The Siona people (also known as Sioni, Pioje, or Pioche-Sioni) are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Ecuadorian Amazon or Oriente (est. population 250 in Ecuador (2000 Juncosa)), and in Putumayo Department in Colombia (est. population 300 in Colombia (1982 SIL)). They share territory along the Shushufindi,

Aguarico The Aguarico River ( es, Río Aguarico, meaning "rich water") is a river in northeastern Ecuador. It is the main river of the Sucumbíos province. In the last part of its course it is the Ecuadorian- Peruvian border. It empties into the Napo R ...

, and Cuyabeno river with the

Secoya people The Secoya (also known as Angotero, Encabellado, Huajoya, Piojé, Siekopai) are an indigenous peoples living in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. They speak the Secoya language Pai Coca, which is part of the Western Tucanoan language group. In ...

, with whom they are sometimes considered a single population. The

Siona language Siona (otherwise known as Bain Coca, Pioje, Pioche-Sioni, Ganteyabain, Ganteya, Ceona, Zeona, Koka, Kanú) is a Tucanoan language of Colombia and Ecuador. The language is essentially the same as Secoya, but speakers are ethnically distinct. As ...

is a

Tucanoan language Tucanoan (also Tukanoan, Tukánoan) is a language family of Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. Language contact Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arutani, Paez, Sape, Taruma, Witoto-Okaina, Saliba-Hodi ...

. The Siona people are organized politically through the National Organization of Seona Indigenous People of Ecuador (ONISE), whose president as of July 1996 was William Crioll

According to Richard Evan Schultes, Where The Gods Reign, p. 27, the "Siona are one of the western Tukanoan groups and live in the Department of Putumayo, Comissaria del Putamayo in the region of Mocoa." I lived in this area in the summer of 1961 with members of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Our home was on the Ecuador side of the Putamayo River and the Siona lived on both sides of the river. The Siona live in Sucumbios Province in Ecuador, mainly in the

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve ( es, Reserva de Producción Faunística Cuyabeno) is the second largest reserve of the 56 national parks and protected areas in Ecuador. It is located in the Putumayo Canton in the Sucumbíos Province and in the ...

and in the

Department of Putumayo Putumayo () is a department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa. The word ''putumayo'' comes from the Quechua languages. The verb ''p'utuy'' means "to spring fort ...

along the Putumayo River. Besides some traditional activities for subsistence, they have been participating in the tourism activities since the 1990s. Nevertheless, their participation in the tourism sector has generated various sociocultural and economic changes such as immigration to neighboring cities, gender issues, economic dependency on tourism revenues. The religion of the Siona people is a type of

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

that has many spirits that live inside of things like trees, bugs, plants, etc., . Their origin story is about a being named Baina, who did mythic deeds that made up the world as it is today. The Siona people hold many rituals and ceremonies but, the main ceremony is a healing ritual called Yahé Varga, P. (2007) ''Ecoturismo y Sociedades Amazonicas.'' Quito: Ediciones Abya-Yala.

References

External links

Siona dictionary online
(select simple or advanced browsing)
Ethnologue report for Siona
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon Indigenous peoples in Colombia Indigenous peoples in Ecuador Ethnic groups in Ecuador Indigenous languages of the South American Northern Foothills {{SouthAm-ethno-group-stub