Lebanese Brazilians

Brazilians of Lebanese ancestry

Ethnic group

Lebanese Brazilians
Líbano-brasileiros
البرازيليون اللبنانيون

Lebanese Brazilians in Nova Friburgo, late 19th century
Total population
1 million (by descent)[1][2] [3]
Regions with significant populations
Brazil: Mainly in São Paulo State, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Ceará, Bahia, Amazonas, Pernambuco, Maranhão, Piauí.
Languages
Brazilian Portuguese, Lebanese Arabic
Religion
Roman Catholicism 65%, Eastern Orthodox Church 30%, Shia Islam, Sunni Islam, Druze 5%
Related ethnic groups
Other Arab Brazilians and Asian Brazilians
Part of a series of articles on

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Lebanese Brazilians (Portuguese: Líbano-brasileiros; Arabic: البرازيليون اللبنانيون) are Brazilians of full or partial Lebanese ancestry, including Lebanese-born immigrants to Brazil. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, they form some of the largest Asian communities in the country, along with other West Asian and East Asian descendants.[4]

Contemporary data on the number of Arab descendants in Brazil is highly inconsistent. The national IBGE census has not questioned the ancestry of the Brazilian people for several decades, considering that immigration to Brazil declined almost to 0 in the second half of the 20th century. In the last census questioning ancestry, in 1940, 107,074 Brazilians said they were the children of a Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Iraqi or Arab father. The native Arabs were 46,105 and the naturalized Brazilians, 5,447. Brazil had 41,169,321 inhabitants at the time of the census, so Arabs and children were 0.38% of Brazil's population in 1940. Currently, many sources cite that millions of Brazilians are of Arab descent. Itamaraty claims that there are between 7 and 10 million Lebanese descendants in Brazil. According to a 2008 IBGE survey, 0.9% of the white Brazilians interviewed said they had a family background in Western Asia, which would give about one million people. According to another 1999 survey by the sociologist and former president of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) Simon Schwartzman, only 0.48% of the interviewed Brazilians claimed to have Arab ancestry, a percentage that, in a population of about 200 million of Brazilians, would represent around 960 thousand people. [5]

## Numbers

[edit]

The population of Brazil of either full or partial Lebanese descent is estimated by the Brazilian and Lebanese governments to be around 7 million people.[6][7][8]

According to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East.[9] If the first figure is correct (7 million), this number of descendants is larger than the population in Lebanon, and the original immigrant population a natural growth of 70 times in less than a century. However, other Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Jordan, and Palestine also contributed immigrants to Brazil, and nowadays, most of their descendants are of only partial Middle Eastern ancestry.

## History

[edit]

Immigration of the Lebanese (and Syrians) to Brazil started in the late 19th century, most of them coming from Lebanon and later from Syria. Since 150,000 Lebanese and Syrians immigrated to Brazil.[10] The immigration to Brazil grew further in the 20th century, and was concentrated in the state of São Paulo, but also extended to Minas Gerais, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro, and other parts of Brazil.

Between 1884 and 1933, 130,000 Lebanese people entered Brazil through the Port of Santos[11]—65% of them were Catholics (Maronite Catholics and Melkite Catholics), 20% were Eastern Orthodox, 10% were Muslims (Shia, Sunni), and about 5% were Druze. According to French Consulate reports from that time,[12] Lebanese/Syrian immigrants in São Paulo and Santos were 130,000, in Pará 20,000, Rio de Janeiro 15,000, Rio Grande do Sul 14,000, and in Bahia 12,000. During the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90), around 32,000 Lebanese people immigrated to Brazil.

The Arab-Brazil Chamber of Commerce released a census, according to which they estimated the number of descendants living in Brazil at around 12 million.[13] Brazil's foreign ministry estimates between 7 and 10 million Brazilians have a Lebanese ancestor.[13]

## Culture

[edit]

Publishing endeveours began taking root in the Near East in the late 19th century, specifically in Lebanon and Egypt. Emigrants from Lebanon brought with them this journalistic culture to Brazil.[14][13] In the late 19th century, 95 Arabic language newspapers were published within Brazil.[14][13] Two of the major centres of Arabic diasporic culture were in Brasil including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.[14] This time period is referred to as the nahda.[13] By 1944, the 154 books were published in Arabic in Brazil, mostly by Lebanese migrants per Diogo Bercito.[13]

The Lebanese dish - kibbeh, is popular among the wider Brazilian population and is eaten along with local foods.[13]

## Influence on Brazilian society

[edit]

Despite being estimated at less than 4% of the population of the country,[15] descendants of Lebanese immigrants occupied 10% of the parliament seats in 2014[5] and 8% in 2015.[16][17]

Lebanese culture has influenced many aspects of Brazil's culture. In big towns of Brazil it is easy to find restaurants of Lebanese food, and dishes, such as sfiha ("esfiha"), hummus, kibbeh ("quibe"), tahina, tabbouleh ("tabule") and halwa are very well known among Brazilians.

Most Lebanese immigrants in Brazil have worked as traders who sell textiles and clothes and open new markets. Lebanese-Brazilians are well-integrated into Brazilian society. Some even occupied positions of great importance, such as the presidency of the republic, for example Michel Temer. A former mayor of Sao Paulo and Brazil's current Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, is also of Lebanese descent.[18][19]

It is estimated that 10% of the members of Brazilian Congress are descendants of Lebanese emigrants.[13]

## Notable Lebanese Brazilians

[edit]

Main article: List of Lebanese Brazilians

## Gallery

[edit]

* The Hospital Sírio-Libanês (Syrian-Lebanese Hospital) founded by the Lebanese Community in 1931 in São Paulo.

* Igreja Ortodoxa São Jorge de Brasília (St. George Eastern Orthodox Church) located in Brasília.

* Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Cathedral, São Paulo

* Lebanese Brazilian trader in Nova Friburgo

* Bazaar of José El Jaick, the oldest Lebanese shop in Brazil

* Members of the Lebanon-Friburguense Center, a Lebanese cultural center, Nova Friburgo

* Shop of Lebanese Brazilian Elias Hanna Elias (center), Cantagalo

## See also

[edit]

* Lebanon portal
* Brazil portal

* Syrian Brazilians
* Arab Brazilians
* Asian Brazilians
* Brazil–Lebanon relations

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Inside Brazil's vast Lebanese community https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/inside-brazils-vast-lebanese-community
2. ^ Embaixada do Líbano no Brasil https://web.archive.org/web/20101112211835/http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm
3. ^ Lebanese Republic https://web.archive.org/web/20150923004630/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478
4. ^ Petruccelli, Jose Luis; Saboia, Ana Lucia. "Caracteristicas Etnico-raciais da Populacao Classificacoes e identidades" (PDF). IBGE. p. 53. Retrieved 28 July 2021. "descendentes e os asiáticos – japoneses, chineses, coreanos, libaneses, sírios, entre outros"
5. ^ a b Dyke, Joe (3 July 2014). "How the Lebanese conquered Brazil". Executive.
6. ^ "Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affaires". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
7. ^ ".:: Embaixada do Líbano no Brasil ::". Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
8. ^ "Imigração libanesa no Brasil, impulsionada por d. Pedro 2º, ganha exposição" [Lebanese immigration to Brazil, driven by d. Pedro 2º, gains exposure]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). São Paulo. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
9. ^ IBGE.
10. ^ Jr, Pitts (1 August 2006). Forging Ethnic Identity Through Faith: Religion and the Syrian-Lebanese Community in São Paulo (thesis thesis).
11. ^ Gattaz, André (2012). Do Líbano ao Brasil: história oral de imigrantes [From Lebanon to Brazil: oral history of immigrants] (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese) (2 ed.). Salvador, Bahia: Editora Pontocom. p. 25\. ISBN 978-85-66048-00-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
12. ^ Lesser, Jeff (1999). Negotiating National Identity: Immigrants, Minorities, and the Struggle for Ethnicity in Brazil. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-2292-4.
13. ^ a b c d e f g h cl1289 (8 June 2021). "From Beirut to Brazil". CCAS. Retrieved 16 June 2024.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. ^ a b c Bruckmayr, Philipp (1 January 2014), "Arabic and Bilingual Newspapers and Magazines in Latin America and the Caribbean", Historical Aspects of Printing and Publishing in Languages of the Middle East, Brill, pp. 245–269, ISBN 978-90-04-25597-5, retrieved 16 June 2024
15. ^ Lago, Davi (6 September 2020). "A fraternidade entre Brasil e Líbano" [Fraternity between Brazil and Lebanon]. Veja (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
16. ^ Carvalho, Viviane. "Interview With The Ambassador of Brazil to Lebanon". Home For Lebanon. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
17. ^ Bercito, Diogo. "No Congresso, 8% dos parlamentares têm origem libanesa". Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
18. ^ Alexander, Inigo (21 July 2022). "From traders to president: Inside Brazil's vast Lebanese community". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
19. ^ Traumann, Thomas (18 January 2024). "Fernando Haddad: Still the Odd Man Out". Americas Quarterly.

## External links

[edit]

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