Amazon tribes grant rare access to Xingu chief’s funeral rite Kuarup

When a big chief dies on the Xingu Indigenous reservation, its tribes gather for a unique funeral ritual called the Kuarup. Wearing body paint and bird feathers, they join in ceremonial dances, combat and feasts to celebrate life, death and rebirth.

Manapu, a Yawalapiti man, holds a blue and yellow macaw during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana, at the Xingu Indigenous Park in Brazil, Sept. 4, 2021.

The loss of Chief Aritana of the Yawalapiti people to COVID-19 in August has shaken the Xingu, leaving its tribes without a strong leader and able negotiator to unite them against mounting pressures on Brazil's agricultural frontier, which has advanced across the Cerrado savanna and into the Amazon rainforest.

A Yawalapiti man waits before taking part in a wrestling match during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

Besieged by illegal loggers, cattle ranchers, soy farmers and even gold miners, the Xingu communities face growing degradation of their natural habitat and the challenge of preserving its rich biodiversity for future generations, said Aritana's son and likely successor, Tapi Yawalapiti.

Yawalapiti children play in the Tuatuari river during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

"We are not united today. The Xingu no longer has someone who can organize all the chiefs," Tapi told Reuters, sitting on a tree bough on the banks of a tributary to the Xingu River, which he fears is drying up due to agricultural use.

A Yawalapiti man fishes in the Tuatuari River during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

"Our main challenge is to come together again to save our lands," he said.

Kanawan, a Yawalapiti man, paints his body during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

A Reuters photographer was the only journalist invited to the funeral celebrations last month, which lasted several days and gathered upwards of a thousand members of neighboring tribes.

Totomai, a Yawalapiti man, plays the urua bamboo flute during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

The next generation of leaders in the Xingu are seeking unity at a critical time, as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is undermining indigenous rights by encouraging commercial farming and mining on protected lands with the support of powerful political lobbies in Brasilia.

A Yawalapiti boy takes part in a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during the Kuarup funeral ritual.

Some in the Xingu have been tempted to sell wood or rent farmland to outsiders, although they are still a minority on the reservation covering more land than Israel.

Totomai, a Yawalapiti man, fishes in the Tuatuari river during the Kuarup funeral ritual.

Climate change is also drying out the forest and increasing the risk of fires, Tapi said, appealing for outside help.

A Yawalapiti man cooks fish during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

"We need to save the environment to keep our way of life and our culture, and for all mankind."

Yawalapiti caciques (chiefs) Tapi Yawalapiti and his brother Walako Yawalapiti observe Indigenous men wrestle during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of their father Cacique Aritana.

Mabitchuri, a Yawalapiti child, takes part in an "end of mourning dance" during the Kuarup funeral ritual.

Yawalapiti men perform an "end of mourning dance" during the Kuarup.

A Yawalapiti man paints his son during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

Kanawan, a Yawalapiti man, paints his body during the Kuarup funeral ritual.

Tapi Yawalapiti, a Yawalapiti cacique (chief), walks alongside women during the closing of the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of his father Cacique Aritana, at the Xingu Indigenous Park in Brazil, Sept. 12, 2021.

Yawalapiti men take part in a fire ritual during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana, at the Xingu Indigenous Park in Brazil.

During the Kuarup funeral ritual, Yawalapiti people mourn next to tree trunks that represent distinguished people who have recently died.

Kel, a Yawalapiti girl, observes an "end of mourning dance" performance.

Kawa, a Yawalapiti woman, is removed from a ceremony after becoming emotional in front of tree trunks that represent distinguished people who have recently died, during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

A Yawalapiti man holds manioc bread and fish during the Kuarup funeral ritual to honor the memory of Cacique Aritana.

The sun rises behind a tree at the Yawalapiti during the Kuarup funeral ritual.