The chaná-arawak linguistic family, a surviving memory in southern America

Danilo Anton

The Arawak family can also be called Chana (or Chane) due to the frequent use of this word or similar ones by some Arawak peoples to self-designate. This family presents a marked differentiation between their dialects or closely related languages ​​(much more marked, for example, than the Tupi-Guarani or Namkom-Chaco languages).
This would indicate that it is an older linguistic family, with a rather prior immigration to the Guarani or Namkom.The Arawak log is one of the largest in the Americas, distributed from the Caribbean to the Rio de la Plata.
In northern South America and the Caribbean, it includes the Goajira, Taina, Piaroa, Arawak proper, and several dozens of languages.
In the south of the continent belong to the Arawak family, the languages ​​of mojos, baurés, chanés (all of them in the present territory of Santa Cruz, Bolivia), chaná-guaná, terena and peasantry of Mato Grosso and almost Surely the language of the chaná timbu and chaná mbeguá of the region of Paraná, among others.
Although the Arawak languages ​​show remarkable divergences that indicate their genetic antiquity, they still present clear similarities at the phonetic, grammatical and vocabulary level.

An unexpected chaná speaker

Blas Jaime, born in Nogoyá, Entre Ríos (Argentina) has expressed himself as the last speaker of the language Chana, to be transmitted by mother and female., His knowledge of the language is surprising, given that it was thought for a long time That the language had been extinguished more than 150 years ago.
But the Chana language was resistant to death.
Some facts: Blas Jaime explains for example that: timú is pigeon, the son; ata is the water, ata ma is the river, "water that walks" and vanatí ata, the children of the river (the streams). A lake is ata renderé.  Beada is mother and beadá a is the Earth.
The tree is the son of the Earth, vanatí beada, and its branches are called palá as the arm of man or the oar  
Yogüin is the fire, vanatí yogüin  is smoke, which would be the "son of the fire" the one that makes cry the person who is burning 
And then: "Tijuinem is God, tijuí is the father, nem is the spirit, taé it is bad, oblí is cute, good, the soul is ancat, death is ña, sweet spear (flying death), opatí maa, the family, opatí maá is the village,  he continues.
To say, "a lightning bolt fell", mari depoti,  to fish, ña ichi, to hunt, ña mbaratá. The chana will say ocó aratá reé ña ichí, to advance that at night will not fish, but in fact that expression does not fit in that aboriginal culture because chana do not fish at night, it is forbidden by the "son of the sun".

He continued: to the otter we say emu emu (nmu nmu)"; to the vizcacha, curí, and terrá is everything that is cave, caverna; mbiní is the bird. atic is the leather, he continued. He also stated that inchalá  meant brother (as in Charrúa language).
These are some examples of his memories. 
The linguists who analyzed these contributions, have confirmed the authenticity of these idiomatic data.
For all of us, those who inhabit these Southern lands that were his, it is an obligation not to let this valuable memory be lost in the future.

The last speakers of the language Guaná in Paraguay

Danilo Antón

The Guana nation, also called "North chaná" live on the east bank of the Paraguay River adjacent to the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The guaranizantes by spanish and Paraguay linguistic policies have weakened the use of their native language to the point that apparently just 4 older women who speak the language are.
The Guana belong to the linguistic family Arawak together with the Tainos (in the Caribbean), the paresis, the Enawene Nawe, extinct Chane and Moxos in Bolivia, the Terena in Brazil and many other (perhaps should also include south chaná and hypothetical arachanest).

Eminent anthropologist Alfred Metraux, in his classic book "Ethnography of the Chaco" says:
"The Northeast and Northwest Chaco border was inhabited in pre-Columbian times by a tribe of sedentary farmers who spoke Arawak dialect. They called themselves Chaná, but the Spaniards also used the name Chane. Related, no doubt, with Paressi and Mojo, were the southernmost representatives of large and extensive Arawak linguistic family, which is probably broadcast center located north of the Amazon. ". According to Metraux, one of the branches of the Guana were the Terena who migrated to the northeast and settled in Aquidauana in Mato Grosso do Sul. There and in neighboring areas there are still 18,000 Terena. The Terena have a matriarchal society, speak their language and establish a periodic fair in the city of Campo Grande, Brazil. The matriarchal nature of the society terena explains the survival and persistence of tribal and family ties.

Perhaps the Guana language became extinct, hopefully defend the Paraguayans know the language to survive, but its closest relative the Terena language, remains active and healthy.
Another issue to consider is the relationship between North chaná (Guana and Terena) to the south. In principle there would be a relationship that would classify South chaná as "Arawak". "Chana" means "person" in several Arawak languages.
They were also classified as "Charruas" and "pámpidos". It seems unreasonable. Chaná villages were fishermen and farmers lesser degree. They were very peaceful (allowing rapid reduction by the Spanish). The Chana, whose large population was originally made up of hundreds of thousands of people in hundreds of communities living in the Parana River north of the island Lechiguana and were used by the Spaniards to found reductions, the best known was Santo Domingo Soriano.

Charrúas, however, they had a very different behavior, resisted the conquest and colonization, and so far no reliable data that connect both languages.

A short time ago, unexpectedly, he came a chaná speaker in Nagoya, Entre Rios. Their testimony confirms the nature of the chaná matriarchal societies and it is through the female line that language was preserved. Perhaps it allows to recover the language and confirm (or not) the classification of that language as arawak
It's a good chance we Creoles and indigenous South America to defend the tongues of Chana, which are one of the most important legacies left to us the deep history of our countries.
(From the book "South First Nations" D.Antón, Piriguazú Editions)
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