1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Omaguas
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
OMAGUAS, Umanas or Cambevas (flat-heads), a tribe of South American Indians of the Amazon valley. Fabulous stories about the wealth of the Omaguas led to several early expeditions into their country, the most famous of which were those of George of Spires in 1536, of Philip von Hutten in 1541 and of Pedro de Ursua in 1560. In 1645 Jesuits began work. In 1687 Father Fritz, “apostle of the Omaguas,” established some forty mission villages. The Omaguas are still numerous and powerful around the head waters of the Japura and Uaupés.