Nahukuá

The Nahukuá are members of a small, indigenous ethnic group in the upper Xingu River area of Brazil. Their population was 146, as of 2010, making them the smallest group in the region.

History

When the Nahukuá people were first encountered by German explorers in the late 19th century, they were initially grouped with two other tribes living in the region (the Kalapalo and Kuikuro, rather than recognized as their own unique group. Another group of later explorers only mentioned the Nahukuá in passing, speculating about the origins of the Nahukuá people. These explorers, led by a man named Max Schmidt, believed that, because of the Carib ancestry of the Nahukuá, they were probably immigrants to the region, hailing originally from southwestern Guiana.

Early explorers noted that the Nahukuá had several villages along the Kurisevo and Kuluene rivers. By the 1940s, however, the population of the Nahukuá people had been reduced to only 28. Although the population did rise slightly in the ensuing years, a measles epidemic decimated populations again in the 1950s. By 1954, some believed that the Nahukuá may already have been extinct. At some point after 1948, low Nahukuá populations caused the ethnic group to disband its last existing village at the time. In the 1960s, at the encouragement of the Villas-Bôas brothers, the Nahukuá created a new village to a spot closer to the Kalapalo people. This village was eventually abandoned, due to superstition regarding a murder, which the Nahukuá attributed to sorcery.

In 1977, a new Nahukuá village was set up on the shore of Kuluene river. Nahukuá populations, which had been increasing since the introduction of proper modern healthcare to the upper Xingu River area in the 1960s, continued to increase after the foundation of this new village.

References

External links

• Nahukua, Instituto Socioambiental
• Nahukuá material culture, National Museum of the American Indian

Indigenous peoples of Brazil
Indigenous peoples of the North Region Acre Apurinã Asháninka Kaxinawá Kulina Machinere Yaminawá Amapá Aparai Kalina Palikur Amazonas Amahuaca Apurinã Banawá Baniwa Barasana Bora Cambeba Cubeo Dâw Hup Jamamadi Juma Karajá Korubo Kulina Macuna Mawé Matis Matsés Munduruku Mura Parintintín Pirahã Siriano Tembé Tenharim Ticuna Tiriyó Tucano Turiwára Wai-wai Wayampi Wayana Witoto Yanomami Zuruahã Pará Amanayé Anambé Aparai Apiacá Arara Araweté Atikum Kayapo Munduruku Suruí do Pará Tembé Tiriyó Turiwára Wai-wai Wayampi Wayana Zo'é Rondônia Cinta Larga Kanoê Karitiana Kwaza Paiter Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Wari’ Roraima Aikanã Akawaio Akuntsu Macushi Patamona Pemon Wapishana Yanomami Ye'kuana Tocantins Apinajé Tapirapé Xambioá Xerente
Indigenous peoples of the Northeast Region Bahia Pataxó Ceará Kiriri Tabajara Tapeba Maranhão Awá-Guajá Guajajara Ka'apor Paraíba Potiguara Pernambuco Xukuru
Indigenous peoples of the Central-West Region Mato Grosso Aimoré Apiacá Aweti Bororo Chiquitano Cinta Larga Enawene Nawe Guató Ikpeng Kaiabi Kalapalo Kamayurá Kayapo Kuikuro Matipu Munduruku Nahukuá Nambikwara Paiter Panará Rikbaktsa Suyá Tapirapé Terena Trumai Umutina Wai-wai Wauja Xavante Yawalapiti Yudjá Mato Grosso do Sul Chamacoco Guarani-Kaiowá Guató Kadiweu Mbayá Ofayé Terena
Indigenous peoples of the South and Southeast Regions Espírito Santo Tupiniquim Minas Gerais Aimoré Kaxixó Xakriabá São Paulo Aimoré Kaingang Terena Widespread Kaingang