Bo: morreu uma lingua

Bo, uma das linguas faladas nas ilhas Andaman, foi declarada oficialmente morta, na data em que o seu último falante, faleceu: a Senhora Boa Sr. Esta era uma língua que se acreditava ser do tempo neolítico e provavelmente oriunda de Africa.

A sua biografia:

Boa Sr. is the eldest member of the Great Andamanese tribe. She is about 80 years old and looks rather fit for her age. Otherwise, how else could she have managed to climb a tree when tsunami hit Strait Island? She is also the only member in the tribe who does not have anybody in her family surviving. Her mother, To, was a Bo, and father, Renge, was a Jeru. She was married to Nao Sr., a Jeru, at an early age. Her parents’, as well as her own marriage only testifies further a point made by her that in earlier times marriages used to take place between different language communities, i.e. different tribes. A preference for the same could easily be seen in most of the earlier matrimonial alliances. For example, out of six most senior members of the tribe, which we have recognized as having four different family lineages, four have had mixed parents.

Although she claims Jeru to be her mother tongue, which might well be the case, her language has quite an evident and strong influence of Bo. Nonetheless, she is the most proficient of the surviving Great Andamanese speakers and still retains a vast repertoire of songs and narratives. Many of her songs have such strong influence of Bo that most of the other speakers of Great Andamanese today are unable to derive any much meaning from them. Little wonder then that Boa Sr., like most of the other Great Andamanese, insists that there is no similarity between Sare, Bo, Khora and Jeru.

She is presumably the richest surviving member of the Great Andamanese tribe in terms of linguistic-reservoir. Her love for life is quite evident when she says that she would love to stay in Port Blair. For a society which was not acquainted even with a barter system, it is interesting to observe that she understands the value of modern currency. Among the things she would often ask for are scissors, blades, and different biscuits (pickies). It is a treat to watch her when she bursts into laughter upon things she would herself say. Our predecessors would have very much been like her!

Clique para ouvir a lingua bo na voz da senhora Boa Sr

Para mais informações acerca desta e outras línguas das ilhas de Andaman, clique aqui