THE MATSÉS TRIBE
The Matsés tribe were previously un-contacted until 1969.
The Matsés have an approximate population of 2200 people on the Peruvian side, covering over 1 million hectares. Across the river into Brazil they number a further 1300, part of their territory lies within the Valle do Javari Indigenous Reserve, which protects the largest number of uncontacted groups in isolation remaining in the world. In Brazil, they are often called the Mayoruna, all speaking the Matsés language which is part of the Pano linguistic family. The Matsés inhabit the very heart of the Amazon Rainforest, an area of staggering natural beauty and almost inconceivable biodiversity, but a land deeply troubled and beset with threats from logging and multinational petroleum companies. It is one of the last frontiers.
SUPPOTING THE MATSÉS
The mission of Acaté is to preserve the Amazon Rainforest in partnership with its protectors. Real on the ground capacity-building underlies all of our initiatives whether it be cultural preservation, territorial protection, or sustainable economic development. The younger generations, as in the case with most Amazonian forest tribes, have limited economic alternatives to participation in activities such as logging of valuable hardwood, gold mining, petroleum exploration and extraction, and the wildlife trade that result in profoundly negative effects on their health, culture, and environment.
Sourcing Kambo from the Matsés is not only supporting our communities with much-needed medicine, but it is also helping the Matsés to sustain themselves.
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The Matsés are often referred to in the popular literature as the 'Jaguar People' under the misconception that the palm leaflet veins that women insert in piercings in their nostril flares are meant to represent feline whiskers. Upon being interviewed, however, the Matsés reject the assumption that their facial ornaments are meant to imitate the jaguar, and assert that these ornaments and their facial tattoos are just markers that identify them as belonging to the Matsés ethnic group.
