The Aguaruna Tribe

Aguaruna headdresses

These two Aguaruna headdresses are examples of the beautiful feather-work associated with this tribe.  They are not for sale.

Many of the feathers come from protected bird species, so although the Aguaruna rarely, if ever, hunt specifically for feathers (generally they are a by-product of hunting for food), they cannot and should not be exported from Peru.  In future years, Ecotribal hopes to work closer with the Aguaruna, identifying appropriate crafts, foods and medicines which can be sustainably brought to market.

The name 'Aguaruna' combines the Spanish for water (agua) with the Inca or Quechua word for people (runa).  Known for centuries as "the river people",  around 45,000 of them dwell in the rain-forested region of Northern Peru, close to the border with Ecuador.  The Aguaruna form part of a larger ethnic group which extends into Ecuador, known as the Jibaro (or Jivaro), who were known and feared by the Inca and his armies in the late 15th and early 16th century.  These days the Aguaruna grow cash crops (rice, cacao and bananas) to augment the more traditional lifestyle of fishing, hunting and gardening in forest clearings, usually dwelling close to rivers in communities averaging around 250 people. 

Some Aguarauna also help to maintain the oil pipeline that heads from their lands towards the Peruvian coast at Talara.