Traditions and customs of the Indians of South America. South American traditions

Traditions southern America

Traditions southern America. South America is a continent that is traversed by the equator, most of which is located in Southern hemisphere. AT America the Portuguese conquerors brought their religion, customs, architecture, language.

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peoples South America: culture and traditions

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Interesting traditions peoples South America| Guyana

No less interesting are other traditions peoples South America. Beloved tradition Brazilians are carnivals, in which almost the entire population of the country takes part, dancing complex and colorful dances, such as samba. These dances also show the fight...

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Traditions and customs peoples South America

Rituals are the main traditions peoples South America. For example, in Brazil, the marriage of young people must necessarily be consecrated in the church, and a “sorcerer” must be present at the holiday itself, whose task is to help young people protect themselves from the evil eye.

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customs and traditions peoples South America. Those who...

To traditions peoples southern America referred to as rituals. For example, marriage must necessarily be consecrated by the church, but a “sorcerer” is also invited to the holiday, who protects the young from the evil eye. Legends and the famous "Indian song cycle" were widely spread, in ...

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Moral traditions and customs South America

To customs of people South America assign rituals. For example: A wedding must necessarily be not only like: an exchange of rings, a painting and a seal in a passport, but it must also be consecrated in a church. They also invite a sorcerer to the wedding ...

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Traditions South America| unknown planet

Traditions South America. Oruro Carnival: an ancient festival of music and dance (Bolivia). Ron VanFebruary 24, 2014February 24, 2014.The top three best and oldest Latin carnivals America includes the Oruro carnival (Diablada), considered by the inhabitants of Bolivia to be the most important ...

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Traditions southern America culture South America Indians

Can't describe the population South America using only the criteria ethnic background. It would be too simplistic to describe Guyanese society as a society of various racial groups. Terms like Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese...

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Topic 4.2 customs and traditions peoples South(Latin)...

Related work: Traditions and customs. Chapter: Topic 4.2 customs and traditions peoples South(Latin) America. University: VLGAFK.Cultures and ethnic groups South America in the post-colonial era. Convergence processes rites and traditions influenced by European culture.

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Indigenous people South America

Settlement South America man ended later than other continents - only 12-15 thousand years ago. It is impossible to say unequivocally how the mainland was populated. Most likely, the person entered America from Asia. It happened during the Late Paleolithic - about 35 ...

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peoples South America: culture and traditions

Culture of the ancient Indians. peoples South America: culture and traditions.customs and traditions played a huge role in the life of almost every Indian nation that lived on the territory of the South American continent in antiquity.

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Interesting customs and traditions different countries - Around the World

Number of continents - 6: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica.4. Also among the Chinese there is no custom bring flowers to the mistress of the house.20. Not in Japan traditions handshakes. It is customary to greet each other with a courteous bow.

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Population South America(grade 7) - accommodation on the mainland ...

Mainland population South America. The racial composition of the inhabitants South America is very complex, and this is due to the peculiarities of the history of the development of the continent. More than 250 different peoples and nationalities live here, who for many years have been in contact with each other ...

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cultures South America - essay

The brightest representatives civilization South America became the Incas, who created a huge Empire on the territory of modern Peru with the capital in the city of CuzcoLiterature and art of countries South America. South American countries are rich traditions music.

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American culture: traditions and customs USA

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customs southern america- articles, poems and publications

customs southern america. Search results for articles, poems and publications in the House of the Sun. America, America- the country where the Ku Klux Klan. America, America- they pray for money. Why are you white people America found.

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customs and traditions📝 Peoples South America. Those who

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South America. World cults and rituals. Power and strength...

Indigenous people South America linked such rites with sexual relations, which affected the nature of the rituals. South America- vast area indigenous people which is remarkably diverse.

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The most unusual traditions and rites peoples of the world

South America. Another interesting welcome custom can be observed in South America. They spit at each other. Italians also have unusual traditions and customs. So, it is customary for them to throw all unnecessary things, junk out of the windows.

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customs and traditions peoples South America. Those who...

To date South America- a continent with a population of more than three hundred million people, the number of which is constantly increasing. The result of such a rapid and rather bloody settlement South America- motley ethnic composition of the mainland.

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Geography: customs and traditions peoples South America.

Traditions and customs northern peoples of Africa. Report on the topic customs and traditions peoples of the Kuban. Please write the main customs and traditions different peoples.

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customs and traditions USA - essay

customs and traditions USA. Due to the size of the country and the multinational "immigrant environment" of the United States, it is unlikely that it will be possible to single out any single one here. Many are confused by the American tradition put a comma between every three decimal places of integers and a period...

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Ecuador: culture, national features


Protection of projects I group - Indians - indigenous people of South America. Ancient civilizations Indians Group II - Colonization of South America and its consequences Colonization III group - The process of miscegenation. Geography of ethnic groups. The process of miscegenation Group IV - Customs and traditions of the peoples of South America. Customs and traditions of the peoples of South America


The indigenous people of South America are the Indians. They appeared here presumably thousands of years ago. The Indian tribes were different levels development. They were engaged in hunting, farming, terraced slopes in the highlands, built water pipes. It was they who first began to grow potatoes, corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans. Ancient civilizations existed among the Incas (the territory of modern Peru). They built cities and powerful pyramids, processed metals, made fabrics, in the field of medicine they even performed craniotomy, mummified the dead, and possessed knowledge in the field of space. The development of writing is supposed (bean finds).










Consequences of the colonization of the mainland. The conquest of the mainland by Spain and Portugal brought incalculable troubles to the indigenous people: the Indians were exterminated and pushed into the interior of the mainland, ancient civilizations were destroyed. But along with cruelty and greed, Europeans nevertheless contributed to the development of culture, spread Christianity.

Today, South America is a continent with a population of more than three hundred million people, the number of which is constantly increasing. Due to the difficult circumstances of the history of the "conquest" of America, there is a complex and multinational ethnic composition in which racial characteristics are significantly mixed.

The tribes of the ancient Indians came to the South American continent more than 20 thousand years ago from North America, gradually settling throughout the mainland. Then, in the 16th century, the era of European colonization began, first the Portuguese and Spaniards came here, a little later, settlers from other European countries - Germans, British, French, etc. The indigenous population of the country - the South American Indian tribes were brutally exterminated, destroyed their ancient culture, ancient cities, temples and shrines were destroyed. In the following years, after most of the Indian people were thoughtlessly destroyed, a large number of Negroes from the African continent were brought in as slaves. The result of such a rapid and rather bloody settlement of South America is the motley ethnic composition of the mainland.

Indigenous people in the pre-Columbian era

At a time when the Europeans "inspired" for themselves New World, the indigenous population of both continents was at different stages of development, and if in the north of America the tribes gathered mushrooms and berries and lived in a primitive communal system, then in Central and South America, the Indian tribes already created states and entire civilizations, built class relations and created unique monuments of culture, science and architecture, which later became real phenomena and mysteries for all the scientific minds of the world

The tribes living to the east of the Andes hunted and collected the gifts of nature, were at a rather low level of development, and practiced the basics of the primitive communal system.

(An ancient vanishing tribe)

Highly developed Indian tribes that lived in the mountainous regions of the Andes and on the Pacific coast (the modern territory of Colombia, Peru, Chile), they created here the first states with developed agriculture and livestock breeding, crafts, various applied arts and scientific knowledge. These are the ancient civilizations of the Incas, Maya, the cultures of Chavin, Mochica, etc.

The inhabitants of the extreme southern part of the South American continent, who lived on the archipelago of the islands of Tierra del Fuego (the modern province of Argentina and part of Chile) - the Fuegians, these are the tribes of she, alakalufs, yagans, by the time of European expansion were at a low level of development, walked in animal skins, had stone and bone weapons, hunted guanacos (the ancestor of the domestic llama) and fished in the ocean on fragile birch bark boats.

(Men of the Amazon Valley Tribe)

A step higher in development were Indian tribes that lived in the valley of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in the center and north of the continent (tribes of the Arawak, Carib, Tupi-Guarani language groups), who were engaged in hunting, weapons - bows and pipes with poisoned arrows (the famous poison curare), grew corn, cassava, tobacco, cotton, a form of social organization - a tribal community.

In the north of the Andes (modern Colombia) in the valley of the Bogota River, the Chibcha people organized the Indian state of the Chibcha-Muisca peoples with a fairly developed culture, within the boundaries of modern Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador there was a culture Indian tribe Quechua.

Culture and life of the ancient Indians

(Iroquois tribe)

The most famous and studied in detail is the culture of the ancient Inca Empire or Tauntinsuyu (“four connected cardinal points”), which was formed in the second century AD by wars of conquest, when one of the mountain tribes conquered vast neighboring lands, where such tribes as the Aymara, Keuar lived , Hualiacan, etc., and united them all into one powerful Inca state. In the 14-15th century, which was the era of aggressive European colonization, the Inca Empire occupied the vast territories of today's Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, parts of Argentina, Colombia and Chile. The specially built capital of the state is Cusco, the language is Quechua, the first ruler (Supreme Inca) is Manco Capacu.

(Iroquois Warriors)

Like the Roman Empire, the main force of this power was the army, all the people were engaged in its provision, regularly paying taxes to the treasury for its maintenance. The conquered peoples were allowed to believe in their deities, but it was obligatory to worship the supreme god of the Sun of the Incas - Inti. The population lived in stone houses built from such rocks like limestone, basalt, diorite, etc. The houses of ordinary residents were plain and modest, but the houses of the nobility, priests and rulers were decorated with gold and silver plates. The architecture of the ancient Incas is distinguished by severity and asceticism, palaces and temples are overwhelming with their power and grandeur, huge monolithic blocks, tightly fitted in size and not fastened with any mortar, were used for their construction. The ensemble of temples Coricancha ("Golden Temple") in the Inca capital of Cusco is the pinnacle of Inca architecture. It contained a golden altar and a golden disk of the sun god Inti, it was destroyed and plundered by the Spaniards. Now on its ruins is the Cathedral of Santa Domingo.

(Machu Picchu - the ancient city of the Incas on top of a mountain overlooking the valley of the Urubamba River)

The ancient Incas were skilled artisans, they mined ores of mountain metals and knew how to process gold, bronze, made jewelry of amazing beauty, which were later melted down into gold bars and taken to Spain by conquering conquistadors. The Incas did not have a written language as such; it is believed that they transmitted and stored information using a special nodular letter “quipu”.

The entire population of the empire was divided into social classes and professions, the basis of the social pyramid of the Incas was the concept of ailyu, consisting of family clans that lived on the same land and worked it together, engaged in general livestock breeding and divided the harvest for everyone. The head of state was the Only Inca - the supreme ruler and chief priest of the sun god.

At the beginning of the 16th century, when the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro came to the lands of the Empire, due to a sharp internecine struggle for power, it was already on the verge of collapse, was quickly conquered and plundered, the ancient civilization of the Incas ceased to exist. Today only ruins remain. ancient city Machu Picchu in the mountains of Peru.

Also, the Mayan and Aztec cultures are considered the oldest civilizations on the territory of modern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the states of Latin America.

(Ancient Maya)

The Maya is the clearest example of the Indian pre-Colombian civilization, which remains a mystery and scientific phenomenon for everyone today. It began its existence at the beginning of our era, and by the time the conquistadors arrived, it was already in deep decline. This unique people, existing in the conditions of the Stone Age and not knowing how to mine and process metal, having no means of transportation and animals for transporting goods, developed an amazingly accurate solar calendar, had complex hieroglyphic writing, predicted eclipses of the Moon and the Sun, calculated the movement of the planets. It was the Maya who created the unique masterpieces of building art, which are known all over the world today (Mayan pyramids in the ancient cities of Teotihuacan, Cholula and Chechen Itza). The Mayan civilization died in the 11th century, even before the arrival of the conquistadors, who already found the remnants of their former power, why this happened is still unknown.

(Temple of the Inscriptions ancient civilization Maya - visualization)

The Aztec civilization existed in what is now Mexico between the 14th and 16th centuries AD. capital ancient state Aztecs was Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco, which was a huge city located on several islands in the middle of lakes, connected by dams. Excellent stone roads were laid everywhere, its streets were crossed by canals, stone palaces and temples were in the greenery of gardens. The Aztecs were excellent wood carvers, sculptors, artisans and jewelers. Unfortunately, the legacy of this ancient civilization has not been preserved to this day, only a few masterpieces, miraculously escaping destruction at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors, ended up in Europe and became public property.

Traditions and customs

Customs and traditions played a huge role in the life of almost every Indian nation that lived on the territory of the South American continent in antiquity.

(The life of the ancient Mayan tribes)

For example, the Maya believed that the birth of a child was a sign of the special disposition of the gods, especially the goddess of the moon, the priests chose the name of the child, calculated his horoscope and predicted the future. Mayan cross-eyedness was a sign of beauty, so that the child would become cross-eyed, a bead was attached to his forehead, hanging over his eyes, which the child should look at more often. Also, with the help of a plank tied in front, the forehead was lengthened and the head became flatter, this was required by the canons of Mayan beauty, and also required a high position in society.

The ball game was very popular, it was of a religious nature, carried out with great ceremonies and careful preparation.

One of the terrible and bloody rites of this people was the rite of sacrifice, when a human sacrifice was made to please some god, tearing out the heart and throwing the body from a high pyramid.

(Warrior ancient tribe The Incas)

In the religion of the Incas, there was a whole pantheon of gods: the creator of the world and all living things, Kon Tisci Viracocha, after him came the god of the Sun Inti, Ilyapa - the god of weather, the goddess of the moon - Mama Kilja and others. The Incas performed a great many religious and ritual ceremonies that obeyed the agricultural calendar or dates dedicated to the life of the ruling royal family. Holidays and celebrations were held in the central square of the city of Cusco, which was called Huyacapata (“Sacred Terrace”), the palace of the ruler was also located there, after his death it turned into a sanctuary where the embalmed mummy of the deceased was located. The new Supreme Inca lived in another palace built for him personally.

Modern life of the peoples of the South American continent

(Puno city in Peru)

The current population of South America is 387.5 million. characterized by a predominance of mixed ethnic groups: mestizos (the result of mixed barques of Europeans and Indians), mulattos (marriage of Europeans with a Negroid race), sambo (marriage of Indians with a Negroid race).

Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador and Venezuela are dominated by mestizos, descendants of mixed marriages of indigenous people (Indians) and Spanish settlers. In Peru and Bolivia, the majority are Indians. In the states of the central part of South America in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, the majority of citizens are of African descent, the minority are the descendants of the inhabitants of the European continent. But most of them, especially immigrants from Spain and Italy, live in Argentina and Uruguay. Chile has many immigrants from such European countries as Germany, England, France, Austria, Greece, Scandinavia, etc. The official language of most countries on the mainland speaks Spanish, in Brazil Portuguese, in Peru the Quechua Indian language is official along with Spanish.

The whole palette of traditions of the sunny continent

The countries of South America are considered exotic among tourists. And the local New Year traditions are just as unusual, bright and original as the inhabitants of these southern countries.

AT new year holidays Here it is customary to gather large families for festive table, treat guests and drink magical Chilean wines flavored with toasts and congratulations. And later, at midnight, everyone leaves their houses and goes to admire the fireworks.

It is noteworthy that in these countries, where traditionally large families gather for the New Year for all generations of the family, everyone honors the oldest members of the family. Grandmothers, aunts prepare traditional dishes. It would seem that everything is the same as ours, but the local mentality leaves its mark. And the New Year's celebration in South America takes place under the sign of the hot sun, gentle sea and summer abundance. So in all countries of the continent it is customary to swim in rivers, lakes, public pools on the first day of the new year. Different countries South America decorate the festival with various "highlights" inherent in their new year.

New Year in Argentina

So temperamental Argentines throw old and unnecessary things on the streets on New Year's Eve. And employees of institutions get rid of old documents, invoices, calendars, and other paper trash on the last day of the outgoing working year. This is a kind of rite of purification and liberation. So in Buenos Aires, where there are most office buildings, sidewalks, streets around houses, and even the roadway are densely covered with a fluffy layer of paper - just like snowdrifts. All sorts of incidents are also associated with this tradition, because if you get excited, you can throw away your passport. So the employees of the publishing house, having played out, threw out the whole archive of one of the newspapers out of the window.

New Year in Chile

On the eve of the new year, Chileans go to the coast, where they celebrate the holiday, forgetting about business and worries. On New Year's holidays in Chile you can not swear, everyone tries to be as friendly as possible - even to strangers. The local population during this period shows a special friendliness. Happy New Year, it is customary to congratulate strangers whom you meet on the street. This makes the celebration sincere and joyful for everyone.

Since the population of Chile is multinational, there are very bizarre New Year traditions here. Many ancient beliefs of the indigenous people are still revered by the inhabitants of this land. On Easter Island, for example, there is an unusual tradition - people here are looking for a "New Year's" swallow egg. The one who finds it first is declared honored in these parts for a whole year. He becomes privileged, all the locals consider it an honor to invite him to visit. Such a guest brings good luck to the hosts.

The Chilean New Year's table is not complete without traditional festive dishes. Local cuisine is very hearty, fragrant, mostly spicy. Traditional liqueurs and world-famous Chilean wines are drunk here.

The most unusual New Year takes place in the small Chilean town of Talca. Since 1995, it has been customary to celebrate the New Year at the city cemetery.

After the solemn church mass, after 23:00, the inhabitants of Talka, together with the mayor of the city, solemnly go to the cemetery. There they visit the graves of their relatives - the city orchestra plays a quiet classical music, the cemetery is dimly lit. A solemn and calm atmosphere reigns here. Here is an unusual image of the New Year!

This tradition appeared only 15 years ago, but has already swept the whole city - about 5,000 people. It was started by one family who wished to celebrate the New Year on the grave

The Chilean Mapuche people used to celebrate New Year June 24. Some unique ancient holidays of this nation have been preserved in the country to this day. Sometime in new year's eve(June 23) Mapuche people gathered in families around a large family fire and listened to stories from older members of the family. At dawn, it was customary to go to the nearest river or lake and bathe there. So they cleansed the body and souls in order to meet the sun of the New Year renewed. The tradition of gathering with the whole family, swimming on New Year's Eve has been preserved in Chile and throughout South America.

The tradition of piercing the ears of six-year-old Chilean girls has ancient roots, this is a sign of their growing up.

New Year in Peru

Ancient traditions are also preserved in Peru. In the cities of Cusco or Machu Picchu, people still carry out the ancient religious rites of the Incas. The Temascal ritual is one of the most popular among tourists. Temascal is a small wooden structure, a kind of hut covered with cloth. It symbolizes the womb of Mother Earth. Entering Temascal, a person is as if born again, his spiritual aura is cleansed.

New Year in Paraguay

In the provinces of Paraguay, real Indians still live. When the years succeed each other, the Indians open all the windows and doors in the house. They look out of windows and doors, go out into the courtyard and knock on dishes, dishes break - but this is considered a good omen and promises a rich year.

New Year in Brazil

Beautiful traditions in Brazil. On New Year's Eve, Brazil's ocean beaches are lit up with thousands of candles. Candles stand in the sand, while beautiful Brazilian women enter the water in long white dresses and throw flower petals into the ocean waves. Brazil is generally famous for the beauty of its holidays. And of course, the brightest New Year's parties are held in Rio de Janeiro. They take place right on the beaches and are accompanied by grandiose pyrotechnic shows.

Fire, in different versions, has always been a part of rituals in all nations. Today, Brazilians have turned these rituals into colorful performances.

At New Year's parties, it is customary to wear white clothes, white attracts good luck.

After midnight, everyone runs to the ocean and jumps over the waves. You need to jump over seven waves and make a wish.

These are also echoes of pagan rites. The goddess of the sea will help wishes come true. All these traditions are the result of a mixture of African and Indian cultures, which were developed in Brazil and spread from coast to coast.

A funny tradition reigns in some Brazilian cities, such as Sao Paolo and La Paz. On New Year's Eve, it is customary to wear colored underwear. The color of underwear symbolizes the wishes and hopes of a person for the coming year. If a person expects that the new year will give him love, he puts on red underwear. Yellow symbolizes wealth and career growth.

It is impossible to describe the population of South America using only the criteria of ethnic origin. It would be too simplistic to describe Guyanese society as a society of various racial groups. Terms such as Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese refer to an ethnic identity. But significant physical and cultural differences exist between ethnic communities. This division can lead to erroneous opinion that there are two Guyanas with absolutely different origins, behavior and political and economic interests in the same country.

All groups of immigrants adapted to the dominant British culture in the colony. In many ways, descendants various groups immigrants resemble each other more than their distant ancestors. In addition, the descendants of immigrants have gone beyond their former social niches. Indo-Guyanese can be found not only on sugarcane and rice plantations, but also in cities, where some of them have become entrepreneurs, specialists or just workers. Afro-Guyanese can also be found at all levels of Guyanese society.

All immigrants in Guyana have a common experience. They all worked on the plantations. With the abolition of slavery, the nature of labor power changed, but not labor itself. The Indians did the same work as the African slaves before them, lived in the same housing as the former slaves. All immigrants were dominated by the British value system and had nowhere to store their values.

Africans see themselves as belonging to different cultural groups, Indian society was also differentiated by religion and castes. For the English, however, race was the only indication, and all Hindus were classified into one group, and all Africans into another.

The greatest influence on assimilation was the use of language. English has become the main language of all Guyanese, with the exception of some old people and some American Indians. Universal use in English turned out to be a powerful unifying cultural force.

The descendants of immigrant groups became increasingly anglicised. Cultural differences were weakening. And even physical differences were blurred through intermarriage. Cultural differences retain their symbolic meaning. Many of these cultural differences were not inherited, but arose locally. For example, Guyanese Hinduism is closer to Islam and Christianity than in the very homeland of Hinduism. Humanity tends to think in stereotypes. So the population of South America is divided into stereotyped groups by the population of South America itself.


A racial stereotype developed in Guyana early in the founding of the colony. British planters characterized Africans as physically strong but lazy and irresponsible. Indians were characterized as industrious, but clannish and greedy. To some extent, these stereotypes were recognized by the immigrants themselves, with positive stereotypes readily attributed to themselves and negative stereotypes to others.

In the process of the development of the country, stereotypes explained the behavior of representatives of various nationalities. Africans were described as shortsighted when they refused to work for low wages on plantations or enter into long-term contracts with planters. The Indians were called selfish when all efforts were directed towards the maximum acquisition of capital.

In modern Guyana, ethnic characteristics are less subject to stereotypes. Other differences now matter more. There is a gradation into "capital" manners and "coolie" manners. However, what is considered metropolitan manners in the provinces may at the same time be recognized as coolie manners in the capital itself.

Along with these stereotypes, the colonial attitude towards European countries also persisted, when all British customs, mores and behavior were idealized. The British education system contributed to the preservation of Eurocentrism. The notion of the superiority of British culture was recognized and accepted among the slaves. In particular, former slaves still believe that adherence to Christianity is a sign of a civilized person.

The middle class, which has been formed since the end of the nineteenth century from the Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese environment, was also based mainly on British values, the idea of ​​which was the most progressive and civilized.