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In the heart of Brazil's Amazon, the village of Metuktire preserves its traditions, nurtures its people and holds the line against environmental destruction.
Cacique Beptok Metuktire speaks after a traditional dance in Metuktire village, home to Brazil’s iconic indigenous leader Raoni, a symbol of the fight against Amazon deforestation. (AFP)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 3, 2025 00:01 IST
In a rainforest increasingly hollowed out by greed, Metuktire is a place where culture thrives and community endures. Tucked deep in Brazil's Mato Grosso state, the village is more than just home to the Kayapo people - it's the stronghold of a decades-long effort to protect one of the world's most threatened ecosystems.
Led for years by the widely respected Cacique Raoni Metuktire, the community has drawn a boundary - both physical and symbolic -against illegal mining and deforestation. While the land around them bears the scars of exploitation, Metuktire pulses with the rhythm of tradition and daily life.
On a warm March day, Cacique Beptok Metuktire - part of the new generation of leaders - speaks after a traditional dance in the village square. His voice carries the weight of history, yet his gestures are grounded in the present. Nearby, groups of women walk along the village paths, some returning from harvesting cassava and others preparing it with practiced ease under shaded porches.
Their work, like the rituals and songs that echo through the trees, is both ordinary and essential.
A few kilometres away, aerial images captured during a Greenpeace flyover show the encroachment of illegal mining into Kayapo lands in Par state, a jarring contrast to the balance sustained in Metuktire. The devastation from gold prospectors is a constant threat. Yet, life moves with intent and attention there.
In one home, Beptuket, another cacique of the village, scrolls through his phone while cradling his young child, a quiet moment that bridges tradition and modernity. Later, he slips into the forest on a hunting trip, bow slung across his shoulder, blending seamlessly into the green expanse that he has known since childhood.
At dusk, the sound of flutes and chanting fills the air again. Men gather in a circle, dancing with a quiet intensity. Smoke from fires curls into the canopy. A woman stirs cassava over the flames. There is no urgency in their movements, only presence.
Metuktire is not untouched by the outside world - it is surrounded by it. But inside its boundaries, people live on their own terms. They farm. They dance. They lead. They watch the forest and raise their children in its care.
And in doing so, they continue to protect what others have forgotten how to see.
(with inputs from AFP)
Published On:
Apr 3, 2025
