The Last Forest: Home of Omama’s Children

The Yanomami people arrived on their land 1,000 years ago, 500 before countries existed.

Now their home is threatened by white men who come to their land to exploit mining. The men of the community patrol constantly and when they find miners they are expelled.

If they don’t, they run the risk that they will return by the thousands and start destroying, and a river near the community was dried up due to their illegal practices. The shaman Davi Kopenawa explains to his people the damage that mining can do to them, he tells them about the damage caused by mercury and the risk of accepting gifts from the miners.

The Yanomami in their worldview recount how the God Omama made the water flow from the earth and planted the trees, together with his brother Yoasi they created the perfume of the jungle and the flowers with one breath.

Thuëyoma is the name of the woman that Omana took out of the water as if she were a fish, from her womb the men of the jungle would be born. Yoasi, Omama’s brother, was envious and went looking for Thuëyoma but was discovered and banished.

The youth of the community are at risk of being tempted by the outside, for this reason it is the duty of the leader to advise on the dangers and rejection to which the Yanomami are exposed in the city.

On the banks of the Mucujai River, illegal miners are destroying the jungle and making the indigenous people sick. Shaman Davi Kopenawa alerts his community about the serious danger posed by the arrival of more miners attracted by the disastrous gold rush.

Kopenawa instills respect in his people, for this reason his voice is always heard and his advice followed. The elders of the community are clear that the ambition of the miners only serves to enrich the businessmen, they know that those who come to destroy their lands will always have miserable lives.

To protect their people, the shamans of the tribe decide to invoke the protective spirits of the jungle that will help them drive out the invaders. For the ritual they consume sacred medicine that will open the portal to their spiritual defenders and start the fight on which their life depends.

This battle goes from the spiritual to the earthly plane with the travels of the shaman Davi Kopenawa to bring the voice of his people, in a speech offered at Harvard University he had the opportunity for academics to listen to him to discover the problems they are going through. the native peoples and the jungle where they live.

In 1986, mining exploitation caused the death of 1,800 Yanomami. In 1992, despite having declared ownership of the lands to the indigenous people, the attacks continued until the laws were respected for 25 years.

As of 2019, the new Brazilian government has promoted exploitation of all kinds in the jungle, Davi Kopenawa continues to fight at all levels to protect his people despite death threats.

Sources

• THE LAST FOREST (DOCUMENTARY) . (2021, November 24) https://youtu.be/bYCh9qr-aeU
• Hernandez, X. (2021, March 4). The Last Forest, by Luiz Bolognesi, is presented at the Berlinale 2021 . The Zacatecas Day. https://ljz.mx/04/03/2021/el-ultimo-bosque-de-luiz-bolognesi-se-presenta-en-la-berlinale-2021/
• The last forest . (nd). DocsBarcelona. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://docsbarcelona.com/es/peliculas/the-last-forest