Geraizeiro are the traditional inhabitants of the cerrados regions of northern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

state, in the Southeast region of Brazil.

Etymology

This term derives from the fact that in the north of this state and in the cerrado regions they are known as ''Gerais'', a contraction of ''Matos Gerais'' (general bushes). The first name of Minas Gerais was ''Capitania das Minas dos Matos Gerais'', that is, Captaincy of the Mines in the General Bushes. "Mines" here refers to the mining of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

; "general bushes" refers to

cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

and, near the border with

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

.''Geraizeiro'' can also be called ''catrumano'', ''baianeiro'', ''abaianado''. ''Geraizeiro'' is also the name of the

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 ...

accent in the north of Minas Gerais. The central and east regions of the state speak ''

mineiro Mineiro (), Mineirês, or the Brazilian mountain accent () is the Portuguese language, Brazilian Portuguese term for the accent spoken in the center, East and Southeast regions of the state of Minas Gerais. Etymology The term is also the demo ...

''. South and west Minas Gerais speak ''

caipira Caipiras ( in Caipira dialect) are the traditional population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Later, with the expansion of São Paulo's influence to other regions of the country, other states also had Caipiras in their localities, like Go ...

''.

Recognition

In 2007, the traditional peoples, among them the geraizeiro, were recognized by the

Government of Brazil The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided into 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided into th ...

, which through the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of these Communities (PNPCT), expanded the recognition partially made in the 1988 Constitution, adding to the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

quilombolas A ''quilombola'' () is an Afro-Brazilian resident of '' quilombo'' settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. They are the descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until ab ...

and other traditional peoples.

Commemoration

Since 2011, it is celebrated annually on December 8 (day of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

liturgical feast The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

Immaculate Conception of Our Lady) the Day of the Gerais, with celebration in the municipality of

Matias Cardoso Matias Cardoso is a municipality in the north of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Geography Matias Cardoso is located on the right bank of the São Francisco River. It is 10 km. south of Manga and is 72 km. northwest of Jaíba. As of 2020 ...

, founded by the

bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Januário Almeida and his son, Matias Cardoso de Almeida. The date was the initiative of state representative Paulo Guedes (not the minister). The date was chosen because it is the day of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the municipal

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, built in 1664.

References

{{morecat, date=September 2024 Minas Gerais Indigenous peoples in Brazil Traditional peoples in Brazil