- Cultural considerations about Venezuelan indigenous groups
- Classification of Venezuelan ethnic groups
- References
The cultural evolution of Venezuelan indigenous groups has been studied especially since the Spanish conquest. Many indigenous groups mixed with the Spanish and others remained more separate, although there has been a marked cultural evolution.
The indigenous groups that inhabit Venezuela currently make up less than three percent of the total population. In Venezuela, what historians call “mother cultures” did not develop, and the settlements of their ethnic groups did not have thousands of inhabitants as in the case of Mexico, Peru or Bolivia.
In a study from 2011, of the 51 Venezuelan ethnic groups, only 34 maintained their original cultural practices and were not affected by the Spanish conquest, Westernization or globalization.
Of the 2.7 percent total of indigenous groups that occupy Venezuelan territory, 62.8 percent share territory with Colombia, 18 percent with Brazil, 5.7 percent with Guyana, and only 10.3 percent lives in exclusively Venezuelan territory.
Cultural considerations about Venezuelan indigenous groups
Venezuela had an Amerindian occupation for approximately ten millennia. According to the archaeological periods, four stages can be distinguished:
-The first in the so-called Paleoindian period from 15,000 to 5,000 BC.
-The Mesoindian from 5,000 to 1,000 BC.
-The neo-Indian from 1000 to 1498, when the Spanish arrived.
-The Indo-Hispanic period that continued from the conquest to the present.
Classification of Venezuelan ethnic groups
To classify Venezuelan ethnic groups, identification by linguistic connection has been used as a premise. In 1498, the Arawak ethnic groups (Arawak or Arawak language) dominated the entire western and central Venezuela.
They lived off trade on almost all the islands of the Antilles. The most numerous ethnic group in Venezuela belongs to this linguistic group, located northeast of the state of Zulia and in the Venezuelan and Colombian Guajira: the Wayuú.
The Wayuú are considered independent of both Venezuelan and Colombian laws and customs and occupy a territory close to 27,000 square kilometers. 97 percent of its inhabitants speak the Wayuunaiki language, of Arawak origin.
They are organized culturally from clans and there are at least thirty of them. Men can have several wives and choose their partner in marriage by paying the ápajá, a kind of dowry.
The woman should remain in the home as a token of respect and honor to her husband. Its main economic activity is herding and the sale of woven and basketry products. In the west, the Wayuu, Añú, Baniva, Piacoco, and Wanikua share cultural characteristics.
Among the Caribbean and Amazon peoples, the following stand out:
-The Pemón, known worldwide for their circular houses.
-The Kariña, also related to the Pemón.
-The Panare, known for their matriarchal caste societies, crop work, and hunting with curare-poisoned bows and arrows.
-The Yukpa, Chaima and Japrería, who although they are located in territories very close to the Wayuu, share their linguistic identity with the Caribs. The language of the latter is in danger of extinction.
It has been well known how in these groups the Creole cultural exchange has led them to dedicate themselves to cattle ranching and they modified their homes to adapt them to Western models. Due to the current high level of mimicry, they have lost many of their original cultural traditions.
Within this group, the Yanomanis and the Mapoyo also stand out, both with important populations that, although they are in Bolívar and Amazonas states, their origins come from the Caribs. The language of these ethnic groups was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as it is in serious risk of extinction.
The third linguistic group is occupied by the Guahibas ethnic groups. The cuivas belong to them, who occupy the territory of the plains of Venezuela and Colombia.
To date and despite the advances of the cities, they have remained as hunters and gatherers. It was one of the towns that according to historical records suffered the most persecutions and massacres by the conquerors.
Finally, the ethnic groups with no known linguistic connection are the Waraos, Waikerí, Pumé, Sapé, Uruak, and Jirajaras. Almost all share practices in agriculture, crafts and hunting; chiefdoms; chamanería and polytheism.
References
- Silva, N. (2006). Introduction to the ethnography of the indigenous peoples of Venezuelan Guiana. Guyana: UNEG Editorial Fund.
- Navarro, C; Hernández, C. (2009). Indigenous peoples of Venezuela: Wanai, Sape, Akawayo, Sanema, Jodi, Uruak, E´nepa. Caracas: Editorial Santillana.
- Sanoja, M; Vargas, I. (1999). Origins of Venezuela: aboriginal geohistoric regions up to 1500. Caracas: Presidential Commission V Centennial of Venezuela.
- History of Venezuela: cultural evolution of the American aboriginal groups. (2012). Retrieved on December 20, 2017 from: pueblosindigenasamericanos.blogspot.com
- Salas, J. (1997). Ethnography of Venezuela (Mérida, Táchira and Trujillo states). The aborigines of the Andes Mountains. Mérida: Academy of Mérida.