The Yanomami villagers had trekked for days through some of Brazil’s most secluded jungles to reach the assembly, their traditional clothing announcing an existence deeply entwined with nature that stretched back thousands of years.
As they filed into a thatched communal hut to share stories of their lives, the forest dwellers wore armlets fashioned from toucan and macaw plumes and monkey-tail headbands. “It’s a symbol of unity because these little monkeys never get separated: they always roam together,” said local leader Júnior Hekurari as the group gathered in Kori Yauopë, a Yanomami hamlet on a table mountain.
“Today the Yanomami people are no longer crying because our children are no longer dying,” Hekurari told the meeting, recalling how his people had been pushed to the brink of destruction in recent…
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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14 February 2025