Taruma seek to revive dying language

By Dr Adrian Gomes

Among the Wapichan, in the South Rupununi, Region 9, Guyana, there are some people who claim mixed Atorad or Taruma ancestry. Although Atorad and Taruma are mentioned relatively frequently in the early published sources, little is known of their histories and their languages.

One possible history of the Taruma, based on oral tradition, is that they lived on the Upper Essequibo. During the 18^th (or more probably 19^th) century, the Taruma migrated north- and eastward, living for some time close to the Wai Wai, with whom they had interethnic skirmishes. By the beginning of the 20^th century, they had reached the forest immediately to the south of the Wapichan, living in several villages. From that time on, they were slowly absorbed by the Wapichan, apparently via intermarriage. In present-day Guyana, there is a family of mixed Taruma ancestry who live on a hill called Toronaawa, an hour’s walk from the centre of Maroranaawa, a Wapichan village of South Rupununi, Region 9.

Together with expatriate linguists, we found three remaining speakers of Taruma. Furthermore, we found that the data recorded with each of them is almost 100 percent consistent (i.e. clearly not invented or poorly remembered), and most words are very similar to those recorded in the older (19^th and early 20^th century) sources, thus establishing that Taruma is indeed a real language, but a moribund one.

However, the Taruma are keen to activate their passive knowledge of the language and share this with their relatives and friends. In particular, several place names in the South Rupununi are of Taruma origin. Additionally, the Taruma seem to have had an indelible influence on the material culture of the Wapichan.

All these findings, which form a historically continuous link between the Taruma and the Wapichan, are of high relevance to the Amerindian Research Unit and the Guyanese Languages Unit, both of which I am affiliated to. The collecting of these Indigenous knowledge systems will contribute a rich corpus to further study of Guyanese native languages. Thus, the goal is to continue the collaboration in documenting the languages and knowledge of the people of the Wapichan communities.