NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW— HOLMBERG 



47 



part way up he fell down into the water below and was 

 eaten up by Senye (Palometas), who were enormous in 

 those days. 



The folk tale quoted above, of which there are a 

 number of variants, was about the only one I ever 

 beard the Siriono tell. Although Moon is credited 

 with having started everything in their culture, 

 stories to account for these things were never 

 told. I could get no supporting myths, for in- 

 stance, for the origin of the world, the origin of 

 men, or the origin of fire, even though informants 

 were agreed that Moon was responsible for them. 

 Moon now lives in the sky. He is a great chief. 

 He spends about half of his time hunting. Dur- 

 ing the dark of the moon the Siriono say that he 

 is far away, hunting peccary. To explain the 

 waxing moon, Embuta told me that when Yasi 

 comes back from these hunts his face is very dirty; 

 he washes a little of it each day until, when the 

 moon is full, his face is clean. To explain the 

 waning moon, he said that when Yasi goes on a 

 hunt he gets his face a little dirtier each day, 

 until before long it is so dirty that it cannot be 

 seen at all. 



In the explanation of natural phenomena, 

 Moon also plays an important causal role. One 

 explanation of thunder (ingicindmo) and lightning 

 (iNgui) is that they are caused by Moon throwing 

 peccaries and jaguars down from the sky. An 

 alternative explanation of thunder was offered 

 by Aciba-e6ko (Long-arm), who stated that it 

 was caused by Moon pulling up bamboo in the 

 sky. Still a third interpretation of thunder and 

 lightning, one that has no relation to Moon, is 

 that they are caused by a huge jaguar {yaktuadusu) 

 who lives in the sky. When this jaguar winks his 

 eyes there is lightning, and when he shakes himself 

 there is thunder. There was no general agreement 

 among informants as to which of these interpre- 

 tations is correct. 



Thunder and lightning, however, are always 

 greeted with howls by the men, who step outside 

 of the house and roar at the sky. This is believed 

 to drive the thunder and lightning away. In- 

 formants also told me that it was good to dance 

 and sing during a thunder storm, as it would 

 then disappear more quickly, but I never saw 

 them practice what they preached in this respect. 



As to other celestial phenomena, no distinction 

 is made between the planets and the stars, and 

 there is no grouping of stars into constellations. 



Both planets and stars are called yasi tdta (moon 

 fire). Insofar as I could tell, these "moon fires" 

 are believed to be caused by the moon, although 

 in places where Christian influence has penetrated 

 they are thought to be fires of people who live 

 in the heavens. I was unable to get any causal 

 explanation for the rainbow (ibe iri), although 

 its appearance presages an epidemic of colds. 

 One of my Casarabe informants, Kenda, told 

 me that the rainbow contained an abacikwaia 

 ("evil spirit") which causes sickness of the nose 

 and throat. Eclipses, it seems, are unknown; at 

 least I was unable to get any interpretation of 

 them. Beyond the statement that the sun is 

 "fire" and is responsible for the light of day, 

 I could get no native explanation of it. 



Mist (or fog) is called tatdsi (smoke), and is 

 equated with smoke from fires or pipes. Rain is 

 caused by the overflowing of a large lake which is 

 believed to exist in the heavens. Winds (kiridia), 

 especially the cold south winds that come from 

 Tierra del Fuego during the dry season, are 

 believed to be caused by abacikwaia. No special 

 significance seems to attach to whirlwinds, of 

 which I was unable to get an explanation, although 

 storms generally are also thought to be caused by 

 abacikwaia. 



Most adults have an excellent knowledge of the 

 geography of the area in which they wander. No 

 matter how meandering his course, the Indian 

 never gets lost in the jungle and is able to return 

 directly to the spot from which he started. While 

 no more than two cardinal points — east, where the 

 sun rises, and west, where the sun sets — are rec- 

 ognized, the course of the sun in the sky, together 

 with such marks as topographical phenomena and 

 water courses, accurately guide the Indian on his 

 way. 



Knowledge of plants and animals is most exten- 

 sive. When the plants flower, when they bear 

 their fruit, which ones are good to eat, etc. are 

 known by every child of 10. The habits of ani- 

 mals — what they eat, where they sleep, when they 

 have their young, etc. — are common knowledge to 

 every boy of 12. 



NUMERATION, MENSURATION, AND 

 TIME RECKONING 



The Siriono are unable to count beyond 3. In 

 counting to 3, however, the following words are 

 employed: komi (1), yeremo (2), yeremoiio (3). 



