The Camisea Nanti: Section 1

Section 1

Introduction

This report concerns the Nanti¹ of the upper Rio Camisea, a recently contacted Arawakan-language speaking group of some 250 individuals. Specifically, this report examines a number of issues that effect the welfare and well-being of this group, especially those issues related to their interactions with the outside world.

The principal purpose of this report is to inform those individuals and organizations involved in making decisions that affect the Nanti, of the present day state of affairs concerning the Nanti. The authors of this report have observed that there is very little reliable information available about the Nanti, and indeed, a great deal of misinformation. Our concern about the delicate situation in which the Nanti find themselves has prompted us to write this report in the hope that the parties and persons whose actions affect the well-being of the Nanti will use the information contained herein to make better-informed decisions about their own policies and actions towards the Nanti.

We anticipate that the various readers of this report will have varying levels of interest in the several issues presented. For this reason, we have presented the material in such a manner that each section can to a large degree have coherence on its own. Therefore, we ask the diligent reader who visits every page of this report for patience with the repetition of central material.

In Section 10 we present brief discussions of the topics considered in greater depth in the other parts of the report, and provide a swift overview of the issues, with our recommendations on actions to be taken, where relevant.

The information contained in this report has been gathered on three visits to Montetoni and Malanksiá by the authors, Lev Michael and Chris Beier. Lev made the first visit in July of 1993, which lasted ten days; in June of 1995 both Lev and Chris visited for another stay of ten days. The latest visit, under the aegis of Cabeceras Aid Project, a non-profit organization based in Austin, Texas, lasted from June 28th until September 28th of 1997. For more information about the involvement of the authors with the Camisea Nanti, see Section 9, The Involvement of Cabeceras Aid Project with the Camisea Nanti.

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On to Section 2: Distribution and Population of Nanti Groups and other Little-Contacted and Uncontacted Groups in the Camisea Region

¹ This group is also commonly called the Kogapakori. This term, used by the neighboring Machiguenga, means "killing people", or "savage people", and is found to be insulting by the Nanti. See Section 3 on The Question of Nanti Identity, for further discussion of this topic.