Devastação ilegal da floresta na terra indígena Alto Turiaçú-MA: impactos sobre a cultura material do povo indígena Ka'apor

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the impacts of forest devastation caused by the actions of loggers and ranchers on the making of feather art and hunting bows among the Ka'apor indigenous people who live in the Alto Turiaçu indigenous land, located on the border between the states of Pará and Maranhão. During the research, a bibliographic survey was carried out on the Ka'apor indigenous people, focusing the analysis on anthropological bibliography on material culture, specifically in relation to feather art (RIBEIRO; RIBEIRO, 1957; RIBEIRO DARCY 1996). But ethnographic data were also collected in the Xiepihum-rena village, where interviews were conducted. In this sense, the present work is based on ethnography as the main methodological tool of anthropology. In addition to the uses and meanings of these elements of Ka'apor material culture, this work analyzes the transformations and new uses generated from contemporary socio-environmental processes. During the two field visits we observed the devastating action of loggers illegally extracting noble woods from the indigenous land, such as the purple (tabebuia impertiginosa standley) and yellow (tabebuia serratifolia vahl) pau d'arco, among others, species known as the purple and yellow ipê, used by the Ka'apor to make their hunting bows. On the other hand, the prohibition by the Ministry of the Environment of the manufacture of indigenous handicrafts using animals of Brazilian wild fauna as raw material has prevented the sale of feather art, which until a few years ago was the main form of income generation, and is now made only for ceremonial use. This legal prohibition imposed on the manufacture of feather ornaments for commercial purposes has led to changes in the elaboration of handicrafts for sale, replacing bird feathers with beads and palm seeds.