Where are the Guarani people in South America?
They are distinguished from the related Tupí by their use of the Guaraní language. The traditional range of the Guaraní people is in present-day Paraguay between the Uruguay River and lower Paraguay River, the Misiones Province of Argentina, southern Brazil once as far north as Rio de Janeiro, and parts of Uruguay and Bolivia.
How many houses did the Guarani people live in?
The Guarani used slash-and-burn agriculture techniques, so they had to move their homes every five to six years. Their villages were composed of four to six houses, each of which held up to 60 people. Can you imagine that many people in a house? The families that lived together were connected through the paternal bloodline.
What kind of language does the Guarani tribe speak?
In fact, the Guarani language has three forms – one for everyday use, one for use by elders, and one that is regarded as a divine, religious language. As legend has it, the Guarani have been looking for a place revealed by ancestors.
How are the Guarani people treated in Brazil?
Malnutrition is a serious problem and since 2005 at least 53 Guarani children have died of starvation. Brazil has one of the most highly-developed biofuels industries in the world. Sugar cane plantations were established in the 1980s and rely heavily on indigenous labour. Workers often work for pitiful wages under terrible conditions.
Where do the Guarani live in Mato Grosso do Sul?
Today they are squeezed onto tiny patches of land surrounded by cattle ranches and vast fields of soya and sugar cane. Some have no land at all, and live camped by roadsides. In the last 500 years virtually all the Guarani’s land in Mato Grosso do Sul state has been taken from them.
What kind of food did the Guarani Indians eat?
It is estimated that the Guarani numbered some 400,000 people when they were first encountered by Europeans. At that time, they were sedentary and agricultural, subsisting largely on manioc, maize, wild game, and honey . Equally little is known about early Guarani society and beliefs.