88
Other works (Terán, 1998b: 242) mention that the song of the bird called striped
cuckoo (Tapera naevia)
29
between November and January, is a sign of the beginning
of the year for the Moqoit, but announces disease or plague if its song is too insistent. We have been able to collect testimonies that show that the flowering of the
Roman cassie (Acacia caven) and the garabato (Acacia praecox), between the end
of August and the beginning of September, is a seña of the renewal of the year and
the proximity of spring. This sign has been identified in recent times with the beginning of the year (Citro, 2006: 33; López, 2009a). Buenaventura Terán collected
testimonies that refer to the beginning of the year being marked with the flowering
of the Roman cassie and the reappearance of the red pileated finch.
30
This time
implies a renewal of the sun and the moon, which is assimilated to the star renewal
that occurs in the changes of era (Terán, 1998a, 1998b: 240). Arenas (2003: 183)
points out that the Tobas (Qom) consider that the great amount of lightning in this
period generates the needed ‘change’ in the trees, so that they go from being without
foliage to bearing fruit after a few months.
An account by Virgilio Leiva, Qom, (Messineo & Dell’Arciprete, 2003: 34) narrates how the striped cuckoo ‘announces’ the maturity of fruit. He mentions that
‘the song of the striped cuckoo means that fruits are ripe’, but this transcends a mere
proclamation. Leiva holds that ‘the striped cuckoo sings to the fruits so that they
mature soon’, ‘it never sleeps, it does not eat, it does not drink, it does not rest until
it dies’, since with its singing it ‘gives life to the fruits of the trees.’ At the end of this
task it ‘rests by putting its spirit in the ground’, ‘is somewhere’, ‘waits for the next
year’, and once again it ‘appears to sing’. Thus, singing is not simply an announcement, but part of the maturing process. It is thanks to the song of the striped cuckoo,
through which the bird gives its life up, that the fruits ripen. The song seems to
transfer life and power from the bird to the fruits. In the Moqoit version collected by
Terán, the striped cuckoo looks for his lost wife during the 3 months in which it
sings, and remains with her for the rest of the year. Arenas (2003: 184) indicates a
similar function is assigned to the creamy-bellied thrush (Turdus amaurochalinus)
among the Tobas (Qom).
Terán mentions that, for the Moqoit that he interviewed in San Javier (Santa Fe)
and in Pastoril (Chaco), the cicada
31
is the owner of ripening. Its song causes fruits
to ripen, especially watermelon, corn and the fruits of algarrobo tree. Likewise, the
cicada remains ‘7 months underground and three looking at the world’ (Terán,
1998b: 244–245).
A third animal is named by Terán as an indicator of annual cycles, through its
seasonal absence and presence: the gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin).
32
For about
6 months, during cold weather, it remains underground, but with the storms that
mark the end of the cold season in late August—locally referred to as the Santa
29 Cuckoo in Moqoit (Wilbert & Simmoneau, 1988: 72–75).
30 Lesotr’aikolék in Moqoit.
31 Nekogek in Moqoit.
32 Chilkayk in Moqoit.
A. M. López
Other works (Terán, 1998b: 242) mention that the song of the bird called striped
cuckoo (Tapera naevia)
29
between November and January, is a sign of the beginning
of the year for the Moqoit, but announces disease or plague if its song is too insistent. We have been able to collect testimonies that show that the flowering of the
Roman cassie (Acacia caven) and the garabato (Acacia praecox), between the end
of August and the beginning of September, is a seña of the renewal of the year and
the proximity of spring. This sign has been identified in recent times with the beginning of the year (Citro, 2006: 33; López, 2009a). Buenaventura Terán collected
testimonies that refer to the beginning of the year being marked with the flowering
of the Roman cassie and the reappearance of the red pileated finch.
30
This time
implies a renewal of the sun and the moon, which is assimilated to the star renewal
that occurs in the changes of era (Terán, 1998a, 1998b: 240). Arenas (2003: 183)
points out that the Tobas (Qom) consider that the great amount of lightning in this
period generates the needed ‘change’ in the trees, so that they go from being without
foliage to bearing fruit after a few months.
An account by Virgilio Leiva, Qom, (Messineo & Dell’Arciprete, 2003: 34) narrates how the striped cuckoo ‘announces’ the maturity of fruit. He mentions that
‘the song of the striped cuckoo means that fruits are ripe’, but this transcends a mere
proclamation. Leiva holds that ‘the striped cuckoo sings to the fruits so that they
mature soon’, ‘it never sleeps, it does not eat, it does not drink, it does not rest until
it dies’, since with its singing it ‘gives life to the fruits of the trees.’ At the end of this
task it ‘rests by putting its spirit in the ground’, ‘is somewhere’, ‘waits for the next
year’, and once again it ‘appears to sing’. Thus, singing is not simply an announcement, but part of the maturing process. It is thanks to the song of the striped cuckoo,
through which the bird gives its life up, that the fruits ripen. The song seems to
transfer life and power from the bird to the fruits. In the Moqoit version collected by
Terán, the striped cuckoo looks for his lost wife during the 3 months in which it
sings, and remains with her for the rest of the year. Arenas (2003: 184) indicates a
similar function is assigned to the creamy-bellied thrush (Turdus amaurochalinus)
among the Tobas (Qom).
Terán mentions that, for the Moqoit that he interviewed in San Javier (Santa Fe)
and in Pastoril (Chaco), the cicada
31
is the owner of ripening. Its song causes fruits
to ripen, especially watermelon, corn and the fruits of algarrobo tree. Likewise, the
cicada remains ‘7 months underground and three looking at the world’ (Terán,
1998b: 244–245).
A third animal is named by Terán as an indicator of annual cycles, through its
seasonal absence and presence: the gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin).
32
For about
6 months, during cold weather, it remains underground, but with the storms that
mark the end of the cold season in late August—locally referred to as the Santa
29 Cuckoo in Moqoit (Wilbert & Simmoneau, 1988: 72–75).
30 Lesotr’aikolék in Moqoit.
31 Nekogek in Moqoit.
32 Chilkayk in Moqoit.
A. M. López