According to legend,
the original ancestor of the Xavante people, the first human being,
was known as Aiwamdzú.
It is
said that he “came
out of the earth” in the east, “by the Ȩ
Wawẽ
,”
the
“big water,” perhaps a reference to the Atlantic ocean. It is
possible that the territory roamed by the Xavante people may have at
one time extended all the way to the coast. However, shortly after
the arrival of Europeans in the Sixteenth Century it seems they began
moving west, by the mid-nineteenth century coming to occupy areas
between the Rio das Mortes on the east and the Batovi River (one of
the tributaries of the Xingu) on the west.
This region is part of a savanna-type biome found primarily in the
large plateau area of central Brazil, the largest savanna in South
America (1.8 million km2
)
and biologically the richest savanna in the world.
This
landscape, known as the Brazilian cerrado,
is sacred to the Xavante. This is the space in which their mythic
tales
of creation and transformation are played out. “The Origin of
Fire” (Hu'u Nhib'unhama Wasu'u)
is one of the most commonly told. Set within the cultural context of
a conflict between a man and his brother-in-law, the brother-in-law
is eventually rescued by an old Xavante man who appears in the form
of a jaguar. During this mythic time, Jaguar was the only being who
had fire and used the fire to cook food. The young man spent a long
period of time with Jaguar and learned about fire and its use. When
he is finally sent back to his village, he is instructed by Jaguar
not to say anything about the fire but rather to say that the meat he
carries back with him was cooked on a hot flat rock. Although
promising to do as he is told, he hides a piece of charcoal in the
meat he is given to take back to his people. Upon arriving back in
the village someone discovers the charcoal and he eventually divulges
the mystery of fire. It is decided by the people that they too must
have fire.
One after another,
members of the community offer themselves to go and steal the fire
from Jaguar. The first says that he will go as a tapir. The next
says he that he will go as the large cervo
deer, and the next as the smaller pampa
deer. Another said he would go as the ostrich-like emu, and still
another as a paca, a
large rodent. Others volunteered, each offering to take the form of
a specific animal. In each case the offer was, tongue in cheek,
turned down. In typical Xavante style, humor was poked at some
typical characteristic of each animal thus disqualifying them for the
task. The tapir would be too noisy, the large deer was said to be
awkward, and the small deer always runs with its head down. The emu
runs with his wings stuck way out, and the paca never ventures far
from the riverbank. In the end though, a sort of relay team is
agreed to and together they succeed in stealing the fire from Jaguar.
“This is how it was a long time ago, when the people carried off
the fire,” the story concludes. And “they sent around the coals
to all the people, so that now all of them could become possessors of
fire too.” As a consequence however, it is explained that because
the young man did not live up to his word to keep the secret of the
fire, from that day forward Jaguar will always be very mean, a enemy
to humans.
Anyone who has lived
for a time among the Xavante people will recognize multiple layers of
Xavante culture reflected in this story. The humor, poking of fun,
and a kind of light-hearted dishonesty/tricking that is woven
throughout the narrative is typical of the Xavante style of relating.
Culturally appropriate dynamics of interaction between family
members, those related by marriage, and even the adoption of a
relative are also clearly present in the story.
On the other hand,
in this and other Xavante stories of creation, it is clear as well
that the mythic/sacred landscape on which they play out is clearly
the Brazilian cerrado.
All the animals in the story of the Origin of Fire, for example are
not only scientifically identified fauna of the cerrado but fully
recognizable in the familiar and humorous descriptions given of their
appearance and behavior. The contours of the land – rivers, rocky
cliffs, reference to trees but not to forest, all of this – is
characteristic of the cerrado landscape as well. This land, for the
Xavante, is where they emerged as A'uwẽ,
the
real human beings. It is this space that their ancestors trekked, the
land that sustained them as a people for centuries and perhaps
millennia.
Today
this traditional land of the Xavante (and other indigenous groups) is
over-run with huge cattle ranches, soy fields that extend as far as
the eye can see, roads, highways, and towns. Federally recognized
tribal territories are continuously under pressure from outside
economic interests. And the land that is left is no longer
sufficient to sustain the flora and fauna of their traditional way of
life. The continued existence of the cerrado
biome is itself in question!
Interviewed
in 2009, Cipassé Xavante, contemporary leader of the Wederã
community in the western part of Xavante terrirtory raised this
warning and plea: “Few
people understand the Cerrado the way we (the Xavante people) do; we
have a special relationship to it and care deeply for it. Really the
whole world has a responsibility to the Cerrado. Climate change is
happening in Brazil, Africa, and Asia. It is all connected.
“The
world has always existed. Human beings were created, but the world –
the water, the sky, and the land – have always existed. It is
humanity who will disappear if we don't take care. This is my
message. This is why it is important to support the Cerrado peoples'
fight.”
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As
I explain in an earlier post, the term Xavante
(pronounced Shah-vahn-tee) is a name given by early European
settlers/explorers. Their own name for themselves is a’uwẽ,
“the people,” or a’uwẽ
uptabi,
“the real or authentic people.”