The Mehinaku village is located approximately four-fifths of a kilometer east of the Rio Kulesau (one of the major tributaries of the Rio Xingu) in the Xingu National Park in central Brazil.
The Mehinaku are similar in their technology and culture to tribes of the South American tropical forest, but they are located just beyond the southernmost extension of true rain forest in central Brazil.
First marriages are usually arranged by parents and involve a young woman (of approximately 14 years) and an older man (approximately 18 years). The ritual of marriage is quite simple. The young man’s hammock is carried across the village plaza to his bride’s house, while the men of tribe, assembled in front of the men’s house, imitate the cries of a newborn baby (“wa, wa, wah …”) to ensure that the marriage will be fecund.
Once settled in the bride’s house, the groom must provide a wide range of services for his wife’s family, including fishing, cutting a garden, and making a canoe. Only after the birth of several children can he move back to his own house. In practice, however, the rules of postmarital residence are quite flexible, so that some of the villagers live in the house of the groom, and others switch back and forth as they and their parents wish.
Children are greatly valued. A woman who does not become pregnant is looked down upon and is very much ashamed. As soon as a child is born it is bathed and cradled by the mother in her hammock. The mother and infant will remain in intimate association, sleeping together in one hammock until the birth of a new infant (often about two and one-half years later).
The Mehinaku believe that their community is surrounded by spirits in the forest, the rivers, and the air. From the perspective of the villagers, there is a reciprocal relationship between them and the spirit world, in which they “take care” of the spirits and are themselves looked after in return.
