The Maxakalían languages (also Mashakalían) are a group of related indigenous languages of Brazil, named after
Maxakalí, the one surviving language in the group. Many of the other, extinct, languages are poorly attested and linguists differ in the languages they identify as part of the group. The Maxakalían group is today usually considered part of the
Macro-Jê language family.
Maxakalían languages were first classified into the
Jê languages
The Jê languages (also spelled Gê, Jean, Ye, Gean), or Jê–Kaingang languages, are spoken by the Gê peoples, Jê, a group of indigenous peoples in Brazil.
Genetic relations
The Jê family forms the core of the Macro-Jê family. Kaufman (19 ...
. It was only in 1931 that
Čestmír Loukotka
Čestmír Loukotka (12 November 1895 – 13 April 1966) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak linguist and ethnologist. His daughter was Jarmila Loukotková.
Career
Loukotka proposed a Classification of indigenous languages of the Americas#Lou ...
separated them from the Jê family.
Alfred Métraux and
Curt Nimuendajú
Curt Unckel Nimuendajú (born Curt Unckel; 18 April 1883 – 10 December 1945) was a German-Brazilian people, Brazilian ethnologist, anthropologist, and writer. His works are fundamental for the understanding of the religion and cosmology of some ...
considered the Maxakalían family isolated from others.
John Alden Mason
John Alden Mason (January 14, 1885 – November 7, 1967) was an American archaeological anthropologist and linguist.
Mason was born in Orland, Indiana, but grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown. He received his undergraduate degree from the Univ ...
suggests a connection with the
Macro-Jê stock, confirmed by
Aryon Rodrigues.
Languages
Apart from extinct varieties generally seen as dialects of Maxakalí, Mason noted resemblances with a few other extinct languages of the area:
Pataxó,
Malalí and
Coropó. However, Coropó is sometimes thought to be a
Purian language. Campbell (1997) therefore lists the Maxakalian languages as:
#
Malalí ''(†)''
#
Pataxó (Patashó) ''(†)'' (retain some words, revival movement)
#
Maxakalí (Mashacalí) (1,270 speakers)
''Glottolog'' (2016) restores
Coropó (Koropó) as a Maxakalían language.
Nikulin (2020)
Nikulin (2020) proposes the following internal classification of the Maxakalían languages:
[Nikulin, Andrey. 2020. ]
Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo
'. Doctoral dissertation, University of Brasília.
;Maxakalí
*''
Malalí''
*Nuclear Maxakalí
**''
Maxakalí''
**''
Ritual Maxakalí''; ''
Makoní''
**''
Pataxó''; ''
Pataxó-Hãhãhãe''
**''
Koropó''
Maxakalí is a sister of
Krenák and possibly also
Kamakã. Together, they form a Trans-
São Francisco branch within the
Macro-Jê language phylum in Nikulin's (2020) classification.
Ramirez (2015)
Internal classification of the Maxakali languages according to Ramirez, et al. (2015):
[Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015)]
Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro
''LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas'', 15(2), 223 – 277.
*
Malali
*Maxakali-Pataxó
**(?)
Koropó
**Maxakali proper
***
Maxakali
The Maxakali are an ethnic group of indigenous people in Brazil.
Geography and ethnology
The Maxakali live in the districts of Santa Helena de Minas, Bertópolis, Ladainha, Minas Gerais, Ladainha and Teófilo Otoni in the federal state Minas ...
***Old Machacari (including: Monoxó,
Makoni,
Kapoxó, Kumanaxó, Panhame, etc.)
**
Pataxó of
Wied[Wied, Maximilian Alexander Philipp, Prinz von. 1989. ''Viagem ao Brasil nos anos de 1815 a 1817''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia.]
**
Pataxó-Hãhãhãe
Currently,
Maxakali
The Maxakali are an ethnic group of indigenous people in Brazil.
Geography and ethnology
The Maxakali live in the districts of Santa Helena de Minas, Bertópolis, Ladainha, Minas Gerais, Ladainha and Teófilo Otoni in the federal state Minas ...
(excluding Old Machacari) is the only living language, while all other languages are extinct.
Pataxó as documented by
Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied
Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (23 September 1782 – 3 February 1867) was a German explorer, ethnologist and natural history, naturalist. He led a pioneering expedition to southeast Brazil between 1815 and 1817, from which t ...
(1989: 510–511) in 1816
is distinct from Pataxó-Hãhãhãe. Pataxó-Hãhãhãe was spoken into the 20th century and has been documented by Meader (1978: 45–50),
Loukotka (1963: 32–33), and Silva & Rodrigues (1982).
Many Maxakalian varieties are attested only from 19th-century word lists, some of which are:
*''Mashacari'' (
A.St-Hil, 2000: 274; Wied, 1989: 509–510
)
ollected in 1816–1817*''
Kapoxó'' (
Martius, 1863: 170–172)
ollected in 1818*''Monoxó'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 181
[Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de. 2000. ''Viagem pelas províncias do Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia.])
ollected in 1817*''
Makoni'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 212; Martius, 1863: 173–176; Wied, 1989: 512–513)
ollected in 1816–1818*''
Malali'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 181; Martius, 1863: 207–208; Wied, 1989: 511–512)
ollected in 1816–1818
Loukotka (1968)
Below is a full list of Mashakali languages and dialects listed by
Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.
;Western
*
Mashakali / Maxacari – language once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais on the
Marucí River and
Jucurucu River, later on the
Belmonte River.
*
Kaposho / Capoxo – once spoken on the
Araçuaí River
The Araçuaí River () is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Araçuaí River flows through the Jequitinhonha Valley in the northeast of Minas Gerais, through the town of Araçuaí, which the river takes its name from. It is a ...
.
*Kumanasho / Cumanaxo – extinct language originally spoken on the
Suaçuí Grande River, state of Minas Gerais, later at the sources of the
Gravatá River, state of Bahia.
*Moakañi – once spoken on the
Fanado River (Panado River) near
Conceição, later on the
Caravelas River. (Unattested)
*Pañáme – once spoken on the
Suaçuí Pequeno River, Minas Gerais.
*Monoxo / Monachobm / Menacho – originally spoken on the
Itanhaém River and now on the Posto
Paraguaçu, state of Bahia.
*
Makoni – formerly spoken on the
Caravelas River and near
Alto dos Bois.
*Paraxirn – once spoken on the
Suaçuí Pequeno River. (Unattested)
*Bonitó – once spoken on the
Suaçuí Grande River near
Peçanha and Bonito. (Unattested)
*Goaña – once spoken on the
Corrente River and
Guanhães River. (Unattested)
*Malacaxi – extinct language between
Malacacheta and
Urupuca (near
Água Boa, Minas Gerais). (Unattested)
*Mapoxo – formerly spoken on the
Suaçuí Grande River. (Unattested)
*Xonin – once spoken between the
Peçanha River,
Figueira River, and
Doce River
The Doce River ( , "Sweet River") is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of .
The river basin is economically important. In 2015, the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river, causing an ecological d ...
. (Unattested)
*Moxotó – extinct language once spoken on the
Suaçuí Grande River and
Suaçuí Pequeno River near
Peçanha. (Unattested)
*Toréjicana – once spoken between the
Araçuaí River
The Araçuaí River () is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Araçuaí River flows through the Jequitinhonha Valley in the northeast of Minas Gerais, through the town of Araçuaí, which the river takes its name from. It is a ...
and
Fanado River. (Unattested)
*Vocoin – once spoken between the
Araçuaí River
The Araçuaí River () is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Araçuaí River flows through the Jequitinhonha Valley in the northeast of Minas Gerais, through the town of Araçuaí, which the river takes its name from. It is a ...
and
Jequitinhonha River. (Unattested)
*Batum – once spoken between the
Doce River
The Doce River ( , "Sweet River") is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of .
The river basin is economically important. In 2015, the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river, causing an ecological d ...
and
Conceição River. (Unattested)
;Eastern
*
Patasho – originally spoken between the
Jequitinhonha River and
São Francisco River
The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...
in the state of Minas Gerais; the last survivors became extinct on the right shore of the
Jequitinhonha River, Espirito Santo.
*Tocoyó – extinct language originally spoken in the valley of the
Araçuaí River
The Araçuaí River () is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Araçuaí River flows through the Jequitinhonha Valley in the northeast of Minas Gerais, through the town of Araçuaí, which the river takes its name from. It is a ...
and near
Minas Novas de Fanado in the state of Minas Gerais, later on the right bank of the
Jequitinhonha River in the state of Espirito Santo. (Unattested)
*Maquinuca – once spoken near the Salto Grande on the
Jequitinhonha River. (Unattested)
*Canarin – once spoken on the
Caravelas River and
Mucuri River
The Mucuri River is a river of Bahia and Minas Gerais states in eastern Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth ...
, state of Espirito Santo. (Unattested)
*Tucanuçú – once spoken south of the
Jequitinhonha River near Campos de
Caatinga
Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...
. (Unattested)
*Aboninim – once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais in the
Serra Geral do Espinhaço. (Unattested)
*Catiguasú – once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais between the
Jequitinhonha River and
São Francisco River
The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...
. (Unattested)
*Hahaháy – spoken in the state of Bahia on the
Cachoeira River.
;Southern
*
Malali – extinct language formerly spoken in the
Serra Redonda
Serra Redonda is a municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.
See also
*List of municipalities in Paraíba
This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Paraíba, Paraíba (PB), located in ...
and on the
Suaçuí Pequeno River, Minas Gerais.
*Zamplan – once spoken on the
Doce River
The Doce River ( , "Sweet River") is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of .
The river basin is economically important. In 2015, the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river, causing an ecological d ...
and at the sources of the
Piracicaba River. (Unattested)
Mason (1950)
Mason (1950) lists:
;Mashacalí
*
Caposhó (Koposǒ)
*Cumanashó (Kumanaxó)
*
Macuní (Makoni)
*
Mashacalí (Maxakarí)
*Monoshó (Monoxó)
*Panyame (Paname)
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Mashakali languages.
References
Bibliography
* Campbell, Lyle. (1997). ''American Indian languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. .
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What We Know and How to Know More. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), ''Amazonian Linguistics: Studies in Lowland South American Languages'' (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. .
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The Native Languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), ''Atlas of the World's Languages'' (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxakalian languages
Nuclear Macro-Jê languages
Indigenous languages of South America (Central)
Indigenous languages of Eastern Brazil