Cofán people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,500 - 1,600 (2000 est.) 2,100 (2010 est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Ecuador
|
800 /1,600Juncosa 2000, cited in SIL, "", Ethnologue.(2000 est.)/ (2010 est.). |
 Colombia
|
600-700 / 500Borman 2000, cited in SIL, "", Ethnologue. (2000 est.)/ (2010 est.). |
| Languages | |
| Cofán, Spanish, Siona, Secoya, Napo Lowland Quichua | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Animism | |
The Cofan (endonym: A’i) people are an indigenous people native to Sucumbíos Province northeast Ecuador and to southern Colombia, between the Guamués River (a tributary of the Putumayo River) and the Aguaricó River (a tributary of the Napo River). Their population is now only about 1,500 (2000 survey) to 2,100 (2010 survey) people, down from approximately 15,000 in the mid-16th century, when the Spanish crushed their ancient civilization, of which there are still some archeological remains. They speak the Cofán language or A'ingae a language of the Chibchan family. The ancestral land, community health and social cohesion of Cofan communities in Ecuador has been severely damaged by several decades of oil drilling. However, reorganization, campaigning for land rights, and direct action against encroaching oil installations have provided a modicum of stability. Major settlements include Sinangué, Dovuno, Dureno and Zábalo, the latter of which has retained a much more extensive land base.
The Cofán are an ancient civilisation of Chibchan people and have lived in the region for many centuries.
The Cofáns have had many encounters with Europeans, Spanish colonial forces and Ecuadorians and Colombians over the years. They defended their vassals and allies from Spanish colonization in the late 16th century and eventually destroying the Spanish town of Mocoa, inducing a Spanish retreat. Padre Rafael Ferrer, a successful Jesuit missionary who arrived in 1602, was chased out only after soldiers and colonists sought to follow his lead. Occasional visits from outsiders seeking gold, land, trade, and converts occurred over the next few centuries as European diseases caused a population crash.
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Wikipedia