INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL OBERG 



51 



although obtained through birth is maintained 

 through correct behavior. 



The rule of birth and correct behavior is followed 

 when the question of succession arises. The 

 mature men in council decide which of the dead 

 chief's relatives are to succeed him — a son, a 

 younger brother, or a brother's son. In addition 

 to these two factors, the chief is always a paye, 

 shaman. Quite early in life he must prove his 

 aptitude in getting in touch with his mama'e. 

 Besides his shamanistic powers he must be a man 

 versed in tribal lore and customs, an economic 

 and ceremonial leader, a councilor and settler of 

 disputes. 



As has already been mentioned, the chief organ- 

 izes all communal fishing trips, clearing and 

 planting activities, movements from one village 

 to another, the reception of visitors, and the 

 making of trading and ceremonial visits to the 

 villages of the other tribes. His instructions are 

 given after dark in the evening or before sunrise 

 in the morning. With bow in hand he walks 

 around the plaza of the village stopping before 

 each house to make sure that everyone hears him. 



Our first visit to the Camayurd village was 

 followed by one of these reception speeches. 

 After all of us had gone to our hammocks and 

 the village had settled down for the night, 

 Tamapu's strong voice could be heard speaking 

 in the soft, nasalized accent of the Tupi language. 

 He mentioned each of us by name (five men), 

 why we had come, and according to one of the 

 group who understood some Tupi, repeated word 

 for word what each of us had said during the 

 course of the afternoon and evening. This and 

 subsequent speeches revealed Tamapu to be an 

 able orator and a man possessing an exceptional 

 memory. 



Although the chief is a man of rank, respected 

 for his wisdom and leadership, there' is nothing 

 in the way of external symbols to mark him apart 

 from the rest of the tribesmen. His house is like 

 those of the others, he has no special ornaments, 

 he works with the other tribesmen, and he is not 

 given food or other gifts or tribute. His difference 

 in position is shown by his functions but, as we 

 shall see later, his status as chief is shown in a 

 particular form of burial. 



Whether the Camay ura tribe is to be considered 

 a political group depends upon how one wishes 



to define a political society. It is true that the 

 Camayurd lay claim to a certain territory and 

 if attacked will defend themselves and their 

 territory as a unit. Yet raids into enemy terri- 

 tory for the capture of women and children or to 

 settle feuds created by former raids or counter- 

 raids are not made by all the men of the tribe but 

 by a number of young men under an elected 

 leader. The Camayurd are emphatic in saying 

 that the chief is not a war leader. If the village 

 is attacked he will, of course, assist in the defense, 

 but he never organizes defense or attack. In 

 other words, there is no explicit extrafamilial 

 bond which unites the Camay ura on a territorial 

 basis and under a chief for the purpose of exercising 

 force against the neighboring tribes. 



In the maintenance of internal order there is 

 the same absence of authority invested in a single 

 person. The chief has no judicial powers backed 

 by force. The only specific crime against the 

 group as a whole which the Camayurd could 

 recall was the breaking of taboos surrounding 

 sacred objects. And here, too, the measures 

 taken referred only to women. If a woman, 

 even by accident, were to lay eyes on the sacred 

 flute (jakui) all of the men of the tribe would take 

 her into the woods, have sexual intercourse with 

 her, and leave her to die. The only other case 

 in which the whole group would take action against 

 one of its members occurs when an individual 

 repeatedly breaks group customs. A mean, 

 quarrelsome individual who constantly injured 

 others physically would be exiled from the tribe. 



Besides banishment from the tribe there appears 

 to be no other way of punishing injuries committed 

 by one person against another. In fact, the 

 Camayurd say that only individuals who are 

 under the influence of witchcraft would hurt 

 others. The Villas Boas claimed that they had 

 never seen or heard of fighting between the men 

 of the village. When asked about stealing, the 

 Camayurd would laugh and say that only children 

 took things away from one another. No action 

 was taken against an adulterer, who generally 

 was an actual or classificatory brother. They 

 could not recall that anyone had ever committed 

 incest and could say nothing about its punishment. 



Although the Camayurd fear witchcraft, they 

 say that blood relatives do not practice witchcraft 

 against one another. All the individuals whom 



