Xokleng

By IAN SKOGGARD

Aweikoma, Botocudos, Bugré, Caingang of Santa Catarina, Cayapo del Sur, Kayapo del Sur, Shokleng, Shokó, Socré, Southern Cayapo, Southern Kayapo, Xakléng, Xogléng, Xokléng, Xokré, Xokréng, Xonkléng

The Xokleng traditionally inhabited a large forest and savanna area in what is now the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. They now live on a reservation near Ibirama (27° S, 50° W). Culturally, they are closely related to the Kaingang.

At the time of contact in mid-nineteenth century there were three Xokleng bands numbering 400-600 individuals each. One group became extinct and another fully assimilated. The remaining group lives on a reservation where in 1998 they numbered 757.

The Xokleng language is a separate language which is part of the Ge-Kaingang language family. Most Xokleng are bilingual, speaking passable Portuguese.

Beginning in 1850, immigrants began to settle in what was Xokleng hunting territory. By 1870 the number of homesteaders had increased to over 5,000 and pushed deeper into Xokleng territory. In response to growing tensions, the settlers hired professional Indian hunters known as bugreiros. Public outrage over the treatment of the Xokleng and other indigenous groups resulted in the formation of the Indian Protection Service (SPI), the precursor of Brazil’s FUNAI (Fundação Nacional do İndio). The SPI took a different approach to pacification through a strategy of extravagant gift-giving (1914-1916), in order to settle the Xokleng and increase their dependency on trade. Of the three original bands, one settled in 1918 and became completely assimilated and is no longer identified as Xokleng. The second band fought the Brazilians well into the 1930s and all but disappeared by the 1940s. The third band settled peacefully on a reservation in 1914. The surviving band is acculturated to a considerable degree; they wear Western clothing, participate in the cash economy, and speak Portuguese as well as their own language. They still live primarily by hunting, despite persistent efforts by the Brazilian government to encourage them to settle and to engage in agriculture.

The Xokleng traditionally lived in arched lean-tos, which were sometimes paired to make a hut. Today, when traveling, they make rudimentary shelters or a nest in a tree. The Xokleng wear no clothes save a belt, and a cloak in cold weather. Transportation is always by foot; to cross a river, the Xokleng fell trees across it.

Early in their recorded history, the Xokleng hunted and practiced horticulture. Sometime later in the historic period, however, the Xokleng gave up horticulture entirely and subsisted only on game and gathered foods, perhaps because of the mobility required by their warfare with immigrant settlers. In that early period, they raised three varieties of maize as well as pumpkins and beans. They ate their crops as they came into season, storing none for winter. The tiller of a garden had exclusive rights of ownership; if he died before the crop matured, his plants were destroyed.

The gathering of pine nuts, by climbing the trees, is essential to the Xokleng diet. Also gathered are wild tubers, honey, birds' eggs, papayas, and several other fruits. Manioc flour has now replaced the once important pindo palm pith in cooking. Hunting activities consume great amounts of time. Both individuals and groups hunt, although the hunting of peccaries involved the entire band. In group efforts, the hunters use drives and encircling techniques. Dogs, which were not aboriginal to the Xokleng, are now invaluable members of the hunting party. The most desirable game is the tapir. Parrots are caught by using tame parrots as decoys.

Men usually marry girls or women younger than they. If a man reaches the marriageable age of 18 to 20, before his intended bride has reached puberty, he lives with her family until she begins to menstruate. In earlier times, polygyny was practiced on account of the shortage of men.

Xokleng children are raised indulgently. Xokleng boys have their lower lips pierced at 2 or 3 years of age in a great celebration. Parents must observe food and other taboos when their children are born.

The Xokleng traditionally were organized into exogamous patrilineal clans, each with its own distinctive personal names for members and body-paint designs.

Chiefly authority is limited primarily to being able to initiate group activities. The chief gives gifts to his followers, and feasts are given in his name. An unpopular chief simply loses his followers. The chief is succeeded by his son if the members of the band consent.

A man offended by another member of his own group will shout his grievances from in front of his hut while his enemy does the same from the other end of the village. Later, the two men and their respective supporters fight with wooden clubs but avoid killing.

In traditional warfare against other groups, which involved surprise attacks at dawn, defeated men lost their heads, but women and children were adopted.

The origin myth of the Xokleng has them emerging out of the “shoreless” sea of the South Atlantic Ocean. The Xokleng believe in malevolent spirits and guardian spirits who sometimes help living persons, such as where to find food. Individual guardian spirits also represent and control each animal species. Thunderstorms are the monster, Wangdjó, who flies through the air, its stomach flashing light, with flames, smoke and ashes spewing from its mouth.

Death is believed to be caused by an abduction of the soul. The Xokleng cremate their dead. The soul (kuplêng) of a deceased person becomes a danger to the group, especially the living spouse (thûpáya, who must leave the immediate area and observe taboos during a period of mourning (waikômáng).

Baldus, Herbert (1937). “O culto aos mortos entre os Kaingang de palmas: Ensaios de etnologia brasiliera, Brasiliana.” Biblioteca Pedagogica Brasiliera, ser. 5a, 101:29-69.

Grimes, Barbara F. (1992). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc.

Henry, Jules (1941). Jungle People: A Kaingang Tribe of the Highlands of Brazil. New York: Vintage Books.

Hicks, David (1965). “A Comparative Study of the Kaingang and Aweikoma of Southern Brazil.” B.Litt. thesis, University.

Ricardo, Carlos Alberto. Ed. (2000). Povos Indigenas no Brasil, 1996-2000. Sao Paulo: Instituto Socioambiental

Santos, Sílvio Coelho de (1973). “Índios e brancos no sud do Brasil; a dramática experiênca dos xokleng.” Florianópolis: EDEME.

Urban, Greg (1985). “Interpretations of Inter-Cultural Contact: The Shokléng and Brazilian National Society, 1914-1916.” Ethnohistory 32:224-245.

This culture summary is based on the article, “Xokléng”, in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. 7, South America, Johannes Wilbert, ed. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co. 1995. It was revised and expanded by Ian Skoggard in July, 2012. John Beierle wrote the indexing notes.