- Ritual
- Áixatakona／Áixapé（アイシャタコナ／アイシャペ、初潮隔離・解放命名儀礼）
- Region and community
- ブラジルMato Grosso州Xingu先住民地域／Wauja女子
- Age at the cultural rite
- Age 11 / Age 12
- Transition conditions
- Reaching a recognized age / Menarche or physical maturity / Trial or training / New social responsibilities
- Legal age of majority
- Brazil18 yearsBrazil · Calendar unspecified · The law provides for acquiring legal capacity before majority. · Law and supporting sources
About the rite
Among Wauja communities in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, Áixatakona or Áixapé begins around first menstruation, often at eleven or twelve. A girl enters seclusion, fasts, uses plant preparations, and learns from female relatives before fish is reintroduced to her diet.
At release she receives an adult name, marking movement from yamukutai, a girl, to yamukutopalu, an adult woman with family responsibilities. Research published in 2019 documents the practice.
Related rites
