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The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador (Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name Auca is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua natives, and commonly adopted by Spanish-speakers as well. Auca (awqa in Quechua) means "savage".
They comprise almost 4,000 inhabitants and speak the Huaorani language, a linguistic isolate that is not known to be related to any other language.
Their ancestral lands are located between the Curaray and Napo rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) south of El Coca. These homelands—approximately 120 miles (190 km) wide and 75 to 100 miles (120 to 160 km) from north to south—are threatened by oil exploration and illegal logging practices. In the past, Huaorani were able to protect their culture and lands from both indigenous enemies and settlers.
In the last 40 years, they have shifted from a hunting and gathering society to living mostly in permanent forest settlements. As many as five communities—the Tagaeri, the Huiñatare, the Oñamenane, and two groups of the Taromenane—have rejected all contact with the outside world and continue to move into more isolated areas.
My Uncle Charles, studying Micro Biology in Ecuador visited a clan of this tribe. He was gifted this Blowgun and Darts by their Chief. I can’t say what type of wood the gun is made from but from the end view it is very beautiful. The dart box cylinder appears to be Bamboo. The darts are coated with Curare. To tell the truth I am very careful handling these darts. The Blow gun is 58 inches long by 1 ½ inches wide and is oval in shape. It was split down the middle to make the hole and glued back together with a black substance. The length of which is wrapped with a very tough grass. The darts are splits of wood and dipped in Curare. The cap of the box once had a handful of Flax type material that was added to the end of the darts to build pressure to propel the darts. It is attached to the gun with a very interesting braid made from animal Sinew. Uncle and I tried it out years ago and found it to be very accurate at 30 feet. Before my Uncle died he gave me these wonderful Jungle weapons’. Enjoy, Kim.
Some of this readings are from Wikipedia, that I checked for accuracy.
They comprise almost 4,000 inhabitants and speak the Huaorani language, a linguistic isolate that is not known to be related to any other language.
Their ancestral lands are located between the Curaray and Napo rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) south of El Coca. These homelands—approximately 120 miles (190 km) wide and 75 to 100 miles (120 to 160 km) from north to south—are threatened by oil exploration and illegal logging practices. In the past, Huaorani were able to protect their culture and lands from both indigenous enemies and settlers.
In the last 40 years, they have shifted from a hunting and gathering society to living mostly in permanent forest settlements. As many as five communities—the Tagaeri, the Huiñatare, the Oñamenane, and two groups of the Taromenane—have rejected all contact with the outside world and continue to move into more isolated areas.
My Uncle Charles, studying Micro Biology in Ecuador visited a clan of this tribe. He was gifted this Blowgun and Darts by their Chief. I can’t say what type of wood the gun is made from but from the end view it is very beautiful. The dart box cylinder appears to be Bamboo. The darts are coated with Curare. To tell the truth I am very careful handling these darts. The Blow gun is 58 inches long by 1 ½ inches wide and is oval in shape. It was split down the middle to make the hole and glued back together with a black substance. The length of which is wrapped with a very tough grass. The darts are splits of wood and dipped in Curare. The cap of the box once had a handful of Flax type material that was added to the end of the darts to build pressure to propel the darts. It is attached to the gun with a very interesting braid made from animal Sinew. Uncle and I tried it out years ago and found it to be very accurate at 30 feet. Before my Uncle died he gave me these wonderful Jungle weapons’. Enjoy, Kim.
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