elieve it or not, not far from Iquitos, Peru you can encounter recently discovered tribes of the Amazon.  In the Yavarí Valley (the frontier of Peru with Brazil) the Matis Indians (not to be confused with the Matsés) still live like they have for thousands of years – hunting and gathering.  At one time, before inventing agriculture and pastoralism, the entire human race survived as hunter-gatherers.  Today, only a hand-full of tribes practice this ancient way of life.  An encounter with a tribe like the Matis is more than a curiosity; it is a glimpse into the past – into our past and gives us a chance to see how our ancestors were.

And how are the Matis Indians?  After spending the past year researching them and related tribes, I can tell you that they are very nice people and have a society that in many ways is healthier than civilized societies.  I remember a friend of mine from Iquitos telling me that the less time a tribe has had contact with civilization, the nicer the people are.  After knowing the Matis tribe, I realize that he was right.

I am a scientist by trade (I have a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis) and originally never planned to live permanently in the Amazon.  However after meeting the Matis tribe, I couldn’t bring myself to leave and chose to remain in the Amazon.  The Matis Indians are so interesting and so wonderful that I decided to take this opportunity of a lifetime to study them.  I realize that a few years from now that they will change and become civilized, no longer practicing their ancient way of life.  Here was my chance to know the Matis tribe, the last of the hunters, and through them learn how our ancestors were.

The Matis Indians are hunters par excellant.  I remember a tourist guide erroneously telling me that no tribe in the Amazon uses four-meter blowguns for hunting.  He was wrong; the Matis natives use four-meter blowguns and poison darts to capture their prey.  Similarly, many tourist guides mistakenly told me that it was no longer possible to encounter unclothed indians.  Again, they were misinformed, as the Matis Indians commonly wear no clothes.  To truly appreciate how the Matis Indians live, you need to view my documentary films which are available on video.

The Matis Indians are perhaps the most exotic and photogenic tribe in the world.  They use facial ornamentation and tattoos to imitate the appearance of a jaguar.  They have a very rich culture and many beautiful ceremonies such as the Ceremony of Mariwin, the Ritual of Capybara, the Dance of Queixada, and the Poison Frog Ceremony.  Mariwin is very colorful as the participants paint their bodies black, wearing only green leaves and red masks.  They carry sticks which they use to strike children that have misbehaved recently.  While less colorful than Mariwin, the Ritual of Capybara is more musical.  During this ceremony, the participants are also unclothed, but do not paint their bodies.  Instead they apply wet clay to their bodies and make sounds like capybaras (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeri), the world’s largest rodent, creating an atmosphere that is not only visually stimulating but auditory as well.  During the Dance of Queixada, the participants paint themselves red with urucum (annatto) and dance in a line while imitating sounds of the Queixada (Tayassu pecari, a wild pig that is native to the Amazon). The Poison Frog Ceremony involves the use of a toxin secreted by the skin of a poisonous frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor).  First several points are burned on the skin (arms of men and abdomens of women).  The outer layer of the skin is removed and the toxin mixed with human saliva (to activate it) is applied to the wound.  Although not hallucinogenic, the physiological response is very intense and the Matis natives believe the frog poison increases ones strength and endurance, making them better hunters.  

Not only do the Matis Indians hunt, but they fish as well.  However they do not use hooks or nets.  Instead they rely on their knowledge of the plants of the jungle.  They use a plant called huaca which they process by adding the plant to clay and fermenting it.  When added to a body of water such as a lake, huaca depletes the oxygen and the fish float to the surface.

The Matis natives know many other secrets of the plants of the jungle, including medicinal uses.  When they become civilized and only use western medicine, many of these secrets will die and this is precisely why I as a botanist wish to capture this important knowledge of plants before it is lost forever. 

Currently, the greatest danger to the Matis tribe is hepatitis.  I am working on a project that involves installing clean water systems in indigenous communities in the Yavarí Valley which will help eliminate the threat of hepatitis which is currently the most common source of mortality in their community. 

The Matis Indians are a very small tribe of only 260 individuals and the village where the Matis live is in an indigenous reserve in Brazil.  Despite misrepresentations by some tourist guides, it is prohibited for outsiders to enter the reserve and impossible to meet the Matis Indians using tour guides.  However, it is possible to arrange encounters of interested persons with the Matis tribe outside of their reserve in Brazil.  Commercial tourism and tour guides are prohibited and all proceeds go directly to the Matis Indians.  Access is restricted to small groups of no more than five, so as to limit the amount of contact.  The Matis are a very proud people who wish not only to preserve their culture, but at the same time to demonstrate their ceremonies and rituals to select outsiders. 

If you would like to learn how you can meet the Matis Indians and find out how you can help them preserve their culture, please contact me at  djpantone@amazon-indians.org.

To view more photographs of the Matis Indians, please visit the Matis Photo Gallery.  Documentary films of my expeditions with the Matis Indians are available on video. 

The author, Dr. Dan James Pantone, is the editor of Amazon-Indians and an ecologist currently working with the Movement in the Amazon for Tribal Subsistence and Economic Sustainability (MATSES), a non-governmental organization that is helping indigenous people so that they themselves can preserve their culture and lands in a sustainable and independent manner.