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The relationship between the peoples Nawa and Kapanawa was reaffirmed during a reunion carried out in the community of Limoncocha, Peru, which resulted in the signing of the LimonCocha Charter. The document highlights the shared identity between the two groups, in addition to the need for permanent exchanges, cultural and linguistic strengthening and exchange information about the territories in border areas.
The reunion came after a century/Photo: Ykarunī Nawa/Funai
Historical records confirm the connection. In 1922, the book The Federal Juruá: The Territory of Acre, by José Moreira Brandão Castello Branco Sobrinho, brought a dialogue with Mariruni, who identified himself as Kapanawa. In 1943, ethnologist Curt Nimuendaju reinforced the relationship in his ethnolinguistic map of Brazil and adjacent regions. “In Brazil, we were misguided as Nawa during the contact period around 1903, but our ancestor Mariruni was Kapanawa. She left that record,” explained Ykaruni Nawa.
The Nawa delegation traveled a five -day route to attend the meeting. The route included tickets for Brasilia, Lima, Iquitos, Requena, Santa Elena and Fatima, in the Alto Rio Tapiche. “It was a lot of effort to come here. It’s five days in a row of travel coming out of my village. If we adjust the geographical coordinates, we managed to get here in the Limoncocha community inside the woods. Our territory is not distant,” said Chief Railson Nawa, who intends to organize a new meeting directly crossing the forest to reduce travel time.
