Malibu languages
| Malibu | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Department of Magdalena, Colombia |
| Linguistic classification | unclassified |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | (not evaluated) mali1242 (Malibu proper) |
 Pre-contact distribution of the Malibu languages | |
The Malibu languages are a poorly attested group of extinct languages once spoken along the Magdalena River in Colombia. Material exists only for two of the numerous languages mentioned in the literature: Malibú and Mocana.
Classification
[edit]The Malibu languages have previously been grouped into a single family with the Chimila language.[1] However, Chimila is now known to be a Chibchan language,[2] and Adelaar & Muysken regard the grouping of Chimila with the Malibu languages as "without any factual basis".[3]
Family division
[edit]Rivet listed three Malibu tribes, each with its own language:[4]
- Malibú,[5] spoken near the Magdalena River from Tamalameque to Tenerife
- Mocaná, spoken by the Mokaná people in the region east of Cartagena (Rivet 1947b; Simón 1882-1892, vol. 4, p. 298, only two words.)
- Pacabuey, also known as Sompallón or Laguna Malibu, spoken near the Zapatoza lagoon (Unattested.)[6]
To this list, Loukotka adds six more languages, all of which are unattested (excluding Chimila):[1]
- Papale, spoken on the Fundación River
- Coanoa or Guanoa, spoken on the Cesar River
- Zamirua, spoken on the Ariguaní River
- Cospique, spoken somewhere in the Department of Magdalena
- Mompox, spoken near the city of Santa Cruz de Mompox (attested per Rivet 1947)[4]
- Calamari, spoken along the coast south of Cartagena to Coveñas
Vocabulary
[edit]Rivet gives a brief list of words from Malibú and Mocana.[4] A selection of these is provided below:
- tahana – manzanilla tree
- malibu – chief
- man – small boat
- ytaylaco / yteylaco / yntelas / ytaylas – devil, deity
- entaha / enbutac – cassava
References
[edit]- ^ a b Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian Languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center. pp. 244–5.
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). SIL International.
- ^ Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Pieter C. Muysken (2004). The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 52. ISBN 978-0-521-36275-7.
- ^ a b c Rivet, Paul (1947). "Les indiens Malibú". Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris. 36: 139–144. doi:10.3406/jsa.1947.2360.
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Malibu". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ Lascarro, Luis Carlos Ramirez. "Los Pacabuyes: ¿un pueblo Chimila o Malibú?". PanoramaCultural.com.co. Retrieved 2025-04-27.