Maloca

Not to be confused withMalokaorMallorca.

Maloca

Amalocais an ancestrallong houseused by indigenous people of theAmazon,notably in Colombia and Brazil.Each community has a single maloca with its own unique characteristics.Several families withpatrilinealrelations live together in a maloca, distributed around the long house in different compartments. In general, thechiefof the local descent group lives in the compartment nearest to the back wall of the long house. As well, each family has its own furnace.

During festivals and in formal ceremonies, which involve dances for males, the long house space is rearranged; the centre of the long house is the most important area where the dance takes place. Each maloca has two entrances, for men and for women. Married men and women sleep together, and unmarried men sleep separately, as do unmarried women. A maloca is traditionally surrounded with two gardens: the inner called the kitchen gardens (growing plants such as bananas, papaya, mango and pineapple) and the manioc gardens growing manioc (yuca).

See also

• Malocais also a synonym formalón,aMapucheraid.
• Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos,partly inspired by indigenous architecture

External links

• La Maloca de los Sabedoresde Oscar Freire