Head-dress

The Karajá have kept their tradition of deft artisans. Men are excellent feather workers and basket makers, while women are ceramists. Karajá feather work is characterized by its sumptuousness and magnificence, as well as the use of bright colours. Among the ornithological species used are the jabiru, spoonbill, heron, wild duck, and the red and blue macaws; domestic birds are also used. Domestic animals have a symbolic rendering of xerimbabos (a Tupi word designating animals that live together with humans in the indigenous villages; it could be roughly translated as “pet” or “companion”, however is more intimate and inclusive). Karajá feather work is done for children and single young men, with each type of ornament varying according to sex, age, and the kind of celebration feast in which it is used. Among body ornaments which are now part of young men’s ceremonial attire, special attention is given to the bright feather head ornaments which, when fastened behind the head, open in fan-shaped formation, to sashes, with feathers and plumes neatly combined with different sorts of material and to disk-shaped earrings resembling flowers.