Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - February 3, 2025 - A lot of Maká customs are slowly dying out.

Still, some leaders of these Paraguayan Indigenous groups remember how their songs sounded like birds.

An Maká teacher named Gustavo Torres lives near Asunción, Paraguay's capital.

"Men used to say that when they sang, they went to Iguazu Falls or the mountains," he said. "Their songs sounded like nature."

His neighbour, Elodia Servín, smiled. She only spoke Maká, but Torres helped her understand what was being said.

She has a lot of wrinkles and has forgotten how old she is, but she remembers that she loved dancing in Fray Bartolomé de las Casas when she was young and healthy.

Now her people are trying to get back that land.

The land in question is 828 acres (335 hectares) of land that the Maká say they own.

The government of Paraguay has turned down most of their arguments and will use some of the money to build a bridge across the Paraguay River to join two cities.

The Maká people were given Fray Bartolomé by an order made in 1944 by Higinio Morínigo, who was president of Paraguay at the time.

The Maká said it was a gift to show appreciation for their bravery and part in the Chaco War against Bolivia in the 1930s.