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Brazil. General Information on Culture. General Information. Amazon River runs about 4,080 miles across South America. There are about 15,000 tributaries. Do you know what a tributary is? A smaller river that flows into a larger one.
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Brazil General Information on Culture
General Information • Amazon River runs about 4,080 miles across South America. • There are about 15,000 tributaries. Do you know what a tributary is? A smaller river that flows into a larger one. • Every year approximately 20% of Earth’s fresh water flows through the Amazon.
There are some islands in the river that are larger than the country of Switzerland. • The water flow is so powerful that the water tastes fresh over 110 miles out to sea. • The river and rainforest are though to be home to 1/10 of the Earth’s plant and animal species.
Indians • Some Indian groups have been isolated and have never had contact with the world outside of their area of the jungle.
Rain Forest • Sometimes called the “Great Green Hell”. • You can fly over it in a plane for hours and never see anything but green. • Because of it’s location, the last ice age did not affect the forest. Things have been this way for the past 100 million years.
Poison Arrow Frog • So poisonous that local Indians just rubbed arrowheads across it’s back and arrows became poison tipped.
Rubber Tapping • Scrape the tree and sap begins to flow. • Sap is collected to make latex. • Thousands of people live deep in the jungle in order to tap rubber.
Capoeira • Unique to Brazil. • Developed in the slave days. • Fighting and fight training were outlawed for the slaves. • To hide their training, slaves developed this fight dance.
Special music from an instrument called the birumbow. • Capoeira is now taught in some places like Salvador and Rio de Janiero..
Philosophy of the sport is wisdom over force, strategy over speed. • Qualities of Good Capoeira: economy of movement relaxed body and alert mind play very close together.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu • Evolved from Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. • Count Koma (Count of Combat) brought from Asia. • Refined by Helio Gracie. • Evolved into Vale Tudo (No holds Barred fighting) • Gentle Combat.
Carnaval • Biggest party on Earth. • Rio de Janiero’s main event. • 4 day celebration. • Begins on Saturday and ends on Fat Tuesday coinciding with Mardi Gras. • Origins of Carnaval are unclear, but it is believed that it began as a Pagan religious ceremony in Ancient Greece or Rome.
In the late 19th and 20th century, Carnaval Balls were brought over from Italy. • Big street parties, food and celebration. • Queen of Carnaval is chosen every year. • Dresses are huge and elaborate, and are usually a part of the floats in the parade.