Jivaro Research Paper

The Jivaro is located in the forested foothills of the Andes right by the Ecuadorian-Peruvian border. The term "Jivaro" means alone and it usually refers to this group of people. The population of the Jivaro living in the foothills of the Andes in Ecuador was estimated to be 7,830. The houses held about nine people, the houses that were sighted was multiplied by the number of people it held. "It is generally believed that the Jivaro speak languages belonging to the Jivaroan Family of languages, but most historical linguists find it difficult to assign Jivaroan dialects and languages with any certainty to any of the recognized major language families of South American Indians."( ) Harner (1973) stated that Jivaro along with many other languages

In 1599, the Jivaro rebelled, killing thousands of Spaniards during the rebel and forced them out of the region. The Jivaro are scattered, some in 245 houses over 1,844 square miles. The communities vary from about 80-300 people, in the twentieth century 30 to 40 live in one house called the JIVARIA. Every household has one huge garden or a lot of smaller one associated with it. The Jivaro grew many crops but they were also acceptional hunters. The Jivaro use several different kinds lo g distance weapons to hunt as a game. Magic plays a big part in the aspect of hunting in their culture. Most of the technological items that are made by the Jivaro are usually use for there own needs. The Jivaro people 's trade is usually between the " interior" and the "frontier" groups living in close proximity to Ecuadorian settlements. The men are in charge of protection, house construction, handy man activities and hunting. Women take care of agriculture tasks, food preparation, child care and etc. The Jivaro kin group is know as "personal" bilateral

The brother also has the right to inherit the deceased wife or wives. The Jivaro lacks organization in the political area. "Leadership is found in the role of individuals referred to as UNYÄ ("big" or "old" men) or KAKARAM ("powerful" or "powerful ones") who are renown as killers in feuds or war, or exercise important shamanistic powers in the community."( ) The leaders in the community get this reputation by being old enough to have grandchildren, being honest, kind and helping people in the community. Usually there are two UNYA and also two shamans who gives protection for their relative and others on friendly terms. Jivaro believes in an impersonal supernatural power called TSARUTAMA. "The mountain Rain God, the Anaconda, the Sun, Moon, Earth, and the chonta palm, are all believed to possess great amounts of this power."( ) The Javiro have ceremonies before they go on a raiding expedition, but the other ceremony is the TSANTSA feast. A TSANTSA feast is a celebration for a successful head-hunting raid. The Jivaro take the deceased adults and buries them in hollowed-out logs in special building and feed them for two years. Then they believe that the deceased transforms into animals or birds. Children that die are interred in