Otomaks

The Otomaks (or Otomacos) were an ethnic group in Venezuela that became extinct in the first half of the 20th century.

Alexander von Humboldt visited them and documented their customs. The Otomaks lived in the Llanos , mainly in the region north of the Orinocos . They lived mainly as hunters and gatherers. Humboldt said they were particularly intoxicated.

Humboldt also extensively described how these people ate earth.

We visited the Uruana mission on our return from the Río Negro and saw with our own eyes the masses of earth that the otomaks eat and about which there has been so much controversy in Europe.

The otomaks use annatto to make up.

A couple of isolated languages: Yaruro, Guamo, and Otomaco. At the moment only Yaruro is spoken

Web links

• Alexander von Humboldt

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander von Humboldt: American journey . Ed .: Hanno Beck. 6th edition. Edition Erdmann, Wiesbaden 2009, p. 171 u. 174 .