The Kawahiva People

An aerial image of a Kawahiva village (source)

Brazil has the largest amount of isolated Indigenous groups living in the Amazon of any country in the world. One of those groups is called the Kawahiva people: a small group of around 25-50 people living near Colniza, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

The Kawahiva people live near the area of Colniza, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil (source)

A TRIBE ON THE RUN

The Kawahiva people have been great farmers who planted cassava and corn, but have now turned to a nomadic life as hunter-gatherers in order to stay hidden from outsiders.

Because they are so cut off from society, not very much is known about the Kawahiva people’s customs, culture or social structure. Most of what is known about them is from what they leave behind. There have been arrows, baskets, spinning wheels to make baskets and sleeping mats found in their region. What the Kawahiva people seem to be known best for today is being on the run.

The Kawahiva people live as nomads. They travel in small family groups around the Amazon basin to escape from loggers, hunters and other intruders who want what their land has to offer (things like logs, minerals and animals). Loggers and land theives seem to be the Kawahiva people’s biggest threats and they have no peaceful contact with any outsiders.

PROTECTING THE KAWAHIVA LAND

Because the Kawahiva people are so small in number and so isolated, they have been very hard to protect. Over the past decade, people have worked to preserve the land and lives of the Kawahiva people by creating what is known as the "Kawahiva Reserve". Loggers and other people in the agriculture business strongly fight back against this and even claim that the the Kawahiva people do no exist. When the Kawahiva people were finally caught on film by FUNAI, Brazil’s indigenous agency, there was finally proof that they were real, but the loggers still pushed back against giving such a large amount of land (over 4,000 square kilometres) to a small amount of people. 

MY THOUGHTS

Researching the Kawahiva tribe made me think about isolation. 

I am a very social person and I barely ever want isolation. Even when my family wants a quiet night at home, I am thinking about what I will do with my friends next or what group event is coming up for me. I love people and really love being social. I can't imagine living an isolated life, like the Kawahiva people do, and running away and hiding from others. 

Or at least, that's what I thought...but then I remembered that they are not alone. The Kawahiva people are in isolation with their family and their tribe. To be honest, if me and my friends had the chance to go live in a forest for a year I think that maybe we would run away from anyone trying to change that, too! When I put myself in their shoes, I realize that they are not really alone at all. They are trying to protect what they know, what they love and what they are used to.

THE AMAZON IS HOME TO MANY

It also made me think differently about fighting to protect the Amazon. It's not just about the beautiful green rainforests or all the amazing species of animals living there that we need to protect; it's about the people who call the Amazon their home. Just because they don't live like your or me, in a house with walls, what they know in the Amazon is their home and we need to help protect that, too.

Geovanio Pantoja Katukina from FUNAI said "the defence of territory is fundamental fo the survival of isolated indigenous people" and I agree.