2019-04-19 Fri

Observed annually on April 19 in Brazil, the "Indian Day" or Dia do Indio is celebrated to recognize and honour the indigenous peoples of Brazil.

The date was created by President Getulio Vargas in 1940, in which several indigenous leaderships of the Americas decided to attend the First Inter-American Indian Congress, held in Mexico. The National Indian Festival is held yearly in Bertioga, São Paulo to celebrate the Indian Day.

It is considered the largest indigenous cultural event in the world, which takes place in April 19.The festival, is seen as an opportunity to learn about Brazilian indigenous people, t is also seen as an opportunity for Native Brazilians to perform celebrations, such as indigenous rituals, body art, music, dance, food, crafts and sports.

To commemorate this day, Post Brazil has issued a number of stamps many years. These particulate stamps were issued on 19th April 1976 with the denomination of 1 Brazilian cruzeiro. The stamp shows the native art such as body art, mask and headgear. The stamps are inscribed with the name of the country on top along with the year of issue and the denomination.

Nowadays most part of the cities does not celebrate the date; however it is very common for schoolchildren across Brazil to dress up like Natives and visit Museums to learn more about the first Brazilians.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com

Visit philamart to view and purchase variety of stamps from all over the world.