Akurio people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 40 (2012)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Suriname | |
| Languages | |
| Akurio, Trío[1] | |
| Religion | |
| traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Trío[1] |
The Akurio are an indigenous people living in Suriname. They are hunter-gatherers, who were first contacted in 1938 when chanced upon by a survey party led by Willem Ahlbrinck. Ahlbrinck was on a mission to find the Ojarikoelé tribe, also known as Wajarikoele, but could not find them.[2] A little over thirty years later in 1969, they were rediscovered by Ivan Schoen, a Protestant missionary. The people were nomadic and had a predilection for honey-gathering and the stone tools they had were typically employed for this endeavor.[1][3] In 1975 American missionaries persuaded the tribe to live in Pelelu Tepu.[4]
Name
The Akurio are also called Akoerio, Akuliyo, Akuri, Akurijo, Akuriyo, Oyaricoulet, Triometesem, Triometesen, Wama, or Wayaricuri people.[1]
Population
40% to 50% of the Akurio died within two years after contact in 1969.[5]
The population was estimated to be 50 in 2000. It fell to 40 by 2012.[1]
Language
The group used the Akurio language, also known as Akuriyó, until the late 20th century, when they began using the Trio language. Schoen had left a number of Trio Indian guides with the Akurio after their first meeting.[3] The last native speaker is believed to have died in the first decade of the 2000s, at which time only 10 people were estimated to have Akuriyó as a second language. By 2012, only two semi-speakers remained.[1] In December 2018, Sepi Akuriyó, one of the last surviving speakers of Akuriyó, went missing when a small plane carrying eight people disappeared during a flight over the Amazon rainforest. A search and rescue operation was called off after two weeks.[6]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "Akurio." Ethnologue. 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Pater Ahlbrinck: Pionier en Apostel in Suriname". Pater Ahlbrinck Stichting (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b Cornell, James Jr. (1972). Strange Sudden & Unexpected! - Smithsonian Institution's Center for Short-Lived Phenomena. Scholastic Book Services. p. 109.
- ^ "Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur. Deel 2". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 2002. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "John Allen Chau: Do missionaries help or harm?". BBC. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "A scandal in the Amazon - where pilots are forced to lie". BBC News. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.