Wa’îkɨ̃hɨ | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Amazonas, Brazil (2014) | 1,325 |
| Vaupés River, Colombia (1988) | 400 |
| Languages | |
| Piratapuyo | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Wanano | |
ThePira-tapuya, or variations likePira-Tapuia,Piratapuyo, etc., orTapuya (Tucano:Wa’îkɨ̃hɨ)[1] for short, are an indigenous people of the Amazon regions. They live along theVaupés River in Colombia and in the state ofAmazonas, Brazil.
0°44′13″N69°28′04″W / 0.736873°N 69.467713°W /0.736873; -69.467713
The Pira-tapuya call themselves Waíkana.[2]They speak thePiratapuyo language, one of theEastern Tucanoan languages.Other ethnic groups in the region also speak Eastern Tucanoan languages apart from theTariana people, who originally spoke anArawakan language.[3]Thelingua franca of the region is theTucano language, which has around 20,000 speakers.[4]
The Pira-tapuya live along the banks of the Vaupés River and its tributaries such as theTiquié,Papurí andQuerari rivers.[4]The 1,375 kilometres (854 mi) Uaupés River rises in Colombia and flows for 845 kilometres (525 mi) to the border with Brazil.For over 188 kilometres (117 mi) it forms the border between Colombia and Brazil, then for 342 kilometres (213 mi) flows through Brazil to the point where it joins theRio Negro.The main settlements are the town ofMitú, capital of theVaupés Department in Colombia, and Iaraueté, seat of a district in the municipality ofSão Gabriel da Cachoeira.[5]
The Pira-tapuya live in the middle Papuri in the vicinity of Teresita, and in the lower Uaupés. Some have migrated to other locations of Rio Negro and São Gabriel.[2]As of 2014 Siasi/Sesai estimated that there were 1,325 Pira-tapuya in Amazonas.As of 1988 there were an estimated 400 Pira-tapuya in Colombia.[3]The peoples of the region intermarry, trade, and engage in shared rituals, forming the Uaupés/Pira-Paraná socio-cultural complex.[4]
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
