Their name is also spelled Cariri or Kariri and is a Tupi word meaning "silent" or "taciturn".

[1] The French Capuchin missionary Martin of Nantes (1638–1714) was the apostle of the Kariri people on the São Francisco River between 1672 and 1683.

The various Kariri peoples were settled in different towns (aldeia) and villages (vila), listed as follows.

The Chapada Diamantina has a dramatic landscape with high plains, table-top mesas, and steep cliffs or towers known as 'tepuy.'

Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 19th century, the only local inhabitants of the region were indigenous Indians from the Maracas and Cariris tribes.