Waiwai: Religion and society of an Amazonian tribe (Nationalmuseets skrifter.Etnografisk R?kke)

NATIONALMUSEETS SKRIFTER

Etnografisk Rakke, VIII

Waiwai

RELIGION AND SOCIETY OF AN

AMAZONIAN TRIBE

by

NIELS FOCK with appendices by

FRIDOLIN WEIS BENTZON AND

ROBERT E. HAWKINS

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

COPENHAGEN 1963

Denne afhandling er af det matematisk-naturvidenskabelige fakultet ved Keben­ havns universitet antaget til offentlig at forsvares for den filosofiske doktorgrad. Kebenhavn, den 4. maj 1962.

T. W. BacHER h. a. dec.

Printed in Denmark by Andelsbogtrykkeriet i Odense

Cover drawing by Jens Rosing, technical drawings by Henning 0rsnes

Photos by Lennart Larsen, Jens Yde and the author

Blocks by Schmidt & Johansen, Copenhagen

to my teacher

KAJ BIRKET-SMITH in gratitude

Preface Recalling the pleasant stay with the Waiwai Indians my mind constantly turns toward Ewka, the young, able medicine man and village leader of Yakayaka, who became my main informant. Besides so much valuable information he also expressed what should be the key words for my further studies. Speaking about cosmology Ewka explained the existence of three heavenly layers known to the Waiwai and added, that still more distant layers might exist and contain unknown beings, he was but unaware of them. Just like Ewka concerning cosmology, I am quite aware, that there might well exist customs or functions of customs, which I never realized. This uncertainty is due not only to ordinary human limitations but also to the short time available in the field. The expedi­ tion remained with the Waiwai only from October 1954 to January 1955; shortly after, missionary zeal brought about such profound acculturation that any further adequate field studies were made impossible. The more weight then has been put on the analysis of certain important institutions as mythology, natal customs and judicial practices. This monograph is written on observations and information collected during the first Danish ethnographical expedition to British Guiana and Brazil in 1954-55. Sponsored by the Danish National Museum, the head of the expedition was lens Yde, curator at the Ethnographical Department, to whom I feel much indebted for his brillant leadership and friendship during the trip. Both before and after the expedition, my professor, Kaj Birket­ Smith, Ph.D., D.Sc., has in every way encouraged my work by good advice and continued interest; to him I have, as a token of my great appreciation, dedicated this work. In British Guiana most important help was received from Robert E. Hawkins, head of The Unevangelized Fields Mission in the northern Waiwai area. Mr. Hawkins was an invaluable interpreter in Waiwai language and he and his wife offered the expedition great hospitality. In Georgetown many authorities gave important assistance but I will confine, myself to mention the Danish consul, Major C. M. Bernard for his practical advice in organizing the expedition and Mr. Vincent Roth, O.B.E., director of the British Guiana Museum for valuable scientific suggestions. To all these persons I want to extend my sincerest gratitude. For financial support I would like to thank first the Danish State Research Foundation, which enabled not only the expedition as such but also supported me in the preparation of my collected material; the same foundation has generously defrayed the costs of printing

the two appendices and the illustrations. At the same time I thank the Rask-Orsted Founda­ tion for a grant supporting the translation from Danish of this monograph, a work done meritoriously by Major C. L. Bayliss, and later examined terminologically by Douglas Anderson, M.A., whose help has been greatly estimated. Finally, I acknowledge my thanks to the Emil Schou Foundation for financial support during the expedition, and to the East Asiatic Company, Copenhagen, for free passage to the Caribbean and back. The most profound gratitude, however, I want to express to my wife, Bodil Fock, for her practical help and indefatigable moral support. Copenhagen, April 1963

NIELS FOCK

Contents Introduction. .

1

Geographical Historical. . Cultural . . Religious Beliefs . The Soul Concept The Ordinary Soul, Ekati . The Former Soul, Ekatlnho .

1

The Eye-Soul . . . . Spirits, Kworokjam . . Ekatmho-Kworokjam Kakenau-Kworokjam People, Yenna Fathers, Yin . . . . The Sun Cult . . . . . How Yaskomo Procured Sunshine. Invocation of the Sun Other Divine Beings . . . . The Creator, Mawari. . . The Culture Hero, Yawari Myths and Legends . The Creation Myth, Mawari Notes.and Aspects. . . . The Anaconda-People, Okoimo-Yenna Notes and Aspects. The Moon, Nuiii . . Notes and Aspects.

5

10

14

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18

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24

26

33

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34

35

35

36

38

38

43

48

51

54

55

The Shodewika Myth Notes and Aspects. The Opossum, Yawari

67

Notes and Aspects.

75

56

74

The Forest Deer, Koso . Notes and Aspects . . The Harpy Eagle, Yaimo Notes and Aspects. . The Old Man's Trip to the Sky Notes and Aspects. . . . . The Buzzard-People, Kurum-Yenna Notes and Aspects. The Dragon, Uruperi. . . . . Notes and Aspects . . . . . General Mythological Aspects. Cosmology . Practice Stamped by Religious Concepts. Magic Blowing . . . . . . . . .

Fatal Blowing, Tono and Parawa

Other Blowing, Eremu .

of Laymen . . . . .

of the Medicine Man.

Analysis . . . . .

Various Lay Practices

Magic

Tabus .

Omens .

The Medicine Man, Yaskomo .

Technique

Function

Tabus .

Payment

Life Cycle Marriage. Birth Comparative Aspects of the Natal Custom Childhood . . . . Initiation. . . . . Adolescence, Emasl Menstruation . . Male Adolescence Age Groups of Adults Death . Aspects

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168

Dance Festivals . . . .

The Yamo Dance . . The Shodewika Dance Animal Imitations Annual Cycle . . . . . Social Organization . . Kinship Terminology Kinship System . . Forms of Address . . Kinship Groupings. . The Village of Yakayaka The Family . . . . Forms of Marriage. . . Descent . The Head of the Village, Yayalitomo . Rights of Property. . . . . . . . Distribution of Work and Position. The Daily Round The Oho Chant . . . . Comparative Aspects Political Organization The Village . . . . Legal Conceptions . The Tribe Communication Acculturation . Phonetic Key . . Glossary of Waiwai Words. Bibliography

. . . . . .

Dansk Resume . . . . . Appendix I: Music of the Waiwai Indians, by Fridolin Weis Bentzon Appendix II: Translation of two Waiwai Oho Chants, by Robert E. Hawkins.

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Fig. 1. Into Waiwai-land, upper Essequibo River

Introduction GEOGRAPHICAL The Waiwai Indians live within an area that roughly can be stated as lying between 0° and 2° northern altitude and 58°_59° western longitude, that is to say the frontier tracts between British Guiana and Brazil. This area is stamped by the east-west running Serra Acarai, a geologically-ancient plateau that at some places reaches a height of about 1000 metres, but otherwise lies on average at an altitude of 3-600 metres above sea level. Its surface, greatly eroded, is mainly covered by a red clay resulting from the laterization of granites. The Acarai mountains which at a good 1° northern latitude divide the Waiwai area into a northern and a southern part, form the watershed between the north-running Essequibo River and the south-running Rio Mapuera, a tributary of the Rio Trombetas and the Amazon. (see Fig 1). Of the Essequibo's two affluents, the Sipu and the Chodikar, the latter is the more important. It is more navigable, its banks have earlier been areas of Waiwai habitations, and it leads to the shortest trail southwards over the Acarai mountains. Among the left bank tributaries of the Essequibo mention must be made of the Kamo and Kassikaityu, between the mouths of which dwell all the northern Waiwai. Of the right bank tributaries it is enough to mention the Onoro where there is a clearing without a village. In former times a track ran from here over the Acarai to neighbours in the south­ east, the Mouyenna. The upper Essequibo and the Chodikar have strong currents on account of the fall of the ground, but most of the rapids and falls can be passed with a loaded canoe. The geography ofthe Rio Mapuera is made more difficult by the lack of accurate maps. The affluents of the Mapuera coming from the north-west are joined by the Tarwini from the north. Among the left bank tributaries of the Mapuera mention must also be made of the Tutum, whose banks earlier were inhabited by the Waiwai and from the upper reaches of which a track runs eastwards to the Mouyenna's villages, and the Urucurin, at whose upper reaches the Mouyenna live. Only one of the right bank affluents of the Mapuera is of any importance to the Waiwai. This is the Kikwo on which (in 1955) lay their two southernmost villages. Navigational conditions on the Mapuera differ greatly from those of the Essequibo. The upper Mapuera is like an immense stone staircase where calm basins are succeeded by frequent rapids and falls, the size of which necessitates frequent re-loading and arduous canoe transport over land. The biggest of these is Omana Kashin, where the vertical drop alone is more than 10 metres. The greater part of the banks of the Essequibo and the Mapuera are so low that they are exposed to annual flooding. These alluvial stretches are characterized by high palm vegetation, and they are never used for husbandry, for one thing because manioc's long period of growth. The river banks 1

Waiwai

2

Introduction

constitute everywhere a thick wall of vegetation which almost prevents the traveller from recognizing the terrain of the hinterland. Even on a three day's tour over the Serra Acarai it was not possible once to obtain a view to the sides for the purpose of orientation. The climate in the Waiwai area is determined by proximity to the Equator and the altitude of the settlements, which is about 100 metres. It is tropical with slight variations in the average temperatures between the seasons (26°-29°C), but with strong fluctuations between day and night (a difference of up to 20°). The prevalent wind is the south-east trade, and rather more rain falls on the southern slopes of the Acarai than on the northern. Precipitation of 2-3 metres annually varies somewhat as does also the intensity of the rainy season. The big rain period falls in June-August, the small around December; but precipitation is ample throughout the year. The greatest influence of the rainy season is the torrent which causes the rivers to rise 4-6 metres over low water at the upper Essequibo and presumably somewhat more at the upper Mapuera. Precipitation and its distribution is ample for Waiwai husbandry, and from the point of view of hunting trips they would probably prefer more sunshine than they normally obtain. Apart from the flooded and swampy areas where palms like ite, manicol, kokerit, lu, pimpler and dalibanna prevail, the natural vegetation on the laterized granites is of staggering exuberance. An expert forester who has investigated the area says of Acarai's tropical forest that "there if anywhere on this earth exists true virgin forest, undisturbed by man" (Guppy 1953, p. 11). Some of the char­ acteristic trees are Ichekele (presumably Pithecellobium sp.) and Kecheke1e (Inga gracilifolia), that often reach a height of 70 metres. Brazil nut trees are rare in the Waiwai area north of the Acarai; the bark of this tree, used for menstruation mats, is fetched from the Mapuera area. Strychnos for the production of curare is found in the district, apparently only on the heights of Acarai, where it is sought by both the northern and southern Waiwai. Among the very variegated flora a large number of species are used in Waiwai daily life, particularly as technical plants for the manufacture of im­ plements. Of far greater direct importance, however, is the animal life, particularly that near the rivers. Fish plays an important role as the most stable form of catch, notably haimara, paku, sunfish and tiger fish are of nutritive importance. But the rivers also contain pirai, electric eel, otters, anaconda and cayman, the two last particularly in the Mapuera. In regard to the land animals, mention should particularly be made of the peccary, the white-lipped type of which, frequently found in large droves, is an important food animal. This also applies to the collared peccary, tapir, red forest deer, accouri, paca and capybara. Of smaller game there are the tortoise, opossum, sloth, anteater, armadillo, kibihee, and on occasion jaguar, ocelot and puma. In the tree tops a quite abundant and noisy animal life is also to be found; many species of monkey possess nutritive value, for example the bisa, capuchin, howler, marmoset, squirrel and spider monkeys. Birds such as the curassow, maroudi and mam are also eaten, whereas the harpy eagle, ara and toucan are mainly shot for the sake of their feathers. Such, then, is the natural surrounding in which the Waiwai live, a population (on 1/1-1955) of about 180 individuals distributed over 7 villages. These villages change as regards location and number of inhabitants owing to the economic, social and political structure of the community. The most northern village, Aakonioto, lies by a small savannah, Waskarati, 2-3 kms from the Essequibo, and

Geographical

3

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4

Introduction

numbers II inhabitants. Yakayaka lies on the river, immediately above the flood line, with 40 in­ habitants. Some of its dwellers have fields and temporary shelters a half day's padding distant up the Onoro. From Aakoniot6 to Yakayaka requires a half to a day's paddling. The southernmost village in British Guiana is Mauika, with 19 inhabitants; it lies barely a half day's paddling from Yakayaka, up the Essequibo. At its landing place 3 persons from Kahri had just moved in. From Mauika to the now deserted village of Kahri on the southern slope of the Acarai is a four-day journey, 21- of which are on foot over the Acarai, and from Kahri to Kashimo via the Rio Mapuera takes five days' paddling. Kashimo is also in process of being abandoned; only 7 remained of the original 30-40 inhabitants, the rest had gone southwards. The next village is Kukwamiti, about 40 inhabitants, It day's paddling down the Mapuera. The two most southerly Waiwai villages lie near the Mapuera's right bank tributary, the Kikwo; You, said to be a two days' journey overland from Kashimo, is the lower, and above it lies Waukomlti. Each is said to have 20-40 inhabitants. It is immediately apparent that population density in the Waiwai area is very slight. The only close neighbours are the Mouyenna on the upper Urukurin, and an enormous area can therefore be said to be Waiwai territory, for example a 50 km broad belt from 2° northern latitude to the Equator, or about 10,000 km 2 • Ethnographically, however, an area of this kind does not seem to be relevant. For one thing it is not regarded as tribal territory by the Waiwai, who incidentally only settled in the northern section of the area in the present century, and secondly it is not exploited beyond the larger rivers and their immediate hinterland, plus the communicating track over the Serra Acarai between the sources of the Essequibo and Mapuera. The Waiwai always dwell in the vicinity of rivers for several reasons: they must naturally possess easy access to drinking water, and fishing, as mentioned, plays an important part in their economy. But that they now always live near the larger, navigable rivers is undoubtedly due to the need for communications, as the tillable soil is by no means plentiful in the larger river valleys where so much land is annually inundated. It therefore seems reasonable to regard the area from an isolationary angle as a stretch, the distance from the most northerly to the most southerly Waiwai village. This, about 4-500 kilometres, can be covered in thirteen days by canoe and on foot over the Acarai, and gives a communication index of 14 individuals/day's journey. In the meantime there are 9 days' journey through an area devoid of human beings between the northern and southern Waiwai groups. If we regard the three northern villages with a population of 73 and their longest distance between villages of 11-day's journey we obtain an index figure of 49 individuals/day's journey. In the case of the southern Waiwai there are four villages with about 107 inhabitants within a 2-!- day's journey, which gives an index figure of 43 individuals/day's journey. Viewed in connexion with the average size of the Waiwai village, 25 individuals, these figures express the possibilities of communication, and also show clearly a division of the Waiwai into a northern and a southern group.

Historical

5

HISTORICAL Waiwai history has little depth as the first time they were visited and mentioned was by R. H. Schom­ burgk in 1837. The archaeological knowledge of their present area is confined to a survey in the area's most northern section, along the Essequibo north of Chodikar by Evans and Meggers (1960, pp. 247­ 270); an area that has only been inhabited by the Waiwai for about 40 years. The Waiwai's own tradition about past events is interwoven in myths and other accounts, but always under so vague a form that no concrete historical data can be deduced. The Waiwai belong to the Cariban linguistic stock. Dialectically they lie closest to the northern Para group of Caribs, but they are also closely linked with the Roroima and the upper Rio Negro Caribs. In these areas it is customary to name neighbouring tribes on the basis of physical peculiarities

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(see p. 234), and consequently it is not unreasonable that the name Waiwai is in reality the Wapishana nickname for their southern neighbours. In Wapishan a the word "Waiwai" means tapioca, and refers to the Waiwai's unusually light skin colour (Roth 1929, p. X, Coudreau 1887, p. 378). The Waiwai also use the word about themselves without suggesting any meaning for it. The Waiwai's nearest neighbours to the west are the Arawakan Mouyenna, about 4 days' journey from Kukwamlti, and to the south the Cariban Shereo, about 7 days' journey from Kukwamlti by the Mapuera. To the west there is no contact with neighbours apart from rare meetings with the Cariban Piskaryenna towards the south-west by the upper Rio Nhamunda, and the Arawakan Wapishana to the north­ west on the savannah in British Guiana. But 120 years ago the possibilities of contact both peaceful and warlike, were different. R. H. Schomburgk, the first to visit the Waiwai tribe in December 1837, met about 150 Waiwai, distributed over one village north and two villages south of the Serra Acarai, separated from each other by a distance of a two-days' journey. These villages lay right under the mountains, high up the tributaries of the Essequibo and Mapuera (Caneruau = Chodikar). The average size of the villages is said to have been 50 individuals, and the communication index about 75 individuals/day's journey. One day's journey to the south lay the first Barokoto village with 40 inhabitants. Five days' journey to the north of the most northerly Waiwai village lived the Taruma, and Schomburgk's guides agreed that the upper Essequibo was uninhabited (Schomburgk 1841, pp. 313-14). A few years later, 1844, R. H. Schomburgk touched the Waiwai area (1848 11, pp. 468-72). At that time the Taruma were declining (about 150 by the Essequibo), and an intermarried Barokoto man was head of one of their villages. On the other hand about 20 Tarumas had moved to the Maopityan tribe (Mouyenna). Schom­ burgk's information about the Waiwai is very haphazard. They are described as lighter than the Taruma, but unusually dirty. In language and appearance they resembled the Makusi. They were great hunters and famous for their dogs (Schomburgk 1841, p. 316). They particularly coveted the harpy eagle on account of its ostrich-like feathers (Schomburgk 1848 II, p. 389). The next traveller who reached the upper Essequibo was C. Barrington Brown (1876, p. 249). He mentions a trading expedition consisting of Wapishana and Taruma Indians who then, November 1870, had just visited the Waiwai. The Indians described the journey to the Waiwai area, Which, from

Introduction

6

a landing place a little up the Caneruau (= Chodikar), took a long time over land. This undoubtedly means that in 1870 the Waiwai lived solely south of the Acarai. In 1884 H. Coudreau travelled hastily through the Waiwai area near the Acarai (Coudreau 1887,

II, p. 348). His information must be taken with some reservation as he undoubtedly exaggerates the number of the Waiwai, which is put at 3-4000. Localization of the villages is practically impossible in regard to the place names and travelling times. In the meantime it is certain that there were Waiwai villages at the upper Mapuera and Tarwini, and presumably also at the upper Tutum, to judge by Coudreau's three-day march from the Mouyenna to the Waiwai (Coudreau 1887, II, pp. 370-78). Near the upper Mapuera Coudreau saw about 300 Waiwai, of which at the locality of Bourecochie alone some 200 inhabitants of 9 malokas. Coudreau's Bourecochie cannot be identified with Barakuchi (or Kikwo). It is presumably a matter of a small affluent of the Mapuera above the Tutum. Coudreau (1887, II, p. 379) finally mentions an eastern Ouayeoue (= Waiwai) village south of the Couroucouri (Urukurin) mountains, from where there was connexion with the Piannocoto, with whom the Waiwai were on a friendly footing. However, between these tribes by the Rio Urucurin lived the Paricote (Parukoto) and other wild tribes who attacked the peaceful tribes. In 1884 all the Waiwai should thus have dwelt south of the Acaria, the main part - about 7 localities with about 300 inhabitants - on the southern slopes of the Acarai within a distance of two days' march. However, it seems likely that Coudreau has over-estimated the population of the Bourecochie village. Separated from this northern group a single village should be found, about a 7 days' journey towards the south-east, south of Urukurin. A division was apparently about to take place. At the same time there were signs of the admission of other groups in the northern Waiwai; thus Coudreau mentions (Coudreau 1887, II, pp. 381-83) that, among others, the Japii regarded themselves as the Waiwai's clients, and now and again called themselves Waiwai. Coudreau's ethnographical notes about the Waiwai are meagre (1887, II, pp. 379-80). They liked to playa deer-bone flute and made cord of tucum (Astrocaryum sp.) and carata (Bromelia sp.). It is more remarkable that Coudreau found no canoes, and that the Waiwai kept to their tracks in the interior. They only went reluctantly to the rivers on which the Canaeme were assumed to be. It should be mentioned that the Canaeme in Coudreau's sense are synonymous with wild Indian tribes, and that the Waiwai particularly feared the Paricote and Cara to whom they rendered red head coverings (Coudreau 1887, II, pp. 321, 348, 356). When Farabee visited the Waiwai in December 1913, they were found on both sides of the Acarai, but still close in to the mountains. There was one village in Guiana at Kamacoko (= Chodikar), only a half day's paddling from the landing place whence a track leads over the Acarai. The southern village lay only 3 days' journey distant. The chief of the northern village was connected with the Taruma by bonds of marriage, and friendship prevailed between the two tribes. In the southern village several Parukoto had recently settled. Farabee (1924, p. 176) states that there were only two pure Waiwai out of the eight inhabitants of the northern village, and only three pure Waiwai out of the 34 in the southern, where all the women were said to be Parukoto. Even if we only accept the main features of Coudreau's and Farabee's accounts, something very dramatic has occurred in the Acarai area during the 30 years around the change of the century. A

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Historical

7

small group of Waiwai has gone over the mountains to the sources of the Essequibo where they established friendly relations with the Taruma. This was possibly a measure of protection, for the whole of the flourishing Waiwai population by the upper Mapuera, bar about three, has disappeared, being replaced by Parukoto. It must be assumed that the area was frightfully ravaged, either by an epidemic or by wild tribes. As no mention is made of epidemics, it was presumably one of Coudreau's Canaeme tribes that was responsible, and the Waiwai themselves preserved a recollection of this occurrence (Farabee 1924, p. 170, ego below p. 37) in the story about the Karap folk who long ago killed or expelled to the north all the Waiwai except a very few who saved themselves by withdrawing to the steep Mt. Paiufon. The disruption of the Waiwai was complete. The last remnants of Coudreau's eastern Ouyeoue (= Waiwai), who lived south of the Urukurin, were apparently re-discovered by Farabee, who found two Waiwe. These when small boys, had been saved by their father, the only survivors when their village was attacked by enemies. In 1913 they lived 6 days' journey from Coudreau's eastern village, and from Farabee's photographs (1924, Plate 16) appear to be about 30 years of age. We have here, perhaps, a basis for dating the massacre of the Waiwai to about 1890-95. It was apparent that the Parukoto were no longer enemies, as, according to Farabee, they were made welcome in the southern Waiwai village in 1913. Although greatly decimated, the Waiwai retained their tribal name although the Parukoto were numerically superior, presumably because the Waiwai were the original inhabitants of the area. Racially and culturally the Parukoto must have stamped the Waiwai, the more so as the Waiwai later obtained many marriage partners from the Taruma and Mouyenna, both of whom had had marriage ties with the Parukoto and with each other (Schomburgk 1848, II, p. 468; Coudreau 1887, II, p. 351; Farabee 1924, p. 183). Even in 1913 the Waiwai seemed to avoid canoeing on the Mapuera, preferring overland travel (Farabee 1924, p. 175). Farabee's information about Waiwai culture deals mainly with trading and material elements. Incidentally, he furnishes the outline of a dance festival, undoubtedly a Shodewika. The mention of the quipu as an aid for determining future dates (p. 162) is also interesting. The same writer (p. 171) gives a short description of the circumstances at death, the fatal magic blowing and cremation. He provides (p. 172) a very short account of the creation myth (Mawari) and (p. 173) of the story of the Acarai monster that was only pacified by the sacrifice of the most beautiful Waiwai woman, and (p. 175) a story about the origin of the first musical instrument (presumably the yamo). In May 1925 the Essequibo group of the Waiwai was visited by Walter E. Roth, in a single populous village near Duba-Kaiako creek (south of Kamo). He found that the Taruma people had been virtually exterminated by an influenza epidemic in the years previous. Of the approx. 8 survivors, 6 had married Waiwai women (Roth 1929, p. IX). On the other hand there were now over 100 Waiwai north of the Acarai, and the number of that tribe had thus risen from 8 in 1913 to over 100 in 1925. This can only be interpreted as a general move from the sources of the Mapuera to those of the Essequibo around the year 1920, and the reason for this must surely be the dying-out of the Taruma at that time, whereby new land of recognized value became available. It is worth noting that at the same time the Waiwai are mentioned for the first time as a canoe people. They still only used woodskins (Roth 1929, p. X), that are practical on small rivers.

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Introduction

8

Roth's ethnographical work was specially devoted to the Waiwai's technical culture which will not here be referred to. In addition he gives a short description of cremation, and mentions that the smoking of tobacco is rare, drinking also, which must mean that he has not witnessed any dance festivals. Finally, Roth stresses that the Waiwai's light complexion has given rise to their name - Waiwai being the Indian term for tapioca. In the years around 1935 an Anglo-Brazilian Boundary Commission worked in the Acarai area. Unfortunately ethnographical particulars are extremely sparse from this expedition, but it appears that the northern Waiwai village was now pushed further to the north to the Essequibo itself, to Mauika, about 50 kms above the mouth of the Kassikaityu. In Mauika were found the last remnants of the Taruma (3 men) in addition to the Waiwai. There

were more men than women and polyandry prevailed as a result (De Freitas 1944, p. 142). At the same time the Parukoto were living by the upper Mapuera, and here there were said to be about three times as many women as men (Guppy 1958, p. 37). There have thus been every possibility that the intermarriage of Parukoto with Waiwai has continued during the whole of the first three decades of the 20th century. That this has really been the case is seen indirectly from the next accounts about the Waiwai, that come from the Terry-Holden Expedition 1937. The Waiwai Indians had then come from Brazil and had established two villages near the mouth of the Onoro (that is to say near the present Yakayaka). Holden (1938, p. 329) found besides four villages south of the Acarai near "Mapuera wau", but before the "Rio Mapuera", at the sources of which dwelt the Mouyenna. This means that the four villages presumably all lay above the confluence of the Urukurin and Mapuera. The six Waiwai villages had each about 25-30 inhabitants; the size of the Waiwai population was thus about the same as it is today. Holden refers to a mysterious initiation of young warriors, though much suggests that it was a matter of a Yamo dance festival. Peberdy (1948, p. 15), who visited the Waiwai area in 1946, found near the Essequibo only four families, or 27 individuals. Not until the 1950's did the population figure near the sources of the Essequibo begin to rise, and in 1952 (Guppy 1953) there were thus 52 Waiwai, and during our stay in 1954-55 there were three villages and 70 individuals. However, on Ifl-1955 the main group of the Waiwai still lived by the Mapuera, about 100 individuals distributed over 3 villages (plus one partially deserted). 6-7 villages with about 180 individuals is very typical of most of the small Cariban tribes that stretch from the Acarai downwards towards the lower Rio Trombetas. This chronological review of the literature concerning the Waiwai tells us something about Waiwai history during the last 120 years. In addition it shows how little is known about the social and religious matters of this small tribe. (In this connexion, however, mention must be made of Guppy's popular book: "Waiwai", which is full of good and correct - though somewhat fragmentary observations). The picture formed is that in 1837 the Waiwai lived on the Serra Acarai itself, from where they had peaceful contact over land with the Parukoto, Mouyenna and Taruma. In 1870 they still lived in the mountains, but only south of the watershed. By 1884 the Waiwai still remained on the southern slopes of the Acarai along the upper affluences of the Mapuera. Their travels took place on foot and there were peaceful relations with, for example, the Pianokoto, who lived a little east of the most easterly ­

Historical

9

rather isolated - Waiwai village. The Waiwai were about to divide into an eastern and a northern group, and the latter was in process of absorbing the Japii. Wild tribes like the Paricote and Cara threatened the Waiwai, who, however, were numerous and pacific. Presumably at the beginning -of the 1890's the Waiwai were attacked and the whole tribe was uprooted, many were killed, some fled, and a few survived on Mt. Paiufon. It was apparently the wild Cara (= Farabee's Karap = Frikel's (1957, p. 536) Karahyana or Karahauyana) who fell upon the Waiwai. In 1913 the remnants of the Eastern Waiwai were re-discovered as Waiwe (Coudreau calls the Waiwai Ouayeoue) in touch with Mouyenna further east. A group of Waiwai fled over the Acarai, where they came on a friendly footing with the Taruma, and the Waiwai remaining round the sources of the Mapuera have held their own owing to the influx of, and intermarriage with, the numerically far superior Parukoto. The Waiwai still live close under the Acarai. In the beginning of the 1920's the northern neighbours of the Waiwai, the Taruma, were almost exterminated by an influenza epidemic, and the Waiwai shifted northwards; in 1925 there were a good 100 Waiwai at the upper Essequibo, though perhaps not all permanently as only one village is mentioned. Woodskins are reported for the first time. The years 1933-38 are stamped by the numerous working parties of the Boundary Commission on Serra Acarai, that may have been a contributary reason for the Waiwai going down the rivers. For the first time reference is made to a Waiwai village on the Essequibo itself (Mauika) and in 1937 more Waiwai came to the Essequibo from the south, so that there were then a good 50 by that river and a good 100 by the upper Mapuera. In 1954 there were about 70 Waiwai by the Essequibo, of which one village close to the mouth of the Kassikaityu. The Mapuera Waiwai had now gone further south and were to be found around the mouth of the Urukurin and at Kikwo to a number of about 100. At the same time dug­ out canoes succeeded woodskins. The last Taruma and Parukoto had been absorbed by the Waiwai, who had peaceful and marital relations with the Mouyenna. The new Waiwai, who were thus largely Parukoto, were again split, this time into a northern and a southern group. This interesting, ever­ repeated process of tribal admixture and division would presumably have continued had the Un­ evangelized Fields Mission not got hold of the Waiwai in the latter half of the 1950's. As a result of this, all the Waiwai and the Mouyenna moved to the banks of the upper Essequibo, where there are now about 250 Indians whose culture will be altered rapidly and radically. The Waiwai group of 1955 is thus of mixed origin, racially dominated by the Parukoto, though linguistically the Waiwai seem to have held their own. Culturally they must be considered as a mixture of - at all events - original Waiwai, Parukoto, Taruma and Mouyenna. Thus the Waiwai are an example of the expediency of dividing tropical forest tribes into culture areas rather than by race or language. The Waiwai and Parukoto have presumably possessed nearly identical cultures, languages and race. It is true that Coudreau refers to the Paricote as wild, but Frikel (1957, p. 553), who has specially considered the question of wild versus peaceful tribes, considers them peaceful Caribs. In the meantime the original Waiwai lived on Serra Acarai itself and possessed no canoes, whereas the Parukoto came from the south by the Mapuera; in this way they may have introduced Amazonian elements into the Waiwai culture of today. A gradual acculturation of the Waiwai by means of tribal mixing is quite in accord with the development suggested by Frikel (1957, p. 533) concerning the wild Cariban tribes of north Para.

to

Introduction

CULTURAL The religious and social life of the Waiwai can only be understood on the background of their economic and technical standard, here briefly to be mentioned. The material culture of the Waiwai will be exhaustively dealt with by Jens Yde in another number of this series. Occupational life is dominated by slash-and-burn agriculture with bitter manioc as the most important culture plant. Sweet manioc is not found as at the upper Rio Negro, nor is maize. This gives the agriculture a particularly light character as no special harvest season is required and storage is unnecessary. Agriculture can thus be said to be adjusted to man's chief occupations, hunting and fishing, as it does not demand any radical change of mentality in regard to the stability of work. Farming also takes place on lighter soil than, for example, with the earlier and present neighbours, the Taruma and Mouyenna, who primarily cultivated patches of dark soil that were not so quickly exhausted. In consequence, the Waiwai were less domiciled than their two neighbouring tribes (Guppy 1958, pp. 220, 56, 140; Evans and Meggers 1960, p. 262). The Waiwai also cultivate the textile plants kraua and cotton, but the latter has possibly been introduced late, as Coudreau only mentions the production of cords of tucum (Astrocaryum sp.) and carata (Bromelia sp.) in 1884. When Guppy (1958, p. 220) maintains that the Waiwai only cultivate plants that bear fruit within a year, as opposed to the Taruma and Mouyenna, it is possibly a matter of former times; today this does not apply, as, for example, anatto (Bixa orellana) is cultivated (Yde 1960, p. 85). In this connexion it can be mentioned that of the 6 Waiwai sites near the Essequibo investigated by Evans and Meggers (1960, p. 192), the 5 were established on old Taruma sites (sites Nos. 4, to, 11, 14 and 21). Tobacco is grown specially by the medicine man, but its use in the form of long cigarettes has been secularized in recent years; as late as 1925 smoking was rare (Roth 1929, p.lX). The Waiwai still talk about rare culture plants only known to the Taruma, and they still bring from the Mapuera Waiwai and the Mouyenna new plants to their fields by the Essequibo. It has often been a matter of chance whether a culture plant reached the Waiwai, or not. Thus a Waiwai from the northernmost Essequibo village brought with him cuttings of the calabash tree, the fruit of which is used, among other things, for dance rattles, when returning home in 1954 from a visit to the Mapuera village of Kashimo. Unfortunately, his canoe capsized in one of the many Mapuera rapids and all the cuttings were lost. A small travel accident was thus sufficient to stop the northern Waiwai ever obtaining the calabash tree as a culture plant. Similar chances can be thought to have limited the diffusion of cultural elements to so greatly an isolated folk group. The Waiwai of 1837 who lived on the Serra Acarai must be assumed to have engaged in agriculture, though Schomburgk merely refers to them as dirty hunters; but the number of culture plants has undoubtedly been less than is the case today. Presumably bitter manioc and kraua were the most important plants. In regard to hunting and fishing the most important animals have already been mentioned. Hunting is by far the favourite occupation of the Waiwai man. It takes place mainly in the early morning hours by the help of the

21 m long

bow and arrows. Curare-treated points are used particularly in the case

of monkeys, but the blow tube is unknown to the Waiwai. For hunting peccary the Waiwai employ their numerous, highly-trained and beloved hunting dogs that can hold back a fleeing drove or drive

Cultural

11

Fig. 3. Waiwai family of three generations with dogs and parrot on the way home from a fishing expedition on the Rio Mapuera. Dug-out canoes are the most important means of communication.

r I

an individual animal into a wild pig trap. Much of the fishing has the character of hunting, as it takes place with bow and arrow from a canoe, cliff or platform. Fish traps are used in small creeks, but nets and lines are not, presumably on account of the sharp teeth of the pirai. On the other hand fish poisoning is general in quiet river basins, and here the women and children take part in the collection of the unconscious fishes. The same applies to the collection of a large number of technical plants, edible fruits, honey, and the eggs of iguana, turtle and caiman. Most Waiwai traffic now takes place by river with the help of dugout canoes, but, as already mentioned, this has not always been so. For transport over land the long back baskets, carried by a strap over the forehead, are used. Simple climbing rings are resorted to when picking fruit etc. from trees. The village is dominated by the large communal house with high conical roof and low walls. The house is divided up into uniform sections for the various families, and is thus in harmony with the principle of equality that characterizes its occupants. Each section is furnished with hammocks made of kraua, produced by loop technique, and towards the wall behind them are the dog shelves. As a rule there are more dogs than people in a Waiwai house. Older men have meticulously-carved and painted stools to sit on, whilst the women use mats. In the centre of each section is the family fireplace and in the centre of the house a common hearth where the communal meals are prepared. The daily diet of the Waiwai is tapioca juice, cassava bread and pepper pot, where all kinds of animal ingredients are made unrecognizable, and presumably also preserved, in a sharp pepper sauce. For smoking and toasting a barbacue is frequently used. In connexion with dance festivals several

Introduction

12

forms of fermented chicha drink are prepared. The greatest working effort of the Waiwai woman lies in the household, in the preparation of food where bitter manioc, particularly, is a lengthy process with peeling, grating, pressing and drying before baking can begin. The secondary production of grater boards and clay vessels is also her work. Waiwai clay vessels are in the case of drinking vessels painted with black and red vegetable dye. Other vessels may have engraved decoration that much resembles that of the technically superior Taruma clay vessels (Evans and Meggers 1960, p. 269). The larger clay vessels are used as urns or covers over the ashes after a cremation. Stone axes and knives have completely disappeared in favour of bush knives and axes of iron. This is the only important change resulting from the Whites. Also conspicuous, however, is the use of china beads for women's aprons. The white chain of beads worn as an armlet on the upper arm is a sign of maturity. Men's dress is confined to the cotton lap if we ignore the numerous ornaments, of which the hair tube for the long pigtail is particularly typical. It is noteworthy that beads and cotton were apparently not found in Coudreau's day (1887, II, pp. 357, 378-79). Then armlets, lap and apron were made of coir, and the Waiwai used wild seeds, for example, as ear ornaments. Coir as a dress material is now only used by the Waiwai for dance cloaks that are decorated with negative painting, and for the painted masks worn at the Yamo festival. Coir processing and weaving, like wickerwork come under the special working field of men. The occupational life and technical plane of the Waiwai is restricted in its development as a result of their natural and cultural environment. The tropical rain forest limits husbandry to a primitive slash- and- burn agriculture, and the wish for certain communications still further restricts its effectiveness. The primitive husbandry of the Waiwai gives no surplus production, which may be traditionally motivated by the wish to maintain hunting as a relatively predominant occupation. In the meantime production is responsible for the fact that there is little specialization and also, to some extent, for the lack of class division. A determinative angle does not, however, seem to be acceptable to illustrate the inter-relationship between Nature, occupation and community, as primitive views of Nature modify these relations. In the Waiwai consciousness Nature is not apprehended determinatively as an occupational basis, nor is it realized that occupation is a factor limiting community development. On the other hand the Waiwai regard natural environment as consisting of active - to some extent arbitrary - powers and forces, whose activities can sometimes be limited or promoted in order to ensure an harmonious existence, both materially and spiritually. The absence of the sun must be impeded by a sun cult; rain must be driven away by rain magic. Floods, governed by the Anaconda people, are feared. Threats to the crops must be dispelled, and game summoned, by magic. Thus it is as much the Waiwai understanding of Nature as Nature itself that affects cultural development. In this way the religious ideas therefore become the basis stamping the occupational and social institutions. This is clearly illustrated by an example: The Waiwai have knowledge of many animal spirits but hardly any plant spirits, and the helping spirits of the medicine man, which, for example, are summoned in connexion with illness, are solely animal spirits. The absence of plant spirits stamps the culture, as, for example, knowledge of plant medicine is negligible both in relation to magical, animal medicine

Cultural

13

and compared with the knowledge possessed by the Coast Arawaks of that branch of medical treat­ ment. In connexion with the Waiwai natal custom, it will furthermore be shown how the concept of animal spirits, by being linked with the male occupation of hunting, has obtained decisive influence on the details of that custom. In th~se cases it is not Nature herself, but the Waiwai appreciation of it, that is to say their religious ideas, that limit or shape the cultural development.

Religious Beliefs THE SOUL CONCEPT. THE HUMAN SOUL, EKATI When considering as a whole some of the customs and practices most difficult of comprehension that characterize the spiritual life of the Waiwai, it is quickly discovered that the elements that cause them to be difficult to understand or to appear "illogical" have as a rule their origin in the soul concept. A certain basic knowledge of the Waiwai's soul concept is therefore requisite in order that a number of phenomena should not appear as merely curious examples. Everything that may appear "illogical" or "pre-logical" with the Waiwai can, in the author's opinion, be cleared up by a logical application of the soul concept. That here, as in all other cultures, the soul concept evades a logical analysis is another matter. However, the conceptions concerning the soul are not only the basis for further understanding but also for further development, for they form the starting point for the most significant group of supernatural beings. This is already seen from the words" ekatl (soul), ekatinho (ghost) and ekatmho­ kworokjam (spirit). A description will now be given of the ordinary soul that is of such vital im­ portance, and thereafter a brief account of the special eye soul, conceptions regarding which appear extremely vague. It is not possible to furnish a completely unambiguous explanation owing to a but fragmentary knowledge and also, particularly, because the forming of concepts is based not only on tradition but also to no small extent on individual experience.

The ordinary Soul: Ekati'

!

I.

The ekatl of a human being is particularly located in the heart for, as the Waiwai say, "when one is afraid of losing one's ekati the heart beats strongly, and when the ekati leaves the body the heart ceases to beat". Incidentally, the ekati appears to extend over the whole body in the form of fluid or soul matter. It reaches, for example, into the hair and the nails, and when these are cut they are care­ fully destroyed for fear of an enemy using them for purposes of magic. It was explained that even remnants of food can be used for fatal magical blowing, as tooth imprints enabled the transition of some ekati to the food; the same is the case with footprints. Ideas regarding the ekati are in the nature of things somewhat vague, but in general it is regarded as something substantial, invisible, but not devoid of weight, which appears from the fact that sick persons, that is to say those who have tempo­ rarily lost their ekati, feel themselves much lighter. Similarly, the Waiwai maintain that after they have had their hair cut they feel a little weaker. It may be mentioned in this connexion that the males of the tribe hold long hair in high honour, and that this in the form of a heavy pigtail often reaches

The Soul Concept

15

1; ,

Fig. 4. Ewka, village leader and medicine man in Yakayaka; chief informant of the author in 1955. The painted facial designs are altered daily.

to "the loins. Even though the ekati is especially associated with the heart, breathing also occupies a special position. For example, when a child sneezes one of the parents blows on its mouth to stop the ekati disappearing with the sneeze. Furthermore, the ekati has the form of the individual in which it resides, which agrees with several statements about the ekatr of animals "that was like a dream and of the same size as the animal in question". It seems to be the general impression that the ekati spreads like a kind of contagion from the body over to things with which it merely comes in contact; it thus becomes a divisible fluid. It is this quality that is frequently responsible for sickness and death as a result of sorcery, for even the slightest divided part of ekati - if put under a spell - will react on the major part that has remained in the body. The Waiwai are thus continually diffusing their psychic matter, though there continues to be correspond­ ence between the source and the separated portions. In addition to meaning "soul" ekati can also signify shadow, picture and vital force. For this reason a woman hid her own and her child's face when a photograph was taken. She explained that she was afraid of losing her ekati in the camera, as she knew that a picture of it would appear.

16

Religious Beliefs

The Waiwai also imagine a psychic quality linked with names, for which reason they are carefully avoided in direct conversation, it being maintained that "a spell is placed on a person when ad­ dressing him by his name". In addition to ordinary family names a baby is often given a "spirit"­ or kworokjam-name. From his special hut the medicine man will then ascend to the heaven and visit the moon and his brother. He shows the child in spirit form to them, and they give it its kworokjam name. In a short time the child can actually be called kworokjam, or even yaskomo (medicine man); two terms that seem closely related. This is perhaps due to the similarity in regard to the untrammeled nature of both the child's and the medicine man's ekati. Another important quality of the ekati is that it is able at will to leave the body. Here, however, one must differentiate between 3 categories of human beings: 1) medicine men, 2) babies and 3) other people. I) The medicine man, yaskomo can, like ordinary people, dream, that is to say leave his body during sleep. But in addition he can at night - and only then - from his medicine man's hut, shute­ pana - and only there - in a state of wakefulness send his ekati away from his body to one of three places: a) to heaven in order to secure the assistance of the heavenly spirits, kakenau-kworokjam, in curing the seriously ill, or to the moon and his brother to be given a kworokjam name for a new-born child; b) to the cave in the peccaries mountain to persuade the Father of peccaries, poinko-yin, to give good hunting, c) to the Anaconda-people, okoimo-yenna, who live deep down in the river, to obtain advice and help. The medicine man's ekati can thus reach the three elements: air, earth and water, which can be construed as meaning that, cosmically, it can reach everything. 2) As opposed to the conscious soul flight of the medicine man we have that of the baby whose ekatt during the first three years of its life is very dependent. The baby's ekati often follows the parents, either sitting on the mother's hip or the father's back, or else walking at their heels. If the father and mother are not together, the ekati of a baby wanders from the one to the other, and if whilst so doing it gets lost in the wood or anything happens to it, the baby will fall ill and possibly die. During this period a baby is actually called "that which can lose its ekan". I once saw a baby's father who had to undertake a considerable journey alone let the baby rub up and down his back. This was done in order that the child's ekatl should remain with it rather than risk the many dangers of a journey. In such a situation the father will also wash his hands thoroughly in order not to leave with some part of the child's ekatl, which would endanger the whole. After an age of 3 years the ekati of a baby will no longer follow the father and mother, but goes its own ways and takes up permanent residence in the body of the child. 3) In the case of other persons the ekati can leave the body during sleep and experience what is dreamt. As the ekati is regarded as something real, dreams are also considered actual happenings by which one is very much affected (see also p. 108). But if for any other reason the ekan leaves the body it means sickness and possibly death. The usual cause of illness is that a kakenau-kworokjam sees one or enters one's body thus forcing out the ekatt. The medicine man's cure therefore consists in invoking a helping spirit, who first finds the evicted ekati and then drives out the baleful kakenau­ kworokjam, reinstating the ekatl, With the fatal tono blowing, which will be referred to later, it is as a rule a matter of contagious or homoeopathic magic over a divided part of the victim's ekatl which then infects the ekati residing

I

I

The Soul Concept

17

in him. On the other hand, in the case of revenge blowing it is a matter of soul rape with consequent fatal results. Origin: Immediately a child is born it possesses an ekati. This is known "because from the same day its ekati can get into touch with poyin", that is to say the magical dangers threatening babies (see also p. 141). No one knows where this ekati' comes from, but the author's head informant, Ewka, thought that the ekati of a male child came from its father and that of a female child from its mother. From the following account it will appear that ekati comes into being at conception: A woman had often been sick during her pregnancy and the medicine man had blown over her on several occasions. At the giving of the name, when the medicine man saw the monkey-like face of the child,

T

he discovered the reason for her illness: The woman had conceived whilst an old, dead spider monkey that they had in the house had its face turned towards her and the man. The monkey's ekati' must have entered the woman at the moment of conception, for which reason the baby resembled a poroto (spider monkey). Accordingly the medicine man gave the child the name poroto. With the material available the problem concerning the Waiwai idea of the ekati"s origin appears insoluble. The naming custom provides no basis, as the frequent symmetrical cross-cousin marriages cause a married couple to have grandparents in common (see also p. 192) and thus the two sure cases I have found of naming after grandparents cannot be applied. That it should be the father who gave the child its portion of ekati', as is perhaps faintly suggested by the story, might possibly fit in with current views on pre-natal customs, but with the Waiwai these apply equally well to both father and mother (see also p. 142). The Waiwai presumption concerning an ambivalent origin must at all events be regarded as harmonizing extremely well with the current rule of ambivalent inheritance and bi­ lateral descent (see also p. 203). Disappearance: When a human being dies the ekati' leaves the body; indeed, this is the cause of death. It is then free to wander at will, and is called ekatinho ("nho" meaning old or former), that is to say the former soul. The precise term is, however, ekati'nho-kworokjam, "kworokjam" signifying "spirit". The kworokjam group consists of two categories: kakenau-kworokjam, heavenly spirits, which includes all those that live in the sky, for example birds, incorporeal spirits and the malevolent forest spirits; they are all of enormous antiquity, having existed from days prior to the creation of man. The other category, ekati'nho-kworokjam, is linked with the earth and particularly comprises animals created from the souls of the dead, i.e. ekati'nho. That ekati'nho were characterized as kwo­ rokjam was explained: "for one cannot see them". Invisibility is thus an important feature. Apparently there is thus a question of reincarnation, though only from a superficial point of view. Whilst an ekatl becomes an ekati'nho on death, this transistion is not felt by the Waiwai to involved a personal survival; on the contrary, they are afraid of death, "because one dies for ever". That in incantations against illness the term "his ekatl died" can be used, was interpreted by the author's informant as merely being a mode of speech. In the case of reincarnation, ekati' should probably be given as "life force". The deceased person does not apprehend this form of survival, whereas the surviving relatives may be confronted by a "reincarnation" of this type. Example: Two Waiwai out hunting caught sight of a tapir on its way towards an old grave. Its legs were those of a human being, the rest of it was a tapir. The two men shouted "Who is that, who 2

Waiwai

- -- ---

18

-',-.­

Religious Beliefs

is that?" but the animal merely ran on, and they then realized that it was the deceased's ekatmho that had become a tapir. They immediately stopped hunting the animal, as they were afraid that its ekatmho-kworokjam would come and devour human beings. In the example about the tapir it is a question of an animal individual deriving from the ekatinho of a deceased person, but in terming a majority of animal spirits ekatinho-kworokjam, the idea is apparently extended to comprise whole species. The fact that a number of animals like tapirs, deer and opossums are believed to derive from the ekatinho of deceased persons is possibly the logical background for the phenomenon, frequently encountered in myths, that these animals are able of their own volition to transform themselves into a human form. In addition, the circumstance is partly responsible for the Waiwai attitude to a number of animals who are almost regarded as being of the same character as the human race. In regard to the ekatinho of the medicine man, there are - as we saw in the case of his ekati - several exceptions to the rule. When a medicine man dies his ekatinho is not bound to the earth and ordinary haunting, but can wander either to the Anaconda-people, to the Father of peccaries, or - which seems to be the most frequent - to heaven, according to wish. This is known to take place in connexion with the relatively late and only partly introduced burial at which soul ladders (see p. 166) can be used, but the idea has undoubtedly found expression at the earlier and more general cremations.

Ekatinho (the former soul)

As mentioned previously, at its owner's death the ekati changes character to ekatinho. The ordinary ekatinho soon leaves the body in order to proceed to its birthplace which is identical with that of the body. This might also suggest that the ekati is regarded as born or created at the same time as the body. The ekatinho then returns to the grave which thenceforth becomes its permanent abode; here it lives on "the worms that consume corpses". As an ekatinho will always try to bring misfortune on the living, every Waiwai avoids approaching a grave alone; they say: "I am afraid that the leg of the deceased will speak and bring me misfortune". It is believed that ekatinho of the deceased's shoulder blade (there is here a question of a part of the general ekatinho) becomes a whippoorwill "that is often found near burial places"; but this bird can transform itself into a dangerous invisible spirit, ekatinho-kworokjam, that seizes and abducts enviable surviving relatives. Incidentally, these Waiwai opinions vary in regard to the manifestations of the ekatinho. At Mapuera some consider that it can be reincarnated in the big night bird, wawkani, or other night birds, which in consequence are never shot at (see also the tapir reincarnation above). An individual related that when the ekatinho leaves the grave it jumps like a frog. The Essequibo Waiwai believe in general that on its trips from the grave the ekatmho transforms itself into an opossum, yawari, and moves around in that shape. When it meets a human being, it will immediately change itself into the invisible ekatinho-kworokjam in order to frighten people. Women flee from such a spirit, but a man can take up the battle and fight it at the place where he feels it is grasping him. If the ekatmho-kworokjam does not win the struggle it will change itself into an opossum and disappear.

The Soul Concept

19

As earlier mentioned, this "reincarnation" is not considered as any personal survival, and the in­ dividual appears unable to influence the form he will adopt. A curious exception to this is found, however, and typically enough in connexion with a medicine man. In his capacity as go-between in the case of the Father of peccaries, the medicine man must neither kill nor eat peccaries. Should he break this ban it is thought that the Father of peccaries will punish him with death by leading his ekati to the peccaries mountain where the medicine man will be reincarnated as a wild pig. When hearing something rustle in the woods at night without being able to discover a reasonable explanation for it, it is attributed to an ekatinho-kworokjam, which primarily moves about at night; there are, however, still more dangerous forms of forest spirits. The following examples will show various forms that are regarded by the Waiwai as molestation on the part of the spirits of dead people: Example 1. An old woman had come to dwell at about 20 metres from an ancient grave, and the ekatinho of the deceased often came to her at night with meat, saying: "Here is your meat". He said this merely to entice the woman closer and thus capture her, but she became alarmed and moved away from the place. Example 2 is of an almost humorous character, and tells of the ekatinho of a dead man that made a practice of coming at night and washing its hands in the cassava drink of a young, unrelated woman; "which is the reason why her drink always has such a frightful smell". When a Waiwai dies it is customary to destroy all his personal property in connexion with his cremation (or burial). According to the Waiwai, this is done primarily "in anger" at the painful loss; but when going so far as to cut all hair from children the deceased has caressed it is probably due to the idea that the ekatmho, like the ekati, can contaminate, and that its separated part still retains contact with its origin. The child's hair will thus no longer be the habitation of any of its relatives ekatl, but of some ekatinho that can cause this child hurt. Accordingly the hair is cut off. Ekatmho-kworokjam must therefore be regarded as an invisible spirit with permanent residence at the grave of the originator, but it possesses free will to wander in the forest, particularly at night and near villages. It can function as an invisible kworokjam or be manifested as an animal; it is always greatly feared, as it is malicious and revengeful, desiring only to capture and kill human beings.

The eye soul Compared with the ideas about the general ekatl there is but little knowledge of and vague information about the eye soul. It is explained as: "the small person one always sees in the others' eye", which one is tempted to interpret as one's own reflected image, though it may be a matter of a general im­ pression of the eye as that which best expresses the soul of a person. The special position accorded the eyes can also be due to quite different circumstances, namely, as will later be illustrated, that to see is the same as being seen when it is a matter of supernatural beings. It is dangerous to be seen by a spirit; one is seen when one sees it oneself, and thus to a special degree the eyes can bring misfortune to the whole person. Should a child see a dead person, it can lose its eye soul. The child will thereby contract a fever, but will not die on this account. The eye soul thus has an independent existence, 2'

20

Religious Beliefs

but is not regarded as an absolute necessity for the individual as is the ordinary soul. On a person's death his eye soul also goes its own way, for it ascends to kapu (= sky, heaven), more precisely the first plane over the human layer (see also p. 101). Kapu is regarded as a light and friendly place where all are happy. Thus a Waiwai might exclaim: "I wish to leave these evil-speaking people, to rise to heaven and die". The eye soul is subjected to treatment resembling purgatory in kapu (see also the story p. 82, about The old man's trip to the sky), where the deceased's manifested eye soul was first stung by giant wasps and later cut up before gaining eternal life. That the eye soul has left the body after death is realized by the fact that the dead person exposes the whites of this eyes.

KWOROKJAM (SPIRITS) The word kworokjam, which is best translated as "spirits", is from a European point of view am­ biguous, though the Waiwai do not hesitate in their employment of the term and its connotation. The word kworokjam consists of "kworo", which means the big red macaw, a bird that, like the kworo-yenna in the Shodewika myth, plays rather a big role in the Waiwai conception of the super­ natural. The suffix "yam" means group or majority, and thus the whole word should probably be understood as representing a more comprehensive group of supernatural beings.

Ekatinho-kworokjam

Kworokjam can most simply be used in connexion with the soul of a living animal; thus just as a human body has an ekati, so an animal has a kworokjam, Now and then talk can be heard of an animal ekati, which perhaps best should be interpreted as a parallelisation with the human world and an admission that the souls of animals are of the same type as the human soul. It can be said that the term animal-ekati points to its qualities (which resemble those of the ekati), whereas animal-kworokjam points to its origin with the implied ekatinho-kworokjam, that brings to mind reincarnated persons. The animals that possess an ekatmho-kworokjam are primarily land animals, for example tapirs, deer, opossum, though larger fish, such as the haimara and tiger fish are also thus endowed. It is said of the tapir's ekatinho-kworokjam that it is almost as big as the animal itself; little was known about it beyond the fact that it was "like a dream". An old man also once saw a wild pig kworokjam that was over a metre long; that is to say the size of a wild pig. In the same way the ekatinho-kworokjam of a haimara and tiger fish were of the size of a boy, which corresponds to the biggest examples of the species. From myths - which by the Waiwai are regarded as living reality - it appears that animals with an ekatrnho-kworokjam, for example deer, opossum and anaconda are able in certain circumstances to re-transform themselves into human form. However, certain typical qualities always betray them as being in possession of a kworokjam and therefore animals. The kworokjam of certain animals are especially dangerous to babies from birth to three years of age, at all events at the moment at which the animal is killed or wounded.

Spirits (Kworokjam)

21

Example: Just as the big Shodewika dance festival started and the guests, dressed in palm leaves, danced into the village square, one of the local women went round each guest with a torch. The reason for this was 1) that the woman had a baby, 2) and that one of the guests might have killed or wounded some big game of which the woman would be unaware before the meal began, 3) that the kworokjam of a killed or wounded animal would occupy the hunter without thereby causing him any hurt. 4) At the common meal the kworokjam of the animal would infect the others present; 5) the baby's ekati would be exposed to the contagion, and 6) the baby's ekati would be pressed by the animal's kworokjam and possibly completely evicted, which would cause the baby's death. Alter­ natively, the ekati would be so terrified by the invading kworokjam that the baby would twitch in its sleep and contract a fever. If the animal were only wounded, the hunter must not be brought into contact with the baby because: "the destroyed flesh of the wounded animal would destroy other flesh". The dangerous contact between the animal kworokjam and the baby would be hindered by the parents themselves not eating the animal, and by the encirclement referred to which drives away any kworokjam in the hunter. The danger from an animal kworokjam is particularly great at the moment of its death when its kworokjam is, so to say, liberated. At the same time it must be realized that for the Waiwai there is no distinction between an animal kworokjam and the dangerous ekatinho­ kworokjam previously referred to, manifested in the form of an animal. Consequently they greatly fear the opossum and its ekatinho-kworokjam ; this also in another way occupies an important place in the consciousness ofthe Waiwai, as one of the most important culture heroes. The forest deer, likewise possesses a powerful and dangerous kworokjam, and many are so fearful of it that they never dare to eat venison. The dead animal's kworokjam never seems to change its form of existence in the way as does the ekati of human beings, but, on the contrary, some animals are resurrected within their own species. In this way the kworokjam of the wild pig (which, be it noted, is not an ekatinho­ kworokjam, but a kakenau-kworokjam, as mentioned below) goes after death to the edge of the village clearing and fetches its flayed hide which it places in a warishi, a pannier. This assertion is a variance to the usual practice of never flaying game with the exception of jaguars. The Father of peccaries follows this process "just as the soul follows us", and re-creates a new wild pig out of the hide and pannier. In this case (see further below under poinko-yin) the species' collective stock of kworokjam appears to be concentrated in the Father of peccaries, who is at one and the same time origin, ruler and summoner of the life of the individual, and thus almost becomes identical with the species itself. It may be mentioned that in the view of the Waiwai the Father of peccaries has a human-like form, poinko-yin. It can thus be determined - rather confusingly - that, for example, an animal like the deer (koso), possesses a kworokjam, or more precisely expressed an ekatinho-kworokjam, which means that the animal can also appear in human form (as in the myth concerning the origin of the deer), and that the term kworokjam is sometimes interchangeable with ekati. This strong amalgamation of animal and human makes unambiguous interpretations extremely difficult.

22

Religious Beliefs

Kakenau-kworokjam

So far the animal kworokjam has been discussed from the point of view of being derived from re­ incarnated human beings; but the animal kworokjam that according to the creation myth engendered the first human being belongs to another form of kworokjam, the kakenau-kworokjam which - in addition to certain selected land animals - particularly comprises birds and the immaterial spirits. Whereas there are signs that suggest that the ekati'nho of some persons - and at all events the eye ekati'nho - dwell in the first heavenly layer over the earth, it is known definitely that the kakenau­ kworokjam live in the highest heavenly stratum. It is consequently natural that all birds belong to the latter group, "as they fly in the sky which is full of kakenau". The position of birds can thus be due to the contagious quality in general characteristic of the kworokjam. The Waiwai have no explanation for the origin of kakenau-kworokjam, often saying merely that is has always existed, at all events long before Mawari, the creator of mankind, who provided the impulse for the appearance of ekati'nho­ kworokjam. "Mawari came not so long ago" according to the opinion of many. A kakenau-kworokjam is unable to transform itself into man, but on the other hand is far stronger and more dreaded than an ekatmho-kworokjam. The white heron, wakara, is a kakenau-kworokjam, people are very frightened of; and when it flys over a village it is a sign either that a medicine man is about to die or that a new one is shortly to appear. The medicine man stands in close relationship to the various kakenau-kworokjam, possibly because they are considered especially dangerous and therefore require a specialist to render them innocuous, whilst their powerful qualities can be exploited by his magic. The kakenau-kworokjam that in this connexion particularly are concerned are the otter's (waya-waya), the anteater's (amachi), the bat's (Ie-Ie), and the harpy eagle's (yaimo), that often act as helping spirits (hyasm), for the medicine man. When a kakenau-kworokjam of this kind is summoned down to the village as a helping spirit, a number of other kakenau-kworokjam will come also, particularly if this occurs at night - and even by day some will come: "they come like a wind". In the meantime, as this is dangerous and cannot be con­ trolled, attemps are made in various ways to impede this; for example the sun cult is performed with a pole, carved with the anaconda pattern and painted red, it being explained that both the anaconda and the red colour will frighten away the uninvited kakenau. Altogether, the red colour with which all Waiwai always cover their whole body is said to have precisely this purpose. In addition, a bristly palm leaf rosette can often be seen tied around tree trunks at head height by the edge of the village clearing and close to the tracks; this is also though to keep away kakenau-kworokjam. At a Shodewika dance festival it was also noticed that a portal of palm leaves had been erected over the path the guests were to use. This was to stop hostile kworokjam from accompanying visitors. The Waiwai theory about illness is based on kakenau-kworokjam that are so dangerous that if they merely see a human being he will fall sick and die unless the medicine man quickly saves him. Kworokjam of this kind are tawa-yenna (common yellow-green butterfly), dragon-fly, that are thought to cause epilepsy, and wuli (black bird with a wagging tail) that causes fever. It happened on several occasions that the medicine man, instead of talking of his auxiliary spirit (for example, the otter) as kakenau-kworokjam, used the expression "yenna" (i.e. people, nation),

Spirits (Kworokjam)

23

without it appearing to him incongruous. For example it was related in connexion with kakenau­ kworokjam that Kurum-yenna (buzzard people) and Lele-yenna (bat people), were kakenau-kworokjam who sang curious, meaningsless songs, like "acholihe ihelihe" etc. The reason for this is best explained by the ideas about cosmos that are expressed, inter alia, in the introduction to the creation myth. The Waiwai assume that every animal and every plant has, in addition to its manifested existence on earth, a form of existence in heaven (presumably in the first and second heavenly layer, respectively, according to whether it is a question of ekatinho- or kakenau-kworokjam), The heavenly parallel is indicated by adding "-imo", that is, great, to the name of the species. 'The heavenly parallels are always greater and have stronger qualities than the mundane, but are only visible in dreams or in trances. They are thus imaginary. Before the time of Mawari, the creator of mankind, they also lived on earth and were called yenna, even though they were kakenau-kworokjam - for example, Ratakimo-yenna from "rataki", grasshopper, "imo", great, "yenna", people, who are said to be Mawari's father. The sense of "yenna" here is that it is a matter of several individuals - of both sexes - comprising a stable group (i.e. species), as opposed to the sporadic appearance of a single individual. However, some kakenau-kworokjam of the immatrial type are still to be found on earth. These are the so-called "bush spirits" whose speciality is the killing of human beings who venture to go alone in the forest at night. These kakenau-kworokjam seize their victims and fell them with a club made of hardwood, payura. A special bush spirit was called makusi; it kills people by hitting them on the collar bone with its club. It is probable that this name is connected with the Makusi Indians living to the north. It can be mentioned in this connexion that the Wapishana, who live between the Waiwai and the Makusi, refer to the latter as Canaemes (canaemes = bush spirit) according to Coudreau (1887, II, p. 321). The placing of the Makusi Indians to the west of Acarai is mentioned by Frikel (1957, p. 550), but the Waiwai today seem unaware of any neighbouring tribe of that name. With reference to the appearance of curare in the Waiwai area (see also p. 240), the author is of the opinion that the Makusi Indians either on trading expeditions or, perhaps more likely, when searching for curare have now and again entered Waiwai territory. The rare meetings that have now ceased, can have caused the Waiwai in his mind to confuse the Makusi (Indian) with the makusi (bush spirit) possessing kakenau-kworokjam. Amongst the incorporeal kakenau-kworokjam there are also good and benevolent ones like, for example, Makama. It can be seen in dreams and resembles a human being. The medicine man uses it to heal people, but it cannot bear the variety of banana that possesses a strong smell. Should the medicine man eat this kind of banana, the Makama will cause him to lose his voice. It should be remembered that, for the Waiwai, the banana is a late culture plant. If a person becomes covered with sores the Waiwai say that erekiymo (big sore) has rubbed his sores off onto the person. This ereklymo is "like a kworokjam", which presumably means that it is one of the immaterial spirits. Finally, mention should be made of the fact that numbers of trees also have kakenau-kworokjam; for example the kechekele (Inga gracilifolia), a very high tree, has a kakenau-kworokjam. Anyone felling this tree will whilst dreaming be forced by the tree's kakenau-kworokjam to drink so much that his stomach will swell greatly. The lu palm, kumu (Oenocarpus baccaba) also has a kakenau-kworokjam.

24

Religious Beliefs

It is different with the ite palm, you (Mauritia flexuosa), that grows in swampy surroundings; it

has an apparently independent okoimo-kworokjam, an anaconda spirit, living in it. If anyone dares to laugh at the palm or to strike its trunk, this jumps out and causes the offender to vomit and get stomach-ache. This kworokjam's proper name is fiipifiopu, which means "to cause stomach-ache". Particularly prominent and useful types of trees thus seem to be kakenau-kworokjam, whilst the ite palm is the dwelling of an independent resident kworokjam. It is not impossible that there is here a question of an amalgamation of two essentially different interpretations of the supernatural world.

Yenna

After the surrounding nature has been animated and the supernatural world thus populated, there still remain some categories to describe. They are primarily fable beings that have neither ekatmho­ nor kakenau-kworokjam, but are merely described as yenna. As previously mentioned, this means "people" and in the case of the fable people it is always a matter of animal people which in addition to having an animal appearance can also take on the human form. Yenna is the usual designation for a number of neighbouring Indian tribes, for example those in the south, Mouyenna, Piskaryenna, Shouyenna; "piskari' means savannah deer and "shou", kibihee. The Piskaryenna have obtained their name "because they have long, thin legs", and the Shouyenna "because they smell so badly". The Waiwai had heard accounts of the Karapau-yenna (karapau = the aracua bird) who are said to be very tall. They live near the Ichawau stream, an affluent of the Kikwo, one of the western trib­ utaries of the upper Rio Mapuera. It is related that some Brazilians who had once reached the tribe were nearly killed, but after threatening with their rifles, the Karapau-yenna became afraid and laid down their clubs. They have since been on a friendly footing with the Brazilians, but the Waiwai still dread them for they are apparently arch enemies; from 1913 Farabee mentions that the Karap Indians (Karap-yenna) to the south-west twice had attacked the Waiwai (Farabee 1924, p. 174). A tribe does not have to be far away for suspicion and superstition to endow it with supernatural and inferior qualities. There is a reminder of this in the employment of the word "makusi" for bush spirits (see above) and in the meaning of Mouyenna (see p. 234). Close to the Karapau-yenna live the Yaipu-yenna (yaipu = tapir), said to be so big that even a little girl is the size of a tapir. As they are considered to be very warlike they are much feared by the Waiwai. Further away live the Kamara­ yenna, Jaguar-people. No one has seen them, but it was told that some Brazilians who had been captured by them were smoked and eaten. The Jaguar-people resemble human beings apart from the fact that their eyes are placed right down outside the wings of the nose; they are all cannibals. In the mind of the Waiwai the last-mentioned people are all fabulous and take their place amongst their concepts of supernatural phenomena, for which reason they are referred to here and not with other known tribes (see also p. 233). Actually, however, the three tribes are real people (see Frikel p. 547-63), whom Frikel calls Karahauyana, Yaiheyana and Kamareyana. These tribes, which all live near the Mapuera and over towards the Rio Nhamunda, are all regarded as wild, that is to say isolated hunting and collecting groups. Some have acquired a material culture corresponding to that of the Caribs, but

Spirits (yenna)

25

their conscious isolation and uncompromising attitude, plus their anthropophagy, have caused the Waiwai to regard them as fabled people. In this connexion it should be mentioned that the Jaguar-people also appear in the creation myth about Mawari. In this their cannibalistic tendencies appear in a symbolical plane, as Mawari's "mother", the tortoise, is eaten by the Kamara-yenna with all her eggs except two, that hatch out into Mawari and his twin brother. It is true that in this myth the Jaguar-people are mentioned as having the ap­ pearance of jaguars, but their grandmother, chacha, has human form. In the minds of the Waiwai the Jaguar-people are remembered largely because, according to the creation myth, it was the grand­ mother of this people who voluntarily allowed cassava to be produced from her bones. However, the most important, of the yenna group are the Okoimo-yenna, Anaconda-people. Their origin is lost in a dim past long before Mawari's arrival, and the Waiwai do not know whether the greatest age should be attributed to them or to the kakenau-kworokjam, Okoimo-yenna live in the

•

,do

river, but when they surface they can at all events take on human form, but are not kworokjam. They are greatly dreaded, which appears from the part they play in the two myths in which they constitute an important element. The creation myth relates how, when desiring a woman, Mawari fished an Okoimo woman up from the river. She became his wife and the ancestress of the Indians. In the meantime Mawari paid no bride price for her to the Okoimo-yenna, nor had he a sister to give in exchange. This must presumably be regarded as the reason for the persecution of young Waiwai girls since practised by the Okoimo-yenna, which appears in the myth about that people. In this myth it is the disobedient adolescent girl who by gazing across the river raises the whole of the Anaconda­ people who then try in vain to capture her. The anaconda-people comprise not only anaconda but also most of the animal species that live in the river. In their human appearances there are in the caSe of each type characteristic features that point to the species to which they can transfer themselves. However, in the Mawari myth the idea comes to the fore that the Okoimo-yenna are real people who live down in the river, but only show themselves to young women. The account concludes with the withdrawal of the Okoimo-yenna, who hand over to the ancient Waiwai grandmother their gay feather and bead decorations with the remark: "Here is something for poimo". "Poimo" signifies "brother­ in-law" and refers to Mawari's marriage with the Okoimo woman and the consequent permanent brother-in-law relationship that has arisen between the Okoimo-yenna and the Waiwai. This rela­ tionship is primarily a burden for the Waiwai, as a man has always a social and economic obligation to the male relatives of his wife. (See also the washma institution). The Okoimo-yenna thus possess a real claim on the Waiwai that has never been satisfied, and consequently tension and constant fear has been created in the case of the debtors, i.e. the Waiwai. The Okoimo-yenna appear in yet another story: that concerning the origin of the Yamo dance, which is said to be due to that people. It is here a matter of masked dance of religious content that is kept secret from the women, whilst during the dance the women demand the yamo dancers as their wayamnu, i.e. their sexual partners; a circumstance that again points to a brother-in-law relationship between the groups (see also the wayamnu institution). Okoimo-yenna can, however, also cause sickness like the kworokjam: for example a man often dreamt that he was continually travelling around and given good food to eat. The medicine man

26

Religious Beliefs

interpreted this to mean that the Okoimo-yenna had seen the man, and therefore sang the Okoimo­ yenna's song in order to secure the return of his ekati: "ekati is in the depths; the clothes it bears are in the depths; bring it back from the depths." The medicine man is thus also considered to control the Okoimo-yenna by his magic songs. It appears that the term "yenna" has a very broad connotation, from being the correct designation of a well-known, closely-related neighbouring people to a definitely fabulous one like the Okoimo­ yenna, endowed with supernatural qualities. A similar confusion prevails over the question of origin, where, for example, the Okoimo-yenna are lost in prehistoric times anterior to Mawari, and genuine neighbouring people have the afore-mentioned Mawari as a basic factor. This confusion is illustrated in the Shodewika myth, which mainly deals with the division of the animal people into proper animals and proper people. In this myth, in which the Waiwai already appear, a number of animal people meet for a dance festival with the Kurum-yenna (Buzzard-people). Here they all have human form, but after the festival those who return home are changed into the respective animals, whilst the few who stay and marry Kurum women are transformed into the various Indian tribes who merely retain the animal name as, for example, the Shou-yenna near the Rio Mapuera.

Yin

To a higher degree more supernatural than the yenna, though with a certain connexion with them, is the concept "yin", father. Special species of animals and also individual natural phenomena can have a father, the elucidation of whose character - apart from the Father of peccaries - is extremely incomplete. The yin concept plays a most important part in the imagination of the ordinary Waiwai, and should therefore be dealt with here, though it lies solely in the sphere of the medicine man to influence this category of being. The Father of peccaries is easily the most important, but there is also a Father of the birds, a Father of fish, one for the water and one for the sun. It is not impossible that a more thorough study will disclose still more. Poinko-yin or the Father ofpeccaries

A young medicine man-to-be dreamt one night that he saw a very old man whose body, unlike the Waiwai, was not painted red but instead was soiled with mud. The ancient said to the young man: "Why do you sing poinko-eremu (eremu = magic song), I am poinko-yin", and then he blew tobacco smoke down over the young man's head. Next morning the coming medicine man told his teacher about the dream, and they went together out into the forest where the old medicine man taught his disciple poinko-eremu. Only the medicine men of the tribe can get into touch with poinko-yin, and they all seem able to do so. This is undoubtedly due to the greater importance of the wild pig as game, and this idea results in it being impossible to go hunting wild pig until the medicine man has summoned them. Poinko are the big type of wild pig that live in flocks, the white-lipped peccary (Tagassu pecari). The poinko­ yin is thus of great importance to every single Waiwai. These ideas can be divided into a theoretical

Spirits (yin)

27

side that depends on the medicine man's as a rule arbitrary nocturnal journey to poinko-yin, and a more practical magical summoning of poinko in general. The magical hunting songs, poinko-eremu, only known to the medicine man, are only sung the day after one has dreamt of poinko. A medicine man related that he once had to persist for five days before the wild pig arrived. It is not remarkable that only the medicine man can summon them when it is observed that poinko possesses a kakenau­ kworokjam. Often it is just this dangerous kworokjam that he sees in dreams; it is described as a little poinko, about 15 ems high and 30 ems long. Others describe poinko-kworokjam as almost as big as poinko itself. The men of the village cannot begin the hunting of wild pig until the medicine man has summoned them. On the other hand, the medicine man must never take part in the hunt, and must never kill or eat a poinko; if he does he will die. Even though there are several reports that the use of poinko-eremu alone is sufficient to summon the wild pig, there is nevertheless a clear tendency on the part of the medicine man to employ a certain apparatus to call poinko, particularly a poinko-fiukwa (fiukwa = magic stone), on which tobacco smoke is blown as with the medicine man's other magical practice. The author once succeeded in seeing a poinko-fiukwa of this kind, but it proved quite impossible to purchase it from the medicine man. The stone had the shape and size of a pigeon's egg, and the medicine man had found it in a creek. It was called poinko-kamaswan, However, this name is doubtful, as kamas wan strongly re­ sembles kamashu (tobacco), and thus refers to the technique. Similarly, the claws of the armadillo are frequently used to blow in order to call the wild pig, and one account refers to a flute used in the same way. A report from Mapuera Waiwai has it that tobacco was drunk from the claws of the armadillo in order to be able to see poinko-kworokjam in a trance and thus obtain an opportunity to summon the animals, but unfortunately, the author has been unable to confirm this. However, the whole of this magical apparatus belongs to the secret knowledge of the medicine man which he exercises from the shutepana hut; it will therefore be reasonable further to describe this in connexion with the flight of his soul to poinko-yin to which it is particularly linked. Under the section concerning yaskomo, the medicine man, there will be a further description of his functions and psychic qualities; here it will merely be reported that yaskomo is able arbitrarily to send his ekatl to various places, including to poinko-yin. This can only take place from the shutepana and only at night. The procedure can be as follows: Yaskomo can spend half the night in shutepana playing his little flute, kukuwi (which is also the name for a big hawk that in some way or other is connected with poinko). He holds a poinko-fiukwa (a stone that belongs to and is connected with poinko-kworokjam) in his mouth whilst he smokes tobacco, singing from time to time the various poinko-eremu. These eremu may only be a single word repeated a long time, for example: "kururu nuka (they grunted), or "yawe kururu nuka" ("yawe" being a subdivision of poinko-kworokjam), alternatively "aoo maya" (another name for poinko­ kworokjam) "aoo taishayo mokopa" (come this way) aoo aoo". Yaskomo can also sing another eremu that will make poinko wild, so that they attack in a flock, whereby the hunters obtain an op­ portunity to kill several. Another eremu runs: "tasharoro amoka - anaharl tamko - toail'ipera atamka anahari - toellpera emashira esko" (poinko come - be not afraid - come closer - right to the edge of the clearing).

!'~--

... -~

28

Religious Beliefs

At a certain moment the yaskomo's ekati will leave the body and go the long journey over the earth to poinko-yaunyeri (poinko mountain), which is said to lie somewhere south of the upper course of an eastern tributary of the Rio Mapuera, near the village of Kashiymo (presumably the Urucurin). A deep horizontal cleft known as kamuspati (old bug) runs into this mountain, and here dwell all poinko, amongst them poinko-yin and his wife. The yaskomo sees poinko-yin in a trance or in a dream. He is an old man, different from the Waiwai in that his body is not painted ted but stained with mud. In addition he has short hair and lacks all decoration with the exception of apomi (upper armlets, a sign of maturity) and kamisa (loin cloth). Poinko-yin's lack of red paint seems to be of importance, as an old yaskomo who saw poinko-yin long, long ago said on his return to the Waiwai: "When you have shot a poinko you must always paint yourself and your children red with anatto so that poinko-yin cannot see you". The Waiwai therefore all paint themselves red for fear of poinko-yin, who becomes angry when anyone shoots or, particularly, maims or wounds his children, poinko. Although no great fear appears to be felt of poinko-yin, he is at least used to frighten children, who are often threatened with: "Take care that poinko-yin does not come and take you!" This remark is explained by the following story: A father once took his small son out hunting. Suddenly espying a flock of poinko he told the boy to remain standing at a certain spot whilst he killed two poinko. Just at that moment poinko-yin passed by and caught sight of the lad whom he approached in the thicket. The boy, who thought it was his father, asked: "Did you shoot anything?" Poinko-yin disguised his voice and replied: "Yes", thus deceiving the boy into leaving with him. The boy was never seen again; it was poinko-yin's revenge for his own killed children. Poinko-yin who incidentally is not regarded as having anything against a proper and orderly hunt of the poinko, can now and again be thought to revenge himself. For example, after a man had killed several poinko and followed their tracks to the river in order to bathe, he was seized by violent stomach pains. The yaskomo, who had to blow over him in order to effect a cure, explained the matter by saying: "Poinko-yin possibly saw you". To return to the yaskomo and the meeting during a trance of his ekati with poinko-yin; Mtywa, the yaskomo who lives at Mauika, reports concerning this that poinko-yin had said to him: "Pall (grandchild), you must never shoot poinko, but you should tell the other men that if they meet a poinko they must shoot in such a way that it dies on the spot and not merely wound it so that it runs bleeding into the forest, for then I become angry". The yaskomo's ekati replied and asked: "Pacho (grandfather) bring many poinko hither", and promised poinko-yin tobacco in return. The two agreed about this and the yaskomo realizes his part of the bargain by blowing smoke over his poinko-iiukwa, which is owned by poinko-yin. In regard to the iiukwa and to the red colour, poinko-yin proves to be related to the term kakenau-kworokjam. It is worth while to stress here that, as opposed to most land animals, poinko possess kakenau-kworokjam and are thus not considered to be "reincarnated" souls of human beings. However, poinko kakenau-kworokjam do not dwell in heaven like the other kakenau-kworokjam but "have always lived in the mountain cave with their father and have been there eternally". In reality poinko-yin functions parallel with the human ekati at the rebirth of poinko, as mentioned under ekatrnho-kworokjam. Poinko-yin's content of soul or life force is clearly indicated by the circumstance that on the killing

~ ~---.

-"---

--

-~-

Spirits (yin)

29

of a poinko its former kworokjam follows it to the edge of the clearing. Poinko-kworokjam comes to fetch its old hide which it brings out of the woods and places in a warishi (pannier) that it has plaited. From this a new poinko is created. Poinko-yin has followed the whole process "in the same way as our ekati follows us". This last comparison is important in connexion with what has already been mentioned, and explains poinko-yin as being practically a common denominator for all poinko kakenau-kworokjam. At the same time poinko-yin becomes virtually identical with the whole species or concept of poinko, in addition to being the source of life from which the individual poinko derives existence and to which it again returns. In what we have been discussing there has been mentioned a form of soul flight from the medicine man's hut, but some yaskomo can apparently summon poinko-yin as a helping spirit. This seems to be done from the communal hut, as the use of the hammock is referred to. Old Miywa related that he had obtained his poinko-iiukwa from heaven; he blew tobacco smoke over it, and then placed it in his mouth whilst he sang a poinko-eremu. When lying in his hammock afterwards he saw the poinko stone change into a man, poinko-yin. In this case it was thus a question of summoning a helping spirit. The yaskomo's conversation with poinko-yin was stamped by a reciprocal agreement where the yaskomo had to attend to the fulfillment of certain demands. In the first place he must never kill a poinko nor eat its flesh. Should he do either, poinko-yin would be greatly angered and kill him. This is said to be one of the reasons why poinko-yin follows the kworokjam of every killed poinko to the edge of the village clearing in order to discover whether the yaskomo eats any of the flesh. Should he find that he does, he takes the yaskomo's ekati back with him to the poinko mountain; deprived of his ekatl the yaskomo will fall sick and finally die, whilst his ekati will live on in the mountain trans­ formed into a poinko. This explanation concludes with the words: "That is precisely what happened to Parusha" (a dead Waiwai yaskomo). If a yaskomo kills a poinko it is thought that part of his kworokjam will tell the yin, who in a similar way will kill the yaskomo, and at the same time cause all poinko to disappear from the area for ever. The contagious quality characteristic of ekatt and kworokjam thus seems also to apply to poinko-yin and -kworokjam. In the same way that ekati is always in touch with the ekati whole (in the body), so the isolated poinko-kakenau-kworokjam is always in contact with poinko-yin. Finally, the yaskomo must see that his villagers do not maim the poinko but always hunt it in a proper manner, and he must supervise the hunt. However, there is no question of closed season; but many maintain that the yaskomo must give his permission in each single case of a poinko hunt, that he must summon them beforehand. He need not go out with the hunters if he does not want to, but can, for example, be content to blow the armadillo claw at home. Another yaskomo said, however, that he was not asked to summon the poinko before a hunt, even though they would come if he did so, as he arranged to keep the flocks in the neighbourhood all the time. Another rule that must be followed is that emasi, i.e. adolescent girls, must not eat poinko meat. The old yaskomo, Miywa, thus related that he (that is to say his family) had lived alone long ago near the source of the Essequibo. At that time there had been a lot of poinko when he summoned them on his fiukwa as he had been taught to do by his predecessor. But then other men had come with their magic practices, and the newly-arrived young women had eaten poinko meat during their emasi period. Poinko-yin became angry at this and all poinko became weak (were infected) and ran away. Emasi

30

Religious Beliefs

Fig. 5. A Waiwai hunter is bringing a wild pig, killed by bow and arrow, into the village. For fear of magic it will have to be consumed outside the communal house under an open leaf shelter (seen in the backgrund).

girls no longer eat poinko meat, and I observed myself that this was very strictly adhered to, for one day when a dead wild pig was brought into the village several of the men at once shouted - directed towards the hunter's daughter, who was emast: "Do not let her eat it!" Another explanation why emasi girls must not eat poinko meat was that poinko lived in the earth, i.e. in the mountain cave with poinko-yin, and that therefore if emasi girls ate their meat, poinko "would bring them down into the cave". However, this last is hardly the decisive argument as it then would only be a family and not a social interest that had given rise to the warning. However, poinko-yin can keep poinko away from human beings for other reasons. It is thus related of a woman - who had probably learnt the art from her late husband - that with her flute she was able to bring the poinko within range and make them so wild that they attacked the hunters who thus obtained an opportunity to kill many more. But after her death no poinko were seen in the neigh­ bourhood for several weeks, and people maintained that they had run away as a result of her death.

Spirits (yin)

31

This report agrees with what old Miywa said: that his poinko-stone disappeared on the death of his wife because it became afraid; in consequence there were no poinko at present. It is interesting to observe that a yaskomo loses his magical position because his wife dies, and that for this reason he must hand over his post as yayalitomo, secular leader of the village, to a successor. It appeared that in conversation with poinko-yin the yaskomo regards him as pacho (grandfather) and is himself called pall, grandchild. This terminology undoubtedly covers the deferential position of the yaskomo, but on the other hand not the dependence that characterizes the relationship previ­ ously referred to with the Anaconda-people. Sometimes the word parito is used instead of pacho, but this merely means "old pacho". In the same way it has appeared from the above that "yin" in poinko­ yin refers to poinko's designation of their father, whilst poinko-yin similarly regards all poinko as his children. In the system of relationship thus arising, poinko should thus actually be a generation above the yaskomo, and consequently it arouses surprise that a yaskomo called the poinko "kuyt" (= km i.e. male, which is a general term for a male child, instead of "okopuci" (child) used by older people). Incidentally, the yaskomo use the same term for their magic stones, fiukwa, "because they are his pets or sons". The yaskomo regards his attendant spirits, represented by their fiukwa, as his pets. There here appears to be two different ideologies in connexion with poinko: one in which poinko acts as the yaskomo's helping spirit and is subject to his magical control as is the case with other helping spirits or kakenau-kworokjam, who are considered as sons, and, originally independent but gradually mixed up with it, another class characterized by the yaskomo's deferential attitude to poinko-yin, who is regarded as a grandfather. An important function for the yaskomo is his relationship in regard to poinko; some Waiwai say that he supervises and owns them, or that he is their master, whilst others assert that the yaskomo has no special poinko title. That some laymen refer to the yaskomo as master of the poinko should probably be considered as an identification of the divine (poinko-yin) and its prophet and earthly contact (yaskomo). Taken all in all the ideas concerning poinko-yin seem to imply something in the way of a divine being.

Other yin As mentioned above under the introduction to yin, this term is also linked to things other than poinko, though the information regarding this is most sporadic. It should first be mentioned that some weakly-formulated ideas are connected with the other South American species of wild pig, pzkria, the small collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu). Some medicine men are able to summon pakria by blowing a small round nut with a large and a small hole, yuknat moso. Whilst a medicine man's dogs are allowed to drive a pakria into a hole or into a trap, he must not himself kill the animal and must only eat very little of its flesh. This weaker parallel with poinko possibly points to the original yin idea about pakria. One medicine man, Miywa, was also the protector of all birds in addition to wild pig. In consequence he never shot at birds, though he was allowed to eat them. He related that during a dream his bird fiukwa fell from heaven, and when he woke up it - a piece of quartz about It ems long - was lying in his mouth. When he blows tobacco smoke over this stone he sees yaku-yin, the Father of birds, a

32

Religious Beliefs

small man about 1 metre in height with long hair, decorated as for a festival with feathers and beads. The birds call yaku-yin "apa", father. Miywa knew of no other medicine men who protected birds. Similar ideas apply concerning fish. According to one informant, all fish have a father, but others maintain that only big fish, for example haimara (aimara) and tiger fish (okoropicho) have a father. Smaller fish like pirai, sting ray and kutmo (small fish) have no father, "for they are too small to possess a kworokjam". It thus seems that in order to have a yin it is necessary to have a kworokjam; a feature that emphasizes the confusion of kworokjam with yin that was also found in connexion with poinko-yin. The Father of fish is said by all to be a particular kind of anaconda that boasts a thick body and a short tail. A medicine man related that he had once seen it in a dream; it is regarded as real. As opposed to the Father of wild pig and the Father of birds, the Father of fish is thus not a human­ like being, but it should be remembered that the Anaconda-people, Okoimo-yenna, are partly char­ acterized bya human-like appearance. The particular type of anaconda under discussion here is called by the Waiwai "eripoimo" (big bakestone) which, incidentally, was the name of a now deserted Waiwai village near Essequibo. Also a former Taruma village had the name Ertpoimo (Evans & Meggers 1960, p. 207). The medicine man can keep fish in the neighbourhood by singing a special eremu that may run, for example: "Fish, fish, fish that is on the back of the amama", repeated several times. Amama is the particular name given by the medicine man to what ordinary folk call eripoimo. In the event of severe drought, the medicine man can in his medicine man hut practice rain magic by calling on the Father of water, tuna yin. This is done by blowing into a crab claw. The crab (sakawa) is regarded as the Father of water as well as a number of different species of frog that all start croaking when heavy rains occur. Eight of these frogs are called in Waiwai: kwalyakwalya, wekiki, kura, mawa, sunawi, kanapa, weneko and woi, It is also said that the soul of water, tuna ekati, can be summoned by blowing into a claw of a crab. Once more there is a certain mingling of the concepts father and souL Finally, there seems also to exist a father of the sun. This transpires from the story about the yaskomo who procured sunshine when, on a flight towards the sun, he first met Warakuimo. Warakuimo was the sun's Father, kamo-yin, and accompanied the yaskomo on the last part of the journey to the sun. The sun spoke and looked like a human being but was a kakenau-kworokjam. From an incantation it appears that the sun itself is addressed as "Father of yaskomo". In direct speech "father" is called "apa"; "yin" is indirect speech. It is a question whether the sun naturally can be classified under the concept "yin". It will therefore be treated of separately under sun cult.

The Sun Cult

33

THE SUN CULT How the yaskomo procured sunshine

Once when it had been overcast and rainy weather far too long, one yaskomo said to another: "Come, let us go up and visit the sun". The other yaskomo replied: "No, it is hot; it will burn us up", but the other insisted saying: "Let us go!" So they went together into the shutepana where they sang some eremu whereupon their ekati ascended to heaven. In heaven they first met Warakuimo (from "waraku", an unidentified bird, and "imo", big celestial parallel), the Father of the sun. The two yaskomo ad­ dressed him: "We want the sun to shine". Warakuimo replied: "Go yourselves and see the sun". So they went with Warakuimo to visit the sun. They soon made themselves a very large mat (wechi) to save them from being burnt by the heat, but when they approached the sun (a distance of about 2 kilometres was given) it was nevertheless so hot that they were nearly consumed. They then reached a house in which the sun dwelt. The sun, kamo, talked and looked completely like a human being though he was a kakenau-kworokjam. The first yaskomo said to the sun: "We have come to see you", and the sun answered: "I bear a diadem of feathers from the kuyukoimo bird; go yourself and remove it" (the kuyukoimo is a bird with black feathers, and the fact that there were black feathers in the diadem was the actual reason why the sky was overcast). The two yaskomo now stood as though by a big field of fire, a burning clearing, and they began to go all round it in order to draw out all the black feathers that encircled the fire. In place of these feathers they affixed the bright red feathers of the toucan, and when they had no more of these the last part of the circumference was filled in with red macaw (kworo) feathers. When this work had been completed the ekatt of the two yaskomo returned to their medicine man's hut. The next day the sun shone from a clear sky.

Fig. 6. Head diadem of toucan feathers, the brilliance of which is supposed to persuade the sun to shine. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4084) 3 Waiwai

-

34

-

~--- ... --
-i-

=

wayamnu

(achi)

EGO

chuwya

~__ ~OkOPurwa)

PALl

TAMCHI IAPA) (NONO)

A

OKOPURWA CHl

3~

i:l en "0

POIMO

POIMO (PIT!)

•__

pall .

AL~

o

A

J

~=r~"

NONO

pACHO = chacha

rACHO = chachu

,_. .. i ~6

-a' ?~ ..,

PACHO ~ chacha

pACHO = chacha

w

p

pali

-'-- =

POIMO

pIT!

"

I

6 ~

6

(\

b POIMO

chacha

~ ~

(")

a

~

s

(-0-)

§.

§" [b. :b.]

lb. pub.] okopurwa

~6

PALl

pat!

Kinship System poimo

(wayamnu) . . . . .

chuwya apa . . yeme . chacha tamchi okopuchi } okopurwa . pall. pacho

189

father's sister's son, mother's brother's son, wife's' sister's husband, (father's sister's husband), wife's father's brother, daughter's husband, wife's mother's brother, sister's husband, wife's brother. father's sister's daughter, mother's brother's daughter, brother's wife, (wife's brother's wife), wife's sister, (mother's brother's wife), (wife's father's sister), wife's mother's sister. wife, spouse. father, father's brother (father's sister's husband), (mother's sister's husband). mother, mother's sister, father's brother's wife, (mother's brother's wife). father's sister, wife's mother, father's mother, mother's mother, wife's maternal grandmother, wife's paternal grandmother. mother's brother, wife's father. child, son, daughter, youngest brother, (father's sister's daughter, younger), (wife's brother's wife), (son's wife), (younger relatives without offspring). brother's daughter, (sister's son), sister's daughter, son's son, son's daughter, daughter's son, daughter's daughter. father's father, mother's father, wife's paternal grandfather, wife's maternal grandfather.

Woman speaking ewshan fiofio wahrei mofia .

omrert ,

sister (younger), brother (younger), son, children of brothers and sisters, grandchildren. sister (elder and equal), (brother elder and equal). brother (younger). sister (younger). son.

The terminology for woman speaking appears in general to correspond to that for man speaking apart from certain terms for one's own and younger generations; in addition, women employ for the younger generation the same terms as those used by men. Women never use the term "poimo", Information concerning woman speaking kinship terminology is far from adequate. t

I

KINSHIP SYSTEM In order to draw up a theoretical kinship chart an attempt must be made to ascertain whether some terminologies can be omitted in order to achieve simplification. It should be stated immediately that all terms cannot with complete certainty be regarded as having been correctly given. This is due particularly to two circumstances: in the first place the author had not sufficient time at his disposal himself to review on the spot the social organization of the Waiwai, and he has unfortunately been unable since to obtain any supplementary information. Secondly, kinship was very inter-woven by cross relationships. This is not surprising in view of the present numbers of the Waiwai, about 170 individuals. Some terms must therefore be regarded as possible or dominating, but not always as the sole or definitive ones. A person often stands in a number of different forms of relationship to another.

190

Social Organization

In one case where a man's father and father-in-law had concluded brothership, the man used the word "apa" (father) to his father-in-law, as the term "apa" was the dominating one. As kinship terminology is generally maintained to be the same with a woman speaking as with a man, except for the nearest relations of one's own generation, sisters and brothers and younger generations, the author will solely confine himself to terminologies used by the man. A Waiwai man can call his brothers by one of three terms: fioiio, elder or same age; piti, younger, and okopurwa or okopuchi, youngest - provided there is a pitl, However, all these designations cannot with equal validity be accepted as purely kinship terms. The words okopuchi and okopurwa should rather be translated as "child", and are used in respect of an age class rather than as a degree of relationship (see p. 160). The problem is made more difficult in the case of the word pitl, since the distinction between elder and younger siblings of the same sex as the speaker is very pronounced, in any events with the Carib tribes. However, the question is of little importance as spouses and their offsprings are considered and designated the same. But the designation pm also has an extended meaning, comprising all the younger men in the village (see adults' age groups, p. 160). The sole quite precise term for brother is thus fiofio, which in the case of younger ones can be replaced by the broader piti. Incidentally, a man will as a rule use the designation "tyuwu" to another man of roughly the same age, whether he is closely, distantly, or not at all related, to the speaker. There is only one expression for sister, namely "achi". Nono etc. and achi cover both genuine sisters and brothers and classified ones, i.e. parallel-cousins, plus declared sisters and brothers, for example by brotherhood or voluntary transition from the wayamnu status (see p. 136). The term fiofio must be so understood when used for a sister's husband or wife's brother, and "achi" when used for a wife's brother's wife and wife's father's sister. Cross-cousin terms are for a male cousin "poimo" and for a female cousin the indirect "wayamnu" ("my tortoise", see myth p. 47). "Poimo" is the most general in-law term, meaning primarily brotherin-law, but also son-in-law and wife's uncle. Owing to the great age variation within this terminology, three generations, a difference is often drawn between "poimo" and "poimochi" (or pomochi = little in-law) used in respect of a younger poimo. Wayamnu is the term of reference for cross-cousins of a sex opposite to the speaker, that is to say for possible spouses, as cross-cousin marriage (see below) is permitted and frequently occurs. There is no direct term for wayamnu, and as personal names are not employed directly, one is often compelled to point or snap fingers at one's wayamnu. A man's wayamnu can change status in two ways, either by becoming his wife, whereupon the expression "chuwya" is employed, or by changing the sexual partnership to an economic one and thus achieving the status of a declared "achi". The affinal terms poimo, chuwya and wayamnu are the only reciprocal ones in Waiwai. In the first ascending generation the two closest kinship terms are "apa" and "yeme". "Apa" covers father, both real and classificatory, i.e., paternal uncle and possibly the father's and mother's sister's husband; "yeme" covers mother, real and classificatory, i.e., mother's sister and possible mother's brother's wife and father's brother's wife. "Apa" is also a broader age group designation for all older men in the same village, and is frequently used as a form of address to the chief of the village should he be an older man.

-'-Kinship System

191

The term "tamchi" covers father-in-law and maternal uncles; in the same way "chacha" is used for mother-in-law and paternal aunts. These two kinship terms clearly show that cross-cousin marriages are not only permitted but occur frequently among the Waiwai. "Chacha" is also the designation for a grandmother. There is no explanation why the word motherin-law and grandmother is identical. It may be a matter of a weak avoidance of mother-in-law, for "chacha" must primarily be considered to mean grandmother. The word "pacho" is used to describe all grandfathers; in the case of very old people this can become "parito". The word for a child, "okopuchi" before, and "okopurwa" after, puberty is, as already mentioned, in part an age group term and in part a kinship term for classificatory sons and daughters (and possibly daughters-in-law). The word "okopurwa" is also used to designate step-children and adopted children of both sexes. Unfortunately, in regard to terminologies for children of brothers and sisters, the author may have been given some that are perhaps not completely valid and which may derive from cross relationship. Both sister's son and brother's son are called "pitf", and sister's daughter and brother's daughter "pall". On one occasion the term "pall" was applied also to a sister's son. The apparently inconsequential thing about the designations is that no distinction is drawn between cross and parallel nephews and nieces, respectively, despite the fact that according to the classificatory system parallel nephews and nieces should be regarded as sons/daughters, and cross nephews and nieces as potential sons/ daughters-in-law. "Pitl", as younger related man, should thus be replaced by "okopurwa" or "okopuchi" in the case of brother's son, and in the case of a sister's son probably by "poimo" or "pomochi". In the same way "pall" should in the case of a brother's daughter be replaced by "okopurwa" or "okopuchi", and a sister's daughter - who is a potential daughter-in-law - by "okopurwa" or teknonymy. As this is not the case, and the terminologies are thus not symmetrical, it can merely be determined that asymetrical relationships predominate, and that the first descending line follows, in a terminological sense, a lineal system rather than the general bifurcate merging system. The dividing line between the two classificatory systems must be assumed to have come about as a result of disharmony in the locality rules, as a traditional matrilocality today is broken by an epeka-locality (see p. 200), where a group of full and half siblings cling together. In a group of this kind there will often be (as mentioned above and on p. 136) a voluntary change of status between, for example, a man and his wayamnu, so that they achieve the status of mutual siblings, and brotherhoods will be instituted. Both one's sisters (achi) and brother's wife (wayamnu) will be able to be regarded as sisters (epeka-status), and the dividing line between paternal and maternal nephews/nieces will lapse. As terms for son and paternal nephew (man speaking) are different, it must mean that the terminologies are disentangled

i

f

via the woman (in casu achi). Whereas the kinship term for son-in-law is normally "poimo", there is no correspondingly specific term for daughter-in-law (man speaking). Either "okopurwa", which has a broad class sense, or "teknonymy" is used. Presumably "teknonymy" here must be regarded as a kind of avoidance that has developed from the man's potential marital status to both the daughter-in-law and to the sister's daughter (see marriage types 2 and 10 p. 202), who theoretically are one and the same person.

Social Organization

192

If we ignore the ambiguous terminologies which result, amongst other things, from cross relationship, the Waiwai system of kinship is theoretically simplified thus: (The terms for nephew / niece are entered below under the designations for son- and daughter-in-law)

chachar-

=

OW""

-I . . [;lO:O A pITi'

pall

ch_a_c_h_a_L:_A_C_H_O

yeme

yerne

POIMO!

h" ac '

~=

piTI

EGO

chuwya

Ii

POIMOLChi NO NO

0

OKOPURWA

okopurwa

(pali)

PALi' -:- =

_

R:-----~----:r-6--1 A ~ 1 TAM:' APA ~ TA;CHl :A I

!

o

1

6

A pACHO

POIMO (PITl)

pali

pali

wayamnu Fig. 31. Theoretically simplified kinship chart of the Waiwai.

On the basis of the theoretical, classificatory kinship chart it appears that the Waiwai's system of relationship is bilateral, special weight being placed neither on the mother's nor on the father's side. The nomenclature shows no trace of clan organization, but rests on the principle of the division of parallel and cross relationship, the bifurcate merging type. His own generation is, for a man, divided up into four groups: brothers and brothers-in-law (primarily sister's husbands), sisters and potential spouses; for a woman the case is symmetrical. It seems as though a man regards persons of the same generation and sex through women, that is to say a brother-in-law (poimo) is the person married to the man's sister. It appears from the kinship chart (p. 188), that a wife's brother is called "poimo" if the wife's brother's wife is one's own classificatory sister (achi), but that he is called "fiofio" or "plti", respectively, if'the wife's brother's wife is one's wayamnu. It would seem that to possess a wayamnu in common justifies the use of the term "fiofio", On account of the classificatory system, the number of brothers and sisters is far greater than that justified by blood relationship, and the number of brothers-in-law and potential spouses in particular,

Forms of Address

193

is far in excess of that made possible by polygamous marriages. A man distinguishes only between an elder and a younger brother; a woman likewise only between an elder and a younger sister. This may be due to the division of labour. The placing in the system of, for example, brother-in-law and mother-in-law shows that the Waiwai do not distinguish sharply between generations on the one hand and degrees of relationship on the other. Just as parallel-cousins are classified with sisters, so parallel uncles and aunts are classified with parents; in the same way cross-cousins are classified as brothers-in-law and potential spouses, respectively, maternal uncles are classified as fathers-in-law and paternal aunts as mothers-in-law. The two last mentioned relatives will, if the cross-cousin marriage has been effective from the second ascending generation, be married to each other. In a corresponding way, the classificatory fathers and mothers (paternal uncles and maternal aunts) will be married to each other. The terminology justifies the principle about symmetrical cross-cousin marriage, whereas marriages of different generations should, to judge by the terminology, be rare provided we ignore polygamous marriages with a woman and her daughter by a previous marriage. Only in one case with the Waiwai did the author discover a distinction drawn between classificatory and actual relatives, namely in the terminology "apa"; here "amo" is used for "your father" (actual plus classificatory) and "ayolo" for "your father" (actual), The special nomenclature used for potential spouses, "wayamnu", which in addition to cross-cousins comprises unrelated persons of the opposite sex, forms the background for polygynous and polyandrous marriages, frequent with the Waiwai. There is also an underlying factor, particularly in connexion with sororate and levirate, as a man's brother's wife is always his potential spouse and a woman's sister's husband is always hers. There are indirect forms for all Waiwai terms of kinship with the possible exception of "pan". Only the term "wayamnu" has merely the indirect form.

FORMS OF ADDRESS Although as a rule a Waiwai has two personal names, it would be unthinkable to address him by either of them. This would not only be impolite, but one would be ashamed to employ it as "one casts a spell on a person by calling him by his name", a psychic value being attached to it. Similarly, one never utters one's own name, and when asked: "Who is that?", always replies: "awl" (I). The use of personal names only occurs in cases where the person concerned cannot hear it, but even then kinship terms are most commonly employed, or merely "nolo" (he). There is only one exception tc this rule: so long as they are small, children are often addressed by their personal name, at all events by their parents, brothers and sisters. This exception affects by teknonymy also the adressing of adults, who, for example, can be called "awayin" (awa's father) or "awayon" (awa's mother). Teknonymy that specially applies to parents can be employed both by related and unrelated persons. Even in the case of one's wayamnu, for which there is no term of adress, the personal name must be avoided. Gesticulation must be resorted to in order to attract the attention of the person in question, 13

Walwai

-,..

--~*

.......,..

~-

194

.-' -

-

Social Organization

plus the use of the word "amolo" (you). "Amolo" can be used for anyone instead of the specific kinship term. Children can address anyone, but their parents are extremely careful in teaching them at an early age correct kinship terminology. If nevertheless, a mistake is made in addressing a man by his personal name, it is thought that as punishment a small fish, masha, (huri or little haimara) will bite one at the first opportunity, or that a type of bat will bite one at night. It can therefore happen that an unjustified kinship term is employed to avoid unpleasantness. The yaskomo is the only person who stands in a kind of relationship to supernatural beings, and he uses terms, particularly "apa", in regard to them.

KINSHIP GROUPINGS The division of groups in the Waiwai kinship system is, for the consanguineous kin, strongly stamped by the generations. This is seen from the age group terms (see p. 160) and also applies to the grouping of the affinal kin. Parents are regarded as a group, apa and yeme, both actual and classificatory. The apa term, particularly, is far-reaching; a man thus said "apa" to a number of different men, namely 1) to his real father,2) to his paternal uncle, 3) to his mother's former husband, 4) to his father's brotherhood brother, 5) to a man because he wished it, 6) to a man because he was old, and 7) to the head of the village. Another group comprises one's children in a classificatory sense. In the meantime, the most important is the grouping "epeka", which covers the closest, bloodrelated individuals of the same generation. Epeka are children of the same mother or of the same father, plus parallel-cousins, that is to say, classificatory siblings. As a rule it is an epeka group of this kind that dominates the economic life of a village. Indirectly related persons like a wayamnu can by mutual agreement pass over to an epeka status and become "declared epeka". They then acquire economic obligations instead of the sexual ones hitherto. The second important grouping is the affinal awale, which comprises the more distant relatives, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sons-in-law (tamchi, chacha, poimo). It will be seen that there is no terminology corresponding to our sister-in-law. This group is more collected in the wayamnu-chuwya group, which covers potential and actual spouses. In addition to the above-mentioned kinship groupings, the Waiwai men also use a group designation for some close relatives such as mother and some distant epeka, i.e. classificatory siblings. Such relatives are collected under the indirect term "yanan". It was expressly stated that a man's father and children did not belong to the yanan group, and it must therefore mean that yanan refers to a rudimentary system of exogamous, matrilineal clans. In a system of this kind a man on marriage will move from his clan and his children will then belong to the mother's clan. When speaking of more distant epeka, non-local is presumably meant. When it is only a matter of some epeka it is reasonable to assume a clan system rather than a moiety system, where everybody - also parallel-cousins on the father's side - would at the same time belong to the mother's moiety.

The Village of Yakayaka

195

As opposed to "yanan" there is the word "analilo" which refers to Indians of other tribes or other races. It is said that "analilo" is used for people of different physical appearance. It is not uncommon for two unrelated men to contract a friendship which is regarded as brotherhood. They then call each other brother. Chikima from Yakayaka had a relationship of this kind with Kayi, who now lives with the Mapuera Waiwai. This resulted in Chikima's son, Mauasha also calling Kayi "apa", even though Kayi in reality was his "tamchi", his wife's father. Brotherhood had thus changed the terminology for the first descending generation also, but it had not changed the rules governing their behaviour. Brotherhood means that two men often assist each other in economic undertakings, hunting and so forth. THE VILLAGE OF YAKAYAKA To obtain a more precise impression of the importance of kinship to social organization, it will be practical to examine family relations in a village. The village of Yakayaka is a typical example (Fig. 32) and the one longest visited. It numbered 40 individuals on January 1st, 1955, and this accounted for

Fig. 32. The village of Yakayaka is dominated by the 10 metre high conically roofed communal house. All 40 inhabitants of the village sleep and often eat inside within their respective family sections, but most work during day is carried out in the two smaller working huts. . 13·

196

Social Organization

Fig. 33. Ground-plan of the communal house (If Yakayaka divided into sections each comprising a single familyhousehold, the eta.

over half the number of Waiwai dwelling in British Guiana and a little under a quarter of the total number of Waiwai. The village constitutes a social unit and consists of the round communal building which houses all its members. The sketch (Fig. 33) shows the common hearth in the centre with an open space around it, with a passage to the diametrically-placed doors. Between the two concentric circles of house poles the hammock places are shown by numbered lines. The sides of the triangles facing the house wall are also occupied by hammocks. In addition to the common hearth a great common grater-canoe (x) is placed near the back door. The communal house is about 12 metres in diameter.

The Village of Yakayaka

197

Each of the triangular sections forms an eta, i.e. an independent household, and contains a family hearth in the centre and a dog shelf towards the wall to which the family's dogs are tethered. The inhabitants of Yakayaka are so placed that in each eta the father is mentioned first, his wife being immediately under him. Eta in Yakayaka 1)

Charamcha, with son Awa, 8 years old and Ayetskiri, with daughters Watiki, 6 years old, and Watku, 2 years old . Manaka (Ayetskiri's son), 16 years old . . . . .

2) ---

2 3 1

6

+ 2 dogs

1

3)

1 4)

1 2

5)

1

6)

6 2

7) 8) 9)

Paranchitna (with their son Tamoka), 8 years old Kamanyare, and over them . Tarishi (their daughter), 8 years old . . . . . . Yarka (Kamanyare's epeka, probably half-brother), 14 years old Mashipata (Kamanyare's sister), 11 years old. Emerka (Kamanyare's grandmother) Waiwai (Kamanyare's epeka), 18 years old. .

---

10) 11) 12)

Macharwe with their daughter Ana, 4 years old . Powa, with their son Onowana, 2 years old Yakota (Powa's half-brother), 25 years old . . . including, occasionally, Ana Totore (Powa's step-son, Powa formerly married to his father), 13 years old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

+ 3 dogs

1 1 1

1 1 1

8 2 2

+ 4 dogs

1

1

6

+ 2 dogs

13)

1

14)

3 1

15)

1

16)

7 + 1 dog 1 2

1

Chikima . Kawa, with their son Ekaipun, 1 year old . . . . 17) Ashwa (Kawa's son with Chiliminoso), 10 years old.

1

- - -

4

+ 0 dog

Social Organization

198 18) 19) 20)

Twaipu . ...•........ Ahma Kapienna (their son), 18 years old

1 1 1

3 + 2 dogs 7 eta with a total of 40 persons and 14 dogs. There are 7 eta in Yakayaka, but they must be regarded as comprising 8 families, as the polyandrous marriage between Towchi and Kurum/Yukuma has ended, so that 3 and 4 constitute two families. Even though Kurum and Yukuma now each represents his own family, they still live together in the same eta and share the family hearth. They practise a far-reaching economic association, work in the fields and now and again hunt together despite personal tension. This is due to Yukuma's traditional dependence on his in-laws (see washma custom below). The head of the village is the approximately 30 years old Ewka, No. 13, and a review of the relationship shows that the village mainly consists of families where either the man or the woman is Ewka's epeka. The kinship chart below should be read from left to right. The top row shows a successive series of marriages where the spouse to the left dies and a new marriage is started with the partner to the right. The result of these changing marriages is a number of children, who are brothers and sisters, halfbrothers and -sisters, or actually unrelated though belonging to the same epeka group. The figures under the epeka row show the placing in the eta.

? I

.

TUISHU

=

I

towchi

CHIKIMA

3

16

miko

I-I

powa 10

,

----

TUMEKA

MACHARWE

EWKA YAKOTA 13

chako I

11

10

,

WAYURUKWA

TOTORE 12

In long connected series of epeka of this nature, great differences of age arise within a generation, and with marriages of mixed generations one who belongs to the epeka row can ascend to an elder generation. The row thus continues: WAYURUKWA

-~~-

powa

=

MACHARWE

_1It was stated that Towchi was epeka to Ewka, but as she had no actual father or mother in common

with him, the two must be regarded as classificatory parallel-cousins. Ewka's marriage to Towchi's daughter, Ahmori, gives us an example of the niece marriage. This example also shows Ewka's fortunate position in the middle of epeka, which gives him more of them than those on the wings. Coupled with his personal qualities, this position has undoubtedly contributed to his status as head of the village. Next in importance to Ewka, probably, is Towchi, who in addition to personal ability and authority exercises great influence in virtue of being mother-in-law to both Ewka and Yukuma. It is not fortuitous that the families of Ewka and Towchi have placed themselves furthest from the doors; these two places are considered the best.

-

--

--- ------ ~

The Village of Yakayaka

199

Fig. 34. Towchi, most important woman in Yakayaka as mother-in-law of the village leader, Ewka, and radiating a great personal authority, is also a very skilled potter.

There can now be reason to investigate how the individual families are related to the epeka group The married couple (1) Charamcha / Ayetskiri is mixed, as Ayetskiri comes from the Piskaryenna Indians near the Mapuera. Charamcha's status is affinal, since for a short time he took his wayamnu, Powa (10) to wife despite the protests of both the deserted spouses. The married couple (3): Kurum married to Towchi and dominated by her. The married couple (4): Yukuma / Ratare; Ratare is the daughter of Towchi. Yukuma was previously married to Towchi. This example is typical of the cross relations which make an unambiguous interpretation of the Waiwai kinship system so difficult; as KURUM

towchi

I

ra tare

=

~

~ ~ ~ t~

) . plpl

YUKUMA

PEPMA

Social Organization

200

Thus Towchi lived in a polyandrous marriage at the same time as Yukuma lived in a polygynous one. Incidentally, it may be remarked that Pepma did not regard Ratare as a stepmother (yeme), but as a half-sister (achi). Marriages of mixed generations are by no means uncommon with the Waiwai, MAPALE..

I

YUKUMA

..

,,

,

"towchi

, .-t. .

.

I

ahmori

so that Yukuma had previously been married to his stepmother's mother, as Yukuma's father, Mapale, had previously been married to Towchi's daughter, who thus ranked as mother to Yukuma. The married couple (6): Paranchitna / Kamanyare were said not to be linked to the epeka group by bonds of relationship. The married couple (10): Macharwe / Powa both belonged to the epeka group but had no actual parents in common. The married couple (13): Ewka / Ahmori; Ahmori is also the daughter of Towchi. The married couple (16): Chikima / Kawa belongs through Chikima to the epeka group. Incidentally, this couple had attempted to obtain the husband's son by a former marriage included in a polyandrous union in order to gain his working effort for the home. The son, Mauasha, did not wish this and married his cross-cousin instead. The married couple (18, 19): Twaipu / Ahma did not appear to belong to the epeka group and were only staying in Yakayaka temporarily. When it is remembered that a village chief will do everything he can to bring unrelated persons to his village in order to increase its prestige and prosperity, the ratio of one or two stranger families to 6 related families must be regarded as a clear indication that the epeka group is an extremely important factor in the build up of the Waiwai village community.

THE FAMILY

Just as the structure of the village is stamped by the community of brothers and sisters, so also is the individual eta in the communal house stamped by marriage. An eta is a household that collects around a family hearth. It always consists of a married couple and only one; as case (3 & 4) is explained as an originally polygamous marriage. To the eta also belong unmarried children, stepchildren and adopted children, plus any unmarried brothers and sisters or a surviving mother or father of the wife. It is thus an individual family. Since most of the individual families in the communal house stand in an epeka relationship to each other, one could speak of an extended family. As a rule, however, the natural head is dead, owing to the generally low average duration of life. It has previously been mentioned that a certain degree of matrilocality exists among the Waiwai. However, this should be regarded almost as an ideal demand which is only occasionally fulfilled and then only temporarily, as a rule in the first year after the conclusion of marriage (see p. 135).

The Family

201

Even though it might seem that a village built up on the epeka system would upset the principle of matrilocality,' this need not be the case. Thus, Ewka is married to the daughter of his epeka, and his sister Powa is married to Macharwe, who belongs to the same epeka group, though neither had either parent in common. Yukuma still follows the rule of matrilocality and has a far-reaching economic association with his father-in-law with whom he hunts and works in the fields. However, matrilocality is particularly a burden for the husband on account of the dependence, washma, in which he stands to his wife's brothers and father. To serve washma means to let one's sister's husband undertake some work for one. Washma work, which the brother-in-law is bound to perform, must be regarded as a bride service, in theory valid for life but actually only as long as matrilocality persists. At the oho chant that takes place in connexion with the contraction of marriage, the duration of matrilocality is one of the main questions of dispute. A man who has had to press strongly to obtain a girl in marriage must in return promise to practise matrilocality for a longer period. Because an oho chant is binding, a suitor of this kind will be forced into a longer working period for his in-laws. Washma always acts through the woman. A man thus applies to his sister if he needs work done, whether in the fields, house building or smaller tasks such as the manufacture of arrows. The woman then passes on the message to her husband in a form such as: "Go and cut in my brother's field". If the man does not perform this work the woman's brother will become angry and say, for example: "You are my sister's husband (poimo), but you don't obey me". The washrna custom ensures that in an epeka-stamped village solidarity is not subverted by the special interests of the individual family. In Yakayaka, Ewka possessed through his sister, Powa, washma rights over Macharwe. That Macharwe found this burdensome is shown by the fact that he twice left the village in an attempt to establish a new one. Only a lack of drive in realizing this project forced him to return to the village. Through the washma custom not only the epeka group but also its awale relations, its in-laws, are incorporated in the joint tasks and economy of the village. The most effective way in which a young man can evade his washma obligations is to let his sister marry his wife's brother, whereby the rights of the two men cancel out. This sister exchange does take place, though it is but seldom possible. The economically dominant person in the eta is the woman; a man simply could not manage without one. Before a man marries he is cared for by his mother, or by his sister should the mother be dead. If married and his wife dies, he will move back to his sister until he finds a new wife. In this way also the sister's husband will feel his dependence upon his in-laws. Above (under marriage), the distinction between sister and wayamnu, between an economic and a sexual partner, has been dealt with; it can merely be said that a wife combines these two functions. A man's relations with his female awale for example, his mother-in-law, is on the other hand stamped by avoidance. One feels ashamed to talk to one's mother-in-law because she might think that one was fawning for the purpose of having sexual relations with her. This must therefore be regarded as a theoretical possibility in the case of an awale, and there was, in fact, one instance where a man had married his father's sister, who is his classificatory mother-in-law. Only if a man is very hungry may he ask his mother-in-law for bread. The weak trace of mother-in-law avoidance on the part of the man is supported by the fact that a man's kinship term

202

Social Organization

for a grandmother, chacha, is identical with the word for mother-in-law, and that - as opposed to the special term for father-in-law, tamchi - there is no special word for mother-in-law. The same thing applies between a man and his daughter-in-law.

FORMS OF MARRIAGE The eta and individual family are built on marriage, of which the Waiwai practice many types, both monogamous and polygamous. As a man (or a woman) must find his (her) spouse amongst the wayamnu there are two possible forms of marriage within the framework of the family: 1. eros s-cousin marriage, which on account of the classificatory terms must be regarded as the type of marriage most frequently met with. For example, the children of Ewka and Powa were destined for each other. Four couples, at all events, practised this type . . 2. avuncular marriage, with a sister's daughter. There were two certain examples of this. Thewayamnu institution with the appearance of a number of potential spouses and permitted lovers even in the case of the marriage of all concerned, is active in the establishment of polygamous relations such as 3. polygyny in general, and 4. sororal polygyny, that has taken place frequently. This form would be the natural result of a combination of polygamous and cross-cousin marriage tendencies. 5. sororal monogamy in connexion with the death of a wife was also observed and harmonizes well with the classificatory mother concept. 6. polygyny by marriage with a woman and her daughter by a previous marriage, one example (Yukuma). If we look at the terminologies for wife's aunts (wayamnu) and uncles (poimo) it will be found that this nomenclature also stresses that type of marriage. As the wayamnu institution applies equally to women there is also: 7. polyandry in general. 8. leviratic polyandry, one case (Yakota + Macharwe). 9. leviratic monogamy in one case where the husband died. 10. polyandry by marriage with a man and his son by a former marriage, one case (Powa); see also Kawa (p. 134). In principle the wayamnu concept extends beyond the tribe, and consequently there is nothing to stop one fetching a bride from one of the neighbouring tribes. In Yakayaka only Charamcha had done so, marrying the Piskaryenna woman, Ayetskiri, from the upper Mapuera. Particularly the Mouyenna Indians south-east of the Waiwai have furnished the Waiwai with wives; six were heard of. In return at least three Waiwai women had married Mouyenna men. In addition, individual Waiwai had obtained wives from You, Piskaryenna and Katwine, all south of the Waiwai area, near the Mapuera. Two Waiwai women had married outside the tribe, one with a Taruma and the other with a Wapishana Indian, both north of the Waiwai area. It was generally held by the Waiwai that such mixed marriages were a new feature. The first time a Waiwai married a Mouyenna was thus said to be only about 40 years ago; this, however, does not agree with the historical sources (see p. 7).

Descent

203

DESCENT In connexion with the mixed tribal marriages the question of the children's status arises. As previously mentioned the kinship terminology and the symmetrical cross-cousin marriage points towards a bilateral system, but traces in the direction of matrilineal descent has also been referred to. In the cases that could be determined, it proved that a child of a Waiwai father and Mouyenna mother was regarded, and regarded itself, as a Mouyenna, even though matrilocality was not practised. Naturally, this can be due to a Mouyenna rule about matrilineage. The chief informant, Ewka, considered, however, that it was environment during growth that determined tribal status, and that a child of a Waiwai man and a Mouyenna woman would be a Waiwai provided he grew up with that tribe. This explanation, which places environment above descent, established the rule concerning bilateralism, but it shows at the same time that descent depends on the current rule of locality. The traces of matrilineage one occasionally encounters among the Waiwai can best be explained by a reference to the view that matrilocality - which now is only an ideal - has, to judge by everything, formerly been a general rule. There is hardly any doubt that it is a general Waiwai idea that a child belongs equally to the sides of both its parents. This can be seen by the fact that a child whose parents die will join the nearest female relative and her eta whether she is related through the father or through the mother. In addition to locality, the rules of inheritance are also connected with the descent rule. Ignoring such things as field and hunting territory rights, which are always common property, and where there is thus only a question of a right of personal use rather than a right of property, the rule applies that material effects are to some extent separate estate and are regarded as personal property. These objects being conditioned by sex to a high degree, a son can only inherit his father and a daughter her mother. To the extent that one can talk of the position of village chief being inheritable by the son, the same ambivalent rule is followed in reality. Ambilinear inheritance corresponds to bilateral descent.

THE HEAD OF THE VILLAGE, YAYALITOMO As mentioned above, a village consists socially of a number of eta or individual families, most of which often stand in a mutual epeka relationship to each other. Theoretically, therefore, the village can be considered as a bilateral extended family, to which belongs an isolated individual family or so. The social organization of the village is a faithful reflection of the family organization. Just as an individual family absorbs any relatives and forms a household, so the extended family absorbs friends and forms a village. In accordance with this it is the custom to call the yayalitomo "father" (apa), and his status vis-a-vis the people in the village corresponds to that of the dominant person in a washma relationship. Social behaviour, which extends beyond kinship behaviour, particularly the epeka-awale relation, is in the main linked with the village chief. The head of the village, or yayalitomo as the Waiwai call him, owns the clearing and the communal house. Any Waiwai may become the yayalitomo if he is able to assemble some men around him and persuade them to clear a fresh patch of ground and build

./

204

Social Organization

a communal house. A natural qualification is either a strong personality and authority or a larger group of epeka and their affilated awale over whom to dispose. Succession also plays a role in achieving the dignity of yayalitomo; at all events in two instances this office passed to a son (or adopted son). However, there is no question of a rule, but merely that the family of the old yayalitomo is regarded by the village as an important one, and that in consequence his son possesses a natural advantage. If the son does not appear to be qualified, another who is can take over the post. If no suitable candidates are to be found in the village, it will be dissolved and the individual families will spread to other Waiwai villages. Succession in connexion with the taking over of the dignity of head man is in reality linked to local circumstances. Only a son - he need not to be the eldest - can decide whether a village is to exist after the death of his father, the headman. Should he so decide, only he himself can take over the position. If, on the other hand, it is decided to move, one can either move to a village already in existence and subject oneself to its headman's authority, or establish a new village, whereby other members of the village obtain an opportunity to achieve the rank of headman. The position of a yayalitomo can be described as a primus inter pares, which is emphasized by the plan of the communal house and his position in it (see p. 198). The equal distribution of the eta in the circular communal house is well fitted to a community so devoid of rank. An eta in the communal house corresponds structurally to the Waiwai lean-to shelter, powishi-matko, regarded by the Waiwai as their original building type (see p. 76), and at any rate typologically older. The Waiwai village is neither stable nor permanent. As a rule it only has a life of about 5 years, for economic, technical and religious reasons. The village is always sited in direct connexion with the field, and close to an assured water supply, i.e. a small brook; in addition, it will not be far from a major river system, owing to the needs for communication and for fishing and hunting trips. After about three years a slash-and-burn field is exhausted and unremunerative because of strong undergrowth, and it will seldom be possible to have more than three fields in the immediate vicinity of the village. Even before that time the communal house will as a rule have been renewed in preference to undertaking the many repairs necessary, and when renewing it, it often happens that the whole village is moved a few hundred metres away. A third factor will usually prove decisive: this is the custom to burn and desert a village when one of its more important members dies (see p. 164). According to reports, this custom was more frequently practised in the past than it is now, and then is said to have comprised every adult member. Now it is followed at all events when the yayalitomo, the yaskomo, or one of their wives die. When many people have been buried in the proximity of the village, this alone provides a motive for removal, owing to the fear felt about the ekatmho of the dead. When a village moves for one reason or another, a change also in its composition often takes place. A dissatisfied person or one with a strong personality may use the occasion to form a new independent village; this was the case when Yakayaka was established, as people moved from the earlier Eripoimo. As mentioned in the case of Macharwe, one can also attempt to move from an already existing village. The gaining of the office of yayalitomo is either connected with the establishment of a new village or with death. A new yayalitomo makes his appearance not only on the death of a yayalitomo but also

Rights of Property

205

on the death of his wife. In Mauika, the next-largest of the Guiana Waiwai villages (with about 30 inhabitants), the wife of the headman died, but he decided to remain in his old village, probably because a move had been made not long before. He was able to do this as he was mlmimitl, that is, owner of the house. In the meantime, being without a wife, he was no longer regarded as a completely valid member of the village, since for one thing he became economically dependent upon the female leader of another eta. Shortly after, the dignity of yayalitomo therefore devolved upon his adopted son, whilst he himself acted as an informal stabilizer in the village for a transitional period. As already mentioned, a yayalitomo must know how to make a good field and to be able to predict the rains. A good yayalitomo is one who plants a very big field and obtains ample crops. He can only do this because he acquires, upon asking, in addition to his epeka and awale, the help of all the men in the village in clearing work. On such occasions a yayalitomo can resort to an oho chant (see p. 217) in order thereby to compel any who may oppose his demand for common work. He has the right to institute an "oho" regarding this, and the other party will then be bound to comply with the request. In the case of joint work the oho is used normally in connexion with cassava cultivation, and the yayalitomo will less frequently take the initiative in sending out people to hunt or to fish, although fish poisoning can come under the heading of joint work. The yayalitomo has to be able to dispose over this labour force, as great economic obligations rest upon him. He must see that the old people in the village obtain sufficient supplies of cassava from his field should they possess no young female relative to work for them. He must receive guests and look after them if they have no relations in the village. Furthermore, he must produce cassava for the almost daily common meals. In return for these obligations, the yayalitomo has the natural right for his eta to occupy the best position in the communal house, that is to say, furthest from the doors, and he enjoys a prestige in accordance with his personality and authority. "

RIGHTS OF PROPERTY Before proceeding any further with the village and its leader, a few words must be said about the rights of property and the distribution of work. Personal rights of property apply equally to men, women and children; one can never obtain a child's toy by trll;ding without its consent, uninfluenced by its parents. Household utensils, implements and weapons are personal property. Bigger objects, like a canoe used by a whole familyvare owned by the father, whereas larger clay vessels, cassava pans and tipiti, which are also used by the family in association, are the property of the family's female head. The canoe is thus private property even if its production is the result of common effort. Clothes and ornaments are always personal property, as are hammocks made by the man for his wife and his children. The barter of personal property in the tribe is usually done in connexion with an "oho". As mentioned in connexion with a trading oho (p. 217), the rule seems to apply that the right of usage takes precedence over private property rights, so that a man who, for example, possesses no bow can demand one of the two owned by another man. It appears also that products from deserted fields become joint property.

"

Social Organization

206

Property rights are strongly stamped by the Waiwai's day-to-day economy, where there is never any amassing of values. Even the harvest is not collected for storage, as the keeping qualities in the soil of the ripe bitter cassava makes this unnecessary. This special quality of the bitter cassava must have made agriculture more acceptable when a switch was made from a pure hunting and collecting economy. Whereas the smaller working houses lying around are owned and erected by one or two individual families, the communal house is formally owned by the yayalitomo. The clearing is also owned by the headman though the result of common effort. It is then divided up into family plots of about 2 acres which each family plants and thus acquires right of use. For the village of Yakayaka there were two fields divided as follows:

Ewka Chikima Paranchitna Macharwe

Kurum

+

Yukuma Ewka

Charamcha

It is worth mentioning that each eta in the village has a plot of land except Twaipu and his family

who, as previously mentioned, was only staying there temporarily. It was found that in addition to sharing an eta Kurum and his son-in-law Yukuma also shared a field. The sketch also shows that the yayalitomo, Ewka, was the only one to own two plots of field, each of which was larger than those owned by others. Women must fetch from their own plot the cassava needed to supply the bread and beverage needs of their family. For the common meal, both the daily one at midday and on festive occasions, the yayalitomo asks the women in turn to fetch cassava from his field. The woman now makes bread and from it drink; this is her property, but when it is to be used she hands it over to the yayalitomo who then gives it to the members of the village and any guests. Thus a woman is always in charge of the drink, and usually also of the food, to be used at common meals.

DISTRIBUTION OF WORK AND POSITION When common meals are given, certain members of the village have special functions. When the woman responsible for food and drink delivers it to the yayalitomo she says: "Please, the food is ready". However, the yayalitomo does not pass on this message direct to the village members but to a definite person. In Yakayaka this was his father-in-law, Kurum, who through his wife, Towchi, belonged to the next most important family in the village. In the neighbouring village of Mauika the message from the headman was given to his adopted son, who was later to be his successor. It thus seems

r-;-

Distribution of Work

\

1 I

I

• J

l r Fig. 35. The chief occupation of Waiwai women is the preparation of cassava, the poisonous juice of which is here patiently pressed out by the help of the tipitf.

'.

207

Social Organization

208

justified to assume that the message is given from the yayalitomo to his deputy. The deputy then passes on the message to an employee, who in Yakayaka was Kurum's son-in-law, Yukuma, and in Mauika a younger awale man, Wanawa. Finally, the employee tells everybody in the village. Only then does one assemble for the daily common meal at about 1-2 p.m. As a rule it consists of a tapioca beverage or kuchukwa (cassava beer), red pepper soup ("pepper-pot") usually without meat or fish, and cassava bread. This order of rank becomes still more apparent in connexion with an "oho chant", which is initiated by the yayalitomo in order to invite a neighbouring village to a dance festival or to send the people of his village out to work in the fields. In the case of a dance festival the message is transmitted indirectly as follows: Yayalitomo Deputy Employee

I

1 ' I V

Yayalitomo Deputy

»>:" families Hea~~ of

~

Employee

The yayalitomo gives the message to his deputy, who gives it to the employee. The last-mentioned then goes to the neighbouring village and conveys the invitation to the yayalitomo there, who also via his deputy passes it on the employee. The employee then tells everyone in the village. In domestic village affairs, however, the first three links drop out, but at common meals are replaced by the woman responsible for the catering. As the Waiwai community appears today it seems unthinkable to the author that there can be a social basis for such a developed system of rank in view of the small population of this tribe and the limited functions of the yayalitomo. It thus seems more to be a matter of a rudiment or of a loan from cultures more stamped by rank. As the custom works today it is, however, a means of augmenting the distinction between the yayalitomo and the ordinary man; but the difference will never be a great one. The stratified organization of the village with the headman, his deputy and his employee are, with the exception of the yaskomo, the only cases of individual specialization in the Waiwai community. Apart from this, the distribution of work is, as is the case everywhere in the Amazon region, strongly conditioned by sex, the men engaging in hunting and fishing and in the forms of collecting that demand major muscular efforts, like the collection of honey and bees, or of fruit and nuts that demand climbing skill. The women attend to general collecting, and also take part in fishing, when it is a matter of fish poisoning, but then their work takes the form of collecting. They can thus also take part in the fetching of lianas that are used in fish poisoning. A woman who is childless may also participate in men's hunting expeditions, even though all she does is to carry home the bag. Fish poisoning is, of course, a common effort in which several families in the village take part as a rule, but it is only occasionally organized by the yayalitomo. One or more men beat out the fish poison at a suitable place in the river where the current is quite weak. Each time they lower the basket with the fish poison they say: "May the fish be drunk by poison". Whilst they are so doing, other

Distribution of Work

209

men, women and children stand ready further down the stream and collect and kill the unconscious fish which float or jump on the surface. When this has been done the more fortunate of the collectors give half their fish to the men who have put out the poison. The person who has organized the fish poisoning, who as a rule receives a good supply, and possibly another who has been fortunate, allow their wives to distribute the catch to all who have remained at home. It is characteristic that each child also obtains a fish; children are regarded as fully-fledged members of the village, but it is naturally assumed that they will give the fish to their mothers and that it ends in the family pot. The men's sphere of work includes the heavier side of agriculture such as the clearing and burning of fields. They also assist in other aspects of farming like digging up and carrying home the cassava and helping with the planting, though the actual work of cultivation and household task fall to the women. In regard to game it is a rule that men invariably cut up the meat, whereas the women always remove the hairs of the fur by pouring hot water over them and then either picking or scraping them out. Bread and beverages are made by the women, who likewise attend to cooking, collecting and the cutting of firewood. As a rule they also fetch water. Amongst the most important techniques it can be mentioned that the production of clay vessels is a woman's task, but men often do the painting or the scratching of a design. Only women spin cotton and make cassava scrapers. Plaiting work like pegall, sieves, tipitl, fans etc. is performed solely by men, as is also the case in respect of hammocks and weaving of men's loin

.

cloths. On the other hand, the special bead weaving and all other bead work is done by women. House building is a man's task, as is the manufacture of weapons, including arrow poison, and the adaptation of musical instruments. In connexion with this last it should be mentioned that the artistic side of the Waiwai culture is nearly always performed by the men. Only they play musical instruments, apart from the rattles used by the leading woman at dance festivals. Only men produce plastic art and patterned plait work. Even the clay vessels manufactured by the women are decorated as a rule by men. The men decorate themselves far more carefully than women with body, and particular face, paint. Finally, the myths are also related by men.

Fig. 36. Waiwai composite comb, a piece of art. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4118). 14 Waiwai

210

Social Organization

The reason why practically all work of an artistic nature is linked with the man is difficult to explain. It can, however, be emphasized that in general the Waiwai man has far more spare time than the woman, and that his sphere of work - especially hunting - is of a particularly dramatic character. In the myths just as in animism and magic, it is nearly always animals that stamp the imaginative world rather than plants. The same is the case with visual art; practically all the things made: grater boards, stools, basketry, bast costumes, etc., represent animals, particularly the jaguar, anaconda, lizard, frog, ape and fish. Within this field the men, in view of their hunting and fishing, are naturally the more competent interpreters, as well as being both the more inspired and the more engaged. As a result one cannot talk of professional craftsmen among the Waiwai. Nearly every family can do what is necessary, and none is able to dispense with the economic basis represented by personal labour at agriculture, fishing or hunting. This also applies to the yayalitomo and the yaskomo. Natural ability and inclination play their part, of course, and Charamcha, for example was particularly good at plaiting and sometimes did for Yukuma, who preferred to spend most of his time out hunting. Similarly, Towchi and her daughter were unusually adept at making clay vessels, making them for others in the tribe in return for payments in kind, such as spun cotton. Only one man, Waniu, amongst the Guiana Waiwai was able to carve low stools, and he provided the whole group with them. In the same way, Machawe was the only one capable of carving small dogs and armadilloes from ite kernels, which children wore on a string round their necks. Special mental powers were frequently met with amongst elderly people, for example Ayetskiri was known for her skill in lay eremu, and a man like Chikima was appreciated as a narrator of myths.

! ~

I

The daily round In connexion with the distribution of work between the sexes, a few remarks can be made about its distribution over the day. The daily task of collecting food is always done in the morning, as it is desired to take advantage of the cool early hours for the heaviest work. There will always be a few families which have planned hunting and fishing trips. These start as early as 3-4 a.m. If it is a special hunt, three or four young men will go off, but often there are combined trips where one or two families leave in the canoe. The women can then indulge in fish poisoning and collect potting clay, fruit and iguana eggs, whilst the men hunt and practise fishing with bow and arrow. Of those, who remain at home, some women go to the field where, from about 6 to 9 a.m., they dig up the daily supply of cassava, plant a corresponding number of cuttings, and perhaps weed. The particular woman in charge of the common beverage must attend to a larger supply, and often has some of the family's male members to help her in digging up and carrying home. Waiwai men, who perform a considerable amount of the agricultural work, often have the hunter's typical attitude toward steady work; they gladly let it drop if a sudden opportunity arises for hunting. This is also the reason why Waiwai trips take an unnecessarily long time; richer hunting far from inhabited places excites their hunting instincts. For women the morning passes in household work, especially the preparation of cassava. Should the family have a baby, one can often see the husband lying in his hammock (when debarred from

(

hunting on account of poyin) deputed to look after it. The women bring panniers of fuel to the hearth, and go down to the river, bearing three or four calabash containers, to fetch water. Here, there is nearly always something going on; the children bathe, try their father's canoe or attempt fishing. All the Waiwai bathe at least once daily. When the women fetch water they take the opportunity to have a dip; modesty forbids the men to stay near the spot. Solicitude, and particularly jealousy, often causes some husbands to accompany their wives, and they sit on the bank just out of sight, waiting on their stools. Not only jealousy but also marital solidarity and understanding frequently gives the husband cause chivalrously to accompany his wife in her work. Women enjoy respect and esteem according to their personality, not only in marriage but also in village life. However, they have not quite the same social rights as men (see, for example, p. 216), and cannot, so far as is known, become a yayalitomo; however they can exercise fu11 influence through their husbands and may dominate them. In this connexion mention can be made of a joking remark on the part of a Waiwai man when he heard that someone had broken one of Towchi's clay vessels. He said: "If it were I, I should now 14·

212

The Daily Round

Fig. 37. Waiwai fishing normally is carried out with bow and arrow either from a canoe, a rock or - as here - from a platform erected in shallow water.

be far up the river!". Though the social position of women is inferior to that of men, it dominates in the sphere of economics. Though it cannot be proved, it is tempting to regard the inordinate vanity and love of finery of the Waiwai men, as compared to the far greater moderation of the women in this respect, as being due to the women's occupational domination, and the difference in motives thus engendered for the selection of mates by the two sexes. The individual family (eta) normally eats together at about 5-6 a.m., and a midday meal is taken at about I p.m. either individually and haphazardly, or, more usually a common meal prepared at the insistance of the yayalitomo, where first the men and then the women eat. If the head of the family has been absent in the morning hunting, he often returns about 2-3 p.m. His wife must immediately drop all work in order to cook some of his bag, which is then consumed as quickly as possible by the whole family. If the man has been lucky and killed a big animal, or has obtained an ample

r

The Daily Round

213

Fig. 38. 5 Waiwai men gathered for the midday meal, consisting of pepperpot with alligator meat; the women will eat afterwards.

supply of fish, one of three things may happen: the hunter or fisher may merely distribute the meat or fish raw to all members of the village who thus enjoy it by families at the meal at 5-6 p.m.; or, one may - particularly after a fish poisoning expedition - distribute the fish, which is then cooked by families, whereupon the yayalitomo summons a common meal and first the men and then the women eat from the many clay vessels that have been brought together; or the hunter can hold a nohaini (literally: here it is = be pleased (to eat)) to which he invites the whole village. In this last event the hunter and his family must not participate in the common meal, presumably on account of the risk of poyin (see p. 143), but eat by themselves out of their own pot, whilst the main part of the meat is handed over to another woman of the village to be cooked. At nohaini men and women eat at the same time, but in two circles each round ones own pot. If it is practicable, an invitation can be sent to a neighbouring village concerning a nohaini, in which case the meat will be smoked over a barbecue during the night and eaten the day after the hunt. It is unavoidable that the man who often brings back ample quantities of meat and fish to the village enjoys special favour and prestige. Accordingly, it is a common practice for strangers to make themselves popular by bringing with them gifts of food when visiting a village. When a Waiwai is approaching a strange village, he will be particularly careful with his morning toilet, especially his face paint; he will put white eagle down on his shiny, greased hair, but he will

214

The Daily Round

Fig. 39. Waiwai men are extremely vain, and especially before visiting a strange village they adorn their black, greased hair with white down from the harpy eagle.

not feel properly at his ease until he has been able to present gifts of meat and fish at the welcoming talk with the yayalitomo. It was with genuine pride that one of our Waiwai with the expedition handed over to the yayalitomo on our arrival at the village of Kashimo the whole of our meat supply, about t of a tapir. On another occasion he distributed haimara fish, first to the men and then to the women and children. The afternoon is the quietest time of the day in a Waiwai village. During the hottest time one rests in hammocks, which may have been hung in one of the working huts without walls so that one can see what is going on. Later, practical work is done: the women spin or make clay vessels, the men plait or manufacture arrows. A couple may be engaged in an oho. After the evening meal darkness falls immediately, but for many hours the cool air is enjoyed out of doors or in the working huts. If there is illness in the village, the work of the yaskomo now begins, either in the communal house or in his medicine man's hut, which cannot be built until darkness falls. One or two young men often practise flute playing long after most of the inhabi tants have gone to rest. However, quiet at night is always sporadic. The inhabitants lie by families around the eta hearths, and the women, whose hammocks are hung under those of the men, must regularly poke the fire. Sounds from the forest cause first one dog to bark and then another; this is followed by a howl when the owner hurls a log at it. Talks goes on. The events of the day are discussed and, if humanly possible, made fun of. Laughter then breaks out and after that quiet prevails for a short space. The urge to laugh and to poke fun at others is very characteristic of the Waiwai. One is always friendly in front of one's fellows, but to a third party there is no mincing of words. What is said of

The Daily Round

215

Fig. 40. The tapir - largest game of South America - was killed by bow and arrow from the canoe. After a smoking on barbecue the two hunters handed over most of the meat to the leader of the village visited two days later.

one, one's reputation, is an important factor conditioning self-respect and humour. The Waiwai possess no legal institutions that formally indicate obligation and mete out punishment of social offences. If a person does wrong people will talk ill of him behind his back. When he hears this he will become extremely uneasy.

",.-_.

The Oho chant In earlier pages frequent reference has been made to the term "oho chant", but to facilitate matters for the reader a complete description of this judicial institution has been postponed until now. This means of communication is of great importance to the village and to the tribe as a whole. The Waiwai term "oho-kari" means "yes saying". It covers a special mode of expression in official announcements, requests, and claims. It is characteristic of the oho that the speaker, or oho-opener, in short, fast and firm sentences chants what he wants to tell his opponent, who at the end of each sentence answers "oho". The oho is always carried out by only two individuals, who sit on low stools opposite each other. The questioner will invite his opponent to take a seat, and then in a special chant-tone he will make his requests in short sentences rising in pitch at the end. After each sentence the opponent answers with a hardly audible "oho", that is, "yes". During the first phase of the oho, which usually takes a quarter of an hour, the opener is mainly flattering his opponent and speaking disparagingly about himself. This, according to the Waiwai, is done in order "to get on the right side of the man", from whom he often wants some service. The opener terminates the first phase of the oho by a sentence falling in pitch or by a humming sound. This is the sign for the opponent to start his phase of chanting sentences, which are now interrupted by the opener's oho. In this way the opener and his opponent will chant alternately for a considerable time - generally for one or two hours. There is even an example of an oho which went on for 26 hours without any interruption. In this 26 hours' oho-chant the opener wanted to refute a supposed magical blowing, which might lead to his death. He therefore invited the medicine man to an oho which started at 8 in the morning and continued till 10 the next morning. During this time the two chanting persons did not eat or move at all. The medicine man continued obstinately to deny his blowing and at last the opener, running out of words and arguments, rose and left. This meant that he had lost his case. A strong formalism is connected with an oho and therefore only experienced people are able to engage in it. It requires a clear pronounciation and a correct diction, and - what emphasizes its ceremonial character - the use of old dialect words, which have now disappeared from everyday talk. Above all, the oho requires quickness in thought and speech. As a rule only men engage in the oho, but a woman may occasionally make use of the oho-institution though only with a male opponent. That women are considered particularly talkative appears from the story about the harpy eagle (see

\,

A ceremonial dialogue

217

p. 79). The opener of the oho is not necessarily a man of higher prestige than his opponent. Any person who wants to make an announcement or request may be the opener. The oho-chant is used on a number of occasions which all have social aims and a certain official stamp. a) When a young man wants to marry, he asks his father to go to the woman's father or her nearest male relative to perform an oho on his behalf, and the young man's father may open the dialogue as follows:- "This my son said (the father-in-law answers oho), he wants your daughter (oho), then let them live together". After the first phase of the oho the girl's father may refuse or postpone the alliance by objections which will usually be of an economic character, or he may agree and chant like this:- "There she is (oho), she is still lazy (oho), she does not work properly (oho), but let him try himself (oho), he will bring her back", and he may add:- "Let them stay here (oho), do not let them go far away". Finally, still in the oho-chant style he will ask for the payment which may for instance be a hammock, a pegall or a bow. It may be noticed that the opponent is slighting the object (in this case his daughter) which he is requested to give away. This is very typical in oho where it is a matter of some form of trading. It presumably expresses a psychological sales technique, as the derogatory reference will cause the interested party to praise, and thus set greater store by, the person or object under discussion. The oho-ceremony is really of very great importance for the two families involved, as the young man's status in relation to his in-law-family will be the weaker the more his father has pressed his case. If the girl's father has too willingly given away his daughter, the young man can refuse to settle near his in-laws and thereby evade an essential part of his bride service. If on the other hand the suitor has to beseech his son's prospective father-in-law, the young man may have to face lifelong obligations to his wife's father and brothers. Thus the marriage-oho contains an element of trade. b) The oho-chant is also used in ordinary trade enterprises. If, for instance, a man owns two hairtubes, and has refused to give one of them away to another person who has asked for it, the interested party may say:- "To-morrow we will say oho". A refusal will affect more persons than the two men involved, and the significance of the oho is here that of preventing a severe conflict. In brief such an oho sounds:- "I want your hair-tube, (oho), so I came, (oho), you live here, (oho), have lots of beads, (oho), you can make another one". And the owner answers: "I refused it, (oho), now I will not refuse any longer, (oho), here take it away". The oho continues and in return the owner may ask for a loincloth or the like, so the result may be a fairly equal bargain. On rare occasions the owner will continue to refuse the request; the demander then will go on flattering the owner and humiliating himself for a long time, and if his rhetoric does not work, he may get so angry as to blow magically on the owner. Thus the binding character of an oho is evident; ~he Waiwai say that without the oho "a man will not keep his word". The serious and binding effect of the oho is also stressed by the fact that a refusal is often followed by the fatal magical blowing and an ensuing blood-feud. The oho-opener will have to be fairly sure of the result before he starts an oho. If he succeeds in apparently doubtful cases he will undoubtedly win admiration and prestige. c) Individual contracts and appeals to communal work, as for instance activity in the clearings and housebuilding, are organized through the oho. In cases of communal work the village-chief is the

The Oha chant

218

oho-opener. The village-chief has but little authority; in some cases he must rely on the oho-institution in order to have his intentions carried out. Once, for instance, a village was in need of pottery clay, but in spite of repeated requests from the chief, nobody went out to get the clay until he had taken an oho with some of his men. The authoritative position of the chief is clearly illustrated in the example "Oho before a hunt" (Appendix p. 315): "I am not the chief I because of that for the time being

I

they don't obey my mouth". d) Invitations to a feast are also sent out by the village-chief through an oho, something like the following, which is referred to under Shodewika dance festival (see p. 172). Incidentally, it should be mentioned that there is a possibility that an oho chant appears in the Shodewika myth (see p. 63). Here it is also a matter of an invitation to a dance festival which at first is refused, but Mawari at last persuades the strangers invited. With a normal invitation to a dance festival the oho, summarized, can run as follows: "My leader sends me, (oho), to invite you to come and drink, (oho), let everyone who wants to, come, (oho), and everybody who does not want to come, stay home". In this case the important thing is not the contents of the oho; more important is, that it indicates a graduated organization of village administration through persons who are practically considered to be substitutes and official employees of the leader (see p. 208). It was my good fortune to observe the same graduation in a few other cases, such as oho in connection with work in the clearings and communal meals. e) A feast like the one already mentioned usually lasts four to five days. On the third day it is interrupted by the chief who through the agency of an oho sends out the guests and his own people to hunt and fish in order that the feast can go on. This oho corresponds exactly to the one which is used to summon people for communal work. f) As has already been mentioned, the oho is used for refuting a supposed fatal blowing. g) But the oho is also used at deaths, before and after cremation. When a woman dies, her father, her brother, or her husband can say oho, but only to those who are not relatives of her's. On the death of a man his wife can say oho to men only, though not to her husband's kinsmen or to her wayamnu. If none of the relatives of the deceased person says oho, people will talk badly about them and even accuse them of having blown on the deceased. However, news of a death is never sent to a neighbouring village, but when strangers pay a visit and hear about it, an "oho" will often follow. A relative of the deceased may chant: "She died, (oho); someone or other must have blown upon her, (oho), let me now depart, (oho), I wish to live by myself; (oho), I wandered about and arrived here, (oho), I thought you were good people, (oho), I brought my wife's body." The unrelated person can reply to this: "I did not want your wife, (oho), I did not blow upon her, (oho), do not depart, (oho), I shall miss you, (oho), you have been kind to me, (oho), you have cut my field, (oho), therefore I wish you to remain here, (oho), close to the bones of your wife". As appears from the oho examples given in the Appendix, the main section consists of sentences containing meaningless words endlessly repeated. Among these come completely incomprehensible words or passages, together with the sentences that indicate the matter in question. See the example "Oho after a death" (p. 307), Ewka: "And we will eat each other (spiritually)

I with

II I am not like that I I do not use curses". songs I I do not know them ... (and p. 311).

curses, I suppose

And (p. 310) his partner's reply: "The group of old

Comparative aspects

219

Other people rather I evidently picked her up." A death-oho will always take place between a kinsman and a person unrelated to the deceased. On the kinsman's side the gist of the oho will be despair and indignation because someone has blown on the deceased; the unrelated person will express his innocence in the death and his sympathy with the mourner whom he will usually invite to stay in the village to preserve its prosperity. The oho's character of lament, and its special psychological effect in that respect, appears from the example (App. p. 304): "We will cry I not feeling the lack of her perhaps III We will be happy, I suppose". In addition to the above mentioned examples there may be some other uses of the oho. But those described here show that the oho is an important institution for the maintenance of social control, ensuring economic, political, and legal equilibrium. If everyday talk is used in courtship and requests for objects or services, a refusal can always be risked with resultant quarrels; but the "oho" prevents trouble. Similarly, the example with magical blowing evinces an urbane solution of a problem, which without the oho-institution might have had fatal consequences. Announcements of death through the oho-chant also prevents quarrels, because people get the opportunity to assert their blamelessness. Only in the case of invitation to feasts does the function of the oho seem to lie outside the general one of preventing internal conflicts. The fact that a ceremonial 'collective invitation ·treats·-all alike and cannot omit possible enemies, makes for solidarity and in itself limits conflicts. The means to these important ends is the speaking grace you must grant your opponent, who can propound his arguments unexposed to violence. The speaking grace is assured by the strict formalism and ceremonialism expressed in the sitting posture, the dialogue, the stereotyped chanting tone, the quickness, and the dialect words. The whole ceremony so completely binds the two implicated parties that the result of the oho is not determined by public expressions of sympathy or the like, but is exclusively realized by the two parties involved.

COMPARATIVE AND ANALYTIC ASPECTS OF THE OHO The Waiwai themselves called attention to the fact that the oho custom as found with them existed also with the Shereo and You (Caribs) near the central Mapuera, and was formerly found also with the Wapishana (Arawaks) in the savannahs of British Guiana. This report suggested the undertaking of comparative investigations. As regards the Wapishana, there is little doubt that Schomburgk witnessed an oho, though he was apparently not clear as to its content. Schomburgk (1848, II, p. 73) talks of a greeting ceremony where the chief seats himself upon a stool and delivers lengthy reports. Here it seems rather to have been a matter of a trade oho. Later Schomburgk describes (1848, II, p. 384) how, when the chief had finished his long welcome speech, the elder men of the settlement commenced theirs. If we go to the immediate neighbours of the Waiwai in the north (Taruma) and in the south (Parukoto), both of whom today have disappeared or been absorbed by the Waiwai, we also discover traces of the oho. Coudreau (1887, II, p. 350) writes of the Taruma: "Ils sont de tres bonne societe, ils ont toujour

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The Oho chant

l'air, quand j'arrive, de me donner audience. Mais cela est assez commun a toutes les nations indiennes, ce qui caracterize les Tarumans, c'est le rythme chantant des discours d'introduction". (p. 353) "De temps a autre, a intervalles egaux, vient une phrase que les deux interlocuteurs vociferent en meme temps comme une refrain ... Le dialogue dure une demi-heure pour chacun ... ". Coudreau regards this form of diction as a survival of an old-time custom: the behaviour of two savage warriors when meeting. Although this view does not quite correspond to the content of the Waiwai oho, there are important points of resemblance. By resorting to a strictly formalized diction and behaviour the chance of an urbane solution of a problem, sayan unexpected meeting with a strange warrior, is increased. The mutual assurance of liberty of speech would probably have a like effect. In regard to the Parukoto we have only John Ogilvie's report via Roth (1924, p. 630) that here also the host delivers a speech of welcome, in which hope is expressed that the stranger does not bring evil spirits with him. Incidentally, there are in the Guiana area several clear cases of oho. Barrere (1743, p. 189-90) describes from French Guiana the harangue of the Galibi chief as lengthy discussions in which a pronunciation is employed quite different from that of normal speech. Speech is voluble and extraordinarily rapid, unusual expressions being used. When the stranger has finished, the local chief commences in similar fashion and in a firm tone as though declaiming. Often they do not care to listen one to another. Some will speak for half an hour without stopping a moment. The funny thing is that if the stranger happens to belong to a different linguistic stock each will "karbete" in his own language for hours at a stretch, the one not understanding a word of the other. Although we do not know the content or function of this ceremonial form of speech, it must, if only on account of its form, be considered as related to the oho custom. There are also examples from Surinam of oho-like usage; de Goeje (1910, p. 26) thus writes: "Die Trios haben die eigentiimliche Gewohnheit, sich ganze Geschichten im Versmass, und zwar in Trochaen, zu erzahlen, Gegen Abend sieht man oft einige Manner beisammen sitzen, von denen einiger erzahlt und der andere zum Zeichen des Einverstandnisses wiederholt "na" oder "naile" hinein wirft. Nach einiger Zeit wechseln sie de Rollen". Here the oho's form is clearly indicated, and with reference to the content de Goeje (1910, p. 26) refers to the exhortation to tribal kinsmen for help and (p. 16) songs of mourning in connexion with a local death. de Goeje (1941, p. 122) also refers to a ceremonial speech from Oayana in connexion with a death, where the mourner, sitting on a stool, recited in a high tone short, rythmical sentences. Schomburgk, the first traveller to visit the Waiwai, was also the first to describe the oho-like salutation ceremonies from British Guiana. About the Makusi he writes (1847, I, p. 362): "The conversation was generally carried on in a singing, one might almost say, plaintive tone and acquiescence in the credibility of, and astonishment at, the narrator was expressed by the repetition of the last words with the addition of "Na" or "Wa" ... The departure is accompanied by the same ceremonial". It should be observed here that "Na" and "Wa" are affirmatives in Makusi. Schomburgk goes on to say that it is characteristic that the host, at the beginning of the conversation, always refers in disparaging terms to the stool, the food or the drink he has served to the stranger; whereafter the guest

Comparative aspects

221

Fig. 41. Distribution of the ceremonial dialogue and oho chant in South America. (In brackets are given the respective linguistic stocks). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13; 14.

Waiwai (Cariban) Parukoto (Cariban) Shereo (Cariban) You (Cariban) Taruma (Taruma) Trio (Cariban) Oayana (Cariban) Galibi (Cariban) Wapishana (Arawakan) Makusi (Cariban) Taulipang (Cariban) Arawak (Arawakan) Akawoi (Cariban) Warrau (Warrau)

IS. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Island Carib (Cariban) Taino (Arawakan) Waika (Waika) Yekuana (Cariban) Caua (Arawakan) Huhuteni (Arawakan) Siusl (Arawakan) Tucano (Tucanoan) Miriti (Tucanoan) Desana (Tucanoan) Tuyuca (Tucanoan) Bara (Tucanoan) Cubeo (Tucanoan) Holoua (Tucanoan)

29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42.

Guahibo (Guahiban) Chiricoa (Guahiban) Amarizana (Arawakan) Achagua (Arawakan) Ijca (Chibchan) Cagaba (Chibchan) Cuna (Chibchan) Boro (Witotoan) Witoto (Witotoan) Karihones (Cariban) Coreguaje (Tucanoan) Jivaro (Jivaroan) Nambikwara (Nambikwaran) Yurakare (Yurakarean)

222

The Oho chant

highly praises it. This corresponds closely to the Waiwai practice at an oho in connexion with trade or courtship. Schomburgk begins his account of the salutation ceremonies by a remark that they are also to be found with the Warrau and the Waika (here = Akawoi) "in almost similar fashion, except that with the Makusi those who were talking did not look at one another, but engaged in conversation with faces turned aside". The appearance of oho-like ceremonies with the two last-mentioned tribes cannot, however, be further confirmed, and for the time being the statement should be accepted with reserve. On the other hand, the oho custom has apparently been practised by their eastern neighbours, the Arawak, from where Roth (1924, p. 625), quoting R. H. Schomburgk, refers to a salutation consisting of three short sentences after each of which the guest responded "Wang", which means all right or some such affirmative. Roth (1924, p. 669) reports in another connexion about a young Arawak who calls on a girl's father as a stage in courtship "and says he wishes to have a talk". The content and intensity of this talk approximates very closely the courting Waiwai's oho, and Schomburgk (1848, II, p. 459) refers to a father-in-law's confirmation "unter einer Menge schoner Redensarten" at a similar Arawak courting expedition. It appears from these comparative observations that far from being an isolated case among the Waiwai the oho custom is to be found over great parts of Guiana, unmistakable in its characteristic form, and also in a few cases of similar content: request for aid, trade, courtship, and in cases of death. The strong concentration in the Guiana area favours the hypothesis that doubtful cases should be assessed positively, when considering the relative uniformity of the culture area. The same view should be adopted when regarding the appearance of the oho custom in, for example, the upper Rio Negro district. But before we reach this some Venezuelan cases will be cited. KochGrunberg (1923, III, p. 112) says of the Taulipang: "Bei offiziellen Gelegenheiten wird diese Anstandsregel von den Indianern peinlich beachtet. Der eine erzahlt erst seine lange Geschichte fertig, wahrend der andere mit halblauter Stimme viele hofliche "ehe - enau - he - na" dazwischen wirft, bis er selbst zu Worte kommt. Dabei sehen sich beide nicht an". Similar conditions apparently exist with the Yekuana (Kock-Griinberg, III, p. 354): "Beim Antritt einer langeren Reise verabschiedet man sich von jedem Zuriickbleibenden der Reihe nach in eintoniger Rede, wobei der Zuhorer unzahlige hofliche, teils fragende, teils bekraftigende "yede ", yeda? yema l, yehe! eye!" U.S.w. einflicht". With the primitive Waika to the south a presumably oho-like custom is also found. Thus, Schuster (1958, p. 118) says that the passing on of news takes place in the form of a ceremonious talking song and not by means of ordinary statement and answer. At the sources of the Rio Negro, particularly near the Rio Aiary, the closest parallels to the Waiwai oho are to be found, and here, especially with certain Arawakan tribes, there can be no doubt that it is a matter of the same custom. Among the Caua, Koch-Griinberg (1909, I, p. 126) witnessed a reception ceremony, whereafter "begann zwischen beiden ein langes und unglaublich rasch und eintonig hergeplappertes Wechselgesprach, in dem einzelne Worte immer wiederkehrten ... zunachst erzahlte der Wirt alles, was in der Zwischenzeit in seinem Haus passiert war, mit steter Wiederholung einzelner Worte .,. Beide Parteien sahen sich wahrend dieser Forrnalitaten grundsatzlich nicht an und verharrten vollig regungslos auf einem Fleck ... (p. 127) Bei beiden war die Stimme weinerlich

Comparative aspects

hoch geschraubt (po 128) Bei Eintritt der Dunkelheit traten einige Manner und Weiber vor Mandii und hielten ihm wiederum in zeremoniellem Ton eine langere Rede, die von diesem mit einigen hoflichen "6ho ka" beantwortet wurde (p. 129) zunachst war es dasselbe eintonige Wechselgesprach wie am vorhergehenden Tage. Allmahlich aber folgten die Worte immer rascher aufeinander, Schliesslich gingen ihre Reden ineinander tiber und endigten in der Ton wurde immer klaglicher einem langeren Duett ... Die ilbrigen Bewohner nahmen gar keinen anteil an der Klage, unterhielten sich, lachten laut, In its form the Caua's ceremonial speech agrees closely with oho. In regard to the content, Koch-Griinberg calls it a reception ceremonial, but what is actually spoken about appears each time to be a death of a near relative of the chanting hosts. This also corresponds to the Waiwai's oho. The neighbouring Siusi tribe use similar ceremonial forms of speech, but here there are also reports of the content and significance of the custom. When a Siusi chief leaves his village for a longer period, he delegates his powers to a deputy, here his eldest brother, in a lengthy, monotonous speech. This is answered by a lament that has the same melody and rhythm as a wailing. (Koch-Grunberg 1909, I, pp. 191 and 69). A similar ceremonial speech was used (Koch-Grunberg 1909, I, p. 182) when the chief handed over his daughter to a courting member of a neighbouring tribe, and this developed into a lament when he took official leave of his child. We thus find here the oho-like custom employed in connexion with courtship, as with the Waiwai, on partings, and when transferring powers to a deputy. From a third Arawakan tribe, the Huhuteni, eastern neighbours of the last two mentioned, KochGrunberg mentions (1909, I, p. 62) long conversations where the words were uttered very rapidly and syllables most briefly in a singing tone. The frequent repetitions and the numerous polite "6ho ka" from the spectators he found extremely confusing. From the Arawakan tribes in this area there are thus convincing points of similarity with the oho, so too is there a great possibility that the same custom is found with a number of Tucanoan tribes. This applies to the so-called greeting ceremonies that Koch-Grunberg observed with the Miriti (1909, I, po 240), where short sentences were continually answered by "ha, e, aha". It applies to the Desana and Tucano (1909, I, p. 257), the Tuyuka (1909, I, pp. 285 and 316), and the Bara (1909, I, p. 334). The Cubeo (Kobeua) and Holoua also employ the ceremonial dialogue in case of death and departure, squatting upon their haunches without looking at each other (Koch-Grunberg 1910, II, pp. 133-34). In the area north of Uaupes-Caqueta ceremonial speech is manifested in the mirray ceremony of the Achagua. According to Rivero (1883, p. 420), who wrote in 1736 about the Llanos of Eastern Columbia, the substantive is derived from the verb "nurnerraidary" which means "to make a speech". After a welcome ceremony the speaker began a long address seated on a stool or squatting. He spoke with an intonation like a child reciting the catechism, and at great speed as though it was something learned by heart. The conclusion of the speech was delivered in a plaintive tone "6 como se acaba de cantar una epistola, levantando un poco la voz y dejandola caer de golpe". Hardly had he ended before the person to whom the mirray had been addressed answered in a similar manner. Once more the first speaker advanced his views, and one could continue in this way for one and a half hour or more. Gumilla (1745, I, p. 352), whose account of the mirray of the Achagua quite agrees with Rivero's, adds that as a rule the speech periods were ended with a: "Yaqueta, nude, yaqueta", which means 00

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The Oho chant

"That is true, brother-in-law, that is true", in a rising tone. No one comments on the dialogue, the content of which, according to Rivero, consists of a continual repetition of assurances of welcome. Rivero also refers to the mirray ceremony in the case of the Guahibo and Chirico a (1883, p. 146) and the Amarizana (1883, p. 417). In the last-mentioned instance the mirray appears to concern trade. North of the Achagua area there is a break in the continual spread of the ceremonial dialogue, as, for one thing there is, so far as is known, no information from the Motilones about this. In the extreme north of Columbia the custom seems to be re-discovered among several Chibcha-speaking people such as the Cagaba (Kogi) and the Cuna. When considering these tribes an important factor must be taken into consideration. As opposed to the typical tropical forest tribes these communities possess the beginnings of a rank system, stratified in various classes. This must mean that many of the relations that, for example, in the Waiwai's oho could be expressed unambiguously between individuals of equal rank, here would be expressed between differently placed groups of individuals. A social custom in a socio-political system of this kind must be expected to obtain increased political content. The Cagaba employ three clearly distinct modes of talking: the greeting formula, ordinary conversation, and ceremonial speech (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1950, pp. 87-88). The greeting formula is irrelevant in this context. In regard to conversation, it is observed that those participating never look at each other, and that persons present now and again interrupt with exclamations like uaua, good! or arse, really! Conversation takes place in a monotone, but normal, voice. Ceremonial speech is used by and to the Mama (priest) or other person of high rank, such as elderly heads of families. It takes place in conjunction with confession, deliberations, or nocturnal meetings in the house of ceremonies. Talking is done in a high falsetto that passes to nasal enunciation, whilst the tone drops to normal during the course of the talk. The concluding word or whole sentence is repeated frequently and often sung. (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1950, p. 74). A speech of this nature sometimes becomes a ceremonial monologue or dialogue where, for example, two people meet in the house of ceremonies and start talking about the bad times, administrative conditions, juridical questions and the like. The speaker does not appear to be interested in the effect of his words. When he has finished, another steps forward, repeats something of what has been said, and adds to it. A ceremonial speech can last for over two hours, sometimes for the whole night. Bolinder (1918, p. 179) speaks of apparently similar formal deliberations, the seyan-nayan from the Ijca, the southern neighbours of the Cagaba. Two factors must now be recalled that are of importance when comparing, for example, the Waiwai's oho custom and the Cagaba's ceremonial speech. The utterance' of the affirmatives after each of the other party's sentences is with the Waiwai almost inaudible, and seems to be completely lacking with some of the tribes of the upper Rio Negro, which incidentally possess a similar ceremonious form of speech. In regard to the content of the custom it must be mentioned that with the Cagaba all authority is concentrated in the Mama (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1950, p. 136). This means, for example, that a courtship takes place via the Mama, that the length of the bride service is decided by him, that he represents the tribe vis-a-vis strangers, and that he decides the question of guilt and conflicts in general. In a word, all the subjects taken up in a Waiwai oho are here linked to the Mama, and ceremonial speech equally so. However, more like the Waiwai oho-institution, our starting point, is the onmakket of the Cuna,

Comparative aspects

225

as described in the case of the Columbian Cuna by, among others, Was sen (1949, pp. 46-54) and Holmer (1951, pp. 16-21). The onmakket, which means "meeting or congress" is, according to Holmer (1951, p. 17) the central institution in the ceremonial life of the Cuna Indians. There are various kinds of meetings, but "the general meeting" is of the greatest interest on account of the comprehensive description and form. The meeting in question was a public one lasting the whole night in the house of the second chief. The host and the first chief lay each in his hammock whilst people sat around on benches. According to Holmer (1951, p. 20) "The first and second chiefs ... were first conversing in a chanting tone. They were relating to each other the things which had happened during the last month ... , as regarding planting and clearing as well as regarding our arrival the day before. The one who at the moment listens answers alternately n-n-n-n (yes) and te-e-ekie (so it is). After a short pause follows the uanaet ( ... the tradition) in the same way answered by n-n-n and tekie. All the time, the Indians were talking softly between themselves, ... Apart from the melody (of the chant), use seemed to be made of a form of rime, especially of the terminations -are, of which each following one was uttered in a slightly higher key, until the line was broken in a sudden and rapid cadence". Holmer (1951, pp. 20 and 80) suggests on the basis of the appearance of the termination -are, which is an extremely rare element in the ordinary Cuna tongue, and on account of the word-final nasalization in chant, that there can be a question of foreign influence in regard to the ceremonial speech custom, and refers in this connexion to the Cagaba and the Goajiro. From Wassen's (1949, p. 48) detailed description of a congress meeting it appears that the two chanting chiefs lay in two hammocks placed parallel to each other, so that they did not look at each other during the dialogue. In addition the ceremonial speech was so full of archaisms that the two centrally-placed heralds were compelled to explain what was said to the audience. Its content seems particularly to have been Cuna history, which was thus preserved as a living tradition, but it also engaged on practical and topical subjects, such as the performance in time of seasonal work or the introduction of a visitor, etc. In the case of the Cuna it is certain that this custom existed prior to the conquest, for Oviedo y Valdes makes reference to the areyto custom (1853 tom. III or II,2, lib. 29, chapt. 28, p. 137) from the Cueva province in Panama. Areyto is translated by Oviedo as "tractar cantando", which refers to the form of these nocturnal council meetings; whereas the content is suggested by the remark: "Estos areytos ... son sus letras 6 memoriales". In connexion with Oviedo it should briefly be mentioned that he employs the term areyto about a custom of the Espanola Indians (Taino). Here, however, areyto is translated as "baylar cantando" (1851, I, lib. 5, chapt. 1, p. 127), and we are not certain that with the Taino it is a matter of any ceremonial dialogue. Reports become even more confusing when we read Loven (1935, pp. 505 and 591). He stresses "the similarity existing between the Tainan caoba-assemblages ... and the mirrayes of the Achaguas". This double reference to the Cuna's areyto and the Achagua's mirray, both of which must undoubtedly be regarded as related to the Waiwai's oho, naturally supports the existence of

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ceremonial dialogue with the Taino. Loven (1935, pp. 502, 505) merely mentions that there are held council meetings, caoba meetings which dealt with matters of general importance, such as war and peace. They also had certain judicial functions. When the cacique talked at a caoba, he sat on a duho (a wooden stool reminiscent of Achagua and Chibcha stools) with hands on the knees and the face turned upwards. 15 Waiwai

226

The Oho chant

Things are just as uncertain regarding the Caribs of the Lesser Antilles as they are with the Arawaks of the Greater Antilles. Rouse (1948, p. 556) says that each carbet communal house appointed a man to act as host for visitors. Only one man ordinarily spoke at a time; the other men hummed if they approved. Rochefort (1665, p. 524) also mentions the alternating dialogue used at council meetings. This harangue was opened by an old man speaking in a plaintive tone, and was continued by the chief. The very name of the meeting house "carbet" recalls, for example, Barrere's description of the ceremonial diction of the Galibi, "karbeter", In the investigation of oho-like speech customs we have now reached the northern limit of the area examined, and can determine that among several doubtful cases the custom is re-discovered north of the sources of the Rio Negro, at any rate with the Achagua and the Cuna, and presumably with the Cagaba, whilst other examples advanced are doubtful. When passing from the sources of the Rio Negro southwards to the Rio Japura and Issa, oho-ilke customs are found with, for example, the Witoto and the Boro under such pleasing names as tobacco palaver or the Indian parliament. Whiffen (1915, p. 259) thus writes about the Witoto in connexion with the reception of a visitor: "The chief explains to them (the family heads) the presence of the stranger, and takes counsel on the question of his entertainment. As he describes his intentions he falls into a rhythmic chant, and his followers assent with deep-chested Huhh! (= yes in Witoto, see 1915, p. 250). All this is a lengthy business, but the tribe eventually arrive at a common decision". The chief then dips the stick in the tobacco pot placed in the center, and licks a little of the liquid. All the men in turn follow his example to signify consent and a binding tribal agreement is reached in this way. From Whiffen's example it appears (for example 1915, pp. 196 and 222) that a corresponding tobacco palaver is found among the Boro. Normally, all the adult males of the village come to the council meeting or tobacco palaver that is directed by the chief. All sit on their haunches in the centre of the communal house. According to Whiffen (1915, pp. 65-66) "the speaker is doubtless under the influence of coca, and will talk on and on. He may take hours to deliver his oration, given with endless repetitions, while those who agree with him will grunt "Heu!" to show approval from time to time throughout the performance". All who agree with the speaker dip into the tobacco pot after he has done so; whereas those who disagree just let the pot pass. When doing so he is bound to explain in a speech his divergent attitude. When everyone has thus signified his opinion - for or against the speaker - the matter is decided by the majority and there is no possibility of appeal. The ceremonial licking of tobacco acts as a binding promise in every verbal agreement between individuals, and serves to emphasize the binding nature of friendship. In regard to the Witoto and Boro, it must thus be determined that the ceremonial mode of speech resembles to a very great degree the oho of the Waiwai, but it is connected with a ceremonial licking of tobacco that gives the whole custom a firmer institutional stamp. In this context it should be observed that the Achagua used yopa snuff in connexion with their mirray, and that the Taino used tobacco snuff at their caoba meetings (Loven 1935, p. 591). The content and function of the tobacco palaver with the Witoto and the Boro are of both individual and general character. Here personal complaints can be voiced and are decided either at the direct or indirect instance of the molested person (Whiffen 1915, pp. 65 and 197). In palaver form a young

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Comparative aspects

227

man pays court to the object of his choice, who is represented by her father or the chief (p. 163); a man can obtain a divorce from his wife at the same ceremony, provided his arguments are sufficiently adequate (p. 165), It would seem that there are also tobacco palavers in connexion with congratulations

to a father in couvade and on occasions when names are given by the medicine man to the father of the child (p. 153). Of things of general interest, decisions are made at the palaver on hunting matters (p. 65), questions of war and peace (p. 117), and on the election or approval of a new chief (p. 65). It can be seen that the individual content of the tobacco palaver is well in line with that of the Waiwai's oho, whereas the palaver of general content possesses a more political character and thus lies closer to, for example, the congress of the Cuna. In one case Whiffen (p. 163) calls attention to the fact that the ceremonial licking of tobacco in connexion with courtship is found north of the Rio Japura, which can be taken - with some reserve as meaning that the tobacco palaver is also known among the Cariban Karihones. Crevaux (1883, p. 365) says of the Karihones' western neighbours, the Tucanoan Coreguaje, whilst expressing surprise at the great resemblance between the Indians of the Rio Japura and Guiana: "Ce qui nous a frappe surtout dans cette ceremonie, c'est un chant monotone ou plutot un recitatif semblable a l'evangile du dimanche des Rameaux, ... ". South-east of the Witoto we find with the Jivaro a greeting ceremony that in important respects resembles the oho custom (Karsten 1935, pp. 246-48). When a visitor enters a house, a stool is immediately offered to him. Shortly after the host seats himself opposite him, and indicates with a word that he can begin. The visitor then commences his speech, not in a normal tone, but rather in a very rapid shout. At the same time he and the host look sternly at each other. The speaker explains the aim of his visit, that he wants to see his friends, to learn whether they are healthy, etc. As long as the guest speaks it is not considered proper for the host to interrupt him except by certain grunts representing assent or approbation, and with confirmatory words like ita (yes), etc. After the guest has finished, it is the host's turn to answer him, the guest only listening and interrupting, as his host had done, by the usual grunts of assent. This conversation lasts from five to ten minutes. The same type of ceremonial greeting also takes place when two parties of Jivaro Indians suddenly meet on the trail in the forest, even if they are unknown to one another. The aim of the "greeting" then is to find out whether the other party has hostile intentions. The custom is called in Jivaro Enema (from enemartinyu = to speak in a loud voice). It is also used in connexion with barter (Karsten 1935, p. 249) and at war council meetings (p. 283). Karsten's description of a young man's courtship and his conversation with the girl's father (p. 188) also contains a number of resemblances in form and content to the Waiwai's oho in connexion with courtship. It appears here that the father's opposition to the union is only apparent; he must not appear eager to give away his daughter, in order to force the young man to promise not to evade the bride service. However, there is no report of any ceremonial speech in this connexion. The fairly continuous dissemination of the ceremony I have attempted to follow - which can be briefly characterized as a chanting dialogue with interspersed affirmatives - ends with the Jivaro. To the characteristic distribution - north of the Amazonas - must be added two cases from East Bolivia and the Mato Grosso, respectively, that must be considered though they are far from typical. IS'

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The Oho chant

Among the Nambikwara trading is stamped by a strong formalism. When two bands wish to exchange goods (Oberg, 1953, p. 97) the visiting chief kneels and makes a speech extolling the hosts and their goods, and depreciating the things which his band has brought. The host then makes a similar speech, and trading begins. In individual cases the technique of trading is the same. If a man values an object of his own he says that it is no good, thus showing his desire to keep it. This argument is carried on in an angry tone of voice until a settlement is reached. A man with a clever tongue gets what he wants and convinces the other that he, too, has made a good bargain. Levi-Strauss (1948, p. 91) describes a meeting between two bands of the Nambikwara. Each band in turn uttered long monologues composed of short exclamations in a plaintive tone. The voice was raised and became nasal towards the end of each word that was long drawn out. The warlike band advanced reproaches; the more peaceful stressed their pacific intentions, both apparently in very exaggerated terms. Although the Nambikwara dialogue lacks the continual affirmatives of the oho, there are features, both in the form and the typical exaggeration and depreciation, that recall the oho custom. The last example of the ceremonial speech custom comes from Yurakare in East Bolivia (d'Orbigny 1835-47, III, p. 204), where guests after a formal reception are addressed by their local kinsmen. "Standing in front of his house, the host then started a speech which lasted for hours and was delivered in an increasingly louder voice. The visitor answered in the same manner. The two interlocutors might thus spend a whole day conversing", immovable and unaffected by sun and rain. Later they lamented their deceased relatives. The lament also alternated between the two and was of a ceremonial character. It appears from the foregoing that the oft-employed expression "salutation ceremony" is a poorly-

chosen term for the far more important custom that in the case of the Waiwai is known as the oho institution. Its ceremonial dialogue has only a superficial connexion with the greeting in the sense that it often takes place when two people meet after a long separation or, as strangers. The main characteristics of the ceremonial dialogue in South America are difficult to determine for several reasons. First, because of their content and function one can in advance assume that they will be variously formulated in the different community systems, for example, according to the degree of social stratification. Typical in this respect are, for example, the differences between the ceremonial dialogues of the Cuna, the Witoto and the Waiwai, respectively. Second, they are difficult because the ceremonial dialogue lies close to several other Indian ceremonial speech customs. Over large parts of the Continent wailing, usually in the form of monotonous monologues, are met with in connexion with the burial of a relative (see Metraux 1947, pp. 31-32). Another mourning custom is the weeping greeting, where the visitor on arrival is exposed to weeping and outbursts of grief, particularly on the part of the women. This last-mentioned custom with which, among others, Metraux (1928, p. 180 and 1947, p. 40) has concerned himself, appears to have a characteristic distribution in relation to ceremonial dialogue. From Metraux's map showing its distribution, it appears that the weeping greeting is found over the southern and eastern parts of the Continent, and, for example, with several Tupi-Guarani peoples who are assumed to have helped to spread it. Only with the Jivaro does the weeping greeting overlap the ceremonial dialogue particularly widespread in the north and west. If it thus can be maintained that the weeping greeting is connected with the Tupi-Guarani peoples, then,

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conversely, it must be stressed that ceremonial dialogue is apparently not found at all among these tribes, not even among the northern branches such as the Oyampi and Omagua. It is also noteworthy that the ceremonial dialogue so general with the Arawakan and Cariban tribes does not seem to appear among their southern groups, such as the Mojo or the Bacairi. When Metraux (1947, p. 41) maintains the existence of the weeping greeting also with the northern tribes, the Parukoto, the Macusi and the Tucano, it must be remembered that these likewise employ the ceremonial dialogue that also can have the character of lamentation in connexion with death. In an attempt clearly to delimit ceremonial dialogue from other speech customs, mention must also be made of the custom, particularly widespread in the southern part of the Continent, of the chief making recommendations and revive tribal traditions in a ceremonial monologue (Lowie 1949, p. 343). Finally, there are many types of formal greeting on arrival or departure; these should not be confused with the ceremonial dialogue here under discussion which does not possess the function of a greeting. The purpose of this study of distribution is not merely to demonstrate the presence of a definite custom in a certain area, but rather to suggest that this custom has been widely mis-interpreted as a relatively unimportant rule of etiquette. However, with the Waiwai the oho custom is an important institution in regard to social control in the sense that the topics advanced under this form are assured an especially urbane treatment on account of freedom of speech and the binding character of the oho. Much suggests that the same importance can be attributed to a number of the cases here produced in comparison. Writers who have referred to the ceremonial dialogue have all mentioned that the great speed, the peculiar diction and the numerous archaisms made it partially incomprehensible. They have therefore frequently failed to explain the content and function of the dialogue. Its exterior form has been sufficiently clearly indicated for us to be able to say that at any rate, the Trio, the Macusi, the Taulipang, the Yekuana, the Achagua, the Cuna, the Caua, the Siusi and the Jivaro practised a ceremonial dialogue corresponding to the oho of the Waiwai. Owing to their placing among the certain cases, it is probable that the other tribes mentioned here, about whom less adequate information is available, are also aware of the custom. To summarize, ceremonial dialogue in connexion with trade is mentioned for the Wapishana, the Jivaro, the Nambikwara and the Achagua; its practice in connexion with courtship is referred to in the case of the Siusi, the Witoto, the Boro and presumably with the Cagaba and the Jivaro ; and its connexion with death is spoken of with the Parukoto, the Oayana, the Caua and the Yurakare. In regard to the dissemination and direction of the ceremonial dialogue it would seem difficult to make any positive assertion, for it is found within many language families such as the Chibcha, the Arawak, the Carib, the Tucano, and the Jivaro. This, coupled with general geographical considerations, suggests however, a slow diffusion from a culturally-dominant area like sub-Andean Columbia. The special form of oho used by the Waiwai when issuing invitations to a festival and when exhorting to collective work or a common meal (see p. 208) particularly supports this view. In these instances the structure of the oho evince administrative traces of social stratification, with chief, second chief, herald and lay men, that seem to have no natural affinity with the character of the Waiwai social structure. On the other hand we find this stratification typical for tribes like the Cagaba and Cuna (particularly, however, at the time of the conquest) and other sub-Andean tribes.

.-

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The Oho chant

The fact that the Waiwai's oho contains at least one feature that can be traced to the sub-Andean area must sufficiently support the assumption that the ceremonial dialogue was disseminated from that area. In view of the present distribution it must be assumed that the custom reached Guiana and the Waiwai by way of the sources of the Rio Negro and the Rio Branco. Whilst referring to sub-Andean influence in the Waiwai culture, it can also be emphasized that the cult of the sun, which possesses as correspondingly an isolated position in the Waiwai religious system as does stratification in the social system, must be considered to be a sub-Andean feature. If one investigates more particularly the sub-Andean element in the Cuna's onmakket and the Waiwai's oho, respectively, a characteristic change in the stratification can be observed. With the Cuna it concerns the exercise of fixed official duties by the first and second chiefs and herald in relation to various groups of laymen. It is thus a matter of a vertical social stratification in accordance with a permanent principle of rank that particularly characterized the tribe in the 16th century (see, for example, Stout 1948, VI, p. 261). With the Waiwai the first chief was represented by the village leader, whilst the one corresponding to the second chief was the village leader's deputy (for example fatherin-law or adopted son), that is, his potential successor. With the Waiwai the herald was represented by the deputy's son-in-law or younger awale (that is to say potential son-in-law); he was thus in a washma position in relation to the deputy, a subordinate kinsman. From this it will be seen that the sub-Andean structure of, for example, the Cuna, with vertical social stratification, is with the Waiwai replaced by a horizontal social stratification based solely on kinship. It must be admitted that, because of its special character, the ceremonial dialogue is a difficult element to treat comparatively as regards identification. It appears to be completely independent of ecological conditions and is suitably special and limited in extent to enable one reasonably to deduce specific historical conclusions. Finally, ceremonial dialogue is an important culture element the presence of which - though often misinterpreted - informs us of judicial norms of the same nature and importance as those disclosed by the oho institution of the Waiwai.

Fig. 42. The low wooden stool of the Waiwai is used only by men, for instance when performing an oho chant. Only one man in the tribe knew how to carve stools.

-.-

- _.--.--- -. ----.-- ----.-------.'.

Political organization THE VILLAGE The Waiwai village constitutes a sovereign political unit, represented by the yayalitomo, and is autonomous in relation to the whole of the Waiwai tribe. There is no chief for the whole Waiwai tribe, nor has anyone authority over several villages. It should, however, be observed that amongst the Guiana Waiwai group there was a tendency to regard one of the village headmen as possessing greater prestige than the others. Mlywa, head of Mauika, was incontestibly the greatest authority in 1954, but when his wife died and the leadership passed to his adopted son, this informal position as head of the group passed to Ewka, the headman of Yakayaka. The yayalitomo acts as representative of the village when invitations are despatched for a dance festival and also when strangers arrive. As a rule a stranger will announce himself by yelling as he approaches, and then waits at some distance from the village. The yayalitomo then comes to him usually bringing his stool in order, sitting on this, to listen to the stranger's errand and hear news of friends. Not until this inspection is over is the stranger invited into the communal house for a drink. The yayalitomo's position in its social sense has been dealt with earlier (see p. 203 et seq.), Incidentally, the whole of the political system is built up on the social as an extension of social principles and the kinship system. The basic element is the single family to which single individuals attach themselves. The village consists of several such families that are joined in turn by some other families. The newly-arrived families come under the authority of the local yayalitomo according to a kind of priority principle. Irrespective of the tribe to which they formerly belonged they are regarded as Waiwai, for locality is the decisive factor. A person becomes a yayalitomo who has enough personal authority to get others to follow him in the clearing of a new field or the building of a communal house. The right he thus obtains over the new locality can never be taken from him. On the other hand it is quite legal to move from the village in order to establish another, but as a rule this will be contrary to the wishes of the yayalitomo. The position of this personage is consequently closely linked with locality and the bonds of kinship, and this must be one of the reasons why no leaders of the whole tribe ever arose. The position of the yayalitomo is best evinced by his prestige and in the oho custom whereby he can call on the people to perform collective work. But even the system of rank occasionally expressed in the oho is of kinship character, built on a horizontal social stratification. The ordinary Waiwai detests any form of restriction on his personal liberty. A yayalitomo is thus only "the first among equals" so long as his initiatives are accepted. In addition to the head man of the village, the yaskomo also possesses political influence on account of his magical powers (see p. 129). It will just be recalled here that in his relation to poinko-yin the

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yaskomo is really administering an unwritten hunting law that must be complied with by all for the good of the whole tribe. In the same way he lays down the correct procedure in relation to the supernatural. The intentions of the yayalitomo and the yaskomo may clash, particularly in the sphere of occupation, so that complete harmony can only be expected when the same person fills both offices. Generally, this is the case; in four of five cases known the yayalitomo was at the same time yaskomo, for example, Ewka in Yakayaka, Miywa in Mauika, Shapaulitu in Kashimo, and Maanata in the now deserted Kahri. Only in Aakonioto were the offices held by two persons, Churuma as yayalitomo and Kapienna as yaskomo. There may well be several yaskomo in the same village, since, among other things, their qualifications to become a yaskomo are evinced at an early age. It can therefore be said that to be a yaskomo is an important - though not absolutely necessary - qualification for later becoming a yayalitomo.

LEGAL CONCEPTIONS Whereas by reason of his personal authority the yayalitomo can recommend, a yaskomo can demand, though only in virtue of his mandate from the supernatural. In reality, the strongest authority is exercised by public opinion in judging what is correct behaviour and what is not. Homicide is frequent in the Waiwai community, especially when we include the presumed magical killings. The killing of an unwanted new-born child at the hands of the mother is general and arouses no public reaction. In the same way it is permitted to let weak old people die by simply leaving them to themselves. It is an acceptable procedure to sacrifice a person's life (most often that of an old woman) for the common good, as appears from the myths (p. 41, 65 and 80). Of greater importance, however, is the blood feud, which is not only a right but a duty instituted in the magical parawa-blowing (see p. 107). Murder committed for revenge is normally followed by retribution on the part of the family of the person last killed, except in special cases, for example if the victim is an undesirable person (see p. 108). As opposed to these cases of homicide that are committed as a result of the bonds of kinship, there are, exceptionally, expulsions from the community, where the attitude of the whole village is the executive authority. Punishment altogether is rare, but can take place when a man catches his wife in infidelity (see p. 137) if he is of a jealous nature. Adultery is considered a sufficient provocation to justify the murder of the offending man by the injured party, but normally this does not seem to take place. On the other hand, it has happened that a person has killed his spouse in order to obtain a new, behaviour that was strongly disapproved though not punishable by violence. No cases of incest were observed, but this is regarded as so gross an offence (see p. 55) that those implicated would presumably be expelled from the community. Theft, which on account of the general distribution of all commodities is rare, appears to justify fatal blowing by the person injured (p. 157). In all ordinary disputes, for example concerning the size of the bride price, the length of bride service, mutual working effort, and the abandonment of property rights, the oho custom is the legal institution that re-establishes peace between the parties. Right of use in the case of objects seems to take precedence over property rights; this is presumably connected with the distribution of commodities; both factors promote solidarity within the group.

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The individual Waiwai has the greatest objection to getting mixed up in the conflicts of his village kinsmen, even when his sympathies are clearly on the side of the one party. His attitude is dictated by fear of provoking fatal blowing, and a strong wish to avoid outside interference in his personal freedom, should he find himself in a similar situation. Fear of disagreements seems often to result in a conscious isolation between village groups.

THE TRIBE

The Waiwai tribe is not a political unit and has no one to represent it vis-a-vis other tribes. It constitutes a cultural-lingual unit of an extremely loose nature in the relations to neighbouring tribes, at any rate in peace time, and can scarcely be regarded as a geographical group. Linguistically speaking, the Waiwai belong to the Carib an stock as opposed to their north-westerly neighbours, the Wapishana and the Atorai absorbed by them, and their south-westerly neighbours, the Mouyenna, all three of which belong to the Arawakan family. Frikel (p. 522) regards the Mouyenna (Mawayana) as Caribs, but as he has apparently never been in direct touch with them, the author prefers to take his stand with Mr. R. Hawkins, the missionary, who is very expert in the Waiwai tongue and who classifies the Mouyenna as Arawakan, as do others, including Farabee. Incidentally, Frikel has the Wapishana reaching right down to the sources of the Mapuera, which is not in accord with the position today. For a long time they have kept to the savannahs and have not reached further south than about 2° northern latitude. The linguistic distinction is not as important as the cultural, for the Waiwai say that those who dress and live as they do are like themselves, for example, the Mouyenna and Piskaryenna. The Wapishana, on the other hand, are different. They now wear ragged European dress and live in the savannahs, partially civilized. No one wishes to marry into them. Cultural affinity is thus a condition for contact and its consequent marital connexions and lingual understanding. The Waiwai have no neighbours to the north-east since the Taruma have died out as a tribe and the few survivors have been absorbed by the Waiwai or Wapishana. All the Waiwai connexions are thus to the south with a number of tribes on the Mapuera and its tributaries. The Mouyenna is the most important, and has been mentioned. Southwards are people like the Sheree, Piskaryenna, Shouyenna, Katawina, Parukoto, You, and so forth. All these tribes on the lower Mapuera are given the generic name of umaino. They all seem to belong to the Cariban stock of languages. According to Frikel (p. 554 et seq.), the Tchereu (Sheree) live a little east of the Mapuera about -to northern latitude, the Hichkaruyenna (Piskaryenna) a little west of the same river (the name of this tribe is translated by Frikel as Red Forest Deer, whereas the author was told it was savannah deer, forest deer being "koso"); the Katwena (Katawina), on both sides of the Mapuera at about the level of the equator. The Shouyenna and You are not mentioned in Frikel's detailed list of tribes in the Trombetas area, nor are a number of tribes known to the Waiwai but unlocalized: Tohoma, Mashawa, Warayenna, Kuruyenna and the extinct Wanamaritu. The Marakayenna can presumably be identified with Frikel's Maracha, who are said to live a little west of the Mapuera on a level with the equator. Finally, reference is made

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Political Organization

by Frikel to the Parukot6 (p. 545 and 553) as Parukot6 or Faruaru, who are stated to live near the Mapuera from about 10 northern latitude to the equator and east of this. Today this area belongs to the Waiwai, though, as mentioned below, they recognize a relationship with the Parukoto, Parukoto means Paru people or Mapuera people. (Several of the tribes known to the Waiwai are mentioned on pp. 24 and 73). It seems to be general in the case of the tribes speaking different languages that the one dominates the other in a lingual sense. The Waiwai were thus dominant in relation to the Mouyenna. It was the Mouyenna who had to learn the Waiwai language, which they did to a great extent. This may be due to the fact that they were a smaller tribe than the Waiwai, and also because the active male partner in the mixed marriages was usually a Waiwai. Conversely, the Wapishana were dominant in relation to the Waiwai in the one case where a Wapishana man had married a Waiwai woman. Although the Waiwai describe the Mouyenna "as like ourselves" they recognize characteristic small differences. Thus the Mouyenna women have long backs and small buttocks and therefore tie their aprons high. Waiwai women, on the other hand, have broad thighs and bind their aprons lower. Similarly, the Mouyenna men wear their loin cloths higher and looser than do the Waiwai men. It is said that the white bead band, hung from ear pegs and passing under the chin, was formerly a feature of the Mouyenna, but some decoratively-minded Waiwai seem to have adopted it as a result of inter-marriage. As mentioned previously (p. 23), there is often a suggestion of characterization in the Waiwai naming of other tribes. Thus Piskaryenna (from piskarl] means the savannah deer people, "because the people have long, thin legs"; and Shouyenna (from shou) means kibihee people, "because they smell so badly". On the other hand, my informants maintained that Mouyenna does not mean frog people (frog = mawa), as is often maintained in literature. Frikel says of the Mouyenna, however, (p. 551), that Mawayenna means frog people, and that according to his informant this referred to the long legs and fat stomachs of these people, which caused them to resemble a dead, stretched-out frog. Frikel's informers from central Trombetas have felt the Mouyenna to be so distant that suspicion and ridicule have coloured their reports compared with these of the closer-situated Waiwai. Let this rehabilitate the Mouyenna. Little is known of the assessment of the Waiwai by neighbouring tribes. Frikel (1957, p. 560) mentions that the Waiwai were not liked by the Faruani (= Parukoto), who were on a bad footing with them. Incidentally, neighbouring peoples characterized the Waiwai as good in some respects, though rather pugnacious. The Taruma consider the Waiwai especially expert in magic blowing and fear them on that account (Farabee 1918, p. 138). A Taruma now living with the Mouyenna gave the following description of the Waiwai (Guppy 1958, p. 220): "They are a very restless and quarrelsome bunch of people ... they don't like to live close to another village because they are frightened they may quarrel and fight one another". In this statement there seems to be a hint that vigour rather than superior culture has preserved the Waiwai from the extinction that has fallen to the lot of so many tribes in this area during the last 70 years. As appeared in the creation myth, the Waiwai are descended from Mawari, as are all the other

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known Indian tribes mentioned above. Of these the Parukoto, Katawina and Taruma have now disappeared, according to the Waiwai, and have been partially absorbed by them. The Mouyenna are presumably on the way to being so, and the Shere6, the Piskaryenna and the You have married into the Waiwai tribe. In view of the Waiwai's small numbers, this strong mixture must have exercised a great influence on their tribal unity. When it is recalled that a village is usually built up on an epeka group, one better understands that it is the village, not the tribe, that represents the greatest political unit in the Waiwai culture. The considerable mixture of tribes that has been experienced, recognizable in recent generations, raises another question: how many of those who today regard themselves as Waiwai are really so genetically? In this respect it was interesting that my chief informant, Ewka, who in general considered himself a Waiwai, maintained that the Waiwai were in reality Parukoto , and that only two individuals, Kimlya and Maanata, were true Waiwai. These two men, together with Waniu, were the only ones to possess English names in addition to their Waiwai ones. Krmtya was thus called Sam; Maanata, George; and Waniu, William. They had obtained their English names many years earlier from a visiting catholic priest. The two true Waiwai aforementioned were said to have come from a western tributary of the Mapuera, probably the Kikwo. There is good reason for assuming that the individual Parukoto tribe has been partly absorbed by the Waiwai according to that tribe's own account, but another aspect must not be forgotten. According to Frikel, Parukoto, in addition to being the name of an individual tribe, was also a generic designation for the Mapuera tribes as a whole. The group term Parukoto, which is a result of the Caribs' own coordination of language and blood-related small tribes, comprises, according to Frikel, more than a score of minor Carib tribes particularly around the Mapuera and west of it from about -to southern latitude up to the Acarai Mountains. When the Waiwai say that they are really Parukoto, it thus can also mean that they consider themselves - as others do - as belonging to the big Parukoto group. It can be added that Frikel was given exactly the same report about the Mawayenna (Mouyenna) by some of their neighbours, who said: "Actually they are Parukoto" (Frikel, p. 522). This last view encounters only one difficulty: that as opposed to those who really were Parukoto, there were two genuine Waiwai. With reference to the historical data (see p. 7), there is, however, hardly any doubt that when the Waiwai considered themselves as Parukoto, it was due to the intermarriage of Parukoto with Waiwai that had quite obviously taken place in the course of the three first decades of the present century. Incidentally, the Waiwai appear not to classify their neighbouring tribes according to language and blood, as maintained by Frikel (1957, p. 523), but by culture, as stated above. When the Waiwai referred to the Taruma tribe it was always a matter of a group which formerly lived next to the Essequibo, north of the Waiwai. However, according to Frikel a single tribe of the same name (Chanima) is said still to exist near the Tuninu, a western tributary of the Trombetas, between that river and the Mapuera. For the surrounding tribes and the more eastern Caribs, the word "Chanima" has come to be a generic name for a number of single tribes near the Rio Tuninu, including the Tunayana (Frikel, p. 524). The Parukoto and Chanima groups, according to Frikel, are two dialect groups together comprising a major Carib group. Parukoto-Chanima is linguistically different from the four other similar Carib

,..

r i

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Political Organization

Fig. 43. One of the two "true Waiwai", Maanata, working on a fish trap. Most Waiwai consider themselves to be of mixed Parukot6 origin generically.

major groups in North Para. The Carib dialect and major groups do not appear to possess any political importance for the Waiwai today, but can possibly during warlike periods have exercised an influence on the composition of leagues. Recently, however, there have been feuds between the Waiwai and their kindred group the Sheree. As already mentioned, Chanima was the generic name used particularly by this group's eastern neighbours. On the other hand the western neighbours, i.e. the Parukoto, called this group or parts of it (inter alia the Chanima and Tunayana) Okoimoyana (Anaconda-people). It is related that these people slept under water (tuna = water). Although Frikel's division of the North Para Caribs into dialect groups according to the Indians' own coordination does not appear to agree with the Waiwai's division, there are nevertheless many curious points of similarity which will here briefly be summarized. The Okoimo-yenna also figure in the Waiwai Mawari myth (p. 46) and in other places, though not as a neighbouring tribe but as supernatural beings. However, the supernatural feature can be due to the fact that they belong to a sufficiently distant past. It is noteworthy that the Taruma (who correspond to Frikel's Charuma and belonged to the Okoimo-yenna group) held even more elaborate ideas about the Okoimo-yenna than did the Waiwai. The Taruma were assumed to possess special amphibian qualities, and their creator, like the Waiwai's, obtained his woman from the Okoimo-yenna. Taruma accounts of the contents of Okoimo-yenna's house are also more comprehensive than the Waiwai version (see p. 53) for, among other things, the Taruma version lists all the objects that were later introduced to them by the Whites, like, for example, bananas. With the Waiwai the list covered a few women's implements and the cotton

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and anatto plants (see p. 42). In this connexion it is remarkable that cotton, and presumably also anatto, were unknown to the Waiwai in Coudreau's day, 1884 (see p. 10). Waiwai history up to the present time is stamped by their almost complete extermination about the year 1890, and the subsequent heavy intermarriage with neighbouring tribes, particularly the Parukot6 in the south and the Taruma in the north (p. 9). Apparently the Parukot6 were at the Waiwai cultural level (Farabee 1924, p. 183), but the Taruma were superior, for example in regard to culture plants (see p. 10). In addition the Taruma possessed the traditions about the Okoimo-yenna in Farabee's day, 1913, whereas that writer makes no mention of this in regard to the Waiwai. In Coudreau's day the Waiwai actually feared the rivers (p. 6). Moreover, it should be remembered that the Waiwai predilection for the Okoimo-yenna derived particularly from old Miywa's relations with them, his helping spirits (see p. 129). Miywa said himself that he had been the first Waiwai in the Essequibo area. During his whole youth he had thus lived in close contact with the Taruma, and he had also adopted a Taruma boy when that tribe succumbed to an epidemic. Finally, it should be recalled that not only the Waiwai but also the Taruma had a village called after the Anaconda helping spirit, eripoimo. From the Okoimo-yenna myth (p. 49) it appears that among other things the Waiwai learned the use of beads from the Okoimo-yenna (although their use vanished and reappeared only with the advent of the White men). This story seems to contain the memory of an early, but short, contact with Europeans. However, it is not likely that the Waiwai themselves experienced a meeting of this kind in their seclusion on the Serra Acarai. It appears more probable that the story is a loan from the Taruma, whose history points to such an event. As early as 1670 the Taruma lived at the mouth of the Rio Negro in close contact with the Portuguese, but shortly after they fled northwards. By 1770 at all events they had settled in their present area by the upper Essequibo (see, for example, Evans and Meggers 1960, p. 263). Everything thus suggests that as late as the beginning of this century Waiwai culture obtained important elements, and that plants such as cotton and anatto were unknown before then. These, and possibly other elements, reached the Waiwai via the Taruma, but came originally from the Amazon, as did the Taruma themselves. The creation myth thus proves to contain concrete historical data, but in its present form it cannot be more than about fifty years old. Unfortunately, the historical sources of the Waiwai do not go back sufficiently far for us to be able to demonstrate the acculturation from savage tribe (Jaguar-people) without husbandry to an agricultural tribe with maniok and kraua, as suggested in the creation myth (see p. 47). But this is quite in accord with Frikel's general acculturation hypothesis (1957, p. 530 et seq.) for this area. He says, for example, that when Indians explain about a tribe that the forefathers had been savage "Jaguars", it means that they were acculturated wild tribes, that is to say marginal hunting people who had been influenced by the more advanced Caribs. Frikel (1957, p. 518) suggests where these Caribs came from, for he maintains that all migration accounts of which he is aware point towards the west or north-west, towards enormous mountainous areas with volcanoes and hot springs. The only Caribs whose locality answers to this description are the Umaua or Carijones in the upper Caqueta-Uaupes area. It is then of some interest that KochGriinberg (1922, p. 264), by comparative linguistic investigations, found the Umaua to be clearly related to the Trio and the Pianokoto. These two tribes differ only from the Waiwai dialectically, and

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Political Organization

in Coudreau's day the Pianokoto were the Waiwai's eastern neighbours with whom they stood on a friendly footing (see p. 6). Koch-Griinberg found the linguistic resemblances so great that he assumed a migration of the Umaua from Guiana to Caqueta-Uaupes. Nevertheless, several factors oppose a Cariban trek westwards. The Umaua possess a very concentrated distribution and are too numerous (about 25,000 in 1915 according to Whiffen, which is presumably greatly exaggerated) for them to be the result of migration from Guiana. A trek in the other direction, as assumed by Frikel, appears more reasonable, and in this connexion two sub-Andean features in the Waiwai culture are recalled: the cult of the sun and the social stratification in connexion with the oho (see p. 230). In regard to possible cultural relations with the Caqueta-Uaupes area, reference should also be made to the yamo masked dance, where the use of bark masks and the ban on women's knowledge of and participation in this dance are north-west Amazonian features.

COMMUNICATION The historical reflections - concerning likely migrations and diffusions in the past - which concluded the preceding chapter, figure little, if at all, in the daily notions of the individual Waiwai. When these historical phenomena are projected downwards into the sphere of social life, they appear as various forms of communication and as such are of vital importance. The individual Waiwai seems to possess a natural tendency towards isolation. Among other things this urge would seem to be rooted in the occupation of hunting, which is spoiled when too many congregate. It was also alleged that the fear of being involved in blood feuds, particularly of being accused of having practised magic blowing, was a reason for conscious isolation (see p. 233). Altogether, it would appear that an independent mentality prevails as a result of an unconscious desire that one's personal liberty shall not be restricted by fellow tribesmen. These tendencies, which can cause family groups of 10-20 persons to isolate themselves in a village community, are counteracted by the need for a certain communication. This reciprocal effect has already been reflected in the history of the Waiwai, where repeated divisions of the tribe (isolation) were succeeded by a vigorous admixture with other tribes (see p. 9). Intercourse both within and without the tribe takes place primarily by an exchange of intelligence, commodities and marriage partners, and in all these cases the oho chant is the central institution. It is not only an important means of verbal communication, but is employed specially in connexion with the contraction of marriage and in trade agreements (see p. 217). The oho custom also helps to promote communication in other ways, for example in case of death the mourners will in this form be strongly exhorted to remain in the village despite its melancholic associations. The oho is likewise resorted to by the yayalitomo in connexion with the invitation to the Shodewika dance festival, which is the most important factor in the selection of a non-local spouse. The yayalitomo is naturally the central figure in regard to contacts outside the village. His whole position depends upon his ability to rally people around himself and his family (see p. 203). When a stranger pays a visit to a Waiwai village, his first act is to make a long report to the local yayalitomo,

-r _.-..-

-......------

-

.-

--

-.-.... --

-

-

---~-- ~---

--

-

--

-

-

~ ~~---

Communication

239

Fig. 44. For a century the beautifully patterned cassava grater boards inserted with small stone flakes have been the most important export article of the Waiwai. This one is decorated with the alligator design. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4193).

to whom he announces the purpose of his visit, and conveys the news from his own village. This spreading of the news is augmented by the fact that before leaving his home village the stranger has bidden farewell and may have been given messages by each individual there. The most normal category of visitor is the young man who is looking for a wife because the choice locally is too limited. The traditional occasion for meetings with a view to marriage is the dance festival, especially the Shodewika, where a sexual atmosphere is worked up by the aid of cassava beer. The function of the dance festival as a means of communication is also clearly indicated in the Shodewika myth (see p. 74). Altogether, the Waiwai myths - besides being a means of communication between the generations - are in their action a permanent justification of contacts and assimilations that have occurred between the Waiwai and other groups (see p. 96 et seq.). These assimilations seem always to have taken place via marriage alliances. It has been shown earlier how the Waiwai in this way must be assumed to have learned important cultural benefits from the Taruma (see p. 237), and how, for example, they learned from the Mouyenna the use of the bead chin ornament and the animal imitation dances (see p. 181). On the other hand, contact with the more distant neighbours in the north-west, the Wapishana, has not been of a marital character, but solely stamped by trade relations. In 1870 mention was made of the Wapishana traders who travelled through the Waiwai country for the purpose of trade: Waiwai cassava grater-boards and hunting dogs were taken back to the savannahs, for the latter were famous even in 1837 (see p. 5). To this day the beautifully-patterned grater-boards of the Waiwai are their biggest export article to the northern savannahs; in exchange the Waiwai have obtained the muchcoveted porcelain beads that now quite dominate their costume and ornamentation, plus forest knives and a few iron axes which have greatly facilitated agriculture. Repeated meetings with Wapishana

240

Political Organization

traders brought the latter's craft, the dugout, to the notice of the Waiwai (see p. 9). The canoe was essential in order that the Waiwai could undertake the move from their more isolated situation on the Serra Acarai down the Mapuera and Essequibo rivers, and it must have caused a partially fresh orientation of the Waiwai's communication network from a west-east land route to a south-north water route. The Serra Acarai that had previously been the centre, thereafter became the barrier within the Waiwai area. On account of the more rapid method of transport, the ratio between the communication index and the size of the village remained practically unchanged (see pp. 4 and 5). Previous reference has been made to the sporadic appearance of the earth burial custom (see p. 165) and the idea of heaven as a cassava pan (see p. 102), which both must be considered loans from the Wapishana. Within the Waiwai area a certain exchange of products also takes place. Thus the Essequibo Waiwai still fetch from the Mapuera bows of krapa wood and coir mats of the Brazil-nut tree. In the meantime it transpired that both these trees were also to be found in the Essequibo district, and therefore this trade is not so much due to reasons of plant geography as to tradition. Something similar must be assumed to be the case with the curare liana, strychnos, which according to the Waiwai is found only at one place in the whole of their territory namely, on the first ridge of the Serra Acarai south of the watershed. This ridge is called by the Waiwai Baraweti-yapone and by the Wapishana Urali-tau, Both names mean curare mountain. People from the whole Waiwai area come here to fetch curare. One of our Waiwai fellow travellers from the northernmost Essequibo village, who himself fetched the poison from the place, told us that his grandfather, who lived on the Mapuera, had done the same. Poisoned arrowheads in bamboo quivers were a common article of commerce, as are also the arrow shafts of arrow reed, woywi (Gynerium sagittatum). Arrow reed was introduced to the Waiwai as a culture plant only a few years ago; formerly, this important product was obtained from the Mouyenna and Wapishana. A Mapuera Waiwai obtained through his Mouyenna daughter-in-law an opportunity to bring back to his village some roots of arrow reed, and at almost the same time a Wapishana brought some roots to his Waiwai wife on the Essequibo. A lively trade, particularly from the Mouyenna to the Waiwai stilI takes place with cut arrow reed, but in virtue of existing marriage ties this unstable trade communication has developed into a permanent culture element for the Waiwai. Much of the Waiwai trading has primarily a social aim: it often is more a means to create friendship than an economic transaction. This is undoubtedly connected with the fact that every form of institutional communication must be utilized to the full in view of the great isolation and small population in the area.

-..-"~

Acculturation

241

Fig. 45. On journey crossing the Serra Acarai, the Waiwai have erected the three-cornered shelter "powis-tail". In recent years contact with the White man has brought the iron pot and the bush knife, great advantages in daily work and when travelling.

ACCULTURATION Right up to the year 1900 the Waiwai appear to have been completely unaffected by civilization; they lived in isolation on the Serra Acarai, and only two expedition had until then visited their area briefly without discovering in the culture any trace of European elements (see p. 12). From 1900 until 1950 a weak and partly indirect influence made itself felt via the neighbouring Wapishana tribe, as mentioned above. Beads succeeded plant fruit, particularly Job's Tears, for women's costumes and ornamentation; forest knives and iron axes replaced digging sticks and stone axes, and presumably greatly facilitated agriculture; a few iron pots and cassava pans made their appearance, the iron pots particularly being appreciated on account of the Waiwai habit of always taking pepperpot with them when travelling. Fowls probably became known during the same period 16 Waiwai

242

Political Organization

without any knowledge being gained as to their utilization. It is possible that knowledge of various culture plants from the Old World, for example, the banana, is older, but here it should be remembered that at the beginning of the century the Waiwai appear to have been strongly influenced by the now extinct Taruma, through whose agency European elements may have been introduced to the Waiwai (see p. 236). The most important influence in this period must definitely be said to have been the improvement of agriculture as a result of better implements and, perhaps, new cultivated plants. Within social and religious life, on the other hand, no changes of note seem to have taken place. The period from 1950 up to the present day has been, and is, completely dominated by increasingly intensive missionary work carried on by the Unevangelized Fields Mission. In 1951 a permanent mission station was established, Kanashen, between Yakayaka and Mauika on the Essequibo, where Mr. Robert E. Hawkins and his wife settled. Up to 1955 (when our expedition ended) the missionary work had mainly consisted in the creation of good relations with the Waiwai, plus thorough studies of the Waiwai tongue whilst creating a Waiwai written language. Although during this period the missionaries consciously endeavoured to preserve the original material culture and the Waiwai's respect for it, a certain change of mentality began to be manifested by the Waiwai living nearest to the station. In the first place they were paid for the various work they performed for the mission, such as house building, field and transport work etc. Although wages were immediately converted into coveted utensils, they quickly gained the idea that work - good or bad - would be paid for at a definite rate according to its duration. During this time the Waiwai acquired a more reflective attitude, and consciously assessed their own culture against the background of civilized standards. After 1955 things began to move. Ewka, the yayalitomo and yaskomo of Yakayaka, on whom the missionaries long had worked was converted to Christianity in 1956 in connexion with the recovery of his daughter from a severe illness, and after some hesitation most of the Essequibo Waiwai followed en masse (Hawkins 1959). In the wake of this change in religion came many changes of the culture: polygamy, the drinking of fermented cassava beer and the smoking of tobacco were forbidden, and the large communal houses were deserted in favour of one-family huts. All this must have influenced social life very markedly. Smoking in secret, padlocking of hut doors, and the emergence of a consciousness of sin are fresh and foreign features in the culture. In step with the progress of Christianity with the Essequibo Waiwai, more and more moved northwards from the Mapuera. In 1958 not only all the Mapuera Waiwai, but also all the Arawakan Mouyenna and a number of Piskaryenna and Sheree had left the Rio Mapuera, which became denuded of human beings (see Yde 1960, p. 83). All had left for the Essequibo to settle in the neighbourhood of Kanashen where there are now in all about 250 Indians of mixed origin. The Waiwai culture, which in 1955 was vigorous and in the main unaffected by civilization, has already ceased to exist.

Phonetic key The phonemes of Waiwai (Carib an linguistic stock) are: i ordinary e

a ch sh fi

I y p

w

central close vowel as in every as in all as in child as in shall as in spanish interchangable with r, with alveopalatal flap interchangable with j, consonantic fricative bi-labial as in well stress

u o

a t

s n r

k h m

In Waiwai stress of a word often varies between syllables, though generally it occurs on the last. Two-syllable words, however, frequently are stressed on the first.

16'

.-..=----

Glossary of Waiwai words achi aimara amama anton apa apomi apon aSlSI awale awechi awi ehtoyati ekahri ekaimali ekatr ekatrnho ekatinhokworokjam emasi emato

sister (man speaking) haimara fish kind of anaconda errand boy or girl father upper arm band, sign of maturity wooden stool red pepper group of affinal kin warishi, back basket I amulet of animal teeth wounded game common hunt soul, shadow former soul, spirit

hyaslri

helping spirit

-imo

great

kakenaukworokjam sky spirit kamara jaguar kamashu tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) kames! magic object kamisa lap, loin cloth kamo sun kanapelu barbacue kanaua dugout canoe kapu sky, heaven karipamchan man between maturity and marriage kechekele great forest tree (Inga gracilifolia) kerechichi beads kraua (Bromelia sp.) kereweti woman's apron keweyu red forest deer koso krapa bow kuas'i tipiti kuchukwa fermented cassava beer kumu lu palm (Oenocarpus baccaba) kurum buzzard, black vulture group of small fish kutmo kuyuwa hammock kwaih'ir'i death kworo red macaw kworokjam spirit

esefiema eta ewshanyon

reincarnated spirit coming-of-age girl woman between initiation and first childbirth group of classificatory siblings fatal fever spirit magic song kind of anaconda, former village to give birth, to be born diet food single household mother of a child, age term class

chacha churi chuwya

grandmother, old woman cassava bread spouce

latik

flute, trumpet

malya

baraweti

curare poison (Strychnos sp.)

mafii

root (cassava-like) of unknown plant pitch

epeka eperia eremu eripoimo eru

Glossary

maraka marati maure mawari miimo

medicine man's rattle maroudi (Penelope sp.) cotton (Gossypium sp.) the creator communal house

napi nohaini nufii nono fiukwa

yam (Dioscorea sp.) common meal on big game moon. elder sibling of same sex magic stone

oho okoimo okopicho okopurwa okorupu onomto

yes anaconda snake child before puberty child after puberty balata (Manilkara bidentata) anatto (Bixa orellana)

pakria pall parawa pashki payura pacho pm

collared peccary grandchild, niece magic revenge blowing small agouti war club grandfather, old man younger male relative, age class term poimo brother-in-law, affinal group poinko white-lipped peccary pokara pegall, vanity box pone pirai (Serrasalmo sp.) poroto spider monkey powishi-matko powis tail, tree-cornered shelter poyin magic infant danger puru pimpler palm (Astrocaryum plicatum) roupo

menstruation

same shapali shere

magic act dog cassava, maniok (Manihot utilissima) dance festival little sloth kibihee medicine man hut

shodewika shoheli shou shutepana

tahelim tamchi raritan titkopicho to no tuna tuna-ipu tushma umana umaua uruperi

warakaka wayam wayamnu wayapa wayma washma wechi weniapon WOyWl

yaimo yaipu yaku yami yamo

yanan yasi yaskomo yawari yayalitomo yeme yenna yin yocheri you yukiyapon

245

cooking pot father-in-law cicada menstruation bark mat from Brazil nut tree primary fatal blowing water main water, Essequibo River banana working house fish poison (Lonchocarpus sp.), culture hero the dragon, a mythical fable animal unknown little fish tortoise my tortoise, allowed sexual partner initiation hut big sloth bride service mat, used as headcover at initiation baby sling arrow

harpy eagle tapir group of birds hair tube secret dances connected with the anaconda rudimentary matrilineal group magic power medicine man opossum village leader, chief mother people father, owner bones for magic use ite palm (Mauritia flexuosa) ant belt

Bibliography BACHOFEN, J. J. 1861 Das Mutterrecht. Stuttgart. BARBOSA RODRiGUES, J. 1890 Poranduba Amazonense. Rio de Janeiro. BARRERE, P. 1743 Nouvelle relation de la France equinoxiale, Paris. BARRINGTON BROWN, CH. 1876 Canoe and Camp life in British Guiana. London. BENEDICT, R. F. 1935 Zuni Mythology I. Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology, vol. 21, New York. BIET, A. 1664 Voyage de la France equinoxiale en I'isle de Cayenne ... Paris. BIRKET-SMITH, K. 1948 Kulturens Veje, Kebenhavn, BOLINDER, G. 1918 Ijca-Indianernas Kultur. Alingsas. BRETT, W. H. 1868 Indian Tribes of Guiana. London. COUDREAU, H. A. 1887 La France equinoxiale II. Voyage a travers les Guyanes et l' Arnazonie, Paris. COUDREAU, O. 1903 Voyage a la Mapuera, 1901. Paris. CREVAUX, J. N. 1883 Voyages dans I'Amerique du Sud. Paris. EVANS, C. & B. J. MEGGERS 1960 Archeological investigations in British Guiana. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bull. 177. Washington. FARABEE, W. C. 1918 The Central Arawaks. University of Pennsylvania, Anthropological Publications, vol. 9. Philadelp hia. 1924 The Central Caribs. University of Pennsylvania, Anthropological Publications, vol. 10. Philadelphia. FRAZER, J. G. 1910 Totemism and Exogamy. London. FREITAS, C. P. DE 1944 On the frontier of British Guiana and Brazil. Timehri, vol. 26 (p. 123-145). Georgetown.

FRIKEL, P. 1957 Zur linguistisch-ethnologischen Gliederung der Indianerstarnme von Nord-Para (Brasilien) und den anliegenden Gebieten. Anthropos, vol. 52, 3-4 (p, 509-63). Freiburg. GESSAIN, R. 1958 Le motif Vagina Dentata dans les mythologies Eskimo et nord-amerindiennes. 32. International Congress of Americanists 1956, (p. 583-86). Kabenhavn. GILLIN, J. 1936 The Barama River Caribs of British Guiana. Papers, Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Harvard Univ., vol. 14, no. 2. GOElE, C. H. DE 1910 Beitrage zur Volkerkunde von Surinam. Internationales Archiv fUr Ethnographie, vol. 19. Leiden. 1941 Die Oayana-Indianen, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 100. 's-Gravenhage. 1943 Philosophy, Initiation and Myths of the Indians of Guiana and adjacent countries. Internationales Archiv fUr Ethnographie, vol. 44. Leiden. GUMILLA, J. 1745 EI Orinoco, Historia Natural de este gran Rio, ... vol. I. Madrid. Guppy, N. 1953 Plant exploration in the Serra Acarai region. Forest Department of British Guiana. Georgetown. 1958 Wai-Waf. London. HAWKINS Family, The 1959? The Winning of a Waiwai Witchdoctor. Bible Fellowships. Dallas. HOLDEN, W. H. 1938 Civilization and sudden Death. Natural History, vol. 42, no. 5, (p. 328-37). New York. HOLMBERG, A. R.: 1950 Nomads of the Long Bow. The Siriono of Eastern Bolivia. Smithsonian Institution, Institute of Social Anthropology, Publication no. 10. HOLMER, N. M. 1951 Cuna Chrestomathy. Etnologiska Studier 18. Goteborg,

247

Bibliography KARSTEN, R.

1915

1935

The Couvade or Male Child-bed among the South American Indians. Ofversikt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Forhandlingar, vol. 57, 1914-15. B. nr. 3. Helsingfors. The Head-hunters of Western Amazonas; Helsingfors.

KOCH-GRUNBERG, TH.

1909- Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern I-II. 10 Berlin. 1922 Die Volkergruppierung zwischen Rio Branco, Orinoco, Rio Negro und Yapura, Festschrift Eduard Seier (p, 205-66). Stuttgart. 1923 Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, ... III. Stuttgart. KRAUSE, F. 1911 In den Wildnissen Brasiliens. Leipzig. KUNIKE, H.

1911

Das sogenannte Mannerkindbett. Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, vol. 43. Berlin. LEACH, E. R. 1954 Political Systems of Highland Burma. London. LEVI-STRAUSS, C. 1948 La vie familiale et sociale des Indiens Nambikwara. Journal de la Societe des Arnericanistes, vol. 37 n. s. Paris. 1955 The Structural Study of Myth. Myth: A Symposium. Journal of American Folklore, vol. 78 (p. 428-44). LOVEN, S.

1935

Origins of the Tainan culture, West Indies. Goteborg,

LOWIE, R. H.

1948

The tropical forests: an introduction. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 3. Washington. 1949 Social and political organization of the tropical forest and marginal tribes. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 5. Washington. MALiNOWSKI, B. 1954 Magic, Science and Religion. New York. MAYNTZHUSEN, F. C. 1912 Uber Gebrauche bei der Geburt und die Namengebung der Guayaki. 18. International Congress of Americanists. METRAUX, A. 1928 La religion des Tupinamba et ses raports avec celie des autres tribus Tupi-Guarani. Bibliotheque de I'Ecole des hautes etudes, sciences religieuses, vol. 45. Paris. 1947 Mourning Rites and Burial Forms of the South American Indians. America Indigena, vol. 7, I (p, 7-44). Mexico. 1949 The Couvade. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 5 (p. 369-74). Washington. 1949 Warfare, Cannibalism, and Human Trophies. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 5 (p, 381-409). Washington.

NIMUENDAJlJ, C. 1926 Die Palikur-Indianer und ihre Nachbarn. Goteborgs Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhalles Handlingar, 4. Foljden, vol. 31, no. 2. Goteborg. NORDENSKJOLD, E. 1911 Indianer och hvita nordostra Bolivia. Stockholm. OBERG, K.

1953

Indian tribes of northern Mato Grosso, Brazil. Smithsonian Institution, Institute of Social Anthropology, vol. 15. Washington. D'ORBIGNY, A. 1835- Voyage dans I'Amerique meridionale, I-IX. 47 Paris. OVIEDO Y VALDES, G. F. 1851- Historia general y natural de las Indias, etc., 53 vol. I & III. Madrid. PEBERDY, P. S.

1948

British Guiana. Report of a Survey on Amerindian Affairs in the remote Interior. Colonial Development and Welfare. Georgetown.

RASMUSSEN, K.

1931

The Netsilik Eskimos. Social Life and Spiritual Culture. Report of the fifth Thule Expedition, vol. 8, 1-2. Kobenhavn.

REICHEL-DoLMATOFF, G.

1950

Los Kogi. Revista del Instituto Etnologico Nacional, vol. 4, 1-2. Bogota. RIVERO, J. 1883 Historia de las Misiones de los Llanos de Casanare y los Rios Orinoco y Meta. (Escrita 1736). Bogota. ROCHEFORT, C. C. DE 1665 Histoire naturelle et morale des les Antilles de I' Amerique. Rotterdam. ROTH, W. E. 1915 An Inquiry into the Animism and Folk-lore of the Guiana Indians. American Bureau of Ethnology, 30th Annual Report. Washington. 1924 An Introductory Study of the Arts, Crafts, and Customs of the Guiana Indians. Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, vol. 38. Washington. 1929 Additional Studies of the Arts, Crafts, and Customs of the Guiana Indians, ... Bulletin, Bureau of American Ethnology, vol. 91. Washington. ROUSE, I. 1948 The Carib. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 4. Washington. SCHMIDT, M.

1917

Die Aruaken; ein Beitrag zum Problem der Kulturverbreitung. Leipzig. SCHMIDT, W. 1954 Gebrauche des Ehemannes bei Schwangerschaft

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1924

& W.

KOPPER~

Volker und Kulturen. Regensburg. SCHOMBURGK, R. 1847- Reisen in British-Guiana in den Jahren 184048 1844, I-III. Leipzig. SCHOMBURGK, R. H. 1841 Reisen in Guiana und am Orinoko wahrend der Jahre 1835-1839. Leipzig. SCHUSTER, M. 1958 Die Soziologie der Waika. 32. International Congress of Americanists, 1956 (p. 114-22). Kebenhavn, STEINEN, K. VON DEN 1894 Unter den Naturvolkern Zentral-Brasiliens: Reiseschilderung und Ergebnisse der zweiten Schingu-Expedition, 1887-88. Berlin. STOUT, D. B. 1948 The Cuna. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 4. Washington. TYLOR, E. B. 1865 Researches into the Early History of Mankind, London.

1889

On a Method of Investigating the Development of Institutions applied to Laws of Marriage and Descent. Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. 18 (p. 245-72). London. WAGLEY, CH. & E. GALVAO 1948 The Tenetehara. Handbook of South American Indians, vol, 3 (p. 137-48). Washington. WASSEN, H. 1949 Contributions to Cuna Ethnography. Etnologiska Studier 16. Goteborg. WEISINGER,

1956

H.

Some remarks on the ritualist controversy. Journal of American Folklore, vol. 69. New York.

WHIFFEN, TH. W.

1915

The north-west Amazons ... London. J. 1960 Agriculture and Division of work among the Waiwai, Folk, vol, 2 (p, 83-97). Kabenhavn. ZERRIES, O. 1954 Wild- und Buschgeister in Sudarnerika. Studien zur Kulturkunde, vol. 1L Wiesbaden, YDE,

Dansk Resume Indledning (p. 1-13)

Waiwai-indianeme lever ved foden af Acarai-bjergene, der udger gnensen mellem Britisk Guiana og Brasilien. I 1955 la landsbyeme aIle ved kildeflodeme til henholdsvis den mod nord Iebende Essequibo River og den sydpa lebende Amazonbiflod, Rio Mapuera. Klimaet er tropisk med rigelig nedber pa 2-3 m arlig. Vegetationen er overalt yppig regnskov, der af jagtvildt rummer store flokke vildsvin, tapir, skovhjort og mange arter af aber. Flodeme har stor fiskerigdom. I disse naturomgivelser lever waiwai-stammen, der kun bestar af 180 individer fordelte pa 7 landsbyer. Ved at srette antallet af beboere i en landsby i relation til den afstand, de rna tilbagelregge for at mode stammefrrender, opstilles der forsegsvis et kommunikationsindex, hvis talvrerdier illustrerer en opdeling af waiwai i en nordlig og en sydlig gruppe. Waiwai-sproget herer til den karibiske sprogret og synes at have seerlig tilknytning til den sydfor boende gruppe af Para-kariber, Stammen blev forste gang besegt i 1837 af R. H. Schomburgk, der kun giver ganske fa og tilfreldige oplysninger om den. Det samme grelder H. Coudreau, der i 1884 gennemrejste waiwai's omrade, Den ferste beskrivelse af stammen skyldes Farabee, der i 1913 som den ferste fandt waiwai ogsa nord for Acarai. Spredte oplysninger hos Coudreau og Farabee ger det ejensynligt, at waiwai ca. 1890-95 nrer var blevet udslettet af en nabostamme og kun ved flugt nordpa overlevede. Restbefolkningen syd for Acarai blev strerkt opblandet med parukoto, men beholdt sit oprindelige navn. Bortset fra W. E. Roth's ekspedition i 1925, hvor waiwai's tekniske kultur blev studeret, foreligger der i ovrigt kun embedsmrends kortfattede rapporter om waiwai op til vor tid. Den sparsomme litteratur er i evrigt tilstrrekkelig til at dokumentere, at der blot i de sidste 100 ar har fundet en kraftig stammeblanding og stammedeling sted, der rna have bragt nye - navnlig amazoniske - kulturelementer til waiwai's kendskab. Til forstaelse afwaiwai's religiese og sociale liv skal deres ekonomi og teknik opridses kort. Erhvervslivet er domineret af svedje-agerbruget, hvor den bitre maniok er langt den vigtigste kulturplante. Eftersom dens dyrkning ikke krrever nogen speciel hestperiode eller oplagring, er den vel tilpasset mandens hovedbeskeeftigelse, jagt og fiskeri, fordi den ikke forudsretter nogen radikal rendring i mentalitet og arbejdsfordeling. Waiwai's agerbrug er lettere og mindre udviklet end dets naboers. Det er vresentligst et kvindeerhverv, medens kun manden jager og fisker. Jagt og fiskeri udeves navnlig med lange buer og pile, hvis spidser forgiftes med curare til abejagt. Jagthunde anvendes srerlig til at drive vildsvin i frelder. Fiskeriet foregar hovedsagelig med bue og pil samt ved hjrelp af ruser; det er af sterre ekonomisk betydning end jagten. Rejser foregar nu hyppigst ad flodvejen i kanoer af udhulede trrestammer; ved transporter over land anvendes lange ryg-brerekurve til husgerad og madforsyninger.

250

Danish Summary

Waiwai landsbyen bestar som regel af et stort rundt fselleshus, der rummer alle landsbyens enkeltfamilier. Rver familie har i sin sektion sine hrengekejer opheengt i en trekant, i hvis midte ildstedet er placeret. Det meste arbejde foregar dog i fri luft i de sma arbejdshytter. Udefra set kan man anltegge et deterministisk syn pa waiwai-kulturen med naturen som begnensende faktor for udviklingen af erhvervet, der - i vekselvirkning med traditionen - afstikker mulighederne for samfundsudviklingen. Imidlertid strider et sadant syn afgerende mod waiwai's egen naturopfattelse, der er opbygget pa forestillingen om aktive - til dels vilkarlige - magter og knefter, hvis virksomhed man seger at begrense eller fremme. Det skonnes derfor i lige sa hej grad at vrere waiwai's opfattelse af naturen som naturen selv, der pavirker den kulturelle udvikling. Derfor er de religiose forestillinger i det felgende behandlet ferst,

Religiose forestillinger (p. 14-37)

Waiwai's sjelebegreb er fundamentet for de religiose forestillinger, og deraf udvikles naturligt andre grupper af overnaturlige vresener. Saledes kan ekati oversrettes ved sjeel, ekati'nho ved tidligere sjel, d.v. s. den afdedes sjel, og ekatinho-kworokjam ved and fortrinsvis dyreand, Ekati opfattes somen usynlig substans, der er udbredt over hele legemet; den breder sig som ved smitte ud over legemet til berorte ting. Samtidig med at ekati substansen er delelig, opretholdes der en forbinde1se mellem de adskilte dele og kilden. Dette er baggrunden for waiwai's sygdoms- og deds-teori, idet magi udevet over en del ekati vii pavirke helheden. Medens medicinmanden frivilligt kan sende sin ekati til sine hjrelpeander, sa skilles Ieegfolk kun ufrivilligt fra deres ekati', dels i dromme de1s ved besrettelse af en and. Beseettelsen, hvorved ekati trtenges ud, er livsfarlig, hvis ikke ekati snart bringes tilbage. Da spadboms ekati ofte felger faderen eller moderen og er meget svage, er spsedbern serligt udsatte for besrettelse. Ved en persons ded bliver ekati til ekati'nho, der normalt "reinkarneres" i dyreform; imidlertid synes waiwai ikke at forestille sig en individue1 overleven. Ekatinho menes at have sit tilholdssted ved sin ophavsmands grav, men strejfer ofte omkring; den er meget frygtet. De fleste landdyr besidder ekati'nho-kworokjam, hvis egenskaber svarer til menneskers ekati. Ogsa de udbreder sig ved smitte, og da storvildts kworokjam er steerkere end f. eks. speedberns ekati, repreesenterer de en fare, der affeder spisetaburegler. Foruden ekatrnho-kworokjam, der betragtes som reinkarnerede menneskesjrele i form af landdyr, eksisterer der en gruppe kakenau-kworokjam, hvis oprindelse gar forud for menneskets skabelse. De er himmelander, og de har derfor sede specielt i fuglene, men ogsa i enkelte ejendomme1ige landdyr og optneder endeligsom helt ulegemlige ander. Kakenau-kworokjam er strerkere og farligere end ekatmho-kworokjam og anvendes derfor navnlig som hjeelpeander for medicinmanden. lnden for de overnaturlige vasener horer tildels ogsa gruppen yenna, der betyder folk. Foruden at veere en almindelig betegnelse for nabostammer, omfatter det rene fabelfolk og forskellige dyrefolk, der indtager vigtige roller i mytologien. Det eneste folk, der har religies betydning, er anacondafolket, okoimo-yenna, hvorfra skaberen Mawari hentede sin hustru. Enkelte dyrearter og naturfanomener beherskes ifelge waiwai af deres yin eller fader, hvor navnlig

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poinko-yin, vildsvinenes fader er af stor betydning. Kun medicinmanden kan pakalde poinko-yin, og en pakaldelse er altid nedvendig forud for vildsvinejagter, for ikke at gere poinko-yin vred, sa han forer vildsvineflokkene bort. Poinko-yin virker som srerlig hjeelpeand for medicinmanden, der har tabu mod at jage, drtebe eller spise vildsvin. Poinko-yin pakaldes, ved at medicinmanden bleeser tobak henover en magisk sten, fiukwa, der reprtesenterer poinko-yin. Imedens afsynges forskellige poinkoeremu, magiske sange til :ere for vildsvinenes fader. Waiwai nterer en vis angst for poinko-yin; de sknemmer deres bern med ham. Og de hasvder, at skikken med at male hele kroppen red med anatto som alle waiwai ger - skyldes, at poinko-yin ikke kan se den rede farve og altsa ikke kan ramme dem, nar de jager hans bern, Poinko-yin bliver meget vred, nar nogen sarer eller skamskyder vildsvin. Begrebet yin svarer pa mange mader til en manifestation af artsbegrebet. Medicinmandens funktion i forhold til vildsvinene og jagten pa dette vigtige vildt giver ham en betydelig position, der bI. a. viser sig ved, at han selv kaldes vildsvinenes herre. Formodentlig skyldes denne tite1 en identificering af poinko-yin med medicinmanden; men der er tegn pa, at poinko-yin ville kunne udvikle sig til et guddomme1igt vasen. Hos waiwai findes ogsa forestillinger om fuglenes fader, fiskenes fader, vandets fader og muligvis om en fader for solen. Solen som personificeret vasen indtager en serstilling i waiwai's religion. Der findes en fortelling om to medicinmsend, der efter en langvarig regnperiode gik til himmels for at overtale solen til at skinne. De fandt, at solen har et diadem af sorte fjer, og fik lov til at erstatte de sorte med stralende rode tukanfjer. Da de kom tilbage til jorden, skinnede solen. Medicinmanden hos waiwai pakalder under langvarige regnperioder solen gennem sang, der har karakter af ben, samtidig med at han tilbyder bred og sit eget stralende diadem til solen. Solen er det eneste overnaturlige vsesen, der kan siges at blive dyrket og ikke blot magisk pakaldt ; den betragtes som guddommelig. Waiwai's vigtigste guddom er skaberen Mawari, der ganske vist ikke er genstand for nogen form for kult eller dyrkelse. Han satte menneskelivet i gang og tradte derefter i baggrunden for aIle de overnaturlige vresner, der truer livet, og som derfor frygtes og pakaldes langt mere end Mawari. I myterne er opossum, yawari, opfattet som en kulturhero, der bI. a. Irerte waiwai brugen af det store, runde fielleshus.

Myler og sagn (p. 38-100) Tilsyneladende opdeler waiwai ikke deres traditionelle fortrellestof i forskellige kategorier, og ofte indeholder samme fortelling bade mytiske og eventyragtige afsnit. AIle de her citerede beretninger handler om overnaturlige heendelser i en fjern fortid. De gar i reekkefelge fra rent mytiske til mere eventyrpreegede fortrellinger,

Mawari kommer til verden som folge af en seksuel forbindelse mellem en skildpadde-hun, wayam, og en gneshoppe-han, rataki. Alle skildpaddens reg blev :edt op af jaguar-folket, kamara-yenna, bortset fra to, som jaguar-bedstemoderen frelste. Ud af det ene kom Mawari, der skjult opdroges af jaguarbedstemoderen. Han voksede hurtigt op og enskede sig en kvinde, som han fiskede op af floden. Det var en kvinde af okoimo-yenna, anaconda-folket, og hun medbragte flere kvindeartikler. Af Mawari

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og anaconda-kvindens afkom fremstod de ferste indianere og hvide, medens Mawari's parentetisk omtalte bror skabte brasilianerne. Mawari blev vred over, at sa mange af hans bern dede, og gik derfor til himmels ved hjeelp af en pilestige. Rver myte eller sagn er analyseret efter tre forskellige aspekter, der kaldes henholdsvis motiv, handlingsforleb og biomstsendigheder. Disse aspekter bliver behandlet sammenhengende og teoretisk efter gennemgangen af waiwai's fortrellestof. Af motiver i Mawari-myten skal ruevnes: tvillingemotivet, jaguarernes drab af kulturheroens modrende ophav, den gamle kvindes frivillige ded, for at nye kulturplanter kan opsta af hendes knogler, vagina dentata motivet og anacondaen som symbol pa floden og det seksuelle. Handlingen afspejler muligvis en strerkt forkortet kulturudvikling - formodentlig en akkulturationsproces - hvor Mawari selv reprresenterer jeegeren, der tidligt bringes i forbindelse med primitive agerbrugere (jaguar-folk), men som forst ved sit regteskab med anacondakvinden nar waiwai's nuveerende kulturstade. Andre kilder understetter denne formodning. Af biomsuendigheder med socialt sigte kan nrevnes detaillen om wayam, skildpadde-hunnen, der gar fra sin han og udsrettes for adskillige tilruermelser fra forskellige dyreander, hvilket til sidst far felger nemlig afkommet Mawari. I dag bruger waiwai betegnelsen wayamnu (= min skildpadde) om den gruppe af seksuelle partnere ud over regtefreIlen, der er socialt anerkendt, og myten retfrerdigger derved pa en made denne ekstramaritale skik. Myten om anaconda-folket handler om en ung, netop initieret pige, der - alene hjemme med sin bedstemor - sendes til floden efter vand, hvor anaconda-folket far eje pa hende og forfelger hende. Run gemmer sig i hytten under et lerkar og undgar saledes forfolgerne, der imidlertid sretter landsbyen under vand. Anaconda-folket afleverer aIle deres fjerprydelser til waiwai, inden de gar. Ligesom i Mawari-myten optrreder anaconda-folket som seksualsymbol i motivet, og i handlingsforlebet op-

trader det som kulturbringer (fjerprydelser). Biomstrendighederne er her mere veesentlige og tager isrer sigte pa at stabilisere skikkene i forbindelse med unge pigers initiation ved hjrelp af isolation, flid og lydighed. Myten om manen fortreller om manen, der onsker sig en kvinde. Rver nat kom han som en fremmed til sin egen sester og havde seksuel forbindelse med hende. Da hun endelig opdagede, hvem det var, blev hun hans hustru, og sammen steg de til himmels. I fortellingen er der udtrykt angst for blodskarn, medens andre seksuelle forbindelser betragtes med stort frisind. Der er ogsa udtrykt en klar dualisme mellem sjeel og legeme. Shodewika-myten tager sit udgangspunkt i en stor dansefest, hvori deltog en mengde forskellige dyrefolk og et enkelt waiwai-par, Waiwai-parret lavede undervejs til festen mange sangtekster til dansen. Da dyrefolkene vendte hjem igen, blev de til rigtige dyr; men de af dem, der regtede lokale kvinder, blev til mennesker. Da det onde jaguar-folk kom, drrebte man dem ved list. Fugle-folkene fik deres forskelligt farvede fjer af blodet og galden af en drrebt anaconda, der havde slugt en kvinde. Af jalousi onskede de lokale folk, grib-folket, at ombringe dovendyrs-manden, men hans magiske evner besejrede dem, og de blev til rigtige gribbe. Shodewika-myten der til dels kan betragtes som en rammehistorie om sangtekster og lest tilknyttede dyrefable, handler om nabo-stammernes opstaen. Af motiver skal nrevnes den gamle kvinde, der frivilligt af sit legeme lader fremsta forskellige nytteplanter (her fiskeforgiftnings-planter), Handlingsforlebet slutter sig til myterne om Mawari og om

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anaconda-folket, idet det antyder en akkulturationsproces, der - strerkt forkortet - illustreres som blandede regteskaber. Derved at det viser at sig vrere en straf at blive forvandlet til dyr, men at det sker for aIle dem, de~ ikke eegter en lokal kvinde, fremgar det, at den socialt set rigtige adfrerd ved en shodewika-dansefest netop er, at fremmede msend gifter sig med lokale kvinder. Dette synes at vere savel shodewika-festens som -mytens primsere sociale funktion. Historien om opossum indledes som en dyrefabel, der forklarer opossumens udseende. Denne dade, men kom atter til live, da en mand med magiske evner begyndte at sktere i dens kadaver. Den blev levende i form af et menneske, der viste manden og lerte ham brugen af kulturplanten yam samt af de tre mere fremskredne hustyper, waiwai anvender i dag. Historien om skovhjorten handler om en hjortemand, der en aften hjemseger en gammel kvinde, der er alene hjemme. Den viI danse med hende og overtaler hende dertil; men nseste aften, da hendes slregtninge er tilbage igen, forrader hun hjortemanden og lader ham drebe. Af den dade hjortemand opstod aIle senere rigtige skovhjorte. Handlingsforlebet ligger her nar shodewika-mytens: et forsmaet eegteskabstilbud (dansen) ferer til en forvandling til dyr. Hjorte- og opossum-historierne har motivfrellesskab i forestillingen: gennem ded til nyt liv. I historien om arnen er det en erne-mand i menneskeskikkelse, hvis dyriske side afsleres. Derved oploses hans regteskab med en waiwai-kvinde, og han tager helt dyreform. Han begynder at sla ned pa bern og gamle og tage dem hjem til sig og sin S0n i reden. Landsbyen ofrer en gammel kvinde, men hun har et langt reb bundet til sig, sa meendene kan felge amemandens flyverute og drrebe ham. Af hans vingefjer opstod ernene, af brystdunene hegene. Handling og motiv svarer til historien om skovhjorten, af biomstrendigheder nrevnes, at det kun er ame-mandens svoger, der kan drebe ham (hrevndrab), samt skikken at ofre en gammel kvinde for almenvellet. Historien om den gamle mands himmelrejse handler om en sergende enkemand, der far loy til at besoge sin afdode hustru i dedsriget i himlen, hvor han oplever den dedes ulegemliggerelse og udedeIiggerelse, Derefter vender han tilbage til jorden og de levendes land, der er adskilt fra dedsriget ved

en flod, hvorover en anaconda pa befaling spender bro. I historien om grib-folket berettes om en fader, hvis S0n var blevet revet af gribbene, og som derfor

indsmurte sig med adsellugtende salve for at lokke gribbene til og fange dem. Da gribbene kom for at rede ham, sprang han op, men naede kun at fa fat i kidnapperens fjederham og kniv. Grib-manden - nu i menneskeskikkelse - flygter, men lokker senere sine dyre-attributter fra et barn og flyver bort. Historien er ntermest at betragte som et eventyr, men det er verd at bemerke, at faderen far ideen til sin hsevnaktion igennem en dram, Waiwai lader sig i hej grad lede af dromme. Historien om dragen med lynildsranglen handler om en ung mand, hvis svigerfar var utilfreds med hans jagtindsats. Svigerfaderen sendte som straf sin svigerson pa jagt nrer dragen Uruperi's bolig, og efter beregning blev denne slugt af dragen. Han undslap dog til sidst omend rnerket over hele kroppen i det monster, dragen havde baret til skue. Senere medte svigersennen igen dragen i menneskeskikkelse, og drage-manden gay ham en rangle, hvis lynild drrebte ethvert dyr, man sigtede pa. Derefter blev svigersennen landsbyens sterste jeger. Denne historie er utvivlsomt et ret sent Ian hos waiwai, idet forestillingen om Uruperi som "Herren over aIle skovens dyr" findes hos mange amazon-stammer, men endnu ikke er trrengt ind hos waiwai.

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Visse generelle mytologiske aspekter er lagt til grund ved analysen af waiwai's myter og sagn. Det belyses, at der ikke altid er mening i en direkte sammenligning af sagnmotiver; ofte viI en sammenligning af de grundlreggende forestillinger, der dirigerer den lokale udvselgelse af tilbudt fortrellemateriale, vise sig vresentligere. Hos waiwai kan myte og kult bedst betragtes som parallelle manifestationer af religiose forestillinger. Myter og sagn hos waiwai bestar af en kerne, motivet, der udtrykker no get almenmenneskeligt og er uafhrengigt af milieuet. Dertil hefter sig en lokal atmosfrere, der bI. a. bestar af handlingsforlebet, som normalt er stammens fselleseje og ofte henviser til stammens traditionelle historie. Den lokale atmosfrere bestar desuden af let foranderlige detailler eller biomstrendigheder, der igennem mytevarianter angiver forskellige samfundsgruppers modstridende interesser. Mytensynes bedre karakteriseret igennem sin tredelte struktur end gennem sit indhold. Myten udtrykker som felge af sin struktur ogsa mindst tre tider: nemlig motivernes evige, handlingsforlebets fortidige og biomsteendighedernes aktuelle tid; f. eks. mangler de europeeiske eventyr (autoriserede og nedskrevne) den sidste tidsdimension. Der findes ikke en korrekt version eller en korrekt opfattelse af en myte; tilhoreren kan efter ojeblikkelig mental og social situation vselge imellem flere muligheder. De mytiske aspekter, der er udtrykt i mytens biomstrendigheder, synes saledes at ville appellere til tilhereren i hans holdning som individ, handlingsforlebet i hans holdning som stammemedlem og motivet i hans holdning som menneske. Flere andre holdninger og tilsvarende myteaspekter kan trenkes ; de er aIle principielt lige vigtige, sideordnede og uafheengige. Igennem hver af de tre her fremhavede menneskelige holdninger synes waiwai at placere sig i sine forskellige kosmos ; som individ inden for stammen, som stammemedlem iblandt folkeslagene og som menneske inden for alt levende. Myten forklarer og retferdigger for waiwai hans tilstedeveerelse i forskellige sterre sammenheeng,

Kosmologi (p. 101-103)

Kosmos bestar af 5 lag, hvoraf et er under jorden og de tre er himmellag. Der er igennem abninger mulighed for et vist samkvem mellem lagene. Pa laget under jorden lever cikade-folket, derover .kommer jordlaget med waiwai og andre folk. Pa det forste himmelplan bor visse fuglefolk ; og her tager afdodes eje-sjele, ekatmho, ophold. Andet himmelplan bebos af himmelanderne, kakenau-kworokjam, samt eventuelt af tidligere medicinmrends ekatmho. Det everste lag rurnrner grib-folket. Ethvert dyr og enhver plante har sin himmelske parallel i nastaverste eller overste lag; de er storre og suerkere.

Praksis praget af de religiose forestillinger (p. 104-132)

Magisk blsesning bestar af en magisk sang, hvis tvingende virkning projiceres ud i en besternt retning ved hjelp af en pustning. Tono er en primer, dedelig bltesning, hvor udeveren ved bererings- eller efterlignings-magi tvinger sit offer i deden, Rationelt rna skikken formentlig forklares ved, at offeret er vidende om den magiske efterstrrebelse og der af psykisk angst, hvis ikke en gendrivelse ophrever magien. Parawa er en sekundar havn-blesning, der udfores p. gr. a. den hos waiwai herskende blodheevns forpligtelse for mermeste slregtning. Den udeves over bI. a. udvalgte knoglerester fra den af-

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dede, der skal hawnes, og bestar stedse af en hemmelig magisk sang ledsaget af en pustning samt af dyrelyds-imitationer. Tono og parawa er i sig selv intensionslose og anses for at kunne drrebe udeveren, hvis de ikke er rettet mod et offer. Den, der mener sig udsat for dedelig blasning, feler sig sat uden for samfundet som opgivet og gribes af en ofte dedelig forvirringstilstand, der gar over i slov passivitet. Dodelig blsesning kan oplueves, ved at udeveren foretager en magisk renselse, same, over offeret ved at lede vanddamp fra en ophedet stenekse hen over ham. Af andre magiske blresninger skal fremhreves lregfolks eremu eller magiske sange, der som funktioner bl. a. har at afvrerge de farer, der specielt kan ramme spadbern. I den forbindelse anvendes altid desuden enten magiske genstande eller handlinger. Lsegfolks blresning finder ogsa sted i forbindelse med regnfordrivning og for at veekke elskov. Medicinmandens blasninger karakteriseres ved en hyppig anvendelse af et magisk apparatur sasorn tobaksrygning og anvendelse af forskellige flejter, Hans vigtigste eremu har til formal at hidkalde vildsvinene, pakalde solen, sikre gode afgreder og rigelig fiskebestand, samt at kurere syge. Ved kurering nedkalder medicinmanden sine hjeelpeander ved hjelp af eremu, for at hjeelpeanden skal genfinde patientens ekati, Leegfolks magiske blresning har til formal at fordrive ekatmho-kworokjam, der normalt herer til pa det nrermeste himmellag. Den finder sted i forbindelse med magiske sange (eremu), magiske handlinger (same) eller genstande (kamest), AIle disse virkemidler har en stigende karakter som damp, balreg, knoglerog, ord eller ande, formodentlig for at drive ekatmho-kworokjam op til det himmellag, hvor de herer hjemme. Medicinmandens magiske blresning skal pakalde eller fordrive kakenaukworokjam ved hjelp af eremu. Da disse Ander bor i det nastfelgende himmellag, er det naturligt, at han anvender kraftige midler, sasom tobaksrog og flejtelyde, Der findes hos waiwai antydninger af, at same og kames! er de reldste magiske former; derefter felger simple eremu og endelig eremu i forbindelse med brug af tobak og instrumenter. Af anden magisk praksis skal navnes den rode legemsbemaling, der beskytter mod kworokjam, samt dyretands-amuletter og bestemte pamalede dyremenstre, Ved sygdom og forestaende kraftanstrengelser anvendes myrebeelter som stimulans. Taburegler florerer iser i forbindelse med tarskIerne for individets livsforleb ; men ogsa ved fremstilling af kurare-gift og maniok-ol er udeveren underkastet forbud mod visse spiser samt seksuel samkvem. Hundene er inddraget i tabu-reglerne, hvad angar jagtvildt. Der er forbud mod at navne en mands navn i hans nrerhed. Varsler tages iseer af fugles adfrerd. Medicinmanden, yaskomo, repnesenterer de overnaturlige krrefter ved sin forbindelse med sterke hjeelpeander, hyasm. Vserdigheden opnas kun i kraft af srerlige evner, og efter en kort oplsering i en speciel medicinmandshytte indsrettes den nye medicinmand af sin lterer ved en demonstration af sine evner til at falde i trance. Dram og trance er midlerne til at opna den ferste kontakt med hjeelpeanderne.; senere er afsyngning af specielle eremu tilstrsekkeligt. Som regel finder kontakten sted fra medicinmandshytten, hvor yaskomo siddende pa sin skammel ryger tobak og blreser regen hen over smasten, der reprresenterer hjrelpeanderne, Kworokjam viser sig at have samme smittende egenskab som ekati', saledes at f. eks. de magiske sten er i stand til at overfore hele hjrelpeandens kworokjam. Medicinmanden kan fra medicinmandshytten om natten foretage sjeeleflugt til himlen for at pakalde

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Danish Summary

de kakenau-kworokjam, der er hans hjeelpeander, til vildsvinehulen for at pakalde vildsvinenes fader eller til floden for at radsperge anaconda-folket. Han kan desuden i frelleshuset eller i fri luft nedkalde sine hjeelpeander. Hans funktioner er navnlig erhvervs-fremmende og sygdoms-begrrensende. Anvendelsen af plantemedicin er meget sparsom og synes at vrere rent magisk; muligvis har dette forbindelse med, at waiwai traditionelt kun har kendskab til dyriske hjeelpeander. Medicinmanden har tabu mod at drrebe eller spise vildsvin. Ligesom sine hjelpeander frygter han redt og blod, og han viI derfor aldrig foretage kureringer af menstruerende eller fedende kvinder. Ofte modtager han betaling i naturalier for sine ydelser, men prestige-foregelsen rna anses for vresentligere.

Livscyklus (p. 133-168) £gteskabet hos waiwai er vresentligst ekonomisk motiveret; dels direkte at knyttes til en, der varetager det andet kens side af det strengt kensdelte erhvervsliv, dels indirekte at sikre sig afkom til senere aflastning. Man kan kun regte sin wayamnu, d.v.s. en person af modsat ken, der enten er ubeslregtet med en eller er ens "cross-cousin". Krydsseskendebern vil under den herskende matrilokalitet betyde ikke lokale fretre eller kusiner. De nrermere omstrendigheder ved et regteskab fastlregges ved den retslige institution, oho-messen, hvor brudeprisen bestemmes samt varigheden af brudetjenesten, washma, der ger den nygifte mand afhrengig af sin svigerfamilie. Enhver person har - hvaderrten gift eller ej - en socialt anerkendt tilladelse til seksuel forbindelse med enhver af sine wayamnu - gifte scm ugifte - en tilladelse, der kun begrrenses af gensidig tilbejelighed, For at undga komplikationer kan en person dog begeere midlertidig statusrendring fra f. eks. elskerinde til titulrer sester. Wayamnuskikken har i flere tilfrelde fort til polygami, men de frie ekstra-maritale forhold forklarer, hvorfor personlige tilbejeligheder spiller en ringe rolle som regteskabsgrund. En fedsel er hos waiwai omgrerdet med mange taburegler, navnlig spiseforbud, der setter ind et par maneder fer fedslen. Ingen af forreldrene rna bringes i kontakt med farlige dyreander, fordi disse kan trrenge det ufedte eller sprede barns ekati ud. Fedslen foregar isoleret i en speciel hytte, hvor moder og barn forbliver i ca. 14 dage. Her foregar aregennemboringen og navngivningen af familienavn (opkald) og kworokjam-navn. F0r tilbageflytningen til frelleshuset afsynger forreldrene en eremu til rere for opossum, der er knyttet til denne hustype, og som er farlig for spredbarnets ekati. Op til 3 ars alderen er spedberns ekati direkte knyttet til foreeldrenes, hvorfor forreldrene principielt er underkastet samme forholdsregler som deres sprede bern, Nar reglerne brydes, sikrer man sig ved magi. Faderen rna i denne periode principielt hverken jage eller fiske eller udvise anden sterre aktivitet, og for moderen grelder no get tilsvarende bortset fra, at hun fortsat kan arbejde med maniok bade i mark og husholdning. Denne midlertidige arbejdsfordeling giver manden ekstra fritid, hvori han ofte rna passe spredbarnet, og der opstar en couvade-lignende situation. Teorierne angaende natal-skikke og couvade gennemgaes kritisk ikke blot i forhold til waiwai, men ogsa i forhold til en rrekke typiske sydamerikanske stammer. Herved tilvejebringes et materiale, der taler imod de to hovedteorier, at couvade opstar i samfund, der er i frerd med at rendres fra moderretslige til faderretslige; eller at couvade skyldes en mystisk forbindelse imellem barnet og specielt

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257

faderen. Baggrunden for waiwai's natal-skikke er: 1) forestillingen om besjeeling ved undfangelsen, 2) reglen om ambivalent arv og bilateral afstamning, 3) ideen om ekatt og kworokjam's smittende egenskaber, 4) speedberns ubefrestede ekati, 5) teorien om at sygdom forvoldes ved ekatr's fortrrengning af en kworokjam, 6) at kun dyr besidder farlige kworokjam, hvorved specielt mandens erhverv rammes og 7) at kvindens arbejdsindsats uforandret er knyttet til det dominerende erhverv, agerbruget. Waiwai har udviklet en omfattende magisk praksis til brug i tiifeelde af brud pa natal-reglerne, men denne praksis er baseret pa ideen om couvade. Ved en sammenligning med andre karib- og tupiguarani-stammer stillet over for arawak-stammer fremgar det, at amazonlandets couvade hviler pa animistiske forestillinger og er pneget af halvagerbrugets specielle arbejdsdeling. Barndommen er hos waiwai pneget af en nrer forening af leg og opleering med kun fa pligter. Dog vil regtepar uden bern ofte sege at fa en anton, d.v. s. et midlertidigt adopteret barn, der kan hjelpe med smating. Initiationsskikken er indsknenket til piger og indledes ved den ferste menstruation. Pigen holdes isoleret i et indelukke i ca. 2 maneder og klippes ganske kortharet, Hun skal vrere travlt beskreftiget med at spinde bomuld og holder streng dieet, hvorunder hun navnlig undgar animalske produkter. Ved indespserringens afslutning treekkes pigen - i en "rite de passage" - ud gennem indelukkets veeg og beleeres om den rette opfarsels grundregler.

I en periode af ca. 2 ar omkring initiationen, hvor pigen kaldes emasi, serger man for at holde hende strerkt beskreftiget med hardt arbejde, og en nekke tabu er udstrakt til at geelde hele denne periode. Senere menstruationer er omgeerdet med specielle tabu for at forhindre forbindelse til jagtvildtet. Puberterende drenge far overleveret deres overarmsbind sorn tegn pa modenhed uden videre ceremoniel. Deden kan ifelge waiwai almindeligvis have en af tre arsager: spedbern kan de, fordi deres foreeldre ikke har formaet at skeerme dem mod poyin, d.v. s. visse kworokjam; gamle dar af feber, eperia,

der ogsa betragtes som en kworokjam; alle andre antages at de som felge af magisk blresning - enten tono eller parawa. Dog finder voldeligt drab sted i sjeeldne tilfeelde. En deende fares ud af fselleshuset og overlades i vid udstreekning til sin egen opgivende stemning. K vinder og bern beslregtede med afdede skerer deres bar kort, og liget beres i hsengekeje ud til Iigbalet. Samtidig med ligbnendingen bnendes eller destrueres nesten alle den dedes personlige ejendele. Af de bnendte knogler udtages enkelte til brug ved den obligatoriske heevnblesning, parawa. Resten drekkes til med blade eller for barns vedkommende - med et omvendt lerkar. I tilfrelde af en betydelig landsbyftelles ded afbnendes fselleshuset, og landsbyen flyttes. Dedsfaldet meddeles officielt til besogende ved en ohomesse. Sorn nyere element er jordftestelse treengt ind i det nordlige waiwai-omrade, og desuden synes medicinmrend - pa grund af ensket om forts at forbindelse med deres hjeelpeander - i senere tid selv

at foretrrekke jordfastelse. Ved en gennemgang af waiwai's fortolkning af livscyklus viser det sig, at religionen, d.v, s. animisme med magi, isier er knyttet til tilvrerelsens yderpunkter, de individuelle trerskler fedsel og ded, medens myterne angiver moralkodeks og serlig har forbindelse med socialt betonede institutioner sasom initiation og eegteskab. 17 Waiwai

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Danish Summary

Dansefester (p. 169-181)

Dansefester afho1des, nar man har rigeligt fordid og ansker afveksling, nar man indvier nyt frelleshus, og nar man ansker at trrekke mandlige partnere til med henblik pa eegteskab. Ved sjeeldne lejligheder udferes yamo-dansen, som waiwai lerte af anaconda-fo1ket, og som er hemmelig for kvinder. Den yarer med afbrydelser i to maneder, og danserne er maskerede. Den almindeligste dansefest er shodewika, hvis afholdelse foruden pa de ovenneevnte motiveringer ogsa beror pa forpligtelsen til at gengrelde tidligere invitationer. Invitationer overbringes i oho-messeform af budbringere. Gresterne indfinder sig - meendene delvis skjulte af bladkapper - ved solnedgangstid og Ieber i en vild dans ind pa pladsen, medens de lader barktrompeter runge. Dansen yarer til solopgang kun afbrudt af talrige drikkepauser og frellesmaltidet. En mandlig og en kvindelig danseleder gar i spidsen for henholdsvis en ydre mands-krede og en indre kvinde-keede ; de er forsangere til de korte, rytmiske sangtekster. Neste eftermiddag begynder dansen igen, og den genoptages i 3-7 dage alt efter tilstedeveerende forrad, men virker stedse mere tilfreldig. Landsbylederen kan afbryde festen en dag og sende hele selskabet ud pa jagt og fiskeri for at forege forradet og forleenge festen. I forbindelse med dansefesterne udfores der ofte dyreimitationer. Det er navnlig myresluger, vildsvin, skildpadde, hjort, tapir og abearter, der efterlignes, og man fremstiller jagten pa og parteringen af disse - bortset fra myreslugeren - vigtige maddyr.

Arscyklus (p. 182-184)

Waiwai's tidsberegning er knyttet til solen, der angiver tidspunkter og dage, manen, der angiver maneder, samt plejaderne og de to regntider, der angiver arstider. Waiwai-aret er domineret af maniokagerbruget. Det begynder i juli med rydning af et stykke skov, og i september afbrrendes de terre buske og traer, I december settes maniok-stiklingerne i jorden, og de vokser sig tjenlige henimod neeste september. Imidlertid behever maniok - p. gr. a. sit giftindhold - ikke at hastes ved modningen, men holder sig uskadt i jorden. Dette forhold har gjort, at waiwai kunne opretholde en dag-til-dag akonomi, der ikke bred med den oprindelige jeeger-akonomi.

Social organisation (p. 185-210)

Waiwai's brug af slegtskabsbetegnelser henviser til et klassifikatorisk sleegtskabssystem af assymmetrisk type, idet ferste nedadstigende generation i terminologisk henseende felger et ret-system i modsretning til det i evrigt herskende system, hvor der geres skel mellem parallelt- og kryds-besleegtede. Skellet mellem de to systemer rna formentlig fork1ares ud fra en disharmoni i lokalitetsreglerne. En mands egen generation bestar af brodre og svogre, sestre og potentielle regtefreller; kvindens situation er symmetrisk hermed. Der er ikke noget skarpt generationsskel i terminologierne. Morbror og faster klassificeres som henholdsvis svigerfar og svigermor, hvilket berigtiger det hyppige regteskab imellem krydsseskendebern. Slregtsgrupperingen er generationsbestemt og er seerlig betydningsfuld i ens egen generation. Epeka-

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Dansk Resume

259

gruppen omfatter alle klassifikatoriske seskende, d.v. s. bern af samme mor eller af samme far samt parallel-seskendebern, Denne gruppe dominerer nu det ekonomiske liv i waiwai-landsbyen. Over for denne gruppe star awale-gruppen, der omfatter de gennem regteskab beslregtede svogre, svigerforreldre og -senner. Den nu rudimentrere betegnelse yanan synes at have drekket eksogame, matrilinerere klaner. Anvende1sen af slregtskabsbetegne1ser rendres hyppigt ved oprettelsen af et broderskab mellem to yngre mrend. Slegtskabsforbindelseme i landsbyen Yakayaka gennemgas, Den udger en social enhed, og alle dens medlemmer - der pro 1/1-1955 talte 40 individer, eller lidt under en fjerdedel af det samlede antal waiwai - bor i et stort rundt frelleshus. Hver af frelleshusets syv sektioner bebos af en eta eller husholdning, og af disse er de seks indbyrdes beslregtede. Grundstammen i hver husholdning er enkeltfamilien, og kernen i husfrellesskabet er epeka-gruppen. Imidlertid hersker der stadig en - i al fald midlertidig matrilokalitet, og den fremmede, nygifte mand er ved arbejdsforpligte1ser, washma, afhrengig af sin svigerfamilie. Herved opretholdes landsby-solidariteten. Washma-pligten kan ophreves ved en brudeudveksling. Der er hos waiwai spor af en svigermor-undvigelse. De herskende regteskabsformer er: regteskab mellem krydsseskendebern, avunkulrert regteskab, monogamt eller polygynt sororat, monogamt eller polyandrisk levirat, samt andre former for monogami og polygami. Enkelte blandede stammeeegteskaber finder ogsa sted. I disse tilfrelde synes barnets tilhersforhold og linearitet nrermest at vrere afhrengig af lokaliteten under opvreksten. Der er dog spor af matrilinearitet under den nu herskende bilaterale afstamning. Hertil knytter sig reglen om ambilinerer arveret. Landsbylederen, yayalitomo, er den formelle ejer af rydningen og frelleshuset, som han har taget initiativ til at realisere. Han opnar og holder sin stilling i kraft af personlig autoritet, men har ingen specifikke magtbefejelser, Han er den ferste blandt ligemrend. Da landsbyen flyttes jrevnligt - maske hvert femte ar - er der rig lejlighed til nye sammensretninger af dens medlemmer og fraflytninger.

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Yayalitomo kan ved oho-messe sende landsbyfolkene pa arbejde om nedvendigt ; til gengreld har han visse ekonomiske forpligte1ser over for gamle og grester. Personlig ejendomsret grelder lige fuldt for bern som for voksne. Genstande ejes normalt af deres fremstiller og bruger, men brugsretten gar forud for den private ejendomsret. Som nrevnt ejer lands bylederen frelleshuset og rydningen; men de sektioner, som hver enkeltfamilie bebor eller dyrker, har de opnaet brugsret over. Visse formelle meddele1ser overgives ikke direkte, men gar f. eks. fta landsbylederen via en stedfortrreder og en budbringer til adressaten. Denne rangforordning traider srerlig tydeligt frem i visse oho-messer. I evrigt er arbejdsdelingen hos waiwai kensbestemt, ogder findes ingen professionelle hiindvrerkere. Sa godt som al kunstnerisk udevelse er knyttet til manden,

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Dagens gang (p.211-2l5)

Ii

Det hardeste arbejde med at skaffe foden foregar i morgen- og formiddagstimerne, hvor mrendene tager pa jagt og fiskeri, og kvinderne henter og tilbereder maniok og andre produkter. Kvinden udever navnlig sine sociale rettigheder indirekte igennem sin mand, men det er til gengreld ikke sjreldent, at

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hun dominerer ham. Morgen- og aftenmaltid foregar normalt familievis, medens middagsmaltidet er 17°

260

Danish Summary

frellesmaltid. Ved nedlregning af storvildt inviteres eventuelt nabolandsbyen med til feellesmaltidet. Ved beseg i en fremmed landsby pynter mrendene sig og medbringer helst madgaver. Eftermiddagen er normalt helliget fredelige sysler.

Oho-messe (p.2l6-230)

Oho-kari betyder ja-tale og drekker en srerlig udtryksform ved officielle meddelelser, forespergsler og krav, hvor taleren i korte og hurtige sretninger messer sit budskab til sin partner, der besvarer hver seetning med "oho", ja. Kun to kan deltage i en oho, og de skiftes til at tale og sige ja; de sidder skrat over for hinanden pa lave skamler. Oho-messen virker som en retslig institution og er et vigtigt middel til at opna en urban lasning pa et opstaet problem. Dens funktion er at undga interne konflikter, hvilket opnas ved en streng formalisme, der binder de to parter til at respektere ordstridens konsekvenser. Oho-messe anvendes som eegteskabskontrakt og handelskontrakt, som arbejdsoverenskomst og ved invitationer, for at afvrerge dedelig blresning og efter dedsfald, Af sammenlignende undersogelser fremgar det, at en til oho-messen svarende skik forefindes over store dele af Guiana, men at den aldrig er blevet erkendt som retslig institution. Dens udbredelse som ceremoniel dialog strrekker sig mod vest helt til Andesbjergenes estskraninger og derfra nordpa til cuna og cagaba og sydpa til jivaro. Meget taler for, at skikken har spredt sig fra det subandine Columbia til aile sider; dette giver ogsa en forklaring pa, at der hos waiwai i forbindelse med ohomessen forekommer et rangsystem, der i evrigt virker fremmed i kulturen. En analyse lader formode, at oho-institutionen, der hos waiwai er en betydningsfuld retslig og social faktor, i form og indhold genfindes over hele det nordvestlige Sydamerika med samme betydelige funktioner.

Politisk organisation (p.23l-242)

Landsbyen udger den storste politiske enhed hos waiwai, og den er autonom i forhold til hele stammen. Yayalitomo repnesenterer landsbyen udadtil, men hans politiske magt stnekker sig ikke ud over hans sociale position og personlige autoritet. Som regel er det medicinmanden, der er landsbyleder. Den offentlige mening er eneste retslige myndighed. Drab sanktioneres i en nekke tilfselde (nyfedte, gamle, asociale) men misbilliges i evrigt, uden at man dog skrider ind mod drabsmanden fra samfundets side. Frygten for at blive blandet ind i en strid har ofte fort til en bevidst isolation imellem landsbyerne. Waiwai-stammen udger en sproglig-kulturel enhed af yderst los karakter. Sprogfrellesskab (karibisk) med nabostammer er ikke sa betydningsfuld en faktor for samkvem som det kulturelle frellesskab; og den nrermeste tilknytning findes mellem waiwai og den sydfor liggende, arawakiske mouyennastamme. Waiwai ansas af sine naboer for at vrere stridbare. Navnlig i begyndelsen af dette arhundrede er der sket en betydelig opblanding af parukoto i waiwai-stammen, saledes at flertallet af waiwai hrevdede, at de egentlig var efterkommere af parukoto-folk, der sydfra var rykket op i waiwai-omradet og var blevet indgiftede lokalt. Waiwai fik pa samme tid forbindelse med deres nordlige naboer, taruma, og synes at have overtaget flere kulturelementer fra denne hejerestaende stamme, der oprindeligt ud-

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vandrede fra Amazonas, bl. a. bomuld og mytiske elementer. Dele af waiwai's skabe1sesmyte viser sig herved forbleffende sent udformet, nemlig for ca. 50 ar siden. Samtidigt understettes den mytologiske akkulturationsteori af de historiske data. Endelig synes sprog1ige og kulturelle forhold at forbinde waiwai med de vestlige kariber i det ko1umbianske Caqueta-Uaupes-omrade, hvorfra waiwai muligvis er udgaet. Samkvemmet inden for og ud over stammen er hos waiwai begnenset af en bevidst isolation, men foregar i evrigt igennem en udveksling af meddelelser, yarer og eegtefteller, hvor oho-messen i aile tilfielde spiller en betydelig rolle. Vigtigst for waiwai synes de blandede eegteskaber at have veret, der - omend langsomt - har tilfert kulturen en rekke nye elementer sydfra. Af stor betydning var ogsa hande1ssamkvemmet med de nordlige wapishana, der lrerte waiwai brugen af den udhulede stammekano, en forudsetning for at waiwai kunne rykke ned langs de store floder Essequibo og Mapuera. Medens waiwai op til ar 1900 rna betragtes som veerende fuldstrendigt upavirkede af civi1isationen, fandt der fra 1900-1950 en svag, indirekte pavirkning sted, navn1ig via wapishana og taruma i form af indferelsen af enkelte jernredskaber og kulturp1anter, der isrer har styrket agerbruget. Perioden 1950-55 har veeret preget af oprette1sen af en evangelisk mission, hvor missionererne etab1erede og orienterede sig. I 1955 afsluttedes vor ekspedition. Derefter skete den forste omvende1se og kort efter masseomvendelser med deraf felgende dybtgaende eendringer ikke blot i religionen, men ogsa i samfundsliv og okonomi. Flere stammer sam1edes under missionen, hvilket tota1t eendrede den politiske organisation. Waiwai-kulturen, der sa sent sam i 1955 var livskraftig og i hovedtnekkene upavirket af civilisationen, eksisterer allerede nu ikke mere.

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APPENDIX I

Music of the Waiwai Indians by Fridolin Weis Bentzon The following is an attempt to work up the material illustrating the musical culture of the Waiwai Indians, collected by the National Museum's expedition to British Guiana in 1954 and 1958, kindly placed at my disposal by Jens Yde and Niels Fock. The Waiwai Indians are a primitive agricultural tribe belonging to the Cariban family of languages. When visited by the National Museum's British Guiana expedition in 1954, it consisted of about 170 individuals dwelling in seven villages on both sides of the Acarai Mountains on the frontier between British Guiana and Brazil. A missionary station had at that time been opened in the area, but the material here dealt with was collected before civilization had begun to affect the musical life of the tribe. At a late period t~e Waiwai Indians extended their area northwards, and they did not. cross the Acarai Mountains and settle near the sources of the Essequibo until the beginning of this century. Culturally, therefore, they belong to the north Para area, which goes to explain the fact that their music has but little specific resemblance to that of their present immediate neighbours, the Makushi, Wapishana and other tribes. In the course of the past fifty years the Waiwai, by marriage, have become mixed with the Parukoto and Taruma, who now no longer exist as independent tribes, though they must have exerted a strong influence on the Waiwai culture, both in general and on their music.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS The musical instruments of the Waiwai will be dealt with by Jens Yde in "Material Culture of the Waiwai", which I have been permitted to use in its full extent adding to it a certain amount of supplementary information. Idiophones The turtle shell friction resonator, (oratin), (Fig. 46) is made from the carapace of a swamp turtle, (kwochf), with a black lump of wax fastened at the front end of the ventral shell, which is rubbed with the root of the right hand, the instrument being held under the left arm. Through the rubbing the wax gets warm and sticky and gives off a little piercing note when the hand is taken from it. The instrument is used for entertainment at drinking bouts, and is also played during the dances. Farabee (p. 159) describes it as follows: "After the dance had gone on for some time and the first drinks had been served, two clowns suddenly appeared and performed their own dance up and down

Musical Instruments

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Fig. 46. Turtle shell friction resonator. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4[ 75).

on one side of the dancing ground. Each carried a tortoise shell resonator and a shrill whistle .... The whistle was blown on the accented beat and the resonator struck on the after beat. The whistles were of different sizes and tones, as were also the tortoise shells. Each performer danced vigorously in his own time making all the noise and antic movements possible ... ". J.

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It is not possible with this instrument to produce any variation in pitch or stress, and the "music"

resulting consists in a number of completely identical equidistant tones. In a recording transcribed in example 36, a turtle shell resonator is played with an ordinary flute on which various rhythmical patterns are played on one note: _. , '_. Y I,J • .,. I,"'''',J. , I J.,,J . .,. I and,J., I J. yJ . .,. I,J • .,. I J..,.,J • .,. I, whilst the turtle shell resonator accompanies it in a tempo roughly corresponding in the transcription to quavers, as the time is not quite the same for the two instruments. The turtle shell resonator has a characteristic distribution that, according to Izikowitz (p. 161) seems to indicate that it came from Central America to northern South America, as it is found in Guiana, by Rio Tiquie, and with the Choco, Bogota and Maya. After the National Museum's expedition to British Guiana in 1958, this area may be somewhat extended, as the instrument has been found amongst the Fishkaruyena, Mawayena, Kashuyena and Sheree in northern Para (Brazil). A plank drum was formerly known to the Waiwai. Based on reports from John Ogilvie, it is described by Roth (1924, § 581). It consisted of a wooden plank about three times 6 feet laid over a hole in the ground. In the plank was a square hole into which one could vomit. It was used to stamp on during dances. The extension of this probably very ancient instrument in South America coincides with that of the howler trumpet, to which reference will later be made, as it is found with the Parukoto, Arapai and Oyana.

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Waiwai Music

264

Small jingle rattles made from seed shells are fastened along the edges of bed aprons and in orna-

mental feather tassels. They are found in all kinds of decorations, and the sound they produce is so faint as to be hardly audible even at a short distance. It is thus possible that they are mere decorations and that their sound producing effect is not considered at all. A bone rattle, (porowk6), (Fig. 47, middle) is made from two detached skull bones of a monkey, which are drilled through along the edges and assembled with kraua strings tied through the holes. As rattling elements beads are used, usually blue ones it was related. The acquired specimen is ornamented with small tufts of toucan feathers. The bones for these rattles are taken from all kinds of monkeys, but preferably from howlers; the curved bones of the tortoise (wayam) , may also be used as material. The rattle is used both by men and women, tied to the ankles at the shodewika and the ydmo dances. One was tied to the lower edge of a woman's apron acquired among the Fishkaruyena, Gourd rattles, (mardkdy; are of the usual South American type made from a pear-shaped, globular or ellipsoidal fruit shell with a stick or a piece of arrow reed as a handle. For children's rattles the hollowed fruit of an Astrocaryum palm or the entire skull of a small monkey, (wichdru), with a handle stuck into the occipital opening, may be used. The rattling elements imdrakasiisil yararo; yarurofilling), are either glass beads or the small round seeds of a "wild banana", (marakasiisa), a semicultivated plant. The rattles were seen in use during the dance festivals, where they were played by the two leaders who head the chains of men and women. They are also used by the medicine men during healing ceremonies, but not, so far as could be learned, in the preparatory ceremonies for spirit flights or when working to avert danger, to secure good weather, and to keep game near the settlement, as described in detail by Niels Fock. Two recordings were made of songs accompanied by rattles, examples 19 and 20. These must be assumed to be dance songs. In these recordings we find three ways of striking the rattle: 1. vertically up and down for each beat of the basic pulse, producing a sharply-punctuated rhythm: Jtln

n n nl

2. in a circular movement so that the grains in the rattle follow its inner wall, which results in a softer rhythm: ;'17 3;,' 7";" 'J 3.;.' ';j"J\'1 3. by shaking the rattle as rapidly as possible without any rational relationship between the rhythm of the song and the rattle.

M embranophones

Only one type of drum is found with the Waiwai, a double membrane drum, known as samdpura; a word possibly deriving from the Portuguese or Spanish tambor. The drum acquired is made from a hollowed piece of tree trunk, (karakuniy, diameter about 23 ems, depth about 20 ems. The two skins are of sloth, (shoheli), and jaguar, (parnruminikdy; respectively. Skins of other animals can also be employed, for example the howler monkey, spider monkey, anteater and deer, but it was found that the agouti or acouri never were. The skins are only depilated on the part that is stretched over the drum, and are kept in place by bindings made of sections of unsplit bush rope, (mamuri), which

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at some places is lashed together with cords of bast impregnated with black rubber (mdnyiv. Parts of the skin, such as the animal's legs and tail are plaited into the lowest part of the binding, which are tightened by powerful kraua cords that pass through the lowest binding in the form of a W. To create extra tension, a kraua cord is bound round the diagonal cords at about the middle of the drum. When the drum is to be used, the skins are tautened by holding them alternately in front of a fire. The jaguar skin is painted with a star-shaped figure of urukii stripes. Over this is stretched a thin kraua cord holding 15 small needles of karatuk6 wood that rattle when the drum is beaten. To the drum that was purchased belongs a single drumstick of letterwood with which the sloth skin is struck. The drum is only played on ceremonial occasions, and was seen in use in one single instance during a shodewika dance festival, where it was beaten by one of the festival leaders, who danced in the last dance performed by the inhabitants of the village. Perhaps this was a sign to the guests still concealed in the forest that all was ready for their arrival (for the shodewika dance festival, see p. 174). Example 35 contains a transcription of a recording of drumming that is extremely clumsy and primitive, consisting as it does in a series of somewhat irregular beats vaguely connected with each other, 4 and 4. Periods with rapid and slow tempo succeed each other, and the changes are executed by an accelerando or ritardando over 4 beats. The same drum type is found with several other Guiana tribes (Wapishana, Makushi, Warrau, Carib, Pomeroon) which, like the Waiwai, call it by a name derived from Spanish or Portuguese tsambura or such like). It is also beaten by one drumstick, and the pelts of various animals are used for the two skins (Roth 1924, § 578). However, on the lower skin a row of wooden needles is not stretched, but only a single stick. It is reasonable to assume that the Waiwai have obtained this drum from tribes living to the north, perhaps at a rather late date. Even though this drum may be an imitation of a European double-skin drum, the rattling sticks on the lower skin are probably pre-Columbian as a similar device is found among the Chipaya in southwest Bolivia (Izikowitz p. 190) and some Northern Algonkin tribes (W. Krickeberg p. 329).

Aerophones A humming top is made from a hollowed gourd shell pierced by a piece of arrow reed fastened with

lumps of black gum, tmdnyi), where it enters and leaves the shell. In one side of the gourd a firedrilled hole is made. The top is started by rapidly unwinding a kraua string, which has been wound around the upper part of the stick, and the top gives forth a humming sound when it moves around on the ground. As elsewhere in South America it is a toy. Its area of extension is very large, as it is found in Central America and with a large number of tribes in the forest area (Izikowitz, p. 267).

Whistles Natural whistles of several kinds are in use with the Waiwai. During medicine man ceremonies it is a

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general practice to whistle in something that is connected with the object one wishes to influence in connexion with the utterance of a magic formula. Thus one whistles in the claw of an armadillo in

266

Waiwai Music

Fig. 47. Waiwai whistles and bone rattle: Left mahwo whistle. Middle: bone rattle, porowko. Right: mataco whistle. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4189, H. 4190 and H. 4186 resp.),

order to retain the peccaries in the vicinity of the settlement, in the claw of a crab to bring on rain, in the claw of an anteater in order to invoke the anteater spirit. Similarly one whistles in a nut in which holes have been bored to summon wild pigs, and in a kidney shaped whistle to summon the harpy-eagle. This whistling has the same function as the simple poohing with the mouth, which is an indispensable part of every magic action, that is, to impart direction to the magic power (see p. 127). The mahwo whistle (Fig. 47, left) is a curious instrument blown by men and boys during the ydmo

dances, described p. 170. It is crescent shaped, about 6 em long and 2,5 em broad at the thickest part. One blows into a hole drilled at right angles to its length, which is closed by a finger on the convex side. Farabee (Fig. XXXV, A) shows a whistle of this type, though it is considerably larger and has a gourd shell attached to one of the holes. The Waiwai possess the following myth about their acquisition of this whistle, here quoted according to Farabee (p. 175): "A long time ago some men were hunting in the mountains far away from home and they heard a peculiar whistling noise which they could not understand. They were so frightened they could not go on and learn the cause of it. At other times other hunters heard the noise and were afraid. At last a medicine man, a piaima, said he would go and see what it was that made the noises. He went alone and after several days returned, saying that he had found a peculiar wooden whistle

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in the mountains which made a most remarkable sound. He made a whistle like the one he had seen. It was the first musical instrument the Waiwai's ever had." The same whistle type is found with the Parukoto (Izikowitz, p. 275). Mataco whistles are made by the Waiwai from bamboo, (ruuwe), grass or feather quills. The one end is closed, and at about the middle of the whistle an oval hole is cut. On the inner wall under this hole a lump of wax is affixed that deflects the air causing it to break against the under edge of the hole when one blows through the open end of the whistle. Whistles are about 7-8 ems in length and sometimes two or three are bound together into small Panpipes, (krikripu), by the help of two small cross pins or simply with kraua cord. One of the examples brought back (Fig. 47, right) is embellished with toucan feathers. Whistles are blown during the dances, though they cannot be used melodically but merely to make a noise. The simple mataco whistle is mainly found with South American tribes possessing a marginal culture, that is to say tribes remote from the big cultural currents, or those that have been forced up against more advanced areas and have therefore still preserved various older cultural elements that elsewhere have been either modified or dropped. In Guiana, apart from the Waiwai, it is found only with the Parukot6 (Izikowitz, p. 335).

Flutes

The Waiwai have two types of finger hole flutes, called ratii, a word that covers all wind instruments. Both types are notched flutes, like the Peruvian kena, but they differ in regard to the peculiar way of fashioning the distal end, and in the number of their finger holes, one type having three, the other four. The three-holed flute may be made both of bone and bamboo, the four-holed only of bamboo. The three-holed bamboo flute is open at both ends and its under edge is cut so that it continues in the form of a stud on the front side of the instrument. On the example brought back, H 4183 (Fig. 48 c) this has been produced by a long diagonal incision, whereas the stud on H 4182 (Fig. 48d) is rectangular and has been pierced so that it can be hung by a string or in the owner's hair tube. By placing the hand around this stud the flute can be prolonged and an extra note obtained. The existence of this practice can be deduced from example 26, recorded on the acquired specimen H 4182, where a note is found lying about a major second under the deepest note that can be produced without placing the hand around the stud. The practice, however, was not observed by the members of the expedition. Between the two upper holes of the flutes a partition of wax or rubber, pierced by three small holes, is made. The dimensions of the two three-holed bamboo flutes are: H 4182. (Fig. 48d). Inner diameter 1.43 em. Outer diameter 1.77 em. Greatest breadth of notch 0.85 em. Greatest depth of notch 0.33 em. Distance from upper edge to uppermost part of lower edge 23.71 em. Length of stud from uppermost part of lower edge 5.8 em.

268

Waiwai Music

Fig. 48. Flutes and trumpet used by the Waiwai: a. howler trumpet; b. four-holed flute; c. and d. three-holed bamboo flutes; e. bone flute. (Nat. Mus. Copenhagen, H. 4185, H. 4184, H. 4183, H. 4182 and H. 4188 resp.).

Hole 1 from lower edge of notch to upper edge of hole 9.46 em L. 0.67 em

B. 0.61 em.

Hole 2 - 12.32 em L. 0.60 em Hole 3 - 15.66 em L. 0.66 em The wax partition is about 10-12 em from the upper edge. H 4183. (Fig. 48 c). Greatest inner diameter 1.38 em. Greatest outer diameter 1.86 em. Greatest breadth of notch 0.61 em. Greatest depth of notch 0.30 em. Distance from upper edge to lowest part of lower edge 21.72 em. Length of stud from uppermost part of lower edge 10.18 em.

B. 0.53 em. B. 0.54 em.

Hole 1 from lower edge of notch to upper edge of hole 8.09 em Diam. 0.57 em. Hole 2 - 11.98 em. Diam. 0.57 em. Hole 3 - 14.92 em. Diam, 0.52 em. The wax partition is about 10-11 em from the upper edge. The bone flute (Fig. 48 e) has, like the three-holed bamboo flutes, a notch and a wax partition between

the two upper finger holes. The upper edge is smeared with wax to ensure a comfortable support for the under-lip. The lower edge is not cut to a stud, but slit on the front side of the flute. This slit is

Musical Instruments

269

presumably used in the same way as the stud of the bamboo flute, though this cannot be deduced from any of the four examples of the recordings of the bone flutes. Roth (1924, Plate 164) shows two bone flutes where the shaping of the lower edge is not brought about by what appears to be a haphazard slit, but as a result of a carefully executed trapeze-shaped cut. The length of the flute brought back is about 15 em and the slit about 1.5 ern. The variations in diameter make it useless to attempt any more precise measurements. The four-holed flute differs from the three-holed in the way of fashioning its distal end which is closed by one of the natural joints of the bamboo, one em over which two longitudinal slits are cut opposite each other in the sides of the flute. Notch and finger holes are fire-drilled as with the threeholed bamboo flute. The upper edge is hardened by fire and chamfered inside. Its dimensions are: H 4184 (Fig. 48b). Greatest inner diameter 1.69 ern. Greatest outer diameter 2.14 em. Greatest breadth of notch 0.7 ern. Greatest depth of notch 0.43 cm. Total length 42.2 cm. Distance from flute's upper edge to upper edge of slits 38.6 cm. Dimensions of slits L. 1.51 em Br. 0.29 em and L. 1.65 cm Br. 0.31 em. Hole 1 from under edge of notch to upper edge of hole 11.59 em

Diam. 0.52 em.

Hole 2 -

16.30 cm

Diam. 0.60 cm.

Hole 3 -

-

20.59 em

Diam. 0.55 em.

Hole 4 -

-

25.24 em

Diam. 0.67 cm.

The notched flute is encountered in South America over a very large area (Izikowitz, p. 312) from Chaco and Mojos in the south to Motilon in Venezuela, and from Peru over most of the Amazon area to Guiana. The flutes here described are local variants that are confined to the Waiwai, Parukot6 and Taruma (Roth 1924, § 563 and 1929 p. 88 § 563), and we shall consider their peculiarities one by one. Parallels to the fashioning of the distal end of the four-holed flute are found in various parts of South America: The Palikur in Guiana have two different flute types with a closed under edge, one having three holes (Izikowitz, Fig. 211, p. 348), the other five holes plus an extra opening near the lower edge made in the side of the flute, as in the Waiwai instrument (Izikowitz, Fig. 206a, p. 345). The Yekuana have a flute with a closed under edge and five finger holes plus a thumb hole; presumably the lowest hole is not closed (von Hornbostel 1923, p. 404). From the Oyana de Goeje (p. 23) mentions a flute of the kena type that has a closed lower edge near which there are two holes connected by a slit. The flute referred to (Plate VII 9) has three holes, but the device in which we here are interested is not shown on the drawing. Finally the Gothenburg Museum owns a flute, the origin of which is only indicated by the word "Brazil", that was purchased at the beginning of the previous century. The lower edge of this is closed, and it has on 'the front side a slit of the same shape as that on the Waiwai flute (Izikowitz, Figs. 207a and b, p. 345). If one dare draw a slightly more distant parallel, one may finally call attention to the bone kenas of north-west Brazil; the lower end of those are narrowed by a pierced piece of wax that must have the same acoustic effect as the fashioning of the Waiwai four-holed flute, that is to say to augment the end correction of the flute with all holes closed. However, we know nothing of the playing technique and acoustic qualities of these flutes.

270

Waiwai Music

Bone kenas have been found in ancient Peru and occur actually in the forest areas north of the Amazon (Izikowitz, p. 320), their extension thus being somewhat more restricted than is the case with the bamboo kena. Some tribes fill most of the upper edge with wax, others, like the Waiwai, are content to grease the upper edge. It is difficult to determine the extension of these details; smearing with wax appears, at all events, in ancient Peru and in north-west Brazil (Izikowitz, p. 317); it is presumably also found with tribes in Guiana other than the Waiwai. The filling of the upper edge is practised by the Makushi, Wapishana, and Yekuana (v. Hornbostel 1923, p. 403) and by the Patamona and Arekuna (Izikowitz, p. 318). In fashioning the lower edge of the three-holed flutes we find, as mentioned, a stud on the bamboo kena and on the bone kena a slit that presumably has the same function: to lengthen the instrument by a hand or a finger. This method of fashioning the under edge is typical for the bone kenas among the Guiana tribes all of which let the joint of the bone remain and make a more or less irregular incision in the front of the flute, whereas, as has been said, in north-west Brazil they cut the lower edge right off. The musical function of this formation of the lower edge of the bone kena is not known for certain even among the Waiwai, and is naturally still more dubious in the case of the.other Guiana tribes whose flute playing is completely unknown. The stud on the three-holed bamboo kena is only found in connexion with end-blown flutes with the Waiwai, Parukoto and Tanima. However, it also appears on the howler trumpet, later to be referred to, and in this form we find it with the Arapai (Deuber, p. 317, Abb. 81,2) and the Oyana (de Goeje, p. 23 and PI. VII, Fig. 12). It is reasonable to assume that this stud is connected with the hand stop flute which is a side-blown instrument, closed at one end and with a broad, deep recess at the lower edge, over which the hand is placed; at times the under edge, in addition to having this recess, is fashioned like a stud. Its main area of extension is Guiana (Izikowitz p. 279). The principle of tone variation by means of the whole hand or by closing the instrument in a similar way has a far greater extension in South America, but apart from the places mentioned above no actual resemblance with any Waiwai instrument is found. The wax partition that is put between the two uppermost finger holes in both bone and bamboo flutes is found in many kenas and simple end flutes in South America. Izikowitz (p. 319) explains them as a transference to bone of a special detail possessed by many bamboo flutes, namely that instead of removing completely a bamboo partition in a flute, it was just pierced. At a time when these flutes began to be made in bone the pierced partition was retained and executed in wax or other material. The partition appears in ancient Peru and actually in bone flutes in north-west Brazil and also in bone and bamboo flutes in Guiana. According to Izikowitz the Roroima tribes place this partition between the two uppermost holes (that is to say as with the Waiwai), whereas in other tribes it is sited above the uppermost hole. In regard to this a characteristic change seems to have taken place with the Waiwai within the last 50 years, as they now place the septum in the same position as that adopted by the Roroima tribes with whom, as mentioned in the introduction, they came into contact at a very late date. This change presumably took place about the time that Roth visited the area, as on the two three-holed flutes from the Tanima and the Waiwai he brought back with him (lzikowitz, Fig. 178b and c, p. 315) we find, respectively, a pierced natural septum and a wax partition, both of which are

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Musical Instruments

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271

sited above the finger holes, whereas in his text (p. 457) he mentions that the partition is placed between

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the first and the second finger holes. Some flute types described by Roth who visited the area around 1910 were not observed by the members of the expeditions in 1954 and 1957 and may either be out of existence or only very rarely used. This applies to the Panpipe (example in the Gothenburg Museum obtained by Roth (Izikowitz, Fig. 251, p. 384)) and a transverse flute (Izikowitz, p. 301 and 303).

Trumpets End-blown trumpets are made of bark of the sardi tree spirally rolled so as to form a cone 70-80 ems

long and 12-15 ems wide at the distal end. The cone is held together by windings in three places with a slender and pliable bush rope, and reinforced by strips of ite bast tied along three places from one end to the other. This instrument is used only at the shodewika dances, which was observed once by the members of the expedition 1954. The guests who were invited to the dance from another village, arrived at the landing early in the afternoon. Having disembarked with their whole outfit, among which were coils of fresh bark bands for the trumpets, they started their preparations for the dance right at the river bank. Though most of them had finished their preparations already in the afternoon, they did not make their entre until after dark. Disguised in palm leaf costumes they entered the village plaza as the dance was opening. They blew their trumpets even before emerging from the forest and went on blowing for about half an hour moving around the plaza in a circle. After that the trumpets were heard no more; they were not kept for later occasions for the simple reason that they will fall apart as soon

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as the bark dries up. The main area of extension of bark trumpets is the north-west of Brazil, the Mojos area and Guiana. There is however, a notable difference in their use in these areas, as in north-west Brazil and the Mojos area they are objects that must not be seen by women and the uninitiated, but there is no corresponding taboo in Guiana; thus Roth (1924, § 558, p. 453) quotes John Ogilvie's reports of the Wapishana, Tanima, Waiwai and Parukot6: "They are manufactured outside of the village, but the women are not forbidden to see them". This difference in the social function of the instrument is mainly due to the fact that ceremonialism is not as elaborate with the Guiana tribes mentioned as it is in northwest Brazil and the Mojos area. Nevertheless, with the Waiwai at all events they have a certain connexion with the supernatural, as the guests at a shodewika festival are regarded as the beasts of the forest, as related in the myth about the origin of the shodewika (see p. 72). A side-blown trumpet (Fig. 48a) which we will call the howler trumpet from its Waiwai name shipururatii; (shipuru-howler monkey, ratii-wind instrument) is made of a piece of bamboo that is closed at one end by a natural septum in which a hole has been bored and a feather quill stuck through. The other end is open and continues in the form of a stud as in the three-holed bamboo kenas. The blowinghole is rectangular and situated near the closed end. An example brought back has the following dimensions:

272

Waiwai Music

H 4185 (Fig. 48a). Outer diameter 2.38 em. Inner diameter 1.85 em. Distance from closed end to upper part of lower edge 30.3 em. Length of stud 7.9 em. Distance from closed end to upper edge of blowing-hole 8.3 em. Dimensions of blowing-hole L. 1.95 em. Br. 1.45 em. In a recording that is transcribed in example 37, three notes are used, notated a c d, which are played in a rhythmical and melodic pattern which is exactly the same as that which runs through the flute numbers examples 27 and 28. Tests showed that all three notes could be produced by tightening or loosening the lips, but that the deep note was produced less forcedly when a finger was held in front of the feather quill and the tube thus changed from an open to a closed pipe. The howler trumpet was considered by Izikowitz (p. 277) to be a side-blown flute, and can in fact be played in that way; from the recording made with the Waiwai, however, it appears quite clearly that it is a trumpet, and the same must certainly be the case at the two other places where it appears: with the Arapai (Deuber, p. 317, Abb. 81,2) and the Oyana. Writing of the last-mentioned tribe, de Goeje (p. 24) says that he agrees with Coudreau's description of the sound of the instrument which is likened to "le mugissement d'un taureau" - which I think covers it admirably. Furthermore, the feather quill would serve no purpose were the instrument to be played as a flute, as it does not influence the tone if it is shut or opened when played in this way. A feather quill does not appear in the illustrations of the instrument by Deuber and de Goeje, though the latter refers to it. The only fairly close parallel to the howler trumpet is a side-blown trumpet with the Tukuna and Parintintin (Izikowitz, Fig. 97, p. 218), which likewise consists of a piece of bamboo cut off over a natural partition, with a square blowing-hole. However the lower edge is cut straight off and there is no stud. The howler trumpet is the sole example in South America of a trumpet that can be used melodically (Izikowitz, p. 243). Even though its function with the Waiwai, where it is a very rare instrument, has not been determined, it is not likely that it is used for signalling as its sound is not very powerful, nor that it is connected with religious life, where at any rate Niels Fock did not come across it in his investigations. If we briefly review the areas of extension of the Waiwai's musical instruments, certain features stand out. Firstly, we see that most instruments are a common cultural possession with the Taruma and Parukoto, with whom they have been closely related; and some instruments are quite uniformly fashioned among these three tribes. This applies to the mahwo whistle, the two bamboo kenas, and the simple mataco whistle, which latter though found over large parts of South America, does not appear in other parts of Guiana. Further we find two instruments, the howler trumpet and the plank drum, that particularly link the Waiwai to two other tribes, the Arapai and the Oyana with the latter of whom they are closely related also in regard to other sides of their musical culture (see p. 284). In common with other Guiana tribes, including those dwelling to the north, the Waiwai have the transverse flute, the placing of the partition in the three-holed kena, and the peculiar shaping of the

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Vocal Music

273

lower edge of the bone kena. As opposed to this, other features point to north-west Brazil and distinguish the Waiwai from the northern tribes. This applies to the bark trumpets - though these are found with the Wapishana - and the smearing of wax on the upper edge of the bone kena. Finally, there are some instruments such as the turtle shell resonator, Panpipe and bone kena, that are common to the whole of northern South America.

VOCAL MUSIC In the material recorded three kinds of songs are represented: dance songs, magical songs, and songs that imitate flute numbers. All the dance songs available to us must be assumed to belong to the type of dance festivals known as shodewika. These are almost purely of a social character, as one village invites another to come for a few days to dance and drink, for general amusement and for the promotion of mutual relations. The course of a shodewika dance festival and the multifarious ways this institution is linked to the Waiwai culture has been thoroughly described by Niels Fock, p. 172, and we shall therefore only refer to the aspects which have a musical interest. During the dance men and women pass round, each in their own circle, the women inside. Each circle is headed by a chorus leader shaking a rattle and directing the dance. At times everybody in 4 the circle turns and moves in the opposite direction, shortly afterwards resuming the original direction. These movements are obviously led by the chorus leader, perhaps through signals with the rattle. A phrase in the dance song is first sung once solo by the leader, after which the others chime in and repeat it a given number of times; now and again they begin before the leader has quite finished, though no polyphony results from it, as the leader merely stops and begins to sing with the others. It is curious to note that men and women simultaneously sang different phrases with varying texts, so that a form of polyphony was heard, the character of which was quite mysterious. The dance is enlivened by the rhythmical blowing of flutes and whistles, and, in the first dance in which the guests participate, also by bark trumpets (see above p. 271). The dance step consists in placing one foot forward and the other to the side of it, one foot forward and the other to the side of it, each step corresponding to a crotchet in the transcriptions. This step appears to have a very wide extension in South America, and is described with the Uitoto, Bora and Muinane (Bose p. 5), the Makushi, Wapishana and Yekuana (v. Hornbostel 1923, p. 415), Fuegians (v. Hornbostel 1948, p. 74) and the Mataco (report from Niels Fock). In addition to the shodewika festivals dancing also takes place during the religious yamo festivals. These are very seldom held and we possess no material about them. The dance songs, examples 3-18 derive from a recording of a myth that deals with the origin of the dance festivals. It is reproduced on page 57 seq. and the transcriptions are arranged in the sequence here followed. The Waiwai possess several stories of this kind. They are used as the frame around a number of dance song texts that allude to the events described, and are sung after each other during a dance festival. Two other recordings, examples 19 and 20 must be assumed to be dance songs, as they agree with examples 3-18 in their musical characteristics, though this was not determined in the field. 18

Walwal

-274

Waiwai Music

None of the recordings were made during a dance festival, and it must be doubted that they give an adequate image of the way in which these songs are sung when things really get going. This is due to the fact that the melodic elaboration of the dance songs has a direct connexion with their all-over structure, phrases being knit together by reducing their ambitus over the tonic. This elaboration must necessarily take place in different ways during dance festivals and solo performances, as in the former case a phrase is first sung once by the chorus leader and then repeated a given number of times by the dancers, whereas in the latter the phrases may be altered at each repetition. Two of the recordings, examples 1 and 2, are magical songs, eremus. An eremu is a magic formula that can either be declaimed or sung. Essential for the magic power of such a formula is a poohing performed either at its end or between its single parts. This poohing was deliberately omitted by the singer in his two recordings, as they were not intended to have any effect. The Waiwai have certain eremus, which are exclusively used by medicine men, and others that are employed by everybody. Example 1, which is to call forth the sun, is one of the first type, whilst example 2, which is to avert danger from infants, is of the second. Both were sung by the chief and medicine man, Ewkd. In their musical characteristics they do not fundamentally differ. During the 1954 expedition there was one single opportunity of hearing an eremu sung by a medicine man in order to heal a sick person, and on these ¥ccasions a free-rhythmical, recitative manner of singing seems to be used, quite different in character from that in the two examples recorded. The third type of songs with the Waiwai, those that imitate flute numbers, are represented by two recordings, examples 21 and 29, which imitate examples 22 and 28 respectively. The three types of song of which we thus have knowledge, differ mainly in regard to form and metre, as the dance songs, with one exception, are given in a sustained bipartite metre, whereas the two magic songs have a freer alternation between metrical units of different length, and the two songs that imitate flute numbers copy the free composition of flute playing, the strictly melodic characteristics remaining identical. Songs are hardly heard outside the situations to which they are functionally linked, and in the musical life of the Waiwai vocal music occupies no prominent position.

Intonation and style There is nothing much to be said about the performance of the Waiwai songs. Vocal technique is quite relaxed and "emphatic modes of singing", which at times we find stressed as a "Rassenmerkrnal" of the Amerindians, we only find in one dance song with rattle accompaniment, example 19; all the other songs are sung without any marked dynamic fluctuation. The pitch of a song may rise or fall without any discernible tendency in one direction or another that could be considered distinctive for the style. The intonation is subject to the oscillations always encountered with untrained voices, certain steps however, being particularly shaky. This applies to the thirds which may be due to the fact that in most of the scales it is optional whether a major or minor third is used, and to the tritone, which sometimes also produces unsteadiness in the intonation of the adjacent notes.

Vocal Music

275

All-over structure, metre

The dance songs and the two magical songs are built up in isorhythmic phrases whose rhythmic pattern is filled out with various tonal material. The only exception to this principle appears in example 8, where the isorhythmic phrase structure is broken by a section consisting of juxtaposed motives of 4/4 length, marked B. In the transcriptions, sections with different phrase patterns are indicated by capital letters, and the individual phrases by Arabic figures. For practical reasons a definite phrase in an example is shown by the formula: example/phrase number. Example 20 phrase 3 is thus marked 20/3. The metrical construction of the phrases is quite simple, as they consist of units of 2,3, and rarely 4 beats. Wider divisions are of minor importance although there is a tendency to divide 6 beats into 2+4 or 4+2, 8 beats into 4+4, and 12 beats into 4+4+4. Units of 3 beats appear in the magical songs and in a single dance song, example 8, which present a problem, as the dance step is carried out in bipartite form. It might well be imagined that it is here a matter of a phrase type in which there is a conscious shifting of the accentuations of the dance step in relation to those of the song, but it is more probable that the tripartite unit must be considered as a liberty that the singer has been able to take, as he has not been bound by consideration for the dance step. In a majority of the dance songs all phrases have the same rhythmical pattern throughout the number, though there are exceptions. In example 10 there thus appear phrases of a -Length of both 6 and 8 beats; in example 16 the singer experiments in finding a fixed form that suits his text, and phrases of 4,6 and 8 beats alternate. In example 17 he sings the result he has arrived at consisting of a fixed juxtaposition of a phrase of 8 beats with one of 4. For the two different texts in example 11 there is a phrase of 6 beats with an upbeat, and a phrase of 8 beats where the upbeat to the second phrase is transformed to a complete unit of 2 beats. In the two magical songs the composition is naturally freer than in the dance songs; we thus find in example 1 three sections with various texts whose phrases are not musically related, whereas in example 2 there are two alternating sections each with its own text, that are adapted to two patterns, which are related in the following manner: A lid I ~ ~ I J. til B J> ~ I ~ n ~ I ~ ~ I d•• B being derived from A by the insertion of an extra beat in the first "measure", and the addition of an upbeat to the whole phrase. In the two songs that imitate flute numbers, the singer attempts to imitate the instrumental phrases, though he often has to alter them in order to make them singable, and the metre and all-over structure are somewhat amorphous. In cases Where the material contains songs with phrases of various length that are derived from each other, it is remarkable that the motives are as often added or subtracted at the beginning of phrases as at their end. This applies to the various forms in examples 10 and 16, plus example 11, where in phrases 1 and 3 there is a form of 6 beats with an upbeat, which latter in phrases 2 and 4 is extended to a full metrical unit of 2 beats that are no longer felt to be accessory, but rather as the commencement of the whole phrase. This method of prolonging or curtailing forms already sung by simply ISO

276

Waiwai Music

adding or removing beats or motives is extremely typical of the metrical feeling in all Waiwai music, both vocal and instrumental, and must be regarded as a feature of fundamental importance for both the form and the melodic construction. Rhythm

The individual beats in the basic pulse of the songs are not subdivided into more than 2 parts; the most common is an equal division, that tends towards the distribution 'J.3.J...... , which seems to be characteristic for songs in large sections of South America (von Hornbostel 1923, p. 415, 1948, p. 76). With the Waiwai this figure is executed as a bipartition where the first note is stressed, but cut short, whilst the second is more weakly emphasized but lasts longer and with greater body. The purely temporal ratio 1/3-2/3 is not the most important feature. The other bipartite form of the individual basic beat is transcribed 7 11 ;;" which covers a more languid type of singing that often appears in connexion with syncopation. 3 Syncopation is found within 2/4 in the forms J>.J J> and 7 ];' 7 3F, corresponding to the two abovementioned ways of subdividing the individual beats of the ground rhythm; in addition, in example 4, we find the following distribution of notes within 4 beats: n cJ .- • Simple as may be the main outline of the rhythm in the vocal music of the Waiwai, there is in aU songs a certain amount of laxity in the performance, variations in tempo from phrase to phrase, abbreviations or prolongations of pauses and final notes etc. which contributes to the general impression of the style, but have not in all cases been accounted for to avoid overburdening of the transcriptions. Tonal structures

There is only one instance in the material of pure "Distanzmelodik", the dance song, example 19, that has the notes abc with b as the central tone. In the second bar the a drops towards g under the influence of the very common structure c b g. The tonal structures of the Waiwai are otherwise governed by related fourths and triads, and the scales employed are found all over the world. In a single song, example 3, only two notes are used, a fourth distant from each other, with the deeper as the final. A fourth filled in with a minor third and major second, or a major second and minor third provides the nucleus of most of the melodies. The tetrachord notated a c d reigns supreme in example 7. By augmenting the tetrachord a c d under the tonic g or e are most frequently used. Thus g is used in example 1 section A, example 8 and example 15; e is used in example 10. In example 13 both notes are employed but in different parts of the number, for e occurs in phrases 1-6, whilst g enters in phrase 8 and is used instead of e in the rest of the number. In example 20 the tetrachord a c d is augmented under the tonic with the tones g and d. The tetrachord notated gad with g as a tonic is found in example 9, and forms the nucleus of examples 4 and 5 where it is augmented to fti g a c d.

Vocal Music

277

There is no sharp division between the structures where a tetrachord is augmented above with the fifth, and structures governed purely by triads. Thus the tetrachordal character dominates in example 1 section B, whereas in examples 6 and 11 we find triad structures where the fourth appears as a passing note. In songs with triad structures the tonal material consists of a section of the tone sequence e a c or etl e, where a is the tonic. All four notes are employed in examples 6 and 11 with a minor third, and in example 17 with a major third. e a c appear in examples 18/1, 2 and 6. The same section, but with a major third appears in examples 2 and 16. Scales dominated by major thirds and small seconds are found in the songs in various forms. In certain cases it appears to be a matter of choice whether one fills in a fourth with a major or minor third. In example 21 the singer thus uses a major third in the recording transcribed, but it appears from a small fragment that has been left after an unsuccessful recording that he has sung the same song with a minor third; and a minor third is played in the flute number, example 22, forming the pattern for his song. In example 29, which also imitates a flute number, the core of the tonal material is the tetrachord c b g with b as the central note - a typical instrumental structure that also appears in the imitated flute number example 28 - this core is augmented by quite irregular tonal steps where the singer is unable to imitate the complicated flute phrases. In the dance song, example 14, the tetrachord bee is used with c as the tonic. In phrase 1 a d appears as a passing note. The tritone does not seem to be well established in the Waiwai songs and always appears secondarily as a raising or lowering of another note. In example 21 a tritone appears in phrases 4,12, 17, and 21, where its presence is clearly due to the singer finding it difficult to copy phrase 7 in the flute number, example 22. In example 21 tritones are likewise found in phrase 23, where they correspond to thirds in phrases 10 and 18. At this place the raising of the pitch occurs due to self-consciousness and high spirits; during the whole number the singer sings half laughingly. In example 12 the tritone appears in phrases 6 and 7 corresponding to the fifth in phrases 1-3, thus again being secondary. In example 18 we find a tritone in phrases 3 and 5, where it appears in a working out of the structure e ace with a as a tonic to a c dtl e ftl in phrase 3, and a c dtl in phrase 5, the intonation in these phrases being very shaky.

M elodics, form

Within individual phrases the melodies of Waiwai songs are not markedly descending for falling and rising movements occur with roughly the same frequency. On the other hand a descending tendency manifests itself when the individual phrases are grouped to form larger melodic units. This lowering is not achieved by transposition, but by a limitation of the phrases' ambitus over the tonic and an adjustment of the melodic movements to the new ambitus. A Waiwai song is thus usually divided into groups of two or three phrases, whose ambitus over the tonic is limited within each group, and where each group commences with a somewhat lower phrase than the one that introduced the previous group.

278

Waiwai Music

Besides the reduction of the ambitus another means is employed for grouping the phrases together, namely opposed melodic movements within two consecutive phrases. In the clearest cases a phrase with an ascending movement through the greater part of its length is followed by one with descending movements at corresponding places. In other cases matters are not so simple, as this opposition may be found only within a smaller part of the two phrases, a motif or a few single notes within a motif. All phrases in the dance songs and magical songs are ended by a long note or by a two-note motif to which the beginning of the phrase leads up. In some examples these endings are not altered but remain identical all through the song, in others they are transposed as the other parts of the phrases, and by their positioning assist in forming balanced melodic patterns in the single groups. In a great many of the songs the grouping of phrases is quite fixed, they being placed together in twos or threes all through the song. A grouping of the phrases in pairs is found in examples 6, 7, 13, and 18. In examples 6 and 7 there is an ascending movement in the first phrase of each pair, and a descending one in the second. In example 18 we find opposed movements between phrases 1 and 2. In phrases 3 and 4 a tonal material with an extended ambitus is employed; phrases 5 and 6 imitate phrases 3 and 4 at a lower pitch. Examples 4, fl, 8 section A, 14 and 15 consist of two groups each of three phrases, where there are opposed movements between the first two phrases in each group, whilst the third phrase forms a neutral conclusion. In all these examples the second group begins at a lower pitch than the initial group, whose phrases are imitated with the changes in the melodic movements that may arise owing to the limited ambitus. In the other songs there is no obvious grouping of the phrases. In examples 1, 2, 12, 16, 17 and 20 the reduction of the phrases' ambitus above the tonic and opposed melodic movements is practised, but without the phrases being arranged in marked groups. Examples 3, 9 and 10 consist of phrases that are almost unchanged. In example 11 there is an a b b a form, phrase 1 being like phrase 4, and phrase 2 being like phrase 3; however, only these four phrases appear, and this peculiar form is probably fortuitous.

Phrase - text relation

The relation between the musical phrase and the text is quite simple. In examples 4, 6, 7 and 8 section A there are the same text lines all through the song with the same length as a single phrase. In examples 3, 5, 12 and 18 the text lines are of the same length as the individual phrases, but various texts appear. A text line corresponding to a pair of phrases is found, for instance, in examples 9 and 13; a text line corresponding to three consecutive phrases is found in examples 14 and 15. In examples 16 and 17 the texts correspond to a musical unit consisting of two phrases whose patterns are of different length. In examples 2, 10 and 11 are found texts of different lengths, some words being added to a text, or a word with a different number of syllables being substituted. The musical pattern is prolonged or curtailed to correspond with these differences in text. In example 10, the text "pinipic' yana he he" is thus sung in phrases 1, 2,4 and 6 over a musical phrase of 6 beats, and the augmented text "pinipic'

~

--

--

Flute Playing

....

_~

-

- -----

-.

..-__

_ __ ...

~

_

.-..1"-_

279

yana kuruntka he he" over a musical phrase of 8 beats in phrases 3 and 5. Phrases 7 and 8 are related

in the same way, but have other texts. In example 11 there are two texts, where the one is sung to a phrase of six beats with an upbeat, and the other to a phrase of eight beats. In example 2 there are different texts to section A and section B. There is a single example in the material of the same text being adapted to different musical patterns. In examples 14 and 15 the text "kayaritomo rorona pona kepataka pa" is sung over three phrases each of four beats. In example 13 the same text augmented by the meaningless syllables "he he" is sung over two juxtaposed phrases, each of 6 beats. In examples 4 and 5 the reverse may be observed as they have a similar musical content but different texts.

Songs imitating flute numbers

There are two examples in the song material, that quite obviously have flute numbers as pattern, and which were sung after the flute number they imitate - examples 21 and 29. Example 21 which is based on the flute number, example 22, consists, like the original, of 3 sections that are reminiscent of our conception of verse. Each section consists of a given number of phrases, which, however, do not possess the fixed rhythmical pattern of the dance songs and eremus, but follow the more varied phrase construction of the flute number. The three sections are of varying length, as the phrases can very freely be repeated or omitted, though, in the all-over structure, an influence can be traced from the flute numbers where it is customary for the phrases to succeed each other in a definite sequence. The second recording of a song imitation of a flute number, example 29 has as its pattern example 28, which is composed of sections of short motives with the following rhythmical pattern rJ t J I d, called A, that alternate with more irregularly formed sections in a quicker tempo, called B. In the sung version the pieces regularly divided into motives are formed as in the flute number, though naturally without there being any question of an exact imitation, whilst the other parts almost become recitative and bear little resemblance to their prototype in the flute number.

FLUTE PLAYING The most important part of Waiwai music is flute playing, which is far more popular than the songs that are hardly heard outside situations in which they have a definite function. Flute playing thus possesses a far richer musical content and variation than does vocal music. With the Waiwai it is almost only young, unmarried men who play the flute, and the genre has no very close connexion with definite situations that can be linked with social or religious conditions. The playing of the flute is for entertainment, and is often heard, for example, early in the morning when people prepare to begin the day, and it is not unusual for the men to go playing into the forest. Furthermore, there is in flute playing a touch of infatuation and romance. This is evinced in the evenings when the young men sit outside the collective house and play to their young women, a feature

_

._ _ •

_

280

Waiwai Music

of flute playing perhaps general in wide sections of South America (Izikowitz, p. 313). In this connexion it is worth observing that much suggests that the flute melodies are programmatic. Several of the recordings have titles. Example 30 was called "The deer", example 27 "The deer is going to eat", and example 28 "The deer is going to bathe". These titles may be due to the fact that there are texts to these numbers, but it is not impossible that the music itself describes various situations; this would at all events explain the musical course of many of these numbers. In examples 27 and 28 are thus found alternating sections with slow, heavy phrases and small, gay melodies, and in example 25 there is, in phrases 10-14, a sudden, very dramatic, insertion that contrasts with the rest of the number.

Tonal material and structures The four-holed flute

Two recordings, examples 22 and 23, were made with a flute of this type which furthermore was brought back. These concern H 4184, the dimensions of which are given on p. 269. We find on this flute a scale notated, rtt abc d, a lying very close to c 264 hz, and the intervals indicated do not vary notably from the European. Blowing tests showed that the various notes are obtained in the following manner: Fourth hole - rtt. Third hole - a. Second hole - c. First hole - e. With all holes closed d was obtained by over-blowing. By closing the first and third holes b could be taken. In example 22 the scale a c d e is used with a as tonic, a structure well known from the songs that also appears in two recordings with a three-holed flute, examples 24 and 25. In the second recording made with H 4184, example 23, the scale rtt abc d (e) was taken, with rtt as the tonic and b as the top note in the tetrachord rtt - b, whilst c is used in motives between d and a. This mysterious scale appears only once in the material, and can perhaps have its starting point in a scale with the notes r~ a b d, where b is raised to c in motives between d and a, perhaps on account of purely technical reasons connected with the flute, as the notes a c d are also employed with a as tonic, as is the case for instance in example 22.

Three-holed flutes

The three-holed flutes produce two different types of scales, an anhemitonic pentatonic scale, notated g a c d e with a as keynote, and one that ideally consists of skips of major thirds and semitones in its central area, e g b c (d) e. The first type is taken in the following manner: all holes closed and a hand around the stud of the flute - g. All holes closed - a. Third hole - c. Second hole - d. First hole - e. This tonal material is used in examples 24-26, which were recorded on a bamboo flute, H 4182, the dimensions of which are given on p. 267. The intervals do not quite correspond with the European, as the fourth is a little too low and the fifth a shade too high. The second type of scale raises many problems. Fortunately it is represented in the material by recordings made with three different flutes, as examples 31-33 are recorded on the bamboo flute brought back, H 4182, examples 27, 28 and 30 are all played on the same bone flute, and example 34 is played on another bone flute. There are such great divergencies in the intervals of these three flutes

Flute Playing

281

that it must be assumed that there is no definite feeling of a narrowly-defined ideal scale, but that a tone sequence which in its core consists of two tetrachords that overlap each other by approx. a semitone is all that is roughly aimed at. It has not been possible to undertake any exact determination of the pitches, and the specifications below have been drawn up by the help of the ear, supported by a monochord. Bone flute, example 34 . . . . . Bone flute, examples 27, 28 and 30 H 4182, examples 31-33 . . . . .

g g

e

g+

b-lb b

c~-;.-

c-;.-

d d-]-

c

e+

The note b on the two bone flutes is nearly the same and lies very close to e 333 hz. Notated b on H 4182 is about 1/4 tone higher. We find that the two highest notes are a whole tone higher on the bamboo flute, H 4182, than on the two bone flutes. How these differences between the tunings of the flutes are handled, appears by a comparison of examples 30, 31 and 34 which represent the same melody as performed on each of the three flutes. In all three examples the lower tetrachord remains the same, but in the upper area it is optional whether the tones d c b or e c b are used; the former is found in example 30, the latter in examples 31 and 34. We further see that in example 30 and 31 the highest hole but one has been used to obtain the highest tone, respectively d and e, whereas in example 34 the uppermost hole is used giving e (compare with the table above of the tones of the three flutes). That on all three flutes it is the same two holes that are used can be seen from the introductory figure to these numbers, which consists of a trill between the two highest notes of the instruments, and here, in examples 30 and 34, the notes used are d and e, while in example 31 they are e and f~. In addition to the above-mentioned cases, the structure g b c d e with g as keynote is also used in examples 32 and 33, in the latter augmented by an e under the tonic. In examples 27 and 28 the same tonal material is made use of, but with b as keynote. It has not proved possible to decide by blowing tests how the scales under discussion are taken on

the flutes, but it appears from a comparison of the pitches in examples 31-33 with those in examples 24-26, all recorded with H 4182, that the notated deep e is taken with all holes closed. g corresponds

to the third hole, c the first hole. Top e is taken by overblowing with all holes closed. Here a problem arises in that notated c - e+ in examples 24-26 corresponds to the interval g+ - c in examples 31-33. It has an intermediate value between a fourth and a major third, and we have chosen to regard this

as the one thing in the one case and as the other in the other. This can be criticized as an inadmissible liberty, but if we look at the two structures individually no other interpretation is possible on the data available. It must also be remembered that a divergence of a quarter tone from a given ideal interval does not exceed the Waiwai margin for intonation accuracy in instrumental music.

282

Waiwai Music

Rhythm

In the flute playing both free and fixed rhythms are found. Thus a constant time unit is felt only over very short stretches in examples 28, 30, 31 and 34, whereas a fixed continuing pulse is found all through examples 22, 23, 24 and 33. Free and fixed rhythms occur in distinct parts of examples 25, 27 and 32. The individual beats or time units may be both bi- and tripartite. What might look like polyrhythmics appears in example 26 where a shift from "3/4" to "6/8" occurs in phrases 2 and 5. However, this shift is felt more as a prolongation of the fundamental beat than as a counter rhythm, maybe because the feeling of time is very weak in Waiwai music.

Metrics

As a whole accentuation is weak in Waiwai flute playing and the metrical units are often distinguished more by their rhythmical and melodical pattern than by accents, the placing of "bar lines" is therefore only tentative in many examples, especially where free rhythm prevails. The feeling of time is weak i.e. beats are simply ranged without any recurring stress pattern, and a beat may be added or taken out without bringing about any violent feeling of a change in time. As is the case in the music of so many other South American tribes the upbeats present a particular problem. True upbeats are by no means absent but the character of the Waiwai metrical feeling is prevalently trochaic and dactylic: movements from accented to unaccented beats are preferred. As a result it sometimes occurs that a figure obtains an intermediate position between upbeat and first beat. This applies to example 25/12 and 13 and example 30/2 where the first beat melodically acts as an upbeat but does not quite obtain this character as the beat to which it leads up does not bear any particular accent. Many other intriguing features appear in the material but without sufficient frequency to allow for a general treatment. All-over structure

The flute numbers are introduced and ended by fixed figures. A trill is thus used between the two highest notes to end all numbers with a scale of g bee, and to introduce three of them: examples 30, 31 and 34. The same trill is used in three places in example 31, which thus becomes divided into sections. In numbers with an anhemitonic pentatonic scale there is no fixed introductory figure, but they are all ended - with the exception of example 26 - by a free rhythmical slur that begins on the flute's top note and is sustained over about 4 beats, whereafter it drops through an ornamental figure to the third which is held somewhat shorter, and then glides down to the tonic. Like the songs, the flute numbers are built up of short, juxtaposed phrases, interrupted in some of the numbers by short stretches devoid of phrase construction that act as alternating interludes. In example 27 a little melody has been inserted, marked 7, 12 and 19, in three places between the parts built up regularly in phrases. In example 28, which is very reminiscent of example 27, we find similar

.>: .--

283

Flute Playing

breaks in the phrase construction in the sections marked B, which, however, are longer than the little melody in example 27 and act as independent sections. Finally, we meet an interruption of the phrase construction in example 25/10 - 14. We mentioned on p. 280 that it is possible that these interludes possess programmatic content. Rhythmical congruence between phrases is not of so great an importance in the flute numbers as in the songs. It is found in examples 25, 27 and 33, and in two of these, examples 25 and 33 there is an interplay between the melodic elaboration of the phrases and the all-over structure that is very similar to that of the dance songs and eremus, as they are divided into sections of two or three phrases knit together by a reduction of the ambitus over the tonic. In the other numbers the principles governing the construction are not so regular. In examples 26, 27 and 28 phrases are juxtaposed as variants of a small number of forms without any interplay between their melodic pattern and the all-over structure. In the remaining numbers we find an interesting principle that consists in grouping phrases into sections where they have a fairly fixed sequence. With repetition of such sections a phrase can be omitted or repeated some extra times, or two successive phrases can be repeated, so that the principle of a fixed sequence is only a general one. In some numbers the position of the phrases is governed by their pitch, so that the lowest phrases come at the end of a section, but often a falling tendency only asserts itself in that the sections are ended with a small number of low-pitched phrases. The clearest examples of an all-over structure where the phrases are placed according to their pitch in a fixed sequence are examples 30, 31 and 34. If the "upbeats" be ignored, the phrases in these numbers have the following tones in their core: c b g, b g, g b g and g, that are played free-rhythmically, and always come in the order mentioned. At several places the longer sections are introduced by a phrase between e and b with the same rhythmic pattern as that used in the phrasal pieces in example 27: eJ t J I J • The clearest form is found in example 34, the course of which is indicated in the table below, where the individual sections are placed in horizontal columns under each other. The sign R::: indicates a relationship but not complete identity. ecb 3

13=3

cbg 4 6=4,7R:::4 lOR::: 4 14=4 17R:::4 21 & 22=4

bg 8 11=8 15R:::8, 16=8 18R:::8 23=8

g 5 9=5 12=5 19=5 24=5

Example 30 is built up in the same way, though sections are inserted with alternating phrases containing the notes c b g and b g. The course of this number is as follows: deb

cbg bg gbg g 4 5 2&3 6 8=3 9=6 17&18R:::2

cbg bg cbg gbg bg 10&11 12 14 13 15 19=11 20=12 21=13,22R:::13 23=14 24R:::15

Waiwai Music

284

Example 31 proceeds in accordance with the same principles as example 30 and 34, but the rhythmic patterns of the phrases are considerably freer. In example 32 there is a fixed feeling of tempo until phrase 11, and the phrases in this section are formed over two fixed patterns: in phrases 1, 2, 6 and 10 with 2+2+2 beats in phrases 3-5, and in 7-9 with 3+3 beats. Phrases 12-22 completely correspond in construction with example 30/10-24, with rubato execution and changing rhythmic-metrical pattern. In phrases 23 and 24 phrase 1 is resumed, and the number ends with phrases executed rubato. In example 22 and 23 the phrases are ranged together in long sections with a fairly definite sequence. In example 22 there are three sections which proceed as follows: A B C

2

3 4

10~2

19=2 20=3

5 6 11-12=5 13-14=6 21=5 22-23=6

7 15=7 24~7

8 16=8 25 26=8

9 17 18=9 27=9

In example 23 there are two long sections, each of which is divided into sub-groups with lowerings of the pitch of the phrases. The number proceeds as follows:

A1 2 3 4 5 6 7=1 8=2 9 10 11 12=1 B 15-17=2 18=3 19=4 20=5 21=6 22=7 23-24=8 25=9

13=3

14 26 27

Example 24 contains three sections with fixed phrase sequence, apart from the fact that the first section is introduced by a piece that is not played in the next two, which, on the other hand, possess a number of concluding phrases not appearing in the first section. It proceeds as follows: A 1-2 3-4 5=1 6 7-9 10-11 12 13-14=1 B 24 25 18-20=7 21=12 22 23=12 28-29=7 30-31=10 32=12 33=24 34=25 C

15 16 17 26 27 35

RELATIONS OF WAIWAI MUSIC TO THAT OF OTHER TRIBES The music of the Waiwai is closely related to that of their immediate neighbours to the East, the Oyana, as appears from the grammophone record, "Tumuc Humac", BAM LD 314, which on side B contains 15 instances of Oyana music recorded by F. Maziere, D. Darbois and W. Ivanov. I shall here briefly resume what seems to be the common traits in the music of these two tribes. In the vocal music the Waiwai and the Oyana share all basic features. The tonal material and the main trends of the melodic movements are roughly the same, although it may be noted that the tritone, which is not very common with the Waiwai, appears frequently in the Oyana songs, and that two of these, instances X and XI, have a far wider ambitus over the tonic than any found in the Waiwai examples. The rhythmic outline and the singing style are identical as is also the inner structure of the phrases, where the division into a final motif and a beginning leading up to it, which is so characteristic

Musical Affinities

285

for the Waiwai material, appears in many of the Oyana songs. Finally we find the same principles governing the all-over structure, and although a reduction of the ambitus over the tonic of the phrases is not so frequently encountered in the Oyana songs as with the Waiwai, it is found clearly in instances X and XI. In the field of instrumental music the Oyana record gives two instances of turtle shell resonator played together with respectively two and three flutes, and two of solo flute playing.

i l

The flute number, instance II, performed on a three-holed bone flute similar to that of the Waiwai, is fairly close to the Waiwai style and bears similarities to example 22. The flute number, instance XIII, is identical with our example 23. The two instances of turtle shell resonator and flutes, the introductory instance (not numbered) and instance IX, are considerably more complex than our example 36, the manner of playing the turtle shell resonator being the same, but the flutes performing intriguing polyrhythmic patterns. One more link between the music of the Waiwai and the Oyana can be established by the transcriptions of Oyana music by de Goeje (p. 24) where two examples of howler trumpet playing are found which are very similar to our example 37. The Oyana is the only tribe whose music can be regarded with any certainty as closely related to that of the Waiwai. An examination of the music of those very few other South American tribes among whom this aspect of culture has been investigated, yields the result that they share a number of general features with the Waiwai, in the tonal structures, rhythm, metrics, singing style etc., but that they differ in regard to the most important element for determining a closer relationship i.e. the form and all-over structure. The principle of grouping isorhythmic phrases into sections by a reduction of their ambitus over the tonic, is thus only found in a few instances among other tribes where furthermore it has an inferior position compared to many other formal principles. This applies to the Makushi, Taulipang and Wapishana, where it appears in some of the songs belonging to the pariserd dance festival (von Hornbostel 1923 examples 3, 4, 5, 22, and 23). Summing up, the following conclusions about the relation of the musical culture of the Waiwai to that of other South American tribes, can be established: It belongs to a musical area which includes the Oyana, and on account of similarities of instruments, the Parukoto, Tanima and probably also the Arapai. The similarities to the music of the Makushi, Taulipang, and Wapishana are too general to allow us to group these tribes together with the forementioned, although they seem to be closer related to each other than to the more distant Uitoto (Bose 1934), Matto Grosso tribes (Schneider 1952) and Venezuelan Caribs (Collaer 1956).

286

Waiwai Music Litterature

BOSE, FRITZ

1934

Die Musik der Uitoto. Zeitschrift fUr vergleichende Musikwissenschaft II.

COLLAER, PAUL

1956

Musique caraibe et maya. Studia Memoriae Belae Bart6k Sacra. Budapest.

DE GOEJE, C. H.

1905

Bijdrage tot de Ethnographie der Surinaamsche Indianen 1906. Supplement zu Internationales Archiv fUr Ethnographie XVII. Leiden.

DEUBER, ARNOLD

Musik und Musikinstrumente der Arapai. In Speiser: Im Duster des Brasilianischen Urwaldes. Stuttgart. FARABEE, W. C. 1924 The Central Caribs. University of Pennsylvania Anthropological Publications X. Philadelphia.

1926

VON HORNBOSTEL, ERICH M.

1923 •


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