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]
The Akurio are also called Akoerio, Akuliyo, Akuri, Akurijo, Akuriyo, Oyaricoulet, Triometesem, Triometesen, Wama, or Wayaricuri people. [1]
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]
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]