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



49 



performed when the occasion demanded and were 

 accompanied by drinking and eating. In addition 

 to these social events, the Terena played a game 

 called everdni during the rainy season. \Mienever 

 a group of people felt like amusing themselves they 

 would gather leaves from a kind of thistle, known 

 as vlhe, which they threw over their moiety chief 

 and his family. The chief then took a small clay 

 pot and buried it in the ground before his house, 

 placing a short stake above it. While this was go- 

 ing on the players smeared themselves with mud. 

 and anyone who happened to be near was also 

 smeared with mud and joined the party. The men 

 then went back to the house of the chief, who se- 

 lected an old but strong man to stand over the 

 pot. The other men arranged themselves around 

 him in a circle in order to defend him and the 

 pot. The men were then approached by a large 

 group of women who tried to break through the 

 circle, dislodge the old man, and capture the pot. 

 The game continued until the women reached and 

 dug up the pot. The game was followed by sing- 

 ing, drinking, and eating. 



There were also two other ceremonies which 

 were not connected with the harvest season and 

 were performed at any time of the year : The Jdia 

 and the kohi-shoti-Mpahe^ or "pate-pau." Both 

 are historically recent. The Idia is no longer per- 

 formed. 



The Idki, which was in fact a comic imitation 

 of a European court scene with a king or prin- 

 cess, soldiers, and a fool, was arranged by the 

 moiety chiefs. A temporai-y house with wooden 

 walls decorated with cotton was built in the vil- 

 lage. In the center of the house a wooden bench 

 served as a throne. Usually a woman dressed as 

 a princess, rinerei, sat on the throne surrounded 

 by soldiere, iindaru, dressed in ridiculous uniforms. 

 The central figure of the carnival was the fool 

 ("bobo"' in Portuguese) who was selected for his 

 ability to make people laugh. If anyone laughed 

 he was taken prisoner by the soldiers who exacted 

 a fine of food, poreshoti. before letting him go. 

 The food was later used in the feast. In order to 

 make the bystanders laugh the "bobo" would drag 

 his feet, go through various contortions, and would 

 address the princess in the most absurd and non- 

 sensical manner. The comic act of the "bobo" 

 continued until enough people laughed to pro- 

 vide food for the feast which followed. The 



European origin of this ceremony is obvious. The 

 "caboclos" of the States of Minas Gerais and Sao 

 Paulo have a pageant which is Portuguese in 

 origin and which repi'esents a peace ceremony be- 

 tween the Portuguese Christians and the Moors, 

 in which kings, princesses, soldiers, and ambassa- 

 dors are present. Although the Terena no longer 

 remember the origin of the Idia, certain similari- 

 ties enable us to say with some assurance that 

 the Terena have incorporated many of the ele- 

 ments of the "congada'" into the Idia. 



The I'eally important dance of the Terena at 

 present is the kdhi-shoti-kipahe, or "bate-pan." 

 Although this dance can be performed at any time, 

 a special performance is put on during "Indian 

 Day," April 19. The dancers are divided into two 

 groups, one being called "mansa" (tame) and the 

 other, "brava" (wild). The members of each side 

 paint their faces and bodies in a special way. The 

 dancers of one side paint the i-ight arm and 

 shoulder red and the left arm and shoulder white, 

 while the dancers of the other side paint one side 

 white and the other black. Thus, although the 

 moiety organization of the Terena has broken 

 down, the "bate-pau" resembles a moiety dance. 

 The names of the two sides (tame and wild) are 

 Portuguese versions of the names of the moieties. 

 The principal differences between the dance or- 

 ganization and the old moiety organization are 

 that individuals can choose the side on which they 

 wish to dance and that the two groups are headed 

 by dance leaders irrespective of their old moiety 

 membership. In addition to body painting, the 

 dancers wear short skirts made from rhea feathers, 

 a rhea feather diadem, and bangles below the knee. 



The music for the dance is provided by two 

 drummers and one or two flute players who stand 

 in front of the dancers while they ai'e performing 

 circles, or march in front of the dancers when they 

 move from one place to another in two parallel 

 lines, each line being led by its dance leader. 

 Each dancer holds a bamboo cane about 4 or 5 

 feet long in his right hand and has a short bow 

 strapped to his back. A hole is made in the 

 center of the bow in which a small arrow is placed, 

 one end being fastened to the bow string. The 

 bow is used in one of the sequences to make a 

 rhythmic sound. 



The "bate-pau" has to be seen and heard to be 

 appreciated. For a month the dancers practice 



