You indians are how we refer to the original peoples who lived in the national territory before the arrival of the portuguese, in 1500. Despite the term “Indian” being generalized, indigenous peoples are marked by an enormous cultural diversity. Currently, indigenous peoples struggle politically to guarantee their right to territorial demarcation.
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what is it to be indian
When we are talking about Indians or Indians, we are referring to the first inhabitants of Brazil. They were the original inhabitants present here when the Portuguese arrived in 1500. It is estimated that, at that time, there were five to seven million indigenous people.
THE United Nations Organization (UN) understands the Indians as the peoples and communities that have a historical link with ancestral societies who lived in Brazilian territory before the arrival of the Portuguese. These peoples understand themselves as distinct groups of the national society, having their own forms of organization
|1|.This more technical definition is used to understand what we are talking about when we refer to the Indians. Here in Brazil, the identification of a person as indigenous or not follows the line of self-identification, however, when we talk about indigenous peoples, a series of criteria, which dialogue with this UN definition, are used.
The identification of a people as indigenous in Brazil is based on factors such as|1|:
Historical continuity with pre-colonial societies: that is, the direct descent of peoples who inhabited Brazil before 1500.
Well-defined social, economic and political systems: indigenous peoples have different forms of organization from those of national society. These indigenous forms are not standardized, but marked by diversity.
Identifying themselves as different from the national society: self-identification, as we have seen, is an important criterion for a people or person to be classified as indigenous.
When it comes to the Indians, we need to understand, from the beginning, that we are not talking about just one people, but about hundreds of peoples which are gathered under that term. The cultural diversity among indigenous peoples is impressive, and the 2010 IBGE census (the last carried out) shows that currently there are 305 different ethnic groups in Brazil, who speak about 274 languages|2|.
Cultural differences, however, do not mean that Indians are forced to live apart or isolated from society. This also does not mean that they do not have the right to be part of the technological development in which we live. Thus, an indigenous person has full right and autonomy to fight for the preservation of their culture and traditions, own their land and make use of different technologies, such as cell phones.
An Indian does not stop being an Indian because he speaks Portuguese, wears Western clothes or uses technology. Many people believe that Indians should not use these articles because they have views of the world marked by ignorance and prejudice in relation to them.
What is the origin of the Indians?
The initial presence of human beings in Brazil is directly related to their arrival on the American continent. The most accepted theory currently works with the idea that human groups entered the American continent through the Bering Strait, which currently separates Alaska (USA) from Russia.
In this theory, it is stated that the human being took advantage of the retreat in sea level to cross this region 25,000 years ago. Later, a second wave, from Asia, would have crossed this strait and then spread across the continent. Slowly, humans were occupying the entire American continent, and eventually reached our territory.
Here in Brazil, the human presence dates back to about 10 thousand years, and geographer Aziz Nacib Ab’Sáber says that human groups penetrated the Brazilian territory through the Amazon. During this period, the Amazon had vast semi-arid plains, which facilitated human locomotion|3|. It was in this context that the indigenous people settled here, and from then on they developed different cultures, dialects, worldviews, etc.
As we have seen, when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500, there were around seven million Indians throughout the territory. The historian Boris Fausto states that, of this total, about five million lived in the Amazon, and the rest was distributed throughout the rest of Brazilian lands.|4|.
At that time, there were three large areas of indigenous population that grouped hundreds of peoples: the Amazon, O HighlandCentral it's the CoastBrazilian. These places were inhabited by different peoples who had their own way of life and their own system of coexistence and war with each other. The lifestyle of millions of indigenous people underwent profound changes when the Portuguese arrived, and population of millions of them has been drastically reduced.
Accessalso: Funai – role, creation, demarcation of indigenous lands
Why are they called Indians?
The term Indian was established by Europeans when they arrived on the American continent at the end of the 15th century. Who coined it was christopherColumbus, Genoese who led the Spanish expedition that arrived in the Caribbean in 1492. On that occasion, Columbus believed that he had arrived in Asia.
How was he looking for the India, he decided to name the populations he found here as indians. This word demonstrates the lack of knowledge of Europeans in relation to indigenous culture, as they used the same term to designate different peoples. Thus, Indian is a generic name that brings together all these populations that used to live in America and that still remain here.
Until the 1970s, the use of the terms Indigenous or Indigenous was considered by many indigenous peoples as an offense, as it recalled the entire history of mortality and slavery caused by the Portuguese and because such terms were associated with negative things in the popular mentality due to misinformation and preconception.
The emergence of indigenous movement, from that decade onwards, made these terms to be seen as appointments that generate identity, as they were used to build alliances between different peoples, in the sense of joining forces to fight for the guarantee of their rights in Brazil.
The Indians in Brazil today
The last census carried out in Brazil shows that there are 897 thousand indians, distributed among the 305 existing ethnic groups and throughout all regions of the country. These ethnic groups are divided by specialists into four large groups, established based on their dialect: Macro-Jê, Tupi, Karib and Arawak. Even so, there are certain ethnic groups that have dialects that do not fit the characteristics of any of these trunks.
As we have already seen, diversity is the key word for understanding the indigenous people, so each people has different forms of social, political and economic organization and also of relating to other peoples and the world outside. Even so, there may be similarities and similarities between indigenous peoples.
Currently, indigenous people go through a process known as resumed, by which they return to their regions of origin to demand the right to live there and rescue their original culture. This requirement is given by the right to demarcationof thelands, assured by Constitution and which must be carried out by the State.
Indigenous people who live on demarcated lands, such as the Yanomami, are entitled to their wealth, and this permanence is for life and only in cases of catastrophe or epidemic can they be removed from these places. Still, they face several challenges to be effectively respected.
This is because there is a big pressure offarmers, loggers and miners who want to irresponsible exploitation of natural resources, including on lands that historically belong to indigenous peoples. The aforementioned Yanomami, for example, had the demarcation of their land recognized only in 1992.
Yanomami land was demarcated in the state of Roraima, but since 2007 it has been constantly invaded by miners who mine for gold and diamonds there. In 2019, it was estimated that around 20,000 people invaded the Yanomami lands. Indians see their lands destroyed by greed and are often threatened by invaders.
In Brazil there is a governmental institution whose role is to mediate issues involving Brazilian Indians and ensure the defense of their rights. National Indian Foundation, a funai. Studies on the demarcation of indigenous lands and the development of policies for the benefit of indigenous peoples, among other actions, are her attributes.
Accessalso: What is cultural heritage?
Indian way of life
Here in Brazil, a portion of the indigenous peoples live in communities better known as tribes. These communities are organized through a relationship of kinship or common interests and are led by a patriarch or matriarch. In general, indigenous communities are seen by themselves as groups that have kinship relationship.
The Indians, in general, have a direct connection relationship with nature and they don't see themselves as a separate part of it. This connection is completely different from the relationship the white man has with the natural. An important representative of the Krenak, Ailton Krenak, says that, for his culture, a mountain range that is close to the his village of origin is not seen as just any mountain range, but as a being who has a name and personality|5|.
This example demonstrates how indigenous peoples' way of seeing the world and nature is different from what we are used to. Despite this, the Indians left hugecontributions to Brazilian culture. These contributions took place in areas such as food and language and in many everyday practices.
The Indians still live from everything they produce and everything they manage to extract from nature. Some foodstuffs, such as cassava and maize, are grown in small gardens. THE hunting and fishing they are also important practices in sustaining these groups, although there are certain peoples who do not eat red meat, for example.
Currently, among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Brazil are the following: Guarani, Ticuna, Caingang, Makushi, Guajajara, Yanomami, among others.
Grades
|1| MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. the brazilian indian: what you need to know about indigenous peoples in Brazil today. Brasília: Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Continuing Education, Literacy and Diversity; LACED/National Museum, 2006. P. 27.
|2| Indian's day: study reveals 305 ethnicities and 274 languages among indigenous peoples in Brazil. To access, click on here.
|3| AB’SÁBER, Aziz Nacib. Incursions into the prehistory of tropical America. MOTA, Carlos Guilherme (org.). trip incomplete: the Brazilian experience. São Paulo: Senac, 1999. P. 40.
|4| FAUSTO, Boris. history of Brazil. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013. P. 36.
|5| KRENAK, Ailton. Ideas to delay the end of the world. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2019. P. 17-18.
Image credits
[1] Wallace Teixeira and Shutterstock
[2] Everett Collection and Shutterstock
