The Brazilian people are the result of the miscegenation of various peoples.
Indigenous, Portuguese and Africans are the main groups.
However, there are several European and Asian immigrants who came to Brazil, especially from the 19th century onwards, who also formed the Brazilian people.
Indigenous people and the formation of Brazil
The territory that would become Brazil has registered the presence of humans for 12,000 years.
Indigenous people occupied the entire surface, especially the coast. We should not think that they were a single people, but rather several indigenous tribes, each with its own language and customs.
The most numerous ethnic group were the Tupi-Guarani, and it was with them that the Portuguese made contact.
The Tupi knew nature, they had named the hills, beaches and rivers, they knew which herbs were harmful or not. All this was taught to the Portuguese.
One of the clearest examples of the permanence of indigenous culture in Brazil can be seen through the proper names, such as Itapoã, Piratininga, For, etc.
In cooking, the intensive use of manioc stands out, a plant that had been domesticated by the indigenous people and which is a mandatory item in many Brazilian dishes.
Europeans and the origin of the Brazilian people
Portuguese
The first European group to arrive in Brazil were the Portuguese. These carried out the sea voyages for various purposes: they wanted precious metals, land, expanding Christianity and glory in battle. There were plenty of reasons to cross the “Ocean Sea”.
The Portuguese introduced new concepts of society, economy and religion, very different from indigenous customs. One example is the economy: instead of planting for subsistence, it was now necessary to grow products on a large scale that could be sold on the European market.
They also brought their religion and imposed it on the natives. Through belief, came the parties, the language (Latin and Portuguese) and a new philosophy of life. Instead of several gods, now only one deity was worshiped, there was a book to follow and a hierarchy of priests.
In addition to religion, Portuguese became the language of the new territory, as well as political organization and the capitalist economy.
Dutchmen
Also, during the colonial period, we have to consider the influence of the Dutch, especially in Pernambuco.
The arrival of the Dutch meant the coming of a new religion, Calvinism. In the beginning, this generated several conflicts of a religious order with episodes of destruction of Catholic temples.
The Dutch, also called the Batavians, remained for twenty-four years before being expelled by a Portuguese-Spanish armada.
Africans in the formation of Brazil
Africans were brought to be slaves in the Americas.
However, each individual brought their language, their faith and their abilities. In this way, this knowledge was disseminated both in the farms where they worked and in the quilombos, which were spaces of freedom.
Despite all the brutality of the slavery in Brazil, Africans introduced foods such as beans and okra. In music, his influence would give the cadence and syncopated rhythm typical of Brazilian popular music.
Likewise, in dance, we found that the way of moving the waist was inherited from the Africans, which gave rise to an infinity of dances such as the maxixe and the samba.
The Africans, like the Yoruba and Jeje peoples, brought the religion and its orixás, which were mixed with Christian belief. This gave rise to the terreiros of Candomblé and, later, to Umbanda in Brazil.
In addition, several African words were incorporated into Brazilian Portuguese, such as quilombo, wasp, urchin, farofa, whispering, delicacy, etc.
European immigrants in Brazil in the 19th century XIX and XX
During the nineteenth century, after the arrival of the Portuguese court, Brazilian ports were opened for trade with other nations. Likewise, people of any nationality who wanted to make a better life could settle in Brazil.
In this way, waves of Italians, Germans, Swiss, Polish, Spanish and Arabs from different origins came to Brazil.
Each of these waves of immigrants added their culture and customs to Brazil. Thus, we have a series of dishes, such as kebab and sfirra, of Arab origin; as well as the introduction of pasta and meatballs by the Italians, for example.
For its part, at the beginning of the 20th century the japanese immigration it was encouraged by the governments of both countries. As a result, Brazil has the largest population of Japanese descendants in the world.
Miscegenation in Brazil
The union between the different human biotypes ended up generating individuals who were not completely indigenous, white or black, with regard to the genetic aspect.
This phenomenon is called miscegenation or miscegenation and is very present in Brazilian society.
As this was a society that was mainly based on skin color, the new tones gained specific names.
Let's look at some of them:
| Name | Origin |
|---|---|
| Mamluk, caboclo, caiçara | mestizo of white with indium (the coppery skin coloring reminded me of the Egyptian Mamluks) |
| Curiboca | son of indian with mameluco |
| Mulatto | son of black with white |
| Brown | mulatto son with white |
| Cafuzo | son of black with indian |
| Goat | son of black and mulatto |
| Creole | son of black parents, born in Brazil |
In this way, we realize that the Brazilian people have become a great mixture, both cultural and religious, as well as genetic.
This phenomenon has been studied by several authors, including:
- Gilberto Freyre, in your work Casa Grande and Senzala;
- Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, in Roots of Brazil;
- Darcy Ribeiro, in Formation of the Brazilian People;
- Oliveira Viana, in Southern Populations of Brazil;
- Euclid da Cunha, in the Sertões;
- Paulo Prado, in portrait of Brazil;
- Florestan Fernandes, in Body and Soul of Brazil.
Continue to research the topic with these texts.:
- Arab Culture: discover its origins and traditions
- Main Characteristics of Afro-Brazilian Culture
- Brazilian folklore: legends, games, songs, dances and parties
- Brazilian population: history and demographics
