The Arara are an

indigenous people of Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...

native to the state of

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso ...

. They are closely related to the Zoró and Gavião peoples, and are distinct from other groups known as " Arara" to outsiders, including the Arara of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

and the Kwaza. Their language is part of the

Monde A ''monde'', meaning 'world' in French, is an orb located near the top of a crown. It represents, as the name suggests, the world that the monarch rules. It is the point at which a crown's half arches meet. It is usually topped off either w ...

branch of the

Tupian languages The Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani. Homeland and ''urheimat'' Rodrigues (2007) considers the Proto-Tupian urheimat to be somewhere betwee ...

. The Arara were an

uncontacted tribe Uncontacted peoples are groups of indigenous peoples living without sustained contact with neighbouring communities and the world community. Groups who decide to remain uncontacted are referred to as indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. ...

until the 1950s. At the time, they were at war with the neighboring Gavião. Through the Gavião, the Brazilian government contacted the Arara and enforced a peace. Their numbers declined rapidly after contact; only 50 were alive in 1966. The New Tribes Mission introduced medical care, and the population rose to over 200 by the 1990s. The Mission formally converted most Arara to the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

faith, though the community largely retained their traditional beliefs.

References

Ethnic groups in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of Eastern Brazil {{Brazil-ethno-group-stub