Tuesday, November 22, 2011

BORA INDIANS IN PERU

BORA INDIANS LIVE IN A DEEP PERUVIAN JUNGLE ALONG THE AMAZON AND AMPIRICU RIVERS. HISTORICALLY THEY HAD ENEMIES AS WELL AS ALLIES. THEY ARE ARTISTICALLY TALENTED TRIBES, MAKING MASKS, DOLLS, RATTLES AND BLOWGUNS. MANY CRAFTS ARE FROM BARK CLOTH. THEY MAKE BARK CLOTH FROM INNER BARK OF FIG TREE AND IS BEATEN IT IS PAPER THIN. THEY THEN MAKE SHORT SKIRTS AND FOR BOTH. A PALM TREE IS USED TO MAKE TWINE FOR BAGS AND HAMMOCKS. THE HUITOTO,THEIR ENEMY, WORE NO BLOUSES. THE BORA WOMEN WERE A DRESS. BOTH SEXES WEAR NO NECKLACES,FEATHERS, BUT THEY DO PAINT THEIR BODIES WITH RED AND WHITE PAINT.

ONE OF THE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN IQUITOS IS THE BORA INDIANS WHO LIVE IN SAN ANDRE VILLAGE. THEY HAVE ABOUT 3000 NATIVE SPEAKERS ALL LIVING IN PERU AND COLUMBIA. THE BORA LANGUAGE IS SIMILAR TO THE HUITOTO. THE BORA HAVE DIFFERENT CLANS REPRESENTED BY AN ANIMAL. THEY PAINT THEIR FACES WITH DIFFERENT DESIGNS BASED ON THEIR CLAN. THEY MUST MARRY OUTSIDE OF THEIR CLAN.

THE BORAS DO NOT DANCE AS THEY DO FOR TOURISTS IN IQUITOS. INSTEAD THEY USE LARGE SIX FIX FOOT BATONS THAT THEY FOUND IN UNISON ON THE GROUND AS THEY DANCE. THE BATONS HAVE SHELLS ATTACHED TO THEM FOR MUSIC HARMONY. THEY OFTEN DANCE ALL NIGHT IN THEIR CEREMONIES. ONE AUTHENTIC ITEM YOU CAN VIEW IN THEIR VILLAGE IS THE BORA MANGUARE DRUM. THEY HAVE DIFFERENT FORMS OF DRUMS AND THEY CONSIDER THEM MALE OR FEMALE.

THEY ALSO PEEL THE BARK OF A PALM TREE AND POUND IT WITH A WOODEN HAMMER. AFTER THEY POUND IT ONLY THE INNER BARK IS LEFT. THIS FABRIC IS LIKE BURLAP AND THEY USE NATURAL DYES. THEY USE GINGER FROM PRESSED GREEN FRUIT HUITO TREE.

THEY ALSO WEAVE WITH BAGS FROM A PALM FIBER CALLED CHAMBRI. A KEY INGREDIENT IN MAINTAINING A NATIVE CULTURE IS USING THEIR TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE. IF YOU TALK TO THE CHILDREN YOU WILL SEE THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGE.

ANOTHER TEST OF THEIR CULTURAL INTEGRITY IS THAT THEY STILL USE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEDICINAL USE OF BORAS. COCA LEAVES ARE USED IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS TO PROVIDE THEM SOME NUTRIENTS IN THEIR DIET. IT ALLOWS THEM TO WORK EXTENDED HOURS WITHOUT EXHAUSTION. THEY DO NOT HAVE CHEW THE RAW LEAVES AS THEY DO IN THE MOUNTAINS -THE BORA DRY THE LEAVES OVER A FIRE AND POUND THEM IN A POWDER. THIS POWDER IS BLOWN IN THEIR NOSE!

THE BORA INDIANS ARE PRESERVING THEIR CULTURE BY A SUSTAINABLE AGROFORESTRY PROJECT IN BRILLO NUEVO. SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED THAT FROM OBSERVATIONS ON TRADITIONAL BORA FORESTRY. THEY ARE MAKING NEW MODELS OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE THAT WILL SUSTAIN THE TROPICAL RAIN FOREST RATHER THAN DESTROY IT. THE BORAS WERE A SEMINOMADIC TRIBE AND THEIR ANCESTRAL HOMELAND WAS ON COLOMBIA. THEY LIVED IN A COMMUNAL HOUSE. THEY WERE NOMADS PRACTICING SHIFTING CULTIVATIONS AND THEY SUBSIDIZED THEIR DIET BY HUNTING AND THEY PRACTICED SHIFTING CULTIVATIONS AND FISHED.

BY 1900 THE AMAZON RUBBER BOOM CHANGED THE WAYS OF THE BORAS FOREVER. THIS PERIOD WAS DISASTROUS FOR THE BORA COMMUNITIES. THEY WERE FORCED TO HARVEST LATEX FROM STANDS OF RUBBER TREES. THE BEFORE THE BOOM THE BORA INDIGENOUS POPULATION WAS ESTIMATED AT 15,000. YEARS LATER PERU'S LOSS OF THE BORDER WAR WITH COLUMBIA IN 1930'S MADE THE M EVACUATE TO IQUITOS.

INDIANCULTURES.COM

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