In Brazil, we have somehow managed to ignore completely indigenous people. We have some names that we inherited from Tupi language. We learnt a little bit on how the “good priests” converted Brazilian indigenous people to Catholicism in school (as a matter fact, the Catholic church prohibited Indigenous people to be enslaved because they were “pure souls” as opposed to the African slaves). And we know – for a fact – that Portuguese settlers were more than keen to have children with indigenous women. But we never learned their culture or history. We don’t know what they believe in or the name of their gods (I know one – Tupã – and that is due to a popular character in a children’s comic book).
What happened to the Brazilian indigenous culture? Well, I’m not a historian (my mother is) but I have two theories:
- The Brazilian indigenous tribe were not as “sophisticated” as the Mayas, Aztec and Teotihuacan. They were mostly hunter-gatherers – some of them were good warriors, but from what I recall of the probably 2 classes I had on Indigenous culture back in high-school, they didn’t develop mathematic skills, written language or astronomy. They were not a resistance for Portuguese expansion plans in America.
- In 1922, Brazilian so called “avant-garde” artistic movement released the “Anthropophagic Movement”. Based on the idea that the anthropophagic indigenous people would eat the adversary in order to gain their qualities – if they were brave by eating their flesh they would be brave also – many intellectuals joined this movement. According, to them, the Brazilian were cultural anthropophagi – they would digest the new cultures and incorporate the qualities into the Brazilian culture. We would be truly mestiços (or mestizos), mixing not only the genes but also the culture. Did we do this to our indigenous population?
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1 comment:
Gigi, the relationship of Mexico with its indigenous people is very complex and extremely interesting. In the end of the 19th century there is a search for national identity, and we re-discover our indian past. Teothihuacan was cleaned and sort of rebuilt (it's actually not clear the pyramids looked the way they do now) by Porfirio Diaz. After the revolution this turned into an exaltation of indigenismo and a rejection of Spain (which is ridiculous, given el mestizaje). If you want you can read El laberinto de la soledad de Octavio Paz for one perspective. Also if you go to the Modern Art Museum it is very well curated and you can see how during the 30s and 40s there is a revival of indigenismo in the so called muralismo.
In all of this it is the historic indians we care about, not the living ones. Those are an anachronic reminder of our underdevelopment. We don't see them, we don't treasure their languages or their traditions. Or if we notice them it's only as tourist attractions.
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