THE 15 MOST OUTSTANDING INDIGENOUS TRIBES OF COLOMBIA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The indigenous tribes of Colombia are those ethnic groups that were present in the territory before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Although they only make up 3.5% of the population, they represent about 1.5 million people distributed in about 87 different tribes.

These communities have had a great impact throughout the entire territory from the Amazon rainforest, through the Andes mountains to the lowlands of the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Many of these cultures are currently threatened by the pressure of industrial activities and forced displacement due to the civil war. Below are some of the most important Colombian tribal cultures that still survive.

You may also be interested in this list of American Indian tribes.

1- Arhuacos

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The Arhuacos, also known as ika or iku, are an indigenous people who speak Chibcha and descendants of the Tairona culture.

They are located in the northern portion of Colombian territory, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Magdalena and Cesar departments.

Their main subsistence activities are agriculture and the exchange of handicrafts. They consider the mountains where they live as the heart of the world and its well-being depends on this place.

2- Guambiano

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The Guambianos, also known as Misak, are a Guambian-speaking indigenous people. They are located in the western portion of the Andes mountain range in the department of Cauca.

Its cultural and political center is located in the municipality of Silvia. Its economy is based on agriculture, mainly on the cultivation of coffee, potatoes, grains and cassava. They are characterized by their ruana dress or blue blouses with hats.

3- Muisca

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The Muiscas are a Chibcha-speaking people who once formed the Muisca confederation located in the Andean highlands of the eastern mountain range in Colombia.

Its territory was made up of the current departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander and Tolima. Today, the Muisca population has almost disappeared with some communities of descendants present in some municipalities surrounding Bogotá.

At its peak, it became a very powerful culture due to the abundant resources of gold and emeralds available to them. They were also considered an agrarian society focused on the production of tubers, fruits, coca and quinoa.

4- Paez

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The Paez or Nasa are an indigenous people living in the highlands of the Cauca department in the Western Cordillera of Colombia.

The language they practice within the community is known as Nasa Yuwe. Its population is currently estimated to consist of around 186,000 people. Its economy is based on agriculture, especially the cultivation of corn. The minga is the structure under which they value the community effort on behalf of their people.

5- Pijao

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The Pijaos, also known as Natagaimas or Coyaimas, are an indigenous people living in the region of the Central Cordillera of Colombia.

Its territory once extended through the current departments of Huila, Quindío and mainly Tolima. The Pijao language was officially declared extinct in the middle of the 20th century and there are no good documents on it.

Currently, due to the armed conflict in Colombia, many reservations have been displaced from their places of origin and are living in isolated regions of the country.

6- U'wa

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The u'wa or tunebos are an indigenous people living in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, mainly in the department of Boyacá.

They practice the language of the Chibcha family called u'wajca. Its political distribution is planned based on clans that are distributed throughout the mountains on the border with Venezuela. Currently their culture is threatened by oil exploration that wants to enter the area they inhabit.

7- Embera

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The Emberá, also known as Chocó or Katíos, are an indigenous people living in the Pacific region between Colombia and Panama in the department of Chocó and the Province of Darién.

They practice the Embera language which is actually a composition of various languages ​​spoken throughout the region. Their settlements are scattered throughout the river systems of the area. Their activities are based on hunting, fishing and gathering. Some of the crops that support agricultural activity are bananas, corn, sugarcane, grains and cassava.

8- Macuna

The Macuna, also known as Buhágana, are an indigenous people living in the Amazon region between Colombia and Brazil in the department of Vaupés and the state of Amazonas.

Its population is estimated to be around 600 individuals with the majority of them living in the Colombian portion.

They are located at the confluence of the Paraná and Apaporis rivers. The Macuna subsist on gathering, hunting and fishing. They are currently legally protected by a reserve created for their territory, which gives them some control over it.

9- Motilon

The motilones or barís are an indigenous people who live in the Catatumbo river basin in the border region between Colombia and Venezuela in the department of Norte de Santander and the state of Zulia.

The language they practice is Barí, which belongs to the Chibcha family. Its economy is based on agriculture, gathering, hunting and fishing. Their culture is currently under threat from the exploitation of oil and coal that pollutes the resources of the area.

10- Kogi

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The Kogi or Kágaba are an indigenous people living in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Colombian Caribbean region. The language they practice, called kogui, is classified within the Chibcha family.

Their belief structure is well known and they consider the earth as the "Great Mother" and man as her "son".

His people represent the "older brothers" and the rest of civilization are the "younger brothers." The Kogi practice agriculture through artigaje and by being located at different altitudes in the mountains, each community satisfies different needs for food. They also practice livestock in the higher regions.

11- Nukak

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The Nukak or Nukak-Makú are an indigenous people living on the banks of the Guaviare and Inírida rivers in the department of Guaviare in Colombia.

They were considered a people without contact from the outside world until 1981 and since then they have lost most of their population mainly due to disease.

Their subsistence is based mainly on hunting, which they practice by using blowguns with poison darts with a mixture of different plants. They also make use of javelins to get their food.

12- Tikuna

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The Tikuna, also known as Tucuna, Tukuna or Magüta, are an indigenous people living in the Amazon basin between the limits of Brazil, Colombia and Peru.

Their language is Ticuna, which is considered an isolated language thanks to hundreds of years of isolation from other cultures.

They traditionally practiced shamanism, but due to outside influence, this practice is increasingly rare. Modern Tikunas only wear their traditional outfits for special occasions or in performances for tourists. Most of them also make use of Western names.

13- Wayuu

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The Wayuu, also known as guajro or wahiro, are an indigenous people living on the Guajira peninsula between Colombia and Venezuela in the department of La Guajira and the state of Zulia.

The Wayuu language they practice is part of the Maipuran family of languages. It is estimated that its population in the Colombian territory is around 144,000 people and in Venezuela about 293,700.

They have an irregular distribution throughout the area mainly due to seasonal changes. Each Wayuu family is associated with a specific clan. Their settlements are called caseríos or rancherías. Their subsistence is mainly based on grazing goats or goats.

14- Witoto

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The Witoto or Huitoto are an indigenous people living in the Putumayo and Caquetá river basin on the border between Colombia and Peru, in the Putumayo, Caquetá and Loreto departments of both countries.

Its current population is estimated to be around 9000 individuals. Their language is part of the great family of languages ​​that make up the Bora-Witoto complex.

The subsistence of the Witoto is based on the practice of artigaje in cassava, cacao, coca, corn and tobacco crops. The hunt is carried out using blowguns with poisoned darts.

15- Zenu

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The Zenú or Sinú are an indigenous people whose territory encompassed the valleys of the Sinpu and San Jorge rivers in the departments of Córdoba and Sucre in the Colombian Caribbean.

Currently there is a reserve of around 33,000 inhabitants who still preserve some practices in the crafts of their ancestors.

In Colombia they are well known for the fiber fabric under which the traditional vueltiao hat is produced, which is considered a symbol of the culture of this country.

References

1. Survival International. People from the heart of the Earth. survivalinternational.org.
2. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Encyclopedia.com. 1996. encyclopedia.com.
3. Cartwright, Mark. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Muisca Civilization. July 6, 2015. ancient.eu/Muisca_Civilization.
4. Contries and their Cultures. Paez. everyculture.com.
5. Martinez, Helda. Inter Press Service. COLOMBIA: 'We Will Not Leave Our Land' Say Pijao and Paez Indians. August 2, 2006. ipsnews.net.
6. Amazon Watch. The U'wa People of Colombia's Cloud Forests. amazonwatch.org.
7. Native Planet. The Embera and Waounan. 2000.
8. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Macuna. 1996. encyclopedia.com.
9. World Rainforest Movement. Colombia: The Motilon Bari Indigenous Peoples rise up for their rights against oil interests. May 2006. wrm.org.uy.
10. Reddy, Jini. The Guardian. What Colombia's Kogi people can teach us about the environment. October 29, 2013. theguardian.com.
11. Survival International. The Nukak. survivalinternational.org.
12. Indian Cultures. TICUNA INDIANS. indian-cultures.com.
13. The telegraph. Just Back: the eccentric Wayuu tribe of Colombia. April 29, 2016. telegraph.co.uk.
14. Countries and their Cultures. Witoto. everyculture.com.
15. Bank of the Republic. Gold Museum. The Zenú Tradition. banrepcultural.org.