﻿Vol.2] 
  TRIBES 
  OF 
  ECUADOR 
  — 
  MURRA 
  801 
  

  

  as 
  the 
  place 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  ancestors 
  emerged. 
  Garcilaso 
  de 
  la 
  Vega 
  

   reports 
  that 
  the 
  Canari 
  worshiped 
  the 
  Moon, 
  certain 
  large 
  trees, 
  and 
  

   marbled 
  stones. 
  Bears 
  are 
  also 
  mentioned 
  among 
  deities. 
  At 
  Paute, 
  

   a 
  young 
  boy 
  with 
  light 
  hair 
  appeared 
  occasionally 
  in 
  pre-Inca 
  days 
  to 
  

   chiefs 
  and 
  elders. 
  

  

  THE 
  PALTA 
  

  

  Habitat. 
  — 
  The 
  Palta 
  and 
  Malacato 
  lived 
  in 
  the 
  Province 
  of 
  Loja, 
  

   north 
  to 
  Piedras 
  in 
  El 
  Oro 
  and 
  south 
  to 
  Xoroca 
  in 
  Jaen. 
  Saraguro 
  was 
  

   an 
  important 
  Palta 
  center, 
  and 
  Capolanga, 
  Yunchique, 
  Turocapi, 
  

   and 
  Gonzaval 
  are 
  mentioned 
  by 
  chroniclers 
  as 
  settlements 
  in 
  Jaen. 
  

   The 
  Malacato 
  were 
  a 
  Palta 
  subdivision, 
  living 
  on 
  the 
  eastern 
  slope 
  of 
  

   the 
  Cordillera 
  Oriental, 
  toward 
  Zamora 
  River. 
  These 
  tribes 
  were 
  

   largely 
  ignored 
  by 
  the 
  chroniclers. 
  

  

  Language. 
  — 
  The 
  Palta 
  language 
  was 
  intelligible 
  to 
  the 
  Jivaro, 
  who 
  

   lived 
  in 
  the 
  jungles 
  to 
  the 
  east. 
  Rivet 
  suggested 
  an 
  Arawakan 
  affili- 
  

   ation 
  of 
  the 
  language. 
  

  

  The 
  Palta 
  were 
  newcomers 
  to 
  the 
  Highland, 
  for 
  Jij6n 
  found 
  almost 
  a 
  

   fourth 
  of 
  the 
  local 
  patronymics 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  northern, 
  non-Palta 
  origin. 
  In 
  

   addition, 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  writers 
  remark 
  that 
  Canari 
  was 
  under- 
  

   stood 
  throughout 
  the 
  area. 
  

  

  Subsistence. 
  — 
  After 
  arriving 
  in 
  the 
  mountains, 
  the 
  Palta 
  adopted 
  

   Highland 
  crops, 
  and 
  grew 
  maize, 
  potatoes, 
  beans, 
  and 
  squash, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  

   avocados, 
  pineapples, 
  and 
  other 
  tropical 
  fruits. 
  There 
  was 
  little 
  

   game; 
  hunting 
  and 
  fishing 
  were 
  much 
  less 
  important 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  jungle. 
  

  

  Houses 
  and 
  villages. 
  — 
  Palta 
  settlements 
  were 
  spread 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  

   hillsides, 
  the 
  cultivated 
  land 
  of 
  each 
  family 
  surrounding 
  its 
  house. 
  

   The 
  village 
  territory 
  was 
  delimited; 
  the 
  limits 
  were 
  generally 
  known 
  

   and 
  observed. 
  As 
  elsewhere 
  in 
  the 
  Andes, 
  houses 
  had 
  walls 
  of 
  mud- 
  

   covered 
  posts 
  and 
  a 
  straw 
  thatched 
  roof. 
  

  

  Clothing 
  and 
  ornaments. 
  — 
  Men 
  wore 
  a 
  sleeveless, 
  knee-length 
  

   cotton 
  shirt 
  with 
  a 
  capelike 
  blanket 
  over 
  it. 
  Both 
  sexes 
  wore 
  sandals 
  

   of 
  cabuya 
  fiber 
  or 
  sometimes 
  hide 
  soles, 
  tied 
  to 
  the 
  foot 
  with 
  multi- 
  

   colored 
  thongs. 
  

  

  The 
  Palta 
  practiced 
  fronto-occipital 
  head 
  deformation. 
  

  

  Manufactures. 
  — 
  The 
  chroniclers 
  agree 
  that 
  although 
  the 
  Palta 
  

   were 
  more 
  peaceful 
  than 
  their 
  neighbors, 
  the 
  Canari, 
  they 
  were 
  neither 
  

   as 
  civilized 
  nor 
  as 
  skillful 
  at 
  various 
  tasks. 
  Archeology 
  has 
  not 
  yet 
  

   determined 
  the 
  material 
  culture 
  of 
  this 
  area, 
  and 
  we 
  lack 
  concrete 
  

   information 
  about 
  the 
  manufactures. 
  The 
  principal 
  weapons 
  were 
  

   slings, 
  spear 
  throwers, 
  and 
  clubs. 
  

  

  Sociopolitical 
  features. 
  — 
  Sociopolitical 
  and 
  religious 
  organization 
  

   reported 
  for 
  this 
  area 
  have 
  a 
  strong 
  Cuzco 
  flair, 
  probably 
  because 
  the 
  

   Palta 
  submitted 
  readily 
  to 
  the 
  Inca 
  conquest 
  and 
  acculturation. 
  The 
  

   only 
  hint 
  of 
  an 
  earlier, 
  different 
  social 
  organization 
  comes 
  in 
  the 
  

   chroniclers' 
  report 
  of 
  bewildering 
  diversity 
  in 
  inheritance 
  rules: 
  in 
  

  

  