ASHANINKA INDIANS IN BRAZIL

ASHANINKA IS AN ARAWAKEN LANGUAGE . THERE ARE MORE THAN 50,000 PEOPLE WHO SPEAK THIS LANGUAGE. THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS ARE IN THE FOREST IN PERU AND BRAZIL. THEIR NAME MEANS KINSMEN. THEY REPRESENT THE LARGEST INDIGENOUS GROUP IN BRAZIL AND AMAZON AREA AND AMAZON AREA. THEY HAVE SEVEN DIFFERENT GROUPS WHO LIVE SCATTERED LIVES IN MORE THAN 200 COMMUNITIES.

THEY DEPEND ON SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE. THEY USE SLASH AND BURN TECHNIQUES. THEY PLANT YUCCA, CORN,SWEET POTATOES, BANANAS, RICE , COFFEE, CACAO, AND SUGAR CANE. THEY ALSO HUNT AND FISH USING BOWS AND ARROWS AND SPEARS. THEY ALSO COLLECT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN THE JUNGLE. THEY HAVE A FIERCE AND INDEPENDANT PERSONALITY.

THE WOMEN WEAR A ROBE FROM COTTON THAT IS COLLECTED AND SPUN DYED. WOMEN WEAVE THEM ON LOOMS. THEY PUT SEEDS ON THEM. IT TAKES THREE MONTHS TO MAKE. THEY WEAR THEIR HAIR LONG. THE MEN WEAR THEIR HAIR SHORT. THEY WEAR NECKLACES AND BRACELETS FROM SEEDS AND FEATHERS. ALL OF THEIR TRIBE PAINT THERE FACES. THEY INCREASINGLY WEAR CAST OFF WESTERN CLOTHES.

SINCE THE 1950'S ASHININKA TERRITORY HAS BEEN REDUCED AND THEIR SETTLEMENTS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. THEY HAVE BUILT A RETREAT BY THE ASHANINKA PEOPLE IN THE JUNGLE. A SMALL COMMUNITY OF 600 HAVE LAND RIGHTS.

DURING THE 1900'S THEIR INTERNAL CONFLICT IN PERU DISPLACEMENT AND DEATH IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THEIR DISPLACEMENT AND DEATHS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THEIR GARDENS WERE BURNED. THEIR LEGAL PAPERS WERE DESTROYED. SOME WERE ENSLAVED AND MANY FLED TO OTHER AREAS. THEY COULD NOT HUNT OR FISH BECAUSE OF THE DANGERS FROM ARMED FORCES. MALNUTRITION WAS A PROBLEM TOO. ACCORDING TO ONE COMMISSION, 10,000 ASHANINKA WERE DISPLACED, 6000 DIED, AND 15,000 WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE DURING THIS TIME. ABOUT 40 OF THEIR COMMUNITIES DISAPPEARED. MALARIA IS ON THE RISE DUE TO CLEARING OF TRACTS OF LANDS BY LOGGERS AND COLONISTS, AS ARE OTHER DISEASES BROUGHT IN. IN THE EARLY 2000 THEY GAINED LEGAL TITLE TO A PORTION OF THEIR LANDS. THEY MAPPED THEM USING GPS TECHNOLOGY. THESE LANDS ARE NOW A NATIONAL PARK. THEY ARE INVOLVED IN STRENGTHENING THEIR CULTURE. MOST ASHANINKA HAVE PROJECTS THAT SUPPORT THEIR COMMUNITY AND MANY HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS.

THEY CURRENTLY HAVE THREATS FROM OIL COMPANIES, DRUG TRAFFIC, COLONISTS, ILLEGAL LUMBERERS, ILLEGAL ROADS, CONSERVATION FROM DISEASES FROM OUTSIDERS AND CONSERVATION GROUPS. ROADS HAVE BEEN BUILT INTO THE FOREST TO EXTRACT MAHOGANY AND CEDAR TREES FOR EXPORT.

MISSIONARY GROUPS ARE INTENT ON CHANGING ASHININKA CULTURE AND BELIEF SYSTEM. AND SOME OTHER GROUPS WHO ARE EXPLOITING PROBLEMS WITHIN BECAME WORSE AS A DIRECT OF THE VIOLENT UPHEAVAL OVER A DECADE AGO. THEY HAVE SOME PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP AN ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE AREA. OTHER ASHANINKA HAVE MOVED FURTHER INTO THE JUNGLE, CHOOSING ISOLATION.

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