Book

The Eastern Timbira

Universtiy of California Press41 • Published In 1946 • Pages: x, 357 , 42 plates

By: Nimuendaju, Curt, Lowie, Robert Harry.

Abstract
The study is based upon detailed historical research on the Ge, and specifically the Timbira peoples, and considerable field investigation among the Timbira tribes as detailed herewith: Kreye, Apanyekra, Kreye of Cajuapara, Kukoekamekra, Krikati, Krepumkateye were visited or informants from these tribes were interviewed on visits. In these instances the author was principally concerned with securing a word list. These visits covered the period 1913-1930. Nimuendaju spent two months among the Kraho in 1930 and six months with the Timbira of Araprytua in 1914-15, but his main field research was among the Ramkokamekra with whom he stayed for a total of thirteen and one half months, distributed through the years: 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, and 1936. The author gives a comprehensive and critical summary of the classifications of the Ge peoples in which his vast first-hand knowledge is decisive. Even more thorough is his account of the history of the Timbira and the component tribes. The bulk of the description of the contemporary Timbira refers to the Ramkokamekra (to which our field date exclusively refers), although relevant information on the other Timbira tribes is incorporated throughout. Most aspects of Timbira culture are treated by topics, but much additional information may be gleaned from the detailed descriptions of the major festivals. These latter are only superficially analyzed by the author who does not always clearly define the roles of the participant societies nor interrelate the different components of the social structure. The failure of Nimuendaju to interpret much of his data in no way impairs the excellent quality of the source which bristles with critical observations of a participant in the culture, which he grew to know intimately over a twenty-three year period. An excellent bibliography (pp. 251-258) and glossary (pp. 259-261) are appended.
Subjects
Tribe and nation
Settlement patterns
Dwellings
Moieties
Age stratification
Puberty and initiation
Athletic sports
Rest days and holidays
External relations
Sodalities
Literary texts
Mythology
culture
Canela
HRAF PubDate
2012
Region
South America
Sub Region
Eastern South America
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Richard Schaedel ; 1955: John Beierle; 2011
Field Date
1928-1936
Coverage Date
1928-1936
Coverage Place
northeastern central steppes, Maranhão, Tocantins and eastern Pará, Brazil
Notes
Curt Nimuendaju ; translated and edited by Robert H. Lowie
Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-258)
LCCN
a 46001638
LCSH
Timbira Indians