Marajó

Marajó (Portuguese Ilha de Marajó ) is by far the largest island of Brazil and is located at the mouth of the Amazon in the north of the country.

On the island of about 250,000 people.

Geography

Size

The island Marajó is about as big as Switzerland with around 40,100 km ². Together with neighboring, separate mostly only by rivers of Marajó islands it forms the Marajó archipelago, whose total area is entered with 49,602 km ².

Sometimes Marajó is considered as the largest river island in the world. That conclusion is contrary to that the eastern parts of the island also touch the sea (Atlantic Ocean, Bay Rio Pará ) and the island from the estuaries of two rivers, the Amazon and Tocantins, is limited; consequently, the also located in Brazil, completely surrounded by the Rio Araguaia Ilha do Bananal would be the largest river island.

Internal structure

The island is crossed by 20 major rivers alone.

To the east of the island outweighs savannah vegetation. In these areas, livestock is operated primarily on large plantations. There is also the 400 km ² large rainwater -fed Lago Arari that shrinks by 80 percent during the dry season. Today the island is home to large herds of domesticated water buffalo. The west of the island, however, is dominated by várzea forests.

North of the great savannah palm swamps are found, which are dominated by Buriti palm ( Mauritia flexuosa ) and cabbage palm ( Euterpe oleracea). During the rainy season, these marshes are flooded about one meter. The ecological effect of this structure swamps is virtually unknown.

Large parts of the island are flooded during the rainy season. In the coastal area this contribute to the high water levels of the Amazon and in the interior of the island the heavy rains. Due to the periodic flooding many of the settlements are built on stilts ( Palafitas ).

The main towns are located in the southeast of the island: Soure and Salvaterra. They have basic tourist infrastructure and, due to the secluded and expansive beaches like to visit.

Waters flowing around

The archipelago is in the northwest of the southern tributary of the Amazon (Canal do Sul ) is limited, on the other hand, in the southeast, by the reaching over 200 kilometers into the country, with about 20 Kilomer wide Rio Pará Bay to the mouth of the Rio Tocantins, as the Baja de Marajó opens the South Atlantic. In between, in the southwest, is the archipelago from a network of channel-like tidal waters with alternating direction of flow limited ( Rio de Breves, Furo dos Macacos, Rio Jacaré with north to subsequent Baia Grande do Vieira, and numerous tributaries ). About these waters reached, especially during floods, Amazon also water the Rio Pará, on average, about 3%. In the Northeast, including the open Atlantic coast limited the island.

Administrative Region Political Marajó

The administrative policy area Mesorregião do Marajó extends far beyond the island with more than the double size. It is divided into three micro-regions Arari, Breves and Portel with 16 municipalities that have all also share the island of Marajó:

  • Microregion Arari: Cachoeira do Arari
  • Chaves
  • Muana
  • Ponta de Pedras
  • Salvaterra
  • Santa Cruz do Arari
  • Soure
  • Afuá
  • Anajas
  • Breves
  • Curralinho
  • São Sebastião da Boa Vista
  • Bagre
  • Gurupa
  • Melgaço
  • Portel

History

3000 year old pottery finds suggest an early high culture towards ( the Marajoara culture), which, however, was already set at the time of conquest. Today finds the Marajoara culture can be seen in the Museu Goeldi in Belém.

Most present inhabitants are descendants of the Nheengaíba Indians, who were pacified in 1659 by the priest Antonio Vieira and later mixed with African slaves and Portuguese immigrants. Your ceramic art - from the pre-Columbian Marajoara culture - living in the old tradition with them on.

The Nheengaíba were a tribe, who belonged to the people of Arua, and a native of the West Indies, where they had been displaced by the Caribs. His dialect diversity initially led to believe if it were many independent tribes, the Aruaque, Mapua, anaja, Guajará, Mamaiauá, Sacara and Jurunas.

The Aruaque were skilled potters. They put out of use goods such as pots also produces vases, funeral urns, children's toys, and more. Your pottery was usually decorated in three colors: red, black and white. They lived on heaped mounds, the sambaquis, which also served as burial sites for their relatives who were buried there in decorated urns. How many Brazilian indigenous tribes and peoples once with an estimated 4 million members disappeared the last Aruaque in the 18th century and with them their languages.

Fauna

Marajó has a diverse fauna. Especially the birds can be observed on the unforested campos Alagados ( flood plains ) well. The red scarlet ibis are particularly characteristic representatives of the bird world of Marajó. Furthermore, there are alligators, piranhas, and many species of snakes.

When, in 1920 a ship from Asia was shipwrecked off the coast of Brazil and sank, a small herd of water buffalo was able to save and swim to the island. The herd survived and spread over the whole island, the current number of about half a ton heavy animals is estimated at 3 million.

Economy

Marajó economy is mainly based on the buffalo and cattle, as well as fishing. For the inhabitants of the island of the domesticated water buffalo are the main livestock. The figures for this vary between half a million and 3 million copies. The buffalo are mainly located on ranches, a few wild life. They are extremely frugal and feed on wild grasses that you can find anywhere.

The animals provide high-quality, uncontaminated meat and leather. In addition, the labor force of the animals used for the transport of goods or refuse, for rides to the tourists and for the police. In the police service, the animals remain in an age range of 2 to 20, a maximum of 28 years. The buffalo swim mounted very persistent. ( Ridden be the buffalo with the help of weight shift and a rope in the nose ring. ) Unlike horses and SUVs, the buffalo have no trouble with the partly swampy terrain with mangrove forests. When in the rainy season the land is flooded and the villages are isolated, often leaving only the animals as a means of transportation.

In addition to the cattle and pig breeding is operated, the size is approximately 200,000 animals.

The west of the island with the várzea forests inhabited by small farmers who harvest timber extraction well besides fruits of Acai ( açaí ) and operate rubber production.

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