INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



17 



treated with penicillin, sulpha compounds, and 

 other modern medication, a Piper Cub airplane 

 nestled under the piqui tree in the center of the 

 camp, and every night by radio we could tune in 

 on the news from Rio de Janeiro, New York, or 

 London, or could send messages direct to Rio and 

 Sao Paulo as well. 



As the Camayura improved in health we began 

 working with them, observing their everyday life 

 and, with the help of Orlando, using first one and 

 then another as an informant. On some days we 

 accompanied the Indians on fishing trips, on 

 others we followed them into the woods while 

 they collected palm nuts, roots, and materials 

 for making arrows. In return they watched us 

 dress or undress, observed us eating, accompanied 

 us as we took our daily baths in the river, and 

 insisted on helping us with the innumerable tasks 

 of camp life. After a month Tamapu and most 

 of the Camayura returned to Tuatuari, and a few 

 days later we followed, to observe them preparing 

 their fields, repairing their houses, fishing with 

 timbo, dancing, and wrestling — not to mention 

 the details of domestic life. 



We began our study by describing their eco- 

 nomic life, by observing what they ate and how 

 they went about obtaining, processing, and pre- 

 paring their food products. The year-round 

 staple foods, we soon learned, were manioc and 

 fish, with various fruits, nuts, and terrapin eggs 

 being used as they came in season. Meat formed 

 a negligible part of the diet. We also learned 

 that myth, magic, and religion are essential ele- 

 ments in economic activities. In the following 

 pages these beliefs and practices are described as 

 integral parts of the economic process. 



AGRICULTURE 



The following account of the agricultural activi- 

 ties of the Camayura is based upon information 

 gathered during the dry season, in other words, at 

 a time when these activities were at their lowest 

 ebb. This limited the direct observation of the 

 full list of crops planted and the practices of culti- 

 vation. However, by observing what the people 

 ate, what they had in storage, what was growing 

 around the village, and what they Avere preparing 

 to plant, a considerable amount of information 



was obtained. It can be said with assurance that 

 the staple food crops include bitter manioc, 

 sweetpotatoes, maize, and peanuts. Of these, 

 manioc is by far the most important, for it is eaten 

 the year round. No beans or squashes were seen 

 and only once was a woman observed peeling 

 cara tubers. Among the fruits, the piqui and 

 mangaba are of great importance. A few banana 

 plants were seen near the village, and also such 

 nonfood plants as cotton, tobacco, urucii, gourds, 

 and calabashes. From the forest the Camayura 

 collected bocaiuva palm nuts, coco babao, and 

 tender palm shoots. Gray ashy-looking salt made 

 by burning some marsh plant was observed. No 

 doubt other plants are grown and other forest 

 products collected for food, but the language 

 difficulty made it impossible to question the 

 Camayura about them. 



During the months of August and September 

 the sky above the village is dark with the smoke 

 of their clearings and one can hear the blows of 

 the ax and the crash of falling trees in practically 

 every direction. Shortly after sunrise groups of 

 men and boys are seen going to the fields carrying 

 tools, gourd vessels of manioc gruel, and cigarettes. 

 The tools used today are the steel ax, the iron boe, 

 and the machete, which the Camayura have 

 obtained by barter from the Indians to the south, 

 who, in turn, obtained them from the Indian 

 Service Post on the Batovi River. During the 

 last 2 years the Roncador-Xingu Expedition has 

 added greatly to the supply of metal tools. Even 

 yet, however, not every family has a complete 

 set of tools, but as the field work is generally per- 

 formed cooperatively, most of the tools tend to 

 be used in one or two fields at a time. Old stone 

 axes and digging sticks are still in existence but 

 are kept more as heirlooms than as implements 

 of use. 



Clearing and planting go on more or less simul- 

 taneously. Even before the fires in a field have 

 actually died out, manioc cuttings are set out 

 among the stumps and half-burned trunks. Agri- 

 cultural activity increases in tempo as the rains 

 approach in mid-September. Sweetpotatoes, 

 maize, and peanuts are the last to be planted. 

 By this time the manioc cuttings have already 

 begun to put out leaves and the task of weeding 

 has commenced. Once the plants have a good 



