Pijao (''Piajao'', originally Pinao) is an
unclassified
Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or r ...
indigenous American language that was spoken in the villages of
Ortega,
Coyaima (Koyai, Tupe) and
Natagaima in the
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River (, ; 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 its lower reaches, ...
Valley of Colombia until the 1950s, by the
Pijao and
Panche people
The Panche or Tolima are an indigenous peoples of Colombia, indigenous group of people that lived in what is now Colombia. They inhabited the southwestern parts of the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca a ...
.
Subdivisions
Pijao subtribes reported by
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...
(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. Durbin & Seijas (1973) did not detect significant connections between Pijao and other unclassified languages of the area:
Colima
Colima, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, is among the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima is a small state of western Mexico on the cen ...
,
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
*
Indigenous languages of the South American Northwest
Languages of Colombia
Unclassified languages of South America
Indigenous languages of South America
{{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub