Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The drawing of Tseredzaró Ruri'õ and his tapir friend (
Fig. 5.1
), followed by the
narrative above by elders Adão Top'tiro and Thiago Tseretsu (paternal grandfather
and uncle of Tseredzaró, respectively), conveys in detail the essence of this chapter
on the mathematical knowledge of the Xavante (pronounced Sha-VAN-te) people.
The binary associations the young man and the two elders establish between the
cerrado and the Xavante, humans and animals, women and men, couples and their
children, and so on, form a dialectical system of interdependent relationships. The
Xavante cannot exist without the cerrado, neither can the cerrado flourish without
the people. The animals depend on the cerrado and the cerrado relies on them to stay
alive. The cerrado means everything for the Xavante, and vice versa. One has not
Figure 5.1. Tseredzaró Ruri'õ and his Brazilian tapir friend (Tapirus terrestris), human and
animal, fighting together for environmental justice on the Sangradouro Indigenous Land
in the state of Mato Grosso, 2003. Tseredzaró: “I am checking out our land, not allowing
deforestation that leads to poverty, hunger, and inhumanity!” Tapir: “Yes, protect, you are
warriors and our friends!”
