Warao

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Warao children in the Orinoco River Delta in Venezuela
Warao House in the Orinoco River Delta in Venezuela
Warao House in the Orinoco River Delta in Venezuela
Approximate distribution area of ​​the Warao language

The Warao are an indigenous people in South America who live in Venezuela in the Orinoco river delta (opposite the island of Trinidad ) and the adjacent areas. With around 30,000 members today, they are the second largest Indian ethnic group in Venezuela and have never been defeated or colonized . Since there are no roads in the 40,000 km² Orinoco Delta with its countless small islands and marshes , the name “Warao” was given by some European researchers as “boat people” ( wa (boat) + a- (posessive) + dao ( Owner)) interpreted. However, the translation “marshland inhabitants ” ( waja (lowland) + a- (posessive) + dao (owner)) seems more plausible. It forms a pair of opposites with "Jotarao" ( jota (highland) + arao ), the Warao name for their Creole neighbors.

Settlements

The Warao live in small family groups in around 250 scattered settlements, mainly on the Caño Güiniquina (Winikina) river. Because of the swampy subsoil and the regular flooding in the mangrove forest of the Amazon delta , their small villages mostly consist of half-open wooden pile dwellings on the drier, open and palm-lined areas (morichales), which are suitable for cultivation. Only a few Warao get stranded in the small towns of Tucupita and Barrancas . About 1,000 Warao live in the neighboring state of Guyana .

language

Weisshar found the agglutinating Warao language as not related to any other language in the region and thus classified it as an "isolated" language of its own. The Warao, like all cultures of the South American lowlands, are an oral culture. So far, they have shown little interest in the transcriptions developed by the Spanish missionaries, western researchers and the Venezuelan state. Instead, they have a very rich oral storytelling (oral literature) with different styles and genres as well as a shamanic secret language.

history

Since no archaeological remains remain in the swampy environment, little is known about the history of the Warao. Since some myths tell of times in which the island of Trinidad was still connected to the mainland, they have probably settled in the Orinoco Delta for at least 9,000 years (W. Wilbert 1995). The Warao were repeatedly forced to retreat into the swampy hinterland by the warlike Caribs and Arawak . It was only after these groups disappeared and the Warao were encouraged by the Spanish Capuchin missionaries to move to larger villages that they now mainly settle along larger rivers.

After the failure of the colonial missions distributed by the wars of independence came Capuchin - missionaries in 1922 returned and now settled directly with the Warao in the Delta. They were used by the Venezuelan state to secure the borders. Their task was to “civilize” and settle the Warao (“reducir y civilizar”), that is, to re-educate them to become arable farmers, Christians and Venezuelan citizens. In fact, the Warao in particular in the area of ​​the large mission stations have largely given up their traditional economy today. Today the Warao do not differ externally from the other Venezuelans. Especially when they visit the cities, they attach great importance to impeccable clothing so as not to attract attention as "hillbilly". A large part of the Warao are baptized Catholics. The masses of Christian missionaries in the delta are also attended by unbaptized Warao because of the "beautiful chants".

Social structure

The Warao are a matrilocal society, that is, the man moves in with the woman's family after marriage. The birth of a daughter has traditionally been seen as more important than that of a son, since it is she who brings sons-in-law and thus labor into the parents' household. Traditionally, the young man had to work for the in-laws for a year. He had to build a house, make a dugout canoe, and plant a vegetable garden. If he did not find the benevolence of the woman's parents, they could urge their daughter to leave the man again. During the marriage, the man brings the income from his activities (especially fishing) into the household of the in-laws. He has no right to the house and the gardens or the children. In the event of a separation, all property remains with the woman. The inheritance of property and rights is also matrilineal , i.e. from mother to daughter, mostly to the youngest daughter. Today, however, this structure has changed, as the young men can become independent early on through wage labor, because they do not have to hand over money to their in-laws.

Overall, women remain in their family all their lives and form the basis of society. The marriage rules are exogamous, which means that a spouse ideally had to come from another village. It must not be directly related. In large settlements, a suitable partner can also be found in the village. In some subgroups, the cousin may also be married.

In the ethnological literature there are reports of councils of elders of old men, mostly shamans , who settled disputes and, under certain circumstances, imposed penalties. In addition, women have an important moral function in that they utter comments aloud in disputes and openly criticize society in their lamentations for dead relatives.

There was no superordinate organizational structure for several Warao sub-tribes. But they came together in the course of certain rituals. Ritual battles with shields made from the stem of the leaf of the moriche palm took place here. Armed conflicts between Warao villages are not known. Overall, conflicts tended to be resolved collectively or one of the conflicting parties moved away. Aggressive behavior towards one another is rare, except under the influence of alcohol, and is limited to loud arguments.

There are no leagues or secret societies among women or men. However, the shamanic knowledge is exclusive. It is learned by adult men and postmenopausal women. To do this, the men consult a teacher whom they pay and to whom they are obliged to perform certain services. Women often learn their knowledge before menopause, for example by assisting their husbands with shamanic healing sessions.

The Capuchins introduced some political offices, such as capitan , a male village chief who was usually the most influential shaman in the village. Outwardly, it was mainly men who represented the community. Nevertheless, the Warao society is built up to this day in an egalitarian manner and, according to Kalka, is based on the deco principle (both). Women and men are equally involved in all important economic and ritual activities.

The children grow up with their siblings and cousins ​​and are looked after by them and their mothers. The girls in particular experience their importance within the matrilocal village structure early on. The boys receive their training in male activities such as house building and installation, mainly from their father-in-law.

Economy

The traditional basics of the Warao economy are:

  1. Fishing with rods and harpoons in the numerous watercourses of the delta and crab catching with woven baskets ,
  2. Hunting with long blowguns on the countless small islands,
  3. Collecting and slash- and- burn agriculture on small areas, especially manioc , taro and okumo tuber ( tannia ),
  4. Use of the Moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa) , which they respectfully call the "tree of life".

The Warao only process vegetable raw materials, they do not know ceramics , metals and minerals cannot be found in the swampy delta landscape. Extensive arable farming or livestock farming is also not possible due to storm surges and annual floods.

Above all, the Moriche palm provides the Warao with materials for making dugout canoes , bast ropes and cords, hammocks , baskets, arrows, etc. The brown fruits and the palm heart are used for nutrition, the palm trunk is tapped for sap and then through Fermentation to win palm wine . Similar to the Asian sago palm, the pulp of the trunk is used as sago flour to make bread after it has been felled and the palm starch has been carefully washed out . Once hollowed out, the palm trunk is left to rot. After some time, protein-rich beetle larvae are harvested, which develop in the strain and are considered to be great delicacies. The leaf fronds of the moriche palm are also used for roofing. It takes a man 3 weeks from tree felling to a completely hollowed out and fire-hardened canoe. The 3-month harvest time of moriche palms is accompanied by numerous ritual festivals.

Basically, the Warao have a strict division of labor between women and men, even if they work in joint groups, e.g. B. to fell and exploit Moriche palms in the partly distant palm forests during the annual dry periods.

The Warao hardly use money among each other, instead they cultivate mutual aid and exchange relationships. Only after the establishment of a few sawmills and palm heart factories in the delta area with little earning potential did money find its way into the Warao. In Tucupita and Barrancas, they mainly buy corn, flour, rice, pasta, sugar and gasoline for their motorized dugout canoes. Some Warao have the habit of successfully begging for money in neighboring small towns for a few weeks. For their temporary accommodation, Casa Indígenas were built by the government .

The delta area is increasingly being developed for tourism . The Warao use their craft skills to carve animals from balsa wood , make necklaces from fruit pits, and weave sturdy wickerwork and hammocks that they sell to tourists.

Culture and religion

The Warao basically see nature as being alive. Like other Indian cultures of the South American lowlands, people, animals, ghosts and even plants are "persons", one of the basic meanings of the word "Warao" in the mythological time. All these beings can speak and can also unite sexually with one another. According to the mythology of the Warao, all beings arise on the basis of man through transformation. This basic human form persists beneath the superficial "disguise" and non-human behaviors of animals and plants. This is why you can still encounter these mythological primeval creatures in the deep forest today, which, however, makes you sick and can bring death. But ghosts are also incredibly stupid, which is why a cunning Warao can lead them around by the nose.

Because of their secret knowledge, shamans are able to speak to animals and spirits and use the latter for their own purposes, for example as helpful spirits in healing. The shamans thus act as a link between the supernatural and the everyday world. They strive to maintain the balance between people and their environment and strive for Hermonie in the cosmos. According to the cosmic worldview of the Warao, the world is completely surrounded by water, and in the middle there is a land mass on which they live. In all four directions there are sacred rocks and pillars on which gods dwell at the ends of their world.

In the Warao religion, the ancestral spirit "our grandfather" ( kanobo ) plays an important role. A certain shaman, who appears as the "father of the ancestral spirit" ( kanobo arima ), used to hold a big festival ( Nahanamu ) every year , at which the kanobo received palm starch and tobacco smoke to keep him balanced. Overall, the Warao know three types of shamans: Wisiratu , Bahanarotu and Hoarotu . The Wisiratu shamans use the Hebu Mataro , a ritual rattle made from pumpkin and filled with sacred stones , during their ceremonies . During important religious rituals or in healing and harm chants, the shamans use a secret ritual language.

In addition to shamanic medicine, the Warao are also familiar with natural medicine based on local medicinal plants. It is the responsibility of women and is passed on from mothers to daughters. Not all "diseases" have supernatural causes. Death, however, is almost always interpreted as a supernatural attack by an enemy shaman. Today, of course, the Warao also use the state medical infrastructure. Mostly only after all Warao shamans and healers have failed.

Problems and Outlook

The habitat of the Warao in the Orinoco Delta is threatened by several modern influences:

  • The increase in industrial fishing off the delta is reducing fish populations in the hundreds of rivers. The Venezuelan government sells fishing rights to foreign companies without considering the interests of the Warao.
  • Sawmills in the rainforest not only endanger the tree population in the long term, but also cause a cultural alienation of the employed day laborers (1.50 euros / day), some of whom succumb to the seductiveness of consumer goods and even go into debt. However, the government restricts logging.
  • Palm heart factories, for which thousands of Manaca palms ( Euterpe oleracea ) are felled, have a similar effect . Only one “Palmito”, about 1 meter long, is used per tree, which is then filled in cans and exported to Europe as an exotic delicacy. The rest of the felled palm is not used.
  • Drilling teams are looking for oil that is also abundantly stored under the delta area, causing both alienation and possible environmental pollution. Venezuela is one of the three largest oil suppliers in the United States, with oil exports accounting for half of the state's revenue.
  • Missionaries from the New Tribes Mission (an evangelistic mission from the United States) practice adult literacy as a basis for Bible study. For those interested in education, Warao often has no choice but to join such a religious community. However, these groups were recently expelled from the country by Chavez.
  • The infectious disease tuberculosis is spreading in the Orinoco Delta, medical care for the scattered Warao settlements is inadequate.
  • Tourism is increasingly finding its way into the Warao area, with all its well-known advantages and disadvantages.
  • The Warao, who end up in the small towns of Tucupita and Barrancas, mostly live between plastic and garbage in slums and quickly lose their identity. These Warao no longer consider returning to the traditional villages.

The Warao population has more than tripled in the last few decades, not least because of improved medical care. The state is trying to provide them with at least basic education and command of the Spanish language in some small schools. The Warao Indians are slowly adapting to the “western” culture and sticking to their customs. Overall, you have a good chance of survival. Various aid projects, including those from Adveniat and “Habitat Rainforest”, endeavor to provide meaningful support.

In August 2008, at least 38 Indians were killed in a rabies epidemic caused by vampire bats.

Documentaries

literature

  • Waltraud Grohs-Paul: Familial and school socialization among the Warao Indians of the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela . Hochschulverlag, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-8107-2084-4 .
  • Stefanie Herrmann: Perspectives on the Warao language and the Warao speaking , 2 volumes. Dissertation at the University of Marburg, 2008, DNB 1027086004 , as electronic resource DNB 1013075323 .
  • Claudia Kalka: "A daughter is a house, a boat and a garden": Women and gender symmetry among the Warao Indians of Venezuela (= ethnological studies , 25). LIT Verlag, Münster 1995, ISBN 3-8258-2132-3 . Dissertation at the University of Freiburg (Breisgau), 1994.
  • Carola Kasburg: Acculturation, emigration and impoverishment among the Warao in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela (= Mundus series ethnology , 90). Holos-Verlag, Bonn 1999, ISBN 3-86097-099-2 .
  • Cecilia Ayala Lafée-Wilbert, Werner Wilbert: La mujer warao: de recolectora deltana a recolectora urbana. Instituto Caribe de Antropología y Sociología, Fundación La Salle de Viencias Naturales (= Monografía 51), 2008 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Dale A. Olsen: Music of the Warao of Venezuela: Song People of the Rain Forest . With audio CD. University Press of Florida 1996, ISBN 0-8130-1390-9 .
  • Emmerich Weisshar: The position of the Warao and Yanomama in relation to the indigenous languages ​​of South America north of the Amazon: Studies on the genetic and area-typological classification . Dissertation at the University of Tübingen 1979, Bamberg 1982, DNB 820788414 .
  • (oA): Hijas de la luna: enculturación femenina entre los waraos. Instituto Caribe de Antropología y Sociología, Fundación La Salle de Viencias Naturales (= Monografía 45), 2001 ( limited preview in the Google book search).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. morichal. thefreedictionary.com (Spanish).