Chácobo - Settlements

The Chácobo cluster on the high margins of streams and rivers to protect themselves from the flood tides. In the center of each village stands the men's house ( hóni shóbo ), easily distinguishable from the women's houses ( yóshra shóbo ) by its octagonal shape, lack of walls, and larger dimensions. In aboriginal times, all initiated men, single or married, were assigned two specific poles on which to hang their hammocks to sleep overnight. Men also spent most of their leisure time in the hóni shóbo drinking manioc beer, talking, and joking. Women were not allowed to enter, except to sweep it. Today, the hóni shóbo is neither an exclusively male domain nor a place for sleeping. Although it has became a public meeting spot for men, women, and children, the hóni shóbo is still the place where adult men mainly socialize. Women's houses are located around the hóni shóbo. In previous times, a women's house sheltered eight or nine nuclear families. Today each nuclear family has it own house. Unlike men, women spend most of their time inside doing household chores and rearing the children. In Chácobo villages involved in the tapping of rubber, a third kind of building called the karáma shòbo (house of rubber) can be found, which is usually 50 meters away from each household.