Nambiquara ‘Nomadism’; A final note

D. Price Nambiquara Nomadism; A final note In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 147 (1991), no: 1, Leiden, 146-149 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl KORTE MEDEDELING DAVID PRICE NAMBIQUARA 'NOMADISM': A FINAL NOTE In a trio of articles that appeared in this journal some ten to fifteen years ago, Paul Aspelin and I were concerned to demonstrate that the Nambiquara, of northern Mato Grosso, Brazil, are not seasonally nomadic, as portrayed by Claude Lvi-Strauss, but, in fact, have reasonably permanent villages and a wel1 established agricultural tradition (Aspelin 1976 and 1979; Lvi-Strauss 1948 and 1955; Price 1978). [...]there is no reason to believe that the alternation between hunting and gardening was seasonal, or that everyone in the village went off to hunt at the same time. [...]Carnier's observation that the gardens were 'always reasonably wel1 maintained' suggests that they were being tended at the time of Carnier's visit, which was in the dry season. When conjecture and interpretation are peeled away, there is nothing in Carnier's reports to suggest that the Nambiquara had a different mode of livelihood in 1908 than they did in 1968. Since my first paper was published in Bijdragen, I have gained a greater respect for Professor Lvi-Strauss's ethnography - especially his observations on exchange (1942) and leadership (1945).