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| Xikrin | |
|---|---|
| Group | Xikrin |
| Regions | Brazil (state of Pará) |
| Languages | Kayapó languages |
| Religions | Animism |
| Related | Kayapó, Apyterewa, Pukobyra |
Xikrin
The Xikrin are an indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon, primarily resident in the state of Pará. They are one of several groups within the broader Kayapó cultural and linguistic cluster and have been the subject of anthropological, linguistic, and environmental research involving institutions such as the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro), National Museum of the American Indian, and universities including the University of São Paulo and University of Cambridge. Xikrin life has intersected with national politics represented by entities like the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and international organizations such as Survival International and Greenpeace.
The Xikrin inhabit riverine and upland territories in southeast Pará, often associated with tributaries of the Xingu River and the Tocantins River basin. Ethnographers from institutions like the Royal Anthropological Institute and the American Anthropological Association have documented their kinship, material culture, and ritual practices. The Xikrin have engaged with policies shaped by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, land demarcation processes involving the Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI), and environmental disputes tied to projects such as the Belo Monte Dam and regional mining concessions by companies like Vale S.A..
Ethnohistorical accounts trace Xikrin origins within the macro-regional movements of Tupi-Guarani and Jê-related populations, with oral traditions documented by researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Colonial-era contacts involved agents from the Portuguese Empire and later interactions with missionaries from societies such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and Catholic orders including the Society of Jesus. In the 20th century, missions and logging enterprises tied to companies like Madeira-Mamoré Railway era operations and twentieth-century settler incursions altered settlement patterns, a process noted in reports by the World Wildlife Fund and scholars connected to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Xikrin speech is classified within the Kayapó languages branch of the Jê family, studied by linguists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Brasília. Grammarians have compared Xikrin morphology with neighboring languages including Tupi-family tongues and documented lexical items in collaborations with the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Material culture includes featherwork, body painting, and basketry comparable to artifacts in collections at the British Museum, Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Festivals and public ceremonies have been participated in dialogues with activists from Amazon Watch, scholars from Harvard University, and filmmakers associated with National Geographic.
Social organization features kinship networks, age-grade systems, and leadership roles analogous to those described among the Kayapó and Mẽbêngôkre groups; ethnographers from the London School of Economics and University of Chicago have analyzed Xikrin governance mechanisms. Economic life blends swidden agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering with market interactions in towns such as Altamira and Marabá. Exchange relations have linked Xikrin households to regional trade routes served by companies like Transpetro and commodities markets influenced by multinational actors including Cargill. Cooperative initiatives have involved NGOs such as Imazon and research projects from the Wageningen University & Research.
Spiritual cosmology centers on spirits, ancestral beings, and ritual specialists; ethnographers affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and the University of Oxford have recorded ceremonies involving shamans and song cycles analogous to practices among Kayapó neighbors. Ritual paraphernalia includes painted designs, feathered headdresses, and musical instruments comparable to collections at the Field Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Engagements with evangelical missions from organizations like the World Gospel Mission and conversations with the Catholic Church have occasioned religious change and syncretism noted by researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
Xikrin territories have been subject to official demarcation processes by FUNAI and legal cases in Brazilian courts such as the Supreme Federal Court (Brazil). Demographic surveys by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and field censuses conducted with support from the International Labour Organization document population size, household composition, and health indicators monitored by the Ministry of Health (Brazil) and programs like the National Indigenous Health Foundation (FUNASA) initiatives. Their lands intersect conservation units and extractive concessions overseen by agencies including ICMBio and have been affected by infrastructure projects advocated by ministries such as the Ministry of Mines and Energy (Brazil).
Current issues include land rights disputes, environmental impacts from agribusiness linked to firms such as JBS S.A. and mining extraction by multinational corporations, and public health challenges exacerbated by pandemics addressed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Political mobilization has involved alliances with movements like the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and legal advocacy through groups such as Conectas Human Rights and international mechanisms including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Collaborative research and conservation partnerships engage universities like Yale University and NGOs including Conservation International to support indigenous autonomy and cultural preservation.
Category:Indigenous peoples of Brazil Category:Indigenous peoples of the Amazon