Collection: Ikpeng (Karib Language Family)

The primary festival celebrated by the Ikpeng people is the male initiation ritual called Moyngo, during which boys’ faces are tattooed. The ritual is preceded by numerous dance sessions and concludes with a grand hunt involving the fathers of the boys to be tattooed, who are considered the hosts of the celebration. After approximately a month, a messenger from the hunting expedition is sent back to the village to announce the hunters’ return.

The following day, during a dance session accompanied by flutes and the chief’s singing, the hunters arrive carrying an enormous basket filled with game (mainly monkeys).

The hunters camp near the village, and the women go to collect the smoked game and deliver cassava bread (beijus). Participants coat their bodies with tree resin and attach bird feathers to it. They enter the village at nightfall and drink sweet perereba (a type of porridge). Then, each man dances, holding a child to be tattooed in one hand and a torch in the other. They spend the entire night dancing again. Finally, on the last morning of the celebration, the children are tattooed. The process begins with incisions (stripes) made on the child’s face using tucum thorns, followed by applying charcoal made from jatobá resin.

The Ikpeng have also adopted some Upper Xingu festivals, such as Tawarawanã and Yamurikumã, which they hold annually. Additionally, many traditional adornments of the Upper Xingu peoples, such as shell necklaces and body paintings, have been incorporated into their culture.