History of Maraú

The name

According to Wikipedia, the place name “Maraú” comes from the Tupi maíra ’y, meaning “river of the Frenchman” or “river of the white man” (maíra = Frenchman or white man; ’y = river). Tupi was the language of the Indigenous peoples who lived along much of the Brazilian coast.

Origins

The English Wikipedia says the town was originally an Indigenous village called “Mayra”, and that the area was reached in 1705 by Italian Capuchin friars, who named it São Sebastião de Mayrahú. Maraú became a town in 1938.

The region

The municipality lies on the Costa do Dendê (“Palm Oil Coast”), a tourist zone in the lower south of Bahia, and holds almost half of the Camamu Bay protected area. Neighboring Camamu has an even older history, with a 16th-century Jesuit mission.

Tourism

Today tourism is the backbone of Maraú’s economy, with accommodation and restaurants, many of them small businesses run by local residents. In 2017, the City Hall, together with Sebrae (the Brazilian small business support agency), created a tourism marketing plan and a tourism brand for the Maraú Peninsula.