Suyá music

Suyá music is the music of the Suyá people, a tribe of about 150 people who live on the Suyá-Miçu River and are native to Mato Grosso, Brazil. Their houses are set up in a circle around the village square, where the majority of their ceremonies take place. Other buildings include a men's meeting house where there is almost always singing. Speech and hearing are highly valued in the social behavior of the tribe. The Suyá Indians symbolize their importance with body decorations that include ear and lip disks (also known as lip plates). In 1980, ethnomusicologist Anthony Seeger interpreted this body ornamentation as an emphasis on orality and listening as a principal means of perception, transmission, comprehension, and expression of fundamental values.