14 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 15 



type house to one which is basically made up of 

 two beehive-type houses connected with straight 

 walls and a gable roof. 



Owing to the frequent occurrence of accidental 

 fire, the houses do not last long. As sickness and 

 death may also be attributed to the house, the 

 owner may burn it and build another. The 

 houses vary considerably in size. The largest 

 house in Tuatuari is 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 

 about 20 feet high; the smallest 48 feet long, 18 

 feet wide, and about 18 feet high. Ignoring 

 Tamapu's house, which is built like a Brazilian 

 rancho — that is, with stake walls and a gable 

 roof — the others conform to a basic structural 

 plan. 



First, the builder sets up the two central up- 

 rights which support the heavy ridge pole. These 

 uprights are about 8 or 10 inches in diameter and 

 are sunk into the ground to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. 

 If the house is to be very long, 3 uprights may be 

 used. Next he sets up the wall posts about 2 feet 

 apart except for the doorway where an opening 3 

 feet wide is provided. These posts, which average 

 4 inches in diameter, are sunk into the ground, 

 making a wall about 5 feet high. To the tops of 

 the wall posts the builder then laces heavy plates 

 going horizontally around the building. The 

 slender rafters are now laid. Along the sides of 

 the building they are laid parallel to one another 

 from 2 to 3 feet apart; they are fastened at the 

 upper ends to the ridge pole and at the lower ends 

 to the wall plates but are permitted to extend 

 down to the ground about 2 feet beyond the foot 

 of the wall. The rafters forming the rounded 

 ends of the building come together at the top and 

 are secured to the end of the ridge pole. To the 

 underside of the rafters extra poles are lashed 

 about 6 feet apart, going horizontally around the 

 roof. To strengthen the entire framework two 

 pairs of cross beams were set up at each end to the 

 uprights in the form of a cross, the upper ends 

 being lashed to the rafters and the lower ends 

 resting on the ground near the walls. 



The whole frame is now covered with grass 

 thatching, called "sape" by the Brazilians. With 

 the help of assistants the builder takes long 

 slender poles about an inch in diameter and over 

 each he bends a layer of sape. As the grass is 

 about 4 feet long, each pole will carry a layer of 

 grass about 2 feet in width. Beginning from the 



ground these grass-covered poles are lashed to the 

 rafters horizontally all the way around the build- 

 ing except for the two doorways. Then another 

 set of poles is similarly covered by sape and laid 

 over the first band but about 8 inches above, all 

 around the building. This process is repeated 

 until the entire building is covered from the 

 ground to the ridge. At the ridge one side is 

 allowed to overlap the other by about 2 or 3 feet, 

 providing an opening for the escape of smoke but 

 at the same time preventing the rain from entering 

 the house. The sape is thus laid onto the frame 

 like shingles, the only difference being that 

 instead of narrow shingles each sape-covered pole 

 serves as a shingle. 



As the rows of thatching overlap about 22 

 inches, the outside gives an appearance of a solid 

 mass of grass about 2 feet in thickness. On the 

 inside, the closely packed, smooth rows give an 

 impression of neatness and finish to the house, 

 especially in old houses in which the smoke has 

 turned the thatching to a shiny black. Sape is 

 by far the best thatching. Occasionally palm 

 fronds of various kinds are used but they do not , 

 last long. A good sape roof, on the other hand, 

 lasts for many years. During the dry season 

 part of the thatching is removed to let in light. 



In a completely covered house there are two 

 doorways, one on each side. These low door- 

 ways are placed opposite one another, providing a 

 passageway through the middle of the house. 

 Doors are made by lacing together a layer of 

 buriti palm frond stalks. In cold weather and 

 during storms the doors are closed. Doors are also 

 closed when the head of the house does not wish 

 to be disturbed or wishes to show his displeasure; 

 and the women and children are behind closed 

 doors when the sacred flutes are played. 



Although considerable freedom seemed to exist 

 as to where the occupants placed their hammocks, 

 the prevailing custom was to sling hammocks 

 from the two uprights to the wall posts at the ends 

 of the house. Hammocks thus radiated in a semi- 

 circle from the uprights to the rounded end walls, 

 leaving the center of the house free for movement. 

 In large houses 5 to 8 hammocks could thus be 

 slung, and as the wife always slings her hammock 

 under that of her husband, from 10 to 16 people 

 could thus be accommodated at each end of the 

 building. Infants sleep with their mothers, but 



