Piratapuyo language
| Guanano | |
|---|---|
| Wanano | |
| Piratapuyo | |
| Native to | Brazil, Colombia |
| Ethnicity | Wanano, Piratapuyo |
|
Native speakers
|
2,600 (1998–2007) |
|
Tucanoan
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: |
| Glottolog | wana1272 |
Guanano (Wanano), or Piratapuyo, is a Tucanoan language spoken in the northwest part of Amazonas in Brazil and in Vaupés in Colombia. It is spoken by two peoples, the Wanano and the Piratapuyo. They do not intermarry, but their speech is 75% lexically similar.
The language family that Wanano belongs to is the Tucanoan family, located in northwest Amazonia (Stenzel 2004, 20). The Tukanoan family can be sub-categorized into two groups: Western Tukanoan Languages and Eastern Tucanoan Languages, Wanano belonging to the Eastern Tucanoan family (Stenzel 2004, 20). The Eastern Tukanoan group is much larger than the Western Tukanoan family with 16 languages and around 28,000 speakers, while the Western Tucanoan family has 4 languages with around 3,000 speakers (Stenzel 2004, 20).
Wanano/Piratapuyo belongs to the Northern branch of the Eastern Tucanoan languages, along with Tucano.
The Wanano people live in northwestern Amazonia, on the Vaupés River. The diaspora of the Wanano people is spread between Brazil and Colombia, the total population is estimated at 1560 (Stenzel 2004, 23), however the population in Brazil is estimated at 447 (Moore 2008, 41). The number of speakers is quite high, it is still the first language of most of the population. It is seen as a healthy indigenous language. (Stenzel 2004, 38).
The Jesuits were the first ones to make their way into the area that is inhabited by the Wanano people today. In the late 1700s they established their base in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Missionary expeditions along with resettlement continued throughout the 1900s. Boarding schools were set up in larger settlements like São Gabriel and students were sent to study there (Stenzel 2004, 28). People from these missionaries would go into villages and encourage the indigenous peoples to abandon their beliefs and practice Christianity, along with speak Portuguese.
The first documentation of Wanano people came from naturalist Alfred Wallace during his 1852 expedition along the Vaupés River. (Stenzel 2004, 29). Later in 1904, a German ethnologist Theodor Kock-Grünberg conducted research in the Wanano region. He observed their interactions with other indigenous groups, including ceremonies that included dance and burial practices. (Stenzel 2004, 29). Something that has been noted by Stenzel in her research that is an important detail to include is the Wanano people are very multilingual (Stenzel 2004, 31).
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