The Sacred Andiroba Tree

By Tatiana Hillman

A pandemic breaks out all over the world, causing lockdowns and the mortalities of many people. Two researchers named Dr. Cole and Dr. Hammerstein discover a Brazilian plant and tree that can treat and provide vaccinations against the viral infections in hopes to stop the viral outbreak. In an effort to comb

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Release date: Jun 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088170373

Book preview

THE SACRED ANDIROBA TREE

By

Tatiana Hillman

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mother Earth for all she has given to us. She deserves better and a better Earth. Hopefully, this story can help the efforts for Making Earth A Better Place. Much thanks to the plants, animals, and supportive people who all inspired the writing process of this story. Much thanks to all who love the Earth and want it to be better.

The Sacred Andiroba Tree

Chapter 1

The Story of a Tribe

Pg. 21

Chapter 2

Present Day

Pg.36

Chapter 3

The Outbreak

Pg. 52

Chapter 4

Thousands of Miles Traveled

Pg. 67

Chapter 5

A Beastly River

Pg. 85

Chapter 6

To The Sacred Tree

Pg. 99

Chapter 7

An old researcher with an old assignment

Pg. 116

Chapter 8

We’ve Got It

Pg. 133

Chapter 9

Mass Production

Pg. 143

Chapter 10

The Remnants and the Tribe

Pg. 159

Chapter 11

Back to Brazil

Pg. 170

Chapter 12

The Purpose

Pg. 180

Introduction

Approximately, three-quarters of the original Amazon rainforest located in northeastern Brazil in Maranhao is destroyed and gone. Currently, many cattle dominate this area on ranches. A pristine area is located in the Arariboia indigenous territory, which is an area much larger than the United States’ state of Rhode Island, which is home for more than 10,000 Tenetehara with about 80 isolated indigenous people of Awa. For many years, logging has been approaching Arariboia, which is bringing destruction and violence to the region. The Brazilian president named Jair Bolsonaro has continued his verbal attacks against the defenders and preservationists of the Amazon rainforests. His words have been thought to encourage the actions of criminal networks, which are causing the destruction of the Amazon rainforests. These criminal networks use tractors to open roads consisting of dirt into public or into indigenous peoples’ lands and territories as a way to collect timber wood. If these networks are not stopped, all vegetation will be destroyed and eradicated.

The vacant land will be used to raise cattle or to grow farming crops. These criminal networks have threatened, attacked, and have killed those that have tried to stop them, which included indigenous peoples, farmers, and enforcement officials. On November 1st, five men with guns who were believed to be illegal loggers, ambushed two Tenetehara men in Lagoa Comprida. The armed gunmen killed the two men by shooting them in the back and in their arms, but one of the two men survived. There were many signs that a dangerous event like this would happen.

In his past year, federal officials and prosecutors sued the federal and state authorities to help them form a plan to combat illegal logging and protect indigenous people in Arariboia. However, the officials did not create a plan in response. Dozens of cases have been documented of threats made by loggers between the years of 2017 and 2018. The loggers were angry that the Tenethara formed patrols that they called keepers of the culture or Wazayzar also called the forest guardians.¹ The guardians are members of the community who protect and watch over the land in groups of 15, in which some carry GPS devices to identify sites of illegal deforestation. The two Tenetehara that were attacked on November 1st were forest guardians.

Arariboia leaders said that they formed the patrols in order to respond to the failure of the officials to protect the forest. The Ibama or the agents of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, said that the government’s actions were not enough. The Ibama hired 1,600 inspectors in 2009, but only 780 remained throughout the whole country. Maranhao only had nine field inspectors in 2018 to watch for any environmental crimes of any kind, not only illegal logging. Many indigenous peoples without the help or protection from the state began to follow after the Tenetehara and they too began establishing forest guardians. Iracadju Ka’apor, who is a leader of the Ka’apor indigenous people, said, We shouldn’t be doing it, it’s the duty of the federal and state governments, but since they are not protecting [the rainforest] now, we are the ones doing it.² Ever since January, when Bolsonaro took office as president, the logging has become worse. Loggers don’t feel afraid. The government supports their entrance into indigenous lands for logging purposes. Bolsonaro has ignored the Ibama, in which he negatively spoke about the Ibama creating an industry of taxation and fines. His presidency has reduced the budget and has formed many methods that will slow down payment of fines by people who are causing the deforestation. In the month of November 1, the president suggested that Ibama agents who stopped progress be sent to a military base where many political prisoners were executed between 1964 to 1985. Therefore, this fictional story is dedicated to the indigenous people of the Amazon and to the many current efforts to stop the deforestation of the Amazon rainforests.

Chapter 1

The Story of a Tribe

The Yanomamo and the Kayapo or the Mebêngôkre tribes have lived in the forests near the Amazon river in Brazil of South America for thousands of years. The first human settlements began almost 32,000 to 39,000 years ago along the Amazon river. The Kayapo especially have lived as hunter-gatherers for thousands of years, hunting turtles, the caprabara, crocodiles and fish. The Kayapo have dwelled among themselves in the forests of the Amazon until the colonizers from Europe arrived. Since the early colonization of the Amazon forests, many indigenous tribes are still present and live in reserves along the Amazon. A local story and omen speaks of a curse that was placed on a certain hidden and unknown area near the Amazon river and North of Macapa. In this story of Northern Macapa about 700 years ago, a local shaman was performing a ritual involving a plant known as the Andiroba.

The shaman was performing a spiritual ritual using andiroba, which caused a sacred vision to come before him and to remain with him in his dreams. He could see chaos coming upon the Amazon and upon the whole world. He shook himself to rid himself of this troublesome vision. Yet, the vision continued. He could see diseases he had never seen or heard of before in his long lifetime of 120 years. As he sat deep in the forests in the Amazon, he experienced this almost apocalyptic vision in fear. As he experienced his visions, he asked the gods of his tribe of the Kayapo about what his vision unfolding before his eyes meant.

The gods of Kayapo respond to the shaman, and they tell him all that the vision meant for the future of the Kayapo and mankind on Earth. The gods tell the shaman that he needed to prepare the Kayapo and man by telling them about this great vision. The gods reassured the Kayapo shaman that the Kayapo and mankind  can survive, yet mankind would face near extinction if they don’t heed the words of the shaman and the Kayapo. The gods gave the shaman a secret and mystery that the gods needed for the shaman to protect deep in the forests of the Amazon. The gods came down to the shaman in his vision and appeared before him. The gods sprinkled gold dust onto one andiroba tree and plant.

The gods promised to save mankind and the Kayapo with their hidden golden powders that they sprinkled on one andiroba tree located deep in the Amazon and North of Macapa. The gods showed the location of the tree to the shaman and warned him to not disclose the location to anyone at that time. The gods told the shaman that this special andiroba tree housed special and miracle powers to heal all the diseases that mankind will experience in the future. The gods said that if the plant's nectars and grounded powders can be eaten or drank, immediate healing from disease would take place and occur.

The gods warned that if this special andiroba tree is not kept or destroyed, a curse would flood the land of the Amazon and all inhabitants would turn into wooden trees to be cut down and gathered into the fire for all eternity. The gods motioned that time was running out and that the shaman should spread their message in the Amazon and throughout the world.  In the middle of the gods of the Kayapo saying goodbye to the shaman, the shaman immediately awakens from his vision in a cold sweat.

As the shaman, who is known as Bauman,