The Dâw are an
indigenous people of Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...
. They live on the right bank of
Rio Negro in an area commonly known as Alto Rio Negro in the
Amazon rainforest. They share this area together with a number of other indigenous peoples, including the other
Nadahup people, which they are closely related to, such as the Nadëb, the
Nukak
The Nukak people (also Nukak- Makú) live between the Guaviare and Inírida rivers, in the depths of the tropical humid forest, on the fringe of the Amazon basin, in Guaviare Department, Republic of Colombia. They are nomadic hunter-gatherers ...
, and the
Hup - but also
Arawakan peoples, and
Tucanoan peoples, such as the
Barasana and
Tucano.
The word ''Dâw'' is a self-designation, meaning ''people''. In literature, as well as in Alto Rio Negro, they are often referred to as ''Kamã'', but this is considered very pejorative.
During the 1980s the Dâw were close to extinction due to an unbalance between the number of men and women. There were only few women, and many of the women left were old and unable to carry a child. In 1984, the number of Dâw was only 56. Since then the situation has improved considerably, and the Dâw are no longer threatened by extinction in spite of the low population. Today, all Dâw have the
Dâw language as their
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
, while many also speak
Nheengatu
The Nheengatu language (Tupi: , nheengatu rionegrino: ''yẽgatu'', nheengatu tradicional: ''nhẽẽgatú'' e nheengatu tapajoawara: ''nheẽgatu''), often written Nhengatu, is an indigenous language of the Tupi-Guarani family, being then der ...
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 ...
.
Today, the Dâw are in a permanent contact with non-indigenous people, mostly in the nearby city,
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 thi ...
.
References
Notes
General
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daw People
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon
Rio Negro (Amazon)
Indigenous peoples in Brazil