Hunting Practices Among the Indigenous “Truká” in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to provide information on hunting in the Semi-arid Northeast counting the hunting practices of the Truká Indigenous people. These pieces of information were obtained through interviews, using semi-structured questionnaires with fifty-five Indigenous hunters, distributed in four Truká villages located in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco. Thirty-nine poultries, thirteen mammals, and seven reptiles commonly captured the Truká have been cited. Out of the total number, forty-five (42.3%) were used for feeding. Species used as pets (n=20), in magic rituals (n=1), in traditional medicine (n=11), in local handicraft (n=23) and in control hunting (n=6) have also been quoted. Among those species, only one is listed as endangered, to say, Anodorhynchus leari, and one vulnerable, Leopardus tigrinus. Among the interviewees, the common hunting techniques are trap, hatch, pitfall, lasso, hunting net, rifle, slingshot, hook, besides handgrip and dog hunting. The awareness of local perception in the usage of wild fauna is fundamental for decision making in the elaboration of projects for the conservation and management of local fauna, aiming both the maintenance and the continuity of access to this natural resource.