INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL OBERG 



63 



ashes or embers covered, a good part of the floor 

 space of the house. It was also observed that 

 mothers made every effort to prevent small 

 children from picking up bits of food from the 

 dirt floor and putting them in their mouths. 

 Various insects like scorpions, spiders, and, above 

 all, jiggers, are a threat to small children. A num- 

 ber of 4-year children were seen with their feet 

 entirely covered with jiggers, which had caused 

 infection. Bringing up babies under these con- 

 ditions thus appears to be hazardous, and the long 

 nursing period and the effort to keep the baby off 

 the ground correlate with real dangers to its life. 



Weaning and walking appear at about the same 

 time. The first foods given a child are baked 

 sweetpotato and boiled manioc gruel. Older 

 children now assist the mother in guarding the 

 child. It is washed in the morning and again in 

 the evening. When it wishes to defecate it is 

 taught to squat over a gourd vessel, although it is 

 not punished if it accidentally defecates on the 

 floor. When it is able to chew it is given such 

 solid foods as menyu and broiled fish. In the 

 course of these new activities it picks up the vocab- 

 ulary associated with the objects, individuals, and 

 events with which it comes in contact. From the 

 age of 3 to 6 the child is treated with great con- 

 sideration and kindness by the parents and the 

 older children. It is permitted to observe and be 

 present at all events, to sleep and eat when it 

 wishes, and to move about the house and play at 

 will under the watchful eye of the older people. 

 But no special fondling or tenderness is showered 

 upon it. I never observed older persons kissing, 

 tickling, or fondling children with their mouths or 

 hands as is commonly done among us. 



Evidently the kindness and consideration shown 

 to children is closely connected with the kinship 

 relationships and the associated patterns of be- 

 havior. Among the Camayura there was a 6-year- 

 old boy who was an orphan, and as its mother 

 had belonged to a foreign tribe the child had no 

 classificatory mother. The boy was under the 

 care of a woman related to the father. The 

 behavior of this child was in marked contrast to 

 the rest. He revealed his feeling of insecurity by 

 showing fear. One day when a group of children 

 were asked to take injections and submitted with 

 an attitude of curiosity and with no show of pain, 

 the orphan boy tried to flee, and when brought 



back he cried, squirmed, and struggled to the 

 extent that it was impossible to treat him. To 

 attempts of kindness on our part he responded 

 with moody, suspicious silence. 



At the age of 6 years boys are given small bows 

 and arrows with which they play from dawn to 

 dusk. A game known as wauwd is played by 

 boys between the ages of 6 and 12 years in the 

 plaza of the village. The game consists of two 

 groups of boys standing about 100 feet apart, 

 armed with bows and arrows. A boy in one 

 group throws a small hoop toward the other 

 group, and as it rolls along the ground each boy 

 tries to shoot it. The one who strikes the hoop 

 is cheered. He then picks up the hoop and 

 throws it back toward the other group, who like- 

 wise try to shoot it. The hoop is made of grass 

 wound with sip6 vine and is about 8 or 10 inches 

 in diameter. The harder it is thrown the more 

 difficult it is to hit. Late afternoon appeared to 

 be a popular time for this game. 



Almost every morning when I went down to 

 the river to wash I observed a number of boys 

 below a tree shooting at birds no larger than a 

 robin, and as birds sometimes fell dead from the 

 tree their marksmanship was evidently good. 

 From the age of 6 on, boys accompany the men 

 on fishing trips, participating in the shooting of 

 fish with bows and arrows, the younger boys shoot- 

 ing at small fish that are hidden in the weeds near 

 the bank, the larger ones taking full part in the 

 activities. Actually boys of 12 to 14 are con- 

 sidered the best marksmen. By the time boys 

 reach the age of puberty they know the rudiments 

 of all the major economic activities. They are 

 not, of course, expert bow or canoe makers but 

 they know how arrows and bows are made and 

 assist their fathers in these activities. Thus, by 

 observation, imitation, participation, and casual 

 instruction, boys are gradually introduced into 

 the economic activities of the tribe. 



At the age of 8 or 9, girls begin to help their 

 mothers in processing manioc, taking care of 

 younger children, fetching water, and spinning 

 cotton. In one family in which the mother had 

 died, a 10-year-old girl managed all the household 

 activities and took care of two younger children. 

 Girls were not observed playing any special chil- 

 dren's games. Both boys and girls accompany the 

 men when they are clearing new fields and burning 



