Yanamale: village of the Amazon

Abstract

"In 1951 Dominique Darbois and two companions set out for the remote Tumuc Humac mountains on the border of French Guiana and Brazil--part of the territory known generally as Amazonia. The results of this expedition, which included a two and a half month's stay in the Indian village of Yanamale, have already created a sensation across the Channel. Few can fail to be struck by the outstanding quality of Mlle Darbois' studies of Indian life, 64 of which are reproduced as full plates in this book. Here is the childlike innocence, the poise, the harmony of movement of a dying race, which in a few generations will eventually be extinguished. Perhaps of all the photographs the most remarkable are the portraits: the great chief Yanamale himself, after whom the village was named, with his plucked-out lashes and eyebrows; the lovely Amoydéna, like Millais' Ophelia, floating in the stream; the old witch Marakalibé; Akaliman playing with his monkey. Turning the last pages of the book, one feels that one has truly shared the simple occupations of these people, as they play their flutes, paddle canoes through the jungle, spin cotton for their hammocks, or paint ritual designs on each other's faces. The last section deals with the weird ceremony of Maraké and the red ant "initiations". The text, part narrative and part diary, has a dreamlike quality, admirably suited to these glimpses of a friendly, unhurried world." -- Provided by publisher.