Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The transformative energy brought by fierce animals, like the anaconda and the
jaguar, can help members of the Suyá and other Gê-speaking peoples better deal with
outsiders. That is why, in my opinion, these fierce animals appear consistently in the
map topics, newsletters, history books, and other sources of information Indigenous
Peoples choose to convey in current publications and public appearances. Jaguars,
anacondas, and electric eels, for instance, are protagonists of several narratives in the
newsletter Memória do Xingu (Xingu Memory), which I edited while teaching at the
Diauarum School from 1981 to 1984. They are also present in Histórias do Xingu, an
anthology by Indigenous authors used in local schools (Ferreira 1994a).
In the last land tenure case in which I was involved (Ferreira 2004, 2003a), the
Gê-speaking Xavante of central Brazil called upon both the anaconda's and the
jaguar's wisdom to explain the courage embodied by one of their elders, Joaquim
Maradezuro, when confronted with his executioners. Despite the elder's courage
and strength stemming from his capacity to embody both an anaconda and a jaguar
at the same time, the farmers acted cowardly and attacked him from behind, killing
the elder with a shot in the back of the neck. Neither jaguars nor anacondas attack
from behind; the animals make eye-contact with their victims before attacking
(see Chapter 6 in this volume).
Figure 2.5. After curing and decorating a jaguar's hide, Gaisarin Suyá, Intoni's
wife, checks the ornaments her husband will be wearing at the Javari Ceremony,
Xingu Indigenous Park, 1999.
Intoni and Romdó Suyá, religious and political leaders in the Xingu Park ( Fig. 2.1 and
2.2 , respectively), chose to ornament themselves as jaguars in the Javari ceremony, a
ritual in which tribal warriors ornament their bodies in urucu , genipapo and animal
hide, to fight for a cause or against an enemy of the people. The enemy, in this case,
was represented by an effigy erected in the central plaza, as a target for the spears
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