Family and Kinship Are one of the Most Important Aspects of the Huaorani Lifestyle

Family and kinship are one of the most important aspects of the Huaorani lifestyle.

The family usually consist Mother, Father, children, Grandparents, and Grandchildren. Kinship refers to the relationships established through marriage or joined from other nearby villages. The extended families live together or close by to have a variety of help for daily chores and responsibilities. This is why the Huaorani women have so many children. Everyone helps out wherever they are needed. The men usually take care of the hunting and fighting. Women are allowed to hunt but usually take care of the crops, homes, and take care of their children. The tribe member's all work for the common good for their people. Males and females are considered equal. Each person has his or her own chore in the household that they are responsible for completing on a daily basis. When a couple gets married they live in the bride's household or matrilocally. The Huaorani people allow cross cousins to marry and may practice in polygamy depending on male and female status of the tribe. Cross-cousins often pair themselves from childhood and remain close throughout their lives. The Huaorani cultural preference is for a brother and a sister to remain part of the same huaomoni group and to marry their children together. It takes months of preparation for the wedding ceremony and involves the whole tribal unit. The elders may pick the couple to marry and they usually do not know until the wedding ceremony. The Mother of the bride may not accept the math and choose to run away with her daughter. The families exchange presents and if everyone accepts then the marriage may continue. The Huaorani people have ceremonies to celebrate weddings, crops, and hunting accomplishments. These celebrations are an important part of the Huaorani culture and take many months to prepare.

The native tribes of the Ecuador rain forest are Kichua, Shuar, Achuar, Shiwiar, Andoa, Waorani, Zapara, Cofan, Siona, Secoya. The Huaorani people live in small groups throughout the Amazon rain forest. Their contact with the outside world is limited and in recent years has allowed limited tourism. They are a secluded group of people within the rainforest and are not familiar with normal Ecuadorian lifestyles. They choose to live the way they want and do not allow outside interference. Even though rainforests are being cut down they still are able to find areas to live and the Huaorani Indians continue to continue their way of life. Living off of the land Huaorani people stay in one area and then move on as a group. These groups included family and extended family members. Socialization between tribes is accepted but tribes do not usually share resources. Huaorani people speak Waorani, which is a language not known to be related to any other living language (Descola, 1996). It is spoken by more than a thousand people in the Ecuadorian