On the Etymology of the Ethnonym Katukina

Fernando Carvalho

doi:10.18468/rbli.2019v2n1.p05-16

Fernando Carvalho

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.18468/rbli.2019v2n1.p05-16

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Abstract

The present paper proposes an etymology for the troublesome ethnonym <katukina> , used, for over a century, to designate a series of western Amazonian indigenous groups. I propose that the term originates in a Purus Arawakan denominal monovalent predicate (“adjective”) *ka-tukanɨ , meaning “speaker of an indigenous language”. This etymology is explicitly argued to be superior to existing alternatives on formal, semantic and distributional grounds. The typical and distinguishing properties of different kinds of ethnonyms (exonyms and autonyms) are also discussed, as these are of critical importance in establishing the implausible nature of other, competing etymologies for this term.

Highlights

This short paper offers an etymological account of the origin of an ethnonym applied to a number of western Amazonian indigenous groups of diverse linguistic affiliation
I propose that originates in an Arawakan, or, more precisely, Purus Arawakan, expression meaning “speaker of language”, and that the term was used, in its originally transparent formation, as a way to mark the divide between non-indians and the indigenous local populations
Https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/linguasindigenas Macapá, v. 2, n. 1, p. 05-16, jan./jun. 2019. The solution to this apparent hurdle comes from the realization that these gender-marking suffixes seem to have a certain individuating function in the case of ethnonyms - that is, their use is required when referring to specific individuals belonging to a certain group, but can be omitted when referring to the group as a whole

Summary

Introduction

This short paper offers an etymological account of the origin of an ethnonym applied to a number of western Amazonian indigenous groups of diverse linguistic affiliation. In its transmission history it first entered the (local varieties) of Brazilian Portuguese, and seems to have been applied by travelers, ethnologists and government agents as a reference to different indigenous groups of the Juruá-Purús region. It certainly acquired new meanings, and connotations, such as that of ‘peaceful indigenous group’ (and opposed to nawa) but this sense is, under any viable and currently accepted etymological proposal, clearly secondary. Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas - RBLI ISSN 2595-685X https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/linguasindigenas Macapá, v. 2, n. 1, p. 05-16, jan./jun. 2019

Katukina

Past etymological proposals and the varieties of ethnonyms

Evaluating two rival etymologies

Brief comment can be offered on the cited ethnonyms

Conclusion