| Tapajó | |
|---|---|
| Tapajocos | |
| Region | Tapajós andAmazon Rivers |
| Era | attested 17th century |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | tapa1261 Tapajóuruc1243 Urucurú |
TheTapajó language is an extinct and unclassified language. In the 1660s, it, along with the language of the neighboringUrucucú, was used forcatechism, as the people did not speakTupinamba (Lingua geral). Records of the language have been lost. All that remain are three names:Tapajó as the name of the tribe, the name of their chief,Orucurá, andAura, which was identified with the Christian devil. These names cannot be explained as Tupi[1] and nothing appears to have been preserved of the neighboringUrucucú language.[2]
The Tapajós river is named after the Tapajó people.[3]