hysical features, like rivers, arroyos, ridges, hills, cataracts, and waterfalls, and those produced by human activity, like towns, villages, fazendas, and cities, are named after aspects of Campos Gerais history, nature, and the way of life of the population at different times. The oldest names, which appear in the first documentary records, have indigenous origins. A great part of the indigenous peoples inhabiting Paraná spoke languages belonging to the Tupi family, hence the names of the rivers Tibagi, Iapó, Pitangui, Piraí, Jaguariaíva, Capivari, Caniú, Cunhaporanga, Morungava, and many others.
Indigenous names reflect characteristics of the things named – plants, fruits, animals, rivers, mountains. “Vorá”, for example, the name of a river and an old fazenda, is a bee of the meloponini tribe; black with yellow designs, the bees make their hives in yellow trees or in the ground. The word also designates the propolis found in the hive. “Tucunduva” is the tucum palm, which produces edible fruit and is home to beetle larvae, a source of protein; its strong fiber is used in rope-making. “Taquara” is a kind of bamboo much used in making combs and baskets for holding cereals and transporting goods, appears in different situations: Rio Taquara, Rio do Taquaral (Castro), Arroio Taquara (Palmeira), Arroio Taquaruçu (Castro), Ribeirão Taquaruçu (Arapoti), Serra da Taquara (Castro e Tibagi). “Itaiacoca” is considered to be a variant of “taiacoca”, a field or plantation of taiás or taioba (arrowleaf elephant’s ear), a herbaceous plant of the araceae family whose leaves are edible. The word “cambiju” (“kamby” = milk + “ju” = yellow) names one of the oldest Ponta Grossa fazendas. It was obtained via sesmaria by Domingos Teixeira de Azevedo in 1713. The name was originally spelled “cahabaju”. In the Mbyá-Guarani there is the word “kavaju”, which means “horse”. The same language gives us “Carambeí”, the name of an affluent of the Pitangui River, and the region of the current municipality. The word means “river of the tortoise”.
Portuguese influence in Campos Gerais place names can be seen in the names of saints, such as Nossa Senhora da Conceição, São Domingos, São João, São Bento, which are names of old stopping places cited in sesmarias from the 18th century. There are also rivers and streams named after saints, like Santo Amaro and São Lourenço, among other.
Amparo, the name of a locale in the Tibagi municipality, might have originated in Nossa Senhora do Amparo (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), but it has been commonly attributed to the characteristic custom of the region, that of aiding the tropeiros when they arrived on their long journeys, and always having food and a resting place for them. Aparição, the name of a stream and a village, suggests a supernatural manifestation, the sudden appearance of an entity, specter or ghost; but it is also considered to be an alteration of the term Parição, a name given to the place where mares were led to give birth.
The place name Capão da Cilada (Grove of the Trap) appears on very old maps between Piraí e Castro. There is no record of the name’s origin. Open fields are not good places for ambushes, as one can see for kilometers in any direction, but a “capão” (from Tupi “caa” = woods, and “puó” or “puan” = round), an isolated grove in the middle of a field, could serve as a hiding place for a sudden attack, a settling of scores.
Ingrata (ungrateful female) is the name of an arroyo and a fazenda in Tibagi. The word suggests an ungrateful woman who has forgotten the good she has received, or who has not been a dedicated wife. Ingrata may also refer to a young woman who has not waited for the return of the tropeiro who is in love with her, and has married another man (this is a common assumption today). A slave who did not repect the conditions of his or her manumission was called ingrato or ingrata. In Campos Gerais, it was common for a slave to be freed with the condition that they serve till the master’s death; they were not really free till the closing of inventory. The manumission could be annulled because of ingratitude, according to Title 3 of the 4th book of Ordenações Filipinas (17th century). A slave was considered to be an ingrate if he or she wounded or tried to wound the master physically or verbally, or cause damage to the fazenda. Some such cases were described in testaments and inventories. Some have supposed that Ingrata may be derived from Engrácia, the name of a saint much worshipped in Portugal.
Natural characteristics are extremely common in Campos Gerais toponymy, especially in the names of waterways. For example, Roncador (Snorer) refers to a great resonance (ressono is a less common word for “snore”), a noise made by a strong water current or a big river; Cavernas refers to a deep hollow in an outcrop, mountain, or under the earth; and Socavão is the aumentativo of socava, underground cavity, shelter, den, grotto, sinkhole, secluded place, wilderness. Puga, a word no longer in use, means a slender, rigid mass terminating in a point like a thorn, a peak, a needle; the word is possibly associated with a geographical feature, and the place name Puga is found in some parts of Spain. Benfica, a term generally associated with the place name Guartelá, in which one inhabitant warns another against Indian attack: “guarda-te lá que cá bem fico” (very roughly: Get out of there, it’s safe here); it names an arroyo, a neighborhood and a colônia in the Palmeira municipality, and is also found as a place name in Portugal: Benfica is an old Lisbon parish.
Cattle raising and tropeirismo furnished many place names. Arrieiros (arrieiro is a driver of pack animals); Curral e Curralinho (corral); Invernada (enclosed pasture for holding cattle while they recuperate after long journeys); the derivative Invernadinha appears as the name of an arroyo. Ronda (cattle inspection in a specific place); Ferrador (farrier, a craftsman one who makes horseshoes, and shoes horses and pack animals); Lambedor (marshy, salty terrain where animals congregate to lick the ground for its salt); Pouso (place where tropeiros spend the night); Rincão (natural corral surrounded by forest or other natural features where cattle can be pastured safely), which appears in the compound names Rincão dos Buracos (Palmeira), Rincão do Meio (Tibagi), Rincão da Cigana e Rincão da Tapera (Castro), Rincão do Potreiro (Ponta Grossa), and Rincão da Serra (Jaguariaíva). In a region so full of rivers and arroyos, it was crucial to find places where passage is possible on foot or horseback. There are many places names which include the word Passo: Passo dos Touros (Piraí do Sul), Passo do Pupo (Ponta Grossa), Passo do Pugas (Palmeira), Passo da Samambaia (Castro), Rio Passo do Barro (Piraí do Sul), Ribeirão do Passo Liso (Carambeí).
Other terms related to the raising of cattle and other labor on the fazendas name arroyos and hills, like “cocho”(a trough, usually made of a hollowed trunk, which held food or water for the cattle), “monjolo” (a crude watermill used to pound maize), “cangalha” (a wooden rack used to balance loads on the backs of mules or other animals), and its variant,“quebra-cangalha”. Also: “cercado” (corral), “cancela” (gate), “estiva” (stowage), “porteira” (doorway), “piquete” (picket), “tabuão” (plank), and many others.
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