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| Mochica | |
|---|---|
| Yunga | |
| Muchic,Muchik | |
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Lambayeque Region: Motupe Valley, La Leche Valley, Lambayeque Valley and Zaña Valley La Libertad Region: Jequetepeque Valley and Chicama Valley. |
| Ethnicity | Sican culture Mochicas |
| Extinct | c. 1920 |
| Revival | exist[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | omc |
omc | |
| Glottolog | moch1259 |
 Approximate extent of Mochica before replacement by Spanish. | |
 Distribution of the Mochica language according to the Art of the Yunga language | |
Mochica is an extinct language formerly spoken along thenorthern coast ofPeru and in an inland village. First documented in 1607, the language was widely spoken in the area during the 17th century and the early 18th century. By the late 19th century, the language was dying out and spoken only by a few people in the village ofEtén, inChiclayo. It died out as a spoken language around 1920, but certain words and phrases continued to be used until the 1960s.[2] A revival movement has appeared in recent times.
Mochica is usually considered to be alanguage isolate,[3] but has also been hypothesized as belonging to a widerChimuan language family. Stark (1972) proposes a connection withUru–Chipaya as part of aMaya–Yunga–Chipayan macrofamily hypothesis.[4]
Colonial sources record several designations for the language now generally known as Mochica:Yunga,Mochica, Muchic/Muchik, and occasional appellatives such asPescadora. The choice of name varied according to author, period, and context.
TheFranciscan friarLuis Jerónimo de Oré (missionary, polyglot, later bishop ofConcepción in Chile) in hisRituale seu Manuale Peruanum (1607) refers to the "Mochica" language and also uses the phrase“Mochica de los Yungas” (en: "Mochica of the Yungas").[5] In the latter case, he seems to distinguish between the language itself —calledMochica— and the northern peoples —denominatedYungas. It is worth noting that at the timeYunga was employed not only as a geographic and climatic term, derived fromQuechuaexonymyunka (“warm area”), but also to refer to the Mochica as an ethnic group.[6]
In 1644, the diocesan priest and parishvicar ofRequeFernando de la Carrera published theArte de la lengua yunga (Art of the Yunga Language), the only known colonial grammar of this language, where he consistently used the exonymYunga.[7] His choice reflects the fact thatYunga was, in thecolonial lexicon, theSpanish designation (borrowed fromQuechuayunka) for the coastal peoples, regions, and languages.[8]
TheAugustinian friarAntonio de la Calancha employed the formMuchic in hisCrónica moralizadora (1638).[9] In the nineteenth century, the German physician and philologistErnst W. Middendorf revived that variant and disseminated it asMuchik in works such asDas Muchik oder die Chimu-Sprache (1892).[10] Middendorf identified the language with that of theChimú, partly becauseQuingnam (the actual language of theChimú kingdom) was at that time poorly documented, whereas colonial references and traces of Mochica still existed. Furthermore, nineteenth-century archaeology often groupedSicán andMoche material into stages labeled “proto-Chimú” or “early Chimú,” which reinforced the misattribution. Later archaeological and linguistic research clarified these associations.[6][8]
In sum,Mochica,Yunga,Muchic/Muchik, and occasionallyPescadora appear in the sources and scholarly tradition. Today,Mochica remains the most widely used term in academic literature, while some revitalization projects preferMuchik, consciously drawing on colonial spellings and nineteenth-century usage.[6]
According to the list of the vicar ofReque and author of the aforementioned Art, Fernando de la Carrera, the peoples who in 1644 spoke the Mochica language were as follows:
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with theTrumai,Arawak,Kandoshi,Muniche,Barbakoa,Cholon-Hibito,Kechua,Mapudungun,Kanichana, andKunza language families due to contact. Jolkesky (2016) also suggests that similarities with Amazonian languages may be due to the early migration of Mochica speakers down theMarañón andSolimões.[12]
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It is proven and accepted by linguists that it was spoken by those of theSican culture, and it is not proven that it was spoken by those of theMoche culture, and it is ruled out that it was spoken by theChimos, since it is proven that they spokeQuingnam.[citation needed]
The only varieties are according to each researcher who compiled their vocabulary, so we have the variety ofErnst Middendorf,Compañon,Bruning, etc.
The Cultural Office of the district ofMórrope has launched a program to teach the Mochica language in an effort to preserve the region’s ancient cultural legacy. The initiative has been well received by local residents and adopted by numerous schools. Additional cultural activities—such as the crafting of ceramics and decorated gourds (mates)—have also been introduced as part of the revitalization effort.[13]
Previously considered adead language, Mochica is now taught in 38 schools and has around 80 speakers.[14]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | c | k | |||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | |||||
| Fricative | ɸ | ð | s | ʃ | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Lateral | glide | l | ʎ | ||||
| fricative | ɬ | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ ~ə⟨æ, œ⟩ | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Mochica is typologically different from the other main languages on the west coast ofSouth America, namely theQuechuan languages,Aymara, and theMapuche language. Further, it contains rare features such as:
Some suffixes in Mochica as reconstituted by Hovdhaugen (2004):[17]
Some examples of lexical items in Mochica from Hovdhaugen (2004):[17]
Possessed and non-possessed nouns in Mochica:
| gloss | possessed noun | non-possessed noun |
|---|---|---|
| 'lord' | çiec | çiequic |
| 'father' | ef | efquic |
| 'son' | eiz | eizquic |
| 'nostrils' | fon | fænquic |
| 'eyes' | locɥ | lucɥquic |
| 'soul' | moix | moixquic |
| 'hand' | mæcɥ | mæcɥquic |
| 'farm' | uiz | uizquic |
| 'bread, food' | xllon | xllonquic |
| 'head' | falpæng | falpic |
| 'leg' | tonæng | tonic |
| 'human flesh' | ærqueng | ærquic |
| 'ear' (butmed inmedec 'in the ears') | medeng | medquic |
| 'belly, heart' (pol andpolæng appear to be equivalents) | polæng / pol | polquic |
| 'lawyer' | capæcnencæpcæss | capæcnencæpæc |
| 'heaven' | cuçias | cuçia |
| 'dog' | fanuss | fanu |
| 'duck' | felluss | fellu |
| 'servant' | ianass | yana |
| 'sin' | ixllæss | ixll |
| 'ribbon' | llaftuss | llaftu |
| 'horse' | colæd | col |
| 'fish' | xllacæd | xllac |
| '(silver) money' | xllaxllæd | xllaxll |
| 'maiz' | mangæ | mang |
| 'ceiling' | cɥapæn | cɥap |
| 'creator' | chicopæcæss | chicopæc |
| 'sleeping blanket' | cunur | cunuc |
| 'chair' (< fel 'to sit') | filur | filuc |
| 'cup' (< man 'to drink, to eat') | manir | manic |
| 'toy' (< ñe(i)ñ 'to play') | ñeñur | ñeñuc |
Locative forms of Mochica nouns:
| noun stem | locative form |
|---|---|
| fon 'nostrils' | funæc 'in the nostrils' |
| loc 'foot' | lucæc 'on the feet' |
| ssol 'forehead' | ssulæc 'in the forehead' |
| locɥ 'eye' | lucɥæc 'in the eyes' |
| mæcɥ 'hand' | mæcɥæc 'in the hand' |
| far 'holiday' | farræc 'on holidays' |
| olecɥ 'outside' | olecɥæc 'outside' |
| ssap 'mouth' | ssapæc 'in the mouth' |
| lecɥ 'head' | lecɥæc 'on the head' |
| an 'house' | enec 'in the house' |
| med 'ear' | medec 'in the ears' |
| neiz 'night' | ñeizac 'in the nights' |
| xllang 'sun' | xllangic 'in the sun' |
Quantifiers in Mochica:
| quantifier | meaning and semantic categories |
|---|---|
| felæp | pair (counting birds, jugs, etc.) |
| luc | pair (counting plates, drinking vessels, cucumbers, fruits) |
| cɥoquixll | ten (counting fruits, ears of corn, etc.) |
| cæss | ten (counting days) |
| pong | ten (counting fruits, cobs, etc.) |
| ssop | ten (counting people, cattle, reed, etc., i.e. everything that is not money, fruits, and days) |
| chiæng | hundred (counting fruits, etc.) |
Mochica numerals:
| Numeral | Mochica |
|---|---|
| 1 | onæc, na- |
| 2 | aput, pac- |
| 3 | çopæl, çoc- |
| 4 | nopæt, noc- |
| 5 | exllmætzh |
| 6 | tzhaxlltzha |
| 7 | ñite |
| 8 | langæss |
| 9 | tap |
| 10 | çiæcɥ, -pong, ssop, -fælæp, cɥoquixll |
| 20 | pacpong, pacssop, etc. |
| 30 | çocpong, çocssop, etc. |
| 40 | nocpong, nocssop, etc. |
| 50 | exllmætzhpong, exllmætzhssop, etc. |
| 60 | tzhaxlltzhapong, tzhaxlltzhassop, etc. |
| 70 | ñitepong, ñitessop, etc. |
| 80 | langæsspong, langæssop, etc. |
| 90 | tappong, tapssong, etc. |
| 100 | palæc |
| 1000 | cunô |
The only surviving song in the language is a singletonada,Tonada del Chimo, preserved in theCodex Martínez Compañón among many watercolours illustrating the life of Chimú people during the 18th century:
1st voice:Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch
Ja ya llũnch, ja ya lloch [sic]
In poc cha tanmuisle pecan muisle pecan e necam
2nd voice:Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch
Ja ya llũnch
1st voice:E menspocehifama le qui
ten que consmuiſle Cuerpo lens
e menslocunmunom chi perdonar moitin Roc
2nd voice:Ja ya llõch
Ja ya llũnh,[sic] ja ya llõch
1st voice:Chondocolo mec checje su chriſto
po que si ta mali muis le cuer po[sic] lem.
lo quees aoscho perdonar
me ñe fe che tas
2nd voice:Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch
Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch
— [18]
Quingnam, possibly the same as Lengua (Yunga) Pescadora, is sometimes taken to be a dialect, but a list of numerals was discovered in 2010 and suspected to be Quingnam or Pescadora, not Mochica, seems to disprove this.
It was common in the 19th century to relate Mochica mainly to Mandarin, Japanese[19] and Quechua.[20] Currently it is discarded and is considered anisolated language.[21] A simple way to check this is to use itsour fathers forcomparative linguistic purposes:
| Verse inMatthew 6 | Mochica of the "Art of the Yunga Language"[22] | Quechua[23] | Japanese[24] | Chinese[25] | English[26] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Mæich ef, acaz loc cuçiang nic, tzhæng oc mang licæm mæcha | Yayayku, hanaq pachakunapi kaq. Sutiyki muchasqa kachun. | ten ni mashimasu warera no chichi yo, negawaku wa, mi na wo agamesase tamae. | wǒmen zaì tiān shang de fù, yuàn rén dōu zūn nǐde míng wéi shèng . | Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. |
| 10 | piycan ñof tzhæng cuçias, eiæpmang tzhæng polæng mæn, mo æizi capæc cuçiang nic mæn. | Qapaq kayniyki ñuqaykuman hamuchun. Munayniyki rurasqa kachun, imanam hanaq pachapihinataq, kay pachapipas. | Mi kuni wo kitarase tamae. Mi kokoro no ten ni naru gotoku, chi ni mo nasase tamae. | Yuàn nǐde guó jiànglín, yuàn nǐde zhǐyì xíng zaì dì shang, rútóng xíng zaì tiān shang . | Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. |
| 11 | Aio ineng, inengô mæich xllon, piy can ñof allô mo lun. | Punchawninkuna tantaykukta kunan quwayku. | Warera no nichiyō no kate wo kyō mo atae tamae | Wǒmen rìyòng de yǐnshí, jīnrì cìgĕi wǒmen . | Give us this day our daily bread; |
| 12 | Efque can ñof ixllæss aie aca naix efco xllãg muss eio mæich, çio mæn. | Huchaykuktari pampachapuwayku, imanam nuqaykupas tutqayktunan huchallikuqlcunakta pampachaykuhina. | Warera ni oime aru mono wo warera ga yurusu gotoku. Warera no oime wo mo yurushi tamae. | Miǎn wǒmen de zhaì, rútóng wǒmen miǎn le rén de zhaì . | And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; |
| 13 | Amoz tocæn ñof xllang muss emællæc zær enicnam næm lecɥ nan ef coñof pissin quich | Amataq kachariwaykuchu watiqayman urmanqaykupaq. Yallinraq, mana allimanta qispichiwayku. | Warera wo kokoromi ni awasezu, aku yori sukui idashi tamae | Bú jiào wǒmen yùjiàn shìtan, jiù wǒmen tuōlí xiōngè, ( huò zuò tuōlí è zhĕ ) yīnwei guódù, quánbǐng, róngyào, quán shì nǐde, zhídào yǒngyuǎn | And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. |
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