Jagua: A Journey into Body Art from the Amazon

244 Pages·2010·9.8 MB·English

by  Carine Fabius

JAGUA
A Journey into Body Art from the Amazon
By Carine Fabius
Photographs by
Pascal Giacomini and Cristina Mittermeier
Jagua, A Journey into Body Art from the Amazon
By Carine Fabius
Kouraj Press
6025 Santa Monica Bouleard, #202
Los Angeles, CA 90038
323-460-7333
www.kourajpress.com
Copyright © 2009 by Carine Fabius
Cover and Book Design: Rodney Bowes Design
Notice of Rights
All rights reserved under international and pan-American Copyright
conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part
without written permission from the publisher except by a reviewer, who
may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other,
without written permission from the publisher.
Fabius, Carine
Jagua, A Journey into Body Art from the Amazon
ISBN 9780978 500313
Printed in the United States of America
Also by Carine Fabius
Mehndi: The Art of Henna Body Painting
Ceremonies for Real Life
Sex, Cheese and French Fries—Women are Perfect, Men are from France
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my husband Pascal Giacomini for his hard work
and for all his help in the making of this book. You’re a great partner! My
gratitude goes out to Frank Weaver for his editorial expertise, attention to detail,
and generosity with his time. Thanks and appreciation to Henrietta Cosentino
for the freshness and largesse that she brings to any project she touches. A big
thank you to Rodney Bowes for his special brand of creativity and flair, as well
as for his constant ability to make me laugh. A special thank you to David
Fleck, Peter Gorman, and Cristina Mittermeier for their generous and priceless
contributions to the book. Thank you, thank you, thank you Steve Coombs for
the generous use of your time, for your support, and for your friendship; and to
Morena Santos for her magnificent talent as a jagua artist, and the gracious gift
of her time. Gracias a los Matsés por su hospitalidad. And a huge shout out to all
the people I know who continue to give me their love and support in my work
as a writer. You know who you are!
A Note from the Author
No trees in the Amazon rainforest are cut down to generate the
skin-staining ink used for temporary jagua tattoos. Happily, harvesting
of the jagua fruit does provide desperately needed income to the Indian
group with whom we work.
Like many others who, by chance or fate, become involved with
un- derserved peoples, we feel compelled to assist the Indians with
the pressing issues they face (i.e., stemming the spread of malaria or
flu in their village). In that respect, you may be interested to know that
your purchase of this book and/or jagua tattoo kits from our company
directly contributes to helping the Matsés Indians achieve economic
sustainability.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Jagua—The Prequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Henna Back Story .......................................16
Walking into Body Art.......................................20
Chapter Two: Jagua, the Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Meeting Jagua..............................................29
Chapter Three: Pascal’s Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A Brief History of the Matsés ..................................54
Essays ........ ............................................59
“Ahhh, Frog Sweat by Peter Gorman”.........................60
“My Life Among the Humans: A Concise Autobiography”
by David W. Fleck ..................... ...............69
Chapter Four: Bringing Jagua Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter Five: The Jagua Fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Just the Facts...............................................85
Medicinal Properties of the Jagua Fruit...........................88
The Vampire Catfish of the Amazon ............................90
Chapter Six: Jagua Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Mystical Jagua Beliefs ..... ...................................94
A Brief History of the Kayapo...............................97
Essay: Indian Ink by Cristina Mittermeier.....................100
VII
JAGUA: A Journey into Body Art from the Amazon
Jagua People I.............................................107
The Zapara (or Sapara)...................................108
The Shuar (a.k.a. Jivaro)..................................110
The Tsachila...........................................112
The Embera-Waounan (formerly the Chocos) .................114
The Yucuna (or Yukuna) .................................116
The Kuna ..................... ........................118
Traditional JaguaTales ......................................120
Jagua People II ................ ............................134
The Yuqui.............................................135
The Tikuna (or Ticuna) ..................................137
The Yagua.............................................139
The Arakmbut ................ .........................141
The Ka’apor (a.k.a. Urubu)................................143
The Canelos-Quichua (a.k.a. Quichua of Pastaza) ..............145
The Shipibo-Conibo.....................................147
Chapter Seven: Jagua Tattoos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Henna vs. Jagua ...........................................150
Still, It’s Body Art..........................................151
A Short History of Tattoos...................................156
The Rise of Tattoo Nation ..................... ..............162
The Ink Factor ............................................166
Chapter Eight: Frequently Asked Questions About Jagua . . . . . . . . . . . 171
VIII
Table of Contents
Appendix I
Amazonia—Land of Jagua ...................................177
Amazon 101 ..................... ......................178
The Indians............................................181
Appendix II
Tales From the Amazon ..................................184
The Legend of the Pink Dolphin ...........................185
Tales of the Anaconda....................................188
Bibliography
Books ................................ .......... .........193
Studies, Essays and Articles...................................198
Websites .... .............................................202
Photography and Graphics
Photography/B&W......................................208
Graphics ..............................................210
Color Photography
First Section—Follows page 53
Second Section—Follows page 96
Third Section—Follows page 144
Fourth Section—Follows page 192
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Not included]
IX
Amazon River Basin
with Amazon River highlighted