The Waki (or ''Ouaqui'') is a river in western
French Guiana. It is a right tributary of the
Tampok (
Maroni basin). It is long.
The river has its source as the confluence of the southern Grande Waki which has its source in the Arawa Mountains, and the northern Petite Waki which has its source in the
Sommet Tabulaire.
Waki was at the heart of a late 19th century gold rush, and the banks of river contain gold mining settlements like Grigel. In the 1970s, the area was completely abandoned. Yet traces of Amerindian presence and
Balatá
''Manilkara bidentata'' is a species of ''Manilkara'' native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Common names include bulletwood, balatá, ausubo, massaranduba, quinilla, and (ambiguously) " cow-tree".
D ...
harvesting by the
Aluku
The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Bokilifu Boni.
History
The Aluku are an ethnic gr ...
Maroons
Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos.
...
is still visible. In the early 21st century, ''
garimpeiros'' (illegal gold miners) have been active on the river again.
References
Bibliography
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Rivers of French Guiana
Rivers of France
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