Hiwi people
Encyclopedia
The Hiwi call themselves the “people of the savannah” for the vast flatlands they inhabit between the Meta
and Vichada
rivers in Colombia
. In Venezuela
, the Hiwi live in the states of Apure, Guarico, Bolivar
, and Amazonas
. Seventeenth and eighteenth century historians described the Hiwi as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Their long history of violent conflict, extending well into the twentieth century, has meant dramatic changes in their way of life.
Today, when the Hiwi visit criollo
towns, they wear European-style clothing: shirts and pants for the men, and cotton dresses for the women. In their own villages, many continue to wear traditional loincloths made of cloth or of a vegetable bark called marima.
Traditional clothing also includes body ornamentation
. The Hiwi make necklaces of glass beads as well as shamanic amulet necklaces for ceremonial use, made with animal teeth, hooves, and beaks.
Textile crafts are an important part of their material culture. Using looms, the Hiwi weave high-quality hammocks with moriche or cumare fibers.
Historically, basketry has been a male occupation among the Hiwi, and the baskets they weave for transporting and storing foodstuffs are decorated with red and black geometric designs. Recently, women have begun to make baskets for commercial sale.
Some Hiwi still make pottery, although far fewer since the introduction of aluminum pots and plastic containers. Traditionally an activity of the dry season, vessels are made by rolling rings of clay over a base. After they dry, they are burned over an open fire and then decorated with vegetable dyes such as cumare and caruto.
Despite a reputation as less than excellent navigators, the Hiwi do make curiaras and oars. The curiaras are made from a tree similar to the cedar. After the bark is removed, they use fire, hatchets, and machetes to shape the wood. From the same wood, they produce oars with round handles and oval paddles. Although made by hand, the completed curiara looks newly manufactured.
The Hiwi make wind and percussion musical instruments for festivities and ceremonial rituals, such as flutes with three holes made from large deer bones. Pan flutes, made with five or six tubes of caña amarga, often are played with another musical instrument made from the skull and antlers of the deer.
The maraca, the shaman’s principal musical instrument, is traditionally used for healing. The body of a maraca is made from a dried gourd, which is then painted with geometric patterns. It is often decorated as well with a tuft of curassow
feathers.
Meta River
The Meta River is formed in the Meta Department, Colombia by the confluence of the Humea, Guatiquía and Guayuriba rivers. It flows east-northeastward across the Llanos Orientales plains of Colombia through an ancient fault...
and Vichada
Vichada River
The Vichada River is a blackwater river in the country of Colombia, South America. It flows into the Orinoco River.The westward course of the Vichada is offset by an impact structure, called the Vichada Structure. The structure is most likely the largest impact structure in South America....
rivers in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. In Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the Hiwi live in the states of Apure, Guarico, Bolivar
Bolívar (state)
Bolívar State , is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. The state capital city is Ciudad Bolívar. Bolívar State covers a total surface area of 238,000 km² and in June 30, 2010 had an estimated population of 1,620,359....
, and Amazonas
Amazonas (Venezuelan state)
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided.The state capital is Puerto Ayacucho. The capital until the early 1900s was San Fernando de Atabapo. Although named after the Amazon River, most of the state is drained by the Orinoco. Amazonas State covers a total surface...
. Seventeenth and eighteenth century historians described the Hiwi as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Their long history of violent conflict, extending well into the twentieth century, has meant dramatic changes in their way of life.
Today, when the Hiwi visit criollo
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
towns, they wear European-style clothing: shirts and pants for the men, and cotton dresses for the women. In their own villages, many continue to wear traditional loincloths made of cloth or of a vegetable bark called marima.
Traditional clothing also includes body ornamentation
Body ornamentation
Practices of body ornamentation are a cultural universal .They can involve*body modification **tattoos**branding**body piercing*body art **body painting, makeup**hairstyles**hair coloring...
. The Hiwi make necklaces of glass beads as well as shamanic amulet necklaces for ceremonial use, made with animal teeth, hooves, and beaks.
Textile crafts are an important part of their material culture. Using looms, the Hiwi weave high-quality hammocks with moriche or cumare fibers.
Historically, basketry has been a male occupation among the Hiwi, and the baskets they weave for transporting and storing foodstuffs are decorated with red and black geometric designs. Recently, women have begun to make baskets for commercial sale.
Some Hiwi still make pottery, although far fewer since the introduction of aluminum pots and plastic containers. Traditionally an activity of the dry season, vessels are made by rolling rings of clay over a base. After they dry, they are burned over an open fire and then decorated with vegetable dyes such as cumare and caruto.
Despite a reputation as less than excellent navigators, the Hiwi do make curiaras and oars. The curiaras are made from a tree similar to the cedar. After the bark is removed, they use fire, hatchets, and machetes to shape the wood. From the same wood, they produce oars with round handles and oval paddles. Although made by hand, the completed curiara looks newly manufactured.
The Hiwi make wind and percussion musical instruments for festivities and ceremonial rituals, such as flutes with three holes made from large deer bones. Pan flutes, made with five or six tubes of caña amarga, often are played with another musical instrument made from the skull and antlers of the deer.
The maraca, the shaman’s principal musical instrument, is traditionally used for healing. The body of a maraca is made from a dried gourd, which is then painted with geometric patterns. It is often decorated as well with a tuft of curassow
Curassow
Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of Crax ranges north to Mexico...
feathers.
External links
- Orinoco Online
- Hiwi, Arizona State University