Ecuador: Shuar natives release hostages in exchange for body of one of their own

A native passes a chain that prohibits the trafficking of vehicles and people in Cotacachi, Ecuador, Sunday, June 21, 2020. Blockades have been established to prevent the spread of the virus in certain cities (illustration image). AP Photo / Dolores Ochoa

Text by: Eric Samson Follow

Ecuadorian authorities confirmed on the night of Saturday to Sunday the release of six people, including two police officers, by the Shuar natives from the small community of Kumay, in the province of Pastaza, on the Peruvian border. The Indians demanded and obtained the return of the body of one of their

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From our correspondent in Quito,

Biosecurity protocols are not always well understood in the Amazon region, especially when they conflict with ancestral customs.

When Alberto Mashutak died on May 27 at the age of 51 with symptoms of severe pneumonia and Covid-19, he was immediately buried in the small town of Méra, where he was being treated.

As Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo pointed out on her Twitter account, the safety instructions are to avoid handling and transporting the victims of the pandemic.

An explanation which did not convince the Shuar natives, famous in the past for reducing the heads of their enemies to make the famous tsantas. At the end of May, they asked the authorities that the body of their warrior be returned to them to be buried on his land, as tradition dictates.

Their argument: in the absence of a reliable test, the cause of Mashutak's death was not established with certainty, and the biosecurity protocol was not applicable.

Without being heard, the Shuars of the Kumay community therefore detained two police officers and four civilians on Thursday.

To avoid any problems, the authorities had Mashutak's body dug up. The corpse was handed over to the community, which released its hostages.

The Ministry of Health sent a brigade to test the inhabitants of Kumay because no measure of social distancing has been observed since the start of the hostage-taking.

► Read also: Coronavirus: in Ecuador, the contaminated natives are demanding state action

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