|
Guyana Amerindians
The Amerindians are the descendants of the indigenous people of
Guyana; they are broadly grouped into coastal and interior tribes.
The term tribes is a linguistic and cultural classification
rather than a political one. The coastal Amerindians are the Carib,
Arawak, and Warao, whose names come from the three language
families of the Guyanese Amerindians. The population of coastal
Carib in Guyana declined in the nineteenth century, but Arawak and
Warao communities can be found near the Pomeroon and Courantyne
rivers.
The interior Amerindians are classified into seven tribes:
Akawaio, Arekuna, Barama River Carib, Macusi, Patamona, Waiwai, and
Wapisiana. The Barama River Carib, Akawaio, Arekuna, and Patamona
live in river valleys in western Guyana. Two Amerindian groups live
in the Rupununi Savannah region: the Macusi in the
northern half and the Wapisiana in the southern half. The Waiwai
live in the far south of the country, near the headwaters of the
Essequibo River. All of the interior Amerindians originally spoke
Carib languages, with the exception of the Wapisiana, whose
language is in the Arawak linguistic family.
By the 1990s, all of the Amerindian groups had undergone
extensive acculturation. The coastal Amerindians were the most
acculturated, sharing many cultural features with lower-class
Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese. There had been considerable
intermarriage between coastal Amerindians and Afro-Guyanese. The
Waiwai and the Barama River Carib were probably the least
acculturated of the Amerindians. Nevertheless, most Amerindians
spoke English (or near Brazil, Portuguese) as a first or second
language. Almost all Amerindians had been affected by missionary
efforts for many decades. Finally, most Amerindians had been
integrated in one way or another into the national economic system,
though usually at the lowest levels.
Data as of January 1992
|
