Akawaio

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of Indigenous South American people living in the interior highlands of Guyana ; the Cariban language traditionally spoken by that community
2. An Indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the Pakaraima region of Guyana ; the Cariban tongue that this group speaks among its members
3. A native people of the Guyanese interior, whose members are known for their traditional culture ; the indigenous language of this group of people

Etymology: Most outsiders know this people by the name "Akawaio," but the name is not their own. They call themselves Kapon, and "Akawaio" is an exonym, a label applied from outside. It is used for a Cariban-speaking people living in the Upper Mazaruni region of Guyana, with related communities across the border in Venezuela. The name's exact origin is uncertain. It is generally understood to come from a neighboring people's term rather than from the group's own language, but the specific source and its meaning are not firmly established. Because the name was recorded by outside observers, its spelling has varied in colonial-era writing, which is one reason the same people appear under several different forms in older sources.