E'KWANA

Origin. Location.

	"Even though this group calls itself Ye'kwana (people of Curiara), it is known likewise as Makiritare (men of river) because of the arahuacos of the Black river. Both denominations make reference to the great dexterity manifested in the navigation in Curiara that the Ye'kwana have developed in their territory, crossed by important rivers as the Padamo, Cuntinamo, Ventuari, Paragua, Caura and Erebato, river networks of the Bolivar State and Federal Territory Amazonas"... occupying around 30,000 km2, in altitudes that go up to the 2000 meters over the sea level. "Several sources set the encounter of the Ye'kwana with the Spaniards toward the XVIII century (1750) and they locate the Ye'kwana territory vaguely in "High Orinoco". The oral Ye'kwana tradition points to kamasoiña, a region of the high Cuntinamo, as the heart of their territory. They recognize themselves as authentic inhabitants of the main and river region from which they were displaced as a series of external forces, as the expansion of the Sanema, a Yanomami subgroup, rubber plantations and religious groups activities exerted pressure on them.

"Even though this group calls itself Ye'kwana (people of Curiara), it is known likewise as Makiritare (men of river) because of the arahuacos of the Black river. Both denominations make reference to the great dexterity manifested in the navigation in Curiara that the Ye'kwana have developed in their territory, crossed by important rivers as the Padamo, Cuntinamo, Ventuari, Paragua, Caura and Erebato, river networks of the Bolivar State and Federal Territory Amazonas"... occupying around 30,000 km2, in altitudes that go up to the 2000 meters over the sea level.

"Several sources set the encounter of the Ye'kwana with the Spaniards toward the XVIII century (1750) and they locate the Ye'kwana territory vaguely in "High Orinoco". The oral Ye'kwana tradition points to kamasoiña, a region of the high Cuntinamo, as the heart of their territory. They recognize themselves as authentic inhabitants of the main and river region from which they were displaced as a series of external forces, as the expansion of the Sanema, a Yanomami subgroup, rubber plantations and religious groups activities exerted pressure on them.