Maku (Macu, Máku, Mácu, Makú, Macú) or Maco (Mako, Máko, Macó, Makó) is a pejorative term referring to several hunter-gatherer peoples of the upper Amazon, derived from an Arawakan term ma-aku "do not speak / without speech" (compare the etymologies of the words "Niemcy" and "barbarian").
Nimuendajú (1950), for example, notes six peoples of Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil that are known as 'Maku'.
In linguistic literature, the term refers primarily to: It has also been used for various other languages and peoples in the area, such as: