14 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 9 



which were familiar to them from their Chaco 

 days. The food supply obtained through culti- 

 vation was augmented by hunting, fishing, and 

 work on nearby cattle ranches. 



Soon, however, difficulties arose. Cattlemen 

 began to encroach upon Indian lands, using these 

 lands for grazing and, in many cases, divesting 

 the Indians of the rights to their use. Terena 

 lands were held under no secure title. It is said 

 that documents relating to land grants given to 

 Terena chiefs were often burnt over a dead chief's 

 grave, making evidence of ownership even more 

 uncertain. The effect of this pressure on Indian 

 lands resulted in many of the Terena leaving set- 

 tlements like Bananal and Ipegiie in an effort to 

 make a livelihood by working on the ranches and 

 in the nearby towns of Miranda and Aquidauana. 

 Wage work with its inevitable uncertainties caused 

 great hardships to these homeless Indians. 



With the allocation of Indian lands and the es- 

 tablishment of the Indian Post at Taunay in 1916 

 and, later. Posts in all the important settlements, 

 economic conditions began to improve. Indian 

 lands were parceled out in lots 45 m. square. In 

 each village a man could obtain a lot on which he 

 could build his house and cultivate a garden. If 

 he wished more land he could go outside the vil- 

 lage and use as many lots as he could effectively 

 cultivate. These Indian lands, however, remained 

 the property of the Brazilian Government. Indian 

 rights were use rights only. Outside the village 

 an Indian had only to fence in a lot and begin 

 cultivating and as long as he used this land it 

 remained his. He could, of course, abandon it at 

 any time he wished, after which some other Terena 

 could begin using it. In the village an Indian 

 could sell his house and other improvements to 

 another Indian, but he could not sell the land 

 on which the property stood. Sales of this type 

 are not common, as land is still plentiful, both in- 

 side and outside most Terena villages. In spite of 

 these restrictions the Terena are adequately pro- 

 tected, as only Indians can use reservation lands. 

 An Indian from another tribe under the protec- 

 tion of the Government is able to settle among the 

 Terena with the consent of the Post manager. This 

 practice is not common, however, and is usually 

 restricted to Indians who marry Terena women. 



The land problem, although basic, was only one 

 of the consequences of the increasing interaction 



between the Terena and their Brazilian neighbors. 

 Economically, the impact of a foreign people was 

 felt in many ways. The proximity of Brazilian 

 farmers, cattlemen, railroad workers, and traders, 

 in itself stimulated a desire for change in habits, 

 customs, and beliefs. The guiding hand of the 

 missionaries and the managers of the Indian Posts 

 affected the life of the Terena more intimately and 

 directly. The missionaries taught the people to 

 wear modern clothes, to use modern tools, and to 

 learn to read Portuguese. The managei's of the 

 Posts taught the Indians to build modern houses 

 and to clear land and plant new crops. In addi- 

 tion, they taught them such handicrafts as black- 

 smithing, bricklaying, leatherwork, and the use 

 of the sewing machine. Inevitably, close associa- 

 tion with the Brazilians created changes in the 

 needs of the Terena ; the dietary pattern began to 

 change, and new demands for clothing, ornaments, 

 and amusements became integral parts of Terena 

 economy. 



The economic effect of these contacts and changes 

 was the growing dependence of the Terena on the 

 money economy of their Brazilian neighbors. In 

 order to get clothes, tools, rice, mate tea, matches, 

 tobacco, and alcoholic beverages the Indians 

 needed money. The railroad and the cattle 

 ranches offered a ready labor market and we 

 find the Terena in increasing numbers going to 

 work as cattle drivers and horse breakers on 

 the ranches and as section hands on the rail- 

 road. The labor market also increased ti'avel 

 and a widening consciousness of the non-Indian 

 world. The Indians became acquainted with 

 the larger towns, such as Campo Grande and 

 Porto Esperanga. Some of the Terena were stim- 

 ulated in their desire to learn to read, to do simple 

 arithmetic, and to understand the ways of the 

 strange new world. In addition to the demand 

 for labor, the cattle ranches and the nearby towns 

 of Taunay, Aquidauana, and Miranda offered a 

 ready market for manioc meal, raw sugar, and 

 hand-woven hammocks. In this way wage labor 

 and trade became essential elements in Terena 

 economy. 



In spite of these changes subsistence agricul- 

 ture, even today, forms the basis of livelihood. 

 On their lots the Terena produce manioc, maize, 

 beans, squashes, sugarcane, rice, bananas, oranges, 

 mangoes, and a few additional minor crops. Man- 



