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SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES   
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SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES
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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. It’s a long trip not counting the wait due to the tidal waves at the estuary of the Uaçá River.

01:: Returning from the garden.
photo: Vincent Carelli, 1982

Lux Vidal
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January, 2000
 
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