INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



87 



Vilhena. These Indian Posts have had only 

 limited success in attracting the Nambicuara, 

 because the region is agriculturally so poor that 

 it is difficult to grow enough food to maintain a 

 settled population, and at present the Indians only 

 visit these posts occasionally. 



Intensive missionary activity among the Nam- 

 bicuara began when two American Protestant mis- 

 sionaries, Arthur F. Tylee and William R. Hen- 

 ricks, established a mission station at Juruena in 

 1925. In October 1930, the Eeverend Mr. Tylee, 

 his baby daughter, Miss Mildred Kratz (nurse), 

 and three Brazilians employed by the mission 

 were killed by the Nambicuara belonging to Julio's 

 band. Mrs. Tylee, although struck three or 

 four times on the head while rushing to her child 

 who was still in bed, was only stunned and came 

 to after the Indians had left. One Brazilian 

 hired man escaped to get help from the telegraph 

 station. Some years later new Protestant mis- 

 sions were established at Campos Novos (Nam- 

 bicuaras) and at Utiarity. At present only the 

 mission station at Utiarity is in operation. 



The Jesuits established a mission at Juruena 

 about 1930, but in 1940 moved it to its present 

 site in Utiarity. Today both the Protestant and 

 Catholic missions are, therefore, located in 

 Utiarity, which not only is connected by truck 

 road to Cuiaba but is also centrally located. To 

 the east and south are the remnants of the 

 Paressi, and to the north, the Iranxe, who, 

 although not speaking the Paressi language, appear 

 to belong to the Arawak-speaking family. Further 

 northward are tribes with which the missionaries 

 are planning to make contacts. To the west are 

 the Nambicuara. Although officially on friendly 

 terms there is considerable tension between the 

 Protestant and Catholic missionaries, as they are 

 competing for the allegiance of the same Indian 

 population. 



ECONOMY 



Although the Nambicuara practice a shifting 

 agriculture, their dependence upon the wild 

 animal and plant life of the region is so extensive 

 that they might well be classed as nomadic 

 hunters and collectors. The semiarid plateau 

 provides little in the way of agricultural land, 

 game, or fish. What little farming is practiced 

 is carried on in the narrow "galeria" forests of the 



headwater streams. The deep clear streams make 

 fishing with timb6 difficult. Game in the forests 

 and on the plain is scarce. Yet by exploiting 

 all the resources of the area the Nambicuara are 

 able to survive. In contrast to the other tribes 

 reported in this monograph the Nambicuara have 

 the broadest resource base, as the list of their 

 resources in Appendix 1 indicates. 



The Eastern Nambicuara occupy the high 

 plateau between Utiarity and Vilhena. At Uti- 

 arity the altitude is 442 meters and at Vilhena 

 665 meters. The dry season extends from May 

 to September. Except for occasional south winds, 

 which bring a cold drizzling rain for a day or two, 

 the season is clear, cool, and dry, the daily tem- 

 peratures ranging from 60° to 80° F. During this 

 period the grass withers, the livestock of the white 

 men having to subsist on shrubs and what fodder 

 the owners can provide. Horses and mules, par- 

 ticularly, suffer during these months. In August 

 the Indians burn the dry grass so that with the 

 first showers new grass can grow out and attract 

 the deer, which the Indians can then hunt. 



The dry season, which the Nambicuara call 

 kwenkisu, is the most difficult. By the end of 

 June they have consumed the manioc, maize, 

 beans, and other crops which they have planted. 

 During July and August they subsist on palm 

 nuts, combaru beans, fruta de lobo, snakes, insects, 

 fish, and whatever animals they can kill on the 

 plateau or in the forest. The rainy season 

 (wahiasu) is divided into periods depending upon 

 the fruits as they come into season. September 

 is known as yadedunsu, for during this period the 

 people depend upon the jaboticaba fruit. October 

 and November are called ya'awadjitsu, for during 

 these months the bacaba palm nut ripens. Decem- 

 ber and January are termed dhru, or piqui time. 

 February and March are known as casuru, which 

 appears to cover a variety of berries and small 

 fruits. April and May are termed daugaditsu, as 

 many fruits and nuts come into season, particu- 

 larly, the cashew nut. During these months the 

 garden crops also come in, giving the Nambicuara 

 a short period of abundance. 



SETTLEMENTS AND SHELTERS 



Each of the four Eastern Nambicuara bands 

 has a defined area within which it hunts, fishes, 

 collects, and grows its crops. These territories in- 



