Dora Manchado
Dora Manchado | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1934  |
| Died | 4 January 2019 (aged 84–85) |
Dora Manchado (Camusu Aike, Argentina, c. 1934 – Río Gallegos, January 4, 2019) was an Argentinian woman who was the last first-language speaker of the Tehuelche language of Patagonia. She was also the last first-language speaker of any of the Chonan languages. She became a professor of the language. Thanks to her efforts, scientists were able to carry out work on the documentation of her language during a period in which native speakers were passing away rapidly.
Biography
[edit]Dora was born in 1934 at Camusu Aike reserve, between Río Gallegos and El Calafate. There she learned to speak the language from her relatives. As a young woman, she left the reserve and began to work in guest houses in El Calafate. She established herself in Río Gallegos in the 1960s.[1]
After the deaths of her sister and other Tehuelche-speaking friends, she had no one to converse with.[2][3] In 2011, she took on the role of language teacher, helping to reintroduce the Tehuelche language in a program organized by the Argentinian Ministry of Education and a group known as Coordinación EIB (Bilingual Intercultural Education).[3][4][5] One of the reasons for the loss of the language was racism, as the Tehuelches were subjected to ostracism, mockery and shaming. For this reason, parents did not teach their children the language.[2][3]
In 2018 the anthropologist Javier Domingo worked with Manchado for four months to record the state of the language. Many earlier works on the language were folkloric in nature, intended to attract tourism.[2][3] Domingo recorded the sessions with the intention of preserving the language, and in his final video he thanked her for all her help.[3] Manchado she responded as follows:
Aio t nash 'a'ieshm ten kot 'awkko (Maybe some day someone will speak Tehuelche).[2][6]
She died on January 4, 2019, in the city of Río Gallegos.[5]
Prizes and honours
[edit]
- During her life she was named a Living Patrimony of the province of Santa Cruz.[7]
- An episode of the series Guardianes de la lengua (Guardians of the Language) tells the story of Dora Manchado and the Tehuelche.[8][9]
- In 2021 a street was named for her in El Faro, Río Gallegos.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Video. "El legado sigue": inauguraron la calle Dora Manchado, en homenaje a la referente de la cultura tehuelche". La Opinión Austral (in Spanish). 6 November 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d Domingo, Javier (30 January 2019). "La imborrable obra de Dora Manchado: ¿la última guardiana de la lengua tehuelche?". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Redacción (15 December 2019). "El legado de Dora, la última hablante del tehuelche". Diario Río Negro | Periodismo en la Patagonia (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ "Continúan las clases de revitalización de la lengua tehuelche". noticias.santacruz.gob.ar (in European Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ a b Chubut, El. "Falleció la última mujer que hablaba tehuelche - Últimas Noticias". El Chubut (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ Daigneault, Anna Luisa (23 November 2019). "Museos de la mente: Por qué deberíamos conservar las lenguas en peligro de desaparición". Global Voices en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ "Falleció la última descendiente parlante de Tehuelches". www.tiemposur.com.ar. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ "Falleció Dora Manchado, pilar en el rescate de la lengua tehuelche". www.eldiarionuevodia.com.ar (in Spanish). 4 January 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ "Guardianes de la lengua – Episodio 3 y 4 – Cineclub Municipal". cineclubmunicipal.org.ar. Retrieved 22 April 2025.