Request for Question Clarification by
crabcakes-ga
on
12 Jan 2005 16:06 PST
Hello tipsy,
I have performed an exhaustive search, in English and Spanish (I
don't speak Portguese) fot the meaning of the word Xingu. I found
little, and I can't retermine if the river is named after the
indigenous tribes, or the natives were named after the river! Here is
what I was able to find, along with other interesting tidbits about
the people and the river!
?The Xingu, which according to our guide Manasei means God?s house, is
one of the main affluent of the Amazon.?
http://www.ee.upenn.edu/~santiago/fishing/Xingu.html
?Before the conquest of South America, the Río de las Amazonas had no
general name; instead, indigenous peoples had names for the sections
of the river they occupied, such as Paranaguazu, Guyerma, Solimões and
others.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River
?The Xingu River is nation-wide perceived as ?the river of the Indians?.? Page 38
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ceesp/Publications/TILCEPA/CCA-CMaretti.pdf
?In the closure of the Encontro Nascentes do Rio Xingu ? Meeting
Sources of the Xingu River ? this morning (October 27), was read a
letter that summarizes the commitments agreed upon by the various
social sectors that, during three days, debated the problems and
pointed out alternatives for the recovery of the riverine woods of the
Xingu River Basin. Participants suggested several names for the
campaign; the most voted was Y´Ikatu Xingu, which means ?good, clean
water?.?
http://www.socioambiental.org/e/nsa/detalhe?id=1851
?Long-term in situ cultural development of Xinguano peoples over more than
1000 years?
http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/classes/bio190/pdfs/amazon%20presettlement.pdf
Origin of some river names, not including Xingu
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/english/whwhhow/who/names.shtm
?These three streams form the Xingu, or Parana-xingu, which, from 73
miles lower down, bounds along a succession of rapids for 400 miles.?
http://www.unipedia.info/Xingu_River.html
Additional Information
?A few similarities between Kalapalo and Yekuana myths suggest that
the ancestors of the Xingu Karib groups left the Guiana region in
recent times, certainly after contacts with Spaniards intensified in
the region in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Nonetheless,
there seems to be little in common culturally between the Kalapalo and
these northern Karib speakers, and it is difficult to distinguish any
prominently characteristic ?Karib? aspects of their way of life or
world view.?
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/kalapalo/historico.shtm
?South of the Kayapó, the upper Xingu river is home to a dozen tribes
who live in harmony with one another, even though they speak five
different languages. They trade together, compete in sporting contests
(chiefly wrestling), and have come to resemble one another in all
aspects of their material and spiritual culture. They have identical
villages, huts, body-paint, adornments, food, rituals, mythology, and
hunting and fishing methods.?
http://www.brazil.org.uk/page.php?cid=1811
?He created the Xingu National Park as the home-land of the Indians.
Together with his brothers helped spread the notion that Indians
should not be acculturated and civilized, but they should be left
alone and as isolated as possible from the rest of the Brazilians.?
http://www.phfawcettsweb.org/claudio.htm
?The XINGU, the next large river west of the Tocantins, is a true
tributary of the Amazon. It was but little known until it was explored
in 1884-1887 by Karl von den Steinen from Cuyaba. Travelling east, 240
m., he found the river Tamita-toaba, 180 ft. wide, flowing from a lake
25 m. in diameter. He descended this torrential stream to the river
Romero, 1300 ft. wide, entering from the west, which receives the
river Colisfi. These three streams form the Xingu, or Parana-xingu,
which, from 73 m. lower down, bounds along a succession of rapids for
400 m. A little above the head of navigation, 105 m. from its mouth,
the river makes a bend to the east to find its way across a rocky
barrier. Here is the great cataract of Itamaraca, which rushes down an
inclined plane for 3 m. and then gives a final leap, called the fall
of Itamaraca. Near its mouth, the Xingu expands into an immense lake,
and its waters then mingle with those of the Amazon through a
labyrinth of canos (natural canals), winding in countless directions
through a wooded archipelago.?
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AM/AMAZON.htm
?Near its mouth, the Xingu expands into an immense lake, and its
waters then mingle with those of the Amazon through a labyrinth of
eanos (natural canals), winding in countless directions through a
wooded archipelago.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xingu_River
?The Amazon has over 1000 tributaries in total. Some of the more notable are:
? Branco
? Casiquiare canal
? Huallaga
? Içá (or Putumayo)
? Javary
? Jurua
? Madeira
? Marañón
? Morona
? Nanay
? Napo
? Negro
? Pastaza
? Purus
? Tambo
? Tapajós
? Tigre
? Tocantins
? Trombetas
? Ucayali
? Xingu
? Yapura
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River
?The Tapajós and Xingu Rivers are said to be "black waters" because
they are stained by dark tree chemicals called tannins. These rivers
also lack a sediment load. The Amazon River, on the other hand, is
considered whitewater because as sediment carried down from the Andes
Mountains churns in the river?s current it gives the water a cloudy,
milky-white color.?
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0126.html
http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/xingu/exped.shtm
http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/X/Xingu.html
http://www.brazil-brasil.com/pages/p119jan03.htm
If you find this information suitable as an answer, please let me
know, and I'll post it in the answer box.
Sincerely,
crabcakes
Search Terms
Xingu river history
Villas Boas
Karl von den Steinen + xingu
Xinguana
Rio Xingu
Rio Xingu + Brasil
Brasil + Xingu
