Visiting the Fierce People
by
Stuart Rawlings
Lots
of Americans like to get away from their normal tedious life by taking
a cruise --maybe to Alaska or the Caribbean. Others might like a
culinary tour of Tuscany, or a visit to China's Tienaman Square. More
out-of-the-way trips might include a ride on the Trans-Siberian
Railway, or maybe a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest.
However, if you are like me, you might prefer to go back in
time
for a deeper adventure --living with a tribe of Amazon Indians who are
called "the fierce people" and who were cannibals just a few years
ago.
You start by learning a few words of Spanish. Then fly to Iquitos, "The jungle capital of Peru." Stay at a medium-priced hotel there, such as the "Bon-Bini," and then contact the guide
services of Moises Vieras --everybody knows him. Tell him you know "El
Profesor Stuart," and add that you want to visit Dunu, in the Matses
village of Anushi. Ask him how much this would cost, and then
tell him you'll think it over. Wait two nights. Then, when he comes
down to half price, tell him you could pay half of that - max!
He's likely to say yes. Make sure that this price includes a
full-time guide/cook (preferably Carlos, the one we used) and all the
hammocks, tarps, nets, cooking utensils, food, aspirin, and gasoline
and other expenses you'll need. Don't forget to shop in the local
market for presents for the Indians: a couple of machetes, some fish
hooks, tee shirts, and bras, beads and make-up for the women. Be sure
to bring photos of your family to show people.
Figure about two weeks for the trip from Iquitos. You'll fly by military plane an hour east to Puerto Angamas, which is on the Yavari River, bordering Peru and Brazil. When you tie your hammock to two posts at the only "motel" there, don't listen to them when they tell you that there are no sancudos (mosquitoes). And don't be careless about leaving your skin against the mosquito net as you sleep. Both sancudos and vampiros (vampire bats living in the rafters above) will come down to suck your blood if you make this mistake.
Hire a Matses/Spanish interpreter. Be prepared to give a few bribes ($5 each) to police officials as you try to leave Angamos by pequepeque (motorized canoe). Sit still in the pequepeque (which has a waterline of about one inch), or you will tip over. And don't worry about the shark-like fins you see in the water --they belong to large fresh-water dolphins.
It should take about eight hours to reach Anushi, and then Dunu and his family (four wives, thirty-some children) will great you warmly. Give them a couple of machetes to establish your good intentions. Let your guide/cook boil your water and cook your meals. (These may vary from chicken to wild pig, and piranha to crocodile.) And ask Dunu lots of questions about his wives, about tiger-hunting, and about how he ate the dead bodies of his mother and father, not many years ago.
Learn a few words of the Matses language, and practice these with the children. Give some of the aspirin to Indians in nearby huts who are sick. Go out on bird hunts, and cool off with swims in the quebradas (The piranhas and electric eels in the local streams generally won't bother you.) Enjoy a world devoid of TV, radio, or cell phones; and listen to all Dunu's jokes --you'll love his stories, even if you can't understand a word of Matses.
You may be visited by some strange creatures in the daytime (such as ants and spiders ready for central casting in Hollywood) or nighttime (such as large, hairy sloths). Enjoy them. And enjoy the long distance between you and all of the truly civilized world.
At the end of your stay with Dunu, give him and his family almost everything you have which you are not wearing. And graciously accept his laundry list of things he wants you to bring him on your next visit (like a shotgun and an outboard motor). Give him and his wives a big hug good-bye, and then return to the rather tedious, mundane world that you left behind.
photo courtesy of Stuart Rawlings (Shuish, the third wife of Dunu. She is showing off the traditional tiger whiskers of her Matses tribe)
© Stuart Rawlings, 2008
You start by learning a few words of Spanish. Then fly to Iquitos, "The jungle capital of Peru." Stay at a medium-priced hotel there, such as the "Bon-Bini," and then contact the guide
services of Moises Vieras --everybody knows him. Tell him you know "El
Profesor Stuart," and add that you want to visit Dunu, in the Matses
village of Anushi. Ask him how much this would cost, and then
tell him you'll think it over. Wait two nights. Then, when he comes
down to half price, tell him you could pay half of that - max!
He's likely to say yes. Make sure that this price includes a
full-time guide/cook (preferably Carlos, the one we used) and all the
hammocks, tarps, nets, cooking utensils, food, aspirin, and gasoline
and other expenses you'll need. Don't forget to shop in the local
market for presents for the Indians: a couple of machetes, some fish
hooks, tee shirts, and bras, beads and make-up for the women. Be sure
to bring photos of your family to show people.Figure about two weeks for the trip from Iquitos. You'll fly by military plane an hour east to Puerto Angamas, which is on the Yavari River, bordering Peru and Brazil. When you tie your hammock to two posts at the only "motel" there, don't listen to them when they tell you that there are no sancudos (mosquitoes). And don't be careless about leaving your skin against the mosquito net as you sleep. Both sancudos and vampiros (vampire bats living in the rafters above) will come down to suck your blood if you make this mistake.
Hire a Matses/Spanish interpreter. Be prepared to give a few bribes ($5 each) to police officials as you try to leave Angamos by pequepeque (motorized canoe). Sit still in the pequepeque (which has a waterline of about one inch), or you will tip over. And don't worry about the shark-like fins you see in the water --they belong to large fresh-water dolphins.
It should take about eight hours to reach Anushi, and then Dunu and his family (four wives, thirty-some children) will great you warmly. Give them a couple of machetes to establish your good intentions. Let your guide/cook boil your water and cook your meals. (These may vary from chicken to wild pig, and piranha to crocodile.) And ask Dunu lots of questions about his wives, about tiger-hunting, and about how he ate the dead bodies of his mother and father, not many years ago.
Learn a few words of the Matses language, and practice these with the children. Give some of the aspirin to Indians in nearby huts who are sick. Go out on bird hunts, and cool off with swims in the quebradas (The piranhas and electric eels in the local streams generally won't bother you.) Enjoy a world devoid of TV, radio, or cell phones; and listen to all Dunu's jokes --you'll love his stories, even if you can't understand a word of Matses.
You may be visited by some strange creatures in the daytime (such as ants and spiders ready for central casting in Hollywood) or nighttime (such as large, hairy sloths). Enjoy them. And enjoy the long distance between you and all of the truly civilized world.
At the end of your stay with Dunu, give him and his family almost everything you have which you are not wearing. And graciously accept his laundry list of things he wants you to bring him on your next visit (like a shotgun and an outboard motor). Give him and his wives a big hug good-bye, and then return to the rather tedious, mundane world that you left behind.
photo courtesy of Stuart Rawlings (Shuish, the third wife of Dunu. She is showing off the traditional tiger whiskers of her Matses tribe)
© Stuart Rawlings, 2008