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 ...
, living in
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 ...
,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
The Sikiana in Brazil live between the
Cafuini River
The Cafuini River is a river of Pará state in north-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 ...
and headwaters of the Turuna and Itapi close to border with Suriname. The group in Suriname lives in Kwamalasamutu. The group in Venezuela is probably extinct.
The ''1916 Encyclopaedia of the Dutch West Indies'' placed the Sikiana at the Trombetas River in Brazil, and said that they had a close relationship with the Salumá and the Tiriyó.
Name
The Sikiana are also called Chikena, Chiquena, Chiquiana, Shikiana, Sikiâna, Sikiyana, Sikiána, Sikïiyana, Tshikiana, Xikiyana, or Xikujana people.
Language
The
Sikiana language
Sikiana, or Kashuyana (also called Chikena, Chiquena, Chiquiana, Shikiana, Sikiâna, Sikïiyana, Xikiyana, Xikujana) is a Carib language that was spoken by 33 people in Brazil and 15 people in Suriname. It was spoken in Venezuela
Venezu ...
belongs to the
Carib language
Carib or Kari'nja is a Cariban language spoken by the Kalina people (Caribs) of South America. It is spoken by around 7,400 mostly in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil. The language is currently classified as highly endange ...
family. The people in Suriname speak Tiriyó as a second language. Some Sikiana people in Venezuela speak the Tiriyó.