- Rama (people)
Infobox ethnic group
group=Rama
poptime=:approx. 900
popplace=Nicaragua
rels=predominantlyRoman Catholic
langs=Rama, Spanish,Rama Cay Creole
related=Miskito (culturally), Kuna (linguistically)The Rama are an indigenous people of
Nicaragua . The 900 ethnic Rama live within a thirty mile radius of the "Rama Cay " island on the Caribbean coastline [ [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=rma Ethnologue report for language code:rma ] ] .The Rama are hunters, fishers and agriculturalists growing mainly
banana s and whitecacao .The
Rama language , which is a Chibchan language related toMaléku language ofCosta Rica is considered moribund and only 24 elderly people still speak it fluently.Fact|date=March 2007 However in recent yearslanguage revitalization efforts have been made and the Rama community has tried to reclaim their language, with some amount of success.Rama land rights
The Rama have struggled against the Nicaraguan government and
mestizo landowners for rights to their ancestral lands and have joined forces with the other Nicaraguan indigenous groups theMiskito and the Sumo peoples. Particularly the Rama have had to fight against displacement when confronted with the Nicaraguan government's wish to build a cross-isthmian freight corridor. The government allowed American companies to prospect the possibilities for building arailroad which would pass through Rama lands. After this foreign land speculators claimed rights to Rama lands, and have begunlogging and exploiting the area's natural resources. Rama resistance to the expropriation of their lands has been met with violence [ [http://search.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ILB/2002/11.html The Effects of Globalisation on Indigenous Communities in Latin America: Case Studies from Nicaragua - [2002 ILB 11; (2002) 5(15) ILB 4 ] ] .References
External links
* [http://calpi.nativeweb.org/ CALPI an organization of Nicaraguan Indigenous peoples]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=rma Information about the Rama at Ethnologue]
* [http://maget.maget.free.fr/Rama/Index6.html Rama Language Project home page]
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