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The phrase mydy taha, literally “big
house,” refers to the communal residential structure,
built in a circular format, where most of the village
members live. The term also designates the space that
makes up the village, both the living quarters and its
immediate surroundings, including the gardens. The mydy
taha is an important space for the Waimiri Atroari,
since it serves not only as a settlement but also as a
ritual space during their festivities. New villages are
founded according to the community's needs, such as an
increase in the population, the exhaustion of garden soils,
or a scarcity of game.
Mydy taha are located near large rivers
and seasonal streams. Each village enjoys economic and
political autonomy, since no centralized power exists.
The formation of a new village takes place gradually,
relying on a prestigious person known as a mydy iapremy,
“village master,” to mobilize a set of domestic
groups to open up a new space. First, they choose a
site within the region destined for the settlement,
and then begin work on the gardens. When the crops appear,
people start building a large circular communal house,
the mydy taha. The structure will house various
domestic groups, made up of relatives that include affines
(in-laws) and cognates (kin). Each family has its own
hearth and specific section.
The economic activities of a village are based
on hunting, fishing, agriculture, and gathering wild
fruits. Men are responsible for hunting game, which
may take place during the day or at nighttime. Both
sexes are allowed to fish, and often the whole family
may go out fishing. Another activity that is undertaken
by everyone in a family is gathering wild fruits. The
greatest division of labor occurs in agriculture. Men
are the ones who fell trees, burn them, and clear the
gardens, while women are the ones who harvest the crops.
Both take part in planting the gardens, a collective
activity involving all the families, who also collectively
divide up the produce. The crops include bitter manioc,
sweet manioc, several types of sweet potatoes, yams,
and certain fruits.
Besides these garden crops, the Waimiri Atroari
menu includes many species of fish and animals, such
as tapirs, howler monkeys, coatis, pakas, wild pigs,
curassows, and trumpeter birds, among others. Not all
animals and fishes may be eaten on a daily basis. Various
food restrictions are imposed on individuals at significant
points in their lives, such as birth, rites of passage,
first menstruation, and purification before and after
a war.
The preferred form of marriage is between people
who are classified as cross-cousins. This confers a
new status on the couple, who, besides attaining full
citizenship, form a new domestic group within the local
group. Family responsibilities become accentuated upon
marriage: a man is expected to maintain gardens and
provide food for his family, while the woman takes charge
of cooking food and caring for their children.
The division of labor varies according to sex,
age, and civil status. Tasks increase as a person ages,
until he or she becomes elderly, when they decrease.
Despite the division by sex, men often help their wives
butcher game and fish, care for children, and prepare
manioc meal for domestic group consumption.
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The upbringing of a Waimiri Atroari individual
varies according to sex. Boys and girls are taken care
of by their mothers and are encouraged to imitate the
tasks appropriate to their gender, until they are approximately
four years old. At this age, the boys go through an initiation
ritual, marked by a specific festival for commemorating
their new status. Members of this age grade undertake
activities traditionally associated with their gender.
The main rite of passage for girls occurs upon their first
menstrual period.
Another constant activity in the daily life
of a village is the production of material artifacts.
The Waimiri Atroari are expert weavers. All forms of
basketry are made by men, who teach the skill to youths
when they are old enough to get married. Men weave the
items that women use in their work, such as the wyiepe
(burden basket), the matepi (a tube for wringing
manioc pulp), the matyty (a double-layered basket),
and the wyre (fire fan). Women receive these
artifacts from their husbands or fathers-in-law. Men
also make the pakra (a covered basket for storing
arrow-making materials) for personal use, as well as
the bows and arrows they use in hunting and fishing.
Most Waimiri Atroari baskets are illustrated with designs
that they inherited from some mythological beings and
their ancestors. A weaver's apprenticeship begins with
simple figures, which become more difficult according
to his age and skill level, until he earns permission
to weave the most complex designs, granted only to elderly
men.
Women weave birthing hammocks from the fiber
of the burity palm, as well as bracelets, necklaces,
and fire fans. Previously, they used to fashion pottery
and griddles from clay, which nowadays have been replaced
by ones made of aluminum and iron.
Various objects can be found in current Waimiri
Atroari villages that formerly were not part of their
material culture Undoubtedly, the first items introduced
were cutting tools and clothes. In the recent past,
a little over thirty years ago, men were usually seen
wearing loincloths made of titica vines. Women made
apron-skirts out of tucum palm fibers, decorated with
bacaba seeds. These were the Kinja's traditional items
of clothing. Nowadays, men usually wear pants, and women,
skirts.
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