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Huaorani Amazon Naked

Huaorani Indian Tribe

Warriors of the Amazon - Page 2 of 6

The Huaorani are not tall, but they have impressively strong bodies and traditionally wore no clothes, being entirely nude.  With thick calves, buff torso, and sturdy hands, they are a pack of muscles. They hunt with cerbatanas (blowguns) and spears, both 2.5 to 3 meters long, and very heavy, made of chonta wood. The cerbatanas are built using a process similar to the Yaguas Indians. Besides the cerbatana, their hunting kit includes a round, hard fruit carcass filled with natural cotton, and a tube filled with thin, long, curare-dipped darts. Curare is a poisonous concoction made by boiling a mix of vines and plants. It paralyzes, and even kills the victim. The dart tube and the cotton-holder are tied together with rope spun of chambira fibers, and worn across the back. A piranha jaw is also tied to the kit, and it is used to make a small dent around the tip of the dart, so when the dart penetrates the victim's body it breaks, leaving the tip inside. Before inserting the dart in the cerbatana, cotton is rolled at the blunt end, making it stay in the cerbatana tube and helping it gain speed, when blown. Being primarily hunters, the Huaorani diet consists mainly of meat (monkey, wild boar, turtles, and tapir) but they also subsist on a few vegetarian items such as plantains, bananas, cassava, and forest fruits.

The Huaorani are known for their spears, which are long, with both ends sharpened. One of the ends is carved with sharp barbs. Once the spear enters the body, there is no way of taking it out without tearing the flesh and causing more damage. They are feared by neighboring tribes for their violent reputation. Huaoranis are indeed very temperamental, moody, and unpredictable. They have a long history of bloody vengeances; violent payback was part of their culture. Most of the conflicts were solved by spearing the other party, then the family of the victim would seek revenge, thus perpetuating the vicious cycle.

 

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