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The King of Norway is visiting a Yanomami village

King Harald V's desire was to get some real life experience in an indigenous community living in the tropical forest, to share the everyday life of its inhabitants and to be able to take some part in it. He saw his dream come true thanks to the invitation that Davi Yanomami gave him to participate in the twenty-year anniversary of the recognition of Yanomami Indigenous Land which was held in Watoriki village in October 2012. Because of a busy agenda, this visit took place only in April.

Allowing the King to visit a Yanomami community with a restricted delegation, without putting his security at risk, required a particular effort from the Court and the Norwegian Embassy in Brasilia.

Through the Itamaraty, the Funai and the federal police, the Brazilian government has been made aware of the situation and offered its support to ensure the monarch's safety and respect his privacy since it was not an official visit.

The King's delegation was composed of security officers from the Royal Palace and representatives of the civilian organisation Rainforest Foundation Norway which has been supporting the Yanomami through education projects for more than fifteen years, using resources from the government. It was also composed of a representative of The Socioenvironmental Institute (Instituto Socioambiental - ISA) which has worked with the Yanomami for seventeen years and helped as a Yanomami-Portuguese interpreter.

Convivência na aldeia

O rei Harald chegou a comunidade Watoriki, do líder Yanomami Davi Kopenawa, na manhã do dia 22 de abril, onde foi recepcionado pelas 190 pessoas que ali vivem. Durante os quatro dias que ficou na aldeia, dormiu em rede, comeu caça com beiju, ouviu histórias dos antigos, viu o que os Yanomami cultivam em suas roças e como se relacionam com a floresta. Os Yanomami também lhe contaram sobre as preocupações com a ambição dos brancos pelos minérios que estão sob a terra e que resulta na invasão e degradação da floresta pelo garimpo ilegal. Também manifestaram temor com relação ao projeto de legalização da mineração em Terras Indígenas que tramita no Congresso Nacional. Os Yanomami reafirmaram que para eles somente a floresta em pé interessa e faz sentido.

No último dia da visita (25), houve troca de presentes simbolizando a amizade entre o rei Harald V e Davi Kopenawa. O rei deu a Davi um álbum com fotos pessoais, mostrando seus familiares, sua casa, seu barco, seu cachorro. Davi deu ao rei um bracelete tradicional dos Yanomami que simboliza a beleza e a força dos pajés.

© Marcos Wesley - ISA / translation by Wendy Labadie : article original