Xavante
Encyclopedia
The Xavante are an indigenous people
, comprising some 9,600 individuals (2000 est.) within the territory of eastern Mato Grosso
state in Brazil
. They speak the Xavante language
, part of the Jé language family.
They were enslaved
in the 17th century, after which they have tried to avoid contact. A temporary coexistence with westernized society in the 19th century in the state of Goiás
, was followed by withdrawal to Mato Grosso
(between 1830-1860). They were re-"discovered" during the 1930s. From 1946 to 1957, they were brought under dictator Getúlio Vargas
’s National Integration Program, and experienced massacres and disease. Due to this history, they have a distrust of White or Portuguese men. Today they are still wary of any approach of non-Xavante, called "waradzu".
The Xavante leader Mário Juruna
was the first indigenous Brazilian to become a federal representative.
The Xavante, like other indigenous tribes, were treated badly by the "white man" beginning in the 1960s, the Xavante were moved from their homeland in Mato Grosso to a southern, malnourished area of Brazil. There, thousands of indians died due to disease, famine and warfare. Within the last decade, the Xavante have been relocated back to their original lands. Unfortunately, due to landgrabbing and squatters, the land was destroyed. Lush forest was burned to create sparse wasteland and pasture.
Recently, John Carter, has aided the Xavante by donating 100 head of cattle to the tribe. He continually stands up for the people and is currently on friendly terms with the chief and the members. While their condition is still dire, surviving off of only rice and what little vegetables they can grow on their land, the Brazilian government is finally stepping in to help out the Xavante people.
The people are renowned as beautiful and prideful. They may be most famous for their dualistic societal structure. Two clans, the Âwawẽ and Po'reza'õno compose the culture, and marriage
is not allowed between members of the same clan. An example of inter-clan relationships are the traditional log races, where the two clans compete in a race to carry palm tree trunks weighing as much as 80 kg to a defined point.
The Xavante are also known for their complex initiation rituals for young male
s, such as when small wooden sticks are inserted in the earlobe
s at the age of fourteen. As time passes, the size of these adornments is increased for the rest of their lives.
In 1996 the Brazilian heavy metal
band Sepultura
stayed and recorded with the Xavante people, who featured on their album Roots. A small number of Xavante even travelled to São Paulo to partake in Sepultura's Barulho Contra Fome (Noise Against Hunger) concert in 1998 that marked the start of their tour for their follow-up album, Against
where their presence was featured in the music video for the song "Choke
".
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
, comprising some 9,600 individuals (2000 est.) within the territory of eastern 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 in 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...
. They speak the Xavante language
Xavante language
The Xavante language is a Ge language spoken by the Xavante people in about 170 villages in the area surrounding Eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. The Xavante language is unusual in its phonology, its object–subject–verb word order, and its use of honorary and endearment terms in its...
, part of the Jé language family.
They were enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the 17th century, after which they have tried to avoid contact. A temporary coexistence with westernized society in the 19th century in the state of Goiás
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
, was followed by withdrawal to 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...
(between 1830-1860). They were re-"discovered" during the 1930s. From 1946 to 1957, they were brought under dictator Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
’s National Integration Program, and experienced massacres and disease. Due to this history, they have a distrust of White or Portuguese men. Today they are still wary of any approach of non-Xavante, called "waradzu".
The Xavante leader Mário Juruna
Mário Juruna
Mário Juruna was the first national-level federal representative in Brazil that belonged to an indigenous people....
was the first indigenous Brazilian to become a federal representative.
The Xavante, like other indigenous tribes, were treated badly by the "white man" beginning in the 1960s, the Xavante were moved from their homeland in Mato Grosso to a southern, malnourished area of Brazil. There, thousands of indians died due to disease, famine and warfare. Within the last decade, the Xavante have been relocated back to their original lands. Unfortunately, due to landgrabbing and squatters, the land was destroyed. Lush forest was burned to create sparse wasteland and pasture.
Recently, John Carter, has aided the Xavante by donating 100 head of cattle to the tribe. He continually stands up for the people and is currently on friendly terms with the chief and the members. While their condition is still dire, surviving off of only rice and what little vegetables they can grow on their land, the Brazilian government is finally stepping in to help out the Xavante people.
The people are renowned as beautiful and prideful. They may be most famous for their dualistic societal structure. Two clans, the Âwawẽ and Po'reza'õno compose the culture, and marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
is not allowed between members of the same clan. An example of inter-clan relationships are the traditional log races, where the two clans compete in a race to carry palm tree trunks weighing as much as 80 kg to a defined point.
The Xavante are also known for their complex initiation rituals for young male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
s, such as when small wooden sticks are inserted in the earlobe
Earlobe
The human earlobe is composed of tough areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the pinna. Since the earlobe does not contain cartilage it has a large blood supply and may help to warm the ears and maintain balance. However earlobes are not...
s at the age of fourteen. As time passes, the size of these adornments is increased for the rest of their lives.
In 1996 the Brazilian heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
stayed and recorded with the Xavante people, who featured on their album Roots. A small number of Xavante even travelled to São Paulo to partake in Sepultura's Barulho Contra Fome (Noise Against Hunger) concert in 1998 that marked the start of their tour for their follow-up album, Against
Against (album)
Against is the seventh studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1998 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first release with new frontman Derrick Green, who replaced group founder Max Cavalera in 1997.- Album information :...
where their presence was featured in the music video for the song "Choke
Choke (song)
"Choke" is Sepultura's tenth official single, and the first of three to be taken from the album Against, released in 1998. This is the band's first single with Derrick Green on vocals. It is still played in concerts. The video for the single was filmed at Green's first concert with the band, and...
".
Further reading
- Seth Garfield, Indigenous Struggle at the Heart of Brazil: State Policy, Frontier Expansion, and the Xavante Indians, 1937–1988, Duke University Press, 2001: ISBN 0822326655
External links
- Instituto Socioambiental Encyclopedia of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil
- Xavante entry at SIL InternationalSIL InternationalSIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...
- Great Web of Percy Harrison Fawcett
- Cultural Survival: David Maybury-Lewis, Xavante Archive Documents Vital Culture Laura Graham, Effects of Modernization on the Xavante