The ethnohistorical map of Nimuendajú situates the traditional territory of the Tremembé in two segments along the northern Atlantic coast of Brazil.

[3] The Tremembé, a Tapuia tribe, were virtually surrounded by Tupi peoples - on the coast, there were Tupinambá to the west, and the Potiguara and Tabajara to the east.

In the 17th century, the Tremembé began to settle in the Jesuit mission of Aracati-mirím, at Aldeia do Cajueiro (now Almofala) by the Acaraú River in Ceará.

When the Portuguese minister, the Marquis of Pombal, issued his 1759 decrees expelling the Jesuits and dismantling their missions, the settled Tremembé population moved, along with a handful of priests, to Vila Nova do Soure (Caucaia).

However, they did not adapt well to their new environment, and were allowed to return to their old mission settlement, the Aldeia do Cajueiro, which was renamed Almofala and incorporated as an Indian town in 1766.