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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 15 



The Umotina do not appear to have shamans. 

 Every man is believed able to call up any friendly 

 ghost. He blows on an armadillo-shell horn and 

 offers the ghost chicha. That night the man 

 will meet the ghost in his dreams, who will then 

 tell him what to do in order to cure himself or a 

 sick relative. 



LIFE CYCLE 



A month or two before expecting a child a 

 woman eats only manioc products, maize, and 

 honey; meat and fish being strictly avoided. 

 These dietary restrictions continue for some 

 months after the birth of the child. The husband, 

 however, is free to eat what he wishes. 



When a woman feels birth pains she goes into 

 the woods accompanied by her mother or mother- 

 in-law. Delivery is made in a kneeling position. 

 The umbilical cord is tied with tucum twine and 

 cut with a bamboo sliver, the placenta being 

 buried. The midwife then carries the child and 

 assists the mother back to the village. The 

 child is taken near a fire, washed, and its arms and 

 legs are "pressed into human shape." Twins are 

 accepted. When the child is a day or two old, 

 tucum nut washers are put on its ear lobes to 

 pierce them. These thin perforated disks are the 

 same in appearance as those used by the Nambi- 

 cuara. The grandparents then give the child a 

 name. The child is carried on its mother's hip 

 and is nursed for 2 or 3 years or until another 

 child is born. The Umotina gave no information 

 about using herbal medicines to induce abortion, 

 nor did they mention anything about infanticide. 

 The first foods a child eats consist of baked sweet- 

 potatoes, broiled fish, and occasionally meat. 

 Children sleep with their mothers until about 5 or 

 6 years of age. 



When a girl reaches the age of puberty she paints 

 herself with urucu and puts on a pair of feather 

 ear pendants to let the young men know that she 

 has come of age. She is not secluded by her 

 parents nor is a public ceremony held. When 

 a boy reaches the age of 15 or 16, an old male 

 relative pierces his lower lip with a bone awl. 

 The family then invites the villagers to a feast. 

 The visitors must bring arrows, which they present 

 to the young man. 



Young men choose their future wives. When 

 a young man finds a girl he likes he paints himself, 

 puts on all his decorations, goes to the girl's house, 

 and sleeps on the girl's mat all night, but without 

 touching her. Next morning the parents of the 

 girl ask her if she wishes to marry the young man. 

 If the girl agrees, her mother orders the young 

 man to go out hunting. The mother observes 

 the young man's behavior and success in hunting. 

 When the young man has brought in enough game 

 he is permitted to sleep with the girl and is there- 

 after considered her husband. He remains with his 

 in-laws and is treated like a son, for if the father- 

 in-law has sons of his own tbey go out in marriage. 

 Mothers-in-law appear to be important in men's 

 lives, for one man told me that when one goes 

 into the spirit world one asks first about one's 

 mother-in-law. 



When a person is dying the relatives begin to 

 wail around his mat. The friends of the dying 

 then come and participate in the wailing. A 

 relative of the dying person then selects a non- 

 relative to bury the corpse. This man, who is 

 called motohdto, asks other men to help him and 

 the3^ dig a grave about 5 feet deep in the floor of 

 the house using sword clubs for digging. The 

 body is then painted and the decorations are put on, 

 the bow and a few arrows are laid beside him so they 

 rest on his right shoulder, and the sword club is 

 placed on his chest. He is then sewn up in four 

 layers of sleeping mats (pupuruna) and is lowered 

 into the grave. A woman is similarly wrapped 

 in mats, and a digging stick is placed with her. 

 The grave is left open for one day so that friends 

 and relatives can continue crying over it. The 

 people build a new house nearby but keep the old 

 one repaired for as long as a year, depending upon 

 how well the deceased person was regarded by his 

 or her relatives. 



Men enter the spirit world armed so that they 

 can defend themselves. The digging stick which 

 the women take is also used for defence. If men 

 quarrel and fight while living, the loser dreams 

 that when he dies he will turn into a jaguar or a 

 snake and will lie in w r ait for his enemy's ghost. 

 When this ghost enters the spirit world he will 

 kill it. This is why men must be armed. The 

 Umotina stated that their greatest fear was about 

 their own souls after death. If a person injured 



