Os Caiapós de São Benedito de Poços de Caldas

Abstract

The article addresses the existence and trajectory of the Caiapós devoted to São Benedito in the city of Poços de Caldas, located in the south of Minas Gerais, highlighting the trajectory of the Caiapó da Vila Cruz Group and the life of Seu Quirino, former Caiapó chief of region, already deceased and about whom very little information is recorded, except from the narrative of the current Caiapó chief of Vila Cruz, Seu Vitor Caveira (Vitor José Ramos), who met Seu Quirino when he was a child and was prepared by him for act as the group's leader, a role he performs today. As Seu Vitor narrates, Quirino was a man born to enslaved parents, who perpetuated the tradition in the southern Minas Gerais territory inherited from his father and mother, who were already Kayapo and devotees of São Benedito in the past. In addition to presenting the trajectory of Seu Quirino, this article seeks to describe two important events that mark Kayapó activities in the region: the Retreat of the Caiapós from woods and the Rapto da Bugrinha. They will be described and debated, taking into account the spiritual and political dimensions that permeate the Feast of São Benedito in the city and the daily devotional practices of the population.