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Cofán People
The Cofan (endonym: ''A'i'') people are an indigenous people native to Sucumbíos Province northeast Ecuador and to southern Colombia, between the Guamués River (a tributary of the Putumayo River) and the Aguarico River (a tributary of the Napo River). Their total population is now only about 1,500 (2000 survey) to 2,100 (2010 survey) people, down from approximately 15,000 in the mid-16th century, when the Spanish crushed their ancient civilization, of which there are still some archeological remains. They speak the Cofán language or A'ingae. The ancestral land, community health and social cohesion of Cofan communities in Ecuador has been severely damaged by several decades of oil drilling. However, reorganization, campaigning for land rights, and direct action against encroaching oil installations have provided a modicum of stability. Major settlements include Sinangué, Dovuno, Dureno and Zábalo, the latter of which has retained a much more extensive land base. Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cofán Language
''Aingae'', commonly known as Cofán or Kofán, is the primary language of the Ai (Cofán) people, an indigenous group whose ancestral territory lies at the interface between the Andean foothills and Amazonia in the northeast of Ecuador (Sucumbíos province) and southern Colombia (Putumayo & Nariño provinces). While past classifications have identified Cofán as belonging to linguistic families such as Chibchan or Andean B, it is now widely agreed to be a language isolate, with no known genetic relatives. Although still robustly learned by children in Ecuadorian communities, it is considered an 'endangered language with estimates of around 1500 native speakers. History and Current Status Aingae is a language isolate of Amazonia spoken by the Cofán people in the province of Sucumbios in Northeastern Ecuador and the provinces of Putumayo and Nariño in Southern Columbia. The language has approximately 1500 speakers and is relatively vital in Ecuador and severely endangered in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
