@Parsifal - I was one of those romantics a long time ago - always imagined myself somewhere as an explorer, but became a homebody instead -
domesticity in those places is pretty heavy on their womenfolk - this is something I realised pretty quickly - but one has to admire people who can survive in the most primitive of circumstances - I was always something of an explorer, an anthropologist, still am - one can do anthopology by observing the modern world as well
After I had seen that play, I tracked down the book, watched every program on TV which even remotely dealt with the Amazon region - and saw a short excerpt on the 'Cat' (Mayoruna) people (cat, because they pierce their faces and wear long spikes made from the hard parts of palm leaves in their faces - they believe they are descended from the 'Jaguar').
I found - eventually - that they are being 'civilised' too, and someone, now in the previous century, had tracked down a small tribe of them, with some youths coming out from the jungle - naked - but already wearing shorts/trousers - and all they wanted was more trousers. Laughable, but then you realise that living in a jungle environment does mean the abundant insect life sees human beings as their natural 'prey' and habitat - and for the humans it would be a daily annoyance and inconvenience to deal with this in the more sensitive parts of their anatomy
so civilisation begins with trousers -
the big problem in the Amazonas region is illegal clearing of the forests, often done by locals, in order to gain more agricultural land, often by mining companies. I don't know if this will be talked about at the Climate Conference in Glasgow, but it should; - the whole world depends on the oxygen produced by the rainforest of the Amazonas region.
And thankyou for that valuable link - I have read his book, he is an amazing writer, now I can put a face to the man - I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this act of interest and kindness from you!!!!
go well
Taurisk
