after hiking down from the harsh, bitter and rugged andes, we
slowly made our way down to sea level and the amazon river.
peppered along it's famous banks,
hidden in the thickest of rainforest jungle
...are primitive tribes, like the okaina
indians, 
living as they have for 
hundreds of years.
their rich cultures and time honored
traditions still thrive, even for the strangers who pass through.
we travelled deep into the darkeset jungles
of the amazon to find the maharunas tribe. though they are very
timid, they invited us to live among them for several days.
the elders tatoo their faces to mimic the fierce jaguar.
the jaguar is revered for it's
hunting prowess.
to heighten their own skills
the men of the tribe inject themselves with the toxic venom of
a tree frog
the frog excretes it's poison when it's agitated.
then the tribesman rubs the paste onto his wounds.
within
15 seconds the man begins to vomit.
he is purging his body of all that is evil.
the belief is the ceremony will make him pure so
that when he is hunting, he is more accurate.
the mahrunas, also known as the matses,
are said to be able to talk to the jungle...
 and
are believed to actually call their prey to them.
we hiked for several difficult hours
through dense primary jungle
 searching
for monkey. 
the matses, unlike most tribes living
along the river, whose diets are restricted to fish, are meat
eaters.
monkey is a delicacy.
i'm smiling at the end of
our hunt, because this day...
...we did not find monkey.
instead, we came home with jungle
turkey... a much more palatable, if less exotic prize, in our
humble opinions. |