Villas-Bôas brothers
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Orlando (1914–2002) and his brothers Cláudio (1916–1998) and Leonardo Villas-Bôas (1918–1961) were Brazilian brothers who worked in
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. In 1961 they succeeded in getting the entire upper Xingu legally protected, making it the first massive indigenous area in all
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, and the prototype for dozens of similar reserves all over the continent.


Pioneers

The explorer
John Hemming John Hemming may refer to: *John Hemming (historian) (born 1935), British explorer and author *John Hemming (politician) (born 1960), British politician See also *John Heminges, co-publisher of Shakespeare's works after his death *John Hemings Jo ...
wrote that the Villas-Bôas were pioneers in many ways. They were almost the first non-missionaries to live permanently with the natives; and they treated them as their equals and friends. They persuaded tribes to end internecine feuds and unite to confront the encroaching settlement frontier. The Villas-Bôas were the first to appreciate the value of politics and the media in furthering the indigenous cause. They also devised a policy of "change, but only at the speed the Indians want".
Robin Hanbury-Tenison Airling Robin Hanbury-Tenison (born 7 May 1936) is an explorer based in Cornwall. He is President of the charity Survival International and was previously Chief Executive of The Countryside Alliance. Early life and education The youngest of fiv ...
, from
Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples. The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peopl ...
, wrote in 1971 that "The Xingu is the only closed park in Brazil, which means that it is the only area in which Indians are safe from deliberate or accidental contact with undesirable representatives of Western civilization. This is due entirely to the Villas-Bôas brothers and the total dedication of their lives to this work over the last 25 years." Since 1971, more indigenous parks and reserves have been created, such as the
Tumucumaque National Park The Tumucumaque Mountains National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Montanhas do Tumucumaque; ) is situated in the Amazon Rainforest in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará. It is bordered to the north by French Guiana and Suriname. History ...
(38,800 km²) in northern
Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
state, but the Xingu park (26,400 km²) remains the most important of them. The
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 ...
Shelton Davis wrote that "The Villas-Bôas brothers further argued that it was the responsibility of the federal government to provide a secure protective buffer, in the form of closed Indian parks and reserves, between Indians and the frontiers of national society. In time, the three brothers believed, Indians would integrate into Brazilian national society. This process of integration, however, should be a gradual one and should guarantee the Indians’s survival, ethnic identities and ways of life." In the foreword of the book ''Xingu: the Indians, Their Myths'' the anthropologist Kenneth S. Brecher wrote that
It is now almost 30 years since the Villas-Bôas brothers (...) led the expedition known as 'Brazil's march to the West' which was intended to open up the heart of the interior for colonization. They were overwhelmed by the beauty and cultural richness of the network of Xingu tribes which they discovered, and when the expedition disbanded they remained in the jungle to protect the Xinguanos from the land speculators, state senators, diamond prospectors, skin hunters, and rubber gatherers who had followed in their wake. (...) That the Xingu tribes continue to exist, in fact to thrive, is due largely to the extreme dedication, intelligence, cunning, and physical strength of these brothers.


Personal lives and deaths

Of the 11 siblings, the three brothers banded together in their pioneering work, later supported by their younger brother Alvaro. Orlando died in 2002. When a major chief dies, the Xingu Indians hold a great funerary festival (the Kuarup) in his honour. They did this for Orlando even though he was white. He had two sons, Noel and Orlando. Claudio was born on December 8, 1916 in
Botucatu Botucatu is a city in the southeastern region of Brazil and is located from São Paulo, the capital of the state of São Paulo. It has an estimated population of 148,130 (as of 2020) in an area of . It lies on the top of a plateau ( high). Botuca ...
, São Paulo and died of a stroke in his São Paulo apartment on March 1, 1998. Indians called him "The Father" and by 1994 there were 6000 Indians in 18 settlements from different tribes. Leonardo died in 1961 at age 43. Álvaro was born 1926 in São Paulo and worked with his brothers in the Xingu area from 1961-1962. He then settled in São Paulo, where he provided logistical support to his brothers' missions in the country's interior. He assumed the presidency of FUNAI (
Fundação Nacional do Índio Fundação Nacional do Índio (, ''National Indian Foundation'') or FUNAI is a Brazilian governmental protection agency for Amerindian interests and their culture. Original founding as Indian Protection Service In 1910, the Indian Protecti ...
) for a short period in 1985. Died in
Bauru Bauru () is a Brazilian municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is the main city of the mesoregion and microregion of Bauru. The population is 379,297 (2020 est.) in an area of 667.68 km². Established in 1896, ...
, São Paulo, on August 22, 1995.


Awards and legacy

Two of the Villas-Bôas brothers, Orlando and Cláudio, were jointly awarded the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
’s gold medal in 1967, as much for their geographical explorations as for their humanitarian work. They also received the GEO prize from the president of Germany,
Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobilit ...
and the ex-Chancellor of West Germany
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
in 1984, in recognition of their humanitarian work. The two were twice nominated for the
Nobel Prize for Peace The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology ...
in 1971 and again in 1975.
Matupá Airport Orlando Villas-Bôas Regional Airport is the airport serving Matupá, Brazil. The airport is named after the oldest of the Villas-Bôas brothers, Brazilian activists who in 1961 succeeded in getting the entire upper Xingu legally protected. Thi ...
, in
Matupá Matupá is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. The city is served by Orlando Villas-Bôas Regional Airport. See also *List of municipalities in Mato Grosso This is a list of the municipalities in t ...
,
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 ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
is named after the brother Orlando. The Villas-Bôas brothers are the main protagonists in
Cao Hamburger Carlos Império Hamburger, better known as Cao Hamburger (; born 27 February 1962), is a Brazilian film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the creators of the ''Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum'' series of programs for children ...
's 2012 film '' Xingu''. In April 2014 the Brazilian graffiti artist Speto created an extensive artwork dedicated to the Villas-Bôas titled ''3 Brothers'' on 14 concrete pillars of the elevated metro track of Krieau station in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
commissioned by
Wiener Linien Wiener Linien (Viennese Lines) is the company running most of the public transit network in the city of Vienna, Austria. It is part of the city corporation Wiener Stadtwerke Holding AG. Governing structure and statistics Until decentralisation ...
and KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum. Honoring the brothers' legacy, Speto painted characters from Brazilian mythology like
Boitatá In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...
, Iara or
Boto Boto is a Portuguese name given to several types of dolphins and river dolphins native to the Amazon and the Orinoco River tributaries. A few botos exist exclusively in fresh water, and these are often considered primitive dolphins. Classificatio ...
and tribal pattern designs on the pillars of the subway line. To this end he employed graphic styles of the Brazilian Literatura de Cordel.Der brasilianische Streetartist Speto
Radio OE1 feature by Uschi Mürling-Darrer, Retrieved 2014-10-03
File:U2_Krieau_Kunst_Säulen_f.jpg, Murals of ''3 Brothers'' in Vienna File:U2_Krieau_Kunst_Säulen_c.jpg, ''Speto'' working on the painting of a
Matsés The Matsés or Mayoruna are an indigenous people of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. Their traditional homelands are located between the Javari and Galvez rivers. The Matsés have long guarded their lands from other indigenous tribes and stru ...
child File:U2_Krieau_Kunst_Säulen_e.jpg, ''Speto'' spray painting details


See also

*
Sydney Possuelo Sydney Ferreira Possuelo (born 19 April 1940, in Santos Dumont), is a Brazilian explorer, social activist and ethnographer who is considered the leading authority on Brazil's remaining isolated Indigenous Peoples. Life and career Sydney Possuel ...


References


Further reading

* Hemming, John. ''Die if you must''. London: Macmillan, 2003. For information about the Villas-Bôas Indian policy, see: * Davis, Shelton. ''Victims of the Miracle: development and the Indians of Brazil''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977 * Vilas-Boas Filho, Orlando. ''Orlando Villas-Bôas: expedições, reflexões e registros''. São Paulo: Metalivros, 2006 * Cowell, Adrian. ''The decade of destruction'' London: Headway, 1990. * Cowell, Adrian. ''The tribe that hides from man'' London: Pimlinco, 1995. * Cowell, Adrian, ''The heart of the forest'' London: Headway, 1970. ASIN B0000CKKX0 OCLC 1724547 * Hemming, John; Huxley, Francis; Feuerst, René; Brooks, Edwin, ''Tribes of the Amazon Basin in Brazil 1972'', Charles Knight & Co. Ltd, London, 1973. *
Leopold of Belgium This is a list of Belgian monarchs from 1831 when the first Belgian king, Leopold I, ascended the throne, after Belgium seceded from the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Under the Belgian Constitution, the Belg ...
, ''Indian Enchantment'' Nancy: Librarie Hachette, 1967. * Menget, Patrick, ''Au nom des autres: classification des relations sociales chez les Txicao du Haut-Xingu (Brésil)'', École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sixième Section, 1977.


Selected bibliography

* Villas-Bôas, Orlando. Interview. In: Amazind bulletin 1. Geneva, Switzerland, aut. 1973, p. 25-29. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Os índios na estrada''. In: Cadernos da Comissão Pró-Índio: a questão da emancipação. São Paulo, n.1, 1979, p. 87-88. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''O índio – ontem, hoje... e amanhã?'' In: Tassara, Eda; Bisilliat, Maureen: ''O índio: ontem, hoje, amanhã.'' São Paulo:
Memorial da América Latina The Latin America Memorial (in Portuguese, ''Memorial da América Latina'') is a cultural, political and leisure complex, inaugurated in 1989, in São Paulo, Brazil. The architectural setting, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is a monument to the cultur ...
/EDUSP, 1991, pp. 48–56. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''A arte dos pajés: impressões sobre o universo espiritual do índio xinguano.'' São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2000. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Senhor.'' In: Carlos Jacchieri: ''Carta Brasil 2000'' 1°Fórum Nacional da Identidade Brasileira. São Paulo: Imprensa Oficial, 2000a, p. 15-20. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Entrevista.'' In: Mariléia M. Leal Caruso; Raimundo Caruso: ''Amazônia, a valsa da galáxia: o abc da grande planície.'' Florianópolis: Editora da UFSC, 2000b, p. 25-44. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Um povo na ignorância de seu passado.'' In: Aguiar, L. A.; SOBRAL, M. (Orgs.) ''Para entender o Brasil.'' São Paulo: Alegro, 2001, p. 265-271. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Discurso proferido na Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, em 21 de dezembro de 1972.''. In: Cristina Müller; Luiz Octávio Lima; Moisés Rabinovici (Orgs.): ''O Xingu dos Villas-Bôas.'' São Paulo: Metalivros, 2002, p. 28-29. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Rompendo fronteiras.'' In: Cristina Müller; Luiz Octávio Lima; Moisés Rabinovici (Orgs.): ''O Xingu dos Villas-Bôas.'' São Paulo: Metalivros, 2002a, p. 146-164. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Discurso proferido em 1974, na Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso.'' In: C. Figueiredo: ''100 discursos históricos brasileiros.'' Belo Horizonte: Editora Leitura, 2003. p. 413-420. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''História e causos.'' São Paulo: FTD, 2005. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Trinta e cinco anos de assistência e pesquisa: a Escola Paulista de Medicina e o Parque Indígena do Xingu.'' In: Roberto Geraldo Baruzzi; Carmen Junqueira (Orgs.). Parque Indígena do Xingu: saúde, cultura e história. São Paulo: Terra Virgem, 2005a, p. 49-57. * Villas-Bôas, Cláudio. Saving Brazil's stone age tribes from extinction. In: National Geographic Magazine. Vol. 134. n.o. 3. set. 1968, p. 424-444. * Villas-Bôas, Cláudio; Villas Bôas, Orlando. "Xingu: Os índios, seus mitos" Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 1970. * Villas-Bôas, Cláudio; Villas-Bôas, Orlando. "Xingu: the Indians, their myths" New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Os Juruna no Alto-Xingu”.'' In: Reflexão. Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Letras da Universidade Federal de Goiás, 1970a. p. 61-87. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Território Tribal.'' In: Maureen Bisilliat; Orlando Villas Bôas und Claudio Villas Bôas: ''Xingu: território tribal.'' São Paulo: Cultura Editores Associados, 1990, p. 13-33. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Memórias de Orlando e Cláudio Villas Bôas.'' In: Darcy Ribeiro. Carta: ''falas, reflexões, memórias – informe de distribuição restrita do Senador Darcy Ribeiro.'' Brasília: Gabinete do Senador Darcy Ribeiro, 1993, vol. 9., p. 187-203. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''A marcha para o oeste: epopéia da Expedição Roncador-Xingu.'' São Paulo: Editora Globo, 1994. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando: ''Almanaque do sertão: histórias de visitantes, sertanejos e índios.'' São Paulo: Editora Globo, 1997. * Villas-Bôas, Orlando, Claudio Villas-Bôas, *Alvaro Villas-Bôas: ''Antigamente o índio nos comia. Agora somos nós que estamos comendo o índio.''. In: Revista de Cultura Vozes - Política Indigenista no Brasil. Petrópolis: Vozes: 1976. n. 3, ano 70, p. 209-219.


External links


''Xingu'' on Berlinale film program

''Xingu'' film about the brothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villas-Boas Sibling trios Brazilian civil rights activists Explorers of Amazonia Indigenous rights activists People from São Paulo (state)