The Ofayé (also spelled as Opaié or Ofayé) are an

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of Central

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 ...

. They live along the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

, near the mouth of the

Sucuriú River The Sucuriú River (Portuguese, ''Rio Sucuriú'') is a river of Mato Grosso do Sul state in southwestern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Paraná River, which it joins just upriver of Eng Souza Dias (Jupiá) Dam.Ivinhema Ivinhema is a municipality located in the Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and ...

and Vacaria Rivers. Their traditional lands were overtaken by cattle ranchers. Most Ofayé live in a reservation located in the municipality of

Brasilândia Brazlândia is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São ...

in the state of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

Language

The Ofaye language, a

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...

is severely endangered, and only two people were recorded speaking it in 2005.

Notes

Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of Eastern Brazil {{Brazil-ethno-group-stub