The Apiaká traditionally believed in a god who created the sky and the Earth, and who expressed its fury through thunder. The twins, cultural heroes, are today in the Milky Way, in the form of animals, which the Apiaká identify in a dark spot near the Southern Cross. Today it is difficult to asses how much of their traditional beliefs the Apiaká have kept, how much they believe in forms of popular religiosity and how Catholic they are.

In the old days they used to dance to the sound of bamboo flutes played by men by forming two concentric circles: the men were in the outer and the women in the inner circle. Today they no longer celebrate this ceremony, for they adopted the festive dates of the Brazilian national calendar.

The shamans used to predict the future and to care for the ills. They were object of much respect and were paid only for the cures they performed. They used fire and herbs, and blew or sucked the affected part, according to the situation. For the Apiaká there are diseases “of the civilized people” and their own illnesses. In order to treat diseases caught from non-Indians, they go to the drugstore of the Jesuit Mission. Other health problems are taken care of through special diets and herb, bark and root teas. Adults hold such knowledge, for which there are no specialists. In certain situations they may search for cure through a pajelança (a traditional treatment made by a shaman) by the Kayabí, since nowadays there are no Apiaká shamans left.

In the past, the widow or widower would lay on a hammock above the deceased’s tomb with his/her face painted in black, hair cut short and eating only maize until the bones were exhumed, which usually took place one year after the demise. Nowadays the dead are buried near his/her house. Everyone avoids saying his/her name, mentioning him/her as o finado (the deceased one). There are no exterior sign of mourning except for the abandonment of the house.