Daniel Bai Coya Laurin

** Warrior and Shaman **

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Prior to first contact (in 1969), the Matses did not keep track of their ages, but we estimate that Daniel is at least 70 years old. He is a respected elder, in part because as a young man he participated in the sorties that the Matses carried out against surrounding non-Indian settlements with whom they were at war until first contact. Daniel is also an accomplished medicine man, an expert bowyer and arrow maker, and is one of the few Matses who still know how to make traditional closed-weave baskets. Daniel Bai is Marina’s father and Salomé’s husband. He lives at the Matses village of Santa Rosa with his other wife, and will be visiting at Primavera during the November training session.