Matis Indian Tribe

The Jaguar People - Page 2 of 5

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 generations from now that they will change and probably be absorbed by western society, 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.

Although the Matis Indians do cultivate some horticultural crops to supplement their diet, the Matis are primarily hunters and specialists in blowgun hunting. 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 curare-tipped poison darts to capture their prey. Similarly, many tourist guides mistakenly told me that it was no longer possible to encounter naked Amazonian Indians. Again, they were misinformed, as many older Matis Indians are still very traditional and commonly wear no clothes. To truly appreciate how the Matis Indians live and dress traditionally, you need to view my uncensored documentary films which are available both on DVD and instant download.

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. The Ceremony of Mariwin is very colorful as the participants paint their bodies black, wearing only green leaves and red masks. The masked beings represent "ancestral spirits" and carry whips that they most commonly use to strike children and women, an act that is thought by the Matis to transfer "energy" to the recipient from the spirits.

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