Maruranau
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Maruranau
|other_name =
|native_name = Marora Naawa
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|settlement_type = village
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|pushpin_map_caption =Location in Guyana
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|subdivision_name = 25px Guyana
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|subdivision_name1 = Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
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|leader_title = Toshao
|leader_name = Ambrose Bento (2021){{cite news|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2021/05/04/news/guyana/rise-in-covid-cases-in-deep-south-rupununi-spurs-uptake-in-vaccines/ |title=Rise in COVID cases in Deep South Rupununi spurs uptake in vaccines |website=Stabroek News |date=4 May 2021}}
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|area_total_sq_mi = 109.118
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|population_as_of = 2012
|population_footnotes = {{cite web|url=https://moaa.gov.gy/indigenous-villages/maruranau/ |title=Maruranau |website=Ministry of Amerindian Affairs |access-date=31 July 2022}}
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|population_total = 830
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Maruranau (Wapishana: Marora Naawa;{{cite web|url=http://wapichanao.communitylands.org/maror.html |title=Marora Naawa Village |website=Wapichanao @ Community Lands|access-date=31 July 2022}} also: Maruranawa) is an indigenous village of Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the Rupununi savannah near the Kwitaro River on the edge of the Kanuku Mountains.{{cite news|url=https://dpi.gov.gy/mararunau-keeping-their-indigenous-language-alive/ |title=Mararunau- keeping their Indigenous language alive |website=Department of Public Information |date=21 August 2017}} A minority of Taruma also inhabit the village.
History
The Wapishana used to live in small settlements. They were concentrated in larger settlements by the Catholic missionaries. In 1919, it was decided by the village leadership and the priest to relocate {{convert|5|mi}} north to the present location of Maruranau due to frequent flooding. The name of the village means "Giant Armadillo Hill".
Overview
In October 1947 the first primary school was established in Maruranau. The village has a health centre and shops. There is no electricity, internet or mobile phone. In 2018, water wells were drilled as part of a joint exercise of the Guyana Defence Force and the Brazilian Army.{{cite news|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/03/08/news/guyana/drilling-of-water-wells-in-eight-rupununi-villages-set/ |title=Drilling of water wells in eight Rupununi villages set |website=Stabroek News |access-date=31 July 2022 |date=8 March 2018}} The economy is mainly based on subsistence agriculture, ranching, hunting and fishing. Balata bleeding, a natural latex, used to be part of the economy. The main religions are the Catholic Church and the Open Brethren.
Languages
Wapishana is the primary language in Maruranau, and English the secondary language. It is one of the few villages which has kept their language alive. Maruranau is also home to three speakers of the Taruma language. They were formerly regarded as its only speakers, but another family has since been discovered in Lethem.{{cite web|website=Endangered Languages |url=https://endangeredlanguages.com/lang/6969 |title=Taruma |access-date=31 July 2022}}{{cite journal|author=Eithne Carlin |url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2883318/view |title=Feeling the need |year=2006 |page=315 |journal=Grammars in contact: A cross-linguistic typology |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
Transport
Maruranau can be reached by road from Lethem which takes about 4 hours by bus.{{cite web|url=https://guyanasouthamerica.gy/places/region-9/the-rupununi-savannahs/maruranau-village-100-miles-into-the-amazon-rorest/ |title=Maruranau Village – 100 Miles Into the Amazon Rorest |website=Guyana South America |access-date=31 July 2022 |language=nl}} The village can be accessed by air via the Maruranawa Airport.{{cite web|url=http://www.gcmap.com/airport/SYMW |title=SYMW - Facility |website=Great Circle Mapper |access-date=31 July 2022 }}