INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN BRAZIL

Botocudo (a plug,an allusion,to the wooden disks or plugs worn in their lips and ears)-from Portuguese for botoque. This is the foreign name for a tribe of South American Indians of eastern Brazil-also known as the Aimorés or Aimborés. They have no collective tribal name for themselves. Some called themselves Nacnanuk or Nac-poruk,"sons of the soil".

There are no records on Botocudo tribe until Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Nuwied's writings in 1820 when he participated in a scientific expedition to Brazil.

FEATURES:

The botocudos were described as being below the medium height,but broad-shouldered and remarkable for the muscular development of their chests.

Their arms and legs were soft and fleshy while their feet and hands were small.Their features were broad and flat with prominent eyebrow,high cheekbones,small bridgeless nose,wide nostrils and slight projection of the jaws.Their hair were coarse,black and lank.Their skin colour was a light yellowish brown,sometimes almost white.

They were a nomadic hunter-gatherers,living in the forest.

Their only weapons were reed spear and bows and arrows.

Their only musical instrument was a small bamboo nose-flute.