Final Ethnography: Guarani-Kaiowá
The Guarani people are a group of indigenous people that live in the country of Brazil. Today there are estimated to be around 51,000 Guarani Indians making them the country's largest cultural group (Keating, par. 17). Over many centuries the Guarani Indians have divided themselves in three different native groups known as the Kaiowá, Ñandeva and M'byá tribes (Keating, par 18). The Guarani-Kaiowá are actually the largest of the three groups that currently exist. Kaiowá in their native language (Guarani language) means "the forest people" which are known for having a very close religious relationship with the land around them. These people refer to their native land as "the place without evil". More specifically the Guarani-Kaiowá Indians are located in villages in the southern region of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil (Ferreira Thomaz de Almeida and Mura, par.1) Their territory starts north around the Apa, Dourados and Ivinhema rivers and continues down south to the Mbarakaju mountains and the Jejui River in Paraguay as well as 100 kilometers of the border of Paraguay and Brazil. There are also several Guarani-Kaiowá Indians living in villages near the M'byá tribe on the coast of Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro (Ferreira Thomaz de Almeida and Mura, par.1).
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3). This may be referring to the land, rivers, fields, forest area, animals, etc. that make up the Guarani's life purpose. The Tekoha must contain all the of aspects of life in order for the Guarani to survive. This includes land capable of raising crops, hunting, natural resources and capability of building villages. These factors play a huge role in the historical significance of the Tekoha as well as the conditions they are used to living under since the times of their ancestral