Kallawaya, also Callahuaya or Callawalla, is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

, secret,

mixed language A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole or pidgin language in that, whereas creoles/pidgin ...

in Bolivia; another name sometimes used for the language is Pohena. It is spoken by the

Kallawaya people The Kallawaya are an indigenous group living in the Andes of Bolivia. They live in the Bautista Saavedra Province and Muñecas Province of the La Paz Department but are best known for being an itinerant group of traditional healers that t ...

, a group of traditional itinerant healers in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in their medicinal healing practice living in

Charazani Charazani or Charasani is a small town in the South American Andes in Bolivia. Location ''Charazani'' is the capital of Bautista Saavedra Province and central town of the municipality. It is situated on a spur at an elevation of 3,200 m am ...

, the highlands north of

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...

, and

Tipuani Tipuani is a town in the La Paz Department, Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in ...

Characteristics

Kallawaya is a mixed language. The grammar is partially

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

in morphology, but most of its words are from either unknown sources or from an otherwise extinct language family, Pukina. Pukina was abandoned in favor of Quechua,

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

, and

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Kallawaya is also a secret language, passed only by father to son, or grandfather to grandson, or rarely, to daughters if a practitioner has no sons. It is not used in normal family dialogue. Although its use is primarily ritual, used secretly for initiated men, Kallawaya may be a part of everyday conversation between those familiar with it. Kallawaya was one of the subjects of

Ironbound Films Ironbound Films is an American independent documentary film production company. Their films focus on stories of how people succeed and fail to connect. Their 2008 film ''The Linguists'' and 2010 film ''The New Recruits'', were about characters wh ...

' 2008 American documentary film ''

The Linguists ''The Linguists'' is an independent 2008 American documentary film produced by Ironbound Films about language extinction and language documentation. It follows two linguists, Greg Anderson of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languag ...

'', in which two linguists attempted to

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

several

moribund language An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead langu ...

s. Bolivians refer to the region where the speakers live as "Qollahuayas," meaning "place of the medicines", because the Kallawaya are renowned herbalists. Since they treat or cure with plants, minerals, animal products, and rituals, peasants refer to the speakers as "Qolla kapachayuh", or "Kuolla ka paikkoja" meaning "lords of the medicine bag", or "the places for those dying", as in English "hospital".

References

External links

Kallawaya language project and photos of language speakers

{{Languages of Bolivia Languages of Bolivia Endangered languages Ritual languages Mixed languages La Paz Department (Bolivia) Quechuan languages

Characteristics

References

Further reading

External links