EliPHORHlAC FAE 



Hevea guianensis Aubl., Hist. PI. Gui. Frang. 2 (1775) 871. 



Collect.: Davis & Yost 1018. 



Waorani Informant: C^nto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v.noogow^ 



The latex of this 60 m. forest tree is placed over warble fly 

 infestations, where it hardens into rubber and suffocates the 

 larva. The latex is also drunk as a tonic to make one strong. 



Manihot esculenta Grant/., Inst. 1 (1766) 167. 

 Collect.: Davis & Yost 980, 98 1 , 983, 984, 985, 986, 987, 988, 989, 

 990,991,998 



Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. quewe 

 (growing plant), c^^ne (tuber) 



While the Wa 



• • * t 



depend on gardens for a large portion of the diet, and their 



{Manihot 



Wa 



their method of propagating yuca is better termed slash-and-rot 

 than slash-and-burn. Both men and women prepare the site by 

 clearing out the underbrush, and then the women plant the cut- 

 tings at a 10 to 30 degree angle. All work is done in the shade, since 

 the large trees are cut down by the men. The fields are only rarely 

 burned off, and the Waorani prefer to plant either in a climax 

 forest area or in an area that has lain fallow for a dozen or more 

 years. The yuca, once planted, is the domain of the women who 

 do all the planting, weeding and harvesting. They also prepare it 

 for consumption, usually in the form of lep^, a mildly fermented 

 beverage made by mixing small portions of masticated boiled 

 pieces of the roots with large quantities of boiled root material 

 mashed into a paste. The paste is fermented overnight and then 

 mixed with water and drunk. The Waorani adult consumes from 

 four to seven liters of tep^ (containing approximately 500 grams 

 of yuca mash per liter) each day, but he also eats much yuca boiled 

 with meat whenever meat is available. 



The Waorani recognize at least twenty varieties of sweet yuca, 

 all of which are referable to Manihot esculenta. 



192 



