ABSTRACT
The role of laughter is vital to the everyday life of an Amazonian community. The relish of many Amazonian peoples for humorous and bawdy play has intrigued me for many years.1 My clearest memories of the Piaroa, an indigenous people of Venezuela who dwell along tributaries of the Orinoco, was of their laughter. A Piaroa was most happy when with close relatives, gathered all together within the bounds of the large communal house. At such times, when the house was filled with people, laughter filled the air, bouncing off the walls of the forest surrounding it. These are a people who are lovers of slapstick, and of witty or outrageous play on words.
