The Ofaié territory and the concept of power and violence in Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

The article incites the reader to revisit the history of the occupation of the Mato Grosso do Sul territory. It casts an eye on the concepts of power and violence that pervade the traditionality of various indigenous areas in an attempt to reveal that many of them show that they were more than simply migration areas of isolated autochthonous groups. It understands that many indigenous areas of the state are defined as authentic territories of traditional occupation by people whose presence was adulterated in various ways over the course of history. This is what happened to hunters, fishermen, and collectors who lived on the right bank of the Paraná river between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, when agrarian economic exploration practically raided the western region of Brazil and left indelible marks wherever it was establsihed. Th e concepts of nation (Ofaié); identity (indigenous); territory/territorialization /deterritorialization (cattle fi elds), domination (enslaved), power (farmer), and culture (indigenous) are analyzed in this article on the basis of an experience made by Marchal Cândido Rondon with an Ofaié indigenous person, which helps us to understand how the process that culminated in the disappearance of this ethic group from the state and many of its older territories took place.

Key words: indigenous territory, Ofaié, violence, Mato Grosso do Sul.