The Arara call themselves Ukarangma, or ?red macaw people?. They number about 200 and are avid hunters and fishers.
The Arara Indians of Brazilian Amazonia are fighting for their survival
against waves of armed loggers, ranchers and colonists who are
destroying their forest homeland. Imprisoned within their own land, one
Arara described leading 'a life of terror' as the forest echoes to the
constant roar of chainsaws felling mahogany and other valuable
hardwoods.
How do they live? The Arara call themselves Ukarangma, or ?red
macaw people'. They number about 200 and are avid hunters and fishers.
They also grow cassava, sweet potato, corn, bananas and pineapple in
communal gardens. When hunters return from a successful hunt, meat is
exchanged for fermented drinks and the whole community celebrates
together for several days, singing and playing flutes. For feasts and
rituals, the Arara paint themselves in stunning, bold designs using a
black dye called genipapo.
They live in large communal houses built from wood and palm fronds collected in the forest.
What problems do they face? The Arara's recent history has been
one of persecution and violent contact with jaguar skin hunters, rubber
tappers, settlers and, latterly, loggers. For years they eluded contact
and fought hard to defend their land. FUNAI, the government's Indian
affairs department, tried desperately to make contact with the tribe
throughout the 1970s before the Transamazonia highway cut through the
heart of their territory. Contact was finally made between 1981 and
1987. Today the Arara's forests (which are rich in mahogany and other
hardwoods) are coveted by logging companies which have bulldozed roads
though their land. The roads have attracted settlers - there are an
estimated 1,000 families now living on Arara land. As the loggers
and settlers continue to destroy the forest, the game on which the
Arara rely is becoming scarce.
How does Survival help? In 1992, Survival and local NGOs
successfully campaigned for the dismantling of Bannach logging
company's sawmill, built illegally in the heart of Arara land. This
finally happened in 1995. Survival recently launched an international
campaign for the recognition of Cachoeira Seca, the land belonging to
the last group of Arara to be contacted, in 1987. FUNAI started to
demarcate this area (place concrete posts marking the boundaries) in
2004, but has twice suspended its work under pressure from loggers and
settlers. In January 2005 FUNAI announced that the boundaries will be
?reviewed'. Survival fears this may result in a reduction in the size
of the territory and is calling for the immediate demarcation of the
entire area.
