Kayapo Indians
KAYAPO INDIANS
In the years before 1984 the Kayapo Indians of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil made war with neighbouring tribes and intruders.
Their traditional dress therefore were war like black and red body paint decorated by feathers and penis sheath bow and arrows and monkey masks. These traditional symbols gradually over the years were replaced by shorts and hand guns. It was their traditional war like dress. They pride themselves in it that they were always ready for war.
Eventually tribal skirmishes were replaced by their battles with the whites. They killed the loggers, rubber and nut gatherers, farmers, speculators and hunters. However these intruders brought many gifts with them. Hand guns, axes, shorts and beads. Another contribution the whites made were the extra revenue from gold mining. So the Indians decided to make peace with the whites and negotiated that a portion of the gold income would go towards the increase of the Kayapo Indians.
But their bellicosity did not end there. For they continued their protest against the whites as the Brazilian government intended to build dams. The Indians protested with the help of a rock star called Sting. He started the Rainforest Foundation Fund. They delayed the building of the dams for as long as possible.
However the people's habits changed due to the many influences from the outside world. The men started to reside in the white towns more often where they were drinking at gatherings and womanising the females. Kayapo villages used to consist of a dozen huts and a huge hut in the centre where the men discussed the matters concerning their existence. Their means of support have changed from hunting to mining and farming with the whites. The rivers became polluted.
Government corruption often killed the Indians that offered resistance. And due to the way that the circumstances are managed those crimes often go unpunished.
Due to the additional income of the Indians because of the mines, their health potential increased. Health care no longer relied on only the medicinal plants that they cultivated. Western medicine improved their health care.
Western retailers also made trade agreements with the Kayapo. Large retailers such as The Body Shop has benefited from the knowledge of the Indians regarding cosmetics and medicinal fragrances.
Whereas the former war like existence are replaced by more westernised mannerisms, their pro action to protect their forest and farm land made the Kayapo an economical force within the rainforest.
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