The Sanema are a branch of the Yanomami tribe who live in the tropical rain forest on both sides of the Venezuelan and Brazilian border, on the watershed between the Orinoco and the Amazon rivers. Until recently they were nomadic hunters, and shifting cultivators, living off what they caught in the forest. But in recent times most of them have settled in villages. This decision to stay in one place is undermining their most fundamental traditions.It's not just the authorities which have brought about this change. In fact, the Venezuelan government has now adopted a policy to respect the rights of indigenous people but this policy is yet to be put into practice in the Caura, where most of the territory of the Ye'kwana and Sanema has been set aside as a forest reserve for logging. A land claim filed by the people for the whole area has yet to be accepted.
The intrusion of the outside world into Sanema life is having irreversible effects. Contact with the outside world has brought new diseases to which they have no immunity. In turn, this has helped destabalise traditional medical practises and led to an increased reliance on western goods and medicine.
The need for these new medicines has encouraged the Sanema to leave their semi-nomadic lifestyles, and settle in permanent villages near to medical posts and clinics. Along with their dependency on another tribal group, the Ye'kwana, it has meant a fundamental shift in the lives of the Sanema.
As one woman explains: 'I preferred it when there was better hunting. We moved from one place to another, that's what we did before. But I don't mind living close to the Ye'kwana because I am old and need medicine.'