The True People – Transcript

Ref. 0595

We are the A’uwe Uptabi, the true people.

We are the first inhabitants of the land.

We came from where the sun rises, from the roots of the sky.

The sky already exists, but was still in formation.

It was like a wave, rising up on only one side.

The ancient people did not want the sky

So they tried to cut it down with an axe.

They struck and opened a hole in the sky,

But it immediately closed again.

They continued to chop and the holes kept closing.

So they gave up chopping.

And that was how the sky was created.

Here in Eteniritipa, we maintain the force of Creation alive.

We are the true people.

We cut our hair like this, pluck our eyebrows and lashes, we use the ceremonial tie, earrings and our black and red body paint from urucum, charcoal and jenipap, and our cord bracelts and anklets.

We guard our people’s history in memory.

And keep our history alive by oral tradition.

By recounting from one to another.

The word is passed from generation to generation.

The Ho is the house of the adolescents.

There we live in seclusion, all the boys of one generation.

Learning the foundations of our Tradition from our godfathers.

When we are in the Ho, we are called wapte.

Here we are prepared for life.

The knowledge and the ceremonies of our people are taught in the Ho by our godfathers.

The Wa’I is the ceremonial fight between the godfathers and the Wapte.

We fight the Wa’I during the five years of learning in the Ho.

The Riteiwa, those who have already pierced their ears and left the Ho also fight the Wa’I to show the whole village their strength and preparation, in defeating the godfathers of the Wapte.

This is how we continue to pass on to future generations the Tradition inherited from our ancestors.

Uiwede is a race carrying the trunk of the Buriti palm.

The ancient people already ran the Uiwede.

They cut the Buriti palm and prepared the logs, just as we do today.

Before the race, the two groups prepare themselves with paint and decorations.

They painted themselves red with urucum amd black with charcoal.

They decorated themselves with necklaces, strung with the teeth of the capybara, with ceremonial ties and cord bracelets and anklets.

Each team has members of various generations and is chosen from the two clans of the Proezaono and the Owawe.

The log is passed from shoulder to shoulder, and run a great distance to the centre of the village.

You have to run hard!

You have to overcome your fatigue, support the weight of the log and win the race.

The team has to represent the Ho: it must win in the name of the house here the Tradition is learned.

The piercing of the ear is a ceremony involving the whole village.

The generations that have already completed their training are responsible for passing the tradition on to the young.

The boys that are graduating have to show the strength inside each one of them.

They must show that they have learned the teachings and are ready for life. It is a decisive moment. Because we will return to live with our families and must behave like adults.

The Wanaridobe is the true expression of the identity of the A’uwe people. This teaching was heard and learned by the ancients from our ancestors the Sarewa.