Indigenous people of Brazil
"Tupis" redirects here. For other uses, see
Tupi
.
Ethnic group
Tupi
|
|
1,000,000 (historically), Potiguara 10,837, Tupinamba de Olivenca 3,000, Tupiniquim 2,630, others extinct as tribes but blood ancestors to Pardo Brazilian population
|
|
Central and Coastal Brazil
|
|
Tupi languages
, later
lingua geral
, much later Portuguese
|
|
Indigenous
, later
Christianity
|
|
Guarani
tribes
|
The
Tupi people
, a subdivision of the
Tupi-Guarani
linguistic families, were one of the largest groups of
indigenous peoples
in Brazil before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the
Amazon rainforest
, from about 2,900 years ago the Tupi started to migrate southward and gradually occupied the Atlantic coast of
Southeast Brazil
.
[1]
Many Tupi people today are merged with the
Guarani people
, forming the
Tupi?Guarani languages
. Guarani languages are linguistically different from the
Tupian languages
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The Tupi people inhabited 3/4 of all of Brazil's coast when the
Portuguese
first arrived there. In 1500, their population was estimated at 1 million people, nearly equal to the population of Portugal at the time. They were divided into
tribes
, each tribe numbering from 300 to 2,000 people. Some examples of these tribes are:
Tupiniquim
,
Tupinamba
,
Potiguara
,
Tabajara
,
Caetes
,
Temimino
,
Tamoios
. The Tupi were adept
agriculturalists
; they grew
cassava
,
corn
,
sweet potatoes
,
beans
,
peanuts
,
tobacco
,
squash
,
cotton
and many others. There was not a unified Tupi identity
[
citation needed
]
despite the fact that they spoke a common language.
European colonization
[
edit
]
Upon discovering the existence of the Tupi people, it was assumed by Portuguese settlers that they lacked any sort of religion, a belief that began the process of assimilating the Tupi to Christianity.
[3]
The settlers began erecting villages for the Tupi, known as aldeias, with the intention of more disciplined religious conversion and institutionalization of European customs.
[4]
Aside from being assimilated, the Tupi were found to be of use to the Portuguese, who required laborers for cultivating and shipping their exports. This use in harvesting resources led to their eventual enslavement and in turn, the spread of fatal European diseases on the plantations they worked at.
[5]
This combination of factors nearly led to their complete annihilation, with the exception of a few isolated communities. The remnants of these tribes are today confined to
indigenous territories
or acculturated to some degree into the dominant society.
[6]
Cannibalism
[
edit
]
According to primary source accounts by primarily European writers, the Tupi were divided into several tribes which would constantly engage in war with each other. In these wars the Tupi would normally try to capture their enemies to later kill them in
cannibalistic
rituals.
[6]
The
warriors
captured from other Tupi tribes were eaten as it was believed by them that this would lead to their strength being absorbed and digested; thus, in fear of absorbing weakness, they chose only to sacrifice warriors perceived to be strong and brave. For the Tupi warriors, even when prisoners, it was a great honor to die valiantly during battle or to display courage during the festivities leading to the sacrifice.
[7]
The Tupi have also been documented to eat the remains of dead relatives as a form of honoring them.
[8]
The practice of cannibalism among the Tupi was made famous in Europe by
Hans Staden
, a German soldier, mariner, and mercenary, traveling to Brazil to seek a fortune, who was captured by the Tupi in 1552. In his account published in 1557, he tells that the Tupi carried him to their village where it was claimed he was to be devoured at the next festivity. There, he allegedly won the friendship of a powerful chief, whom he cured of a disease, and his life was spared.
[9]
Cannibalistic rituals among Tupi and other tribes in Brazil decreased steadily after European contact and religious intervention. When
Cabeza de Vaca
, a Spanish
conquistador
, arrived in
Santa Catarina
in 1541, for instance, he attempted to ban cannibalistic practices in the name of
the King of Spain
.
[10]
Because our understanding of Tupi cannibalism relies mostly on primary source accounts of primarily European writers, the very existence of cannibalism has been disputed by some in academic circles.
William Arens
seeks to discredit Staden's and other writers' accounts of cannibalism in his book
The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology & Anthropophagy
, where he claims that when concerning the Tupinamba, "rather than dealing with an instance of serial documentation of cannibalism, we are more likely confronting only one source of dubious testimony which has been incorporated almost verbatim into the written reports of others claiming to be eyewitnesses".
[11]
Most Brazilian scholars, however, attest to the cultural centrality of cannibalism in Tupian culture. Anthropologist
Darcy Ribeiro
who had deeply studied the historical accounts about the Tupi, reported that the
Ka'apor
people of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic and cultural family confirmed that their ancestors had practiced anthropophagical rituals similar to the ones described in the 16th century.
[12]
Other Brazilian scholars have criticized Arens for what they perceived as
historical negationism
, and for ignoring important sources (
Jesuit
letters) and historical and anthropological studies (
Viveiros de Castro
,
Florestan Fernandes
, Estevao Pinto, Helene Clastres), many of them dealing directly with indigenous peoples, that point to the direction of anthropophagy being well established as a social and cultural practice. He was particularly criticized
[
by whom?
]
for trying to discredit the association of the Tupi with savagery, not by realizing that the Europeans failed to comprehend the meaning of traditional practices such as cannibalism, but by promptly negating their existence altogether.
[13]
Race-mixing and
Cunhadismo
[
edit
]
Many indigenous peoples were important for the formation of the Brazilian people, but the main group was the Tupi. When the Portuguese explorers arrived in Brazil in the 16th century, the Tupi were the first indigenous group to have contact with them. Soon, a process of mixing between Portuguese settlers and indigenous women started. The Portuguese colonists rarely brought women, making the native women the "breeding matrix of the Brazilian people".
[6]
When the first Europeans arrived, the phenomenon of "
cunhadismo
" (from Portuguese
cunhado
, "brother in law") began to spread by the colony.
Cunhadismo
was an old native tradition of incorporating strangers to their community. The Natives offered the Portuguese an Indigenous girl as wife. Once he agreed, he formed a bond of kinship with all the Natives of the tribe.
Polygyny
, a common practice among South American Indigenous people, was quickly adopted by European settlers. This way, a single European man could have dozens of indigenous wives (
temericos
).
[6]
Cunhadismo
was used as recruitment of labour. The Portuguese could have many
temericos
and thus a huge number of Indigenous relatives who were induced to work for him, especially to cut
pau-brasil
and take it to the ships on the coast. In the process, a large mixed-race (
mameluco
) population was formed, which in fact occupied Brazil. Without the practice of
cunhadismo
, the Portuguese colonization was impractical. The number of Portuguese men in Brazil was very small and Portuguese women were even fewer in number. The proliferation of mixed-race people in the wombs of indigenous women provided for the occupation of the territory and the consolidation of the Portuguese presence in the region.
[6]
Influence in Brazil
[
edit
]
Although the Tupi population largely disappeared because of European
diseases
to which they had no resistance or because of slavery, a large population of maternal Tupi ancestry occupied much of Brazilian territory, taking the ancient traditions to several points of the country.
Darcy Ribeiro
wrote that the features of the first Brazilians were much more Tupi than Portuguese, and even the language that they spoke was a Tupi-based language, named
Nheengatu
or
Lingua Geral
, a
lingua franca
in Brazil until the 18th century.
[6]
The region of
Sao Paulo
was the biggest in the proliferation of Mamelucos, who in the 17th century under the name of
Bandeirantes
, spread throughout the Brazilian territory, from the
Amazon rainforest
to the extreme
South
. They were responsible for the major expansion of the
Iberian
culture in the interior of Brazil. They acculturated the indigenous tribes who lived in isolation, and took the language of the colonizer, which was not Portuguese yet, but Nheengatu itself, to the most inhospitable corners of the colony. Nheengatu is still spoken in certain regions of the Amazon, although the Tupi-speaking Natives did not live there. The Nheengatu language, as in other regions of the country, was introduced there by Bandeirantes from Sao Paulo in the 17th century. The way of life of the
Old
Paulistas
could almost be confused with the Natives. Within the family, only Nheengatu was spoken. Agriculture, hunting, fishing and gathering of fruits were also based on indigenous traditions. What differentiated the
Old Paulistas
from the Tupi was the use of clothes, salt, metal tools, weapons and other European items.
[6]
When these areas of large Tupi influence started to be integrated into the
market economy
, Brazilian society gradually started to lose its Tupi characteristics. The Portuguese language became dominant and Lingua Geral virtually disappeared. The rustic indigenous techniques of production were replaced by European ones, in order to elevate the capacity of
exportation
.
[6]
Brazilian Portuguese
absorbed many words from Tupi. Some examples of Portuguese words that came from Tupi are:
mingau, mirim, soco, cutucar, tiquinho, perereca, tatu
. The names of several local fauna – such as
arara
("
macaw
"),
jacare
("South American
alligator
"),
tucano
("
toucan
") – and flora – e.g.
mandioca
("
manioc
") and
abacaxi
("
pineapple
") – are also derived from the Tupi language. A number of places and cities in modern Brazil are named in Tupi (
Itaquaquecetuba
,
Pindamonhangaba
,
Caruaru
,
Ipanema
). Anthroponyms include
Ubirajara
,
Ubirata
,
Moema
,
Jussara
,
Jurema
,
Janaina
.
[14]
Tupi surnames do exist, but they do not imply any real Tupi ancestry; rather they were adopted as a manner to display Brazilian nationalism.
[15]
The
Tupinamba
tribe is fictitiously portrayed in
Nelson Pereira dos Santos
' satirical 1971 film
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
(
Como Era Gostoso o Meu Frances
). Its name is also adapted by science:
Tupinambis
is a genus of
tegus
, arguably the best-known lizards of Brazil.
The large offshore
Tupi oil field
discovered off the coast of Brazil in 2006 was named in honor of the Tupi people.
The
Guarani
are a different native group that inhabits southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and northern Argentina and speaks the distinct
Guarani languages
, but these are in the same
language family
as Tupi.
Legacy
[
edit
]
The Tupi people had a great cultural influence on the countries they inhabited. Innumerable people, streets, neighborhoods, cities, rivers, animals, fruits, plants, football clubs, companies in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay are named in Guarani.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Tupi-Guarani placenames in other countries
:
The Tupi people were present in almost all of
South America
, excluding
Chile
.
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
Cabure
, Aracua
Ara kua
("the hole of the
Ara (bird)
") ,
Cagua
,
Maracay
Mbarakaja'y
("
kitten
"), Aragua, Taguay, Yaguaratal, Caigua, Carapita, Yaguaracual, Taguapire, Carupano,
Yaguaraparo
, Carupe,
Irapa
Yrapa
("all streams"), Tabay
Tava'i
("small town"), Uracoa, Araguita,
Tucupita
Tuku pyta
("
red lobster
"), Guarapo,
Chaguaramas
Jaguarama
("land of jaguars"), Tuja, Cuyagua, Chivacoa, Urucure
Urukure'a
("
Burrowing owl
"), Mucuragua, Cuara, Tucani
Tuka'i
("small toucan"), Jacuque,
Churuguara
,
Tacuato
Taguato
("Falcon"), Aguay,
Paraguana Peninsula
Paragua na
("crown-like or crown-shaped").
Arakaka
, Kariakay
Karia'y kaysa
("barrier of the brave") Iguapa
Yguapa
("all coves")
Cayenne
, the
francization
of the name
K?ina
("mean
chili pepper"
)
Paramaribo
Parama yvo
("down the sea"). (Referring to the
Caribbean Sea
, since although Suriname is part of the
Caribbean
, it is near the
Amazon Delta
, in the South Atlantic Ocean).
Buritica
Mburiti ka
("from
Mauritia flexuosa
"),
Ituango
,
Apia
,
Ibague
yvakue
("fallen fruit or fruit peel"), Acuata,
Arauca
, Tibacuy, Mocoa, El Jagua, Iguambi,
Itagui
("from the rocks"), Yacare, Teranguara, Chachagui,
Puente Aranda
, Catambuco, Aguayo
Ipeti
ypet? ("duck's beak")
El Aguay
Aguai
("fruit tree")
Urcuqui, Timbuyacu, Ambuqui, Timbire
Aguaytia
Aguai'ty
("plantation of aguai"), Curiyaca, Imambari
Yacuiba
, Paraimiri,
Itaimbeguasu
, Tatarenda, Saipuru, Capirenda, Itay, Ibamiragera, Carandayti, Ipaguasu,
Abapo
, Timboy,
Carapari
,
Urubicha
,
Kuruguakua
,
Guanay
,
Yaguaru
and
Rogagua
.
Tacuarembo
,
Pa'i Sandu
,
Chapicuy
("worn out"),
Sarandi del Yi
Sarandy del Y
("
bushes
of the
Yi
"),
Balneario Ipora
("beautiful watering place"),
El Ombu
, Yacuy (Salto),
Sarandi del Arapey
Sarandy del Arape'y
("
bushes
of the
daily tasks river
"),
Sarandi Grande
,
Ituzaingo
and
Aigua
Notable Tupi people
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Saida dos tupi-guaranis da Amazonia pode ter ocorrido ha 2.900 anos"
[The departure of the Tupi-Guaranis from the Amazon may have occurred 2,900 years ago].
portalsorocabano.com.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese). 2008-12-30. Archived from
the original
on 2011-10-07.
- ^
LaRosa, Michael; Mejia, German R. (2019).
An Atlas and Survey of Latin American History
(2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
9781138089068
.
- ^
Pacifi, Sergio J. (1955).
Copy of a Letter of the King of Portugal Sent to the King of Castile Concerning the Voyage and Success of India
(New ed.). University of Minnesota Press. pp. 3?25.
ISBN
978-1-4529-3685-7
.
- ^
Coello de la Rosa, Alexandre (2019). "3 The Marianas as Part of the Universal Christian Project".
Gathering Souls: Jesuit Missions and Missionaries in Oceania
. Netherlands: Brill. pp. 9?17.
ISBN
978-90-04-39485-8
.
- ^
Hawkins, Christina (2017). "Tupinamba".
Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Pre-Colonial Latin America (Prehistory to 1550s)
(1st ed.). New York City, New York: Facts on File.
ISBN
978-1-4381-6344-4
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Darcy Ribeiro ? O Povo Brasileiro, Vol. 07, 1997 (1997), pp. 28 to 33; 72 to 75 and 95 to 101."
- ^
"Um alemao na Terra dos Canibais"
[A German in the Land of Cannibals].
revistadehistoria.com.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from
the original
on 2016-10-30.
- ^
Agnolin, Adone.
O apetite da antropologia
. Sao Paulo, Associacao Editorial Humanitas, 2005. p. 285.
- ^
Staden, Hans. Duas viagens ao Brasil: primeiros registros sobre o Brasil. Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2011, p. 51-52
- ^
"Museu de Arte e Origens"
[Museum of Art and Origins].
faperj.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese).
Archived
from the original on 2022-08-12.
- ^
(New York : Oxford University Press, 1979;
ISBN
0-19-502793-0
)
- ^
Mindlin, Betty (1998).
"Diarios indios: Os Urubus-Kaapor"
.
Revista Brasileira de Ciencias Sociais
.
13
(36).
doi
:
10.1590/S0102-69091998000100017
.
- ^
Moraes, Caleu Nilson (October 24, 2012).
"O canibal partido ao meio: Perspectivas de sacrificio, canibalismo e antropofagia na literatura tupinologica"
[The cannibal split in half: perspectives on sacrifice, cannibalism and anthropophagy in tupinological literature] (in Brazilian Portuguese).
Archived
from the original on 2023-07-17.
- ^
"NOMES INDIGENAS - TUPI & OUTROS"
[INDIGENOUS NAMES - TUPI & OTHERS].
melhornome.com.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from
the original
on 2009-04-27
. Retrieved
2009-06-10
.
- ^
Sergio Cabral (1 January 1997).
Antonio Carlos Jobim: uma biografia
. Lumiar Editora. p.
39
.
ISBN
978-85-85426-42-2
.
- ^
"Guarani Words in Modern Places: Ibera, Iguazu & Beyond"
.
sayhueque.com.ar
. 2017-11-01.
Archived
from the original on 2021-01-19
. Retrieved
2017-11-01
.
- ^
Pazmino, Patricia (2015-01-29).
"Lenguas indigenas: rico legado cultural"
[Indigenous languages: rich cultural legacy].
Deutsche Welle
(in Spanish).
Archived
from the original on 2015-08-24
. Retrieved
2015-01-29
.
- ^
Franzin, Adriana (2015-10-29).
"Palavras indigenas nomeiam a maior parte das plantas e animais do Brasil"
[Indigenous names: Know the meaning of these words].
Empresa Brasil de Comunicacao
(in Brazilian Portuguese).
Archived
from the original on 2021-02-27
. Retrieved
2015-10-29
.
- ^
Bidu, Joao (2020-11-11).
"Nomes indigenas: Conheca os significados dessas palavras"
[Indigenous names: Know the meaning of these words].
terra.com.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese).
Archived
from the original on 2020-11-14
. Retrieved
2020-11-11
.
- ^
"La gran Nacion Guarani, a la que la Conquista de America no derroto pues persiste su cultura, es recordada en una calle capitalina"
[The great Guarani Nation, which the Conquest of America did not defeat, so persists its culture, is remembered in a capital street].
asuncion.gov.py
(in Spanish). 2022-10-20.
Archived
from the original on 2023-09-24
. Retrieved
2022-10-20
.
- ^
"Historia"
[History].
misiones.tur.ar
(in Spanish).
Archived
from the original on 2023-09-21
. Retrieved
2023-01-01
.
- ^
Candela, Guillaume; Melia, Bartomeu (2023-12-08).
"Lenguas y pueblos tupi-guaranies en las fuentes de los siglos xvi y xvii"
[Tupi-Guarani languages and peoples in the sources of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries].
journals.openedition.org
(in Spanish). Archived from
the original
on 2023-12-08
. Retrieved
2021-12-21
.
- ^
Mazz, Jose M. Lopez; Cabral, Rocio M. Lopez (2020-09-13).
"The presence of Guarani groups in the current Uruguayan territory"
.
sciencedirect.com
.
ISSN
0278-4165
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-12-08
. Retrieved
2020-09-13
.
- ^
"Seeking the origin of indigenous languages in South America"
.
Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen
. 2023-06-15.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-16
. Retrieved
2023-06-15
.
External links
[
edit
]