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Amazon tribes Tarta Elena Alexandra
HOMES! Picture of the interior of a traditional Amazon tribe maloka or longhouse in the South American Amazon jungle. The maloka is a communal house in which up to one hundred people traditionally live. Malokas can be divided into various rooms with palm mat walls. Each room of the Amazon tribe maloka has horizontal poles from which the residents can hang hammocks. A man with one or two wives will commonly hang his hammock in the center of one of the rooms of the maloka, with a wife on either side. The placement of their children's hammocks range outward from the parents in order of age. If a man has an older third wife, she might be in the next room of the maloka with her grown sons. Generally, there are several benches located near the entrance of an Amazon tribe maloka where the women work using the daylight that enters the maloka through the entrance.
Population! A potentially devastating outbreak of swine flu among the Yanomami Indians in Venezuela's Amazon rainforest appears to be contained after a rapid medical response in the isolated zone. Considered to be the largest isolated Amazon tribe, with a population of about 30,000, the semi-nomadic Yanomami had limited contact with the outside world until 50 years ago. Since the 1960s, the Yanomami population has been hard hit by illnesses brought by gold miners and other outsiders. The deaths of six Yanomami are being investigated for possible links to the H1N1 virus. But Neris Villalobos, chief epidemiologist for the state of Amazonas, said the initial outbreak peaked at the end of October and was waning. Possibly spread by outsiders at a government-organized event last month, flu symptoms showed up in more than 1,000 Yanomami, local health officials said. The number of new cases has declined sharply since then.
Tropical forests! South America´s rainforest is, for many, a real vacation highlight. Most people associate South America´s rainforest with Brazil´s tropical Amazon rainforest, which is the largest expanse of rainforest in the continent. However, excellent rainforest tours are also possible in a range of other Latin American countries including Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Belize. If taking a rainforest tour, utmost consideration should be given to the fragile natural environment that you are visiting. If at all possible, try to book a jungle lodge that has a clear responsible tourism policy. Ideally, your visit to the rainforest should actively contribute towards it´s conservation.
Tribalgirls! The Amazon tribe girl illustrated in this picture has female body painting on her face. The red color comes from a native tree (Bixaorellana) and is called "achiote" or "urucum." Female body painting is one of the oldest art forms and is still practiced by many Amazon tribe girls and women. Reasons for tribe girlasto paint themselvesvary from frightening enemies and evil spirits, to celebrations, to mkingmagic, to disguise themselves, and of course to beautify themselves. Nudity is not a taboo for Amazon tribe girls as it is for most westerners, hence the prevalence of female body painting among Amazonian tribes.
Tribe men Tribe men
Aramacao! The Scarlet Macaw (Aramacao) is a large and colorful parrot that is native to the humid lowland rain forests of the American tropics, especially the Peruvian, Colombian, Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon jungle. The Scarlet Macaw is long-lived with a life-span of up to 75 years and is a common pet of Amazonian Indians. Interestingly, the upper sides of their flight feathers are a dark blue while the under sides of their flight feathers are a deep red color. Amazonian Indians often use the macaw feathers as fletchings on their arrows. Typically, these indigenous people of the Amazonian rain forest do not kill the birds to use their feathers for arrows, instead they merely harvest the feathers and allow the bird to live. To kill the macaw would offend the animal spirits and could cause bad luck while hunting with arrows made from their feathers. Although Scarlet Macaws are not officially endangered, their populations have been decreasing due to the destruction of their Amazon rain forest habitat through deforestation.
Tribal warriors Photograph of two Amazon tribal warriors facing each other with spears in their hands in the Amazon jungle. Note the long hair and preforated earlobes. The appearance of various Amazon tribes depends on their culture. For example, the tribe pictured above, have elongated earlobes that are characteristic of their tribe. Many other tribes used characteristic tattoos to identify themselves, examples being the Mundurucú, Matis, Matses, Marubo, and Mayoruna tribes. In particular, the Mundurucú were once the most feared headhunters in all of the Amazonia are were probably the most heavily tattooed of all indigenous Amazon tribes living in South America.
