Dayuma
| Dayuma | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1930 Fish River, Ecuador |
| Died | March 1, 2014 |
| Nationality | Huaorani |
| Other names | Dayumae |
| Spouse(s) | Komi |
| Parent(s) |
Caento (father) Akawo (mother) |
| Relatives | Wawe (brother) Onaenga (sister) Gimade (sister) Nampa (brother) Oba (sister) Wamoni (uncle) Gikita (uncle) Mincaye (cousin) |
Dayuma (also Dayumae) (born ca. 1930, - March 1, 2014) was a member of the Huaorani tribe and a citizen of Ecuador. She is a central figure in the Operation Auca saga, in that she was the first Huao convert to Christianity, as well as the missionaries' key to unlocking the Huaorani language, a language that had not been previously studied. Later Dayuma also became an influential figure in her tribe.
Dayuma was born sometime in the early 1930s in the rain forest of eastern Ecuador. As a member of the Huaorani tribe, she grew up among her people in the rain forest. Some accounts of her early life claim that the Huaorani are a particularly violent tribe, but this is allegedly not held up by anthropological data
When she was young, her family was terrorized by a Huao warrior named Moipa, who had attacked and speared many of her family. On one occasion, her father was mortally wounded in an attack. This prompted Dayuma to flee from her tribe, along with two other girls, and to go live with the more friendly Quechua Indians. Many of her family urged her not to leave, believing that all foreigners were cannibals, but Dayuma was convinced that her chances of survival were greater if she fled than if she stayed.
When she came to a river at the edge of the jungle, Dayuma saw a group of foreigners coming down the river in canoes. As she crossed over to them, the men raised their guns to fire at her, but for whatever reason they did not. When Dayuma arrived safely on the other side of the river, she called back to the two other girls who had come with her, and they came over as well. It was then that she received clothes for the first time, since the Huaorani traditionally only wear strings around their waists, wrists, and ankles.
Dayuma lived outside of Huaorani territory on an hacienda for many years. There were many Quechuas there, as well as people from other places. Over time she began to assimilate into the Quechua language and culture. It was there that she was befriended by an American missionary named Rachel Saint, who took interest in learning the Huaorani language, "Huao Terero". This language is virtually unrelated to any other known language on earth, and had never been studied before this time. Dayuma was a great help to Saint, despite the fact that she had forgotten much of her language and did not speak English.
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