Cubeo - Settlements

The settlement pattern, shaped by virilocality, is linear, spread out along the rivers. The traditional residence was the maloca a large communal house. Although no longer used as residences, such communal houses still serve as ceremonial centers and places to congregate and discuss community problems. The missionaries turned these gathering places into the present local unit. A village is a group of houses of nuclear or composite families, arranged around playing fields, at the head of which are located administrative buildings like the school and the health center. The social nucleus of a village, however, is made up of the descendants of a clan or founding lineage originating from the said territorial segment. To this are added affinal and consanguineal relatives who settle closely together within the village space.