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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 10 



days a month. To be sure, the conditions at 

 Tibaera were not in all respects aboriginal. In- 

 formants told me, however, and my observations 

 under aboriginal conditions seem to bear them out, 

 that a man goes hunting on the average of every 

 other day throughout the year. On the odd days 

 he rests, repairs arrows, eats (if he has any food), 

 etc. 



While I was wandering in the forest with a group 

 of Indians, when I too was hunting with a rifle 

 and shotgun, the amount of meat consumed by 

 the group rose considerably. I have records on 

 this only for September 1941, a large part of which 

 I spent on the march with parts of two extended 

 families of Indians (21 adults in all) and one Boli- 

 vian companion in search of another band. Dur- 

 ing the first 1 1 days of the march, when most of 

 the hunting was done with the rifle and shotgun, 

 our meat consumption averaged 2.2 pounds per 

 individual per day. After we had rested several 

 days with another band and continued the march, 

 our meat consumption jumped to 4.1 pounds per 

 day for the last 15 days. I am inclined to believe 

 that the increase was largely due to the fact that 

 with a rifle and shotgun we were able to bag more 

 big game, like tapirs, alligators, and peccaries, 

 than the Indians would have been able to kill 

 with their bows and arrows. Part of the increase, 

 of course, may have resulted from the fact that 

 we were wandering in areas richer in game than 

 most and that we were hunting every day, but 

 the superiority of the rine over the bow and arrow 

 was almost certainly a factor. When game was 

 sighted, the Indians would almost always call on 

 my Bolivian companion or me to shoot. 



Although meat is the most desired item in the 

 diet of the Indians, it is by no means the most 

 abundant. Maize, sweet manioc, and camotes 

 (when available) constitute a very important part 

 of the food supply. Maize is eaten especially 

 during the months of February and March. By 

 the end of March the supply of maize, except for 

 the few large ears that are saved for seed, has 

 generally been exhausted. Sometimes, though 

 rarely, maize is replanted in May to be eaten in 

 July and August. Manioc, once planted, takes 

 from 8 months to a year to mature. These restless 

 natives seldom sow fields of any size, since they 

 will often not be on hand to reap the benefits. 

 Frequently in the Siriono territory one runs across 

 old gardens containing edible stands of manioc 



that had been abandoned before the product was 

 mature. When available, however, manioc is 

 eaten the year around. Camotes constitute a 

 heavy part of the diet during July, August, and 

 September. The supply is never great, however, 

 and is usually exhausted soon after the harvest. 

 Papayas are generally available in small quantities 

 the year around because the plant readily grows 

 wherever seeds are dropped. The Indians seldom 

 plant papayas. From their habit of swallowing 

 the seeds of the ripe fruit, new plants automatically 

 spring up after the seeds are expelled in the excre- 

 ment. The area surrounding an Indian hut is 

 thus rich in papaya trees. 



Supplementing the diet of meat and agricultural 

 products are numerous varieties of wild fruits 

 already referred to which mature during January, 

 February, and March. These, coupled with maize, 

 supply sufficient food for the semisedentary rainy 

 season, when the meat supply is reduced. 



Food seems to be scarcest at the end of the 

 rainy season (May and June), when there are few 

 available wild fruits and when the waters are still 

 too high to allow extensive migration. It is also 

 scarce at the beginning of the rainy season (Novem- 

 ber and December) before the maturity of wild 

 fruits and agricultural products. 



FOOD TABOOS 



With the exception of snakes and insects, almost 

 everything edible in the environment contributes 

 to the food supply. The reason for not eating 

 snake meat, however, does not rest on magical or 

 religious grounds; the Siriono believe, since a 

 snake is able to kill by poison, that anyone who 

 eats snake meat is also apt to be poisoned. This 

 taboo applies not only to all poisonous snakes, 

 such as the bushmaster and the rattler, but is 

 generalized to include even nonpoisonous ana- 

 condas, which often reach a length of 20 feet and 

 could contribute considerable meat to the food 

 supply. 



I was presented with two favorable oppor- 

 tunities to break down the taboo on snake meat, 

 but in both cases the experiments failed. In the 

 first instance, I killed a bushmaster about 8 feet 

 in length just outside of the house. Since I was 

 badly in need of a waterproof pouch in which to 

 carry my powder and shot, I decided to remove 

 the hide and to try to make one. While skinning 



