ECUADOR’S ETHNIC IDENTITIES
Ecuador recognizes five different ethnic identities: Amerindian (or indigenous peoples); mestizo (multiracial group of mixed Amerindian and European ancestry); Afro-Ecuadorian; Montubio; and white. At over 70%, the majority of Ecuador’s populace are recognized as mestizo, and Montubios, Amerinidans, and Afro-Ecuadorians each account for around 7% of Ecuador’s population.
The Amerindian’s 7% of Ecuador’s population accounts for much of Ecuador’s rich indigenous heritage, and many indigenous groups with distinct cultural backgrounds comprise that seemingly small percentage. Recent census data accounts for 13 distinct indigenous peoples including Tsáchila (also known as Tsafiki), Chachi, Epera, Awá-Cuaiquer, Quichua (Kichwa), Shuar, Achuar, Shiwiar, Cofán, Siona, Secoya, Zápara, and Waorani. When considering minority groups, Afro-Ecuadorians are also included in this list, bringing the number up to 14.
Indigenous people groups within Ecuador continue to be an active part of the country’s culture and sociopolitical structure. The Quechuan language continues to be spoken throughout the Andes, and the Ecuadorian people’s pride in their indigenous heritage can be seen in their continuance of traditional dress codes, adherence to shamanistic practices, and the celebration of folklore and legends in festivals held yearly throughout the country.
Cultures and Customs of Ecuador
Ecuadorian culture has distinct roots in its rich and multi-ethnic history with both indigenous and colonial influences. Many indigenous customs are only practiced by indigenous communities, whereas other customs have been adopted throughout Ecuadorian culture.
Ecuadorians have a distinctive dress code that indicates the region that they come from. Their dress displays specific cultural diversities that are characteristic of that particular region. In the Quito area, men typically wear blue ponchos and calf-length trousers. Andean women tend to wear white blouses, colourful shawls and layers of gold and red coral bracelets.
Inti Raymi – Inti Raymi Ecuador Feiern Inka Festival Des Sonnengottes
The inti raymi’rata (quechua for inti festival) is a traditional religious ceremony of the inca empire in honor of the god inti (quechua for sun), the most venerated deity in inca religion.
La Fiesta de la Mama Negra is a well-known traditional festival in Latacunga. It takes place twice a year, and originates from a mixture of indigenous, Spanish and African influences. The first one was organized in September by the people from the markets “La Merced y Del Salto” in honor of the Virgin of Mercy, Virgen de la Merced. The Virgin is venerated because she allegedly stopped the Cotopaxi Volcano eruption in 1742. Inhabitants of Latacunga call her Abogada y patrona del volcan, meaning “advocate and patron of the volcano”.
The Quechuas are held to be Ecuador’s most populous indigenous ethnic group, and indeed the Quechua are the largest indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. The indigenous group were amongst the earliest people conquered by the Incans, though the Incan empire itself was comprised largely of Quechua speakers. Many historians postulate that before the Incans conquered Ecuador, the language began to permeate into the different indigenous culture’s dialects via trade routes because Quechua served as a lingua franca. As the Incan empire began its invasion into present-day Ecuador, the Quechua language’s presence in Ecuador became more stable fixture.
The Quechua language continues to be spoken throughout the Andes and is even an official language of Peru. However, in Ecuador, the Quechuan language is Quichuan—a related dialect but with historical and political significance. For that reason, it’s common to see the spelling ‘Kichwa’ throughout Ecuador for simplicity’s sake. Although many people in Ecuador speak and write in Kichwa, it’s important to note that the word may be referring two different things. The term Kichwa may be used in reference to the language but it may also be referring to the Kichwa-speaking nation that descended from the Incans—a modern tribe that identifies as Quechua. In Ecuador, there are an estimated 80,000 people who identify themselves as this ethnicity.
THE HUAORANI AND THE DISCOVERY OF OIL
The Huaorani people have inhabited Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforest for over a thousand years. The Huaorani remained isolated from the outside world until 1956, and their name reflects their seclusion as Huaorani means “human beings” or “the people.” They commonly refer to outsiders as cowode, or “non-humans.”
The Huaorani people traditionaly practiced a sustainable, self-sufficient economy that allowed for their isolation. Athough the Huaorani had defended themselves against alien tribes surrounding their community as well as the occasional rubber and gold prospectors, the ethnic group have developed a unique culture with a completely unrelated language and singular artistic tendencies.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF ECUADOR
Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, or Native Ecuadorians, are the groups of people who were present in what became Ecuador before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term also includes their descendants from the time of the Spanish conquest to the present. Their history, which encompasses the last 11,000 years, reaches into the present; 25 percent of Ecuador’s population is of indigenous heritage, while another 55-65 percent are Mestizos of mixed indigenous and European heritage. Genetic analysis indicates that Ecuadorian Mestizos are of predominantly indigenous ancestry.
This is an index to the Native American information on our website pertaining to Ecuador Indian tribes and the languages they speak. Some pages contain more information than others. If you belong to an indigenous tribe from Ecuador that is not currently listed on this page and you would like to see it here, please contact us about contributing information to our site.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Indigenous_peoples_in_Ecuador
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN ECUADOR
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http://www.native-languages.org/ecuador.htm
THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THE AREA THAT IS NOW ECUADOR INCLUDE:
Achuar and Shiwiar Indians
Awa-Cuaiquer Indians
Cara Indians
Chachi Indians
Cofan Indians
Pasto Indians
Quichua Indians
Secoya Indians
Shuar Indians
Siona Indians
Tsafiki Indians
Waorani (Auca) Indians
Zaparo Indians
RECOMMENDED BOOKS ABOUT ECUADOR’S NATIVE AMERICANS:
Life and Death in Early Colonial Ecuador: Interesting book about the post-Columbian history of the Indians of Ecuador.
Highland Indians and the State in Modern Ecuador: History of the modern indigenous rights movement in Ecuador.
Blood, Revenge, War and Victory Feasts Among the Jibara Indians of Eastern Ecuador: An anthropology book on the Jibaras.
OTHER RESOURCES ABOUT AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY, CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN ECUADOR:
Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador: Advocacy group representing the indigenous peoples of Ecuador.
Sumak Allpa: Native Ecuadorian organization working to preserve indigenous culture.Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador: Article dealing with the various Ecuadorian Indian tribes.
Languages of Ecuador: Map showing where Ecuador’s languages are spoken.
Native American Nations in Northern South America: Information and photographs of the Quechua and other tribes in this region.
Inca History of Ecuador: Article on the history of the Incan empire in Ecuador, with pictures of Inca ruins.
Citizens, Indians and Women: Article on the sociological challenges that have faced the Indians of Ecuador since the 1880’s.
The oldest artifacts discovered in Ecuador are stone implements discovered at 32 Cotton Pre-ceramic (Paleolithic) archaeological sites in the Santa Elena Peninsula. They indicate a hunting and gathering economy, and date from the Late Pleistocene epoch, or about 11,000 years ago. These Paleo-Indians subsisted on the megafauna that inhabited the Americas at the time, which they hunted and processed with stone tools of their own manufacture.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 