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The Guaraníes: The Guaraní people are the culturally related native people of South America. The indigenous people of Paraguay were the Tupi-Guaraní who originated from the bank of the Amazon River. They are mostly found in Paraguay but also can be found in Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia. The population of Guaraní Indians is estimated at 257,400. The people may speak Guaraní, Spanish, or Portuguese. Back in the early days of civilization, a written language did not exist so communication was strictly oral. Their early villages were communal and ten to fifteen families lived together in one house. (Guarani Culture) As a funerary tradition, the Guaraní people were said to have practiced cannibalism in their early times. "The Guaraní people live like they did in the past; they have the same traditions."(Guaranís) In 1511, a Spanish navigator, Juan de Solis, was the first to enter the Río de la Plata or the delta of the Paraguay River; he became aquainted with Guaraní people. After discovering the land of Paraguay, the first governer of the Spanish territory created new rules again the Guaraní people. He created a policy of intermarriage of Europeans with the native women. He also started forcing labor and enslaving the natives indians who were unprotected and had no one to fight for their rights.



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