A Histórica presença indígena na região dos rios Apa e Estrelão (Nhanderu Marangatu): Kaiowa Rekohague e a luta pelos Tekohakue

Abstract

This research shows the territories occupied by the Kaiowa in the middle of the last century, in the basins of the Apa and Estrelão rivers, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, throughout the region where the Pirakua and Nhanderu Marangatu Indigenous Lands are located today. It also shows how the Kaiowa lived in their traditional tekoha (the traditional housing). In addition, it denotes how the advance of colonization dismantled the socio-political organization of the indigenous people of that region, who promoted different political strategies in the relationship with the colonizers and who knew how to deal with that new context, making their own readings and acting to defend their interests. The data collection methodology focused on the oral histories of the oldest Kaiowa, residents of Pirakua and Nhanderu Marangatu, interspersed with the analysis of documents from indigenous bodies and reports and studies for the demarcation of indigenous areas. Field research in the company of community elders was fundamental to the results of this research. The memory of the community allowed the understanding of the way of life of the oldest Kaiowa, their political and social organization, in each Tekoha, with the families that inhabited each place. This historicity and Kaiowa protagonism facilitate the understanding of the ethnic struggles in recent decades for the reoccupation/retaking of their territories.