Tequiraca (Tekiráka), also known as Abishira (Avishiri)* and Aiwa (Aewa, Aʔɨwa) and Ixignor,^[1] is a language spoken in Peru. In 1925 there were between 50 and 80 speakers in Puerto Elvira on Lake Vacacocha (connected with the Napo River). It is presumed extinct some time in the mid 20th century, though in 2008 two rememberers were found and 160 words and short sentences were recorded.^[2] Today, most ethnic Aiwa people have shifted to Kichwa and Spanish.^[3]

The little data available show it to not be closely related to other languages, though a distant connection to Canichana was proposed by Kaufman (1994).

*Other spellings are Auishiri, Agouisiri, Avirxiri, Abiquira, Abigira; it has also been called Ixignor and Vacacocha.

Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with Taushiro, likely as a result of prehistoric contact within the circum-Marañón interaction sphere.^[4]

• Hammarström, Harald. 2010. "The status of the least documented language families in the world". In Language Documentation & Conservation, v. 4, p. 183.
• Fabre, Alain. 2005. Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: AWSHIRI.
• Michael, Lev; Beier, Christine. (2012). Phonological sketch and classification of Aewa. (Manuscript).

Earlier lexical sources

• Tessmann, Günter. 1930. Die Indianer Nordost-Perus: Grundlegende Forschungen für eine Systematische Kulturkunde. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter & Co. (112 lexical items)
• Espinoza, Lucas. 1955. Contribuciones lingüísticas y etnográficas sobre algunos pueblos indígenas del Amazonas peruano. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto Bernardino de Sahagún. (17 lexical items)
• Villarejo, Avencio. 1959. La selva y el hombre. Editorial Ausonia. (93 lexical items)