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 Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, the Hiwi live in the states of

Apure Apure State ( es, Estado Apure, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations pronounced by the colonial autho ...

, Guarico, Bolivar, and Amazonas. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century historians described the Hiwi as

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

hunter-gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

. 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 or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...

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 ornaments. 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 A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wove ...

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 Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

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 A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

, the

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

’s principal musical instrument, is traditionally used for healing. The body of a

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.

External links

Orinoco Online
Arizona State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiwi People Indigenous peoples in Venezuela Ethnic groups in Colombia Hunter-gatherers of South America bs:Guahíbo de:Híwi es:Guahibo hr:Guahíbo it:Guahibo

See also

External links