It’s with nice unhappiness that Survival declares the dying of Kasiripina Wajãpi, who died from Covid-19 on January 16 in hospital within the northern Amazon metropolis of Macapá, Brazil. He was aged round 65.
Heat, charismatic and quietly decided, Kasiripina was of the era of Wajãpi who survived the troublesome and difficult interval of first sustained contact with nationwide society.
Many Wajãpi died from epidemics of ailments launched by miners and hunters within the Nineteen Sixties, and within the Nineteen Seventies got here the navy dictatorship’s grandiose plan to construct the “perimetral norte” or northern perimeter freeway alongside Brazil’s northern border, by way of many Indigenous territories. It could have a devastating affect on uncontacted Indigenous peoples such because the Wajãpi and Yanomami.
Groups from FUNAI (the federal government’s Indigenous Affairs Division) first contacted the Wajãpi in 1973 (who then numbered simply 150 folks) earlier than the bulldozers arrived. Though the street scheme was deserted a number of years later, 30 km of it had been bulldozed into the Wajãpi’s territory, which vastly facilitated the unlawful invasion of goldminers and others, exposing the tribe to deadly ailments to which they’d little or no resistance.
Strolling out of the forest someday within the early Nineteen Seventies together with his pal the anthropologist Alan Campbell, Kasiripina got here throughout a big space of cleared forest the place bulldozers had uncovered the crimson earth. He was astonished and exclaimed “aramirã” [red earth]. The identify caught and Aramirã remains to be FUNAI’s base within the territory, with a well being publish and college.
Kasiripina alongside together with his fellow Wajãpi fought with utter willpower for his or her land rights, realizing how basic this was to guarantee the way forward for their small tribe. He recalled how goldminers invaded their land, showering them with presents earlier than the ailments struck, and the way the Wajãpi had been nearly worn out.
With extraordinary tenacity and braveness, and no help from FUNAI, the Wajãpi managed to expel the miners within the Nineteen Eighties and launched a marketing campaign for his or her land rights. In 1989 Wai Wai, Kasiripina and Kumai made the lengthy journey to the capital Brasilia to foyer officers, and in 1994 the Wajãpi launched into the collective “self-demarcation” of their territory, which was lastly ratified by the federal government in 1996.
Kasiripina was a founder member of the Wajapi’s group APINA which was arrange in 1994. He embraced expertise and was a gifted cameraman. He was significantly eager to point out kids the significance of valuing Wajãpi tradition and language, and of self-reliance within the face of mounting assaults on Indigenous rights by politicians. He additionally confronted concerted makes an attempt by fundamentalist missionaries to evangelize the Wajãpi.
He realised the facility of movie as a software to coach non-Indigenous society concerning the richness of Wajãpi cosmology. A pure storyteller, he filmed and directed “Jane Moraita, Nossas Festas” [Our Ceremonies]” which featured a number of Waijãpi rituals. He additionally documented lots of the speeches of Wai Wai, one of many Wajãpi’s foremost leaders, and accompanied him on the primary go to by the Wajãpi to the lately contacted Zo’é folks, to warn them concerning the risks of the “karaico” [white people]. “Video within the Villages” filmed the journey and launched the movie “A Arca dos Zo’é” [The Ark of the Zo’é].
Kasiripina was an incredible ambassador for the Wajãpi and traveled to Germany, Norway and the US to advertise their tasks. Nonetheless, he was happiest in his group, Mariry. Right here he lived together with his prolonged household in a big open home on stilts, cultivating greens and fruit of their forest gardens, and fishing and looking.
Kasiripina’s genial nature and skill to take issues on the chin was obvious when he and a Brazilian pal hailed a taxi within the metropolis of Macapá. The driving force slowed down, noticed an “Indian” and sped off. His Brazilian pal was outraged at this blatant racism, however Kasiripina calmly remarked: “The karaico [white people] don’t like Indians. Don’t fear, there are lots extra taxis on the market.”
Kasiripina suffered a number of devastating losses in his formative years – his first spouse, and his second spouse and their two younger kids, all died. Nonetheless, he discovered happiness together with his third spouse Taema, they usually had 5 kids, 15 grandchildren and one nice grandchild.
We’ll keep in mind Kasiripina for his inspiration, his capacity to transcend adversity, his humor and his humanity, and we ship our heartfelt condolences to Taema and the household.
