Maijunas

I had the pleasure of being able to travel in the month of September 2018, to the Loreto region in the Republic of Peru. More specifically to the Amazon where the Maijuna community is settled, who were known as the "Orejones" due to the accessories they used in their earlobes. During the rubber rush in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they experienced great suffering and many lives were lost. Little by little, thanks to education, they learned to become independent and to defend their rights against the patronage system. Today they exchange meat, jungle products and handicrafts with river merchants for clothing and other merchandise. To feed their families, they grow bananas, corn, and yuca on small farms. They also collect nuts and fruits of the rainforest, fish and hunt animals to supplement their diet. Currently, there are less than three hundred Maijunas left and they are located on the banks of the Sucusari, Yanayacu, Algodón and Putumayo rivers.