THE WAR OF THE ALPHABETS: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES BETWEEN THE ORAL AND THE WRITTEN A GUERRA DOS ALFABETOS: OS POVOS INDÍGENAS NA FRONTEIRA ENTRE O ORAL E O ESCRITO

Based on ethnographic fragments from linguistic res earch among the Taurepang, Macuxi, Wapichana and Kuikuro, conducted in distinct times, regions and situations, this article analyzes the conflict occurring betwee n orality and writing when the orthographization of an indigenous language transfo rms and crystallizes sounds and speech on sheets of paper. This is an open arena wh ere different representations and agents of writing emerge, interact and clash: missi onaries, researchers, agents of the state, indigenous teachers, indigenous preachers, t he indigenous community itself and so on. Here I approach writing more as a metaphor o r emblem than a simple technology of correspondences between codes. The article provi des, then, an interpretation of the meaning of writing that may help us to understand, among other things, the reasons behind the successes and failures of bilingual educ ation, literacy projects and the