NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW HOLMBERG 



that might cause the loss of my sight, and since I 

 carried no medicines with which to heal it, I 

 decided to set out for the Franciscan Missions of 

 the Guarayos, about 8 days' distance on foot, the 

 nearest point at which aid could be obtained. 

 Before leaving, however, I consulted with the 

 chief of this new group (his name was A<5iba-e6ko 

 or Long-arm) and told him that I planned to 

 return and study the manner of life of his people. 

 In the meantime, the Indians in our original party, 

 knowing of my plan, had already convinced the 

 chief and other members of his band to return 

 with them to the Rio Blanco and settle down for 

 a while at Tibaera, a plan which suited me per- 

 fectly. Consequently, in the company of four 

 Indians of this new band and Silva, I traveled on 

 foot to Yaguaru, Guarayos. After about 2 weeks 

 of fine treatment at the hands of the civilian 

 administrator, Don Francisco Materna, and the 

 equally hospitable Franciscan fathers and nuns, 

 I was able to rejoin the band, and we slowly 

 returned to Tibaera, arriving there on October 

 11, 1941. 



Besides what studies I was able to make of this 

 band while roaming with them during part of 

 September and October, 1941, I continued to live 

 with them at Tibaera, except for occasional 

 periods of 10 days' or 2 weeks' absence for purposes 

 of curing myself of one tropical malady or another 

 or of refreshing my mental state, until March 

 1942, when my studies were terminated by news 

 that the United States had become involved in 

 war 3 months previously. 



As can be readily inferred from the account 

 given above of my contacts with the Siriono, they 

 were studied under three different conditions: 

 first, for about 4 months, while they were living at 

 Casarabe under conditions of acculturation and 

 forced labor; second, for about 2 months, while 

 they were wandering under aboriginal conditions 

 in the forest; finally, for about 6 months, while 

 they were living at Tibaera, where aboriginal con- 

 ditions had not appreciably changed except for the 

 introduction of more agriculture and some iron 

 tools. During the course of my work, I made a 

 complete ethnological survey of the culture, only 

 part of which can be published here, although my 

 attention was focused primarily on the problem of 

 the sparse and insecure food supply and its 

 relation to the culture. As my knowledge of the 

 language and culture increased, I was constantly 



formulating, testing, and reformulating hypotheses 

 with respect to this problem. 



Since Siriono society is a functioning one, three 

 fundamental methods of gathering field data were 

 employed: (1) the use of informants, (2) the 

 recording of observations, and (3) the conducting 

 of experiments. The first two methods were 

 followed throughout the course of the work. Ex- 

 periments, such as the introduction of food plants 

 and animals, were performed during the latter part 

 of the study, although the extensive use of this 

 method was limited by the termination of the 

 research. 



The application of the above field methods was 

 facilitated by the use of various techniques of 

 which the following were the principal ones: (1) 

 the use of the language of the people studied and 

 (2) the participation of the ethnographer in the 

 cultural life of the tribe. 



When possible, data were recorded on the spot 

 in an ethnographic journal, which was supple- 

 mented by a record of personal experiences while 

 in the field. As the group was small, everyone 

 was used as an informant, and since most of the 

 activities of the Siriono center in but one hut, 

 data on the behavior patterns of almost everyone 

 could be recorded. No paid informants were 

 used, although gifts such as bush knives and beads 

 were given. No Siriono was a willing informant; 

 little information was volunteered, and some was 

 consciously withheld. Had it not been for the 

 fact that I possessed a shotgun and medicines, 

 life with the Indians would have been impossible. 

 By contributing to the food supply and curing the 

 sick, I became enough of an asset to them to be 

 tolerated for the period of my residence. 



At the time of leaving the field (I had not 

 finished my studies) I did not feel satisfied that I 

 had gained a profound insight into Siriono culture. 

 True, I had studied the language to the extent 

 that I could carry on a fairly lively conversation 

 with the Indians, but the time spent in satisfying 

 my own basic needs — acquiring enough food to 

 eat, avoiding the omnipresent insect pests, try- 

 ing to keep a fresh shift of clothes, reducing those 

 mental anxieties that accompany solitude in a 

 hostile world, and obtaining sufficient rest in a 

 fatiguing climate where one is active most of the 

 day — often physically prevented me from keeping 

 as full a record of native life as I might have kept 

 had I been observing more sedentary informants 



