Wednesday, November 16, 2011

AGUARUNA NATIVES IN PERU

AGUARUNA IS A JIVAROAN LANGUAGE OF SOUTH AMERICA. THIS LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN BY 30,000 PEOPLE IN NORTHERN PERU. THESE FOLKS LIVE IN VARIOUS TOWNS ALONG THE RIVERS OF MARANON AND SANTIAGO. THEY LIVE AT ELEVATIONS OF 200 TO 100 METERS IN PERU. ONCE THE SPANISH CAME HERE AGUARUNA HAD BEEN FIGHTING THE INCA FOR SOME TIME. THEY WERE FIRST CONTACTED BY SPANISH IN 1549. ALTHOUGH CONTACTED WITH ANGLOS REDUCED THEIR POPULATION, THEY DEFEATED THE SPANISH IN 1600. THEY DID NOT ACCEPT CATHOLOCISM. IN
THE 1970'S MANY AGUARUNA GROUPS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF CHANGE IN PERUVIAN LAWS AND RECEIVED OWNERSHIP OF THEIR LANDS. THEY NOW HAVE COMMUNITIES IN SPANISH AND QUECHUA. THEY PRIMARILY DO SWIDDEN AGRICULTURE, THEY HUNT, AND THEY FISH.THEY RAISE SWEET MANIOC, PLAINTAIN, MAIZE. RICE, BEANS, SQUASH, POTATOES, COTTON AND TOBACCO AND OTHER CROPS. THEY RAISE LIVESTOCK AND SELL ANIMAL SKINS.

THEIR VILLAGES ARE SEMI-PERMANNET AND HAVE UP TO 150 PEOPLE. VILLAGES HAVE BECOME MORE CENTRALIZED. THEYHAVE SCHOOL NEARBY. THEY HAVE DEFENDED THEIR LANDS BY DRESSING UP IN FIERCE-LOOKING COSTUMES. THEYA AVOID WITCHCRAFT. THEIR OVAL HOUSE HAS BEEN LARGELY REPLACED BY SMALLER RECTANGULAR HOUSES. THE HANDYMAN OR VILLAGE CHIEF IS POWERFUL DEPENDING UPON THE NUMBER OF HIS KIN. THEY HAVE A DESIRE TO REMAIN WITH THEIR KIN AND MARRY WITHIN CERTAIN OCIAL UNITS.

MAGIC IS IMPORTANT TO THEM AND THEY USE SPECIAL SONGS TO AID IN HUNTING, GARDENING, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES. THEIR SONGS CAN BE VERY SPECIALIZED. SHAMANS ARE OF TWO TYPES- IWISHIN OR TAJIMAT TUNCHI(CURING SHAMANS) AND WAWEK TUNCHI(SORCERERS). SORCERERS MAY INFLICT ILLNESS BY USING SPIRIT DARTS, AND CURING SHAMANS CURE BY USING DARTS TO ELIMINATE SORCERERS DARTS.

NATIVE-LANGUAGES.ORG

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