Gamela language
| Gamela | |
|---|---|
| Gamela of Viana | |
| Native to | Maranhão, Brazil |
| Region | Northeastern Brazil |
| Ethnicity | ~1,200 Gamela people[1] |
| Extinct | by 1930[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | game1240 |
Gamela (Gamella), a.k.a. Curinsi or AcobĂ», is an unclassified and extinct language of the municipality of Viana in the state of MaranhĂŁo of Northeastern Brazil. It was originally spoken along the Itapecuru River, Turiaçu River, and PindarĂ© River, with ethnic descendants reported to be living in Cabo and Vianna in MaranhĂŁo State.[3] The Gamela today speak Xavante and Portuguese. The last full-blooded Gamela died around the 1910s, and by 1930 only one old woman still remembered something of the language.[2] 19 words of the language are recorded in NimuendajĂș (1937:68).[4]
Kaufman (1994) said that 'only Greenberg dares to classify this language', due to the lack of data on it.
Other varieties
[edit]NimuendajĂș also mentioned the GuanĂĄ, Uruaty, Cahicahy, GuaxionĂĄ, Aranhi, Suassuhy, ArayĂł, AnapurĂș, GuanarĂ©, CoroatĂĄ, Barbado and Gamella as existing in MaranhĂŁo in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2]
Vocabulary
[edit]Gamella words recorded by NimuendajĂș (1937:68) from his informant Maria Cafuza in Viana, MaranhĂŁo:[2]
gloss Gamella fire tatĂĄ (< Tupi) penis purĂș vulva sebĂș Negro katĂș-brohĂł White? Indian? katĂș-koyakĂĄ brother-in-law mĂșisi pot kokeĂĄto gourd bowl kutubĂ© club tamarĂĄna (< Tupi) knife kasapĂł jaguar yopopĂł monkey kokĂłi (< Timbira) horse pohonĂ© cattle azutĂ domestic fowl kureËkĂĄ tree kyoipĂ© tobacco anĂ©no pepper birizu thick tomabĂ©to
A single proper name survives of the language of the Gamela people of CodĂł: Bertrotopama, the name of their last chief.[2]
References
[edit]- â "Gamela - Povos IndĂgenas no Brasil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- 1 2 3 4 5 NimuendajĂș, Curt (1937). "The Gamella Indians". Primitive Man. 10 (3/4): 58â71. doi:10.2307/3316456. ISSNÂ 0887-3925.
- â Loukotka, ÄestmĂr (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- â Hammarström, Harald; Forke, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2020). "Gamela of Viana". Glottolog 4.3.
Bibliography
[edit]
- Kaufman, Terrence (1994). "The native languages of South America". In Mosley, C.; Asher, R. E. (eds.). Atlas of the world's languages. London: Routledge. pp. 46â76.