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The Peabiru Trail

The Peabiru Trail

Peabiru-header

The Tupi-Guarani say that, in time immemorial, they lived in a magnificent place where peace reigned, ‘arrows hunted alone’, where there was no evil, no sadness, no death and everyone was happy. It was the Land Without Evil. One day, however, the men who lived there disrespected the rules and were expelled.

The Tupi Guarani originated in the central Amazon region and, around the fourth century BCE, they began an epic migratory journey. A part of these indigenous people went towards the south and east of the continent, giving rise to many Guarani ethnicities such as the ñandevas, kaiowás and the mbyás (in the central-west, southeast and southern regions of Brazil) and many others with Tupi ancestry such as the tamoios, carijós, goitacazes and the aimorés on the Atlantic coast of the southeast region.

The Tupi Guarani originated in the central Amazon region and, around the fourth century BCE, they began an epic migratory journey. A part of these indigenous people went towards the south and east of the continent, giving rise to many Guarani ethnicities such as the ñandevas, kaiowás and the mbyás (in the central-west, southeast and southern regions of Brazil) and many others with Tupi ancestry such as the tamoios, carijós, goitacazes and the aimorés on the Atlantic coast of the southeast region.

When the Europeans landed here, these ethnicities were in a process of booming territorial expansion, despite the conflicts among them.

We may list many reasons for this migration, but there is a fundamental one that was at the center of the Tupi-Guarani collective imaginary: to find the Land Without Evil from which they had been expelled one day.

And in order to get there they would have built a trail, a kind of spiritual route that began at the city of São Vicente, cutting through the states of São Paulo and Paraná in Brazil, going towards Asunción in Paraguay. From there this road connected to the road network of the Inca empire, going up the Andes Mountains to its capital, Cusco, currently Peru, and then to the Pacific Ocean. It was the Peabiru Trail.

Trail of the Sun (from east to west), back and forth, beaten trail or crushed trail, trail to Peru, there is no definite translation for its name. The fact is that Peabiru became one of the most important transcontinental routes of the entire pre-Columbian America, as it connected a myriad of peoples and villages, allowing the circulation of people, cultural and merchandise exchanges. Its origin, however, is connected to a mystical, sacred search as it would, somehow, allow the connection with the world of opulence, freedom and immortality.

It was still in the beginning of the XVI century that Europeans began to hear the indigenous people tell stories about Peabiru, slowly and in a very diffuse way (the trail was part of their deepest beliefs and was, therefore, a secret).

Those tales were not very encouraging, however, as they also mentioned it was a trail that crossed the territory of many indigenous ethnicities who would do anything to prevent foreigners from passing through their lands.

Peabiru really attracted the attention of the Portuguese and the Spanish as they disputed the land below the Tropic of Capricorn for a long time. The settlers found out that there were two ways to access the center of South America: by navigating the Río de la Plata, Paraguay and Paraná rivers, or through Peabiru. Controlling these routes was strategic to reach the Inca Empire and its legendary mountain of silver, Potosí.

Meanwhile, the Jesuits approached the Indians in an attempt to catechize them. Their strategy was to get to know the indigenous cultures in order to convert them. And that’s how they came to know about an important character for the history of Peabiru.

Sumé, Zumé, Pay Sumé, Tumé… these are some of the names of the mythical character who, according to legend, came from the sea with his gray beard and gray hair, fair skin and wearing a tunic. Sumé taught the Tupis agriculture, established rules for life in society and would have opened the Peabiru Trail, among other feats. In the Missionary Fathers’ view, such characteristics made him rather similar to a very important character in Christianity, Saint Thomas, the “Apostle of India”, who would have come to the Americas with the goal of evangelizing, many centuries before the European conquerors. That was the belief of priests Manuel da Nóbrega and Antônio Vieira, for example. All conditions found among indigenous people led the missionairies to believe that it would be possible to catechize them by trying to merge the figures of St. Thomas and Sumé. So much so that the clergymen began to call Peabiru “The trail of St. Thomas.

In this context, we may add the myth of the Land Without Evil to the belief spread throughout Western Europe that the biblical Eden existed physically somewhere in the Atlantic. The description of the wonders found in America by European explorers fomented the collective imaginary of this people: had Paradise been found? Was there a sacred trail to reach it? During those early days of European conquest there was a mix of expectations for riches, possessions and spiritual salvation.

With the passing of time, the extinction of indigenous ethnic groups, and the advance of agriculture, cities, and roads, the Peabiru Trail eventually disappeared and many began to doubt its existence. It almost became a legend. A few decades ago, however, it was proved that it actually existed.

This is a brief history of the road that was much more than a means of connecting regions, becoming a symbol of the search for an ideal place and collaborating with the cultural syncretism of European and indigenous elements, and, definitively, contributing to the formation of one of the most striking characteristics of the Brazilian imagination: the belief in a better future.

Bibliography:

CHAUÍ, Marilena. O mito fundador do Brasil. Folha de São Paulo, March 26, 2000. Available at https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/mais/fs2603200003.htm

HOLLANDA, Sérgio Buarque de. Visão do Paraíso. São Paulo, Brasiliense Publifolha, 1994. Available in PDF https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/5502207/mod_resource/content/1/HOLANDA%2C%20S%C3%A9rgio%20Buarque%
20de.%20Vis%C3%A3o%20do%20Para%C3%ADso.pdf

NAVARRO, Eduardo de Almeida. Terra sem Mal, o paraíso tupi-guarani. Available at https://tupi.fflch.usp.br/sites/tupi.fflch.usp.br/files/NAVARRO,%20E.A.%20A%20terra%20sem%20mal,%20o%20par%C3%
A1iso%20tupi%20guarani..pdf

CAVALCANTE, Thiago Leandro Vieira. Apropriações e Influências do Mito do Pay Sumé na Evangelização feita pelos Jesuítas na América do Sul nos séculos XVI e XVII. Available at https://anpuh.org.br/uploads/anais-simposios/pdf/2019-01/1548206573_0b31c8a34a2a7856ddb71bda68a038a4.pdf

NEVES, Walter, BERNARDO, Danilo V., OKUMURA, Mercedes, ALMEIDA, Tatiana F. de, STRAUSS, André M. Origem e dispersão dos tupis-guaranis: o que diz a morfologia craniana? Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 2006. Available at https://www.scielo.br/j/bgoeldi/a/nfVcBnD7zpgwzfznddh4S3r/?lang=pt&format=html#

Caminho do Peabiru, de Lá para Cá. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SojNJmu4NM

http://wibajucm.blogspot.com/2011/05/peaberu-o-sagrado-caminho-de-sao-thome.html

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Hello !

Welcome to the internal Home Page of the PRÓ-VIDA website. In this environment you will find information about our movement, such as the activities calendar, news and content that may be of interest to you.

Where to find the activities?

You will find the activities calendar right at the top of the home page and, to see all the available activities, just click on “See full calendar”.

The activities are organized by language, time zone, modality (in person, online, or remote in-center), and categories:

  • BAS, AV1 and INT weeks
  • Exercises and Training
  • Lectures and Talks
  • Advanced Levels
  • CGD (General Center for the Tithe)
  • Departments

What activities can I participate in?

You will be able to participate in all available activities, according to your level. They are identified in the calendar by a stripe with the color of the level, on the left side of the activity name.

Basic Level

Every Monday, online Basic Level activities are available. They are offered in four languages ​​(Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and English) and different time zones.

In addition, starting at the Basic Level, you will be able to participate in all the activities identified with the following colors:

Weeks, lectures and exercises aimed at participants from the Basic Level and up.

Here you can find activities such as Keeping in Touch, celebrations, and ceremonies.

Activities carried out by PRÓ-VIDA Departments, such as lectures, presentations and studies.

Check the calendar for upcoming activities and check their times.

Advanced 1​ Level

Activities for the Advanced 1 Level and up are also available for those who have completed that level

Weeks, lectures, exercises and talks for participants from Advanced 1 Level and up.

Introduction Level

For those at the Introduction Level, also the following activities are available:

Weeks, lectures, exercises, and talks for participants from the Introduction Level and up.

Activity for all PRÓ-VIDA participants, starting at the Introduction Level.

Advanced 2SC Level

From Advanced 2 Level and up, the following activities are also available:

Weeks, lectures, exercises and talks for participants from the Advanced 2SC Level and up.

How to browse the site?

Navigate through the pages and contents of the site by clicking the links on the top golden bar or the “hamburger button” (≡), located in the upper left corner.

In addition to content and articles on various topics, you will be able to access some important areas for your participation in the activities:

Online Activities: It’s the place where you will access the activities that will be transmitted in the online modality.

Participant’s Area: It gathers information about your registration and your level in PRÓ-VIDA.

Need help?

If you need help, or to clarify any questions, contact our support by e-mail: foundation.secretary@provida.net.

Modalities of PRÓ-VIDA activities

In-person

Presenter in-center

Participants in-center

This is a live activity carried out in one of the PRÓ-VIDA Centers with both the presenter and the enrolled participants attending in-person.

Remote in-center

Remote presenter

Participants in-center

The activity is transmitted live from one of the PRÓ-VIDA studios to several Centers where the participants are attending in-person. It allows the presenter and the participants to interact despite the fact that the presenter is in a remote location. 

Online

Online presenter

Online participants

The activity is transmitted live from one of the PRÓ-VIDA studios and enables interaction between participants and the presenter in a virtual environment.

To learn more about the modalities, talk to a PRÓ-VIDA representative by chat or email secretaria@provida.net (for Brazil residents) or foundation.secretary@provida.net (for residents in other countries).

SEG    SEX

22-26

NOV    NOV

Online

Semana de Avançado 1

PT

Será transmitido nos idiomas e horários locais:

PORTUGUÊS - COM INTERAÇÃO

Segunda a sexta-feira

às 20h30*

Hora de São Paulo

*A atividade tem duração aproximada de 3 horas.

Para saber como participar, clique abaixo.

MON    FRI

06-10

DEC    DEC

Online

Semana de Introdução

PT

It will be transmitted in the following language ​​and times:

PORTUGUESE - WITH INTERACTION

Monday to Friday

at 8:30 p.m.*

Time Zone: (UTC-03:00) Brasilia

*The activity lasts approximately 3 hours.

To find out how to participate, click below.

No registrations will be made on the weekend before the activity, or in the week it takes place.

SEG    SEX

25-29

OUT    OUT

Online

Semana de Avançado 1

PT

Será transmitido nos idiomas e horários locais:

PORTUGUÊS - COM INTERAÇÃO

Segunda a sexta-feira

às 20h30*

Hora de São Paulo

*A atividade tem duração aproximada de 3 horas.

Para saber como participar, clique abaixo.

SEG    DOM

08-14

NOV    NOV

Online

Semana de Básico

PT

Será transmitido nos idiomas e horários locais:

PORTUGUÊS - COM INTERAÇÃO

Segunda a sexta-feira

às 20h30*

Sábado

às 14h30*

Domingo

às 10h00*

Hora de São Paulo

*A atividade tem duração aproximada de 3 horas.

Para saber como participar, clique abaixo.

*Para repetição oficial, participantes que estão retornando ou em R.A., em breve mais informações.

Requisitos técnicos indispensáveis

Gostaríamos de informar que, para a participação no Básico on-line, são indispensáveis os seguintes requisitos mínimos:

Computador (Windows/Mac)

Computador com câmera integrada ou conectada por entrada USB.

As atividades não poderão ser assistidas por nenhum outro dispositivo, tais como celulares, smartphones e tablets ou computadores com outros sistemas operacionais.

Especificações e Sistema Operacional

• Processador: Intel Core i3, i5 e i7 – 3100 Series , ou superior.

• Memória RAM: 4GB, ou superior.

• Sistema Operacional:

• Windows 7 com todas as atualizações, ou versão superior (somente 64 bits).

• MacOS 10.15 Catalina, ou versão superior.

Verifique as configurações de seu computador Windows clicando aqui.

Como verificar suas especificações no Mac? Clique aqui.

Fones de ouvido com microfone (headset)

Modelos homologados para uso com nossa plataforma.

Consulte a lista de headsets homologados:

Internet

Banda larga com conexão estável, com no mínimo 10MB de download e 4MB de upload.

Como verificar sua banda de internet? Clique aqui para testa-la.

* Os requisitos técnicos poderão ser atualizados. Acompanhe aqui eventuais alterações.

Fones de ouvido homologados

Marca

Modelo

Tipo

Bose

Quiet Comfort 35 Stereo

USB e Bluetooth

Dell

Pro Stereo Headset UC150

USB

Jabra

BLZ 2400 II

USB

Jabra

Evolve 20 MS

USB

Jabra

Evolve 75

USB e Bluetooth

Jabra

UC Voice 550a MS Mono

USB

JBL

Everest Elite 750NC Stereo

Bluetooth

Logitech

Headset H390

USB

Logitech

Stereo H650e

USB

Microsoft

LifeChat LX-3000

USB

Microsoft

LifeChat LX-6000

USB

Plantronics

Blackwire 320

USB

Plantronics

Blackwire 3220 Series

USB

Plantronics

Blackwire C220

USB

Plantronics

Audio 628 USB

USB

Samsung

USBC Headset

USB

Sony

WH-CH700N

USB

Sony

Headset Pulse 7.1

USB

Sony

WH-XB900N

Bluetooth

Atualização: 11.06.2021

Regras de conduta para prevenção da COVID-19

Uso de Máscaras

Cobrindo a boca e o nariz. Usar o tempo todo.
Evitar tocar a boca, o nariz e os olhos.

Distanciamento

Mínimo de 2 metros

Mãos

Lavar frequentemente ou higienizar com álcool em gel.

Etiqueta Respiratória

Ao espirrar ou tossir, proteger a boca e o nariz com o cotovelo, ou usar lenço descartável.

Sintomas

Se apresentar sintomas, ficar em casa e buscar atendimento médico.