“Abuela Cristina” Calderón, the last custodian of the indigenous Yagán language, dies in Chile

    “Abuela Cristina” Calderón, the last custodian of the indigenous Yagán language, dies in Chile

    Cristina Calderón, the last native speaker of Yagán, the language of the Yámana, the southernmost indigenous people on the planet, has died.

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    At the age of 93 she died in Chile Cristina Calderón, the last keeper of the indigenous Yagán language. With his death, not only did we lose a living human Treasure, but also the sound of the voice of the Yámana people, the indigenous canoeists who inhabited Tierra del Fuego, in the far south of America, died out.





    Singer, ethnographer and writer, the “abuela Cristina” - as they all lovingly called her - up to her last years was actively committed to preserving and transmitting everything related to the Yagán culture, keeping alive the traditions of her people. In fact, it was not strange to find her weaving a basket of reeds, using a technique used by her ancestors.

    Not only that, together with her niece, Cristina Zárraga, she created a dictionary from Yagán to Spanish, accompanied by a CD with which you can hear some words. Together they also published a book of original legends, songs and stories called Hai Kur Mamašu Shis, or “I want to tell you a story”.

    Mother, for the Yagán, your departure generates an irreplaceable void from the cultural, human and emotional point of view. And it sets us the task of preserving your memory and with it that of our people.

    That is the work that was entrusted to me and with which I will fulfill for you and our people

    – Lidia González Calderón (@lidiyagan) February 16, 2022

    Mother, for the Yagán your departure has generated an irreplaceable void from a cultural, human and emotional point of view, which sets us the task of preserving your memory and with it that of our people. This is the work that has been entrusted to me and that I will carry out for you and for our people ”, her daughter Lidia González Calderón, one of the members of the Constituent Convention which is currently drafting the new Chilean Constitution, wrote in a tweet.

    Her life and that of her people have been the subject of inspiration for the most eminent scholars, historians, scientists and researchers who every year went to Villa Ukika, where Cristina lived, to learn a little more about her and her culture.



    The Yagán language has 32.400 words and can boast of having one of the most concise (and difficult to translate) words in the world: mamihlapinatapai, whose meaning is “a look between two people, each expecting the other to begin a ' action that both want but neither of them dares to start ".

    When a language dies, a way of seeing the world also dies. Have a good trip abuela Cristina, your example will forever remain a symbol of cultural resistance of indigenous peoples.

    A hug to heaven ❣️✨ Today, at 93 years old, Cristina Calderón passed away, or Grandma Cristina as she was affectionately called....

    Posted by The Black Mary on Wednesday, February 16,

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