Ticuna peoples

The Ticuna (also Magüta, Tucuna, Tikuna, or Tukuna, ) are an indigenous people of Brazil, Colombia (6,000), and Peru (7,000). They are the most numerous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, 74,601 Ticuna people live in Brazil, making them the most populous Indigenous ethnic group in the country.

== History == Ticuna were originally a tribe that lived far away from the rivers and whose expansion was kept in check by neighboring people. Their historical lack of access to waterways and their practice of endogamy has led to the Ticuna being culturally and genetically distinct from other Amazonian tribes. The first contact with outsiders occurred on the colonization of Brazil when a Portuguese fleet exploring the Amazon came into contact with the Ticuna. Sustained contact with the Portuguese and other outsiders began in 1649. Since the Ticuna lived relatively inland compared to other tribes they were less affected by the diseases and violence caused by colonialism, hence why the Ticuna today have the largest population of any Amazonian people. When the Europeans initiated warfare with the neighboring tribes, their land, which consisted islands and coastal areas, was available to the Ticuna. However, the Ticuna still suffered greatly, especially in the rubber cultivation that began in the late 19th century where many Ticuna were used for slave labor.