from 100 to 200 centimeters (Heinen and Lavandero 1973: 
4-11), 
Twice daily the tide washes over the palmetum, encourag- 
ing the growth of the trees. The annual flooding of the Ori- 
noco is felt only indirectly in the Intermediate Delta; the 
flooding of the palm groves during the wet season is actually 
due to rainfall. In the dry season, when the waters of the 
Orinoco recede, sea water penetrates into the Intermediate 
Delta, salinates the rivers, and temporarily causes a potable 
water problem. Within the palmetum, Manicaria appears to 
seek out not only places under the influence of the tides but 
also those exposed to the northeasterly trade winds that 
sweep over the Delta almost incessantly. 
Warao culture is particularly adapted to life in this palm- 
rich environment. For the pre-agricultural Warao, the sago 
primarily of Mauritia and secondarily of Manicaria provided 
the staple food as well as a superabundance of edible fruits 
during much of the year. The Euterpe (E. edulis), too 
yielded fruit and an especially tasty and rich palmito. Mani- 
caria milk and Mauritia (unfermented) wine helped solve 
any drinking water problem, and the fat grubs of the palm 
borer (Ryncophorus palmetum), collected in overwhelming 
quantities from fallen Mauritia and Manicaria, was an impor- 
tant added source of protein to their diet. That the palms 
are a blessing is clearly recognized by the Warao, and these 
plants permeate their entire culture: its technological, socio- 
economic, and religious systems. The Indians refer to Mau- 
ritia sago, especially in combination with fish, as the “true 
food” of man; Manicaria, to a lesser degree, falls into the 
same category. Sago was more than a vital source of human 
sustenance; it came to be elevated to a position of ritual 
significance which has helped the Warao to cope psycho- 
logically with the hardships imposed upon them by a refuge 
environment little amenable to human life and culture. 
Other palms found in the Orinoco Delta, but mostly out- 
side the palmetum of the Lower and Intermediate zones, are 
Astrocaryum, Jessenia, Maximiliana, Socratea and others. 
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