Dachagaidé, they say, was a man who lived long ago:
It’s said he killer. And he was known to steal. He was on his way to another village when he met up with someone on the road, and he pretended to have to move his bowels.
He called to the Ayoré man he met along the way, already planning to kill him. ( I don’t know the Ayoré man’s name.) They were both on the road. And Dachagaidé said: “Come here. Let’s listen to each other’s talk.”
But after calling to him, he quickly killed him. Dachagaidé was really evil and was always killing people.
He quickly buried his victim, to hide what he had done. He put sticks over the top of the grave to make it look less like a grave.
The man that Dachagaidé had killed was on his way to visit his sister, but he never got there, because Dachagaidé killed him.
The Ayoré man’s wife eventually knew something must have happened. When many days went by and he didn’t return, she was sure something had happened. She would watch the sun every day until it went down, thinking surely he would show up, but he never came. That’s because he had been killed.
But his sons kept searching, going on trips to try to find him. I don’t know if it was for three months or a year before they found out, because they kept it up for a long time. They say that their mother cried when they returned and told her that the killer Dachagaidé had probably killed their father.
Their mother cried when they came back and told her that they had come to the conclusion that the assassin Dachagaidé had killed their father.
The sons came back from one of their trips and started looking for their father. They were both so much like their father who had been killed – they had long beards just like his.
Their mother said: “Hurry up. We must look for your father. Surely that big killer Dachagaidé has killed him.”
The sons couldn’t sleep that night. They missed their father and kept thinking about him.
The oldest son said to the youngest: “You go to one of the villages. I’ll go to the other villages where our father was going when he left us. Surely someone has killed him,” that’s what he said to his younger brother.
And so they left. One went in one direction and the other in another. They split up to go to all the towns.
But Dachagaidé’s victim had an*acotéi.
(Manuélné explained what an acotei was: Acoteode are young men. When there is an acotei, the men of old would say to him, “you are my wife.” And they were like husbands to these young men. The male wives of men of the Étacori Clan are chosen from the Dosapẽ Clan. They must choose from young men who are not relatives, and they must treat them very well. Samáné says to Aliciadé, “you are my wife.” Samané is of the Étacori Clan, and Alíciadé is from the Dosapé Clan. I am from the Chiquenoi Clan, and my male wives are chosen from the Posorajãi Clan.)
Manuélné goes on with his story:
The oldest son reached a village that was in the middle of the other villages. He looked for his ‘acotei’ (male wife) to help him search. He chopped down jungle growth to protect his acotei. They chopped and chopped and chopped, and searched as the were chopping. They were nearing the village. And they searched the area for his father’s grave. But they didn’t find anything.
The oldest son said, “I’ll leave tomorrow if I don’t find my father’s bones,” this is what the son said to his acotei.
After they talked together about what they would do, their plan became clear to them. They’d go off in one direction, but then keep returning to the road. They would search on both sides of the road. And they kept doing this, following the road as far as it went, always chopping down the overgrown jungle on the road. The son looked all over the ground, but nothing.
And then, it’s said, he found the grave. He looked and there was a mound of dirt over it.
The oldest son said: “Probably Dachagaidé wanted us to think the grave was somewhere else.” He said, “This place is too neat with it’s mound. This is probably where he buried him, that’s why he worked so hard to camouflage it. Dachagaidé thought he’d found a place that wouldn’t be discovered. And it’s right here by the road,” he said, “Surely this is it.”
He gently began to dig and found the earth was still soft underneath. He took the dirt out of the hole and piled it at the side. He dug down till he discovered where the blood had collected. And then he took off. He didn’t look any further. He went to find Dachagaidé.
He got there at sundown. They say the people called out: “Someone’s coming!”
His aunts said: “Come here. Come over here. We want to hear what you have to say.”
He went to them. They had cooked beans, but he would not eat, because he was so angry from finding where his father had died. He was angry and would not eat the food they’d cooked. He stayed with them a little while, then left. He didn’t want to eat that whole day. He didn’t eat a thing. He was all torn up inside from anger. He asked his aunt: “Did you help my father when he arrived here a while back? I’m looking for him.”
She said: “He did come here a while back. But he said he was going back to you when he left.”
Another aunt said: “I saw Dachagaidé. He went after him on the road. He probably killed him. Dachagaidé didn’t tell anybody anything. He didn’t mention his victim at all.”
But his aunts started crying his father’s nearness. They cried for his father.
But the oldest son said: “Stop! Stop! Don’t cry.”
But he didn’t tell them anything. He had found the grave, but he didn’t tell anyone. That’s because he was very angry. He said to his aunts: “Where is Dachagaidé’s house? I want to see him.” That’s what he asked them.
They said, “It’s over there but don’t go over there. He’ll kill you, too,” they said.
He said: “I am going over there.” And he went to see him. The sun had just gone down.
When he got to his house he said to him: “Dachagaidé, I’ve come to you because Dijnai is calling for you. He wants you to come with me. He wants you to bring some iron and axes.”
Dachagaidé gave him some of the food his wife had cooked, but he wouldn’t eat it. He was angry.
He said: “I can’t eat what your wife has prepared. I’m in a big hurry to get going. I’m thinking about getting back to Dijnai.”
Dachagaidé said: “I’m not going with you right now. I’ll follow you tomorrow when the sun goes down.”
The young man said: “Hurry up. He’s probably calling for you right now.”
Dachagaidé then agreed and said: “I’ll go early tomorrow morning.” But he didn’t really want to go, and didn’t know how to get out of it.
But the oldest son slept, but he didn’t eat anything. The next morning at dawn, while it was still dark, his aunts cooked a fresh pot of beans. They threw out the ones from the day before. But he still wouldn’t eat. He was missing his father and couldn’t eat.
It was still early, but he spoke to Dachagaidé and said: “Get ready. Let’s go,” he said.
But Dachagaidé said: “Stay a while yet. I’m eating,” he told him.
But the oldest son wouldn’t eat. He got his things ready and then they left.
But his aunts knew what might happen and they said: “Stay behind him. Don’t ever get in front of him.” They were really afraid that Dachagaidé would kill him.
Manuelne – Tobité, Bolivia – Dec. 7, 1964.
Transcribed by: Joyce Davis Buchegger.
Translated to English: by Maxine Morarie.
