Interrelations
Introduction
Indigenous societies have never been in a state of complete isolation,
for even before having relations with Brazilian society they have
always related among themselves. In many regions and in many ways,
different peoples interrelated through wars, exchange of objects,
marriages, invitations for ceremonies and rituals etc.
In spite of being transformed with time, these interrelations
have not ceased today. They may take place among a small group
of neighboring peoples or extend through a vast region. In some
cases, they form very complex exchange networks, in which each
society has a specialized role. In others, the relations occur
only occasionally.
The Waiwai, located in the Northern part of the State of Pará
and in the State of Roraima, have always maintained relations
of various natures - matrimonial, commercial and ceremonial -
with neighboring populations. So much so that today, after the
intensification of contacts with non-Indians, they live with other
peoples, among them the Katuena, the Xereu and the Hixkaryana.
In the Waiwai communities, although at certain times everyone
considers herself/himself Waiwai, there are groups that make a
point in clearly marking their difference from the others; when
necessary, this may mean even the adoption of a posture of rivalry
vis-ŕ-vis others.
The region of the Upper Negro River has a vast network of relations
connecting the various peoples that live there. It is a rule in
some of these societies that a man has to marry a woman from another
group, who must necessarily speak a different language. Thus the
Tukano, the Arapasso, the Desana, the Tariana, the Tuyuka, among
so many others, cannot be considered closed groups, but rather
units always open and prone to exchanges.
Relations among the groups of the Upper Negro River do not have
only the aspect of an alliance. They also reveal a complex hierarchy
system. Those considered river Indians that
is, who live on navigable regions and generally speak languages
of the Tukano or Aruaque families , marry among themselves,
whereas the forest Indians, who generally speak Maku
languages and live at a distance from the large rivers, are marginalized
by the others.
River Indians not only do not marry the Maku but
also refuse to learn their language, because they do not follow
the correct patterns of residence and because they marry people
who speak their own language, something they consider absurd.
Both groups nevertheless maintain constant relations: for example,
river Indians exchange fish and cassava for meat and
services from the Maku.
Upper Xingu River
Home of societies of the Jê, Tupi, Caribe, Aruaque and
Trumai languages, the region of the Upper Xingu River is where
the most intense interrelations among different Indigenous peoples
take place in Brazil.
In the Upper Xingu, old conflicts have given way to peaceful
intertribal relations, which includes exchanges of objects and
rituals. As anthropologist Eduardo Galvão pointed out,
at the time of the creation of the Xingu Indigenous Park (early
1960s), the different peoples living there ended up specializing
themselves in the production or extraction of a given item in
order to participate in the exchange network. Thus the Waujá
made ceramics; the Kamayurá, bows made of black wood; the
Kuikuro and the Kalapalo snail necklaces, and so on.
To this day, it is the rituals that provide a common language
to all of them. In the kwarúp, a recently deceased chief
is honored, and the homage is extended to other well-liked dead.
The yawarí is performed to honor those who have been dead
for a while, and also for initiating young men. Both rituals strengthen
the links that exist among the various peoples, marking in a symbolic
way the opposition between warring ferocity (the guests simulate
an attack against host village) and regulated reciprocity (exchange
of objects and services).