book chapter

Expedition for the exploration of the Xingu in the year 1884

F. A. Brockhaus • Leipzig • Published In 1886 • Pages:

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

Abstract

This document is a detailed travel report of the von den Steinen expedition through the Xingu area of Brazil by canoe from June through October of 1884. During these five months, the expedition visited the villages of at least four different tribes, and encountered members of a number of additional tribes. The data are presented in the format of a travel account, and include both geographical and anthropological observations, plus information gleaned from interviews. On geography, there is good coverage of climate, topography, flora and fauna. The anthropological data cover a broad range of topics from descriptive somatology to language, but few topics are treated in any depth, and the information is largely limited to those facets which could be easily observed, such as population and settlement patterns, subsistence activities, travel and transportation, material culture, and so forth. Various tribes are treated in the order in which they were encountered by the expedition. The following is a list of the tribes covered, together with page references, and the length of time spent with each tribe: Bacairi, pp. 1-63, 14 June-24 August; Custenau, pp. 64-71, 27 August; Trumani, pp. 72-80, 31 August -- group of travelers, no village seen; Suva, pp. 84-112, 3 September - 11 September; Manitsaua, pp. 100-101, 5 September -- a few captives in a Suya village; and Yuruna, pp. 116-149, ca. 21 September - ca. 11 October. Some Bacairi legends are given on pages 149-153, and there is an excellent end map showing the area traveled and the location of the tribal villages visited.

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

1884

Coverage Date

1884

Coverage Place

Xingu River, Mato Grosso and Pará States, Brazil

Notes

Karl von den Steinen

Translation of: [Durch Central-Brasilien. Expedition zur erforschung des Schingú im jahre 1884. Von Karl von den Steinen. Mit über 100 text- und separatbildern von Wilhelm von den Steinen, 12 separatbildern von Johannes Gehrts, einer specialkarte des Schingústroms von Otto Clauss, einer ethnographischen kartenskizze und einer übersichtskarte]

The original German text is not included

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

Only pages 98-133, 157-84, 191-215, 219-26, 235-44, 251-67, and 282-85, plates facing pages 322 and 326, and p. 367, and end map are included

LCCN

03021397

LCSH

Bakairi Indians