Maina Indians
Encyclopedia
The Maina Indians are a group of tribes who lived or live along the north bank of the Marañón River
in South America
. They spoke varieties of the Omurano language
and resided along the North bank of the Marañón.
The Maina were among the first tribes of the upper Amazon region to have been evangelized by the Catholic Church, leading to the naming of several jurisdictions and areas after the tribe, including the province of Mainas, which included the larger part of the present Ecuador and northern Peru
, east of the main Cordillera
, including the basins of the Huallaga
and Ucayali
.
The Maina Indians were one of many older cultures to play with rubber balls as toys. They called it "caucho" which combined the words "caa" (wood) and "ochu" (to cry), made by extracting the sap from a tree they called "heve" and letting it dry into a playable solid that we today call rubber.
Marañón River
The Marañón River rises about 160 km to the northeast of Lima, Peru, flows through a deeply-eroded Andean valley in a northwesterly direction, along the eastern base of the Cordillera of the Andes, as far as 5 degrees 36' southern latitude; then it makes a great bend to the northeast, and...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. They spoke varieties of the Omurano language
Omurano language
Omurano is an unclassified extinct language from Peru. It is also known as Humurana, Roamaina, Numurana, Umurano, and Mayna.Tovar linked Omurano to Taushiro ; Kaufman finds the links reasonable, and tentatively proposes a Kandoshi–Omurano–Taushiro language family...
and resided along the North bank of the Marañón.
The Maina were among the first tribes of the upper Amazon region to have been evangelized by the Catholic Church, leading to the naming of several jurisdictions and areas after the tribe, including the province of Mainas, which included the larger part of the present Ecuador and northern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, east of the main Cordillera
Cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, that runs along a coastline . It comes from the Spanish word cordilla, which is a diminutive of cuerda, or "cord"...
, including the basins of the Huallaga
Huallaga
Huallaga may refer to:*Locations in Peru:**Huallaga Province**Huallaga River**Huallaga Valley...
and Ucayali
Ucayali
The Ucayali River arises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of South America. The Amazon River takes its name close to Nauta city , in the confluence among Ucayali and Marañón rivers....
.
The Maina Indians were one of many older cultures to play with rubber balls as toys. They called it "caucho" which combined the words "caa" (wood) and "ochu" (to cry), made by extracting the sap from a tree they called "heve" and letting it dry into a playable solid that we today call rubber.