''The Tribe'' ("Papa Capim") is a Brazilian comic strip, part of the ''
Monica's Gang
''Monica's Gang'' or ''Monica and Friends'' (Portuguese: ''Turma da Mônica''; British English: ''Monica & Friends'') is a Brazilian comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simp ...
'' series. It centers around a tribe of
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
from the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
(although it is never specified which). Their tribe was once named "Tribo do Rio" ''(River's Tribe)''. Although the only characters are Tom-Tom (the main character), Tamoyo, Papaya and the Pajé, their stories feature a large range of themes, going from environmental concerns to the
shock
Shock may refer to:
Common uses Collective noun
*Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names
* Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves
Healthcare
* Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...
between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures. People from outside the jungle are called "Caras-pálidas" (''White-faced'' or ''paleface'', due to their white skin, in contrast to the usual dark skin of indigenous peoples from the Amazon) or simply "Caraíbas". When one of the Caraíbas approaches Tom-Tom's tribe, the encounter can be either friendly or unfriendly, the latter always happening when the Caraíba attempts to hunt, deforest, burn, or in any other way harm the environment.
Tupã, the God of the
Guarani people, and
Jaci, the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, are occasionally mentioned.
Characters
* ''Tom-Tom'' ''(Papa-Capim)'' – Tom-Tom is a brave, curious "curumim" (''child'' in
Tupi–Guarani languages
Tupi–Guarani () is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi.
The words ''petunia, jaguar, piranha, ipecac, tapioca, jacaranda, a ...
). He is an avid hunter and fisher, but above all, an environment protector that won't allow any Caraíba to harm the jungle and its animals. His original name Papa-Capim was inspired by the Portuguese name of the
yellow-bellied seedeater bird.
* ''Tamoyo'' ''(Cafuné)'' – Tom-Tom's best friend. Always accompanying him through his adventures involving hunting, fishing, or fighting evil Caraíbas.
* ''Papaya'' ''(Jurema)'' – Her Portuguese name refers to a
local tree. She appears as Tom-Tom's lover, but not always as his girlfriend. Sometimes, she ignores him and tells him about the many qualities other inhabitants of their tribe have, and that he needs to improve a lot to deserve her attention. However, she would frequently be jealous of him.
* ''Pajé'' – The name of this character is also the name of his position in the tribe. A "Pajé" is like a
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
, who can contact spirits and use these contacts to cure illness and sickness, view the future and receive messages from the gods. Pajé is very intelligent, and is always giving advice to Tom-Tom. He knows many secrets of the jungle, such as the curing power of plants, or the virtues of the animals.
* ''Kava'' - Tom-Tom's little cousin. As a younger child, he is very curious about his surroundings, and adventurous as well. As such, he has to be kept in line as Tom-Tom tries to teach him about things, including how to speak
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
(Kava mostly, if not solely, speaks a
Tupi–Guarani language). His name means "wasp".
Media
In 2016 a graphic novel based on The Tribe characters entitled "Papa-Capim: Noite Branca", was released as part of the
Graphic MSP ''Graphic MSP'' is a series of graphic novels published by Panini Comics based on the characters of Monica and Friends.
Development
In November 2011, during the Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos held in Belo Horizonte, Sidney Gusman, editor of ...
being made by Marcela Godoy e Renato Guedes.
References
The Tribe at Mônica’s Gang official website
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tribe
Monica and Friends
Brazilian comic strips
Humor comics
1963 comics debuts
Comics characters introduced in 1963
Fictional indigenous people of the Americas
Jungle (genre) comics