Indian language Native Americans information Indian names

Chuncho

"Chuncho" is an alternate name for the Ashaninka tribe. It is a Spanish version of the Quechua word ch'unchu, which means "forest dwellers." Although this is not an inherently negative word in Quechua, it has come to be used meaning "savage" or "uncivilized" in Peruvian Spanish, and is considered offensive by many Ashaninka people.

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Here are links to our webpages about the Chuncho tribe and language:

Ashaninka language
Campas
Ashaninka pronunciation
Arawakan
South American Natives
Amazon Indian

Here are links to more Internet resources about the Chuncho people:
Chuncho Indian photograph
The Chuncho Indians of the Amazon River, Peru
Wikipedia: Chunchu

And here are a few good books about the Chunchos:
Asheninka Stories of Change
Salt of the Mountain: Campa Ashaninka History and Resistance in the Peruvian Jungle
Upper Perené Arawak Narratives of History, Landscape, and Ritual

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