Foto: Vincent Carelli/ISA, 1981


  • Autodenominação
  • Where they are How many

    RO328 (Siasi/Sesai, 2012)
  • Linguistic family

Location and demographics

Aikanã is the name of one of the forty or so indigenous peoples living in the state of Rondônia, primarily in the known region of the Guaporé river in the so-called ‘lowlands’ of Amazonia. The Guaporé river forms the main dividing line between the borders of the state and Bolivia.

The majority of the Aikanã live in three villages in the Tubarão-Latundê Indigenous Territory, assigned to them by Incra in 1970. This area, formed by sandy, eroded soil, is situated in the southeast of Rondônia state, around 180km from the city of Vilhena and about 100km from Brazil’s border with Bolivia. The closest rivers are the Chupinguaia and the Pimenta Bueno, but access to them is extremely difficult. Many Aikanã also live in nearby towns and cities, especially Vilhena.

During the first contact made with the Aikanã by myself in December 1988, there were a total of 85 individuals. In 2005, the Aikanã numbered around 180 people.