25 April 2012 Last updated at 08:34

In Pictures: 'World's most endangered tribe'

Campaign group Survival International says that the Awa of northern Brazil is the world's most endangered tribe. About 360 of the largely nomadic tribe have had some contact with the outside world, and it is believed that 60-100 more uncontacted members are taking refuge in the Amazon.

Survival says the Awa are being encroached upon from all sides by loggers, who are clear-cutting and burning the forest that both the Awa and the animals they eat call home. Here, one of the Awa territories is outlined in white, with logging operations throughout the region clearly visible.

The Awa are hunter-gatherers, and travel in extended family groups of about 30. Families go on gathering expeditions, and extended hunts can last for weeks on end. However, the comparatively small groups are vulnerable to attacks by gunmen hired by loggers and ranchers.

Takwarentxia and his wife and son were contacted in 1992, on the run from ranchers' hired gunmen, who murdered most of their group.

Amerintxia is believed to be the oldest Awa, but she still gathers her own food and lives alone in a palm shelter.

Here, Amerintxia sits with her pet monkey. The Awa maintain an intimate connection with the wildlife of the rainforest, taking in orphaned monkeys and keeping many animals as pets. The animals are regarded as part of the family, and Awa women even suckle them.

Awa women decorate the men with parrot and king vulture feathers for a ritual called the karawara. The ritual involves clapping and singing, during which the men enter a trance state in an attempt to meet with ancestral spirits.

But by day, logging operations continue; estimates suggest that nearly a third of Awa land has now been taken over. The Brazilian constitution recognises the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands - so all the operations on Awa lands are illegal.

Slings for babies used to be made from palm fibres. But as more and more Awa contact the wider world, more modern amenities such as cloth are coming into use. Such contact represents another risk to the tribe, however - they are vulnerable to many diseases to which they have never been exposed.

Survival hopes that by drawing attention to the Awa's plight, pressure will be put onto the Brazilian government to enforce the laws and put a stop to illegal logging and what Brazilian judge José Carlos do Vale Madeira in 2009 called "a real genocide".

BBC links

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

Accessibility links

BBC iD

BBC navigation

Science & Environment

In Pictures: 'World's most endangered tribe'

Share this page

Related Internet links

Services

About BBC News

BBC links