The dense rainforest in Brazil's Acre state is home to several indigenous groups, from the Huni Kui (pictured above) to the Ashaninka and Madija.
Survival is already precarious in the wilderness, isolated and far from any permanent medical facilities. Now the Ashaninka and nearby Madija tribe have come under further pressure, as uncontacted Indians have been encroaching more and more on their territory.
. XINANE RIVER, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
A group of Indians raise their spears and gaze upwards as they react to a plane flying over their community in the Amazon basin.
They are members of an uncontacted tribe – defined by the rights organisation Survival International as a people who has no peaceful contact with mainstream society.
Both the Ashaninka and neighbouring Madija tribe report that these unknown groups have been increasingly encroaching on their area over the past three years, creating a source of conflict in this part of the Amazon rainforest around the Envira River, close to the border with Peru.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Txate (pictured above) is a 77-year-old leader of the Ashaninka tribe, and he is concerned about the incursions uncontacted Indians have made on his group’s land.
“They steal pots, knives, cloth. They live naked, speak another language and don’t want to talk. They are at war with everyone. If they get close they shoot arrows at us,” he said.
The uncontacted Indians – known in the region as “Bravos" or "Braves" – have come under pressure from illegal loggers over the border in Peru, according to members of the Ashaninka tribe.
“The Bravos are coming at us because Peruvian loggers are heading straight for them,” said Txate.
. KOKASUL, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
The Bravos have carried out raids on other villages, putting communities along the Envira River on permanent alert.
The Indians have reaffirmed their decision not to fight the uncontacted tribes, but they are demanding that the Brazilian government take steps to help protect their territory.
. IGARAPE DO ANJO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Avoiding any peaceful contact with outsiders, the Bravos have their own huts in the jungle and use forest trails.
A chief from the Madija tribe followed a path used by the uncontacted Indians and picked up several objects that they had left, including a small ceramic flute.
He gave the instrument to his son Binai, who is pictured playing it in the image above.
. SIMPATIA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
One Ashaninka couple, Poshe and Biana (pictured above) said that their three-year-old daughter Sawatxo had been taken by the Bravos some years ago.
She was kidnapped at night from their village Simpatia and since then they haven’t had any news of her.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka leader Txate is worried about the incursions by the uncontacted Indians, but he understands their plight.
“The Bravos also no longer have anywhere to go,” he said.
. ME TXANAVA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Aside from disputes over territory, life for indigenous communities in the region is difficult.
The area doesn’t have a permanent health clinic along the river, and a trip to find medical help can take up to 10 days, depending on the boat and the availability of gasoline.
In the image above, Huni Kui Indians mourn the death of a newborn child who was born in a boat on the Envira River as her mother tried to reach a hospital.
1 / 20
Slideshow
. DSAMA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
A Madija Indian child walks from a hut that is a frequent target of raids by uncontacted Indians.
. IGARAPE DO ANJO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka Indian children run down the bank of the Envira River to greet a boat near their village.
. SIMPATIA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka siblings pose for a photograph in their village of Simpatia.
. NOVA FLORESTA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
An Ashaninka Indian named Uarenco kneels over the grave of his niece, who his family buried along the banks of the Envira River two weeks earlier. She died as they navigated the river in search of medical help for her diarrhoea.
. NOVO SEGREDO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Spiritual leaders of the Huni Kui Indian tribe perform a ceremony to a sacred samauma (silk-cotton) tree outside the village of Novo Segredo.
. NOVO SEGREDO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
A spiritual leader of the Huni Kui Indian tribe blows an herbal powder into the nose of a tribe member during a ceremony.
. NOVO SEGREDO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
A Huni Kui Indian prepares a drink known as "nixi pae" or "ayahuasca" to use in a healing ritual.
. NOVO SEGREDO, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Huni Kui Indians perform a ritual in the village of Novo Segredo.
. ME TXANAVA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Stars shine over a shubua, or house of prayer, in the Huni Kui tribe's village of Me Txanava.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
A boat used by Ashaninka Indian leaders to inspect the limits of their territory is left tied to the bank of the Envira River.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
An Ashaninka Indian family navigates the Envira River towards the town of Feijo in search of medical care for a sick child.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Madija Indians clean a caiman to eat on a boat along the Envira River.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
An Ashaninka Indian points his rifle across the Envira River on the grounds of a former government base called the Envira Front of Ethno-environmental Protection. Brazil's Indian Affairs Agency (FUNAI) reported to local media that the base was abandoned in 2011 after an attack by armed men from across the border in Peru.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
An Ashaninka Indian holds a shotgun cartridge he found on the grounds of the former government base.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka Indian leader Txate walks between buildings of the former base.
. KOKASUL, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka tribe members, who are worried about encroachments on their territory, hold a meeting to discuss their planned occupation of the former government base.
. KOKASUL, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Ashaninka Indians have a meal in their home in the village of Kokasul.
. KOKASUL, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Members of the Ashaninka tribe pose for a photograph in Kokasul.
. NOVA FLORESTA, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
The Ashaninka Indian village Nova Floresta stands on the banks of the Envira river.
. XINANE RIVER, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
Uncontacted Indians react to a plane flying over their community in the Amazon basin.
. ACRE STATE, BRAZIL. REUTERS/Lunae Parracho
The Xinane River snakes through Ashaninka Indian territory, which is co-habited by uncontacted tribes.