The legendary folklore tells the story of a charming young man who seduces girls and women to the riverbanks and impregnates them. Before dawn, he plunges into the Amazonian waters transforming back into a river dolphin, never to return. However, belief in the legend hides generations of sexual violence of girls and women. The story reinforces the role of a woman whose sexuality is to satisfy the desire of this “man-boto” who is revered in these communities. Its’ origin represents the violent history of exploitation in region.
In Para state, authorities are struggling to eradicate the rampant abuse of girls and women. A vast network of rivers isolates communities from local police attempting to deter violence, like incest and rape. The state also has some of the highest rates of sexual abuse in the country, according to a 2010 government investigation. To support survivors, the government opened centers through the Ministery of Women that house police stations, medical clinics, social workers, and counselors.
In the last fifteen years, Brazil has made great progress in combatting gender-based violence by passing legislation. However, it continues to be among the most dangerous places on earth to be female. According to government figures, reports of sexual abuse among river families rose eighty-three percent from 2011 to 2017. The Brazilian Forum of Public Security said that violence continues to persist at excessive levels, particularly during the Covid-19 global pandemic. A 2019 national study reported that four girls under 13 are raped every hour and every two minutes police receive a report of violence against women.
Both the myth and the societal epidemic are closely associated. “Just as we chase cases of violence against women, we’re always following the myth”, says psychologist Pablo Cardoso Maia at one of the centers. Police say the toughest battle is at home where a culture of sexism is difficult to change.
However, the stories and legends that protected the mystic dolphin now target them. Once considered abundant in the Amazon basin, today the pink river dolphin are dying at alarming rates. Their populations are halving every ten years. Experts say the critically endangered freshwater dolphins are increasingly being killed for use as bait, a practice that endangers their survival. Will the legend die with the boto?
This project thus far focuses on the transgenerational trauma caused by postcolonial violence and the efforts to combat sexual violence. With the help of the Visura Grant, I plan to return to the Amazon to finish the project. I would travel to the city of Manaus where I will photograph the river dolphins swimming with eager tourists led by guides who share stories about the boto. In the Mamiraua Reserve, I will meet researcher Vera da Silva who has been monitoring and studying these dolphins for twenty-five years. “We don’t want the dolphins to become just a legend of Amazonia,” says Silva. And I will continue photographing the efforts to combat sexual violence, such as sexism and gender violence teacher training in Roraima state.
