The Guarani

The Guarani were an important group of people that lived in Paraguay, parts of Argentina and parts of Brazil. They were semi-nomads so they never really built many structures. The guarani started settling in the area of Paraguay 5,000-3,000 years ago.

The Guarani were not very tall but were muscular. They had a rich culture of story telling, artesany, knowledge of medicine (especially herbal), hunting, warefare and some agriculture.

The first known contacts between the Spanish and the Guarani ocured in 1537 when Gonzalo de Mendoza came up the Paraguay River. He founded Asuncion which would become the capital of Paraguay. The Guarani were composed of many groups that never united to face the Spanish. They were easily conquered and also ravaged by disease (brought by the Spanish). The Guarani were enslaved by the Spanish and there was also a policy of intermarriage that was put in effect by the first governor of Asuncion. Like all over South and Central America, this is were the mestizos came from.

Currently the Guarani live in poverty and are spread around the country. Many times they have nothing else to live in but makeshift huts. They have lost most of their lands and sadly they have to go to the cities (especially Asuncion) to beg and sell their artesanal products. Drug addiction is high among them (especially in the city). The Guarani language is one of the treasures that these people have left for Paraguay and much of the country speaks it (and became the second official language of the country).

Images and information on the Guarani people