 | This article includes alist of references,related reading, orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Cuiba | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Colombia,Venezuela |
| Region | Meta Casanare and Capanapara rivers (Colombia)Apure Division (Venezuela) |
Native speakers | 2,900 (2007–2008)[1] |
Guahiban
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cui |
| Glottolog | cuib1242 |
| ELP | Cuiva |
 | |
Cuiba orCuiva is aGuahiban language that is spoken by about 2,300 people inColombia and additional 650 inVenezuela. More than half of Cuiba speakers are monolingual, and in Colombia there is a 45% literacy rate.[citation needed][2] Cuiva is also referred to asCuiba,Cuiba-Wámonae,Kuiva,Chiricoa,Hiwi, andMaiben. In Colombia, Cuiva is spoken among those who live and who are born surrounding the Colombian rivers,Meta Casanare andCapanaparo. TheCuiba ethnic group is often found in theCasanare Department. In Venezuela the language is spoken in the state ofApure, one of the states that border with Colombia, and which is found alongside the Capanaparo river.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The term Cuiba is usually used to describe the ethnic group itself, although they do not refer to themselves as Cuiba. Most of those who speak the Cuiba language are monolingual, which is why the language is threatened seeing as the ethnic population itself is only approximately 2,950 and continues to decrease. The Cuiba ethnic group are characterized as beinghunter-gatherers, who live a nomadic lifestyle in small bands along the borders of Colombia and Venezuela. Before 1967, the Cuiba were spread across theMeta River tributaries: Casanare,Agua Clara,Ariporo,Unchadia,Arauca, and Capanaparo. For the most part although the groups of Cuiba today are much smaller, they continue to occupy what is left of the areas around the rivers.[citation needed]
The banks of the Casanare, Agua Clara, Ariporo, Unchadia, Arauca, and Capanaparo are for the most part known as Cuiba territory and there has been no evidence stating that the Cuiba have occupied other territory but their own. The Cuiba have gone through many wars and invasions, which have slightly influenced Cuiba political and cultural practices at some point. Although the Europeans have left, someSpanish words survived. There is no evidence showing where the Spanish words were originated. There have been many attempts after the1533 invasion attempting to remove the Cuiba from their territory, but although the Cuiba have a small population their culture has largely remained unchanged.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
There are 8 dialects in Colombia and Venezuela known as:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||
| Plosive | Tenuis | p | t | k | kʷ | |||
| Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | |||||
| Voiced | b | d | ||||||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | ||||||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | x | h | hʷ | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||||
| Rhotic | ɾ | |||||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ | u |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | æ | ʌ | |
| Open | a |
 | This article mayrequirecleanup to meet Wikipedia'squality standards. The specific problem is:What does "j" mean? Please helpimprove this article if you can.(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)