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Guarijio Language (Guarijo, Macurawe)
Language: Guarijio is a Uto-Aztecan language of northern Mexico,
spoken by about 2500 people in Sonora and Chihuahua. It is an
agglutinave language with long words that have many suffixes.
Guarjiio uses OVS word order, which is unusual among the world's language,
and is also a tone language. There are two main dialects of the language,
Mountain Guarijio (also known as Upland Guarijio, Highland Guarijio, or Guarijío de la Sierra,) and
River Guarijio (also known as Lowland Guarijio, Guarijío del Río, or Macurawe.)
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Names: "Guarijio" is a tribal name meaning "people." Some River Guarijio people of Sonora also
refer to themselves by the name Macurawe, which means "those of the earth."
Alternate spellings for these names include Guarijo, Guarijó, Guarijío, Warihio, Warijio, Warihío, Guarihio,
Varijio,Varijío, Varihio, Varihío, Varohio, Varohío, Vorijío, Warijiyo, Warihó, Wariho, Huarijio, Huarijío, Huaríjo;
Makulái, Makulai, Macurái, Macurai, Makuray, Maculai, Macorahui, Makurawe, Macuyawe, Macoyawi, and Macoragüi,
Guarijio Words:
Examples of vocabulary words in the Guarijio language with comparison to words in other Uto-Aztecan languages.
Language Map of Meso-America Mexican Languages:
Maps showing the areas in Mexico where the Huarijio language is spoken.
Nawesari Makwrawi:
Words and sentences in the Guarijio language.
Lengua Guarijio:
Brief profile and a few sentences in Guarijo. Page in Spanish.
Chihuahueno Prayers: Huarijio Words of Life: Guarijio Bajo:
Guarijio translations of Christian prayers and Bible stories.
Warijiyo Language Tree:
Theories about Guarijio's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Guarijío Language Structures:
Guarijio linguistic profile and academic bibliography.
Books for sale on the Guarijios
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Guarijo gramatica, textos y vocabulario: Relatos Guarijios Guarijío de Arechuyvo
Guarijio language books for sale online. Written in Spanish.
The Guarijios of the Sierra Madre: Hidden People of Northwestern Mexico:
Anthropology book on the Varihio Indian tribe.
Guarijio Tribe:
Article about Guarijio traditions including kinship and religion.
The Macurawe/Guarijío and the craftsmanship of the natives of Sonora:
Information about traditional Guarijio basketry, dance and crafts.
Guarijio Culture is Dying:
News article about a Mexican dam project threatening the indigenous Guarijio population.
Wikipedia: Guarijio People:
Encyclopedia articles about the Guarijio tribe.
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Links, References, and Additional Information
Endangered Languages Project: Guarijio:
Bibliography of Guarijio language resources.
Wikipedia: Huarijio:
Encyclopedia articles on the Huarijio language.
Grupo Indigena Makurawe Los Indios Guarijios Idioma Guarijio La Cultura Guarijio Historia de los Guarijíos:
Information about the Guarijios and their language in Spanish.
Guarijio Resources:
Guarijio links.
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