We Gather as a Family

The Parakatêjê (Gavião) people of Pará have lost 80% of their population to disease since the 1950s. Kokrenum, the Parakatêjê's charismatic chief, worried about his people's cultural losses, organizes a visit to the Krahô, "relatives" of the Parakatêjê with similar language and traditions. Fifty young Parakatêjê participate in a Krahô festival of singing, body-painting and a long, strenuous relay race. Impressed by the KrahTÕs upkeep of their cultural traditions, The Parakatêjê return the invitation. 

Some are afraid that the Krahô will perceive them as overly "white" in their practices, but the visit takes place, both groups overcome prejudices about one another. Everyone plays a friendly game of Hawks and McCaws, and by making a video of the festivities, as one man says, "a road is opened between us." The two chiefs discuss cultural issues and seal a pact of friendship between their groups.

Films in the Encounters series

Meeting Ancestors

We Gather as a Family