They call themselves “the colorful people,” or Siekopai, after the traditional body paint and decorations they used in their ancestral homes in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.
But the fur crowns and animal tooth necklaces are now reserved for special occasions because the Siekopai live scattered among the villages on the Ecuador-Peru border, far from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and ancestral territory, which they are fighting to reclaim.
Displaced by decades of war as well as commercial and cultural intrusions, the Siekopai people eke out a living doing odd jobs in rural towns bordered by oil fields, oil palm plantations and a busy network of roads.
Children wear jeans, t-shirts and sneakers, listen to reggaeton and – instead of learning to fish, hunt and make traditional plant brews when they are not at school – stare at the screen of their cell phones or tablets like teenagers elsewhere.
With Siekopai teetering on the brink of cultural extinction, the leader says it is a matter of survival to reclaim his ancestral land – still largely untouched in the remote heart of the Amazon.
They call their homeland Pe’keya in Paicoca language.
“Our big dream is to rebuild our territory – to reunite our nation, our family along this river that is home to the spirits and creatures my grandfather told me about,” community leader Justino Piaguaje told AFP at the recent Siekopai reunion. in Pe’keya.
Siekopai is one of the 14 Indigenous groups recognized in Ecuador, a country that accounts for seven percent of the population.
Not many: about 1,200 Siekopai are divided between Ecuador and Peru.
Also read: Indigenous group takes new hostages on Amazon river boat
During the war between the neighbors from 1941 to 1998, fierce fighting drove them from Pe’keya – which the Siekopai once claimed about three million hectares (7.4 million acres) along the Lagartococha River, which forms part of the border with Ecuador – Peru.
On the Ecuadorian side, most of the displaced people are about 160 kilometers (99 miles) west of their homeland in the rural settlement of San Pablo de Kantesiya, a riverside village that lives mainly on palm oil and petroleum.
“Since the war, we have never been able to return to our area. Brothers and families were separated… and we were cut off from the roots that nourished us,” said Piaguaje.
– ‘Everything comes from here’ –
In January, about 200 Siekopai from San Pablo and elsewhere gathered in the village of Manoko on the Peruvian border in Pe’keya, where a handful of its people live in wooden houses set on stilts near a revered sacred tomb. healer.
It takes about 12 hours by motorboat from San Pablo to Manoko, which is located on the banks of the Lagartococha River.
Lagartococha means Caiman in Paicoca – the river is named after the feared reptile that lives in it.
Along the journey, mysterious fish and mysterious animals that are not seen and unknown animals ripple on the surface of the dark water, while colorful birds fly overhead and monkeys howl from the giant trees that are attached to the muddy banks.
Also read: Indigenous free tourists kidnapped in the Peruvian Amazon
Once in Manoko, Siekopai disembarked and set up a tent among some of the village houses before queuing at the community kitchen to eat rice, lentils and fish freshly caught from the river.
The next day, groups meet on the elementary football field or in the school’s only classroom to listen to the stories of elders dressed in colorful traditional clothes and fur headdresses, with necklaces of pearls, seeds and animal teeth.
Using plant-based paints, men and women decorate their faces with motifs inspired by jungle animals – snakes, panthers and spiders.
Everyone speaks Paicoca, but Spain also hears it.
“Return this Pe’keya to find yourself again. For Siekopai, everything comes from here,” said community leader Elias Piyahuaje – a common surname in the area with various spellings.
“The new generation does not know this place, its history, its special energy. This meeting aims to strengthen the bond of friendship between the old and the young,” added Piyahuaje, his forehead decorated with bright red and yellow feathers.
Among those making the trip are teenagers such as 18-year-old Milena, who said she came from San Pedro to “learn about medicinal herbs and listen to the stories of the elders.”
Proud to be Siekopai but tired of “discrimination at school,” he told AFP he wanted to return to his ancestral homeland with his family.
“I like it here, among my family and my community. This is my roots,” he said.
The youth of Siekopai, said Sophie Pinchetti of the non-governmental organization Amazon Frontlines, “live in a complex reality: one foot in the modern world, the West and the other in their region.”
– ‘Rights violation’ –
With the 1998 peace agreement between Peru and Ecuador, Siekopai gained hope to return to his country.
In 2017, a request was sent to the environment ministry for a title for a 42,000-hectare section of Pe’keya.
Since then, “we have had discussions with four ministers in a row, without results,” said Justino Piaguaje.
And in 2021, the community launched a court case asking for the recognition of their territorial rights.
The legal action, still pending, seeks a title deed, an apology from the Ecuadorian state for the “violation of the rights” of Siekopai, and a guarantee of a safe return to the land.
Read also: Ecuador expands oil extraction from Amazon reserves
But there is a major complication: Pe’keya is located in the middle of a protected area – the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve – which was created in 1979 and covers almost 600,000 hectares.
This reserve is part of a complex ecosystem with hundreds of rivers, lakes and ponds, which was registered by the Ecuadorian government in 2017 as a Wetland of International Importance under the global Ramsar Convention.
It hosts more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians, about 600 species of birds and 167 species of mammals. Many species are endangered, including the Amazon river dolphin, the giant otter, the manatee and the arapaima, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish.
In 2007, the Pribumi group signed an agreement with the government that gave Siekopai the right to use, but not own, 8,000 hectares of the reserve in the area that overlaps with Pe’keya.
Members of the Kichwa, Shuar, Cofan, Zabalo and Siona Indigenous groups were given rights to other lands nearby.
Observers say the government and oil and mining companies are creating competition between these groups to thwart land claims and maintain access to areas containing natural resources such as oil that can still be found in the Amazon.
“The state does not want to protect us. It only wants to exploit the wealth in our area,” said Piaguaje.
The government did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the matter.
– ‘Can’t leave the struggle’ –
The meeting in Manoko offers a glimpse into the past – and a glimpse of a culture in danger.
“We are river people … with knowledge of plants and lagoons,” said Piaguaje, who like many Siekopai dreams of returning to a life before fishing, hunting and itinerant farming.
In Manoko, elders held informal workshops explaining traditional fishing techniques using ant eggs, fruit and seeds to the younger generation.
Children are also schooled in caiman hunting – at night and with harpoons – a dangerous endeavor as the metre-long reptile is known to attack small boats.
Monkeys, too, are a preferred source of meat – not hunted with blowpipes and poison darts as in the past, but with guns.
Siekopai has knowledge of more than 1,000 plants, including the hallucinogenic vine “yage” used in shamanic rituals that create a bridge to the spirit world.
Also read: Jaguars and giant eagles – just a few of the species threatened by Amazon deforestation
“Yage is important to us,” Piaguaje said. “If we lose our wisdom, we lose our spirituality. We will fall into ignorance, we will lose the wisdom of our elders. We will no longer listen to animals and spirits in the forest and river.
To preserve that knowledge, he insisted, Siekopai must return to his territory.
“We cannot abandon the struggle … or Siekopai will disappear like some forest animals disappear overnight,” added Elias Piyahuaje.