Mother’s Day Origin In fact, Mother’s Day does not have a commercial origin. From ancient Greece, there were celebrations at the entrance of spring in honor of Reia, mother of Zeus and considered the matriarch of all the gods. From the Old Age there are reports of rituals and festivals around maternal mythological figures and phenomena such as fertility. In the Middle Ages, there were also many references to the figure of the Mother, especially the Judeo-Christian symbolism with the figures of Eve and Mary. It is common, in the contemporary world, to celebrate Mother’s Day every second Sunday ..read more

When is Indigenous Day? The Brazilian Indigenous Day is celebrated annually on April 19.This important date serves to remind and reinforce the identity of the Brazilian and American Indian people in the current history and culture. Before the arrival of the first Europeans on American soil, all the countries that form this continent were largely populated by important indigenous nations. Unfortunately, human greed, cruelty and disease caused many tribes to be totally decimated and much of the indigenous culture was forgotten. In an attempt to preserve the traditions and identity of the natives ..read more

What is Xingu? Xingu has many connotations. There exists a Xingu Indigenous Park, which is legal Indigenous land (established in 1961) and Xingu peoples live there (for centuries). The park is in the north east of the state of Mato Grosso, in the south of the Amazon biome. We wrote about biomes too, read here. The park’s official purposes are to protect the environment and the several tribes of Xingu indigenous peoples in that area. It covers 2,642,003 hectares (6,528,530 acres), with savannah and drier semi-deciduous forests in the south transitioning to Amazon rain forest ..read more

What is Pirarucu? Brazil, the Amazons and the coast (1879) The sustainable handling of Pirarucu or Arapaima, a native Brazilian fish that weighs up to 200 kilos and is more than 2 meters long is developing increasingly. It is taking place in 7 extractive reserves supervised by the respected Chico Mendes Institute, and the Brazilian federal government in the northern states of Amazonas and Acre. The activity benefits about 400 families in conservation units and reached profits of over 1.5 million US dollars in 2016. According to the coordinator of Production and Sustainable Use of ICMBio, João ..read more

Who are the Yawanawá? Yawanawá is an indigenous tribal group from the Amazon. copyright: http://yawanawa.org/fotos/ The Yawanawá people in Brazil are located in the state of Acre, in the western part of the Brazilian Amazon Forest. There are over 1000 Yawanawá, living in 7 tribal villages. The name Yawanawá translates as ‘The People of the Wild Boar’. In Brazil, the largest country in South America, there are about 240 tribes living in Brazil today, adding up to around 900,000 people, or 0.4% of Brazil’s population. How and where do they live? The Yawanawá traditional homes are called ‘push ..read more

TheFOB dreams of a country where all people feel that they belong Belonging is one of the pillars for a healthy society! In our modern-capitalist society, unfortunately not everyone “belongs” as there are problems of isolation such as homelessness, prison, asylums and various degrees of populations being marginalized. Is utopia a scenario where everyone feels like they belong, when everyone is a part of something meaningful? Well, that is the reality within most traditional indigenous societies that have been able to resist negative outside influences.  As an anthropologist’s assistant, a ..read more

Brazilian Natural World Impress a Brazilian with this Mother Nature information. Be the well read person at the dinner party! Brazil’s natural environment has 6 different biomes or ecosystems. Get your studious cap on and learn some information below: Biomes of BrazilAmazon Rainforest Ecosystem Being the largest Brazilian biome and the largest reserve of biological diversity in the world, the Amazon rainforest biome corresponds to almost half of the Brazil territory. It covers the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Roraima; part of Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Maranhão and Tocantins. The climat ..read more

Trees are Life Full of variety, nourishment and growth, can’t even imagine a life without trees. Embaúba The Embaúba (Cecropia obtusifolia) is a Brazilian tree known for regenerating the forests! The species produces a large quantity of seeds: it is estimated that about one million of them can be found in only one kilo. This tree is found in riparian woods mainly of the Atlantic forest, and three other biomes: “Cerrado” thick forests, “Pantanal” wetlands, and Amazon Rainforest. They are trees of hollow trunks, their leaves are divided in 9 to 10 lobes with a white bottom, and its fruits are po ..read more

Origin of Handicraft Handicraft is a historical continuity of traditional processes and techniques that have been around for millennia. Depending on the artisan’s inspiration, each new piece and creation can reimagine, reassign or recreate historical legacies of art. Handicraft can be seen as a concept of popular art worldwide and representative of a country’s local culture. Handicraft encompasses a wide variety of work from useful to merely decorative objects, it is handmade or through the use of simple tools. Some of the main materials used in traditional handicraft work include: Textiles ..read more

Wood Marquetry from the Forest People are enchanting when they love what they do! This happy man (pictured) is a master of the amazing ancient art of wood marquetry. Maqueson P. Silva with his beautiful artistic creations Usually creative people that love what they do, make magical pieces that are capable of transferring some of this love to their art, and consequently also to the one who buys it. Everyone can use a bit more love and magic! Amazon Forest in Brazil As the lungs of the world, the Amazon forest is completely mysterious and magical. One of the exceptional artists TheFOB suppo ..read more