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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 10 



February, March, and April, the small red fruits 

 of the chonta palm (siriba) are collected. At this 

 season of the year the Indians also devote them- 

 selves to gathering the fruit of a palm not unlike 

 the motacu which they call hindoera. In extract- 

 ing these fruits, which grow in bunches, the tree 

 is climbed and the cluster pulled down. 



During the months of July, August, and Septem- 

 ber there is an abundant harvest of the fruits of 

 the samuque palm (tlba) and of the nuts of the 

 cusi palm. These latter, which are usually col- 

 lected on the ground after they have fallen from 

 the trees, are one of the most nutritious wild foods 

 found in this part of the Amazon Valley. The 

 fruits of the assai (tibaera) and the totai (korondla) 

 palms, which are extensively used by the whites 

 of the region for making wine, are not collected by 

 the Siriono with whom I lived. 



In addition to the above-mentioned palms, there 

 are many other fruit-bearing trees which seasonally 

 add their crops to the Siriono food supply. Pre- 

 dominant in the months of February, March, and 

 April are the fruits of the coquino (iba), the 

 aguai (ibadiSa), the gargatea (dikisia), pacay 

 (iNga), wapomo {asambdkwa), pacobilla (idayd), 

 cocao (ibiro), ballau (jiciba), andpaquio (tibdri), as 

 well as unidentified wild fruits which the Siriono 

 call mbea, tikaria, arid taruma. There is only one 

 other fruit of any importance gathered in the 

 dry season. This is an acid fruit known to the 

 whites of the region as mbis and to the Siriono 

 as ndia. 



In collecting wild fruits the men climb the trees 

 and throw them down to the women waiting 

 below. Tliis often entails considerable work as 

 the trees are sometimes of such size that it is 

 necessary to lash saplings to them in order to 

 climb them, and it is frequently hazardous since 

 a man is liable to fall from a branch while picking 

 the fruits. If the fruits are not located too high 

 in a tree, however, a man may fashion a rude hook 

 by bending over and binding with liana the top 

 end of a midrib of a motacu palm leaf, which can 

 then be used to pull the fruits down from the 

 tree. People usually eat their fill at the site of a 

 fruit tree before loading then baskets to carry 

 back to camp. 



The digging of roots and plants and the grub- 

 bing of worms are almost negligible occupations 

 among the Siriono, and provide hardly any part 

 of the diet. The same may be said for the collect- 



ing of insects, which was never done insofar as I 

 observed. Certain varieties of shelled inverte- 

 brates — a mollusk called urukwa and a mussel 

 called yisita— exist in the region, but these are 

 likewise not sought for food, although their shells 

 are gathered for tools. Several species of tortoise 

 (konombi) are extensively collected for food. 

 These are highly prized, as they can be tied up 

 and cooked when desired. 



Like other tropical forest Indians the Siriono are 

 fond of extracting the honey (hidou) of wild bees, 

 which is the oidy "sweet" they possess. It is 

 relished not only as food but for the making of 

 mead as well. Honey is avidly sought, especially 

 during the dry season when it is most abundant. 

 In searching for honey, the Siriono do not go so far 

 as to follow bees to the hive, but men out hunting, 

 or collecting with the women, are most skillful in 

 spotting wild beehives, which are usually located 

 in hollow trees that are still standing. If the 

 honey is not extracted when sighted, the person 

 finding it returns later to do so. 



In extracting honey the tree containing the hive 

 may or may not be cut down. In any case, a hole 

 is made — nowadays with an iron ax — below the 

 spot where the honey is located. The combs are 

 then removed with the hands and the honey 

 wrung from them into calabashes. Before the in- 

 troduction of iron tools, the hole where the bees 

 entered the hive was enlarged by using fire and 

 the chonta digging stick. The removal of a hive 

 of wild honey often took as long as an entire day. 

 Besides collecting the honey from the hive, the 

 Indians save the beeswax, which is prepared for 

 use as cement in arrow making. 



AGRICULTURE 



Although agriculture has been practiced for 

 many years by the Siriono (they may originally 

 have been a strictly nomadic people) , it has never 

 reached a sufficient degree of development to 

 prevent their remaining a fairly mobile people. 

 On the whole, its practice is subsidiary in the total 

 economy to both hunting and collecting. One of 

 the reasons for this may be that the game supply 

 of an area becomes scarce before the rewards of 

 agriculture can be reaped, thus entailing a i ?. ; gra- 

 tion of the band to other areas to search for game. 

 Moreover, the sheer physical effort involved in 

 adequately clearing a patch for planting is enor- 



