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The Wind in the Bamboo: Survival of Asia’s Ancient Indigenous Peoples

Edith Mirante’s vividly illustrated talk, “The Wind in the Bamboo” reveals the plight of tribal Asians who were classified as a separate race and considered doomed to vanish. Defined as “Negrito” because they physically resemble small Africans, they may be descended from a first wave of migration out of Africa to Asia in prehistoric times.

Called “savage pygmies” and “hideous dwarfs,” sold into slavery, exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, nearly exterminated by disease and a cataclysmic volcano, these extraordinary people now survive as forest hunter gatherers in only a few places: mainland Malaysia, the Philippines and India’s remote Andaman Islands. Some are still armed with spears and blowpipes, a few with cellphones and graduate degrees. They were subjected to the Victorian camera’s eye and the calipers of craniometry, and now strands of their DNA are analyzed for clues to early human migrations.

To reach the “Negrito” peoples Mirante traveled by boat, small plane, bicycle, train, bus, jeepney, motorbike and kuliglig. She investigated the environmental, social and political challenges they face in modern Asia with its oil palm plantations, mining claims, and deep rooted discrimination. Mirante presents the story of the “Negrito” peoples (the ultimate survivors) with candor, wit and compassion. Her presentation features her own photographs and rare historical images.

Mirante’s writing about Southeast Asia’s indigenous peoples has been called “a contribution to the literature of human rights and to the literature of high adventure.” On her latest book, “The Wind in the Bamboo: A Journey in Search of Asia’s ‘Negrito’ Indigenous Peoples” Emma Larkin, author of “Finding George Orwell in Burma” commented: “Edith Mirante takes the reader on a great pan-Asian adventure. This is a timely and vital journey among ancient people struggling to survive in the modern world.”

Edith Mirante has roamed Asia since the early 1980s, collecting information on human rights and environmental issues. In 1986 she founded Project Maje, an information project on Burma and she has investigated atrocities and resistance in some of the most remote corners of Burma’s frontier war zones. She has testified before the US Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization and has produced reports and commentary on topics including the Moken “Sea Gypsies,” Rohingya refugees and Burma’s hip hop underground.











When: Mon., Feb. 8, 2016 at 6:00 pm
Where: The Explorers Club
46 E. 70th St.
212-628-8383
Price: $20
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Edith Mirante’s vividly illustrated talk, “The Wind in the Bamboo” reveals the plight of tribal Asians who were classified as a separate race and considered doomed to vanish. Defined as “Negrito” because they physically resemble small Africans, they may be descended from a first wave of migration out of Africa to Asia in prehistoric times.

Called “savage pygmies” and “hideous dwarfs,” sold into slavery, exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, nearly exterminated by disease and a cataclysmic volcano, these extraordinary people now survive as forest hunter gatherers in only a few places: mainland Malaysia, the Philippines and India’s remote Andaman Islands. Some are still armed with spears and blowpipes, a few with cellphones and graduate degrees. They were subjected to the Victorian camera’s eye and the calipers of craniometry, and now strands of their DNA are analyzed for clues to early human migrations.

To reach the “Negrito” peoples Mirante traveled by boat, small plane, bicycle, train, bus, jeepney, motorbike and kuliglig. She investigated the environmental, social and political challenges they face in modern Asia with its oil palm plantations, mining claims, and deep rooted discrimination. Mirante presents the story of the “Negrito” peoples (the ultimate survivors) with candor, wit and compassion. Her presentation features her own photographs and rare historical images.

Mirante’s writing about Southeast Asia’s indigenous peoples has been called “a contribution to the literature of human rights and to the literature of high adventure.” On her latest book, “The Wind in the Bamboo: A Journey in Search of Asia’s ‘Negrito’ Indigenous Peoples” Emma Larkin, author of “Finding George Orwell in Burma” commented: “Edith Mirante takes the reader on a great pan-Asian adventure. This is a timely and vital journey among ancient people struggling to survive in the modern world.”

Edith Mirante has roamed Asia since the early 1980s, collecting information on human rights and environmental issues. In 1986 she founded Project Maje, an information project on Burma and she has investigated atrocities and resistance in some of the most remote corners of Burma’s frontier war zones. She has testified before the US Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization and has produced reports and commentary on topics including the Moken “Sea Gypsies,” Rohingya refugees and Burma’s hip hop underground.

Buy tickets/get more info now