Wauja

{{Short description|Indigenous people of Brazil}} {{for|the language|Waura language}} {{Infobox Ethnic group |image = Headress for women, Waura Wauja Kuikuru - AMNH - DSC06151.JPG |caption = Women's headress of the Waura on display at the American Museum of Natural History |group = Waura |population = 487 (2010) |popplace = Brazil |languages = Waura |religions = |related = Mehinako }} The '''Wauja''' or '''Waura''' (Waurá: ''Waujá''; {{Langx|pt|Uaurás}}) are an Indigenous people of Brazil. Their language, Waurá, is an Arawakan language.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ball |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJ5qDwAAQBAJ&dq=Wauja+karl&pg=PA6 |title=Exchanging Words: Language, Ritual, and Relationality in Brazil's Xingu Indigenous Park |date= |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-8263-5854-7 |location=Albuquerque |language=en}}</ref> They live in the region near the Upper Xingu River, in the Xingu Indigenous Park in the state of Mato Grosso, and had a population of 487 in 2010.

==History== The Wauja and Mehinako, two Arawakan-speaking tribes native to the Upper Xingu River, are likely descendants of various tribes which came into the region in roughly the 9th or 10th century CE. Archaeological records going back to the time between 1000 and 1600 suggest that the people living in the region were mostly sedentary, with relatively large communities. These villages were built around a central plaza, and were defended with ditches and palisades. Archaeological evidence from the region suggests a strong relationship with a band of Aruak tribes stretching from the Upper Xingu to modern day Bolivia. It is unknown what sort of relationship the Aruak-speaking people of the Upper Xingu River had with other, Carib-speaking tribes, although the current multiethnic order in the region was in place by the 18th century.<ref name=":0" />

German ethnologist Karl von den Steinen was the first European to record the existence of the Wauja tribe in 1884. He received hints that the tribe might exist (under the name Vaurá) by other indigenous peoples that he encountered on his expedition. He discovered exactly where they existed when given a map of the region by members of the Suyá tribe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Viertler|first=Renate Brigitte|date=2019-04-17|title=Karl von den Steinen's Ethnographic Research among Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, 1884-1888|journal=Revista de Antropologia|volume=62|issue=1|doi=10.11606/2179-0892.ra.2019.157033|s2cid=151272891|issn=1678-9857|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Village == The largest Wauja settlement is the village of Piyulaga. The village is centred on a square containing the ''kuwakuho'' ("house of the flutes); the surrounding residential homes are oval-shaped and made out of ''imperata brasiliensis'', a type of tropical grass. Political meetings, rituals and festivals occur on the square. Traditionally, extended families consisting of blood relations resided in the same homes, though in modern times, most residences house one or two couples and their children.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Piedade |first=Acácio Tadeu de Camargo |url=https://repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/86556/200953.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=O canto do Kawoká: música, cosmologia e filosofia entre os Wauja do Alto Xingu |publisher=Federal University of Santa Catarina |year=2004 |location=Florianópolis |language=pt |access-date=24 September 2023 }}</ref>

== Leadership == Leadership among the Wauja consists of the chieftain of the household (''amunaw-mona'') and chieftain of the village (''amunaw-iyajo''). A male leader is known as an ''amunaw'', while a female leader is a ''amuluneju''. To become ''amunaw-iyajo'', it is necessary to be descended, through either parent, from a previous chieftain. The ''amunaw-iyajo'' is confirmed through a ritual called ''pohoka''. A village can have no more than two chieftains, with the tradition being that they are the eldest son and the second son, with the eldest son being the main chieftain (''putakananku wekeho'').<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Dowbor |first=L. |date=1995 |title=Governabilidade e descentralizacao |url=https://www.estudioslatinoamericanos.pl/index.php/estudios/article/view/254 |journal=Estudios Latinoamericanos |volume=16 |pages=179–202}}</ref>

== Work == Traditionally, men are responsible for weaving baskets and collecting clay for the construction of ceramics. Women are responsible for grinding shells to mix clay, and for manually shaping clay pieces and painting them with pigments obtained from plants and fruits. Wauja pottery is often sold in the cities and is also used as a bargaining chip with other villages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vieira |first=Cibele |date=19 April 2021 |title=Estudantes da Unicamp, índios Wauja encantam com suas cerâmicas e adornos |language=pt |work=Correio Popular |url=https://correio.rac.com.br/entretenimento/estudantes-da-unicamp-indios-wauja-encantam-com-suas-ceramicas-e-adornos-1.5097 |access-date=24 September 2023}}</ref>

== Coming of age == Boys come of age when they turn 10 years old. The male initiation ritual, ''pohoka'', in which the boy's ear is pierced, usually occurs during August. During the period of the pohoka, the boy cannot eat fish, and his parents and godparents cannot have sexual intercourse. Flutes are played for the preceding day, and the night before the piercing, villagers sing until dawn.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Mello |first=Maria Ignez Cruz |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/30361941.pdf |title=Música e mito entre os Wauja do Alto Xingu |publisher=Federal University of Santa Catarina |year=1999 |location=Florianópolis |language=pt |access-date=24 September 2023 }}</ref>

Girls come of age when they begin menstruating, though the female initiation ritual, ''kajatapá'', is only done on girls who are to become ''amuluneju'' (female leader). Singing is held throughout the day, and nearby villages are invited to attend. Guests go fishing before returning to the village to dance. There are fights between men and women, before the singing resumes. ''Kajatapá'' concludes when the older women of the village put a cord, ''uluri'', on the initiated girls.<ref name=":3" />

== Festivals == ''Akãi'' occurs between September and November when souari nuts begin falling from the trees. Men collect wood to create a ''matapu'', an instrument which is created and stored in the ''kuwakuho'', where women are forbidden from entering. When the ''matapu'' is played, women remain in their homes with the door closed so they cannot see it. Once the noise ends, people leave their homes and bring food to the central square. After eating, men sing ''kuri'' and settle disputes. The festival lasts five days.<ref name=":1" />

''Lamurikuma'' takes place during the dry season at a date decided by the ''amunaw-iyajo''. Neighbouring villages are invited to take part. Women wear headdresses, armbands and body paint and sing together. During ''lamurikuma'' it is traditional for women to express their displeasure with men in the village square, and during the celebrations, women can often take part in fights.<ref name=":3" />

== Religion == The Wauja believe in shamanism with a central tenet being that the human soul is fragmented and susceptible to disease from the ''apapaatai'', dangerous non-human spirits who can also provide some benefits for people in some circumstances.<ref name=":2" /> Diseases caused by the ''apapaatai'' can only be treated by shamans, who are split into three groups: the ''yakapá'', who identifies the ''apapaatai'' or sorcerer who caused the disease; the ''pukaiwekeho'', who sings healing songs; and the ''yatamá'', responsible for tobacco smoke (''hoká'') that can cause healing. Men and women can both be shamans, though women are unable to reach the highest training. Villages without shamans are able to use shamans in other villages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neto |first=Aristóteles Barcelos |date=2001 |title=O universo visual dos xamãs wauja (Alto Xingu) |url=https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/1958 |journal=Journal de la Société des Américanistes |language=pt |volume=87 |pages=137–160 |via=Open Edition}}</ref>

For more serious diseases caused by ''apapaatai'', a feast called ''pukai'' is held, funded by the patient. Once cured, the patient must hold a ''pukai'' repeatedly for a set amount of time determined by the shaman to appease the ''apapaatai''.<ref name=":2" />

=== Eschatology === The Wauja believe that after death, the soul goes to the land of the dead (''ywuejokupoho'') where they must walk along a path (''yakunapu'') to the ''ietula'' tree. During the journey, they are protected by ''apapaatai'' who allied themselves to them when they were alive. At the tree, the soul must climb a ladder (''mapi'ya'') alone. The soul of someone who dies in an accident goes to Tamalaipoho, a village in ''ywuejokupoho'', where they can be visited by shamans.<ref name=":1" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.nmai.si.edu/searchcollections/results.aspx?regid=493 Waurá artwork], National Museum of the American Indian * https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/wauja/1115 * https://www.native-languages.org/waura.htm

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wauja}} Category:Xingu peoples Category:Indigenous peoples in Brazil Category:Indigenous peoples of the Amazon