Rama (people)
Rama Cay, 2010
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (approximately 2000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Nicaragua
|
|
| Languages | |
| Rama, Spanish, Rama Cay Creole | |
| Religion | |
| predominantly Moravian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Miskito (culturally), Kuna (linguistically) |
The Rama are an indigenous people living on the eastern coast of Nicaragua. Since the start of European colonization, the Rama population has declined as a result of disease, conflict, and loss of territory. In recent years, however, the Rama population has increased to around 2,000 individuals. A majority of the population lives on the island of Rama Cay, which is located in the Bluefields Lagoon. Additional small Rama communities are dispersed on the mainland from Bluefields to Greytown. The Rama are one of three main indigenous groups on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.
Due to centuries of colonial suppression the Rama people’s native language is facing extinction. Language revitalization efforts have been made in recent years and have achieved early success in Rama communities. Rama territory is currently being threatened by the Nicaraguan government and foreign investors, who are seeking to develop a transoceanic canal and to extract resources from the region.
The vast majority of the indigenous Rama population inhabit the island of Rama Cay. Sumu Kaat, Tiktik Kaanu, Wiring Cay, Monkey Point, Bangkukuk Taik, Corn River, Punta Gorda, and Cane Creek are recognized as predominantly Rama communities on the mainland.
The Rama are descendants of a combination of indigenous communities that occupied the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua at the time of European contact. Following Spanish colonization of the region, British pirates formed an alliance with the Miskito in order to wield indirect control of the Caribbean coast. The Miskito assisted the British in pillaging Spanish ships and resisting Spanish control of the region in exchange for guns and other resources that allowed them to exert control over other indigenous groups like the Rama. According to Rama oral tradition, the Miskito gifted the island of Rama Cay to them in the 18th century in recognition of their help in fighting the Teribe people of Costa Rica.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast came to rely upon private investment and enterprises for socio-economic stability. In adherence to socialist policies, the Sandinista-dominated Nicaraguan government in the 1980s sought to nationalize all private institutions, which resulted in a reduction of private investment on the Caribbean coast. Many indigenous groups resented the government for its interference in the indigenous economy and regional autonomy. The Rama were one of many indigenous groups to join the Contras, a group of anticommunist guerrillas, some of whom were backed by the CIA, dedicated to fighting the Sandinista regime. As a result of the Nicaraguan Revolution, many Rama were displaced from their homes and traditional lands.
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Wikipedia