23 — Among the Crahó Indians the woman carries most of the load on marches
"Mats for sitting and sleeping, calabashes, cooking utensils, and foodstuffs must be carried on the back. The man must keep his hands free for the purpose of defending his family and for hunting, but if it becomes necessary, he helps with the load. The woman's carrying girdle rests on the top of her head, not on her forehead. It is not easy to give the probable weight of such a burden; it may reach sixty pounds or even more.
The woman in this picture is an elderly Crahó Indian. She is dressed in a waistcloth. It is made preferably from red cotton material, seven feet long, and is simply wrapped around the body with the ends tucked in.
The little dog is her pet. Later it may develop into a capable sporting dog for the hunting of deer, wild boar, tapirs, pacas, or anteaters. Most Indian dogs are useless curs, but some tribes train their dogs patiently and devotedly and make excellent hunting dogs out of them. When it happens that a good hunting dog of the Crahó, in the pursuit of a deer, falls down a precipice and is killed, loud death laments can be heard in the hut of its owner. It is as if a human being had died."
Schultz, Harald. 1962. Hombu: Indian life in the Brazilian jungle. New York: The Macmillan Company.
