The Matsés, or Jaguar People, of Peru and
Brazil, who number approximately 3,3001, have created a
comprehensive, 500-page encyclopedia of their tribe’s medicinal knowledge,
which was on the verge of being completely lost.2
The Matsés Traditional Medicine
Encyclopedia is a compilation of the medicinal knowledge (including
knowledge of medicinal plants) of five shamans and is written exclusively in
the native language of the Matsés (which is also called Matsés), who inhabit a
large area along the Peru-Brazil border and the Yaquerana and Javari rivers.2
Since Amazonian peoples have historically passed traditions down orally, this
written record is believed to be the first of its kind and scope. Granted,
ethnobotanists have frequently worked with indigenous peoples to catalog their
herbal knowledge. For example, the Huni Kuin people of the Brazilian state of
Acre collaborated with an ethnobotanist to publish a 260-page book about the
healing power of plants.3 However, the Matsés encyclopedia is
different in part because it was compiled without the aid of ethnobotanists.
“That is what made this initiative so revolutionary and the first of its kind.
There were no outsiders coming in to document [the Matsés’s] knowledge, no
expeditions, no translations. The entire encyclopedia was written by the Matsés
shamans in their own villages, in their own words, in their own language, and
through their worldview,” said Christopher Herndon, president and co-founder of
conservation group Acaté, which
collaborated on the conceptual development and provided production and
financial support for the project (email, August 14, 2015).
No translations were made to prevent biopiracy, which is a real issue for the Matsés.
For example, the skin secretions of the giant monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) have mind-altering properties and are used in
Matsés hunting rituals. After learning about the skin secretions, several
pharmaceutical companies and universities began conducting research and filed
for patents without regard for the Matsés.2 In addition, according
to Herndon, the Matsés and the neighboring Matis tribe were the victims of
another instance of biopiracy: hunters from the tribes traditionally have
applied the milky secretions of the bëcchëte
(Tabernaemontana undulata,
Apocynaceae) plant to their eyes to help them better distinguish textures.
Seeds and extracts from this plant can now freely be purchased on the internet.
 The Matsés encyclopedia contains disease names, symptoms, causes, which plants
to use as treatment, how to prepare the medicine, alternative therapeutic
options, illustrations made by a young Matsés artist, and photos of every plant
used in Matsés medicine. The photos, which were all taken by the Matsés, are
not detailed enough to allow outsiders to easily identify the plants, and no
scientific names are provided for the same reason.2 “The Matsés know
the plants better than all of us and are highly specific about how the plants
are harvested, the maturity of the plants at harvest, the parts of plants
utilized and prepared, among other considerations. This information is conveyed
in the encyclopedia,” Herndon wrote.
This effort comes at a time when the traditions of many Amazonian indigenous groups
are quickly disappearing. In fact, a renowned Matsés shaman died before his
knowledge could be passed down. So, Matsés leadership, along with Acaté
(“acaté” is the Matsés taxon for the giant monkey frog1),
prioritized the creation of the encyclopedia before more valuable knowledge was
lost.2 According to Herndon, the project began in 2012, with the
most preliminary formative discussions beginning as early as July 2011, shortly
after the shaman’s passing.
The encyclopedia, which took more than two years to complete, was written not
only to conserve the knowledge of the Matsés elders, but also to help maintain
the tribe’s self-sufficiency by preventing the need for total reliance on
outside medical solutions. Many Matsés cannot afford modern conventional
medicine and have only the most rudimentary access to it due to the tribe’s
remoteness. However, the encyclopedia is only the first step in a three-step
process.2
At the time the project was started, none of the Matsés shamans had apprentices
to carry on their ancestral knowledge. Outside influences, particularly
missionaries, often convince younger members of indigenous tribes that
traditional medicine is primitive or altogether unnecessary.2 In
addition, José Fragoso, PhD, a research associate at the California Academy of
Sciences whose work focuses on the Neotropics, said young tribesman are pulled
away by the high-tech world. “They all
unequivocally love gadgets and the aura that surrounds material goods,” he said
(email, August 13, 2015).
But most Matsés villages still rely on these few remaining shamans (all of whom
were trained prior to sustained contact with the outside world). As a result,
the second step of the process is for each elder shaman, most of whom are over
60, to be accompanied in the forest by an apprentice who will learn about the
plants and assist in treating patients.2
The encyclopedia will serve as a guide for these future shamans and will help
bridge a generational gap. “Having the
encyclopedia will definitely help interest young [Matsés] in their culture,”
Dr. Fragoso said, but there is still a need to make it more appealing, “maybe
by linking it to technological communication systems.” Herndon pointed out
though that there is no cellular phone or regular electrical access throughout
most of the remote Matsés territories. Steven King, PhD, an ethnobotanist and
senior vice president of ethnobotanical research and sustainable supply at
Jaguar Animal Health, an ethnobotanically-oriented drug discovery company, said
that having data to help validate the efficacy (from the “Western” medical
perspective) of the tribe’s herbal knowledge could also help encourage new
apprentices (email, August 13, 2015).
The Matsés decided that the apprenticeship program, which started in 2014 in
the village of Esitrón under the supervision of shaman Luis Dunu Chiaid, should
be expanded to as many villages as possible, with special attention being given
to villages that no longer have a shaman.2
The third step of Acaté’s initiative is for “Western” medical practices to be
integrated with and complement traditional Matsés medicine. “It is the idea of merging the best of both systems in a
respectful and cooperative manner. There are some health problems that can be
managed well by both or either system,” Dr. King said. For example, because of contact
with the outside, the Matsés, like other indigenous peoples, have been exposed
to foreign diseases, such as falciparum malaria.2 The Matsés tend to
rely on outside medical solutions to treat these introduced and more virulent
forms of malaria, according to Herndon.
The three-step initiative might have broader implications for the rainforest
the Matsés inhabit. Acaté believes that empowering indigenous peoples is the
best way to preserve large tracts of rainforest. In fact, many of the largest
tracts of remaining rainforest are inhabited by these tribes. External
industries like mining, petroleum, and timber often have taken advantage of
tribes that have been weakened socially by outside influences, have limited
resources, or that have developed an increasing dependence on the external
world. The Matsés know that independence will make them and their home less
susceptible to falling victim to outside influences.2
In fact, Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales has recently become a threat to
the Matsés. In 2007, Peru’s oil and gas licensing body Perupetro granted the
company licenses to two large tracts of land on Matsés territory. Many Matsés
men have said they would fight with spears, bows, and arrows to protect their
land and the waters of the Yaquerana River. Logging, both legal and illegal, is
also a concern.4
Potentially at stake is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world and the
Matsés’s deep understanding of its vast plant and animal resources. In Peru
alone, the Matsés inhabit nearly 3 million acres of rainforest on the eastern
edge of the country.2 This area, within the Peruvian region of
Loreto, contains about two-thirds of the Matsés population.1 To the
south lies La Sierra del Divisor, a region containing many rare plants and
animals and uncontacted indigenous groups.2 On the Brazil side,
within the Brazilian state of Amazonas,1 Matsés communities, which
contain the remaining one-third of the population, form the western edges of
the Vale do Javari, a reserve containing the largest number of uncontacted
tribes in the world.2 The Peruvian and Brazilian Matsés are
completely separate politically, but they intermarry and generally consider
themselves to belong to the same tribe. In Brazil, the Matsés are
better known as Mayoruna, although, according to Herndon, this term has also
been used to refer to other tribes in the region.1
The Matsés first established contact with the Peruvian and Brazilian national
cultures relatively recently, in 1969. Because of that, and the tribe’s
remoteness, they remain much more traditional than other contacted indigenous
groups in the area. They still obtain almost all of their food by hunting,
fishing, farming, and wild collecting. But now that they have more motorized
canoes and travel more frequently to the city of Iquitos and Colonia Angamos (a
Peruvian military outpost), they have more contact with non-tribal Peruvians,
and they are increasingly reliant on money to buy goods. All Matsés still speak
their native language and many of their traditional beliefs remain intact.
However, some young Matsés have lost pride in their culture. Some have even
come to outright resent it because of the racism of local non-tribal Peruvians
and other aforementioned factors. And some have left the tribe to work or join
the army. The three pillars of Acaté’s initiatives — sustainable economy,
traditional medicine, and permaculture — are meant to help stop and reverse
that trend.1
Acaté also helps the Matsés sustainably harvest and market natural products,
such as tree resins copaiba (genus Copaifera,
Fabaceae) and sangre de grado (Croton
lechleri, Euphorbiaceae). This allows them to earn income and prevents them
from having to take up destructive and dangerous timber-cutting jobs.1
The Matsés are taking proactive steps toward being able to determine their own
fate and hopefully minimize the high rates of mortality and disease common
among indigenous groups. This initiative can serve as a blueprint for other
indigenous groups facing similar cultural erosion.2 “Any and all efforts that help link the health of
communities… to the health of their environment can and should be replicated
and/or modulated to serve the needs of communities,” Dr. King said.
“I would like to see all indigenous people produce similar encyclopedias.
Letting others know the depth of knowledge held by societies is the best
way we have of maintaining our cultures and showing our deep concern for
others,” Dr. Fragoso said.
—Connor Yearsley
[Editor's note: All photos ©Alicia Fox Photography. Map courtesy of Acaté.]
References
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September 1, 2015.
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