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Hands Around the World |
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Hands Around the World |
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Indian Cultures from Around the World
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
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