Desana - Settlements

The traditional from of settlement is the maloca, or longhouse, a self-contained unit of several nuclear families. Malocas are spaced along rivers and creeks at distances of one- or two-days' travel by canoe but occasionally are found in remote interfluvial regions. Nucleated settlements of square one-family houses are not traditional but were imposed by missionaries, government agencies, or rubber gatherers and have led to social and economic disruption, the spread of disease, alcoholism, and the breakdown of symbolic systems related to maloca life and ecology.