According to Explorersweb, automatic cameras installed around the Amazon forest have recorded rare images of an indigenous community that has never had contact with the outside world.
The community, known to experts as the Massaco people, inhabits the rainforests of western Brazil, near the border with Bolivia. However, no one knows what they call themselves, and the Massaco are named after the river near which they live.
According to Brazil's National Indigenous Peoples Fund (Funai), the Massaco population has doubled to more than 250 people since the 1990s, despite constant pressure from encroaching civilization.
Since 1987, Funai has worked to protect 28 isolated indigenous communities living in the Amazon and has instituted a no-contact policy to prevent outsiders from entering. Funai has also strengthened protection measures in the areas surrounding these communities and reduced deforestation.
Because of their isolation, the tribes here have better resistance than normal people, immune to most common diseases in the world. However, normal people can die from the disease if infected by them. Therefore, many South American countries also apply isolation policies but to prevent the risk of infection.
Despite the many images and documents, experts say the Massaco people’s language, social structure and beliefs remain a complete mystery. After analyzing the photos, Mr. Altair Algayer, who has spent more than 30 years protecting this community, said that they have many similarities with the Siriono people - another ethnic group in Bolivia, but he still cannot determine who they are.
To monitor the Massaco and other Amazonian communities, Altair and his colleagues began installing cameras around the forest in 2019, mainly in areas near Funai’s facilities. The team also used satellites to collect data.
“We have seen a lot of new tapiri (thatched huts) appearing recently, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are around 300 people now,” Mr. Altair said in an interview.
Collecting images of the Massaco community has raised concerns among some that it could go against the no-contact policy, but Mr. Altair insists it is necessary to prove their existence and thus maintain protections.
