The Bora People
Last week we traveled between Nauta and Iquitos, two cities in the northern Peruvian Amazon rainforest. However, long before Nauta and Iquitos were built, this area was home to a group of indigenous people called the Bora. Bora people developed their own language, traditions, and culture that is a reflection of the surrounding rainforest. Today, there are approximately 3,000 Bora people still living semi-traditionally in Peru and in southern Colombia.
Bora people are also very skilled artists. Perhaps the most identifiable characteristic of Bora culture is their clothing, which is unique among all Amazon groups of people. Traditional Bora clothing is made by pounding the bark of a palm into a fiber. After peeling strips of bark from the tree and pounding it with a wooden hammer, they soak the bark in water. The soaked bark is pounded until the outer bark disintegrates, leaving only the inner bark. The inner bark is flexible and feels almost like burlap. It can then be colored with natural dyes from rainforest plants. To see examples of Bora art, visit this web site: http://indian-cultures.com/Cultures/bora.html
The Bora families and small communities are divided into clans, with each clan represented by a different animal. So, someone might be from the jaguar clan, while another person might be from the turtle clan. The clans live apart from each other, with their own farms and hunting territories. However, since they all speak the same language they are able to communicate with each other.
Archaeologists believe that the Bora didn't always live near Iquitos. In fact they think that the Bora first lived further north. However, around 1900, the Bora were forced to move south because of the rubber trade. Big rubber companies came into the Bora lands and forced them to work in the rainforest gathering latex from rubber trees. The latex was sold all over the world to make tires and other goods. Working for the rubber companies was not easy, the pay was not very good, and the conditions were dangerous.
Around 1900, before the rubber boom, the Bora population was thought to be around 15,000. However, only 40 years later, the Bora were reduced to under 1,000 people. The Bora people are very proud of their heritage and are taking steps that will make sure that the Bora culture is preserved. One of the best ways to preserve a culture is to make sure people still know and use the native language. To learn a few Bora words, visit this web site: http://www.native-languages.org/bora_words.htm
The Bora people rely on canoes for transportation, just like most people in the Amazon. All of the building materials for canoes can be found right in the rainforest. Only certain types of trees make good canoes. The wood needs to able to stay in water without rotting.
The first step in building a canoe is to find the perfect log for the canoe. The tree is cut down and then floated or carried back to the village, where it is cut in half horizontally with a saw. Today it's more common to use a chainsaw. Next, using an ax and a machete, the log is hollowed out. At this time, the canoe is too narrow to sit in. In order to widen the canoe out, the canoe is soaked in water and a fire is built using a long log. When the canoe is heated up over the fire, the wood becomes flexible, and the canoe builder is able to stretch the canoe out. Seats are then put in the canoe, and it's ready to paddle.
The Bora people are very skilled hunters and fishermen. They also have a vast knowledge of the medicinal plants, relying on the rainforest to treat illnesses and keep themselves healthy. Scientists work closely with the Bora to understand the plants in the rainforest, and many of the plants eventually become medicines we use at home. Nearly 10% of all medicine prescribed in the United States was originally derived from a plant native to the Amazon.
Bora people are also very skilled artists. Perhaps the most identifiable characteristic of Bora culture is their clothing, which is unique among all Amazon groups of people. Traditional Bora clothing is made by pounding the bark of a palm into a fiber. After peeling strips of bark from the tree and pounding it with a wooden hammer, they soak the bark in water. The soaked bark is pounded until the outer bark disintegrates, leaving only the inner bark. The inner bark is flexible and feels almost like burlap. It can then be colored with natural dyes from rainforest plants. To see examples of Bora art, visit this web site: http://indian-cultures.com/Cultures/bora.html
The Bora families and small communities are divided into clans, with each clan represented by a different animal. So, someone might be from the jaguar clan, while another person might be from the turtle clan. The clans live apart from each other, with their own farms and hunting territories. However, since they all speak the same language they are able to communicate with each other.
A Bora man works on a traditional Amazonian canoe. The average canoe made this way lasts about 8-10 years and weighs a few hundred pounds.
Around 1900, before the rubber boom, the Bora population was thought to be around 15,000. However, only 40 years later, the Bora were reduced to under 1,000 people. The Bora people are very proud of their heritage and are taking steps that will make sure that the Bora culture is preserved. One of the best ways to preserve a culture is to make sure people still know and use the native language. To learn a few Bora words, visit this web site: http://www.native-languages.org/bora_words.htm
The Bora people rely on canoes for transportation, just like most people in the Amazon. All of the building materials for canoes can be found right in the rainforest. Only certain types of trees make good canoes. The wood needs to able to stay in water without rotting.
The first step in building a canoe is to find the perfect log for the canoe. The tree is cut down and then floated or carried back to the village, where it is cut in half horizontally with a saw. Today it's more common to use a chainsaw. Next, using an ax and a machete, the log is hollowed out. At this time, the canoe is too narrow to sit in. In order to widen the canoe out, the canoe is soaked in water and a fire is built using a long log. When the canoe is heated up over the fire, the wood becomes flexible, and the canoe builder is able to stretch the canoe out. Seats are then put in the canoe, and it's ready to paddle.