Figure 1.--This photograph was taken by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro in 1977. It shows Yawalapiti children in their characteristic village. The village is circular in shape, and has communal houses surrounding a clean square. In the center of the Square, a house is frequented only by the men and this is where the sacred flutes are played.

The Yawalapiti are another Brazilian Amazonian Basin tribe. They inhabit the Upper Xingu region. It is not clear, however, where they lived at the time of the Conquest and when they arrived at their resent location on the Xingu. Some Native American scholars believe that the Yawalapiti and other tribes retreated to these remote locations to evade the drepedations of Portuguese slave raiders. Because of this remote location, they were never found in colonial times. The first historical contact with Europeans occurred in 1887. Karl von den Steinen first encountered them in his Amazonian expedition. The photograph on the previous page shows a group of boys playing with their bows and arrows. Like most Amazonian people, the boys only wear waist belts. The adobe hut in the background may reflect Portuguese technology rather than their native technology.

Created: 7:31 AM 2/12/2009
Last updated: 7:31 AM 2/12/2009