Villas Boas brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orlando Villas Boas (1914-2002) and his brothers Cláudio Villas Boas (1916-1998) and Leonardo Villas Boas (1918-1961) were Brazilian activists regarding indigenous peoples. In 1961 they succeeded in getting the entire upper Xingu legally protected – the first huge indigenous area in all South America, and the prototype for dozens of similar reserves all over the continent. Two of the Villas Boas brothers, Orlando and Cláudio, were jointly awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s gold medal, as much for their geographical explorations as for their humanitarian work. They also received the GEO prize, delivered by the president of Germany, Richard von Weizsäcker, and the Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt, in 1984, as a recognition for their humanitarian work
The British historian, John Hemming, wrote that the Villas Boas were pioneers in many ways. They were almost the first non-missionaries to live permanently with the Indians; and they treated them as their equals and friends. They persuaded tribes to end internecine feuds and unite to confront the encroaching settlement frontier. They were the first to empower indigenous people to run their own affairs. The Villas Boas were the first to appreciate the value of politics and the media in furthering the indigenous cause. They also devised a policy of “change, but only at the speed the Indians want”.
Robin Hanbury-Tenison, from Survival International, wrote that “The Xingu is the only closed park in Brazil, which means that it is the only area in which Indians are safe from deliberate or accidental contact with undesirabel representantives of Western civilization. This is due entirely to the Villas Boas brothers and the total dedication of their lifes to this work over the last 25 years.” (Robin Hanbury-Tenison. Report of a visit to the Indians of Brazil on behalf of the Primitive People Fund/Survival International. London: Quintrell & Co. Ltd., Printers, Wadebridge, 1971, p. 9.)
The anthropologist Shelton Davis wrote that “The Villas Boas brothers further argued that it was the responsibility of the federal government to provide a secure protective buffer, in the form of closed Indian parks and reserves, between Indians and the frontiers of national society. In time, the three brothers believed, Indians would integrate into Brazilian national society. This process of integration, however, should be a gradual one and should guarantee the Indians’s survival, ethnic identities and ways of life.” (Shelton Davis. Victims of the miracle: development and the Indians of Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, p. 50.)
In the foreword of the book "Xingu: the Indians, their myths" the anthropologist Kenneth S. Brecher wrote that “It is now almost thirty years since the Villas Boas brothers (…) led the expedition known as ‘Brazil’s march to the West’ which was intended to open up the heart of the interior for colonization. They wee overwhelmed by the beauty and cultural richness of the network of Xingu tribes which they discovered , and when the expedition disbanded they remained in the jungle to protect the xinguanos from the land speculators, state senators, diamond prospectors, skin hunters, and rubber gatherers who had followed in their wake. (…) That the Xingu tribes continue to exist, in fact to thrive, is due largely to the extreme dedication, intelligence, cunning, and physical strength of these brothers.” Kenneth S. Brecher. Foreword. In: Villas Bôas, Orlando; Villas Bôas, Cláudio. Xingu: the Indians, their myths. New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973.
Orlando Villas Boas died in 2002. When one of their major chief dies, the Xingu Indians hold a great funerary festival (the Kuarup) in his honour. They did this for Orlando even though he was white.
[edit] References
For more information, see:
- HEMMING, John. Die if you must. London: Macmillan, 2003.
For information about the Villas Bôas Indian policy, see:
- DAVIS, Shelton. Victims of the miracle: development and the Indians of Brazil. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977
- VILLAS BOAS FILHO, Orlando. Orlando Villas Bôas: expedições, reflexões e registros. São Paulo: Metalivros, 2006
- COWELL, Adrian. The decade of destruction. London: Headway, 1990.
- COWELL, Adrian. The tribe that hides from man. London: Pimlinco, 1995.
- COWELL, Adrian. The heart of the forest. London: Headway, 1970.
- HEMMING, John; HUXLEY, Francis; FUERST, René; BROOKS, Edwin. Tribes of the Amazon Basin in Brazil 1972. London: Charles Knight & CO. LTD. 1973.
- LEOPOLD OF BELGIUM. Indian enchantment. Nancy: Librarie Hachette, 1967.
- MENGET, Patrick. Au nom des autres: classification des relations sociales chez les Txicao du Haut-Xingu (Brésil). École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sixième Section, 1977.
Select Bibliography
VILLAS BÔAS, Orlando. Interview. In: Amazind bulletin 1. Geneva, Switzerland, aut. 1973, p. 25-29.
______. “Os índios na estrada”. In: Cadernos da Comissão Pró-Índio: a questão da emancipação. São Paulo, n.1, 1979, p. 87-88.
______. “O índio – ontem, hoje... e amanhã?”. In: Tassara, Eda; Bisilliat, Maureen. O índio: ontem, hoje, amanhã. São Paulo: Memorial da América Latina/EDUSP, 1991, pp. 48-56.
______. A arte dos pajés: impressões sobre o universo espiritual do índio xinguano. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2000.
______. Senhor. In: JACCHIERI, Carlos. Carta Brasil 2000: 1º Fórum Nacional da Identidade Brasileira. São Paulo: Imprensa Oficial, 2000a, p. 15-20.
______. Entrevista. In: CARUSO, Mariléia M. Leal; CARUSO, Raimundo C. Amazônia, a valsa da galáxia: o abc da grande planície. Florianópolis: Editora da UFSC, 2000b, p. 25-44.
______. Um povo na ignorância de seu passado. In: Aguiar, L. A.; SOBRAL, M. (Orgs.) Para entender o Brasil. São Paulo: Alegro, 2001, p. 265-271.
______.“Discurso proferido na Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, em 21 de dezembro de 1972”. In: MÜLLER, Cristina; LIMA, Luiz Octávio; RABINOVICI, Moisés (Orgs.). O Xingu dos Villas Bôas. São Paulo: Metalivros, 2002, p.28-29.
______. Rompendo fronteiras. In: MÜLLER, Cristina; LIMA, Luiz Octávio; RABINOVICI, Moisés (Orgs.). O Xingu dos Villas Bôas. São Paulo: Metalivros, 2002a, p. 146-164.
______. Discurso proferido em 1974, na Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso. In: FIGUEIREDO, C. 100 discursos históricos brasileiros. Belo Horizonte: Editora Leitura, 2003. p. 413-420.
______. História e causos. São Paulo: FTD, 2005.
______. Trinta e cinco anos de assistência e pesquisa: a Escola Paulista de Medicina e o Parque Indígena do Xingu. In: BARUZZI, R. G.; JUNQUEIRA, C. (Orgs.). Parque Indígena do Xingu: saúde, cultura e história. São Paulo: Terra Virgem, 2005a, p. 49-57.
______.; VILLAS BÔAS, Cláudio. Saving Brazil’s stone age tribes from extinction. In: National Geographic Magazine. Vol. 134. n.o. 3. set. 1968, p. 424-444.
______. Xingu: Os índios, seus mitos. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 1970.
______. Xingu: the Indians, their myths. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973.
______. “Os Juruna no Alto-Xingu”. In: Reflexão. Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Letras da Universidade Federal de Goiás, 1970a. p. 61-87.
______. Território Tribal. In: BISILLIAT, Maureen; VILLAS BÔAS, Orlando; VILLAS BÔAS, Cláudio. Xingu: território tribal. São Paulo: Cultura Editores Associados, 1990, p. 13-33.
______. Memórias de Orlando e Cláudio Villas Bôas. In: RIBEIRO, Darcy. Carta: falas, reflexões, memórias – informe de distribuição restrita do Senador Darcy Ribeiro. Brasília: Gabinete do Senador Darcy Ribeiro, 1993, vol. 9., p. 187-203.
______. A marcha para o oeste: a epopéia da Expedição Roncador-Xingu. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 1994.
______. Almanaque do sertão: histórias de visitantes, sertanejos e índios. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 1997.
______.; VILLAS BÔAS, Cláudio; VILLAS BÔAS, Álvaro. “Antigamente o índio nos comia. Agora somos nós que estamos comendo o índio”. In: Revista de Cultura Vozes - Política Indigenista no Brasil. Petrópolis: Vozes: 1976. n. 3, ano 70, p. 209-219.
