The Achuar are an indigenous people of the Americas belonging to the Jivaroan family, alongside the Shuar, Shiwiar, Awajun, and Wampis (Perú).
The word "Achuar" originates from the name of the large palm trees called "Achu" (Mauritia flexuosa) that are abundant in the swamps within their territory.
[3][4][5] Achuar life centers on the domestic household, which consists of a basic family unit often including close relatives.
The standard Achuar home is settled near a river or lake, but at some distance from major waterways because of mosquitoes and to protect the household against raids by canoe.
[8] It is shaped as a large oval, commonly without outer walls to allow ventilation, with a high roof with straight sides.
The constant fight is between neighboring tribes and when tensions greatly increase, the Achuar find refuge in large protected houses that hold six to seven families.
They are also involved in making the tools they use for hunting, like blowguns and traps, and use the technique of clearing for the expansion of their spouses’ gardens.
Women can find sanctuary in their gardens and express their grief and suffering in private, as public emotion is spurned.
During the rest of the day, married men drink manioc beer and talk amongst each other while also doing handiwork, for example woodwork.
The alphabet consists of 21 letters a, aa, ch, e, ee, i, ii, j, k, m, n, p, r, s, sh, t, ts, u, uu, w, y. Shamanism is present in Achuar lifestyle and witchcraft is occasionally practiced by both ritual specialists and laypersons.
An example of this is an institutionalized form of reciprocal violence that entitles a person to revert any harmful incidents or material another sent.
Jivaroans, of which the Achuar are a sub-group, ascribe to a particular form of the pan-Amazonian animistic cosmological phenomenon known as 'Amazonian perspectivism,'[10] in which many animals and plants are understood to possess human souls, although their bodily appearance is different.
This is sometimes experienced during soul journeys, known as arutam encounters,[11] which represent an extreme state of self-awareness and are induced by the consumption of hallucinogenic drink.
The traditional form of burial for the Achuar is placing the deceased person in a hollowed-out log, resembling a canoe.
During the funeral of a head of household, the canoe is buried in the middle of the house in remembrance of the continuing presence of the late figure.
Non-Indigenous contact has also seen introduction of new diseases (including new STDs) and conflict related to pollution from oil spills, improper business practices, and violent interactions.
When these oil pipelines break, pollution can and has occurred, thereby degrading the resource and limiting Achuar access to their historic fresh (but untreated) water sources.