The Karodaybi Government and its Invincible Warriors: the Munduruku Ipereğ Ayũ Movement versus large construction projects in the Amazon

Abstract

In this article we analyze the context of a territorial dispute in the Brazilian Amazon from the perspective of the resistance strategies of the Munduruku Ipereğ Ayũ Movement in relation to the development model of the Brazilian state. The objective is to understand the rise and action of the Ipereğ Ayũ Movement, its particularities and the ways that it established itself and acts. The Movement is seen as a complex process of cultural recreation, inspired by reviving elements of Munduruku cosmology and traditions, re-elaborated to a current historic context that presents new dangers and threats, but that also creates new uses and meanings. To a large degree, the Munduruku resistance presented here confronts the nation building projects that the dominant classes have for Brazil. The government plans contemplate the Tapajós River as a source of energy resources and as a route for the shipment of commodities through the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams and other large associated projects. On the other hand, the Munduruku Ipereğ Ayũ movement conceives of the Tapajós River in a particular form, considering the resources provided by the river and places in the cosmology of the people. The movement uses a variety of strategies to confront the model imposed by the federal government,

Uma antropologia da práxis: homenagem a Jean Langdon

“…Diversas narrativas míticas munduruku compõem o material analisado por Lévi-Strauss (2004). Um trabalho muito interessante de compilação e análise pode ser encontrado em Loures (2017).…”

“…Os Munduruku tornaram explícito seu projeto político coletivo de reprodução biossocial, pelo qual a saúde é definida de uma maneira ampla, holística, com forte conotação socioambiental. Foram produzidos vários documentos pelos Munduruku reivindicando direitos, nos quais registram a importância sagrada de lugares que seriam destruídos pelas hidrelétricas (LOURES, 2018;. Nesses documentos, destacaram a ameaça que tais projetos desenvolvimentistas representam para o modo de vida indígena.…”

Enforcing Citizen Participation Through Litigation: Analyzing the Outcomes of Anti-Dam Movements in Brazil and Chile

“…In 2012, the MPF gathered evidence from activists and filed a Public Civil Action asking for a preliminary injunction against IBAMA. The suit requested the suspension of the Tapajós licensing process and demanded complementary studies, as well as the consultation of Indigenous peoples and other cultural groups in the area (Loures 2018). The civil action was accepted by the Federal Court and validated by the Supreme Federal Court in April 2013.…”

Anthropological practices, inter-group conflicts and shared colonial experiences in a regional context of the Lower Amazon

“…The ethnonym Munduruku covers self-identified indigenous groups in various contexts of interaction, such as the Munduruku of the Middle and Upper Tapajós (Loures 2018) and the Munduruku of the Santarém Plateau. This ethnonym of the colonial period is updated in the vindication of territorial and cultural rights against the Brazilian state.…”