Panará
Encyclopedia
The Panará are an Indigenous
people of the Pará
and Mato Grosso
states in the Brazilian Amazon. They were formerly called the Kreen-Akrore. Other names for the Panará include Kreen-Akarore, Krenhakarore, Krenhakore, Krenakore, Krenakarore or Krenacarore, and "Índios Gigantes" ("Giant Indians") – all variants of the kayapó name "kran iakarare", meaning "roundlike cuthead", a reference to their traditional hair style which invariably identifies them.
, Apinayé and the Timbira language
s. Latest researches indicate that the southern Cayapó and Panará are in fact one single language.
through their territory brought them in contact with the outside world. As a result the tribe was decimated by modern world diseases such as flu and diarrhoea which they had no immunity against, and by the environmental degradation
of their land. Of the more than 350 members of the Panará tribe, more than 250 perished in the first twelve months after their first contact with the white men.
Twenty years later the Panará began negotiations to move home to their original territory. However, much of their old land had by now been degraded by prospectors, gold-panning, settlement or cattle breeding (six out of eight of their old villages had by now been destroyed), but one large stretch of unspoiled dense forest could still be identified. In 1994 the tribe elders met with Xingu Park leaders and FUNAI
to demand the right to move back to their original territory, and was eventually allowed 4,950 square kilometres from their ancient traditional territory along the Iriri River
located on the border of Mato Grosso and Pará states.
Between 1995 and 1996, the Panará gradually moved to a new village called Nãsẽpotiti in their traditional land, and on 1 November 1996 the Justice Minister declared the Panará Indigenous Land a "permanent indigenous possession". By 2003 the number of Panará was around 250, and in 2008 they were 374.
, the closing track is called "Kreen-Akrore".
Alcatrazz's 1983 album No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll also contains a song, 'Kree Nakoorie'.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
people of the Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
and Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
states in the Brazilian Amazon. They were formerly called the Kreen-Akrore. Other names for the Panará include Kreen-Akarore, Krenhakarore, Krenhakore, Krenakore, Krenakarore or Krenacarore, and "Índios Gigantes" ("Giant Indians") – all variants of the kayapó name "kran iakarare", meaning "roundlike cuthead", a reference to their traditional hair style which invariably identifies them.
Origin
The Panará are the last descendants of the southern Cayapós, a large ethnic group which inhabited a vast area in Central Brazil in the 18th century, from the northern borders of the state of São Paulo, Triângulo Mineiro and south of Goiás, streching eastwards from Mato Grosso, eastern and southeastern portion of Mato Grosso do Sul. The Panará belong to the Jê-speaking group in Central Brazil, a subgroup of the northern Jê, which encompasses the Kayapó, SuyáSuya
Suya, is a shish kebab like food popular in West Africa, originally from the Hausa people of northern Nigeria and Niger. Suya is generally made with skewered beef, fish, or chicken. The meat is rubbed-in with tankora, a dry spice mix containing powdered groundnuts, cayenne pepper, ginger, paprika...
, Apinayé and the Timbira language
Timbira language
Timbira is a dialect continuum of Ge languages of Brazil. The various varieties are distinct enough to sometimes be considered separate languages. The principal varieties, Krahô , and Kanela , have 2000 speakers apiece, few of whom speak Portuguese. Kreye, however, is nearly extinct, with only 30...
s. Latest researches indicate that the southern Cayapó and Panará are in fact one single language.
Contact
The Panará lived in relative isolation until 1973 when a government project (Cuiabá-Santarém) road BR-163BR-163
BR-163 is a highway in Brazil, going from Cuiabá, the capital city of Mato Grosso state, to Santarém in the state of Pará. It runs through in the heart of the Amazon Basin. Currently, only 44% of the road are paved. Most parts of the road are muddy and impassable in the wet season. Lorries can get...
through their territory brought them in contact with the outside world. As a result the tribe was decimated by modern world diseases such as flu and diarrhoea which they had no immunity against, and by the environmental degradation
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
of their land. Of the more than 350 members of the Panará tribe, more than 250 perished in the first twelve months after their first contact with the white men.
Life in Xingu
On 12 January 1975, the 79 surviving members of the tribe were transferred by the government to the indigenous reserve Parque do Xingu, and forced to live in neighborly proximity with former enemies, under state supervision. A working team from the Escola Paulista de Medicina examed 27 of the 29 newcomers, adults over 20 years old. The average height was 1.67m and that corresponded to the average height of those from the Jê group, a little taller than the indians from Alto Xingu.Twenty years later the Panará began negotiations to move home to their original territory. However, much of their old land had by now been degraded by prospectors, gold-panning, settlement or cattle breeding (six out of eight of their old villages had by now been destroyed), but one large stretch of unspoiled dense forest could still be identified. In 1994 the tribe elders met with Xingu Park leaders and FUNAI
Funai
Funai Electric is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. The company was founded in 1961. It owns the subsidiary Funai Corporation, Inc., established in the United States since 1991, to market and maintain Funai-licensed brands such as Sylvania, Emerson Radio,...
to demand the right to move back to their original territory, and was eventually allowed 4,950 square kilometres from their ancient traditional territory along the Iriri River
Iriri River
The Iriri River is a tributary of the Xingu River in Brazil, in the state of Pará. It is long making it the 116th longest river in the world and the 15th longest in the Amazon Basin. The headwaters are the traditional home of the Panará people....
located on the border of Mato Grosso and Pará states.
Between 1995 and 1996, the Panará gradually moved to a new village called Nãsẽpotiti in their traditional land, and on 1 November 1996 the Justice Minister declared the Panará Indigenous Land a "permanent indigenous possession". By 2003 the number of Panará was around 250, and in 2008 they were 374.
Trivia
On Paul McCartney's 1970 album McCartneyMcCartney (album)
McCartney is the debut solo album by Paul McCartney. Apart from Linda McCartney's vocal contributions, McCartney performed the entire album solo...
, the closing track is called "Kreen-Akrore".
Alcatrazz's 1983 album No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll also contains a song, 'Kree Nakoorie'.
External links
- Img Socioambiental.org in Portuguese language.
- The Panará: A Story of Hope
- National Geographic: effects of logging in the Amazon Basin
- Resources on the Panará language at Etnolinguistica.Org