INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



99 



E16tasu band. This is the custom among all the 

 Eastern Nambicuara bands. 



The kinship terminology belongs to the bifurcate 

 merging type. The term taydntasu (grandfather) 

 and the term quatahdinisu (grandmother) are ex- 

 tended to the brothers and sisters of one's grand- 

 parents. The term awlnisu (father) and the term 

 ahakinisu (mother) are extended to father's 

 brother and mother's sister, respectively. Father's 

 sister is termed ahalnusu and mother's brother 

 asunusu. A man calls his older brother akandnusu, 

 his younger brother dawdidnisu, and his sisters 

 awddnasu, these terms being extended to parallel 

 cousins. The terms for son (akirdru) and daughter 

 (akeneru) are extended to the children of a man 

 whom ego calls brother. The terms for sister's son 

 and daughter are asuetu and aslntu, respectively, 

 these terms being extended to the children of any- 

 one whom ego calls sister. The term for male cross 

 cousin is asukisu and that for female cross cousin, 

 dazesu. There is just one term for grandchildren, 

 quatasdiserawa. 



The only affinal kinship terms which we could 

 obtain were the terms wife iaze.su) which bears a 

 close relationship to female cross cousin; husband 

 (amezdisu) ; and the terms for father-in-law 

 (asunusu), and mother-in-law (ahainusu), which 

 are identical to the terms for mother's brother 

 and father's sister. Whether women employ dif- 

 ferent kinship terms was not ascertained owing to 

 the fact that the women refused to discuss the 

 matter and the male informants persisted in 

 going to sleep when the subject was broached. 



The kinship terminology supports the statement 

 made by the Nambicuara that cross-cousin mar- 

 riage is preferred. Excepting one Elotasu woman 

 all the wives in Julio's band were Waklitisu and 

 cross cousins of their husbands. At the death of 

 the husband the wife and children pass to the 

 deceased husband's brother. Women sometimes 

 marry their mother's brothers. Residence is patri- 

 local although when marrying a woman from 

 another band, the man sometimes remains with 

 his wife's band for a while. Band membership, 

 as has been stated, is determined by matrilineal 

 descent. 



The powers of the chief are limited to leader- 

 ship in such activities as hunting, planting, trade, 

 and ceremonies. Raids, although organized by 

 the chief, are not led by him. The chief admon- 



ishes quarrelsome individuals but appears to have 

 no powers of coercion. The Waklitisu claim that 

 individuals quarrel but they do not fight among 

 themselves nor do they remember any cases of 

 murder. Unwanted individuals are exiled by com- 

 mon agreement. Houses, fields, and some imple- 

 ments are common property, and food is shared 

 among the members of the band. Axes, machetes, 

 and knives, although owned by individuals are 

 freely used by other members. At death, pri- 

 vately owned tools pass to a man's sons or to his 

 brother. The bow is customarily broken and left 

 on the grave. Even these rules are not strictly 

 adhered to, for when a man becomes seriously ill 

 other men begin to help themselves to his property 

 and the one with the "strongest mouth" gets the 

 most. If the man recovers he cannot reclaim his 

 things but must set about accumulating a new 

 supply. 



The wife and the children are under the strict 

 control of the husband. Although boys must obey 

 their fathers they owe no special obedience to their 

 mothers. Boys sometimes throw stones and 

 sticks at their mothers and the old women; the 

 older men not only laugh but even encourage this 

 disobedience. The bond between brothers is very 

 close. On occasion they share each other's wives. 

 No particular respect is paid to in-laws. 



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES 



According to the Waklitisu the spirits are the 

 source of all danger, misfortune, sickness, and 

 death. The ghosts of the dead (aydnkadisu) , 

 bring sickness unless offerings of food are made to 

 them. The ghosts of dead shamans (anunsu), be- 

 longing to other bands bring thunderstorms which 

 destroy gardens and make hunting difficult. In 

 addition to the ghosts, there is tauptu, the hawk 

 of death who lives in the sky, and uluru, the evil 

 armadillo who lives under the ground and wants 

 to destroy the villages and camps of the Nambi- 

 cuara. 



Tauptu is an enormous hawk with huge wings, 

 tail, and claws, who sits in a tree made of human 

 bones. This tree (lulukatsu) is situated on the 

 shore of a shallow lake in the sky. Shooting stars 

 are caused by tauptu defecating at night. A small 

 red bird (dininuwa), who lives with tauptu, uri- 

 nates into the lake and when it fills up the urine 

 overflows and comes down in the form of rain. 



