Objects and identity: hammocks and canoes

In addition to canoes, hammock are made. The hammock are gendered objects, as is the canoe. That means that the women in the village identify with making hammocks, while men identify with canoes. Women that are acknowledged as very competent hammock makers are refered to as Moyoty, the same as men.

Connected to these art making practise are a range of stories, or myths, that refer back to their ancestors and how they managed to acquire this knowledge. A general structure in the stories is that an object, tool, or phenomenon has its origin in a human. For example, one story about the origin of threads for hammock tells of a young woman that is wakes up alone in the forest. Her family has abandoned her. She searches everywhere for her family, but she is unable to locate them. After a while she transforms herself into the Ohidu palm. Her hair is transformed into the palm leaves that the Warao extract palm fibers, her arms into the branches one can make spears for fishing, and the body into the palm stem, that the Warao can extract palm starch. All this she does so that she will make herself indispensable for the Warao.

This myth also referes over to some of the changes that has occurred during the last decades among the Warao. Earlier, palm starch was the major subsistence among the, while today they have turned to gardening. In their gardens they grow Ure, a tuber originally imported from Sri Lanka. The Cappuchin missionaries, eager to spread the gospel of God, found it hard to do the job when the Waraos where far into the forest looking for Ohidu palm. The palm often grows far from the major rivers, and the Warao turned to the forest to find their food. Gardening on the other hand, made it possible to stay all year closer to the major rivers. Today, all the people in my village had gardens, while it was very rear that anyone would make palm starch.

But, even though they did not make palm starch, this palm still have major significance. It is from this palm that they gather grubs (larva's), make small arrows to hunt birds, spears for fishing, and most importantly, fibers for making hammocks.

Fishing and gardening is probably the most important day to day activities, alongside hunting and gathering. In this society, men's and woman's worlds are separated: Men fish, woman make food; women make hammocks, men make canoes; Men build houses, woman make food. Though decision regarding village life is taken by the men, women exercise influence over their men. Especially when it comes to the dividing the food, which is a woman prerogative.