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Since the 1920s, there exists uncertain information
on the existence of the Suruí at the headwaters
of the Sororó River, according to Friar Antonio
Salas, in the Dominican journal Cayapós and Carajás.
Several older dwellers of the region informed me that
the Suruí, in the mid-1920s, used to appear around
a ranch called Altos Montes, near Santa Isabel. But
it was only after the Second World War, when the region
was invaded by gold-panners in search of rock crystals,
at that time a mineral of strategic importance, that
the contacts intensified. In 1947, for example, the
Indians attempted approximation to the nut-gatherers
in a place called Cajueiro. The owner of the "instalment",
together with his employees, opened fire, wounding several
of them.
The first organized attempt at contact was made
in 1952, by the Dominican Friar Gil Gomes Leitão,
who left with several men from Xambioá and reached
the village, finding it deserted. Various presents were
left. Days later, the Suruí made incursions on
houses of regional inhabitants, near the Xambioá
stream, where they left turtles, bananas, feather ornaments,
etc. This retribution of presents caused panic among
the inhabitants. In the following year, Friar Gil succeeded
in making his first contact. Near a stream, in the surroundings
of the village, he met with more than 100 people who
were waiting for him. They didn't allow him to stay
the night in the village, which the Friar was only allowed
to do in 1960. Before that, in October, 1957, enthusiastic
with the results of contacts with the missionary, the
Indians attempted to make contact with nut-gatherers
on the banks of the Sororozinho, near the place called
Fortaleza. They were driven back with gunshot, one Indian
died and three others were wounded.
With the death of the old chief Mussenai, in
April 1960, during the flu epidemic which killed most
of the population, the group passed through moments
of disorganization. One regional person, taking advantage
of this situation, was able to gain the trust of the
Indians. Under the pretext of civilizing the Suruí,
he obliged them to cut their hair, wear clothes, build
houses similar to those of the Brazilians, and introduced
them to new food needs (sugar, etc.). His goal was to
transform them into skin (pelt)-hunters. In September,
1960, Friar Gil was able to expel the intruders from
the village. To avoid new invasions, he put an employed
married couple in a barracks about three kilometers
away from the village. Thanks to this action, the Suruí
returned to their ways. The regional-type house was
destroyed and the tribe went back to planting a large
garden, which produced well in 1961.
From then on, the contact with the whites became
permanent and the group lived dramatic moments, at the
beginning of the 70s, when the region was the stage
for the famous Guerilla war of the Araguaia. The fact
of their having taken the side of the army guaranteed
their survival.
Before contact with the whites, there were many
warrior contacts with Kayapó groups. They state
that their original territory lay beyond the Vermelho
River, tributary of the Itacaiunas, but they fled to
the present territory to escape the attacks of the Indians
they called Karajá. In 1996, they declared to
me that the Karajá were the Xikrin, who actually
inhabit the region of the Cateté River, tributary
of the Itacaiunas, exactly at the base of the Serra
dos Carajás.
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