The Huni Kuin (also known as: ''Kaxinawá'', ''Cashinahua'', ''Kaschinawa'', ''Kashinawa'', ''Caxinauás'') are an indigenous people of Brazil and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Their villages are located along the Purus and Curanja Rivers in Peru and the

Tarauacá Tarauacá () is a municipality located in the northwest of the Brazilian state of Acre. Tarauacá has a population of 43,151 people and has an area . Conservation The municipality contains 38% of the Alto Tarauacá Extractive Reserve The Alto ...

, Jordão, Breu, Muru,

Envira Envira is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 20,393 as of 2020, and its area is .IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the ...

, Humaitã, and Purus Rivers in Brazil."Kaxinawá: Location."
''Povos Indígenas no Brasil.'' Retrieved 8 Dec 2011. In the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, some Huni Kuin live on the

Alto Purús Indigenous Territory The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses ...

with the

Kulina people The Kulina are an indigenous people of Brazil and Peru. 2,540 Kulina live in Amazonas and Acre in Brazil; while 400 live in southeastern Peru, along the Purus and Santa Rosa Rivers. Name Besides Kulina, they are also called Corina, Culina, Kul ...

Name

The name ''Huni Kuin'' means "true people" or "people with traditions". The alternative name ''Kaxinawá'' means "cannibals", "bat people" and "people who walk about at night". It is still widespread in literature, yet the Huni Kuin reject the name as an insult.Povos Indígenas no Brasil (Instituto Socioambiental): Huni Kuin (Kaxinawá)
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Language

The Huni Kuin speak the

Kaxinawá language Kashinawa (also spelled ''Kaxinawá, Kashinawa, Kaxynawa, Caxinawa, Caxinawá, and Cashinahua''), or Hantxa Kuin (''Hãtxa Kuĩ''), is an indigenous American language of western South America which belongs to the Panoan language family. It is sp ...

, a

Panoan language Panoan (also Pánoan, Panoano, Panoana, Páno) is a family of languages spoken in Peru, western Brazil, and Bolivia. It is possibly a branch of a larger Pano–Tacanan family. Genetic relations The Panoan family is generally believed to be relat ...

. They call their language Hancha Kuin, meaning "real words." Only 5% to 10% of the Huni Kuin in Peru speak Spanish and literacy rates are low.

Economy

Hunting is of paramount importance in Huni Kuin society. Huni Kuin also fish, gather plant foods, and grow crops through

swidden Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

, or slash-and-burn horticulture. Rice has become an export crop."Economy - Kashinawa."
''Countries and Their Cultures.'' Retrieved 8 Dec 2011. Women weave baskets, string bead jewelry, create utilitarian ceramics and weave hammocks and clothing. Men weave certain baskets, carve tools from wood, create featherwork and ceremonial regalia, and make canoes and weapons, such as clubs, spears, and bows and arrows. In hunting, shotguns are popular.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaxinawa People Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Peru Indigenous peoples of the Amazon Hunter-gatherers of South America