Caviana

Caviana (Portuguese: ''Ilha Caviana'', formerly in Aruã language: ''Uyruma'') is a coastal island in the Brazilian state Pará. The island is part of the Amazon Delta. In the 17th and 18th Century it was the stronghold of the Aruã people. From the island a tidal bore called the ''pororoca'' can be observed. Between 1845 and 1850, a strong ''pororoca'' split the island into two parts, called Inner and Outer Caviana.

Geography

Caviana is part of the municipality Chaves. The Equator runs through Outer Caviana, as well as the 50th meridian west. It is the third-largest island in the Amazon Delta, after Marajó and Ilha Grande de Gurupá.

Caviana was formed in the Tertiary epoch, from river sediments and consolidated terrain. At the beginning of the Holocene 12,000 years ago, it was already separated from the mainland.

The island belongs to the Marajó Archipelago, it is located opposite the north coast of Marajó Island in the delta lowlands at the mouth of the Amazon. It surrounded by Janaucu and Jarupari in the north, Mexiana in the east and the Jurupari Archipelago in the west. It is separated from Mexiana by the ''Canal Perigoso'' ("Dangerous Channel"), called such because sandbanks and strong winds make navigation perilous during low tides.

Just off Caviana's southern coast, where the South Channel (''Canal Sul'') of the Amazon meets the Vieira Grande Bay, is a sandbank called Camaleão that is exposed during low tide. It links together some smaller islets, such as Ilha das Pacas, Camaleão, Camaleãozinho and Jacuraru.

The island is an excellent place to observe the tidal bore called the ''pororoca'', where the Amazon river waters meet the incoming Atlantic tides and form a standing wave.

Inner and Outer Caviana

The Amazon Delta, including the island Caviana, is a geologically dynamic place influenced by erosion and sedimentation. Parts of the island are called Ilha Nova or Ilha da Prainha by the inhabitants, indicating that they may have been separate islands in the past.

This is most visible on the North-West side, where Caviana is separated into two parts by a stretch that is mostly flooded. This separation happened between 1845 and 1850, when the ''pororoca'' was particularly strong. It made a breach in the coast, which was already heavily eroded. The waters then followed the course of a stream called Igarapê Guajuru until its mouth, essentially splitting the island in two:
*The smaller part with an area of is called Inner or Northern Caviana (''Caviana de Dentro'' or ''Caviana Setentrional'')
*The larger part with an area of is called Outer or Southern Caviana (''Caviana de Fora'' or ''Caviana Meridional'').

Nature

The island forms part of the low-lying ''Marajó várzea'', the inundated land in and around the mouth of the Amazon River. It is flat, marshy and frequently flooded, especially in the winter months. The shoreline can change due to rapid sedimentation and erosion processes. The eastern part of the island is made up of grasslands that are partially flooded in the wet season. The western side is covered with rainforest, which mostly consists of different varieties of palm trees.

Caviana is a birdwatchers' haven. As many as 145 different species were observed here. The ornithologist Joseph B. Steere observed the birds on the island in 1871, specimens were brought to the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

The island is contained in the Marajó Archipelago Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable-use conservation unit established in 1989 to protect the environment of the region.

History

On Caviana, various elevations can be found in the landscape that are linked to Marajoara culture and are called ''tesos''. Whether the ones on Caviana are completely natural or partly made by humans is an open question at the time. Most archeological sites are found on these ''tesos''. They contain polished statuettes, nephrite beads and amulets, and ceramic figures, plates and roasters with dotted decoration.

In 17th and 18th Century, Caviana was the stronghold of the Aruã people. They called the island ''Uyruma'', and mainly lived on its eastern coast. Based on archeological findings, there are varying theories on whether they were the first inhabitants of the island, or whether there was another group of Arawak people before them. The Aruã practiced secondary burial in urns. Their cemeteries contain urns in different styles and also some glass beads and other European objects. This can indicate habitation by other groups, or that they traded intensively.

The Aruã chief in the mid of the 17th Century was called Piyé. At that time, they called their village, which was located on the east of Caviana, the Village of Piyé (''Aldeia de Piyé''). The chief was present when the Treaty of the Mapuá was signed, but he refused to swear an oath of obedience to the Kingdom of Portugal. Between 1725 and 1728, the Aruã repeatedly needed to defend themselves from attacks by the French together with an indigenous group from neighbouring island Mexiana under their leader Gaaimara.

In 1760, the missionary Antônio de Santo Agostinho arrived in the village and renamed it Rebordelo. It had a mission post of the Order of Saint Anthony. In 1763 the village of Rebordelo suffered a fire. After decades of harassment by the French and the Portuguese, most Aruã migrated. They first settled on Marajó, mainly in the basin of the Ganhoão River. Later, many moved to what is now Amapá and French Guiana. In 1816, there were still 279 Aruã living in Rebordelo. The last probably disappeared from the area after the Revolt of the Cabanos between 1834 and 1836. The place were Rebordelo was located is currently uninhabited.

Population

Currently, there are no larger settlements on Caviana. The fields in the east are occupied by water buffalo farms. Their owners mostly live in Belém, Chaves and Macapá. On the south-west there are communities of ribeirinhos, mostly living in stilt houses along the rivers and streams. They dedicate themselves to fishing and the collection of forest products. Each family manages a forest plot called the ''terreiro'' where they collect açaí, murumuru, buriti and pupunha, as well as various types of wood. In contrast to ribeirinhos in other parts of the Amazon area, they don't practice much agriculture.

References

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River islands of Brazil
Islands of the Amazon
Landforms of Pará