A group of tribes, famous in the mission annals of Bolivia, belonging to Arawakan stock. In savage state they subsisted upon hunting and fishing, living in rude huts and leading a wandering life. They excelled in boat making, pottery and music and had a method of picture writing. Polygamy was not common. They were cannibals and tortured prisoners of war. The first mission was founded by the Jesuit Father Cipriano Baraza in 1614. On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish America, 1161, the Moxos Missions were turned over to the Franciscans. Today they are noted for their upright character and industry. They excel as weavers, builders and wood-carvers. Numbering about 30,000, they are zealous Catholics.