Goitacá people
Encyclopedia
The Goitacá people are an indigenous people
of Brazil
, currently considered extinct.
The Goitacá were a "Tapuia" (i.e. non-Tupi
) people, one of the few that still remained on the Tupi-dominated coast. They were said to be taller and lighter-skinned than the Tupi. Their name may stem from guatá, the Tupi word for "wayfarer" or "runner".
In the 16th C., the Goitacá inhabited a large stretch of the eastern Brazilian coast, from the São Mateus River
to the Paraíba do Sul
River, encompassing what is now the state of Espírito Santo
and part of Rio de Janeiro
state. They are estimated to have numbered 12,000.
Unlike their Tupi neighbors, the Goitacá were a hunter-gatherer
people. Their diet consisted primarily of fruits, roots, honey and engaged in a substantial amount of hunting (they were said to be masters of the bow-and-arrow). They were also one of the few coastal indigenous populations to also engage in fishing as a major activity, and were renowned for their skill in capturing shark
s in shallows. They were alleged to be superstitious about water sources, drinking water only from freshly-dug well
s, and never from streams or rivers.
The Goitacá painted themselves with dyes from the genipapo fruit and adorned themselves and their objects with bird feathers, but otherwise went around naked. They did not cut their hair, but let it grow into long manes, shaving only a small circle in the front. They had a degree of crafsmanship in clay and bamboo, made bow-and-arrows, stone axes, rafts and fishing nets made of fiber and coir.
The Goitacá were divided into three general rival hordes, the Goitacá-guassu, the Goitacá-moppi and and the Goitacá-jacoritô. They are said to have fought each other incessantly, and that the "guassu" (meaning "great") were the more numerous and dominant of the three.
The Goitacá had a fearsome reputation as fierce and cruel warriors, characterized by English adventurer Anthony Knivet (c.1597) as "the most odious people of the Universe". Like most Brazilian peoples, they engaged in cannibalism. But contemporary commentators claimed that while the Tupi ate purely out of ritual, the Goitacá ate for pleasure, having acquired a taste for human flesh.
Unfortunately, there is little or no information about the elusive Goitacá beyond these early accounts and allegations, mostly derived by hearsay from their neighbors or fearful colonists, rather than direct familiarity. As Fr. Vicente do Salvador
wrote in his 1627 account, "These and other incredible things that are told about these people, believe as you will, because no man who was once in their power, has yet returned with his life to tell about it." The negative descriptions of the Goitacá, as found in the early writings, are probably quite unjust.
A shy people, the Goitacá avoided all interaction or contact with European colonists. They did, however, engage in barter
trade with them, principally by leaving their trade goods in a clearing, and then falling back and watching from a distance as the colonists picked up the goods and dropped off theirs. Their principal trade items were honey, wax, fish, game and fruits, which they bartered for iron goods like sickles, brandy and beads.
With the 1534 partition of colonial Brazil
into separate hereditary captaincies, the large Goitacá territory came under three captaincies: Espírito Santo, São Tomé and São Vicente. Nothing was attempted in the latter, but colonial settlements were erected in the first two in 1535-36. The natives ignored the Portuguese at first, but after a couple of thoughtless slave-raids by the colonists, the Goitacá overran and destroyed the colonies in the 1540s. After repeated assaults, the São Tomé captain Pêro de Góis finally gave up the enterprise and abandoned Brazil. Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, captain of Espírito Santo, held on only by transferring his colony to the defensible island of Vitória.
By their belligerence, the Goitacá managed to keep their lands free of European colonies for some time, and it is said their dominions were sanctuaries for European criminals and fugitives, who knew the colonial authorities would not chase after them there. But colonial pressure would not stay its hand for long - particularly as the Goitacá dominions blocked the path between the growing southern colonies like Rio de Janeiro
and eastern colonies like Salvador da Bahia. Seeing no way to encroach on their land peacefully, a campaign of extermination against the Goitacá was launched. Initially these were manhunts by the Portuguese colonists (one of which Knivet participated and described), but soon became more systematic, e.g. by leaving poisoned brandy and smallpox-diseased blankets to be picked up by the Goitacá. As the campaigns advanced, the Goicatá retreated away from the coast and deeper into the interior. By the late 18th C., the bulk were practically exterminated, remaining survivors gradually merged into other tribes.
The Campos dos Goytacazes
municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro
, is named after them.
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, currently considered extinct.
The Goitacá were a "Tapuia" (i.e. non-Tupi
Tupi
The Tupi people, Tupinambá, were one of the main ethnic groups of Brazilian indigenous people. Scholars believe they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, but 2,900 years ago they started to spread southward and gradually occupied the Atlantic coast....
) people, one of the few that still remained on the Tupi-dominated coast. They were said to be taller and lighter-skinned than the Tupi. Their name may stem from guatá, the Tupi word for "wayfarer" or "runner".
In the 16th C., the Goitacá inhabited a large stretch of the eastern Brazilian coast, from the São Mateus River
São Mateus River
-References:*...
to the Paraíba do Sul
Paraíba do Sul
thumbThe Paraíba do Sul , or simply termed Paraíba, is a river in the south-east of Brazil. It flows 1,137 kilometres west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos...
River, encompassing what is now the state of Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
and part of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
state. They are estimated to have numbered 12,000.
Unlike their Tupi neighbors, the Goitacá were a hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
people. Their diet consisted primarily of fruits, roots, honey and engaged in a substantial amount of hunting (they were said to be masters of the bow-and-arrow). They were also one of the few coastal indigenous populations to also engage in fishing as a major activity, and were renowned for their skill in capturing shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s in shallows. They were alleged to be superstitious about water sources, drinking water only from freshly-dug well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s, and never from streams or rivers.
The Goitacá painted themselves with dyes from the genipapo fruit and adorned themselves and their objects with bird feathers, but otherwise went around naked. They did not cut their hair, but let it grow into long manes, shaving only a small circle in the front. They had a degree of crafsmanship in clay and bamboo, made bow-and-arrows, stone axes, rafts and fishing nets made of fiber and coir.
The Goitacá were divided into three general rival hordes, the Goitacá-guassu, the Goitacá-moppi and and the Goitacá-jacoritô. They are said to have fought each other incessantly, and that the "guassu" (meaning "great") were the more numerous and dominant of the three.
The Goitacá had a fearsome reputation as fierce and cruel warriors, characterized by English adventurer Anthony Knivet (c.1597) as "the most odious people of the Universe". Like most Brazilian peoples, they engaged in cannibalism. But contemporary commentators claimed that while the Tupi ate purely out of ritual, the Goitacá ate for pleasure, having acquired a taste for human flesh.
Unfortunately, there is little or no information about the elusive Goitacá beyond these early accounts and allegations, mostly derived by hearsay from their neighbors or fearful colonists, rather than direct familiarity. As Fr. Vicente do Salvador
Vicente do Salvador
Vicente do Salvador born Vicente Rodrigues Palha, was a Franciscan friar in Brazil, the author of the first history of Brazil, often titled the "father of Brazilian history"....
wrote in his 1627 account, "These and other incredible things that are told about these people, believe as you will, because no man who was once in their power, has yet returned with his life to tell about it." The negative descriptions of the Goitacá, as found in the early writings, are probably quite unjust.
A shy people, the Goitacá avoided all interaction or contact with European colonists. They did, however, engage in barter
Barter
Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
trade with them, principally by leaving their trade goods in a clearing, and then falling back and watching from a distance as the colonists picked up the goods and dropped off theirs. Their principal trade items were honey, wax, fish, game and fruits, which they bartered for iron goods like sickles, brandy and beads.
With the 1534 partition of colonial Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
into separate hereditary captaincies, the large Goitacá territory came under three captaincies: Espírito Santo, São Tomé and São Vicente. Nothing was attempted in the latter, but colonial settlements were erected in the first two in 1535-36. The natives ignored the Portuguese at first, but after a couple of thoughtless slave-raids by the colonists, the Goitacá overran and destroyed the colonies in the 1540s. After repeated assaults, the São Tomé captain Pêro de Góis finally gave up the enterprise and abandoned Brazil. Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, captain of Espírito Santo, held on only by transferring his colony to the defensible island of Vitória.
By their belligerence, the Goitacá managed to keep their lands free of European colonies for some time, and it is said their dominions were sanctuaries for European criminals and fugitives, who knew the colonial authorities would not chase after them there. But colonial pressure would not stay its hand for long - particularly as the Goitacá dominions blocked the path between the growing southern colonies like Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and eastern colonies like Salvador da Bahia. Seeing no way to encroach on their land peacefully, a campaign of extermination against the Goitacá was launched. Initially these were manhunts by the Portuguese colonists (one of which Knivet participated and described), but soon became more systematic, e.g. by leaving poisoned brandy and smallpox-diseased blankets to be picked up by the Goitacá. As the campaigns advanced, the Goicatá retreated away from the coast and deeper into the interior. By the late 18th C., the bulk were practically exterminated, remaining survivors gradually merged into other tribes.
The Campos dos Goytacazes
Campos dos Goytacazes
Campos dos Goytacazes is a municipality and city located in the northern area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 463,545 inhabitants. Its area is 4,031.910 km², which makes it the largest municipality in the state and its elevation is 14 m...
municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, is named after them.