We dashed back towards the Beagle Channel on the way back from Cape Horn seeking the safety and protection from the wind in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. We stopped at Wulaia on the island of Navarino for a short hike.
It is the site of the Yamana people who lived here. They are the natives who lit the fires along the shore as Ferdinand Magellan went by and inspired the name Tierra del Fuego, land of fire. It has 32 archeology sites, though what they may be is a mystery to me. They lived in their canoes and didn’t build settlements. Here is a picture of their structures. Look kind of small? That is because it was for their ever so precious fires. The people slept out side.
The natives were thought to be very primitive by Europeans because they did not wear clothes. Darwin thought that they were the missing link. It turns out that their language had a larger vocabulary than the English language, which requires a lot of memorization, since they didn’t have a written language. No going to a thesaurus for a new word. They didn’t wear cloths because once wet, which occurred with in ten minutes of putting them on in this climate, they would never dry out and would keep the wearer cold. They lived most of their life in a canoe gathering food. The canoe was built with three pieces of tree bark sewed and strengthened by a light structure of wooden rods. It was manufactured by the man of the group, but it belonged to the woman, who was in charge of it. During navigation, the man curled up at the front of the canoe with his weapons, fishing nets and harpoons. In the central deepest part were the children, who took care of the fire that burned on rough sand and dust. The woman sat on the stern. She propelled and commanded the boat while carrying the paddle with both hands. Interestingly, only women were taught how to swim. I guess if he was causing trouble, she did a quick turn of the canoe sending him over board, where he sank to his death while chanting all of the oral histories of man’s superiority.
I think the cruise ship actually stops their to allow people to get off of the boat and shake their sea sickness after traveling back from the cape. I just enjoyed the hike
Once back on ship, we sailed into some incredible mists. I expected the original inhabitants to come sailing out of the mist.
Very interesting. I have never heard of this civilization. Very civilized group of people to be sure. "Tim, go finish the fire hut before I take you out fishing. What's that you say, 'to hell with the fire hut.'? That's OK, we'll go out fishing anyway. What? Sure, we'll wait till you finish." I can feel the power.
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