Festa Nacional do Índio, or Brazil’s National Indian Festival, is held every April in Bertioga, São Paulo. Considered the largest indigenous cultural event in the world, it lasts between four and five days and takes place around Dia do Índio, or Brazilian Indian Day, on April 19. The festival is an invaluable opportunity to learn about Brazilian indigenous peoples, since traveling to tribal areas and reservations in Brazil is restricted and must be authorized by Funai – Fundação Nacional do Índio.
Some of the festival's attractions are indigenous rituals, body art, music, dance, food, crafts and sports.
Festa Nacional do Índio in Bertioga was first held in 2001, during the administration of mayor Lairton Gomes Goulart, as a way to enhance indigenous traditions and highlight Bertioga’s historical significance.
According to an interview published on the Bertioga website, Carlos Terena, a member of the Terena people and Funai’s Director of Cultural and Sports Events at the time, said he was pleasantly surprised when, instead of sending him mail, Goulart personally visited his office to propose the creation of the event, since that is the way Brazilian indigenous chiefs usually handle communication between them.
According to Funai, 460,000 people from 225 distinct societies live in aldeias, or indigenous villages, in Brazil today. They speak more than 180 distinct languages. An estimated 100,000 to 190,000 Brazilian Indians live outside the aldeias and some small groups in remote areas are still isolated.
So far, the inclusion of as many ethnic groups as possible in the National Indigenous Festival has been achieved by a rotation system. Each year, new groups are invited, creating an opportunity for interaction which Carlos Terena said he hoped would reduce prejudice and foster mutual respect between Indians and non-Indians.
About 250 people from indigenous groups came to Bertioga for the first edition of Festa Nacional do Índio in 2001. In 2008, about 800 Brazilian Indians have confirmed their presence in the festival.
2007 National Indian Festival Photos
As the number of participants has grown, so have the audience and the event facilities. The total area reserved for the 2008 event is 14,000 square meters (about 150,690 square feet), of which 4,000 square meters (about 43,056 square feet) are covered. The Craft Pavillion alone takes up half the covered area. The arena seats 10,000.
Although several events and themes add a new tone to the National Indigenous Festival every year, visitors can count on a stunning official opening ceremony with a parade, hoisting of the national flag and pirotecnics. Talk shows, during which visitors have a chance to interact more closely with some of the members of different tribes, are another festival tradition.
8th National Indigenous Festival (2008) Schedule:
- Craft Fair and Daytime Activities: April 17-21, 10a-6p
- Official Opening: April 18, 8:30p
- Nightime Events: April 18-20, 8:30p
The Bertioga arena is one of the rare places where most people will ever witness a live round of huka-huka (pronounced ooka-ooka), a kind of wrestling from the Alto Xingu (shin-GOO) region in Mato Grosso.
According to Instituto Socio-Ambiental, huka-huka - a term in the kamayurá language - derives from the sounds fighters make ("Hu! Ha!") in an imitation of a jaguar roar as they prepare for tackling.
Huka-huka is a key element in Kwarup, the long and highly complex funerary ritual of the Alto Xingu peoples.
The 2008 program of Festa Nacional do Índio introduced another ritual from Alto Xingu: Jawari, a series of disputes involving blunted darts, never before performed outside tribal boundaries.
Like in Kwarup, people from other groups are invited to participate in Jawari.
Bertioga is home to a group of Guarani who inhabit Reserva Indígena do Rio Silveira, a reservation on Boracéia, between Bertioga and São Sebastião. Every year, they play host to indigenous peoples from distant parts of Brazil. The 2008 guest list includes newcomers Yanomami, Wapixana, Macuxi and Ye’Kuana, from Roraima, and Yawanawá and Ashaninka, from Acre. Bororo, Xavante, Paresi, from Mato Grosso; Kalapalo, Kuikuro e Yawalapiti, from Parque Nacional do Xingu, also in Mato Grosso; Karajá from Tocantins and Gaviões Kyikategê, from Pará, have also confirmed their presence.
Of all the experiences groups from forested areas in the heart of South America go through when they come to Bertioga, one of the most remarkable is, of course, their first encounter with the ocean - a great joy captured in TV images and often mentioned in interviews.
In 2007, Native Americans came to the the Indigenous Festival for the first time. They also took part in Shared Heritage Festival, a meeting of American and Brazilian Indians promoted by the American Embassy in Brazil.
Mary Kim Titla, publisher of Native Youth Magazine, the Tewa Dancers and photographer Walter Bigbee were some of the guests in Bertioga.
Another major indigenous event open to people of all origins is Jogos Indígenas, or Indigenous Games, which happen in October or November in different Brazilian cities. Created in 1996, the event skipped a few years - there were no Indigenous Games in 1997, 1998 or 2006 - and so will have its tenth edition in 2008.
Organized by Funai, and for many years, by Carlos Terena, in a partership with the Brazilian Ministry of Sports, Jogos Indígenas include such diverse modalities as women's soccer, swimming, bow and arrow, huka-huka, Katukaywa (a kind of knee soccer from Xingu), and much more.
Bertioga:
Bertioga is a favorite beach destination in São Paulo State. Enseada, Boracéia, Guaratuba and Itaguaré are some of the popular beaches on its 20 coastal miles. , a planned community on São Lourenço beach, attracts tourists due to its infrastructure and safety.
Located 118 kilometers (about 73 miles) away from São Paulo, Bertioga has affordable hotels. Three hotels on the same beach as the Indigenous festival arena - Praia da Enseada - are 27 Praia, Cia. do Mar and Pousada Mirante da Enseada.
Source for National Indian Festival information: Rosangela Falato/Assessoria de Comunicação - Prefeitura Municipal de Bertioga.
