10 Days in the Pinuya Village
O futuro é indígena
Só Alegria
Seven bumpy hours by road from the town of Rio Branco—after an 11-hour flight from London Heathrow, plus three hours by plane from Brasília and another two from São Paulo—in the Amazon jungle, near the banks of the River Tarauacá, lies the village of Aldeia Pinuya. Duly named "hummingbird" village, at just a few dozen acres, it is one of smallest independent indigenous territories of its kind. The Pinuya village is the home of around 260 Huni Kuin people, indigenous to this region of Brazil. Now for the next 10 days, it will also be mine.
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NOTE: There is now a fundraiser live, on behalf of the Mawa Isa Keneya women’s group, for the construction of a women’s-only Shubuã (sacred house) in the village. As the location is so remote, this is a costly endeavour so any support is very important.
Mawa Isa Keneya leader Sâmia Biruany , applies traditional body paint to my friend Maddy
Lucie, freshly painted & practicing!
Cafe da manha: music at 7am, rapeh at the ready
Sweet friends Gia, Juliana and Maddy
The children's hammock area
Sîa coming to teach us songs in the afternoon
One of the homes in the village
The beautiful Maspa, who gave us plant baths morning or night
Two Urubú birds (amazonian black vultures) who came to dry their wings with us, the morning after a strong and powerful ceremony.
The sacred fire and altar for the 'jiboia' (Boa Constrictor) snake- one of the two important animal symbols (alongside the Jaguar) in the ceremonies in Pinuya.
The women of Mawa Isa Keneya (village women's group) playing for us.
Getting dark, one kid still hanging out
Maspa's lovely grand-daughter
Two boys and their colouring book
Maddy and Ali practicing before ceremony
The edge of the lake: home of dinner's bony fish!
One of the homes in the village
.... And so, the sound of strumming was heard all throughout the village!
Links
Fundraiser for womens-only Shubuã: https://gofund.me/5d75c16c
Paje Kupi ap