The observations presented here are based on field work by 
the senior author with Tatuyo Indians living in the headwaters 
of the Papuri River at the village of Yapu, Vaupés, Colombia 
(figure 1).? 
The Tatuyo? are root crop horticulturists relying on bitter 
manioc, Manihot esculenta, as a caloric staple. Dietary animal 
protein is obtained from fish, and to a lesser extent from game. 
Insects and other invertebrates are minor sources of protein. The 
availability of animal protein shows a distinct pattern of sea- 
sonal variation. In general, fish and game are more abundant in 
the dry season and less so at the height of the rainy season. 
A wide variety of fruits, nuts and other vegetable products are 
collected and make important contributions to the diet. In addi- 
tion to Erisma and Monopteryx, these include Caryocar spp., 
Caryodendron orinocense, Euterpe spp., Hevea spp., Inga spp., 
Jessenia Bataua, Mauritia flexuosa, Micrandra spp. and Pora- 
queiba sericea. 
The upper Papuri area is transitional humid to very humid 
tropical forest with patches of caatinga and savanna vegetation. 
The terrain is predominantly rolling plain with occasional hilly 
uplands breaking the monotony of the skyline. Mean annual 
temperature is relatively high at about 26°C. and rainfall abun- 
dant at 340 cm./yr*. Seasonal differences in temperature and 
rainfall are not well marked. There is, however, a dry season of 
slightly less rainfall and slightly higher mean daily temperature 
from November to February. The rainy season begins in March 
and reaches a maximum in July. 
Both Monopteryx angustifolia and Erisma Japura are com- 
mon in virgin forest of the upper Papuri but not evenly dispersed 
? The field work in the upper Papuri region was done by the senior author between 
1976 and 1978. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Instituto de 
Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, and supported in 
part by an SSRC Dissertation Fellowship and NSF Grant BNS 75-20169. 
ow 
Tatuyo is the Spanish name for one of the linguistically distinct, exogamous groups of 
Tukanoan Indians in the northwest Amazon. In this paper, we refer to the inhabitants 
of the village of Yapu as Tatuyo. This is somewhat of an oversimplification, as there 
are other language groups represented in the village as well. However, the core of the 
village is Tatuyo, and the site of the village is within their traditional territory. 
+ 
General ecological and meteorological data from Instituto Geografico “Augustin 
Codazzi” (1979:104). Bogota, Colombia. 
71 
