Abstract
The implementation of the Diretório dos Índios law led to the transformation of the daily life in the indigenous villages of the Amazon. The incentives to learn the Portuguese language and adopt Portuguese names and surnames - among other measures - were intended to put an end to the ethnic and linguistic heterogeneity of the region. However, colonial authorities could not enforce such law and were thus forced to negotiate its terms with the local authorities of each community. From the case studies of two of these communities (Chaves and Rebordello), located at the Amazon River mouth, this article explores the continuities and transformations experienced by its inhabitants during the first decade of the Diretório dos Índios. The sources analyzed for that object are the letters sent by the administrators of these two communities to the Governor of the Estado de Grão-Pará and Maranhão. Therefore, perspectives rooted in daily life are privileged in this article, allowing us to better understand the logic of resistance and negotiations displayed by the Aruá, one of the native peoples who inhabited the Amazon mouth since, at least, the first arrival of the Europeans.
Keywords:
Frontier; Amazon; Aruá; Diretório dos Índios; Ethnohistory