Bara Maku

This article examines ethnographic records of the Bara Maku—now known as the Kakua people—documented by Peter Silverwood-Cope between 1968 and 1970 in the Upper Rio Negro region along the Brazil-Colombia border. The analysis of recovered magnetic tapes—containing recordings of ritual performances featuring traditional instruments such as pan flutes and Carissú—provides critical insights into collective memory and processes of cultural transformation. The study reveals that the Kakua, originally organized in small seminomadic groups, currently experience post-contact realities, with the recordings unveiling cultural practices no longer performed today yet potentially reactivated through digital mediation. By problematizing the concept of "pristine ethnography," the research demonstrates how the Bara Maku historically participated in extensive cultural exchange networks, particularly with Tukano and Arawak groups, thereby deconstructing narratives that idealize their supposed isolation. The investigation is grounded in recent theoretical approaches that emphasize the dynamic and relational nature of Amazonian Indigenous cultures.