CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. Sixteenth-century illuminated miniature of dancing dervishes,
from the “Sessions of the Lovers.” [©Bodlein Library, University of Oxford]; South torana at the
Great Stupa at Sa ̄ñc ̄ı, India. [©Adam Woolfitt/Corbis]; Eleventh-century S ́iva Nat:ara ̄ja from
Southern India. Musée Guimet, Paris. [©Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.]; The “Wedded Rocks”
at Futamigaura in Ise, Japan. [©Werner Forman/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Angkor Vatt, Cambodia.
[Dave G. Houser/Corbis].
S
CONTINUEDSOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIONS
This entry consists of the following articles:
AN OVERVIEW
MYTHIC THEMES
HISTORY OF STUDY
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
Since the Indians of South America do not conform culturally, there is no religious unifor-
mity among them. Despite this inconsistency, an acceptable overview can be achieved by
subdividing the continent’s large, geographically distinct regions into the following cul-
tural areas.
1.The Andes. This mountain range stretches from present-day Colombia to Chile. The
highland regions of Peru, lying between the Pacific coast region and the valleys that
cut through the mountain range, were taken over in the distant past by highly ad-
vanced agrarian cultures. Among the most significant of these cultures was the Inca
empire, which extended into the dawn of historical times. Direct descendants of ear-
lier Andean cultures, the Quechua and Aymara peoples inhabit present-day Peru and
Bolivia.
2.Amazon and Orinoco rivers. These jungle- and savanna-covered regions were con-
quered by tropical farming cultures. From the standpoint of cultural history, this area
also includes the mountainous sections of present-day Guyana; in early historical pe-
riods, the Amazon cultural area eventually spread to the Atlantic coast. As in the past,
it is now inhabited by tribes belonging to a number of linguistic families, both small
and large (Tupi, Carib, Arawak, Tucano, and Pano), and by a number of linguistical-
ly isolated tribes. Together they form cultural subareas that display religious special-
izations.
3.Mountains of eastern Brazil. This region is occupied by groups of the Ge linguistic
family, who practice rudimentary farming methods; they settled in these hinterlands
of the Atlantic coast region, joining indigenous hunting tribes. A few of these Ge
groups have survived culturally up to the present time.8575