How a Newly Discovered Tribe Educates its Youth

In the deepest parts of the Amazon rainforest, anthropologists recently discovered a new tribe, and have just started studying various aspects of the tribe's culture. The name and location of the tribe have not been released since the anthropologists fear that outsiders will rush in and begin to influence the traditions and customs followed by this ancient tribe. No one knew about the existence of this tribe until a team of four anthropologists got lost in the rainforest and became unconscious with jungle fever. Members of the ancient tribe took them into their village and using their knowledge of medicinal plants cured the anthropologists and nursed them back to health.

One of the curious observations made by the anthropologists was that there were very few youngsters between the ages of 18 and 23 living in the village. Using gestures and drawings, they finally found out that the youth of the tribe spent most of their time far away from the village in another setting that resembled the village in some ways. Unlike extremely large and sprawling family huts that provided living space for large joint families, the youth lived in relatively smaller thatched huts that they shared with other youth from their own village and from other nearby villages. It is not uncommon for four to eight youngsters to share a hut and modest facilities. The youngsters do go back to their village to visit their parents and other relatives and spend a few days there during festive and other special occasions that are celebrated by the villagers.

The youngsters were sent to this other location to learn the ways of the tribe and to get trained and acquire the necessary skills and gain sufficient knowledgeable to become future leaders of the tribe. Boys were taught by elders how to hunt animals, build boats, bridges, shape wood and rocks into wheels, and to fashion weapons out of bones and stones. The girls were taught how to find berries, fruits and other edible plants and vegetables, how to prepare, cook, and store meat, and to take care of babies. Both boys and girls were trained to identify and locate poisonous plants and animals, whose poison they used in their weapons. Boys and girls were also taught to identify mushrooms and fungi that induced hallucinogenic effects when ingested or smoked. Elders of the tribe traditionally used these mushrooms and other materials in their religious ceremonies. On many occasions, however,

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