Entre aldeamentos, vilas e engenhos: etnogêneses e reconfigurações sociais indígenas no Recôncavo da Bahia (1580-1640)

Abstract

The thesis we present here intends to give visibility to the indigenous presence in the historical formation of the Recôncavo da Bahia beyond the first moments of colonization, having as an interpretative key or guiding line the experiences and historical processes experienced by indigenous groups in the reconstruction of their worlds. Through the inquisitorial, missionary and administrative sources, we look beyond the domains of Jaguaripe and give place to the other sanctities – in the Orobó hinterland, in Paripe, in Sergipe do Conde, in Matoim and even in Cachoeira – and follow the tracks of their permanence and relocation in the 17th century. Following traces left in the inquisitorial documentation and in the trails of the New Indigenous History, we can think of Holiness not only as a movement or event of rebellion, we understand it as a historical experience for the reconstruction of their worlds and reinvention of their freedoms. The investigation of inquisitorial sources and the survey of new sources allowed us to reassess the dimensions of the anti-catechesis project undertaken by the indigenous sanctities, as well as the very limits of the Jesuit enterprise of catechizing and converting the Gentiles. From the indigenous political action that linked to the religious challenged the foundations of Christian colonization, we launched a new look at the Tupinambá religion, its propagation and adherence in 16th and 17th century Bahia.