Luís Figueira (born between 1574 and 1576 – died 1643) was a Portuguese
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
missionary and author of the ''
Art of the Brasílica Language'', a grammar of the
Old Tupi language.
Life
Born in
Almodôvar
Almodôvar ( , from ), officially known as Town of Almodôvar (), is a town and a municipality in the District of Beja, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,449, in an area of 777.88 km2.
The present Mayor is António Bota, a member of th ...
between the years 1574 and 1576, Figueira entered the Society of Jesus on 22 January 1592, at the in Évora. In 1602, he embarked for
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...
; there, residing at the , Figueira had contact with the
Old Tupi language, also through , who was his teacher in this regard. According to , it was thanks to Pinto that Figueira was able to compose his ''
Art of the Brasílica Language'', a work through which one "learns
ld Tupiwith great ease and perfection". Between 1607 and 1608, Figueira undertook, alongside Pinto, an expedition with 60 Indians to
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...
. Pinto was killed on 10 January 1608, by other Indians
instigated by the French. Figueira hid and was saved by . He left an account of this expedition called .
Death
Luís Figueira was returning from Portugal to Brazil in 1643 when, from 29 to 30 June, the ship he was on sank. He refused to board the boat where some survivors were taking refuge and preferred to provide spiritual assistance to those who remained. Figueira ended up being killed on
Marajó
Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially M ...
Island by a group of
Aruã, an
Arawak
The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...
people.
See also
*
History of Ceará
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
1570s births
1643 deaths
16th-century Portuguese Jesuits
17th-century Portuguese Jesuits
17th-century Portuguese writers
Deaths in Pará
Grammarians from Portugal
Jesuit missionaries in Brazil
People from Almodôvar
Portuguese male writers
Portuguese Roman Catholic missionaries
Portuguese travel writers
Tupi language
University of Évora alumni
{{Portugal-RC-clergy-stub