Area: Amazonas, Brazil (Map)
Other Names: Kagwahiva
Population: 585 (in 2000)
Language Root: Kagwahiva, of the Tupí-Guarani family
First Contact: 1970
Economy: Hunting - Fishing
Today: Land demarcated
Tenharim is the name by which are known three indigenous groups who live
today in the mid Madeira River, in the Southern portion of the State of
Amazonas, that belong to a wider set of peoples that call themselves Kagwahiva.
In addition to the same self-denomination, the Kagwahiva peoples speak the same
language, which belongs to the Tupi-Guarani family, and organize themselves in a
similar system of matrimonial halves identified bird names. Of the three
Tenharim groups, the one on the Sepoti River has its recent origin traced
back to that of the Marmelos River; the one of the Igarapé (small
Amazon waterway) Preto does not have a known common origin with the
others, but has been an old ally of them.
The beginning of the dry season, which takes place around June in Southern
Amazonas, is marked by the clearing of the forest and the planting of the roças
(planting fields). On the Transamazon Highway (where the Tenharim of the
Marmelos River live), this time of the year many families leave the village and
move temporarily to their sítios (plots), preparing the fields and putting some
distance between themselves and the others. Some have actually opted to live
permanently in their sítios, and now keep a residence in the village only for
occasional visits. In the sítios there can be seen the introduction of new
plants, such as watermelon and, in some cases, cattle raising as well. Despite
the low value in the market, manioc flour continues to be the most important
product the Tenharim produce for sale. On the Transamazon Highway and on the
Igarapé Preto, manioc flour’s surpluses are exchanged in the village for
manufactured products.
Text from © Instituto Socioambiental. You can
find their web site here:
http://www.socioambiental.org/e/
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Master "Plummets" in their ability to combine color and textures with small
feathers. Small bamboo tubes are made for "Indian Paco Robbanne" -
small flowers dried and crushed into a fine powder and sprinkled on the body
after a bath in the river. This give the smell of the original flower, a type of
ecological perfume. The Tenharim are known as "Boca-Negra" or
"Black Mouth" due to their corporal painting designs. They were first
encountered due to the TransAmazonica highway.
Additional Information
Tenharim - SIL International
Tenharim
Ethnologue report for language code: PAH
