HUAORANI OF ECUADOR

Huaorani of Ecuador



Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of “Huaorani” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “Huaorani” and its relation with “Ecuador, where they lived”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “Huaorani”. Finally the research describes various aspects of “Huaorani” and tries to describe the relation of “Huaorani” on “Ecuador”.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

History4

Population5

Location5

Ecological setting/demography5

Economy6

Settlement pattern and mobility7

Business Environment7

Domestic organization8

Political organization8

Organization for resistance9

Religion and spirituality10

Current situation11

Conclusion12

References13

Huaorani of Ecuador

Introduction

Huaorani people have lived as forest hunters and gatherers in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon for hundreds of years. From their tragic encounter with North American missionaries in 1956 to this day, they have held a remarkable place in journalistic and popular imagination, which portrays them as Ecuador's “last savages.” Despite the “civilizing” efforts of missionaries, the Huaorani has largely retained their distinctive way of apprehending the world.

History

The Huaorani used to be known by the pejorative name of Auca (warring savages). Their traditional territory extended from the Napo River in the north, to the Curaray River to the south. They extended from the traditional Territory Napo River in the north, to the river to the south Curaray. They are approximately 1300 individuals and for the most part live in communities like Tona Empari, Dayuno, Cononaco, Yasuní, and others. The Huaorani have been confused with the Zaparo and Aushiri Indians. Very little is known about their past except that they lived for centuries in the interstices between the great Zaparo, Shuar, and Tukanoan nations of the Upper Napo, where they constituted nomadic and autarkic (self-sufficient) enclaves fiercely refusing contact, trade, and exchange with their powerful neighbors. The core of Huaorani territory was the Tiputini River, from whence they expanded, in the aftermath of the rubber boom, east, west, and south, until they occupied most of the hinterland between the Napo and Curaray Rivers.

In 1969, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), who had contacted the Huaorani a decade earlier, authorized to create a 66,570 ha protection zone (“the Protectorate”) around its mission. By the early 1980s, 85 percent of the population was living in the Protectorate, which represents 10 percent of the traditional territory. In April 1990, the Huaorani granted the largest Indian territory in Ecuador (679,130 ha). It includes the Protectorate and linked with the Yasuni National Park (982,300 ha).

Population

The population is approximately 1300 today, with 55 percent under the age of sixteen. Population at contact during the 1960s was about 600 (Rivet, 1990).

Location

Amazonian Ecuador, between the Napo and Curare Rivers, and from the Andean foothills follows to the Peruvian border. Traditional territory: 20,000 km2, 76 to 77 30' W. Titled territory: 679,130 ha.

Ecological setting/demography

Like much of western Amazonia's rainforest, Huaorani land has no distinct seasons. Annual precipitation, averaging 3500 mm, evenly distributed throughout the year. Atmospheric humidity (80-90 percent) is constant, and soils, renowned as the least fertile in Ecuador, are permanently damp. On the western side, numerous streams and creeks cut across rugged terrain featuring sizeable hills, to form the Curaray's ...