In the Paiter narratives, aspects referring to social life, the traditional mythical universe, rites of passage, the origin of the world and other aspects of cultural life are clear. Among the various stories, we highlight the story of the Moon, which narrates the case of two siblings, who were condemned, because they practiced incest, and were transformed into the Moon, the dark side of the moon being one of the siblings.

The moon, Gatikat

It was thus as it will be told, that the moon came into being.

There was a family, from the ritual half of the íwai, those of the food, who was busy in preparing the beverage for the festival, going to gather yams in the garden to cook. In this family, there were two brothers and two sisters. One of the girls, who was very pretty, was akapeab, in seclusion because she was in her first menstruation. She would be married, as one must, with her maternal uncle, when her period of seclusion had ended.

The maternal uncle, who was from the other half of the village, that of the metareda, or from the forest – since by the fact he was from the other half he could marry her – was far away, in the clearing in the forest, making arrows and other presents that that half had to give to the food half, in the festival.

One night, a man came to the little house of the girl, lay down in her hammock and they made love. In a low voice, for no-one to hear, she asked him:

-Is it you, my uncle, that is doing this to me?

-It is I, yes, your maternal uncle...

Many, many nights he returned. When it was dark, he would always come, and he used to lay with her. The girl asked:

-Is it you, uncle?

-It is me, yes...but don’t tell anyone, only when you can leave the little house to marry.

The girl became suspicious, after awhile – was he really her uncle, this night visitor? She decided that she would smear genipap paint on his face.

At night, as she usually did, she left the little straw door, the labedog, in the back part of the house, slightly open for him to come in easily. Late that night, he came, and lay down with her in the hammock.

Oh, uncle, is it you?

Yes, it’s me!

She took the genipap and smeared it on his face. He found that strange, but she Said that it was water, to relieve the heat.

Next day, she told her mother what had been happening.

-Mother, is it really my uncle, who is making love to me every night?

No, it can’t be, my daughter, an uncle does not do that with his niece, only when seclusion ends. If it were another, then it could be...

Have you already asked if he is your uncle?

-I asked! And he told me not to tell anyone!

-Why does he want to keep it a secret? If he is your uncle, you are his wife, and not of the others, he can wait for you to come out of seclusion!

-Today I smeared genipap on his face, mother! You can go see, there in the metareda, in the forest, if it is really him!

Her mother thought it was not the uncle for the uncle would not sneak in hidden into the little house. If it was another suitor, for example a cousin, then he would try to make love to her without her uncle’s knowledge. She went to the clearing where the half from the forest was staying, during the dry season, and came back quite frightened:

-My daughter, your uncle’s face has no genipap, no painting. It is your brother’s face, here in our half, that is painted!

The girl began to cry, in deep despair:

-So it is my own brother who comes to make love to me, every night!

The mother also wept, and Said that they had to go away to the sky. The brother, guessing that he had been discovered, came forth, already bringing all of his things, his belongings, his baskets. The sister came out of the little house, putting an end to her seclusion, but without painting herself with genipap, nor adorning herself like a bride, as would be the case if she were to marry her uncle.

-Mother! Stick the arrowpoint in my body for me to die! –She asked her mother. She really wanted to die.

-No, you will not die ! – the mother answered. –You will go to the sky.

And the two siblings went up to the sky climbing up a vine. Since thenthe moon, which did not exist before, has appeared. The dark side of the moon is the brother’s face, painted with genipap.

Narrator: Dikboba (1990)

The need for protecting the children can be observed in the story of the cicada: they say that long ago children were caught stealing peanuts from the garden of the Gamep, and that, as punishment, the Gamep sewed the mouths of the children and tied them to a tree. The children screamed but no sound came out from their mouths. When it grew dark, they became cicadas. (Dikboba, 1988).

The Cicada, Nangará

A very long time ago, the Gamep planted an immense garden, full of peanuts. When the time came for harvesting, they did not stop eating, and lived making peanut makaloba, one of the kinds of fermented drink.

The children from other groups, other than the Gamep, saw how many peanuts they ate and wished to eat some. They discovered the place of the garden and got into the habit of going there to steal. They ate until they were full, and never got caught. The Gamep realized that they were being robbed and kept watch, one day, catching them in the act:

_You live by ruining our peanuts, but now you will learn once and for all to leave us in peace!

The owners of the garden sat thinking what they could do to punish the children. They decided to sew up the mouths of some of these little thieves, the younger ones, who had not succeeded in getting away in time, and tied them to a tree, with their mouths sewn up.

The poor things wanted to cry out to call their parents, but only a whispering noise came out of their throats. The owners of the garden observed them from afar, hidden.

The whole day the children who were tied up bawled to cry out, and only guttural sounds came out: "ruuu...ruuu...ruuu...".

When it began to get dark, they turned in cicadas.

Only then the adults became frightened, and with remorse.:

- Where are you going?

But it was too late. They had already gone. Because of that, today, the cicadas, nangará like to stay clinging to the trees.

Narrator: Dikboba (1988)

Proud of being a warrior people, the Paiter have a series of heroes, who are usually praised in their stories, where they tell of war and death, of the presence of the non-Indians and how these had already brought destruction and death even in the old times.

The traditional narratives are being constantly substituted by the new Christian religions, despite there being a certain resistance from some families and communities. The pajés have suffered persecution and enormous pressure from the missionaries, forcing them to abandon this tradition and age-old knowledge in the spiritual and health area.

To hear stories of pajés these days is very rare, for the non-indigenous religions and missionary presence in the area prohibit that these stories be transmitted to the younger people. Several members of the community resent this fact and constantly talk about what the Christian religions have done to their culture.

The churches which are present in the villages (through periodic visits from missionaries) are the Baptists, the Catholic, the Lutherans, and the Assembly of God.