Talk:Kaingang
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[edit] Kaingang
The name Kaingang or Kanhgág (in the Kaingang language) is sometimes also written Kaingáng, Kaingangue, Caingang and Caingangue. The Kaingang have been erroneously called by other names at different times in history. For example, they have been referred to as Botocudo(s) which is a name that was given by some of the Portuguese and their descendents in Brazil to pretty much all indigenous peoples (from different regions and languages) in the land who wore wood plates or discs called ‘botoque(s)’ on their earlobes and/or on the lower lip of their mouth. The Kaingang also have been called Bugre, Aweikoma, Coroado and Xokleng, a related but distinct people also belonging to the Macro-Gê (alternatively spelled Macro-Jê, Macro-Ge and Macro-Je) linguistic group. The Xokleng (pronounced Shokleng), Xokré or Laklanõ are the only linguisticly related tribe (that is, to the Kaingang and to the Macro-Gê language family) also inhabiting southern Brazil (they live specifically in the state of Santa Catarina). The historic Kaingang territory did also extend into Argentina, to what today is known as the province of Misiones and, therefore, they probably have also been given one or more Spanish-based tribal names.
Both of these languages have gained a written form in the recent past. However, Kaingang has a much higher number of speakers than Xokleng. Kaingang also has regional dialects but the writing form has been kept standarzied for practical reasons since its creation in the 1960's. The Xokleng written language is more recent.
While the Xokleng people, numbering around four thousand individuals, reside in the state of Santa Catarina, the Kaingang live throuout southern Brazil (i.e. in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo), numbering close to twenty thousand persons; also, there are a around two thousand Kaingang individuals living in the province of Misiones, in Argentina.
An excellent source of information about the original peoples of Brazil -- available both in Portuguese and in English -- is the Encyclopedia of the Indigenous Peoples in Brazil by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). Please check out the following pages:
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/kaingang/ling.shtm
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/xokleng/lingua.shtm
The Encyclopedia of the Indigenous Peoples in Brazil is a work in progress and not all languages and peoples are yet being represented. Regarding representation and recognition, this encyclopedia addresses the subject of Emerging cultures; it also discusses the fact that in some cases, especially in the north and northwest of Brazil (where most of the culture clashes and land disputes are), a significant part of public oppinion is that when indigenous peoples only speak the Portuguese language and live pretty much a Western (non-native) life-style, that they are 'plain' Brazilians like anybody else in that country and should not receive any special or specific consideration. All readers are encouraged to point out any discrepancies to the producers of this encyclopedia, to turn in new information and to make suggestions.
Finally, here is a link to an interesting research paper about the Kaingang language as a 'language of contact' and, therefore, it discusses Portuguese loan words (contact-induced changes). The paper is written in Portuguese and it analyzes Kaingang language developments among Kaingang speakers residing in the state of Rio Grande do Sul; the paper also contains many Kaingang terms and expressions (many loan words from Portuguese).
http://www.unicamp.br/iel/site/alunos/publicacoes/textos/l00006.htm
Here is a link to a Portuguese-Kaingang dictionary (in PDF format) available for free on the web.
There are some audio files available on the Internet. The following link provides recordings in Kaingang. They are of Evangelical Christian nature.
http://globalrecordings.net/langcode/kgp (Bible readings, hymns, comentaries, recorded by a group of adult persons, both male and female voices). Some statistics I have seen in the past indicate that around 60% of the Kaingang are Catholics, some 15% are protestant but the original Kaingang shamanic traditions are still practiced by many.
Kaingang mythology is very unique and complex, as can be seen in here:
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/kaingang/cosmo.shtm
Bepp 22:45, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
