The women recognize that they expect a family when their menstrual flow stops. From this point on the future mother enters a time of restrictions and prohibitions ,for example to not ingest certain foods that are considered taboo. Sexual relations between the couple are stopped since continuation could result in negative consequences for the child in the process of gestation.

As part of his role, the husband constructs a small house with a large door of "motacú" leaves nearby, that is called a "nahuiletae". This shelter serves as the place where the woman gives brith. The new mother is attended normally by her mother or her daughter, or in absence of these she is aided by a woman elder of the community. The umbilical cord is cut with a piece of bamboo (tacuara) that is thought to have certain medical properties. Post partum infection in the child or the mother are unheard of. The placenta is buried immediately after being cut.

After the birth the mother stays in her house for a few weeks, without being able to leave or carry out work that is not related with caring for the child. They don't receive nor do they want visitors. With the information that is available, only one case of twins was noted, and one miscarriage. One "single" mother had a fenominal child, without facial features and with a totally disfigured body, which died while in the womb.

FIRST STAGE OF CHILDHOOD:

From the moment of birth to almost six years of age, the care and education of the child is the job of the mother. The Araona woman constantly takes the child with her in a carry-blanket called an "ona". She meets all the needs of the child, and she nurses him/her in any situation.

At almost all times of the day the child is in her arms. From the moment that the little one takes its first steps, he/she begins to be taken care of by older sisters. At close to six years of age, when the child has certain understandings of life, the father makes him a bow and arrow for hunting an fishing - when it is a boy - and takes him as company and the child helps when he goes to the mountain to collect meat and fruit. At this age is when the Araona have a direct relationship with productive activity. Girls continue to be dependent on the mother with whom she stays in the house to help prepare meals, collect wood and harvest crops.

The children receive a name at two or three years of age. There does not exist any ceremony or party related to the event. The names given to Araonas almost always come from ancestors or important people of the culture. There are exceptional cases of names taken from natural phenomenon, for example: Beni (wind) and Badi (moon). Almost all carry a nickname which they are called with greater frequency.

PUBERTY:

The entrance into puberty is marked by the initiation into the religious rite in males and by the start of the menstrual period in females. The permission of the youth in the rituals to their gods is an issue determined by the elders and the shaman. Puberty marks the possibility of marriage, and generally the coming of the age of maturity. The age at which this happens is 15 for males and 13 for females.

MARRIAGE:

The marriage practice does not carry a religious dimension. There is no knowledge of any myths or rites that express the union of the couple. Marriage fundamentally is a civil act and one of mutual convenience; the community as such, does not have a direct influence or involvement in the marriage, though one can appreciate thatthe elders have a lot of influence in the union of the youth.

A special party for marriage is not known. This is a result of the agreement that the male youth solicits from the father or mother of the female, when the girl is young or directly if she is an adult, single or divorced. After making the arrangements, the new couple leaves to live independently in their own house that they build during the"engagement".

The recently married couple starts to act economically independent. The ideal marriage is between members of distinct clans; but this is currently difficult given the scarcity of women in the Cabiña clan. The inter-clan exogamy, favors the Cabiña men that can choose more easily from the marrying youth of the Araona clan; The Araona men, given the small number of Cabiña women, often have to break the rule and marry a women of their same clan. Marriage between brothers and sisters is permitted, though not institutionalized, and a few isolated cases are known. The practice of incest is prohibited. The scarcity of women in the group occasions grave social and organizational problems. It is custom for the men to take women from each other or dispute their possession with force. Polygamy is practiced by the araona; but due to the difficulty of keeping many women and faced with the small number of women, currently only cases of bigamy are known. When the group was more numerous and a more extensive social organization exisited it is possible that polygamy was more common. Today to have more than one wife means that the man must produce exceedingly and of a sustained form, and given the lack of an idea of accumulation of riches, capable of generating capital as to secure an "easy" future life would be dificult.

As marriage does not have a mythical-religious character, the practise of divorce is common. When the union is incompatible or infidelity is present on the part of the woman, the araona opt to separate with the same ease with which the united, each one following their own life freely. If they have children, the paternal grandparents are then responsible for them. In Araona culture, homosexual practices have not been identified, not among women nor among men. It is possible that in previous times there existed manifestations of celibacy among the shamans and the araona priests dedicated to religious cult.

ELDERS AND OLD AGE:

Called babashodi in the araona language, this is a stage that implies the realization as a biological entity of the total character of the organization. Upon reaching of this phase the elderly araonas gain a different social status in relation to others. They have decision making power and their prerogatives are accepted immediately.

DEATH:

Life for the Araona is to be present in the world created by the gods. It is the constant struggle to confront the terrestrial adversaries, for which the advent of death carries weight and fear in the indigenous community.

If a person dies, all the relatives cry profusely. It is a custom that the chief of the family cries in all the places where the deceased would commonly pass time. (hunting and fishing sites, work areas). Death is generally attributed to or blamed on the magic spells of enemies in the community. One occasion when a father lost his daughter, he cut a considerable number of brazil nut trees as vengeance against his neighbors, who - according to his way of thinking - were guilty of the death. Brazil nuts represent one of the main parts of the family diet.

The interment is carried out without any type of wake. At the sight of a dying person with a great possibility of dying, the digging of the grave is begun. It is made in the site where the person normally slept. The place the cadaver in the grave, men - wrapped in tree bark, women - wrapped in leaves, and are situated in the fetal position. The body is accompanied with the belongings of the deceased, such as adornments, weapons, utensils, etc. If a person dies when they are far from home, he/she is transported to their house to be buried. Once the burial is finished, the relatives abandon the house and move to a new, recently constructed one. The old house is arranged and remains as a type of mausoleum for one month, after which it is burned and the place is forgotten.

Following araona beliefs the spirits of the dead wander without direction throughout the forest, especially near places where the deceased was accustomed to stopping. This spirit takes revenge on its enemies in these habitual places. The spirit takes revenge on the enemies that it had in life, and therefore for a great time after a death, the araonas take care not to go far from the village for fear of this curse. Until a few years ago the Araona annually carried out in the Babatae, a religious ritual dedicated to the death and to their god "Baba Sicuasi", to appease its angers and avoid misfortune. They would dance and offer fresh food to the spirits and the gods.