Quijos-Quichua

In Ecuador they inhabit in the Napo Alto as well as the rivers Ansuy and Jatun Yacu, where they are also known as Quijos Quechua.

Despite the great resistance of Jumandi and the people who followed him, the Spaniards captured him, tortured him and finally killed him in 1579.

Other researchers (Goldáraz, 2010) point out that although Quichua was not the original language of the Quijos, that it has been 'nativized' by acquiring new spatial and linguistic features.

Traditional medicine making use of local plants and trees is an important part of Quijos culture.

Examples of plants used in Quijos traditional medicine are tobacco, chilli pepper and wayusa, which is typically brewed into an infusion.

Actu Chiri Guayusa: A plant whose vaporisation serves to calm pain in the body and give energy.

Pineapple: A fruit plant that serves for stomach pain and helps to eliminate the bacteria inside the organism.

Papaya: A medicinal plant applied in the placenta of cattle as a massage and helps to eliminate the bacteria inside the organism.

Some food products in their diet include: sweet potato, plantain (and/or banana), yuca, corn (maize), rice, beans, chonta, heart of palm, chili, honey, meat and fish.

Household gardens, or chacra, remain important in the lowland Quijos (Quichua) communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Chacra production is not only central to household food security but also its symbolic importance to Quijos (Quichua) cultural identity.

This plant, found in the Ecuadorian Amazon, contains caffeine and other components such as theobromine or L-teanine, stimulants that reduce physical and mental fatigue and fight stress.

Quijos capture dantas, monkeys, guantas, turkeys and other wild animals with an instrument made with wood called bodoquera.

Bodoquera is a blowpipe and it contains small arrows with herbs and poison which will put the preys asleep instantly when they get in touch with the instrument.

Women, and girls, wore necklaces and bracelets made with crystal beads, both around the neck and around the waist.

They made stone utensils, clay pots, hammocks, pita nets and wicker baskets.

With the stone they made their work and war goods, they washed the gold in the rivers for their personal adornments.

Statute of the Quijos nation
The ayahuasca plant, used by the Quijos.
The leaves of chonta are used for the rituals of the Wankiris Quijos.
Chirimoya - a fruit cultivated by the Quijos in the Amazon.
Tilapia Maito - a traditional Quijos meal.
Often in traditional Quijos cuisine, food is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over the fire.
Maito (usually tilapia) is a traditional Quijos meal made by being wrapped in banana leaf and cooked over the fire.
Meals are eaten on larger banana leaves on the ground.
Quijos with one of his hunting instrument
Quijos preparing Barbasco for fishing
Handicrafts made by members of the Quijos Nation.