The Urucé "History of Sobradinho (in Portuguese)" people were Jê languages, Gê-speaking natives of the São Francisco riverbanks around the current city of Sento Sé in the Brazilian state of
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
. They are now extinct as a tribe.
These
Amerindian
In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
bandeirante
''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous peoples during the early modern period. They played a major role in exp ...
to reach the region of current Sobradinho in 1593 in search of silver. During his journey, he met the Galache in Remanso, the Kariri in
Juazeiro
Juazeiro, formerly also known as Joazeiro, is a municipality in the state of Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil.
The city is twinned with Petrolina, in the state of Pernambuco. The two cities are connected by a modern bridge crossing ...
, the Massacará in Salitre, the Tamoquim in Sobradinho and the Urucé in
Sento Sé
Sento Sé is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. It covers , and has a population of 40,989 with a population density of 1.28 inhabitants per square kilometer. Sento Sé is located from the state capital of ...
.
Most of the natives of that region were
Christianized
Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
and assimilated to different degrees by the Portuguese
colonists
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...
. According to some descendants, the Urucés were a fierce tribe that often engaged in conflicts with their close neighbors, the Centucé. The toponym
Sento Sé
Sento Sé is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. It covers , and has a population of 40,989 with a population density of 1.28 inhabitants per square kilometer. Sento Sé is located from the state capital of ...
is a phonetical derivation of the tribe name Centucé.
The Urucé left a few ancient
rock paintings
In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
often representing a stylized symbol of water springs, as the surrounding
caatinga
Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...
is a very dry biotop, as a way to help their members to localize sources of water.