Iquito language

The iquitu ikitu language belongs to the Zaparoan family. It is also called iquita, ikito, amacacore or hamacore (name in shimigae), quiturano or quiturra (name given by the Yameo and other neighboring ethnic groups to the south). It is in serious danger of extinction. The Iquitos give their language the name used in the title of this article, and often call themselves paratacay. There are 519 people who speak Iquitu as their native language.

Geographic distribution

Alto Nanay District, Maynas province, Loreto region, Peru. The Iquitos live in the headwaters of the Nanay River and in the Pintoyacu River basin, and are mainly located in three villages: San Antonio de Pintoyacu (northwest of the city of Iquitos), Atalaya (upstream from San Antonio), and Saboya.

The territory of the Iquito borders to the east with that of the Yagua (Peba-Yagua linguistic family), and to the southwest with the Cocama (Tupi-Guaraní family). In the past, their neighbors to the southeast were the now extinct yameo (peba-yagua family) and to the northwest the semigaes, from the same Záparo family.

Number of speakers

Towards the middle of the 17th century, the Iquito ethnic group was numerous. A large number lived where the city of Iquitos is located today. By 1925, the approximate total population was about 1,000 people, mostly monolingual. By the beginning of the 1960s, there were only about 100 speakers left, on the verge of extinction and acculturation in Spanish-speaking society. In the 1980s the last monolinguals died. The children understood iquito, but they did not speak it; The adults were bilingual with Spanish, and the elderly understood Spanish, but only spoke Iquito.

The majority of the Ikitus died of smallpox, tuberculosis, pneumonia and their ethnicity and language almost became extinct during the 20th century. The economic boom called the rubber boom or fever and the system of agrarian latifundia had devastating effects on a population. of hunters, fishermen and gatherers with subsistence agricultural activity. Currently the Iquitos or Ikitus are in a process of cultural recovery, there are 519 native Ikitu speakers, thanks to conservation efforts by the Ikitu people and the Ministry of Culture.