Wajapi body painting with urucum seeds | SLICE

Five centuries ago, when Europeans came into contact with Amerindians, they were surprised to see them paint their bodies red and they called them by that name, “redskins“. In the Americas, this tradition has all but disappeared and only survives as a daily practice in a few isolated places, where it’s handed down from generation to generation... The Wajapi are a community of about a thousand, living in the middle of the forest, close to the mouth of the Amazon. Here, painting one’s skin red is a way of maintaining a link with a very ancient civilisation. But as the forest retreats and the city advances, this way of life will disappear. That is why UNESCO is protecting this threatened culture: in 2003, the body painting and oral tradition of the Wajapi became part of the treasures of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Discover how the Wajapi paint their skins red with urucum ! Extract from the series “Living Cultures - Red Skin“ Direction: Charli