The Arawak village of Wakapau (or Wakapoa) is located in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region of Guyana, on the Wakapau River, a tributary on the west bank of the Pomeroon River, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from its mouth. The name originates from the Lokono word ‘Wakokwãn’, which means pigeon.[2] The village is composed of twenty inhabited islands. Some of the islands only contain a single family.[3]
Wakapau was one of the ten original "Indian reservations" of British Guiana.[4] The village is an example of an Amerindian community that has not only preserved the traditional Arawak culture, but also retained its tribal language.[5] The community consists of island settlements in the swamps surrounded by forests. The economy is based on logging, subsistence farming and boat services.[6]
