Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology (Aug 2018)
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.
