Panará (Jê Language Family)

The log race is the most important ceremonial activity, performed on various occasions: during the female puberty celebration, after war expeditions, or as a standalone event. It is the greatest public demonstration of male strength and energy. Resuming the practice of the log race within the Xingu Park held crucial significance in the process of social reconstruction. For many years, the Panará did not build the Men's House in the Xingu Indigenous Park, claiming there were no boys. Indeed, it was only after their final relocation within the Park, when they settled in the village on the Arraias River, that they built one. It is no coincidence that at the same time they felt capable of building the Men's House, they also began preparing to reclaim their ancestral lands.

Many rituals are performed according to specific occasions. From an early age, children have their ears pierced, and for boys, in addition to their ears, their lips are pierced. Scarifications are also performed, all accompanied by their respective rituals.

In the Panará cosmological order, the forest, rivers, streams, and lakes are not only sources of material resources but also the foundation of social order. The mythical ancestors, who gave their names to the Panará and the world, were "partnered" beings, formed through a combination of animals and Panará people. The dead, in the village of the dead beneath the earth, raised many animals that they offered to the living. These animals were meant to be raised and sacrificed in rituals to regulate the exchange relationships between clans.