The pottery seen in the stamp above is from a small tribe that got quite a bit of press back in the 1950’s. The Huaorani.

The Huaorani are an indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. They are also known as the Waorani or the Waodani, and they have traditionally lived as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in the remote regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The Huaorani have a long history of conflict with outsiders, particularly with the oil companies that have exploited the natural resources in their territory. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Huaorani were the target of a campaign by missionaries to “civilize” them. At the time the tribe consisted of about 500 people separated into three groups of warring factions. They were known to be fierce fighters and cannibals.

On January 8th, 1956, a group of Christian missionaries made it their goal to bring the word of God to the tribe. They flew in circles around the island lowering and dropping gifts. Thinking that this warmed the tribe up and they were open to a visit, they landed the plane on a sandbar and approached the tribe bearing more gifts. It took the missionaries three days to entice them out of the treeline onto the beach. When they finally came out they offered them gifts and the Huaorani reciprocated and offered gifts of their own.

The missionaries offered members of the tribe rides in the airplane. The first to ride, a man named Nankiwi, went up with his girlfriend. Upon returning, he and his girlfriend encountered the tribal leaders who were irate because he had been unchaperoned which was against the tribal rules. Rather than taking the blame Nankiwi told the elders he and his girlfriend were kidnapped by the missionaries. The elders called for the missionaries to be killed. All five missionaries were killed and the airplane destroyed.

Predictably, that did not stop the church or oil companies from encroaching on their tribe. They raised funds and doubled down on their efforts

Today, the Huaorani are working to protect their land and way of life from further encroachment by oil companies and other outsiders. They established the Huaorani Ecolodge, a sustainable tourism project that allows visitors to experience their culture and the rainforest while also providing income for the Huaorani. However in 2017 they closed the Ecolodge project under pressure from the government and oil companies who wanted to do seismic testing in the area

http://www.huaorani.com/

Despite the challenges they face, the Huaorani continue to maintain their cultural traditions and connection to the land.

Remember – there are usually interesting stories behind stamps. You just have to do some research. Even a simple stamp about pottery can inform, educate and provide you a glimpse into a world you may know nothing about.