Kukurro house – cultural tradition and its influence in the amplification and maintenance of the diversity in a crop field

Abstract

This work presents for the first time a cultural tradition, which has a strong impact on the management of alimentary diversity by Indians from the Xingu Indigenous Park. Knowing as “Kukurro house”, or house of the spirit of the caterpillar/larva, this tradition consists of planting together all the varieties of manioc – Manihot esculenta Crantz, cultivated by the farmer, in two mounts or hollows. It is believed that this tradition fortifies and gives energy to the plants in the field. In evolutionary terms, the grouping of the different varieties facilitates their recombination, increasing the possibility of new varieties to appear. It shows how it is important to preserve cultural diversity of traditional populations, among other things as a way to know about singular forms of handling that still exist unknown inside a widely studied subject.