Kankuamo, also known as Kakatukua, Kampanake, Atanques or Atanque, is an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia, once spoken in the area of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

It was spoken on the southeastern slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the communities of the Atánquez district. Although the language of the Kankuamo is nearly extinct and the Kankuamo communicate mainly in Spanish, tradition holds that speakers of the native language can still be found in the páramos, especially among some elders and mamos (spiritual leaders).

With the collaboration of members of the Kankuamo community, as well as other indigenous people of the Sierra with knowledge of this language, and with the support of experts, written materials are being developed to promote its dissemination among children and young people.

Phonology

Vowels +Kankuamo vowel phonemesFrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen

Consonants +Kankuamo consonant phonemesLabialDental/AlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalStopVoicelessVoiced FricativeVoicelessVoicedNasalContinuantLateralTrill /

Vocabulary There is very little information about the language, in particular with regard to grammar. Before its speakers switched to Spanish, Celedón (1892) managed to compile a brief dictionary. The following table shows a sample of the lexicon.

gloss CeledónWavrin one ijkuahiskwa two mogamoga three méname̱wa head chakúkuc̈akna eye úmahu̱mE nose michiuñamuc̈iñi ear kukkuákwükwü tooth köhkakhükhü man ferúateru̱a woman amiaakmi̱a water ditaditáʼ fuego guiéghié earth nebinyàkukwi fish uákagẅa̱ku tree kandinaXä sun koköbúnyobonju moon sakamérusakné̱ru

Despite being so poorly attested, Kankuamo clearly belongs to the Arwako subgroup of Chibcha. In particular, it appears to be very close to Wiwa in terms of phonetic innovations..

Toponyms Traces of Kankuamo are also preserved in toponyms recorded in the region of Sierra Nevada.. Suffixes like -ka "place, site" (e.g. in Susungá-ka, Chingá-ka, Kankuá-ka) or -kua "bower" (e.g. in Birintu-kua, Risátu-kua, Kamíntu-kua) are diagnostic of a Kankuamo source..

Notes

References