[Demographic profile of the Xavánte Indian population in Sangradouro-Volta Grande, Mato Grosso].
This paper analyzes the demographic profile of the Xavánte population at the Sangradouro-Volta Grande Indigenous Reserve in Mato Grosso, Brazil, from 1993 to 1997. The survey included annual censuses and vital statistics from 7 Xavánte villages. Permanent contact with Brazilian national society, established in the 1940s and 50s, caused a population drop due to epidemics and clashes. In 1995 there were 825 individuals in the community. The crude birth rate (57.7/1,000) and death rate (9.1/1,000) were higher than the national averages. The majority (56%) of the population is under 15 years of age (median: 13 years) and the infant mortality rate is high (87.1 per thousand live births), probably resulting from precarious sanitary conditions in the villages. Other results included the persistence of polygyny; low levels of migration; a dynamic of splits and formation of new villages; traditional housing patterns maintained in the old villages and abandoned in the new ones. The recent demographic recovery in the data from Sangradouro-Volta Grande is similar to that observed in the Pimentel Barbosa community. The study highlights the importance of systematically collecting and analyzing demographic data from indigenous populations.
Distrito Sanitário Especial Indígena Xavánte, Fundação Nacional de Saúde, Barra do Garças, MT, 78600-000, Brasil. lucienegsouza@uol.com.br
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001723:Birth Rate / Q000208:ethnology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality