Hands Around the World

Indian Cultures from Around the World

Wai-Wai Indians

Area: Rio Marpueria - Para, Brazil (Map)

Other Names: Waiwai

First Contact: 1613

Population: Brazil - 2020 (2000), Guyana - 130 (2000)

Language Root: Karib

Economy: Art work and Agriculture

 

The Wai-Wai (or Waiwai) reside in the north central area of the Brazilian Amazon close to the border of Venezuela and also in Guyana. River rapids and waterfalls help to stem the invasion of farming and logging industries.  However, Western influence is severely corrupting the traditional tribal culture. They have converted to Christianity with their own native pastors. The Wai-Wai are an extremely artistic tribe that make beautiful baskets and many other objects including pottery, woven combs, bone flutes, bows and arrows, blowguns, graters, beaded aprons, necklaces, and other crafts.  Their material culture alone is rich in every medium that they have chosen to pursue. They are very good working with feathers and usually decorate whatever they produce with small tufts of feathers. They do amazing work with seeds, covering lion cloths, rattles and jewelry with elaborately woven cloth made of tiny seeds. The seeds they use to weave are called Tururri seeds, though they also sometimes use Job's Tears seeds cut in half.

The Wai-Wai live in the interior of the rain forest. They use slash and burn techniques called swidden agriculture for small planting areas. They are expert hunters of native fauna such as monkeys and birds. The Curare poison is still used on their arrow tips when hunting in the rain forest canopy. Their traditional dances are known for imitating the movements and calls of various forest animals and birds. The Wai-Wai form bands or tribes and their technology is characterized by lightweight, flexible basketry. Their background is part of the Cariban Indian linguistic group.

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Loin Cloths are made of tiny tururri seeds painstakingly strung and woven together to produce a beautifully textured garment. It is worn around the waist, ties in the back and is trimmed with feather danglers.

Wai Wai hand woven men's vanity basket - used to store feathers and face paint or by shamen to store ritualistic paraphernalia such as rattles and hallucinogenic drugs - 9 1/2" square

Hand woven basket with feather danglers, 9 to 11" tall and 6 1/2 to 7" in diameter.

Necklaces

Ceremonial Rattles

Shaman cylindrical twill weave rattle.

Combs play an important role in the life of the Amazon Indian. Combs are not only used as grooming tools, but are used to comb out evil spirits or negative energy. Combs are always an important item in a shaman's basket so that the negative energy may be removed after a ceremony. These Wai-wai combs are hand made of natural reeds and fibers and trimmed with colorful feathers.

Sling-type baby carrier is made of bark cloth and decorated with natural pigment and a feather danglers, 47" long and 4" wide.

Flute

 

Power stools carved out of a single piece of wood by the Wai Wai Indians of Brazil and British Guyana. These seats for the shaman or headman are painted with the reddish paint derived from the Urucu pod. The black designs are masticated charcoal, approx. 19 inches long.

 

Additional Information

Socioambiental.org

Suriname before Columbus

EarthLink - with photos

Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology - with photos

Library of Congress Online Catalog

• Farabee, William Curtis, 1865-1925. Central Arawaks, by William Curtis Farabee. 1918
• Farabee, William Curtis, 1865-1925. Central Caribs, by William Curtis Farabee. 1924
• Farabee, William Curtis, 1865-1925. Pioneer in Amazonia: the narrative of a journey from Manaos to Georgetown. [By] William Curtis Farabee ... 1917
• Fock, Niels. Waiwai; religion and society of an Amazonian tribe. With appendices by Fridolin Weis Bentzon and Robert E. Hawkins. 1963
• Dowdy, Homer E. Christ's witchdoctor: from savage sorcerer to jungle missionary. 1963.

SIBi Net - Rede de Servicos do SIBi/USP

• Yde, Jens.; Material culture of the Waiwái. Copenhagen, National Museum, 1965.
• Guppy, Nicholas.; Wai-Wai:through the forests north of the Amazon. London, Murray [1958].
• Coudreau, Henri A;   France equinoxiale. Paris : Challamel Aine, 1887.
• Schomburgk, Moritz Richard, 1811-1891.;  Richard Schomburgk's Travels in British Guiana, 1840-1844 /Richard Schomburgk ; translated and edited by Walter E. Roth. Georgetown, [British Guiana] : "Daily Chronicle", 1922-23.
• Schomburgk, Robert H. Sir, 1804-1865. (Robert Hermann),;  Twelve views in the interior of Guiana: from drawings executed by Mr. Charles Bentley, after sketches taken during the expedition carried on in the years 1835 to 1839, under the direction of the Royal geographical society of London, and aided by Her Majesty's government. With descriptive letter-press, by Robert H. Schomburgk ... London, Ackermann and co., 1841.

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