The Kayabí or Kaiabi are an indigenous people of Brazil inhabiting the northern state of Mato Grosso. They primarily live in the Xingu Indigenous Park and the Indian Reservation of Apiaká-Kayabi south of Pará. There are approximately 1300 Kayabí living on the Xingu Indigenous Park. They are known by a number of names; Caiabi, Parua, Maquiri, Kawaiwete and many more romanizations of the word Kaiabi.
Though residing on a reservation with 14 other indigenous groups, the Kayabi still remained very much heterogeneous. They maintained their traditional way of life, and practiced their customs unchanged for centuries. It was this longing for the preservation of culture and life that mandated the Kayabi left their native lands and seek shelter and protection. During colonial times indigenous peoples had their villages disseminated, raided and even destroyed if located on resource rich lands. Many men were killed and women forced into slavery during these acts of ethnocide. Countless fell ill to diseases the Europeans brought with them, for example smallpox, measles, chicken pox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and other forms of the flu virus.
Name
They are known by a number of names; Caiabi, Parua, Maquiri, Kawaiwete and many more romanizations of the word Kaiabi.
History
The Kaiabi people along with other indigenous peoples occupied large areas within Brazil. In relatively self-reliant villages all along the coast of Brazil and mouth of the amazon, these people thrived as fisherman, hunters and farmers. The ever-increasing presence of Europeans systematically caused a cultural hemorrhage of the Kaiabi People.
In 1961 after centuries of forced contact and inhumane treatment at the hands of European settlers and companies, an area was finally allocated for the indigenous peoples of Brazil who faced the same grievances as the Kaiabi. An indigenous reserve comprising about 6.9 million acres of land that today houses about 5,500 inhabitants, including 1,000 Kaiabi, from 17 different clans; Parque Indígena do Xingu.
The Kaiabi People first began moving into Xingu Indigenous Park during the early 1950s. The Kaiabi People faced encroachment of their lands and culture by commercial companies, therefore they fled to the Xingu Indigenous Park. There were three distinct migrations; the first in the 1950s from the upper Teles Pires River area in the state of Mato Grosso, another in 1966 from the Peixes River area (a tributary of the Arinos River), lastly during the 1970s and the early 1990s other Kaiabi families migrated from the State of Pará located down the Teles Pires River.
As mentioned before the Kaiabi began moving to the Park not only to protect their culture but also to evade persecution from rubber tappers, loggers, farmers, miners and other Euro-Brazilians who forced them from their lands, raped their women, or murdered them. Presently, about 200 Kayabi still live in their traditional homelands outside of the Xingu Reserve, these stay only because of the ancestors who are buried on there. The Kaiabi fervently believe that spirits exist even after their bones have turned to dust. They believe that these spirits can be communicated with and sought after for blessings, protection etc. Therefore, as a form of respect some Kaiabi refuse to leave these lands but most importantly the bones of their ancestors.
Language
Their language is the Kayabí Language. It is one of the Tupi-Guarani languages.
Economy
Land for many cultures is a source of life, wealth and divination. For the Kaiabi people land is the embodiment of all three, to this day the Kaiabi maintains a strong connection to their lands. Though considered a "tradition" peoples their methods of agriculture are quite vast. Their horticulture is extremely diversified, containing dozens of varieties of domesticated plants and a fairly elaborate agricultural system. As a result of their agriculturally based society there are four main seasons throughout the year. They are the cutting down of shrubs and trees (May), clearing of the debris (June), burning of the cleared area (August) and finally planting in September and October. These practices are similar to what we know as slash-and-burn. Harvesting of crops is dependent on the method of cultivation employed.