Abstract
This article aims to investigate and document socio-cultural aspects of the cultivation, domestication and processing of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense) among the Kuikuro Indians of the Upper Xingu, for whom this fruit has important symbolic and nutritional roles. Pequi cultivation is shared by the nine indigenous peoples who constitute the regional multiethnic system of the Upper Xingu. Despite the species’ importance among these peoples, its morphological diversity has not been the subject of intensive research yet. We intend to correlate social and cultural aspects involved in the management practices of the Kuikuro and the morphological diversity of pequi. Fieldwork was carried out between 2002 – 2003 (Fausto) and 2010 – 2012 (Smith) in the Kuikuro village of Ipatse in the Xingu Indigenous Park. Fieldwork involved interviewing families, participative observations and audiovisual recording. We observed that the knowledge and practices of seed selection and cultivation favor intraspecific diversity of the cultivated pequi groves. Our analysis, thus, supports the inextricable connection between genetic and cultural heritage in Amazonian agricultural systems.
Keywords
Agrobiodiversity; Pequi; Caryocar; Kuikuro; Genetic heritage; Traditional knowledge
