Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
whose territories were several hundred kilometers apart. Each group, I
was told, had a customary campsite around the borders of
Echo Querui,
or Big Salt, and together their camps encircled the white expanse. Each
group would announce its arrival with self-identifying shouts. As one Du-
codegoto elder from Campo Loro put it, “Before, the fires of the Ayoreo
went all the way around.” Everyone agreed that Echoi belonged to no
single band but, rather, “belonged to all Ayoreode.”
The place called echoi was for all of the human Beings, including the direquednejn-
aigosode and the Totobiegosode. It is a place that does not belong to anyone, and no
one can remain there to call it their own. It is a place that all human Beings can arrive
at and pass through without fear.
Furthermore, all the elders agreed that there was a permanent peace in
effect within the boundaries of Echoi. They said it was
puyaque
, prohib-
ited or taboo, to wage war or incite conflicts with another group while
camped at Echoi. As a Tiegosi man from Campo Loro told me,
Long ago, there was no war separating us. echoi was like that time. A boy never had
to carry his spear when he left the camp. no one ever thought to kill another person,
and no one ever thought that another person would be waiting to kill him. Young men
would go and visit other people. They weren't afraid of the others before because there
was no war there.
During stays that varied from several days to six weeks, people from dif-
ferent groups played games focused on reciprocal giving such as
para-
chiapidi
,
carui
,
cukoi
,
pimechekua
, and
pu'uguyapidi
. These games were a
prelude to more extensive exchanges of gifts between different groups.
Exchange at Echoi, according to such memories, mimicked the exchange
between
urasade
co-band members in that it was also ideally focused on
an exchange of equivalents rather than material accumulation. This was
known as
yico oredie
, or “we exchange shadow / images.” Thus, one group
would give turtles and receive palm hearts. These palm hearts might be
given to another group in exchange for turtles, or any one of a number
of items perceived to be equivalent, such as one ball of
dajudie
twine, one
full
catojnai
honey gourd, one armadillo, or one piece of larger game ani-
mals such as peccaries or giant anteaters. These items were common and
readily available to any Ayoreo group. Gift giving sometimes even in-
cluded the exchange of identical items, for example, a turtle for a turtle. I
was told that exchange at Echoi did not include any formal or large-scale
exchange of highly valued items such as metal axes or materials specific
