A fé que move os indígenas: o monge São João Maria e os “ecos” do Contestado na luta Kaingang pela terra no interior do Paraná

Abstract

This thesis investigates the conflict between Kaingang and settlers in Vila da Pitanga, central region of Paraná, in 1923, and its connection with the monk, São João Maria do Contestado. Through a long-term historical perspective and a dialogue with the anthropological literature on socio-religious movements, the intertwining of religion, indigenous cosmology, and struggle for land in the analyzed episodes is underscored. This work addresses the meeting of the indigenous Kaingang with the Catholic religion in the 17th century’s Jesuit missions (reducciones), located in the present territory of Paraná, and with the process of religious catechesis promoted by the imperial regime in the 19th century, emphasizing how the Kaingang reformulated their strategies in the face of the reality of the contact and the demands that they forwarded to the state power and to the Service of Protection to the Indians (SPI), with a view to the demarcation of their territories. This work document and analyzes the context of the confused land policy implemented by the Paraná state, which did not demarcate the boundaries of the Ivaí Indigenous Territory after the original site change in 1913, motivating the conflict in the following decade. Finally, it analyzes the armed action carried out by the Indians and their consequences: the invasion of the village in April 1923, the massacre of the Indians in their "tents," and the judgment of the Indians by the courts. The thesis shows how the various meetings of the Kaingang with religious missions and settlements facilitated their adherence to the Contestado's multifaceted movement, transforming religious language into an important instrument of political expression and the struggle for land in the movement. The research relies on a broad repertoire of primary sources and the newspapers, especially in the criminal process, in which the Kaingang were tried for the murder of villagers. It also uses maps, government reports, and statements from Kaingang Indians about the event, collected through Oral History