Mamaindê language

Mamaindê is a Nambikwaran language spoken in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil, in the very north of the indigenous reserve, Terra Indígena Vale do Guaporé, between the Pardo and Cabixi Rivers. In the southern part of the reserve, speakers of Sabanê and Southern Nambikwara are found.

History

At the start of the 1900s, there were an estimated 3000 Mamaindê members. Their endangerment arose as a result of various intertribal wars and massacres in the 30s and 40s as well as measles outbreaks, leaving them with only 50 Mamaindê members by 1965 according to SIL workers Peter and Shirley Kingston. Their population began to rebuild in the 90s, according to SIL workers Dave and Julie Eberhard, when they traced a steady increase in population size and found that their community had grown to 136 members by 1999.

Traditionally located in the Cabixi river region, the Mamaindê people belong to the Nambikwara language family. This language family was extensively studied by American Anthropologist and Ethnologist, David Price, who describes the discovery of gold in the Coxipo river in 1719 as the root for the initial presence of Portuguese and other non-indigenous people in the Mato Grosso region. Being a variety of Northern Nambikwara, the Mamaindê indigenous group, specifically, only came into contact with Brazilian society about three generations ago. It wasn’t until 1911 that the Portuguese actually starting to settle in the Nambikwara area, following the spread of the telegraph line throughout Brazil. Though contact between the indigenous and non-indigenous was both violent and peaceful, measles and massacres ultimately began to exterminate most Nambiwaran tribes.