The lung of the Earth is not just a place
of wild animals, exotic flora or massive
and trees.
Continued from Page 2a I turned around ever so slowly, expecting
to see some wild beast with claws and teeth
shining in the firelight. What I saw was nothing to be afraid of. It
was a small girl, from the Piraha Tribe I
later learned, who smiled and spoke a tongue
I had never heard before. I did not move
but just looked deep into her eyes. I recognized
the Spirit. Was it the little girl from Milan?
I couldn't tell for sure. I extended my hand and the small girl smiled.
I was so fixated
on her eyes and her
Spirit,
that I had not noticed
that we were completely
surrounding by some...well,
Locals. The small
girl spoke again
and the Tribe moved
in closer,
still wary of the
Blond Cheerleader. The shuffling and noise in the brush had
awakened Twisted, Craftie and Mela. Mela
slowly rose and smiled with outstretched
arms in a greeting posture.
The small girl came forward and held a flower
out to Mela, which Mela took and held to
her nose. She smiled again.
The far side of the circle of Piraha opened
and through the dark, a man who I guessed
to be the leader, slowly walked forward.
His slow walk was not one of fear but of
nobility and confidence. He approached the
four of us, and for some reason we all bowed
our heads in respect. He did not return the
gesture, but it seemed that our show of kindness,
respect and humbleness had been noted.
The leader spoke one word and several men
came forward and picked up our guitars, somewhat
fearful at first. They treated them as if
they were made of fine crystal, and I thought
to myself how softly and careful these people
are. The small girl took my hand and tugged it,
and it was clear that they wanted us to go
with them. Mela, Craftie and Twisted agreed
that to go with them would be the best thing,
and we trekked through the jungle in the
wee hours of the morning. We arrived at a small village at bit after
sunrise and were led into one of the huts.
Four women followed us in and began to undress
us, taking our soiled Cheerleader outfits
and giving us some animal skins to wear.
Exausted, we laid down and fell fast asleep. As is usually the case with this Blond, I
had visions as soon as I fell asleep. This
was one of the visions of learning...like
an awareness. It was about the Piraha. The Pirahã people are an indigenous hunter-gatherer
tribe of Amazon natives,
who mainly live
on the banks of the
Maici River in Brazil.
They currently number about 360, which is
sharply reduced from
the numbers recorded
in previous decades,
and the culture is in
danger of extinction.
The Pirahã people do not call themselves
pirahãs but instead the Hi'aiti'ihi, roughly
translated as 'the straight ones'.
The Pirahã speak
the Pirahã language,
which
is very important
to their culture
and to
their group identity.
Members of the Pirahã
can whistle their
language, which is
how
its men communicate
when hunting in the
jungle As far as the Pirahã have related to outsiders,
their culture is concerned solely with matters
that fall within direct personal experience,
and thus there is no history beyond living
memory. The culture has the simplest known kinship
system, not tracking
relations any more distant
than biological siblings.
The people do not count and the language
does not have words for precise numbers.
Despite efforts to teach them, some researchers,
such as Prof. Peter Gordon of Columbia University,
claim that they are incapable of learning
numeracy. His colleague, Prof. Daniel L.
Everett, on the other hand, argues that the
Pirahã are cognitively capable of counting;
they simply choose not to do so. I was awakened by shouts and sounds of people
running about. I woke up Mela and we went
outside and saw some of the men of the Tribe
in orange body paint and some covered in
black. They were shouting and pointing to
the sky as the children and women ran into
the jungle. Mela tried to grab my arm as I ran out and
started screaming
and yelling at the sky
too. I do not know
why, but it just was one
of those things that
you do when you are
scared. At first
the men of the Tribe looked
puzzled at my screaming,
but soon they were
turning their attention
back to the sky,
whistling and shouting. I began to hear a buzzing, a noise that did
not belong in our
natural surroundings. GIANT
BEES?
Nope. An airplane was circling the peaceful
village, with a photographer hanging out
of the side door. This "flying creature"
was really freaking out the Pirahã, so to
show my support I shouted louder and shook
my fist at the modern intrusion. I found
out later the plane was searching for oil
deposits and the pictures they took wound
up all over the Internet. The odd thng is
they removed me from most of the pics.
The plane circled about six times and then
zoomed off over the trees. I was fired up,
let me tell ya. "Come on, lets go kick
some a$$", I said out loud jumping up
and down. The men just stared and me for a moment
and then they started jumping up and down,
whistling and smiling all proud like. We went back into the hut while another
Pirahã headed off to the jungle to bring
the children and women back to the village. Once inside, Mela just start cracking up
laughing. "What
in the name of God was
that dance about",
she asked me. "Invaders from outerspace", I answered.
We then sat and talked
while the men watched
us curiously. "This
is too good of an
opportunity to learn
more about the Amazon
and its people",
Craftie said and we
all nodded. "I think two of us should go to the
location on the note from Dark Embrace and
two should stay here with the Pirahã",
Twisted suggested. It was decided that since I had somehow earned
a small bit of respect
from the men folk
by my "scare
the bejesus out of the
airplane" dance,
that I should stay
behind...and of course
I am useless without
Mela, so she was
to stay also. Twisted and
Craftie were to go
and find a lead on what
happened to Embrace.
The four us met with the Leader and through
careful eye contact,
gestures and drawing
in the dirt, explained
to him what we wanted
to do. Suprisingly, he quickly understood and gestured
back that he would
send one of the tribesmen
with Twisted and
Craftie if we would
do one
thing in exchange.
He wanted to see
how our
guitars worked. We quickly changed into our Angel Kiss outfits
that had been washed
by the Pirahã women (and they smelled sooo fresh and clean),
and without any amplifiers, gave an improptu
concert for 36 Pirahã in the middle of the Amazon. Not fully understanding at first, the tribe
looked confused,
but then one by one
they
were up and dancing
and whistling. By
the
time we began singing
"Love Shack"
we had a full blown
party going, with
babies
being bounced on
knees - a wonderful
drink
being passed around
- and smiles on all
of
our faces. It could
have been a hoedown
back
in the hills of Appalachia
at Grannys Cabin.
These are just people like me..... and you.
They are not so different.
They laugh, cry,
hope and worry, just
like me...and you.
But
unlike me and you,
they are on their
way
to extinction. A
culture - a Tribe
- a People,
gone forever. And
they are not alone.
As
more and more countries
prosper, the more
natural resources
we will need to harvest.
The recent spike
in the price of oil
adds
a new danger to these
wonderful people
and
the world they live
in. In the upcoming weeks, we will be sending
out updates on Mela
and Tory's time with
the Pirahã, but in the meantime...reduce your
consumption. Moderation
is a pretty kewl
thing once you get
use to it, and it
just
takes a little bit
of doing the right
thing.
Here are some links
to help you learn
and
do the right thing.
Rainforest Action Network
A non-profit grass-roots
organization founded
in 1985 working to
protect tropical
rainforests
and the human rights
of those living in
and
around those forests.
A great visual site
with lots of information
and graphics.
Rainforest Foundation
Their mission is
to support Indigenous
and
traditional populations
of the rainforest
in their efforts
to protect their
environment
and fulfill their
rights by assisting
them.
APECA, Inc.
The Association Promoting
Education and Conservation
of the Amazon is
a non-profit organization
dedicated to the
conservation of the
Peruvian
Amazon rain forest,
its native peoples
and
their cultures. Founded
in 1993, APECA began
as a floating health
clinic, delivering
medical
services to the remote
Amazon river villages
of Loreto, Peru.
Since then, APECA
has established
programs in health
education, nutrition,
sanitation and natural
medicine.
Amazon Watch
Works with indigenous
and environmental
organizations
in the Amazon Basin
to defend the environment
and advance indigenous
peoples' rights in
the face of large-scale
industrial development-oil
& gas pipelines,
power lines, roads,
and other mega-projects.
The Rainforest Alliance
An international
nonprofit organization
dedicated
to the conservation
of tropical forests
which
has a great informative
website on rainforests
and conservation.
Mongo Bay
A wonderful and informative
website featuring:
A Place Out of Time
- Tropical Rainforests:
Their Wonders and
the Perils They Face
Conservation International
A nonprofit organization
using science, economics,
policy, and community
involvement to promote
biodiversity conservation
in rainforests
and other endangered
ecosystems worldwide.
Cultural Survival
A non-profit organization
founded in 1972
to defend the human
rights and cultural
autonomy
of indigenous peoples
and oppressed ethnic
minorities.
Trees for the Future
A non-profit, people-to-people,
action program
initiating environmental
projects around
the world.
CEIBA Foundation
for Tropical Conservation
A 501(c)(3) non-profit
whose mission is
to
promote the conservation
of ecosystem integrity
and biodiversity
in the American tropics.
They are currently
are working to establish
a locally-run orchid
reserve in Ecuador
and
offer tropical ecology
field courses to
U.S.
college students.
World Rainforest
Movement
A global network
of citizens' groups
of North
and South involved
in efforts to defend
the
world's rainforests
against the forces
that
destroy them. It
works to secure the
lands
and livelihoods of
forest peoples and
supports
their efforts to
defend the forests
from
commercial logging,
dams, mining, plantations,
shrimp farms, colonisation
and settlement
and other projects
that threaten them.
Amazon Conservation
Team
Headed by renowned
ethnobotanist Dr.
Mark
Plotkin, this non-profit
organization develops
and implements new
conservation strategies
that combine indigenous
knowledge with Western
science. They work
in Brazil, Colombia,
Suriname,
and Mexico, where
each project is managed
in partnership with
indigenous communities
sharing knowledge
and experience at
a grassroots
level.
The Amazon Center
for Environmental
Education
and Research Foundation
This Peruvian non-profit
provides environmental
education programs
for Peruvian students
and teachers, supports
basic and applied
research relevant
to rainforest ecology,
acquires threatened
tracts of primary
rainforest
land, and sponsors
rainforest ecology
workshops
in the Amazon.
Movement in the Amazon
for Tribal Subsistence
and Economic Sustainability
(MATESES)
The primary mission
of this non-profit
organization
is to offer assistance
to the Matsés indigenous
communities so that
this native Amazonian
tribe can conserve
their native culture
and
indigenous communal
reserve in a sustainable
and autonomous manner.
MATSES is distinctive
in that it is the
first non-profit
organization
whose members are
from the Matsés tribe
itself
rather than being
controlled by outsiders.
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I turned around ever so slowly, expecting
to see some wild beast with claws and teeth
shining in the firelight.
