The Guarani culture, a heritage that keeps alive
May 6
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The Guarani are a South American native people, originally from the Amazon region, they settled in different regions of the continent and especially in Paraguay. We will see some characteristics of this indigenous people that through the centuries keeps alive a unique heritage, the native art.
Territory occupied by the Guarani Indians:
The Guarani were located on the coasts of the Amazon River to the islands of the Rio de la Plata and from the Paraguay River to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, since these were the most favorable territories for fishing, hunting, clay gathering for pottery, mainly for horticultural work, while the forest near these areas provided wild fruits and abundant timber.
Social and political organization:
They lived in villages where the houses were arranged around a large square of quadrangular shape; a great social activity was developed there. They were communal houses of rectangular bases, conformed by a single room and whose roof descended to the ground; they were called "ogaguasu or tapyî" individually, and as a whole, "táva". Each family lived in a communal house where between 60 and 120 people lived, presided over by a chief who occupied the center part. In turn, the village was headed by a political chief called The "Mburuvicha", and a religious chief called "paje". Its social organization was headed by a Cacique (tuvicha) whose leadership was hereditary. One of the cacique's functions was to administer community work and distribute consumer goods. There was a division of labor by gender. The elaboration of ceramics was the exclusive task of women, as well as planting and weaving cloth. Men were basically fishermen, hunters, gatherers and warriors.
Culture and art:
Language, their greatest legacy, the Guaranies knew many species of herbs, which they used to cure diseases. They excelled in the manufacture of their own work tools, their household utensils, such as jars, bowls, pots made of clay, besides their weapons of war and funerary urns. They did not know how to write but they knew how to count from one to ten and to refer to higher numbers they used repetition. Their language, Guarani, is one of the most valuable legacies of this culture.
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