The emergence of indigenous livestock: cattle ranching among the Kurâ-Bakairi in the cerrados of Mato Grosso

Abstract

The Kurâ-Bakairi in the state of Mato Grosso are one of the few Amerindian groups in Brazil in which cattle ranching has been established with relative success. This article discusses the possible reasons for this successful introduction of livestock among this Karib-speaking people: the analysis of cattle ranching there interrogates the trajectory of the introduction of these animals, which had a direct impact on their history and economics. It is hoped to advance the understanding of the ways in which cattle are incorporated within a framework of multiple forms of livestock farming in the interior of the country – among them, what we can call the variety of indigenous cattle ranching –, going beyond the narratives that support a path that goes from traditional methods of ranching to the agribusiness, which is thought of as a unique model for cattle ranching.