Rama (people)
Encyclopedia
The Rama are an indigenous people
of Nicaragua
. The 900 ethnic Rama live within a thirty mile radius of the Rama Cay
island on the Caribbean coastline.
The Rama are hunters, fishers and agriculturalists growing mainly banana
s and white cacao beans.
The Rama language
, which is a Chibchan language
related to Maléku language
of Costa Rica
is considered moribund and only 24 elderly people still speak it fluently. However in recent years language revitalization efforts have been made and the Rama community has tried to reclaim their language, with some amount of success.
landowners for rights to their ancestral lands and have joined forces with the other Nicaraguan indigenous groups the Miskito
and the Sumo
peoples. Particularly the Rama have had to fight against displacement when confronted with the Nicaraguan government's wish to build a cross-isthmian freight corridor. The government allowed American companies to prospect the possibilities for building a railroad which would pass through Rama lands. After this foreign land speculators claimed rights to Rama lands, and have begun logging
and exploiting the area's natural resources. Rama resistance to the expropriation of their lands has been met with violence.
The Nicaraguan government and landowners are collectively called "the Spainards" by the RAMA and others within the semi-autonomous political framework of the collective indigenous peoples of the north atlantic. Mestizo is a term commonly used outside of the peoples of Nicaragua and usage ignores the common and numerous geographic and traditional group self identifications.
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The 900 ethnic Rama live within a thirty mile radius of the Rama Cay
Rama Cay
Rama Cay is an island in the Bluefields Lagoon on the eastern coast of Nicaragua. During the 17th or 18th century, the more powerful Miskito awarded the island to the Rama people in recognition of their assistance in fighting off the Terraba Indians....
island on the Caribbean coastline.
The Rama are hunters, fishers and agriculturalists growing mainly banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s and white cacao beans.
The Rama language
Rama language
Rama is one of the indigenous languages of the Chibchan family spoken by the Rama people on the island of Rama Cay and south of lake Bluefields on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Other indigenous languages of this region include Miskito and Sumu . Rama is one of the northernmost languages of the...
, which is a Chibchan language
Chibchan languages
The Chibchan languages make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama...
related to Maléku language
Maléku language
The Maléku Jaíka language, also called Guatuso, is an indigenous language of north central Costa Rica. It is a Chibchan language spoken by around 750 indigenous Maléku people.- Sample Vocabulary :...
of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
is considered moribund and only 24 elderly people still speak it fluently. However in recent years language revitalization efforts have been made and the Rama community has tried to reclaim their language, with some amount of success.
Rama land rights
The Rama have struggled against the Nicaraguan government and mestizoMestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
landowners for rights to their ancestral lands and have joined forces with the other Nicaraguan indigenous groups the Miskito
Miskito
The Miskitos are a Native American ethnic group in Central America. A substantial number of them are mixed race, especially those in the northern end of their territory, where an African-Indigenous mixture was predominant. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Rio Grande,...
and the Sumo
Sumo (people)
The Mayagna are a people who live on the eastern coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras, an area commonly known as the Mosquito Coast. Their preferred autonym is Mayagna, as the name "Sumo" is a deragatory name historically used by the Miskito people.Their language belongs to the Misumalpan language...
peoples. Particularly the Rama have had to fight against displacement when confronted with the Nicaraguan government's wish to build a cross-isthmian freight corridor. The government allowed American companies to prospect the possibilities for building a railroad which would pass through Rama lands. After this foreign land speculators claimed rights to Rama lands, and have begun logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and exploiting the area's natural resources. Rama resistance to the expropriation of their lands has been met with violence.
The Nicaraguan government and landowners are collectively called "the Spainards" by the RAMA and others within the semi-autonomous political framework of the collective indigenous peoples of the north atlantic. Mestizo is a term commonly used outside of the peoples of Nicaragua and usage ignores the common and numerous geographic and traditional group self identifications.