Caprãm-pohti, a Tartaruga da Amazônia (Podocnemis Expansa) no universo cultural dos indígenas Krahô da aldeia Takaywrá, porção norte do rio Formoso – Tocantins/Brasil

Abstract

This research was carried out with the Krahô indigenous people of the village Takaywrá who live near the river Formoso, in the municipality of Lagoa da Confusão / Tocantins. Its main objective is to understand how these people perceive the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa) as an animal of its socio- biodiversity, as well as to verify the utilitarian, cultural and environmental importance of this animal. This is a study with a qualitative and quantitative descriptive approach, based on ethnographic and ethnobiological methods with methodology anchored in an interview with a semi-structured script and direct observation of the presence or absence of the animal at selected points in the river. The data obtained were tabulated, analyzed and discussed. The results revealed that the indigenous people of this community try to maintain their customs, fight for the rescue of their mother tongue and the conquest of their definitive territory. It also has strong interaction with the turtles using them, for a different purpose. It was found that these animals have decreased significantly from the beaches near the village in recent years, especially during the spawning period. However, they recognize that there is a need for reflections and changes in the behavior of indigenous and non-indigenous people about the effects of their actions and the way in which this species is conserved, which is important forthe culture of these indigenous people and for the local biodiversity.