Nheengatu - conquest to resistance

Nheengatu – from conquest to resistance in the Amazon

Graham Douglas

Portuguese director Jose Barahona made this documentary as a different way to understand the indigenous peoples of Amazonia, through the language they speak: Nheengatu. He travelled with his crew on boats along the Rio Negro in northern Amazonia, stopping at villages to talk to the people living there. Edson, a key figure in the film, used to be a teacher of the language, and was the person who introduced the film crew to people at each stopping point. The journey evokes some scepticism by the Indians who are used to being exploited by the white man, although so far, mining has not encroached on this area.

Nheengatu is a mixed language based on Portuguese and the indigenous Tupi language, which was developed by the colonizers as they moved inland after arriving in Brazil in the 16th Century. Its use peaked in the 18th Century and then declined as the colonizers tried to re-assert Portuguese as a means of control, and now is used mostly in the area of the Rio Negro.

The director’s previous work includes the films I was in Lisbon and thought of you (2016), and Alma Clandestina (2018), and he feels a close relationship with Brazil.

Latinolife spoke to José after his new film opened the DocLisboa film festival in Lisbon.

This is the intro, the full interview with photos can be accessed here:

https://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/nheengatu-conquest-and-resistance-amazon