Wari'
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- For alternate uses, see Wari.
WARNING: Info on cannibalism may be unsettling for some. Discretion is recommended.
The Wari', also known as the Pakaa Nova, are an Amerindian nation indigenous to the Amazon tropical forest.
They are native to the state of Rondônia, Brazil and were first seen by white settlers at the shores of the river Pakaa Nova (hence their original name), which is a right-bank-tributary of the Mamoré River. They prefer to be referred to by foreigners as "Wari'", a word in their native language (see below), which is part of the Txapakura family of languages.
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Population and location
Along with the Torá, the Moré (or Itenes) and the OroWin, the Wari' are the last of the Txapakura linguistic group. Other groups, such as the Urupá were exterminated by the white.
Up until the 19th century, the Wari' were present in the Amazon's Southeast, namely the basin of the Lage river (a right-bank-tributary river of the Mamoré River), the Ouro Preto river, the Gruta and Santo André creeks, the Negro river (all tributaries of the lower and middle courses of the right bank of the Pakaa Nova river), the Ribeirão river and the Novo river (those last, tributaries of the left bank of the Pakaa Nova river).
In the early 20th century, continuous incursions by the white in search of rubber trees forced them to relocate to the less accessible headwaters of the Mamoré River, to where they were confined until the pacification.
Today, they live in eight settlements, located in five different Reservations within the state of Rondônia. Their present population is estimated in 1,930 individuals (1998 census).
Denomination and ethnicity
The Wari' have no word that defines them as a group or race. The word "Wari'", which is used by outsiders in reference to them, has a few meanings. It is the pronoun for the first person plural inclusive: "we", but it can also be translated as "people" and "human being". Other tribes that live in the region have always referred to them using that term, and they rather the white (to whom they refer to as "civilized people", arguably because that is what white people called themselves when they first made contact) observe it as well.
The tribe is divided into ethnic subgroups, but no word exists to define an individual that belongs to a different group, and the term usually applied is tatirim (stranger). A person from the same ethnic subgroup is referred to as win ma (land fellow).
Today, the Wari' subgroups are: the OroNao, the OroEo, the OroAt, the OroMon, the OroWaram and the OroWaramXijein. Some individuals, however, still identify themselves with two other subgroups that no longer exist: the OroJowin and the OroKaoOroWaji. Oro is a collectivizing particle that can be translated as "people" or "group".
Relations between subgroups
Present relations between subgroups are still influenced by the dynamics that existed before the pacification (see below). Each subgroup is intimately connected to a territory, which consists of a set of areas, all identifyed by name, each inhabited by a "local group".
The frontiers between territories, however, are somewhat fluid, since an area that is associated with any given subgroup can be incorporated into the territory of another subgroup simply by demonstration that the area is now occupied by a local group that belongs to another subgroup. That is made possible by the semi-nomad characteristic of the people (see below).
Membership to any given subgroup is also deprived of fix rules. Children may be considered members of either one of the parents's subgroup (which are often not the same) or even of the subgroup associated with the territory in which they were born. Cultural or ethnic identities are not things one is born to, but rather constructed during a lifetime, through the relations with one's relatives and neighbors. In addition to it, the Wari' experience what could be defined as a "multiple identity", since different people classify any given individual differently.
Standard of living
Every subgroup is organized around a set of brothers, each of whom are often married to a group of sisters. Polygyny, especially sororal polygyny, is in the very base of Wari' society. Any village is made up of nuclear families and a separate house, called "the men's house", which serves as a dormitory for single adolescents and as a meeting place for adults.
Any given couple usually varies their place of residence, shifting between the woman's parents's and the man's parents's (those are nuclear houses). No specific rule exists.
The Wari' are not completely sedentary (semi-nomad), and their villages only stay at the exact same location for a period not exceeding five years. They are, however, always located in dry lands, away from flooded areas but by the shores of small, year-round rivers.
A maize swidden, from whence the Wari' derive their staple crop, always surrounds the village. So pivotal is their relationship with the earth that the availability of the ideal earth for corn growing (black earth) plays a key role in the definition of the location upon which to set up a village. It is also reflected in their very language, since a person from the same subgroup is called "land fellow" (see above).
Warfare and cannibalism
Nowadays the Wari' are a peaceful people, but before the pacification they were often involved in warfare with neighboring tribes (especially the Tupi and other Txapakura peoples). Their most remarkable victories occurred over the Karipuna, a Tupi ethnicity, and the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau. With the white "invasion" in the early 20th century, the focus of their warfare shifted and they lost contact with the old wijam (enemy).
The Wari' consider enemies as "former Wari'" who have distanced themselves to the point of severing cultural exchanges. In spite of that, a Wari' warrior made no differentiation between an enemy and an animal, thus being highly unlikely to be merciful or gratious. The bow and arrow was the primary weapon in Wari' warfare.
Once the battles were over, the Wari' warriors would bring home the bodies of the fallen enemies whenever possible. Those bodies would be cut up and served to the women and younger men that had stayed home, as a means to strengthen the group. Those who had participated in the battle would retreat to the "men's house" and subject to a quarantine, a period during which they would move around as little as possible, staying in their hammocks for most of the day and feeding only from doses of unfermented chicha, a typical drink. The purpose was to "keep the enemy's blood within the warrior's body", thus giving him strength. Intercorse was also prohibited, as they expected the blood of the enemy to "turn into semen", thus allowing the strength of the enemy to pass on to their children in the future. The warrior was not allowed to partake in the eating of the fallen enemies, because it was believed that since he had kept the enemy's blood within and in part made it his own, the act would be self-cannibalism and result in the death of the warrior. Children were also prohibited from eating dead enemies. The quarantine would end when the women declared their unwillingness to continue preparing such big quantities of chicha.