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PEOPLES AND TERRITORIES OF THE ORINOCO

Sikuani / Sikwani

The Sikuani are a major Indigenous people of the Orinoquía, with communities across Colombia’s eastern plains and Venezuela. In Vichada their documented territories and urban connections extend well beyond a single destination.

Regional reference map for Sikuani / Sikwani; no exact location is marked
Geographic context for this profile; it does not delimit the people’s entire territory or depict a specific community. Regional context. The precise site location remains unverified; the labeled towns are orientation anchors only. · Milenioscuro; locator adaptation by Vichada Network, 2012 / 2026 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Adapted for the web

Territory and Documented Presence

Sources locate Sikuani communities across Vichada, Meta, Casanare and Arauca, in the plains associated with the Meta, Vichada, Orinoco and Manacacías rivers. In Vichada, documented references include Selva Matavén in Cumaribo, the shared Kanalitojo territory in Puerto Carreño, and El Trompillo Kuwai in La Primavera. These are separate territories with different authorities and histories.

Selva de Matavén →

Language, Names and Census Context

Sikuani is a Guahiboan language. Jiwi and spellings such as Sikwani occur in regional sources. Venezuela’s census uses the combined label Jivi/Guajibo/Sikwani. Similar historical labels should not be used to erase distinctions between neighboring peoples.

DANE recorded 52,361 Sikuani people in Colombia in 2018, including 28,230 in Cumaribo municipality and 2,157 in Puerto Carreño municipality. These municipal figures include rural areas. They are not counts of people living in the town centers and do not establish a present-day ranking of the city’s Indigenous population.

Sources: ONIC · Sikuani (2016) · ICANH · Pueblo Sikuani · DANE · Información sociodemográfica del pueblo Sikuani · INE Venezuela · Censo 2011, Empadronamiento de la población indígena (2015), cuadro 1.11

Oral Traditions and Ways of Understanding the Landscape

ONIC’s account discusses Kaliawiri, the tree associated with the origin of food plants. It also describes knowledge connecting seasonal activities with observations of nature and the sky. Such accounts offer a way to ask how people understand a landscape, while allowing narrators to choose their own words and versions.

ICANH’s ethnographic collection describes carved thinking benches with animal forms and geometric imagery. The objects connect craftsmanship with knowledge and social life. Their meanings should be explained by knowledgeable makers or community contributors.

Sources: ONIC · Sikuani (2016) · ICANH · Pueblo Sikuani

Livelihoods, Crafts and River Knowledge

A 2020 Artesanías de Colombia report documents Idä–Barrio Mateo, a craft group linked to Caño Guaripá and Puerto Carreño. Its participants included Sikuani and other peoples, working with moriche fiber and carved wood. The report records movement between rural communities and town, showing how crafts and urban work can remain connected to territory.

Research in Matavén also records Sikuani participants’ knowledge about fish. For a visitor, these sources suggest questions about materials, seasons and food systems rather than an assumption that every person is a fishing guide or craft worker.

Sources: Artesanías de Colombia · Diagnóstico Idä–Barrio Mateo, Caño Guaripá (2020) · Acta Amazonica · Investigación sobre conocimientos de peces en Matavén

Organization and Connections Today

Territorial restitution in Kanalitojo concerns Amorúa, Sáliba and Sikuani members of a shared collective territory. Matavén has its own collective organization through ACATISEMA. These examples help explain why an ethnic identity, a resguardo and an organization are different kinds of reference. A person living or working in town may also maintain community and territorial ties.

Visits and Host Decisions

For an interpretive walk or conversation, begin with the community or person offering the activity. Ask about the route, language, payment and subjects they wish to share. In collective territory, establish the relevant authority’s arrangements before organizing travel. Learning about daily work should be an exchange chosen by the participants.

Visitor availability is unconfirmed. Before traveling, verify access and arrangements directly with the hosts.

Sources and Further Reading

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