Guardians of Memory: The Yawalapiti, the Kuarup, and Resistance in the Xingu

An indigenous Yawalapiti woman prepares a traditional mat accompanied by her daughter. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025.

A group of Yawalapitis Indigenous people search for the sacred tree in the forest, symbol of the Kuarup ritual. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025.

Yawalapitis flute players inside one of their traditional houses. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

The Xingu dance of respect and farewell to the dead honored during the Kuarup takes place in the center of the Yawalapiti village. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025.

The night before the sacred fishing ritual, marked by a fire ritual where the indigenous people ask for protection against accidents caused by large river animals. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

A young indigenous boy carries the fish he caught during collective fishing, a sacred part of the ritual that aims to feed everyone in the village during the Kuarup ritual. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

A Yawalapiti Indigenous man and his sacred painting for the Kuarup ritual. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

Warriors during Huka Huka, the Xingu martial art that closes the Kuarup ritual. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

Singers during the ritual to bid farewell to the dead. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025

Arrival of fighters from the peoples invited to the Kuarup of the Yawalapiti people. Xingu Indigenous Territory. August 2025.

Amidst the vastness of the Xingu Indigenous Park, in the heart of Brazil, the Yawalapiti persist as guardians of an ancestral memory. This photo essay delves into the intimacy of the Yawalapiti people and their vital role in preserving Kuarup, the funeral ritual that honors distinguished dead and reaffirms the cultural ties between the peoples of the Xingu.
More than a ceremony, Kuarup is an act of resistance. In it, the living dialogue with their ancestors, reaffirm their identity, and face the pain of loss with dignity. But today, what is at stake is not only the memory of those who have passed away—it is the future of those who remain.
The images in this essay reveal, with respect and intimacy, not only the spiritual power of Kuarup, but also the growing impacts of contemporary threats: land invasion, illegal mining, deforestation, and the advancement of policies that undermine indigenous rights. The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the Xingu communities hard, left deep scars, amplifying historical vulnerabilities.
Through painted faces, sacred songs, collective dances, and mourning transformed into ritual, this work seeks to document not only an ancient tradition, but a reality in constant dispute—between preservation and oblivion, between territory and exploitation, between life and threat.
This essay is an invitation to listen. An attempt to bring urban perspectives closer to a wisdom that resists, even when everything around it seems to conspire against its permanence. Because as long as there is Kuarup, there will be memory. And as long as there are Yawalapiti, there will be hope.