Xavantes - Mato Grosso



Xavantes - Village of Aldeia Etenhiritipa

The Xavantes Indios are an indigenous people in Brazil and live in the east of the federal state of Mato Grosso. There are about 8,500 of them living in their reservations. Their language is called Xavantes, which belongs to the linguistic family of the Gé and Jé.


The Xavantes Indios were enslaved in the 17th century and were against establishing contact with the white people. In the 19th century they retreated from Goiás to Mato Grosso, near Rio Mortes. In the 1930s they were rediscovered. From 1946 to 1957 they were forced into the national integration programme and were strongly decimated by massacres and civilisational diseases. The Xavantes are very suspicious of white people. To this day, they are still very cautious while dealing with the strangers they call “waradzu”.


The Xavantes have a reputation of being very proud and aggressive. However, their most famous attribute is their social structure. There are two clans, the Âwawẽ and the Po'reza'õno. Marriage within a clan is forbidden. An example of relations between the clans are the traditional tree trunk races, the goal of which is to haul 80-kg palm trunks to a certain spot.


The Xavantes are also well-known for their complex initiation rites. Their young men’s earlobes are pierced with small wooden sticks. These sticks grow longer and longer over the years.


The Xavantes of Mato Grosso, who call themselves “A’we”, make up the central society of the Jê family of languages, together with the Xerentes of Tocantins.



Name and Language

The Xerentes call themselves ”Akwe” and, together with the Xavantes (who call themselves ”A’we”), make up the central society of the Jê family of languages. The “Xacriabá”, who are presently living in Minas Gerais and the “Acroá” (an extinct tribe) are also part of this linguistic and cultural group. In all likelihood they were given the name “Xerente” by non-Indios, to set them apart from the other “Akwe”, particularly the Xavantes.


The Xerentes and the Xavantes speak different dialects of the same language, which belongs to the Jê family. The Xerentes have conserved it in all its vitality. Until their fifth year of life children only speak their native tongue. Adults use it on all occasions within their daily life in the village. When talking to non-Indios, they speak fluent Portuguese.


History and first contact

There are a few oral accounts among Indios, according to which the "Akwe" lived near the sea a long, long time ago. The first written documentations date the first contact between the "Akwe" and non-Indios in the 17th century, when Jesuit missions and colonists (bandeirantes) approached the Brazilian mid-west.

In the 18th century, after the discovery of goldmines, the colonisation of native territories located in the sphere of influence of the "Capitania de Goiás" increased. Between 1750 and 1790 the first native settlements were startet, funded by the crown. The "pacification" of the different Indio tribes was supposed to open up the area for the economic interests of the crown. Some of the “Akwe” (Xavantes, Xerentes, Acroá, Xacriabá), as well as the Javaé and the Karajá, took up abode in these settlements (Duro, Formiga and Pedro III – also known as “Carretão”). Eventually, however, they revolted and fled into less populated areas, in the north of the Capitania.

In the second decade of the 19th century the provincial government established military fortresses in the northern region which was inhabited by the Xavantes and the Xerentes. The purpose of these was to secure shipping on Rio Araguaia. Resistance from the Indios ensued, with attacks on the fortresses and on non-Indio settlements. Soon new efforts were made to get the “Akwe” under control. This time the peacemaking skills of the Capuchin padres was supposed to do the trick – with the military of the government sent with them as backup. In one of these settlements, called “Teresa Cristina”, today located in the district of Tocantínia, Frei Raffael de Taggia (1851) counted more than 3,000 Xavantes and Xerentes. The most probable theory on the definite separation of these two Akwe groups: toward the end of the 19th century the Xavantes emigrated to the cerrado of Mato Grosso – near Rio das Mortes – while the Xerentes remained on the shores of Rio Tocantins.

With the 20 th century came major existential problems for the Xerentes: what territory they had left of their former traditional habitat was soon invaded by landowners and cattle breeders. The SPI (Serviço de Proteção aos Índios) didn’t set up two Indio protection posts until 1940 – after the government had been confronted with reports by the ethnologist Curt Nimuendajú, which denounced the horrible living conditions of the Xerentes. Around that time a baptist mission arrived in the region. It has been active among the Xerentes to this day. Documents expressing the government’s worries concerning a demarcation of Xerente territory date back to the late 1950s.

In 1972 at last, after more than 200 years of troubled and conflict-fraught coexistence with various non-Indio parties (resulting in deaths on both sides), the Xerentes won their first bureaucratic battle by being assigned a demarcated territory. This territory has passed into the annals of the FUNAI as “Área Grande” (Big Area). It took another 20 years of great effort until they were awarded the second Indio territory, called “IT Funil”.



Survival techniques

The Xerentes use the cerrado (savannah) for hunting and collecting wild fruits – agriculture completes their existential programme. It was particularly the vastness of their traditional territory that always guaranteed them sufficient means to preserve and reproduce their society. It is no coincidence that the masculine identity of the Xerentes has always been linked with being “a good hunter” or “a good runner”. Hunting, fishing, gathering and the cultivation of land go hand in hand with the Xerentes’ knowledge of nature.


The cycle of activities dedicated to agriculture is split into the dry season – which they call “summer” – and the rainy season – the “winter”. The first one lasts from May to September, the second one from October to April. The fields are mostly in the environment of the villages, close to brooks and gallery forests. A different kind of field is in development on the shore of Rio Tocantins, along the western border of their territory, stretching over a length of almost 12 km. The task of working the majority of the fields (clearing, burning, digging, planting and harvesting) is performed collectively by a certain living community (father, unmarried sons, married daughters and sons-in-law). In some villages different living communities work bigger fields together. In the former case the work is distributed among one living community – in the latter among the inhabitants of the whole village.


Other nutritious foods, such as honey, fruits and various roots are found gathering – an important activity that is also needed to find medical plants. The number of fish in their territory, once an important source of food for the Xerentes, has declined significantly over the years. This is the result of major industrial projects (dams, hydro-electric facilities) by Rio Tocantins. Huntable wildlife, too, has been getting constantly rarer. For this, the increasing illegal exploitation of natural resources by non-Indios is to blame.

In turn, the Xerentes have come up with new sources of income. The manufacture and sale of handicraft – baskets, clubs, bows and arrows, chains etc. are – albeit poorly paid by regional customers – one of the most important activities of the group, for the raw materials used (buriti fibre, grass seeds, palm straw etc.) are easily accessible in their population. Some members of living communities make money by working for the FUNAI (as boat pilots or helpers at posts) or for the state (as native teachers or medics), some older members draw a pension.


Social structure

Studies of the Jê peoples show that they are basically characterised by an interplay of a simple technological system – which is adjusted to the surrounding environment – with an extremely complicated socio-cultural system. These systems organise themselves through a structural dualism, which shows in the large number of “halves” in their society’s actions. In the case of the Xerentes you can spot this dualism in their rituals, masculine ceremonies, naming, age classes, sport groups etc., which are all organised within familial relationships. The basis for this order is founded upon two socio-cosmological halves: “Doí” and “Wahirê” – associated, in that order, with the sun and the moon, the mythological heroes and founders of the Xerente society. The jaguar (huku) also has his place in Xerente mythology, he taught them how to use fire.


The half of the “Doí” consists of the clans of the Kuzaptedkwá (“lords of the fire”), the Kbazitdkwá (“lords of cotton”) and the Kritóitdkwa (“lords of the game of the hot potato” or “lords of rubber”). The other half, the “Wahirê” is made up of the clans of the Krozaké, the Kreprehí and the Wahirê – the latter bearing the same name as its “half”. These two halves and their associated clans maintain a network of mutual obligations and return services. Both halves, with their six clans and the lines from which they are descended are patrilineal, which means that they extend from father to son, from grandfather on one’s father’s side to grandson or great-grandson. Every Xerente clan has a number of proper names which are passed down from generation to generation. Their purpose is to identify and distinguish single individuals within their social structure.


Another fundamental organism for the identificiation and location of the Xerentes within their socio-cultural universe is, in a broader sense, their body painting. It is based on two visual motives which define this form of identification: the line, denoting the individual marked with it as a member of the Wahirê clan – and the circle, marking its bearer as belonging to the Doí clan. The grown-ups only paint their bodies for ceremonial occasions. The children, however, are painted every day. Adult paintings can have to do with the most diverse spheres of social and ritual organisation; with age groups, ceremonial parties, competing sport groups, weddings, funerals etc. The basic colours for body painting are extracted from the following elements: charcoal mixed with juice from the “Pau-de-leite” makes a deep black-blue, seeds from the Urucum capsule complemented with down feathers or cotton result in a red-white colour. Before painting, the bodies are rubbed (primed) with Babaçu oil. The details – circle or line – are made as “stamps” from the marrow of the Buriti palm and then pressed on the skin at regular intervals.


In their famous races featuring Butiri palm trunks (as described in the text on the “KRAHÔ“) which are supposed to emphasize the duality in their society as well, players from each opposing team – “Steromkwá” und “Htamhã” – carry a portion of a palm trunk on their shoulders, carved and painted with motives and patterns relating to the anaconda and the turtle. One of the tasks of the shamans is to paint the trunks that have been freed of their bark and thus to invoke the protection of the forest spirits. This race is among the preferred sports of the Xerente men and in popularity is only second to a common game of football – with, naturally, one “half“ playing the other.

The vision of the cosmos of the Xerentes is directly linked with the diverse elements that their environment consists of. With the various processes of evangelisation by missionaries – both Catholic and Protestant – bearing down on them, they have embraced or applied some of the values of these religions, without abandoning their own, that is. Proof of that is the shamans’ active participation in the social and political life in the group.

Apart from three particularly big villages, which are home to more than 150 inhabitants at present, the other villages usually comprise between 10 and 50 people. The rule of a living community is uxorilocal, which means that the son-in-law lives in the village (or the residential segment) of the father-in-law. The Xerentes generally do not impose restrictions on inter-ethnic relations – between non-Indio women and Xerente men – but only in exceptions do they allow relations of the reversed type. All non-Indios married to Xerentes are integrated in the network of relatives. Consequently, they partake in the ceremonial and political system of the group, which stipulates their rights and duties toward the others.


Politics

Political attitudes – as expressed in rituals, their body paint and particularly in an intensive party spirit – are based on a number of obligations and rights stipulated by their relational connections. They also hark back to statements made by the individual factions to various non-Indio representatives present in the region (Conselho Indígena Missionário, Procuradoria da República, Governo do Estado, Prefeitura Municipal, FUNAI, Missão Batista, etc.). The factions among the Xerentes – groups of individuals (related by blood or marriage) supporting one (or more) of their leaders – live in constant competition for political rule of every single village, as well as for communication with non-Indio agents. Such a dynamic produces parties, increases the number of villages and their leaders and consequentially sees the advent of new political, social and ceremonial organisations. To give you an idea of the Xerentes’ dynamism: until 1988 there were nine Xerente villages. Today there are 33. However, such changes neither necessarily entail the dissolution of relational ties nor do they endanger the internal unity of the group. The political roles of highest respect are that of the chief, the shaman and of a member of the council of elders (Wawes).

New forms of political leadership are assuming a respectable position even among the Xerentes – as, for instance, the directors of an association or the teachers of a school. The Xerentes have also produced an institutional politician, a city council member in the “Câmara Municipal de Tocantínia”, during the 1992 – 1996 term. Being without any political experience and swayed by local anti-Indio pressure, the elected council member distanced himself more and more from his own people – which began to regret their initiative for him. In the district elections of 1996 the ballot came only very few votes short of putting two Xerente candidates on the city council of Tocantínia. Xerente voters, more than 600 (men and women) are of crucial importance in the local party landscape. There are denunciations from the native leadership, claiming that the election process (the election itself and most of all the count) is being manipulated to the disadvantage of the Indios. And there are worries among the non-Indio population of Tocantínia – for the time being expressed facetiously – that this district, enclosed by the Indio territory of the Xerentes, could become the “first Indio district in Brazil”.

When the Xerente founded their own native organisation – the “Associação Indígena Xerente” (AIX) – in 1992, they received political and economic support from an NGO from Luxembourg, “Bridderlech Deelen”. During their almost 4-year existence, the organisation ran a number of economic projects which involved every single village. This was the first instance to indicate the beginning of Xerente autonomy in the face of a complicated network of local economic and political connections. The organisation disbanded in late 1995. Several Xerente leaders confirmed that the end of the AIX was brought about through political pressure. In 1998 the Xerentes, now somewhat more experienced in running such an organisation, started founding three new native organisations, each one consolidating the villages in its immediate environment – taking political, relational, ceremonial and regional aspects into account.


Health and education

As of right now, the Xerentes/Xavantes are in above-average health compared to the precarious situation of other native peoples in Brazil. They have a birth rate of about 4%, which is far above the national average. Diseases like malaria and jaundice, responsible for a drastic decline in their population in the 1960s, are all but wiped out. Prevalent among the Xerentes today are flu, dysentery, bronchitis, pneumonia, rheumatism, conjunctivitis and tonsillitis. In the two places the Xerentes frequent the most, Miracema and Tocantínia, there are records of AIDS cases among non-Indios. This is a worrisome danger, since inter-ethnic flirts and relationships are common. Another serious problem, which in most cases affects a good portion of grown-up Xerente men, is alcohol addiction. The moral damage aside, it weakens their organisms and makes them more susceptible to diseases. Medical care and assistance is given to the Indios both in their villages and in localities nearby. Native medics, who received according training (funded by a combination of FUNAI, the prefecture of Tocantínia and the government) work in the villages. In the cities, the Xerentes have a post of the government-established “Sistema Unificado de Saúde” (SUS) at their disposal, in Miracema they can use the hospital and also the team of doctors of the FUNAI in the “Casa do Indio”, in the district of Gurupi.


The Xerente underwent various attempts at re-education: the evangelisation by the Capuchins (in the second half of the 19th century) and the Dominicans (in the first three decades of the 20th century). Their bilingualism was promoted by the Baptist missionaries (from the 1950s onward). In recent times (1980s) they were offered to support various non-Indio organisations – by the missionaries of the CIMI, the FUNAI, by anthropologists, the government of Tocantins and the Universidade Federal de Goías. Formal school lessons in the villages, taught by ca. 30 native teachers of both sexes (one in almost every village), however, are restricted to classes 1 – 4 of primary school. Afterwards, continuing classes becomes a little more difficult due to transport and the adjustment to the requirements of non-Indio schools offering gymnasial education in Miracema and Tocantínia. Despite such problems, a few Xerentes have obtained their highschool diploma – some got an engineering degree, some graduated business managers or accountants. Another opportunity is offered by the agricultural school in a boarding school in Catalão (federal state Goiás). There are presently two Xerentes in state faculties, studying agricultural engineering and business management.


Other names: Akwe, A´uwe
Language: from the linguistic family "Jê"
Population: 13,303 (2007)
Region: Serra do Roncador, federal state of Mato Grosso


Source: Brasilienportal


Photographs on this site are protected by copyright:
© by Pantanal-/Amazonas-Tours