The script is known. On March 1, 1565, a Portuguese captain named Estácio de Sá founded the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro at the foot of the Sugar Loaf. At the time, it was nothing more than a military base to guarantee ownership of the territory. There was competition from the French, who had occupied areas of Guanabara Bay since 1555, and from different indigenous peoples, who had inhabited the region for at least four thousand years. The conflicts between the groups ended in the Battle of Uruçumirim, in 1567: the alliance of the Portuguese/Temiminós defeated that of the French/Tamoios (or Tupinambás). 458 years after the founding of Rio, the memories of victory and the Portuguese occupation are highlighted in the urban landscape of Rio de Janeiro. But the participation of indigenous peoples, even though they are protagonists in these events and in the development of the region, is practically invisible. The Church of São Sebastião, in the Tijuca neighborhood, brings together the main Portuguese symbols of that period. There is a rectangular stone with a design of the country’s coat of arms. It is believed to be the landmark planted in the ground by Estácio de Sá’s group when the city was founded. In the church, there is also his tombstone (built in 1583) and his remains. In addition to these historical remains, a memorial helps to perpetuate the fame of the Portuguese at Aterro do Flamengo. A stone pyramid, designed by the architect Lucio Costa, was inaugurated in 1973, as a Monument to Estácio de Sá. In the basement, there is a visitor center with a replica of the tombstone and informative material about the honoree. Most of the ancient remains of indigenous peoples were destroyed during the period of Portuguese colonization. And today there is no memorial equivalent to that of Estácio de Sá that mentions the heritage of these peoples in the construction and formation of the territory that came to be Rio de Janeiro. Monument to Estácio de Sá, at Aterro do Flamengo, south of Rio. Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil There is a statue of Araribóia, leader of the Temiminós and collaborator of the Portuguese, on the other side of the bay, in the city of Niterói. In Rio, the name of Aymberê, for example, who led the resistance of the Tamoios, is barely known. The statue of Curumim, in Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, is the only reference to the pre-colonial presence of the Tamoios (without any type of information plaque). Even so, it is a generic landmark because it refers to a word from the Tupi language that means child or boy. Even the name of the lagoon is an important symbol of erasure: while the native inhabitants called it Sacopã, Piraguá or Sacopenapã, the name that persists until today is that of a Portuguese army captain, Rodrigo de Freitas. “Since 2015, with the 450th anniversary, this date of the foundation of the city comes with a lot of force. But we have to remember that, long before the city’s founding war, in 1565, the region had already been occupied by people other than the Portuguese. So, it is important to talk about our indigenous heritage”, recalls historian Rafael Mattoso, a specialist in the history of Rio. “The city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro was built on top of indigenous villages. Its foundation marks the redemption of the colonizer over the original peoples. And for this triumph of the Portuguese, much indigenous blood was shed. From then on, all the visibility of memory places the colonizer as the protagonist, when in fact it was not like that. For the Portuguese to be able to consolidate colonization, they had to form an alliance with indigenous leaders. The number of French and Portuguese was infinitely smaller than that of the Tupinambás, Tamoios and Temiminós”, reinforces historian Ana Paula da Silva, doctor in social memory and researcher at the Indigenous Peoples Studies Program (Pro Índio), at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). In the 16th century, when Europeans arrived in the region, French chroniclers estimated that there were between 30 and 40 villages around Guanabara Bay, with populations ranging from 500 to 3,000 per village. Portuguese colonization advanced over the territories and caused the death of indigenous people through armed conflicts and diseases. Many of those who survived were used as a compulsory workforce in opening roads, building mills, fortresses and structures that are now tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro. As is the case of Passeio Público, Paço Imperial and Arcos da Lapa. But this participation, even if done under coercion and violence, is forgotten. Exploited labor “There are many documents that show this exploitation of indigenous labor in Rio de Janeiro. And there is no materialization of that memory. You go to Arcos da Lapa, there isn’t even a plaque saying that the structure was built using indigenous work”, criticizes historian Ana Paula da Silva, about the process that took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, of creating what then became called Aqueduto da Carioca, to conduct water from the Rio Carioca to the center. Another emblematic point for the historian is Outeiro da Glória, where the Church of Nossa Senhora da Glória is located today. Previously called Uruçumirim, the hill was the site of the aforementioned victory by Portugal in 1567. The Catholic structure was built on top of what was a Tupinambá village, called Kariók or Karióg, which in the Tupi language meant “house of the Carijó Indian”. The name may have given rise to the word carioca. The permanence of the gentile in the present day is a symbol of indigenous resistance to erasure and silencing actions over time. As much as the materiality of these peoples is rare, it remains strong through immaterial legacies. Cultural heritage Carioca’s linguistic heritage owes a lot to the oldest inhabitants of the land, even if the origin of terms is not so popular. In the article “Rio de Janeiro continues to be an Indian”, by professor and anthropologist José Ribamar Bessa Freire, the main immaterial marks of these peoples in the daily life of the city are listed. There are, for example, neighborhoods and geographical features that retain the names of villages: Guanabara (a bay similar to a river), Pavuna (a swampy place), Irajá (honey bowl), Iguaçu (big river), Ipanema (fishless river), Icaraí (clear water), Maracanã (similar to a rattle) and others like Tijuca, Jacarepaguá, Guaratiba, Sepetiba, Acari and Itaguaí. Plant cultivation and specific eating habits also come from this heritage. Just remember basic sustenance items like corn, peanuts, cassava, beans. And knowledge about planting and consuming fruits that are common today, such as pineapple, pequi and cashew. Archeology and museums The clues to the ancestral indigenous occupation of the territory are found in the shell mounds, archaeological sites made up of shells, shellfish and pieces of wood. A survey by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan-RJ) indicates that there are 40 sambaquis registered in the municipality. One of the most recent was found in 2018, in the works at Tom Jobim/Galeão International Airport, and possibly dates back four thousand years. Archaeological sites are not easily accessible to the lay public, they are more restricted to the work of specialists. The main museums dedicated to shell mounds are outside the municipality: Museu do Sambaqui da Tarioba (Rio das Ostras) and Museu do Sambaqui da Beirada (Saquarema). Documents and ethnographic objects related to indigenous people can be found in institutions such as the General City Archive, the Public Archive of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the National Library and the National Archive. The municipality has a space dedicated especially to the theme, the Museu do Índio, in Botafogo. But it has been closed for renovations since 2016, with a reopening forecast only in the second half of 2023. The museum has been at this address since 1978. Before that, the headquarters were located in a space – created in 1953 – next to the Maracanã stadium. The old building was abandoned and was occupied by indigenous people in 2006, who asked for the creation of a cultural space. In 2013, there was a violent repossession by state forces. A part of the occupants left the place and another remains until today. The state government promised to restore the building and create a Reference Center for the Culture of Indigenous Peoples, but the project has yet to get off the ground. Agência Brasil asked Rio City Hall if there are any projects for valuing and giving greater visibility to indigenous heritage. There was no response until the closure of the matter. Regarding Aldeia Maracanã, the State Secretariat for Culture and Creative Economy of Rio de Janeiro responded, in a note, that it plans to open a dialogue with the new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to find a solution.
Agência Brasil
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