The Kalina, also known as the Caribs, mainland Caribs, Karibs, Karìna and several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil. They speak a Cariban language known as Carib. They may be related to the Island Caribs of the Caribbean (Kalinago), though their languages are unrelated.
Variants include Kali'na, Cariña, Kariña, Kalihna, Kalinya.
Other Galibi group is Galibi Maraworno and Marworno different from Galibi Kali'na (Lilian Rebellato, Brazil VR project 2025).
Kalina may distinguish themselves as Kali'na tilewuyu ("true Kalina"), partly to differentiate themselves from the mixed Maroon-Kalina inhabitants of Suriname. Use of "Kalina" and related variants has become common practice only recently in publications; many sources continue to use "Caribs" or associated names.
The part of South America where the Kali'na live today is sparsely populated. Their current geographic distribution covers only a small fraction of their Pre-Columbian territory.
Brazil
The Kali'nas in Brazil are localized in two groups. The Galibi do Oiapoque can only be found in São José dos Galibi, a village founded in 1950 on the right bank of the Oyapock River by several families who came from the region of the Mana River. The Galibi Marworno or Uaçá Galibi mainly live along the Uaçá River further land inwards. The main settlement is Kumarumã. The Galibi Marworno were originally from French Guiana, but mixed with the Arua and Marworno Amerindians. The term Galibi Marworno is a recent self-designation of the group.
French Guiana
Still present in significant numbers in their original territory, the region between the Maroni and the Mana rivers (in particular, the communities of Awala-Yalimapo, the only one where they are a majority, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Mana and Iracoubo), and the Amerindian village of Kourou as well as, in fewer numbers, the island of Cayenne.
Suriname
Kali'na are a strong presence on the left bank of the Maroni River and on the banks of the Coppename River. A large proportion of the population lives in the Para District often in villages shared with the Lokono people. The main settlement are Bernharddorp, Wit-Santi, Galibi, Powakka and Bigi Ston. The Kali'na lived in the same area as the colonizers, and have a peace treaty with Suriname since 1686.
Guyana
In Guyana, Kali'na are stereotyped as the most "proud, aggressive, and warlike" of the Amerindian groups. Kalina were paid by plantation owners to capture indigenous slaves as well as recapture African slaves who escaped. One of the smaller indigenous groups in Guyana, Kali'na are settled on the Barama and Pomeroon Rivers, and in the Northwest of the country.
Malaria has had a detrimental impact on the population of Kalina in Guyana, and is exacerbated by hinterland mining that creates still-water pools that serve as vectors for the disease. Many Kalina are also employed in the mining sector.
Venezuela
The country where their numbers are the greatest, Kali'na can be found in two distinct zones: in the Llanos of the Orinoco river valley and on the Cuyuni River valley part of which is in Guyana. See also Chimire, Venezuela.
Important to know about the information in the online collection database