The Karipuna do Amapá (also: Karipúna) are an indigenous people located in the riverine areas of the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

, particularly around the Caripi River. In 2014, the population was estimated at 2,922 people.

History

The Amerindians use the term Karipuna, because they are mixed or civilized Amerindians. The tribe is the result of several migrations, and mixing with non-indigenous people. The main groups being Amerindian, French Guianese, Saint Lucian Arabs, and Chinese. In 1830, the

Cabanagem The Cabanagem (; 1835–1840) was a popular revolution and pro-separatist movement that occurred in the then province of Grão-Pará, Empire of Brazil. Among the causes for this revolt were the extreme poverty of the Paraense people, oppressio ...

Revolt resulted in the migration from the mouth of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

to the region. The Karipuna had long been in contact with

French Guianese French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. It ...

which intensified during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

of 1854 in

Approuague The Approuague river (or Apuruaque in Tupi) is a major river in French Guiana. It is long. It runs north from the Tumuk Humak Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, almost parallel with the Oyapock, with its mouth by the Pointe Béhague cape. The App ...

. They used to speak the now extinct Karipúna do Uaçá language, but by 1900,

Karipúna French Creole Karipúna French Creole, also known as Amapá French Creole and , is a French-based creole language spoken by the Karipúna community, which lives in the Uaçá Indian Reservation in the Brazilian state of Amapá, on the Curipi and Oyapock rivers ...

had taken over. The borders between French Guiana and Brazil were not clear, and therefore, the area between the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and the

Oiapoque Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...

was considered a neutral territory. In 1886, the unrecognised Republic of Independent Guiana was proclaimed in the disputed area. In 1897, France and Brazil asked Switzerland to settle the border dispute. In 1900, the Swiss awarded most of the territory to Brazil. At the start of the 20th century, there were about 150 Karipuna. In the 1920, the Brazilian government started to exert control over the "frenchified" Amerindians in the Oiapoque region, and embarked on a colonization program which failed in 1925. In 1934, a teacher was sent to the Caripi River to establish a school. In the 1970s, the Amerindians in the Oiapoque banded together, and formed a political action groups. This resulted in the demarcation by

FUNAI is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. Apart from producing its own branded electronic products, it is also an OEM providing assembled televisions and video players/recorders to major corporations such as Sh ...

of a common area of 5,181 km² for the

Palikur The Palikur are an indigenous people located in the riverine areas of the Brazilian state of Amapá and in French Guiana, particularly in the south-eastern border region, on the north bank of the Oyapock River. The Palikur Nation, or ''naoné'', ...

, the

Uaçá Galibi The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...

, and the Karipuna do Amapá. In 1992, Apoio was established as a political association for all tribes in the region.

Settlements

The Karipuna are spread over 16 settlements. Most of the settlements are along the Caripi River. Some villages like Piquiá and Curipi have been established along the

BR-156 BR-156 is a federal highway of Brazil. The road consists of 552 km between Oiapoque and Macapá, and 271 km between Macapá and Laranjal do Jari (except via Santana city), totalling 823 km of road through forest and savannah. Only the road betwe ...

highway. The largest settlements are

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

(1,075), Espírito Santo (657) and Santa Isabel (382). The villages of Kunanã and Uahá are shared with the

Galibi Marwono The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...

. There is an unpaved road from Manga to the BR-156. Karipuna have started to migrate to

. The opening of the

Oyapock River Bridge The Franco-Brazilian Binational Bridge spans the Oyapock River, linking the cities of Oiapoque in Amapá, Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana, France. The bridge is cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a height of and a l ...

has accelerated the migration to the urban area around

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

, and led to the founding of Résidence Arc-en-ciel.

Language

The main languages spoken by the Karipuna are

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. French Creole is also used as a common language with the Palikur and the Uaçá Galibi.

Economy

The economy is mainly based on fishing and subsistence farming.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karipuna do Amapá Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of the Guianas