The Nambikwara (also called Nambikuára) is an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the Amazon. Currently about 1,200 Nambikwara live in indigenous territories in the Brazilian state of

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 ...

along the Guaporé and

Juruena Juruena is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. The city is served by Juruena Airport. See also *List of municipalities in Mato Grosso *Sepotuba River The Sepotuba River is a river in the state of M ...

rivers. Their villages are accessible from the Pan-American highway.

Name

The Nambikwara are also known as the Alaketesu, Anunsu, Nambikuára, or Nambiquara people. "."'' The term Nambikwara is an exonym originating from the

Tupi language family 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 ...

. Its literal meaning is 'pierced ear,' from the words ''nambi,'' "ear," and ''kûara,'' "hole."

Language

The Nambikwara speak the

Southern Nambikuára language Nambikwara (also called ''Nambiquara'' and ''Southern Nambiquara'', to distinguish it from '' Mamaindê'') is an indigenous language spoken by the Nambikwara, who reside on federal reserves covering approximately 50,000 square kilometres of land i ...

, which is a

Nambiquaran language The Nambikwaran languages are a language family of half a dozen languages, all spoken in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. They have traditionally been considered dialects of a single language, but at least three of them are mutually unintellig ...

. A dictionary and grammar have been written for the language, which is written in the Latin script.

History

The Nambikwara were first contacted in but did not experience prolonged contact with Europeans until the early 20th century, when Brazilian army official Marechal Cândido Rondon passed through Nambikwara territory to extend the telegraph lines. He estimated that there were around 10,000 Nambikwara. Shortly after contact with European Brazilians epidemics of

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

and smallpox decimated the population to only 500 around 1930. The culture of the Nambikwara was the subject of studies by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Claude Lévi-Strauss, which were later analyzed by French philosopher

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

in his work ''Of Grammatology''.

Bands and subgroups

The Nambikuara Nation is composed of many smaller bands which each have their own name. * Nambikwara do Sararé **

Kabixi Spurious languages are languages that have been reported as existing in reputable works, while other research has reported that the language in question did not exist. Some spurious languages have been proven to not exist. Others have very li ...

do Mato Grosso * Nambikwara do Campo of Mato Grosso — Rondônia ** Halotesu ** Hithaulu ** Sawentesu ** Wakalitesu *

Nambikwara do Norte The Nambikwara (also called Nambikuára) is an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the Amazon. Currently about 1,200 Nambikwara live in indigenous territories in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso along the Guaporé and Juruena rivers. Their ...

of Rondônia — Mato Grosso ** Lakondê **

Latundê The Latundê, also known as the Leitodu, are an indigenous peoples of Brazil. They live in the Aikaná-Latundê Indigenous Reserve in the southern Rondônia in the southwestern Amazon. They share the indigenous territory with the Kwaza and Aik ...

, A.I. Tubarão-Latunde. ** Mamaindê, A.I. Pirineus de Souza, and A.I. Vale do Guaporé ** Nambikwara **

Manduka Alexandre Manuel Thiago de Mello, also known as Manduka (February 21, 1952 – October 17, 2004), was a Brazilian composer, musician, poet, and artist. He was an proponent of rock nacional and Neuva Canción Chilena, having a style that ranged ...

, A.I. Pirineus de Souza ** Negarotê, A.I. Vale do Guaporé ** Tagnani ** Tamaindé ** Tawandê ** Tawitê or Tauite. *

Nambikwara do Sul The Nambikwara (also called Nambikuára) is an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the Amazon. Currently about 1,200 Nambikwara live in indigenous territories in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso along the Guaporé and Juruena rivers. Thei ...

of Mato Grosso ** Alaketesu ** Alantesu ** Galera ** Hahaintesu, A.I. Vale do Guaporé **

** Munduka ** Waikisu, A.I. Vale do Guaporé ** Wasusu, A.I. Vale do Guaporé * Sabanê ** Sabanê, A.I. Pirineus de Souza

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Nambikuára artwork
National Museum of the American Indian {{DEFAULTSORT:Nambikwara People Ethnic groups in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of the Amazon