The Araweté (also Arawate, Araueté or Bïde) are an indigenous people of Brazil. They are

swidden Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

horticulturalists native to the state of Pará.

Territory

The Araweté live on the Igarapé Ipixuna, a tributary of the Xingu River, near Altamira. They have one large village, surrounded by liana forests. They live on the Araweté/Igarapé Ipixuna Indigenous Land.

History

The tribe could be the remnant of the Pacajá people, who fled into the rainforests to avoid missionaries. In 1950, the Araweté lived at the headwaters of the

Bacajá River The Bacajá River is a river of Pará state in north-central Brazil. It is a tributary of the Xingu River. The Bacajá River is a blackwater river. Its basin is in the Xingu–Tocantins–Araguaia moist forests ecoregion. See also *List of rivers ...

, but were pushed out by newly arrived Kayapó-Xikrin. They moved to the Xingu River and displaced the Asurini."Araweté."
''Countries and Their Cultures.'' (retrieved 5 Dec 2011) The Arawaté first encountered Westerners during the 1960s, when their area was penetrated by fur traders pursuing big cats. These white traders were not viewed as a threat by the Araweté, but rather as a source from which to procure iron tools. Accordingly, there are no written references to them produced prior to the 1970s. In 1976 and again in 1983 they were attacked by the Parakanã. Pressure from the Parakanã forced the Araweté to find more a secluded homeland. The Trans-Amazonian Highway cut through the Xingu region in the early 1970s. Fundação Nacional do Índio ( FUNAI) found the Araweté in 1976, suffering from introduced diseases and clashes with the Parakanã. The government agency relocated the tribe in a march through the thick jungle, resulting in 30 deaths. In 1978 they settled on their current homeland, where they cope with incursions by gold miners and timber companies. During the 1980s, the Arawaté lived in a single village located next to Ipixuna Indian Attraction Post on the middle Ipixuna, an eastern tributary of the Xingu River in the state of Pará. In February 1983 their population numbered 136, while this had grown to 168 by February 1988.

Culture

Unlike their Eastern Amazonian neighbors, the Araweté's primary crop is not manioc but a rapidly maturing maize. Ancestors are very important in their religion.

Language

Araweté people speak the Araweté language, a Tupi-Guaraní language. It is similar to the Asuriní do Tocantins, Parakanã, and

Tapirapé language Tapirapé (also known as Apyãwa) is a Tupí-Guaraní language of Brazil. Language contact Ribeiro (2012) finds a number of Apyãwa loanwords in Karajá The Karajá, also known as Iny, are an indigenous tribe located in Brazil.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arawete People Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of the Amazon Hunter-gatherers of South America