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Bakairi Indian Masks
| Article
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15623 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
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2 / 1989 |
3,876 Words |
| Author
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Debra Picchi
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The Bakairi Indians of central Brazil use large, brightly colored masks for ritual purposes. Along with being objects of great beauty, these masks are part of an enduring tradition relating to social, economic, and ideational aspects of the Bakairi's indigenous culture--they help the smooth integration of the diverse, often contradictory, institutions that organize the Bakairi village.
Mask making and mask dancing have a long history among the Bakairi. Bakairi contact with Brazilians during this century has altered features of their culture, but Western influence has not destroyed the essence of the masks, nor has it diminished their power. Rather, these rituals continue to function in the face of fierce competition with non-Indian ways. This tenacity demonstrates the resilience of Bakairi culture.
The Bakairi reside in Mato Grosso, a central Brazilian state. About three hundred Indians inhabit a reservation located on the banks of the Paranatinga River. They migrated to the area in the 1920s. Previously they occupied a region to the northeast, where they lived amid the headwaters of the Xingu River with several other Indian tribes who shared similar customs. Evidence indicates that some of their culture has been altered as a result of contact with Brazilians. However, many of their traditions may be traced back to the culture area that they left about seventy years ago.
Acculturation of the Bakairi
Housing and village composition are examples of changes that followed acculturation. The Bakairi formerly lived in villages made up of a number of elliptically shaped longhouses made of palm thatch. The longhouses were organized in a circle. A smaller house used for ceremonial purposes was situated in the center of the village plaza. Several related families resided in each longhouse. Nuclear families set themselves off from others inside a house by slinging their hammocks around a fire where they cooked.
Today the Bakairi live in a village that consists of rows of houses set back from the riverbank. Each house is a square wattle-and-daub structure reminiscent of rural Brazilian homes. One nuclear family lives in each house, although it may be joined by a peripheral family member from time to time. An elliptically shaped ceremonial hut, similar to those traditionally used, still occupies the center of the village. However, its significance has been reduced.
Despite these changes, the Bakairi continue to observe many of the cultural traditions brought to the area by those who left the Xingu headwaters at the beginning of the century. Like their ancestors, they fish in rivers and lagoons, using hooks and lines, nets, and weirs to catch fish. They also release the juice of a forest vine into stagnant pools, which suffocates fish so that they rise to the surface of water, where they can be collected.
The Bakairi are also horticulturalists, employing the slash-and-burn method to open up sections of the forest lining the river. They plant manioc and rice as well as other crops such as sugar cane, corn, bananas, and melons in their gardens. Gardens are cultivated for two or three years at a time, after which the Indians abandon them, allowing them to be reclaimed by the
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