INDIGENOUS ROUTES: INTERFLUVES AND INTERPRETERS IN THE UPPER TAPAJÓS RIVER (C. 1750 TO C. 1950) Daniel Belik A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2018 Full metadata for this thesis is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this thesis: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16099 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Indigenous Routes: Interfluves and Interpreters in the Upper Tapajós River (c. 1750 to c. 1950) Daniel Belik This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of St Andrews May 2018 Candidate's declaration I, Daniel Belik, do hereby certify that this thesis, submitted for the degree of PhD, which is approximately 67K words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for any degree. I was admitted as a research student at the University of St Andrews in August 2013. I received funding from an organisation or institution and have acknowledged the funder(s) in the full text of my thesis. Date 23rd July 2018 Signature of candidate Supervisor's declaration I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date 23rd July 2018 Signature of supervisor Permission for publication In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand, unless exempt by an award of an embargo as requested below, that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that this thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use and that the library has the right to migrate this thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I, Daniel Belik, confirm that my thesis does not contain any third-party material that requires copyright clearance. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the publication of this thesis: Printed copy No embargo on print copy. Electronic copy No embargo on electronic copy. Date 23rd July 2018 Signature of candidate Date 23rd July 2018 Signature of supervisor 4 Underpinning Research Data or Digital Outputs Candidate's declaration I, Daniel Belik, hereby certify that no requirements to deposit original research data or digital outputs apply to this thesis and that, where appropriate, secondary data used have been referenced in the full text of my thesis. Date 23rd July 2018 Signature of candidate 5 ABSTRACT This thesis is an ethnographic account of the indigenous history and colonization of the upper Tapajós river in Brazil. Research was conducted using archival materials in which I searched for the different conceptualizations of river movements and routes, of either Indians or colonizers. During the period of penetration in the region called “Mundurucânica”, several native groups living in the savannah and at the riverbanks, started to be used as a labour-force, but above all, they worked as interpreters thereby enabling colonization on these Amazonian rivers around the Tapajós. If, on one hand, native groups were violated by colonization, on the other, they have shaped and influenced the penetration, demonstrating their active involvement in this historical process. With the arrival of Franciscan priests and the ultimate establishment of the Cururu Mission, exchanges between indigenous people and colonizers became impregnated with mythical fragments. These relations of displacements and encounters between indigenous groups—that in turn influenced colonization efforts—with local cultural values and practices is still a relatively little explored topic in anthropology. This thesis synthesises the history of the colonization of a region of the Brazilian Amazonian rainforest from the point of view of its indigenous inhabitants. It considers the pacification of the Indians in the 18th and 19th centuries, presenting ethnographic material of the indigenous groups that have moved into the Tapajós region and examines their social logic of interethnic contact. I analyze fragments of material culture, myths and naming such as they appear in the literature so as to track down the spatial dynamics of indigenous Amazonia and its landscape transformations. 6 CONTENTS 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ 10 2 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 11 3 FIRST PART: THE ROUTE TO COLONIZATION IN THE 18TH CENTURY .................................................................................................................... 18 3.1 CHAPTER 1: AVID PURSUIT OF THE TAPAJÓS WATERSHEDS IN THE TH 18 CENTURY ............................................................................................ 19 3.1.1 Headwater Discoverers: Flying Observer ................................................. 21 3.1.2 The Indigenous Tapajós .............................................................................. 26 3.1.3 The Profitable Tapajós ................................................................................ 33 3.1.4 The Military use of the Tapajós .................................................................. 36 3.1.5 Maué Pacification (1770) ............................................................................. 43 4 SECOND PART: INTERPRETERS ROUTES DURING THE 19TH CENTURY ................................................................................................................... 56 4.1 CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST INTERPRETERS AND THE CONTOURS OF THE MUNDURUCANIA ......................................................................................... 57 4.1.1 The Mundurucania limits and groups ........................................................ 57 4.1.2 Indigenous Trade Routes around Itaituba ................................................. 61 4.1.3 Jacaré and Mumbuai Maué Routes ............................................................ 63 4.1.4 The Munduruku Pacification and the creation of the Madeira Jesuit Lower Missions ............................................................................................ 65 4.1.5 Mura Peace Reduction (1784-86) ............................................................... 85 4.1.6 The Munduruku from the Lower Tapajós in the Cabanagem .................. 88 4.1.7 Feather Ornaments ...................................................................................... 93 4.2 CHAPTER 3: INDIGENOUS MOBILITY ...................................................... 102 4.2.1 The Munduruku from the Cupari .............................................................. 104 4.2.2 Recent Indigenous History of the Jamanchim ........................................ 105 4.2.3 The Munduruku from the Waterfalls: Tiacorão ....................................... 112 4.2.4 Indigenous dispersal proipiciated by the Bacabal Mission ................... 123 5 THIRD PART: THE ROUTES OF CREATION IN THE TAPAJÓS SAVANNAH ............................................................................................... 132 5.1 CHAPTER 4: FOLLOWING THE FRANCISCANS IN THE RUBBER AVENUES .................................................................................................... 133 5.1.1 The Triangulation Maici-Aripuanã-Três Casas ....................................... 133 5.1.2 Exploring the Savannah ............................................................................ 141 5.1.3 First Descriptions of the Cururu Munduruku .......................................... 153 5.1.4 Cururu Migration ........................................................................................ 160 5.1.5 Crepori, Arencré and Cantagallo Petroglyphs ........................................ 162 5.2 CHAPTER 5: DIVERSE MUNDURUKU HISTORICITIES ........................... 170 5.2.1 The Krepotiá Gravity Center ..................................................................... 171 5.2.2 The Caterpillar Wood Party ....................................................................... 171 5.2.3 Hunting Season ......................................................................................... 176 5.2.4 The AdaiAdai Hunting Ceremony ............................................................. 180 5.2.5 Wakupari and Wawdadibika. War in the Tapuru Ink River ..................... 182 5.2.6 Getting Down From the Tree: The Yabuti Saga and the Tapir Transformations ................................................................................................... 187 6 CONCLUSION: COLONIZATION PRODUCED AND PRODUCER OF INDIGENOUS ROUTES .............................................................................. 197 NOTES ..............................................................................................................................