Photo credit: Isis Medeiros
I've talked about this in previous posts, but I wanted to dedicate one specifically to the creation of these two flags: Tibira and Çacoaimbeguira.
As some of you know, I'm Brazilian and Indigenous from the Potiguara people. What many people don't know is that some Indigenous peoples in Brazil had their own ways of understanding gender long before colonization.
Today, these identities are being reclaimed by Indigenous LGBT people, especially among peoples of the Tupi linguistic family. Tibira and Çacoaimbeguira are associated with Tupinambá traditions, but because the Potiguara are also part of the Tupi family, some Potiguara people identify as Tybyra or Çacoaimbeguira as well. I personally identify as Tybyra.
Before talking about the flags themselves, here's a brief explanation of each identity.
Tibira is a historical figure documented during the colonial period.
According to interpretations by Indigenous researchers and collectives, Tibira may be understood as a man who had relationships with other men, or as a person who lived with a feminine gender identity or expression, challenging the norms imposed by colonizers.
Their story is remembered as an example that gender and sexual diversity already existed among Indigenous peoples long before colonization.
Accounts of the Tupinambá people mention the çacoaimbeguiras.
According to interpretations by Indigenous researchers and collectives, they may be understood as women who had relationships with other women, or as people who lived with a masculine gender identity or expression outside the norms imposed by colonization.
Their existence shows that diverse ways of experiencing gender and sexuality were already part of Indigenous societies long before the imposition of European models.
Both flags were created by me as artistic interpretations inspired by these histories and by the ongoing efforts of Indigenous LGBT people to reconnect with their cultures, ancestors, and ways of understanding identity.
Reference : Duplo Orgulho: LGBTQIAPN+ indígenas no Brasil
Diversity Before Colonization
Long before colonization, many Indigenous peoples recognized ways of experiencing gender and sexuality that did not fit into rigid categories of man and woman.
Nádleehi, Winkte, Lhamana, Sipiniq, Biakara, Kyrypy-meno, Kudina, Hawakyni, Takatāpui, and Māhū are just a few examples....
Each people has its own history, language, and way of understanding these experiences.
Diversity is not a recent phenomenon. What is often recent are the words we use today to talk about it.
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