Puris in ihrer Hütte. Pl.3

Title

Puris in ihrer Hütte. Pl.3

View of a brasilian family, the Puri.The purí (also puri, puri-cororado) tribe lived along the northern coast of South America and in Brazil. They are not extinct but have mixed with people of Paraiba do Sul though last original groups were last found in the lowlands of the Mato Grosso. Both the German naturalist Maximilian von Wied-Neuwied and Burmeist describe the nomadic Puri of the 19th century. Burmeist states that their huts were very light habitations, built of palm tree leaves and "resembling bird cages", while Wied-Neuw speaks of their simplicity and lack of attachment to structures and land, valuing only few tools. With the deforestation resulting from the extensive coffee plantations of the time, the nomadic peoples of Brazil lost much of their space, and many the remaining Puri were forced to work in the farms, as domestic workers and, especially, as lumberjacks for the clearing of the forest and carrying of wood through the river, forming a cheap workforce for landowners.

ca. 1815

Artist

Wied-Neuwied