Achagua

Achagua

people
      South American Indian people of Venezuela and eastern Colombia. They speak a language of the Maipurean Arawakan group. Traditionally, the Achagua had typical tropical-forest economies, living in large villages and growing bitter cassava and other crops. The Achagua were warlike; they were one of the few native South American people to use arrows poisoned with curare.

      Achagua social organization was distinguished by numerous lineages named for animals such as the serpent, bat, jaguar, and fox. Each such unit occupied one communal house in the village. The Achagua were polygynous, each man aiming to have three or four wives. The chiefs also maintained concubines. The wives were legally equal, and each cultivated her own separate field. Women were excluded from the men's house and from a number of religious ceremonies. The Achagua believed in a supreme being, in a god of the fields, a god of riches, and gods of earthquakes, of madness, and of fire. They also worshipped lakes.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Achagua — ? Hablado en  Colombia  Venezuela …   Wikipedia Español

  • Achagua — can refer to:* Achagua people, a Native American people from Colombia. * Achagua language, their language. * Achagua (moth) , a geometer moth genus …   Wikipedia

  • Achagua — Parlée en  Colombie Nombre de locuteurs 400[1] Classificatio …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Achagua — (Achaguas), Ackerbau treibende Völkerschaft. in Neu Granada u. Carracas (SAmerika), mit gleichnamiger Stadt; 2000 Ew …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Achagua — Die Achagua sind ein indigenes amerikanisches Volk. Die Achagua leben im Verwaltungsbezirk Meta in Kolumbien. Ihre Sprache, die zur Familie der Arawak Sprachen gehört, wird noch von etwa 400 Menschen gesprochen. Von diesen beherrschen die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • achagua — əˈchägwə noun (plural achagua or achaguas) Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: Spanish, of American Indian origin 1. a. : an Arawakan people of the upper valley of the Orinoco …   Useful english dictionary

  • Achagua language — language name=Achagua nativename= states=Colombia speakers=400 (1994) familycolor=American fam2=Arawakan fam3=Maipuran fam4=Norther Maipuran fam5=Inland iso2=aca|iso3=acaAchagua is a language spoken in the Meta Department of Colombia, similar to… …   Wikipedia

  • Achagua — noun A language of Colombia …   Wiktionary

  • Achagua — ISO 639 3 Code : aca ISO 639 2/B Code : ISO 639 2/T Code : ISO 639 1 Code : Scope : Individual Language Type : Living …   Names of Languages ISO 639-3

  • achagua — acha·gua …   English syllables

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