Mesoamerican Indian people of the eastern coastal plain of Nicaragua, closely related to the neighbouring Miskito people. Their language is thought by some authorities to be related to the Chibchan family. The Sumo are agricultural, their staple crop being sweet manioc (yuca). They also grow corn (maize), sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, and beans. Cultivation is of the slash-and-burn pattern; planting is done with the digging stick.
They live in small villages; traditional housing consisted of communal dwellings, although single-family thatched dwellings are now more common. Among their crafts are basketry, weaving, pottery, and the making of bark cloth. Their clothing is semitraditional; commercial cloth and European styles are becoming common. They believe in spirits associated with nature, and each village usually has a shaman who can placate malevolent spirits and free sick people from their influence. There is a well-developed oral literature, consisting mainly of mythology and history. See also Miskito. Early 21st-century estimates of the Sumo population range from roughly 7,400 to more than 11,000 individuals.
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