| A new tribe of Indians has been discovered near the Menkregnoti reservation in the Amazon. Worldwide, it's suspected that there are more than a hundred unknown tribes..
Previously unknown Indian tribe discovered in Brazil
The Indian tribe, thought to have had little previous contact with civilization, was found in a remote area of the Amazon, approximately 2000 km to the north of Rio de Janeiro. The tribe, the Metytire, are reported to be naked, except for the men who use penis sheaths. The women shave the top of their heads. The reason this tribe has remained undiscovered is thought to be partly due to the lack of larger rivers in the area, which makes communication difficult. The discovery was made when two members of the Metyktire tribe suddenly showed up in the Kayapo tribe village, in the Menkregnoti reservation of the Amazon. The Metyktire tribe is a subgroup of the Kayapo tribe, and speaks an archaic form of the Kayapo language.
"We don't know why they decided to make contact now ... only time will tell. This is a very slow process," said Mario Moura, a spokesman for Brazil's Federal Indian Bureau, or Funai.
Patrick Cunningham of the Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust, a London-based organization, said that the Kayapo believe this group was formed in the 1950s by a group who fled deeper into the forest. As it's suspected that the Metyktire might lack resistance to common diseases, the Brazilian government is forbidding all but a small medical team to contact them.
It's estimated by the indigenous rights group Survival International that there are more than a hundred uncontacted tribes worldwide. In Brazil there are about 700,000 Indians, most of whom live in the Amazon region. About 400,000 reside on reservations, where they attempt to maintain their cultures, languages and lifestyles.
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