Why did this isolated, uncontacted tribe come out of the Amazon forest?

The previously uncontacted Mashco Piro tribe has emerged from their isolation in Peru's Amazon forests, driven by encroachment and search for food and safety

Anthropologists around the world were shaken into action recently by the unexpected public appearance of a previously uncontacted tribe from the Amazon rainforests of Peru. The Mashco Piro tribe, long secluded in the depths of the Peruvian forest, emerged from their isolated habitat for the first time, as revealed by images released on Tuesday by the human rights organization Survival International.

Who are the Mashco Piro tribe?

The tribe, known for shooting arrows at anyone who approaches too closely, was recently spotted emerging from the rainforest near the Las Piedras River in Madre de Dios.

It has been noted that the Mashco Piro has had very few interactions outside its community, and most of these interactions have been violent. Around 50 members of the Mashco Piro tribe have been reported to have visited the village of Monte Salvado.

The Mashco Piro speak a language closely related to the Yine people, which sometimes allows for communication when the Mashco Piro emerge seeking food and supplies.

Yine people often hear the Mashco Piro before spotting them, as the tribe whistles a high trill mimicking the tinamou bird. This whistle serves as a warning for others to stay away while they collect turtles’ eggs from the riverbank or gather fruit and vegetables.

Why did the tribe venture out?

According to the Survival International group, sightings of the Mashco Piro were documented in June. Reports from FENAMAD, a local Indigenous rights group, indicated that the tribe has been increasingly active outside their traditional territory. It points out that increased logging activity in the area is likely pushing the tribe out of their traditional lands. The Mashco Piro may be venturing closer to settlements in search of food and a safer refuge.

The tribe’s emergence is believed to be driven by the need for food and a safer place to stay near the remote villages of Monte Salvado. Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, stated, “These incredible images show that a large number of isolated Mashco Piro live alone a few kilometres from where the loggers are about to start their operations.”

The Mashco Piro, who live in an area between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios, have rarely been seen and do not typically communicate with the Yine or anyone else, according to Survival International.

Several logging companies have permission to cut down trees on the land where the Mashco Piro tribe lives. One of these companies, Canales Tahuamanu, has built more than 200 kilometers of roads to allow logging trucks to haul away the timber, according to Survival International.

A representative from Canales Tahuamanu in Lima did not respond to media requests for comment. The company is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and has 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of forests in Madre de Dios for extracting cedar and mahogany.

On June 28, the Peruvian government reported sightings of the Mashco Piro along the Las Piedras River, approximately 150 km from Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. Rosa Padilha, from the Brazilian Catholic bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council in the state of Acre, noted that the Mashco Piro have also been sighted across the border in Brazil.

Increased encroachment on territory

This is not the first instance of the Mashco Piro territory being invaded. During Peru’s rubber boom in the 1880s, the Mashco Piro, along with many other tribes, were forcibly displaced, enslaved, and killed in large numbers. The survivors retreated further upstream on the Manu River, where they have lived in isolation ever since.

Now, as logging companies continue to encroach on their land, experts say the Mashco Piro have nowhere left to go. This has led to an increase in sightings in recent years, as they venture out of their forested refuges not only in search of food and supplies but also to escape the encroaching outsiders.

The Mashco Piro has also been spotted across the border in Brazil. Rosa Padilha, from the Brazilian Catholic bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council, explained to Reuters, “They flee from loggers on the Peruvian side. They are a people with no peace, restless because they are always on the run.”

Why does the tribe live in isolation?

During the infamous ‘Rubber boom’ of the 1880s, rubber barons invaded the territory of the Mashco Piro and other Indigenous tribes in the western Amazon. They enslaved thousands of indigenous people, subjecting them to murder, flogging, chaining, hunting, rape, and theft of their land and homes, according to the information available on Survival Internatioinal website. Some Mashco Piro managed to escape, retreating deep into the forest to the remote headwaters of rivers, where they remained hidden and uncontacted. 

Today, their descendants still live in isolation, but their lands are once again under threat. Significant part of their territory has been sold off for logging, and the sound of chainsaws now echoes through the forest.

In 2002, in response to lobbying by FENAMAD, the government established the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve to protect Mashco Piro’s forest. This biodiverse territory spans several river basins near the Brazil border, according to the human rights group.

However, the Reserve covers only a third of the area proposed by FENAMAD, leaving large sections of Mashco Piro land unprotected. To complicate matters further, the government sold off much of this unprotected area as logging concessions, allowing companies to harvest mahogany and other valuable hardwoods for decades.