I visited an indigenous tribe

22.08. I went on a school trip to the neighbouring state of Rio de Janeiro. We got on a bus very early in the morning, when it was still dark outside. Even though it took us 5 hours to get to the target destination the journey wasn’t boring at all. We stopped for the very traditional pão de queijo and bought snacks for the whole day. We were going along the coastline of the ocean most of the time and the views from the bus window were just marvellous. Our target destination was the Aldeia Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe indigenous village. When we arrived it was not what I expected at all.

The bus parked on a grass field not far from the beach. There was one small house and a couple stray dogs there. After everyone got out of the bus and stretched a little bit we walked to the entrance to the village. Again, it was very different from my expectations. First of all the entrance was right next to a big road where the cars were going really fast, second there was trash lying around.

After arriving to in the village we were welcomed by an Indian and led to a hut where the Indians gather. The layout of the village was very simple, basically just a dust road with a couple of cabins/small houses along it. Several of the cabins were shops with things crafted by the Indians. The whole village was very small and very untidy, not that there was trash but there were loads of gravel and all kinds of building material lying around. The hut they let us to was pretty much the only traditional building in there. It had a roof made from some kind of leaves, it was half open and there was a fireplace in the middle. The floor was just dirt and dust. 

There were already about ten indigenous waiting for us. They looked amazing. All of them, both men and women, were wearing grass skirts and colourful traditional accessories. Most of the women were wearing normal tops purchased from a store. And the little kids were dressed in ordinary clothes. One little girl was even wearing a pyjamas with Elsa from Frozen. I already knew that nowadays the indigenous tribes live a more similar life to ours. But it was still a shock to see them with phones in their hands.

When everyone gathered inside the hut we were welcomed there by tribal chief. He welcomed us in portuguese and in their own tongue, which no one understood. Then we went around in a circle and everyone introduced themselves, including the Indians. Then the tribal chief started talking about their tribe, where they come from, he explained the significance of the tribe’s name, their signature colours and the meaning of their. He kept on talking, telling us about everything. How the life of the indigenous tribes has changed, that they’re being judged harshly for using modern technologies and for getting financial aid from the government. 

He was talking in portuguese the whole time. In such a long speech it was hard for me to understand everything he was saying, but I understood most of it and asked my friend to translate the rest to me.

The speech was followed by their ritual singing and dancing around the fire. They were singing duets and canons in their language and even though I didn’t understand anything, it was very beautiful. They included us in the dances as well, we were going in circles around the fire in specific rhythms, we were turning and approaching the fire, sometimes even singing a small part with them. 

The little kids were present the whole time during the speech, playing in the dust with each other, walking on all fours and making animal sounds. There was one boy in particular, who seemed to enjoy the attention very much. He had long hair and was wearing only the grass skirt. I think he was very proud of his origin.

After the ritual we had the opportunity to try shooting with their authentic, very real bow and arrows and we got our faces or arms painted by their traditional natural dyes. After that came my favorite part of the trip, a walk to a waterfall in the forest. The whole day was very very hot and I was starting to get a headache, so I really welcomed the cool air in the forest, near the water. The waterfall was beautiful, the water cold, refreshing and drinkable. We relaxed by the waterfall for a while and some people decided to jump in, even with clothes on. After that we went back to the village, visited the shops and got on our way back to Taubaté.

It was a great and unique experience. I saw the reality the good and bad. I understood more about how affected they are by today's world, politics and how dependent they are to tourism. Other than that it was a great day spent with my friends.