NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW HOLMBERG 



63 



they have come in contact with other groups, they 

 have been forced to retire deeper and deeper into 

 the impenetrable jungle in order to escape defeat, 

 and in retiring from previously occupied lands they 

 seem to have made few firm stands in defense of 

 their territory. 



The distribution of the Siriono today seems 

 clearly to bear witness to this policy of withdrawal 

 in the face of contact. The aboriginal groups that 

 still survive are spread over an extremely wide 

 area, and they are located in isolated pockets of 

 forest lands that are most inaccessible and least 

 desirable, where they have no contiguous relations 

 with one another and where they are surrounded 

 by hostile peoples. Only the fact that the Siriono 

 adhere to a semmomadic mode of existence and 

 that the unpopulated lands of eastern Bolivia are 

 still extensive and relatively rich in food plants 

 and animals has made it possible for the few of 

 them who still survive in the forests to stay 

 beyond the reach of civilization and extinction. 



The best evidence we have for the relatively 

 unwarlike character of the Siriono comes from the 

 culture itself. Here are not found the organiza- 

 tion, the numbers, or the weapons with which to 

 wage war, aggressive or defensive. Moreover, 

 war does not seem to be glorified in any way by 

 the culture. The child is not educated in the art of 

 war, nor is there a warrior class among the adults. 

 Furthermore, the care with which the Siriono avoid 

 contacts with other peoples and the fear with which 

 they regard their more warlike neighbors bear 

 witness to the punishment they have suffered as a 

 group in the past. 



Attention should be called, however, to the fact 

 that on occasions the Siriono have retaliated for 

 outbreaks against them by others. While they 

 seem rarely, if ever, to have responded to the 

 attacks made upon them from the south by the 



so-called Yanaiguas, and from the north by the 

 Baure, for the purpose of killing their men and 

 capturing their women and children, they have 

 sporadically killed whites and missionized Guara- 

 yos Indians (with bows and arrows), both in 

 retaliation for killings and for the purpose of 

 securing iron tools and food. The warlike repu- 

 tation of the Siriono, in fact, seems to have 

 grown up as a result of these few isolated and 

 unorganized raids, which reached their peak during 

 the last rubber boom (in the 1920's) when there 

 was a large influx of rubber tappers into some of 

 the areas occupied by them. The siringueros, 

 whenever possible, ruthlessly murdered the In- 

 dians, who in turn occasionally retaliated by way- 

 laying a rubber worker and dispatching him for 

 his machetes and axes. But when the rubber boom 

 ended in 1928, by which time the Siriono were 

 probably in possession of an adequate supply of 

 tools, most of the whites left the area and the 

 raids stopped. Shortly thereafter peaceful con- 

 tact was established by a few of the whites who 

 remained in the region. Today the Siriono who 

 wander in the vicinity of the Franciscan missions 

 of Guarayos occasionally steal maize and manioc 

 from the gardens adjoining them, but people are 

 seldom killed as a result of these forays. Generally 

 speaking, when the Guarayos have contacts with 

 the Siriono, relations are cordial. 



The enemies which the Siriono most fear today 

 are the so-called Yanaiguas, who harass them in 

 the south, and a small group of what are probably 

 wild Baure, who sometimes attack them in the 

 north. Almost nothing is known of these two 

 groups of Indians, except that they are unfriendly 

 and warlike. Both tribes are equated by the 

 Siriono under one term, kurukwa, a kind of 

 monster, and are carefully avoided by them 

 whenever possible. 



THE LIFE CYCLE 



SEX* 



Romantic love is a concept foreign to the 

 Siriono. Sex, like hunger, is a drive to be satisfied. 

 Consequently, it is neither much inhibited by 

 attitudes of modesty and decorum, nor much 

 enhanced by ideals of beauty and charm. The 

 expression secubi ("I like") is applied indiscrimi- 



•Considerable material relating to sexual behavior was expurgated frcm 

 the original manuscript. — Editob. 



nately to everything that is enjoyable, whether it 

 be food to eat, a necklace to wear, or a woman. 



Although love is not idealized in any romantic 

 way, there are certain ideals of erotic bliss, and a 

 certain amount of affection exists between the 

 sexes. This is clearly reflected in the behavior 

 that takes place around the hammock. Couples 

 frequently indulge in such horseplay as scratching 

 and pinching each other on the neck and chest, 



