NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW HOLMBERG 



87 



native theory, because lie had been able to eat. 



In general the materia medica is sparse. Uruku, 

 whose curing properties are believed to be very 

 beneficial, is the panacea for all ills. Its powers 

 are believed not only to drive out the evil spirits 

 that cause disease, but to protect one from them 

 as well. Consequently, in sickness or in health, 

 the Indians are rarely seen without a protective 

 covering of uruku. Whenever I myself was ill, 

 uruku was always the first remedy suggested to 

 me by my Indian friends. 



Scarification is widely practiced as a relief from 

 pain. The suffering individual is scratched (by 

 himself or by one of his relatives) with an eye 

 tooth of a rat or squirrel in the area where the pain 

 is felt. A small amount of "old blood" is re- 

 leased by this practice, and the scarified area is 

 covered with uruku. Massage, too, is employed 

 to cure minor ailments. In chest complaints, for 

 instance, the back and chest are vigorously rubbed 

 with the hands and kneaded with the fists. Suck- 

 ing and squeezing are most generally employed to 

 extract pus from festering wounds. 



Herbal remedies are almost unknown, except in 

 the treatment of diarrhea. A diarrhetic child is 

 sometimes treated with a decoction made from 

 the bark of a tree which the Siriono call hidi-ndi- 

 mbi. Strips of the same bark are also wound around 

 the patient's stomach. Green leaves are bound 

 over open wounds and sores, and strips of bark 

 fiber are bound tightly above infections of the 

 arms and legs to prevent their spread. 



The Siriono possess no remedies for snake bite 

 and have no knowledge of setting broken bones. 

 Aching teeth are extracted with the fingers after 

 they become loose. Hairy skin woims, of which 

 the Indians are constant victims, are removed in 

 the following manner. A small amount of the 

 sticky substance from the inside of the pipe stem 

 is extracted with a palm straw and placed in the 

 hole where the worm resides. This irritates the 

 worm which pushes out its head for air. It is 

 then grasped by the head and squeezed until it 

 pops out of the skin. 



DEATH AND BURIAL 



For a Siriono, death is the culmination of an 

 often short and always bitter struggle for sur- 

 vival. Having wrestled valiantly to live, he 

 wrestles equally valiantly not to die. But the 

 odds are all against him. His environment and 



culture are harsh. Having no medicine to prolong 

 his life, he is often consigned to an early grave; 

 having no religion to calm his soul, he frequently 

 dies with fear and bitterness in his heart. 



A dying individual, unless he is a child, is given 

 little attention. His near relatives, however, 

 generally assemble to watch him breathe his last. 

 The women mourners sit on the ground around 

 him and weep profusely, but the men show few 

 signs of grief. They usually squat around him 

 and silently smoke their pipes. When a great 

 hunter is dying, however, fellow tribesmen some- 

 times squat around him and ask him to pass them 

 some of his luck. If, for instance, he was a great 

 hunter of tapir in his day, they may ask him, 

 "Grandfather, where can we find tapir?" He 

 usually answers, "After I die go to (such and such 

 a place) when the sun is rising and you will find 

 tapir." On the sunrise following the disposal of 

 the corpse, the men set out for the spot designated 

 and often find a tapir there. 



Among the Siriono a person is not allowed to die 

 in his hammock. Death in a hammock pollutes 

 it, and it will have to be thrown away. Therefore, 

 a dying individual is usually removed from his 

 hammock several hours before death and placed on 

 a mat woven from the heart leaves of motacu 

 palm. Once on such a death mat a person seldom 

 recovers. As he more closely approaches his fate, 

 he is poked in the eyes or pinched in the genitals 

 from time to time to note whether he still shows 

 signs of life; his mouth is frequently opened to 

 determine whether he is still breathing. Only 

 when a person ceases to breathe is he regarded as 

 dead. Once he is dead, however, little attention is 

 paid to his corpse until disposal, which must take 

 place before the next sunset. 



Aboriginally the Siriono do not bury their dead. 

 The corpse, extended with arms to the side, is 

 wrapped in two mats of motacu palm and placed 

 on a platform in the house. It is not oriented in 

 any special way. With the deceased are placed 

 his calabashes filled with water, his pipes, and fire. 

 No food is left. Once the corpse is disposed of the 

 house is abandoned; but before leaving, the men 

 shoot arrows in all directions through the house to 

 drive out the evil spirits. The band then moves 

 on to a new location — often several days' journey 

 away. 



The period of mourning lasts about 3 days. On 

 the day following the disposal of the corpse, 



