Mythologies of the Kichwa/Quichua Tribes
Amazonian Kichwas are a grouping of indigenous Kichwa peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon, with minor groups across the borders of Colombia and Peru. Amazonian Kichwas consists of different ethnic peoples, including Napo Kichwa (or Napu Runa, as they call themselves, living in the Napo and Sucumbíos provinces, with some parts of their community living in Colombia and Peru) and Canelos Kichwa (also referred to as Kichwa del Pastaza, or Pastaza Runa living in the Pastaza Province). There are approximately 419 organized communities of the Amazonian Kichwas. The basic socio-political unit is the ayllu (made up by a group of families). The ayllus in turn constitute territorial clans, based on common ancestry. Unlike other subgroups, the Napo Kichwa maintain less ethnic duality of acculturated natives or Christians. After a powerful protest of the Amazonian Kichwas held in Pastaza in 1992, the Ecuadorian state handed over the rights to 1,115,000 hectares (ha) of land for their use. The Inca people who established the Incan empire and colonized the Quijos. The Chanka people from Huancavelica and Ayacucho, Peru. The Inga people from Colombia, who speak a closely related Kichwa. The Huanca people from Junin, Peru. The Quijos people from the Eastern lowlands of Ecuador.
With a population of around 2.5 million, the indigenous Quichua people of northwestern South America are the largest of any indigenous population group in the Americas today. Aymara-Quechua languages are, collectively, the most widely spoken of all indigenous languages in South America. The Quichua are also the only indigenous people to have migrated both southward, along the ridges and valleys of the Andes Mountains, and eastward into the Amazon Rainforest. This early divergence in their migration paths has created distinct mountain- and jungle-Quichua identity and culture.The Quichua were among the earliest peoples to be conquered by the Inca Empire. Ironically, the Inca Empire comprised mainly people who spoke the same Quechua language. It wasn't until Spanish colonization, though, that their population level fell drastically. One of the most important dates in history is associated with this decline.
The Kichwa indigenous community is the most populous ethnic group in the Ecuadorian Amazon region and the primary ethnicity of the locals in the area around La Selva, though nearby there are significant populations of Huaorani and Shuar indigenous tribes as well. The Kichwa people in the Amazon tend to be farmers and supplement their diet with traditional hunting practices and food purchased from outside markets. They are quite adept with the use of medicinal plants and fruit trees along with the planting and harvesting of yucca (manioc), banana, coffee and cocoa. Due to increased exposure to urban Ecuadorian culture over the last several decades, diminishing numbers of Kichwa use traditional dress in favor of western-style clothes. Most working age men and youth speak Spanish fluently in addition to Kichwa, whereas elders and women frequently have only basic Spanish skills and communicate primarily in Kichwa. A gradual erosion of traditional Kichwa culture has occured over generations. Much of this has been caused by the expansion of the petroleum industry, forces of modernization and globalization in addition to the Kichwa’s position on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder in Ecuador.
Kichwa or Quichua refers to the Kichwa-speaking people of Ecuador. The Kichwa are a part of a much larger population in South America (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina) known as the Quechuas (also Runakuna and Ingas). The Kichwa inhabit both the highlands and lowlands of Ecuador. The way of life of the lowland Kichwa has been significantly altered only in the past few decades. Many Kichwa still hold true to their customs and cultivate yuca and other traditional foods in permaculture gardens. The Kichwa’s current population (in Ecuador) is estimated at about 80,000 people.
The Kichwa tribe on Sani Isla, who were using blowpipes two generations ago, said they are ready to fight to the death to protect their territory, which covers 70,000 hectares of pristine rainforest. Petroamazonas – the state-backed oil company – have told them it will begin prospecting on 15 January, backed by public security forces. Community members are launching a last-ditch legal battle to stop the state-run firm assisted by a British businesswoman, who is married to the village shaman, and who was recently appointed to run the local eco lodge. Mari Muench, who is originally from London, said the community decided at two meetings late last year to reject a financial offer from the oil firm because they were concerned about the long-term environmental impact of mining.
The Kichwa tribe is the largest ethnic group in the Ecuadorian region of the Amazon Rainforest. The people who are part of the tribe are mostly farmers, and they all supplement their own diet. They keep things simple by practicing traditional hunting methods and harvesting their own food on farms. In the past, people in the tribe have chosen to keep the traditions of the culture alive by refraining from using as much technology as possible and having contact with the developed world. However, recently the petroleum and tourism industries have forced them to become a more modernized civilization. The town of Ahuano is much more developed than other indigenous cultures spread throughout the rainforest. They have adapted to some new technologies while other tribes remain totally disconnected from the outside world and continue to live life the same way they did one hundred years ago. Ahuano has schools and educational opportunities; however, the majority of the kids there do not end up graduating high school. Most become farmers like their families. Junior Lataya Charles said, “It is really crazy to me that people can live in the Amazon Rainforest and have a lot less technology than the rest of the world. I think it is very interesting to learn about their lives.”
Allipuncha means good morning. However, it is pronounced ‘ah-lee-poon-jah.’ This is the standard greeting in the Kichwa community, often followed by Imanalla, pronounced ‘ee-mah-nah-jah’ which means, how are you? Sometimes, allipuncha is followed by tayta or mama, respectful ways of speaking to elders. Or, it can be followed by mashi, which means friend. November 2nd is Dia de los Difuntos in Ecuador, which translates to Day of the Dead. However, don’t get it mixed up with the Mexican Dia de los Muertos. Here, to celebrate, the indigenous community visits their community cemeteries with food and spend the day picnicking in the cemetery. A huge part of this tradition is tanta wawa, which means bread child. Indigenous families will make bread with a human shape to represent the bodies of the dead. They are made a day or two before the 2nd, along with colada morada. Colada is a type of drink relatively unique to Ecuador and has a thick, smoothie-like consistency, but is usually warm. It is most commonly made with oatmeal or fruit. Colada morada, is a special mixture of mora (blackberries), blueberries, apples, strawberries, pineapples, and babaco, which looks a bit like starfruit. On November 2nd, it’s served cold.
Kichwa tribes lived in the area of Cordillera Azul National Park for centuries before the park was founded in 2001 in what the Kichwa say was theft of their land. Major companies such as Shell and TotalEnergies have spent more than $80 million since then buying credits in the park to counter their carbon emissions. That money hasn’t helped the Puerto Franco community of Kichwa, who fell into food poverty after losing free access to hunt, fish and gather in the park area. The community celebrated a dramatic legal victory in April, when Judge Simona del Socorro Torres Sánchez ruled that creating the park without their consent had violated their rights. She ordered authorities to begin granting them title to the land, to ensure they benefit from conservation activities in the park and participate in its management.
Quichua are a diverse group inhabiting both highland and lowland regions of Ecuador. Since Quichua has historically served as the lingua franca among indigenous communities, speakers of this language represent a variety of different ethnic groups. Quichua continue to play a central role in a significant development of indigenous peoples’ rights, for instance in the noted Case of the Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku V. Ecuador. In 1996 Ecuador signed a 20-year contract with an Argentinean oil company, Compañia General de Combustibles (CGC), which had been granted governmental permission to search for oil on Sarayaku ancestral lands without informing or consulting the community. In 2002 the project started and in 2004 CGC planted mines which destroyed part of the forest and put at risk indigenous people’s lives. In 2010 the case was brought before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which reached a decision in 2012. According to the Court’s judgment, Ecuador violated the right to free, prior and informed consultation (expressly recognized in International Labour Organization Convention No. 169, to which Ecuador is a party) as well as the right to communal property and cultural identity and the right to life and physical integrity.
The Napo Runa are descendants of the ancient kichwas linked to or belonging to the haciendas. The Capuchin missionaries of Aguarico carried out an emancipation process that culminated in the constitution of free communities, which are located on both sides of the Napo River.
The Kichwas originally from Tena and Archidona, arrived in the area after the opening of roads built for the exploitation of oil. The communities of these groups are located near the roads. The Kichwas of the Curaray River. They come from the Pastaza area. The ancestors of these groups were related to the old haciendas of the Curaray River that today are totally disappeared. The Kichwa are grouped in communes with communal lands, an organization adopted in the 1970s as a mechanism for defending their territories and culture. This group has been heavily influenced by Catholic or Christian religious beliefs, but still maintains oral traditions, in which the yachak runa (wise man or healer) is the axis of life in relation to spirits.
The Kichwas originally from Tena and Archidona, arrived in the area after the opening of roads built for the exploitation of oil. The communities of these groups are located near the roads. The Kichwas of the Curaray River. They come from the Pastaza area. The ancestors of these groups were related to the old haciendas of the Curaray River that today are totally disappeared. The Kichwa are grouped in communes with communal lands, an organization adopted in the 1970s as a mechanism for defending their territories and culture. This group has been heavily influenced by Catholic or Christian religious beliefs, but still maintains oral traditions, in which the yachak runa (wise man or healer) is the axis of life in relation to spirits.
Kichwa is a Northern Quechuan language spoken in southern Ecuador, mainly in Azuay, Cañar, Chimborazo and Morona-Santiago provinces. In 1991 there were about 100,000 speakers of Kichwa. There are many dialects of Kichwa, however there is a standardized language, known as Kichwa Unificado (Shukyachiska Kichwa), which has a unified orthography and is based on the Chimborazo dialect. Kichwa is also known as Cañar Highland Quichua or Quichua de la provincia de Cañar. Kichwa was first documented in the 17th century by a Jesuit priest. It has been taught in some schools since the 1940s.
The Kichwa Tribe of the Amazon are ethnically similar to the Quechua of the Andes mountains in Ecuador and Peru. They speak pretty much different dialects of the same language but their traditional dress varies vastly due to the difference in climate between the Andes and Amazon. The Kichwa are considered the most powerful of the Amazons Shamans and traditionally the Shuar and the Kichwa have been bitter enemies and fought many battles. The Kichwa also have been one of the most successful tribes in defending their land from Petrol Companies. Their peaceful protests against the “Petroleros” are often supressed violently with the help of the Ecuadorian government. but that does not mean they were ineffective. In 2003 the Sarayaku Kichwa community went to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about an human rights abuse when four community leaders were detained by the Ecuadorian Military and Police who tortured the Kichwa at an oil facility.
In Sarayaku, the Kichwa indigenous community, 1,200 people strong, are the defenders of Kawsak Sacha—the “living forest”. Sarayaku is also known as Pueblo de Medio Dia, which translates as “People of the Zenith.” This comes from a prophecy that foretold that many indigenous people would give up in the face of threats, but like the sun at noon, the People of Sarayaku would remain strong and prevail. Located in Ecuador, this Kichwa community faced a big oil company and won. Though many other tribes gave in to the company’s offers, the narrative of Kichwa resilience and resistance directly connects cultural worldview, spirituality and history with direct action, and legitimizes the Kichwa within the Ecuadorian environmental story. This case has been a remarkable success story “because it is a binding sentence for the Ecuadorian State and sets a mandatory precedent for the countries in the Organization of American States”. The most prominent outcome from this fight was the establishment of free, prior, and informed consent. This means that the government can no longer create dams or mine and deforest, etc., without the consent of the indigenous community.
This Ayahuasca vine was planted by the ancestors of the Kichwa tribe in the Upper Napo river valley approximately 15 km from the town of Tena. This vine grows in an isolated place where people rarely see it. It climbs very tall trees, approximately 40 meters. The approximate age of the vines can be 40 years. The taste of the brew is bitter. The effects are strong. This Ayahuasca allows to see visions clearly and have good concentration, it gives less purgative effect compared with other Ecuadorian strains. A strong dose will produce bodily effects including nausea, diarrhea, purging, yawning, and shaking. This variety is preferred by some "bancos", elder most experienced shamans, for treating their patients. The vines are harvested in a correct way asking for permission and praying for strong effects. Crystalline mountain spring water was used for brewing on strong fire (selected wood). This product is labeled in a way that it is discreet.
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