This tribe was discovered in the 1980's and has been protected/secluded by the Brazilian Government. When a child is between the ages of 6 and 9 a "porturu", wood plug is inserted into their lower lip. At adult age the plug can be 7 inches in length. They are polygamists as well as polyamorous. The husbands have multiple wives, and the wives have multiple husbands. However it seems that incest is not a problem. As a "society" they are very trusting and selfless. Aggression has not been seen among the tribe's people. The women regulate their pregnancies to every 3 years. Young women are married to older men, then they eventually get a "young" husband to "groom" and train to be a good husband for the next generation of women. The children are taught to fend for themselves at a very young age. Oh yeah, they also don't wear clothes, of any sort.
Yes, I am extremely intrigued by this group of people. I'm amazed that we have only known about them for 30 years, and still do not seem to know much about them. Amy and I began talking. When "we" have come so far, it is hard to imagine people still live in such a fashion. A people who are so unaware of what is around them. They continue in what they know, because, quite simply it works...for them.
The Zo'e are unaware of their land rights and human rights. They don't even know that they are Brazilians. Contacts with our society are always harmful to Native Americans. Each object introduced to them is another nail in their coffin. It triggers new needs and selfish behavior. They soon contract new diseases and develop greed for the timber or gold on their land.
Protecting them is the responsibility of the Brazilian government and of each one of us. Otherwise the Zoe will disappear, like hundreds of other native tribes since Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas.
Amy seemed to disagree. She wonders how they have been so sheltered. Have they not seen airplanes in the sky and wondered what they were, where they were going? (what HAS happened, they were discovered by a missionary accidently landing among them)
Things Fall Apart --- an important African novel by Chinua Achebe--one of the most greatest classics of its time. The book involves the class of cultures and belief systems, as colonization affects the people.
"The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."
I looked that quote up once I got home. An odd thought popped into my head. What if the above quote took on a spiritual sense.
"The devil is very clever. He comes about quietly and peaceably with his diversion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers and our sisters, and the Church body can no longer effectively do it's job. He has sown discord and taken away our insulation and robbed us of our convictions which held us together"
A few chapters earlier, "We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true."
I don't want to be so naive, to be so amused by foolishness that I am unaware of the spiritual battle. A daily war for my soul, and souls all around me
Yes, the little things matter. Because, after a while little things accumulate to be big things.
I don't want to be just "prepared" for an attack, I want to be "ready".
Preparation can be Prevention, But Readiness is Responsiveness.
The Zo'e are unaware of their land rights and human rights. They don't even know that they are Brazilians. Contacts with our society are always harmful to Native Americans. Each object introduced to them is another nail in their coffin. It triggers new needs and selfish behavior. They soon contract new diseases and develop greed for the timber or gold on their land.
Protecting them is the responsibility of the Brazilian government and of each one of us. Otherwise the Zoe will disappear, like hundreds of other native tribes since Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas.
Amy seemed to disagree. She wonders how they have been so sheltered. Have they not seen airplanes in the sky and wondered what they were, where they were going? (what HAS happened, they were discovered by a missionary accidently landing among them)
However, as we were discussing, a quote popped into my head from
"The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."
I looked that quote up once I got home. An odd thought popped into my head. What if the above quote took on a spiritual sense.
"The devil is very clever. He comes about quietly and peaceably with his diversion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers and our sisters, and the Church body can no longer effectively do it's job. He has sown discord and taken away our insulation and robbed us of our convictions which held us together"
A few chapters earlier, "We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true."
I don't want to be so naive, to be so amused by foolishness that I am unaware of the spiritual battle. A daily war for my soul, and souls all around me
Yes, the little things matter. Because, after a while little things accumulate to be big things.
I don't want to be just "prepared" for an attack, I want to be "ready".
Preparation can be Prevention, But Readiness is Responsiveness.
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