A caboclo () is a person of mixed Indigenous Brazilian and European ancestry, or, less commonly, a culturally assimilated or detribalized person of full Amerindian descent. In Brazil, a ''caboclo'' generally refers to this specific type of ''

mestiço ''Mestiço'' is a Portuguese term that referred to persons of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Portuguese Empire. Mestiço community in Brazil In Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons b ...

''. The term, also pronounced "caboco", is from

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...

, and perhaps ultimately from the Tupi ''kaa'boc'', meaning "the one who comes from the forest". A person of mixed Indigenous Brazilian and sub-Saharan black ancestry is known as a "'' cafuzo''." In the

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

and 1890 censuses, 3.9% and 9.04% of the population self-identified as caboclos, respectively. Since then, caboclos are counted as

pardo In the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, ''pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') are triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans and Africans. History In some places they were defined as neither exclusively ...

s, along with

mulattoes ( , ) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is (). The use of this term began in the United States shortly ...

(mixed Black-White) and cafuzos (mixed Amerindian-Black). A survey performed in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

showed that 14% of Whites and 6% of Pardos reported Amerindian and White ancestry. According to some estimations, caboclos would be around 12% of Brazilian population.

Etymology

The term ''caboclo'' (which in the Amazon Basin and in

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...

is usually pronounced without the ''l'', as ''caboco'') is said to come from the Tupi word ''kari'boka'', meaning "deriving from the white". Its primary meaning is ''mestizo'', "a person of part Amerindian and part European descent." But it may also be used to refer to any Indigenous Brazilian who is assimilated.Wafer, James William. ''The Taste of Blood: Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomblé''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991, p. 55. The term Indian should not be confused with people originating from India in South Asia. The king of Portugal,

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

, encouraged marriages between European colonists and Indians in the 18th century; this enabled the European men to settle into families, and resulted in the birth of the first ''caboclo'' children. Similarly, in the 19th century during the time of

rubber soldier Rubber soldiers ( Portuguese: ''Soldados da borracha'') were people in Brazil who were compulsorily drafted to harvest rubber in the Amazon rainforest during World War II.Northeastern Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, R ...

and transported them into the Amazonian interior to harvest

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

. The men were never granted permission to leave, and married local native women, fathering more generations of mestiços . The ''caboclo'' populations in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

region of Brazil are noted as voracious eaters of the '' açaí'' palm fruit, which is basic to the traditional diet of the natives. In one study, ''açaí'' palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up such a major component of diet (up to 42% of the total food intake by weight) and is economically valuable in the region (Murrieta et al., 1999). The term ''caboclo'' is also used as the term for a spirit of Indigenous origin (an ancestor or a spirit of nature) in the Afro-Brazilian religions

and

Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...

. In these religions, they are considered different from the

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

s but are nonetheless revered.

Days celebrating racial groups in Brazil

*In Brazil, the "Day of the Caboclo" (''Dia do Caboclo''), observed annually on June 24, in celebration of the contributions and identity of the original caboclos and their descendants. This date is an official public holiday in the State of Amazonas. *" Mixed Race Day" (''Dia do

Mestiço ''Mestiço'' is a Portuguese term that referred to persons of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Portuguese Empire. Mestiço community in Brazil In Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons b ...

'') is observed annually on June 27, three days after the Day of the Caboclo, in celebration of all

mixed-race Brazilian Brazilian censuses do not use a "multiracial" category. Instead, the censuses use skin colour categories. Most Brazilians of visibly mixed racial origins self-identify as pardos. According to the 2022 census, "pardos" make up 92.1 million peo ...

s, including the caboclos. The date is an official public holiday in three Brazilian states. *" Indigenous Peoples Day" (''Dia dos Povos Indígenas''), observed annually on April 19, recognizes and honours the

indigenous peoples of Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil or Native Brazilians () are the peoples who lived in Brazil before European contact around 1500 and their descendants. Indigenous peoples once comprised an estimated 2,000 district tribes and nations inhabiting what ...

References

Citations

Books

* Adams, C., Murrieta, R., & Neves, W. A. (2006). ''Sociedades caboclas amazônicas: modernidade e invisibilidade'' (1a ed.). Sâo Paulo: Annablume. and * Nugent, S. (1993). ''Amazonian Caboclo Society: An Essay on Invisibility and Peasant Economy''. Providence, RI: Berg.

Journal articles

* Murrieta, R. S. S., Dufour, D. L., & Siqueira, A. D. (1999). "Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil," ''Human Ecology, 27''(3), 455–475.

External links

Brazil 'rubber soldiers' fight for recognition
{{Multiethnicity Multiracial affairs in Brazil Métis Race in Brazil Traditional peoples in Brazil