Language: Baniva is an Arawakan language of eastern Colombia
and southwestern Venezuela. The Baniva language was thought by linguists to be extinct until recently, when it was found that one village in
Venezuela is still Baniva-speaking. A second language, called
Baniva do Icana,
is spoken in Brazil but is only distantly related to Baniva del Guainia--the two languages are
said to be no more closely related than English and Russian. Baniva del Guainia is a
polysynthetic language with predominantly
SVO word order.
Thanks for your interest in Native American languages!
Names:Baniva is the name for the tribe in the language of the neighboring
Nhengatu people, where it means "manioc people"
(Arawakan communities like the Baniva have traditionally relied heavily on farming manioc, a root-like plant crop.) The Baniva of Guainia and
the Baniwa of Icana have always been politically distinct from each other and their languages are only distantly related, but they share similar
agricultural techniques, so the Nhengatu called them both 'manioc farmers'. This name is more often
spelled "Baniva" in reference to the Baniva of Guainia, who live in Venezuela and Colombia, and "Baniwa" in reference to the Baniwa of Icana,
who live in Brazil, but that doesn't have anything to do with the name the Nhengatu call them (which is the same)-- only with the differing spelling
conventions of the Spanish and Portuguese languages which are dominant in those two countries. Other spellings and name variants used for the
Baniva include Baníva, Banibo, Abani, Abane, Avani, Ayane, Baniva del Guainia, Baniva del Guainía, and Baniva-Yavitero. Another Arawakan tribe
that once lived in Colombia, the
may have been a Baniva subgroup (their language was not well recorded but is considered to have been
a Baniva dialect by some linguists.)
Language information about Baniva del Guainia. Page in Spanish.
Demographic information on the Baniva language.
Baniva Language Tree:
Theories about Baniva's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.