Matsés language

Matsés
Mayoruna
Pronunciation/ˈmat͡sə/
Native toPeru, Brazil
EthnicityMatsés
Native speakers
2,200 (2006)
Panoan
  • Mayoruna
    • Mayo
      • Matses group
        • Matsés
Dialects
  • Peruvian
  • Brazilian
  • Paud Usunkid
  • Pisabo (see below)
Language codes
ISO 639-3mcf
Glottologmats1244
ELPMatsés
Pano-Tacanan languages (Matses-Mayoruna language is indicated with an arrow)

Matsés, also referred to as Mayoruna in Brazil, is an Indigenous language utilized by the Matsés, inhabitants of the border regions of Brazil and Peru. Matsés communities are located along the Javari River basin of the Amazon, which forms a boundary between Brazil and Peru; hence the term river people. This term, which was previously used by Jesuits to refer to inhabitants of that area, is not formally a word in the Matsés language. The language is vigorous and is spoken by all age groups in the Matsés communities. In the Matsés communities several other Indigenous languages are also spoken by women who have been captured from neighboring tribes and some mixture of the languages occur. Dialects are Peruvian Matsés, Brazilian Matsés, and the extinct Paud Usunkid.