Campa Arawak

The Campa are an Arawakan people primarily residing in the upper valley of the Ucayali River in eastern Peru. They are part of a larger group of American Indians who historically inhabited the Greater Antilles and South America. The Campa, also known as the Asháninka, are agriculturists who practice slash-and-burn cultivation of crops like cassava and corn. They lived in villages and recognized social rank, with religious beliefs centered on nature spirits and ancestors.12

While the Antillean Arawak, or Taino, were largely decimated by disease, violence, and oppression following European contact, a small number of mainland Arawak, including the Campa, survive in South America. The Campa language is spoken by older adults, a common indicator of a language's potential extinction. The Campa's traditional culture combines farming with hunting, fishing, and gathering, and they possess a rich belief system involving supernatural powers and shamanistic practices.23