The current Guinness Book of World Records title holder of “Oldest Woman Alive” is the American Besse Cooper. Cooper is 115-years-old, and her age has been verified. There could be a new record holder in Brazil however, as a tribal rights group say they found a woman that is 121-years-old. Maria Lucimar Pereira is a member of the Kaxinawa tribe which resides in the Amazon. According to tribal rights groups, she has a birth certificate verifying she was born in 1890. Pereira told Survival International, a online tribal people's movement, that her longevity is a byproduct of a healthy lifestyle, with regular meals of grilled meat, monkey, fish, banana porridge and the manioc root. She also avoids salt, sugar and processed foods. Pereira doesn't speak Portuguese and has never lived in a city. Her tribe inhabits the western part of Brazil's Amazon and eastern Peru. According to survival online, Pereira is still an active member of the community and often wanders the village telling stories. She was discovered after the Brazilian National Social Security Institute (INSS) called on every person over the age of 110 to visit local offices in order to continue to receive pensions and benefits. Guinness World Records told the BBC that it had no record of contact from Pereira and s the oldest verified living person remains Besse Cooper. “We would be very interested in hearing from anyone who believes they are older than this [and] can provide documentary evidence,” the company's Damian Field said. Survival apparently has a copy of the birth certificate, which was issued in 1985. Pereira's longevity means she has lived through many troubling moments in Brazilian history, such as the rubber boom, which saw many Indians enslaved or killed. “All too often we witness the negative effects forced change can have on indigenous peoples,” Survival director Stephen Corry said. “It is refreshing to see a community that has retained strong links to its ancestral land and enjoyed the undeniable benefits of this.” BM
