In Brazilian Portuguese, a person of mixed African and Indigenous heritage; historically used in colonial racial classification systems.
Possibly from Portuguese 'cafo' combined with a suffix, or from African language sources. Used in colonial Brazil's complex system of racial categorization that had dozens of specific terms.
Colonial Brazil created elaborate vocabularies for mixed-race people—'cafuso' was one of 100+ words they invented, showing how racism got codified into language itself to maintain social hierarchies.
Cafuso/Caboclo terms historically categorized mixed-race individuals in Portuguese colonial contexts, often carrying pejorative connotations tied to racial hierarchies and social discrimination.
Use with caution only in historical contexts. Prefer self-identified terms or neutral descriptors of ancestry/heritage when discussing individuals.
["mixed ancestry","multiethnic","Afro-Indigenous (self-identified)"]
Mixed-race communities, particularly Afro-Indigenous peoples in Brazil and lusophone regions, have reclaimed identity on their own terms; center self-determined language.
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