Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
people and other beings, human or not, over a large portion of traditional land in the
state of Mato Grosso, which was opened to settlements and homesteading by the
federal government in the 1960s. The successful repossession of the Wawi Indigenous
Land, as it is now officially called, is mainly attributed by the Gê-speaking Suyá
to 12 underwater animals, including the anaconda (
Eunectes murinus
), the sting
ray (
), and the river turtle (
Podecnemis expansa
), whose
transformative energy “opened the white men's heads” to the existence of different
worldviews - and, consequently, to very diverse map-making and land distribution
systems.
The Suyá (also known as Kisêdjê) people are notorious for their struggle to regain
control of their ancestral lands, left outside the official demarcation of the Xingu
Indigenous Park in 1961. Today, about 330 Suyá live in the Terra Indígena Wawi
(contiguous to the Xingu Indigenous Park) after its official demarcation in 1998.
The Suyá have also been very active with respect to environmental issues affecting
their rivers and forests. They are strongly opposed to the aggressive invasion and
deforestation of their lands by soybean farmers, and are adamantly against the Belo
Monte dam because of its tremendous environmental impact.
Elipisurus strogylopterus
Figure 2.2. Suyá boys decorated for the Javari ceremony, Xingu Indigenous Park, 1999.
