INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL OBERG 



101 



by singing calls his anunsu, who eventually comes 

 up out of the ground in front of him. The anunsu 

 may be in the form of a bird or a jaguar, but is 

 very small in size. The shaman wears a hat made 

 from a jaguar skin and a necklace made from 

 jaguar claws and teeth. The shaman offers the 

 hat and the necklace to his anunsu if he will do his 

 bidding. If the anunsu is satisfied with the sing- 

 ing and the decorations he will carry out the sha- 

 man's orders. The procedure followed in curing 

 an individual who has been made ill by sorcery is 

 much the same. The shaman calls his anunsu by 

 singing and asks that he help him draw out the 

 object. The anunsu enters the shaman, who then 

 sucks out the dangerous object. In mild cases the 

 shaman draws out bamboo slivers, but in cases of 

 severe illness he draws out the bones of fish or the 

 entrails of birds. 



The ghosts of the dead (aydnkadisu) who live 

 around the stone mountain from which the Nam- 

 bicuara came, periodically come to the villages 

 and camps asking for food. They are not danger- 

 ous if they are well-treated. When the shaman 

 says that the aydnkadisu are around, the people 

 prepare manioc cakes, roast ears of maize, and 

 broil meat. They then gather around the shaman 

 and sing together with the ghosts. The shaman 

 thanks the ghosts for their singing and they 

 finally go away. If the ghosts are dissatisfied with 

 the offerings and the singing they become angry 

 and make the children ill. To cure the children, 

 a more elaborate feast bas to be prepared for the 

 ghosts. 



In every case, contact with the ghosts of the 

 dead or with the spirits of dead shamans is made 

 through singing. The Waklitisu do not use to- 

 bacco, drums, or rattles to communicate with the 

 supernatural. One becomes a shaman when he 

 hears the song of an anunsu, which he later uses 

 whenever he wishes to contact his spirit helper. 

 Everyone in the band appears to know the songs 

 which bring the aydnkadisu. Shamans practice 

 continence before important rites, for if the 

 anunsu observe sexual intercourse they become 

 angry and take away all the cotton from the 

 bushes. 



In addition to treating illness through shaman- 

 is tic practices, the Nambicuara resort to more 

 practical methods. They brew herbs, the juice of 

 which is later poured over the head or stomach of a 



patient. The juice of a certain plant is put into 

 the cavities of teeth to stop toothache. The juice 

 of boiled roots and leaves are taken internally for 

 stomach disorders. One day I observed a woman 

 pressing her foot over her husband's forehead as 

 he lay on the ground. The heel was placed over 

 the eye and she exerted considerable pressure. 

 She was doing this to cure her husband's headache. 

 These nonmagical practices are known to every- 

 one. Some herbal medicines, however, are known 

 only to the shamans and are used under the 

 directions of the anunsu. 



The sacred flutes {wdinrhu) are associated with 

 oklihditlisu, the culture hero, agriculture, and 

 chieftainship. As these flutes are similar in ap- 

 pearance to the sacred flutes of the Paressi, among 

 whom they have great significance, it is possible 

 that the Nambicuara obtained them originally 

 from the Paressi. The flutes are about 2 feet long 

 with four holes at the lower end and are made 

 from a jointless piece of bamboo. When the band 

 settles down near their manioc fields they build a 

 special hut for the flutes, but when they are 

 wandering around, the flutes are hidden in the 

 woods. Women are not permitted to see the 

 flutes, and if one should accidently see them her 

 stomach would swell and she would become ill. 

 But what appears more important is the fact that 

 the flutes poison people who do not treat them well. 

 Yet, as only the chief and the head shamans play 

 them this would mean that the flutes are the 

 symbols of authority representing the men in 

 whom power is invested. The flutes, four of 

 which should be in every band, do not represent a 

 spirit but appear to be more like fetishes. Boiled 

 manioc juice is poured into them and they are 

 offered maize and broiled meat. 



The wdinrhu are played after the fields have been 

 planted and again at harvest time. After plant- 

 ing, the men gather into the flute hut and play 

 the flutes and sing the weiydnsu. The ghosts of 

 the dead participate and, along with the flutes, are 

 offered food and drink. At harvest time another 

 ceremony called haikdnakidutsu is performed at 

 night during which the flutes arc played and special 

 songs are sung. The following day the whole 

 band participates in a dance. The ghosts also 

 take part in this ceremony. 



In addition to the wdinrhu flutes, the Nambi- 

 cuara have a smaller four-stop bamboo flute called 



