“XICÃO” XUKURU DO ORORUBÁ

um Cacique habitando dois mundos

Abstract

In the cosmology of the Xukuru do Ororubá inhabitants of Pesqueira and Poção/PE, the Enchanted are beings who have gone through the experience of physical death. But, there is no individualization of any of them, they are all mentioned generically as great heroes who died while fighting for the indigenous people. Upon being murdered, “Xicão” Xukuru do Ororubá began to populate the pantheon of the Enchanted, but as an individual, the enchanted, and not “an enchanted”. Even being narrated as a person with enchanted abilities even before physical death. Based on bibliographical references and mainly interviews with indigenous people, we discussed the notion of enchanted, after the murder of the indigenous leader and the meanings of the martyr-enchanted “Xicão” when he was identified as “Mandaru”. The strength and presence of the leader are described in the Toré ritual, recognized in the aspects of Nature and in the relationships of the Xukuru of the Ororubá with non-indigenous people. In this sense, the name of Cacique materializes in claims for collective rights (land, health, education, among others) and transforms his personal experiences into extraordinary acts. When narrating about the dead Chief as an “enchanted martyr”, the Xukuru of the Ororubá transform “Xicão” into an operator of relations between people, things and worlds.