Nheçu () or Chief Nheçu was

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

Indian leader who lived during the 17th century in the region of today's municipality of Roque Gonzales, in the Western part of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, in the south of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Historical records left behind by the first European settlers and their descendants indicate that in 1628 Nheçu ordered the killing of one native

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an and two

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Jesuits 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 ...

missionaries: Roque Gonzales, João de Castilho and Afonso Rodrigues (all three name spellings here are in Brazilian Portuguese). These were the first three Europeans to enter this region of southern Brazil, as far as it is known. Today, they are celebrated as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, especially in that part of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. The center of rule and control of Chief Nheçu is said to have been

Cerro do Inhacurutum image:Inhacurutum.GIF, 300px, The Cerro do Inhacurutum hill as seen from a distance Cerro do Inhacurutum is a 304.15 meters high hill as measured from sea level; and 176.20 meters high from a local GPS measurement; latitude: 28° 01′ 50″, lo ...

, an unusual elevation in the form of a hill located in the Ijui river valley. It was also from this place that he tried to resist and stem European

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

, a campaign that ultimately was in vain with the establishment of the Jesuit Missions in the region. Today there are very few descendants of the Guaraní people in the original territory commanded by Chief Nheçu. However, the area is well populated by European immigrants and their descendants, the Portuguese language prevailing, with some communities still speaking (mostly in the home) dialects of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Polish, Italian languages, etc.

References

* Hoffmann, Nelson (2006). ''Terra de Nheçu''. Santo Ângelo: EDIURI, Culturarte
Online
(in Portuguese). Indigenous people of the Amazon 17th-century Brazilian people 17th-century indigenous leaders of the Americas {{Brazil-bio-stub

See also

References