  The small community of the Tomaraho, an ethnic group culturally derived from
the Zamucos, became known in the South American and world anthropological
scenario in recent times. This group, far from the banks of the Paraguay river,
remained concealed from organized modern societies for many years. Like any
other groups of people in close contact with nature, the Tomaraho developed a
profound and rich world view which parallels other more widely researched
aboriginal cultures as well as showing distinctive features of their own. This
is also apparent in their imagery of the sky and of the characters that are
closely connected with the celestial sphere. This paper is based on the lengthy
anthropological studies of G. Sequera. We have recently undertaken a project to
carry out a detailed analysis of the different astronomical elements present in
the imagined sky of the Tomaraho and other Chamacoco ethnic groups. We will
briefly review some aspects of this aboriginal culture: places where they live,
regions of influence in the past, their linguistic family, their living habits
and how the advancement of civilization affected their culture and survival. We
will later mention the fieldwork carried out for decades and some of the
existing studies and publications. We will also make a brief description of the
methodology of this work and special anthropological practices. Last but not
least, we will focus on the Tomaraho conception of the sky as well as describe
the research work we have been doing in recent times.
