Tava as an Important Element in Mbyá Guarani Territorial Composition: Brief Notes

Abstract

Once the owners of all of the land, today indigenous peoples must struggle to have their identities and rights recognized and over time their territory has been restricted and imputed by the State, often without taking into account their historical and cultural trajectory and their existing territorial relations. This study explores the relationship of the Mbyá Guarani with their territory in the Region of the Missions (Rio Grande do Sul state). In the past Spanish clerics founded mission villages for the Mbyá Guarani. These villages are characterized, population displacements traced and the political and cultural territory described. Finally, the role of indigenous participation in the process of recognition of a Cultural Heritage Site in the Missions region is evaluated.