Wichí
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (42,081) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Argentina,  Bolivia
|
|
|
Argentina
|
50,419 (2010) |
| Languages | |
| Wichí languages (Wichí Lhamtés Vejoz, Wichí Lhamtés Güisnay, Wichí Lhamtés Nocten, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional tribal religion | |
The Wichí are an indigenous people of South America. They are a large group of tribes ranging about the headwaters of the Bermejo River and the Pilcomayo River, in Argentina and Bolivia.
This ethnic group was named by the English settlers and is still widely known as Mataco. The etymology of the term is obscure but in several sources, it is cited that the Wichí find the term derogatory. Among the group exists a folk etymology for this term, which relates it to the Spanish verb matar, to kill. Thus their preferred name, their own word for themselves, is Wichí, pronounced [wiˈci], and their language, Wichí Lhamtés [wiˈci ɬamˈtes].
There is a pronunciation variant in some areas of Bolivia, [wikˠiʡ], where the self-denomination of the group is Weenhayek wichi, translated by Alvarsson (1988) as "the different people" (pl. Weenhayey). Weenhayey informers of Alvarsson state that the old name was Olhamelh ([oɬameɬ]), meaning simply us. The subgroups within Wichí have been identified and received different names in literature: Nocten or Octenay in Bolivia, Véjos or (perhaps more properly) Wejwus or Wehwos for the Western subgroup(s), and Güisnay for the Eastern subgroups of Argentina. The latter corresponds to Tewoq-lhelej, "the river people".
At present, a number of Wichí groups can be found in Argentina and Bolivia, distributed as follows:
Wichi are the most widely spoken languages of the Matacoan language family, and include three languages:
The total number of speakers can only be estimated; no reliable figures exist. Comparing several sources, the most probable number is from 40 to 50,000 individuals. The Argentine National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) gives a figure of 36,135 for Argentina only. In Rosario, the third biggest city of Argentina, there's a community of about 10,000 wichi people, all of them fluent in whichi, and some native speakers. There are even a couple of bilingual primary schools.
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Wikipedia