Total population | |
---|---|
15,000 (2006)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) | |
Languages | |
Sánha | |
Religion | |
Traditional beliefs | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Arhuaco, Wiwa, Kogui[1] |
The Kankuamo, Kankuaka, Kankui or Kankuané are an indigenous people of Colombia, living on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta up until the north of the César department (corregimientos: Atánquez, Guatapurí, Chemesquemena, Los Haticos, La Mina and Rio Seco).[2] The Kankuamo people, estimated at 15,000 individuals, speak Sánha, a dialect of the Atanque language of the Chibcha family. Their laws are borne from nature and they consider the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest mountain range closest to the sea, as sacred. In their native tongue they call this Umunukunu.[1] Many Kankuamo, mostly merchants, do not speak their native language.[3]