“País selvagem”: os Mebêngôkre-Irã Amrayré e a fronteira Araguaia na segunda metade do século XIX

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the relationship of the Irã amrayré (Mebêngôkre-Kayapó group) with the different agents of the indigenist policy of the second half of the 19th century, in the province of Goiás, which had as its objective the occupation and colonization of the valleys of the Araguaia and Tocantins rivers, with a view to occupying its banks and building a trade route connecting the north of the province to Belém, in Pará, above all through the Araguaia River. Based on the analysis of official documentation, travellers' reports, myths and Irã amrayré narratives, and in dialogue with the contemporary ethnography of the Mebêngôkre, I defend the thesis that the Irã amrayré were important historical agents in the construction of the Araguaia frontier, in the second half of the XIX century. This process, in turn, was experienced by them according to their culture, their historical experiences and their own interests. On the other hand, I also emphasize that the contact with the other (the kubẽ) brought about transformations among the Irã amrayré.