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In Bakairi daily life one can observe various
rituals that do not, properly speaking, obey any ritual
calendar, but rather the contingencies of life, being
associated above all with marriage, sickness, first menstruation
and death, the last few mentioned implying dietary and
social restrictions. Besides these, there is a complex
of sacred and pan-community rites, called kado, the scheduling
of which is concentrated in the dry season. Among these
there is the Anji Itabienly, the "Baptizing of the
Corn", which marks the beginning of the Bakairi year
and the cycle of the ekuru. It is held at the time of
the first harvest of corn, still green, in January or
February. In the middle of April, when the season of the
waters ends, the great rites are held when they utilize
ritual masks
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- the Kápa and the Iakuigâde – but
never simultaneously. These rituals can go on for years,
being suspended in the time of the rains, when the ritual
masks are kept in the kadoêti. Of these two rituals
it is the Iakuigâde that has a more sophisticated
level of elaboration. There are 23 ritual masks, each
representing the tutelary spirit of a species of fish,
aquatic animal, and riverine bird. Finally, there is,
from time to time, the sadyry, ear-piercing ritual for
adolescents of the male sex.
These pan-community rituals have elements in
common, such as male and female body paintings, done
with jenipapo and urucum, collective hunting and fishing
parties, collective meals. Each one of these rituals
is presided over by the leader of the local group which
promotes it and by the shaman, on the spiritual plane.
The rites of the kado constitute a tribute to
the dead, who control the natural cycles, including
the seasons of the year and of the ekuru, vital substance.
Besides these rituals, the Bakairi annually
hold pan-community June festivals, which are equally
important for their social cohesion.
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