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Hands Around the World |
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Indian Cultures from Around the World
Area: Parque do Xingu, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil (Map). The Juruna are a canoe people who have long inhabited the islands and peninsulas of the lower and middle Xingu, one of the most important rivers of southern Amazonia. For about a century, the Juruna have lived in two different groups separated by a huge distance. One group lives on the middle Xingu in the region they have occupied for ages, which includes the tiny Paquiçamba Reservation and surrounding areas that are not part of their officially recognized territory, as well as land in Altamira, Pará. The other group lives in the upper reaches of the same river, in an area within the Xingu Indigenous Reservation, which was created in 1961 in the state of Mato Grosso.
Other Names: Yudjá, Juruhuna, Yuruna, Juruûna, Geruna, Yudya
Population: 278 (in 2001)
Language Root: Juruna, part of the Tupi linguistic trunk
Juruna subsistence is essentially based on garden crops—manioc being the main product—and on fishing with arrows and fishhooks. They also greatly appreciate the meat of game animals, which they begin hunting after trees are felled for new gardens and continue until the onset of the rainy season in September, when the fallen trees must be burned.
Until recently, people invested strong emotions in navigation. During the period 1984-1990, the majority of men had two or even three canoes, the smaller one for fishing and the larger for travel. In 2001, several men had no canoe at all and, in the Tubatuba port, the canoes were chained and locked, since their owners wanted to avoid the annoyance of not finding them when they wanted to go fishing. There was no longer a single example of the larger travel canoes that used to hold fifteen or more people.
The disinterest in canoes has been accompanied by a striking investment in the production of artisanry, which is the Juruna’s main source of income. They have an attractive series of stools in the shape of animals and an equally attractive collection of ceramics embellished with high-quality graphic designs. Men and women produce these and other objects for sale, depending mainly on the support of the most important indigenous organization of the Xingua Indigenous Reservation, the Association of the Xingu Indigenous Lands (ATIX).
Text from © Instituto Socioambiental. You can find their web site here: http://www.socioambiental.org/e/
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Unlike any other tribe living inside the Brazilian frontiers, the Juruna most resemble the stoically built Andean natives of the AltiPlano of Peru and Bolivia and may have descended from these ancient civilizations. They are one of the few tribes in the Xingu that possess the art of textile weaving and cover their lower body with straight-cut cloth and practice communal cooking.
Sinaa - An ancient cat-like ancestral god whose father was a gigantic black jaguar who married a mortal woman. Both father and son had eyes set in the back of their heads. Although Sinaa was very old, he rejuvenated every time he took a bath, pulling his skin off over his head. They believe that the end of the world will come when Sinaa removes the forked stick that holds up the sky.
Uaica - Uaica was out hunting in the forest one day when he noticed a lot of dead animals under a large tree. Approaching the heap, he felt dizzy, swooned and went to sleep. In his deep sleep he beheld Sinaa, the jaguar ancestor of the Juruna, who spoke to him. This happened on several occasions, until finally Sinaa told Uaica not to visit him anymore. Uaica made a drink from the bark of the tree, and acquired many great powers from this potion. He became a great medicine man, who could take away disease with the touch of his hand. Finally marrying, Uaica's wife was unfaithful to him, her lover trying to kill the medicine man, who saw the blow before it fell, as he had eyes in the back of his head, and left his people in disgust.
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