The brutality amongst cowboys and buffalos in the lower Araguari river – Amapá / Brazil

Abstract:

This article is based on original ethnographical research and discusses the activity of the cowboy in his work with the swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in an Amazonian lowland region. In order do stablish a dialogue with the current debate on the topic of domestication, I firstly describe some aspects of the cowboys’ work with the herds of buffaloes, such as dobrar, derrubar and the marking of the cattle. While presenting these activities, I highlight a term that constantly appears in the description that the cowboys make of the buffalos and of their work with them, the term brute. Thus, I emphasize the centrality of the expression brutidade (brutality) that the cowboys use in their understanding of the buffalo. I propose that this term is a concept that intermediates and guides the actions and interactions between the two beings. While doing so, the brutidade ultimately constitutes how the cowboy thinks about himself and his activity.

Keywords:
anthropology of the technique; buffalo; domestication; non-human animals