Kalapalo

Kalapalo

Kalapalo men canoeing
Total population
569
Regions with significant populations
Brazil (Mato Grosso)
Languages
Kuikúro-Kalapálo language

The Kalapalo are an indigenous people of Brazil. They are one of seventeen peoples who inhabit the Xingu National Park in the Upper Xingu River region of the state of Mato Grosso. They speak the Amonap language, a Cariban language, and are one of four peoples speaking languages in this family in the area. They have a population of 569 as of 2010. The Kalapalo are a generally peaceful group.

The Kalapalo were the first Xingu tribe to be contacted by the Villas-Bôas brothers, in 1945. Before the arrival of the Villas Boas, the people had sporadic contact with Europeans; therefore, the name Kalapalo was given to this group by white settlers in the late 19th century.

The Cariban dialect of the Kalapalos shows that they have not always lived in the Upper Xingu. The Kalapalo speak a dialect of a language that belongs to the southern branch of the Guyana Carib language family and their closest linguistic relatives are Ye'kuana or Makiritare in southern Venezuela and Hixkaryana language, spoken in the Nhamundá area in Brazil and Guyana.

The Kalapalos and these tribes also share certain oral legends which describe their encounters with the white man and Christian rituals. This oral tradition suggests that the Kalapalos encountered explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett and may have been the last to see his expedition alive.

These stories suggest that the Caribs of the Xingu region left the Caribbean area after being in contact with Spaniards, possibly to escape from them after experiencing violent contact, some time in the second half of the 18th century. Among the Cariban-speaking Indians, the tribe is known as Aifa Otomo, or "those who live in a ripe area."