Hixkaryana

The Hixkaryana — 'people of the red deer' — live along the Nhamundá river valley on the border of Amazonas and Pará states, and on the middle Jatapu. They are close relatives and neighbors of the Wai-Wai, and their Carib language achieved unusual fame: it was the first documented language with object–verb–subject word order, described by linguist Desmond Derbyshire, a finding that reshaped ideas about what human grammars can do.

Their villages were historically dispersed settlements moved every few years; in the mid-twentieth century the population concentrated at the mission village of Kassauá, and in recent decades families have re-dispersed into smaller communities along the rivers. Leadership belongs to village 'owners' who earn standing through generosity. Households practice swidden agriculture of manioc, banana, and sugarcane, hunt, fish, gather Brazil nuts for sale, and produce craftwork.

Hixkaryana lands lie within two large demarcated territories, Nhamundá-Mapuera and Trombetas-Mapuera, together covering about five million hectares, though some villages remain outside the recognized boundaries. Their language is still learned by children but is classified as vulnerable.