The
Tagaeri are a clan of
HuaoraniThe Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador with some marked differences from the others ethnic groups from Ecuador. The Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region...
people living in
Yasuni National ParkYasuni National Park is a national park in Ecuador that lies on 9,820 square kilometres between the Napo and Curaray rivers in Napo and Pastaza provinces in Amazonian Ecuador, around 250 km from Quito. The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989...
, at the
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
ian
Amazon BasinThe Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The basin is located mainly in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and several other countries. The South American rain forest of the Amazon is the largest in the world, covering about...
, named (in Wao-Terero, the
Huaorani languageThe Huaorani language is a language isolate spoken by the Huaorani people, an indigenous group living in the Amazon rainforest between the Napo and Curaray Rivers...
) for their association with the warrior Taga. While they share a cultural and linguistic heritage with other Huaorani, they have continued to live the nomadic lifestyle once common to their people and have been fiercely resistant, making them one of the so-called
uncontacted peoplesUncontacted peoples are peoples who, either by choice or chance, live, or have lived, without significant contact with the connected civilizations of the world....
of the world. In addition to Tagaeri the area is home to 3 other uncontacted groups: the
TaromenaneThe Taromenane are an uncontacted clan living in Yasuni National Park, at the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin.Together with the Tagaeri they make up the two last known indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation in Ecuador....
, the Oñamenane, and the Huiñatare.
The clan separated from other Huaorani in 1968, led by Taga, during a period of intense inter-clan violence and have since lived in comparative isolation.
The
Tagaeri are a clan of
HuaoraniThe Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador with some marked differences from the others ethnic groups from Ecuador. The Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region...
people living in
Yasuni National ParkYasuni National Park is a national park in Ecuador that lies on 9,820 square kilometres between the Napo and Curaray rivers in Napo and Pastaza provinces in Amazonian Ecuador, around 250 km from Quito. The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989...
, at the
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
ian
Amazon BasinThe Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The basin is located mainly in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and several other countries. The South American rain forest of the Amazon is the largest in the world, covering about...
, named (in Wao-Terero, the
Huaorani languageThe Huaorani language is a language isolate spoken by the Huaorani people, an indigenous group living in the Amazon rainforest between the Napo and Curaray Rivers...
) for their association with the warrior Taga. While they share a cultural and linguistic heritage with other Huaorani, they have continued to live the nomadic lifestyle once common to their people and have been fiercely resistant, making them one of the so-called
uncontacted peoplesUncontacted peoples are peoples who, either by choice or chance, live, or have lived, without significant contact with the connected civilizations of the world....
of the world. In addition to Tagaeri the area is home to 3 other uncontacted groups: the
TaromenaneThe Taromenane are an uncontacted clan living in Yasuni National Park, at the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin.Together with the Tagaeri they make up the two last known indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation in Ecuador....
, the Oñamenane, and the Huiñatare.
The clan separated from other Huaorani in 1968, led by Taga, during a period of intense inter-clan violence and have since lived in comparative isolation. Attempts at contact by outside peoples have often been violently rebuffed, beginning with a series of attacks on the colonial settlement of Coca in reprisal for the attempted evangelization by the
Summer Institute of LinguisticsSIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy and aid minority language development...
. The most recent such violence was the 1987 spearing of
missionariesA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
Alejandro Labaca and Inés Arango.
Contact with other Huaorani has remained at a low level, often marked by bursts of inter-clan violence, as in 1993 and 2003.
It is estimated that there are perhaps only 20-30 surviving Tagaeri, although these numbers are uncertain. Together with the Taromenane they make up the two last known indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation in Ecuador. On February 15, 2008, authorities in Ecuador agreed to investigate reports that five tribespeople belonging to the Taromenane and Tagaeri tribes were killed by illegal loggers.
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