Tehuelche
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tehuelches is the collective name of the native tribes of Patagonia. They are also called Patagonians.
It is possible that the stories of the early European explorers about the Patagones, a race of giants in South America, are based on the Tehuelches, because the Tehuelches are typically tall. According to the 2001 census [INDEC], there were 4,300 Tehuelche in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, and a further 1,637 in other parts of Argentina.
[edit] Language
The Tehuelche originally spoke Tehuelche, a Chon language, but later, with the Araucanization of Patagonia, many tribes started to speak variants of Mapudungun. Actually, their own name, Tehuelche, comes from that language.
[edit] External links
- (German) Christine Papp: Die Tehuelche. Ein Ethnohistorischer Beitrag zu einer jahrhundertelangen Nicht-Begegnung. A dissertation. Universitãt Wien, 2002. (PDF)
- Native Patagonians - Contains primary sources and reference material.
ca:Tehueltxes cy:Tehuelche de:Patagonier es:Tehuelche fr:Tehuelche ko:떼우엘체 족 hr:Tehuelche ja:テウェルチェ族 tr:Tehuelçe
