book chapter

Among the primitive peoples of Central Brazil: a travel account and the results of the Second Xingu Expedition 1887-1888

D. Reimer (Hoefer & Vohsen) • Berlin • Published In 1894 • Pages:

By: Steinen, Karl von den, Schütze, Frieda.

Abstract

The principal members of this second von Steinen expedition, in addition to Karl, were his cousin, Wilhelm, an artist, Dr. Paul Ehrenreich, who did photography and anthropometric measurements, and Dr. Peter Vogel, whose interests were geography and geology. Approximately two months -- from 10 September 1887 to 13 November 1887 -- were spent traveling among the tribes located along the Kulisehu River, in the Upper Xingu area. The villages of seven different tribes were visited, the tribes being the Bacairi, the Nahuqua, the Mehinaku, the Aueto, the Yaulapiti, the Kamayura , and the Trumai. A few informants from two other tribes -- the Waura and the Yaruma -- were also interviewed, although their villages were not often seen. About one month -- i.e. half of the total time -- was spent with the Bacairi, and it is their culture that is described most thoroughly. In fact, this undoubtedly constitutes the basic source on Bacairi ethnography. Villages of the other tribes were visited for periods of up to only several days each. In contrast to the report of the first expedition (cf. 1:Steinen, this file), only the opening section of this report (pp. 1-126) is in the format of a travel account. The bulk of the monograph (pp. 126-410) consists of a detailed and valuable comparative topical description of anthropological data from the various Kulisehu tribes. The coverage includes both physical anthropology and the full range of ethnographic topics, as well as some culture history. Many of von den Steinen's analytical interpretations are highly speculative, but these do not detract from the value of the data per se. The most serious weakness, as might be expected, is the very inadequate treatment of social organization. This comparative section is followed by three chapters (pp. 411-515) focusing mainly on a few other aspects of Bacairi culture, such as mythology, culture history, and art. Some comparative data are also included here, but to a lesser degree. Next comes a short description of Paressi ethnography (pp. 515-540). These data were obtained from interviews with twelve Paressi informants summoned to the town of Cuyaba for this purpose in February 1888. The final major section of the book (pp. 540-652) consists of a very interesting and useful description of various aspects of Bororo ethnography. Some Bororo informants were interviewed at Cuyaba in July 1887, and March 1888; but most of the data was obtained during a one month period of field research in a recently established settlement. In 1886, the Bororo of the Cuyaba region were settled by the Brazilian government in two military colonies on the S. Lourento River. One of these, the colony of Thereza Christina located at the junction of the Prata River, was the research locale during the period 15 March 1888 to 18 April 1888. This source concludes with an Appendix (pp. 653-663) consisting of an orthographic note and archival data on various Mato Grosso tribes, and the end map reproduced on pp. 664-684.

HRAF PubDate

2004

Region

South America

Sub Region

Amazon and Orinoco

Document Type

book chapter

Evaluation

Creator Types

Physician

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Robert O. Lagacé ; 1966-1967

Field Date

1887-1888

Coverage Date

1884-1888

Coverage Place

along the Kulisehu River, in the Upper Xingu area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Notes

Karl von den Steinen

Translation of: [Unter den naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens. Reiseschilderung und Ergebnisse der Zweiten Schingú-expedition, 1887-1888]

The original German text is not included

The report of the author's first expedition was published, Leipzig, 1886, under title: Durch Central-Brasilien. Expedition zur erforschung des Schingú im jahre 1884

Translated for the HRAF files by Frieda Schütze in 1966-1967

Only frontispiece, title page, and pages v-xv, 46-132, 153-518, 523-552, 563-571, and end map are included

LCCN

06008168

LCSH

Bakairi Indians