- Indians
The natives were called “indians” by mistake. Cristóvão Colombo, getting to American soil, thought that it was the “Indias”, which he was looking for. So the guy stumbled into America also by mistake.
- Cultural diversity
The different indigenous people living in Brazil (Pindorama or Piratininga), as the other indigenous people in America, have their own way of organization, different ways of life, languages and cultures.
- Indigenous nations
They are classified according to their languages:
Tupi – the ones in the coast.
Jê or Tapuia – the ones in the central planalt.
Nuaruaque – the ones in the Amazon
Caraíba – the ones in the north of the Amazon
- Social Organization
Primitive community
Social equality
Collective relation to the land
Division of the work by gender and age
Socialization of the production techniques
Equal distribution
Small technological development
Sufficient production
Very small unnecessary production
The houses are made of clay and leaves (ocas, malocas), the group of houses is called “aldeia” and the group of aldeias speaking the same language is called tribe.
- Common characteristics
They are nomads, or semi-nomads, their economic activities are hunting, fishing, collect and agriculture. Their instruments are rudimentary. The indians believe in many gods having the “pagé” as religious leader. Considering politics, each oca have a boss and the aldeia has a “cacique”. The war is important for status and prestige. As cultural costumes, they have a anthropophagic ritual, they are generous splitting the goods and, depending on the tradition, the men can have more than one woman or the women can have more than one man.
