South American Indigenous Tribes

1. South American Indigenous Tribes By: Katie Schleper

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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