Aymara

Aymara (ISO aym) is spoken by about two million people, more than half of whom are Bolivian. The other half are mainly Peruvian, with small communities in Chile and Argentina. The Aymaran family (Aymara and Kawki/Jaqaru) is a language isolate, although the Quechuan family is erroneously believed to be related. The narrative presented here describes a human/bear hybrid known as ‘Juwaniku Bear.’ It falls into the tradition of the Andean bear narratives. The narrative is told and transcribed by the co-author of this contribution, Edwin Banegas-Flores, likely the youngest fluent speaker of Muylaq’ Aymara, a variety of Aymara spoken by some 200 people in the lowlands of Moqeugua, Peru.

International Journal of American Linguistics