituting her youngest daughter. When the blind woman again picked up her new- born child, she realized that it was a girl and was greatly astonished. Q'vikina carried the boy away. She dropped medicine of the de'gine plant in his eyes and rubbed him with it. Thus he became immortal and grew up to be very wise. He was already the size of an ordinary child of seven when, one day, wishing a'vikina to give him his treatment, he peeped through his fingers, with which she had ordered him to cover his eyes, and saw her behind the house post making gestures as if separating something. She removed from the interior of the post a little pot containing the dewgine. One of her daughters had already told him that aYvlkina was not his mother and where his real mother could be found. By the same motions oYvjkjna had used he managed to open the post also. He removed the little pot, turned 144 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna into a bird, a japli, and took the pot to the place where his mother was. He perched on an abid tree in the house yard and sang. The blind woman thought, "Perhaps the japfi has already knocked down some fruitI" and went over under the tree, feeling the ground. The japft sang again, and the blind woman said, "If you were only human, you would knock down some fruit for me!" The japfi sang, "Raise your eyes!" The sightless woman lifted her head and he dropped a little of the de'gjne medicine into her eye soekets, whereupon she at once regained her sight. o9vikjna was furious at her daughters when she learned what had happened. She took about ten of them, put them in the mortar [ta:'ta], pounded them up, and threw them into the river. This is the origin of the holes in the clay slope on the left bank of the Solimoes, just above the settlement of Santa Rita. Afterward they were transformed into small fish [acaris] and crabs. mkta're and vainvi'kf2 Everyone thought vaindi'ki's daughter very pretty. Various men slept with her, for she refused no one, but vain6i'ki always ate his sons-in-law. Finally they put a stop to this. "He will destroy us!" said meta're. "Let him now give to me, too, his daughter in marriage!" And he asked for the daughter of vain6i'ki, who gave her to the suitor, for he refused no one. Happy, vain6i'k ordered his daughter, "Go, my dear, grind some maize to make pamonhas [maize cakes] for some- thing to eat along the way when I and my son-in-law go tomorrow to gather pataua." At daybreak the next morning he went with his son-in-law to gather pataua. When they arrived at the foot [of the tree] he ordered m6ta'rb to bring back a liana, and said to him, "Do not go there [ahead] because there are many fire antsI" So said vain6i'k1. He assented, but ran off, making a big circle and returning. Then he saw a great place with human bones, the bones of those who had married [vain6i'ki's daughter] first and before him had taken her to wife. meta're ran back and brought the liana. "Go, elimb up, my son-in-law !" said vaiKdi'kl, "and hang the liana round your neck!" meta're climbed up, and he [vain&i'kl] asked several times, "Have you hung the liana round your neck yet?I" and m8ta'r8 always answered, "Yes!" When he had finally reached a bunch of patauA, vaiMi'ki asked him again, "Have you hung the liana round your neck yet?" "Yes I " replied m6ta'rb, who had hung it, not from his neck, but from [the top of] his head. Then vai di'kj jerked the liana [to pull him down from the tree], but m6ta!r6, being immortal, crouched [the line slipped off], and [he] flew away in the form of a japfi. Like over there [pointing] he perched on a tree limb and sang, "Bflrurul [song of the japfi] I have you in my sight!" [By the song and his thoughts m6taWrb was enchanting vaip6i'ki]. Involuntarily, he [vain&i'k] looked at his own leg and said, "Oh, if I haven't got something savory here [to eat] I" He cut himself lightly, then blew, and it [the wound] healed immediately. Again he cut himself lightly. Then he cut all at once and blew, and it healed directly, and he ate [the flesh of his own leg]. Then he eyed his other leg and said, "Oh, if I haven't got something savory herel" Again he cut a piece from the other leg and blew; it healed at once and he ate. Afterward he looked down at his own belly and said, "Oh, if I haven't got something savory here!" He cut off a piece, blew again, and it healed at once. Then he looked at his own belly again and said, "Oh, if I haven't got a maize cake here and nothing to eat with it I" Then he cut out his belly all at once and gobbled it up. Then he tried blowing. In vain, it did not heal. Then meta're took advantage of the situation and ran to fetch some of the red-hot substance from the sky [p. 133]. He returned and threw the glowing mass on him [vainUi*k]. He boiled [violently, finishing slowly]. The next day he [meta'ri] went to look. At the spot there were bamboo sprouts, which he cut. The following day he went back again, and there were more bamboo shoots; again he cut them. At last he spent a whole month constantly cutting bamboo sprouts. Finally, he grew irritated with the never-ending task, and he left off in order to celebrate a feast. On another feast day he went to look; then all the bamboo burst apart in his presence. They burst because the Omagua were there inside them. m6ta're and the Bedbug tut'uru meta're married the daughter of the bedbug tut'uru, who during the day had human form but at night assumed the shape of a bedbug this big [1 m.], who sucked people. tu'6uru married off 2 Literal translation from the original Tukuna text. 145 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. his daughter, but during the night he would kill his sons-in-law. meta're asked for the daughter in marriage. tu'6uru handed her over, and at night the couple slept together in a hammock in the darkened house. When the girl had fallen asleep, meta're exchanged his own sexual organs for hers. At midnight tu'curu stealthily approached the hammock and felt meta're's genitals. "This is my daughter," he said. "She has a vulva I" Then he felt his daughter's, thinking that this was meta're; he sat under the hammock and sucked at her. meta're watched her gradually become more flaccid and empty. Then tu'curu remained beneath the hammock, so bloated that he could no longer get up. At daybreak he said, "My daughter, get up and hang my son-in-law's skin from the rafter!" Four times he repeated the request, but no one answered. Suspicious, he got up heavily, looked inside the hammock, and realized that he had sucked his own daughter. meta're, however, turned into a japl, flew up, and sat on the ridgepole of the house. tu'curu wept for hours over his daughter's death. Then with great effort he climbed up one of the house posts below the roof thatch next to where meta're was sitting, in order to suck him. He did not succeed, however, since the japYi's feet were small and delicate, enabling it to change position easily. Finally m6ta'rb peered through the straw of the roof thatch and put out his [tu'6uru's] eyes. tu'furu fell; as his belly struck the ground it burst, and he died.3 The One-legged Man Two brothers were hunting in the jungle in order to collect the necessary meat for a feast. They had already a lot of game on the smoking-grill. One day while walking through the forest they came to a cleared spot beneath a tree where there was a leaf container made of assahy, and in it a quarter of roast pig and a few cooked yams. The first brother passed it by, but the second halted. "Do not touch it !" cried the elder brother. "Surely it must belong to some demon [AQ'] ." But the other, letting his brother go forward a few paces, secretly filched a yam and ate it. "By any chance did you eat the demon's foodt" asked his brother. "No," the younger replied, "I only looked at it !" That night they were sleeping in their shelter. Suddenly the one who had rejected the food heard a ba'e [demon] coming through the jungle, shouting, "Where is my foodt" And the yam in the belly of the other, who still slept, cried out, "I am herel" In vain the elder brother tried to wake the younger, who continued to sleep even though he was poked with a blazing resinous torch. Then the elder hid beneath the ridgepole of the shelter. The ba'e arrived, cut open the door of the shelter with his nails, which were as sharp as knives, and in the same way cut off a leg of the sleeper, threw it over his shoulder, and disappeared. Only a long time afterward did the sleeper awake, and then he cried, "My brother, the bats have eaten my leg!" "No," answered the first. "It was the owner of the yam that you ate!" He took his brother on his back and carried him through the jungle to a tree called gY'tine [l.g., uequy t] He salved the wound with the juice of this tree, placed both hands on the tree trunk, and danced all round the tree in this position with his brother on his back, singing "goYtine, make my brother's leg grow again!" Then he carried him to the foot of another gaYtine tree, where he repeated the same performance, continuing this treatment for several weeks. The leg slowly began to regenerate and soon had grown to just below the knee. The elder brother's wife waited vainly at home for the return of her husband and brother-in- law. The date set for the feast had already passed, and they still had not returned. She became exceedingly vexed and finally went into the jungle to search for them. She met her husband with his brother on his back, still dancing round a goYtine tree. Enraged, she pushed him, making him fall with the cripple, for he was very weak from the prolonged effort of dancing. In the fall, the growing leg of the brother, which had not yet become firm, broke. Then the younger brother refused to accompany the couple back to their house. He advised his sister-in-law to plant maize for the feast, because the game which they had collected had already spoiled, and he remained alone in the jungle. After the feast his brother came to visit him. He made a platform on which he placed the cripple, visiting him from time to time. He noticed that his brother grew smaller each time he came; finally, the latter began to sprout feathers and was transformed into a va:'e [a hawk that 8 For the final fate of meta're, see the legend "The Origin of the Lunar Areole," pp. 135-136. 146 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna cries at the onset of summer]. When the elder brother again came to visit him, the younger said "Now I shall fly to the mountains of the Lower Amazon! 6/vina v: 'eI ta-to-to-to v : 'eI" ["My sister-in-law, plant I Plant I"]. With this, he rose and flew away. There are noteworthy differences in the version of this legend given to me in 1929 by "Captain" Felix. The explanation of the mutilation of Orion's leg is quite different from that given me by my informants in 1941 and 1942. (See legend, "The Errors of cimjdyuV'.") wiYkica (Orion)' Two brothers found themselves deep in the jungle at the foot of a tree where there was a basket containing cooked potatoes. The elder of the two passed it by, but the younger could not resist temptation and ate one of the tubers. That night as they slept, the demon nguri [(?) unknown to my other informants], who owned the basket, came through the jungle shouting, "Where is my potatoI" And from the younger brother's stomach came the reply, "I am hereI" The elder brother sprang up and tried to wake the other, but the younger slept as though dead, not even stirring when the former poked him with a blazing firebrand. Then the elder hid in the loft of the shelter, while nguri eame and tore off a leg from the sleeping brother, taking it with him to devour. After his departure, the sleeper awoke and, seeing the bloody stump, exclaimed, "Brother, the bats have eaten my leg!" The other answered, "It was not bats but the demon nguri, whose potatoes you ateI" Then the younger asked his brother to make him a club and, carried on the latter's back, left the shelter. While they were going through the jungle, an agouti ran in front of them, and at onee the younger brother asked to be let down. He hopped after the agouti-on one leg only, but just as quickly as he could have done with two-and killed the little creature with his club. He cut off a small piece of meat from the kill, wrapped it in leaves, and handed it to his brother. After they had gone on a while, a deer sprang up, which the cripple killed in the same fashion. Again he cut off only a small piece of the game, wrapped it in leaves, and handed it to his brother. When they arrived home, his [the younger brother's] wife was vexed at the smallness of the pieces, but her husband ordered her to erect a huge smoking-grill with a bonfire kindled under it. Then he unwrapped the meat and threw the bits to the woman; instantly they became so large that they completely covered her. Afterward he ordered that they carry him again to the jungle, where this time he killed a tapir. He waited beside the kill for the buzzards to come, and when they had all gathered, he said to the king of the buzzards, "I killed this game for you, but now you must take me with you to the upper worldl" Then the buzzards took him with them to the upper world, where he can still be seen today: wfi6ka (Orion). The Family Transformed into Jaguars An old man set out with his wife and several other men, I know not whither-I think toward the underworld. The old man taught the others a magical trick: whenever he shot an arrow high into the trunk of a tururi tree,5 a white strip of bast the breadth of a palm would detach itself and peel down the trunk all the way to the ground. Each person selected a piece, stretched it, and painted it with black spots in imitation of a jaguar's hide, thus making himself a jaguar costume. Putting these costumes on, they turned into jaguars and, as such, coursed through the jungle, killing and eating people; but other Indians discovered the secret and considered how to kill them. Once the old man in jaguar form attacked a group of hunters, but was killed by one of them. His wife overheard them talking about the one who had done the killing, and she resolved to avenge her husband's death. Dressed in her jaguar costume, she pursued the slayer and tore him to pieces. The old woman's son had two children. One day she went with some hunters to a spot in the jungle where there were some envieira trees [Xylopia sp.1] on the fruit of which toucans were 4 Nimuendajf, Tukuna-Indianern, p. 191. 5 The inner bark of this tree (Couratari sp.?) furnishes the material for masquerade costumes. 147 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. feeding. Each hunter hid in the top of a separate tree, from which he shot and killed the birds with blowgun darts. Suddenly the old woman appeared in jaguar form beneath the tree in which her son was sitting, and devoured his birds which lay on the ground. When she had disappeared, the son climbed down from the tree to collect the remaining birds. When he returned to the tree, a thorn pierced his foot and, as he sat down to extract it, the old woman jumped at the back of his neck and killed him. She wrapped his liver in leaves and took it home; when her grandchildren asked her what she had brought, she answered that it was tree fungi. Placing a pot over the fire, she cooked the liver. The children, already suspicious because their father had not yet returned, went to look into the pot and recognized a human liver. When the old woman went out to the jungle again, they secretly followed her and then saw her in jaguar form eating the son's body. Then one of the boys thrust into her anus a lance tipped with a pig's tooth. She fled, and the children buried what was left of their father, in an armadillo burrow. They were already back at the house when the old woman arrived groaning. When they asked her what had happened, she replied that, while weeding the plantation, she had fallen on a stump and injured herself. But the grandchildren, upon examining the injury, recognized the lance thrust. Then they built a great bonfire in the house yard, and procured a long, hollow ambafiva trunk, splitting it lengthwise from one end only, so that the two split sections would snap together, vibrating, when thrown hard upon the ground. In this way they played with the log, making a terrific clatter in order to annoy the crone. At length she became enraged and stormed out of the house screaming: "My grandchildren! Why do you make such a racket when I am ill?" But they seized their grandmother and threw her into the fire, burning her alive. The Man-eating Bat In the old days there was a gigantic man-eating bat named vitI'me. If anyone stepped outside the house at night to urinate, the bat would pounce on him and carry him off to the top of a large burity palm, where the creature devoured its prey. Once, a man who was obliged to step out of the house one night placed a wooden trough over his head and back. The monster at once attacked him, but grabbed only the trough, carrying it to the burity, where, realizing that he had been outwitted, he let it fall. Then other people who had to leave their houses at night employed the same ruse. Finally, one of them marked vltlme's course of flight with his victim and set out the next day to search in this direction. He arrived at the burity, under which was a pile of human bones and wooden troughs. The monster was lying in the top of the tree of which the trunk was sagging beneath his weight. The next day the man awaited the arrival of vitijme under the tree and, when the bat flew down, fired four blowgun darts into his body. When vitl'me felt the effect of the curare he said, "If I die now, I shall fall into the game wallow (canamet), vuibj'neI" Then he flew up and fell down into the mud, where he sank so deep that only a section of the curvature of his back the size of a hand could be seen. The hunter followed him to the wallow and found him submerged. He called his children so that they might see the monster. Then he cut off the skin from the spot still visible and divided it into small pieces to feed his children, but the hide was so tough that nobody could chew it. The children threw the pieces away, and these turned into the blood-sucking bats that exist today. LEGENDS OF ODYSSEYS AND ADVENTURES The Errors of cZimjdyue' There was a woman named cimidyuei (6imidya6'). Her husband, who thoroughly disliked her, took her with him on a hunt. When they met a band of coatfi monkeys [Ateles sp.] he tricked her, saying that the white sexual parts of the monkeys were the kapok [sumahuma] tufts on the butt ends of the darts that he had already fired into their bodies. She was to wait until the curare took effect and collect the monkeys as soon as they fell, while he would go ahead to kill others. Then, after he had killed enough, he would whistle to her as a signal to join him. So saying, he set out for the house, leaving his wife alone in the jungle. c?imjdyu6' waited for a long time in vain. The monkeys did not fall, nor did she hear the signal agreed upon. Then she realized that her husband had lied and had abandoned her. She did not 148 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna know where she was or how to return home. "I shall accompany the monkeys," she said. The monkeys were eating sorva fruits [Couma sp.], and 6imidyue' gathered those which they dropped. At sundown the monkeys assumed human form, and one of them shouted, "There are human beings below us !" The others peered down and recognized the woman. "Why, it's cimidyuu' ! What are you doing here?" "My husband abandoned me in the jungle," she answered, "and so I am accom- panying youI" The monkeys arrived at a place where there was a large house. "Here are many hammocks," they said. "Lie down in one and sleep!" cimidyue' obeyed, but the next morning there was no house, and the monkeys again had animal form. "I shall accompany you! " cimidyub' told them, and wandered through the jungle with the monkeys. They ate sorvas and always threw down plenty for her to eat, so she was satisfied. At last they reached the dwelling of the lord of monkeys, who had human form, though he was of a race of jaguars and lived in a big house. "What are you doing here?" he demanded of 6imidyuei. "I came with these people," she replied. "It is well," said the lord of monkeys. "I was waiting for them in order to begin my beer-drinking festivall" Then he ordered 6imidyue' to strain the beverage [caicuma]. She brought water from the igarap6, strained the beverage, and everyone drank. The lord of monkeys slept and snored through his nose, "I shall devour cimidyue' !" cimidyue' cried, "Grandfather, your nose is snoring my name and says that you want to eat me!" The lord of monkeys became enraged, ordered them to bring a large kernel of a 6aivard fruit, and struck himself on the nose with it until it began to bleed. Then he fell asleep again, but soon began to snore in the same fashion. Again the woman awoke him, whereupon he began to maltreat his nose furiously, catching in a gourd the flowing blood and drinking it. Then he ordered still more beer prepared, with the result that everyone was completely befuddled. On the following day the lord of monkeys went hunting, but before departing he tied a long cord to cimidyue"s leg, taking the other end of the cord with him into the jungle. From time to time he would tug at the cord to see whether the woman was still fastened to the other end. Now, in the same house there was a tortoise [jaboti], who was also tied fast. The tortoise told 6imidyu6' that the lord of monkeys was really a jaguar who wanted to eat them both, and that it was high time for them to flee. He advised her to remove the cord from her leg and tie it to a house post; then both of them fled. They passed by the house yard of ve3kj'Ja,6 a brother of the lord of monkeys, who was sitting at the door of his house with one leg crossed over the other. On the tortoise' advice 6imidyue' took a cudgel and struck vonkl'6a a smart blow across the kneecap; the pain made him draw up his leg immediately, while the woman yelled at him in her flight, "Don't tell on us!" [Today one may still see vQnkJ'ca in the constellation of Orion.] When the lord of monkeys returned from hunting to find that both cim1dyue' and the tortoise were missing, he at once set out in pursuit. Arriving at his brother's place, he asked v nkij'a if he had seen a "fat girl" pass by. However, vegnkij'a was furious with pain and answered that he did not want to be bothered with the "fat girl," since his knee hurt him horribly. Thereupon the lord of monkeys gave up his search and returned home. While running through the jungle, cimidyue' heard a knocking on wood. Thinking that it was some man, she followed the sound, only to find that it was merely a papoYni bird. "If you were only human," she said, "you could show me the way to my father's house!" Then papD'ni answered that, if she would always follow the sound of his tapping, she would arrive safely home. But he lied, and she only became more hopelessly lost in the jungle. At nightfall she encountered an inambA [Tinam.us sp.], who was preening his feathers to puff them up. 6imidyue', however, thought that she was seeing an old woman plaiting a basket from uaruma; to her the outstretched wings looked like a house. She asked the inambfi for permission to sleep there, which was granted, but shortly afterward the bird flew up to a tree limb, and cimIdyu6' was obliged to sleep alone under the tree. When, on the following morning, the inamblu flew down from the branch, again assuming human form, 6imidyueW asked the bird the way to her father's house. "Go in the direction in which I am plaiting these uaruma strips," replied the inambfi; but this was also a lie. That night 6imjdyue' hid beneath an enormous ants' nest hanging from a tree; below it the ground was dry. But the ants' nest was really a jaguar, and at midnight 6im1dyue' heard a voice 6 See pp. 15, 142, 147. 149 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. say, "I'll jump down on her!" "What did you say?" she asked in alarm. "I shall jump down on you !" repeated the ants' nest. But she fled just in time. Then, because of the numerous monguba trees, 6imjdyu6' realized that she was in the bottom lands of the Rio Solimoes. That night she slept among the root buttresses [sapopemas] of a kapok tree, but all the animals who saw her in her hiding place began to poke fun at her. A big lizard shouted: "Look ! cimidyue' is sleeping among the root buttresses ! I daresay she's hungry, but we have maize that we might roast for her!" And so speaking, the lizard produced a noise like maize cracking in a fire. A cururu' toad [Butfo sp.] said, "As for me, I wouldn't live among roots like this cimidyue' I I have my own house! But I'll prepare a few yams for her." And scratching the skin of her belly, the toad imitated the sound of scraping yam tubers. With this, the mistress of the kapok tree, the big, blue butterfly [Morphos menelaus], woke up. Yawning aloud, she said, "Now I shall go to naugea'ne's plantation to eat pineapples I" Now naugea'ne was the name of 6imidyuIi"s father. "Are you speaking of my father?" At once inquired 6imjdyu6'. "Where is he?" "Not far from here," replied the butterfly. "Then take me there!" begged the woman. The butterfly flew ahead and, arriving at the banks of the Solimoes, cimidyue' saw with astonishment that her father's house was on the opposite side and therefore she had crossed the river without knowing it. Reciting a magic formula, the butterfly transformed 6imidyue' into a red dragonfly and flew with her to the other side. Then 6imidyue"s strength almost deserted her, and only through the help of the butterfly did she reach the opposite bank, where she at once recognized her father's plantation. She crushed the best pineapples for the butterfly, and then both went back. cimidyue"s father, upon visiting his plantation, was astonished to see so many broken fruits. The next day he came with his wife, and both lay in ambush. When the butterfly and Cin4dyub' came again, naugea'ne recognized his daughter and tried to catch her, but she escaped. Then naugea'ne called together others to help him, and everyone hid in the plantation on the following days, but the butterfly and cim1dyu8' did not return until the third day. The men managed to capture 6imidyue', while the butterfly escaped. "Help me, Grandmother!" shrieked cimidyuei behind her, but in vain. naugea'ne took his daughter home and gave her an emetic, so that she vomited violently and was thus restored to reason. Some time later, 6imidyue' met her former husband at a feast. He had come dressed in a nufimaT mask and had a quantity of straw bound to his head. Deriding cim1dyue', he sang, "Now here comes she whom I abandoned under the coatA monkeys!" and so on. Hearing this, cimidyue' procured a bit of cicanta resin and lighted it. Then she called to him, "Let me see your mask!" and, so saying, threw the blazing resin into the dry straw. He continued to dance until suddenly the flames sprang up. Feeling the heat, he ran from the house, trying vainly to remove his tururi costume. His belly burst with the heat. The pare'ne bird dyed his plumage with the blood. The Man Who Married the Jaguar's Daughter There was once an Indian who lived with his mother and grandmother. One day a caiarara monkey appeared in the trees at the edge of the yard. "I shall kill it," said the man, and took his blowgun and quiver to chase the animal, which kept fleeing ever toward the depths of the jungle without giving the hunter an opportunity to use his darts. Finally, the man arrived at a house where a jaguar was living with his mother and two daughters, and he was the master of the monkey. The daughters ran out to see who had been chasing their pet, saw the man, and asked him what he wanted. "I was hunting that monkey," he answered. "It is our pet," replied the girls, "but come inside and wait for our father!" The man entered the house and had not to wait long before he heard the jaguar arrive, roaring furiously, for he had already sensed the presence of a stranger in his house. Then the jaguar's mother hid the visitor in the loft. The jaguar brought a collared peccary [taitetfi; Dicotyles tayaassu] that he had killed. "Where is the stranger?" he roared. "In the loft," answered his mother. "He is my nephew, so to speak." "Let him come down at once or I'll devour him " commanded the jaguar. Trembling with fear, the man climbed down, and the jaguar licked him from head to foot. Then he threw off his skin, assumed human form, and sat conversing with the hunter while the daughters prepared the peccary. 7 A small lizard covered with white tufts like cotton. 150 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna The old woman, however, drew the stranger aside and warned him not to show the slightest sign that the food was too highly seasoned with peppers. The meat, in fact, was so strongly spiced with peppers that the man was hard put to it not to show his pain. But he managed to conceal it, and this pleased the jaguar, who praised him, saying, "You're a real man!" Afterward he showed the man the way to his home, but the visitor could not find it and so returned to the jaguar's house. His host showed him another path, but again he lost his way and so was obliged to return to the jaguar's house once more. Then the jaguar's two daughters asked the man to stay and marry them, but the grandmother was afraid of her jaguar son and asked her grandchildren to speak to him first. However, the jaguar agreed to his daughters' wishes. Then they addressed the man, while the jaguar stood to one side listening. The man also liked the proposal, remained in the jaguar's house, and married his daughters. One day, however, he returned to his mother's house. He was very shy, and the jaguar spots were already dotting his skin. His mother pounded charcoal into powder and painted him with it. He ran to the jungle, where the two girls were roaming about in order to see what was happening to him. He never again returned to human society. manmane'kj the Hunter and His Wives a) mnamane'ki's parents belonged to those first people [ma:'/gita] fished for by dyail and e'pi [see p. 129]. His only occupation was hunting. On the way, coming and going, he passed a frog who would dart into its hole at his approach, and each time monmane'ki would urinate into the hole. One day he saw a good-looking girl standing before the hole. maDmane'ki looked at her and saw that she was pregnant. "I have become pregnant because of you," she said. "How can that be?" asked manmane'kl. "You always pointed your penis in my direction, and so I became pregnant," she replied. Then he asked her to come to his house and live with him. His mother also thought the girl pretty. They lived together and she accompanied him on the hunt. He used to catch for her a kind of black beetle that formed her only diet. When his mother saw these beetles in the house, she said, "Why does my son soil his mouth with such filth?" He, however, ate only meat; his wife ate the beetles. The mother threw them out, putting peppers in their place. When mlnmane'kl called his wife to the meal, she placed her little pot on the fire and began to eat from it, but the peppers burned her mouth. Then she ran away and hopped into the water in the form of a frog. Her little son, who had remained behind, wept. She learned of this from a rat, but said in reply that she would have another child. However, at night she returned to the house and stole the infant from the grandmother's arms. b) manmane'kI again went out to hunt. In the fruit cluster of a bacada palm an arapago bird was sitting. "Give me a gourdful of your drink also!" said malmane'kt in passing. When he returned, he saw standing at the side of the palm a pretty girl who offered him a gourdful of bacaba palm wine. He drank it and took the girl home to be his wife. She was in truth very pretty, but her feet were ugly. "My son," said his mother, upon seeing this girl, "couldn't you find a better woman than this one who has such ugly feett" And, because her mother-in-law disliked her, the girl did not wish to remain with mgnmane'ki. c) mnamanePkl returned to hunting. He squatted down to defecate directly over the spot where an earthworm was burrowing. She poked out her head and remarked, "My, what a lovely penis !" malmane'k1 looked and saw a beautiful girl with an extremely good figure. He cohabited with her, taking her home with him, where she gave birth to a child. When monmane'kj went hunting, he told her to leave the child with its grandmother while she herself went out to weed the plantation. She did so, but the child wailed so much that the grandmother decided to carry it to its mother in the plantation. There the earthworm woman had clipped the roots of the weeds beneath the surface over a large area, and they were already wilting, but the old woman did not notice it. She repeatedly called her daughter-in-law, and when no one answered, she said angrily, "She was supposed to weed the clearing, and she hasn't done a thing ! " She took a large river shell with sharp edges and began to cut the weeds. However, in so doing she cut off the lips of the earthworm woman, who was gnawing at the roots just below the surface. Only at night did she return to 151 152 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. the house, and when her son cried, she said to malmane'ki, "Give me my child!" But she could no longer speak properly. "What's the matter with yout" asked her husband. "Your mother cut off my lips," she replied. He lighted a torch and saw how she was disfigured. She left the house and never returned. d) Again malmane'ki went hunting. A band of macaws flew over his head. "Give me some of your maize beer!" shouted manmane'ki. When he returned, a macaw girl was waiting for him at the precise spot with a large gourd of maize beer [chicha]. He drank it and took the girl home as his wife. His mother told the girl to prepare maize beer, threw down a quantity of corncobs that hung from the rafters, and left for the plantation. The girl roasted only one ear of corn and with it made beer enough to fill five large jars. Then she went off to bathe. When the mother returned to the house she tripped over the heap of maize and, seeing the cobs intact, began to scold, "This daughter-in-law of mine is the lazy one! She has not made beer for my son!" The girl, who nas just then returning from her bath, heard the old woman scolding from afar. Because of this she would not enter the house, and when her husband returned, she said that she was leaving. At dawn she told him that she wanted to retrieve her comb, which she had thrown on the roof thatch. Climbing up on the ridgepole, she began to sing: "My mother-in-law has scolded me, Now drink the beer alone may she !" The old woman got up and, feeling around in the dark, found that the jars were filled. She called to the girl to return, and apologized, but her daughter-in-law refused to listen and transformed herself into a macaw. At daybreak she cried to monmane'ki, "If you love me, follow me I Look for the a: 'ru-pana [l.g., louro chumbo, laurel] tree, the splinters of which, falling into the water, be- come transformed into fish. Make a canoe from it and follow me downriver to Mount vaipi'l" [See p. 141]. And with this, she flew away to the east. m=nmane'ki ran to and fro like a crazy man all the next day, searching for the a:'ru-pana. He tried several trees with his axe, until finally the splinters of one, which was next to a pool in the igarape, turned into fish upon falling into the water. He felled the tree and began to make his canoe. Each day when he returned from work he brought such a quantity of fish that his brother- in-law marveled; since he was a lazy incompetent, he secretly followed mnnmane'kj to spy on him. When the splinters no longer turned into fish, monmane'k1 realized that someone was watching him. "Are you the one spying on me?" he shouted to his concealed brother-in-law. "Come out and help me !" When the canoe was ready, the two pushed it down the sloping bank into the igarap6. While the brother-in-law was standing in the shallow water, monmane'ki suddenly reversed the canoe on top of him. Unable to crawl out unaided, the brother-in-law passed the night under the canoe, singing and crying. The next morning manmane'ki came and released him, inviting his brother-in-law to accompany him down the Solim6es. memane'ki was seated at the stern, and his brother-in-law was at the prow. Thus they drifted downstream without paddling. When they arrived among the people where the macaw girl was staying, all the inhabitants ran to the bank to see the canoe; mjnmane'ki's wife, however, hid behind the others. The brother-in-law, trans- formed into a mona'n bird, flew up and lighted on her shoulders. The canoe with monmane'ki still in it continued downstream a short way. Suddenly its prow turned up perpendicularly, and m=nmane'ki, transformed into an a'ica' bird, flew to the woman's other shoulder. The empty canoe continued to drift at the mercy of the current and finally entered a large lake, where it turned into a dye'vae. It is the lord of fish in the Solimnes and sends the migratory shoals of fish (piracemas) from that lake. d) Now monmane'ki married a girl of his own people. Every time she went to the landing, which was some distance from the house, her body divided into two sections at the waist: her abdomen with the legs remained lying on the bank, while the chest, head, and arms entered the water. The odor of flesh would attract the matrinchan fish [Characinuz amazon,iu., Spix], and she would catch them with her hands, stringing them on a liana. Then her torso would crawl on its hands to the bank and would again adjust itself on the lower part, from which the spinal cord protruded to the length of a finger. molmane'ki's mother was greatly astonished at the amount of fish brought by her daughter- in-law. She made manioc beer [caicuma] and ordered the girl to fetch water. However, as the Nimuendaju: The Tukuna 153 daughter-in-law delayed, after some time she became impatient and went to the landing herself. Seeing the lower part of the prone body, she immediately pulled off the protruding portion of the spinal cord. When the upper half crawled on the bank, it tried vainly to adjust itself to the lower half, finally climbing up to a branch overhanging the path. When night had fallen and his wife had not yet returned, malmane'kj took a lighted torch and went toward the landing. As he passed beneath the overhanging branch, the upper half of the woman sprang to his shoulders, where she became stuck. She would not let him eat, snatching the food away from in front of his mouth and eating it herself. He grew thin, and his back became filthy with the woman's feces. molmane'kj went to his fish weir and dived in to see if any fish were in the trap [jiqui] behind the entrance to the weir. "There are many piranhas here!" he told his wife. "Close your eyes so that they will not tear them out!" Then, diving, he scratched her face with a piranha jaw which he had secretly brought along. When they returned to the surface, he lied, saying that the piranhas had done it and that it would be better if he dived alone. Then the upper half of the woman detached itself from his shoulders and lay down to wait on the bank. manmane'ki dived, returning with some fish. Again he dived, swam under water a good way, and fled without being seen. The upper half of the woman perched on one of the posts Gf the weir. After a few days she began to sprout parrot feathers and, like a tame parrot, began to speak to herself and to try her wings. Hidden in the bushes, manmane'ki watched her daily. "Tomorrow I shall fly I" she cried, "I shall fly down the Solim6es to where there are mountains ! " The next morning she flew away, still chattering, while monmane'ki watched her departure from his hiding place. u'n*'s Fishing u'ne's old father said, "My son, we have absolutely nothing to eat; how shall we allay our hungerI?" "I shall go fishing," replied u'nQ, "with timb6 !" He called his brothers and his brothers-in-law, and the carard diving bird [Plotus anhinga, L.]. Altogether there were ten persons. Each one took a small piece of timbo with him. On the way they met two Tukuna, whom they invited to join them. u'nQ's road, however, went through the air, high above the jungle. He unrolled the road before him, and the last one in the column rolled it up again. He warned the two Tukuna that they would pass through a place where they would be afflicted with diarrhea; therefore each should carry with him a leaf container. One of them followed his instructions, defecated into the con- tainer and threw the feces down; the other, attempting to squat at the edge of the path, fell and disappeared. u'nQ had told no one, not even his father, where he was going to fish, since, he said, he would have bad luek in fishing if he did so. Arriving at the place itself, u'ne did not order a shelter erected. He sent the diving bird ahead to see if there were any fish and to find them something to eat quickly. The bird dived into the river and returned with a turtle, saying that there were many tambaquf fish there. They ate the turtle, and the next morning u'ne said that he wanted to eat the "Father of Turtles," who was a gigantic serpent lying in a hole at the bottom of the river. u'nQ commanded the diving bird to trail timb6 around the snake's nose. They all collected their pieces of timb6 into a parcel, which u'nQ tied to the bird's back. The bird dived and circled for some time directly above the serpent's head. Then he appeared once more at the surface and told what he had done. Shortly thereafter, the snake's tail was thrust above the water's surface, and u'ne ordered the bird to tie a line round it. Everyone tugged at the liana, and with great exertion they finally pulled a section of the snake (10 m. long) to shore. But suddenly the weather turned gloomy and cold, and a rainstorm began, because the serpent was the father of the cold spell ["Pai do Friagem," see p. 3]. They cut off the snake's tail section, dividing it among themselves and roasting the pieces with many tambaquis and turtles. Afterward they went home with all speed along u'nQ's road. He knocked on the road, which echoed like a struck sapopema, and thus announced his coming to those who had remained at home. Then his mother-in-law prepared maize beer, and his old father was greatly pleased. They arrived, each with only a tiny leaf parcel. "Have you caught much?" asked the old man. "Yes, a great deal ! " replied u'ne, handing his mother his parcel. When she untied the liana a whole stream of smoked pieces came tumbling out. They had to erect a huge grill in order to make room for his parcel and the other nine packages, which they did not open for the moment but only laid on top of the grill to warm. University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Origin of the Amazon Two dyairet [locusts] were traveling toward the headwaters of the Solimoes in order to fish there, taking with them a Tukuna whom they met on the way. They unrolled the road before them and rolled it up again behind. They defecated into leaf containers which they threw to one side of the path. The Tukuna was seized by diarrhea and, not wishing to follow the eaxmple of the dyaire', squatted by the side of the path while the other two went ahead. When done, he ran after them, calling, but his own excrement answered him from behind. Returning to see who had called him, he knocked the feces to bits with a club. Then, still shouting, he hurried after the dyaire' once more, but this time each piece of his dung responded. Furious, he returned to scatter the excrement in all directions, but when he shouted to the dyaire', even more fecal voices replied. Then he paid them no further attention and journeyed up the Solimoes alone. Finally he reached a small pool of water, where two "vi"l birds were playing, jumping back and forth over the water. "What are you doing?" he asked. "We are jumping over the pool!" they replied. "That is not difficult, since the pool is so small!'" "Then jump over it yourself !" replied the birds. But when he started to do so, with one leg on either side, the pool suddenly widened, transforming itself into the Amazon River. He remained standing over it with legs apart and turned into an uapuhy. The Sabia Fowler A man made a long fence in the jungle with several openings in it, each equipped with a noose [see p. 31]. After some time he returned to visit it, but found only a thrush [sabia] in one of the snares. That afternoon he came again, but once more found only a thrush. The result was the same on the following day. Then he built another fence and, when he had finished, returned to the first; again there was only a thrush in the snare. When he returned to his house, the others had caught many forest turkeys (mutum) and jacdis in their snares, and laughed at him, so that he became melancholy. But when the next day he again found only a thrush, he became enraged: he forced open the bird's beak and broke wind into it, letting it fly away. When he returned home, he was already insane, chattering nonsense incessantly: of snakes, of rain, of the anteater's neck, and so forth. He complained to his mother that he was hungry, but when she offered food, he said that he had already eaten. Five days later he died, but still gabbled on. Mould and fungi grew on his body lying in the hammock, but he still chattered nonsense. When at last they came to bury him, he said, "If you bury me, fire ants will attack you!" At last they waited no more but buried him while he was still talking. 154 APPENDIX A KINSHIP TERMS MEANING father mother grandmother father's brother mother's brother father's sister mother's sister grandfather brother son of father's brother son of mother's sister sister daughter of father's brother daughter of mother's sister son and daughter of father's sister son and daughter of mother's brother son and daughter of sister grandson and granddaughter son and daughter of brother children (sons) daughter husband wife father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law husband's brother wife's brother sister's husband wife's sister wife's sister husband's sister brother's wife husband of sister of father or mother wife of father's brother wife of mother's brother mother's husband father's wife husband's son wife's son husband's daughter wife's daughter PESON SPEAKING son and daughter son and daughter grandchildren nephew and niece nephew and niece nephew and niece nephew and niece grandchildren brother and sister cousin (male and female) cousin (male and female) brother and sister cousin (male and female) cousin (male and female) cousin (male and female) cousin (male and female) uncle and aunt grandfather and grandmother uncle and aunt mother and father mother and father wife husband son-in-law daughter in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law wife's parents husband's parents sister-in-law brother-in-law brother-in-law and sister-in-law brother-in-law brother-in-law sister-in-law brother-in-law and sister-in-law nephew and niece nephew and niece nephew and niece stepson and stepdaughter stepson and stepdaughter stepmother stepfather stepmother stepfather Half brothers and half sisters are regarded within the family as brothers and sisters. [ 155 ] TERM 6au-na'ti 6au-e 6au-ne'pi 6au-te'ki 6au-e'ne 6au-e'ya &au-ma'gj 6au-ne' 6au-a'ki 6au-te' cau-ma 6au-tj 6au-ate' 6au-n8ia 6au-a'ne 6a-ri6eku' 6a-u'ma/ 6au-teVki-te 6au-ne'-p-ma 6au-ta'-ma 6au-na'ti riki 6au-e-riki 6au-ne-riki 6au-a'ki-riki APPENDIX B LINGuIsImc CLASSIFICATION RIVET describes Tukuna as "un dialecte arawak tres corrompu" and cites numer- ous lexicological examples in support. Of these, however, some do not seem to me to be valid, principally because of the deficient phonetic reproduction of Tukuna in the vocabularies which Rivet had at his disposal. Nothing can be proved with such examples as the following: Tukuna Arawak Uainuma mouth a hai, hei, ya, ye (tooth) water Wap 6ia' (river) earth guain val'mlm (va-I, black; ga'hau ml", mass) In Uainuma the word does not even appear to be composed in the same way (ca'riri, black). However, in spite of these qualifications, the Tukuna vocabulary undoubt- edly has a number of borrowed elements from the Arawak languages, as Brinton and Tessmann have also recognized. Among the thirty-eight word stems which Tessmann offers, it appears to me that there are nine-not only six-which have their Arawakan equivalents. The Tupi influence is greater than Rivet supposes, even disregarding certain equivalents, such as the following: Tukuna Tupi drink (v.) ae' au, when the stem is u and the pronominal prefix of the first person singular is a-. Or: Tukuna Tupi Guarani branch a'kl (?) gakae tacang It also appears in the pronouns, which Rivet correctly noted but did not take into consideration in his table. The similarities with Yuri are fewer, but not less in importance, and it is regrettable that we lack phonetically written vocabularies of this language; I myself did not find anyone who still spoke it. The Tukano element, which Tessmann cites as the second influence, is very weak, as Rivet noticed also. As for the Muira, which Loukotka mentions as a component of Tukuna, I have found no certain vestiges. There is, however, another element in Tukuna-the G8, to which Martius has drawn attention, listing eleven examples, which Rivet increased to sixteen. We note also that both authors include in the Gle family the Kamaka' and the Masakari. In order to present in an orderly fashion all the material we have on the various languages in question, I list below Rivet's sixteen Ge equivalents. All are given in my own phonetic orthography except words for which I have no corresponding terms; these are given in Rivet's orthography, with quotation marks. English Tukuna Equivalents 1. hair dya'e da-zai' (Aerfnte; gavante) "ao" (Malali) 2. to run nya nya:'ni (Kamakia [Koto?6]) [156 ] Nimuendaju': The Tukuna English 3. caiman 4. water Tukuna ko'ya dea'; d661i 5. woman Se 6. fire d' 7. a tough grass (cap(m) mae' 8. maize 9. shinbone 10. rice iavj' para avatii' 11. nail 12. foot 13. branch 14. sun 15. earth 16. head pa'tl kutj 6a'kij jakij vai'min e'ru Equivalents kuihi' (Aerfnte; gavante) "kedochia" (Koto?6), river tsae-kQwa:' (I Kama?kf) nyenaxkwa:' (Kamaka [KotoA6]), girl niela (Kamak5t [KotoM6]), woman (not listed by Rivet) ndi (Rahmk6'kamekra [Krah6]), vulva caxke' (Kamaka' [Koto?6]) "mahe-ky" (Cor8ado), maize "maky" (Purn), maize ig'i (MaAakari, etc.) pa:'ri (Apinay6), foot pa:'ri (Ap4nyekra), foot "t'cha-perr6" (Cor8ado), foot woasi' (Suya), maize awati' (both branches of the Tupi) pata' (Magakarf, etc.), foot pa-t6 (Apq'nyekra), our shinbone "ni-pata" (KotoM6), bone (Kamaka': dionce = bone) "bathaga-ko'to" (Ap4nyekra), calf of leg (?) "'guang-gathie"' (Kamaka), femur [ I ts, leg] p4-ci (Magakari, etc.), thigh; [ket6y = toe] piP-yale', (Rimk6'kamekra [Ap4nyekra]), root 6axkQ' (Kamaka', etc.) "hame" (Korop6) hahq'm (MaAakari, etc.; Patas6) hero' (Kamaka', etc.) No. 10 is erroneously classified. Nos. 4, 6, 12, and 15 compare radically dissimilar forms. Nos. 7, 11, and 13 are words with quite different meanings (nail = foot = shin- bone). In Nos. 3, 8, and 14, perhaps also in No. 1, the resemblance is pretty vague. That leaves us: 2. run 5. woman 9. shinbone 16. head Tukuna nya: AB para j'ru nya :ni (Kamaka') niela (Kamakat') pa:'ri(Timbira-Kayapo6) hro' (Kamaka') nyani (Guarani) pra (Aer6nte, foot; plural, pe) And we can also add: me mpe (Timbira) me (Kapay6) This is very little; and furthermore, the five, or rather eight, resemblances embrace three distinct linguistic families of eastern Brazil: G8 (4 equivalents), Kamaka' (3 equivalents), Tupi-Guarani (1 equivalent). However, I do not think that these resemblances are entirely fortuitous, even though I can offer no accept- able explanation of them. The hypothesis which Rivet admits as most probable, i.e., that "certaines dialectes ges ont emprunte a l'arawak des radicaux nombreux," is useless because only one of the words compared is also found in the Arawak languages, which evidently cannot have been the transmitters. In this context it is well to remember that G'e elements also appear in certain languages of the upper good 157 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. Madeira: a few are found in the languages of the Napaku'ra family, and they are a little more evident in the isolated language of the Jabuti (and Arikapui) of the upper Rio Branco, tributary to the Guapore, discovered and reported on by H. Snethlage in 1933. The grammatical characteristics of Tukuna are the following: one article, na (which is placed before the substantive), different from the personal pronoun of the third person, na; two plural suffixes of substantives, -ta and -gi; and a suffix, 4-, of the plural of verbs. There are distinct forms for the singular and plural of both transitive and intransitive verbs, viz.: to go (one person) uu to go (several persons) in to kill (one person) ma/ to kill (several persons) da'i The Tukuna forms for the first person singular (masc.) and the first person plural (masc.) of certain pronouns correspond to the Tupi, as well as the Yuri, forms. These are: First person singular (mas.) 6a First person plural (mas.) ta (Omagua: tana = us, exclusively.) For the Tukuna pronoun of the second person singular, ku, I have found no corresponding form in any language (unless it be the Uro, cun ?). The personal pronouns (demonstrative) of the third person are the most distinctive characteristic of the Tukuna language. In addition to the dis- tinction of gender, which is expressed only in them, many of these pronouns convey also a local and temporal meaning. I do not know of a similar process in any other language. This distinction of gender in the third person of the pronouns (as well as in the substantives) is certainly one of the best criteria of the Arawakan languages, but it is lacking precisely in the Arawakan language immediately next to Tukuna, viz., Kayuisana, while it appears in the non-Arawakan languages of the region- Witoto, Miranya, and Tukano. Nor do there appear to be other grammatical affin- ities between Tukuna and the Arawakan languages. Since the Tukuna lexical elements do not represent an appreciable percentage of the Arawakan languages, I do not believe that there is sufficient ground for including Tukuna in the Arawak family, as Brinton, Rivet, and Loukotka have done. It is preferable to consider it, for the time being, as Chamberlain and Tessmann do, an isolated language. 158 abid acapfi acari acutipurli aacaafi agafraa aqahy aljava ambauva amb6 anaji anhumi anta anum araci arapago araparyrana arara arara canind6 arara tucupy arara vermelho aratinga ariA arraia atta auai bacaba bacabeira bacabinha bacurio bacuri bacurizeiro balaio barrigudo beijfi bicho de pg biribi boto vermelho bravo de buriti brinquedo do cao bubuia, ir de (v.) buriti buriti do brejo caapi cip6 Caapora cachorra caiarfira caiau6 caiguma camapfi GLOSSARY abiu (Lucuma caimito), tree with light-yellow fruit tree (Vouacapoua americana; Audira Aubletii) a small fish (Chaldeus maoroleptodus, G.) squirrel (Sciurus sp.) tree (Hura crepitans) yellow dye plant (Amaryllis sp.) the assai palm (Euterpe edulis; oleracea) ; palmito doce (l.g.) small, narrow cylindrical basket fruit tree (Cecropia sp.); oca de ambafiva (l.g.) liana (Philodendron sp.); cip6 amb6 a fruit palm (Maximiuiana regia) bird (Palamedea cornuta) tapir (Tapirus terrestis) cuckoo (Crotophaga minor, Gm.) fish (Leporinus sp.) bird (Nasica sp.) tree (Ma crolobum multijugum) macaw (Ara sp.) macaw (Ara ararauna) tree (Parkia oppositifolia, Spruce); arara tucup8; visgueiro; "pariefi" (not the true parici) scarlet macaw (Atra macao) macaw (Ara severa) edible root (Maranta lutea, Jacq.); araruta (M. arundinacea) ray, skate (Trygon sp.; Potamotrygon; Paratrygon) a sort of custard apple (Annona sp.) a fruit (Thevetia nerifolia); also, auhy fruit of the bacabeira, q.tv. an oil palm (Oenocarpus bacaba) fruit (Cenocarpusminor) ; bacabinha pataui (0. distichis, Mart.) nocturnal swallow (Caprimulgus sp.); also, bacuriu bright-yellow fruit of the bacurizeiro, q.v. a fruit tree (Platonia insignis) basket or hamper monkey (Lagothriu sp.); lit., paunchy manioc filat cake chigger (Pulex penetrans; Tunga penetrans) tree with cream-yellow fruit (Rollinia orthopetala, DC) dolphin (Delphinius rostratus) leafstalk of burity palm bull-roarer to descend at the mercy of a stream; also, bubuiar (v.) burity palm (Mauritia vinifera) muriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa) a narcotic liana (Banisteria sp.) a forest demon fish (Eynedon hydrocyon, Cast.) monkey (Cebus albifrons) palm (Elaeis melanococca, Gaertn.); caia caiaue fermented beverage from sweet manioe (Manihot aipi) husk tomato or ground cherry (Phisalis sp.) [159] University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. canama cancan canna brava capibara capoeira cari caraipe carajurfi carana caranguejo carapana carari caraiiafi vermelho carauatina casa de cupim casco castanha do Par& castigal caxaga chicha cicanta cigana cip6 cip6 amb6 cip6 bari cip6 guemb6 cip6 mucuna coandfi coata coati condurl de sangue cuia cuieira cumaru cumat8 cunauiarfi cupim cupu cupuhy curaca curaui curimati cururfi cutia embafiba encoivarar (v.) envieira envira estoleca farinha d'agua farinha de mandioca a game wallow bird (Ibyeter amerioanus) cane, reed (Gynerium sp.); cana braba giant rodent (Hydrocoerus oapibara hydrochaeris); capivara secondary jungle growth yam (Dioscorea sp.); inhame a siliceous wood (Licania scabra, Hook), caraipe verdadeiro plant (Arribidea chica, Bur.) palm (Mauritia carana, Wall.) crab, crayfish gnat (Culex sp.); carapani a diving bird (Plotus anhinga, L.) fish (A8tronotus ocellatus, Agass.); also, acaraiiac4, acaraiiaasfi blowgun (cf. Sp. zarabatana) earthen termite nest or house canoe strengthened by interior transverse braces Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) palm (Iriartea exorrhiza; according to Decker, I. ventricosa) cane rum; also, cachaga, pinga maize beer resin (source: Protiuwm heptaphyllum, Aubl.) a pheasant (Opi8thocomus hoasin) cipo, liana, creeper, jungle vine liana (Philadendron sp.); amb6 liana (unidentified) liana (Philodendron sp.) liana (Mucuna sp.) rodent (Histrix prehensilis; Cercolabes sp.) monkey (Ateles sp.) raccoon (Nasua socialis) ; coatimundi, bando tree (Brosium paraense, Hub.); amapi doce (see also muirapiranga) gourd or calabash calabash tree (Cre8centia cuyete) tonka-bean tree (Dipterix odorata, Wild.; also, Couimarouna sp.) plant (Myrcia atramentifera, B. Rodrig.) toad (Hyla venulosa) applied equally to termites and their structures a wild chocolate (Theobroma grandiflorumn) ; cup1i do matto a wild chocolate (Theobroma subincanwm, Mart.) native chief who receives authority from whites (Peru) a palm (Mauritia curaud) fish (Prochilodus sp.) toad (Buf o sp.); sapo-cururfi agouti (Dasyprocta aguti; D. asarae) (Cecropia sp.); ambafiva to cut and pile for second burning partly consumed brush (while making a clearing) liana (Xylopia op.) liana (Xylopia brasiliensis); embira atlatl, throwing board macerated and fermented manioc root (Manihot sp.) grated, expressed, dry manioe flour (Manihot utili8sima) 160 gapuhy gaviao real genipapo girau guariba guarieanga de bengala iga,aba igap6 igarap6 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna liana (Martinella obovata) royal hawk (Thrassaetus harpya; Harpya destru?tor, L.) genipa (Genipa a-mericana or G. brasilienwis) platform of poles monkey (Alouatta seniculw 8eniculus) a cane (Geonoma elegans, Mart.); ubim 161 fired clay pot or jug; often large inundated jungle along streams or rivers subject to periodic overflow a narrow, natural channel between two islands or between an island and the riverbank; a canoe passage through inundated jungle a fruit tree (Ceeropia sp.); ambafiva a partridge-like bird (Crypturus sp.); uhambfi; jAo a partridge-like bird (Tinamus sp.) edible pods of the inga tree (Inga eduUis, Mart.) yam (Dioscorea sp.); car& a huron (Galiotis barbara) imbafiba inambfi inamb-1i inga inhame irara jaboti jaburd jacamim jacar6-tinga jacf jacurarA jacuruxy jandaira japihim japfl jararica javari jejfi jiquy jurumfim juruti leaozinho lontra louro-chumbo macaxera macucaua maguary maloca mambira mandioca mandioca braba manduvi maniva manixy maracaji grande maracana grande tortoise (Te8tudo tabulata, Spix; Emys tabulata); also, jaboty, jabuti a stork (Myoteria americana) trumpeter bird (P8ophia crepitan8); also an aromatic bush (Avpidovperma inundatum, Ducke) caiman (Caimatn yaoare; C. 8clerop8) a grouselike bird (Penelope 8uperciliaris) fish (Tupinambi8 sp.) fish (Dracaena guyanen8is) wild bee (Melipona sp.) an oriole-like bird (Cassicu8 cela, L.); japim an oriole-like bird (Ostinops decumanu8, Pall.) venomous snake (Bothrop8 jararaca) palm (A8trocaryum january, Mart.) fish (Etythrinw unitoeniatuw8) ; tarira de mar basket trap attached to a fish weir large squash (Cucurbita maxima) pigeon (Leptoptila rufazilla); juruti-verdadeira marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea pygmaea, Spix) otter (Lutra paranaensis) nutria; lontra do Brasil; ariranha (Pteroneura brasilienis) a heavy-wooded tree of the Lauraceae sweet manioc (Manihot aipi); aipim bird (Tinamnu 8olitaru) ; macuava bird (Ardea cocoi) communal Indian dwelling; extended family house anteater (Myrmecophaga tetradactyla) tamandufi-eavallo root of manioc (Manihot utilima) bitter manioc (Manihot utiliama) peanut (Arachia hypogaea) plant and shoots of manioc (Manihot sp.) unidentified tree; also, manixl, manixeiro, manixieiro ocelot (Felis pardali8) a macaw (Ara maracana) ; also, maracani University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. maraji maruim matamati matrinchan mingau miriti miua mogica monguba moquedo moquem motfa muirapiranga munde mutuca mutum muxiua nanahy 8ca de ambafiva olho do tergado onqa orelha de pau paca pacfi page paiauarfi pama pamonha panema parapari parauacfi parica patau'a patraio paturi pau mulato paxiuba paxiuba barriguda paxiubinha peixe-boi penica-pau peteca pinupinfi piracema pirahyba piranha pirarucl poo peach palm (Bactrw utslw) small mosquito (CUIlocoide8 sp.) turtle (Chelyis fimbriata; Te8tudo cheN8 flmbriata) fish (Characinu8 amaioMiou8, SpiX) hot, sweetened maize gruel palm (Mauritia fleXUo8a) ; mirity bird (Phalacrocorax vigna) mush or pap made of smoked fish and/or game; mojica tree (Bombax sp.) roast meat and/or fish collected for a feast grill for roasting or smoking fish and meat notched single-log ladder; muti tree (Bro8ium paraen8e, Hub.); Brazil wood, pau brasil (Ce8al- pinia eohinata) a deadfall gadfly (Tabanus sp.); a buzzer disk a turkey-like jungle fowl (Mitua mitu); mutum-cavallo edible larvae of Coleoptera a bromeliad (Bromelia sp.) (Cecropia sp.); refers to hollow, compartmented bole of the tree iron helving ring of a machete jaguar (Felw onca); onqa pintada tree fungus (Polyporuw sp.) rodent (Coelogeny8 paca) fish (M:ytelem sp.) shaman fermented drink from toasted manioc flat cakes; also fermented fruit juices unidentified fruit cake of grated green maize baked in a banana leaf dull, inept; luckless tree (Cordia tetandra, Aubl. or C. wmbraculif era); pau de jangada monkey (Pithecia hi&reuta, Spix) pepper (Piptadenia peregrina, Benth.) palm with oily seeds (Oenocarpus pataua) master, boss, employer small duck (Querquedula brasiliensi8) tree (Capirona sp.) palm (Socratea exorrhiea) palm (Iriartea ventricosa, Mart.; according to Decker, I. exorrhiza) palm (Iriartella sebigera, Mart.; I. satigera) river manatee (Manatus inunguis; Trichechus inunguis) woodpecker; pica-pau ball, shuttlecock; also the game itself unidentified nettle migratory shoal of spawning fish large catfish (Piratinga pira-iba; Brachyplkty8toma filamentosa) cannibal fish (Pygocentrus piraya) ; pirai; piranha branea (Ser- rasalmo sp.) large fish (Arapaima gigas) sinkhole in creek or stream 162 Nimuendaju': The Tukkuna electric eel (Gyrnnotw electricus, L.; Electrophorus electricus) monkey (Cebus fatuellu.s) dip net semicylindrical woven awning for canoe tree (Iryanthera tricornis, Ducke); punan peach palm (Gulielma especiosa) pinta; skin disease caused by Spirochaeta pintae white-lipped peccary (Dicotyles albirostris; Tayassu pecari); taitetu, q.v. semilunate rocking-board for pounding meal thrush (Turdus sp.) nut-bearing tree (Lecythis paraensis, Hub.), "monkey-pot nut" marmoset (Midas sp.) root buttress of a tree arrow harpoon; fishing arrow ant (Atta cephalotes) rubber gatherer bird (Ardea sp.) fish (Pseudoplatystoma corrqcans; Platy8toma sp.); surubim, q.v. fruit (Cou,ia utilis) ; the rubber latex of this tree can be drunk puma (Puma concolor; Feis ooncolor) kapok (Ceiba pentandra) fish (Pseiuoplatystoma corruscans; Platystoma sp.); sorubim taboca tacacA taitetfi tamandua bandeira tamandua mirim tambaquf tamoata tanga tangurupara ta6ca tapagem tapera tapereba taquarugfi taracui tartaruga grande tatfi tatfi canastra tauary taxyzeiro terqado timbo tipity Brazilian bamboo (Guadua superba, Hub.); taquarugfl beverage of manioc starch; spittle of a "possessed" shaman collared peccary (Tayassu tacaju; Dicotyles tayassu); eatet6, caitetli great banded anteater (Myrmecophaga jubata) a small anteater (Myrmecophaga didactyla) fish (Cciossoma bidens) fish (Callichthys callichthys) ; tamboata female pubes covering; triangular cloth or apron bird (Monassa sp.) army ant (Ecyton sp.) weir abandoned jungle clearing, partially overgrown tree with edible fruit, a relative of the mango (Spondias sp.); taperiba Brazilian bamboo (Guadua .aperba, Hub.); taboca inflammable substance found in tracua ant (Azteca sp.) nests; used as tinder great Amazon turtle (Emys amazonica) nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus sp.) giant armadillo (Priodontes giganteus; Cheloniswus gigas) tree (Cariniana sp.; Couratari sp.); tauari; inner bark used to roll cigarettes tree (Sclerolobiulm tinctorium, Benth.); taxizeiro de tinta jungle knife, machete, facRo narcotic liana (Tephrosia toxicaria) crushed and thrown into quiet waters to drug fish. Many such plants: Paullinia, Loncho- carpus, etc. tubular manioc press woven of uaruma fiber; tipiti poraqu8 prego puga punacarica punau pupunheira purfi-purfi queixada quirici sabia sacupaia saguim sapopema sararaca safiva seringueiro soc6 sorubim sorva suguarana sumahuma surubim 163 164 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. tipoia carrying sling for infants tiririca shrub (Scieria sp.) toroecana wooden slit drum tracaj'a a river turtle (Podocnemiis p.; Emys tracaja; B. cumeriliana) tracui ant (Azteca sp.) trahira fish (Hoplias malabaricus; Brythrinus nacrodon; Macrodon sp.); traira tremp6 tripod for suspending food or vessels over cooking fire trevo rouxo unidentified plant; lit., "purple trefoil" or "clover" tucandira ant (Cryptocercu? atratus) tucum fiber from tucuma palm (Astrocaryum tucuma) tucuma palm (Astrocaryum tuocuma; A. vulgare) tucunar6 fish (Cichia sp.) tuixfiua native chief receiving authority from whites (Brazil) tujujfi bird (Tantalus loculator) Tupana god, saint (l.g.) tururi large tree from the inner bark of which cloth (or paper) is made by pounding and soaking (LecWMt8 ollaria; Stercu2ia inviva). Cf. tapa or kapa communal work party a swamp climber (Ficus sp.) which eventuaBy develops into a large tree with enormous aerial roots a fish lure struck on the surface of quiet waters to imitate the impact of falling fruits ceremonial musical instruments for girl's puberty rite among the Tukuna plant (Ischnosiphon sp.) wooden dugout canoe cane (Geonoma elegans, Mart.); guaricanga de bengala, q.v. tree (Virola sp.; Myristioa otoba) ; "Brazilian nutmeg" the sapote or zapote tree with sweet reddish brown fruit (Lucuma mammosa, Gaertn.); uiqu6 fruit (Poraqueiba sericea, Tul.) resinous plant (Moronha sp.; Moronobea sp.) crab louse; screw worm infesting sores of animals buzzard (Cathartes urubu) buzzard (Cathartes aura) also, urubf jereba or urubfi cagador king vulture (Vultur papa) a bush or low tree (Bixa orellana) from the fruit of which a red dye is made nut-bearing palm (Attalea excel8a, Mart.) a type of curassow (Nothocrax urumutumn) riverine zone subject to periodic overflow devil (l.g.) uajurf uapuhy uapunga uaricAnas uaruma ubfi ubim ucuhuba uequy umari unani ura urubfi urubiu gereba urubfu rei urucli urucuri urumutlim vargem Yurupari BIBLIOGRAPHY ACURA, CRIST6BAL DE 1891. Nuevo descubrimiento del gran rio de las Amazonas, Collecci6n de libros que tratan de Am6rica, raros 6 curiosos. [1641.] Vol. 2. Madrid. ALBuQuRQuiE LAcGDA., ADoLFo DE BAnuos (Cavalcanti del) 1864. Relat6rio apresentaco A Assembl6a da Provincia do Amazonas ... Pernambuco. AmARAL, ANGELo THOMAZ DE 1857. Falla dirigida A Assembl6a Iegislativa Provincial do Amazonas ... Rev. Inst. Hist. Georgr. Brazileiro, 20:467-471. Rio de Janeiro. 1858. Falla dirigida 6 Assembl6a Legislativa Provincial do Amazonas ... Rio de Janeiro. AYRn De CAZAL, MANOEL 1833. Corograffa brazilica. 2 vols. Lisbon. BALDUS, HEBET 1932. Die Allmutter in der Mythologie zweier suidamerikanischer Indianerstmimme. Archiv fur Religionswissenschaft, 29:285-292. Leipzig. BAROSA RODRIGUES, JOXO 1882a. Tribu dos Ticunas. Rev. da Exposigao Anthropologica Brazileira dirigida e collaborado por Mello Moraes Filho, p. 52. Rio de Janeiro. 1882b. Quadro das dimens6es m6dias tomadas no valle do Amazonas em individuos de 20 a 40 annos por ... em 1872-1874. Rev. de Exposigao Anthropologica Brazileira, p. 152. Rio de Janeiro. 1891. Eclogae plantarum novarum. Vellosia. Contribuig8es de Museu Botfnico do Amazonas, 1:33 ff. (2d ed.) Rio de Janeiro. BATS, HENRY WALTE 1863. The Naturalist on the River Amazons. Vol. 2. London. BEBEDO, BERNADo P 1RRA DR 1905. Annaes hist6rieos. Historiadores da Amazonia. Vol. 1. Florence. BRINTON, DANIRL G. 1901. The American Race. (2d ed.) Philadelphia. CASTELNAU, FRANciS DR 1851. Exp6dition dans les parties centrales de l'Am6rique du Sud. Histoire du voyage. Vol. 5. Paris. CHAMBERLAIN, ALxDE; F. 1910. Sur quelques familles linguistiques peu connues ou presques inconnues de l'Am6rique du Sud. Jour. Soc. Am6ricanistes, n.s., 7:179-202. Paris. CRAVAUX, Juins N. 1883. Voyages dans l'Am6rique du Sud. Paris. DiAS VIEIRA, JoXo PEDRO 1856. Relat6rio apresentado A Assembl6a Legislativa Provincial ... Barra do Rio Negro. FPRixz, PADRE SAMUEL 1899. Mapa geogrAfico del rio Marafion . .. 1691. (In Fronti6res entre le Bresil et la Guyane Frangaise. Atlas contenant un choix de cartes ant6rieures au trait6 conclu a Utrecht le 11 avril 1713 entre Portugal et la France. Annexe au memoire pr6sent6 par les Ptats-Unis du Br6sil au gouvernement de la Conf6d6ration Suisse arbitre choisi selon les stipulations du traite eonelu & Rio de Janeiro le 10 avril 1897 entre le Br6sil et la France. Map no. 86.) Paris. 1918. Diario da descida do ... no rio Marafion ... Ano anno de 1689. Rev. Inst. Hist. Geog. Brazileiro, 81:355-579. Rio de Janeiro. FURTADO, FwNcisco Jost 1858. Relat6rio que A Assembl6a Legislativa Provincial do Amazonas apresentou ... em o dia de 7 de Betembro de 1858. Manaus. HASSEL, JOROE M. VON 1905. Las tribus salvajes de la regi6n Amaz6nica del PerA. Bol. Soc. Geog. de Lima, 17:27-75. Lima. [165] University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. HERIARTE, MAURICIO Dr 1874. Descrip?ao do estado do Maranhao, ParA, Corupi e Rio das Amazonas. [1662.] Vienna. HE:NDON, WiLLum LEWIs, and LARDNR GIBBON 1853-1854. Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon.... (Vol. 1 by Herndon; Vol. 2 by Gib- bon) Vol. 1. Washington, D.C. KocH-GRtNBnnG, TERoDon 1910. Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern, Reise in nord-west Brasilien, 1903-1905. Vol. 1. Berlin. LAUREANO DE LA CRUZ 1879. Nuevo descubrimiento del rio de Marafion Uamado de las Amazonas hecho por la religion de S. Francisco, afio de 1651. ... (In Saggio di bibliografia geografica storica etnografica Sanfrancescana per Fr. Marcellino da Civezza, M.O.) Prato. LOUKOTRA, 0ESTM1fB 1939. Linguas indigenas do Brasil. Rev. Arquivo Municipal de Sao Paulo, 54:147-174. Sao Paulo. MAROOY, PAUL (pseud. for Laurent Saint-Cricq) 1866. De l'Oc6an Pacifique A l'Oc6an Atlantique k travers de l'Am6rique du Sud. Le Tour du Monde. Vol. 14. Paris. MARTiUS, KARL FREDRi[H PiaIT?PP VON 1867. Beitrage zur Ethnographie und Sprachenkunde Amerika's, zumal Brasiliens. Vol. 1: Zur Ethnograp'hie; Vol. 2: Zur Sprachenkunde. Leipzig. MAW, HEENRY LIsTE 1829. Journal of a Passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. London. MONTzEIRO, DOMINGOS JAaY 1878. Relat6rio apresentado ao exmo Snr. Dr. Agesilfio Pereira da Silva, Presidente da Provincia do Amazonas ... Manaos. MONmEIRo NORONHA, Jost 1862. Roteiro da viagem da cidade do Para at6 as ultimas colonias dos Dominios Portuguezes em os Rios Amazonas e Negro. [1768.] ParA. MONTEO PEIXoTO, DOMINGOS 1873. Falla dirigida A Assembl6a Legislativa Provincial do Amazonas ... Manaos. MORAES, PADRE JosS DE 1860. Hist6ria da Companhia de Jesfis na extincta Provincia do Maranhao e Para. Rio de Janeiro. MORARS ToRRS, Jost AFFONSO Dz 1852. Itinerario das vizitas do Exmo e Rmo Senhor D-, Bispo da Diocese do Grao Para. Para. MORzIO Piwro, ALFREDO 1894. Apontamentos para o Diccionario Geographico do Brazil. Vol. 1. Rio de Janeiro. "Anamb6.'" NIMuENDAJTt, CURT 1930. Besuch bei den Tukuna-Indianern. Ethnologischer Anzeiger. Vol. 2, Pt. 2, pp. 188-194. Leipzig. 1932. Idiomas indigenas del Brazil. Rev. Inst. Etnol. Univ. Nac. TucumAn, 2:543-618. Tucuman. 1939. The Apinaye. Trans. by R. H. Lowie. Anthropological Series of The Catholic University of America, No. 8. Washington, D.C. 1942. The Aer6nte. Trans. by R. H. Lowie. Publications of the Frederick Webb Hodge Annual Publication Fund. Vol. 4. Southwest Museum, Los Angeles. MS 1 Os Indios Tukuna. Dados fornecidos A Inspectoria do Servi?o do Proteceao aos Indios no Amazonas e Acre. MS [1929] in Archivo da Inspectoria. Manaos. MS 2 Kayuig&na, Wit6to e Mirinya. Apontamentos linguisticos. MS [1941]. NORDENSKiSLD, ERLAND 1922. Deductions Suggested by the Geographical Distribution of Some Post-Columbian Words Used by the Indians of South America. Comparative Ethnographical Studies. Vol. 5. Gdteborg. 166 Nimuendaju': The Tukuna ORLTON, JAMES 1876. The Andes and the Amazon; or, Across the Continent of South America. New York. RIBEmO DE SAMPAIO, FRANCISCO XAVInn 1825. Diario da viagem que em visita e correiao das provoag6es da capitania de Sao Jos6 do Rio Negro no anno de 1774 e 1775. Lisbon. RIvnT, PAUL 1912. Affinit4s du Tikuna. Jour. Soc. Am6ricanistes, n.s., 9:83-110. Paris. RYDmN, STIG 1933. Throwing-Fork for Magical Use from the Toba Indians (El Gran Chaco), Man, 33: 196-197. SANTESSON, CARL GusTAP 1931. Ein starkes Topf-Kurare von den Tucuna- (Ticuna-) Indianern des oberen Amazonas. Acta Medica Scandinavica, 75:1-9. Stockholm. SILVA REIS, JOS? MIRANDA DA 1871. Relat6rio que A Assembl4a Legislativa Provincial do Amazonas apresentou ... Manaos. 1872. Relat6rio apresentado A Assembl6a Legislativa Provincial do Amazonas ... Manaos. SMYTH, WILLIAM, and FErCK LowE 1836. Narrative of a Journey from Lima to Para. London. SOUZA, CONEGO FRANCISCO BERNARDINO DE 1874. Commissao do Madeira. ParA-Amazonas. Rio de Janeiro. SPEISER, FELiX 1926. Im Duster des brasilianischen Urwaldes. Stuttgart. SPIx, JOHANN BAPTST VON, and KARL FRIEDRic PHILiPp VON MARTiUS 1831. Reise in Brasilien ... 1817 bis 1820. Vol. 3 and Atlas. Miinich. TASTEVIN, CONSTANT 1927. A lenda do jabuti, Revista do Museu Paulista, 15(pt.2) :385-427. Suo Paulo. TESSMANN, GtUNTEa 1930. Die Indianer Nordost-Peris. Hamburg. WILKENS DE MATTSO, JoXo 1855. Roteiro da primeira viagem do Vapor Monarcha desde a cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Capital da Provincia do Amazonas, at6 o povoado de Nauta, no Republica do Perli. Rio Negro. 167 PLATES PLATE 1 Igap6 in the Tukuna habitat. z 0 _14 l z U Z 0l U= 0 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 2 (Iliildlea of inHIitina (pl. 3, a), Igaral)e da Rita. a. Genezio uaan6lkj, age(d twenty-five. b. A\anoel null'tj -kj, aged sixteeni. c. Avellina (ital'a, aged twventy. (I. Beloca by: '-ni-ka, aged twelve. a b :& i^' ... CHILDREN OF mNletina, IGARAPE DA RITA [ 173 ] d [NIMUENDAJU] PLATE 2 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 3 a. meetjna, Igarap6 da Rita, aged fifty. b. Josefa dya'eimena, aged twelve, Igarapkzinlio. c. Joaquim gu-ve', aged eighteen, Igarapezinho, brother of Josefa. d, Julio dyi6&, Igarapezhino, aged fourteen, brother of Josefa. a b c d Mne'tilla IGARAPE DA RITA; THREE YOUNG PEOPLE FROM IGARAPIZINHO [ 175 ] [NIMUENDAJU] PLATE 3 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 4 A visiting family. A VISITING FAMILY [1,7 1 ENIMUENDAJU] PLATE 4 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PL,RTE 5 Basketr+. a-s1. B>f-~~~~~~~~ .E' r ~~~~~~~~~~ ''< C = s _ 0 > ywi 07- W~~~~ A0 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 a a C Cj0 3 j -0j00' iV 0t;;;00 ; - ; ; 70 0 77000 42::0: f U Z '2! [ UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 13 Necklaces of tueuiiit- and anai1- nut figurinies. Figuiriiies ia necklace at top represenit the follow- ing: a. Hlumlningl)ird. b. Small bird. c. Maguary. d. Angel with a tail? (seen in a- print). e, /I. Buzzard. f. Smnall bird. g. Man. i, j, 71. Cigana. 1. Armadillo. x 1:. am. Necklace of figurilnes. x %. 3~~~~~~~~~E~~~~~~~. C, m NECKLACES OF FIGURINES [ 195 ] [NIMUENDAJU] PLATE 13 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 14 Dance staves anid musical instruments. a-f. Dance staves. g. ba :/ma. h-j. Drums. x 1/13. a b g C. d e f h , i DANCE STAVES AND MUSICAL INSTRUIMENTS [191 ] [NIMUENDAJUI PLATE 14 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 15 Girl (varikj) at puberty ceremony-. a. Girl with a cloth round her plucked head. b. Girl without the hleadeloth; the hair is beginning to grow again. c. Girl among her relatives. Nino ~v6nj'kj, stands behind girl. b c GIRL AT PUlHERTY CEREMONY I 199 1 a [N IMUENDAJU] PLATE 15 UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 16 Mfasquerade costumiies and accessories. a. 'ma, the demon of the wiind. b. Otter. c. dy6'v,a . 47. ' ma's whistle (left) ; "son" of tA't (right). 47, x 1/;. a b MASQUERADE C'OSTU.ME'S AND ACCESSORIES [NIMUENDAJU] PLATE 16 d c UNIV. CALIF. PUBL. AM. ARCH. AND ETHN. VOL. 45 PLATE 17 Alasquerade costumiies and uaricAina enielosure, a.