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Photo of Indian girls making twine by rolling the native chambira fiber on
their
thighs. This is how all Amazonian tribes process chambira to make twine and
rope which is vital in the making of hammocks, armbands, bags, line for fishing, and in
the construction of housing structures such as malokas. The chambira fiber
is obtained from a wild palm, Astrocaryum
chambira. Surprisingly, the fiber is soft to the touch, yet very
strong. Hence, chambira makes excellent and comfortable hammocks. It
can even be woven and Amazon Indians commonly use primitive loams to weave arm
and leg bands that serve as body ornaments and also can be used as tourniquets
in case of injury to stop bleeding. |