Extinction .in

About 360 of the lagely monadic tribe have had some contact with the outside world, and about 100 remain uncontacted.

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The Awa are being encroached upon from all sides by loggers, who are clear-cutting and burning the forest that both the Awa and the animals they eat call home. Here, one of the Awa territories is outlined in white, with logging operations throughout the region clearly visible.

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The Awa are hunter-gatherers, and travel in extended family groups of about 30. Families go on gathering expeditions, and extended hunts can last for weeks on end. However, the comparatively small groups are vulnerable to attacks by gunmen hired by loggers and ranchers.

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Takwazrentxia and his wife and son were contacted in 1992, and have been on the run ever since from ranchers hired gunmen who murdered most of their group.

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Amerintxia is believed to be the oldest Awa, and she still gathers her own food and lives alone in a palm shelter.

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Amerintxia sits with her pet monkey. The Awa maintain an intimate connection with life of the rainforest, taking in orphaned monkeys and keeping many animals as pets. The animals are regarded as part of the family, and Awa women even suckle them.

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Illegal logging on Awa lands. Nearly a third of Awa lands have now been taken over. The Brasilian constitution recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands, so all the operations on Awa lands are illegal.

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Slings for babies used to be made from palm fibres. But as the world makes more and more contact with the Awa, modern amenities such as cloth are coming into use. Such contact represents another risk to the tribe however - they are vulnerable to many diseases to which they have never been exposed.

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By drawing attention to the Awa's plight, pressure can be put on the Brazilian government to enforce the laws and put a stop to illegal logging and what Brasilian judge José Carlos do Vale Madeira called in 2009 "a real genocide".

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