[[Suriname]]
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Total population | |
---|---|
1,500 [1] (2006) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
French Guiana Suriname Brazil | |
Languages | |
Wayana | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Aparai |
The Wayana (alternate names: Ajana, Uaiana, Alucuyana, Guaque, Ojana, Oyana, Orcocoyana, Pirixi, Urukuena, Waiano etc.) are a Carib-speaking people located in the southeastern part of the Guiana highlands, a region divided between Brazil, Suriname, and French Guiana. In 1980, when the last census took place, the Wayana numbered some 1,500 individuals, of which 150 in Brazil, among the Apalai, 400 in Suriname, and 1,000 in French Guiana, along the Maroni River. About half of them still speak their original language.
According to both oral tradition and descriptions by 20th century European explorers, the Wayana emerged fairly recently as a distinctive group; contemporary Wayana are considered an amalgation of smaller ethnic groups such as the Upului, Opagwana, and Kukuyana. [2] In the eighteenth century, the ancestors of the Wayana lived along the Paru and Jari rivers in contemporary Brazil, and along the upper tributaries of the Oyapock river, which nowadays forms the border between French Guiana and Brazil. [3]
The first recorded mentioning of the tribe was in 1769 across a Wayana village. [4] By the late 18th century, the ancestors of the Wayana were involved in an almost continuous military struggle with Tupi peoples such as the Wayampi, which drove them across the Tumuk Humak Mountains to the upper tributaries of the Litani river. [5] Around the same time, the Aluku maroons, who had fled plantations in Suriname, were driven up the Litani river by Dutch colonial forces aided by Ndyuka maroons, who had settled for peace with the colonial authorities in return for military assistance against "incursions" from new maroon groups. From that moment on, an intensive trade relationship developed between the Wayana and the Aluku, [6] and both tribes often living together in the same villages. [7] In 1815, the Aluku and Wayana became blood brothers. [8]
Over time, the Wayana migrated with the Aluku further downstream the Litani and Lawa rivers to end up in their contemporary position. In 1865, the Ndyuka granman Alabi invited a Wayana group still living along the Paru river in Brazil to join them along the Tapanahony river in Suriname, probably inspired by the arrangement with the Wayana that the Aluku had. This particular group still lives in villages along the Tapanahony and Palumeu rivers. [6]
Despite limited contacts with outsiders, imported diseases ravished the tribe in the early 20th century, and reduced the population to an estimated 500 to 600 people. [9] From 1962 onward, American missionaries from the West-Indies Mission, who had previously worked with the Tiriyó, encouraged the population to concentrate in larger villages and provided access to health care, schooling, and to make it easier to convert the population. [10] The French part of the interior used to be the Territory of Inini [11] which allowed for an autonomous and self sufficient tribal system for the native population without clear borders. [12] In 1968 the Wayana settlements in France became part of the Grand-Santi-Papaïchton community circle of French Guiana which became separate communes a year later. [13] Along with the commune, came a government structure, and francisation. [12] In the late 1980s, the Surinamese Interior War stopped development on the Suriname side and many fled to the French side of the border. [14] The late 20th and early 21st century marked the beginning of (eco)tourism, but also illegal gold mining. [15] Along with miners came the bars, prostitution, and gambling. The Maripasoula commune is sometimes referred to as "Far West" in the mainstream French media, because of its high crime rate. [16] [17]
Wayana society is characterized by a rather low degree of social stratification. Villages often comprise not more than one extended family and are rather loosely linked to their neighbouring villages by kinship ties, marital exchanges, shared rituals and trade. Missionaries and representatives of the state have only partially succeeded in grouping the Wayana together in larger settlements, and despite the fact that the Wayana are not as nomadic as before, villages are by no means permanent, and are often abandoned after the death of a leader. [18]
Villages are often led by a shaman or pïyai, who mediate Wayana contact with the world of spirits and deities, act as healers, and who are consulted in matters concerning hunting and fishing. Many Wayana villages still feature a community house or tukusipan.
Coming of age was for a long time associated with a ritual called ëputop or maraké, in which a wicker frame full of stinging ants or wasps was applied to the bodies of adolescent boys and girls, who emerged from the ceremony as adult men and women. While older Wayana still to a degree define their Wayanahood by the number of ëputop they underwent during their lifetime, many younger Wayana reject the necessity of undergoing ëputop to become a valued member of society. As a result, few ëputop ceremonies occur today. [19] One of the more recent ëputop ceremonies took place in 2004 in the village of Talhuwen, organized by Aïmawale Opoya, grandson of Wayana leader Janomalë, in consultation with French film director Jean-Philippe Isel, who made a documentary about the ritual. [20] [21] [22]
In spite of its demise, ëputop was listed on the inventory of intangible cultural heritage drawn up by the French Ministry of Culture in 2011.
Granman of the Wayana | |
---|---|
Suriname | |
Incumbent Aptuk Noewahe since 1976 [23] | |
Residence | Pïlëuwimë |
French Guiana | |
Incumbent Amaipotï since 1985 [24] | |
Residence | Kulumuli |
Before contact with missionaries and state representatives, the Wayana did not recognise a form of leadership that transcended the village level. The Surinamese, French, and Brazilian states preferred to centralise their dealings with the Wayana, however, and for this purpose installed captains, head captains and granman among the Wayana leaders. As the concept of a paramount chief goes against Wayana ideas of political organisation, the authority of these chiefs beyond their own villages is often limited. [25] [26]
In Suriname, Kananoe Apetina was made "head captain" of the Wayana on the Tapanahony river in 1937, while Janomalë was made "head captain" of the Wayana on the Lawa and Litani rivers in 1938. After the death of Janomalë in 1958, Anapaikë was installed as his successor, and served as the leader of the Wayana on the Surinamese side of the Lawa river until he died in 2003. [27] Kananu Apetina died in 1975 and was succeeded by Aptuk Noewahe , who was recognised by the Surinamese government as the granman of all Wayana in Suriname until his death in 2023. The current head captain on the Lawa river is Ipomadi Pelenapïn , who was installed in August 2005. [26]
The current granman of the Wayana in French Guiana is Amaipotï, son of first granman Twenkë, who resides in the village of Kulumuli. [28]
Far West is in the first paragraph which can be read without paying.
The Maroni or Marowijne is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
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.
Cottica Lawa, often shortened to Cottica and also called Cotticadorp is a village in the district of Sipaliwini, Suriname. It is located in the east, along the Marowijne River and the border with French Guiana. The village has a school, and a clinic.
Tapanahoni is a resort in Suriname, located in the Sipaliwini District. Its population at the 2012 census was 13,808. Tapanahoni is a part of Sipaliwini which has no capital, but is directly governed from Paramaribo. Tapanahony is an enormous resort which encompasses a quarter of the country of Suriname. The most important town is Diitabiki which is the residence of the granman of the Ndyuka people since 1950, and the location of the oracle.
Kawemhakan, formerly also known as Anapaikë, is a Wayana village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. The village lies on the banks of the Lawa River, which forms the border with French Guiana.
Apetina, also known as Pïlëuwimë or Puleowime, is a village in the South Eastern jungle area of Suriname within the Tapanahony resort in the Sipaliwini District. It is located at 3°30′N55°04′W in the jungle on the small hills along the river Tapanahoni. Nearby points include Tebu Mountain, at around 347 m (1,138 ft) in height, and the Man Gandafutu waterfall. The majority of Apetina's population is the Wayana people. These Indians mostly originate from Brazil and once have fled because of tribal warfare. There also is primary school and an airstrip located near the Indian village of Apetina.
The Aparai or Apalai are an indigenous people of Brazil, who live in Amapá and Pará states. A little community is located in French Guiana, in Antecume Pata. They were sedentary slash-and-burn farmers, necessitating periodic relocation as soil became exhausted, but also hunters and gatherers. They spoke a Carib language and in the 20th century their subsistence shifted towards craftwork as they adapted to modern Brazil and the cash economy.
Papaichton is a commune in the overseas region and department of French Guiana. The village lies on the shores of the Lawa River. Papaichton is served by the Maripasoula Airport.
Granman is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaka and Kwinti nations all have a granman. The paramount chiefs of Amerindian peoples in Suriname are nowadays also often called “granman”.
Kulumuli, also known by the name Twenkë, is a Wayana village situated on an island in the Lawa River in French Guiana. Kulumuli is the residence of the granman of the Wayana in French Guiana.
Kayodé or Cayodé is a Teko and Wayana village on the Tampok River in French Guiana.
Talhuwen, also spelt as Taluwen, Taluhen and Taluen, is a Wayana village situated on the Lawa River in French Guiana.
Pëleya, also spelt as Péléa, is a Wayana village on an island in the Litani River.
Palimino is a Wayana village on the Litani River.
Alawataimë enï is a Wayana village situated on the Lawa River in French Guiana.
Palasisi, also named Mapahpan or Palassisi, is a Wayana village on an island in the Litani River. The village was founded by Wayanas who emigrated from Brazil.
Aldeia Bona or Aldeia Apalaí, sometimes also known by its native name Karapaeukuru, is an Apalaí-Wayana village on the Eastern Paru River in the state of Pará in Brazil.
Kananoe Apetina was a Wayana chief, who first in 1937 was recognized by the colonial authorities of Suriname as a captain, and who subsequently in 1952 was recognized by governor Jan Klaasesz as granman of the Wayana of the Tapanahony River in Suriname. Apetina died in 1975 and was succeeded as granman by Aptuk Noewahe in 1976.
Boniville is a village of Aluku Maroons in the commune of Papaïchton located on the Lawa River in French Guiana.
The Malani, also Marouini, is a river in the disputed area between French Guiana and Suriname. According to Suriname, it is the border river, however France considers the Litani the border. The river has its source at Pic Coudreau in the Tumuk Humak Mountains. It has its mouth at the confluence with the Litany at Antecume Pata and continues its journey as the Lawa River. The Malani has a length of 245 kilometres (152 mi).