South American Indigenous Tribes

By: Katie Schleper

Background Info

• Many of the estimated 2,000 nations and tribes which existed in the 16th century died out as a consequence of the European settlement, and many were assimilated into the Brazilian population.

• Many indigenous people died as a result of Europeans killing them off.

• There is a confirmed number of 67 uncontacted tribes in Brazil, as of 2007.

Jivaro Tribe• Although there are many

headhunting cultures around the world, this tribe is the only group known for shrinking heads (tsantsa)

• The Jivaro live deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, neighboring the Peruvian rainforest

• The Jivaro are the only tribe to resist being overcome by the Spanish, Incas, and early conquistadors

• The Jivaro have a reputation for fierceness

• Molten gold was once poured down a Spanish Governor's throat until his bowels burst

Kayapo Tribe

• The Kayapo Tribe lives in the vast Matto Grosso plains

• The Kayapo men traditionally wear disks in their lower lips

• Body adornment is important in their tribe, ear plugs symbolize receptivity to others, while lip plugs symbolize assertiveness

Penare (Pah-nah-ree) Tribe• The Penare people live in the

Venezuelan Amazon Basin• They are very traditional, they

still live in thatched huts, and dress in traditional clothing

• Penare women are not allowed to learn Spanish, when speaking to outsiders they must communicate through a male interpreter

• While this is obviously sexist, it is also a good thing because women continue to pass down the culture, myths, and stories

• It has been said that after a tribe begins speaking Spanish, the native culture disappears in about 25 years

Yanomamo Tribe• The Yanomamo people live in

the Amazon Basin in Venezuela and Brazil

• This tribe is believed to be the most primitive and culturally intact, they are literally a stone age tribe

• The Yanomamo have never discovered the wheel

• The only metal that the people use is that which has been traded with them from outsiders

• Their numbering system is one, two, and more than two

• The tribe cremates their dead, and crushes and drinks the bones in a ceremony intended to keep their loved ones with them forever

Tupi Tribe• The Tupi tribe was believed to

occupy the Amazon rainforest and later migrated to the Atlantic coast

• Tupi tribes often fought amongst themselves because there was no unified Tupi identity

• The Tupi tribe practiced cannibalism as a ritual after war

• The Tupi captured enemies and ate them because they believed that they were absorbing the strength of that enemy

Tapirapé Tribe• The tribe lives deep in the

Amazon rainforest• The Tapirapé tribe lived off of a

slash and burn horiculture, plots of land were only planted once or twice before another patch was cleared

• The Tapirapé people have a strict population control policy

• No couple could have more than three children, and not more than two of the same gender

• This was because of the logic that estimated that no man could support more than three children

• Any extra children were immediately killed

Matsés or Mayoruna Tribe

• This tribe inhabits the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon

• The Mayoruna people believe that there is no distinction between the spiritual and physical world

• The people often practice polygamy (more than one partner) and cross-cousin marriages are common

• Bows and arrows are the most common weapons, but are only used for hunting

• Mayoruna people historically used blowguns, but recently abandoned them in favor of archery