Tapajó language
| Tapajó | |
|---|---|
| Tapajocos | |
| Region | Tapajós and Amazon Rivers |
| Era | attested 17th century |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | tapa1261 Tapajóuruc1243 Urucurú |
The Tapajó language is an extinct and unclassified language. In the 1660s, it, along with the language of the neighboring Urucucú, was used for catechism, as the people did not speak Tupinamba (Lingua geral). Records of the language have been lost. All that remain are three names: Tapajó as the name of the tribe, the name of their chief, Orucurá, and Aura, which was identified with the Christian devil. These names cannot be explained as Tupi [1] and nothing appears to have been preserved of the neighboring Urucucú language.[2]
The Tapajós river is named after the Tapajó people.[3]
References
- ^ Curt Nimuendajú. 1952. The Tapajó. Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers 6. 1–25.
- ^ "Glottolog 4.4 - Urucucús".
- ^ "Os principais povos indígenas da bacia Amazônica [The most important indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin]". Belezas da Amazônia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 1 February 2015.