In Pictures

‘Many different Amazonias, Amazonians’: The cultures of Brazil’s Amazon

Brazil’s slice of the Amazon rainforest is home to 28 million people.

Cattle graze in the pastures of the Guachupe farm, in the rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — Cattle graze in the pastures of the Guachupe farm, in a rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Renowned for its stunning biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest region is also home to a vast array of people and cultures.

“People usually think that the environment doesn’t contain and include people, but it does,” said soil scientist Judson Ferreira Valentim, who lives in Brazil’s Acre state. “There are many different Amazonias and many different Amazonians.”

From small villages of thatched homes to the skyline of Belem rising above mist on the river – a view sometimes called “Manhattan of the Amazon” – Brazil’s slice of the Amazon is home to 28 million people.

Many communities are linked by water. Along the Tocantins River, a tributary of the Amazon, yellow school boats pick up children from wooden homes on stilts, and fishers throw scraps of the day’s catch to river dolphins that frequent the docks. Families linger beside river beaches at sunset, the water a relief from the heat of the day.

Other communities are linked by rural roads, which often wash out during heavy rains, or newly paved highways – which bring better access to schools and hospitals, but also, often, deforestation.

In the forest itself, there is often no path. Acai picker Edson Polinario spends his days under dappled sunlight that filters through the canopy of virgin rainforest, often with just the company of his large black dog.

One evening in the small Tembe village of Tekohaw, Maria Ilba, a woman of mixed Indigenous and African heritage, watches as a wild green parrot feeds on salt on her windowsill.

“There is an evolution – in the past, the village culture was more traditional. Now it is more mixed,” she said. “There is a school, a little hospital, and a car that can take you somewhere else if you’re very sick.”

She said she is grateful for such additions, but also worries that “in the future, the young people could forget the language, the culture, the foods and the tattoos”.

Changes are inevitable. She only hopes that the future will preserve what’s most essential – for the people and the forest itself.

Residents play ball at sunset on the sands of the Tocantis River, in the city of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. — Residents play ball at sunset on the sands of the Tocantins River, in the city of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Cowboy Alexandre Rodrigues speaks after finishing work weighing and marking calves, in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — Cowboy Alexandre Rodrigues has just finished work weighing and marking calves, in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Indigenous Tembe prepare food for their community in the Tenetehar Wa Tembe village in the Alto Rio Guama Indigenous territory in the Paragominas municipality of the Para state of Brazil. — Indigenous Tembe prepare food for their community in the Tenetehar Wa Tembe village in the Alto Rio Guama Indigenous territory in the Paragominas municipality of Para state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

A traditional fisherman works in his boat in the waters of the Igarape Combu, on the shores of Ilha do Combu, near the city of Belem, Para state, Brazil. — A traditional fisherman works in his boat in the waters of the Igarape Combu, on the shores of Ilha do Combu, near the city of Belem, Para state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Typical fish from the Amazon rivers are displayed for sale at the Central Market on the banks of the Tocantis River, in the city of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. — Fish from the Amazon rivers are displayed for sale at the central market on the banks of the Tocantins River, in the city of Mocajuba, Para state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

A cowboy drives a herd of cattle in the pastures of the Guachupe farm, in the rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — A cowboy drives a herd of cattle in the pastures of the Guachupe farm, in a rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

A cowboy sorts cattle in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — A cowboy sorts cattle in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Edson Polinario holds up his hands dyed blue after handling Acai fruit berries in the forest of a rural area of his property in the municipality of Nova California, state of Rondonia, Brazil. — Edson Polinario holds up his hands dyed blue after handling Acai fruit berries in the forest of a rural area of his property in the municipality of Nova California, in the state of Rondonia. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

An Amazon river dolphin, known as a boto, plays in a nature preserve and tourist visitation area on the banks of the Tocantis River, in the municipality of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. — An Amazon river dolphin, known as a boto, plays in a nature preserve and tourist visitation area on the banks of the Tocantins River, in the municipality of Mocajuba, Para state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Drivers travel along a road to access farms and transport agricultural products in the rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — Drivers travel along a road to access farms and transport agricultural products in the rural area of the Rio Branco, Acre state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

A family travels in a boat shaded by umbrellas next to a boat transporting wooden logs in a section of the Tocantis River, next the island of Tauare, in the municipality of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. — A family travels in a boat shaded by umbrellas next to one transporting wooden logs in a section of the Tocantins River, next the island of Tauare, in the municipality of Mocajuba, Para state. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Jose Carlos, an employee at the Sitio Gimaia Tauare owned by Neilanny Maia, harvests cocoa fruits by hand, for processing by the De Mendes Chocolates company, on the island of Tauare, in the municipality of Mocajuba, Para state, Brazil. — Jose Carlos, an employee at the Sitio Gimaia Tauare owned by Neilanny Maia, harvests cocoa fruits by hand, for processing by the De Mendes Chocolates company, on the island of Tauare, in the municipality of Mocajuba. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

The Acre River winds through the city of Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — The Acre River winds through the city of Rio Branco. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Cowboy Diego Nascimento carries a calf to weigh and mark in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. — Cowboy Diego Nascimento carries a calf to weigh and mark in a corral at the Fazenda Itaituba, a farm in the municipality of Bujari, near the city of Rio Branco. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]