Where We Came From? – Latin America –

Threatened Lives

If you happen to wander about the dense regions of the Amazon forest, you are likely to find naked people, in a community of their own, leading their lives oblivious to charms of city life. These indigenous people live close to the equator in blazing temperatures, and consider the usage of clothes a waste, a mere hindrance that poses an inconvenience. They are unperturbed by the norm of society. So simple and naïve are the ways of the indigenous people of the Amazon. But their life and their existence is being threatened by the spoils of civilization. Indigenous people comprise of only 0.02 per cent of the population in Brazil, and are isolated from main communities. Most of these tribes lives in rural areas of dense jungles, and are semi-nomadic, agricultural labourers, or hunters.
There are about 200 indigenous groups in the vast expense of the Amazon forest, each one distinct in their innate customs and beliefs, replete with a rich cultural heritage that has been passed on from generations. With such a vast repertoire of tradition, to see them fading into oblivion is not something to be brushed off as non-important.
The largest of the tribes is the Guarani (over 20.000 in number), closely followed by the Yanomani. The vast empire of these tribes can be summarized into 22 different indigenous groups have different language, and celebrate their own set of festivals, just like us.
Although the languages differ, they all interact with each other for various occasions. The total population of these groups spans 65.000 individuals. These groups keep going deeper and deeper into the forest as the outsiders get closer to where they live, and thus, not much is known about them. To stop the constant migration of tribes, it has been suggested that an indigenous protected area be setup so that they can feel secure and stop going further into the depths of the forest.

Treading a troubled path: Their population is dwindling day by day, and most of these tribes face similar problems. In Brazil, Indian land right are an inherent part of the constitution, but they have been manipulated and weakened by a new rule that has allowed non-Indians the right to challenge Indian lands. In Guyana, Indians hold the right to the title of their land, but have no right to its mineral wealth, letting government authorities auction off mining concessions. Activist in Boa Vista sat that Venezuela lags behind in recognizing Indian rights. It laws seek to assimilate indigenous people, and many attempt to give them special status is seen as a threat. The most severe effects are on the isolated indigenous tribes still living in the Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Peruvian part of the Amazon.
The Korubos of Brazil, the Tageari of Ecuador, the Ayoreo of Paraguay and the Mashco-piros, Ashaninkas and Yaminahuas of Peru, which together amount to a total of only 5.000 individuals, are on the verge of extinction, with the pressures of modern civilization encroaching their territory. What we call development, in fact is the very source of their homeland and livelihood. What’s more, most of these tribes are treated as inferior and are looked down upon, making them shun society and civilization even more.
Another tribe that is winding down the path of extinction is the Assurini, living in Brazil. Their tribe, known for their fine-crafted pottery, is reduced to just 57 members. The children amount to just seven, and the womenfolk who are responsible for the artistic tradition of pottery making, number to a mere 10. most of these tribes have their own language which is hardly found in any written form. If their art and culture are not safeguarded and recorded, they may soon disappear forever.
For hundreds of years, Brazilian Indian have been mercilessly thrown off their land by those seeking to claim its wealth for themselves. Today, this violence continues with the involvement of many more sectors of society, such as business and prospectors, who want to exploit the land’s natural resources, land owner who illegally acquire the ownership of indigenous land, logging companies, and the military, alleging national security interest, who seek to reduce and limit Indian territories in border areas. The other sources of threat are through missionaries, anthropologists and growing rage of tourism.
An example of this is what happened in the Ecuadorian Amazon when a dozen Tagaeris, of the less than 300 still alive, were massacred by Huaoranis, who now live a western lifestyle. The murders were done in view of the logging companies keen on exploiting unexplored territories.
At the time of European contact, indigenous people numbered around five million in Brazil. Ever since, these number have dwindled to less than 200.000 and anthropologists believe that a forest tribe goes extinct every years, and this has been happening since 1900. Its time that humanity realizes that these indigenous people are human, just like us, and not inferior in any way. They have rich culture heritage, and many of dying art forms are unique in their own way, which yet remain to be explored and recorded. Around 80 per cent of the world’s biodiversity is found in indigenous regions, and this it self calls for conservation acts to be implemented.


Sunday, Vijay Times – Bangalore. 02 July 2006