Parakanã people

The Western Parakanã utilized nomadic strategies within the interior of the forests, as they stopped horticulture and increased their aggression as well as their relationships with other populations of the region.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Parakanã remained much more defensive in nature and implemented a more sedentary lifestyle, keeping their contact with other populations to a minimum.

They were first identified as the group who located themselves between the lower portion of the Pucuruí River and the town of Alcobaça where they ransacked the workers and colonists of the Tocantins Railroad.

Ultimately, the Indian Protection Service created a Pacification Post on the railroad to ensure the safety of the workers due to the danger the Parakanã were causing to these people.

The sole crop that is implemented in these feasts is tobacco, which is put on the inside of a cigar that is made from the inner bark of the tauari or the ‘tree of smoke.’ Agriculturally, the Western Parakanã abandoned the practice of horticulture in the early 1960s and only lived by hunting and gathering, while also raiding other populations' garden products.

Meanwhile, after the ‘pacification’ horticulture was reintroduced to the Parakanã by the Funai employees and large collective gardens were introduced through the guidance of the Post chief.

Particularly within the Western Parakanã, men were a vital component of the group as they adopted the majority of the agricultural tasks and took an active part in the processing of manioc.

Therefore, their agricultural work consists of the organization of female labor through marriage in accordance with the cooperation of the males through patrilineal ties.

Although there is the practice of the master and the pet, as previously described, the Parakanã also hold the belief that white individuals and white-to-be are shamans and have the power to heal.

This stems from a long-held tradition that white individuals are immortal and can bring the dead back to life through revitalization: a ritualistic practice of smoking and dancing around the deceased's grave.

The Parakanã and other Brazilian indigenous groups developed the term Caraíba to refer to shamans who were seen as god-like people that they interacted with.

Gananath Obeyeseke, professor emeritus of Anthropology at Princeton University, pushed back on the myth and argued that it perpetuated the domination of the European narrative in history.

However, it was not until the 1920s were the Parakanã tribe identified as being the Amerindians who lived between the town of Alcobaca and the lower part of the Pucurui River.

Finally in 1928, the Servico de Protecao aos Indio, also known as the Indian Protection Service, built the Pacification Post on the 67th kilometer of the Tocantins Railroad.

This post, set on the left bank of Pucurui River, was to protect and provide safety to the representatives throughout the pacification with the Parakanã.

The long-term trade relationship had reached its climax and the groups steadily began to mobilize away from traditional forms of villages.

For two years, the tribes fought three large-scale wars before the Funai settled the disputes and moved the Arawete to the Ipixuna Post in 1977.

Throughout the Brazilian rubber and nut boom and the railway project that connected Tucurui and Maraba, the tribe were able to maintain their autonomy and preserve their land.

Frequent contact with illegal loggers have caused a rise in exposure of dependency, alcoholism, and exploitation of Parakanã's youth.

While the Brazilian government has put into place a federal decree to impose strict logging restrictions, the Amazon is too vast to actually enforce anything.

The Parakanã have helped illegal woodcutters locate stands of Mahogany in exchange for firearms, food, and alcohol.