Estudo Arqueológico da Influência Missionária na formação da Vila de Salvaterra na Ilha de Marajó

Abstract

The colonization of Marajó Island at the end of the 17th century was part of the Portuguese state's project of domination and defense of the Amazon. The foundation of missionary villages on the island provided effective control over indigenous societies. The city of Salvaterra originated in an aldeamento called Igarapé Grande founded by the Franciscan priest Boaventura, and in 1757 was elevated to the category of village (FRAGOSSO,1992). The objective of the present work is to point out the evidence of the impact of the missions on the indigenous societies and the transformation of the aldeamento into a village. Information about the urban organization, the type of materials used in the construction of buildings and the political and economic relations between the village of Salvaterra, the city of Belém and Portugal was sought through primary and secondary bibliographic sources. We found that the Igarapé Grande village was populated by Aruã, Sacaca and Maruana Indians, who engaged in activities such as fishing and the cultivation of foodstuffs like manioc. The division of Indian labor, during the missionary period, was between the religious, the State and the settlers, while during the pombaline period, the village labor was used for the royal service and shared among the settlers. The Indians often found it difficult to cultivate their fields due to the irregular working hours, sandy and ant filled soil. The town of Salvaterra traded with the city of Belém: fish, crab, and manioc flour. The colonization process was marked by cultural exchanges between distinct societies, as can be seen in the use of indigenous knowledge for localization and the use of local materials in construction. According to Domingues (2000), the Amerindians underwent a modification in their socio-cultural patterns, seen, for example, in the construction techniques of the houses that started to have the Lusitanian constructions as a pattern, reflected in the building of the church, the town hall, the jail and in parallel streets.