The trip to Kubenkrãnken

„One of the parts I remember most of my trips in the northern part of Brazil, was when I visited the village of Kubenkrãnken in the Kayapo indigenous territory. The inhabitants have only had steady contact with non-indigenous societies since the 1960s. For hundreds of years, they fought Portuguese colonisers as well as their own tribal neighbours. More recently, they resisted illegal loggers and miners plundering their land. Now, they are confronted with the government of far right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who wants to open up Brazil’s indigenous lands to mining, farming and other commercial activity.

That being said, their land today serves as a crucial barrier to the advance of deforestation from the south. It takes days to reach the Kayapo indigenous territory, and I went there to record an ancient ritual that had not been practised for more than twenty years. It was a profound experience, isolated from the world. I remember this waterfall where I went to bathe and clean up. It was a magical place where time flowed at a different pace.“

Find out more about Tommaso Protti's photography in LFI 8/2019.