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Tubarão

"Tubarao" is an alternate name for the Aikana tribe. This originally was a band or village name, referring to Aikana people in the vicinity of Gleba. Sometimes it is also used to refer to the dialect of the Aikana language spoken in this region. "Tubarão-Latundê" is also the name of the reserve in Rondonia that the Aikanas share with the Lakonde people.

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This tribal name "Tubarão" is not related to the Brazilian city of Tubarão (which is located on the opposite side of Brazil and was corrupted from the native name Tubanharo), and also not related to the Portuguese word for "shark," tubarão (which was corrupted from the Tupi word tuperu.) The word for "shark" entered the Portuguese language first and after that, influenced the spelling and pronunciation of many different unrelated names.

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

Tubarão
Arawakan languages
Brazil indigenous tribes
Amazonian tribes
Indians of South America

Here are links to some good books about the Tubaraos and other Brazilian Indians:
Native and National in Brazil

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