That's a rhetorical wondering,
aim to question the essential return to the Brazilian culture origins. It is
difficult to extrapolate such a culture but it would sure be a country with
more respect for nature, less wear between cultures that came later.
The idea here is not
to take the Indians out of their values, their land or their essence - On the
contrary - as happened with many other prosper cultures (such as Japanese,
Chinese, etc.). The Idea is to extrapolate how two hundred years (or more) of
evolution would mature this culture and to show its importance the rest of the
world.
I really admire how
the Japanese have made survive many cultural aspects of their tribal ancestors,
the Ainos, and these did make survive much of its ancient tribes of the
Satsumon and the Okhotsk, and the events that took place from the unification
of Shogunates 1590. Historical factors that made each member of their culture share
social maturity and survived the whole cultural interference until the present
day. "We have to aggregate the best of social evolution, technological,
etc., but keep and respect our very own essence," once said my good,
Japanese descendant friend, Pedro Takaki. I believe this would have been more
appropriate cultural evolution here in Brazil with our local ethnicities.
Brazilian Indigenous people
gave significant contributions to world culture, such as the domestication of (mandioca)
cassava and utilization of various native plants, such as corn, tobacco,
guarana, yerba mate, sweet potato, pepper, cashew, pineapple, yam, pine nuts,
acai, pitanga, jabuticaba, mangaba, the hog plum (cajá), the umbu, annatto
(urucum), genipap, passion fruit, guava, pequi, jambu, the jatoba, buriti , the
carnauba (palm heart) juçara, pejibaye the jerivá, copaiba, andiroba, tucum,
etc.. Also, spread the use of hammock and practice of the peteca (shuttle).
The brasilíndios had
as a basic organization or taba village, formed by the ocas or huts, arranged
in circles where families lived. The government was exercised by a council -
nheengaba - formed by elders, and only in wartime chose a chief, or cacique
morubixaba.
Like the Japanese
culture, the various ethnic groups have preserved their culture and evolved a
lot in all other respects. In this idealized Brazil under previous precepts,
large ocas would be deemed as community cultural centers, where anyone could
stay and perform researches or works.
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Just as the Japanese that
associate tradition to innovation the 'Technological Ocas' are the proof that
the Brazilian ethnic groups are evolved without losing the essence.
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For this alternative
story would run its course in the way that I speculate, many things would have
been changed in the past. I believe the most important deviation would be - the
no promulgation - the law that prohibits the use of indigenous languages
throughout the country passed by the Marquis of Pombal.
The Tupi Idiom was the
language originally spoken by the Tupi people of South America (tupinambás,
tupiniquins, Caeté, tamoios, potiguaras, temiminós, tabajaras etc.). It was
learned by Portuguese settlers and, through them and their descendants, became
the most used language in Brazil during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
300 years ago, living
in the village of ‘São Paulo de Piratininga’ (dried fish in Tupi-Old "xe
pe Piratining Cui" - "going to where the fish are dried") was
almost synonymous to speak Indian language. Only one in five people knew the
Portuguese Idiom. Therefore in 1698, the provincial governor, Artur de Sá e
Meneses, pleaded Portugal to send priests who knew only "the general
language of the Indians", because "these people can not be addressed
in another language."
The ending point of
this Indianist culture happened with Angry Marquis of Pombal (1699-1782), who
then ruled Portugal and its colonies. Tired of the problems he had with a lack
of uniformity of language in Sao Paulo, he decided to impose the Portuguese
Idiom by decree in 1758. The Directory of Indians, banned the use of all
indigenous languages and the teaching of the so called ‘nheengatu’,
"diabolical invention" of the Jesuits.
Today, the use of the
Old Tupi, or the called ‘lingua geral’ (general language) the foundation of all
Brazilian ethnic languages, is restricted only to the region of the upper Rio
Negro and part of Venezuela.
Eduardo Navarro,
founder of 'Tupi Aqui' (Tupi here), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which
aims to fight for the inclusion of Tupi language as an optional subject in the
curriculum of schools in São Paulo, as well as our beloved Policarpo Quaresma,
sees the importance of our cultural heritage prohibited by decree "The Old
Tupi” was the language spoken by Tibiriçá, Coiobi, Araribóia, Felipe Camarão,
Cunhambebe, Bartira, João Ramalho, Caramuru, Soares Moreno, Martim Afonso Leão,
all familiar names from the Brazilian primary school, the language that was
described spoken by Anchieta, Luis Figueira, spoken by Antonio Vieira, a
language that evolved in shape, Fernão Dias Paes, Borba Gato, Bartolomeu Bueno
da Silva (the Anhangüera), Raposo Tavares spoke with their 'bandeiras' and led
to the interior regions of Brazil, language that Gonçalves Dias and José de
Alencar tried to learn to compose their works and affirm a national literature,
as opposed to Lusitanian literature".
The term
"Indian" is a European invention. The original inhabitants of the
Americas never saw themselves as an uno people. Rather, different indigenous
groups nourished great animosity and fought each other constantly. In Brazil,
the Tupi lived along the coast when the Portuguese arrived, being derived,
however, from Amazon. An "Indian identity" was only created centuries
later, with the arrival of Europeans.
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In the town that
evolved from the indigenous culture nature is always respected and houses still
holds the shape of ‘ocas’ (dome shaped Brazilian indigenous residence).
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The Brazilian
indigenous population is formed by 238 completely different ethnicities. This
diversity becomes clear when we consider the number of languages spoken in
Brazil. Research Linguist Aryon Rodrigues, UNB, show that there are 180 Indian
languages in Brazil. From this set, some are practically extinct, such as
Karipuna known by only a single Indian.
Classification
The Jesuits, based on
the language and location, made the first classification of the Indians. Those
who inhabited the coast (the Tupi), were called Indians of the general language
and those who lived inside (Tapuias), tongue-tied Indians. In the nineteenth
century, the German scholar Karl von den Steinen, presented the first
scientific classification of Brazilians indigenous, dividing them into four
basic groups or large nations:
1)Tupis-Guaranis;
2)Jês ou Tapuias;
3)Nuaruaques ou
Maipurés e
4)Caraíbas ou Caribas.
And four smaller
groups:
5)Goitacás;
6)Panos;
7)Miranhas; e
8)Guaicurus.
Until the mid-'70s, it
was believed that the disappearance of indigenous peoples would be inevitable,
however something amazing happened. In the 80s, there has been a reversion of
the demographic curve and, since then, the indigenous population in the country
has grown homogeneously, indicating a demographic recovery from most of these
people, although demographically specific people have fallen and some are even
threatened extinction. In the list of indigenous peoples in Brazil prepared by
ISA (Socio-Environmental Institute), seven of them have populations between 5
and 40 individuals.
43 out of the 238
people listed have part of its population residing in other countries.
According to the IBGE Census of 2010, 896,917 people declared themselves
belonging to some ethnic group. From these, 324,834 live in cities and 572,083
in rural areas, representing approximately 0.47% of the total population of the
country.
The General
Coordination of Isolated and Newly Contacted Indians (CGIIRC) confirms the
existence of 28 such groups. In Latin America, Brazil is the only country to
have a specific body to develop policies to protect isolated Indians.
The cities that are
more concentrated indigenous populations:
1) São Gabriel da
Cachoeira (AM) – 76,31%
2) Uiramutã (RR) –
74,41%
3) Normandia (RR) –
57,21%
4) Santa Rosa do Purus
(AC) – 48,29%
5) Ipuaçu (SC) –
47,87%
6) Baía da Traição
(PB) – 47,70%
7) Pacaraima (RR) –
47,36%
8) Benjamin Constant
do Sul (RS) – 40,73%
9) São João das
Missões (MG) – 40,21%
10) Japorã (MS) –
39,24%
Indianism
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Paining of José Maria
de Medeiros, Iracema character of Romance of José de Alencar, National Museum
of Fine Arts in Rio de January 1881
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Brazilian Romanticism
became an official project, having the support of D. Pedro II to intellectuals
and artists; it had direct connection to the politics. The Indians were chosen
as character in order to appreciate the origins of nationality, seen as an
integral element and founder of the Brazilian nation. In 1856, when Gonçalves
de Magalhães published the epic poem ‘The Confederation of Tamoios’, work
financed by the Emperor, the Indian came to be considered the national symbol.
Conceived, courageous, pure and honorable, became the very embodiment of young,
independent Brazilian nation, now led by D. Pedro II.
"Oswald de
Andrade, on a trip to Paris from atop of a workshop from Place Clichy - navel
of the world - discovered, dazzled his own country. Returning to the motherland,
involved in enchantmentof the findings of Manueline, he confirms the startling
revelation that ‘Brazil existed’. This fact, that some have suspected, opened
his eyes to the radiant vision of a new world, unexplored and mysterious. The
‘Pau-Brasil’ poetry was then created" – (Pau-Brasil - The brazilwood tree,
which gives Brazil its name - Caesalpinia echinata, is a species of Brazilian
timber tree in the pea family).
Oswald de Andrade in
Anthropophagic Manifesto, sought to transform the "noble savage" of
Rousseau in embattled wild hog, which digests and transforms the European
culture of the colonizer, making it part of their own culture. Considering the
issue of the "noble savage" in Rousseau's thought, is it true.
I had the same insight
of Oswald de Andrade in a dream I had in 1983 when, when looking through the
telescope of Professor Lanzza the true essence of things mingle with your state of mind
and then, something surprisingly new arises.
The canvas that
Tarsila do Amaral painted in 1928, The Apapuru is considered the most valuable
painting by a Brazilian artist, having reached the value of $1.4 million, paid
by the Argentine collector Eduardo Costantini in an auction in 1995. exposed at
the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA).
Abaporu comes in terms
of Tupi aba (man), pora (people) and ú (eat), meaning "man who eats
people."
The Indianism gew in
some isolated currents such as Baroque Indianism of Father José de Anchieta;
arcadian Indianism of Basilio da Gama, author of the epic poem The Uraguai; the
romantic Indianism of José de Alencar, in prose, with the novels The Guarani,
Iracema, and Ubirajara, among others, the arts, the painting Moema by Victor
Meirelles, Maraba and the Last Tamoio by Rodolfo Amoedo are great examples.
Indianism gonçalvino -
Gonçalves Dias, on poetry, with poems scattered throughout various books,
especially I-Juca Pirama, which recounts the death of the last remaining tribe
of Tupi, eaten by the tribe of Indians Timbiras; Maraba, and the unfinished ‘the
Timbiras.
Thus the movement
Indianist joins modernism in anthropophagic new trend – THE NEW INDIANISM
The Cauim
A traditional
alcoholic drink brewed by indigenous people of Brazil, obtained from the
fermentation of cassava is found today only in indigenous reserves. However, in
my Brazil with an alternative history the Cauim is as popular as beer,
manufactured by the Tribal Cooperative Limited (CTL) - a form cooperative with
commercial purposes whose philosophy is the sustainability and commitment to
society. The Cauim market in Brazil is estimated at nearly one billion dollars,
five times smaller than the beer market, but finds great expansion in the rest
of the world.
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Several brands of
Cauim (typical native alcoholic beverage of the indigenous peoples in Brazil
since pre-Columbian times. It is made of fermented manioc or cassava.) Compete
in this fierce drinks market
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The 'New Tupi' economy
and society
The days of Today,
agriculture is the main economic activity of indigenous people, but they also
enjoy hunting and fishing, whenever possible. They perform subsistence economy,
marked by the distribution and redistribution of goods produced and in which
economic relations of production, whatever the activity, are guided by social
ties defined by kinship. The "property" (exclusive use) of gardens
and consumption of products is the elementary familiar, after the birth of the
couple's children, which does not exclude the distribution of goods, produced
or acquired services in the fields of the father and the realization of joint
efforts within group’s macro family. The economy in alternative 'New Tupi'
Brazil has the same roots. Despite being an economic system very similar to the
socialist model it is completely capitalist. The Indians learned early what
Darwin cited as 'Adaptability'. The Indians know better than anyone how to
adapt to the needs of nature and mankind, and learned to profit from observing
in detail the consumption habits of its economy.
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Huge investment in
research to verify knowledge acquired by several generations have made the 'New
Economy Tupi' world leader in biotechnology, one of the most prosperous
economic drivers of Brazilian Indians.
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They also has an empirical
knowledge on natural resources, which combined to research and high investments
in the last 100 years, has led to extremely high level of excellence. This alternate
Brazil divides the first position with the United States the status of world's
largest economy.
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In the alternative
'New Tupi' economy, Brazilian ethnic food not only has big investments but also
brings our culture to all major capitals of the world.
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As in any
civilization, the standards of beauty and aesthetics are greatly radicalized
when teenagers exploit them. In the case of indigenous Brazilians lip discs
worn by Kayapos gave rise to many other forms of body piercing and adornments.
The "window piercing" is a a plexiglas disk embedded in the lower lip
and in the cheek so you could see inside gumline. The concept has taken-on a
new life with young people!
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| The "window piercing" is a a plexiglas disk embedded in the lower lip and in the cheek so you could see inside gumline |
Conclusions
The lesson that we
learn when philosophize about such considerations is that 'it is not too late'.
We can and should be proud of our origins, values and them make them survive,
thrive and live happily. Perhaps in coming days we see scenes like these
without associating them with science fiction.
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