The Malibu languages are a poorly attested group of dead languages once spoken along the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; 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 ...

in Colombia. Material exists only for two of the numerous languages mentioned in the literature: Malibú and Mocana.

Classification

The Malibu languages have previously been grouped into a single family with the

Chimila language Chimila (Shimizya) is a Chibchan language of Colombia, spoken by the Chimila people. At one time Chimila was grouped with the Malibu languages, but then Chimila became classified as a Chibchan language. Julian Steward, in the 1950 ''Handbook o ...

. However, Chimila is now known to be a

Chibchan language The Chibchan languages (also Chibchan, Chibchano) make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa ...

, and Adelaar & Muysken regard the grouping of Chimila with the Malibu languages as "without any factual basis".

Family division

Rivet initially listed three Malibu tribes, each with its own language: *Malibú, spoken near the

from Tamalameque to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

*Mocaná, spoken by the Mokaná people in the region east of Cartagena (Rivet 1947b; Simón 1882-1892, vol. 4, p. 298, only two words.) *Pacabuey, also known as Sompallón or Laguna Malibu, spoken near the Zapatoza lagoon (Unattested.) To this list, Loukotka adds six more languages, all of which are unattested (excluding Chimila): *Papale, spoken on the

Fundación River The Fundación River is a river in northern Colombia, originating from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Cesar Department but flows down to the Magdalena Department crossing the town and municipality of Fundación Fundación is a town a ...

*Coanoa or Guanoa, spoken on the

Cesar River The Cesar River ( es, Río Cesar) is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It flows through the Cesar-Ranchería Basin and separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serranía del ...

*Zamirua, spoken on the

Ariguaní River Ariguaní River () is a river in northern Colombia's Caribbean Region born in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in the area of the municipality of Pueblo Bello. The Ariguaní is an affluent of the Cesar River and flows from north t ...

*Cospique, spoken somewhere in the Department of Magdalena *Mompox, spoken near the city of

Santa Cruz de Mompox Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department. The town initially grew from its proximity to the Magdalena river and has preserved much of its colonial character ...

*Calamari, spoken along the coast south of Cartagena to Coveñas

Vocabulary

Rivet gives a brief list of words from Malibú and Mocana, but does not distinguish the two languages. A selection of these is provided below: *''tahana'' – manzanilla tree *''malibu'' – chief *''man'' – small boat *''ytaylaco'' / ''yteylaco'' / ''yntelas'' / ''ytaylas'' – devil, deity *''entaha'' / ''enbutac'' –

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

References

{{Reflist Languages of Colombia Language families Unclassified languages of South America Extinct languages of South America