Location: The Cayua is a culture that lives in southwestern Brazil and adjacent Paraguay
Language: The Cayua are a Guarani speaking people.
Economy: The Cayua practice horticulture (slash and burn technique). Their primary crops are manioc, sweet potatoes, and corn, but they also grow papayas, watermelon, bananas, pineapples, beans and squash. Watson says that the aboriginal Cayua had women working in agriculture. The Cayua are also food gatherers and hunters. Cayua men did the hunting and fishing while the women did the farming and food gathering. The Cayua hunted armadillo, deer, paca (rodents), wild pigs, anta (a relative of the hippopotamus and horse), and several types of birds. Some of the weapons used were bow and arrow, and hunting clubs. These weapons were also used to solve war and personal disputes. Women gathered wild plants, fruits and insects such as ants and certain grubs.
Dwelling: The Cayua live in large long houses called Tapui. Their furniture is simple, low wooden benches and hammocks. The pottery is made by Cayua women. The most common vessel is the gourd which is still used today.
Transportation: Modern day Cayua don’t use canoes as much as the earlier Cayua, due to habitat changes.
Leadership: In Cayua culture, the shaman is the spiritual leader and doctor.
The Cayua moved to dense forests to avoid contact with the Europeans. Early Cayua used canoes to navigate streams and travel to new sites to farm, hunt and gather food. The kinship system is patrilineal, and the oldest man heads the household and is the shaman.
The use of stimulants and narcotics by most tropical forest Indians play an important role in magic and religious practices of most forest Indians. The shaman in the Tupinamba tribe fumigates his rattle with tobacco to help him see the future. Alcohol which is made from manioc, corn and other plants is also used in religious festivals.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Cayua.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Cayua, your feedback is much appreciated.
Watson, James B. (April, 1952). Cayua Culture Change: A Study in Acculturation and Methodology Vol. 54 No2
South American Forest Peoples. Encyclopedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-57786
Written by: Alfonso Cabrera