Guahibo-Sikuani - Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Although all Sikuani consider themselves related, regional groups called wiria differentiate each other by certain linguistic features and particular mythical ancestors, generally animals. The tapir, jaguar, sardine, sloth, parrot, and macaw groups are the best known. A complete list would include some forty groupings of this kind. There is sometimes disagreement about the affiliation of a particular individual. Filiation is cognatic when the father and mother belong to the same wiria. When the father and mother belong to different wirias or ethnic groups, it is assumed that children belong to the father's or mother's group depending on which group is dominant in the community. The children of a Piapoco man and a Sikuani woman who live in a Sikuani community will be Sikuani. If, on the other hand, the couple lives in a Piapoca community, the children will be Piapoca.

Kinship Terminology. The terminology for cousins is of the Iroquois type, and avuncular terminology is bifurcate-collateral.