History
» First Inhabitants
Indigenous heritage
The first expedition sent to Brazil by
the Portuguese Crown, one year after the territory’s discovery
by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500, arrived at the entrance
of Guanabara Bay on January 1st, 1502. To the eyes of the crew
commanded by Gaspar de Lemos, the waters resembled the mouth
of a large river. This impression, along with the date, gave
the name of Rio de Janeiro to the locale, and it stuck.
Upon their arrival, the colonizers found villages along the
shores with thousands of Tupinambás from the indigenous
family Tupi. In spite of the existence of several other groups
on the land which currently makes up Rio de Janeiro, the ethnic
makeup of the state’s inhabitants is largely attributed
to the Tupi people and also the Puri family, who lived in the
valleys and highlands near the Paraíba River.
The Tupi Indians liked music and dancing, devoted themselves
to farming and understood the medicinal properties of plants
well. The Puri were able swimmers, runners and expert archers.
The Tupi were decimated in battles, by epidemics and through
the slavery imposed by the colonizers of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Puri, living in more remote areas, resisted until the 18th
and 19th centuries, but were exterminated without leaving any
trace of their language.
Indigenous people speaking approximately 20 different languages
belonging to four large language families lived on the land
which is now covered by the state of Rio: besides Tupi and Puri,
Botocudo and Maxacali. They have left an immense legacy to the
Portuguese language. Even today, indigenous words identify countless
fish (tucunaré), birds (arara), fruits (açaí),
root vegetables (manioc), rivers, (Carioca) and places like
Niterói, Tijuca, Ipanema, Itaboraí and Jacarepaguá,
along with many others.
More Information
National Indian Foundation
http://www.funai.gov.br
Indian Museum
http://www.museudoindio.org.br
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