Word: pirah
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Daniel Everett came to the Pirahã as a Christian missionary. Thirty years later, he left an atheist. The indigenous Brazilian tribe had no need for his Jesus, just as they had no need for numbers, colors, rituals, sound sleep, daily meals, permanent shelter, the concept of God or stories about things that happened in the past. The 350-member tribe (whose name is pronounced pee-da-HAN) is one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer cultures in the Amazon. Although they have had contact with the Western world since 1714, their customs have remained remarkably unchanged. Don't Sleep...
Highlight Reel: 1. On the tribe: "Pirahãs laugh about everything. They laugh at their own misfortune: when someone's hut blows over in a rainstorm, the occupants laugh more loudly than anyone. They laugh when they catch a lot of fish. They laugh when they catch no fish. They laugh when they're full and they laugh when they're hungry... This pervasive happiness is hard to explain, though I believe that the Pirahãs are so confident and secure in their ability to handle anything that their environment throws at them that they can enjoy whatever...