The Amazing Amazon
The Amazon rainforest is an amazing place with multiple species of insects, multiple species of plants, and some native tribes. Located in the northern part of South America, the Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest on planet earth (“Science Kids” 2016). The Amazon Basin alone is 6.9 million square kilometers (“Mongabay” 2017). This rainforest has one of the largest amounts of biodiversity. It is predicted to have 16,000 different tree species (“Mongabay” 2017). The Amazon has five hundred species of mammals and over thirty million species of insects (“K12” 2017). Yet, many native primitive humans live in the Amazon Rainforest today.
Europeans found the Amazon rainforest in the year of 1541. Don Francisco of Orellana was the Spanish explorer and conquistador that ‘found’ the Amazon rainforest. The native Indians kept themselves safe from the harm of the Europeans by saying that El Dorado – the mythical city of gold – was real. Don Francisco was with the Company of Gancalo that set out to find cinnamon trees. Even though natives have been living in the rainforest for 10,000 years before, Europeans were the first to ‘find’ the Amazon (“Project Amazonas” 2009).
Few of these tribes are still living in the Amazon today. They prefer not to have contact with the modern world. In fact, they avoid it at all costs. Some shoot or throw weapons made from forest material at people and research planes. Others run and hide in the forest (“Survival International” 2017). Research has estimated that there 100 uncontacted tribes in the Amazon rainforest. Little is known about some of these tribes. So how do scientists know any information about them? Researchers and scientists use low flying planes to capture images of these tribes. Camps left behind by tribes also give scientists and researchers much information (“Survival International” 2017).
Researchers think that four different groups inhabit the region of Acre. In Rondonia, a territory in Maccaco, it is estimated 300 uncontacted Indians live. In the Amazon Basin there are multiple different types of Indians. Many live like hunters and gathers. Few are nomads that build shelters in a matter of hours only to spend a few days in them. A couple of nomads are on the run from deforestation and loggers. A handful of these Indians lives in settlements in clearings in the forest. It is a known fact that these people like tortoise and this has been proven due to the stacks of tortoise shells at abandoned camps (“Survival International” 2017).
As imagined, living in the Amazon with no modern technology could be almost impossible. There are insects both known and unknown, as well as predators, like jaguars. However, these Indians have been living in this rainforest for longer than the time of the Roman Empire (“Project Amazonas” 2009). One tribe, the Matis tribe, in Brazil’s Amazon kill edible pray that live in the canopy – area above the forest floor, in the trees – with blowpipes and poison darts (“BBC” 2017). These blowpipes and darts are silent and effective. The darts are cleverly designed by the Matis. The darts have a small cut just below the tip of the dart. The tip is dipped in poison. When shot into the animal, the tip goes into the system of that animal. It is likely that the animal will brush off the dart. This makes the dart break at the small cut, so the tip stays in the animal (“BBC” 2017).
The same tribe, Matis, live in a protected area that is 32000 square miles. In the Vale do Javari Indigenous Park; the Matis are still lively and thriving. The Matis have a rich culture. This tribe uses Kampo during hunting (“BBC” 2017). Kampo is monkey frog poison, which enhances their physical response. By doing this, the Matis hunters become more aware and reactive during a hunt.
(“lovethesepics” JailiangGao)
Another tribe in the Amazon has designed a sign language. One might think of the normal sign language use for the deaf. However, this language is actually a communication of signs. The Penan tribe use sticks, twigs, leaves, and other rainforest materials to construct signs (“BBC” 2017). These signs are like a written language for these tribes. These signs can tell others directions, distance, and more. It is believed that other tribes use this method as well (“BBC” 2017).
Another tribe, the Sanema, is also very rich in culture. In their tribe, nothing is owned by only one person. Status is not calculated by the possessions owned, but the generosity given (“BBC” 2017). Some first marriages are used to form alliances. But, marriage for love is most common. The Sanema believe that all animals and things are spirits. With the introduction of modern day humans, this belief and culture is being greatly effected. A tribe person said: “Our grandparents caught a lot of animals because they dreamt with the animal spirits. For example, they dreamed of the tapir spirit, and the next day they caught a tapir. But now the outsiders have come and told us, to stop dealing with the spirits. So we catch fewer animals than our grandparents.” (“BBC” 2017).
These Indians are faced with multiple threats, deforestation being the main threat of all. Loggers that illegally cut away acres of trees a day, sometimes capture these Indians. These Indians are faced with unfair cruelty and abuse, in some cases killed (“Survival International” 2017). That’s not all. With their environment being cut down, these Indians are disappearing. This makes Indians fight with one another. With territories being cut away, Indians go into other Indians’ lands. This causes fighting and more deaths. Due to these threats and problems, only few tribe members of certain tribes are left (“Survival International” 2017). Contact with modern day humans can also harm the Indians more than help them. Modern humans carry diseases and sicknesses that Amazonian Indians are not immune to (“BBC” 2017).
These conditions are making tribes go to extremes. The Mashco Piro is a tribe that lives in the Amazon rainforest in Peru. This tribe has not been in contact with any modern humans for 600 years. But logging and other threats are pushing, the formally uncontacted tribe to extremes. In May of 2015, this tribe attacked a man for his tools. Unfortunately, the man was killed with an arrow (“Mail Online” 2015). However, most of the remaining tribes are still uncontacted. The FUNAI is an organization in Brazil, designed to help the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest (“Survival International” 2017). They have helped to create parks and reservoirs for these tribes.
Regardless, these Indians face devastations and extinction. These tribe people are masterminds at the art of survival. They have lived in such an unknown ways and environment. They could hold secrets to world problems, or they could solve them. They could know cures to diseases. It is amazing that these people over thousands of years are still living like they did thousands of years ago.
Citations:
Smith, Rene. “Amazon Rainforest Facts.” Science Kids. Science Kids, 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2017
Butler, Rhett. “10 Facts about the Amazon Rainforest.” Mongabay. Mongabay, 2017. Web. 26 Apr. 2017
https://learning.k12.com/d2l/le/content/207190/viewContent/32455437/View
Graham, Devon. “A Brief History of Amazon Exploration.” Project Amazonas. NGO AidJoy. Web. 18 Apr. 2017
Yanomami, Davi. “Uncontacted Indians in Brazil.” Survival. Survival. Web. 13 Apr. 2017
“About Jungles – Tribes.” Human Planet Explorer. BBC. Web. 13 Apr. 2017
Calderwood, Imogen. “ The Amazon's last lost tribe: Never-before-seen pictures capture the lives of Peruvian nomads who are untouched by civilization.” Mail Online. Mail Online, 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2017
