Bulletin 8
– 8 September 1997
Telecom Amazon Adventure Update
 Update
from Andrew
A visit to the Centre for the
Preservation of Indigenous Art, Culture, and Sciences
The Centre for the Preservation of
Indigenous Art, Culture, and Sciences in Alter do Chπo
aims to give people an understanding of the consequences
that changes within Amaz⌠nia are having on Amazon Indians.
A visit to the Centre is an educational
experience, but it is hardly an uplifting one. After my
visit I was sad and I left with a feeling of
hopelessness. The sad truth is that the Amazon tribes are
disappearing. In 1985 there were 15,000 Yanomami Indians,
today there are only 8,000. There are an estimated
200,000 Amazon Indians still living in the rainforests of
Amaz⌠nia, but 85 per cent of the remaining tribes number
less than 500 people. Many are down to less than 100
people. As the number of people in a tribe reduces, so do
the chances of its survival. With small populations and
few children, there is eventually noone left to pass the
tribe’s traditions, rituals, and accumulated
knowledge on to and the tribe dies.
While pollution and disease have impacted
greatly on Amazon Indians, their cultures continue to die
for other reasons:
Many children choose to abandon
the traditions of their parents and shift to
cities or leave to work in untraditional jobs
like mining;
Items like alcohol have changed
the lifestyles of tribes who become dependent on
the products of "civilised" society;
The introduction of western
religion is destroying the tribes’
centuries-old beliefs, village life, traditions
and identity.
The Centre for the Preservation of
Indigenous Art, Culture, and Science was established to
serve as a permanent display of art and artifacts of the
Amazon Indians and to draw attention to their plight. The
Indians face many problems including racism, loss of
territory, forced relocation, poisoning of their
environment, and attack by developers and government
planners.
There is a popular misconception that the
Amazon Indians are simple people but in reality the
Amazon Indians have complex societies, with a rich
cultural heritage and an intimate knowledge
of their environment.
The Indians are a "Stone Age"
society and it is tempting to assume we know more than
them, because of all our technology and fast-paced
lifestyle. In their 11,500 years in the Amazon Basin, the
Amazon Indians have developed a detailed knowledge of
agriculture in their area. Their methods differ greatly
from European methods which often rely on good soil and
temperate climates. The tropical heat and poor soils of
the Amazon Basin require a different approach. Instead of
clearing a large plot of land, Amazon Indians will plant
lots of small gardens in the rainforest. Their planning
takes account of the environment around them – the
other types of plants growing nearby, and the insects and
other animals which (being part of the ecological system)
may either help fertilise and assist the garden or
otherwise damage it. Some people argue that the
rainforest itself has been shaped as a result of
thousands of years of Indian management.
The Centre’s director is Maria
Antonia (Tixi) Kaxinawa. At only 26 years old she at
first seems a little young to be running the Centre
– but then I started talking with her and the others
she works with. The conversation was interesting, and I
learned a lot about the problems occurring in the middle
of the Amazon rainforest.
According to Maria Antonia, the Amazon
Indians are the Amazon Basin’s most endangered
species – more so than any animal or plant. While
there are laws to prevent continued hunting or disruption
to endangered animals, no such laws exist to protect the
Indians. There is FUNAI, the Brazilian Indian Agency
– it has many dedicated and hard-working people, but
is
under-resourced and lacks any real political power.
Listening to the things that I was told
at the Centre was disturbing, and it made me feel sad.
The idea of people living in the middle of a vast forest,
without technology, and knowing how to obtain everything
they need from the rivers and forests around them has
always been very romantic. It is an inspiration for me
that there are still people living much as our ancestors
might have – and by watching their society, I think
we learn a lot more about ourselves and our own culture.
They have so much to teach us - particularly in terms of
living in balance with our environment. We are only just
beginning to understand the need to protect our
environment, but the Indians have always known this. It
is tragic that the Indians are becoming extinct –
and we’re losing 11,500 years of history and
specialist knowledge which we’ve only just begun to
hear.
By making people more aware of Amazon
Indian culture, the Centre hopes to foster a change
attitudes and to preserve the culture for future
generations. This is a very big goal – but a very
important one if these cultures are to survive.
Cheers for now,
Andrew
Ilha do Maraj≤
Ilha
do Maraj≤ is an island located at the mouth of the
Amazon River, near BelΘm. The island is very big –
it is about 50,000 square kilometres, and is bigger than
Switzerland. The eastern side of the island is mostly low
fields and marshes, while the western half is mainly
forest and
mangrove swamps.
Archaeologists have discovered the island
used to be home to several Indian tribes more than 3,000
years ago. Pottery and other artifacts found on the
island are similar to those made by several Andean tribes
– leading researchers to believe the island may have
been colonised by people who travelled all the way down
river from the Andes Mountains.
Today, the island is most famous for its
buffalo. Buffalo aren’t a native animal to Ilha do
Maraj≤. They escaped from a French ship which struck
rocks and sank close to the coast several hundred years
ago. The ship was transporting the buffalo from Southeast
Asia to French colonies in French Guyana. Following their
accidental introduction to Ilha do Maraj≤, the buffalo
successfully adapted to life on the island and they spend
most of their time standing in pools of water - submerged
up to their necks - trying to escape the heat. The
buffalo have even adapted to diving underwater to grab
mouthfuls of grass when the fields flood during the wet
season.
The swamps and marshes on the island are
also home to many snakes, but buffalo have extremely
tough skin so don’t need to worry about snake bites.
(Visitors generally don’t have to worry about snakes
either, since snakes usually stay away from areas with
people.) Birds, like white herons and pink ibises
(flamingos) gather in the marshy areas of Ilha do
Maraj≤.
The easiest way to travel to the island
is by riverboat from BelΘm, which takes about three
hours. Because the Amazon River is so wide, it feels more
like travelling on the ocean. Some of the waves get very
big, causing small riverboats to roll in the ocean-like
swells.
Life on Ilha do Maraj≤ is slow and
relaxed. The towns are small and have a very rural feel.
Even the biggest town, Soure (pronounced
"Sorry"), has buffalo wandering freely through
the streets. Almost all the Island’s roads are
unpaved, and during the wet season they turn to mud.
The people on the island are very quiet and reserved.
They don’t talk very muc, and having a conversation
with them is sometimes difficult. However, the people are
friendly and helpful. Most people farm or fish and a few
are storekeepers and hotel workers. The farms and cattle
ranches are called fazendas and are sometimes open for
people to visit and stay.
And the winner is . . .
Well done everyone who entered
Telecom’s Innovative Amazon Classroom Activity
Competition.
You’ve been doing some amazing
things as part of your Amazon Adventure.
Thanks to everyone who entered. We
didn’t get entries from two regions (Nelson,
Marlborough, West Coast, Buller and Otago Southland), so
to enable us to give away all of Andrew’s donated
books, the judges have awarded runner up prizes.
Here are the winners for each region:
Northern North Island:
Cockle Bay School, Room 8, Howick, Auckland
Central North Island:
Frimley Primary School, Senior and Junior School,
Hastings
Wellington region:
Heretaunga College, 4th form Social Studies,
Upper Hutt.
Canterbury:
Lowcliffe School, Senior Class, Ashburton
Runner ups:
Hurupaki Primary School, Std 1 and 2, Whangarei
Eastern Hutt School, Class G2, Lower Hutt
Congratulations to you all. We’ll be
posting your prizes out shortly.
Thanks to everyone who entered,
we’ve really enjoyed finding out what you’ve
been doing!
Amazon activity
Select one of the animals from the Amazon
area and make up an acrostic poem about the animal. Some
of the things you might like to include in your poem are
details on how and where it lives, what food it eats,
what it looks like and why it is important that it is
looked after and protected.
Amazon facts
The Yanomami Indians who live in
the northern part of the Amazon (near the border
of Brazil and Venezuela) honour important people
when they die by burning the body in a big
bonfire, then grinding the bones into a fine
powder. This powder is then mixed with mashed
bananas and eaten in a ceremonial meal.
The Umutina Indians used to
introduce themselves to strangers by staging a
fake attack, which they performed to look as real
as possible. They surrounded the strangers, drew
their bows and even pretended to let go of the
arrows. The Umutina believed that if the
strangers stayed through the "attack"
and did not fight back then they must be friends.
Unfortunately, the strangers who came across the
Umutina thought the attacks were real and they
always ran away, so the Umutina never got to make
any friends. Eventually some workers from the
Brazilian Indian Service (FUNAI) heard about the
tribe and settled in a hut near the Umutina to
make friends with them. As usual, the Umutina
staged their mock attack – which the FUNAI
staff watched very nervously. But they did not
run away and they didn't fight back (the FUNAI
motto is "Die if necessary, but never
kill"). Because of this, the strangers were
accepted as friends by the Umutina. The FUNAI
staff were very relieved, and the Umutina were
very happy to finally have some friends.
Amazon books
The Living Forests, Michael
Chinery, Kingfisher, London. A colourful book
revealing the secrets of the world's forests. Contains
activities, foldouts, and stickers.
Amazon Frontier: The Defeat of
the Brazilian Indians, John Hemming,
Macmillan, London. This book covers the history of the
Amazon from 1750 to 1910. It is not too easy to read, but
is full of facts and is probably the most complete and
well researched history available.
Amazon Beaming, Petru
Popescu, Viking Books (Penguin), London. This book
tells the story of National Geographic photographer,
Loren McIntyre, who made contact with (and was actually
kidnapped by) a tribe of Mayoruna Indians - known as the
"cat people".
Tales of the Yanomami: Daily Life
in the Venezuelan Rainforest, Jacques Lizot,
Canto, Cambridge University Press. This is a highly
readable account of life with the Yanomami Indians,
written by a French anthropologist who lived with the
Indians for more than 15 years and became accepted into
their society.
Explorers Mystery Quiz - Bulletin 8
Answer the Explorers Mystery Quiz
questions below correctly and be in to win a Panasonic
cassette recorder for your class. You will find the
answer to this week’s first question on your
Explorers and Adventurers Mystery Trail poster. You might
need to do a bit more research to answer question two.
Fax your answers to the Telecom Adventure Line: 0-4-498
5575. Entries close at 5pm on Friday 12 September 1997.
The classes whose students correctly
answer the most Explorers Mystery Quizzes during the
Explorers and Adventurers programme will go into the draw
for a grand prize in December. So
good luck everyone.
This week’s questions
Question One
What reasons do anthropologists give for
the native Amazon Indians wearing very few clothes?
Question Two
Construction of Brasilia started in 1957.
It was designed by urban planner Lucio Costa who based
the layout on special shape. Name the shape he used.
Last week’s winner
The winner of last week’s Explorers
Mystery Quiz was Glenbervie School, Room 8, Whangarei.
Last week’s answers
Answer One
The biggest buzz an electric eel has
ever given is 650 volts.
Answer Two
Manaus’ rubber boom took place
between 1890 and 1920.
 
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