Matsés
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Matsés Indigenous Reserve: approx. 2,000, | |
| Languages | |
| Matsés, many also speak Spanish or Portuguese. | |
| Religion | |
| Christian, Animist | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Matis, Korubo, Mayoruna |
The Matsés are an indigenous tribe of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. The tribe's ancestral lands are currently threatened by illegal logging practices and poaching. These homelands are located between the Yavari and Galvez rivers. The Matsés have guarded their lands from both other indigenous tribes and outsider colonials.
The Matsés speak Panoan language and comprise approximately 3,200 people. In the last thirty years, they have become a largely settled people living mostly in permanent forest settlements. However, they still rely on hunting and gathering for most of their subsistence. Their main source of income comes from selling peccary hides.
The Movement in the Amazon for Tribal Subsistence and Economic Sustainability (MATSES) is an indigenous peoples rights organization that is working for the cultural survival of Matsés People. At the present, no outside aid is being provided for the Matsés people by the Peruvian government and many Matsés are dying from preventable diseases such as hepatitis and malaria. The non-profit native organization, MATSES, is negotiating with the government to provide medical care but due to their isolation, it is difficult for health care providers to reach their indigenous reserve.
Name
The word Matsés comes from the word for 'people' in the Matsés language.
Technology
The Matses have an elaborate knowledge of the plant life of the surrounding rainforest.
Culture
Worldview
In the animist Matsés worldview, there is no distinction between the physical and spiritual worlds and spirits are present throughout the world.
Plants, especially trees, hold a complex and important interest for the Matsés. Each plant is associated with an animal spirit. When a plant product is used as a medicine, it is typically applied externally and the shaman talks to the animal spirit associated with that plant.
Weapons
Bows and Arrows are the main weapons of the Matsés culture, although they are currently rarely used in personal conflict. Generally they are only used for hunting animals.
Marriage
Matsés families often practice polygamy. Cross-cousin marriages are most common.
Recent history
The Matsés made their first permanent contact with the outside world in 1969 when they accepted SIL missionaries into their communities. Before that date, they were in effect at warfare with the Peruvian government which had bombed their villages with napalm and sent the Peruvian army to invade their communities.
Indigenous political reorganization
The Matsés are very divided and politically unorganized. Each village has its own chief and their is little centralized authority for the tribe.
Land rights
The Matsés have title to the Matsés Indigenous Reserve that was established in 1998. The reserve measures 457000 ha.
References
Romanov S., D.M. Huanan, F.S. Uaqui, and D.W. Fleck. The Traditional Life of the Matsés. CAAAP Press: Lima, Peru. 148 pp.