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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 9 



husband). Father's sister's husband is termed 

 imaongo and mother's brother's wife yenolulu. 



The terms for husband and wife are hna and 

 yeno, respectively. The term for father-in-hxw is 

 imonjuho, and the term for motlier-in-law, imonge. 

 Ego, male speakinp:, calls his brothers' wives 

 cnaniie and his sisters' husbands otied. These terms 

 are extended to the spouses of parallel and cross 

 cousins. A woman calls her brothers' wives 

 onungend and her sisters' husbands eivom'ie. The 

 terms for son-in-law and daughter-in-law are 

 sinend and sind^ respectively. 



The terminology for consanguineal relatives ap- 

 pears to indicate a kinship system basically similar 

 to the Cheyenne and Arapaho subtype. Father's 

 brother is classed with father and mother's sister 

 with mother, while separate terms are used for 

 mother's brother and father's sister. Grandpar- 

 ents and their spouses are distinguished by sex 

 only. In ego's generation the terms for brother 

 and sister are extended to parallel and cross cous- 

 ins. The children of brothers are "sons" and 

 "daughters," male speaking, or nephews and nieces, 

 female speaking. The children of sisters are the 

 reverse. All children of sons, daughters, nephews, 

 and nieces are called grandchildren. 



In the past, an individual was prohibited from 

 marrying parallel and cross cousins or anyone 

 whom he or she called sister or brother. An indi- 

 vidual was expected to marry wnthin his or her 

 moiety and class. Marriage was generally mo- 

 nogamous, but there was no objection to polygamy. 

 There was no strict rule of residence, the young 

 couple remaining with the parents who had greater 

 rank and wealth. There was no mother-in-law or 

 father-in-law avoidance. 



The above is a general description of the social 

 organization of the Terena while they were in the 

 Chaco. How much was due to Mbayii influence 

 and how much belonged to the pre-Mbaya period 

 is difficult to ascertain in detail. Comparisons 

 with the Caduveo appear to indicate that the kin- 

 ship terminology, the marriage rules, and prob- 

 ably the moieties are of Arawak origin, while the 

 class and military organization was taken over 

 from the Mbaya along with the horse. The custom 

 of infanticide which the Terena claim to have prac- 

 ticed in the Chaco might also be of Mbaya origin. 



RECENT CHANGES 



As soon as tlie Terena came into Brazilian ter- 

 ritory their social organization began to change. 

 The political organization was the first to feel 

 the impact of the new conditions. In Brazilian 

 territory raiding and warfare were no longer pos- 

 sible. With the cessation of warfare the posi- 

 tion of war chief fell into disuse and with it the 

 social status of the shund'a.shetl, or warrior class. 

 Although individuals still speak with pride about 

 their warrior grandfathers, there is no marked 

 social distinction given to anyone who can trace 

 his descent from a shwna'asheti. Above all, the 

 Brazilians did not recognize war chiefs as chiefs, 

 nor did they accept dift'erences between individuals 

 on the basis of social status or rank. In appoint- 

 ing chiefs as spokesmen for the various Terena 

 settlements the Brazilians asked the Terena to 

 select a leading individual for this position, and 

 as the Terena gave highest rank to the moiety 

 chiefs and their relatives, the new chiefs came 

 from this class further debasing the shxina'asheti. 



The Brazilian custom of selecting a captain or 

 chief to represent each Terena settlement was also 

 instrumental in breaking down the dual organi- 

 zation. The Terena claim that the man chosen 

 was the outstanding moiety chief of a village at 

 the time when they entered Brazil. Once this 

 choice was made there was a tendency for the 

 chieftainship to pass from father to son. When 

 the Brazilian Government deposed a chief and 

 appointed one of their own choice, they selected 

 an outstanding man who would do their bidding, 

 disregarding altogether the class structure of the 

 Terena. However the choice was made, once the 

 recognition of only one chief became customary 

 the term was no longer applied to another indi- 

 vidual in the settlement. Above all, the new chief 

 had much greater powers than the old moiety 

 chiefs who were actually only ceremonial leaders. 

 The new chief was a direct representative of the 

 Brazilian Government and as such was instru- 

 mental in making distributions of lands, provid- 

 ing economic assistance, finding work for the men, 

 and in maintaining order in the settlement. 



It might be argued that in spite of the new politi- 

 cal orientation, the moieties could still have re- 

 tained their function in regulating marriage and 

 in organizing ceremonial life. In accordance with 

 the statements of Terena informants the moieties 



