Wayana

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.

For the language, see Wayana language.
Wayana
Wayana man, 1979
Total population
1,500[1] (2006)
Regions with significant populations
French Guiana
Suriname
Brazil
Languages
Wayana
Related ethnic groups
Aparai

History

According to both oral tradition and descriptions by 20th century European explorers, the Wayana emerged fairly recently as a distinctive group; contemporary Wayana are considered an amalgation of smaller ethnic groups such as the Upului, Opagwana, and Kukuyana.[2] In the eighteenth century, the ancestors of the Wayana lived along the Paru and Jari rivers in contemporary Brazil, and along the upper tributaries of the Oyapock river, which nowadays forms the border between French Guiana and Brazil.[3]

The first recorded mentioning of the tribe was in 1769 when an expedition lead by the French botanist Patris came across a Wayana village.[4] By the late 18th century, the ancestors of the Wayana were involved in an almost continuous military struggle with Tupi peoples such as the Wayampi, which drove them across the Tumuk Humak Mountains to the upper tributaries of the Litani river.[5] Around the same time, the Aluku maroons, who had fled plantations in Suriname, were driven up the Litani river by Dutch colonial forces aided by Ndyuka maroons, who had settled for peace with the colonial authorities in return for military assistance against "incursions" from new maroon groups. From that moment on, an intensive trade relationship developed between the Wayana and the Aluku,[6] and both tribes often living together in the same villages.[7] In 1815, the Aluku and Wayana became blood brothers.[8]

Over time, the Wayana migrated with the Aluku further downstream the Litani and Lawa rivers to end up in their contemporary position. In 1865, the Ndyuka granman Alabi invited a Wayana group still living along the Paru river in Brazil to join them along the Tapanahony river in Suriname, probably inspired by the arrangement with the Wayana that the Aluku had. This particular group still lives in villages along the Tapanahony and Palumeu rivers.[6]

Despite limited contacts with outsiders, imported diseases ravished the tribe in the early 20th century, and reduced the population to an estimated 500 to 600 people.[9] From 1962 onward, American missionaries from the West-Indies Mission, who had previously worked with the Tiriyó, encouraged the population to concentrate in larger villages and provided access to health care, schooling, and to make it easier to convert the population.[10] The French part of the interior used to be the Territory of Inini[11] which allowed for an autonomous and self sufficient tribal system for the native population without clear borders.[12] In 1968 the Wayana settlements in France became part of the Grand-Santi-Papaïchton community circle of French Guiana which became separate communes a year later.[13] Along with the commune, came a government structure, and francisation.[12] In the late 1980s, the Surinamese Interior War stopped development on the Suriname side and many fled to the French side of the border.[14] The late 20th and early 21st century marked the beginning of (eco)tourism, but also illegal gold mining.[15] Along with miners came the bars, prostitution, and gambling. The Maripasoula commune is sometimes referred to as "Far West" in the mainstream French media, because of its high crime rate.[16][17]

Society and culture

Wayana society is characterized by a rather low degree of social stratification. Villages often comprise not more than one extended family and are rather loosely linked to their neighbouring villages by kinship ties, marital exchanges, shared rituals and trade. Missionaries and representatives of the state have only partially succeeded in grouping the Wayana together in larger settlements, and despite the fact that the Wayana are not as nomadic as before, villages are by no means permanent, and are often abandoned after the death of a leader.[18]

Villages are often led by a shaman or pïyai, who mediate Wayana contact with the world of spirits and deities, act as healers, and who are consulted in matters concerning hunting and fishing. Many Wayana villages still feature a community house or tukusipan.

Ëputop

Coming of age was for a long time associated with a ritual called ëputop or maraké, in which a wicker frame full of stinging ants or wasps was applied to the bodies of adolescent boys and girls, who emerged from the ceremony as adult men and women. While older Wayana still to a degree define their Wayanahood by the number of ëputop they underwent during their lifetime, many younger Wayana reject the necessity of undergoing ëputop to become a valued member of society. As a result, few ëputop ceremonies occur today.[19] One of the more recent ëputop ceremonies took place in 2004 in the village of Talhuwen, organized by Aïmawale Opoya, grandson of Wayana leader Janomalë, in consultation with French film director Jean-Philippe Isel, who made a documentary about the ritual.[20][21][22]

In spite of its demise, ëputop was listed on the inventory of intangible cultural heritage drawn up by the French Ministry of Culture in 2011.

Political organisation
Granman of the Wayana
Suriname
Incumbent
Aptuk Noewahe
since 1976[23]
ResidencePïlëuwimë
French Guiana
Incumbent
Amaipotï
since 1985[24]
ResidenceKulumuli

Before contact with missionaries and state representatives, the Wayana did not recognise a form of leadership that transcended the village level. The Surinamese, French, and Brazilian states preferred to centralise their dealings with the Wayana, however, and for this purpose installed captains, head captains and granman among the Wayana leaders. As the concept of a paramount chief goes against Wayana ideas of political organisation, the authority of these chiefs beyond their own villages is often limited.[25][26]

In Suriname, Kananoe Apetina was made "head captain" of the Wayana on the Tapanahony river in 1937, while Janomalë was made "head captain" of the Wayana on the Lawa and Litani rivers in 1938. After the death of Janomalë in 1958, Anapaikë was installed as his successor, and served as the leader of the Wayana on the Surinamese side of the Lawa river until he died in 2003.[27] Kananu Apetina died in 1975 and was succeeded by Aptuk Noewahe, who is currently recognised by the Surinamese government as the granman of all Wayana in Suriname. The current head captain on the Lawa river is Ipomadi Pelenapïn, who was installed in August 2005.[26]

The current granman of the Wayana in French Guiana is Amaipotï, son of first granman Twenkë, who resides in the village of Kulumuli.[28]

Contemporary settlements
Wayana settlements in Suriname and French Guiana and the northernmost villages in Brazil. In the, by Wayana standards, densely populated region of the Litani and Upper Lawa rivers only the most important settlements are indicated with a label.
Place Coordinates Inhabitants River Country
Abunasunga (Lensidede)4°1′37″N 54°19′57″W20[29]Lawa France
Tedamali3°39′6″N 54°0′28″W100[30]Lawa France
Élahé (Malipahpan)3°27′54″N 54°0′17″W50[30]Tampok France
Kayodé3°23′23″N 53°55′29″W70[30]Tampok France
Kawemhakan (Anapaikë)3°24′42″N 54°1′33″W82[31]Lawa Suriname
Alawataimë enï3°23′8″N 54°2′36″W25[30]Lawa France
Talhuwen (Epoja)3°22′54″N 54°3′1″W146[32]Lawa France
Kulumuli (Twenkë)3°23′1″N 54°3′16″W88[32]Lawa France
Pïleike3°23′13″N 54°3′11″W0[33]Lawa Suriname
Kumakahpan3°21′40″N 54°3′31″W21[29]Lawa Suriname
Antecume Pata3°17′53″N 54°4′16″W175[32]Lawa France
Palasisi (Wapahpan)3°17′27″N 54°5′1″W15[34]Litani France
Pëleya3°17′34″N 54°5′22″W15[34]Litani France
Palimino3°17′35″N 54°5′50″W15[34]Litani France
Pilima3°17′11″N 54°6′35″W40[30]Litani France
Tutu Kampu (Kulumuli)3°34′38″N 54°57′5″W22[31]Tapanahony Suriname
Apetina (Pïlëuwimë)3°30′37″N 55°3′7″W262[31]Tapanahony Suriname
Akani Pata3°29′50″N 55°3′53″W20[31]Tapanahony Suriname
Paloemeu3°20′43″N 55°26′35″W96[31]Tapanahony Suriname
Iyaherai1°42′23″N 54°59′22″W52[35] Paru Brazil
Manau1°35′11″N 54°55′14″W21[35]Paru Brazil
Iliwa1°22′36″N 54°44′40″W13[35]Paru Brazil
Maxipurimoine1°16′41″N 54°40′33″W65[35]Paru Brazil
Aldeia Bona / Apalaí (Karapaeukuru)1°12′54″N 54°39′21″W267[35]Paru Brazil
Murei1°12′39″N 54°37′47″W20[35]Paru Brazil
Kapuimënë1°11′43″N 54°37′15″WParu Brazil
Tawaeukulu1°9′8″N 54°35′17″W8[35]Paru Brazil
Aramapuku1°7′4″N 54°36′58″WParu Brazil
Arawaka1°2′57″N 54°37′51″W33[35]Paru Brazil
Tapauku1°2′20″N 54°38′37″W62[35]Paru Brazil
Aliwemënë1°1′57″N 54°39′28″WParu Brazil
Kurupohpano0°59′1″N 54°36′5″W34[35]Paru Brazil
Suisuimënë (Xuixuimënë)0°51′12″N 54°38′46″W69[35]Paru Brazil
Jolokoman0°41′59″N 54°32′24″W38[35]Paru Brazil
Ananapiareh0°37′16″N 54°25′51″W40[35]Paru Brazil
Kurimuripano0°38′38″N 54°20′39″W24[35]Paru Brazil
Itapeky0°34′50″N 54°14′47″W21[35]Paru Brazil
Purureh0°35′13″N 54°12′32″W67[35]Paru Brazil
Parahparah0°29′15″N 54°6′7″W60[35]Paru Brazil

Notes
  1. Heemskerk et al. 2007, p. 74.
  2. Boven 2006, p. 59.
  3. Boven 2006, p. 63.
  4. Boven 2006, p. 283.
  5. Boven 2006, pp. 63, 67.
  6. Boven 2006, p. 77.
  7. Fleury 2018, p. 30.
  8. Fleury 2018, p. 32.
  9. Boven 2006, p. 44.
  10. Boven 2006, p. 45.
  11. "Création de territoire en Guyane françaises". Journal officiel de la Guyane française via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (in French). 18 June 1930. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  12. "The Aluku and the Communes in French Guiana". Cultural Survival. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  13. "Parcours La Source". Parc-Amazonien-Guyane (in French). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  14. Boven 2006, p. 46.
  15. Boven 2006, p. 47.
  16. "Pour l'or de Maripasoula". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2020. Far West is in the first paragraph which can be read without paying.
  17. "Guyane : se soigner au coeur de l'Amazonie". Rose Up (in French).
  18. "Wayana: social organisation". Povos Indígenas no Brazil. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. Boven 2006, pp. 147-156.
  20. Boven 2006, p. 154.
  21. "" Ëputop, un maraké wayana " Un film de Jean-Philippe Isel". Blada.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  22. "Eputop, un maraké wayana". Télérama.fr. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  23. Boven 2006, p. 108.
  24. Chapuis 2007, p. 184.
  25. "Wayana: political organisation". Povos Indígenas no Brazil. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  26. Boven, p. 243.
  27. Boven, p. 168.
  28. Fleury, Opoya & Aloïké 2016, p. 90.
  29. Heemskerk et al. 2007, p. 38.
  30. Duin 2009, p. 138.
  31. Heemskerk et al. 2007, p. 21.
  32. Duin 2009, p. 394.
  33. Duin 2009, p. 239.
  34. Duin 2009, p. 139.
  35. "Caracterização do DSEI Amapá e Norte do Pará, conforme Edital de Chamada Pública n. 2/2017 (item 3.1)" (PDF). portalarquivos.saude.gov.br. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
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References

Further reading
  • Devillers, Carole (January 1983). "What Future for the Wayanas?". National Geographic. Vol. 163 no. 1. pp. 66–83. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
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