Other Name: Kurā
Area: They live around the Xingu River in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil (Map)
on the Bakairi Indigenous Lands and Santana. In both, shrub forest predominates.
Santana is located in the municipality of Nobres and gets its name from one of
the tributaries of the Rio Novo which, in forming part of its limits, descends
to the Arinos, tributary of the Juruena, branch of the Tapajós.
Population (year 1999): 950
Language: Karib family
The Bakairi are a riverine people, agriculturalists and fishers; hunting and
gathering complement these activities. They live dispersed in various groups,
each of which dominates a specific territory delimited by rivers and brooks and
with rights over its resources.
Bakairi art expresses in all artifacts themes that refer to the spirit world,
above all in the plaits, the fans for turning over beiju, the zoomorphic stools,
through the paintings done with jenipapo [blue-black dye], urucum [red vegetal
dye] and tabatinga, a kind of white clay. In so doing, they spiritualize
material things and materialize spiritual things.
It is worth highlighting here the masks, above all of the ritual called
Iakuigāde, which are of two types: (1) Kwamby, oval-shaped, which are the
leaders and shamans and (2) Iakuigāde, rectangular and carved in wood,
representing tutelary spirits of the aquatic world. Elaborate male and female
body paintings – in the style of the upper Xingu – done with jenipapo, urucum,
tabatinga and vegetal resins are associated with the rituals.
In terms of material culture, also noteworthy are the hammocks, made from
cotton and buriti fibre, woven on vertical looms.
This text is © Instituto Socioambiental. You can
find their web site here:
http://www.socioambiental.org/e/
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The
Bakairi ("Sons of the Sun") have suffered a long and agonizing history
of violence, slavery, and forced integration. Their culture was almost
completely lost. Today there now exists the "Museum and Office - Kuikare".
Sacred masks "Yakuigade" - This ritual involves all the Bakairi people. The
principle participant is the "Page" or Shaman who is responsible for
calling the Spirits and inviting Them into the masks to participate in the
ritual. There are 22 masks in all. Once the Spirit enters the mask, it is no
long a mask but the Spirit Being. At the end of the ritual, the Spirits are
returned to the river and carry messages back to the land of the ancestors. The
ritual represents the happiness and reunion of the Spirit Universe of the
Bakairi. This ritual lasts for two weeks and is practiced once a year. The
"Lemaquely" is part of the ritual where the Spirits advise each
individual woman on how she is to participate in the community, right up to her
personal faults. This is done to secure the balance and harmony of the village
and scolding is received as an honor, as it is the woman's role to secure the
harmony of the community.
Additional Information
Evaki - ... Evaki is the South American goddess of the Bakairi
Indians, the goddess of night and day.
Bakairi - SIL International
Los Bakairi
Bakairi vocabulary
A rede dos Bakairi
Bakairi
Jogos dos Povos Indķgenas
