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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 15 



much talking, exchange values being determined 

 by the respective desires of the traders. 



Intervillage trade is much more important be- 

 cause it arises from a tribal division of labor or 

 specialization. The Camayura are the expert bow 

 makers, the Waura are practically the only tribe 

 which makes pottery, the Mehinacu make the 

 best flutes, the Trumai are considered the best 

 arrow makers, and the Nahukwd, Cuicuru, and 

 the Calapalo are the expert necklace makers. The 

 Camayura say this division of skills was deter- 

 mined by Ma vutsine, for he gave the original people 

 these articles and taught them how to make them. 



The Tupi-speaking Aueti today hold a peculiar 

 position in the trade circle of the Upper Xingu. 

 They have become expert traders, for they not 

 only obtain articles from the other tribes, but 

 knives, axes, boes, and glass beads from the 

 Indian Service Post to the south which they trade 

 for food, necklaces, bows, baskets, and other 

 goods. Among the personnel of the Roncador- 

 Xingu Expedition the Aueti are also known as the 

 greatest thieves of the area. The Aueti also treat 

 the white visitors differently. One day two Aueti 

 families arrived in camp. The first thing they did 

 was present each white man with several cakes of 

 rnenyu, a hat full of roasted turtle eggs, and, in two 

 cases, with tame weaver birds. They then waited 

 for return gifts. In a day or two they received 

 blocks of "rapadura," wire nails, and a few small 

 knives. With these gifts they were dissatisfied, 

 for on leaving they stole several sheath knives 

 from the white men and some food from the 

 Camayurd. 



Intertribal trade is organized by a house chief, if 

 the household requires large pots or ceremonial 

 ornaments. Sometimes a whole village may be 

 organized for such a trading expedition under the 

 guidance of the chief. When a group of traders 

 arrive they are led to the common house in the 

 center of the village and after greetings and food 

 they begin their trading. These trading expedi- 

 tions take place during the rainy season when the 

 country is flooded and the canoes can cross the 

 flood plain, thus shortening the distance between 

 villages. 



Mutual aid between tribes appears also to enter 

 into the trade pattern. The Camayura relate 

 that the Trumai were once near starvation and 

 came to the Camayura village for help. They 



needed food badly but had little or nothing to offer 

 in return. The chief of the Trumai laid a pinch of 

 piqui pulp before the Camayura, the Camayura 

 responded by supplying the Trumai with food 

 which enabled the men once again to undertake 

 their economic activities. Although the Cama- 

 yura connect this event with trade, it might very 

 well be related to religion and ceremonialism also, 

 for some of the ceremonials begin with a bit of 

 piqui pulp being laid aside as an offering, denoting 

 supplication of the mama'e spirits. 



The exchange value of objects is governed by a 

 number of factors ranging from culturally deter- 

 mined attitudes, scarcity, amount of labor re- 

 quired in production, to individual desires at the 

 time of exchange. The Camayura readily admit 

 that necklaces made from elongated snail shell 

 disks are the most highly prized objects in the 

 Xingu, followed in value by the round disk neck- 

 laces, rectangular bows, canoes, hammocks, pots, 

 arrows, and food products. 



The high value placed upon snail shell necklaces 

 reflects not only their decorative value but also the 

 time and skill needed in their manufacture and the 

 scarcity of snail shells of proper size and quality. 

 A Camayura in normal circumstances will give 

 two bows for a necklace of good quality. Canoes, 

 on the other hand, although of great utility, are 

 cheap, no doubt due to the plentiful supply of 

 jatoba trees and the speed and ease with which 

 they can be made. In exactly what quantities 

 objects will be exchanged will, in the final analysis, 

 also depend upon the individual wealth and desire 

 of the two individuals involved in barter. While 

 culturally determined values and economic con- 

 siderations of scarcity and labor underlay exchange 

 values, individual desires bring about variations 

 from these norms. 



What can happen to trade when these generally 

 accepted cultural values are absent is shown by the 

 rather absurd situations created when the white 

 men tried to trade with the Camayura. An 

 Indian offered the writer a carved wooden stool 

 for which he asked his tent in return; on another 

 day, a woman wanted to trade a comb for a woolen 

 blanket. For some trifling service an Indian 

 would ask for an ax. On the other hand, a woman 

 offered a necklace for a bright tin can with a lid 

 which the writer was ready to throw away. In 

 other words, exchanges were governed by indi- 



