some sáparas have married persons from other tribes such as the kichwa, shuar, and achuar. however, the people still identify themselves as sápara. sáparas have become confused with their neighbors because the young people speak kichwa and because of their low population. in fact, in the mid-1970s, the zápara were declared extinct in ecuador, while in perú, they were unknown before 2001 although they appeared on the language map of the country.