and traditionally considered them cannibals, while most Fcuado- 

 rians know the Waorani as ''Ain(r\ a Quichua word meaning 

 "savage." Mutual Tear and contempt persisted for \ears and was 

 characterized b\ killings on both sides, the most famous of which 

 wasthe"F'alm Beach Massacre"offi\e missionaries in 1956(.\Vu- 

 York Tinu's. Jan. 13. 1956). The first sustained peaceful contact 

 did not occur until 1958 (Yost 19Slb,Wallis. 1973). Fthnohistori- 

 cal and linguistic data indicate that the Waorani ha\e been 

 isolated from even surrounding indigenous groups for many gen- 

 erations. To date, no linguistic congeners haN e been found and at 

 the time of contact only two loan w ords could be identified in the 

 Waoram language (Peeke. 1973). 



Waorani social structure and settlement pattern contributed to 

 their protracted isolation. Acephalous and highly egalitarian. 

 Waorani political and social life are based on the kindred, a 

 complex network of extended kin lies. The traditional Waorani 

 settlement consisted usually of one or two long houses occupied 

 by an extended family spanning three to four generations. Fre- 

 quently, several other similar settlements closely related to the 

 first settlement would be located within a half hour walk; this 

 "neighborhood cluster" of several related settlements composed 

 the community with which an individual identified throughout 

 his life. Haifa do/en such neighborhood clusters were distributed 

 over a vast tract of rain forest isolated from one another by 

 distance and fear. Never certain of exactly where the other com- 

 munities were, the Waorani simply designated them as "upriver 

 Waorani", "downriver Waorani," or "overland Waorani" This 

 isolation within the territory reinforced a deep suspicion and 



^ m ^ 



W 



as both cause and effect of considerable intra-tribal warfare. 

 Spearing raids were a constant feature of 



W 



549^ 



-\ 



life and 

 39% of female 



Wa 



larly adept in the forest; in the aftermath of the spearing raids, 

 individuals were frequently forced to subsist for weeks on raw 



forest products alone. 



Internal threats, however, were not the sole source influencing 

 Waorani behavior and their dependence on the forest. The fear of 



160 



