Paraguayan War

The beginnings of the Paraguayan War caused a violent outbreak between Paraguay, the Brazilian Empire, Uruguay, and the Triple Alliance of Argentina. This conflict had substantial impacts on indigenous peoples in the Brazilian region. The Terena people are noted to have fought jointly with Brazilian military forces during the late 1860's, and sustained substantial losses and attacks on their territories from adversarial troops.^[3] The war caused significant land disruption in the region of the Miranda and Aquidauana rivers, causing indigenous populations there, including the Terena, to disperse.^[4] As inhabitants of that region, the Terena fled into near, densely forested regions until the official establishment of their land borders in the early twentieth century.

Land Establishment

Under the establishment of the Serviço de Proteção aos Índios (SPI) in 1910, the state of Mato Grosso requested official Terena Indigenous reserves. Two of these, deemed Cachoeirinha and Taunay, were granted by the state government. Under this agreement, the Terena people were placed under a reservation-like system.^[7] In this system, the Terena were designated about 2,000 hectares, a decrease from their original 17,000 hectares of land in the region.^[8] In 1988, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Brazil, featuring a new declaration that, within 5 years of the provision's creation, traditional ancestral lands would be returned to groups of Brazilian indigenous populations.^[9] However, modern-day tensions have grown as many lands have yet to be returned.

Demography

Over the course of the past three centuries, the Terena have experienced notable demographic shifts. Among Brazilian indigenous groups, the Terena are one of the few that have actually experienced growth in population numbers. When they migrated into Brazilian territory in the mid 1840s, the Terena population consisted of approximately 3,000 individuals.^[16] A century later, in 1950, they numbered 3,800. Data^{[clarification needed]} notes that 30 years later in the 1980s, they numbered 12,000. Demographically speaking, a large number of the causes of death prior to the mid 20th century were infectious diseases, namely tuberculosis.

Agriculture

In terms of sustenance, the Terena have long been an agriculturally focused society.^[18] Principal traditional crops include cassava, rice, beans, maize, potatoes, and sugarcane. Both men and women have historically been accepted as food gatherers in society, a tradition that holds true to this day. The food they gather not only serves as sustenance for the Terena themselves, but is also a source of economic profit. The Terena sell the excess crops from harvests in the Mato Grosso do Sul center. This is easily accessible nearly daily for the Terena people to travel to by train.

Aside from harvesting crops, cattle-raising has also become a prominent feature among Terena farm lands.^[19] However, given the land limitations of the reserves, it is noted that cattle-raising has also become a source of internal conflict among the Terena. Other livestock are also present among Terena farms and households, including chickens and pigs.

Crafting

The Terena also have traditional crafting activities, namely pottery and spinning cotton to form items like belts, hammocks, etc.^[20] Pottery is still one of the principal crafting practices in the culture today, with many Terena individuals creating pottery for themselves and to sell.

Marriage & Relationships

Historically, marriage and romantic relationships between those who are direct blood relatives, or "consanguineal" kin, are not permitted among the Terena.^[21] As their culture has been continually influenced by Christianity and Christian principles, monogamy has become the typical nature of marriage among the Terena.^[22] Further, maternal parents, or parents of the bride, control much of the partner or suitor selection process. Also, the Terena society is a patrilocal one.^[23] This means that it is a societal standard among the Terena that young married couples go to live in the husband's father's home post-marriage. This usually lasts the first couple years of marriage until the newly married couple births children, after which they will establish a new residence.