Chief is a term used to designate the Indian who is responsible for an Indian tribe. The chief is a kind of political "chief" of the tribe, responsible for organizing and taking care of issues related to the Indians, such as their way of life, rituals and even punishments.
The word comes from the term cheesy and it probably appeared in the period of the Great Navigations and Discoveries. This was the way Spanish and Portuguese navigators and settlers referred to the chiefs of the tribes they encountered during this time.
In a more figurative sense, the word is used as a reference to a politician who has great influence in a region.
Chief is also the popular name of the bird. cacicus, of the family icteridae. The bird is found in the north and central-west of Brazil, in Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guianas and Bolivia.
The bird has subspecies such as the cacicus cela cela, cacicus cela vitellinus and cacicus cela flavirissus.
chief and shaman
Cacique and shaman are two terms linked to indigenous traditions, but with different meanings. While the chief has a role more linked to the organization and command of the tribe, the shaman is considered a priest.
The shaman is the healer and connoisseur of rituals linked to indigenous gods. It is he who performs the rituals called pajelança and who has the greatest knowledge of the power of the teas and herbs used in the tribe. The shaman is widely recognized in the tribe for his wisdom.
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Chief Raoni
Chief Raoni Metuktire is the best known in the history of the indigenous people of Brazil. He is the leader of the Kayapó Indians who live in the Xingu River region, in Mato Grosso.
Chief Raoni is known worldwide for his fight for the preservation of indigenous rights and for the defense of the Amazon.