Hunting with the Munduruku warriors: Inside the indigenous Brazilian tribe who defend the forest's gold from prospectors with spears and daggers

• Clan at heart of Amazon have taken law into own hands as court order from Brasilia could take years

• Leaders travelled to the capital to implore federal government to take action but progress is slow 

• Entire clan - including women and children - spent 24 hours scouring the tropics for miners

• Rounded them up with spears and ordered them out before leaving warnings by their mines 
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These are the incredible pictures that follow spear-clad Munduruku Indian warriors in their bid to drive illegal gold miners from their secluded land.

It is a rare glimpse inside the indigenous Brazilian clan living at the heart of the Amazon river, which boasts a largely untouched stockpile of gold.

Brandishing guns and daggers, the men waded through perilous waters day and night scouring the tropics for intruders. 



Hunt: This is one of the tribesmen taking the law into their own hands to drive illegal gold miners out of their secluded territory at the heart of the Amazon river



Detained: This is one of a number of men they found with a duffel bag ready to fill with the lucrative stones buried in the fertile ground of the Brazilian jungle

 

A Munduruku Indian woman warrior carries a monkey on her head while on a search for illegal gold mines and miners in their territory, near the Kadiriri river

 

Pep talk: The warriors hold a meeting in the village of Retiro das Cobras, near the Kadiriri river, to plot their tactics

It is the last straw for the Munduruku, whose leaders travelled to the capital Brasilia last year to demand that the federal government remove non-indigenous miners from their territory.

But progress is slow.

Rather than wait for a court decision to start the process - which could take years - they today decided to take matters into their own hands and expel the wildcat miners they claim are hiding in their fertile land.


The Munduruku tribe has seen their land encroached on by wildcat miners, and the tribe's leaders travelled to the capital Brasilia last year to demand action


 Journey: Packed into canoes, they navigate the Das Tropas river, a tributary of the Tapajos and Amazon rivers, silently on the look out

 

At one point, they abandon the boat to venture through the trees to an often-targeted patch of land armed with bows and arrows

 

 In traditional head dresses and jewellery, covered in tattoos, they patriotically send a message to intruders to stay away

 

They leave no part of the land untouched, even the largely uprooted sandy ditches

 

Contraptions: The savvy tribesmen construct a pulley out of rope to steer their canoe through the shallows in the middle of the jungle

And they weren't wrong.

The group leaped out of their boat on more than one occasion to surround lurkers, brandishing sticks.

The search ran right through the night, with some of the tribesmen's family members joining them with torches later on. 



Banished: Here one of the leaders orders non-Indian gold miners out of their territory

 

Munduruku Indian warriors stand guard over gold miners who were detained in the territory near the Caburua river

 

Food: This warrior carries a monkey he hunted to eat as their search looks set to stretch from dawn, past dusk, and way into the night

Having driven most away, they continued searching for the fertile land being mined.
One image shows the moment they stopped at a mine and lit a campfire to ward off prospective intruders.

Finally, after almost 24 hours of tireless searching, the tribe stop and can be seen dancing in the moonlight.

 

Night falls and the warriors light a campfire at the site of an illegal goldmine they discover. It is a chance for a short break before they continue on

 

Munduruku Indian warriors transport illegal gold miners by boat (far right) after they captured them during a search near the Das Tropas river

An illegal gold miner (centre) steps off a boat after being captured by Munduruku Indian warriors (left and right)

 

Success: The tribe dances and sings traditional songs when they finally stop for the night after around 24 hours of tireless work