Piaroa
Encyclopedia
The Piaroa are an indigenous American
ethnic group
living along the banks of the Orinoco River and its tributaries in present day Venezuela
, and in a few scattered locations elsewhere in Venezuela and in Colombia
. The Piaroa number at a population of about 12,000.
Seeing competition as spiritually evil and lauding cooperation, the Piaroa are both strongly egalitarian
and supportive of individual autonomy
. The Piaroa are also strongly anti-authoritarian
and opposed to the hoarding of resources, which they see as giving members the power to constrain their freedom. They are also regarded as one of the world's most peaceful societies, with murder
a concept that is both unknown and entirely nonexistent. Anthropologist Joanna Overing also notes that social hierarchy is minimal, and that it would be difficult to say any form of male dominance exists, despite leaders being traditionally male. As a result the Piaroa have been described by some anthropologists as a functioning anarchist
society.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
living along the banks of the Orinoco River and its tributaries in present day 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...
, and in a few scattered locations elsewhere in Venezuela and 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...
. The Piaroa number at a population of about 12,000.
Seeing competition as spiritually evil and lauding cooperation, the Piaroa are both strongly egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
and supportive of individual autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
. The Piaroa are also strongly anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as a "political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule: absolutism, autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism." Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil...
and opposed to the hoarding of resources, which they see as giving members the power to constrain their freedom. They are also regarded as one of the world's most peaceful societies, with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
a concept that is both unknown and entirely nonexistent. Anthropologist Joanna Overing also notes that social hierarchy is minimal, and that it would be difficult to say any form of male dominance exists, despite leaders being traditionally male. As a result the Piaroa have been described by some anthropologists as a functioning anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
society.
External links
- Piaroa profile at peacefulsocieties.org
- Indian Cultures – Piaroa
- Graeber David Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology. Chicago, Prickly Paradig Press Feb. 2011: a 1-minute excerpt from a documentary film directed by anthropologist Lajos Boglár in 1968, uploaded by the Ethnographic Museum (Budapest).
- Photos on material culture of Piaroa, and a summary on mythological figures (Wahari, Cheheru, Kwemoi): Indígenas de Venezuela: los Piaroa (Part 1) by Ronny Velásquez and Nilo Ortiz. Also a PDF version provided. Translation can be read here.
- Photos and article on spiritual culture of Piaroa, paraphernalia of the Warime mask dance: La ceremonia Piaroa del Wärime (Part 2) by Ronny Velásquez y Nilo Ortiz. Also a PDF version provided. Translation can be read here.