The Yawalapiti are one of 14 tribes living in the Xingu National Park area, Brazil. According to 2011 statistics, the tribe's population was only 156 people. The most special thing about this tribe is that according to ancient traditional customs, they can "go completely nude".
Today, men use a piece of cloth to cover their front, while women still... wear nothing but a few "symbolic" pieces of cloth wrapped around their shoulders. Let's visit the tribe considered the strangest on Earth through the photo series below:
The traditional men's dress is called the xono, which is just a small piece of cloth that covers the front. They also decorate themselves with a hat with pine resin and feathers. The women "decorate" themselves with natural paint, go bare-chested and wrap a piece of cloth around their shoulders.
Yawalapiti homes are mainly large huts with one or two small doors.
In addition, every day, Yawalapiti women apply urukum seeds to their skin to make it red. Urukum is a tree with a trunk about 2.7m long, with sharp red or green thorns. If you split the urukum fruit, you will see many small seeds inside. Each seed has a dark orange pigment, squeezing urukum seeds to rub on the body or using them as paint is a hobby and tradition of the Yawalapiti people.
The color of Urukum is also known to inspire rituals and bring them into harmony with the land. The Yawalapiti people paint their bodies with unique shapes and designs using urukum.
According to them, the urukum tree is the thread that connects people to the spiritual world, protects them from bad things and keeps them in a happy and comfortable mood.
In everyday life, the red pigment of urukum is used as a shield to ward off the sun and mosquitoes and is seen as a symbol of health and beauty.
On festive occasions, the Yawalapiti play the urua bamboo flute - a traditional tribal flute.
This man is painting himself with urukum in a traditional way, preparing for an upcoming ceremony.
Besides the somewhat "strange" customs above, this tribe is also famous for the Quarup ritual - a ritual to honor the death of someone important to them.
The ceremony is usually held in August every year and lasts for several days. This year, the Quarup will be held for two people. They are a Yawalapiti chief and Darcy Ribeiro - a famous researcher, anthropologist, and politician who has contributed to the development of relations between Native American tribes and education in Brazil.
Although Quarup is a festival for the dead, it is also an occasion for the Yawalapiti people to dance happily, celebrate life and rebirth. In addition, young girls have the opportunity to choose their life partners. They wear many bright jewelry to attract the other person's gaze. Young men will participate in wrestling competitions to find the winner. This person will have the opportunity to choose the woman they like the most.
Here are some photos of the daily life of the Yawalapiti tribe:
Members of the Yawalapiti tribe catch fish - their main source of food - in Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
The Yawalapiti man dips timbo (a plant poisonous to aquatic life) into the water to spread the toxin in the plant, paralyzing the fish so they can be easily caught by hand.
While parents work, children play together by the river.
In addition, they are also taught archery.
