METAFÍSICA, EPISTEMOLOGIA E A CONDIÇÃO POLÍTICA DOS INDÍGENAS CAETÉS

A Lágrima de um Caeté de Nísia Floresta como poema republicano revolucionário

Abstract

This work results from the studies that allowed us to make the first translation of the poem A Tear of a Caeté, by Nísia Floresta, into English. Taking into account the secondary literature on the poem, almost exclusively coming from literary criticism, we analyzed the poem so as to make explicit the philosophical questions that are mobilized in the text. In this way, we will present the historical context of the poem and then argue for two central points: first, that the poem has to be considered a turning point on the development of Nísia Floresta’s works, second, that the poem has to be understood as a document on the political conditions of the Indigenous Caetés that describes central issues on amerindian metaphysics and epistemologies. With respect to metaphysics, we have in the poem the presence of a river as a source of memories and the possibility of communication with forest spirits. With respect to the epistemology, the poem brings about a non-traditional knowledge paradigm, insofar as the entities that appear in the moment of vision that reveal the best way to act, instead of rational investigation; the entities are  then fundamental for the decision-making process.