Araçuaí

Araçuaí lies in the Jequitinhonha valley of northeastern Minas Gerais, where the smaller Araçuaí River meets the main waterway. Tocoió and Botocudo peoples inhabited the area before outsiders settled the river banks. Forest, game and the river supplied the basis of life, and canoe routes linked the valley to wider networks.

A mission village formed near the confluence, but a priest’s restrictions drove canoe crews to a landing on Luciana Teixeira’s farm in 1817. That new settlement became known as Calhau, from the smooth pebbles along the streams. It grew as a stopping place for travelers and canoeists and gained a reputation for cattle, farming, ironwork, pottery and leather. Canoe crews carried goods up and down the broad eastward Jequitinhonha, linking the landing with older local river towns and working farms.

The name Araçuaí perhaps recalls a Paulista exclamation over gold, while another explanation derives it from Tupi words for the araçoia plant and river. The confluence, the river landings and trade along the Jequitinhonha fixed the settlement’s role.