INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



73 



over the chiefs organized wrestling matches be- 

 tween teams of the two villages. Before the 

 visitors left, a feast (tuldki, swallow feast) was 

 given in their honor. The motives for these 

 trading expeditions were both economic and cere- 

 monial. They were organized by a chief when 

 the villagers actually required certain economic 

 goods, but even when there was no economic 

 need, goods were exchanged and the men of the 

 two villages participated in wrestling, dancing, 

 and feasting. 



SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 



The Bacairi claim not to have been a warlike 

 people. They defended themselves if attacked, 

 but say that tbey did not attack others. Each 

 village had a chief (pima) who was assisted by an 

 itdida. There was no chief for the whole tribe. 

 The itdida, who was a young man, was selected 

 by the chief with the consent of the villagers. 

 The itdida could be the son of the chief but this is 

 not a requirement, for any able young man was 

 eligible for this position. At the death of the chief 

 the itdida succeeded him. 



The principal functions of the chief were eco- 

 nomic, judicial, and ceremonial. As we have seen, 

 the chief organized trading expeditions and par- 

 ticipated in such activities as collective planting 

 and house building. He also represented the 

 people of his village when visitors arrived or 

 when his own village made formal visits. If the 

 village feared attack the pima selected a particu- 

 larly brave man to lead the defense or to under- 

 take retaliation. Discussions concerning dis- 

 putes and other village affairs took place in the 

 ceremonial bouse. Murderers were exiled or if a 

 war was on the murderer was made to bear the 

 brunt of the attack. Thieves, adulterers, and 

 others who persisted in disturbing the peace and 

 harmony of the village were exiled through the 

 common action of the villagers. Exile was con- 

 sidered severe punishment, for the Bacairi say 

 that individuals who were exiled often committed 

 suicide. Chiefs among the Bacairi, therefore, 

 were not war leaders, nor was succession governed 

 by descent. Chiefs seem, thus, to have been 

 primarily leaders of social activities. The part 

 which a chief played in ceremonial life will be 

 described later. 



There appears to be no evidence that the Bacairi 

 had clans or moieties. The kinship nomenclature 

 is of the bifurcate merging type with parallel kin 

 merged with lineal kin and with separate terms for 

 mother's brother and father's sister and for cross 

 cousins. (See chart 3.) The kinship terms in ego's 

 generation and in the children's generation are dis- 

 tinct for men and women. Beyond the bar pro- 

 hibiting marriage between anyone called brother, 

 sister, parent, or "child, there were no special rules 

 governing marriage. Cross-cousin marriage was 

 common but not preferred. There were no resi- 

 dence rules or avoidances of the mother-in-law or 

 father-in-law. As the Bacairi lived in large com- 

 munal houses, marriages often took place between 

 young people brought up in the same house. After 

 marriage they would take over a section of the 

 house as their private quarters. The Bacairi say 

 that families could move to another house with the 

 consent of the house elder. Although polygyny 

 was permissible marriages were generally monog- 

 amous. The father and the father's brother had 

 great authority and were highly respected. 

 Younger brothers were not permitted to joke or 

 play rough with their eldest brother. The mother's 

 brother and father's sister were also respected but 

 less than the eldest brother. The relationship 

 between brothers and sisters was one of great 

 respect, the informant saying that incest was un- 

 thinkable. 



THE LIFE CYCLE 

 BIRTH (ERASELLI) 



Pregnancy (enokua) was recognized as being 

 caused by sexual intercourse. In advanced 

 pregnancy a woman was not permitted to eat the 

 flesh of such large animals as deer, capybara, or 

 tapir. When the time of delivery drew near a 

 portion of the house was screened off, where the 

 woman gave birth and remained secluded until the 

 normal menses began. The expectant mother was 

 assisted by her mother and other female relatives, 

 a shaman being called only in cases of difficult 

 birth. 



A woman gave birth in a squatting position, the 

 midwife holding her under the arms and gently 

 pressing her stomach. Sometimes the stomach and 

 back of the woman were bathed with poultices 

 made from boiled cotton leaves. It was the duty 

 of the woman's mother to cut the umbilical cord 



