Guarani

WILDE, GUILLERMO

Native Peoples of the World. An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues

Mesa Publishing/M.E. Sharpe

Lugar: Armonk (NY); Año: 2013; p. 124 - 126

Several guarani groups are currently located in southern Brazil, Eastern Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina and Bolivia Lowlands. Even though there are not exact demographic figures the total population in the four countries is estimated in more than 100,000 individuals. From aproximately mid-twentieth century, the Guarani have been classified using different ethnonymes that vary according to the different nation-states they inhabit. The mbya, the xiripa (ñandeva or ava?katú-eté) and the paï-tavyterá (paï o kaiowá) are recognized as the three main subgroups of the southern area of concentration of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic family. In the borderland between Bolivia and Argentina there exist other Guarani groups, such as the avá-chiriguano, the tapieté and the izoceño. The presence of all these groups in these regions precedes the formation of nation-states and their political and kinship organization extends beyond national frontiers. This aspect has been reinforced by a high level of territorial mobility of some of the Guarani groups.