Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
of the 20-year-old Indigenous man was followed by the statement that the
Pankararu, having been displaced from Pernambuco decades ago, “still perform
their traditional rituals and use their native language, the Iatê.” Two weeks
later, the Folha de São Paulo newspaper devoted an entire page to comment on
the unusual existence of an “Indigenous association” in the upscale Morumbi
neighborhood, leading to the creation of a “solidarity network” in the Favela
Real Parque. This association, according to the newspaper, met every week
under the command of a “shaman of the
favela
”, for
Toré
rituals, which were
compared to
Candomblé
rituals of African origin. A week later, however, a
northeastern newspaper,
Diário de Pernambuco
, printed the article “Pankararus
working in São Paulo are being decimated by urban violence,” registering the
human rights challenge faced by the Pankararu People to have their fundamental
human rights of non-discrimination, self-determination, life and security, culture
and religion, amongst other rights, acknowledged and respected. The Pankararu
are now invested in creating their own village within the limits of São Paulo City,
and then pursuing the process of its federal demarcation as official Indigenous
land.
Figure 4.7. A Pankararu community of about 1,000 people strong live today at the Favela
Real Parque, inside São Paulo City, originally immigrating from the state of Pernambuco,
northeastern Brazil.
