Linguistic Practices, Fluid Identities, and Exogamy: Reflections on the History of the Yauna of the Apaporis River

Abstract

This article presents reflections on the relationships between linguistic practices and ethnic identities in the context of exogamy, based on the case of linguistic loss and recovery among the Yauna (Apaporis River, Colombia). From an anthropological linguistics perspective, we analyze how the understanding of Yauna linguistic practices and exogamous patterns is enriched by incorporating the emic view of their social organization and by paying greater attention to filiation, semiotic practices (including linguistic ones), and identification processes, rather than to a univocal language-identity relationship. In line with recent studies in the Northwest Amazon, the case reveals that groups with marital alliances and linguistic practices that do not follow the model of linguistic exogamy are no exceptions in the area. It also shows that local language ontologies and notions of territorial management and social organization are fundamental to understanding and addressing processes of linguistic loss and recovery holistically.