Vichada and Orinoco Glossary

Place names

Aliwa

A name associated with the Aliwa forest territory and research into the Vichada Structure. A proposed impact interpretation does not by itself establish a proven origin.

Wildlife & common names

Babilla

In this region’s wildlife, a name used for Caiman crocodilus. Do not automatically identify it as the Orinoco crocodile, which is a different species.

Place names

Bita

The name of a river and its basin. The Bita River wetland complex has Ramsar recognition; Bita is not the name of a single lake.

Food & cultivation

Budare

A cooking plate or griddle used for foods such as cassava flatbread and arepas. The term names the utensil, not the food.

Objects & daily life

Canalete

A hand-held, broad-bladed paddle used to propel and steer a canoe without resting it in an oarlock.

Objects & daily life

Caney

In the Venezuelan usage recorded by the DLE, an open-sided shelter with a palm or straw roof supported by posts.

The DLE identifies a Taíno origin. In an accommodation offer, establish the actual layout and facilities.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Caño

In regional river usage, a secondary watercourse flowing into a larger one. It should not automatically be read as a pipe or urban drain.

The name alone does not establish navigability or water level on a particular date.

Food & cultivation

Casabe / cazabe

A thin, toasted flatbread made from processed cassava. It is a distinct food, rather than the loose cassava meal called mañoco.

Place names

Casuarito

A rural locality in Puerto Carreño municipality. It is distinct from the municipal town; the name alone establishes neither a transport timetable nor an authorized border crossing.

Wildlife & common names

Charapa

A common name applied to freshwater turtles in the genus Podocnemis. Usage varies between regions, so the common name alone does not establish a species.

Wildlife & common names

Chigüiro / chigüire

Regional names for the capybara, a large rodent. Different local names do not necessarily mean different animals.

Objects & daily life

Chinchorro

In a sleeping context, a light hammock woven from cords or fibers. The same word also has meanings connected with fishing nets and small boats.

If chinchorro accommodation is offered, ask what is included: shelter, mosquito net and hanging equipment.

Objects & daily life

Churuata

A Venezuelan term for a large Indigenous dwelling with a conical thatched roof, traditionally associated with communal life.

Not every thatched building is a churuata, and not every community uses this name.

Food & cultivation

Conuco

A small cultivated plot. In an Indigenous setting, ask about its crops, caretakers and the community’s own terms and practices.

Objects & daily life

Cumare

A name for a palm and the fiber taken from its young leaves, used in weaving, including hammocks and cordage.

Ask which fiber was used and who made the piece; a generic label does not identify its community of origin.

Place names

Cumaribo

The name of a municipality and its town. Ask for the specific locality: a place within the municipality may be far from Cumaribo town.

Objects & daily life

Curiara / curiare

A traditional boat made by hollowing out a tree trunk. “Dugout canoe” is a useful explanation, while the local word preserves its cultural and material context.

ASALE records curiara in eastern Colombia and Venezuela. Curiare occurs in historical writing; its present-day spoken use needs local confirmation.

Place names

El Tuparro

May refer to the national park, the biosphere reserve or the Tuparro River. These are different references; establish which one a source or travel proposal means.

Objects & daily life

Guayuco

A garment covering the genital area, worn in different Indigenous traditions. The word alone does not identify a particular people, design or occasion.

The DLE attributes the word to Cumanagoto. For a particular garment, also use the name preferred by its community.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Invierno / verano

In travel conversations, these terms may distinguish the rainy and dry seasons. Do not assume they mean the cold winter and summer of temperate regions.

Ask for months, the specific route and recent conditions; a season’s name does not replace a local report.

Place names

La Primavera

A Vichada municipality and its town. In travel directions, establish whether the town or a rural locality is meant. Keep the Spanish place name rather than translating it as “Spring.”

Objects & daily life

Llanero / llanera

A person or characteristic associated with the Llanos plains. This is a regional and cultural reference, not the name of a particular Indigenous people.

Place names

Maipures

A name used for the rapids associated with El Tuparro and historical references to the area. This portal’s Maipures guide concerns the rapids landscape.

Food & cultivation

Mañoco

Toasted cassava meal or granules. Mañoco and casabe may appear together in discussions of regional food, but they are different products.

Objects & daily life

Mapire

A broad-mouthed basket woven from plant fibers, with straps for carrying food and other objects on the back.

Place names

Matavén

A name found in Selva de Matavén, an Indigenous territory and resguardo, and in Caño Matavén. It is not another name for El Tuparro National Natural Park.

Place names

Meta

The name of a river and another Colombian department. In río Meta, it refers to the watercourse rather than Meta Department.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Morichal

An area where moriche palms grow together. It describes a vegetation landscape, rather than a single palm or a guarantee of visitor access.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Moriche

A fan-leaved palm whose name also appears in accounts of regional fruit, fiber and weaving.

Place names

Orinoco

The name of the major river shared by Colombia and Venezuela. For travel planning, specify the section and bank; the name alone does not define a route.

Place names

Orinoquía / Orinoquia

The name of the region associated with the Orinoco. The geographic region, drainage basin and departments included in a particular account may have different extents.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Playón

A broad beach. In a river conversation, establish which bank or sandbar is meant and how it changes with water levels.

Place names

Puerto Carreño

Vichada’s capital and the name of one of its municipalities. The urban center and the wider municipal territory are different geographic scales.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Raudal / raudales

A place where water moves forcefully. In regional place names it commonly points to rapids, as in the Maipures rapids.

A raudal is not necessarily a waterfall or a section suitable for boating.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Resguardo indígena

An Indigenous territorial and sociopolitical institution involving collective landholding and its own forms of organization. It is not a synonym for a nature reserve or an attraction open to the public.

For a visit, identify the community and authority responsible for the particular place.

Place names

Santa Rosalía

A Vichada municipality and its town. Visiting a reserve or research station within the municipality is not the same as visiting the urban center.

Food & cultivation

Sebucán / matafrío

A flexible woven-fiber tool used to squeeze grated cassava during processing. Tipití and matafrío are also encountered as names for this type of implement.

These names help identify a technique; they are not instructions for preparing bitter cassava.

Wildlife & common names

Terecay

A regional name for the river turtle Podocnemis unifilis. It helps distinguish it from turtles called charapa or arrau in different sources.

Wildlife & common names

Tonina

A Colombian–Venezuelan Llanos name for river dolphins. This entry explains its Meta and Orinoco usage, rather than every marine meaning of the word.

Rivers, landscapes & orientation

Vereda

In Colombian territorial organization, a rural subdivision of a municipality. Distinguish this meaning from vereda as a path or trail.

Place names

Vichada

The name of a Colombian department and a river. A reference to the Vichada River does not necessarily mean Puerto Carreño town or the department as a whole.