The Pira-tapuya, or variations like Pira-Tapuia, Piratapuyo, etc., or Tapuya for short, are an indigenous people of the Amazon regions. They live along the

Vaupés River Vaupés River (Uaupés River) is a tributary of the Rio Negro in South America. It rises in the Guaviare Department of Colombia, flowing east through Guaviare and Vaupés Departments. It forms part of the international border between the Vaupés ...

in Colombia and in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.

Languages

The Pira-tapuya call themselves Waíkana. They speak the

Piratapuyo language Guanano (Wanano), or Piratapuyo, is a Tucanoan language spoken in the northwest part of Amazonas in Brazil and in Vaupés in Colombia. It is spoken by two peoples, the and the Piratapuyo. They do not intermarry, but their speech is 75% lexic ...

, one of the

Eastern Tucanoan languages Tucanoan (also Tukanoan, Tukánoan) is a language family of Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. Language contact Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arutani, Paez, Sape, Taruma, Witoto-Okaina, Saliba-Hodi, ...

. Other ethnic groups in the region also speak Eastern Tucanoan languages apart from the

Tariana people The Tariana or Taliaseri are an indigenous people of the Vaupés or Uaupés River in the Amazon region of Brazil and Colombia. Starting in the 19th century missionaries tried to persuade them to abandon their traditional beliefs and practices, wi ...

, who originally spoke an

Arawakan language Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

. The

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

of the region is the

Tucano language Tucano, also Tukano or Tucana, endonym ''Dahseyé'' (Dasea), is a Tucanoan language spoken in Amazonas State, Brazil, Amazonas, Brazil and Colombia. Many Tariana people, speakers of the endangered language, endangered Tariana language are switch ...

, which has around 20,000 speakers.

Locations

The Pira-tapuya live along the banks of the Uaupés River and its tributaries such as the Tiquié, Papurí and Querari rivers. The Uaupés River rises in Colombia and flows for to the border with Brazil. For over it forms the border between Colombia and Brazil, then for flows through Brazil to the point where it joins the Rio Negro. The main settlements are the town of

Mitú Mitú () is the capital town of the department of Vaupés in Colombia. It is a small town located in South eastern Colombia in the Amazon Basin. Founded in 1936, Mitú lies next to the Vaupés River at 180 meters above sea level. It is where th ...

, capital of the

Vaupés Department Vaupés may refer to: * Vaupés River Vaupés River (Uaupés River) is a tributary of the Rio Negro in South America. It rises in the Guaviare Department of Colombia, flowing east through Guaviare and Vaupés Departments. It forms part of the int ...

in Colombia, and Iaraueté, seat of a district in the municipality of

São Gabriel da Cachoeira São Gabriel da Cachoeira (''Saint Gabriel of the Waterfall'') is a municipality located on the northern shore of the Rio Negro River, in the region of Cabeça do Cachorro, Amazonas state, Brazil. Location São Gabriel da Cachoeira is the thir ...

. The Pira-tapuya live in the middle Papuri in the vicinity of Teresita, and in the lower Uaupés. Some have migrated to other locations of Rio Negro and São Gabriel. As of 2014 Siasi/Sesai estimated that there were 1,325 Pira-tapuya in Amazonas. As of 1988 there were an estimated 400 Pira-tapuya in Colombia. The peoples of the region intermarry, trade, and engage in shared rituals, forming the Uaupés/Pira-Paraná socio-cultural complex.

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pira-tapuya people Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Colombia