The Yufera were a

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

people located in the present day US state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. They spoke a distinct dialect of

. Little is known about the Yufera. They lived on or near the coast of Georgia near the mouths of the Satilla (called Iranaca by the Timucua) and St Marys Rivers. They likely participated in the Savannah or St Johns archaeological cultures. In 1560, French explorer Rene de Laudonnière encountered the Yufera who were currently being ruled by Queen Cubicani following the death of her husband King Hioacaia. Cubicani supplied Laudonnière's men with food and cassina. Laudonnière described the Yufera province as wealthy and Cubicani as "the most beautiful of all Indians, and who they make the most account."Hakluyt, R. (1810). ''A Selection of Curious, Rare and Early Voyages ..'' Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXtQAAAAYAAJ Yufera is listed among the towns that allied with French explorer

Dominique de Gourgues Dominique (or Domingue) de Gourgues (1530–1593) was a French nobleman and soldier. He is best known for leading a privateer attack against Spanish Florida in 1568, in retaliation for the no quarter given after the capture of Fort Caroline and t ...

against the Spanish in 1567. In the 17th century, Yufera was allied to the chiefdom of

Tacatacuru Tacatacuru was a Timucua chiefdom located on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of two chiefdoms of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timu ...

Cumberland Island Cumberland Island, in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its ...

and under the influence of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

mission of

San Pedro de Mocama Mission San Pedro de Mocama was a Spanish colonial Franciscan mission on Cumberland Island, on the coast of the present-day U.S. state of Georgia, from the late 16th century through the mid-17th century. It was built to serve the Tacatacuru, a Moc ...

, but appears to have retained independence. There are no mentions of the Yufera past 1610, suggesting that they may have been among the first Timucua groups to be destroyed by Anglo-Muskogee slave raids.

References

Timucua {{Ethno-stub