The Machiguenga are an ethnic group of the Arawakan linguistic family.
The Machiguenga live in dispersed settlements clustered according to a matrilocal pattern of residence: a man marries out of his home village and goes to live with his wife's family.
The Machiguenga name for the plant means "bitter leaf." Traditionally used by indigenous peoples of the Amazon as a poison for hunting animals, curare is the natural source of the drug d-tubocurarine, a muscle relaxant that revolutionized modern surgery.
Whereas the Machiguenga are highly susceptible to infectious diseases brought in from outside the park, they are otherwise very healthy, and have their own uniquely effective pharmacopoeia of native plants.
The Machiguenga culture is hunter-gatherer with swidden agriculture in small plots that are cut and burned out of the rain forest.
The Machiguenga are avid seekers of protein, which they obtain through hunting of paca (a delectable rodent), tapirs, monkeys and a large variety of fowl.
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