Mbayá people
Also known as Mbaya people
The Mbayá or Mbyá are an indigenous people of South America which formerly ranged on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, eastern Bolivia, and in the adjacent province of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. They have also been called Caduveo. In the 16th century the Mbayá were called Guaycuru, a name later used generically for all the nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco. The Kadiwéu people of Brazil are the surviving branch of the Mbayá.
Article
4 sectionsContents
- History
- The Guaná
- See also
- Notes
The Mbayá or Mbyá are an indigenous people of South America which formerly ranged on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, eastern Bolivia, and in the adjacent province of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. They have also been called Caduveo. In the 16th century the Mbayá were called Guaycuru, a name later used generically for all the nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco. The Kadiwéu people of Brazil are the surviving branch of the Mbayá.
The Mbayá called themselves the Eyiguayegis 'people of the palm', a reference to the abundant palm trees in their home country. (The name Eyiguayegis is similar to that of Agaces or aigeis, a name more often applied to the related Payaguá. Possibly the two peoples were nearly the same in the 16th century.) The Mbayá spoke a Guaycuruan language. They were "formidable" fighters and "kept the Europeans – settlers and priests alike – at bay" for more than 300 years.