Wayapopihíwi
Coordinates: 6 ° 7 ′ 15 ″ N , 69 ° 27 ′ 1 ″ W.
The Wayapopihíwi are an indigenous nation in Colombia and Venezuela . These "people of the savannah" speak Arawak and are regionally counted among the Orinoco-Parima cultures . The long highly migratory joyful and resistant against Western influences HIWI whose population is estimated at the beginning of the third millennium to around 20,000 people, have become largely sedentary and increasingly, especially culturally mestizisiert . Their traditional worldview was originally animistic , the religious rituals are carried out by ritual experts , and their social structure is still matrilineal .
designation
They call themselves Wayapopihíwi (= "people of the savannah"), where "Híwi" means people. The Wayapopihíwi are called Guahibo or Guajibo in the ethnological literature, otherwise Cuiva, Gaivo, Goahiva, Guagiva, Guaiva, Guajivo, Guaigua, Guayba, Guayva, Híwi, Jivi, Jiwi, Sicuani, Sikuani and Wahibo - all are foreign names. The names "Guahibo", "Guajibo" etc. are derived from "guajibear" or "cuivear", which refers to the Sunday shooting exercises of Colombian and Venezuelan cattle breeders on the indigenous people after the massacre of the Híwi in December 1967 in the Colombian border town of La Rubiera were only banned in 1972 after several court rulings. The name "Sikuani" is derogatory and is seen as an insult by the Híwi. "Cuiva" are the "wild", nomadic Híwi who have not yet adapted to the way of life of the Criollos, such as the Rio Tomo Guahibo. "Híwi" and "Wahibo" are short forms of "Wayapopihíwi".
language
Guahibo ( ISO 639 : GUH) belongs to the Arawak languages and is divided into Wüinpumuin (northeastern region) and Wopumuin (southeastern region), although the two language groups understand each other. There are dialects such as: Guahibo (Sikuani), Amorua (Río Tomo Guahibo) and Tigrero. They have already largely lost their own language and replaced it with Spanish. Despite 55% illiteracy, there is a Guahibo literature, a newspaper in Guahibo, dictionaries and a grammar. The language of the Híwi is one of the idioms of Venezuela that could not be clearly classified until 2000.
Demographics
A comprehensive census was never taken. It is assumed that the Híwi people comprise a maximum of 20,000 tribal members, of which about 6000 live in Venezuela. In the mid-1970s, 4,000 were counted in Puerto Ayacucho alone. Most of them, however, live on the rivers of the grassy savannas ( llanos ) of the Orinoco Basin. The Híwi are thus, next to the Yanomami , one of the most populous ethnic groups in the region.
Counts of around 100,000 tribal members include the Wayúu on the Guajira Peninsula in the north, who are culturally closely related to the Híwi. In 1938 and 1981 about 47,000 Híwi and Wayúu were counted in Colombia and 60,000 in Venezuela. Over two thirds live outside their traditional settlement area, in Maracaibo or in other areas - although the related Wayúu and Wayapopihíwi could not be distinguished.
Their area was previously inhabited by different ethnic groups, which have now disappeared or have been assimilated by the Híwi. Today's subgroups may represent the descendants of different ethnic groups.
Reservation Policy in Colombia
In Colombia, the reserves in the early 1990s were: 78 Wayapopihíwi in Cano Negro, 239 in Corocito-Yopalito-Gualabo, 2,500 in San Rafael, Abariba and Ibibi, 241 in Vencedor, Piriri and Guamito y Matanegra, 375 in El Tigre, 82 in Cano Jabòn, 77 in Cano Ovejas, 205 on Rio Siare, 3,500 in El Unuma, 729 in Saracure y Rio Cada, 702 in Cano Cavasi, 877 in Rios Muca y Guarrojo, 580 in Canos Cuna Tsepajibo Warracha, 803 in Santa Teresita del Tuparro, 608 in Rios Tomo Weberi, 259 in San Luis del Tomo, 216 in La Pascua, 149 in La Llamura, 3,347 in Santa Rita, 60 in Gano Claro, 118 in Egua Guariacana, 446 in Atama Pirariami, 68 in Cenareros, 59 in Macarianos, 709 in Roqueros, 26 in Puyeros, 65 in Parreros, 53 in Julieros 7 Velasqueros, 105 in Cano Guaripa, 27 in Cano La Hormiga, 43 in Cano Buchaco, 116 in Merey La Veraita, 294 in Guacamayas-Mamiyare, 158 in the Laguna Anguilla-La Maracena reserve, 102 in Arrecifal, 242 in Barranquito Laguna Colorado, 86 in Carrizal, 350 in Carpintero Palomas, 172 in El Vigía, 91 in Campoalegre y Ripialito, 74 in the La Laguna Curvina-Sapuara Reserve, 112 in Sejalito-San Bernio and 70 in La Esmeralda.
Settlement area
geography
The Wayapopihíwi live today mainly in villages northwest of Puerto Ayacucho , along the Venezuelan-Colombian border, along the Río Meta , along to the upper reaches of the Río Ariporo , north of the Río-Apure estuary and the Río Capanaparo up to the Guajira peninsula , where the Wayúu related to them are resident. Small groups live down the Orinoco near La Urbana , others north of the mouth of the Río Apure or in a wooded area on the Río Manapiare , a tributary of the Río Ventuari .
climate
The Híwi inhabit an area in a climate with an average temperature of 27 ° C, in which intense rainy seasons and persistent dry periods alternate. Fauna, flora, earth and people are determined by this extreme change. From May to October there is the rainy season with approx. 15 rainy days per month, from January to March the dry season with a maximum of 7 rainy days per month. Before the rain starts in May, it is hot and windless, soon after it becomes humid and thunderstorm and the water masses flood everything. It is a fertile time for fish and amphibians, but the rest of the fauna seek refuge in the limited space of sandbanks and hills. In the dry season, on the other hand, amphibians and reptiles in particular suffer when the last ponds dry up and many of them, especially young animals, die of dehydration .
Political Affiliation
Politically, their main settlement area is in the Colombian states of Arauca , Boyacá , Norte de Santander and Vichada and in the Venezuelan states of Apure and Táchira .
history
Early days
The Wayapopihíwi first lived as part of the Arawak in the mountainous region of Guayana , from there they moved to the La Guajira peninsula , where the Wayúu , who are related to them, live today.
The current settlement area was once inhabited by various ethnic groups who either disappeared or were assimilated by the Híwi.
Spanish colonial times
The first reports about the Híwi came from Nikolaus Federmann , who met them in 1538 on a first expedition through the Llanos on the Río Meta . He described them as warlike and sedentary. Documents from this early period already show the dissolution of the traditional Llanos tribes through conquest and missionary work. In 1650 the Jesuits set up mission stations at Meta and Casanare. They stayed until 1767 when the order was dissolved.
The Híwi resisted both the missionary attempts of the Jesuits and their successors in the 18th century, the Franciscans and Capuchins. The mission stations were extremely successful in raising livestock. In 1767 44,000 cattle were counted, in 1800 there were already 100,000.
As a result of the advancing conquests, the settled tribes of the region in particular were exterminated or enslaved, while the semi-settled and nomadic groups withdrew to more impassable areas. The already partially settled Híwi were more adept at developing strategies of resistance against the Europeans than z. B. the Achagua or the Saliva , who settled in this region. They even replaced them in the slave trade, in which they themselves now took an active role. At the end of this development, most of the sedentary groups disappeared by the 18th century, often assimilated to the semi-nomadic lifestyle.
Historians of the 17th and 18th centuries described the Hiwi, who now lived on the Río Meta, as warlike, nomadic hunters and gatherers . During this time they were notorious for their raids on settler villages and mission stations. The Jesuits considered the Hìwi to be too volatile to settle in missions. Rivalries for women between the settled and nomads of the region have always played a role, so that the Híwi have always been considered aggressive. The deeper cause of these conflicts, however, may have been the advance of the livestock industry. Even before the first settlers, the welcome hunted prey appeared in the Híwi area, but conflicts soon arose with the owners, especially since cattle soon became the most important source of meat - even if at least six different mammal species were hunted. Even Alexander von Humboldt wrote, "No tribe is more difficult to make than the sedentary Guahibos."
Industrial age
For a long time the Híwi, especially in the Venezuelan state of Apure , were able to maintain their way of life. From 1850 onwards, however, they mainly began to settle or move south and eastwards. A long chain of violent conflicts with the criollos that lasted into the 20th century brought about dramatic changes in their way of life. Since the early 19th century, their lives have been influenced by rubber collectors, settlers, cattle farmers and evangelical missionaries, but above all by deadly epidemics that have been introduced.
From the late 1940s onwards, numerous settlers came to the Wayapopihíwi area, many of them bringing their cattle. This intensified their involvement in the money economy, as many began to take odd jobs on the farms or to go to the cities.
In the fight against the herds of cattle, evangelical missionaries, or the tribes they had already evangelized, played a significant role from the 1960s. For example, Sophie Muller stood up for the Wayapopihíwi during the wars of the 1960s by getting them to build fences in 1967 to keep the animals away from their land. On the other hand, missionaries often tried to prevent all contact with whites, pointing out the danger to their souls. This was a common means of keeping the indigenous people away from cooperatives and from competing Catholic missionaries. When Muller returned in 1974, they no longer let her into their settlement because they felt betrayed by her.
The Híwi are among those tribes that have adapted most strongly to the Hispanic way of life. They hardly differ from the local mixed population. The men wear shirts and trousers and the women brightly colored cotton dresses. You speak Spanish well and mostly use industrially manufactured household products. In the villages, however, many men still wear the traditional loincloth made of cloth or bark (marima). The "Río Tomo Guahibo" (on the Río Tomo ) and the "Cuiva" in the Venezuelan state of Apure still sometimes live in a nomadic way of life.
The indigenous people in Colombia and Venezuela only make up about 2% of the population, next to 60% Crillos, 20% Europeans and 8% Africans. The Híwi population in regions that are difficult to reach for Europeans is stable and has even increased again.
The La Rubiera massacre
Isolated Sunday target practice by Colombian and Venezuelan ranchers on the Híwi culminated in the La Rubiera massacre in December 1967.
“A clear example of the attempts by the settlers to exterminate the indigenous people was the La Rubiera massacre in Arauca in January 1968, where 16 indigenous people were killed, including several children. At that time the settlers in the region saw some of you near where you lived, they were afraid and decided to get rid of them; they decided to murder her in a place near the river, but they thought some of them might escape there. To prevent this, they developed another criminal strategy to bring them together to a house on Finca La Rubiera and kill them there. It so happened that they were invited to the finca for a meal, and a total of 18 came. When the guests sat at the table, along with their assassins, 16 of them were shot on an agreed signal and hacked to death with machetes, two escaped from them. After committing a crime, the murderers tied the bodies to the tails of their horses, took them to a nearby location, doused them with gasoline and set them on fire. After several days, those who had escaped the massacre reported the crime to the authorities.
When the authorities got to the scene, one of the killers confessed as if it was the most normal thing in the world to have killed 40 indigenous people, while another said that for him the indigenous people were like monkeys, the only difference being that these animals are pests because they steal cattle.
According to a newspaper interview with Carlos Gutierrez Torres, a former judge in Villavicencio who opened the investigation into the La Rubiera massacre, this crime was not the result of the perpetrators' wickedness, but rather their ignorance and fear of the indigenous people. According to Gutierrez Torres, the spontaneity with which the murderers committed the crime leads to the conclusion that they are not born, dangerous or perverted criminals because they do not regret what they have done and do not try to evade justice looking for alibis - in short I said to try everything that the crime goes unpunished. "
Even at the beginning of the 1990s, the indigenous people were still regarded by the Criollos as "animals", the extermination of which was considered a "hygienic measure".
forecast
At the beginning of the 3rd millennium, the expulsion of the Híwi and assassinations are still a reality. The increasing impoverishment of the Híwi population manifests itself especially in the area around Puerto Ayacucho in day labor , crime and prostitution .
economy
resources
Division of labor
Traditionally, women do the household chores, collect, mostly cultivate the fields and manufacture textiles.
Men, on the other hand, fish, hunt, weave and rule the social system. However, some of the women are also politically active and in the late 1980s 80% of the ritual experts were women.
Food production
Agriculture and fishing take precedence over gathering , hunting and livestock farming . Fruits , nuts , seeds , wild vegetables , herbs , roots , mushrooms , eggs , honey , also turtles and their eggs and lizards are collected . The Híwi differentiate between different soils and use them according to their suitability. The staple food and therefore the main crop is manioc , plus beans , sweet potatoes , plantains , yams , pepper , sugar cane , melons and pineapples , but also cotton , tobacco , Barbasco (a fish poison) and plants with hallucinogenic active ingredients
Their agriculture is based on a kind of three-field economy :
- The first field is planted with cassava after a forest area was cleared in late March before the start of the rainy season .
- The cassava grows in the second field
- The third field is harvested, then either abandoned or planted with other suitable crops, depending on the nature of the soil.
Fishing is economically relevant for the Híwi and is fished all year round in this river-rich landscape, especially in the rainy season, with different techniques. In the dry season, fishhooks, harpoons, and bows and arrows are used, in the rainy season pots and nets are used. Even with Barbascoextrakt and other plant toxins is fished.
Hunters are highly respected. However, the game population has declined sharply, especially in the vicinity of the populated regions, and the land rights claims of the criollos and their aggressive implementation hinder hunting success. Thus hunting has decreased compared to fishing. Traditionally, mainly small game such as birds ( parrots , pigeons , toucans ), monkeys, iguanas and armadillos were hunted . Large game such as pecaris (banquiro), capybara (chiguire), pakas , agutís (picure), deer , anteaters , porcupines and tapirs are rarely hunted.
Jaguars , freshwater dolphins (boto), foxes (maikong), snakes and caimans are not hunted or only hunted for the production of ritual objects , as they are considered totem animals. In the past, driven hunts were organized, with women and children using clubs (macanas) and machetes to drive the game to the hunters, who then killed the game with a bow and arrow. Nowadays, firearms are used almost exclusively to generate income from hunting in the form of skins and leather for the trade, which is now leading to a serious decimation of the once rich game population. Dogs have also been used as hunting companions in recent times.
Domestic animals are, as is typical for nomadic groups, neglected, agoutis , pakas or pecaris caught alive are fed until they are slaughtered. The sedentary Híwi keep chickens in their own pens.
Crafts and handicrafts
Textile skills are an important part of their material culture. The women finished now hammocks, belts and bags of cotton, weave through simple looms and dye their products with geometric patterns. Traditionally, however, the fibers of the moriche and cumare palm ( Astrocaryum aculeatum ) were of unique importance. Mastery of this palm leaf technology was essential for their agile way of life in many ways. This required raw materials that were available everywhere and lightness of the material. From the palm trees clothes, fishing nets, alcohol, medicines and weapons, but above all the finest mosquito nets were made, which in many areas made survival possible. As early as 1730, a missionary discovered that the palm was "everything to her", the material of her dreams, her joie de vivre and the basis of her survival.
The men mainly produce sandals and colorful wool rugs. Traditionally, basket weaving is a men's craft for the Hiwi. They make baskets to use to transport and store food. These are decorated with red and black, geometric patterns. Recently women have also started making baskets for commercial sale.
In the arts and crafts sector, the Híwi are quite successful with pottery items. They adopted the techniques used from other neighboring tribes. They finished in the dry season pottery items in Wulsttechnik who fired over an open fire and with the traditional patterns by color Cumare and Caruto be decorated. Typical of the Híwi ceramics are the anthropomorphic water vessels in the shape of women or animals, which are richly decorated with geometric patterns, the patterns of which are based on traditional face painting.
Typical of the wood carving art of the Híwi are rod clubs made of hardwood in the shape of a lance.
Despite their reputation as less than excellent navigators, the Híwi make boats (curiaras) and oars with round and oval handles. The curiaras are made from a cedar-like tree. After removing the bark, the trunk is hollowed out with fire, axes and machetes. Today, however, the boats are operated with outboards.
The Hiwi make wind and percussion instruments for festivals and ceremonies and religious rituals, such as flutes with three holes made from large deer bones, pan flutes (jiwaburü), with five or six tubes made of reed (kana amarga), and skull pipes (oweibi) made from the Skull and antlers of a deer.
Typical of the musical instruments of the Hìwi are the pounding pipes (waana), which are made in “female” form (pesorowato) and “male” form (pebito) and painted accordingly. The waanas are hollow cylinders, above with a vertical handle, made of the light Shimbillo wood ( Inga spp.). The Waana is played by lifting it up using the handle above and dropping it back onto the floor. The “male” instrument sounds deeper and more penetrating than the “female”.
The Hiwi also make necklaces from glass beads, ritual amulet chains from animal teeth, claws and beaks for ceremonial purposes and shaman rattles.
trade
The barter between sedentary groups and the nomadic, hijacking Híwi, was an important survival strategy for them even in pre-colonial times. The Híwi try to develop their own strategies and opportunities for exchange in contact with the Hispano-American population, whereby different land use claims repeatedly led to conflicts.
Traditional textiles, leather products, as well as ceramic and wood objects, jewelry and copies of traditional ceremonial objects for the tourist trade are offered in Puerto Ayacucho and other local markets.
Wage labor
Most of the Híwi now live as tenant farmers or as agricultural workers, cattle herders, woodworkers or rubber collectors near the large fincas of the fertile Llanos. Many have left their traditional residential area and thus their village community in order to find a livelihood in the Criollo villages. But there they find neither permanent work nor social integration.
They are also looking for income opportunities in the vicinity of cities such as Puerto Ayacucho, La Urbana or Maracaibo , where men work as farm, construction or dock workers on a daily wage , while women work as domestic help. Some Híwi families often wait months on the outskirts of Puerto Ayacucho for one of the family to work as a casual worker. Crime and prostitution are the result.
Even with the Híwi who are not yet in wage labor, the dealer's credit system applies (“First payment, then delivery”) - and so they are repeatedly tempted to exploit their resources.
Social structures
Matrilinearity
The Híwi are organized matrilinearly , i. H. the lineage of female relatives is crucial, and the last name comes from the mother. The individual clans are associated with an ancestor of mythological origin.
Real estate, property and housing
A tribal territory was formerly owned by small matrilateral large families. Today's villages and the surrounding territory are still collective property and the families have individual rights ( usufruct and grazing rights ) to agricultural land, to collecting areas and to fishing rights. There is both family property and individual property. Men and women have their own animals.
Inheritance law
Property inheritance is a complex process in which ancestry plays an important role. The animals of a male deceased that were not sacrificed during his burial are distributed among his brothers and the sons of his sister (uterine nephews). The children of a deceased woman inherit her livestock when she dies. An Alaüla (mother's uncle) usually passes his animals on to his nephew. A father can also pass on his livestock to his biological children.
Life stations
childhood
Birth takes place in the mother's house and the grandmother and close female relatives support the woman giving birth.
In the first years of life, the children are raised by the mother, then the boys spend time with the “Alaüla” (“mother's uncle”), while girls are raised with female relatives.
From the age of six, the children take part in economic activities such as household chores, agriculture and animal husbandry according to their gender.
Feminine initiation
Girls are secreted from their first menstrual period and spend months, even years, hidden in the house. At the beginning of this period, the girl's hair is cut. The longer the seclusion, the higher the reputation, and the longer the hair. During this time they learn manioc processing, cooking, spinning and weaving, but also the secrets between women and men. According to this, the girl is considered a woman and is introduced to the young men with a celebration.
Marital union
The Híwi differentiate between cross-cousin and parallel- cousin marriage in their marriage rules : marriages with cross-cousins are desirable (daughter of father sister or mother brother), but prohibited with parallel cousins (daughter of father brother or mother sister). Marital relationships with cognatic relatives , with whom a relationship is not considered desirable, are another exception .
Women willing to marry send their Alaüla or their biological father to the husband's family, whereupon the bride price (apan'na) is set in the form of cattle or labor. The amount of the bride price depends on the social position of the woman, her skills (weaving, trading), her virginity and attractiveness. If the bride price has to be worked in, the couple will remain in the bride mother's miichipala (village) until all services have been performed.
If a woman neglects her domestic duties, the man can divorce her and the bride price is repaid. If the man dies, all women pass to the husband's brother. A woman can also buy her way out by paying her brother her bride price.
Polygyny (polygamy) is respected, but usually only possible for wealthy Híwi.
Death and burial
Deceased Híwi are first buried individually. After the journey of her soul to Jepira (afterlife) and her return to earth as rain or as Wanülüü (ancestral spirit), her remains are exhumed and buried in common graves of matrilineal ancestors. This is based on the hope that relatives will meet again in the hereafter.
The second burial is of greater importance for the Híwi because it brings the soul's journey into anonymity and oblivion to a close, but also because a return of the ancestor's spirit to the tribal earth (collective grave) guarantees the preservation and strength of the tribe should. The “double burial” corresponds to the double fate of the dead.
Beliefs, religion and worldview
animism
The world view of the indigenous people in the region is animistic , which means that every part, no matter how small, has a cosmos that is comparable to the human soul. For them, the spiritual world, the "world of smoke and fire", is the real reality.
Transformation and Metamorphosis
The awe-inspiring knowledge of appearance and disappearance as something that can be experienced every day, as well as the shadowy realm of the spirit world, is life-determining for them and shapes all areas of life. The spirits are responsible for the constant change in the world and therefore have to be respected, honored and in order to have a positive influence on events to be tempered.
The “transformation” of the poisonous cassava into edible products also plays a central role in the beliefs of these people.
Dualistic worldview
Your conception of the world is dualistic .
The dualistic mythology of the Híwi is based on two opposing and nevertheless married beings. On one side stands Juya, the hypermasculine hunters and that is associated with drought and death on the Other Pulowi, the mistress of the underworld and of animals. Pulowi manifests itself in numerous places such as holes in the ground or small hills, which are also called Pulowi and are avoided by the Híwi for fear of disappearing or becoming seriously ill.
All beings in the world and the phenomena of everyday life are represented by Juya and Pulowi and are divided into two equal and complementary areas - in opposites such as male-female, light-dark, above-below, rigid-mobile or wild plants-arable plants.
Rain is the product of the union of both, if it doesn't rain for a while, Juya visits his wives, who live all over the region. Juya stands for the phenomenon of rain and the two rainy seasons.
Pantheon
The Híwi gods, spirits and demons include:
- Akalpui
- Juya (= "rain") is a hyper masculine hunter
- Juyain
- Keeralia
- Maleiwa (Kúwai) is the main god, the creator of the people and a cultural hero. It is responsible for sending rain, but it hardly plays a role in everyday life as its name is rarely mentioned.
- Pulowi is the mistress of the underworld and animals.
- A wanulüü is a departed soul that brings sickness and death.
- "The rain" consists of dead souls that bring fertility.
- “The Jaguar” embodies the wildness of nature. Only jaguars and humans can kill large and dangerous animals such as caimans and tapirs.
- "The water snake" is the ruler of wind, thunder and lightning.
- “The fox” can talk to Wanulüüs.
- "The caiman" can only be killed by the jaguar or the híwi.
- "The Boto" (freshwater dolphin)
- “The deer” was the first animal that came into the world through Kuwái.
- "The Harpy"
- "Málike" is a helping spirit of the shamans. Created by Kuwai, the spirit appears in the shape of a bird.
- “Málikai” is also a helping spirit like “Málike”, which also manifests itself in exactly the same way.
- The "spirits of the underworld" (Yoluja) haunt dreams, influence human behavior and are the cause of many diseases.
Creation myth
The world of the Híwi was created by supernatural beings in a single act of creation. The cultural hero Maleiwa was born from the remains of his mother, who was eaten by the jaguar god. The deer was the first animal that came into the world through Kúwai (Maleiwa). He sang his name and the world opened a little. Then he flew through all regions and brought all animals to life by singing their names.
After the jaguar god returned to the forest, Maleiwa created humans and differentiated the world that was previously anthropomorphic . It took Kúwai several attempts to create humans. At first he tried to make them out of clay in the rain, but the clay crumbled. He then tried wax, but the wax melted in the sun. After all, he made them out of hard wood and a mythical rat gave them their sexual organs and the ability to procreate.
Two souls were given to the Hiwi, Yéthis and Húmpe. The first is invisible and leaves the body during sleep to appear in other people's dreams. The second soul travels to the home of Kúwai (Jepira) after death, where it lives on in abundance and abundance of food.
Death and afterlife
According to the Híwi, people are part of a fateful cycle. When a híwi dies, its life cycle is not over. His corpse is buried and his soul (Húmpe) crosses the "path of the dead", the Milky Way , over to Jepira, the island of the dead. At this point his soul can still appear to the living, in a form (Yoluja) or in dreams (Yéthis). An encounter with a Yoluja is considered fatal as it is considered a connection to Jepira. The mythical place Jepira is located in the north on Cabo de Vela . In this way his existence changes from the previously worldly state of Wayúu to the state of Yoluja. Arrived in Jepira, where everything is comparable, but very different from the previously known life, they are “lost souls” and a very long time goes by. Everything else then depends on Juya and Pulowi, whether their soul is accepted by either of them. Your soul then returns to earth either in the form of recurring, life-giving rain or in the form of Wanülüü, which brings sickness and death.
Necromancer
As a necromancer (→ shaman ), the Suerbe-Yopo is the guardian of beliefs and rites, is a fortune teller, heals diseases in humans and animals with the help of the medical expert Wanülüü, who caused the diseases and injuries. He determines the location for the new building of a house according to cosmological principles. In the late 1980s, 80% of these spiritual specialists were women.
In order to become such a necromancer, the initiate is taught by another Suerbe-Yopo and he has to pay him for it with cattle. When the apprenticeship is over, the initiation takes place in a public celebration in which a spirit enters the body of the initiate. Suerbe-Yopos have better access to the spirit world than other people, but they hardly influence everyday life spiritually.
Ritual tools used by the Híwi shamans
The most important ritual tool is the shaman's rattle (tsiitsiito). This incantation instrument consists of a handle with a painted calabash at the top , which is filled with seeds and magic crystals (wánali stones). Above the calabash there is another ornate wooden stick, which is adorned with a feather crown made from the black feathers of the Hokko .
The Suerbe-Yopo uses the rattle for conjuring wild animals, planting magic and healing sick people. In the case of serious illnesses, he puts himself into a trance by means of a snuff made from yopo ( Anadenanthera peregrina ) with a halli-drawing snuff in order to identify the cause of the illness. The helping spirits Málike and Málikai - in their manifestation as birds - are at his side. The slight breeze that the rattle causes is the breath of both helping spirits that "blow away" the disease.
Shaman amulets (puwonobürü) are made from seed kernels, jaguar teeth, pecari teeth, armadillo claws, feathers and cotton.
Hunting damulets (puwonobürü) consist of seed kernels, jaguar teeth, caiman teeth, pecari teeth, armadillo claws, tapir teeth and claws, feathers, pearls made of blue and red glass, the palm fruit of the Chiqui-Chiqui palm ( Leopoldina piassaba ) and cotton. In contrast to the shaman's amulets, teeth and claws are painted with magical symbols, the so-called “pinta del tigre”, with which the necromancer adorns himself for important rituals. These amulets are given by them to successful hunters and to strengthen hunting success.
The pan flute (jiwaburü) consists of two parts. Five of the pipes are connected to one another with a bast band, the sixth, longest pipe is not connected to the other five. To play the typical melodies, two flutes are needed, one “male” and one “female”. These flutes include a third with semitones and both complement each other to make up a diatonic scale.
The pumpkin flute (maraca) is the most important musical instrument of the Suerbe-Yopos. It is traditionally used for healing. It consists of a dried pumpkin that has been painted with geometric patterns and is often adorned with a tuft of Hokko feathers.
The skull pipe (oweibi) is made from the skull of a deer. This is cleaned and sealed with resin and beeswax except for a small opening. The antlers serve as a handle for the player.
Festivals, rites and ceremonies
The Híwi seldom invoke their gods and religious rituals are seldom performed. Above all, they address their ancestors and their cultural hero Maleiwa, who is sometimes confused with the “god of whites” but has little meaning. A celebration of agricultural events such as sowing and harvesting was the ka'ülayawaa (goat dance). This ceremony often includes games of skill, competitions, and opportunities for young women and men to meet. The Yonna dance is a couple dance to the beat of a drum, which is danced during happy events such as the harvest or the healing by a spirit charm or when visiting distinguished personalities. The most important ceremonies of the Híwi, however, are the funeral celebrations, both the First Burial and, above all, the Second Burial.
Christian proselytizing
Although their conception of the world is dualistic , the Christian religion's concept of heaven and hell had little effect on them. However, their oral tradition, their rituals and their spirituality cannot stand against the “Racionales” (“The Reasonable”), as the whites call themselves in contrast to the Híwi.
literature
- John M. Armstrong , Alfred Métraux : The Goajiro , In: Julian Steward (Ed.): Handbook of South American Indians , Smithsonian Institute Bureau of American Ethnology Government Printing Office, Cooper Square Publishers, Washington 1948, (Bulletin 143, Volume 4: The Circum-Caribbean Tribes )
- Lajos Boglár : Wahari. A South American jungle culture , Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag, Leipzig / Weimar 1982
- Ronald Daus : La Guajira. How a wild land is told , Babylon Metropolis Studies, Ursula Opitz Verlag, Berlin 2006
- Nikolaus Federmann : Indian Historia. A beautiful short history of Niclaus Federmann des Jüngern von Ulm first raise , Sigmund Bund, Hagenau 1557 - reading sample
- Jean-Guy Goulet : Guajiro Social Organization and Religion (Dissertation), Yale University, New Haven (Connecticut) 1978, (Spanish version: El universo social y reliqioso guajiro , Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas / Maracaibo 1982)
- Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda : Organización social en La Guajira , In: Revista del Instituto Etnológico Nacional , Bogatá 1950 (English version: Social Organization in La Guajira -, Human Relations Area Files , New Haven 1960)
- Richard A. Mansen : Dispute Negotiations among the Guajiro of Colombia and Venezuela: Dynamics of Compensation and Status , University Microfilms International, Michigan 1988
- Donald J. Metzger , Robert V. Morey : The Guahibo: People of the Savannah , Verlag E. Stiglmayr, Vienna 1974
- Donald J. Metzger & Robert V. Morey: Los Híwis , In: Los Aborígenes de Venezuela , Caracas 1983, (Volume 2, page 125f)
- Wolfgang Müller : The Amazonian Indians. Peoples and cultures in the rainforest , CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 978-3-406-39756-1
- Mark Münzel : Central and South America. From Yucatán to Tierra del Fuego , In: Wolfgang Lindig & Mark Münzel (Ed.): The Indians. Cultures and History , Munich 1978, (Volume 2)
- Michel Perrin : The Way of the Dead Indians. Guajiro Myths and Symbols , In: Texas Press Sourcebooks in Anthropology 13 , University of Texas Press, Austin 1987
- Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff : La cultura material de los indio Guahibo , In: Reviste del Instituto Etnológico Nacional , Bogota 1944, (page 437ff)
- A. Rivera Gutierrez : Material Life and Social Metaphor: Change and Local Models among the Wayúu Indians of Colombia and Venezuela , University of Minnesota 1986
- Jochen Schulz & Heinz Dieter Heinen (eds.): Indian policy in Venezuela: Approaches to the participation of those affected? , Münster / Hamburg 1994, ISBN 978-3-88660-408-1 (reading sample)
- Gloria Triana : Efectos de contacto en la adaptación y patrones de substencia tradicionales: Los Puinave del Inírida . In: Boletín de Antropología , Medellin 1983
- Bernhard Wörrle : From cooking to damaging magic . The salt among Indians and mestizos of Latin America , In: Munich American Studies Contributions 3 , Akademischer Verlag, Munich 1996
- Otto Zerries : Contributions to the ethnography of the Guahibo Indians of the Territorio Amazonas , In: Paideuma , Caracas 1956, (Volume 6, Pages 224-234) - reading sample
- Otto Zerries: Algunas Noticias Etnológicas Acerca de los Indígenas Puinave , In: Boletín Indigenista Venezolano 9 , Caracas 1965
- Orinoco Parima. Indian societies from Venezuela. The Cisneros Collection. Publisher of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, ISBN 3-7757-0872-3 , press kit. ( Memento of March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
Web links
- Hiwi Orinoco Online (English)
- Images of everyday objects from the Híwi (Cisneros Collection) Orinoco Online
Individual evidence
Main reference: Metzger & Morey
- ↑ Zerries (1965, p. 37)
- ↑ On the subject of name variants among American indigenous people, cf. Patricia Roberts Clark: Tribal Names of the Americas. Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced , Jefferson, North Carolina 2009 - excerpt
- ↑ a b Press kit for the Orinoco – Parima exhibition . Indian societies from Venezuela. The Cisneros Collection. ( Memento from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) August 6, 1999 to February 27, 2000, Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany , Bonn, p. 17.
- ↑ Marie-Claude Mattei-Muller : Yoroko - Confidential releases a shaman of Panare , Caracas 1992 (Page 5)
- ↑ a b Reichel-Dolmatoff (1944, page 437)
- ↑ James S. Olson: The Indians of Central and South America. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary , Westport, Connecticut 1991, pp. 132f.
- ↑ Federmann (1557)
- ↑ Frank Salomon, Stuart B. Schwartz (ed.): The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas , Vol. 3.2, Cambridge University Press 1999, p. 718.
- ↑ a b c d e f Orinoco Online: Híwi ( Memento of the original dated February 5, 2010) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Müller (1995, p. 220)
- ^ Alf Hornborg, John Robert McNeill, Juan Martínez Alier: Rethinking Environmental History. World-system History and Global Environmental Change , Lantham 2007, p. 167f.
- ↑ Alexander von Humboldt: Journey to the Equinoctial Areas: (1799–1804) , Vol. 3, reprint, Salzwasser-Verlag 2009, p. 86.
- ^ Robin Wright: Cosmos, Self, and History in Baniwa Religion. For Those Unborn , University of Texas Press 1998, pp. 242f.
- ↑ Schulz (1994, page 12)
- ↑ Colombia Nunca Más: Violencia contra los Indígenas (Spanish)
- ↑ Boglár
- ↑ a b Zerries (1956; page 227)
- ^ Based on : Douglas John McConnel: The Forest Farms of Kandy and other gardens of complete design , Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Company 2003, p. 188.
- ↑ Press kit for the exhibition Orinoco – Parima. Indian societies from Venezuela. The Cisneros Collection. ( Memento from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) August 6, 1999 to February 27, 2000, Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany , Bonn, p. 13.
- ↑ Mansen (1988; page 87)
- ↑ Münzel (1978; page 160)
- ^ Triana (1983; p. 689f)
- ↑ Mansen (1988; page 106f)
- ↑ a b Perrin (Chapter 14)
- ↑ a b c d Armstrong & Métraux (page 378f)
- ↑ Mansen (page 138)
- ↑ Perrin (page 110f)
- ↑ Perrin (page 78f)
- ↑ Perrin (p. 95)
- ↑ a b Mansen (page 135f)
- ↑ Perrin (page 78f)
- ↑ a b Press kit for the Orinoco – Parima exhibition . Indian societies from Venezuela. The Cisneros Collection. ( Memento from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) August 6, 1999 to February 27, 2000, Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany , Bonn, p. 22.
- ↑ Perrin (p. 97)
- ↑ sciweb.nybg.org (PDF)
- ↑ Perrin (page 82f)
- ↑ Mansen (page 148)
- ↑ Perrin (page 75)
