NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW HOLMBERG 



59 



several wives they are careful to see that only 

 allowable sex partners have any relations with 

 them. Consequently, when overnight trips are 

 made into the forest, a man generally takes all of 

 his wives with him. 



Kigidly marked age groupings are not found in 

 Siriono society, although there is a recognition, as 

 in most societies, of the categories of infancy, 

 childhood, adulthood, and old age. Except in the 

 case of the premarital rites for girls, the physi- 

 ological changes that accompany maturation are 

 little recognized or celebrated by special ceremony. 

 As a mark of adulthood, however, men and women, 

 after they are married and have children, are 

 stabbed in the arms with the dorsal spine of a 

 sting ray, which practice leaves scars that are signs 

 of maturity. As a person grows older, blood- 

 letting is continued — to rejuvenate him by getting 

 rid of his old blood. The society thus seems to 

 recognize that the sharpest break in age occurs 

 between childhood and adulthood. The other 

 transitions are very gradual and are not marked 

 by ceremony. 



It is difficult to generalize as to the status of 

 women. Although they are dominated by the men, 

 it can hardly be said that women occupy a position 

 much inferior to that of the men when one con- 

 siders the conditions under which this society 

 exists. During childhood there is no noticeable 

 preferential treatment of boys. On the basis of the 

 sex division of labor the men do as much or more 

 work than the women. Hunting is exclusively a 

 task of the men, while collecting and agriculture 

 are joint pursuits of both men and women. 

 Women enjoy about the same privileges as men. 

 They get as much or more food to eat, and they 

 enjoy the same sexual freedom. They are not 

 restricted from holding drinking feasts and dances, 

 nor from participation in bloodletting ceremonies. 

 After marriage, moreover, women continue to live 

 with their parents and to enjoy the latters' 

 protection. 



CHIEFTAINSHIP 



Presiding over every band of Siriono is a chief 

 {ererekwa), who is at least nominally the highest 

 official of the group. Although his authority 

 theoretically extends throughout the band, in 

 actual practice its exercise depends almost entirely 

 upon his personal qualities as a leader. In any 

 case, there, is no obligation to obey the orders of a 



chief, no punishment for nonfulfillment. Indeed, 

 little attention is paid to what is said by a chief 

 unless he is a member of one's immediate family. 

 To maintain his prestige a chief must fulfill, in a 

 superior fashion, those obligations required of 

 everyone else. 



The prerogatives of chieftainship are few. Al- 

 though the title ererekwa is reserved by the men for 

 a chief, if one asks a woman, "Who is your 

 ererekwa?" she will invariably reply, "My hus- 

 band." The principal privilege of a chief, if it 

 could be called such, is that it is his right to 

 occupy, with his immediate family, the center of 

 the house. Like any other man he must make his 

 bows and arrows, his tools; he must hunt, fish, 

 collect, and plant gardens. He makes suggestions 

 as to migrations, hunting trips, etc., but these are 

 not always followed by his tribesmen. As a mark 

 of status, however, a chief always possesses more 

 than one wife. 



While chiefs complain a great deal that other 

 members of the band do not satisfy their obliga- 

 tions to them, little heed is paid to their requests. 

 I was told, for instance, both by Indians and by 

 whites who had had contact with them, that the 

 chief was entitled to a share of every catch of game 

 that was made. While I was living at Tibaera, 

 I had an excellent chance to check this matter 

 empirically, and I found that this was not, as said, 

 usually the case, but rarely so. The more general 

 rule was to avoid giving the chief anything, if 

 possible. 



The following is an example of the sort of 

 thing that was constantly occurring at Tibaera. 

 Kwandu (Porcupine), a member of the band and 

 extended family of Aciba-e6ko (Long-arm), the 

 chief, was absent for several days with his yoimger 

 brother on a hunting expedition. On returning 

 to camp, they brought with them about a dozen 

 tortoises of good size. These were tied up with 

 lianas and hung on beams in the house, one or two 

 of them being butchered each day. A6iba-e6ko, 

 desiring meat, first made a direct request to 

 Kwandu, but was brushed off and given nothing. 

 Following this he made public remarks without 

 mentioning names that mbia (countrymen) were 

 keeping all the meat to themselves and not giving 

 any to him, the chief. The owners of the tor- 

 toises still paid no attention to him. Finally, 

 after about 3 days, Aciba-e6ko, having received 

 nothing, became so angry that he left for the hunt 



