0. The Kaingang languages form a welldefined sub-group within the Zes linguistic stock. Kaingang-speaking peoples inhabit the eastern mountain ranges of Brazil from the state of Sao Paulo to about the northern border of the modern state of Uruguay, and extend into the state of Misiones in Argentina. The history of the Kaingang tribes points clearly to a recent splitting, and the linguistic evidence confirms this, for thc Kaingang languages are very much alike. At the present time the nearest linguistic relatives of the Kaingang-speaking groups of southeastern Brazil and Argentina appear to be the Kayap6 and Canella of northeastern Brazil. Perhaps the most striking feature of Kaingang historical relations is the great similarity in phonetic structure between Kaingang and Guarani. The Kaingang that are the object of this paper' are divided into mutually hostile endogamous groups. The population of any one of these groups rarely exceeds 300. There is great uniformity of linguistic habits in each group. Kaingang is a very sonorous language. Of the 18 consonants 13 are voiced, and of these 9 are nasals or are nasalized. Kain-