The Kadiweu are an ethnic group indigenous

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 to the Gran Chaco

Gran Chaco

The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...

 region of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, presently living in Southwest Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. As of 1998, they numbered about 1500 people, divided into four villages.

They are a branch of the Guaycuru peoples

Guaycuru peoples

Guaycuru or Guaykuru is a generic term for several ethnic groups indigenous to the Gran Chaco region of South America, speaking several related Mataco–Guaycuru languages....

 and speak the characteristic Kadiweu language

Kadiweu language

Kadiweu is a Mataco–Guaicuru language spoken by 1,200-1,800 people in Brazil. It is mainly a subject–verb–object language and its ISO 639-3 code is kbc....

 that belongs to the Mataco–Guaicuru family. They are the last surviving group of Mbayá peoples. Their name is now spelled Kadiwéu in Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 (plural Kadiwéus), and was formerly spelled Caduveu or Caduveo.

The Kadiweu today live in the Kadiweu Indigenous Land in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul

Mato Grosso do Sul

Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...

 in the municipality of Porto Murtinho

Porto Murtinho

Porto Murtinho is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its population was 13,634 and its area is 17,735 km²....

, between the Serra de Bodoquena and the Nabileque

Nabileque River

-References:** Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....

 and Aquidavão rivers.