Kuarup- Reunion

10-Sep-21
Bob Carneiro
KUARUP– Reunion

Here’s a program from our archives.

Kuarup music
This month in the Brazilian Amazon, members of the nine villages who inhabit a region called the upper Xingu will come together to take part in the Kuarup ceremony, a two day event which is meant both to honor the souls of departed ancestors, and to provide an annual occasion for reunion.
I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. We’re listening to the sounds of the Kuarup ceremony.

Robert Carneiro is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History.

“The Kuarup has sort of parallel functions. One is the supernatural one of commemorating, honoring the souls of important people who are no longer living. But a more important function is the social function. It brings the nine villages together. It integrates them because not only do they jointly hold the ceremony, but they wrestle against each other. After the wrestling is over there’s trade. Friendships are reestablished. Marriages are contracted at that time. A girl might be in seclusion, about to come out, and she’s paraded before all the young bucks and maybe someone will want to marry her. So that a lot of things take place as a result of the Kuarup which are socially significant to the tribes of the area.

“They like to travel. For some of the villages that are further away from the host village it might represent a couple days of travel and it’s fun. It’s a big outing. You know, they know they’re not going to get wet going through the woods because it’s the dry season And it’s really something there’s a lot of anticipation for.”

You’ve been listening to a program from our archives. Check out our website, pulseplanet.com for a link to my latest project – a work of fiction. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

Kuarup- Reunion

The Kuarup ceremony is cause for reunion among the nine villages which inhabit the upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon.
Air Date:09/10/2021
Scientist:Bob Carneiro
Transcript:

10-Sep-21 Bob Carneiro KUARUP-- Reunion Here's a program from our archives. Kuarup music This month in the Brazilian Amazon, members of the nine villages who inhabit a region called the upper Xingu will come together to take part in the Kuarup ceremony, a two day event which is meant both to honor the souls of departed ancestors, and to provide an annual occasion for reunion. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. We're listening to the sounds of the Kuarup ceremony. Robert Carneiro is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History. "The Kuarup has sort of parallel functions. One is the supernatural one of commemorating, honoring the souls of important people who are no longer living. But a more important function is the social function. It brings the nine villages together. It integrates them because not only do they jointly hold the ceremony, but they wrestle against each other. After the wrestling is over there's trade. Friendships are reestablished. Marriages are contracted at that time. A girl might be in seclusion, about to come out, and she's paraded before all the young bucks and maybe someone will want to marry her. So that a lot of things take place as a result of the Kuarup which are socially significant to the tribes of the area. "They like to travel. For some of the villages that are further away from the host village it might represent a couple days of travel and it's fun. It's a big outing. You know, they know they're not going to get wet going through the woods because it's the dry season And it's really something there's a lot of anticipation for." You've been listening to a program from our archives. Check out our website, pulseplanet.com for a link to my latest project - a work of fiction. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.