::01

According to the tradition of the Hohodene phratry, they are the highest-ranking sib of a group of five sibs - the Maulieni, the Mulé dakenai, the Hohodene, the Adzanene, and “the younger brothers of the Adzanene" (Alidali dakenai), whose ancestors were “born" at the same time in the epoch of creation. It is notable in this phratry the sibs’ sentiments of identity based on a common place of mythical emergence and territory. In the myth of the creation of this phratry, there is evidence that there exists an hierarchical relation associated with cerimonial roles among the sibs: the first sib born was the Maulieni, the “grandfathers of the Hohodene”, also called "maaku", or servant sib, who cleaned the ground where the other sibs would be born; the second sib to be born was the Mulé-dakenai, the elder brothers of the Hohodene and a chiefly sib, who arranged the benches for everyone to sit in the cerimonial room; the third group to be born, when the sun was high, was the Hohodene, the “children of the Sun", a warrior group, and the highest ranking group in the hierarchy for they were born in the middle of the order; after them, the Adzanene and their younger brothers were born.

Each phratry thus consists of at least four or five patri-sibs ordered according to the emergence of a group of mythical ancestral brothers, from the oldest to the youngest. The name of the phratry is the same as the sib which is considered the highest in the hierarchy of brothers. For example, the Tuke-dakenai, Kutherueni, and approximately four other sibs – not all of whom have living respresentatives today - all belong to the phratry of the Walipere-dakenai, which is considered the highest ranked sib in the hierarchy, though they are not the eldest brother sib; the model for conceptualizing the relations among the sibs is the cluster of stars comprising the Pleiades constellation. The Walipere-dakenai are considered to be the “head” of the constellation. The Dzauinai phratry consists of the Kadapolithana, the Liedawiene, the Dzauinai, and a number of others, the model for which is the body of a jaguar, for which the Dzauinai (meaning people of the jaguar) likewise represent the head.

The Baniwa trace descent through the paternal line. The core of local communities consists of a group of brothers who are descendants of the founding family, along with their families. The ties among brothers form the basis of a system of hierarchical order according to relative age. The social and political importance of the order, however, is subject to local variations in practice. On the Aiary, for example, it is the eldest brother of the group of ‘brother’ descendants of the founding family (including parallel cousins) who is traditionally the chief (thalikana) of the community, while among Dzauinai communities of the Guainía, it is the youngest brother who is attributed this function.

Communities of the same sib are likewise ordered in terms of a hierarchy of ‘brothers’, descendants of the sons of the founding ancestor of the sib. The Hohodene of Uapui Cachoeira, for example, consider that they are the eldest brothers of all Hohodene communities, although they say that in the past, there was another descent group – which today no longer lives on the Aiary - which was their elder brothers. This internal ordering of the sibs according to a hierarchy among local communities is mostly reflected in the use of kinship terms, and it is evidently subject to disputes as to relative position in the hierarchy.

Marriage rules among the Baniwa prescribe phratric exogamy and express a preference for marriage among patrilateral cross-cousins. Direct exchange of sisters frequently occurs among preferred affinal lineages and sibs and, in some cases, a preference is expressed for marriages between people of sibs pertaining to different phratries but who are of similar hierarchical positions. Marriages are generally monogamous (although there still are cases of polygamy) and are arranged by the parents of the couple.

Virilocality is the predominant residence pattern; however, the rule of brideservice frequently produces situations of temporary or permanent uxorilocality. Communities thus include affines and even may evolve into multi-phratric or multi-sib communities, or even, in cases of longtime exchange partners, moieties. The intolerance of the evangelical missionaries has considerably modified residence patterns and marriage between cross-cousins, thus contributing to situations of permanent uxorilocality.

The leaders of the communities, or capitães, vary in terms of their exercise of authority, but all must have the approval of the community – principally the group of elders – in any decision they take, and the expectation is that the capitães act as intermediaries in internal affairs and as interlocutors in relations with outsiders. Besides that, they organize collective work parties, preside over community meetings and religious activities, distribute community production, and reinforce the patterns of community behavior. Should a capitão not comply with his obligations, the elders of the community may decide by consensus in favor of his substitution. In evangelical communities, the structure of religious authority is superimposed onto the traditional hierarchy of the elders, and may even reinforce it. With the creation of new political associations since the 1990s, various young leaders have emerged who are connected to the regional indigenous movement. These young leaders, however, remain under the control and censure of the traditional political authority of their communities.