The passage and the presence of Southern Jê by São Paulo and Paraná: an ethno-historical reflection.

Abstract

The presence of populations whose language is Jê (Kaingang and Xokleng) in southern Brazil has been the subject of reflection of researchers from different areas of knowledge. The scientific production on them, which dates back to the late nineteenth century, was continued throughout the twentieth century and expanded in the early twenty-first century. Studies in the fields of linguistics and anthropology bind the Kaingang and Xokleng to the Jê from Central Brazil due to continuing linguistic and cultural traits. However, we understand that the Southern Jê (Kaingang and Xokleng) did not come “ready” from Central Brazil and spread here in the South their “essences”. Historically and anthropologically ethnic groups, are not closed entities are not isolated by rigid boundaries without interaction with other groups, and their ethnicities are not given previously. So our proposal here is to initiate a reflection on this socio-historical process of occupation of the territories of the southern highlands of Brazil by Southern Jê, highlighting the socio-cultural relations of the Kaingang and Xokleng among themselves and with other surrounding populations. We will focus on our observations in the territories of the two banks of the rivers Paranapanema/Itararé and Itapirapuã/Ribeira, because we believe that the possible passages of Jê to the South occurred at points along these rivers. The aim is to show, in these spaces, the markers of material culture and historical data, that indicate to us the possible transposition corridors of these populations in São Paulo and Paraná. We will use the Ethnohistory as an interdisciplinary method, understanding that it combines data and procedures from various disciplines: history, anthropology, archeology, linguistics, geography, ecology, and also because it values the oral traditions and ethno-knowledge in building explanations about the past of indigenous peoples.