INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTHERN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL — OBERG 



103 



is buried in the camp. The child is bathed, and 

 tiny washers made of tucum nut hull are placed 

 on its ear lobes. The washer or ring is cut on 

 an angle so that the two points eventually press 

 through the lobe creating a hole. As the child 

 grows, new washers are added. After a few weeks 

 the child is given a beaded necklace, but it is not 

 named, being known only as the child of so-and-sc 

 until puberty, when it receives a name. The 

 Waklitisu appear to have no avoidances following 

 the birth of a child, although the Kitanrhu are 

 said to practice a modified form of couvade. 

 Twins are accepted with satisfaction. Illegitimate 

 children are likewise accepted and are cared for 

 by the girl's parents until she marries. No stigma 

 appears to be attached to an unmarried mother; 

 however, this attitude may be a recent develop- 

 ment. Crippled or malformed babies are not 

 killed, but usually die shortly after birth. 



Children are nursed until they are 2 or 3 years 

 old or until another child is born. Women in the 

 band assist one another in nursing and taking 

 care of the infants. If a woman should have two 

 small infants, another woman who has lost her 

 child will nurse one of them. Small children are 

 carried on the hip of the mother, sitting on a 

 strap which passes over the opposite shoulder of 

 the mother. This strap which is made from 

 embira bark or woven cotton is about 4 inches in 

 width. Women evidently are accustomed to 

 carrying heavy loads, for on many occasions the 

 tiny women were observed carrying not only their 

 child but also a huge burden basket full of fire- 

 wood. When the child gets a few teeth it begins 

 to chew on a piece of broiled meat. One morning 

 while Kaoro and I were debating what to do with 

 a rat which we had caught in a box trap the 

 night before, neither of us having the courage to 

 put our hand in the box, one of the missionaries 

 suggested we give it to the Nambicuara. Kaoro 

 then carried the box over to Julio's camp and gave 

 it to one of his wives. Without any hesitation 

 the woman put her hand in the box, pulled out 

 the rat, banged its head on the box, and threw it 

 on the coals of her fire. After the hair had been 

 partially singed off she pulled it out, cut off its 

 tail with her thumb nail, and gave it to her 

 co wife's baby, who began sucking on it as if it 

 had been a piece of candy. Then with her thumb 



nail she opened the rat and threw the viscera and 

 the rat on the coals. Within 15 minutes that 

 rat was eaten, entrails and all, while Kaoro and 

 I looked on in a state of horrified fascination. 

 Children thus begin by eating broiled meat and 

 fish; pieces of sour, gritty manioc cake are given 

 to them at a more advanced age. 



PUBERTY 



When a boy reaches the age of 14 or 15 he has 

 his upper lip and the septum of his nose pierced 

 with a sharpened fibula of a monkey ("macaco- 

 prego"). One man holds the boy's arms, another 

 his head , while an older male relative performs the 

 piercing. Small plugs of bamboo are then placed 

 in the holes. The following night the shaman 

 leads the band in singing and dancing. Food is 

 prepared in large quantities and offerings are 

 made to the ghosts who are believed to be present 

 at the ceremony. The boy is now given a name 

 which he will keep throughout his life. If the 

 boy's father is dead he will use his father's name. 

 If the father is alive he will use the name of some 

 dead member in his grandfather's generation. In 

 this way names are passed from one generation to 

 another. An important part of the boy's puberty 

 ceremony is the ritual beating administered by the 

 old men of the band. He is now permitted to 

 take part in the singing and can be present when 

 the sacred flutes are played in the flute hut. 

 Although this creates an attitude of obedience to 

 the older men, he still continues to be abusive 

 toward the women of the band. His unmarried 

 female cross cousins now begin to notice him and 

 openly show their desire to go hunting with him. 



The puberty ceremony for girls is much more 

 elaborate. After a girl has her first menses her 

 father builds a small hut in the center of the camp, 

 in which the girl is secluded. She must remain 

 in this hut day and night and is attended by her 

 female relatives. The chief then calls all members 

 of the band together, even sendiDg messengers to 

 distant hunting parties. When the band is united 

 the chief organizes a hunt in which all the men 

 take part, and they must remain away from the 

 camp until the moon is full. While on the hunt 

 they accumulate a great quantity of smoked meat. 

 When the moon is full, the men send a messenger 

 to the camp to whom the women give some of the 



