A body marked to resist before dying: ‘Tybyra, a Brazilian indigenous tragedy’, by Juão Nyn

Abstract

Tybyra: uma tragédia indígena contemporânea is a play published by the Potiguara indigenous writer Juão Nyn in 2020. The work stems from a critical reinterpretation of the work Viagem ao norte do Brasil feita nos anos de 1613 a 1614by French clergyman Yves d'Evreux, a member of an expedition to Maranhão. In this intertextual dialogue, we analyze the processes of composing the tragedy, highlighting the narrative paths that lead the character Tybyra to death. The study shows that his body is marked for death because he is considered impure, homosexual, and classified as a sodomite by the colonial and Christian gaze. However, before being just a condemned body, Tybyra appears as a body destined for resistance, confronting the colonial system, European values, and religious impositions on indigenous customs, identities, and ways of life. Thus, the play constructs a powerful reflection on violence, intolerance, cultural erasure, and coloniality, while at the same time claiming memory, dignity, and the right to exist.