Kayapo
Kayapó chiefs Raoni Metuktire, Kaye, Kadjor, and Panara, Brazil
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8,638 (2010) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Brazil (Mato Grosso, Pará) |
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| Languages | |
| Kayapo |
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 Kayapó Headdress: a glimpse of life in the Amazon rainforest, Smarthistory at Khan Academy, (5:15), November 25, 2014 |
The Kayapo (Portuguese: Caiapó [kɐjɐˈpɔ]) people are indigenous peoples in Brazil, from the plain islands of the Mato Grosso and Pará in Brazil, south of the Amazon Basin and along Rio Xingu and its tributaries. Kayapo call themselves "Mebengokre", which means "people of the wellspring". Kayapo people also call outsiders "Poanjos".
The Kayapo tribe lives alongside the Xingu River in the eastern part of the Amazon Rainforest, near the Amazon basin, in several scattered villages ranging in population from one hundred to one thousand people in Brazil. Their land consists of tropical rainforest savannah (grassland) and is arguably the largest tropical protected area in the entire world, covering 11,346,326 hectares of Neotropical forests and scrubland containing many endangered species. They have small hills scattered around their land and the area is criss-crossed by river valleys. The larger rivers feed into numerous pools and creeks, most of which don’t have official names.
In 2010, there was an estimated 8,638 Kayapo people, which is an increase from 7,096 in 2003. Subgroups of the Kayapo include the Xikrin, Gorotire, Mekranoti and Metyktire. Their villages typically consist of a dozen huts. A centrally located hut serves as a meeting place for village men to discuss community issues.
The term Kayapo, also spelled Caiapó or Kaiapó, comes from neighboring peoples and means "those who look like monkeys". This name is probably based on a Kayapó men's ritual involving monkey masks. The for one village is Mebêngôkre, which means "the men from the water hole." Other names for them include Gorotire, Kararaô, Kuben-Kran-Krên, Kôkraimôrô, Mekrãgnoti, Metyktire, and Xikrin.
The Kayapo possess intricate black body paint covering their entire bodies. They believe that their ancestors learned their social skills from insects so they paint their bodies to mimic them and so they can better communicate with the Spirit that exists everywhere. The black body paint also allows them to blend into their surroundings when hunting in the forests. In order to help find their way through the forest, the Kayapo paint their legs red so it rubs off on the surrounding terrain. The colors that the Kayapo wear is representative of their tribes colors.
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Wikipedia