The feather and the cocar: indigenous writing and political action in the Trinta Povos das Missões

• Grant number: 14/26499-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2015
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Alberto de Moura Ribeiro Zeron
• Grantee: Maria Beatriz Correa Neves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

During the process of colonization, the amerindians lose more and more space and political power. Be it for epidemies, enslavement or for the very dynamic of the colonial system, these populations were more and more excluded from the centre of decisions up to the situation faced nowadays. All this process, however, is not regarded passively by the native peoples and is faced with many forms of resistence. The aim of this text is to show that, contrary to what many think, far from being a mere place of indigenous catechization, the "aldeamentos", were too forms to perform resistence. As to achieve that, letters written by guarani leaderships will be used, which were written during the period of treaties of limits, signed between Portugal and Spain, that marked the beginning of the Guaranitic Wars. Although not many, these letters may show us important aspects on the culture of the aldeados (that is, indigenous under the politics of living in villages) not quite explored by historians. This is a work that aims to revert the general conception of indigenous passivity with relation to conquer and colonization.