ABSTRACT

The Ache live in the southwestern part of what is generally referred to as the Eastern Brazilian Highlands. The botanical community of the Northern Ache area is representative of the rapidly diminishing Selva Alto Parana formation of the almost extinct Atlantic coastal rain forest of Brazil. In the western part of the Ache range this botanical community slowly merges with the Selva Central formation of Paraguay. The Paraguayan government wanted to pacify the hostile Ache, and Pereira hoped to control as many ache as possible. Mammals most commonly hunted by the Ache include white-lipped and collared peccaries, tapir, deer, pacas, agoutis, armadillos, capuchin monkeys, capybara, and coatis. Organized club fights were more common than spontaneous ones in Ache history and had an impact on almost every Ache who lived in the forest. Catholic missionaries have used simple religious songs as a way to communicate with younger Ache and entice them on the road to Christianity.