Part of the extensive private collection owned by Mr. And Mrs. Cisneros of Venezuela is presented here. The collection is the result of a 50 year long systematic gathering of artifacts, which was carried on in the Venezuelan part of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers in the second half of the 20th century. Etnographic artifacts were acquired from the collections of Edgard González Nino and Walter Coppens, as well as a fair number of items obtained directly by the Cisneros family. The Cisneros Foundation makes it possible to preserve the pieces, have them studied by experts and then they are presented to the public. The intention of the foundation is to awaken and raise esteem of the culture and the way of life of the Indian societies, which have lasted the centuries.

The collection preserves material evidence of the everyday life as well as the spiritual ideas of the Indian tribes. Artifacts are created with admirable handicraft and are endowed with various forms of symbolism. It consists of items from the material culture of the twelve separate tribes: De’áruwa (Piaroa), Ye’kuana, Yanomami, Hiwi (Guahíbo), E’nepa (Panare), Hoti, dwelling in the Orinoco River basin, and Wakuénai (Curripaco), Baniva, Baré, Puinave, Warekena and Tsase (Piapoko) from the region of the Amazonian tributaries Guainia and Río Negro, close to the Venezualan border with Brazil and Columbia. Important ceremonial artifacts are featured among a wide spectrum of everyday objects.

The Indian tribes of the Orinoco River basin and of the Venezualan part of the Amazon based their traditional way of life on the fact that land was not always sufficiently fertile, and as a result started to grow the bitter yucca. In addition they developed an effective way of hunting using blowpipes and bows and arrows. Owing to the art of shipmaking they became able river sailors, which enabled them to undertake long trade passages. Although many Indian tribes intermarried with the descendants of the immigrants (the Creole), a number of others still keep the old traditions and preserve the knowledge of the wild acquired by the generations which came before them. The decorative elements in their material culture make a grand aesthetic impression and are closely tied with the mythical images, as these Indians believed they were taught their culture by The Creator.

The Cisneros Foundation
The Cisneros Foundation is a private philanthropic organization committed to the future of Latin America. Its mission is both local and global: to improve the quality of life for those in the region while increasing international awareness of contemporary Latin America. Built on the belief that education is the key to democracy and democracy is the key to freedom, The Cisneros Foundation strengthens and promotes Latin America through a variety of programs. These focus on the areas of education, culture, the environment, and community. It was founded by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Gustavo Cisneros, and Ricardo Cisneros, in association with the Cisneros Group of Companies.