Wayana language

Wayana (also referred to as Ojana, Ajana, Aiana, Ouyana, Uajana, Upurui, Oepoeroei, Roucouyen, Oreocoyana, Orkokoyana, Urucuiana, Urukuyana, and Alucuyana in the literature) is a language of the Cariban family, spoken by the Wayana people, who live mostly in the borderlands of French Guiana, Brazil, and Suriname. In Brazil, they live along the Paru and Jari rivers, in Suriname, along the Tapanahoni and Paloemeu rivers, and in French Guiana, along the upper Maroni River and its tributaries. The exact number of Wayana is unclear. The issue is complicated because counts are done on a per-country basis. Ethnologue lists users of the language as of 2012 and 1,900 ethnic Wayana in all countries, using counts from 2006 and 2012. Instituto Socioambental, a Brazilian NGO, lists 1,629 ethnic Wayana, using counts from 2002 and 2014. The count of ethnic Wayana individuals is further complicated due to the close ties that the Wayana share with other ethnic groups in the region, especially the Aparai in Brazil, to the extent that they are sometimes considered one group, the Wayana-Aparai. The Wayana are considered to be an amalgamation of several smaller ethnic groups, having subsumed the Upurui, Kukuyana, Opagwana, and Kumarawana, among others. They have extremely close ties with the Aparai, with whom they have lived and intermarried for at least 100 years in Brazil, though both the Aparai and Wayana consider themselves separate ethnic groups, differentiating themselves linguistically and through cultural practices. There are few Aparai in Wayana territory outside of Brazil. This unique situation is a result of European contact and interethnic conflict in the past four centuries. Disease forced dwindling populations of smaller ethnic groups to amalgamate with the Wayana in the 18th century for increased survival. Also in the 18th century, around the time of European arrival in the Brazilian interior, the Wayana, whose original territory is considered to be Northern Brazil, started to migrate to Suriname and French Guiana due to conflicts resulting indirectly from colonization.