Karajá - Settlements



The Karajá have always inhabited linear villages along the river, unlike the other tribes of central Brazil. Houses previously had an elongated rectangular shape and an ogival roof and housed extended families. Now the houses are smaller, built for nuclear families, and have a square shape and four-sided roofs.

The cemeteries are located near the villages, generally at the riverside; some are contiguous to the village. The extended families have the right to use their land in the cemeteries, which are replicas of the villages of the living.

Early in the twentieth century, there were summer camps where entire families would stay while collecting eggs of the tracajá ( Padocnemis unifilis ) and other wildlife products and visiting relatives in other local groups. Today, visits to other villages are frequent at all times of the year, especially during the dry season. Beaches are no longer used for camping except as short-term resting places during subsistence activities; they are never used for leisure activities. The Karajá use motorboats belonging to people in the region or boats belonging to FUNAI for their trips to other villages.


Also read article about Karajá from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: