Pijao (''Piajao'', Pinao) is an
unclassified indigenous American language that was spoken in the villages of
Ortega,
Coyaima (Koyai, Tupe) and
Natagaima
Natagaima () is a town and municipality in the Tolima department of Colombia, on the shore of the Magdalena River, at above sea level. The population of the municipality was 21,324 as of the 1993 census, and its average temperature is . Nataga ...
in the
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...
Valley of Colombia until the 1950s.
Subdivisions
Pijao subtribes reported by
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
(1943, 1944) and cited in
Mason (1950):
:''Aype, Paloma, Ambeina, Amoya, Tumbo, Coyaima, Poina (Yaporoge), Mayto (Maito, Marto), Mola, Atayma (Otaima), Tuamo, Bulira, Ocaima, Behuni (Beuni, Biuni), Ombecho, Anaitoma, Totumo, Natagaima, Pana (Pamao), Guarro, Hamay, Zeraco, Lucira,'' and ''Tonuro''.
Classification
A small vocabulary list was collected in 1943; only 30 Pijao words and expressions are known.
The few words which resemble
Carib are thought to be loans; toponyms in Pijao country are also Carib. Marshall & Seijas (1973) did not detect significative connections between Pijao and other unclassified languages of the area:
Colima
Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima i ...
,
Muzo
Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo ...
,
Pantágora, and
Panche, but these are even more poorly attested than Pijao.
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with the
Witoto-Okaina languages.
Vocabulary
: ''amé'' tree
: ''homéro'' bow
: ''sumén'' to drink
: ''čaguála'' canoe
: ''kahírre'' dog
: ''alamán'' crocodile
: ''tínki'' tooth
: ''tána'' water
: ''nasés'' house
: ''hoté'' star
: ''nuhúgi'' woman
: ''oréma'' man
: ''yaguáde'' jaguar
: ''núna'' moon
: ''ñáma'' hand
: ''golúpa'' cassava
: ''lún'' eye
: ''oléma'' ear
: ''pegil'' foot
: ''tápe'' stone
: ''orái'' red
: ''toléma'' snake
: ''huíl'' sun
: ''tenú'' tobacco
Notes
References
* Marshall Durbin & Haydée Seijas (1973): "A Note on Panche, Pijao, Pantagora (Palenque), Colima and Muzo", ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan., 1973), pp. 47–51.
Indigenous languages of the South American Northwest
Languages of Colombia
Unclassified languages of South America
Indigenous languages of South America
{{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub