| Total population |
|---|
| 177 (in 2003)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Brazil (Pará State) |
| Languages |
The Zo'é Tribe (also known as Zo'é or the Marrying tribe) are a native tribe in the State of Pará, Municipality of Óbidos, on the Cuminapanema River, Brazil.[2] They are a Tupi–Guarani[3] people.[4]
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They are also known as the Poturu, Poturujara, or Buré. The term "Zo'é" means "us," as opposed to non-Indians or enemies. The term "Poturu" is the type of wood used to make embe'po labrets.[1]
All Zo'e wear the poturu, a wooden plug piercing the bottom lip. The Zo'e have a tradition where new fathers have the backs of their calves cut with the 'tooth of a small rodent'.
The marriage rituals of the Zo'e are complex and not fully understood. It is not known how many wives or husbands one is allowed to have. Usually one woman has several husbands, one or more of whom may be "learning husbands"; young men learning how to be good spouses, in exchange for hunting for the rest of the family.
In the state of Para, Northern Brazil, in one of the last still largely unexplored rainforests in the world, a new tribe, the Zoe, was recently contacted. They live between the Amazon River and the country of Suriname. The Zoe are part of the Tupi linguistic group. Little is known about them. They are semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers. Their favorite prey is monkey, which is plentiful in the region during the dry season. During the rainy season, the Zo'e rely on a root plant called manioc, which must be processed into flour to avoid its poisonous properties.—Jean-Pierre Dutilleux[5]