Akuntsu language

Akuntsú is a Tupian language of the Tupari branch of the state of Rondônia in Brazil, spoken by the 3 remaining Akuntsu people. Peaceful contact with the Akuntsú was only made in 1995; they had been massacred by cattle ranchers in the 1980s.

It is considered unlikely that the Akuntsu language or culture will survive following the deaths of the tribe's remaining members. For this reason several observers have described the tribe as the victims of genocide. The neighbouring Kanoê have been similarly reduced in number through contact with settlers, as were the people of a man recently encountered living alone in the Igarapé Omerê reserve who was apparently the sole survivor of his tribe, referred to as the Man of the Hole.

The name "Akuntsú" comes from the Kwaza language word akucũ 'outsider Indians'.