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Canela art is best expressed in their musical
forms, as well as in their dances accompanied by songs.
The daily cycle of the Canela includes three periods
of sung dances, which go from 2:30 to 5:30 in the morning,
approximately, from five to six in the afternoon and
from seven to ten at night, although rarely does the
same person complete the entire round of seven hours
of recreation. This cycle occurs only when the Canela
are assembled and living together in the main village,
and not dispersed in the garden villages or involved
in partnerships with neighboring dwellers.
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The Apanyekrá song and dance to the rhythm
of the master of the rattle is almost identical, in
form and time of day of its performance, to the Ramkokamekrá
version. Only the musical style of the songs sounds
a bit different to the listener. The Ramkokamekrá
songs stress harmonic sequence, while the Apanyekrá
songs give greater emphasis to the melodic line.
The men walk around, showing off and jumping
in front of a long line of women, all led by a man who
sings and dances with a rattle. These days, this dance
only takes place during the times of the great festivals.
Their visual arts are relatively simple, especially
if compared to their "cultural cousins", the
Xikrin (a Kayapó subgroup), for whom body painting
is well developed and refined. Among the Canela, urucu
is applied to the body to the body in familiar situations,
of happiness and health. Carbon, when fixed with latex
from the "milkwood" and applied in na ordered
way to the body is a familiar manifestation; when applied
to the skin in a crude and disorderly way it indicates
that the individual was recently involved in na extra-maritual
relation. The blue-black paint of the jenipapo is used
only in a specific cerimonial situation, never on day-to-day
occasions.
On the occasion of solemn cerimonies, the Ramkokamekrá
group adorn themselves with hawk down (today substituted
by domestic duck feathers) glued on the body with the
resin of almécega gum and used with red urucum
dye in precise patterns. In the case of the Apanyekrá,
they add green parakeet feathers. Apanyekrá material
artifacts are basically the same as those of the Ramkokamekrá,
although the styles are a little different.
The Canela used to make approximately 150 types
of artifacts, most of which are male body ornaments,
many being made especially to be used in specific cerimonial
roles. The materials used are mainly from the leaves
of the buriti and inajá palms, as well as the
little tucum palm. The men carefully sculpt the tips
of staffs and spears made of brazilwood, which were
used in the past for warfare but today are generally
decorated with parrot, macaw, and other bird feathers.
Various types of gourds were
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used as utensils; most, however, have been substituted
by merchandise from the city. They used to make various
kinds of mats and baskets, but they didn't have ceramics.
The Canela often practice, with a moderate competitive
spirit, a race with heavy logs weighing up to 120 kilos,
over distances of up to 10 kilometers. They also have
short, flat races and other, longer ones of up to a
thousand meters.
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