The Pai Tavytera are an

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. They primarily live in

Amambay Department Amambay () is a Department (subnational entity), department in Paraguay. The capital is Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, Pedro Juan Caballero. The name comes from the name of a part of the Caaguazú Cordillera, "Amambai Mountains". Amambay is t ...

in Paraguay and the Brazilian state of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

Name

The Pai Tavytera are also known as the Ava, Caaguá, Caingua, Caiwá, Kaa'wa, Kainguá, Kaiowá, Kaiwá, Kayova, Montese, Paï, Paï-Cayuä, Paï-Tavyterä, Paingua, Pan, and Tavytera people. "Paï-Tavytera" is an arbitrary name given to northern Guaraní people of eastern Paraguay. They are closely related to the

Guarani-Kaiowá The Guarani-Kaiowás () are an indigenous people of Paraguay, the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul and northeastern Argentina. In Brazil, they inhabit Ñande Ru Marangatu, an area of tropical rainforest. This was declared a reservation in ...

people of

Language

The Pai Tavytera speak the

Pai Tavytera language Pãi Tavyterã is a Guarani language spoken by about 600 Pai Tavytera people in eastern Paraguay, in Amambay, eastern Concepción, eastern San Pedro, and northern Canindeyú Departments. The language has 70% lexical similarity with the Kaiwá ...

, which is a Tupi-Guarani language, division Guarani I. The tribe is rapidly adopting the more mainstream

Guarani language Guarani (Avañe'ẽ), also called Paraguayan Guarani, is a language of South America that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch of the Tupian languages, Tupian language family. It is one of the two official languages of Paraguay (along with Spa ...

."Pai Tavytera."
''Ethnologue.'' Retrieved 17 Jan 2013.

History

The Pai Tavytera are mostly likely the descendants of the Itatin Guaraní. They encountered Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century during the

reducciones Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also c ...

of eastern Paraguay. Many of them resisted assimilation. Following the violent

War of the Triple Alliance The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

in the 1870s, their lands were left alone, except for lumberers and harvesters of

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

. In recent years, an influx of settlers have disrupted the Pai Tavyter's hunting lifestyle.

Altar

The wood altar is the central institution in the religious beliefs of the Pai Tavytera. The altar, called ''mba’e marangatu'' in

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

is considered a sacred sanctuary and a focal point of the community. The altars usually resides in the homes of the spiritual leaders of the Pai Tavytera Indians or important leaders. The altar is a place where the community gathers around for worship or to discuss matters that are important to the community. Altars include wooden rods that represents deities or saints. From those rods hangs a gourd used for baptizing children, and the

medicine man A medicine man (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwinini'') or medicine woman (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwininiikwe'') is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name i ...

's gourd rattle, the most important item for the spiritual healer to start his prayer that is a song and a dance to communicate with the spirits. Part of the altar is a taquara bamboo staff, a woman's musical instrument that gives rhythm to the rituals.

Agriculture

In the

sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

environment of eastern Paraguay, Pai Tavyter practice

swidden Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. Th ...

agriculture. Their primary crop is

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, supplemented with

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

. They also cultivate

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

trees, bananas, cotton, pineapples, rice, soybeans, and medicinal plants. Chickens, pigs, cattle, horses, and donkeys are popular farm animals.

Artwork

Pai Tavytera indian traditional wood carving

Pai Tavytera people are known for making necklaces made from carved wood and colorful seeds of different fruits. They use ''urucú'', a red dye made from ''

Bixa orellana ''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub or small tree native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The plant is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also calle ...

'' for

body painting Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or ...

. Cotton and feathers, such as

toucan Toucans (, ) are Neotropical birds in the family Ramphastidae. They are most closely related to the Semnornis, Toucan barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful Beak, bills. The family includes five genus, genera and over ...

, are used for headdresses.

Labret A labret is a form of body piercing. Taken literally, it is any type of adornment that is attached to the lip (labrum). However, the term usually refers to a piercing that is below the bottom lip, above the chin. It is sometimes referred to as a ...

s are made from resin. Men typically weave baskets, while women make ceramics. The tribe is also being consulted in interpreting ancient rock art in Amambay."The Theme."
''Solar Map Project.'' Retrieved 20 Jan 2013. A hill, Jasuka Venda is an important cultural site for Pai Tavyera people that has petroglyphs in the "footstep style." Jasuka Venda is where Pai Tavytera

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

says God created the universe.Culture of the Pai Tavytera Indians."
''Solar Map Project.'' Retrieved 20 Jan 2013.

Notes

External links

"The Guarani Altar: A Donation Tells a Deep Story"
American Indian, Smithsonian {{DEFAULTSORT:Pai Tavytera Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Paraguay Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco Hunter-gatherers of South America