ACT In The News | March 2005

The Voyage of the Great Serpent

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Join the Amazon Conservation Team as we follow the Expedition to the Origins of the Tukano People

February 28, 2005

Join Julio, Wesley, Juan Guillermo, Payé Bernardo, and the rest of a diverse crew as they journey from Manaus down the Rio Negro, the Rio Vaupés, and the Rio Tiquíe, visiting the points of origin of the Tukano people. Tukano is a general term for a group of tribes living in the Vaupes border region of Colombia and Brazil. The Tukanos are known for their sacred celebration of the flutes, called Yuruparí. In November of 2004, with the sponsorship and assistance of the Amazon Conservation Team, the Tukanos on the Colombian side of the border formed an administrative union, ASATRIZY, as well as a Union of Healers, called Kumua Yoamara. The Õakhë (the Great Serpent, one of the Yuruparis) Expedition is the beginning of their mission to strengthen their culture and recover their history. Their journey follows the path that Õakhë took when he formed the rivers that run through their ancestral lands.

The Indians planned this journey as part of a collaborative process between ACT’s Brazil and Colombia program and the Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia. The crew is made up of a multidisciplinary team of Brazilian technicians and anthropologists, and indigenous representatives from Colombia—it includes cartographers, 2 anthropologists associated with the University of Brasilia, a communications professional and three indigenous elders, as well as a Dakota and Ojibway Indian taking part in a cultural exchange. At each Tukano cultural site along the route, they will create a video and photographic record.

Wesley works with Fabio, the indigenous vigilance coordinator, in Macapá.

The material gathered on the journey will be used to create a textbook for the communities on the points of origin and mythology of their tribes. It will also be used to create a cultural map, and as the basis of a workplan for ASATRIZY. All material collected and produced will be property of the indigenous communities involved and all production of materials will de done in Brazil by Brazilian technicians. We hope that it will foster greater collaborative efforts between ACT’s programs and its local partners.

Julio Borges is the lead anthropologist of the expedition. A doctoral student at the University of Brasilia, he is the resident anthropologist of the Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia.

Wesley is part of Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia’s technical team and responsible for the management of data and mapping of site locations. He will be working to elaborate the cultural data into a western map.

Luis Cayon is an anthropologist studying at the University of Brasilia and is an expert on the Tukano culture with a number of publications to his name.

Jake is part of an exchange that ACT is fostering between Canadian and Colombian Indians.

Juan Guillermo is a Culture and Communications professional who has worked with ACT since its inception.

Jake is a Dakota and Ojibway Indian who will be leading a conference on Youth and Indigenous Healing in 2006. He is part of an exchange that ACT is fostering between Canadian and Colombian Indians.

Payé Bernardo is an elder and leader of the Tatuyo tribe. He was named to the council of elders of Kumua Yoamara, the Union of Healers from the Yurupari Culture, which he worked to form in November of 2004.

Meeting to plan the final details.

Julio, Wesley, the Tukano elders and all members of the expedition met in Manaus last week to prepare and plan the final details of their trip, meet with local and indigenous authorities and oversee logistics. The members of the team will continue to keep both local and indigenous authorities informed of the progress of the expedition and will meet with indigenous leaders in São Gabriel.

The Õakhë Expedition set off on Monday, February 25. The participants will spend the next 15 days aboard the “Princesa do Amazonas,” the Princess of the Amazon. At that point they will take smaller boats and spend another 15 days between the border of Brazil and Colombia and should disembark at the end of the River Tiquíe, and return to their homes. We will be adding information to the website periodically to introduce you to the other members of the crew, and to follow the exciting discoveries of their journey.