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Carutana Indian Language (Jauarete)

Carutana (sometimes known as "Arara do Amazonas") is an Arawakan language of South America, spoken by 300 people in Brazil. The language was once spoken in Colombia as well, but there are no Carutana speakers remaining in Colombia today. Carutana is very closely related to the Baniwa and Curripaco languages, which are sometimes collectively referred to by linguists as Karu. Another extinct Colombian language, known variously as Iyäine, Kumandene, and Jurupari-Tapuya, may have been a dialect of Carutana or may have been a distinct language-- it is so little-attested that it is impossible to say for sure. (The word "Tapuya" means "foreigners" in the Tupi languages of Colombia and Brazil, so the Tupi names of many different non-Tupi tribes end with that suffix.)

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Carutana Language Resources

Carutana Vocabulary:
    Our list of vocabulary words in the Carutana language, with comparison to words in other Arawakan languages.
Carutana Language:
    Demographic information on Carutana from the Ethnologue of Languages.
Carútana Language:
    Theories about Carutana's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Karutana:
    Carutana language information in Spanish.

Books For Sale On The Carutanas
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Comparative Arawakan Histories: Rethinking Language Family and Culture Area in Amazonia:
    Anthropology book on the Carutana and other Arawakan tribes of the Amazon.
Native American Books:
    Evolving list of books about Native Americans in general.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Wikipedia: Maipurean Languages:
Encyclopedia article on the Maipurean language family, including Carutana.



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