The Waikerí or Guaiqueríes were an indigenous people of northern Venezuela. The word means "men" or "people". They may have been related to the Warao people, or to the Arawaks or Cumanagotos. The Waikerí lived primarily on Venezuela's coastal islands of Isla Margarita, Cubagua and Coche, as well as in the nearby coastal areas of the mainland, such as the Araya Peninsula.
According to Alexander von Humboldt, the Waikerí said that their language and that of the Warao were related.
Social organization
The Waikerí is a society founded on the matrilineal kinship principle. They used to recognize only the family line from the mother's side, but nowadays they are able to identify with both their mother's and father's sides of the family.
Waikerís usually establish their homes in the bride's parental house.
References
- Humboldt, Alexander: Reise in die Äquinoctial-gegenden des Neuen Kontinents (1991). Insel Verlag. Primer Tomo. Pág. 229. ISBN 3-458-16947-4.
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