When the world began, the Creator, Kúwai-Séiri, lived in the region of the torrents of Ayarí with his wife and relatives. The Tsase fished, gathered wild fruit, and hunted. Kúwai-Séiri introduced them to agriculture and, above all, the bitter yucca. The Creator taught them how to plant this sacred food and how to turn it into cassava and manioc.

The Tsase, or "people of the toucan," are one of the smaller groups of the region that descend from ancient Arawak culture. At one time, they were one of the most important societies on the continent. The Tsase inhabited the region between the Amazonas and the Orinoco Delta, controlling the strategic area between the two great river systems. According to early European chronicles, the Tsase participated in a wide network of commercial exchange that connected the Amazonas, the Plains, and the Andes. However, political and cultural changes at the heart of Tsase society caused the group to split into the Arawak groups known today as the Warekena, Wakuénai, Bare, and Baniwa. In the case of the remaining Tsase, adaptation to different ecosystems influenced their division into two clearly defined Tsase groups: the Tsase of the savannahs, known as the Manakuári, and those of the jungle, known as Análima. Today the Tsase mainly inhabit the eastern plains of Columbia. In Venezuela there are Tsase settlements in the state of Amazonas, clustered in Primavera, Laja Lisa, Morichal, Agua Blanca, Siquita-Icucubáwa, and Cataniapo. Some families have moved into more populated centers such as Maroa, San Fernando de Atabapo, and Puerto Ayacucho. A long history of outside invasions diminished Tsase territory and necessitated readjustment of traditional patterns of settlement. The most important change came with the abandonment of communal housing. Tsase today have adopted criollo-style, single-family rectangular homes with a single door and no windows. These structures usually stand next to a family garden where medicinal herbs and sweet or hot peppers are often grown for household use. Although women still know how to spin cotton and weave with looms, these techniques have fallen into disuse as the Tsase have assimilated into criollo culture. Acculturation also has meant changes in styles of dress. In fact, some attribute the Tsase migration to Venezuela as being motivated, in part, by their desire to be near the markets where they could purchase criollo-style clothing. Assimilation notwithstanding, the Tsase continue to practice the craft of basketry. They weave sebucanes, manares, and guapas, using various plant fibers such as curagua, cucurito, tirite, chiquichique, and cumare. Tsase marriage patterns are exogamous and, in some cases, polygamous. In these arrangements, the first wife has more authority than the others, although generally there is not much dispute among the wives. They all live in a single house and distribute chores according to age. The youngest woman is responsible for agricultural tasks that require physical strength, while the oldest takes on domestic work such as cooking and caring for children. In their social structure, the nuclear family is the basic unit within a larger extended family. Each extended family has a male chief who exercises paternal authority over the clan, making women and children completely dependent on their husbands or fathers. The Tsase are organized into five patrilineal groups founded on a shared mythical heritage. According to their belief system, they are descendants of five mythical brothers whose birth order established the hierarchy of the five groups. The groups are made up of extended families, each governed by a chief or head of family. The chiefs come together in a council of elders that chooses the "captain" of an entire community. The captain can be the founder of a village, a respected elder, or a person having social prestige. He makes important decisions, solves major conflicts, and organizes responses to criollo encroachments. References Silvia Vidal, "Los Piapoco," Sistemas Ambientales Venezolanos, Vol. 1, Caracas, 1983. Silvia Vidal, El modelo del proceso migratorio pre-hispánico de los Piapoco: hipótesis y evidencias, Caracas, 1989. Johannes Wilbert, Indios de la región Orinoco Ventuari, Fundación la Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas,1966.