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The subsistence activities of the Galibi-Marwono
vary according to the annual seasons: dry and rainy, the
first between July and November and the second between
December and June. According to the time of the year,
or depending on the most immediate needs, the activities
take place on the upper part of the river (in the forests
which are the sources of game and timber, or in the rivers
of the region which are abundant in fish) or on the middle
and lower courses (open spaces of the savannahs,
used principally for planting, on the raised grounds in
the midst of flooded lands), as well as for fishing.
The collective labor in the gardens is organized
by the system of invitation, the maiuhi,
or traditional work parties organized among neighbors
for the benefit of one, but each family sells its produce
individually in the commercial houses of Oiapoque or
sometimes Saint Georges (on the French side of the Oiapoque
River) where the price is better but where the sale,
by law, should be made directly to the consumer, without
intermediaries, which is complicated for the Indians.
This being so, they sell their produce, either in the
market or on request.
In observance of the norms of environmental
preservation, in the 80s, it was decided in Assembly
that fish and game meat could not be sold outside the
Indigenous Area. Fishing is always subject to periods
of restrictions in order to protect spawning, especially
of the pirarucu, and the hunting of alligators is prohibited.
Their weapons for fishing continue to be the traditional
bow and arrow, harpoon, hooks, and short spears that
the men make with old pieces of iron beaten and worked
in the fire. While there are restrictions on hunting
and fishing, there is no plan for the preservation of
avifauna. The Indians eat all species of birds and are
already aware of the scarcity of several types, supposedly
due to the high consumption of this kind of food.
There are several small commercial establishments
in Kumarumã, some also functioning as bakeries.
The custom today is to drink coffee in the morning with
tapioca or bread. Other industrialized foods are also
consumed more than in the past, but in general the daily
menu consists of fish, manioc cereal and tucupi.
Since the 1930s, the Galibi-Marworno produce
surpluses which they commercialize, principally manioc
cereal. Often, manioc cereal serves as trade money
to acquire other food products in the village. By an
internal agreement among the Indigenous Peoples of the
Oiapoque, they do not sell timber, but they have every
right to cut boards for the construction of their houses,
canoes, bridges and also public buildings such as the
school, infirmary, and festival house. They are excellent
canoe makers, and these they sell, generally on request,
in Saint Georges but also in Oiapoque and on the Cassiporé.
The manufacture of canoes, as well as the felling
of trees, is done collectively through the system of
invitation, in the free periods between
agricultural tasks. Lumber is taken from the region
of the headwaters of the Uaçá although
it is becoming ever more difficult to get access to
suitable lumber and even transportation. For the time
being, the Indians have no project or plan for the sustainable
use of lumber. They also sell artwork but in insignificant
quantities: collars made of seeds, beads, monkey teeth
and deer bone; engraved gourds, bows and arrows, altogether
comprising an ornamental kit. The tips of these arrows
are finely worked, the Indians say that they are of
the Banahé, an ancient indigenous people of the
region. They sell this artwork especially in Saint Georges
to the gendarmes and foreign legion, who are
major buyers of these objects.
The transportation of merchandise is done with
the boats of the community or those which are the property
of several Indians. There is a charge collected on each
person and cargo. Generally the boat of the community
makes the trip every 15 days going by way of the ocean,
going round Mosquito Point and entering the Oiapoque.
Its a long trip not counting the wait due to the
tidal waves at the estuary of the Uaçá
River.
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