The Isolated Tribe That Time Forgot

Documents first contact with members of a previously isolated tribe called the Txapanawa on the bank of the Envira River in the village of Simpatia in Brazil. The Anthropologist is José Carlos Meirelles.

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From “First Contact: Lost Tribes Of The Amazon”
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– Paper was like gold in Medieval times. – I want tobacco, sugar. – That everything we thought we knew about the world might turn out to be completely wrong. – [Narrator] Over 7 billion people now inhabit our earth. But in the remotest corners of the planet, a few men and women still live in complete isolation. Untouched by modern civilization, many of these tribes live deep in the Amazon rainforest. Very occasionally, they are caught on camera. Now something astonishing is happening. Some of these hidden tribes are emerging from the forests and terrorizing local communities. There is a war in the jungle. Could these be the last days of the tribes that time forgot? People who show us what we once were. This man is one of them. He takes us to the heart of their fight for survival. From deep in the rainforest on the Brazilian border with Peru, a small group of men appeared in June, 2014. The moment these isolated men and women first seek to join the outside world, so-called first contact has almost never been caught on film. This footage taken by a Brazilian anthropologist went viral. The world marveled that such people still exist, untouched, indeed uncorrupted by our modern world. The anthropologists struggled to find a common language. They only really understood one word, Shara, which means good. As the local inhabitants cower in fear, the men ransack the village. Desperate attempts are made by a team of local anthropologists to prevent them. – [Anthropologist] No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no-no. No! – [Narrator] The anthropologists know that the isolated tribes have no immunity to common viruses making objects and clothing a real danger. These first moments of contact are fraught with risk. The man in blue, Carlos Meirelles, one of the world’s leading experts in uncontacted tribes struggles to keep things under control. It’s nine months later. Carlos Meirelles, the anthropologist who attempted to keep control that day returns on the eight-day boat journey upstream. He’s heading for the place where the first contact occurred. Meirelles has spent his life dealing with uncontacted tribes. He wants to find out what brought these men out and whether this signals the end of humans living in total isolation. The men came out at Simpatia, the last inhabited outpost on this river whose source is in the headwaters of the Amazon.

It’s on the northern edge of a reserve for isolated peoples the size of Ireland that straddles the border between Brazil and Peru. Meirelles arrives at Simpatia, home to a large tribal community who joined the outside world over a century ago. The man was speaking a language which relates to that of another local tribe. But that day people barely understood each other. Their words have now been fully translated and they reveal the group was fleeing something terrible. – Fish. – Fish. – Fish. – [Narrator] These first hours of contact were really tense with the anthropologists constantly saying no. – [Carlos] No, no, no, no, no. – [Narrator] The day turned into an intricate dance of understanding and misunderstanding, particularly when Meirelles and his colleagues attempted to sing back to them. In the end, 35 men and women emerged from isolation following the encounter filmed that day on the beach. Now, nine months later, Carlos Meirelles moves on to their new settlement, a four-hour boat journey up river from where they first appeared. The 35 are settling under the protection of the Brazilian authorities. We are the first outsiders permitted to meet them, to find out what life was like in isolation

And what finally drove them out. Nine months ago, this man lived his life in complete isolation from the outside world. He was the leader of the group that sought contact in June, 2014. His name is Shina. This rare piece of footage of a temporary encampment was shot deep in the rainforest over the border inside Peru. Frightened locals work out it was in use recently. Shina describes the realities of living in the forest without tools, clothing, or hammocks. Shina and the other 34 now live under the protection of FUNAI, Brazil’s Federation for indigenous peoples. In the new home they are building on the riverbank, they are encouraged to live much as they did before though FUNAI provides clothes, tools and medical help. The 14 men, nine women and 12 children are part of the Sapanawa tribe. They speak a dialect related to local languages

Which enables our translators to communicate. Shina came out with his wife Powo and her monkeys. The translators such as Maria in the hammock are vital to the process of transition. Carlos Meirelles wants to find out what their relationship with the outside world was before they came out. The Sapanawa measure time in terms of the sun and the moon but they cannot count beyond 10, making it impossible to tell their age or even how long they live. Almost a year after their first contact, it is clear that the memories of what drove them out of the jungle still haunt them. Meirelles believes the massacre took place on the Peruvian side of the border where control is much weaker. The Sapanawa struggle to identify which whites attacked them. They think it may have been the Peruvian military but there’s no way of knowing. Building trust is complicated and can be dangerous. Over a hundred FUNAI agents have been killed by uncontacted Indians in the past 20 years. Even Meirelles is lucky to be alive. 10 years ago, he took an arrow through his neck. Violence towards the Amazonian tribes has a long history and not simply from the Spanish conquistadors. In the early 20th century, the rubber industry took over huge swathes of the Amazon Basin. They turned some tribes into slave workers. The rubber companies sent out hunters to capture or exterminate tens of thousands of others.

Some estimate 90% of all indigenous Indians were wiped out. The Sapanawa may not be a lost tribe after all, for all these years they’d been in hiding. But over a hundred years, these tribes have survived down these rivers. But in the past few years, it is not just the Sapanawa who have been seen. Over the border in Peru, there have been more extraordinary sightings and confrontations, which may yet lead to war. This huge forest reserve that stretches over 30,000 square miles is home to the majority of the last uncontacted people on the planet. Entry from outside is prohibited. The Sapanawa Indians who emerged in Brazil came out on its Northern boundary, hundreds of miles to the south in Peru. Just months later, another isolated tribe

Has being causing chaos. These are refugees returning home after their town of Monte Salvado was invaded by the Mashco-Piro, an uncontacted tribe who have a fearsome reputation. Over a hundred of these legendary nomadic warriors appeared on the far side of the river in a huge display of power. After ransacking the empty town, the Mashco-Piro melted back into the jungle. No one knows how many there are, what brought them here, or if they will return. The inhabitants of Monte Salvado feel helpless and terrified. They are not allowed by law to defend themselves. They must retreat. But after the recent appearance of the Mashco-Piro, the villagers say they refuse to run away again. Ernesto, one of the leaders in Monte Salvado crosses the river into their territory to check that the Mashco have really left the area. The laws contact mean little is known about the Mashco. Are they flourishing? Or are they under attack from outside? The Mashco Piro may have left the area of Monte Salvado, but further down river, a group of about 30 have been entering another town on the edge of the reserve. Locals are afraid. In the spring of 2015, for the minister and his wife, fear turned to tragedy. In response to the killing, the villages armed themselves sought out the Mashco-Piro camp and destroyed their bows and arrows. The Peruvian Ministry of Culture sends a team in an attempt to prevent full-scale conflict breaking out. Led by Louis Philippe, they face more villages in revolt. Convention insist the Mashco-Piro should be left alone in that isolation, but on the ground, realities are making this increasingly difficult. A few miles up river, Louis Philippe has set up a post with a translator and a doctor in an attempt to keep the Mashco away from Shipatiari. The Mashco that killed the boy are camped on the other side of the river. The killing is just part of the wider crisis.

Mashco-Piro and other tribes are making various forms of contact. Some have undoubtedly been driven out by loggers or drug traffickers But the team now believes something more fundamental might be happening, a kind of teenage rebellion. Without contacting the Mashco-Piro directly, the team cannot control the situation. The law is there to protect the tribes and to leave the decision on whether to make contact to them. But this means the translator Rommel can’t easily find out how they’ve responded to having their weapons destroyed. He crosses the river into Mashco-Piro territory to check on any recent activity. – Si, aha. – Si. – [Narrator] Ramo worries that since losing their bows and arrows, the Masco had been reduced to hunting with stones. Before the killing, there were 30 Mashco in the group. Recently, the team has seen only five. Just as they are preparing to leave the post, three Mashco-Piro appear on the other side of the river. With only three Mashco on the beach, they are concerned it could be a trap. The law states, they shouldn’t cross the river to make direct contact, but Rommel sees an opportunity to win trust and calm the situation. The team know that these first moments of contact are the most dangerous. The translator, Rommel and the government doctor have been lured over the river to treat an injured Mashco-Piro woman for the first time. They have no idea if the rest of the group are just behind the tree line They take out a small camera. The little boy tells Rommel there is another injured woman behind the trees. Providing modern medicine to uncontacted people breaks every rule in the anthropological book, potentially creating a dependence on the outside world. The head of the mission, Louis Philippe worries from the other side of the river. He’s gambling that with trust, they will be able to control the actions of the Mashco-Piro. Rommel had previously left a gift of bananas hidden on the beach. It seems a deep fear of the outside world has kept these peoples isolated for so long. And that that fear is coming to an end. Equally, the reality of their existence ends our romantic dreams of noble savages, still living in the garden of Eden. Hundreds, maybe a thousand Mashco-Piro and other people still roam these rainforests, isolated from a world with which they have been at war for generations, Whilst the 35 Sapanawa who emerged over the border in Brazil seem to be coming to terms with their new life. FUNAI’s protection has ensured that for the first time, contact has not led to any deaths from illness. This is Shirimaku, Shina’s friend also caught on camera emerging from total isolation, 10 months ago. He’s bringing a new girlfriend and her son from another tribe back to the home they are building. He met her in Simpatia, the town up river where he first emerged. Nine-year-old Kori-Kori, quickly feels at home with our camera. For Carlos Meirelles, the recent emergence of the tribes is part of an irreversible process. But the fittest do not always survive. After a few days, Shirimaku’s girlfriend has to leave the camp.