Category Archives: Indigenous

Link to footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe

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Deep Brazil has high-quality footage of the uncontacted Amazon tribe recently (re-)revealed to the media worldwide. It’s an interesting concept, that they must be contacted visually for them to have a chance to stay uncontacted physically. Does seeing an airplane affect their belief system or is it just a strange bird?

In 2008, the story came out about this tribe (I’m assuming it’s the same one since they appear to be the same) but it was called a fake lost tribe and dismissed in the media for the fact that it was known (big difference between ‘known’ and ‘contacted’).

Stone-Age Etchings Found in the Amazon

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“A series of ancient underwater etchings has been uncovered near the jungle city of Manaus, following a drought in the Brazilian Amazon. The previously submerged images – engraved on rocks and possibly up to 7,000 years old – were reportedly discovered by a fisherman after the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon river, fell to its lowest level in more than 100 years last month. Tens of thousands of forest dwellers were left stranded after rivers in the region faded into desert-like sandbanks.

Though water levels are now rising again, partly covering the apparently stone age etchings, local researchers photographed them before they began to disappear under the river’s dark waters. Archaeologists who have studied the photographs believe the art – which features images of faces and snakes – is another indication that thousands of years ago the Amazon was already home to large civilisations.” – The Guardian (more here)

The Amerindian Perspective

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While reading a short paper on Amerindians in Brazil, I came across this interesting concept and thought I’d share it.

“According to Viveiros de Castro (2005), the Amerindians believe that each animal species sees itself as human. Being as such, the leopards would see humans as prey (as if they were, for example, wild pigs) and, because of this, they attack them. This is what is called an “Amerindian perspective”. In accordance with observations, Amerindians perceive animal groups as if they were societies, with social organization, chiefs, shamans, etc. In other words, they understand that these animals are organized and think just like them, the humans. Viveiros de Castro explains that, while we, Westerners, perceive that we share nature with the animals – due to being animals ourselves – that we also differentiate ourselves from them by possessing culture. The Amerindian understands that they share a common culture with the animals but that they differentiate themselves from them via nature, by being a different species.”

“Segundo Viveiros de Castro (2005), os ameríndios acreditam que cada espécie animal se vê a si mesma como humana. Assim sendo, as onças veriam os humanos como caça (como se fossem, por exemplo, porcos selvagens) e, por isso, os atacariam. A isso ele chama de “perspectivismo ameríndio”. De acordo com suas observações, os ameríndios percebem os grupos de animais como se fossem sociedades, com organização social, chefes, pajés, etc. Ou seja, eles entendem que esses animais estão organizados e pensam da mesma forma que eles, humanos. Viveiros de Castro explica que, enquanto nós, ocidentais, percebemos que temos uma natureza comum com os animais – por sermos também animais – mas que nos diferenciamos deles por possuirmos cultura, os ameríndios entendem que compartilham com os outros animais a cultura e que se diferenciam deles pela natureza, por serem de espécies diferentes.”

The Indian Museum – Pará

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Back when I was living in Pará, I had a chance to visit the Museu do Índio (Indian Museum) in the Solar da Beira building (initially for tax collection), near the famous Ver-o-Peso open-air market. As you walk in, the left side showcases enlarged photos of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon region, most notably, the Xingu people. On the right side, you will find handmade indigenous artifacts for sale in the ‘Koisas do Índio’ store which are retrieved from expeditions undertaken every three months. A trip to visit the tribes that make the artifacts, according to the museum curator I spoke with, requires one to travel by air, boat and foot and routinely take 12 hours one-way.

I came close to going on the next expedition but the plan never quite came together. In any event, I found it to be a nice little part of Belém that I’m sure visitor’s don’t get to see when they visit Ver-o-Peso market.

More Info

For some reason, both sites that have to do with the museum are static pages with dead links.

Museum site (in PT)
Ipiranga Foundation (in PT)

The Folkloric Curupira – Protector of the Forest

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In most of the versions, curupira is a small boy or a gnome, with a red head of hair, that has inverted feet with its heels in front. This image agrees with the meaning of his name, which is formed by “curu”, a contraction of “curumim”, that means “boy” and “pira” that means body. From there, “curupira” means something like “body of a boy”, or creature with the body of a boy.

In other variations, however, the curupira becomes a giant. Its characteristics, incidentally, are modified in agreement with geographical displacements, says folklorist Luis da Câmara Cascudo. In some regions of Pará, the curupira is four palm trees tall. In the Rio Negro (Amazon), he is bald and has a hairless body; in the Solimões (also the Amazon) he has blue teeth and big ears.

Regardless of any variations, he always has backwards facing feet, which perhaps is justified by being the protector of the trees, animals and of the forest. Leaving backwards tracks, the curupira disorients hunters and makes them get lost in the forest. To confuse them even more, he makes whistling sounds that seem to come from one direction when in fact, they come from another.

The curupira also tends to be the explanation of mysterious forest rumors, lost hunters or losing one’s way in general. According to some legends, this little (or big) protector makes deals with hunters, providing them with guns that have infallable aim in exchange for food, smokes or cachaça.

The offering of presents in the jungle, in order to calm the curupira so that he doesn’t attack humans, is a registered practice among indians and even rubber tappers and farmers of the Amazonas state. However, the presents often change: the indians offer necklaces, bracelets and feather ornaments, whereas those who are only part indian offer food, drink or cigarettes.

One myth very close to the curupira is that of the caapora. “Caapora” comes from “caa” which means jungle and “porá” which means resident. The caapora looks the same and, like him, he also is a protector of the forest. Although, he doesn’t have inverted feet and usually rides a pig or wild hog.

Whether talking about the curupira myth or that of the caapora, both are passed on through all the regions of Brazil. The myth itself is quite old and the first register of it was via a letter from the priest José de Anchieta, on the 30th of May, 1560. In it, the priest speaks of the indians of Piratininga (São Paulo) and how they told him of demons that walk the forests, attacking the indians and needing to be appeased with presents.

In the state of São Paulo, a law from 1970 is devoted to the curupira as a state symbol of the protector of the forests. – Source (in PT)

Hunting with the Zarabatana

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“Hunting with the zarabatana is a tradition maintained by the indians of the Amazon. With much skill, they walk through the jungle with this weapon that measures more than 12 feet in length. When they find their prey, they blow through the orifice, launching poisoned darts that are made poisonous by mixing certain herbs and vegetables. The indians of the Vale do Javari, near the border of Colombia, are skilled in the use of the zarabatana. Some of the most-skilled hunters are able to hit their targets, usually birds, while in mid-flight.” – Source (in PT)

The Guarani – searching for a home

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“In Brazil, there are today around 46,000 Guarani living in seven states, making them the country’s most numerous tribe. Many others live in neighbouring Paraguay, Bolivia and 
Argentina. The Guarani people in Brazil are divided into three groups: Kaiowá, Ñandeva and M’byá, of which the largest is the Kaiowá which means ‘forest people’. They are a deeply spiritual people. Most communities have a prayer house, and a religious leader, whose authority is based on prestige rather than formal power.

For the Guarani, land is the origin of all life. But violent invasions by ranchers have devastated their territory and nearly all of their land has been stolen. Guarani children starve and their leaders have been assassinated. Hundreds of Guarani men, women and children have committed suicide.” – Source (news, photos and a few videos here)

For an idea of how the Guarani live these days, see the Brazilian/Italian film “BirdWatchers – La terra degli uomini rossi” (Terra Vermelha in Portuguese) or check out the documentary on sugarcane workers (which doesn’t feature Guarani people but it is a job they end up having to do). I’ll post a short review (in PT) below for Birdwatchers.

Rich man’s trash, Indigenous man’s treasure

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Not too long after a landmark win for indigenous peoples in Raposa – Serra do Sol, it seems the fight for rights is a continuous process, even though the land they live on has been afforded to them by Brazilian law and the fact that they were there first. In a video from 2007, Journeyman Pictures reported on a Guarani tribe fighting the company Aracruz, a cellulose manufacturer, who has been turning their land into eucalyptus plantations. What is then produced from the eucalyptus is toilet paper for Europeans…which means the produce from the Guarani land is disposable while shedding light on how the word like value can take on different meanings to different people.

Anyways, here is a short video recap on the Raposa – Serra do Sol issue, plus my own reporting on it. Now, here is the video on the Guarani struggle.