In May 2019, a team from the global genealogy company MyHeritage documented the family histories and traditions of the Achuar tribe in Ecuador, as part of a pro bono initiative called Tribal Quest.
Since its inception in 2016, the Tribal Quest project has endeavoured to record and preserve the family histories of remote indigenous peoples throughout the world. MyHeritage has launched Tribal Quest expeditions to communities in Namibia, Papua New Guinea, and Siberia — and, most recently, the Amazon. Indigenous tribes in isolated locations often have limited access to modern technology and lack the tools to digitize their family histories and oral traditions. As globalization, environmental damage, and modernization threaten their traditional way of life, their stories and customs are in danger of being lost.
MyHeritage is a global platform for building family trees and exploring family history, offering sophisticated technologies that allow users to discover their past and learn about the lives of their ancestors, easily. As part of the company’s commitment to helping individuals and communities preserve their families’ pasts, the Tribal Quest project leverages MyHeritage’s expertise, resources, and innovative tools to help indigenous tribes safeguard their family histories for future generations.
“We are helping the indigenous people of today create time capsules for the sake of future generations, so that when the time comes, their descendants will be able to discover these rare family history treasures,” says Golan Levi, leader of the Tribal Quest team and UX Expert at MyHeritage.
During the May 2019 Tribal Quest expedition to Ecuador, the MyHeritage team spent a week working with the Achuar tribe: an indigenous people who have lived in the Amazon Rainforest for thousands of years. The tribe numbers around 8,000 people residing along the Pastanza River basin in Ecuador and Peru. Their way of life revolves around living in harmony with the forest from which they draw their sustenance and livelihood. Their deep respect for and understanding of its ecosystem lie at the heart of their day-to-day activities and spiritual life.
The unique ceremonies and practices of the Achuar focus on communication with Arutam, the spirit of the forest. They believe that Arutam speaks to them through dreams, visions, and rituals, and their spiritual and community leaders — shamans — guide them in interpreting and implementing the spirit’s messages.
The Tribal Quest team was struck by the strong sense of community that permeates Achuar culture. “The Achuar people blew me away,” says Levi. “They possess so much joy of life. They have a hardworking mentality, but above all, their spiritual connection with nature is based on maintaining the equilibrium and harmony with the forest that surrounds them. They live off the forest, but at the same time they are its biggest protectors and they raise their children to grow up according to these values.”
The beauty of the Achuar culture is showcased on the Tribal Quest website, which features vivid photographs, videos, and explanations detailing the tribe’s ceremonies, rituals, beliefs, and practices.
“As we worked, we heard extraordinary stories and watched ceremonies and activities transmitted by word of mouth,” says Nitay Elboym, Tribal Quest team member and Researcher at MyHeritage. “There were shamans who told of wars that estranged them from other medicine men. There were women who told of giving birth, completely alone, in the heart of the jungle. There were men who remembered their coming-of-age ceremonies, at night in the jungle at the age of six. There were people who fought jaguars they stumbled across in the jungle. We learned how they build their houses, use medicinal plants, and paint their bodies; we learned about art, musical instruments, food preparation, traditions, and so much more.”
The team discovered that, in the process of documenting the tribe’s family histories and traditions, they were also providing an opportunity for their interviewees to delve into their own personal histories and discuss deep matters with family members — sometimes culminating in profound or even cathartic moments.
“The tribe leader, dressed in his ceremonial attire with a crown of feathers on his head, sat down for a conversation with his mother to reconstruct their family history,” Elboym recalls. “Suddenly, he found himself saying things to her that he’d never said before. We didn’t understand a word he said in the local dialect, but their body language was enough. And when the tears began to flow, it was clear that the conversation had moved to a very emotional place. The humble and powerful leader we had known suddenly seemed to me like a little boy speaking to his parent with complete candor. He reminded me of my own child.”
Throughout the Tribal Quest team’s stay with the Achuar, one consistent, critical message was repeated to them: to tell the world that the rainforest is sacred and precious, not only to those who live in it, but to all of humanity, and that it must be protected, nurtured, and respected.
The Amazon Rainforest is known to be the most biodiverse ecosystem on land, and its estimated 390 billion trees pull large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air — making the forest a powerful factor in slowing the effects of climate change. The vulnerability of this ecological asset was again brought to the public’s attention this past summer in light of raging forest fires in Brazil. The Amazon has been and continues to be under constant threat of extinction due to deforestation, pollution, and global warming.
The MyHeritage team is committed to helping communities and individuals preserve their personal and cultural traditions and family stories. Through the Tribal Quest project, they also hope to provide a platform for the Achuar tribe to advocate for the preservation and protection of their ancestral home. Tribal Quest is just one of the pro bono initiatives that express MyHeritage’s commitment to leveraging its technology for the benefit of humankind — fulfilling the company’s longstanding belief that everyone, everywhere, has a right to know about their heritage.
For more information visit www.tribalquest.org