The Enawenê-Nawê are an indigenous people of Brazil in the

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

state. They live in a large village near the Iquê River in the Enawenê Nawê Indigenous Land. They practice agriculture, fishing, and gathering and do not hunt or eat red meat. The Enawene Nawe are a relatively isolated people who were first contacted in 1974 by

Vicente Cañas Vicente Cañas, S.J. (October 22, 1939 in Alborea, Albacete – April 6, 1987 in Mato Grosso) was a Spanish Christian missionary and Jesuit brother, who is credited with making the first peaceful contact with the Enawene Nawe Indian tribe i ...

. They numbered 566 in 2012, up from 320 in 2000. In 2014 their number grew to 737.

Name

The Enawené-Nawé are also known as the Enawenê-nawê, Eneuene-Mare or Salumã people. They are distinct from the Salumá people in Pará.

Language

The

Enawené-Nawé language Enawene Nawe (Enawené-Nawé, Enawenê-Nawê, Eneuene-Mare), also known as , is an Arawakan language of Brazil spoken by about 570 people living in the Juruena River basin area, and more specifically along the Iquê river in the state of Mato ...

is a Central Maipuran language, part of the

Arawakan language Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

family.

Current issues

These people are endangered by corporations that encroach on their land and pollute the rivers from which they obtain their source of food. Many dams have been built or are under construction on the Juruena river that pollute the water and kill many of the fish. Without fish, there is no food for the Enawene Nawe people, as they eat no red meat. Many people believe it is

Blairo Maggi Blairo Borges Maggi (born 29 May 1956) is a Brazilian billionaire businessman, and former governor of the state of Mato Grosso. Maggi owns the Amaggi Group, a large company that harvests, processes, and exports soybeans, and owns soy termina ...

, a politician and corporation executive, who wants these dams. He has plans to build 77 dams on the river. Constitutionally, Brazil's tribes are supposed to receive full protection from the federal government, but like its predecessors, the current government has frequently ceded to pressure from Brazilian and international agribusiness. The people rely on support from NGOs like Survival International. Also, they believe the nearby land is home to many important spirits, but the land is being destroyed by ranchers, who continue to build dams and who have threatened violence if the members of the tribe perform their rites, such as ''Yaokwa'', their ritual for the maintenance of social and cosmic order.

Notes

External links

Survival International Enawene Nawe page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enawene Nawe Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of the Amazon Mato Grosso