INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



49 



Very clearly defined rules govern the behavior of 

 in-laws. Bride service for a year during which the 

 son-in-law must reside in the house of his father-in- 

 law, establishes respect relationships which con- 

 tinue throughout life. Although brothers-in-law 

 participate in gardening, fishing, and ceremonial 

 activities, they show the greatest formal respect 

 toward one another. A certain degree of physical 

 distance must be maintained. They never place 

 their hammocks near one another. Brothers-in- 

 law cannot touch one another and they avoid 

 going about arm in arm, which is common between 

 young men. They cannot wrestle or talk non- 

 sense or joke, nor can they use personal names 

 when speaking to one another. It was amusing to 

 observe Nilo when Canatu, his brother-in-law, 

 entered the room. He would stop talking and 

 slowly edge away, or if both were being used as 

 informants at the same time they would be care- 

 ful not to speak at the same time and would avoid 

 meeting each other's eyes. If one used the name 

 of the other when referring to another man of the 

 same name he would spit, as if to avoid something 

 due to mentioning his name. If any of these 

 rules were inadvertently broken both parties would 

 feel ashamed, but there appeared to be no formal 

 punishment or compensation. 



A son-in-law would show even greater respect 

 toward his father-in-law. He would place his 

 hammock at the end opposite that used by his 

 father-in-law. He would wait to be spoken to by 

 his father-in-law and would answer him with 

 downcast eyes. A son-in-law must carry out all 

 orders given to him by his father-in-law. It is 

 his duty to cultivate the land, fish, hunt, and 

 prepare arrows, baskets, and other objects for the 

 use of his wife's father and her brothers. If the 

 father-in-law is displeased with the conduct of his 

 son-in-law he can reprimand him; if no child has 

 been born he can send him away from the house. 

 Once a child is born the position of the son-in-law 

 becomes more secure and he can continue to live 

 with his father-in-law or he can move back to his 

 father's house. 



A mother-in-law must be strictly avoided. A 

 man can never speak directly to his mother-in-law 

 but must speak through his wife or some other 

 person. If he must speak, he looks away from her 

 while speaking. Generally a man has little need 

 to converse with his mother-in-law, as this contact 



is maintained by his wife in the daily activities of 

 the household. 



THE TRIBE 



The Camayura tribe is a kinship society. The 

 approximately 110 members of this society live in 

 one village and in intimate day-to-day contact 

 with one another. Kinship terms are not only 

 applied to everyone but the actual kinship relation- 

 ships of everyone are known. Men and women 

 captured from enemy tribes are incorporated 

 into the society through marriage and are given 

 appropriate kinship status. Except for marriages 

 outside the tribe, affinal relatives are also con- 

 sanguineal relatives. Cross-cousin marriage and 

 the conjugal family serve as mechanisms for the 

 perpetuation of the kinship structure expressed 

 in kinship terms and the body of rules which de- 

 fines the duties and obligations and the forms of 

 intimacy and respect between kinsmen. 



As descent is bilateral, a genuine Camayura is 

 one whose father and mother are both Camayura. 

 Men and women incorporated into the tribe 

 through marriage, although given status as in- 

 laws, are not considered Camayura. Their 

 children, however, are half Camayura and their 

 grandchildren, if the children marry pure Cama- 

 yura, are accepted as genuine tribesmen. Nilo, 

 for instance, is half Camayura and half Suya, 

 owing to the fact that his mother was a captured 

 Suya woman. His father claims, however, that 

 Nilo's children will be accepted as Camayura. As 

 more women than men are incorporated into the 

 tribe, women of pure descent distinguish them- 

 selves by the three horizontal lines tattooed on 

 their arms, as has already been mentioned. A 

 Camayura, then, is a person who can trace his or 

 her descent back through both mother and father 

 to the camiuva tree from which Mavutsine made 

 the original ancestors of the tribe. 



This mythical event took place at Morena, a 

 region where the Kulucne and Ronuro Rivers 

 join to form the Xingii River — specifically on the 

 long sand spit formed by the junction of the two 

 rivers. As one stands on the sands of Morena 

 surrounded by the bright green forest and listens 

 to the murmur of the rapids a mile or so down on 

 the Xingii, one cannot help thinking that the 

 Camayura chose ideal surroundings for their 

 birth. 



