Huaurani Research Paper

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To hunt the Huaorani use poisonous dart arrows that paralyze their prey. The toxin used is called “curare” and is derived from a plant. It causes asphyxiation as the animal’s entire body becomes paralyzed. The Huaorani never hunt the jaguar or snake. Snakes are considered evil, with the anaconda being the most fearsome. They believe that once the body dies, the spirit is met by the anaconda on its way to the afterlife. If the spirit is brave, it will leap over the snake and continue on its path. If not, it will be sent back to live as a termite. Living in the Amazon Rainforest, the Huaorani are exposed to one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. They are in-tune with nature and have vast knowledge of their surroundings, plants and …show more content…

Ear piercing is done with a spine from the trunk of a tree. The lobe is then gradually stretched with pieces of wood. They wear large plugs made of stone or wood until they become much older, at which point they leave their lobes without decoration. Other beauty practices include removing all body hair for the women, and shortly cut hair above the eyes for both genders. Unfortunately the Huaorani have been deeply affected by the presence of western religion, logging, poaching and industrialization. Living in the Amazon Rainforest, they occupy land that’s rich in oil. They’ve lived on land between the Curaray and Napo rivers since the time of their ancestors, and are now forced to share it with hundreds of kilometers of oil pipeline. Now the Haurani reside on just under 7,000 km of land. Some Huaorani communities have chosen to reject all contact with the outside world, moving deeper into the jungle. Other communities responded violently to missionaries and oil workers on their land. But some have been converted to a more modern lifestyle. Many Huaorani children now attend local schools, and full tribes have begun wearing western clothing. There are even Huaorani that work for tourist companies, and the very oil companies that have contributed to the destruction of their

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