A busca guarani pela Terra sem Males: esperança escatológica ou ecológica?

Abstract

This article discusses the theme of the search for the Land without Evil (TSM), an element of Guarani cosmogony first presented in the academic field through the works of Curt Nimuendajú and Alfred Métraux. The objective of the discussion was to unveil its possible eschatological and/or ecological consequences. Therefore, the article is divided into three parts. Initially, Nimuendajú’s findings were revised to understand how they made the concept of TSM known in academic circles and how, after Métraux’s work, the symbolism of TSM was substantiated and widely generalized. Then, the second part presented the ideas of other authors who have relativized the initial hypotheses of the field, presenting other archaeological and ethnographic data. The third part presented the discourses of the indigenous peoples themselves, highlighting the contemporary understanding of TSM. Finally, the data gathered in the three sessions was discussed in order to understand its possible eschatological and/or ecological nature. As we have seen in this article, the Guarani search for the land where nobody dies has a complex symbolism in which the eschatological and ecological dimensions are often juxtaposed.