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The Pirahã, properly speaking, appear in
chronicles and documents only from the end of the 19th
century and the start of the 20th. in 1921, Nimuendajú
encountered a Pirahã village on the Large Stretch
of the Marmelos and another on the lower course of the
Maici. He tells us that, in 1921, the SPI ("Serviço
de Proteção aos Índios" -
Indian Protection Service, the governmental agency preceding
FUNAI) set up a post on the Maici in order to deal with
these Indians who, in his opinion, are “happy in
their poverty, ...until today they have paid little
interest in the advantages of civilization and, except
for tools, almost no signs of permanent contact with
civilized people can be found among them. They are extremely
indolent, but peaceful, so much so that I can record
no hostility against civilized people, invaders of their
Brazil-nut tree stands, despite the frequent abuses
committed by these intruders.” (Nimuendajú,
1982a:117).
Nimuendajú documented conflicts between the Pirahã,
Matanawi and Parintintin in the region of the upper
Maici. Also dating from this time is the information
supplied by Gondin (1938), who attributes the Pirahã
with the same bellicose attitude found among the Mura.
According to this author, the Pirahã were at
war in the upper Maici with the Torá and Parintinin,
maintaining this state of open hostility until 1922,
date of the installation of a surveillance post by the
SPI (cf. Gondin, 1925).
1959 saw the arrival of the Summer Institute
of Linguistics (SIL), which remained in the indigenous
area until 1980. One couple worked there between 1960
and 1966, followed by another couple from 1967 until
1977. SIL based its Mission at three different localities:
on the Large Stretch of the Marmelos, inland of the
Maici river at a place called Tuxaua, and on a cliff
named ‘New Post,’ close to the mouth of the
Maici. Though the missionaries stayed in permanent contact
with the Pirahã for more than 20 years, providing
assistance and pursuing evangelical work, it is difficult
today to identify any traces of their close contact
with the group.
Information found in SIL’s reports reveals
the difficulties it had in setting up a Mission, due
to the fact the Indians were “scattered at various
points along the rivers,” the women’s avoidance
of dialogue with strangers, as well as the SIL’s
conflicts with the regional population who did not want
any kind of control over the territory.
In 1967, conflicts are reported between the
Pirahã and Whites, provoked by commerce in Brazil
nuts, resulting in the death of an Indian. In 1968,
a measles epidemic killed 10% of the indigenous population,
causing 14 mortalities. In 1971, more conflicts with
regional workers took place during the Brazil-nut harvesting
season, during which a Pirahã man is knifed and
thrown in the river. After this episode, the Indians
consider migrating to the headwaters of the Maici’s
creeks, thus escaping further clashes with the Whites.
A report from 1979, written by a voluntary
Catholic missionary who lived for 10 months with the
Pirahã at the mouth of the Maici, estimated their
population to be 107 individuals – 56 living on
the lower Maici and 51 in the villages on its upper
course. He also reported that in 1974 the group was
hit by a measles epidemic, killing more than 30 people.
20th century information on the Pirahã
– supplied by Nimuendajú, SIL missionaries,
FUNAI workers and anthropologists – emphasizes
that, although in close contact with Whites, the group
succeeded in maintaining its cultural tradition and
its own lifestyle. The region formed by the Marmelos
and Maici rivers is still invaded today during certain
periods of the year by commercial workers from Manicoré,
Auxiliadora, Humaitá and Porto Velho. Since the
start of the 20th century, these consulted sources describe
the conflictual involvement of the Pirahã with
the agents heading the Brazil-nut extraction. Movement
of boats on the Maici is continual during the rainy
season. Until 1985, the regional workers occupied production
sites along this river, exploring the surrounding Brazil-nut
tree stands.
Nowadays, the situation has changed considerably.
After intervention from FUNAI and a team from CIMI ("Conselho
Indigenista Missionário" – Missionary
Indigenist Council), active in the area since 1991,
the Pirahã were able to occupy the Brazil-nut
tree areas in the Maici river area, collecting the product
directly to trade for flour, ammunition, clothes and
work tools with local merchants, in negotiations intermediated
by the CIMI team. |
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