Amazon -- The Invisible People

Amazon - the invisible people is a new film, soon to shown on national television in Australia that I saw recently at a preview fundraiser, with the maker of the film, Dean Jeffries, there, he's a local. Got to meet and chat over the obligatory chai and cake afterward.

It's an Australian made and funded film about the situation of the Hourani and Tagari people of Amazonian Ecuador, and the forest they live in. It's also the story of an Australian, who has lived and worked for the forest and indigenous people of Ecuador for the last ten years. He has helped the Hourani people establish title to something like a million hectares of Amazon forest, which is actually only a third of the area they formerly called home.

For anyone who may have seen the film The Emerald Forest, these Hourani are actually the 'fierce people' probably upon which that film is based, and the other people mentioned, but never seen on film, are the Tagari, "the invisible people". This documentary is however the real thing, the present, not history or hollywood.

Two Hourani jaguar shaman are featured in the film, gleefully showing the Ayahuasca vine, talking about how it's good for all these different things, then cuts some up and brews it up for the film crew, who reported a quite amazing experience in person on the night of the preview screening. The film was made whilst he spent two years living with these people in the forest.

This area was found to have a lot of oil and so consequently oil companies have built roads and mines and refineries in the area, that are graphically portrayed in the film. Dark black sludge ponds, draining straight into the local stream, oil, heavy metals, chemicals etc.

The Hourani were rounded up eventually and forced to live on a christian mission, in houses, without access to their lands and former lifestyle. Some have now left the mission and returned to their land and are somehow trying to maintain their former lives and cope with the coming onslaught of settlers, miners and roads.

It's an excellent film about a pretty crazy situation, the Hourani definetly are portrayed quite openly, and one is graphically shown how these people may once have been known as the 'fierce people', as you see grandma munching away on the remains of the brains from the monkey skull she's holding in her hands.

The Hourani are still pretty wild people, and more than a few times they speak of defending their land and way of life, and they are now empowered, along with military to kill illegal settlers or miners on their lands, which they mention more than once.

The Hourani were forced to elect a 'president', they formerly had no real leader, and existed as a loose tribe of various clans or family groups. The election is a farce, designed by the oil companies to reduce the number of negotiators to one, then shower them with gifts, in order to get an agreement with the Hourani (sign on the dotted line please...), which they would otherwise never get (and help sow division amongst the Hourani).

The Tagari, the invisible people, the other people who are mentioned but never seen in the film, or by anyone, have never been assimilated or domesticated. They know of the outside world, and seem to want nothing of it. They refuse all contact and wish to live in their tribal lands undisturbed. It is obvious to them the destruction that is being reaped upon the lands and forests around their area, and the fact that they remain so defiant is a major reason that new oil road hasn't already been put through that part of the jungle.

To get an idea of how much they don't want to be assimilated, two christian missionaries were air dropped into the area of forest they live in recently, their bodies were found the next day with something like 150 spear wounds each. The missionaries came to try and show the Tagari their God, but the Tagari helped them find their own God more directly. These people are fighting for their survival and their way of life, and are prepared to die doing so, lets hope they all don't. Though how could it be avoided, the modern human world continues it's taxing of the Earth, and they are by gun or by dollar (they've now realised that a baby sloth can be worth $100US to them, and probably thousands to the animal dealer in the states, and they've been shown how to fish with dynamite!) being drawn inexorably into the whole mess. If they do not physically dissappear, spiritually and culturally they will die, and then for what reason is there to be? What should be the path of humanity if we were to lose this aspect of it?

In terms of the modern western society, they are like children, in terms of the forest and animals, they far surpass our understanding. Perhaps now, neither they nor us know what shall become of it all.

Their connection with forest, through Ayahuasca and the jaguar spirit, and how this has been affected by contact and attempted assimilation is explored in the film. The whole tribe goes to the capital for a protest, wearing only the sacred red paint of the "lipstick tree" (Bixa orellana) and a few bits of string and cloth, carrying spears which they wave menacingly at cars trying to push past them, with a flag they walk down the street, ignoring the traffic and chant and demonstrate outside a companies headquarters. Apparently something like 50% of the population in Ecuador is indigenous people, so they are actually in a position to be taken some notice of, not that it necesarily seems to change the outcome greatly, though it might mean you recieve more 'gifts' from the company.

There is a connection with Australia, through the story of Doug Anderson, who has lived with and helped the Hourani for the last ten years. After discovering a connection and involvement with nature and Gaia through being involved in the blokades and protests at Mt Nardi and Terania creek in Australia, (Two of the earliest, hard fought and well known environmental campaigns in the early emergance of greater enviromental awareness and action. These places are close to home, literally, and they are areas of outstanding beauty, that remain fairly wild and free, including some of the people, though as always, the demands of modern human culture takes it toll) he went to Ecuador to help save the forests there.

Doug is now wanting to come back to Australia, with his new Hourani wife (daughter of one of the Shaman shown in the film) and family, and the film preview was a fundraiser to get enough money for him and his family to be able to get back to Australia. Two showings of the film locally have been full house and more than $1000 has already been raised and forwarded to Doug, and more was on the way. (all up $3000 has been raised in just a couple of showings and an article in a local newspaper over two weeks)

The film will be showing on SBS, a multicultural national channel on Oct 1 (I think), for anyone who's interested, check it out, highly recommended. For anyone overseas, maybe I could find a contact for the maker, I'd say if it isn't already, then it will be available overseas sometime.

An anecdote the film maker coveyed about being interviewed on the ABC, Australia's natioal broadcast radio station.

Dean mentioned that Doug wasn't your usual kind of environmentalist, to which the interviewer asked about wether that may perhaps be due to the various psychoactive brews that he may be ingesting, and then asked more about it. Dean started explaining about Ayahuasca and stuff, and then apparently she asked, is that something related to acacias and you know what over here! I'm not sure if that was live, but it's out there. How did it all happen? who knows, weird as it may seem our journey's already begun.

Already, the roots of the sacred vine grow in Australian soil, and it's leaves soak up our sun. Once these two ancient continents (Aust and Sth America) were, together with some others, one, Gondwanaland.....