ELP ID
11319
ELP Language
Waiwai
Speaker Number
1000-9999
Ethnic Population
3,154
Public Comment
Brazil: 2,914 speakers and population; Guyana 240 speakers and population.

The Tunayana are mixed with Waiwai. In the 1960s, missionaries, who had been active among the Waiwai in neighbouring Guyana, came to evangelize the Surinamese American Indians of the interior. They brought
with them a few Waiwai, as well as Mawayana and Tunayana who had been living among the Waiwai, and whose task it was to learn Trio in order to convert them. The Tunayana and Mawayana have remained in Suriname and now speak Trio as their first language. There are only about 10 elderly speakers of Tunayana out of an
ethnic group of about 80–90.
Source
Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking
Preferred
On
Speaker Number Text
3,154
Speaker Number Range
1000-9999