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Studies of the Jê people point out as one
of their principal characteristics the co-existence of
a "simple" technological system - adapted to environmental
conditions - and an extremely complex sociocultural system.
These sociocultural systems are organized by means of
a structural dualism which is manifest in a multiplicity
of halves or moieties on the social plane. In the case
of the Xerente, this is expressed in complex rituals,
male cerimonial groups, naming groups, age classes, sports
teams, etc., which are organized on the basis of kinship
relations. The basis of this ordering is centered on a
division in two socio-cosmological halves - Doí
e Wahirê - associated respectively with the
Sun and Moon, the mythical founding heroes of Xerente
society. The jaguar (huku) is also part of the
Xerente mythical system, since it was responsible for
teaching them the use of fire. The Doí moiety
includes the Kuzaptedkwá ("the owners
of fire"), Kbazitdkwá ("the owners
of cotton") and Kritóitdkwa ("the
owners of the hot potato game" or "owners of
rubber") clans; and the Wahirê moiety,
the Krozaké, Kreprehí and
Wahirê clans, the last of which has the same
name as the moiety. The two moieties and their
respective clans share amongst themselves a network of
reciprocal duties and obligations. The moieties, the six
clans and the lineages that constitute them are patrilinear,
that is, they trace descent from father to son, from paternal
grandfather to grandson, or nephew-grandson. Thus, each
one of the Xerente clans owns a set of proper names which
are passed down from generation to generation, and which
identify and distinguish Xerente individuals on the plane
of their social organization.
Another fundamental mechanism for the identification
and location of the Xerente in a broader way in their
sociocultural universe is through body painting. There
are two basic painting motifs that guide this form of
identification: the line, indicating that the individuals
belong to one of the clans of the Wahirê
moiety, and the circle, which identifies those belonging
to the clans of the Doí moiety.
Xerente adults paint their bodies only on cerimonial
occasions. Children, on the other hand, are painted
daily. The paintings among adults can be related to
various spheres of social and cerimonial organization
- age classes, festival groups, log-racing groups, marriages,
funerals, etc. The basic colors of Xerente body painting
are produced with the following ingredients: carbon
mixed with milkwood makes black; urucum seeds make red,
and white is made from parakeet down or cotton. Before
painting, bodies are anointed with babaçu oil.
The details - circles or lines - are engraved on pieces
of buriti pith, and utilized as a sort of "stamp".
In the famous buriti log races, which reaffirm
the ever present dual division among the Xerente, each
one of the teams - Steromkwá and Htamhã
- carries a log that is engraved and ornamented with
motifs related to the figures of the sucuri and the jabuti
respectively. One of the attributes of the shamans is
to ornament the logs, in order to request the protection
of the spirits of the forest. It is noteworthy that one
of the sports most appreciated by Xerente men at the present
time, besides the buriti log races, is without a doubt,
soccer.
The Xerente cosmovision is directly associated
with the various elements that comprise the natural world
that surrounds them. With the processes of missionary
evangelization - Catholic and Protestant - the Xerente
have incorporated and re-elaborated the values of these
religions, without, however, abandoning their own values.
This is evident in the active participation of the shamans
in the social and political life of the group. Except
for three large settlements which are still maintained
(with more than 150 people in each), presently, the other
Xerente villages have between 10 to 50 people. The residence
rule is uxorilocal: the son-in-law lives in the village
(or in the residential segment) of his wife's father.
Generally, the Xerente do not place restrictions on interethnic
marriages with non-Indian women, but they explicitly disapprove
of marriages of Xerente women with non-Indian men, although
these do occur. All non-Indians (men and women) married
to Xerente individuals are incorporated into the networks
of kinship and consequently to the cerimonial and political
systems of the group, thereby acquiring rights and duties
that are identical to the rest. |
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01:: Participants of the festival of masculine
name-giving with clubs, ties, and belts.
photo: Curt Nimuendaju/Museu Nacional, 1937
02:: Dance around the race-logs.
photo: Curt Nimuendaju/Museu Nacional, 1930
03:: Padí Masks with sticks and clubs.
photo: Curt Nimuendaju/Museu Nacional, 1937
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