Amazon people

Amazon people and religious beliefs

The spiritual world is extremely important to the indigenous people of South America, a world they claim to get closer to by utilizing plants that contain certain hallucinogens.

One of the most important persons to many indigenous groups is the shaman, who holds the knowledge of local plants and animals, and who is believed to communicate with the spirit world.
 

The human impact of European colonists in South America

When Europeans first arrived in South America, there were about 6.8 million indigenous people. But colonists brought persecution, slavery and diseases that local people were not immune to.

Communities living close to the rivers were the first to be affected, as colonists used these as routes of incursion. Indigenous people living inside the forests were initially spared much of the worst aspects of this European onslaught.

The situation today

Today, most Amerindian tribes live in indigenous reserves called

resguardos

, where they practice a lifestyle that integrates both traditional and modern elements. Few live in complete seclusion from the modern world.

For example, some make a living from tourism, and/or need to visit the local markets to supplement what they grow in their plant gardens.

In Brazil, indigenous people have participated directly in the demarcation of their lands, ensuring that the boundaries respect traditional use. As a result, traditional lands in Brazil are not called

resguardos

, but “indigenous lands”.