Dos rios aos interflúvios: movimentos e caminhos indígenas na Bacia do Purus

Abstract

This dissertation is an ethnographic account about the rivers and interfluves of the Purus basin. The research was conducted through historical reports, life testimonies, and two travel experiences to Lábrea (AM), with the aim of presenting a historiographic perspective that highlights the territorial dynamics of indigenous peoples in the Purus-Madeira interfluve, with emphasis on the Apurinã of the Middle Purus. We will see that while for travelers the Purus River was the main route of the report, for indigenous peoples the Purus appeared as one of the many sites in an extensive plurietnic network. To do so, an experimental approach supported by ethnographic information was used, which articulated the speculative exercise of reading travel reports with the use of photos, diagrams, and maps, along with the exploratory analysis of genealogical networks.