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Old 03-28-2009, 11:52 AM
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Klondike Klondike is offline
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Originally Posted by gringuito View Post
Not to burst anyone's bubble here, but the majority of the photos taken here are done, well, for show. :-)
I have traveled abroad quite a bit and have visited a few of these. A couple of these photos I recognize from bora bora, near Iquitos in Peru. I have even spoken with a few 'tribal members' who speak a fair amount of English, which is mandatory in schools there.

The dances are performed at encampments arranged to appear like isolated camps. These encampments are normally located outside the town/city. The women in the photos are paid to perform in the rituals/dances. Quite commonly, afterward, they dress up and with their friends go shopping or dancing in the nearby city. You might have noticed some have tanlines, clothing markings and such. The dances are planned, choreographed, and even advertised to tourists.

Just a note, the truly isolated indigenous camps we all remember sparking our curiosity as boys from natl geographic who actually hunt with spears, live and dance in the nude, etc are VERY difficult to get to (say a matter of days by river and hiking). They don't speak a word of spanish or portuguese (much less english) are nervous with outsiders and cameras, and some can even be a little dangerous. However, a big thanks, the photos are fantastic!
Interesting.

Looking back at some of Pennywiseguy2's pics, I notice spectators (one looks like an American with a camera), cars, sound equipment, etc. Not what you would expect to see on an anthropological visit.

Question - so the performers are really Peruvian indians and not Xingu indians? Those aren't wigs they are wearing, are they? Also, the presence of children is curious but I guess they are going all out to make it look authentic.

Because there is so much nudity here, one wonders about the sponsership of this and the "why's". One theory might be that they hold these because they don't want Peruvians hungry for this type of "entertainment" to bother the "real" indians and take long and risky journeys into the amazon. Or they just want to make some money in which case they would charge admission. It doesn't appear to be so well attended though that you could see anyone getting fat off of this. But I guess even a few tourist dollars can go a long way in a poor little town.

Klondike

Last edited by Klondike; 03-28-2009 at 12:00 PM.
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