What is the Kayapo corn ceremony?
Back in Brazil the Kayapo planned the demonstration to coincide with their green corn ceremony, the one major festival that occurred in all the villages at about the same time. While it celebrates the ripening of the corn crop, the event also marks the “ripening” of children into young adults.
What happened to the kayapos land?
Since the initial arrival of Europeans around 500 years ago, the Kayapo have experienced forced migration further west into the rainforests as a result of invasions, they have lost land and habitat and they have also suffered from the introduction of diseases that accompanied the arrival of outsiders.
What do the Panara tribe wear?
Traditionally, Kayapo men cover their lower bodies with sheaths. Due to increased contact with outside cultures, contemporary Kayapo often wear Western-style clothing such as shorts. Kayapo chiefs wear a headdress made out of bright yellow feathers to represent the rays of the sun.
How many are in the Kayapo tribe?
The Kayapó maintain legal control over an area of 10.6 million hectares (around 26 million acres) of primary tropical forest and savanna in the southeastern Amazon region of Brazil. They number approximately 7,000 people scattered across 46 villages in five territories.
Why did the Kayapo tribe support the dam?
Proponents of the dam argue that its construction is in the nation’s interest. The Kayapó people’s leadership has learned how to participate in the world economy. They were one of the first indigenous peoples to participate in international commerce, with the Body Shop, and they learned how to fight back against projects they did not support.
Who is the chief of the Kayapo people?
Photograph: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino T he man pictured above is Raoni Txucarramãe, chief of the Kayapó people, who hail from Brazil’s northern Pará province. The homeland of the Kayapó is the tropical rainforest surrounding the tributaries of the giant Xingu river, itself a nearly 2,000km long tributary of the Amazon.
Where did the Kayapos Indian tribe come from?
The Kayapos are one of the main Ge tribes that remain in the Amazon basin in Brazil. There are several theories about the origins of the various South American Indian groups, and it is thought that they may have migrated thousands of years ago from Central Asia, crossing into North America and making their way southwards.
What are the threats to the Kayapo tribe?
In the early part of the 20th century, the Kayapo faced the onslaught of miners, loggers, rubber tappers, ranchers and missionaries. Today, the threats to the forest and the old traditions are different, but no less dire. “I’m very worried,” Megaron says. “I am worried about the deforestation and dam construction that could destroy our way of life.
