The Bora are an indigenous
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
of the
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
vian,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n, and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, located between the
Putumayo and
Napo rivers.
Ethnography
The Bora speak a
Witotan language and comprise approximately 2,000 people.
In the last forty years, the Bora have become a largely settled people living mostly in permanent forest settlements.
The
animist
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
Bora worldview makes no distinction between the physical and spiritual worlds, and spirits are considered to be present throughout the world.
Bora families practice
exogamy
Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...
.
The Bora have an elaborate knowledge of the plant life of the surrounding rainforest. Like other indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, such as the Urarina, plants, especially trees, hold a complex and important interest for the Bora.
Bows and arrows are the main weapons of the Bora culture used in person to person conflict.
The Bora have guarded their lands from both indigenous foes and outsider colonials. Around the time of the 20th century, the
rubber boom
The Amazon rubber boom ( pt, Ciclo da borracha, ; es, Fiebre del caucho, , 1879 to 1912) was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related to the extraction and comm ...
had a devastating impact on the Boras, who suffered mistreatment during that time period.
[Hardenburg, W. E. (1912). "The Putumayo; The Devil's Paradise".]
The Bora tribe's ancestral lands are currently threatened by
illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...
practices. The Bora have no indigenous reserves.
References
Bibliography
* Harrison, Theresa; Media, Demand (n.d.). ''Basic Beliefs of the Bora Indians''. Classroom Synonym. Retrieved on 2015-02-01 from http://classroom.synonym.com/basic-beliefs-bora-indians-6514.html.
External links
The Bora People*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bora people
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Colombia
Indigenous peoples in Peru