THE TERENA AND THE CADUVEO OF SOUTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL OBERG 



25 



alone or mixed with cooked meat or sprinkled over 

 boiled beans and other foods. 



From the extracted juice the Terena prepare 

 starch. Water is added to the juice, after which 

 it is passed through a cotton cloth that captures 

 the larger particles. The liquid is then placed in 

 a wooden trough and allowed to settle. Next day 

 the water is poured off gently and the fine powder 

 in the bottom of the trough is allowed to dry in 

 the sun. The dry powder is admitted to be a fair 

 quality of starch and is sold by the Terena to the 

 shopkeejiers in Taunay. 



Manioc meal is stored in cotton bags or large 

 cans. On long journeys a bag of manioc meal 

 mixed with pieces of boiled meat provides a satis- 

 factory and easily transportable food supply. 

 Manioc meal mixed with cane sirup is also used 

 as a dessert among the Brazilians. Bitter manioc, 

 then, is the mainstay of the Terena. It is easy to 

 cultivate, as it requires very little care. 



Sugarcane. — Sugarcane, the Terena say, is 

 next in importance to manioc as a food and cash 

 crop. The Terena cultivate three principal types 

 of cane. The old type known as "caiana" was 

 cultivated in the Chaco but is not used very ex- 

 tensively at present. Another type known as 

 "cana do Japao" is a thick reddish cane which 

 grows well and j^roduces a juice with a high sugar 

 content. The most popular type, because it is 

 the most resistant to disease, is "cane 78." The 

 Terena use the Portuguese word for sugarcane, 

 "cana de agucar." 



Sugarcane is planted in the moist lowlands near 

 the streams. The land is prepared with a hoe, 

 and the cuttings are set out just before the heavy 

 rains in September or October. Two weeks after 

 planting, the field is weeded and again a month 

 later to give the cane plants a good start. Ten to 

 twelve months later the cane is ready for cutting. 

 The cane is cut with a machete and hauled to the 

 village in oxcarts. 



The three principal products obtained from 

 sugarcane are sirup, "rapadura," and raw sugar. 

 The cane press used by the Terena is the old-type 

 wooden press which has been used by the Bra- 

 zilians for centuries. This machine consists of 

 three large wooden cylinders, about 2 feet in 

 diameter and about 4 feet long, set perpendicularly 

 close together in a line on a wooden platform. 

 To the axle of the central cylinder a long wooden 



pole is attached which, when drawn around in 

 a circle, turns the three cylinders. Although two 

 or three men can turn the cylinders, a horse is 

 customarily hitched to the pole. 



While the cylinders are turning, a man forces 

 pieces of cane between the cylinders where the 

 juice is expelled and later drips into cans or wooden 

 buckets below. The juice is known as "garapa" 

 and is drunk fresh from the machine, the usual 

 custom being to drink it through the teeth to keep 

 out the dirt. To prepare sirup, or "rapadura," the 

 juice is boiled over a fire in flat iron basins about 

 4 feet in diameter. The first product obtained is 

 sirup, mopo, which is widely used domestically and 

 is also sold. With further boiling, "rapadura," 

 or brown ungranulated sugar, is obtained. This 

 sugar is pressed into approximately 1-kilo blocks 

 and is used as candy or for sweetening tea, coffee, 

 and other foods. When the boiled juice is per- 

 mitted to settle and the water to evaporate, black 

 granulated raw sugar is obtained. The Terena 

 customarily produce only sirup and ungranulated 

 brown sugar. 



Maize. — As a food crop maize is definitely sec- 

 ondary to manioc. The Terena appear to grow 

 a primitive type of maize having a long slender 

 ear with yellow kernels. The other two types, 

 one a short ear with yellow kernels and the other 

 with reddish kernels, appear to be varieties de- 

 veloped by the Brazilians. Maize is planted in 

 September and harvested in April. Usually it is 

 planted in rows, although it is often found grow- 

 ing irregularly in the fields. Much of the crop 

 is used green, the ears being boiled or roasted 

 before a fire. Coarsely ground maize is used for 

 making a thin gruel, chomoiu, a porridge called 

 yvkui, or corn cakes known as shipa. After an 

 ear of corn is husked, the kernels are removed and 

 roughly ground in a wooden mortar. The coarse 

 meal is then winnowed after which it is ready for 

 use. 



Sweetpotatoes. — The Terena gi-ow three main 

 types of sweetpotato : a yellow variety, a white 

 variety, and a purple variety. The cuttings are 

 set out in September and are ready for use in 

 March and April. Sweetpotatoes are eaten boiled 

 or baked. The Terena still bake sweetpotatoes 

 in the old way. First a hole is dug in the ground 

 and filled with firewood and lighted. When the 

 fire has burned down to coals, the sweetpotatoes 



