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Hands Around the World |
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Hands Around the World |
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Indian Cultures from Around the World
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Other Names: Mehinako
Area: left margin of the Crisevo River, Brazil (Map)
Population: 199 (in 2002)
Language Root: Aruak
The Mehinako say that their present village, Uyapiyuku, was planned according to the same patterns as all prior villages, since the time of Creation: it has to be between two rivers, the Tuatuari, to the west, and the Kurisevo, to the east. When the sun rises, its way across the sky must be parallel to the great way that goes from the port of the Kurisevo to the center of the village. The men's house must divide the way of the sun in two, and the bench in front of the men's house must provide a free view over the road to the east, through the forest. In passing over the men's house, the sun must follow the great way west to the place where people bathe, where it finally sets. Thus, the terrestrial plane of the village reflects the architecture of the sky.
The village seems to be divided in two by a great diametrical line that crosses it from east to west. This line is the main road that leads to the area for bathing and to the port along the Kurisevo. The houses are arranged around a great circle, precariously drawn, that goes around the "men's house". Inside each house, the owner (the one who initiated its construction) sleeps closer to the way of the sun than any one of the other residents. Status is also firmly associated with location in the house, since the dwelling-places of the chiefs are only built near the main road, on one of the cardinal points. The common men build their houses between the principal residences.
The trade of specialized commercial items is an important basis of the upper Xinguan system. The commercial system is valued as much for the merchandise it supplies as for the system of interdependence that it establishes. The traditional specialty of the Mehinako in commercial trade is salt obtained in the dry season, in August. In this period, all the inhabitants of the village available for making the trip go to a traditional village site, where each family works to produce salt (which is not sodium chloride but rather potassium chloride). This ingredient is a central element in Mehinako cooking, and is also highly valued by other Xinguan peoples, who come during the year to the Mehinako villages to trade wooden dishes, ceramic bowls, collars and shell belts for large quantities of salt. Members of other ethnic groups also go to the Mehinako for cotton, which the inhabitants of the village produce in quantities that exceed their needs.
Text from © Instituto Socioambiental. You can find their web site here: http://www.socioambiental.org/e/
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The Mehinaku are dream interpreters. They make a deliberate effort to recall and interpret their dreams to help them guide their way through the day. They have complete community activity.
Additional Information
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Hands Around the World
111 E. Main, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659
Phone: (423) 753-8177 Fax: (423) 913-2489
E-mail: handsaroundtheworld@earthlink.net
