Guaraní

Guaraní, indigenous South American language of the Tupí-Guaraní language family. The term can also refer to indigenous speakers of Guaraní, who inhabit parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. Guaraní is one of the official languages of Paraguay, where it is spoken by approximately 90 percent of the population.

Before the time of the Spanish conquest the Guaraní people were widely scattered throughout the central and southern areas of South America. The tribes lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering plant foods. Their weapons were the bow and arrow and the club. They built homes of thatched huts around a central area or plaza. Handicrafts included pottery making, basketry, and weaving. They slept in netted hammocks woven on simple, upright looms. Religion was very important, and their religious leaders, called shamans (see Shaman), had great power and influence. In the first half of the 16th century, the Spanish came to Guaraní territory in search of gold. Jesuit missionaries who came later converted the Guaraní to Christianity.

Most present-day Paraguayans have some Guaraní ancestry. Descendants of the Guaraní in Brazil dwell in villages surrounded with a double line of palisades; family life is communal. They engage in farming, hunting, and fishing.