The Zo'é people (also known as Zo'é or the Marrying tribe) are a native tribe in the State of Pará, Municipality of Óbidos, on the Cuminapanema River, Brazil. They are a Tupi–Guaranipeople.

Name

They are also known as the Poturu, Poturujara, or Buré. The term "Zo'é" means "us," as opposed to non-Indians or enemies. The term "Poturu" is the type of wood used to make embe'po labrets.

Language

The Zo'é language belongs to Subgroup VIII of the Tupi-Guarani language family.

Culture

All Zo'é wear the poturu, a wooden plug piercing the bottom lip. The Zo'é have a tradition where new fathers have the backs of their calves cut with the 'tooth of a small rodent'.
The marriage rituals of the Zo'é are complex and not fully understood. It is not known how many wives or husbands one is allowed to have. Many women practice polyandry, one or more husbands may be "learning husbands"; young men learning how to be good spouses, in exchange for hunting for the rest of the family.

In the state of Para, Northern Brazil, in one of the last still largely unexplored rainforests in the world, a new tribe, the Zo'é, was recently contacted. They live between the Amazon River and the country of Suriname. The Zo'é are part of the Tupi linguistic group. Little is known about them. They are semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers. Their favorite prey is monkey, which is plentiful in the region during the dry season. During the rainy season, the Zo'é rely on a root plant called manioc, which must be processed into flour to avoid its poisonous properties.

Brazilian officials have confirmed the existence of approximately 200 Indians who live in the western Amazon with no contact with the outside world.
This uncontacted tribe is not "lost" or unknown, according to tribal advocacy group Survival International. In fact, about 2,000 uncontacted Indians are suspected to live in the Javari Valley where the tribe's homes were seen from the air. But confirming the tribe's existence enables government authorities to monitor the area and protect the tribe's way of life.
In 2008, Survival International released photos of another uncontacted tribe near the Brazil-Peru border. The striking images revealed men aiming arrows skyward at the plane photographing them. Uncontacted Indian groups are aware of the outside world, a Survival International spokesperson told LiveScience at the time. But they chose to live apart, maintaining a traditional lifestyle deep in the Amazon forest. The latest images reveal that the newly confirmed tribe grows corn, peanuts, bananas and other crops.

Because the tribes are so isolated, contact with the outside world can be deadly. Survival International's website, http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/, tells the story of the uncontacted Zo'e tribe. When missionaries contacted the tribe in 1987, 45 Indians died of common diseases that they had never encountered and thus had no tolerance for, including the flu. In Peru, half of the previously uncontacted Nahua tribe died of disease after oil exploration began on their land in the 1980s.
Nearby oil exploration in Peru also threatens the newly confirmed tribe, Fabricio Amorim of Brazil's Indian Affairs Department said in a statement.
"Among the main threats to the well-being of these groups are illegal fishing, hunting, logging, mining, cattle ranching, missionary actions … and drug trafficking," Amorim said.