Mehinaku

The Mehinako are an Arawak speaking people living in the Xingu Indigenous Park, which is home to peoples who speak several languages. They also belong to a wide, multi-ethnic complex whose inhabitants share not only territory, but also diverse cultural practices, performing rituals together, inter-marrying, exchanging food and objects.

Today, they amount to more than 280 individuals, divided between two villages along the Coliseu River. The positioning of these settlements follows a long tradition of circular villages divided in two. The terrestrial plan replicates the architecture of the sky: the path the sun takes in the sky must be parallel to the main trail that goes from the entrance to the center of the village. The men’s house, in the center, should bisect the sun’s path, and the stool in front of the house should provide an open view of the path leading into the forest to the east. Passing over the men’s house, the sun should follow its path west, to the other river, the Tuatuari, where baths are taken and the sun finally sets. The stool, then, marks the center of this architecture.

The plaza in front of the men’s house is where village residents make decisions, speeches, and hold rituals, which villagers can watch from their houses. At night, the shamans meet to smoke and, sitting on their stools, discuss the day’s events.

Excellent artisans, the Mehinako preserve their traditional artifacts. Men have the task of making stools, masks, and beiju (tapioca flour) scoops, in addition to the final binding of baskets. Women make the buriti palm twine, hammocks, baskets, and mats.

The traditional stools, called xepí, are zoomorphic; among the most represented animals are the anteater (yúper), the tapir (teme), the jaguar (ianumaka), and birds (warapapá); carved from a single tree trunk, they are decorated with natural pigments taken from pequi oil (yellow), urucum, mãwatan wood (red), lurilo wood, and charcoal (black).