Rikbaktsa
Encyclopedia
The Rikbaktsa are an indigenous ethnic group
from the Mato Grosso
region of Brazil
.
People), alluding to their aptitude in canoe use, or—more rarely—Orelhas de Pau (Wooden Ears), alluding to their practice of enlarging their earlobes
with wooden plugs.
The Rikbaktsa live in the Amazon
rain forest
of northwest Mato Grosso
. Their traditional territory spanned 50,000 km² of Juruena River
basin, stretching from the Papagaio River
in the south to the Augusto Falls on the upper Tapajós River
in the north. Their territory was bounded on the west by the Aripuanã River
and on the east by the Arinos River
, near the Peixes River.
Today, they have rights to three Indigenous Lands: Erikbaktsa (79,935 hectares, demarcated in 1968), Japuíra (152,509 hectares, demarcated in 1986), and Escondido (168,938 hectares, demarcated in 1998).
, geographic references in their myths, and their detailed knowledge of nearby flora and fauna suggest that they have lived on the land for some time.
Though scientific, commercial, and strategic expeditions have visited the region surrounding the Rikbaktsa since the 17th century, they stayed on the waterways and did not venture into the forests in which the Rikbaktsa lived. It was not until rubber gatherers
came to the region
in the late 1940s that the first historical references to Rikbaktsa people appeared. The Rikbaktsa, who were known for their hostile relations with nearly every neighboring indigenous group, initially resisted the presence of rubber gatherers. The Rikbaktsa were finally "pacified" by rubber planter–financed Jesuit
missionaries
between 1957 and 1962, when they stopped resisting the planters. After 1962, the rubber-extraction, timber, mining, and agricultural industries encroached on the Rikbaktsa's traditional territory.
During the pacification process and the subsequent years, epidemics of influenza
, chickenpox
, and smallpox
reduced the Rikbaktsa population by three quarters. As a result, they lost the majority of their land, and most Rikbaktsa children were taken to be raised alongside other indigenous children at a Jesuit boarding school nearly 200 km away from their homes. The tribe's remaining adults were progressively moved from their villages to larger villages administered by Jesuit missionaries. After the 1968 demarcation of the Erikbaktsa Indigenous Land on one tenth of the tribe's original territory, children began to return to their home villages.
During the 1970s, missionaries increasingly recognized indigenous peoples' right to their own culture and to self-determination. This period also saw the start of the Rikbaktsa's population recovery, as the Anchieta Mission exerted its protective influence. While the mission continued to pressure the Rikbaktsa toward acculturation, they nonetheless provided the minimum physical necessities for the Rikbaktsa's recovery. Since the late 1970s, the Rikbaktsa have attempted to recover their traditional territory, and in 1985 they regained control of the Japuíra. During this time, population growth stalled somewhat, which may be partially attributed to the struggle for Japuíra, during which food production and health services lagged. After 1987, increased access to resources and health services assistance from the Anchieta Mission and the Fundação Nacional do Índio
, population recovery continued at a rapid pace. As of 2001, there were 909 Rikbaktsa people.
In recent years, the decentralized structure of Rikbaktsa society has proved an obstacle to joint undertakings to preserve Rikbaktsa land and culture. To counteract this, the Ribaktsa created the Associação Indígena Rikbaktsa (Rikbaktsa Indigenous Association), or Asirik, in 1995. The organization is aimed to interact with external agencies and provide a more unified voice for Ribaktsa people. It is run by representatives from all Ribaktsa internal territorial sub-groups. The Ribaktsa have invested heavily in education; there are 20 village schools run by indigenous teachers, many of whom have participated in recent teacher training promoted by the Mato Grosso
state government. As of 1998, the Rikbaktsa were trying to find a health assistance partner. Formerly, the Anchieta Mission trained indigenous nurses and practical dentists.
language. As in other indigenous languages, word endings indicate the gender of the speaker.
Most Rikbaktsa can speak both Rikbaktsa and Portuguese. Younger individuals tend to speak Portuguese more frequently and fluently than their elders, but older individuals generally struggle with Portuguese and use it only with non-indigenous Brazilians.
Traditionally, the Rikbaktsa have had no chiefs, and each domestic group theoretically is its own political unit. (Centralized leadership structures imposed on the Rikbaktsa by missionaries were unsuccessful.) Without centralized leadership, social control is maintained primarily through gossip, ostracism, and social avoidance. Despite the lack of official leaders, there are influential community members that shape others' behavior beyond the confines of their houses or villages. Such leaders have often been those with great personal capacities as well as those with many relatives. In recent years, young men who are familiar with Western society and have responded well to contact have also been influential.
Sickness is seen as resulting from the breaking of taboos, from spells, or from poisoning by enemies. Rikbaktsa traditional medicine uses plant matter and ritual purification.
For the Rikbaktsa, music, rituals, and traditional dress have served as a unifying element in the face of contact with the outside world. Hunting, fishing, gathering, and agriculture are ritualized with ceremonies throughout the year. The two largest ceremonies are the January green maize ceremony and the May forest-clearing ceremony. Ceremonies often involve body paint, feather ornaments, flute-playing of traditional songs, and the performance of mythical stories and recent fights.
Traditionally, when the boy is capable of hunting large animals and is knowledgeable about traditional ceremonies, around age 14 or 15, he would have his ears pierced in a ritual celebration. This now-obsolete rite marked the boys' transition into manhood and eligibility for marriage. Traditionally, the young man would then participate in a warring expedition against neighboring tribes. However, this tradition has also been abandoned; today, young men instead actively participate in the tribe's recovery and maintenance of their territory.
Shortly after these rituals, or after marriage, the young man receives his third, "adult" name. Today, ear-piercing is not necessary for a young man to receive his adult name, so long as he is old enough and knowledgeable enough. Some men also change their names again later in life as they achieve a higher social status.
s rather than farmers. Traditional knowledge
of natural resources is transmitted between generations and among group members freely; this, combined with the abundance of resources in the rain forest, allows for egalitarianism within the tribe. Each residence, which consists of a man, his wife, his single sons, his daughters (both single and married), his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren, generally produces and consumes its own food. Cooperation among a larger group occurs only during agricultural rituals and a few other occasions, but is complemented by a system of reciprocal kinship relationships.
The Rikbaktsa use slash-and-burn agriculture
, where ½–2 hectare planting fields are cleared by fire every 2 or 3 years. Old fields are generally left fallow and eventually retaken by the forest. The Rikbaktsa regularly plant rice, cassava
, maize
, yams
, beans, cotton, urucu, bananas, peanuts, sugarcane, and pumpkin. On occasion limes, oranges, tangerines, pineapple, mangoes, and other fruits are also planted.
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...
from the Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
region 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...
.
Name
Rikbaktsa (Rikbaktsa rik, person + bak, human being + tsa [plural suffix]), the group's self-denomination, can be translated as "the human beings". Variant spellings include Ricbacta, Erikbaktsa, Erigpaktsa, Erigpagtsá, Erigpactsa, Erikbaktsá, Arikpaktsá, and Aripaktsá. Locally, they are also called Canoeiros (CanoeCanoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
People), alluding to their aptitude in canoe use, or—more rarely—Orelhas de Pau (Wooden Ears), alluding to their practice of enlarging their earlobes
Stretching (body piercing)
Stretching, in the context of body piercing, is the deliberate expansion of a healed fistula for the purpose of wearing body piercing jewelry. Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings, tongue piercings and lip piercings/lip plates following close behind...
with wooden plugs.
Location
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
rain forest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
of northwest Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
. Their traditional territory spanned 50,000 km² of Juruena River
Juruena River
The Juruena River is a 1240 km long river in west-central Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso. For the last 190 km of its lower part the river becomes the border between the states Mato Grosso and Amazonas...
basin, stretching from the Papagaio River
Papagaio River (Amazonas)
Papagaio River is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil.-References:*...
in the south to the Augusto Falls on the upper Tapajós River
Tapajós
The Tapajós, a Brazilian river running through a humid and hot valley, pours into the Amazon River 500 miles above Pará and is about 1200 miles long.It rises on the lofty Brazilian plateau near Diamantino in 14 degrees 25' south latitude...
in the north. Their territory was bounded on the west by the Aripuanã River
Aripuanã River
Aripuanã River is a river of Amazonas and Mato Grosso states in north-western Brazil.-See also:*List of rivers of Amazonas*List of rivers of Mato Grosso-References:*...
and on the east by the Arinos River
Arinos River
The Arinos River is a river in Brazil in South America. It is located east of, and empties into, the Juruena River. Some of the Suyá Indians, a Gê-speaking people of central Brazil, migrated from the state of Maranhão to this river.-References:...
, near the Peixes River.
Today, they have rights to three Indigenous Lands: Erikbaktsa (79,935 hectares, demarcated in 1968), Japuíra (152,509 hectares, demarcated in 1986), and Escondido (168,938 hectares, demarcated in 1998).
History
There are no pre-20th century historical references to the Rikbaktsa, and there have been no archeological studies to date their occupation of their traditional lands. However, oral historiesOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
, geographic references in their myths, and their detailed knowledge of nearby flora and fauna suggest that they have lived on the land for some time.
Though scientific, commercial, and strategic expeditions have visited the region surrounding the Rikbaktsa since the 17th century, they stayed on the waterways and did not venture into the forests in which the Rikbaktsa lived. It was not until rubber gatherers
Rubber tapping
Rubber tapping is the process by which the sap is collected from a rubber tree. An incision is made in the tree's bark, which cuts through the planting cycle to optimise the latex yield....
came to the region
Rubber boom
The rubber boom was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related with the extraction and commercialization of rubber...
in the late 1940s that the first historical references to Rikbaktsa people appeared. The Rikbaktsa, who were known for their hostile relations with nearly every neighboring indigenous group, initially resisted the presence of rubber gatherers. The Rikbaktsa were finally "pacified" by rubber planter–financed Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
missionaries
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
between 1957 and 1962, when they stopped resisting the planters. After 1962, the rubber-extraction, timber, mining, and agricultural industries encroached on the Rikbaktsa's traditional territory.
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, chickenpox
Chickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
, and smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
reduced the Rikbaktsa population by three quarters. As a result, they lost the majority of their land, and most Rikbaktsa children were taken to be raised alongside other indigenous children at a Jesuit boarding school nearly 200 km away from their homes. The tribe's remaining adults were progressively moved from their villages to larger villages administered by Jesuit missionaries. After the 1968 demarcation of the Erikbaktsa Indigenous Land on one tenth of the tribe's original territory, children began to return to their home villages.
During the 1970s, missionaries increasingly recognized indigenous peoples' right to their own culture and to self-determination. This period also saw the start of the Rikbaktsa's population recovery, as the Anchieta Mission exerted its protective influence. While the mission continued to pressure the Rikbaktsa toward acculturation, they nonetheless provided the minimum physical necessities for the Rikbaktsa's recovery. Since the late 1970s, the Rikbaktsa have attempted to recover their traditional territory, and in 1985 they regained control of the Japuíra. During this time, population growth stalled somewhat, which may be partially attributed to the struggle for Japuíra, during which food production and health services lagged. After 1987, increased access to resources and health services assistance from the Anchieta Mission and the Fundação Nacional do Índio
Fundação Nacional do Índio
Fundação Nacional do Índio or FUNAI is a Brazilian governmental protection agency for Indian interests and their culture.It was originally called the SPI and was founded by the Brazilian Marshal Cândido Rondon in 1910, who also created the agency's motto, "Die if necessary, but never kill." The...
, population recovery continued at a rapid pace. As of 2001, there were 909 Rikbaktsa people.
In recent years, the decentralized structure of Rikbaktsa society has proved an obstacle to joint undertakings to preserve Rikbaktsa land and culture. To counteract this, the Ribaktsa created the Associação Indígena Rikbaktsa (Rikbaktsa Indigenous Association), or Asirik, in 1995. The organization is aimed to interact with external agencies and provide a more unified voice for Ribaktsa people. It is run by representatives from all Ribaktsa internal territorial sub-groups. The Ribaktsa have invested heavily in education; there are 20 village schools run by indigenous teachers, many of whom have participated in recent teacher training promoted by the Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
state government. As of 1998, the Rikbaktsa were trying to find a health assistance partner. Formerly, the Anchieta Mission trained indigenous nurses and practical dentists.
Language
The native language of the Rikbaktsa, called either Rikbaktsa or Erikbaktsa, is a Macro-GêMacro-Gê languages
Macro-Jê is a medium-sized language stock in South America centered around the Jê language family, with all other branches currently being single languages due to recent extinctions. The family was first proposed in 1926, and has undergone moderate modifications since then...
language. As in other indigenous languages, word endings indicate the gender of the speaker.
Most Rikbaktsa can speak both Rikbaktsa and Portuguese. Younger individuals tend to speak Portuguese more frequently and fluently than their elders, but older individuals generally struggle with Portuguese and use it only with non-indigenous Brazilians.
Political organization
Reciprocity is the most important factor in Rikbaktsa political relations. Women are exchanged among clans for marriage, and goods and labour are offered to other clans. Breaks in reciprocity among subgroups often cause divisions between Rikbaktsa subgroups, which is influential in determining the distance of villages from their neighbors. While there were serious pre-contact rivalries between Rikbaktsa of various rivers, their present-day struggle for survival has encouraged group cohesion as well as, on occasion, alliances with other indigenous societies.Traditionally, the Rikbaktsa have had no chiefs, and each domestic group theoretically is its own political unit. (Centralized leadership structures imposed on the Rikbaktsa by missionaries were unsuccessful.) Without centralized leadership, social control is maintained primarily through gossip, ostracism, and social avoidance. Despite the lack of official leaders, there are influential community members that shape others' behavior beyond the confines of their houses or villages. Such leaders have often been those with great personal capacities as well as those with many relatives. In recent years, young men who are familiar with Western society and have responded well to contact have also been influential.
Beliefs and culture
Oral story-telling and myth are important to the Rikbaktsa. The Rikbaktsa believe in reincarnation, and that future incarnations are dependent on the life one led. The virtuous may be reincarnated as human beings or night monkeys (which are never hunted by the Rikbaktsa), while the villainous are reincarnated as dangerous animals like jaguars or poisonous snakes. However, the Rikbaktsa believe that all organisms were once human and that they were transformed into animals for good.Sickness is seen as resulting from the breaking of taboos, from spells, or from poisoning by enemies. Rikbaktsa traditional medicine uses plant matter and ritual purification.
For the Rikbaktsa, music, rituals, and traditional dress have served as a unifying element in the face of contact with the outside world. Hunting, fishing, gathering, and agriculture are ritualized with ceremonies throughout the year. The two largest ceremonies are the January green maize ceremony and the May forest-clearing ceremony. Ceremonies often involve body paint, feather ornaments, flute-playing of traditional songs, and the performance of mythical stories and recent fights.
Rites of passage
Men
Boys are given their "child" name at birth. Starting when he is between three and five years old, he starts hunting with his father and being taught about hunting, animals, and local geography. By age eight or ten, boys can make and use their own bow and arrows. Once a boy has mastered the bow and arrow, at age eleven or twelve, his nose is pierced during the ceremony of the maize and he receives his second name. At this point, the boy may spend time in the men's house, where he learns about ceremonies, myths, traditional medicine, and flute-playing, and assumes more household and village responsibilities.Traditionally, when the boy is capable of hunting large animals and is knowledgeable about traditional ceremonies, around age 14 or 15, he would have his ears pierced in a ritual celebration. This now-obsolete rite marked the boys' transition into manhood and eligibility for marriage. Traditionally, the young man would then participate in a warring expedition against neighboring tribes. However, this tradition has also been abandoned; today, young men instead actively participate in the tribe's recovery and maintenance of their territory.
Shortly after these rituals, or after marriage, the young man receives his third, "adult" name. Today, ear-piercing is not necessary for a young man to receive his adult name, so long as he is old enough and knowledgeable enough. Some men also change their names again later in life as they achieve a higher social status.
Women
Girls traditionally had their noses pierced around age 12, though today some Rikbaktsa practice this and others do not. At this age, girls take "forest medicine" to reduce the pain that will be felt when they give birth later. Traditionally, fathers decided when their daughters would have their faces tattooed in a ceremony, after which they are considered women and eligible for marriage, though, this ritual of passage is no longer practiced. Following nose piercing and perhaps tattooing and her wedding, a woman is entitled to receive a new name to replace her child name.Subsistence and economic activities
Though agriculture is central to the timing of tribal life, the Rikbaksta consider themselves hunter-gathererHunter-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...
s rather than farmers. Traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge , indigenous knowledge , traditional environmental knowledge and local knowledge generally refer to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge also encompasses the wisdom, knowledge, and teachings...
of natural resources is transmitted between generations and among group members freely; this, combined with the abundance of resources in the rain forest, allows for egalitarianism within the tribe. Each residence, which consists of a man, his wife, his single sons, his daughters (both single and married), his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren, generally produces and consumes its own food. Cooperation among a larger group occurs only during agricultural rituals and a few other occasions, but is complemented by a system of reciprocal kinship relationships.
The Rikbaktsa use slash-and-burn agriculture
Slash and burn
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools. It is typically part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock...
, where ½–2 hectare planting fields are cleared by fire every 2 or 3 years. Old fields are generally left fallow and eventually retaken by the forest. The Rikbaktsa regularly plant rice, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, yams
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
, beans, cotton, urucu, bananas, peanuts, sugarcane, and pumpkin. On occasion limes, oranges, tangerines, pineapple, mangoes, and other fruits are also planted.