Damiana da Cunha: Uma liderança política feminina no século XIX

Abstract

This article is a bibliographical review that aims to present the trajectory of Damiana da Cunha, a Caiapó Indian who played an important political role in Goiás, between the 18th and 19th centuries. To this end, historical documents and articles were used (Saint-Hilaire, 1975; Geraldin, 2000; Julio, 2015; Coelho, 2016; Lapidus, 2020; Mano, 2021; IBGE, 2023). After numerous unsuccessful attempts at clashes between non-indigenous people and Caiapós over land ownership and a quantitative decline of these people, an attempt was made to establish a policy of pacification of the indigenous people in Goiás. In this context, Damiana da Cunha emerged, missionary, backcountry leader, defender of her Caiapó relatives. Her journey represented an important milestone in colonial history, as Damiana da Cunha's performance of work activities, which were recognizably masculine, broke with the European image of submission and provided opportunities for women to act in society. The Kayapo leader proved to everyone, through her journey, that there were reasons for her people to trust her political actions regardless of her gender. In this way, Damiana da Cunha, woman, Indian and political leader, was a representative of her original peoples, who broke the invisibility of indigenous women in the State of Goiás in times of a patriarchal society.