Brazilian photographer shows how indigenous tribes live in the 21st century

The indigenous people lived alone in Brazilian territory for thousands of years until the arrival of the first Europeans. And in some cases, despite the genocide suffered by these peoples and the greed of those who want to profit by exploiting the natural riches present in indigenous territories, some tribes manage to maintain their traditions and customs.

Photographer Ricardo Stuckert visited some ancient indigenous tribes and created the Brazilian Indians project, dedicated to the native peoples of our country. He showed the world how communities live that are far from technological advances.

1. Akuku Kamayurá, São Miguel River

Veadeiros Plateau

The indigenous people of Brazilian territory lead a semi-nomadic life, dedicating themselves to hunting, gathering and agriculture. Both men and women participate in diving and fishing.

From birth, children participate in adult activities, learning everything in practice. The little ones are carried in a special fabric, in a cover or with the help of a kind of portable cradle made of wood or cane. Often, the father takes his young children to hunts, in order to train them. At the age of 13 or 14, young Indians undergo initiation ceremonies, which mark their entry into adulthood.

Men travel long distances in search of food, while whole groups go out to collect honey and other items, including wood for building houses, straw for roofs and bird feathers used to make ornaments.

The encounter between the Indians and the European settlers was tragic: many indigenous people were killed or enslaved. Of about 2,000 tribes, there were only 200. Some of them remain without contact with the outside world or with the culture of the “white man”.

The Indians were the first to sleep in hammocks as a way to protect themselves against bites from snakes, spiders and dangerous animals. Typical Brazilian cuisine has inherited many indigenous habits, such as the custom of drinking mate, eating açaí and manioc.

6. Rain of stars

Veadeiros Plateau

Many of the contemporary Brazilian Indians only speak Portuguese, and only half of them retain knowledge of traditional languages. In Brazil, it is estimated that there are about 200 of these languages.

7. Pataxó Indians at dawn

Bahia

8. Children of the Axanincas tribe playing

Acre

The indigenous people discovered chocolate, popcorn and the habit of chewing plants. They showed the ability to make corn kernels explode, used rubber tree extract to chew, and invented the word “chocolate”.

The Brazilian Constitution has a special chapter, “On the Indians”, in which the social organization, customs, traditions, languages ​​and beliefs of the Indians are recognized, in addition to the right to the land traditionally occupied by them.

13. Representative of the Axanincas tribe

Acre

Ricardo Stuckert started his photographic project “Brazilian Indians” in 2015. Its main purpose was to show the world the traditional way of life of indigenous people in Brazil, revealing their harmonious coexistence with nature, the ability to maintain their traditions and value everything that is given by nature.

These people live in a world without cell phones, notebooks, shortcuts to get to work earlier, supermarkets open 24 hours, credit cards or the Internet. Would you like – and could you – live like this?