Mythologies of the Tupi-Guarani Tribe

Tupi–Guarani (/tuːˈpiː ɡwɑˈrɑːni/ /ɡwɑˈɾɑ-/; Tupi-Guarani: [tuˈpi ɡwaɾaˈni];pronunciation^ⓘ) is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi. The words petunia, jaguar, piranha, ipecac, tapioca, jacaranda, anhinga, carioca, and capoeira are of Tupi–Guarani origin.

Tupí-Guaraní Combination of two major tribes that now represents the major native cultural population in rural Brazil, Paraguay, and parts of Argentina. The Tupí traditionally inhabit the banks of the lower Amazon and much of coastal Brazil south to Uruguay. The Guaraní, a more scattered grouping, once lived mainly in what is now Paraguay, but migrated into Brazil and Argentina.

The Tupi-Guarani mythology is the set of narratives about the gods and spirits of the different Tupi-Guarani peoples, ancient and current. Together with the cosmogonies, anthropogonies and rituals, they form part of the religion of these peoples. The Guarani people live in the south-central part of South America, especially in Paraguay and parts of the surrounding areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. The Tupi people were one of the most numerous peoples indigenous to Brazil, occupying largely the Atlantic coast of Brazil and In the Amazon where there are Tupi towns with no connection to the outside, heavily mixing with the Portuguese colonizers.

Tupí-Guaraní languages, one of the most widespread groups of South American Indian languages (after Arawakan). It is divided by some scholars into two major divisions: Tupí in eastern Brazil and Guaraní in Paraguay and Argentina. These languages were used by the first European traders and missionaries as contact languages in their dealings with the Indians. Guaraní became the national language of Paraguay, although not with official status; persons not speaking Guaraní are in a minority in that country. The language is also a literary language for works of a popular character, especially for songs. Some scholars classify Tupí-Guaraní with a number of other less important groups in a Tupian grouping.

One such Tropical Forest tribe was the Tupi-Guarani, a major ethnic family whose territories spanned Central Brazil and Paraguay sometime in the first millennium AD. Their lands stretched from the Amazon to the Rio de la Plata, and from the foothills of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. The Tupi-Guarani were rootcrop growers, hunters, gatherers, and warriors. They had no religious institutions, no social classes, no power structure, or system of taxes. Unlike most sedentary agricultural societies, they were scattered widely across their lands; but like progressive societies, they were often at war with each other. The Tupi-Guarani dressed little, wore next to nothing, but adorned their skin with dyes and feathers. Their warriors were virtually hairless, but were painted in stripes corresponding to each enemy they had killed. Life in a Tupi-Guarani village was simple. Tribesmembers were united by common ancestors, although they rarely had a chieftain to rule them. They shared huts, where they slept in cotton hammocks, and lounged in separate rooms. One hut would house would typically be 250-300 feet long, 30-50 feet wide, and would house as many as 30 families. As rainforest soil was not especially favorable to the cultivation of food crops, the Tupi-Guarani practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. They would clear sections of rainforest away by hacking tree trunks and slowly burning away at the base of the trees. Since the Tupi-Guarani had no domesticated animals to help them out with their tasks, all their work was done manually; and since rainforest soil was not rich in nutrients, the early farmers planted two to three crops together, and, upon harvest, abandoned their field.

The Tupi - Guarani are considered one of the seven families of the Macro - Tupi root (see indigenous people of Brazil). Between 800 and 1000 years ago, for little known reasons, a geographic expansion / (religious based migration), from the Amazon to other Brazilian regions, took place. The Tupi - Guarani, who of all Amerindian groups had reached the most advanced civilizational stage (e.g., they dominated the art of ceramics) achieved to drive out the simpler societies, principally the Jê, and to settle along the coast. The Jê, who were called "Tabuis" (barbarian enemy) by the Tupi - Guarani were forced to retreat to the highlands (plateaus) in the interior of the country. About 1000 years ago, the Tupi - Guarani separated into two different linguistic groups: the Tupi and the Guarani. The Tupi setteled from Cananéia (actual State of São Paulo) to the north, in the southeast and northeast of Brazil and the Guaranis south of Cananéia in the south. Upon the arrival of the Portuguese and the official discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral at Mount Pascoal, the different tribes were distributed as follows along Brazil's Atlantic coast: in the south, between Lagoa dos Patos and Cananéia, predominated the Carijó (100.000), from there until Bertioga the Tupiniquim (35.000), from Bertioga to Cabo Frío the Tupinambá / Tamoio / Temiminó (190.000) and in the south of Bahía at the Discovery Coast, again the Tupiniquim (50.000). The different groups communicated in similar languages, which later were jointly denominated as tupi - guarani or língua geral.

Guaraní Culture and History

Tupi-Guarani Mythology

Tupi-Guarani archaeology is one of the most studied themes in Brazil and South America, mainly because of Tupi-Guarani-speaking peoples, living along the Atlantic coast, were among the first contacted by Europeans around 1500 CE. Because of this early historical contact, a massive written record has been created about these Indigenous peoples. Ethnohistorical and ethnographic records provide a picture of the Tupi-Guarani as living in large villages organized in regional chiefdoms commanded by political leaders (caciques) and shamans (pajés). Their economy was heavily based on slash-and-burn agriculture (maize, manioc, beans, and squash, among many other crops), but hunting and collecting have always remained vital. The practice of war and anthropophagy has decisive social significance as a means of acquiring status and power as well as expanding territories through conquering, establishing political alliances, and, mainly after contact, enslaving other peoples.

The Guarani are the largest indigenous tribe in Brazil. Because of their relatively strong participation in social life, much is known about the Guarani. The Guarani have a total of 280,000 members. 85,000 of them live in Brazil, primarily in the southern states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina. Other Guarani communities can also be found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The Guarani language is assigned to the Tupi-Guarani, from which a total of 21 languages originate. The Guarani language is even recognized as Paraguay's second official language and is spoken by over 80 percent of the population there, not just by ethnic Guarani. The Guarani are very spiritual. Every community has a house of prayer and a religious leader. The land is the source of all life. Music plays an important role in the life of the Guarani. With their chants they want to make the gods aware that they exist on earth. But the Guarani also use music as an instrument to influence natural events, such as the fall of more or less rain. Originally, the Guarani lived from growing sweet potatoes, beans, and cassava as well as from collecting berries, hunting, and fishing. Having lost almost all of their land over the past 100 years, the Guarani are now settled in certain protected areas. Much of their former land is now pastures and soy and sugar cane plantations.

The Guaranís were once one of the most influential Amerindian peoples in the southern part of South America. Eventually they established their settlements in the tropical forests of Paraguay and southern Brazil and also extended their settlements into northern Argentina. Before the Spanish conquest, during the 15th century, the Guaranís warred with Amerindians as far as the southern limits of the vast Inca Empire, bringing back gold, which they wore as ornaments. In the 16th century the Spanish conquerors found Guaraní settlements over a very wide area, including the islands of the Plata River, parts of the Paraná River delta, along the Uruguayan coast, and along the Paraguay River. Large concentrations of Guaranís lived in the Province of Guairá in Paraguay, where some of them still live today. When the Spanish first arrived, many Guaranís were friendly and assisted the Spanish in waging war against other Amerindian groups and in establishing new settlements. The approach between Spanish and Guaraní people was the search for gold and silver conducted by the Europeans. The Spaniards established small ranches around Asunción, many of them known for their harems of Guaraní women. Many Spanish men, attracted by the beauty of the Guaraní women, married them, and in this way the Guaranís entered into a direct relation with newly found Spanish relatives whom they supported in these early encounters. This was the beginning of the long process of intermarriage that produced the Paraguayans of today. In the countryside, the descendants of Spaniards and Guaranís are still called simply Guaranís, and the language is spoken by many, not just in rural areas but also in towns, including the Paraguayan capital, Asunción.

Maní, a Tupí myth of origins, is the name of an indigenous girl with very fair complexion. The Amazonian legend of Maní is related to the cult of Manioc, the native staple food that sprang from her grave. The daughter of a Tupí chief became pregnant. Her father wanted to take revenge on the man who brought shame to his family and dishonour to his pride despite her saying that she had known no man. He insisted that she revealed the name of the man and even made use of prayers, threats and finally severe punishments. As she refused to say, her father held her prisoner inside a hut and decided to kill her. So with this thought in mind the chief of the tribe went to sleep and dreamed of a white-skinned man dressed like a warrior who told him that his daughter was telling him the truth and that she had not had any contact with any man. He told him to take care of his daughter because one day she was going to bear a great gift for all his tribe.