Xakriabá indigenous art: among jaguars, fish, clay joãos and other-than-humans

Abstract

The Xakriabá people live in the municipality of São João das Missões, north of the state of Minas Gerais, with a population of approximately 14 thousand people, distributed across 40 villages. The main challenges faced by the people are the lack of water, the resumption of ancestral and territorial practices to have access to natural resources important for their subsistence and, as in the past, to once again access the São Francisco River. Currently, Xakriabá indigenous art represents a fighting tool and has contributed to denouncing the centuries-old violence suffered by the entire people. The Xakriabá artists are inspired by the multispecies relationships of their people and the cerrado biome of northern Minas Gerais, to express their experience with the land, water, animals, trees and their enchantments. This photo essay presents images of utensils made from wood and clay, such as moringas with lids of different animals, as well as lids with enchanted beings, such as the moringa jaguar cabocla and the moringa bicho-man.