THE STORY TOLD BY THE MEBENGOKRE LEXICON

The goal of this paper is to identify non-native elements in the lexicon of Mebengokre (an indigenous language of the Je group, Macro-Je family), spoken by the Kayapo and Xikrin nations in the state of Para as well by the Kayapo Metyktire (Txucarramae) in northern Mato Grosso. New loan etymologies are proposed for a number of Mebengokre words, including waxi 'fishing line', benora 'peacock bass', awo 'tree sp.; bark boat', ixe 'mirror' (from Xambioa); motobi'y 'peanut', xan 'cat', moka 'kind of basket', xoko 'tiger heron' (from Lingua Geral Amazonica), karaxu 'spoon' (from Yudja.), among others; in addition, several Mebengokre loans in other languages are identified. We conclude by proposing a synthesis of the migration history of the Northern Fe peoples based both on our novel findings and on previous scholarship.