A13_R220A

Mother of Waters
In the Amazon jungle, in the heart of the Anavilhanas archipelago, the ancient legend manifests and tells the story of a giant snake called Yacumama, the Mother of Waters. Experienced riverines have already told me, each with their own experience. It is an encounter that happens only once, and that day flying over the Negro River was my day, and I never thought it could show up in my photograph. They say she is the guardian of the rivers and the secrets of the forest, and that her existence is as old as the forest itself.
The Mother of Waters is a powerful and feared creature by all the inhabitants of the forest. Her skin is as dark and smooth as the water of the rivers, and her eyes are as bright as the stars. She is able to move at a terrifying speed, and her tail is as strong as a tree trunk.
The indigenous people believe that Yacumama is responsible for protecting the rivers and the animals that live in them. In their sacred waters, it is known that those who try to fish or hunt without the Mother’s permission or catches more than is needed is punished with curses and diseases. Of those who claim to have seen the snake up close, few have had the courage to approach it.
Flying over the Anavilhanas archipelago and looking down… how could I imagine… the giant snake shows itself coming out of the trees, as if it were a part of the landscape. I believe without a doubt that today the Mother of Waters still guards the secrets of the forest and that her existence is a mystery that no one has offered to unveil, as far as I know.

A13_R220A – Leonide Principe
Equipment: NIKON D2X with lens 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 set at 24 mm – Exposition: ISO: 100 – Aperture: 7.1 – Shutter: 1/200 – Program: Normal – Exp. Comp.: 0.0,
Original digital capture of a real life scene –
Original file size: 2848px x 1971px
Location: Arquipélago Anavilhanas (Novo Airão – Amazonas Brazil)
Date: April 26, 2006 – Time: 4:09:32 PM
Collection: Waterscapes – Persons shown: none
Keywords:
Anavilhanas, Novo Airão, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, arquipélago de Anavilhanas, Anavilhanas archipelago, archipélagos, águas, waterscapes, vista aérea, aerial view
EN1 Mother of Waters A13_R220A
PT1 Mãe das Águas A13_R220A
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos

A13_R220

Great Snake
On all the times I flew over the Anavilhanas archipelago, I never came across the same landscape as that photograph, with that unmistakable profile of the Big Snake, known as Yacumama, the Mother of Waters. The search for this ancient legend will continue, as I know it is hidden right in the middle of the Anavilhanas, among 400 islands, 60 lakes, and an infinite number of paranás and channels. After all, it is the second largest fluvial archipelago on the planet. And yes, there is an archipelago that is even bigger than this one, located just over a hundred kilometers further east, upstream of the Negro River, it is the Mariuá archipelago.

A13_R220 – Leonide Principe
Equipment: NIKON D2X with lens 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 set at 24 mm – Exposition: ISO: 100 – Aperture: 7.1 – Shutter: 1/200 – Program: Normal – Exp. Comp.: 0.0,
Original digital capture of a real life scene –
Original file size: 2868px x 4312px
Location: Arquipélago Anavilhanas (Novo Airão – Amazonas Brazil)
Date: April 26, 2006 – Time: 4:09:32 PM
Collection: Waterscapes – Persons shown: none
Keywords:
Anavilhanas, Novo Airão, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, arquipélago de Anavilhanas, Anavilhanas archipelago, archipélagos, águas, waterscapes, vista aérea, aerial view
EN2 The Big Snake A13_R220
PT2 A Cobra Grande A13_R220
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos

A13_R228

Anavilhanas archipelago
Here, in this panoramic view, it is possible to have an idea of the dimension of the Anavilhanas archipelago. The 12-24mm zoom lens, positioned at 16mm captured an approximate angle of 90º, and yet, there is the Mother of Waters, Yacumama, hidden among the islands. It is also possible to see the Negro River in all its width and to see, on both sides, the immense forest.

A13_R228 – Leonide Principe
Equipment: NIKON D2X with lens 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 set at 16 mm – Exposition: ISO: 100 – Aperture: 7.6 – Shutter: 1/250 – Program: Normal – Exp. Comp.: 0.0,
Original digital capture of a real life scene –
Original file size: 4312px x 2868px
Location: Arquipélago Anavilhanas (Novo Airão – Amazonas Brazil)
Date: April 26, 2006 – Time: 4:09:57 PM
Collection: Waterscapes – Persons shown: none
Keywords:
Anavilhanas, Novo Airão, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, arquipélago de Anavilhanas, Anavilhanas archipelago, archipélagos, águas, waterscapes, vista aérea, aerial view
EN3 Anavilhanas Archipelago A13_R228
PT3 Arquipélago Anavilhanas A13_R228
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
https://leonideprincipe.photos