The Masako people live in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, and recently the organization that protects them released the first close-up photos of the tribe. The people live a primitive life, hunt with spears, and are one of the few who have no contact with the outside world.

Few places in the world have remained untouched by man. Even fewer are the tribes and communities that have had absolutely no contact with the outside world.

One such tribe of people called the Masako is found in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

The people’s name is inspired by the river that runs through the place where they live, but it is not known what they call themselves.

The isolated tribe is protected by Brazilian authorities, who have imposed a ban on approaching the area where they live.

Sometimes, the Brazilian Foundation for Indigenous Peoples helps the tribe, leaving them tools, such as axes.

However, they never come into direct contact with them for a number of reasons, mainly to avoid exposing them to the risk of diseases to which they have no immunity.

Of course, it is also important to preserve their way of life, which is unique in the modern world.

Almost every aspect of the life of the Masako people is a mystery to us – we do not know what language they speak, whether they have a religion, or what their social structure is.

The only thing that has been noted is that unlike in the 1990s, the tribe is now larger, numbering between 200 and 250 people.

However, with the help of automatic cameras placed in the jungle, the Brazilian Foundation for Indigenous Peoples has managed to take the first photos of the tribe.

The photos, which were taken in February 2024 but have only just been shared publicly, show a group of men collecting tools left behind by the Foundation.

The Foundation leaves them tools not only to help them, but also to prevent them from leaving their territory in search of tools and the like, and thereby exposing themselves to risk.

Automatic cameras, meanwhile, have been placed at several locations where they leave their tools.

The Foundation is monitoring the tribe with the help of satellites, and has previously photographed their abandoned dwellings.

From research so far, it has been discovered that the tribe hunts with spears up to three meters long, and that they change their habitat depending on the season.

They protect themselves from strangers by burying hundreds of small wooden spikes in the ground.
They have also been observed to have a habit of stringing animal skulls on trees, but it is not known for what reason

There are about 60 peoples in the Amazon rainforest who have had no contact with the outside world and all of them are protected.

Protection was introduced in the 1980s, after an attempt to contact the indigenous population instigated by the authorities ended fatally – 90% of the people who were contacted died.

The main cause of death was diseases for which the indigenous population has no immunity.

Peoples in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia are similarly protected.