The Matis Indians (not to be mixed up with the Matsés) are a small group of panoan-speaking native Amazonians who live in the Javari (Yavarí) Valley in Brazil.  Only about 300 of them have survived to the present date, the majority disappearing in the early 1980's, sacrificed to the consequences of their encounter with modern civilization. 

The photo gallery of these indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest presented above is the result of an expedition that was sponsored by the Explorers Club.  Collectively, these photographs document many important aspects of their culture, including ceremonies, the making of ceramics, and hunting.  Three ceremonies are shown - Mariwin,  Capybara, and Queixada.  Mariwin involves masked "ancestral spirits" who arrive (to the dismay of Matis children) with whips, while Capybara and Queixada involve "imitations" of animals which are important to their culture for hunting and religious aspects.   The Matis Indians have not been converted to Christianity and still practice an animistic religion, with animal spirits being of principle importance in their cosmological system.  

In contrast to most other tribes in the region (e.g. the Matsés and Marubos) who no longer use blowguns, the Matis tribe uses precision four-meter blowguns.  Matis blowguns are works of art in addition to being precision instruments.  They decorate their blowguns with mosaics made from pieces of turtle shells, resulting in beautiful and functional instruments.  Blowgun darts are tipped with curare poison which paralyzes the prey.  These indigenous people of the Amazon have developed very impressive technology for blowgun hunting and are capable of taking game at distances of up to 50 meters.  Their technology is different than the Korubo Indians in that their darts are smaller and use two pieces of "cotton" rather than one.  Curiously, the blowgun without the mosaic decorations illustrated  in the photos above is of Korubo origin rather than Matis.  I have documented many aspects of Matis blowgun technology in a film that is available on video.

Presently, the greatest dangers to the survival of the Matis natives are hepatitis and malaria which are the most important causes of mortality in their communities.  Consequently, I am developing  a project that is installing water wells in indigenous villages in the Yavarí Valley that will aid in eliminating the risk of some types of hepatitis (i.e. hepatitis A).  In addition, I am working with the Peruvian Ministry of Health to conduct a survey in the Javari (Yavarí) Valley in order to establish to what extent hepatitis and malaria are present in indigenous communities. 

If you would like to discover more about the Matis tribe and learn how you can help these Amazon natives preserve their culture, please email me at djpantone@amazon-indians.org.  In addition, you can view more photos and  videos of my expeditions to the Matis Indians which are available on video.
 
The author, Dr. Dan James Pantone, is the editor of Amazon-Indians and the founder of  MATSES (Movement in the Amazon for Tribal Subsistence and Economic Sustainability), a NGO that is helping native people so that they can preserve their culture and lands in a sustainable and independent manner. 

Dan James Pantone, Ph.D. arranged this expedition.
For more info, contact Dr. Pantone at djpantone@amazon-indians.org