“Our homeland is in Pia najato (Caño Salvación). That's where the elders say our people were born. […] We are not from other regions, we grew old there, walking on that sole piece of land ”

 

WOMEN'S MEETING

San José del Ariporo

​

The Maibén-Masiware are Podipodikji, ‘People of the Ariporo River’. Today, there are 564 people living in this area with 90 families living in the community of San José del Ariporo and 35 families in Betania, on the right-hand side of the river's basin. A river that has witnessed and has been part of our history since our origins. The Mother Laura’s Mission lives with us in the reserve and has accompanied our communities for over four decades since the beginning of the reserve's development process. During this time, our way of life has been transformed. We were accustomed to hunting and fishing, we were accustomed to gathering food and exchanging goods, like many of the other communities in Caño Mochuelo. However, the clash of civilization decimated our population and forced us to settle where we are today and adopt agricultural practices to survive.

​

Our language, from the Guahibo linguistic family, is related to many of the other languages spoken by other peoples in the reserve with whom we also share important aspects of our worldview. Yet, many traditions, rituals, and ceremonies are our own and demonstrate our identity and autonomy.