TICUNA INDIANS IN BAZIL

THERE ARE 40,O0O FOLKS IN BRAZIL THAT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. TICUNA COMES FROM TUPI MEN PAINTED BLACK. THEY PAINT THEMSELVES WITH BLACK GENIPAPE JUICE. THEY ARE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AMAZON HEADQUARTERS. THEY ARE ALSO IN PERU,COLOMBIA, AND BRAZIL. IN 1981 THERE WERE ABOUT 15,900 TICUNA!

ACCORDING TO THEIR MYTHS THEY ORIGINATED IN THE EWARE RAVINE NEAR THE COLUMBIAN BORDER. THEIR ENEMIES WERE OMAGUA. THEIR BANKS OF THE PUTUMAYO BY ARAWAK, MARIATE, AND YUMALUA WHO WERE ALMOST EXTINCT. THEY HAVE FRIENDS TO THE WEST - THE PEWBA AND YAGUA. ONCE THE ANGLOS ARRIVED THEY HAD WARS WITH PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH MISSIONARIES AND HAD EPIDEMICS. IN THE LATE 1800'S THEY HAD A WAR WITH PARAGUAY. BY 1900'S RUBBER TAPPING BEGAN AND THE INDIANS WERE THEIR WORKERS. THE RUBBER TAPPERS ARE NOW THE OWNERS OF THE LAND AND THE TICUNA WERE FORCED TO BE RELOCATED. THIS HAS GENERATED UNRESOLVED CONFLICT.

RUBBER TAPPING IS DONE BY COLLECTING FROM A RUBBER TREE. IT DOES NOT HARM THE TREE. THEY MAKE AN INCISION IN THE BARK TO CUT THROUGH THE TREE. THEY MAKE AN INCISION IN THE BARK TO CUT THROUGH THE BARK AND OPTIMIZE LATEX. IT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.ATTRACTIVE TO THEIR LAND USE. THEY USE 92 TREE SPECIES FOR THIS ECONOMY!

IN 1932 A WAR BETWEEN COLUMBIA AND PERU ERUPTED. THIS CAUSED THEM TO MOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT SIDE OF THE AMAZON.
IN THE 1940'S FARMER'S AND CITY DWELLERS BEGAN TO COLONIZE THE AMAZON TRAPEZE. BY 1950 THEY EXPORTED ANIMALS AND HIDES FOR CASH. IN THE 60'S THEY BUILT CHURCHES AND THEN THE AREA HAD SCHOOLS. IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1970'S TWO TRENDS THAT AFFECTED THE TICUNA WERE: A POPULATION INCREASE AND A CONCENTRATION OF THEIR PEOPLE IN VILLAGES ALONG THE AMAZON.\\THEY USED TO LIVE IN COMMUNAL HOUSES REMOVED FROM EACH OTHER. THEY HAD LARGE HOUSES LATER THE COMMUNAL HOUSES WERE OCCUPIED BY NUCLEAR FAMILIES. LATER NEW COMMUNAL HOUSES WERE OF IN THE AMAZON AREA AND PERIODICALLY INUNDATED BY THE AMAZON RIVER. THESE CHANGES IN THE SETTLEMENT FROM FAMILY HOUSES TO A COMMUNAL HOUSE TRANSFORMED THEIR WAY OF LIFE. THEY LEARNED TO MAKE GOOD CANOES. THEY HAVE NEW TASKS FOR FISHING IN LARGE RIVERS. THEY HAVE ACQUIRED NEW TECHNIQUES FOR CULTIVATING PLANTS. THEIR CONTACT WITH ANGLOS HAS INTENSIFIED. BY THE 1970'S THEY ADOPTED A DIFFERENT SETTLEMENT PATTERN FORMING THEIR VILLAGES. THE ANGLOS BROUGHT IN MORE CATTLE THAT REDUCED LAND FOR HUNTING AND CULTIVATION. TODAY THEIR VILLAGES HAVE ABOUT 70 - 1500 PEOPLE.

THE TICUNA HOUSES HAVE TWO WELL DEFINED SPACES AND LIVING QUARTERS AND A KITCHEN. THEY BUILD THEIR HOUSES ON PLATFORMS TO PROTECT FROM FROM FL;OODS. THEY SLEEP IN MOSQUITO NETTING. THEY REST IN HAMMOCKS DURING THE DAY THEIR CHILDREN SLEEP ON BOARDS OVER TRANSVERSE BEAMS . THEY HAVE AN ANCIENT RELIGION THAT TEACHES THEM THAT THE WORLD IS CONTROLLED BY FORCES AND SPIRITS THAT DETERMINE THE COURSE OF EVENTS. PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH MISSIONARIES ENTERED HERE TO WORK WITH THE TICUNA IN THE FIRST CENTURY. A MAJORITY ARE NOW CATHOLIC. THERE HAS BEEN VARIOUS OTHER MOVEMENTS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY. TA'E IS THE DIVINITY WHO LIVES IN THE UPPER WORLD AND GIVES THEM THEIR SOULS. THE MOST IMPORTANT BEINGS ARE YOI AND IPI, TWO BROTHER CULTURAL HEROS. THEY CONFRONT SEVERAL DEMONS OF THE INTERMEDIATE WORLD AND THE WORLD BELOW.

PREVIOUSLY THERE WERE SO MANY MORE SHAMANS THAN TODAY. THEY WERE BELIEVED TO BE MORE POWERFUL THAN THOSE TODAY. MAGICAL POWER IS DERIVED FROM THE SHAMAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SPIRITS OF TREES. CURING IS DONE BY MEANS OF SUCKING AND TOBACCO SMOKING. SOME CARRY ONVISIBLE THORNS. THEIR MOST IMPORTANT CEREMONY IS HAIR CROPPING. DURING A GIRL'S FIRST MENSES SHE IS ISOLATED SO MEN DON'T SEE HER. A FESTIVAL IS ORGANIZED WHERE THEY DANCE TO CONTINUOUS DRUMS PLAYING. TRIBES OF OTHER GROUPS PLAY AND COME TOGETHERFOR THREE DAYS. SOME OF THE GUESTS DISGUISE THEMSELVES WITH MASKS. THE GIRL COMES OUT , SHE IS ADORNED AND HER HAIR IS CUT, SHE BEGINS HER ADULT LIFE. SONGS ARE SUNG DURING THE FEMALE INITIATION. THEY ARE ABOUT THE MYTHICAL PASSAGES.

THEIR TRADITIONAL MEDICINE HAS DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY AS WESTERN MEDICAL PRACTICES ARE MORE PREVALENT. THEY DO SOME PURIFICATION RITUALS AS WELL.

SOME PEOPLE ARE IMMORTAL AND GO TO ENCHANTED PLACES WHERE LIFE IS ETERNAL. THE SOULS OF THE MORTALS GOES TO THE WORLD ABOVE. ANOTHER SOUL ROAMS ROAMS AROUND THE HOUSE WHERE THE PERSON DIED.

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