MEXICAN-INDIAN-L Archives

From: Dani Brown <>
Subject: Xerente (Sherente) Indians
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:31:43 -0800 (PST)

Xerente (Sherente) Indians


Location: the vast plain lands of the Matto Grosso to
the east of the Tocantins River, south of the Amazon
Basin in Brazil (Map). Xerente territory - comprised
of the Xerente and Funil indigenous lands ("terras
indígenas") - is located in the brushlands of the
State of Tocantins, to the east of the Tocantins
River, 70 kilometers to the north of the capitol city,
Palmas.

Other Names: A'uwe, Awen, Akwe, Akwen

Population: 1,814 (in 2000)

Language: Jê family



The Xerente exploited the resources of the brushlands
through hunting and gathering, associated with a
complementary swidden agriculture. Extensiveness of
territory was thus always a basic condition for the
constitution and reproduction of the group. It is not
by chance that Xerente male identity is directly
associated with being considered a "good hunter", a
"good walker" and "runner." Hunting, fishing, and
gathering activities, as well as agriculture, are
intimately associated with the knowledge that the
Xerente have of nature, its potentials and
limitations.

The cycle of activities dedicated to agriculture is
divided between the dry season - which they call
"summer" - and the rainy season - called "winter." The
first covers the months of May to September, and the
second, from October to April. The great majority of
the gardens are located in the immediate vicinity of
the villages, near rivers and streams close to the
galley-forests. Another type of garden which is much
used by the Xerente is made near the banks of the
Tocantins River, on nearly the whole western frontier
of the territory, about 12 kilometers in length.

Other important items in the basic diet of the
Xerente, such as honey, fruits, and various roots, are
obtained through gathering, an activity by which they
also obtain medicinal plants. Fishing, which once was
an important source of food for the Xerente, has
progressively declined in importance over the years,
due to the impact of the large-scale development
projects (dams, hydroelectrics) undertaken on the
Tocantins River. Hunting also has gotten much scarcer
due to the pressures on natural resources.

In compensation, the Xerente have sought other sources
of income. The making and selling of artwork -
basketry, warclubs, bows and arrows, collars, etc. -
despite being very depreciated by the regional
population, is one of the principal activities
developed by the group, since the raw material
utilized (buriti-fibres, sawgrass seeds, coco straw,
etc) is accessible to the whole population.

Text from © Instituto Socioambiental. You can find
their web site here: http://www.socioambiental.org/e/

------------------------------------------------------



Introduction from the Encyclopedia Britannica:

Sherente - also spelled Xerente, Brazilian Indian
group speaking Sherente, a Macro-Ge language. The
Sherente live in northern Goias state, on a hilly
upland plateau that is broken up by strips of forest
that trace the courses of the rivers flowing through
the region. They numbered approximately 500 in the
late 20th century.

The Sherente and the closely related Shavante at one
time lived as neighbors along the Tocantins River in
Goias state; the earliest travelers through the area
failed to distinguish the two groups, ethnically or
linguistically. By the 1840s, however, newcomers
settling along the Tocantins River had pushed the
Sherente and Shavante away from the river; the
Sherente moved northeast, to their present home
between the Tocantins River and the Sono River.p

The Sherente, unlike the Shavante, interacted with the
missionaries and other early settlers; some learned
Portuguese, some became Christians, and most became
knowledgeable about mainstream Brazilian culture. In
the second half of the 20th century, the Sherente were
an "integrated" group, participating so fully in the
Brazilian society and economy that they are no longer
considered to have a distinct tribal identity.



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• Xerente (Sherente) Indians by Dani Brown <>