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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 9 



Moroego. who lives on a farm near the reserva- 

 tion, is said to be ahle to cure people of all diseases 

 except chest ailments and diseases of the eyes, both 

 of which are the most common ailments among the 

 Caduveo. He uses the rattle, lotani, and the rhea 

 feather baton, otihculi. During the night he chants 

 over the sick person calling on the spirits of dead 

 shamans to assist him. He also sucks the pain- 

 ful part of the body extracting bits of bone, thorn, 

 or insects. They say that once when a hunter was 

 lost Morcego changed himself into a jaguar and 

 protected the lost man against wild animals. 



Polinari claims that he is a Christian, having 

 been baptized by a priest when he was VI years of 

 age. He says tluit once when he was ill, he received 

 the power to cure from Saint John and Saint 

 Anthony who appeared to him in a vision. He 

 cures people with holy water, prayers to the saints, 

 medicines made from herbs, and blessings. Wlien 

 he wants to cure snake bite he prays to Saint Mar- 

 cos. When the patient has pains in his body he 

 prays to Saint Anthony. But Saint John is his 

 greatest helper and always appears to him in a 

 dream, indicating the right herb or root to use. 

 The roots and herbs are those used by the old-time 

 shamans. 



Caduveo shamans ditfer in some i-espects from 

 their Terena counterparts. A Caduveo shaman, 

 for instance, may not cure his own son but must 

 take him to another shaman. A shaman cannot go 

 near a cemetery for fear of becoming ill. If a 

 shaman sees a corpse he will fall into a trance. 

 Like Terena shamans, Caduveo shamans consult 

 the ghosts of dead shamans and other supernatu- 

 ral beings. In the past they assisted war parties 

 and took part in hunts besides curing sickness and 

 practicing witchcraft. 



The shamans also make small wooden figures 

 carved in the image of people that \o6k like dolls. 

 These wooden figures, yoe-hehak, are made from 

 the wood of the "palo santo'' and are said to pos- 

 sess magical powers. They are given to children 

 to play with and are put in their beds at night in 

 the belief that they will protect children against 

 evil spirits and make them grow up healthy and 

 strong. 



DANCES AND GAMES 



The Caduveo appear to have at least two impor- 

 tant dances : the nohaJce-mtano, which is danced by 

 men, and the ctakidiye, in which both men and 



women take part. They bear some resemblance 

 to the "bate-pau"' danced by the Terena but are 

 enough different .so that a common origin may not 

 be assumed. 



In preparing to dance these dances, both men 

 and women paint some of the characteristic Cadu- 

 veo designs on their faces and bodies, using red, 

 black, and white colors. Rhea feather skirts are 

 used, but if these are not available, .shredded ba- 

 nana bark or even colored cloth can be substituted. 

 Tiaras made from red and blue macaw feathers are 

 worn by the men. The music is provided by a flute 

 jjlayer and two drummers. Each man has a gourd 

 rattle which he shakes in time with the drummers. 

 There is no singing although some of the old 

 women on the sidelines periodically chant in time 

 with the music. The men prefer to drink "pinga," 

 or cnne rum, during and after tlie dance. 



In beginning the nohake-miano the men form a 

 column two abreast, each row being led by an ex- 

 pert dancer. At a signal from the leaders the 

 dancers move forward in a wide circle. As they 

 move forward each pair goes through a given 

 cycle of steps and movements in each circle. First 

 each pair holds hands swaying backward and 

 forward. In the next circle the pairs turn first 

 to the outside and then toward each other shaking 

 their rattles. After all evolutions of this kind are 

 completed the two rows separate, one going in a 

 circle to the left, the other to the right until they 

 meet, and come down the center of the field to sep- 

 arate again at the outer edge. They change step 

 in each of the outward circles. Wlien all the evo- 

 lutions are completed there is a rest period during 

 which drinks are passed around and considerable 

 horseplay takes place. The dancing continues un- 

 til all the "pinga" is exhausted. On special occa- 

 sions a bullock is killed and after the dance every- 

 one eats meat broiled over a fire. The meat is cut 

 into pieces and skewered on a long stick. This 

 method of broiling meat is also the Brazilian way 

 of j)reparing a "churrasco." 



In dancing the etahulige the men form a large 

 circle and the women form a smaller circle within 

 the men's circle. At a given signal the circles 

 begin to move in opposite directions. The move- 

 ments of the dancers imitate the picking of maize 

 heads off the stalks. This dance seems to be rather 

 strange to be danced by the Caduveo since they are 

 primarily hunters. Although no evidence about 



