Araguaia
Diaries

a film by MATTI BAUER

Forty years after I wanted to research the Karajá, an indigenous people in central Brazil, I meet the protagonists of that time again. Including Diriti, whom I filmed making clay dolls back then. Using old and new film footage, photos, and diary entries, ARAGUAIA DIARIES tells the story of my failure as a researcher in the Wild West of Brazil, but also of my reunion with an indigenous artist, which ultimately leads beyond memory to a poetic reflection on identity and life itself.

Diriti wearing a blue top with traditional face paint, painting a small clay doll outdoors — "Of all the colors you wear in the film, I especially like this blue on you."

Young Matti with curly hair and a beaded necklace, smiling in front of a village building — "I am a torí, that's what the Iny call all non-indigenous people. I'm not the first one who wants to study them."

Diriti in pink clothing kneeling by the Araguaia riverbank, working with clay — "Watching these old scenes now seems to set something in motion in you too."

Close-up of hands painting decorative patterns on a clay figurine — „They like my dolls very much. They're different, they say. And it's true.“ In 2012, the Ritxokó dolls of the Iná were designated intangible cultural heritage of Brazil.

Karajá ceremonial scene with dancers in traditional straw costumes and feathered headdresses in a village — „At the house of the spirits, the idjassó house, I get an occasional unexpected meal. There the men sit around, smoking and performing small tasks. Many of the men once arrived in the village just like me, as strangers. But they had found a wife here and, by custom, had to live with her and her parents. The idjassó house was the only place they had to themselves.

Women and children are not allowed anywhere near the spirit house. The idjassó are enshrouded by secret — a secret that must not be betrayed.“

Three figures in elaborate ceremonial straw costumes and painted masks standing in an open field — "Back then I wanted to study the Iná's spirit notions. To reach this goal, I had planned to immerse myself in the indigenous culture, as if I were one of them."

Young Matti in a straw hat and white t-shirt standing with locals outdoors — "I can't fish, can't hunt, can't speak either, much less paddle a canoe."

Cowboys on horseback herding cattle along a muddy road near the river under stormy skies — "The river island Bananal is green even during the dry season. One kilometer north of Boto Velho, a ferry transports cattle onto the island. From there the cattle farmers wanted to build a road to the other side of the island…"

Three young researchers standing together in front of a thatched palm roof structure — "The anthropologist André and Marcus, a linguist, are in the village. Even before their arrival, the word spread: 'Terrorists.' Now there are three of us."

Red dirt road stretching into the distance through green vegetation under a cloudy sky — „As we were leaving Cristalândia, two police cars came and blocked the road. They told us to get out and we had to go down to the station. They threatened us. They had all our documents, IDs, address, everything.“

Matti playing a game with indigenous villagers in a sandy area with thatched huts in the background — "I'm actually right at the point I was aiming at in my research: The pressure on you from Brazilian society is tangible, no longer a mere claim on paper, but ominously near."