Heritable prerogatives and non‐lineages: proprietary knowledge ownership among the A'uwẽ (Xavante) in central Brazil

Abstract

AbstractThe non‐existence of corporate lineages among Indigenous peoples in lowland South America has been widely accepted since the 1970s. There has, however, yet to be adequate resolution of the question of what are the social formations formerly called ‘lineages’. In this article, I re‐examine previous characterizations of A'uwẽ (Xavante) social organization to propose that what were identified as lineages are in fact heritable prerogatives associated with proprietary knowledge ownerships, with important consequences for interpretations regarding the purported centrality of political factionalism in this society. I argue that A'uwẽ heritable prerogatives are aptly interpreted in light of a master/owner relational schema previously described for diverse Indigenous groups in greater Amazonia. However, my evidence suggests a heterogeneous fit between A'uwẽ heritable prerogatives and some of this schema's key characteristics and ethnographic correlates, as previously described.