Rama people
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Nicaragua | |
| Languages | |
| Rama, Spanish, Rama Cay Creole | |
| Religion | |
| predominantly Roman Catholic | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| 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[1].
The Rama are hunters, fishers and agriculturalists growing mainly bananas and white cacao.
The Rama language, which is a Chibchan language related to Maléku language of Costa Rica is considered moribund and only 24 elderly people still speak it fluently.[citation needed] However in recent years language 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 the Miskito 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 a railroad which would pass through Rama lands. After this foreign land speculators claimed rights to Rama lands, and have begun logging and exploiting the area's natural resources. Rama resistance to the expropriation of their lands has been met with violence[2].