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Matsés (Mayoruna)

1654 – present
Native nationSouth America

The 'jaguar people' of the Yavarí headwaters, faces tattooed and pierced with palm whiskers, who raided for wives and stayed at war with Peru into the jet age.

Endured army invasions and napalm bombing in the 1960s before missionaries made first contact in 1969; ~3,500 today hold a vast titled territory along the Yaquerana and Gálvez astride the Peru–Brazil line.

Borders in 2026 · drawn from 2 sourced border frames
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Borders over time

The atlas holds 2 border frames for Matsés (Mayoruna) — the shape you scrub through changes in 1654 · 1969.

Moments from the Chronicle

Further reading

Sources