Arhuaco

people

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June 18, 2026

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The Arhuaco are an indigenous people from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. They are part of the Chibchan language family. The Arhuaco are known for their traditional way of life, which emphasizes a deep connection to their ancestral lands and a spiritual worldview. They are distinct from the Pijao people, who are from the southern highlands of Colombia and were once thought extinct but were officially recognized in the 1990s.12

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Central American and northern Andean Indian
Traditional culture patterns
…terracing, by the Antillean Arawak, Arhuaco, Chibcha, Jirajara, Páez, and Timote, all of whom showed evidence of other cultural elaborations as well. In contrast with such highly developed groups, a few cultures in the area were based more on hunting or fishing than on even simple farming; among those were…
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…terracing, by the Antillean Arawak, Arhuaco, Chibcha, Jirajara, Páez, and Timote, all of whom showed evidence of other cultural elaborations as well. In contrast with such highly developed groups, a few cultures in the area were based more on hunting or fishing than on even simple farming; among those were…
Read More