Wayana people

Wayana man, 1979

The Wayana (alternate names: Ajana, Uaiana, Alucuyana, Guaque, Ojana, Orcocoyana, Pirixi, Urukuena, Waiano etc.) are a Carib-speaking people located in the south-eastern part of the Guiana highlands, a region divided between Brazil, Surinam, and French Guiana. In 1980, when the last census took place, the Wayana numbered some 1,500 individuals, of which 150 in Brazil, among the Apalai, 400 in Surinam, and 1,000 in French Guiana, along the Maroni River. About half of them still speak their original language.

References

• Alì, Maurizio & Ailincai, Rodica. (2013). “Learning and Growing in indigenous Amazonia. The Education System of French Guyana Wayana-Apalai communities”. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences (Elsevier), 106 (10): 1742-1752. ISSN 1877-0428. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.196
• Wilbert, Johannes; Levinson, David (1994). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Volume 7: South America. Boston: G. K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-1813-2