User:Loser108/Old Tupinamba

The Old Tupi language was spoken by the Native Brazilians, or the Tupinamba, prior to the Portuguese colonization. The Tupinamba were nomadic, traveling along the coast of what today is Brazil. The descendants of the Tupinamba still exist today, but the official language has gone extinct. It is currently unknown how many of them are in Brazil, but the official number is around 3,000.

History
The Old Tupi language was the language of the Tupinamba, or Tupi for short. They were the first group of Natives that the Portuguese encountered when they first arrived in Brazil. They were constantly traveling from region to region, living on the land and never leaving any signs of residence. They were known to remain on the coast, hence why the Portuguese encountered them first. This language was eventually spoken by the Portuguese settlers and the African Slaves who came with them. The language survived for as long as it did due to the blending of the natives and the Portuguese. These were known as caboclos, or Indian European. The African slaves also learned Tupi and most of Brazil did until the late 18th century. The language was then dispersed by the branching of the Tupinamba to other regions of Brazil. Eventually the language died out as a result of new settlers and most people not being taught the language. Its descendants are still in existence today and speak some form of the original language, but not the original itself..

Cannibalism
There are rumors that the Tupinamba were cannibalistic and warlike. According to the works of Hans Staden, who claims he was held captive by these barbaric natives in 1557. He was stranded in Brazil for ten months, and was being constantly harassed by these natives. This is however argued by Williams Arens in 1979. He states that Hans was more than likely trying to help Europeans campaign of violence against the natives as a justification for their cruelty towards them. They enslaved the natives and killed most of them with their diseases. Those who survived fled to the Amazon where the Europeans were fearful of the jungle.

Jesuits
By the early 18th century, the Tupi, or Lingua Geral was spoken by the Bandeirantes, the Tupi, and the Jesuits. One in four spoke the Lingua Geral, but that would change when Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo Marques de Pombal rose to power in Portugal. The Jesuits were enemies to Pombal and the interests of the Portuguese, so he wanted to end them. They were protected by the Tupi natives, so Pombal expelled them from Brazil. He then preceded to end the tradition of speaking Tupi, and so the language eventually died out as a result.

Language
Tupinambá (4) a. a-i-nupã 1sg-3-bater ‘Eu bati nele’ b. a-bebé 1sg-voar ‘Eu voei c. xe-nupã 1sg-bater Ele me bateu’ d. xe-marangatu 1sg.-bom ‘Eu sou bom’

There are three main branches of the Tupinamba language, Tupinamba Maranhao, Tupinamba Bahia, and Tupinamba Rio de Janeiro