About
This film describes the work of an extraordinary Salesian priest, Padre Cocco, who has headed a mission on the Ocamo River since 1957. The mission's goal, he explains, is to soften the inevitable impact of "civilization" on the Yanomamö of this area.
Baptism and monogamy can wait, the priest says; what is crucial is that the Indians are no longer seen as museum pieces, but as significant human beings and citizens in the larger Venezuelan society. At the same time, indigenous Yanomamö culture must be respected. Hallucinogenic drugs, for example, are the basis for communication with hekura spirits, and through spirit manipulation many diseases can be cured. Therefore, asserts Padre Cocco, the use of these drugs should neither be forbidden nor discouraged. On the other hand, change is a reality at Padre Cocco's mission.
The film shows some of the changes that the mission has already brought: cattle and chicken raising, manioc flour, new fishing techniques, new medicines. What are the ramifications of these changes; what are the short and long-term effects of the mission's projects on nutrition, health, settlement patterns, ecological adaptation, social and cultural life?
This film is part of the Yanomamö series, a collaborative project undertaken by filmmaker Timothy Asch and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon between 1968 and 1971 to film the Yanomamö Indians of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil.