Amazonian Tribes?

Question

Hi. I'm doing an English project on Amazonian tribes and was wondering if anyone knew how many tribal people lived in the Amazon? Also, if you know anything about Amazonian tribes I would be very grateful if you could give me helpful information!

Thanks :)

Answer 1

The Yanomamo tribe is a good one to look at. There is a good book on this tribe (which also looks at other tribes) by Chagnon and is called Yanomamo

Answer 2

No one know's exactly how many Amazonian tribes exist.. they are still discovering "uncontacted" tribes even today.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 3

there is a latest thing on the news i think go on the bbc website first tho

Answer 4

There are hundreds of indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest. The indigenous groups in all of South America have disappeared or been torn apart by the colonization process, disease, alcohol, forced labor and war. For long period of time the Amazon rainforest was a giant refugee for the indigenous population. This happened because the lack of a clear economic potential to be exploited by the colonizers. So the rainforestt remained almost untouched by the western culture until the first half of last century. That's why you still find many indigenous Amazon rainforest tribes in the region, many of them already being under stress from legal (agriculture and cattle) and illegal activities (drug dealers, some wood cutters, some miners and biological traffickers).

There are still over 200 indigenous groups in the Amazon Rainforest , talking 180 different languages and each with their own cultural heritage. If you narrow your view to language families you will still find 30 different language families in the Amazon rainforest. This shows that like the flora and fauna , the cultural diversity in the region is also very high, making it an even more interesting and rich place.

The Kuarup is the biggest indigenous festival and it has being happening annually in July or August for centuries. The Kuarup festival brings many different tribes together to celebrate and honor their dead. Although the motivation is not the most cheerful one the festivities are happy and very enjoyable for outsiders. It's a huge demonstration of indigenous dance, music, rituals , games and food. Nowadays the Kuarup can be seen by the outsiders on some occasions, not always, as it depends on the mood and willingness of the tribe leaders.

There are at least 50 groups that still don't have regular contact with the outsides and keep away from them. The Brazilian government policy towards these groups is to leave them alone, as they wish. Not very much is known about these groups as they keep going deeper and deeper into the forest as the outsiders get closer to where they live. To stop the constant migration of tribes it has been suggested that an Indigenous Protected Area be setup so they can stop running away into the most remote places of the forest.

Another interesting fact and a hope about the indigenous population is that their numbers are increasing. This means that, after 5 centuries being destroyed, they are actually being able to live and grow in their demarcated lands. This is hope for their cultures and way of life.

Since there are different kinds of indigenous, there are also different forms of organization. Some groups are nomads and they don't settle in a place for long periods, exchanging locations every now and then. There are others that settle in a tribe and live in the same place for centuries. The size of the groups are also very different, you can find groups with as few individuals as 200 and other with 30000.

In northwest of the Amazon rainforest there are 22 different ethnic groups in an area that is located in Brazil , Colombia and Venezuela . These 22 different indigenous groups (Baniwa, Kuripako, Dow, Hupda, Nadöb, Yuhupde, Baré, Warekena, Arapaso, Bará, Barasana, Desana, Karapanã, Kubeo, Makuna, Mirity-tapuya, Pira-tapuya, Siriano, Tariana, Tukano, Tuyuca, Wanana, Tatuyo, Taiwano, Yuruti, Kakwa and Nukak) each speak their own language, which comes from 3 different language familys. Although the languages differ, they all interact with each other in a large net of marriages, festivities, rituals and commerce. The total population of these groups reaches 65,000 individuals.

Another important "large"group is located in the Alto Xingu region in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. There are 14 ethnic groups (Aweti, Kalapalo, Kamaiurá , Kuikuro, Matipu, Mehinako, Nahukuá, Trumai, Wauja, Yawalapiti, Ikpeng , Kaiabi , Suyá and Yudja ) in the area. The first 10 ethnic groups, like the ones in the northweastern Amazon, have different languages but share the same rivers, have culture similarities and participate in a net of marriages, festivities, rituals and commerce. The last 4 groups are very different and don't have as much contact with the others, although there is still some exchange of cultural aspects. There are other large groups in the Amazon rainforest region plus the 50 groups that don't have regular contact with outsiders and although the indigenous population is growing again they are still in danger

The Akuntsu are a tiny Amazonian tribe of six individuals. They are the last known survivors of their people and live in Rondônia state, Brazil. The Kanoê number just three individuals. Both live in the Omerê area in Rondônia state, Brazil.

The Amahuaca are located in the tropical jungles of Peru. The largest community of Amahuaca is in Puesto Varadero, a jungle community on the Peruvian-Brazilian border.

The Machiguenga, Yine-Piro, Yaminahua, Amahuaca, Ashaninca, Nahua and Kugapakori Indigenous Peoples have traditionally occupied the Urubamba Valley, situated between the central and southern regions of Peru.

In the beginning of the 18th century, missionaries met with resistance by these peoples, because the region was isolated from the national society.

After the rubber boom, the phenomenon of the hacienda and the patrons appropriated indigenous territories and exploited their work force. This also led to the arrival of Dominican missionaries to the region.

The Huaorani in the Ecuadorian headwaters of the Amazon comprise about 1,500 people who are living in up to 24 temporary settlements in an area of almost 20,000 sq. km, completely covered by rain forest.

They are surrounded by related and alien tribes/ethnic groups with a total population of an estimated 150,000.

The Tairona were a precolombian civilization in the region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the present-day Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America which goes back to the 1st century AD and showed documented growth around in the 11th century. The Tairona people formed one of the two principal groups of the Chibcha and were pushed into submarginal regions by the Spanish conquest. The Kogi indigenous people who live in the area today are direct descendants of the Tairona.

Knowledge sources about the precolombian Tairona civilization are limited to archaeological findings and a few written references from the Spanish colonial era. A major city of the Tairona and archaeological site is today known as Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for "Lost City"), it was discovered by treasure hunters in 1975. The Tairona are known to have built terraced platforms, house foundations, stairs, sewers, tombs, and bridges from stone. Use of pottery for utilitarian and ornamental/ceremonial purposes was also highly developed.

Answer 5

I think I'd like to go join one.