White Amazonian Indian Tribe Discovered - The Shiritanas

Time Magazine July 20, 1925

Threading up the Rio Parima, Lieutenant Walter Hinton, trans-Atlantic flier and air-scout for Dr. Rice, had sought trails from the Parima valley into the Orinoco country. He found none, but located a tribe of furtive, stunted "white" Indians, the Shiritanas, who exhibited neither fear nor curiosity at sight of the white men and their aircraft.

New York Times July 11, 1925

When this was reported to [Dr. Rice] by Lieutenant Hinton, the doctor said he decided to go up the river in canoes next day and find out where the White Indians came from. The party found their hut, and after landing they were startled by weird yells. The Indians with the party became scared, and four of the twelve got back into the canoe to paddle away. The remaining eight had more nerve and made ready for battle, but finally one of the number understood the yells and answered in the Maku language. Then two Indians whho [sic] were bleached white by the sun, but of pure Indian blood, came out from the forest to greet the party. Dr. Rice described them as being undersized and undernourished. Their faces were streaked with pigments so that it was difficult to discern the features, but they were undeniably white. They wore no clothing, and carried bows and arrows which were tipped with poison, so the Indians in the expedition said. When the two received presents of beads and handkerchiefs they yelled to their companions and others soon emerged and joined the group, making in all twenty men and two women.

"When the White Indians were offered meat," Dr. Rice continued, "they declined it. I was informed that they live on wild plantains or bananas. “They move in and out between the trees like jaguars without making a sound or causing a rustle of the leaves. These White Indians, who are called Shiritanas on the upper Amazon, did not evince any curiosity at the hydroplane, at our clothing or anything we had on the expedition."

Wow.
Shiritanas.
Pretty dern fascinatin'

Could Dr Rice have been mistaken? Perhaps these natives wore a lot of white face/body paint?

Basing my guess on Dr Rice's many accomplishments, I'm willing to bet he knew how to tell the difference between face paint and natural skin color especially if he was face to face with these guys exchanging beads and whatnot.

I can't really find anything else on Shiritanas. No mention of them on Dr. Rice's wiki I guess I'll do it

So what say you ATS? Anyone heard of these lil guys? I'd love some more info, whatcha got?

peace

reply to post by vermonster

Nice find...like to hear more.
S&F for posting!

Off the top o my head, never heard of them. Fascinating, however. I would suggest some old-school research. Library of Congress or contact National Geographic first that come to mind. Good luck, would love to here more/ see pics

CDS

ETA: per the Time Magazine source: plantains with coc aine relish? no wonder they looked so skinny and stunted! How bizarre. Coke would supress the appetite.

Rice et all: "How about a Big Mac?"
Shiritanas: "Uhhh, (sniff)....no thanks...(teeth chatter)....we've already (sniff) eaten"

Source

In this paper I examine in particular the visual record made in the course of Alexander Hamilton Rice’s seventh expedition to the Amazon in 1924-5. Two documentary films on the expedition were produced, based on footage supplied by Silvino Santos, the Portuguese filmmaker settled in the Amazon: Explorations in the Amazons Basin, intended for an American audience, and No rastro do eldorado, shown in Brazil.

ok, 20 bucks to whoever can locate these films

update: i think i found them, each are 2 minutes, no shiritanas

This one sounds like a fabrication, but I do find a partial reference to Rice finding a tribe of "white" Indians (described rather improbably as being "bleached by the sun" and living on a diet that would have them dying of malnutrition very quickly) which seems to have as its source the New York Times:
www.earlyaviators.com...

This one bears looking up. I am going to stick my neck out and say "no such tribe though he undoubtedly came into contact with many people who'd never seen Caucasians" -- because the people are described as living on the Parima river. When I look it up, it is in the Roraima province of Brazil, and this is a well explored area, particularly along the rivers. Any unusual tribes would have been trading with other tribes in the area (plantains suggests farming practices) and would have been the subject of discussion among other people.
en.wikipedia.org...

Seeing that it was 1925, I'd bet that missionaries would have hotfooted it out there to convert them.

The Aztecs inherited much of their culture from the preceding Mayan civilization. I have always found the legend of Quetzalcoatl interesting. Could he be a depiction of fair skinned travelers from Europe? Is it possible that some of these explorers settled down and integrated into the jungle tribes? Are these ancestors depicted in the tale you mention in your original post?

Probably the reason that the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs in such a short amount of time had less to do with their skill as soldiers and more to do with the fact that the Spaniards physically resembled the descriptions in Aztec legends of the god Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl, while symbolized as a feathered serpent, appears also to have been an historic figure - the man credited with bringing civilization, learning, culture, the calendar, mathematics, metallurgy, astronomy, masonry, architecture, productive agriculture, knowledge of the healing properties of plants, law, crafts, the arts, and peace to the native people. He is pictured as a quite different physical type than the natives - fair skinned and ruddy complexioned, long nosed, and with a long beard. He was said to have arrived by boat from the east, and sailed off again years later promising to return someday.

www.lost-civilizations.net...

The only thing i can add is that it sounds like he found a real tribe that likely existed, and represents a genetic issue that prevented any kind of proliferation of the group, thus they are no longer here.

I know that there are quite a few hispanic folks who have rather large patches of very, very white skin. This is among more fair skinned as well as dark skinned latin peoples.

There are also genetic issues that can make it hard for people to digest meats.

From the clues provided, i am betting you can find a genetic problem to explain this report.

Originally posted by clay2 baraka
The Aztecs inherited much of their culture from the preceding Mayan civilization. I have always found the legend of Quetzalcoatl interesting. Could he be a depiction of fair skinned travelers from Europe? Is it possible that some of these explorers settled down and integrated into the jungle tribes? Are these ancestors depicted in the tale you mention in your original post?

Probably not. They live in the upper reaches of the Amazon, in Brazil. Very difficult to get to.

Mayans and Aztecs lived in Mexico, quite some distance from the Amazon and the Incas didn't do any trade with the interior Amazonian tribes. Amazonian tribes don't have legends of Quetzalcoatl or any similar gods... their original beliefs are primarily shamanistic (no gods, just spirits.)

It's hard to see how a Conquistador would make it to that location. The jungle is full of diseases and jaguars and crocodiles and piranha and snakes and mosquitoes and a lot of other things. If he'd been lost, he would have followed the river downstream (not upstream where these people are supposed to live.) Amazonian tribes live a very marginal existence and don't keep slaves or raid for slaves so a Conquistador wouldn't have gotten there via slavery.

Picture for a moment someone who lives in Mexico. Most Mexicans have Spanish ancestors who came over during the 1500's -- and not just a single ancestor but many generations of mixing with the Spanish from Europe. It's unlikely that a few Europeans could produce offspring with Nordic-pale skin coloring over a 400 year period (and although the tribes are primitive, there's a very complex system of taboos that tell who can marry whom. Sibling marriages or parent-child marriages are usually taboo worldwide except in a few unusual cases (ancient Egypt.))

BTW, it was the Spaniards who turned Quetzalcoatl into a "bearded white man." Before that time, he was depicted as a feathered serpent.

Originally posted by Byrd

BTW, it was the Spaniards who turned Quetzalcoatl into a "bearded white man." Before that time, he was depicted as a feathered serpent.

wow really? I would love to read more, do you have a source?