Regarding the Indians...

I have been asked about the authenticity of the village we visited.

The question, is the Indian Village that we visited authentic or not? That is like one of those questions that bounce around once in a while like "prove you are you" or similar. All I can tell you is what we saw and what we felt.


We have been to many 'living museums" around the world. These are villages or whatever that replicate how people lived in times gone by. Some are run like Barkerville in BC. People who dress and re-enact life in the Gold Rush era, from eight in the morning to 10 at night. They then drive home in their cars and watch TV and work on their computer, in their modern home.

Another example was two years ago in a Zulu village in South Africa. It was the old movie set for Shaka Zulu. It was a replicated Zulu Village, as they were in days gone by. Nobody 'lives' in the village except during the day when tourists come there for a tour and a sumptuous lunch. The chief wore a "Rolex' and they made no bones about what it was.

The Masai village in Kenya was a bit different. The people actually live in those huts made out of mud and cow dung. They make the bracelets etc. that they sell. They also make money from the tours that people go on to see how they live, not did live, but live today. There are some Masai that leave the village and go on to higher education and become doctors. etc. Many, when visiting their village will don traditional dress and look like any other Masai. The rings and watches are an indication of their 'other life'.

I can only assume, without being too naive, that this is the situation with the Village we went to. I imagine that some people go on to 'higher education' and leave their traditional way of life. The village would in all likelihood select and pay for those that are chosen to move on. The money to do that would come from their only source of income, tourism and craft sales. I understand that in many/most cases that those that move on give a portion of their income back to the village.

Obviously we were not the first people to visit them. I may be gullible, but not that much. There are no roads or infrastructure out there. There may be a power line in from the jungle, who knows. We passed many other homes or clusters of straw buildings along the river on the way up. There were groups of kids and adults in various spots swimming or at the waters edge, living out their life. I imagine that there may be western clothes in some of their lives, but I do not know why anybody would put on more clothing than necessary in that heat and humidity. Who looks more comfortable, Fellette or that young woman?


This is not unlike in the Amazon where you see homes, or group of homes, on stilts with families living on the river. You give your head a shake and wonder if it is for real. It is. We are just so used to our lifestyle that we sometimes assume everybody wants what we have. Not so. This is what I enjoy about travel.

If it was a phoney, it had to be co-ordinated better than a Ben-Hur movie with a cast of hundreds. I think not, so don't burst my bubble.