The traditional populations living near the rivers and surviving on subsistence fishing, hunting, agriculture and extraction are known as ‘Ribeirinhos’. Because of the geography of the country, the majority of this population is in the Amazon. Besides the native populations, descendants of migrants from the Northeast of the country also make up this category.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, many North-easterners left their homelands and went to the Amazon seeking jobs offered by companies operating in latex extraction from rubber trees. In the 1950s, with the rubber crisis, as the collapse of the Brazilian latex market became known, rubber tappers, the name given to those who were involved in the extraction of this material, were left without alternatives to work. The absence of public policies that addressed the demobilization of this group of workers caused them to spread along the rivers of the Amazon rainforest, such as the Rio Negro and Amazon River, where they built their dwellings.
Because they live in an environment where the force of nature is ever-present, Ribeirinhos learned to live in an environment full of constraints and challenges posed by the river and the rainforest. The relationship of these people with the changes of nature caused them to adapt their daily lives, their way of living, and to seek new means for their livelihood.
Their dwellings are built of wood as the main construction alternative. Most of the houses are on stilts, have no electricity, running water and sanitation, and are located next to riverbanks. Built a few metres above the river level to avoid being inundated with water during floods, the stilt houses do have the technology to use boards to raise the floor during the flood season.
The river plays a key role in the lives of Ribeirinhos. It is through it that links are established between locations with the use of rafts and boats as the only means of transport. The river is their street. It is also where Ribeirinhos perform one of their main activities that gives them a source of income and survival: fishing.
Another source of income comes from extraction, such as mauve extraction, a very common plant in the Amazon River basin. Mauve has a fibre, removed at the time of harvest on riverbanks, which is used as raw material in the upholstery and fabric industry. Planting corn and cassava, the production of manioc flour and the collection of nuts and acai also occupy a prominent place in the agricultural activities of river communities.
The different relationship with nature makes Ribeirinhos keepers of a vast amount of knowledge on aspects of forest flora and fauna, the use of medicinal plants, the rhythm and paths of the waters, the sounds of the forest and the seasons of the land. This interaction feeds the culture and wisdom handed down from father to son.
However, Ribeirinho communities live in economic and social isolation, on the sidelines of a series of public policies and quality of life control mechanisms. The geographical situation of many of these communities is a major factor limiting access to basic health and education services.
Decree No. 6,040, on 7 February 2007, recognized the existence of traditional peoples and communities, among which are Ribeirinhos, establishing a national policy geared to the specific needs of these people – the National Policy of Development for Traditional Peoples and Communities (PNPCT).
Recife, 28 May 2014.
Translated by Peter Leamy, March 2015.
sources consulted
BRASIL. Decreto 6.040 de 7 de fevereiro de 2007. Available at: <http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2007/decreto/d6040.htm >. Accessed: 26 maio 2014.
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LIMA, Maria Aldecy Rodrigues de Lima; ANDRADE, Erika dos Reis Gusmão. Os Ribeirinhos e sua relação com os saberes. Revista Educação em Questão, Natal, v. 38, n. 24, p. 58-87, maio/ago. 2010. Available at: <http://www.periodicos.ufrn.br/educacaoemquestao/article/view/4027/3294>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
RIBEIRINHOS da Amazônia. In: PORTAL da Amazônia. Available at: <http://www.portalamazonia.com.br/secao/amazoniadeaz/interna.php?id=1013>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
how to quote this text
Source: MORIM, Júlia. Ribeirinhos [River Dwellers]. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Ex: 6 ago. 2009.