The Awá are an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Maranhão. Originally living in settlements, they adopted a nomadic lifestyle around 1800 to escape incursions by Europeans. They are believed to be one of the last purely nomadic indigenous groups in South America.
Population:
There are approximately 350 members, and 100 of them have no contact with the outside world. They are considered highly endangered because of conflicts with logging interests in their territory.
Language:
The Awá people speakGuajá, a Tupi–Guaraní language.
Did You Know?
In April 2012, Survival International launched a worldwide campaign, backed by the actor Colin Firth, to protect the Awá people.
The Awa-Guaja were added to DNA Consultants’ atDNA database in December 2025, along with the following other five tribes: Parakana (n=24), Tiriyo (n=41), Urubu-Kaapor (n=68), Waiapi (n=23), and Zoe (n=42).
More information about the Awa-Guaja:
The Awa-Guaja population data represent DNA samples from 34 unrelated individuals collected in a reservation south of the Urubu-Kaapor Indian Land in Brazil. Eleven short tandem repeat loci (CSF1PO, D31358, D5S818 D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, THO1 and TPOX) were investigated. The results were reported in S. E. B. Dos Santos et al., “Autosomal STR Analyses in Native Amazonian Tribes Suggest a Population Structure Driven by Isolation by Distance,” Human Biology 81, no. 1 (February 2009), pp. 71-88.
Helena Cavendish de Moura, “Amazon tribe under threat.” (article)
Almudena Hernando, et al. “Gender, power, and mobility among the Awá-Guajá (Maranhão, Brazil).” (journal article)
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