ATE IN 1971, a tabloid report mesmerized photojournalist
John Launois: "Lost Tribe Found!" Within weeks he was in a
helicopter hovering above a thick Philippine rain forest,
jumping onto a tiny makeshift treetop platform, struggling
to hang on to his cameras, searching to document the mysterious
Tasaday tribe.
"THERE IN PRIMEVAL EDEN," recounts Launois, "we found
a tribe of 24 people living in naked innocence. The Tasaday
were food gatherers. They slept in caves around a huge fire
to warm themselves and keep wild animals away." |
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LAUNOIS'
ESSAY, including the primal fire-making sequence above,
was published as a 32-page National Geographic cover story.
These remain the only photographs to date documenting the
Tasaday people, whose region was invaded in 1978 by loggers.
THE ADVENTURE is forever archived in Launois' photographs and memories: "I had gone to the Stone Age, awed by the gentle nature of the people I encountered." |
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