Maku (Macu, Máku, Mácu, Makú, Macú) or Maco (Mako, Máko, Macó, Makó) is a pejorative term referring to several
hunter-gatherer peoples of the upper Amazon, derived from an
Arawakan term ma-aku "do not speak / without speech". Nimuendajú (1950), for example, notes six peoples of Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil that are known as 'Maku'. In linguistic literature, the term refers primarily to:
the
Nadahup languages, a small language family in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, sometimes disambiguated from other Maku languages as Makú or Macú, though those forms can apply to any of the languages, or as Makuan. Such languages include
Hup, spoken by
Hupda, (Hupdá Makú, Makú-Hupdá, Macú De) and
Guariba Maku
the closely related
Nukak Makú and
Kakwa (Macu de Cubeo, Macu de Desano, Macu de Guanano, Macú-Paraná)
the
Maku-Auari language, the 'Maku' of Roraima and the Auari River, a possible language isolate of Brazil and Venezuela (also known as Mácu,Máko or Maku of Auari; endonym Jukude)
the
Wirö dialect of Piaroa (sometimes disambiguated as Mako or Maco)
a.k.a. Maco-Hoti
It has also been used for various other languages and peoples in the area, such as:
the
Cofán language a.k.a. Mako, Cofán-Makú, or Maco-Cuyabeno. Maco-Cuyabeno was an unattested language that may have been a dialect of the
Cofán language (Pérez 1862:475),[1] and was spoken on the
Cuyabeno River near the headwaters of the
Aguarico River in southeastern Colombia.[2]
the
Piaroa language a.k.a. Maco-Ventuari. Maco-Ventuari was an extinct language variety spoken on the
Ventuari River in Venezuela that was closely related to the
Piaroa language spoken today.[2] It was documented in a 38-word list by Humboldt (1822:155-157).[3]