Use of plants by the Yanomami

The following section on the use of plants by the Yanomami of Homoxi aims to give an overall impression of the use of plant resources in the region and to highlight some of the important species that may be appropriate for reafforestation or enrichment planting. However, it is by no means a complete ethnobotanical survey. [1]

Names

The plant names used by the Yanomami at Homoxi are in many cases substantially different from those used by the Yanomami groups in the lowlands (e.g. at Demini). They are, however, generally very similar to those used by the upland Yanomami at Xitei, further to the West.

Food plants

A wide range of wild species (primarily trees) is used for food by the Yanomami of Homoxi. A list of some of these species (based on interviews as well as collections) is given in Table 11. Some of these plants are relatively unimportant in the diet and are eaten opportunistically. Others, however, particularly those whose seeds provide a source of starch (and in some cases protein), can be of considerable importance at times of food shortage or during trekking periods.

Figure 1: Fruit of Caryocar pallidum - one of the important wild food plants at Homoxi

The Yanomami have considerable knowledge of the distribution pattern within the forest of the more important food trees. Micropholis melinoniana (apiahi), for example, was said to be sparsely distributed but widespread, whereas Caryocar pallidum (xooxomohi) is mainly restricted to the area west of Homoxi. Micrandra rossiana (momohi) is abundant and widespread but Clathrotropis macrocarpa (wapokohi), although widespread in the broad sense, tends to be found in clumps. Micropholis sp. (naihi) occurs close to Homoxi, as does Pseudolmedia laevis (asoasihi), but Oenocarpus bacaba (hokosiki) is only found a long way from Tirei with the exception of a few individuals. The latter was said to be partly due to large numbers having been cut down for their palm hearts by the builders who erected the Homoxi health post.

Other important species include hayihi and asoasihi (Pseudolmedia laevigata and P. laevis), mõramahi (Dacryodes roraimensis), xopahi (Helicostylis tomentosa) and potahi amohi (Trymatococcus amazonicus). The various species of edible Inga and Pourouma are also highly regarded.

Several species which are found in abundance in the lowland Yanomami areas and which provide important food sources for lowland communities are absent from the Homoxi region. Notable amongst these are Phenakospermum guyannense, Bertholletia excelsa and Caryocar villosum.

Table 1: Some wild food plants eaten at Homoxi and/or Yarit^ha

Species marked with an asterisk* are found at Yarit^ha but not Homoxi
Anacardium giganteum[2]	Anacardiaceae	oruxihi
Asplundia sp.[3]	Cyclanthaceae	yopomori kiki
Astrocaryum aculeatum G. Mey.	Palmae	ëri si
Astrocaryum gynacanthum	Palmae	soomo si
Bactris corosilla	Palmae	mirikiri hanaki
Bellucia grossularioides	Melastomataceae	makasihi
Brosimum acutifolium	Moraceae	kãri axihi
Byrsonima sp.	Malpighiaceae	atama asihi
Caryocar aff. glabrum	Caryocaraceae	ruamoxihi
Caryocar pallidum	Caryocaraceae	xooxomohi
Catostemma commune	Bombacaceae	xapu uhi
Cecropia sciadophylla	Moraceae	kahu usihi
Clathrotropis macrocarpa	Leguminosae	wapokohi
Couepia caryophylloides	Chrysobalanaceae	okohi
Dacryodes roraimensis	Burseraceae	mõramahi
Dioclea aff. malacocarpa	Leguminosae	kuapat^ha t^hot^ho
Euterpe precatoria *	Palmae	maimasi
Guatteriopsis blepharophylla	Annonaceae	moinatihi
Helicostylis tomentosa	Moraceae	xopahi
Herrania lemniscata	Sterculiaceae	xiaxiri unahi
Hymenaea parvifolia *	Leguminosae	arõ kohi
Inga acreana	Leguminosae	pahihi
Inga alba	Leguminosae	moximahi
Inga edulis.	Leguminosae	krepu uhi
Inga nobilis	Leguminosae	rerokoakasihi
Inga rhynchocalyx	Leguminosae	poatahi
Inga sp.	Leguminosae	kai hi
Inga sp.	Leguminosae	toxahi
Inga sp.	Leguminosae	wakamahi
Jessenia bataua*	Palmae	koanarima si
Loreya spruceana	Melastomataceae	pitimahi
Micrandra rossiana	Euphorbiaceae	momo hi
Micropholis melinoniana	Sapotaceae	apiahi
Micropholis sp.	Sapotaceae	yawarahi
Micropholis sp.	Sapotaceae	nai hi
Oenocarpus bacaba	Palmae	hokosiki
Passiflora coccinea	Passifloraceae	ma u t^hot^ho
Paullinia cf. ingifolia	Sapindaceae	hopu ahu t^hot^ho
Pourouma bicolor.	Moraceae	momihi mahi
Pourouma cf cucura[4]	Moraceae	maxitema ahi
Pourouma cf guianensis.	Moraceae	hayamasihi
Pourouma sp.	Moraceae	kahu akahamë
Pouteria hispida	Sapotaceae	yawaxihi
Pouteria sp.	Sapotaceae	ariahi
Pseudolmedia laevigata.	Moraceae	hayihi
Pseudolmedia laevis	Moraceae	asoasi hi
Socratea exorrhiza[5]	Palmae	manakasi
Theobroma bicolor *	Sterculiaceae	himoro amohi
Theobroma cacao *	Sterculiaceae	prorounahi
Theobroma subincanum *	Sterculiaceae	waiporounahi
Trymatococcus amazonicus	Moraceae	potahi amohi
‘Wild avocado’	Lauraceae	ahõi hi
Unknown	Unknown	t^hiria hi
Unknown	Unknown	xirixirihi
Unknown	Unknown	irima ahi
Unknown *	Unknown	makinahi

Introduced food plants

Most of the food plants that were introduced by the gold miners to the Homoxi region, with the exception of vinagreira (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and sesame (Sesamum indicum), are used by the Yanomami. The most significant of these is guava (Psidium guajava), which has become widely distributed over the mine workings and is eaten in considerable quantities.[6] Other fruit trees such as avocado, mango, cashew and lima are sparser, but their locations are well known[7] and in some cases have entered into the Yanomami’s ‘collection circuit’ in much the same way that pupunha (Bactris gasipaes) trees in long-abandoned gardens are periodically revisited for their fruits.

Cultivated food plants

The agricultuural system employed by the Yanomami at Homoxi was not studied in detail during the present survey. Detailed accounts can be found elsewhere (e.g. Smole, 1989). One phenomenon, however, that was discussed during the visit was the reduction in the number of cultivars of traditional food plants such as manion, taro, banana, sugar cane and maize.[8] This loss is undoubtedly the result, at least in part, of the influences and depradations suffered suring the time of the garimpo. Increasing dependence on a small number of cultivars leaves the Yanomami

Edible fungi

The Yanomami consume an unusually large number of species, many of which grow on the trunks of fallen trees lying in their gardens. These are generally collected by women.

Table 2: Some edible fungi collected in the Homoxi region

Yanomami name	Location	TENTATIVE scientific name*
amirima amoki	Forest
hamirima amoki	Forest	Collybia subpruinosa
haya kasikI	Forest	Lentinus tephroleucus
haya yamokaki amoki	Garden
hotahota kiki	Garden	Neoclitybe bissiseda
kasiki kőirama kiki	Garden
mahekoma kiki	Garden	Polyporus stipitarius
moxirima amoki	Forest	Filoboletus gracilis
nainama kiki	Forest	Collybia pseudocalopus
pokara amosiki	Garden	Pleurotus flabellatus
ũkũmũrima kiki	Forest
uxipirima amoki	Garden	Favolus spathulatus
waharima kiki	Riverine forest
xikirima amoki	Forest	Favolus brasiliensis

* These fungi were not collected at Homoxi: identifications are based at material collected during previous research by Milliken and Albert (1999) and Prance (1984), and are therefore tentative as names may vary from one part of the Yanomami territory to another.

Medicines

With the current availability of medical support from URIHI’s health post, the use of medicinal plants at Homoxi is limited. Their use tends to be confined to hunting and collecting trips when alternatives are not available. Thirty medicinal plant species were recorded during the survey, of which only two had not been previously recorded by Milliken & Albert (1996, 1997a). A selected list of these plants is given in the table below.

Table 3: Selected list of medicinal plants used at Homoxi

Abuta rufescens.	Menispermaceae	paari makasi t^hot^ho
Bauhinia guianensis.	Leguminosae	akanasima t^hot^ho
Chrysochlamys membranacea	Guttiferae	mamopeimahi
Clusia grandiflora.	Guttiferae	poripori t^hot^ho
Costus scaber	Zingiberaceae	naxuruma hanaki
Jacaranda copaia	Bignoniaceae	xotopori a
Ormosia steyermarkii.	Leguminosae	kamakari hi
Osteophloem platyspermum	Myristicaceae	ixoa hi
Peperomia rotundifolia	Piperaceae	t^hapra ximë kiki
Piper francovilleanum	Piperaceae	misipaima hanaki
Protium fimbriatum	Burseraceae	manimani a
Protium spruceanum	Burseraceae	warapa hohi
Renealmia alpinia	Zingiberaceae	mao korisi hanaki
Strychnos guianensis	Loganiaceae	omama hanaki
Tabernaemontana macrocalyx	Apocynaceae	akiamahi
Urera baccifera	Urticaceae	iranaki
Vismia guianensis	Guttiferae	sihiriama sihi

Construction

As well as listing the main construction materials during discussions, a rapid survey of the materials used in the Tirei maloca was carried out. Thatching can be done with the leaves of certain species of Geonoma palms (collectively known as yaa hanaki, of which four were listed. The preferred species, yaa hanaki yai, is not present in the Homoxi area but each of the other had been used in the roof at Tirei.[9]

The trees most commonly used for the upright posts were horetohi, okohi, xihinahi, xitokomahi and yawarahi. Another species said to be particularly resistant and therefore suitable for this purpose was tihihi. The rafters were almost all made from hapamahi and kotoparisihi, which tend to grow straight and slender. Hapamahi was also commonly used for the tie-beams (as was ware axihi). The slats for supporting the thatch were made from the split stems of horomasi and manakasi, and the outer wall of the house was also made from manakasi wood.

The supplies of thatch in the area are limited, and Geonoma leaves now have to be brought from some considerable distance away. These species grow relatively slowly, and very large numbers are needed for roofing a maloca of considerable size such as Tirei. It is therefore not uncommon for them to be in short supply in such areas where communities have become relatively sedentary (e.g. on account of the availability of healthcare in a fixed location).[10] Taitasi hanaki can be found close to the Malária airstrip, on the lower Rainatipi u and on the middle T^hoot^hot^hopi u. Maraxi hanaki grows on the upper Apiahipi u and the middle T^hoot^hot^hopi u, tipinamasi hanaki on the upper Kunaat^hepiu, and yaa hanaki yai close to the Pau Grosso airstrip.

Table 4: Some species used in house construction at Homoxi

Chimarrhis sp.	Rubiaceae	xitomahi
Couepia caryophylloides	Chrysobalanaceae	okohi
Croton palanostigma	Euphorbiaceae	kotoparisihi
Duguetia lepidota	Annonaceae	amat^hahi
Duguetia stelechantha	Annonaceae	hapamahi
Eschweilera sp.	Lecythidaceae	hokotihi
Eschweilera sp.	Lecythidaceae	mrakaunahi
Geonoma cf interrupta	Palmae	maraxi hanaki
Geonoma macrostachys. var. acaulis	Palmae	taitaisi
Geonoma sp.	Palmae	yaa hanaki yai
Geonoma sp.	Palmae	tipinama hanaki
Heteropteris flexuosa	Araceae	masikiki
Iriartella setigera	Palmae	horomasi
Licania cf heteromorpha.	Chrysobalanaceae	horetohi
Licania cf polita	Chrysobalanaceae	xihinihi
Micropholis sp.	Sapotaceae	yawarahi
Mouriri guianensis.	Melastomataceae	tihihi
Myrcia sp. (not seen)	Myrtaceae	warea xihi
Pouteria hispida	Sapotaceae	yawaxihi
Protium fimbriatum	Burseraceae	kururihi
Socratea exorrhiza.	Palmae	manakasi
Swartzia schomburgkii.	Leguminosae	xitokoma hi
Virola sp.	Myristicaceae	sikasikari a
Indet.	Annonaceae	seiseiunahi
Indet.	Leguminosae	rasasihi
Indet.	Indet.	kuato usihi

Hallucinogens

The most important element of Yanomami medicine is practiced by shamans, and involves invoking the powers of certain animals and (occasionally) plants in order to expel an illness from the body. At the time of the survey there were three shamans practising at Tirei, one at Xereu and six at Yarit^ha. The use of a hallucinogenic powder (snuff) is integral to these practices, and the key ingredient is the resin from the bark of the maxara a tree (Virola elongata). A complete list of the ingredients used in the Homoxi region is given below. No shortage of maxara a was reported.

Table 5: Some plants used in preparation of hallucinogenic snuff in the Homoxi region[11]

Duguetia lepidota	Annonaceae	amat^hahi
Duguetia stelechantha	Annonaceae	hapamahi
Elizabetha princeps	Leguminosae	amahi
Micropholis melinoniana	Sapotaceae	apiahi
Myrcia sp.	Myrtaceae	porehi
Theobroma cacao	Sterculiaceae	prorounahi
Virola elongata	Myristicaceae	maxara a
Unidentified lichen		pokoraxi

The other main source of hallucinogens used by Yanomami (in other parts of their territory) is derived from the seeds of Anadenanthera peregrina (paara a). This species grows well on impoverished ground and has been used in reafforestation projects elsewhere in Brazil. It does not occur naturally in the Homoxi region, and the question was raised as to whether its introduction (both as a means of reafforestation and as an alternative source of hallucinogens) might be desirable. This was treated with caution by the Yanomami. This species apparently produces a stronger and more dangerous drug which, if taken in excess by a shaman inexperienced in its use, can result in permanent mental damage.

Poisons

In areas such as Homoxi where no large fish are found, the most efficient means of fishing involves the use of fish poison plants. A large number of species, both wild and cultivated, is used for this purpose. Five such plants were mentioned at Homoxi of which one (Clibadium sylvestre) is cultivated and one (Licania sp.) had not previously been recorded among the Yanomami. Lonchocarpus sp., which was the favoured species in the past, is no longer found in the area.

Table 6: Fish poison plants used in the Homoxi region

Abuta rufescens.	Menispermaceae	paari makasi t^hot^ho
Caryocar aff. glabrum	Caryocaraceae	ruamoxihi
Cedrelinga catenaeformis	Leguminosae	apuruhi
Clibadium sylvestre	Compositae	warasi hanaki
Licania cf kunthiana	Chrysobalanaceae	pesi a
Lonchocarpus sp.	Leguminosae	kuna ãt^he

Arrow poison for hunting monkeys is produced from the resin from the trunk of Virola elongata (maxara a). In the past another type of arrow poison was made from a Strychnos vine (mão kori t^hot^ho), in combination with a number of other plants. This species was said to grow in the vicinity of Yaritha, but the practice has been discontinued.

Miscellaneous plant uses

Body paints are prepared from the fruits of cultivated Bixa orellana (naraxihi), from the sticky latex from the trunk of Couma macrocarpa (omanama axihi) mixed with powdered charcoal, from the leaves of Picramnia spruceana (which grows beside trails and watercourses), and from the small black fruits of an unidentified Euphorbiaceae (nananahi). The white latex of Tabernaemontana macrocalyx (akiamahi) can also be used as a source of a blackish body paint, which only takes on its colour after it has been on the body for some time.

The main basket-making material is derived from the aerial roots of Heteropsis flexuosa (cipó titica in Portuguese), which were said not to be in short supply in the Homoxi region.[12] This species, which is also used for tying together the components of the communal house, was said to be abundant on a tributary of the Yanoprai u called the Apiahipi u. It can also be found on the upper T^hoot^hot^hopi u (in the ‘chest’ of the hills), on the middle Rainatipi u, and on the Hayakoaripiu and the Kunaat^hepi u.

The Guadua bamboo used for making arrowhead quivers (wana) is absent in the Homoxi region, and the quivers have to be acquired through trade from neighbouring communities.

Introduced species

Apart from the food plants discussed above, there is little use made of the species that were introduced to the region either accidentally or deliberately by the gold miners. One exception, however, is the use of the tall grass Andropogon bicornis (pirima hiki) by the women, who wear pieces of the stems in their pierced lips. Prior to the arrival of the miners the women were said to have used sticks made from the wood of Alexa confusa (kirapa kohi) or Clathrotropis macrocarpa (wapokohi) for this purpose, but the grasses (which are lighter and more easily prepared) have now been universally adopted as a substitute.

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[1] Additional information on Yanomami ethnobotany can be found in Milliken & Albert (1999).

[2] The red-fruited variety was said to have a better flavour.

[3] This is traditionally used as a source of vegetable salt.

[4] The fruits of this species are said to be particularly tasty. It is also a common tree.

[5] The seeds of this palm are only used at times of genuine food scarcity.

[6] Its seeds have probably been dispersed in the faeces of both birds and gold miners.

[7] There is a mango tree at Macarrão airstrip and another at Julio de Blefe (said to have been planted by the Federal Police). Lima can be found at the Baiano Formiga and Pau Grosso airstrips and there is an avocado tree on the edge of the Homoxi airstip.

[8] This phenomenon is not restricted to Homoxi. It appears that the traditional maize cultivars have completely disappeared from the Yanomami area within the last 15 to 20 years.

[9] Mainly tipinama hanaki and taitaisi hanaki.

[10] The same issue has been noted in the lowland community of Watoriki (Milliken & Albert, 1997b), as well as among some other indigenous groups in the Eastern Amazon (Balée, 1994).

[11] The use of the powdered seeds of apiahi, the pokoraxi lichen (which grows on the trunks of certain species of trees) and of the powdered bark of porehi had not previously been recorded as components of Yanomami snuff.

[12] The long black roots of the common Iriartella setigera palm (hoomasi) were also traditionally split and also used for making baskets, but this has been discontinued.