The Karo, or Arara Karo, are an indigenous group of people who live in Brazil, state of Rondônia. The Gavião tribe, traditional enemies of the Karo, live inside the same reservation. The Karo counted 208 people in total in 2006. When referring to themselves the Kano call themselves "I'târap", which means "all of us".

Contact

The Karo were contacted at the end of the 1940s, when hundreds of them died because of diseases. The survivors went to live in rubber collector camps in the region. They became involved in a non-indigenous way of life, but their shamans are still recognized by all the Indians of the neighboring regions as being very powerful.

Language

The Karo speak their own native language which was previously known as Arara. The language belongs to the Ramarama family, part of the Tupi linguistic group. (Rodrigues, 1964)

Location

Traditionally the Karo have always lived in the area where they are today, the Lourdes Stream Indigenous Land, which they share with the Gavião tribe, their traditional enemies.

The area extends over about 190,000 square kilometers, and it was homlogated in 1986. Of this, one third is property of the Karo and two thirds is property of the Gavião.

External links

*Karo at socioambiental.org

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