Translated from the Portuguese by Tiffany Higgins
| When Euaracy awakens Her rays come to greet us Showing the day has begun And it’s time to work.The Kambeba people’s village Isn’t just built anyplace The river determines Where we can dwell Imprinting on this space Our way of seeing, our face.Our greatest tuxaua, Tururucari, said The Kambeba, a farming people, Can never give up planting. They chose Saint Tomé as their protector To ensure a good harvest Taking shelter in this saint. In Tururucari-Uka village At night Yacy draws near The sound of the maraca announces Our elders sagely recount Today Tururucari represents |
Euaracy quando desperta Seus raios vêm nos saudar Mostrando que o dia começa É hora de trabalhar.A aldeia do povo Kambeba Não é construída em qualquer lugar O rio é um fator determinante Para se poder habitar Imprimindo nesse espaço Nossa cara, nosso olhar.Diz o tuxaua maior, O Kambeba é povo agricultor Não se pode deixar de plantar Escolheu São Tomé como protetor Para que tivesse boa colheita Neste santo se apegou. Na aldeia Tururucari-Uka, À noite Yacy se aproxima O som do maraká anuncia Contam os mais velhos com sabedoria Hoje, Tururucari representa |
Notes:
| cariçu: A wind instrument made of several bamboo tubes, used for rituals and community celebrations
curupira: A forest guardian who takes the form of a boy with flaming red hair and his feet turned backward Euaracy: Sun goddess in the Tupi language Kambeba: An Indigenous people whose territory in Brazil is in parts of the middle and upper Solimões River region in Amazonas state, with some Kambeba also living in Tefé municipality, in addition to the Peruvian Amazon (where they’re known as Omágua) and the Ecuadorian Amazon may-tini: Non-Indigenous people in the Kambeba language
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Tururucari: A revered Kambeba leader who fought to defend the Omágua-Kambeba people in the sixteenth century
Tururucari-Uka: House of Tururucari, a metaphor for a power that’s at once spiritual, cultural, and political tuxaua: A Tupi word for the chief of chiefs, who represents the people when negotiating with other Indigenous peoples or with non-Indigenous people; decisions of the village’s other chiefs have to be approved by him uka: House (either one family’s dwelling or a collective dwelling) Uruma: Name of the current tuxaua of Tururucari-Uka village Yacy: Moon goddess in the Tupi language |
Tiffany Higgins is a writer, journalist, translator, and poet. Her work focuses on the Brazilian Amazon, where she was a Fulbright Scholar in 2022. The Pulitzer Rainforest Journalism Fund and the Banff Centre for the Arts have supported her work. She is the author of two collections of poems, and her narrative journalism and poetry have appeared in Granta, Guernica, Poetry, and elsewhere.