Dialects
Since at least Barboza Rodrigues (1892), there have been three ethnic names commonly listed as dialects of Mura, or even as Muran languages. The names are:
- Bohurá, or Buxwaray, the original form of the name 'Mura'
- Pirahã, or Pirahá, Pirahán, the name the remaining dialect goes by
- Yahahí, also spelled Jahahi
On the basis of a minuscule amount of data, it would appear that Bohurá (Mura proper) was mutually intelligible with Pirahã; however, for Yahahí we have only ethnographic information, and can only assume they spoke the same language as other Mura.
The Mura/Bohurá endonym is Buhuraen, according to Barboza Rodrigues (1892), or Buxivaray ~ Buxwarahay, according to Tastevin (1923). This was pronounced Murá by their neighbors, the Torá and Matanawi. In his vocabulary, Rodrigues lists Bohura for the people and bhurai-ada 'Mura language' for the language, from the Mura of the Manicoré River; Tastevin has Bohurai and bohuarai-arase for the same. The also record,
- nahi buxwara araha 'That one is Mura'
- yane abahi araha buxwardi 'We are all Mura'
Read more about this topic: Mura Language