In the 16th century, the Tupi were the first group to have contact with the Portuguese. The Portuguese colonists did not bring many women, so miscegenation between Portuguese settlers and indigenous women started. The Tupi had a tradition, called "Cunhadismo", of incorporating strangers to their community. The Indians offered the Portuguese an Indian girl as wife. Once he agreed, he formed a bond of kinship with all the Indians of the tribe. The settlers also adopted the Indian practice of polygyny.