Claude Lévi-Strauss

ANTHROPOLOGISTS OF THE WORLD 

Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908 - 2009) 

Claude Lévi-Strauss (28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology".

He argued that the "savage" mind had the same structures as the "civilized" mind and that human characteristics are the same everywhere. These observations culminated in his famous book Tristes Tropiques, which positioned him as one of the central figures in the structuralist school of thought, where his ideas reached into fields including the humanities, sociology and philosophy. Structuralism has been defined as "the search for the underlying patterns of thought in all forms of human activity."

He was honored by universities throughout the world and held the chair of Social Anthropology at the Collège de France (1959–1982); he was elected a member of the Académie Française in 1973.

Claude Lévi-Strauss was born to French parents who were living in Brussels at the time, and grew up in Paris. At the Sorbonne in Paris, Lévi-Strauss studied law and philosophy. In 1935, after a few years of secondary-school teaching, he took up a last-minute offer to be part of a French cultural mission to Brazil in which he would serve as a visiting professor of sociology at the University of São Paulo while his wife, Dina, served as a visiting professor of ethnology.

The couple lived and did their anthropological work in Brazil from 1935 to 1939. During this time Claude undertook his only ethnographic fieldwork. He accompanied Dina, a trained ethnographer in her own right to a conducted research foray into the Mato Grosso and the Amazon Rainforest. They first studied the Guaycuru and Bororo Indian tribes, staying among them for a couple of days. In 1938 they returned for a second, more than half-year-long expedition to study the Nambikwara and Tupi-Kawahib societies. At this time his wife suffered an injury that prevented her from completing the study, which he concluded. This experience cemented Lévi-Strauss's professional identity as an anthropologist.

He returned to France in 1939 but had to escape from the Vichy government to Martinique, from where he was finally able to travel on. In 1941, he was offered a position at the New School for Social Research in New York, and granted admission to the United States. Along with Jacques Maritain, Henri Focillon, and Roman Jakobson, he was a founding member of the École Libre des Hautes Études, a sort of university-in-exile for French academics. Lévi-Strauss returned to Paris in 1948. At this time he received his doctorate from the Sorbonne by submitting, in the French tradition, both a "major" and a "minor" thesis. These were The Family and Social Life of the Nambikwara Indians and The Elementary Structures of Kinship.

His works

The Elementary Structures of Kinship was published the next year and quickly came to be regarded as one of the most important anthropological works on kinship. Lévi-Strauss argued that kinship was based on the alliance between two families that formed when women from one group married men from another.

Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, Lévi-Strauss continued to publish and experienced considerable professional success. On his return to France, he became involved with the administration of the CNRS and the Musée de l'Homme before finally becoming professor (directeur d'études) of the fifth section of the École Pratique des Hautes Études

While Lévi-Strauss was well known in academic circles, in 1955 he became one of France's best known intellectuals by publishing Tristes Tropiques (1955). Essentially, this book was a memoir detailing his time as a French expatriate throughout the 1930s, and his travels. Lévi-Strauss combined exquisitely beautiful prose, dazzling philosophical meditation, and ethnographic analysis of the Amazonian peoples to produce a masterpiece.

Lévi-Strauss was named to a chair in Social Anthropology at the Collège de France in 1959. At roughly the same time he published Structural Anthropology, a collection of his essays which provided both examples and programmatic statements about structuralism. At the same time as he was laying the groundwork for an intellectual program, he began a series of institutions to establish anthropology as a discipline in France, including the Laboratory for Social Anthropology where new students could be trained, and a new journal, l'Homme, for publishing the results of their research.

In 1962, Lévi-Strauss published what is for many people his most important work, La Pensée Sauvage (The Savage Mind). The book concerns primitive thought, forms of thought all humans use. The first half of the book lays out Lévi-Strauss's theory of culture and mind, while the second half expands this account into a theory of history and social change. This latter part of the book engaged Lévi-Strauss in a heated debate with Jean-Paul Sartre over the nature of human freedom. On the one hand, Sartre's existentialist philosophy committed him to a position that human beings fundamentally were free to act as they pleased. On the other hand, Sartre also was a leftist who was committed to ideas such as that individuals were constrained by the ideologies imposed on them by the powerful. Lévi-Strauss presented his structuralist notion of agency in opposition to Sartre.

Now a worldwide celebrity, Lévi-Strauss spent the second half of the 1960s working on his master project, a four-volume study called Mythologiques. In it, he followed a single myth from the tip of South America and all of its variations from group to group up through Central America and eventually into the Arctic Circle, thus tracing the myth's cultural evolution from one end of the Western hemisphere to the other. He accomplished this in a typically structuralist way, examining the underlying structure of relationships among the elements of the story rather than by focusing on the content of the story itself. While Pensée Sauvage was a statement of Lévi-Strauss's big-picture theory, Mythologiques was an extended, four-volume example of analysis. Richly detailed and extremely long, it is less widely read than the much shorter and more accessible Pensée Sauvage, despite its position as Lévi-Strauss's masterwork.

Lévi-Strauss completed the final volume of Mythologiques in 1971. On 14 May 1973 he was elected to the Académie Française, France's highest honour for an intellectual. He was a member of other notable academies worldwide, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He received the Erasmus Prize in 1973, the Meister-Eckhart-Prize for philosophy in 2003, and several honorary doctorates from universities such as Oxford, Harvard, and Columbia. He also was the recipient of the Grand-croix de la Légion d'honneur, was a Commandeur de l'ordre national du Mérite, and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. After his retirement, he continued to publish occasional meditations on art, music, and poetry.

He died on 30 October 2009, a few weeks before his 101st birthday.

© Text and photo: Wikipedia

Pre-Columbian Art Auction at Gerhard Hirsch

Auction: Pre-Columbian Art Auction

Date: 6^th February 2012, 15:00h

Preview: 2^nd and 3^rd February from 10 to 12 and 13 to 17.

Place: Münzenhandlung Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger, Promenadeplatz 10/II, 80333 München (Germany)

Contact:  Dr. Ernst J. Fischer

Webpage:  www.coinhirsch.de

email: coinhirsch@t-online.de

Comments:

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© Photo and text: Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger

Tribe (Going Tribal)

TV SERIES REVIEW 

Title: Tribe (Going Tribal) 

Year: 2005 

Running time: 60 minutes each episode 

Country: UK 

Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/

Plot summary:

Tribe (known as Going Tribal in the United States) is a documentary television series co-produced by the BBC and the Discovery Channel, and hosted by former British Royal Marine Bruce Parry.

In each series, Parry visits a number of remote tribes in such locales as the Himalayas, Ethiopia, West Papua, Gabon and Mongolia, spending a month living and interacting with each society. While there, Parry adopts the methods and practices of his hosts, participating in their rituals and exploring their cultural norms. This often enables him to form personal bonds with the members of each tribe.

Parry tries to learn the basics of the tribe's language but is also accompanied by a translator.

The series is co-produced by BBC Wales and the Discovery Channel. A second series aired in July, 2006 and the third began on 21 August 2007 on BBC2, and ended on 25 September 2007.

Parry was awarded the BAFTA Cymru "Best On-Screen Presenter" award in 2008 for his work on the 'Penan' Episode. A BAFTA Cymru "Best Camera: Not Drama" award was also awarded for Gavin Searle's work in the same episode.

Tribe (Going Tribal) follows former Royal Marine and expedition leader Bruce Parry as he tests the physical limits of living with ancient tribes in some of the world's most remote areas.

Parry sheds social trappings (and sometimes his Western clothes) by living alongside people from the virtually unexplored areas of the Himalayas, Ethiopia, West Papua, Gabon and Mongolia. To the degree possible, while spending a month immersed in each society, Parry also tries to adopt the methods and practices of his hosts.

Parry enthusiastically embraces jungle hunting and the rituals of the warrior, being taught by strangers how to survive using bows, arrows, blowpipes, dogs, spears, traps, snares and clubs. He must cook and eat his catch using traditional methods such as hot stones, waxy leaves and bamboo pots.

Parry is accompanied by a translator, but learns the basics of tribal language. The series is accompanied by subtitles. Viewers hear unique languages and watch the sometimes-graphic practices of living and surviving in the jungle among some of the world's disappearing cultures.

Going Tribal is co-produced by the BBC Wales and the Discovery Channel.

Series 1

#          UK Title           US Title           Plot

1          Adi       Lost Tribe: The Adis   Travelling to north eastern India. The episode involves the sacrifice of a bull.

2          Suri     Dangerous Game: The Suri  Parry travelled to Ethiopia.

3          Kombai           Living with Cannibals Parry travelled to West Papua.

4          Babongo         African Vision Quest  Parry travelled to Gabon.

5          Darhad            Horse Masters of Mongolia    Parry travelled to Mongolia. He witnessed a shamanic ritual.

6          Sanema          Waking the Spirits      Parry travelled to Brazil. He took part in a ritual involving hallucinogenic drugs.

Series 2

#          UK Title           US Title           Plot

7          Nyangatom     Return to Africa          Parry returned to Ethiopia, to stay with the tribe who are sworn enemies of the Suri, whom Parry had met in the previous series.

8          Hamar Rites of Passage: The Hamar           Parry stayed in Ethiopia.

9          Dassanech     Crocodile Hunting       Parry again remained in Ethiopia.

Series 3

#          UK Title           US Title           Plot

10        Matis   Hunting with the Jaguar Tribe            Parry visited Brazil in South America.

11        Nenets            Nomads of the Siberian Tundra        Parry travelled to Russia.

12        Anuta   Lost Island of Anuta    Parry travelled to the Solomon Islands.

13        Akie     Life in the African Bush: The Akie      Parry travelled to Tanzania in Africa.

14        Layap  Journey to the Clouds: Bhutan          Parry travelled to Bhutan in Asia.

15        Penan Ghosts of the Forest  Parry travelled to Sarawak, Borneo.

About Bruce Parry:

Commissioned by the British Royal Marines in May 1988, Bruce Parry completed one year of management, leadership and commando training before spending several years as a troop commander.

In the Royal Marines, Parry specialized as a physical training instructor and became the youngest officer ever to be in charge of all physical aspects of Royal Marines commando training. He also served in Norway and Iraq before retiring as a lieutenant after six years of service.

As an expeditioner, the 35-year-old resident of England has personally organized and led more than 15 major expeditions to extreme parts of the world. Parry has extensive remote experience in the desert, arctic, jungle and mountains.

In film and television productions, Parry has worked as a location manager, assistant director, camera operator, director and host.

In addition, Parry hosted BBC's Extreme Lives: Cannibals and Crampons, the award-winning film about his journey into the heart of Irian Jaya, and he has recently appeared in an award-winning kids' series called Serious Jungle.

© Text and image: Discovery Channel, BBC

Ser quilombola

Lecture: To be a Quilombola

Speaker: Marta Rodrigues

Date: August 1st 2011, 18:30h

Place: Cultural Center of the City Council, Salvador de Bahia (Brazil)

Webpage: www.ceao.ufba.br

Admission: free of charge

Comments: 

The public hearing titled "Identity and Access Quilombola Public Policy" initiative of the Commission of Reparation of the City Council, chaired by Councilwoman Marta Rodrigues, will discuss the importance of affirming the quilombola identity in the process of defending their constitutional rights and their public policies. The event will be attended by the Secretary Elias Sampaio (SEPROMI), Alexandro Reis, director of the Heritage Protection Department of Afro-Brazilian Palmares Cultural Foundation, Silvany Euclênio, Director of Programs of the Secretariat of Policies for Traditional Communities SEPPIR, Secretary Carlos Brasileiro (SEDES), Secretary Ailton Ferreira (SEMUR), Eduardo Jorge Gomes (SEDIR), José Vivaldo Mendonça, director of the Company for Development and Regional Action (CAR), State Representative Bira Côroa, Valmir dos Santos, from Quilombo State Council of Bahia and journalist and director of the documentary "SER QUILOMBOLA", Jaqueline Barreto, who will present her project for the communities.

The hearing will be initiated by the screening of the documentary "SER QUILOMBOLA." The audiovisual production discusses the main elements that constitute the identity from the quilombola communities of the São Francisco do Paraguaçu and Porteiras, located respectively in the cities of Cachoeira and Entre Rios. Some issues discussed are relationship with the land, kinship ties, racism, traditions that reinvent themselves and self-esteem. "Ser Quilombola " counts with the participation of historians Ubiratan Castro and João José Reis, Lydia Cardel, a sociologist and professor at the Federal University of Bahia, the former representative of the Palmares Cultural Foundation, Luciana Mota, and the sociologist Walter Altino.

The documentary covers the two criteria of Decree 4.887/03 which is under threat in the Supreme Court: territoriality and self-definition. It also represents a right of reply of the São Francisco do Paraguaçu community displayed by the report in Jornal Nacional Rede Globo. The documentary is intended to be used as a political tool that encourages self-esteem and the need of quilombola affirmation of identity as an instrument access to public policies.

About Quilombolas:

A Quilombola is a resident of a Quilombo in Brazil. They are the descendents of slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until abolition in 1888. The most famous Quilombola was Zumbi and the most famous Quilombo was Palmares.

Many Quilombolas live in poverty.

A quilombo (from the Kimbundu word kilombo) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, Quilombolas, or Maroons. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos (called quilombolas) were escaped slaves and, in some cases, a minority of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews and Arabs, and/or other non-black, non-slave Brazilians who experienced oppression during colonization. However, the documentation on runaway slave communities typically uses the term mocambo to describe the settlements. "Mocambo" is an Ambundu word that means "hideout", and is typically much smaller than a quilombo. Quilombo was not used until the 1670s and then primarily in more southerly parts of Brazil.

A similar settlement exists in other Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, and is called a palenque. Its inhabitants are palenqueros who speak various Spanish-African-based creole languages. Quilombos are identified as one of three basic forms of active resistance by slaves. The other two are attempts to seize power and armed insurrections for amelioration. Typically, quilombos are a "pre-19th century phenomenon". The prevalence of the last two increased in the first half of 19th century Brazil, which was undergoing both political transition and increased slave trade at the time.

© Text and image: http://www.ceao.ufba.br 

Secrets of the Tribe

FILM REVIEW 

Title: Secrets of the Tribe 

Director: José Padilha 

Writer: José Padilha 

Year: 2010 

Running time: 110 minutes 

Country: UK, Brazil 

Plot summary: 

The field of anthropology goes under the magnifying glass in this fiery investigation of the seminal research on Yanomami Indians. In the 1960s and '70s, a steady stream of anthropologists filed into the Amazon Basin to observe this "virgin" society untouched by modern life. Thirty years later, the events surrounding this infiltration have become a scandalous tale of academic ethics and infighting.

Secrets of the Tribe is a film by director José Padilha premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. This documentary explores the allegations, first brought to light in the book Darkness in El Dorado, that anthropologists studying the Yanomami Indians in the 1960s and 70s engaged in bizarre and inappropriate interactions with the tribe, including sexual and medical violations. The film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.

© Text and image: IMDB

BRUNEAF XXI Art Fair

SHOW

Name: BRUNEAF XXI (Brussels Non European Art Fair)

Date and opening times: 8-12 June 2011

Place: Different shops and galleries in Brussels. Office in: 17, Impasse Saint Jacques, Brussels (Belgium)

Contact: Phone: +32 (0)2 514 02 09, Fax: +32 (0)2 514 02 09, info@bruneaf.com

Webpage: www.bruneaf.com

History:

The idea of uniting a handful of primitive antique dealers to tie in with the inauguration of the Ambre gallery and offer the public the first “Non European Art Open Days” at the Sablon first saw the light of day in 1983.

The idea took off and it was a resounding success… the project became firmly established, attracting more and more galleries from both Belgium and abroad over the years.

In 1988, the first modest brochure appeared with details of this constantly expanding forum of antique dealers and only three and a half years later the first catalogue was published, marking the success of this momentary fellowship of antique dealers with one objective in common: to promote the exceptional wealth of primitive art, of which they are the ambassadors.

From 1996 onwards, Brussels antique dealers invited colleagues from abroad to the event. Today, the participation of galleries from France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the USA gives Bruneaf a decidedly international touch.

The Brussels Non European Art Fair has become one of the leading events displaying non-European art, covering fields as diverse as African, Oceanic, Indonesian, pre-Columbian, Asiatic and Australian Aboriginal art.

Sculptures, masks, fetishes, weaponry, jewellery, coins, fabrics, traditional objects executed by ethnic groups according to their own particular customs and worked in wood, metal, gold, silver, bronze, ivory or terra cotta - the objects on exhibit are ritual or domestic artefacts, combining shape with ornamental design. Although form always meets practical requirements, it is also testimony of a certain vision of the world. Objets d’art from Africa, Indian or Tibet thus draw on the wealth of the myths which form the collective memory, respecting the aesthetic and symbolic standards of tradition and following in the footsteps of the traditional crafts used by their ancestors.

See list of exhibitors here.

© Text and image: Bruneaf.com

Yanomamö: The Fierce People

Title: Yanomamö: The Fierce People

Author: Napoleon Chagnon

Year of publication: 1968

Paperback: 304 pages

Language: English

Synopsis:

Based on the author's extensive fieldwork, this classic ethnography, now in its fifth edition, focuses on the Yanomamo. These truly remarkable South American people are one of the few primitive sovereign tribal societies left on earth. The new edition includes events and changes that have occurred since 1992, including a recent trip by the author to the Brazilian Yanomamo in 1995.

Chagnon is best known for his long-term ethnographic field work among the Yanomamö, his contributions to evolutionary theory in cultural anthropology, and to the study of warfare. The Yanomamo are a society of indigenous tribal Amazonians that live in the border area between Venezuela and Brazil.

Working primarily in the headwaters of the upper Siapa and upper Mavaca Rivers, Chagnon conducted fieldwork among these people from the mid-1960s until the latter half of 1990s. Because the Yanomamö people could not pronounce his last name, they nicknamed him "Shaki", the closest pronunciation they could approximate, which also seemed appropriate because Chagnon was constantly asking questions, and "Shaki" means "pesky bee". A major focus of his research was the collection of genealogies of the residents of the villages that he visited, and from these he would analyze patterns of relatedness, marriage patterns, cooperation, and settlement pattern histories. Applying this genealogical approach as a basis for investigation, he is one of the early pioneers of the fields of sociobiology and human behavioral ecology.

Napoleon Chagnon is well known for his ethnography, Yanomamö: The Fierce People (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968) which was published in more than five editions and is commonly used as a text in university level introductory anthropology classes, making it the all-time bestselling anthropological text. Chagnon was also a pioneer in the field of visual anthropology. He collaborated with ethnographic filmmaker Tim Asch and produced a series of more than twenty ethnographic films documenting Yanomamö life. His life's work has made him both a celebrated figure and a lightning rod for controversy and criticism.

©Text: Wikipedia

Fine African, Oceanic & Pre-Columbian Art Auction

Auction: Fine African, Oceanic & Pre-Columbian Art

Date: May 12th, 2011, 13:00h

Preview: 7 to 11 May, 12-17h

Place: BONHAM'S New York, 580 Madison Avenue, New York (USA)

Contact:  Fredric Backlar, Tel: +1 323 436 5416

Webpage:  http://www.bonhams.com/usa/auction/18574/

Ti Punch

If you happen to visit French Guiana, it won't be long before someone offers you a Ti Punch. Just remember that, if you accept, according to local custom the second drink is obligatory or you risk insulting your host. Rum is of course a specialty of the West Indies and this drink is one of the simplest and most popular ways to enjoy it.

Normally the ingredients are placed on the table along with a few glasses and spoons and everyone mixes their punch to their liking. If you can't find bottled simple syrup, make you own by boiling equal parts of sugar and water, until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool before using in your ti punch.

Ingredients

• White rum
• Simple sugar syrup
• Lime wedges
• Ice cubes (optional)

How to prepare it

Squeeze a lime wedge or two into a glass, then drop them in the glass and crush with a spoon.

Stir in the syrup and then the rum.

Add ice cubes if desired.

© Text and image: Mixoloseum

The Suyá of Brazil

Name: Suyá

Living Area: Brazil

Population: 196

Language: Gê

Comments:   

The Suyá are a group of indigenous people living in Brazil, at the headwaters of the Xingu River. They have, historically, been best known for an unusual form of body modification which they practice. After marriage, Suyá men often have their lower lip pierced, and have a small wooden disk placed inside. The size of the disk is gradually increased as time goes on, permanently changing the size of the lip.

Like many other tribes in the upper Xingu, the Suyá were devastated by diseases introduced by European explorers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After the establishment of the Xingu National Park in the 1960s, and after the introduction of organised medical care into the area, the population of the Suyá grew greatly.

There are not many archaeological or ethnographic records extending back before 1884 because little cultural material can be preserved in the humid tropics, and most materials used were organic. However, the ethnographic evidence that does exist claims that the Suyá people made a long journey from a territory more than 1,100 kilometers to the northeast, fleeing and fighting enemies. They migrated to the Xingu region around 1840, where they met with a number of groups with whom they obtained women, children, and exchanged items. Although many of these tribes spoke different languages they shared a similar culture, and the region where they settled is often referred to today as the "Upper Xingu Culture Area." From the Xingu they adopted many aspects of their culture such as; canoes, hammocks, and ceremonies.

They also adapted food preparation techniques, such as believing that all food must be cooked before eaten. Body ornamentation was also an aspect of their culture that they took on. Body ornaments are significant markers of age and status.

The Suyá community has always believed greatly in the collective good. They share everything from fire, food, land, songs, performances, shelter, clothes, and children. A child is raised by the whole community not just by their biological parents, although they know who their biological parents are they do not identify with them as a westernized person would, with a sense of ownership. To a Suyá person the entire community is their family. Their names also have much more importance than people from the western world attribute to names as well. They believe that names are central to the definition of who a person is and the groups to which he or she belongs; therefore, they pick their names very carefully. Today the Suyá live in a single village of about two hundred inhabitants on the banks of the Suiá-Miçu River. They speak a language belonging the northern branch of the Gê language family. They hunt, fish, gather supplies, and trade with frontier settlements to get their basic needs. They are also protected from frontier violence and the national market economy by a reservation system that intermittently provides health care and material goods and involves them in a new multiethnic social system. Their myths claim that, although the Suyá society always existed, in the beginning the people had no fire, no names, no garden crops, no lip-disc ornaments, and few songs. They acquired fire from the jaguar, garden crops from the mouse, lip discs from enemy Indians, names from a cannibal people living under the ground, and songs from all of these.

Well-known by: their lip-disc ornaments

Tribes that are known for their traditional lip plates include:

The Mursi and Surma (Suri) women of Ethiopia

The Suyá men of Brazil (most no longer wear plates)

The Sara women of Chad (ceased wearing plates in the 1920s)

The Makonde of Tanzania and Mozambique (ceased wearing plates several decades ago)

The Botocudo of coastal Brazil (in previous centuries, both sexes wore plates)

Aleut, Inuit and other indigenous peoples of northern Canada, Alaska and surrounding regions also wore large labrets and lip plates; these practices mostly had ceased by the twentieth century.

Some tribes (Zo'e in Brazil, Nuba in Sudan, Lobi in west Africa), wear stretched-lip ornaments that are plug- or rod-shaped rather than plate-shaped.

© Text and image: Wikipedia 

Accras (fish fritters)

Accras are deep fried fish fritters traditionally made with salt cod, but you can substitute fresh cod. Different versions are popular all over the West Indies and specially French Guyana.

For some reason the hot pepper loses its power in this recipe, so you might want to use a bit more than you think is needed, especially if you like things spicy. Accras can be served as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to the main meal. Indeed, I find them so filling that I don't need much else to make a meal.

Ingredients (makes 36 accras)

• Softened butter for pan
• 8 ounces salt cod
• 2 onions, peeled and minced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 hot pepper, minced finely (more or less to your taste)
• handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped finely
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs, separated (at room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• oil for frying

How to cook it

Begin by soaking the salt cod in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator for 24 hours, changing the water several times. to remove the salt. Place the desalinated fish in a pot of water and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the fish is soft and flakes easily. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Remove any bones and skin from the fish, and place it in a mixing bowl. Flake the fish with a fork.

Mix the fish with the minced onions, pressed garlic, minced hot pepper, parsley, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the flour, then beat in the water and egg yolks. Finally, stir in the baking soda.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter.

In a Dutch oven or similar sturdy cooking vessel, heat 1 inch of oil until it is hot. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil. Don't crowd the accras - you'll need to do several batches. Cook until golden brown, turning once. Total frying time is about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel.

Serve hot with lime wedges or your favourite dipping sauce.

© Text and image: Upon The Key

Uncontacted tribes of Peru

Astonishing new photos of one of the world's last uncontacted tribes 

31 January 2011

New photos obtained by Survival International show uncontacted Indians in never-seen-before detail. The Indians are living in Brazil, near the Peruvian border, and are featured in the ‘Jungles’ episode of BBC1’s ‘Human Planet’ (Thurs 3 Feb, 8pm, UK only).

The pictures were taken by Brazil’s Indian Affairs Department, which has authorized Survival to use them as part of its campaign to protect their territory. They reveal a thriving, healthy community with baskets full of manioc and papaya fresh from their gardens.

The tribe’s survival is in serious jeopardy as an influx of illegal loggers invades the Peru side of the border. Brazilian authorities believe the influx of loggers is pushing isolated Indians from Peru into Brazil, and the two groups are likely to come into conflict.

Survival and other NGOs have been campaigning for years for the Peruvian government to act decisively to stop the invasion, but little has been done.

Last year an American organization, Upper Amazon Conservancy, carried out the latest of several overflights on the Peru side, uncovering further evidence of illegal logging in a protected area.

Marcos Apurinã, Coordinator of Brazil’s Amazon Indian organization COIAB said today, ‘It is necessary to reaffirm that these peoples exist, so we support the use of images that prove these facts. These peoples have had their most fundamental rights, particularly their right to life, ignored … it is therefore crucial that we protect them.’

New footage will be released later this week

Survival will be releasing extraordinary new footage of this uncontacted tribe later this week as part of our campaign to protect uncontacted tribes' lands. Sign up to be the first to see the video, and we'll keep you updated with news, films and photos from tribes around the world once a month.

Renowned Brazilian Indian leader Davi Kopenawa Yanomami said today, ‘The place where the Indians live, fish, hunt and plant must be protected. That is why it is useful to show pictures of the uncontacted Indians, for the whole world to know that they are there in their forest and that the authorities must respect their right to live there.’

Peru’s Amazon Indian organisation AIDESEP issued a statement saying, ‘We are deeply troubled by the authorities' lack of action… despite complaints from Peru and abroad against illegal logging, nothing has been done.’

TV presenter Bruce Parry of hit TV series Tribe said, ‘Protecting the land where uncontacted tribes live is of global importance. We have consistently failed to introduce them to our world without inflicting terrible traumas. It is for them to decide when they want to join our world. Not us.’

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, 'The illegal loggers will destroy this tribe. It's vital that the Peruvian government stop them before time runs out. The people in these photos are self-evidently healthy and thriving. What they need from us is their territory protected, so that they can make their own choices about their future.

'But this area is now at real risk, and if the wave of illegal logging isn't stopped fast, their future will be taken out of their hands. This isn't just a possibility: it's irrefutable history, rewritten on the graves of countless tribes for the last five centuries.'

New photos: questions and answers

Who are the uncontacted people in the photos and footage?

Many tribes in this region suffered atrocities during the ‘rubber boom’ a hundred years ago, when wild rubber became an important international commodity. Many were killed or died from disease. However some managed to flee deeper into the forest. The uncontacted Indians living here today may be descended from these people.

Why have they painted and decorated themselves?

Many South American tribes use body paint as decoration and for other reasons. Red paint (known as urucum) is made from seeds from the annatto shrub. Indigenous people use it to colour things like hammocks and baskets, as well as their skin. (It is also used as a dye by the food industry.) Many Amazon tribes make black dye from the genipapo plant. Some also use crushed charcoal. Black can be used to signal hostility. Like other tribes in the region, the men have shaved their foreheads and have long hair.

How can they be filmed if they're uncontacted?

The Brazilian authorities have been monitoring this group of uncontacted Indians for years from the air. Over-flights are used to gather evidence of invasions of their land.

Indians certainly hear the plane long before it becomes visible. They will have seen many planes over the years from commercial jets to light aircraft belonging to missionaries, prospectors, and government authorities like FUNAI.

How do these people live? What do they eat? What are the foods visible in baskets?

They probably live in a similar way to many other Amazon Indians. They have cleared large vegetable gardens for fruit and vegetables, and manioc, maize, sweet potato, pumpkin, peanuts, papaya, and bananas can all be identified. They also plant cotton which is spun and woven for skirts. The men have cotton waist bands and some have small head dresses. The men carry bows and arrows for hunting – probably tapir, wild pig, deer and monkeys. No canoes have been seen (many Amazon tribes do not use them), but they probably fish as well.

Baskets are made to store vegetables and carry game and fish. (To the left of the main photo there is a pile of manioc or sweet potato, with peelings lying on the ground. The basket is full of papaya. At the entrance to the house are two baskets, one showing a carrying strap. The basket to the far right shows unpeeled tubers – probably manioc. Another is covered with banana leaves to protect whatever food is inside.)

What will their state of health be like?

It is likely to be very good. In the photos the Indians appear strong and healthy and their gardens are full of produce.

Why are the photos and video footage being released?

Various government officials in Peru and Brazil have denied the existence of uncontacted tribes and accuse indigenous organizations and their supporters of inventing them. The photos and footage provide clear and compelling evidence that uncontacted tribes do exist. Many tribal people recognize the importance of using the photos and footage to persuade governments to protect uncontacted peoples’ land and to uphold their rights. You can read statements from Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and from COIAB, the network of indigenous organizations in the Amazon.

What next?

Survival is launching an urgent campaign calling on the Peruvian government to expel all loggers working illegally on the land of uncontacted Indians in Peru.

© Text and photos: Survival and www.uncontactedtribes.org/brazilphotos