Wariʼ

The Wariʼ, also known as the Pakaa Nova, are an Indigenous people of Brazil, living in seven villages in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondônia. Their first contact with European settlers was on the shores of the Pakaa Nova River, a tributary of the Mamoré River. Many of the Wari' live within the Sagarana Indigenous Territory near the town of Rodrigues Alves (which lies between Rio Guaporé Indigenous Territory and Pacaás Novos National Park).

The Wariʼ, also known as the Pakaa Nova, are an Indigenous people of Brazil, living in seven villages in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondônia. Their first contact with European settlers was on the shores of the Pakaa Nova River, a tributary of the Mamoré River. Many of the Wari' live within the Sagarana Indigenous Territory near the town of Rodrigues Alves (which lies between Rio Guaporé Indigenous Territory and Pacaás Novos National Park).

Name

Europeans at one time used the name "Pakaa Nova" to refer to the Wariʼ, because they encountered the Indigenous people near the Pakaa Nova River. The people prefer to be referred to as "Wariʼ", their term in their language meaning "we, people." They are also known as the Jaru, Oro Wari, Pacaas-Novos, Pacahanovo, Pakaanova, Uari, and Uomo.

Language

The Wariʼ speak the Pakaásnovos language, which belongs to the Txapakura, or Chapacura-Wanham language family. Along with the Torá, the Moré (or Itenes), and the Oro Win, the Wariʼ are the last of the Txapakura language linguistic group. Other groups were exterminated by Europeans or Brazilians. There is a large grammar of the Wari' language written by Barbara Kern and Daniel Everett.

Population and locations

Up until the 19th century, the Wariʼ were present in the Amazon's Southeast, namely the basin of the Lage River (a right-bank-tributary river of the Mamoré River), the Ouro Preto river, the Gruta and Santo André creeks, the Negro river (all tributaries of the lower and middle courses of the right bank of the Pakaa Nova River), and the Ribeirão and Novo rivers (tributaries of the left bank of the Pakaa Nova River). In the early 20th century, continuous incursions by neo-Brazilians in search of rubber trees forced the Wariʼ to relocate to the less accessible headwaters of the Mamoré River. They were confined in that area until pacification. Today, they live in eight settlements located in the state of Rondônia, Brazil.

Denomination and ethnicity

The tribe is divided into subgroups, but there is no specific word to define an individual that belongs to a different group. The closest term that is usually applied is tatirim (stranger). A person from the same subgroup is referred to as "win ma" (land fellow). Today, the Wariʼ subgroups are: Oro Nao Oro Eo Oro At Oro Mon Oro Waram Oro Waram Xijein Some individuals still identify themselves with two other subgroups that no longer exist, the OroJowin, or the OroKaoOroWaji. Oro is a collectivizing particle that can be translated as "people" or "group".

Relations between subgroups

Present relations between subgroups are influenced by dynamics that existed before pacification. Each subgroup is intimately connected with a territory; however, the frontiers between territories are fluid. An area associated with one subgroup can be incorporated into the territory of another subgroup (if it is occupied by a group that also belongs to another subgroup). This is made possible by the semi-nomadic characteristic of the Wari' people. Membership to any given subgroup is not defined by fixed rules. Children may be considered members of either parent's subgroup, or of the subgroup associated with the territory in which they were born. Cultural or subgroup identities are part of one's birthright, but socially constructed during a lifetime through relations with one's relatives and neighbors. The Wariʼ recognize that individuals have multiple identities based on their specific relations and experiences.

Society

Every subgroup is organized around a set of brothers, each of whom is often married to women who are sisters. Polygyny, especially sororal polygyny (co-wives are sisters), is the basis of the Wariʼ family structure. Villages are made up of nuclear families and a separate house, called "the men's house". It serves as a dormitory for single adolescents and as a meeting place for adult men. A couple usually varies their place of residence, shifting between the woman's parents' and the man's parents', although no specific rule determines when the shift is made. The Wariʼ are semi-nomadic, moving their villages at least once every five years. They stay away from floodplains but remain closer to the shores of small perennial rivers. A maize swidden, providing the staple crop, is developed around the village. Finding the ideal earth for corn growing (black earth or terra preta) plays a key role in determining where to set up a village. The importance of agricultural land is also reflected in the language, since a person from the same subgroup is called a "land fellow".

Cannibalism

The Wari' formerly practiced both exocannibalism and endocannibalism. Endocannibalism was practiced for funerary purposes, with strict, elaborate rituals that emphasised the humanity of the corpse being consumed, therefore setting it apart from the consumption of mere animals. Wari' ate the body out of "a sense of respect and compassion for the dead person and [their] family", as part of their social obligations as affines. The primary effect of funerary cannibalism, for the Wari', was to destroy all traces of the person as they were in life. Doing so transformed the memory of the deceased's living relatives; without the physical reminder of the body, loved ones could begin the process of moving on more effectively, lessening their grief and sorrow. In that same vein, other physical traces of the deceased would also be destroyed. Their belongings would be burned and paths in the village would be rerouted to avoid their old houses. This also had the effect of making it more difficult for the deceased's spirit to return to the village, as they would be confused by the lack of recognisable landmarks, encouraging them to stay in the underworld throughout their afterlife. Right after death, the closest relatives would hug and embrace the deceased person. The body would be left for about three days, although there was no set span, and depended largely upon how soon family members in other settlements could get to the funeral. By this time, the body had typically begun to decompose in the heat and humidity of the Amazon, sometimes reaching the stage where the body became bloated and discolored. When all relatives within a reasonable distance had arrived, the relatives respectfully prepared the body to eat. Mortuary preparation involved ritual wailing and other ceremonies, building a fire, removing the visceral organs, and finally roasting the body. The decedent's closest kin would not consume the body, but they urged the attendant relatives to eat. The relatives were encouraged to eat what they could, but this sometimes amounted to little more than small tokens of the spoiled meat. Even this consumption often caused the mourners great gastric distress. The heart and liver were eaten, but much of the body and hair was burned. This practice continued until the 1960s. Today, Wariʼ do not practice any form of cannibalism. They bury their dead after two or three days of mourning.

Warfare

Today, the Wariʼ are peaceful, but before pacification they warred with neighboring tribes. Their most notable victories occurred over the Karipuna, a Tupi ethnicity, and the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau. With contact with the Brazilian government in the 20th century, the focus of their warfare shifted and they lost contact with the old wijam (enemy). The Wariʼ consider enemies as "former Wariʼ" who have distanced themselves to the point of severing cultural exchanges. In spite of that, a Wariʼ warrior did not distinguish between an enemy and an animal, and thus felt no need to be merciful or gracious to an enemy any more than he would to an animal. Once fighting was over, Wariʼ warriors would bring home the bodies of the fallen enemies whenever possible. Those bodies would be served to the women and younger men who had stayed home in order to strengthen the group. Children were prohibited from eating dead enemies. The battle warriors retreated to the men's house, where they stayed in quarantine. During this period they moved around as little as possible, staying in their hammocks for most of the day and drinking only chicha. The purpose was to "keep the enemy's blood within the warrior's body", thus giving him strength. Sex was prohibited, as they thought the blood of the enemy would "turn into semen" and thus allow the enemy's strength to be passed on to the tribesmen's children. The warrior was not allowed to partake of the fallen enemies, because it was believed that he had kept the enemy's blood within himself, and such an act would be self-cannibalism, resulting in his death. The quarantine ended when the women refused to continue preparing the chicha.

Notes

References

Conklin, B. (2001). Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society. Austin: University of Texas Press. 978–0292712362 Vilaça, Aparecida (2010). Strange Enemies: Indigenous Societies and Scenes of Encounters in Amazonia. Durham: Duke University Press. 978–0822345732 Kern, Barbara and Daniel Everett (1997). Wari . London: Routledge.

External links

Wari artwork, National Museum of the American Indian

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377927296 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.