Parade - Part II

This will be the second and last posting of the Puyo celebration parades. Hope you enjoy the color and the festivities. Part of the parade was in the rain. Didn't seem to bother those in the parade, however.

School Kids Parade This Past Monday

The photos in the blog today are all from the four hour school parade this last Monday. We often have difficulty downloading photos. Today was an exception and so we continued to download. Enjoy the color and the celebration that is done so well in this culture.

The two pictures below are photos of the Esperanza School kids.

Huaorani

We had difficulty with internet downloads yesterday, so here is a part of the parade of last Sunday. As the sign indicates, the Huaorani (spelled several different ways) were a part of the parade. The dress (or lack there of) of the men bring about wide spread reaction in the crowd.

Seems that the history of these people in the last 52 years has been on some sort of speeded up version of an unlikely story. It was this tribe located here in the jungle that killed 5 American missionaries some 51 years ago this past January by spearing them to death.

Like most groups in the world who lived a primitive life, the Huaorani have been through a lot. Going from no money, living off the land and not being able to read or write to joining the modern world has sent shockwaves through their culture. Many of these shockwaves have been negative such as high alcoholism and living a life of subsistence poverty. The story is not over yet.

These people seem to have been accepted by the larger culture around here but at arms length. They are a curiosity rather than full partners in the local life and culture.

The future is uncertain. They have a large tract of land where they live their own style of "reservation life". The amount of land they cover is but a fraction of what it once was. Hunting and gathering took huge expanses of land to keep meat and food plentiful. The oil company invasion of their area has changed their lives forever.

Sunday Morning In The Market

Sunday morning before going to the parade of indigenous peoples, we went to the Puyo Sunday market. Thought we would throw in a few pictures of food (one exception). Starting with the cows head, we were told that it makes excellent soup. (Count me out)


These pigs were in the back of a covered pickup. Fowl and animals like pigs are sold live and the butchering goes on at home. Well, it is fresh meat!

The picture above is a fairly common sight around town. Again, soup would be a food product, but you also see these things roasted and even the exterior fat is eaten. We called it "cracklings" years ago.

The above armadillo is really considered a great meat. They either roast or BBQ it. Some say it tastes like rabbit.

The non-food item above is broom straw made from a tree. Not sure of the details here.

And finally for dessert, the wiggly mess just does me in. I came by this box of "sawdust" and it was all moving. Inside were these giant grubs which feed on a certain kind of tree. The grub is considered a very special treat. (This is one of those pictures you need to click on to see the full size of these creatures.

Another Puyo Parade. Indigenous Day

Town birthday celebrations are great here. Among other things it means a parade each day for three days in a row. Today the parade was centered on the indigenous peoples of the larger area around Puyo. We went to the staging area of the down town central park and took a number of pictures of the various groups getting ready. Dressing in traditional custome, getting painted up and just milling around with friends. It was a great photo opportunity.

The above group picture is of the Huaorani, a tribe that was very isolated and impossible to visit fifty years ago. They are now the highlight of the local parade.

The Huaorani are still not clothed very heavily. Living for centuries in the junggle entirely naked was actually a survival matter. Being soaking wet for days on end has a lot of health issues connected with it.

The group below are from another tribe. Because there were about 8 to 10 groups represented in the parade today, we foreigners get easily confused.

The kids in all groups get involved. The little girl below is typical of this. She was not too happy about me taking a picture until I showed her the results on the viewfinder. That brought a big smile.

Many of the participants paint each other. Saw but one person (above) looking in a portable mirror and painting themselves.

Most of the customes are colorful as the boy below illustrates.

Tomorrow will be the X-rated showing as the Huaorani show below. Even in a culture like here which is more open to this kind of thing, the Huaorani brought similes to peoples faces. One mid-twenties gal was taking pictures of the guys approaching the crowd as a group. Her camera was clearly not aimed at their faces.