 Delivery of the UNESCO Certificate of Protection to the Wayampi | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,171[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Brazil | 1,221 (2014) |
 French Guiana | 950 (2009) |
| Languages | |
| Wayampi,French Guiana Creole,Portuguese[2] | |
| Religion | |
| traditional tribal religion[1] | |
Wayampi orWayãpi are anindigenous people located in the south-eastern border area ofFrench Guiana at the confluence of the riversCamopi andOyapock, and the basins of theAmapari and Carapanatuba Rivers in the central part of the states ofAmapá andPará inBrazil. The number of Wayampi is approximately 2,171 individuals. Approximately 950 live inFrench Guiana[1] in two main settlements surrounded by little hamlets,[3] and 1,221 live inBrazil[1] in 49 villages.[4]
The Wayampi are also known as the Wajãpi, Wayapi, Wajapi, Oiampi,[1] Barnaré, Oyampi, Oyampik, Waiapi, Walãpi, Guaiapi, Guayapi, Oiampipucu, Oyampí, Oyampipuku, Oyanpík, Waiampi, Wajapae, Wajapuku, Wayapae, and Wayãpi people.[2]
The Wayampi people speak theWayampi language, which belongs to Subgroup VIII of theTupi-Guarani languages. Wayampi has three dialects: Amapari Wayampi, Jari, and Oiyapoque Wayampi. The language is written phonetically based on theInternational Phonetic Alphabet, and not according to theFrench orPortuguese orthography.[5] The literacy rates are low.[2]
The first Western documents about the Wayampi are Portuguese sources from 1690 mentioning the groups migration from the lowerXingu River to theJari River, then northward along the Jari and Amapari rivers.[6] The Wayampi had been fighting with the French colonialists. In 1738, aJesuitmission opened on the riverOyapock near the current town of Camopi. The missionaries brought European diseases and caused a depopulation. In 1763, the Jesuits left and most of the population dispersed.[7] From then on they became totally isolated.[7] Reports from 1770 show a total population of 6,000, as compared with 835 in 1990. From 1820, some northern groups began making contact with French officials andMaroons, but most of the Wayampi continued their isolation in the Amazonian forest throughout the 18th and 19th century. The isolation was such, that only temporary canoes could be built.[8]
Only in the 1940s were the villages ofFrench Guiana contacted by geographers;[9] the Wayampi were in a bad shape, diseases had ravaged the community, and the population was estimated at 230 people.[6] Two schools were built in 1956 and 1971.[9] In the 1960s attempts were made in French Guiana to group the population into two bigger villages where the Wayampi had to live with theTeko. The attempts of concentration had limited success.[10] The Wayampi did not have tribal government, therefore agranman (paramount chief) was installed according to theMaroon hierarchy, but failed to catch on.[10] In the 1960s, the French Government contacted alltribes to ask them whether they wantedFrench citizenship. The Wayampi and theTeko were the only tribes who decided against citizenship.[11] In 2000, they accepted French citizenship.[12]
In the late 1980s, gold was discovered near the riverCamopi. Illegalgold miners moved into area, and the villages of Vila Brasil and Ilha Bela were established opposite the town of Camopi where the majority of the French Wayampi were concentrated. With the gold prospectors came the alcohol, prostitution and drugs.[13] In the early 21st century, the tribe started to build hamlets with subsistence farms several kilometres from the main settlements. By 2010, there were 45 hamlets, and most had left the main town of Camopi.[3]
InBrazil, as late as 1973 hadFUNAI established contact with the Wayampi. Even as today the various Wayampi communities are moderatelyacculturated at best.[14] In 1976 the construction of highwayBR-210 passed through Wayampi territory which had limited contact to the outside world. In the 1980s the tribe attacked and construction of the highway halted and will probably never be completed.[15] Air reconnaissance has identified two subgroups of Wayampi which are probablyuncontacted.[14] The majority of the Brazilian population lives in the Terra Indígena Waiãpi (Wayampi Indigenous Territory), an autonomous district with restricted access, which had been established in 1996.[16]
The Wayampi practiceslash-and-burn agriculture and subsist primarily oncassava,sweet potatoes,yams, andbananas.[14] Among the groups of the Amapari and upperOyapok rivershunting is the most important, while bow- and arrow-fishing is predominant for the northernmost group. With the exception of the Mariry community, which carries out limited exploitation of gold claims, there is little participation in the cash economy.
The Wayampi were part of the great commercial link of theWayana Indians which extended form the Amapari river inBrazil as far as theTapanahoni river inSuriname. They traded cotton thread, hunting dogs and feather crowns mainly for tools. Today this network has been disrupted by the increased control of national boundaries, though it remains alive between various Wayampi groups. Since the late 1970s Western goods replaced local manufactures, with the exception of baskets and cotton-woven hammocks. Such products as ammunition, fishhooks, pans, and glass beads are increasingly traded.
| Place | Population | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Camopi | 600–650 | main town |
| Trois Sauts | 300–350 | cluster of four villages:Roger,Zidock,Yawapa, andPina.[6] |
| Place | Inhabitants |
|---|---|
| Akaju | 33 |
| Aruwã'ity | 49 |
| Cinco Minutos | 60 |
| Jakareãkagokã | 47 |
| Jovem de Deus | 32 |
| Karapijuty | 55 |
| Karavovõ | 48 |
| Kupa'u | 45 |
| Kwapoywyry (Aramirã II) | 57 |
| Mogywyry (Piaui) | 54 |
| Najaty | 53 |
| Okakai | 36 |
| Pairakae | 42 |
| Suisuimënë | 11 (minority) |
| Tabokal | 57 |
| Takweniwi[21][b] | 133 |
| Yululuwi[21][b] | 50 |
| Ytawa | 65 |
| Ytuwasu | 117 |
| Yvytõtõ | 38 |
Notes:
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