The uncontactable Bravos

Published April 3, 2014
A Huni Kui Indian prepares a drink known as nixi pae or ayahuasca to use in a healing ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A Huni Kui Indian prepares a drink known as nixi pae or ayahuasca to use in a healing ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A Huni Kui Indian smokes herbs during a ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A Huni Kui Indian smokes herbs during a ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
Ashaninka Indian children run down the bank of the Envira river to greet a boat near their village of Simpatia in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
Ashaninka Indian children run down the bank of the Envira river to greet a boat near their village of Simpatia in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A spiritual leader (R) of the Huni Kui Indian tribe performs a ceremony for a sacred samauma (silk-cotton) tree outside the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river in Brazil's northwestern Acre state,
A spiritual leader (R) of the Huni Kui Indian tribe performs a ceremony for a sacred samauma (silk-cotton) tree outside the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river in Brazil's northwestern Acre state,
A Madija Indian child walks from one of the village huts which is a frequent target of raids by uncontacted Indians in the village of Dsama, along the Envira river in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A Madija Indian child walks from one of the village huts which is a frequent target of raids by uncontacted Indians in the village of Dsama, along the Envira river in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A view of the Shubua, or house of prayer, in the Huni Kui tribe's village of Me Txanava in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A view of the Shubua, or house of prayer, in the Huni Kui tribe's village of Me Txanava in Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A Huni Kui Indian prepares a drink known as nixi pae or ayahuasca to use in a healing ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state,
A Huni Kui Indian prepares a drink known as nixi pae or ayahuasca to use in a healing ritual in the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state,
A spiritual leader (R) of the Huni Kui Indian tribe blows an herbal powder into the nose of a tribal member during a ceremony outside the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.
A spiritual leader (R) of the Huni Kui Indian tribe blows an herbal powder into the nose of a tribal member during a ceremony outside the village of Novo Segredo along the Envira river of Brazil's northwestern Acre state.

Many indigenous groups, including the Huni Kui, Ashaninka, and Madija, live in villages in the Brazilian rainforest near the border with Peru. Over the past three years, the Ashaninka and Madija say that they have seen more and more incursions on their territory from uncontacted tribes, defined by Survival International as groups who have no peaceful contact with mainstream society. The “Bravos,” or “Braves,” as uncontacted Indians are called in the region, carry out raids on other villages, putting the communities along the Envira River on permanent alert. Leaders of the Ashaninka tribe have asked the government and NGOs for help in controlling what they consider an encroachment on their area by these uncontacted indigenous groups, stating that the movement of these other tribes is the result of pressure caused by illegal logging across the border in Peru. — Photos and text by Reuters.

Opinion

Editorial

Closed doors
Updated 08 Jan, 2025

Closed doors

The nation’s fate has been decided through secret deals for too long, with the result that the citizenry has become increasingly alienated from the state.
Debt burden
08 Jan, 2025

Debt burden

THE federal government’s total debt stock soared by above 11pc year-over-year to Rs70.4tr at the end of November,...
GB power crisis
08 Jan, 2025

GB power crisis

MASS protests are not a novelty in Pakistan, and when the state refuses to listen through the available channels —...
Fragile peace
Updated 07 Jan, 2025

Fragile peace

Those who have lost loved ones, as well as those whose property has been destroyed in the clashes, must get justice.
Captive power cut
07 Jan, 2025

Captive power cut

THE IMF’s refusal to relax its demand for discontinuation of massively subsidised gas supplies to mostly...
National embarrassment
Updated 07 Jan, 2025

National embarrassment

The global eradication of polio is within reach and Pakistan has no excuse to remain an outlier.