Origem do Carnaval no Continente Americano - Decolonial Ameríndio

The presence of festivities similar to carnival among Indigenous peoples of the Americas is documented in colonial chronicles, ethnographic accounts, and oral traditions. These rituals often combined role reversal, social critique, collective celebration, and connection to the sacred. Here are some examples:

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1. Tupinambá Rituals (Colonial Brazil)

The Tupinambá, from the Brazilian coast, held festivals called "Cauinagem," described by chroniclers like Jean de Léry (16th century). These included:

   - Ritual drink (cauim): Prepared collectively, it was consumed in large quantities, creating a state of communal intoxication.

   - Dances and satires: During the festival, they mocked social taboos and hierarchies, in an atmosphere of temporary freedom.

   - Role reversal: Men and women could adopt behaviors outside the usual, questioning everyday norms.

2. Araweté Mask Festivals (Amazon)

Among the Araweté (an Indigenous people of Pará), the "Maraka" ritual involves:

   - Masks and transformation: Participants wear animal or spirit masks, assuming non-human identities.

   - Political satire: In recent decades, they have incorporated masks that ridicule power figures, such as white politicians or government officials, as a critique of colonialism.

3. Kuna and the "Inna Mutiki" Festival (Panama)

The Kuna perform the "Inna Mutiki," a role-reversal ritual:

   - Women in command: Men dress as women and are subordinate to them, symbolically breaking the patriarchy.

   - Satirical toys: Items representing colonial tools (like weapons or money) are used comically, questioning external power.

4. Inti Raymi and Andean Reversal (Inca Empire)

The Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) had carnivalesque elements:

   - Temporary suspension of hierarchies: Nobles and peasants celebrated together, and social rules were relaxed.

   - Dances and disguises: Participants wore costumes that mixed human and divine identities.

5. Guarani and the "Avá Chiru" (Southern Brazil/Paraguay)

Among the Guarani, the "Avá Chiru" (Festival of the Masked):

   - Masks and mockery: Masked men imitate animals, spirits, or even non-Indigenous figures (like farmers), satirizing colonial power.

   - Critique of acculturation: The festival reinforces traditional identities, ridiculing assimilationist practices.

6. Potlatch and Redistribution Festivals (Peoples of the Northwest America)

Although not "carnivalesque" in the classical sense, the potlatch (practiced by Kwakwaka'wakw, Haida, and others) involved:

   - Economic inversion: Leaders destroyed wealth or distributed it, challenging the logic of accumulation.

   - Theater and masks: Dramatic enactments with mythical characters and veiled criticisms of leaders.

Origem do Carnaval no Continente Americano - Decolonial Ameríndio

Common Elements

- Role reversal: Temporarily, the poor become rich, women command men, humans imitate gods or animals.

- Political satire: Authority figures (chiefs, colonizers) are ridiculed.

- Collective communion: The festival strengthens social bonds and community balance.

- Connection with nature: Many rituals celebrate agricultural cycles or seasons.

Sources and Challenges

- Colonial records: Chroniclers like Hans Staden and Jesuit missionaries described these festivals, albeit with a moralizing bias (seeing them as "barbaric" or "licentious").

- Persecution: Many rituals were banned by colonizers, who associated them with Indigenous rebellion.

- Resistance: Some practices survive today, adapted (like Street Carnivals with Indigenous influences in Brazil).

Why does this matter?

These festivities show that the invention of carnival is not exclusively European. Indigenous peoples already practiced complex forms of social critique and libertarian celebration, something that *The Awakening of Everything* highlights by questioning the notion that non-European societies were "less creative." However, colonization suppressed many of these traditions or reduced them to folklore.