Jivaro Indians of Ecuador (c .1936) – Vincent Biava *

25 mins., b&w, silent

Source : NAFC , catalogue no. SA-78.3.1

This is footage taken by Vincent Biava, a gold prospector, among the Shuar, a subgroup of the Aénts Chicham (the indigenous group formerly known as the ‘Jívaro’), who were then living near the
 confluence of the Zamora and Nangarisa rivers, north of Loja, in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, southern Ecuador.

This material was not viewed for the Silent Time Machine project, but this is the entry form the NAFC catalogue:

Footage includes:
 prospecting party on horseback in the foothills north of Loja;
 aerial shots over the mountains; contact scenes between
prospectors and Shuar; posed shots of adults and children around
 Shuar communal houses; Shuar men building a large communal house
 (setting posts, climbing posts, and lashing cross members with
 lianas); woman making a clay pot by coil method; women making and 
distributing nijimanche (fermented manioc beer); taking meals;
 women with lip plugs and men in feathered headdresses; river 
scenes including swimming and bathing; Shuar and prospectors in
dug out canoes; prospectors and Shuar at each others’ encampments; 
and Shuar men with rifles and other evidence of cultural contact.

© 2018 Paul Henley