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The history of the Galibi-Marwono population may
be summarized as the trajectories of distinct populations,
migrants from ancient missions, fugitives from captivity,
who created local networks of sociability coincidentally
with, or based on previous experiences in broader networks
of interethnic contact.
At the beginning of colonization, the region
could be described as “open” to all the vicissitudes
of history. For example, the Maraon are mentioned in
reports from the XVIth Century as inhabitants of the
Uaçá region. The Aruã migrated
to the region from the Guianas, in the XVIIth Century,
fleeing from Portuguese incursions in the region of
the lower Amazon, but they were enslaved by the French.
In the first half of the XVIIIth Century, the Maraon
and the Aruã were settled in Jesuit missions
on the coast of French Guiana, together with the Galibi.
With the expulsion of the Jesuits from Guiana between
1765-68, a Portuguese offensive invaded the ancient
territories of missions, villages, and colonial settlements,
emprisoning the indigenous population and deporting
the Indians to the Amazon. The deported Aruã
returned the next century and settled on the upper Uaçá.
Many of the present-day Galibi-Marworno remember slave-hunters
and their stories speak of merchants passing through
their territory.
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After Marechal Rondon’s visit to the area
in the 1920s, the Brazilian state decided to consolidate
its boundary with French Guiana and put the indigenous
populations of the Uaçá under its control.
It is from that time on that, in the words of one Galibi-Marworno,
the “union” of the people of the Uaçá
began under the same administration, a very present and
active state and military apparatus, especially in the
place called Encruzo, founded especially to implement
control over the Indians of the region. On the other hand,
even though it was for strategic reasons, the SPI “brought
together” the Indians under their control, reinforcing
indigenous identity of the peoples of the region, through
its presence and activities. The SPI, which maintained
an active presence in the region from 1945 to 1967, removed
intruders and “foreign elements” from the area,
such as merchants, creoles, French and English who had
settled on the banks of the rivers in order to exploit
their natural resources , such as gold and good quality
timber, which are abundant in the region. According to
one informant, these foreign elements entered with the
connivance of certain chiefs. The Indians worked for them
but got nothing in return.
During this time the SPI introduced
specific norms among the Indians, such as the prohibition
of alcohol and regulamentation of marriages between Indians
and non-Indians. New concepts related to work and commerce,
controlled by the Indian agency, were introduced. Among
the Galibi-Marwono and the Karipuna, the school —
an institution of major importance and impact — was
responsible for grouping the population into larger villages,
for the use of the Portuguese language and to instil respect
for national emblems, such as the National Hymn and the
raising of the banner. The school served as a justification
for the agglutination of almost all Galibi-Marworno families
in the village of Kumarumã. During this time, also,
a military ranch was established on the Suraimon, upper
Uaçá, for the purpose of raising buffaloes
for the military at Clevelândia do Norte.
Between the end of the 1960s until the end of
the 80s, both FUNAI and CIMI worked in the region of
the Uaçá, and to a certain extent they
succeeded in reverting the previous situation. The demarcation
of lands, the organization of regional political assemblies
and the project for differentiated education were given
priority, thus promoting consciousness of a new self-esteem
among the Indians of the Uaçá. Notable
features included the emphasis given to culture and
indigenous rights, as well as the incentive to using
the kheoul language, stimulating the Indians
to openly consider it as their maternal language. For
five years, from 1990 to 1995, CIMI promoted a pedagogical
course for the formation of indigenous teachers. FUNAI
dismantled the buffalo ranch set up by the military
on the Uaçá, and the installations at
Encruzo were also partially dismantled; only the Indian
post and the place for punishment and temporary exile
for law-breakers, who were submitted to hard labor,
were kept. It is worth noting that this custom of punishment
is ancient in the region and precedes the SPI. The Galibi-Marworno
recall powerful and feared chiefs who executed such
punishments. The SPI, however, conferred on this institution
the legitimacy of the state. This penal function of
Encruzo was abolished by the Assembly of Indigenous
Peoples of the Uaçá in January, 1996.
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