Time? What's That?

THIS long-lost Amazonian tribe is the first culture in the world to have no concept of time or dates, British researchers said yesterday. The Amondawa people of Brazil do not have words for "time", "week", "month" or "year" - and nobody has an age. Instead, their world is divided into day and night and wet and dry seasons. Professor Chris Sinha of the University of Portsmouth, who led the study, said: "Time does not exist in the same way as it does for us. They live in a world of events, rather than seeing events as being embedded with time." Time was previously thought to have been a concept found in all cultures. The tribe was first contacted by the outside world in 1986, and has adopted some western trappings like clothing. They have learned Portuguese and there are fears their own language is dying. THE Amazon rainforest is being cut down SIX TIMES faster than it was last year, figures show.