Their sacred land was a gift for their courage. Yet Maká people in Paraguay fight for its ownership

Paraguay Indigenous Sacred Land - (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Many Maká traditions have slowly faded. Yet a few elders among these Paraguayan Indigenous people recall how their songs imitated birds.

“Men used to say that, as they sang, they travelled to Iguazu Falls or to the mountains,” said Gustavo Torres, a Maká teacher based near Paraguay's capital, Asunción. “Their songs imitated nature.”