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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 15 



as tiburati and is the basic storable and trans- 

 portable manioc product. While drying, a red 

 fungoid growth sometimes appears on the balls 

 but is not considered harmful. Large quantities 

 of dried balls are stored in carrying baskets 

 (pirapuitq), covered with leaves, and stacked near 

 a wall in the house. 



Another way of expelling the poisonous acid is 

 by simply drying the tubers. The tubers are first 

 peeled, but instead of being grated and pressed 

 are dried near a fire. When thoroughly dried 

 they can be stored in baskets or can be ground 

 directly into meal in a mortar. By preparing 

 manioc tubers in this way, of course, the by- 

 products of juice and starch are not obtained. 

 Dried tubers are known simply as temi% the 

 Camayura word for manioc. 



The third basic product of manioc processing is 

 starch flour, tihudk. The juice which has been 

 expelled from the grated pulp is a whitish liquid 

 which contains manioc starch in suspension. 

 When permitted to stand, the starch settles on the 

 bottom of the pot, and after the water is carefully 

 poured off, the starch can be dried. When 

 thoroughly dried the fine starch flour is ready for 

 use. This flour is not made in large quantities and 

 is usually kept in a small gourd vessel. The 

 juice is generally boiled for hours in a huge pot or 

 cauldron to remove the acids. This boiled juice 

 (mohet) can then be drunk, or boiled still further 

 to form a thick starch pudding, or boiled with fish 

 or sweetpotatoes. 



In review, one might say that there are four 

 basic manioc products from which food can be 

 prepared: (1) the dried pulp, either in the form 

 of balls or ground meal, tiburati; (2) the dried 

 tubers, temi%; (3) starch flour, tibudk; and (4) the 

 juice containing the starch, mohet. The manner 

 in which food is prepared from these products will 

 be discussed later. 



SWEETPOTATOES (YETfK) 



If manioc is the bread of the Camayura, then the 

 sweetpotato is their vegetable. At any hour of 

 the day women and children can be seen roasting 

 the tubers in hot ashes or eating them while 

 occupied with household duties or at play. As a 

 token of friendship a boy or girl will run up to one, 



break a hot sweetpotato in two and offer a steam- 

 ing half. 



The sweetpotato (Ipomea batatas) grown by the 

 Camayura appears to be the white variety that is 

 found in the markets of Brazilian towns. The 

 tubers seen were rather small, averaging about 4 

 inches in length. The slips are planted (set out), 

 just before the rains, among the manioc plants, 

 usually in the part of the field nearest to the 

 village. Small patches of sweetpotatoes were also 

 observed growing near the houses on land that had 

 been fallow for a long time. After 5 to 8 months 

 the tubers are large enough to eat, and the women 

 and children go to the fields to dig up what they 

 need for the day, carrying them to the house in 

 large flat baskets. 



Although an important food article, the sweet- 

 potato does not play the same role in the life of the 

 people as manioc. As far as could be ascertained, 

 the sweetpotato does not have a place in my- 

 thology nor does it have special guardian spirits to 

 whom offerings have to be made. If sweet- 

 potatoes do not grow well, the owner may decide 

 that an enemy has injected some evil object into 

 the field and he will smoke over it and eventually 

 remove the injurious object. This act, however, 

 is a general magical act of curing and not special 

 to sweetpotato cultivation as such. 



MAIZE (HAWATSf) 



Maize, although grown by the Camayura, does 

 not appear to be as important a food item as 

 manioc and sweetpotatoes. Whether this fact is 

 due to custom or climatic conditions is not clear. 

 Among the Bacairi to the south, maize is of great 

 importance as a food and plays a role in myth and 

 ceremonial. 



The maize (Zea mays) grown by the Camayura 

 has a long slender ear (12 inches), the yellow and 

 brick-colored kernels lie in regular rows along the 

 ear and average about three-eighths of an inch in 

 width. The dried kernels appear much softer 

 than those of the maize grown by the Brazilians. 



Maize is planted at the beginning of the rains. 

 The planter walks among the manioc plants, 

 making holes in the ground with a pointed stick, 

 and is followed by another who drops three seeds 

 into the hole and covers the seeds with bis foot. 

 In March the maize is ready to pick. Some of tbe 



