Morning Prayer in Intuto Village

“Je’intavea’, iya uque’jia” [heh-een-tah-veh-ah, ee-yah oo-keh-hee-ah] “I am so ill, I miss my father”

These were the last words Juan García spoke to his brother Amadeo in 1999, dying of malaria. The last two people on Earth who could converse in Taushiro. After Juan passed, 75-year-old Amadeo García García stands alone in Intuto village, Loreto region, Peru, as the sole guardian of the Taushiro language.

The Last Hunter-Gatherers Hidden in the Amazon

The Taushiro were once one of the world’s last hunter-gatherer tribes, with thousands living along the Tigre and Aucayacu Rivers in northern Peru’s Amazon. They wandered the swamplands with blowguns called ‘pucuna’ and fished from small boats called ‘tenete’.

The 20th century brought invaders seeking rubber and oil, changing the Taushiro’s fate forever. Forced labor, epidemics, and toxic oil spills poisoning their rivers. When disease swept through in the 1960s, most died, and survivors married Spanish speakers, abandoning their language. They tried defending their village with deep pit traps and fierce dogs, but without guns or medicine, they eventually fell.

 [Image: Morning mist along the Tigre River. A traditional canoe floats on the water, primeval forest surrounds the river. The silhouette of a Taushiro hunter with a blowgun barely visible through the mist, showing the unchanged Amazonian way of life for thousands of years]

At 75, The Solitary Guardian of Language

In May 2024, Amadeo left Intuto at 3 AM heading for Iquitos. A difficult 170-kilometer journey for a 75-year-old losing his sight, but his face shone with hope. He was going to teach Taushiro to children at the Iquitos National School (CNI).

“The last Taushiro speaker is me! Until the day I die, this is my work!” Amadeo shouted to children holding papers. His nephew Jacobo Sinarahua Machoa (of the Kichwa people) supported him and interpreted. This moment, created by Peru’s Ministry of Culture, UNESCO, and the AJE Group’s Amarumayu project. 1,500 words, 27 stories, 3 songs have been digitally recorded.

Vanishing Wisdom of the Amazon

“Iño” [ee-nyo] – Mother. But not just a title – a concept including the life-giving river and forest.

“Iya” [ee-yah] – Father. A word encompassing sky, rain, and protector.

“Tenete” [teh-neh-teh] – Small canoe. Life’s companion that moves as one with the river.

“Pucuna” [poo-koo-nah] – Blowgun. A tool containing ancestors’ wisdom for silent hunting.

Taushiro has a unique verb-subject-object (VSO) word order. Linguistically classified as an isolate, it shows lexical similarities with Kandoshi and Omurano. This is a crucial key to solving the puzzle of Amazonian linguistic diversity.

From the Last Voice to Eternal Record

Peru’s Ministry of Culture has been working with Amadeo since 2017, creating a database of 1,500 Taushiro words, 27 traditional stories, and 3 songs. This precious archive has become a treasure trove accessible to linguists worldwide and future generations. WIA shares these remarkable preservation efforts with the world, ensuring more people learn about Taushiro’s existence and value through digital platforms.

From 2024 to 2025, UNESCO and the AJE Group’s Amarumayu project are intensively preserving Taushiro along with Ikitu and Kukama Kukamiria languages as part of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). Through dedicated efforts by researchers like linguist Zachary O’Hagan (UC Berkeley), like the Taushiro Bible verses Amadeo recites alone each morning, his language will be preserved forever in digital space.

 [Image: Amadeo’s voice being converted into digital waveforms. 1,500 Taushiro words float like glowing stars in a holographic interface, each word playing Amadeo’s pronunciation when touched. In the background, a network connecting universities and research institutes worldwide is visible]

Why One Old Man’s Language Matters

Taushiro is a unique lens for understanding the Amazon rainforest. Names for hundreds of medicinal plants, animal behavior patterns, natural signals predicting seasonal changes. All this knowledge exists only in one man’s mind.

Berkeley linguist Zachary O’Hagan says: “When a language like this disappears, you have lost a key data point in studying what universal properties exist in all languages.” The loss of Taushiro means the permanent loss of one way humanity understands the world.

Sodom and Gomorrah, and Hope

Each morning Amadeo sits on his porch reading the Bible translated into Taushiro. The story of Lot from Genesis – the sole survivor of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Ine aconahive ite chi yi tua tieya ana na’que I’yo lo’…” His voice trembles but doesn’t stop.

Amadeo’s five children never learned Taushiro. But now children in Iquitos, linguistics students worldwide, and millions through WIA’s digital platform are hearing his language. One lonely voice becoming humanity’s heritage – this miracle is the 221-day revolution we’re creating.

The Eternal Song of the Tigre River

“Uaque’jia nua’que atinque”
[wah-keh-hee-ah nwah-keh ah-teen-keh]
“I leave but my words remain”

May this farewell Amadeo taught the children
Touch the depths of your heart
And shine in digital eternity

With WIA, every voice is eternal

Tomorrow’s Story: Day 4/221

Jedek – Deep in Malaysia’s rainforest, a language spoken by only 280 people. Meet the language of peace with no words for violence.