ooja

English

Noun

ooja (plural oojas)

1. Alternative form of oojah (“thing whose name is unknown”)

Wauja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɨː.ʐa/

Noun

ooja

1. belt clasp (for a woman's loin belt)

   Ahampitsain uma pata enojanaun wi, sapalaku ipitsi, kata tonejunaun ooja. Enoja ogatokoja. Tonejunaun aitsa umapai, sapalaku umata ipitsi. Aooja umatai tonejunaun.

   "Slender little thing" — that's all that men say, referring to [the] clasp, that [belt] clasp [that] women wear [as a pubic ornament]. It's men's way of speaking. Women don't say that, they simply call it "belt clasp." Women just say, "our loin belt."

   [Arutatumpa:] Waka pirukapai jouwhun.

   —[Inyaun:] Umhum.

   [Arutatumpa:] Piiiii ... Patakatawe ojo oneputaku wiu.

   —[Peyeeto:] Mulukuho oneputaku wiu.

   —[Inyaun:] Ehen.

   [Arutatumpa:] Mulukuho katiwhun.

   —[Peyeeto:] Ehen.

   [Arutatumpa:] Opojewhun.

   —[Peyeeto:] Ah.

   [Arutatumpa:] Irutyulakumeneju opojewhun.

   —[Peyeeto:] Ah.

   —[Inyaun:] Onooja?

   [Arutatumpa:] Ooja, onooja onumetejo.

   [Storyteller:] So she's slipping off that thing ... [indirect reference to her loin belt].

   —[Listener:] Uh-huh.

   [Storyteller:] Piiii [sound of the loin belt slowly sliding against her skin]. She placed [the belt] on top of [the] head of this one [storyteller gestures to a nearby post representing the perch of her pet horned owl].

   —[Listener 1:] On top of [the] owl's head.

   —[Listener 2:] Indeed.

   [Storyteller:] This is the owl [gestures to the top of the post].

   —[Listener 1:] Yes.

   [Storyteller:] Her pet.

   —[Listener 1:] Ah.

   [Storyteller:] Cotinga Bird Woman's pet.

   —[Listener 1:] Ah.

   —[Listener 2:] [And what about] her loin belt?

   [Storyteller:] [Gestures to the pole representing the owl's perch.] [Here is the] belt, her belt's resting spot (i.e., her belt rested on the owl's head).

Usage notes

• The second excerpt above is from the story of the "Caiman Spirit," (Yakaojokuma). It explains how the owl got two pointy tufts of feathers on its head — because the Blue Cotinga Woman, in ancient times, rested her loin belt clasp (with its two pointy corners) atop the head of her pet owl.

• Description of ooja: The loin belt traditionally worn by Wauja women and girls (as well as those from other language communities in the Upper Xingu culture area) is called watani in Wauja, and is generally known as the uluri belt in anthropological literature. It consists of a slender belt of especially fine strands of twisted buriti palm fiber, worn low around the hips. Women who have reached puberty fasten the belt in front with a delicately-folded triangular clasp called an ooja, usually made from sapalaku, the white inner bark of a tree. (The term sapalaku also can be used as a synonym for ooja, referring to the clasp itself, and not merely to the bark material). The small clasp rests conspicuously on the woman's pubis, tied on either side to the ends of the belt, and secured at the bottom with a long thin strand of buriti cord that passes between the woman's labia, under her buttocks, and is attached to the belt in the rear. When the cord is drawn snugly, the cleft of the vulva is attractively emphasized. On formal occasions, such as ceremonies, a slender palm rib, the oojakato (lit., "leg" of the belt clasp), is attached to the rear of the belt in a vertical position between the buttocks, so that it switches back and forth as the woman moves her hips while dancing.

• Rank signifier: Women of high chiefly rank wear a special ooja, called amunuleju onooja (female chief's clasp), that is larger and more elaborate than those worn by other women. Women of the highest rank (such as the eldest daughters of principal chiefs) formally receive these special ooja at puberty, and only such women may wear them. By wearing this ornament conspicuously on her pubis, a woman of high chiefly rank proclaims not only her own rank, but also the rank that will be inherited by her issue.

Inflection

    Possession of ooja

	singular	plural
first person	nooja	aooja
second person	pooja	yooja
third person	onooja	onooja

Synonyms

• sapalaku (“woman's loin belt clasp”)

Derived terms

• oojakato (“leg of the belt clasp”)

Related terms

• amunuleju onooja (“female chief's belt clasp”)

See also

• sapalaku (“inner bark used to make loin belt clasps”)
• watani (“feminine loin belt”)

References

• "Ahampitsain uma" (transcript p. 85) uttered by Mayanu, explaining the indirect language used in a passage of the traditional Wauja tale, the "Caiman Spirit" (Yakaojokuma), recounted by Aruta, storyteller and elder. Recorded in Piyulaga village in the presence of assembled elders and others, November 1989.
• "Waka pirukapai" (transcript, pp. 26-27) uttered by Arutatumpa, storyteller and elder, and members of his audience, as he recounted the traditional tale, the "Caiman Spirit" (Yakaojokuma). Recorded in Piyulaga village in the presence of assembled elders and others, November 1989, for BBC film, "The Storyteller."