P14_335

Eyes of guaraná
The fruit of guaraná (Paullinia cupana) grows from a vine in the Amazon rainforest. Cultivated by the Sateré-Mawé, the plant is native to the Andirá and Maué rivers in the middle of the Amazon, where this tribe lives. When I see the plant, with its striking red clusters, perfectly standing out in the forest, it seems to me that hundreds of eyes are observing and questioning me. Deep like the night, the black eyes of the “true chief” protect his tribe and guide them.
The legend of the Sateré-Mawé is a cosmogony of rich details, meticulously described in the anthropological work of Dr. Alba Lucy Giraldo Figueroa (see link below). In this context, I will only tell the general and most known lines of the legend.
They say that there were three orphaned siblings, a beautiful girl and two boys. These liked the presence of the girl and depended on her because she was the one who knew all the plants with which she prepared the remedies they needed. From an unwanted pregnancy, a boy was born with beautiful black eyes. Out of jealousy and envy, the uncles killed him at the age of 5, and his mother, upon seeing him dead, before they cremated his body, removed his beautiful black eyes and planted them as seeds, asking Tupã, the supreme deity of the indigenous peoples, to bring him back to life in plant form. Thus, the guaraná was born, a plant of extraordinary medicinal powers, tonic and aphrodisiac.
Its seeds, rich in caffeine, are roasted and ground into powder using a mortar and pestle. Water is added gradually until it forms a consistent mass that is transformed into a stick, the pão-de-guaraná. The bone tongue of the pirarucu (ArapaimaPirarucu – (Arapaima gigas) – from the Tupi piraru’ku, red fish). The largest Brazilian scaled fresh water fish and possibly the largest in the world. This fish is very tasty, rivaling cod. Almost boneless, (only backbone and ribs), it is a meaty fish and is separated into two large flaps which, salted and dried in the sun, are sold at the open-air markets, exported and even smuggled. It is widely consumed by the populace and in hotels. It is also eaten fresh, fried, baked, and in the form of fish croquettes. Its bony tongue is used to grate the guaraná cake. Its scales are used as exotic, but very efficient nail files, and are also used to make hand crafted products. More gigas) fish is used to grind the stick and prepare the drink, which prevents drowsiness during nighttime activities, preserves strength during long walks and, when consumed in moderation, is beneficial to the cardiovascular system.

P14_335 – Leonide Principe
Camera Nikon F5 with Micro Nikkor lens 60mm f2.8 – Diapositive Film Fujichrome Velvia 50 – Scanner: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED
Digitised from a positive on film –
Original file size: 5337px x 3531px
Location Taken: Fazenda da EMBRAPA (Manaus – Amazonas Brazil)
Date Taken: 1991
Collection: Fruits – Persons shown: -nobody
Keywords:
guaraná, guarana, Paullinia cupana, cipós, lianas, vines, FLORA, plantas, plants, frutos, fruits, Manaus, Manaos, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, NFT
EN1 Eyes of the forest P14_335
PT1 Olhos da floresta P14_335
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos

P15_338

“Time Machine”
Excerpts taken from the anthropological work “Guaraná, the Time Machine of the Sateré-Mawé,” by Dr. Alba Lucy Giraldo Figueroa, published in the Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, v. 11, n. 1, p. 55-85, Jan.-Apr. 2016.

“Many things will be achieved through you. It will seem that you are alive and advice will come out of your mouth for many people, for the children, and with tears in their eyes, parents will use you to advise their children, your grandchildren. Early in the morning people will use you, they will drink the guaraná, and whoever knows something better, will explain and talk good things.
Continuing the conversation with the son, as if he were alive, he announced: You, my son, you will be the greatest force of nature; you will do good to all men; you will be great; you will free men from a disease and cure them of others.”

“The shared consumption of çapô (the guaraná drink) is the main traditional support for collective work and political action. With the words of understanding that this form of consumption provided, the calendar of work for clearing fields was decided, the social distribution of the benefits of the collective articulation of the work force (topowire) was carried out. It imbued with the will to understand actions and words, allowing to define the locus and limits of the collective and the actions, and words of individuals about the spaces and competencies of others. As a tuxauaThe word “Tuchaua” has indigenous origin from the Tupi-Guarani language which means “The one who commands” or “The Chief”. The Tuxaua is the chief of the tribe, responsible for planning and organizing the tribe’s work and activities, as well as ensuring the collective well-being, joy and health of the people. More said literally, guaraná is “leader of work planning”. It provides, in summary, collective well-being, joy and health, understood as what vitalizes (ehainte), what strengthens life.”

“Guaraná, the Time Machine of the Sateré-Mawé”
by Dr. Alba Lucy Giraldo Figueroa

P15_338 – Leonide Principe
Camera Nikon F5 with Micro Nikkor lens 60mm f2.8 – Diapositive Film Fujichrome Velvia 50 – Scanner: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED
Digitised from a positive on film –
Original file size: 3590px x 5337px
Location Taken: Fazenda da EMBRAPA (Manaus – Amazonas Brazil)
Date Taken: 1991
Collection: Fruits – Persons shown: -nobody
Keywords:
guaraná, guarana, Paullinia cupana, cipós, lianas, vines, FLORA, plantas, plants, frutos, fruits, Manaus, Manaos, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, NFT
EN2 “Time Machine” P15_338
PT2 “Maquina do tempo” P15_338
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos

P14_336

“True Tuxaua”
On the AM010 roadway to Itacoatiara, at Km 8 there is a farm of EMBRAPA (Brazilian Company of Agricultural Research), where the cultivation of guaraná is studied. In the photo, a researcher shows the fermentation stage of the fruit to release the seed from all the shells and other residues. There, cultivation techniques are improved, new varieties are created so that management and productivity are improved. Researchers, technicians, and farmers work together so that guaraná is a product with great potential for income generation. Large monocultures and large national and international companies project brands that bear the word guaraná on the label. Few molecules of an extremely processed fruit create the illusion of guaraná properties.
Welcome to modernity!
Certainly the “true Tuxaua” is far from this aberration mainly composed of sugar and other deceiving chemicals.
The spirit of the forest was sacrificed on the altar of the market economy. It must be said that that highly unhealthy soda is a deception and an affront to the black eyes of the legend that created and sustained a people, where today the sacred drink is a ritual, is the “leader of work planning”. “It facilitates, in summary, the collective good-living, joy and health, understood as what invigorates (ehainte), what reinforces life.”
Long live the Sateré-Mawé people! Long live the “true TuxauaThe word “Tuchaua” has indigenous origin from the Tupi-Guarani language which means “The one who commands” or “The Chief”. The Tuxaua is the chief of the tribe, responsible for planning and organizing the tribe’s work and activities, as well as ensuring the collective well-being, joy and health of the people. More!”

P14_336 – Leonide Principe
Camera Nikon F5 with Nikkor lens 80-200mm f2.8 – Diapositive Film Fujichrome Velvia 50 – Scanner: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED
Original digital capture of a real life scene –
Original file size: 5337px x 3509px
Location Taken: Fazenda da EMBRAPA (Manaus – Amazonas Brazil)
Date Taken: 1991
Collection: Fruits – Persons shown: researcher
Keywords:
guaraná, guarana, Paullinia cupana, cipós, lianas, vines, FLORA, plantas, plants, frutos, fruits, Manaus, Manaos, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, EMBRAPA, PESQUISA, RESEARCH, botânica, botany
EN3 “True Tuxaua” P14_336
PT3 “Tuxaua verdadeiro” P14_336
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos