Rikbaktsa - Settlements

Traditional villages were composed of one or two dwellings inhabited by extended families, and a men's house ( makyry ) where widowers and adult single men lived. In 1957 there were forty-two villages located in the interior of the forest, near the headwaters of small streams and linked to each other by forest trails. After being centralized by the Jesuits, villages became larger and less numerous, located along the right bank of the Rio Juruena. Between 1970 and 1984 there were seven large villages (each with between sixty and eighty people). After recovering part of their territory, the Rikbaktsa increased the number of villages built along traditional lines. In 1989 there were twenty-three villages, accessible only by boat, along the Juruena, Sangue, and Arinos rivers; they were located along the borders of their territory so that the Rikbaktsa could watch over their lands.