Xingu Culture and Games Festival Mobilizes the Largest Indigenous Diversity in Pará in Altamira
More than 900 indigenous people participate in the cultural and sports celebration with the support of the Government of Pará and partnership with SEPI in valuing the culture of the peoples of the region
The city of Altamira hosts, from July 16 to 20, the first edition of the Xingu Indigenous Culture and Games Festival, a unique event that will bring together more than 900 indigenous people from 14 ethnicities, promoting a great meeting of cultures, traditional sports, and collective identity. The festival will be held at the Games Arena, on the Cais waterfront, and at the Municipal Stadium "O Bandeirão".
The initiative reaffirms the prominence of the Médio Xingu region, which concentrates the largest diversity of indigenous peoples in the state, and is supported by the Government of Pará and the Secretary of Indigenous Peoples (SEPI), among other institutions.
Povos do Xingu and guests
The confirmed ethnicities are Arara, Xipaya, Kuruaya, Asurini, Xikrin, Kayapó, Parakanã, Araweté, and Juruna, all from the Médio Xingu region. The event will also feature invited ethnicities, such as the Gavião Kyikatejê, Xikrin do Cateté, among other indigenous delegations from Pará.
“We are here in Altamira with relatives from the region and also from other regions, to get to know each other better, show our culture, our tradition, our dance, our customs. In each modality, we have a competition, but the most important thing is to show our culture. A living culture to maintain, value, and pass on to our youth, to keep our culture alive. This is very important for us, for our people, and also for the world, to keep our culture alive,” explained Bebere Xikrin from the Xikrin people of the Trincheira-Bacajá Indigenous Land.
The program includes modalities such as archery, log running, spear throwing, canoeing, soccer, relay race, swimming, and tug of war, in addition to cultural presentations, an indigenous couple parade, and musical shows.
“This festival is a living expression of the strength and diversity of the indigenous peoples of our region. It is a moment of pride, of affirmation of the cultures, languages, and knowledge that shape Pará. Celebrating these identities is essential to strengthen the future of new indigenous generations,” highlighted the Secretary of State for Indigenous Peoples, Puyr Tembé.
Culture, sport, and public policy
The festival is promoted through the State Program for Cultural Incentive (Semear), of the Cultural Foundation of Pará (FCP) and the Secretary of Tourism (Setur). It is sponsored by the City Hall of Altamira, Equatorial Energia, and Belo Sun Mining, and supported by SEPI, FUNAI, DSEI Altamira, and various municipal secretariats.
Each delegation will consist of 65 people, including athletes, elders, youth, and children, representing their communities in an environment of exchange, respect, and strengthening of collective identity.
The official mascot of the event — a jaguar with a headdress and traditional graphics — symbolizes the connection between nature, strength, and the living culture of the Amazonian indigenous peoples.
Text: Jaelta Souza
