The Bari People
(Motilones)
Economy
Division of Labor
- The Bari have a traditional South American Rainforest division of labor.
- Men: clear fields, fish, and hunt
- Women: Harvest, cook, and weave
- ( The Bari people are noted for their flexibility in the work force.)
The Bari Diet
Trade
- The Bari people used items such as knives and drinking gourds to trade for items they needed.
- Now days Bari people buy clothes, tools, and other items from small shopkeepers.
- Traditionally, the bari diet consisted of bananas, plantains, and ocasionally fish and other game they had hunted.
- Their main crop was bananas, which occupied about 80% of their diet.
- Contemporary Bari people own several head of cattle, and their crops consist of rice, beans, and cacao, although many families maintain a traditional banana field.
Industrial Arts
- Traditional Bari material items consisted of les than 40 items.
- Only arrows and women's skirts were made in surplus.
- It appears that all artifcats were made in only one step, and were not very time consuming.
Adrianna Vinton
Early Interactions
- The first menchon of the Bari people in history dates back to 1622. This consisted of their tribe laying an attack on the Spanish trade.
- The Spanish raided their lands, burning their houses, destroyed their crops, and toook them as slaves. ( Their population was reduced dramatically due to this.
Location
Settlements
- The Bari are located on the border of Columbia and Venezuela.
- ( There are approximately 500 people in Columbia and 1100 people in Venezuela.)
History of the Tribe
Population
- The traditional Bari people were divided into local groups of approximately fifty people, and each group had 100 to 1000 km of territory.
- There were, on average, two to five communal longhouses in each settlement, distanced by at least a half-a-days walk.
- The Bari people's population was reduced dramatically due to the slave trade, and an epidemic of measles.
- There are now around 1,600 Bari people remaining in the world.
Cultural Relations
- The Bari people lived near monasteries of Capuchin monks, and interacted with them frequently.
- These monks helped them with everyday life, and protected them against Columbian Indian Killers, who hunted the Bari on a regular basis.
- They interact with many neighboring tribes in the columbia/venezuela area
Location and Population
Origin
- The Bari people were originated in the tropical rainforests of South America, where they remain today.
- They are an offspring group of many other tribes surrounding the area.
The Bari's Location
Language
Language and Culture
- The Bari people have a language of their own called "Bari"
- This is classified as a chibchan language.
Ceremonies
- The Bari lived a very simple life, so not many ceremonies took place.
- The only important one took place when some or all of the members of a local group visited another local group
- They would sing together, and swing as high as possible in the longhouse hammocks.
- Then they would traditionally exchange gifts
Religious Beliefs
- The Bari believe that the universe is composed of various levels, of which this is the middle.
- A culture hero, Sabaseba (Old Wind) is responsible for the form of the world, and the cultural practices of the Bari.
Sources
- Beckerman, Stephen. "Barí." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996. Retrieved November 05, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458001155.html
- Olson, B. (n.d.). Motilone, bari of venezuela. Retrieved from http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=13833&rog3=VE
- John, A. (n.d.). Bari. Retrieved from http://intercontinentalcry.org/peoples/bari/