Mythologies of the Korubo Tribe

 

The Korubo or Korubu, also known as the Dslala, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the lower Vale do Javari in the western Amazon Basin. The group calls themselves 'Dslala', and in Portuguese they are referred to as caceteiros (clubbers). Much of what the outside world knows of this group is based on the research of Brazilian explorer Sydney Possuelo, who first contacted the tribe in October 1996, and journalist Paul Raffaele. The Korubo are some of the last people on Earth to live in near-isolation from modern society, although they have, on numerous occasions, had violent contacts with the surrounding communities. Their hunting and weapon of choice is the club and, aside from poison darts they use no other ranged weapons - their workday is about 4–5 hours long, and they often live inside large, communal huts known as malocas. They have no known spiritual or religious practices, though they occasionally practice infanticide for unknown reasons. Both men and women paint themselves with a red dye from the roucou plant. Their diet includes fish, spider monkeyspeccarybirdswild pigfruitmanioc and corn. A leading cause of illness and death within the tribe is by malaria. They have some knowledge of agriculture, making clearings for harvests of crops.



The Korubo, also known as the "clubber Indians" because of their war clubs, live in the region surrounding the confluence of the Ituí and Itaquaí rivers in the Javari valley. Most of the population (more than 200 people) still lives in isolation, moving between the Ituí, Coari and Branco rivers. In 1996, after various attempts, FUNAI contacted a small group of Korubo Indians. After the encounter with the attraction team, the Korubo began to visit the villages of the Matis Indians and the FUNAI encampments in the forest. Today the group is distributed in two communities on the lower Ituí. This entry on the Korubu is largely based on data concerning the population contacted in the 1990s. The name used by the Korubo for themselves is unknown. Some researchers had previously identified the term dslala as their self-denomination. However recent work by the Javari Valley Ethno-Environmental Protection Front (FPEVJ) reveals that there is no single self-denomination used unanimously among the Korubo. The Korubo language has yet to be classified, but probably forms part of the Pano linguistic family, fairly similar to the languages spoken by the Matis and the Matsés (Mayoruna), who live in territories adjacent to that of the Korubo. Because of this linguistic and geographic proximity, most of the group understands and speaks the languages of the neighbouring peoples, especially the Matis language.

The Korubo owe their survival to their awe-inspiring violence and their inaccessible home in the thick rainforest frontier between Brazil and Peru. And possibly to Sydney Possuelo. Whenever there are reports of lost or uncontacted tribes - often sparked by the discovery of the dismembered corpse of a pioneer - Possuelo gets a call. He is Brazil's most famous Indian tracker. But unlike the majority of the white men who have stalked tribes, he hunts them down to save them. The Korubo were inevitably suspicious; their knowledge of the white settler was as a gun-toting aggressor. However, they seemed intrigued by the uncharacteristic behaviour of their visitors. Possuelo's group were leaving presents and singing Brazilian folk songs loudly, so as to "announce their arrival with good intentions". The Korubo were inevitably suspicious; their knowledge of the white settler was as a gun-toting aggressor. However, they seemed intrigued by the uncharacteristic behaviour of their visitors. Possuelo's group were leaving presents and singing Brazilian folk songs loudly, so as to "announce their arrival with good intentions".


The Korubo tribe has become dispersed and separated in the forest, apparently due to the growing encroachment of fishermen poaching on the reservation. Faced with depleted resources and loss of political clout, FUNAI has struggled to prevent such activity. The most isolated group has now come within 20 kilometres of the Matis arrow people, with whom they had a fatal battle in 2014, said FUNAI expedition leader Bruno Pereira. It could also be devastating if the Korubo disappear into the forest after contact with outsiders and catch any common illness to which they are not immune.




The Korubo Indians are the most recent previously uncontacted Amazonian tribe to be contacted.  The Korubos are said to have been initially discovered by the outside world in the year 1996. Subsequently, the Korubo tribe became known as the Caceteiros by the local people in Brazil.  The word caceteiro means "club-wielders" in Portuguese and refers to their carrying clubs as weapons to defend themselves. However, newspaper reporters began calling them the "Head-Bashers" and this might be due to a mistranslation by a French anthropologist of the Portuguese word caceteiro which is similar to the French word casse-tête which literally means "break-head."  Until relatively recently, the use of war clubs by indigenous people was not uncommon in the Amazon, and the men in the Shipibo tribe only stopped carrying clubs within the last generation. The word "Korubo" comes from the Matis tribe and means "dirty-feet" in their language. The auto-denomination term that the Korubos use to call themselves is the Dslala.  The Dslala people speak a Northern Pano dialect in the Pano language family.   Dslala  or Korubo is mutually intelligible with Matis. For many years before the first peaceful contact with the Korubo, it was unknown as to what language they speak.  Consequently, the first expeditions by the Brazilian government to make peaceful contact with the Korubo included interpreters from all the various tribes of the Javari River Valley (Vale do Javari) including the Matis, Mayoruna-Matses, Marubo, Kanamari, and Kulina.  The language of the Korubos turned out to be quite close to the Matis.  In fact, the Korubo share many other traits with the Matis, including the use of blowguns to hunt.  However, the Korubo are different from the Matis in other ways, especially physically, being heavier and stouter than the Matis who are typically very slender.   Additionally, the Korubo sport a very different hair style, shaving or cutting very short the hair on the rear of the head.  Another different in physical appearance is the absence of facial tattoos which the other tribes in the area (Matis, Mayoruna-Matses, and Marubo) all have.   




One thing that sets the Korubo apart from other tribes is their location. They inhabit the Javari Valley, which is known for being one of the most remote areas of the Amazon rainforest. This isolation has allowed them to preserve their traditions without outside influence. The culture of the Korubo is rich and complex. They have their language that only members of the tribe are fluent in. They also have an intricate system of beliefs and rituals surrounding the natural environment and its spirits. Their way of dress, dances, music and rituals each hold significant cultural meaning. Living in remote areas of Amazon Rainforest, the Korubo’s relationship to their surroundings is unmatched. They use the resources nature provided to them from hunting food, fishes, farming cassava and sweet potato, and extracting resins used for medicinal purposes. The tribe tries to respecting their environment as they believe everything in it has a spirit. For the Korubo tribe, the family structure is not just the nuclear family. The tribe members emphasize their extended family too, believing in strong connections between family members. Men were polygamous in some cases but monogamy became the norm when the Brazilian government came in contact with this tribe. The Korubo’s lifestyle and practices may seem foreign to us, but their values and beliefs are rooted in a deep respect for nature and the importance of community. Their resilience and determination to maintain their culture serve as an important reminder of the diversity and richness of human history and heritage.








































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