\n\t\t\t\tThe Arabs made a tour and got to know the facilities\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nTenond\u00e9 Pora lands consist of eight villages. When welcoming visitors, Guaranis make an exception by speaking Portuguese. On the other hand, Emiratis spoke Arabic among them. With the help of translators and some patience, the Portuguese language was used to connect visitors and visitees.<\/p>\n
Inside the house, the children of the village sang hand in hand, stomping their feet at the same rhythm. A Guarani choral of over 100 child voices. \u201cThe first song talks about doing things together,\u201d explained Karai Poty.<\/p>\n
The territory is home to 2,500 people with a history of struggle. The 38-year-old Jera Guarani is also a leader and, in her speech, she thanked the Arabs for their presence and talked about her own history. \u201cThis is a prayer house where people from the village get together. We\u2019ll talk about something that most Brazilians already know: we\u2019re natives from this territory, but now we live in small portions of a huge territory, which was previously ours. Then Brazil was invaded by the \u2018juru\u00e1,\u2019 who took what was ours. So, we stayed in very small areas for many years,\u201d she said. \u2018Juru\u00e1\u2019 is Guarani for \u201cthose with hair around the mouth\u201d and is one of the names for non-indigenous people, in a reference to the first Europeans that arrived in Brazil.<\/p>\n
Recovering land and tradition<\/strong><\/p>\nJera graduated in Pedagogy from the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), decided to return to her village and was one of those responsible for strengthening their traditions. In 2018, she came up with the idea to create a council to work together and, since then, she has been one of the leaders of the village, which is home to 170 families. \u201cTwo years ago, I left my career as the village\u2019s pedagogue to become a guarani farmer,\u201d she explained about another part of her work.<\/p>\n
Farming was key for them to recover part of their lands. \u201cAfter 70 years living in small areas, we now live across almost 16,000 hectares. Now, after losing so many things in our culture, we can say we have more than 50 cultivars of sweet potatoes recovered within ten years,\u201d Jera told the Arabs, with help from the translation. They answered by thanking the \u201cwarm welcome\u201d and the explanations, and saying they were delighted with the children\u2019s \u201clovely\u201d song.<\/p>\n
In May 2016, a decision by the Ministry of Justice about the Indigenous Land Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3 approved the limits of almost 16,000 hectares which have been claimed by its leaders for more than 30 years. With the area increase, the indigenes could resume the planting of ancient crops more intensely. Besides the 50 cultivars of sweet potatoes recovered, they plant different species of corn, cassava, peanuts, and sugar cane. \u201cWe have all the varieties that could be produced here. [Productivity] increased because, you see, before we used to have only 27 hectares and 1,500 people, each in their own little house; we didn\u2019t have the space to plant. Now, after recovering our land, in the new villages that were formed there\u2019s room for planting. We have the territorial council and the land usage regulations; if I want to plant in another village, I can,\u201d said Karai.<\/p>\n
Now, over 1,200 people live just in the main village, and instead of one chief, they have four leaders: two women and two men. \u201cMost villages have one chief. Here we have a universe of people, each with their own ideas. So, to meet the largest possible number of demands, we found it was best to have this kind of organization,\u201d Karai explains. \u201cIt could be four men or four women. It doesn\u2019t matter. That\u2019s not a problem. All it takes is for them to have a leadership profile. They must know how to talk to outside leaders and how to stand up for us in some cases,\u201d he stresses.<\/p>\n
Indigenes also have the right to change<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cBut how can a native not use a headdress?\u201d is a question Guaranis are still asked. To this, Jera and Kari answer jokingly but firmly. \u201cOne of our roles as leaders is to convey this message: Just like the Portuguese at the time of the invasion wore different clothes, we also have the right to change. And it was not by choice; we were obligated to wear clothes at the time of the slavery. The so-called Jesuits were those who enslaved the natives. First the Jesuits, then the Bandeirantes, who are know seen as heroes in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo. Indeed, the governor\u2019s palace is called Pal\u00e1cio dos Bandeirantes. History doesn\u2019t tell you how the Bandeirantes and Jesuits slayed and enslaved the natives. Many indigenous peoples don\u2019t speak their language anymore because of the prohibition by the Church,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
There are two schools in the village. Ceci\/Ceci Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3 is attended by native children from 0 to 6 years and teaches culture. \u201cIt\u2019s just a tradition. We teach kids about the planting seasons, the hunting seasons. Because we have these divisions: for example, there\u2019s a season when we\u2019ll mostly plant and a season when we\u2019ll mostly hunt. Because we\u2019ll let the soil rest for some seasons. We teach all of this to the children: what moon phase we plant in, how we control the plant species so they don\u2019t get mixed. Corn, for example, has many species and we don\u2019t plant them all on the same day, so they won\u2019t all bloom together,\u201d Karai tells.<\/p>\n
For him, the culture school is important, but it\u2019s also the scar from a broken history. \u201cThe way I see it, it\u2019s very good, but it would be better if we didn\u2019t rely on that school. If we could live as we used to before. If we could pass on the teachings in a traditional way. If we hadn\u2019t so much outside influence,\u201d said Karai, pointing out that the traditional teaching used to be something learned in the bosom of each family. On the other hand, the teaching is different at the state school for children over six, covering both Guarani culture and the non-indigenous education, including learning how to read and write.<\/p>\n
Water and autonomy<\/strong><\/p>\nThe connection with FAMBRAS occurred first through the subprefecture. \u201cWe said we wanted a direct contact. We know how to negotiate, listen and talk, so we had our first contact with them. This is the first time people from the UAE come to the village, but we already received other tourists, American and Spanish,\u201d Karai said.<\/p>\n
The connection yielded the donation of two water purifiers, installed near the Vera Poty Basic Healthcare Unit (UBS), and a water treatment station that will meet the demand of the state school, which receives 350 students. Both are in the main village.<\/p>\n
The FAMBRAS delegation included two engineers from Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation’s UAE Water AID. Aisha Alnnaimi is 23 and works to come up with solutions to bring drinking water to Arab communities and other countries. This was her first visit to Brazil. She was curious and sat next to the Guarani leader Jera to ask some questions. “It\u2019s different when you do this kind of work; all you do is calculate the numbers and everything. But when you see the real communities and how they are benefiting from our solutions, your views change. It puts how you think and see the world in a different perspective,” she said, excited about her chance to try Brazilian a\u00e7a\u00ed and guarana, and about the cold weather, which is unthinkable for someone who lives under temperatures of 49\u00b0C.<\/p>\n
Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3 has 110 houses with conventional bathrooms, built with support from the state government. \u201cWe have 110 bathrooms, which put the village in a reality of open sewages that pollute,\u201d Jera explained. UBS manager Lucimar Constantino explains the benefits of these works. \u201cWater now comes from artesian wells. Before, we had fewer inhabitants, more people meant respiratory problems, parasitosis, and diarrhoea,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Despite the assistance received, Jera that explained the community needs more. \u201cOur idea is to spread out even more over the large area we have conquered, so that we can have clean, natural water from the springs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Then, what is the main demand, what do the indigenes want? \u201cThat the indigenes are not looked upon as victims. Help us be independent; I think that would be a real help. It\u2019s obviously a very large village, we struggle and have urgent needs. A food basket is always welcome for a more deprived family and we\u2019ll always say thank you. But I think that bringing some project, some autonomy within the communities is a [better] way of helping,\u201d Karai stressed.<\/p>\n
Just like the Arabs, who took many pictures of the Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3 land, there are many others interested in visiting. Therefore, the Guaranis came up with a tourism plan. \u201cWe had several territorial meetings with other villages to figure out how we want tourism. We don\u2019t get more than a bus per day, because the tourist must leave with an understanding of how the village works. We try to demystify the non-indigenous vision. When they (the tourists) come, they usually expect to see a naked, painted indigene with a headdress. That\u2019s not the image we want to convey,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
The idea is also to avoid predatory tourism. \u201cIf we get visits every day, how long will nature take to recover? When would we do our prayers, our songs? We would virtually live off tourism and forget our religion, singing and dances,\u201d Karai concluded.<\/p>\n
Read more about the Arabs\u2019 visit to Parelheiros on Friday (9) on ANBA.<\/em><\/p>\nTranslated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\nThais Sousa\/ANBA<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the main settlement of the indigenous territory Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3, Brazilian indigenes received a delegation from the United Arab Emirates. Potable water was one of the reasons of the encounter at the coldest afternoon of the year in the far south of S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2324,"featured_media":253977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[5898,10479,10480,10478,10403,10481,10595,10482,10477,10406,10483,9579,10090],"class_list":{"0":"post-254078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-special-reports","8":"tag-brazilians","9":"tag-fambras-en","10":"tag-guaranis-en","11":"tag-indigenes","12":"tag-indigenous","13":"tag-jera-guarani-en","14":"tag-karai-poty-ar","15":"tag-karai-poty-en","16":"tag-mohammed-bin-rashid-foundation","17":"tag-parelheiros-en","18":"tag-tenonde-pora-en","19":"tag-uae-en","20":"tag-water-en"},"wps_subtitle":"At the main settlement of the indigenous territory Tenond\u00e9 Por\u00e3, Brazilian indigenes received a delegation from the United Arab Emirates. Potable water was one of the reasons of the encounter at the coldest afternoon of the year in the far south of S\u00e3o Paulo.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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