Kayabí
Indigenous people of Brazil / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kayabí or Kaiabi are an indigenous people of Brazil inhabiting the northern state of Mato Grosso. They primarily live in the Xingu Indigenous Park and the Indian Reservation of Apiaká-Kayabi south of Pará. There are approximately 1300 Kayabí living on the Xingu Indigenous Park.[4] They are known by a number of names; Caiabi, Parua, Maquiri, Kawaiwete and many more romanizations of the word Kaiabi.[1]
Total population | |
---|---|
1,855 (2010)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() ![]() | |
Languages | |
Kayabí[2] | |
Religion | |
traditional tribal religion[3] |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Localiza%C3%A7%C3%A3o_PIX%2C_Parque_Ind%C3%ADgena_do_Xingu.jpg)
Though residing on a reservation with 14 other indigenous groups, the Kayabi still remained very much heterogeneous. They maintained their traditional way of life, and practiced their customs unchanged for centuries. It was this longing for the preservation of culture and life that mandated the Kayabi left their native lands and seek shelter and protection. During colonial times indigenous peoples had their villages disseminated, raided and even destroyed if located on resource rich lands. Many men were killed and women forced into slavery during these acts of ethnocide. Countless fell ill to diseases the Europeans brought with them, for example smallpox, measles, chicken pox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and other forms of the flu virus.[4]