Monday, June 2, 2008

It's a Jungle Out There


Isolated Indians #3 Detail
Originally uploaded by Critical Todd

This completely blows my mind: an isolated, untouched indigenous tribe was spotted in Brazil. I found this first via the History Buff blog and then the BBC:

One of South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed on the border between Brazil and Peru.

The Brazilian government says it took the images to prove the tribe exists and help protect its land.

The pictures, taken from an aeroplane, show red-painted tribe members brandishing bows and arrows.

I had no idea anybody still remained unsullied by the long march of industrialized history - the great homogenization of the globe. It's amazing that they've survived outside the world as we know it for so long. I hope they can stay out there now that they've been "found".

I would love to know what they thought of the airplane that flew overhead. Had they seen them before? What did they think it was? With bows brandished, they clearly weren't rolling out the red carpet for it but what did they think?

Having asked the question, I really don't want to know the answer because knowing would mean interacting with their system and, inevitably, destroying it in the process. I'm sure they'd rather be left alone. I'm not an expert in body language but I think that bow-ready stance is an indicator that, yes, they'd like to be left alone. I hope we can oblige them.