- Piaroa
ethnic group
group=Piaroa
poptime=12,000 (est.)
popplace=Venezuela ,Colombia
rels=Animism
langs=Piaroa-Maco
related=The Piaroa are an indigenous Americanethnic group living along the banks of theOrinoco and its tributaries in present dayVenezuela , and in a few scattered locations elsewhere in Venezuela and inColombia . The Piaroa number at a population of about 12,000.Seeing competition as spiritually evil and lauding cooperation, the Piaroa are both strongly egalitarian and supportive of individual
autonomy . [http://www.prickly-paradigm.com/paradigm14.pdf Graeber, David 2004 "Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology"] ] The Piaroa are also stronglyanti-authoritarian and opposed to the hoarding of resources, which they see as giving members the power to constrain their freedom. They are also regarded as one of the world's most peaceful societies, withmurder a concept that is both unknown and entirely nonexistent. Anthropologist Joanna Overing also notes thatsocial hierarchy is minimal, and that it would be difficult to say any form of male dominance exists, despite leaders being traditionally male. As a result the Piaroa have been described by some anthropologists as a functioning anarchist society.Language
The Piaroa speak a
Saliban language .Piaroa Lifestyle
The Piaroa have lived by the Orinoco for thousands of years in their traditional way, making use of the forest and the river for their needs. The river is their source of life: for bathing, washing clothes and for collecting water etc...
The tarantula is considered a great delicacy to the Piaroa people to eat and enjoy and the yucca (a root vegetable) is their main source of food.There are lots of flies, so to keep them away from their crops, their burn leaves.
During the day, it is the men's job to go fishing while the women clear the forest by burning leaves.
The Piaroa have a medicine man called the Shaman. They believe that if people are sick, they have bad spirits in them. They go to see the medicine man to suck them out.
References
External links
* [http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Piaroa.html Piaroa profile at peacefulsocieties.org]
* [http://indian-cultures.com/Cultures/piaroa.html
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.