Alacaluf
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alacaluf (also called Halakwulup, Kawésqar, Kaweskar) are a South American people living in Chile in the Strait of Magellan (Brunswick Peninsula, and Wellington, Santa Inés, and Desolación islands), Chile. Their traditional language is known as Kawésqar.
Contents |
[edit] Economy
They were a nomadic sea-faring people until the twentieth century. Because of their sea culture, the Kawésqar have never farmed the land.
[edit] Population
They were never very numerous; the total population never reached more than five thousand. In the 1930s the Alacaluf settled on Wellington Island, in the town of Puerto Edén. Today, very few Kawésqar remain. In 2006, only 15 full-blooded members remained. Lessons on Kawésqar are part of the local curriculum but very few speakers of the language remain.
[edit] Tribes and languages
Adwipliin, Aksánas, Alacaluf, Cálen (Cálenches, Calenes,), Caucahue, Enoo, Lecheyel, Taíjataf (Tayataf), Yequinahuere (Yequinahue, Yekinauer).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Living languages
Ayacucho Quechua · Central Aymara · Chilean Quechua · Chilean Sign Language · Huilliche · Mapudungun · Quechua · Rapa Nui · Spanish
Extinct and endangered langauges
Kawésqar/Alacaluf · Kunza · Ona/Selknam · Tehuelche · Yaghan
Language families
Aymaran · Chon · Malayo-Polynesian · Quechuan · Romance
