In a remote corner of Paraguay, in the 1960’s, lived a tribe of Indians known as the Guayaki. They lived among jaguars, coatis, vultures, peccaries, tree snakes, howler monkeys. The Guayaki abandoned their elderly. They beat menstruating girls with tapir penises in order to make them insanely ardent. Seriously. They practice polyandry (the female has more than one male sexual partner).
A French anthropologist named Pierre Clastres wrote a book about them, “Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians”. Clastres died at the age of 43 in a car crash.
The Guayaki are almost gone now. They numbered a hundred when the Paraguayan government moved them to a remote, uninhabited part of the country. Then 75. Then 40.
When an unusually dark child is born– the grandmother strangles it.
February 2007: thanks to international pressure, including a plea from Elie Wiesel, the Paraguayan government has amended some of its policies and the Guayaki have recovered to a population of about 1500.
Just part of that wonderful panoply of our wonderful species.