Foto: Vincent Carelli, 1976

Aikewara

  • Other names
    Suruí, Sororós
  • Where they are
    PA
  • How many
    330 (Funasa, 2010)
  • Linguistic family
    Tupi-Guarani

Introduction

The Suruí reached their present location in the beginning of the 20th Century, after fleeing from the repeated attacks of the Xikrin, when they came to inhabit the banks of the Vermelho River, tributary of the Itacaiúnas. They entered into definitive contact with the whites in 1960, when a flu epidemic killed two-thirds of their population, reducing it from 126 to 40 people. In 1962, a smallpox epidemic killed six more people. From then on, the Suruí, abandoning their birth control methods, began a rapid population recovery. In 1997, their population had reached a total of 185 people.