Caquetío Language

Caquetío, also called Caquetío Arawak, is an extinct Arawakan language. The language was spoken along the shores of Lake Maracaibo, in the coastal areas of the Venezuelan state of Falcón, and on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. It is referred to as a "ghost language" because no tangible evidence of it remains. Only the name still exists, as mentioned in references from 17th-century texts.

The Caquetíos and the Jirajara spoke an Arawak language, and their cultures showed great similarities.

Name

An important discovery was the term ''kakïtho'' used by the Lokono to refer to "people" or "living beings", which encompasses a broader meaning than the term ''loko.'' The Lokono term "kakïtho" is derived from the Caquetío ''kaketío'', and both can be traced back to Pre-Andes Maipuran terms for "person". The ''Piro'' ( ''Yine'' language) and '' Irupina'' respectively use the terms ''kaxiti'' and ''kakiti'' to designate "people". Given the widespread use of this term, it is believed to have originated from Proto-Maipuran. Some suggest that the name "Caquetío" may have originated from the Caqueta River. The misspelling of "Caquetío" as "Caiquetio" stems from an early Spanish document.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the collection and study of indigenous languages were irregular, lacking a systematic approach. There are no remaining documents specifically dedicated to the syntax or grammar of Arawak languages from that time. It was only in the late 18th century that linguists began to study and classify Arawak languages.

History

Between 3000 and 2000 BCE, speakers of the Proto-Arawak language journeyed along the Río Negro. They navigated the Casiquiare canal and settled in the Orinoco River area. This migration gave rise to the Proto-Arawak language and the formation of the Proto-Maipuran language.

Around 1500 BCE, they arrived in the Middle Orinoco region near the Meta River, initiating diverse subgroups. Notably, the Proto-Northern subgroup, the ancestral roots of the Caquetío people, emerged. These subgroups dispersed in various directions from the Middle Orinoco. Some traveled west via the Meta River to the Venezuelan Andes and Colombia, leading to the emergence of the Guajiro and Paraujano languages.

Others continued downstream along the Orinoco, expanding into the Guianas and the West Indian islands. This expansion gave rise to the Arawak language (also known as Lokono) in the Guianas, and the Igneri language, which transformed into Island Carib in the Lesser Antilles. The Proto-Northerners who settled in the Greater Antilles developed the Taíno language^†.

Around 500 BCE, the Caquetío language group separated from the Middle to Upper Orinoco areas, migrated alongside the Apure River, and headed northwest to Venezuela. Eventually, they reached the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Simultaneously, other groups like the Carib, Lokono, and Taíno evolved due to migrations from the Orinoco to the Caribbean region.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary of northwestern Venezuela was shaped by numerous Arawak communities along the coast of Falcón state and the Guajira Peninsula. The Wayuu people communicate in Guajiro, while the Paraujano language, spoken by the Paraujano or Añú people, has faded. With the arrival of Europeans, the dominant Caquetío language emerged. Many place names (toponymy) and personal names (anthroponymy) persist along the Falcón coast, and some have survived on Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire. Caquetío was spoken not only on the islands but also along the Venezuelan coast, particularly in the Yaracuy, Portuguesa, and Apure river regions, known as the states of Falcón and Lara. The language declined as the indigenous Amerindian population decreased during Spanish occupation. Although Caquetío's influence on Papiamento is limited, some original Caquetío words are present in Papiamento.

Indigenous names are prevalent in specific regions of Aruba, such as ''Sasiriwichi'' at the northwestern tip, near the California lighthouse. Additionally, the hilly areas in eastern Aruba, from ''Cashiunti'', ''Huliba'', ''Kiwarcu'' to ''Coashiati'' or ''Jamanota'', and the north coast between ''Andicuri'' and Oranjestad, abound in Caquetío toponyms.Notably, many Caquetío words in Papiamento pertain to local flora and fauna, unfamiliar to European settlers and the African slaves who arrived in the area in early 16th century.

Sample words

In the first table a few words and expressions of the Caquetio language, which could still be recalled by a few elders (with some difficulty as the language had already been dead at the time) and which were recorded by Dutch pastor A.J. van Koolwijk in Aruba in 1880.

Sources

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Notes

References

{{Arawakan languages

Arawakan languages
Languages of Venezuela
Languages of the Netherlands
Languages extinct in the 1860s
Indigenous languages of the Caribbean
Languages of Aruba
Languages of Bonaire
Languages of Curaçao