‘Every time an elder dies, a library is burnt’: Amazon COVID-19 toll grows (6-9-20)

‘Every time an elder dies, a library is burnt’: Amazon COVID-19 toll grows

Sue Branford, Mongabay

6-9-20

While grieving the loss of dearly loved elders, the Munduruku are now also coping with the irreparable loss to their culture. “Every time an elder dies, a library is burnt,” Bruna Rocha, a lecturer in archaeology at the Federal University of Western Pará, tells Mongabay. She is quoting Amadou Hampaté Bâ, a renowned intellectual from Mali in Africa, but she says, the quote applies equally to the traditional people of the Amazon forest, whether indigenous, riverine or quilombolas (descendants of run-away slaves).

Read the full text: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/every-time-an-elder-dies-a-library-is-burnt-amazon-covid-19-toll-grows/