Olmec (Mande) Loan Words in The Mayan, Mixe-Zoque and Taino Languages
Olmec (Mande) Loan Words in The Mayan, Mixe-Zoque and Taino Languages
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Olmec (Mande) Loan Words in the Mayan, Mixe-Zoque and Taino Languages
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Olmec (Mande) Loan Words in the Mayan, Mixe-Zoque and Taino Languages
Clyde Winters
Uthman dan Fodio Institute, Chicago, 60643
Abstract: Ortiz de Montellano, Haslip-Viera and Barbour (1997) argue that there is no linguistic evidence for
Pre-Columbian contact between African and Amerind languages. Using comparative and historical linguistic
methods the author outlines the evidence from the Otomi and Mayan languages which indicate the
borrowing/copying of Manding/Mande lexical items by speakers of these languages in Pre-Columbian times.
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As a result, of the presence of alleged Mixe-Zoquean the term olmecization to describe the processes whereby
loan words in different Mayan languages in a non- independent groups tried to become Olmecs, or to become
systematic pattern representing diffussion from Mixe- like the Olmecs”. Clark and Pye (2000) make it clear that
Zoquean as suggested by Campbell (1977); this linguistic it was around 1200 BC that Olmec civilization rose in
evidence of Mixe-Zoquean loans in the Mayan languages, Mesoamerica. She continues “Much of the current debate
may be more indicative of the adoption by the Mayan and about the Olmecs concerns the traditional mother culture
Mixe- Zoquean speakers of loan words from some other view. For us this is still a primary issue. Our data from the
linguistic group. This would explain Swadesh's evidence Pacific coast show that the mother culture idea is still
for the separation of the Huastecas from the Maya around viable in terms of cultural practices. The early Olmecs
1200 BC, and evidence of Lee (1989) suggesting an created the first civilization in Mesoamerica; they had no
invasion of the Mexican area that caused the break up of peers, only contemporaries”. This rules out an
Mixe, Zoque and Popoluca unity. “indigenous revolution” for the origin of the Olmec
The Lee (1989) hypothesis may not be too far off the civilization-the archaeological evidence, suggest that the
mark. Mixe oral traditions maintain that much of their founders of the Olmec civilization were not “indigenous”
culture came from outsiders who entered their land long people.
ago. This Mixe traditions leads to two possible hypothesis The evidence presented by the authors mentioned
1) the Mixe speakers may have obtained many aspects of above make it clear that the Olmec introduced a unique
their culture from a culturally superior non Mixe Zoquean culture to Mesoamerica that was adopted by the
group; and 2) that the Mixe-Zoquean speakers are not the Mesoamericans. As these statements make it clear there
archaeological Olmec People (Winters, 2005). If the was no continuity between pre-Olmec cultures and the
Mixe-Zoquean people are not the archaeological Olmec Olmec culture.
people as assumed by Campbell (1977), who were the The Proto-Olmec or Manding people formerly lived
Olmec speakers. in North Africa in the Saharan Highlands: and Fezzan
Winters (1979, 1980, 1997) maintains that the Olmec (Winters, 1986). Here the ancestors of the Olmecs left
people spoke a Mande language. This hypothesis is their oldest inscription written in the Manding script
supported by the evidence of Malinke-Bambara (one of (which some people call Libyco Berber) (Hau, 1973).
the Mande languages) loan words in a number of Mexican These inscriptions are found throughout the Sahara along
languages (Wiener, 1921), and the discovery of the Tuxtla caravan routes and near former Mande habitation sites
statuette (Fig. 5) (Wiener, 1921) and LaVenta Offering like Dar Tichitt. This indicates that the Manding hand
No. 4 (Winters, 1979, 1980, 1997) that were inscribed writing 2000 years before they settled the Gulf of Mexico.
with symbols common to the Vai writing system used by These Proto-Olmec people lived in the Highlands of
the ancient Mande speaking people (Delafosse, 1899; the Sahara. Here we find numerous depictions of boats
Winters, 1983). engraved in the rock formations that these people used to
The Olmec people originated in Africa. The Olmec navigate the Sahara before it became a desert. The Proto-
called themselves Xi (Shi) (Winters, 2005). They spoke a Olmec probably used these boats to sail to Africa.
language similar to the Malinke-Bambara language of the In the Saharan highlands the Proto-Olmec were
Mande Family of languages spoken in West Africa. There already writing inscriptions in their own language and
is clear linguistic evidence that the language of the Xi or making jade tools and ornaments. The Olmec, were the
Olmec people of Mexico, is a substratum in the major first Americans to develop a number and math system,
languages spoken by Indians presently living in the influenced their Mayan neighbors. The Olmec are
former centers of Olmec civilization. recognized as the “madre cultura” Mother Culture of
Tate (1995) wrote” Olmec culture as far as we know Mexican civilizations. The Mayans borrowed much of
seems to have no antecedents; no material models remain their art and architecture from the Olmecs, including the
for its monumental constructions and sculptures and calendar and pyramid structures that the Mayans are so
the ritual acts captured in small objects”. Clark and famous for. The first of these great Mayan structures
Pye (2000), makes it clear after a discussion of the pre- appeared between 400 B.C. and 150 A.D.
Olmec civilizations of the Mokaya tradition, that these Although Wiener (1922) and Sertima (1976) believe
cultures contributed nothing to the rise of the Olmec that the Manding only influenced the medieval Mexican
culture. Clark and Pye (2000) wrote “The Mokaya appear empire, the decipherment of the Olmec scripts and a
to have gradually come under Olmec influence during comparative analysis of the Olmec and Manding
Cherla times and to have adopted Olmec ways. We use civilizations show correspondence (Winters, 1979, 1980,
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ba great
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In Fig. 6 and 7, you can see how the Olmec C Po tu fa gyo, “This Holy Ruler possesses the spirit of
hieroglyphic signs when broken down into their the divinity”.
constituent parts represent Olmec syllabic symbols. In
Fig. 6 we can see the Olmec sign for royalty. In Fig. 7, we
see how the Olmec hieroglyphs can be separated into
syllables. Most of the common hieroglyphic Olmec signs
are found on the Tuxtla statuette and the Mojarra Stela.
Below are some of the most frequent hieroglyphic signs C Fa po, “(He) is in possession of much purity”.
from these monuments.
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C Te te “The very honest”. C Bi ki gyo. A mbo. Da bè mbo gyo ni, “The great
ancestor (he) works like a talisman. Indeed (he is)
like a raising star. At this moment (he) exist in parity
to a talisman”.
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C Yu yu. Po mi ta. Yu yu, “Offer pure libations (at) this C Po mi ta, “This pure place of imbibition”.
large hemisphere tomb”.
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C A ku po bu mbo gyu, “He is a Governor of gigantic the Tuxtla statuette (Fig. 5). Below we find examples of
purity, the source of spiritual tranquility” or “He is a the subordinate Olmec compound signs:
pure stem. [He] give(s) a blow to crush evil”.
Pè to ta: "The abode of refuge (it) is thrust in the ground".
C Bè ta mè,“Exist in a unique state of spiritual A ku po bu mbo gyu: "It is a pure stem; give a blow to
tranquility”. crush evil".
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Vocabulary:
po : purity
ta : here, this place; place of rest, rest; Partisan,
supporter; propriety; to be sacred, sacred object, C ki ku lu: "Send away the personal character" or
mystic order; "Send away the personality to the family habitation"
tu : Ruler, King; take refuge
bè : name; to be, exist; unite
to : sequestered
I : pronominal article, 2nd person, you, thou, thine
fè : in the company
gbè : pure, virtuous, righteous
po : purity, pure, the good C Po be ta:
gba : to plant
pè : spacious, pin down; spread over
se : v. to lead; to be in possession for posterity
a : pronominal article, 3rd person, he, she, it
ma : Lord, ancestor
Purity exist here. or Be ta:
The synthetic Olmec compound signs represent a
compound expression. These signs reflect a complete
sentence. In the synthetic compound we have VO type
sentence as opposed to the SOV type sentence associated
with Olmec subordinate compound signs. Below are
several examples:
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It means "This abode the possession of a celebrity laid A pit had been dug over the incised celts and
low (here). figurines, a hole leading from the earth's surface down to
An understanding of the Olmec writing allows us to the burial cache suggest that this was used for pouring
read the obituary in chamber burial 48 of Tikal, Structure libations on the figurines. This view is supported by the
5D-33-2nd; and the Rio Azul inscription (Fig. 7 and 10). fact that the inscriptions written in the plain Olmec
In Fig. 7, we see Olmec hieroglyphs as they appear in a syllabic style (Fig. 12), mentions the fact that Pè tomb
tomb instead of a statuette or Stela. was to act as a talisman or protective shrine for the
An examination of the Rio Azul inscriptions will faithful. The six celts found in La Venta offering no.4,
show that the glyphs on lines 1,2,3, and 8(a) agree with were arranged in a semi-circle. Four of the celts were
similar signs on the Tikal inscriptions. engraved. The first and last celts in the semi-circle were
In Fig. 11, we illustrate how you can read Mayan not engraved.
inscriptions using the phonetic approach, based on Moving from left to right two engraved jade celts
interpreting the sound value of the Olmec sign, but read when joined together depict an Olmec priest wearing an
in the Yucatec language. elaborate headdress and holding what appears to be a
The sign ah po or ahau, is a good example of the use torch or baton in his hand. This figure probably
of Olmec symbols to write Mayan words. This sign is represented Pè. It is analogous to the figure engraved on
a jade Breastplate (no. 13:583), now located in the
made up of three Olmec signs Tu tu and po. In Olmec
National Museum of Anthropology at Mexico City
these signs mean Tu tu "the ruler that rules" and Po 'pure',
(Warkentin and Scott, 1980).
i.e., 'Pure ruler that rules'.
The first two celts probably were originally joined
together and served as a symbol of authority for the
OLMEC SYLLABIC WRITING deceased priest while he was alive. The breakage of this
celt into two parts probably symbolized the withdrawal of
There are two forms of Olmec syllabic writing plain the priest's physical body, from the physical plane to the
and cursive. The famous inscribed celts of Offering no.4 spiritual plane. The placement in the tomb of Pè's "celt of
LaVenta, indicate both the plain (Fig. 12) and cursive power" was meant to hold his spiritual power at the grave
syllabic Olmec scripts (Fig. 13). In the cursive form of the site.
writing the individual syllabic signs are joined to one The third engraved celt at La Venta offering no. 4,
another, in the plain Olmec writing the signs stand alone. was engraved in the cursive Olmec script (Fig. 13). In the
The cursive Olmec script probably evolved into Olmec text of the cursive script we find Pè's obituary.
hieroglyphics.
The inscriptions engraved on celts and batons are Transliteration of Symbols on Fig. 13:
more rounded than the script used on masks, statuettes Fè fè mi pè po gbè
and bas-reliefs. The pottery writing on the Los Bocas and without void consumed Pè pure/holy below (in)
Tlatilco ware are also in a fine rounded style. The breath
inscribed celts found at La Venta in 1955, at offering lu bè ma
No.4, the inscribed jadeite celt from near El Sitio, and the the family lay low the (the) Lord (in)
Black Stone Serpent Scepter of Cardenas, Tabasco and habitation celebrity
Mojarra Stela as examples of the Olmec writing. All the yu ka-pè ba ko
translations of Olmec artifacts are based on the Manding the big hemisphere Ka-Pè the Great (in) the
dictionary of Delafosse (1955). tomb back of
The celts of La Venta offering no. 4, were discovered se yu we
by Drucker in 1955. These celts show both the plain and (to) possess for the big hemisphere tomb Hence
cursive forms of the Olmec script. These inscribed celts posterity
were part of a collection of 16 figurines and jade and ta lu ba i
serpentine found in offering no.4 (Fig. 12) this place the family great/strong thine
(Soustelle, 1985). habitation
In La Venta Offering no.4, fifteen figurines were gba kyè be po
arranged around a central figure (Fig. 12). According to fixed in inheritance/estate here pure/holy
the inscriptions on the celts in this collection, the the ground
personage buried in this tomb was Pè. The bold head of mbe be
Pè suggest that he was their cult leader. lay low the celebrity lay low the celebrity
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14 Pe kyu: 17 Po:
The prodigious tomb (In) Purity
15 Ni tu la: 18 Yo ngbe Bi:
The soul of the King sleeps or The soul is pure righteousness of the great ancestor
Ni gyu la: 19 Yo Pe
The soul, and spiritual tranquility (is) established 20 Po su:
16 Yo be: The pure libation
The vital spirit (has ) been put to bed 21 Lu kyu lu kyu:
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Hold upright this hemispheric tomb. Justeson and Kaufman (1997) believe that this long
Hold upright this hemispheric tomb. inscription is about "folded garments" , and a dignitary
22 Be ta gyu: chopping crops while a "shapeshifter" appears in "his
[It] exist in a unique state of spiritual tranquility body". My decipherment, on the otherhand, based on the
23 Po i tu: authentic language of the Olmecs indicates that the
Pure is thine refuge Mojarra Stela was a funerary text, acknowledging the
24 Yo Pe potent mystical power of the Epi-Olmec King Yo Pe.
25 Po tu In relation to the Olmec people, they had both a
Righteous King syllabic and hieroglyphic script. The terms in their
26 Po i ku tu: language are monosyllabic and each term may have
Thou head the government is pure multiple meanings. The Olmec terms have been
27 Ta ki ku gyo ta kye ba gba da: interpreted using the Manding lexical items recorded by
Ta Ki "[This] sacre raising of a star [Yo Pe] Delafosse, in La Langue Mandigue et ses dialectes.
Ku gyo "[is] the summit of righteousness If this hypothesis for a Malinke-Bambara is correct
Ta kye ba "This man [is] great there should also be evidence of Olmec (Malinke-
gba da "[he] glows at this moment Bambara) loans in the Mayan , Otomangue and Mixe-
"[Yo Pe] is a raising star. [He is] the summit of Zoque languages. Below we will test this hypothesis in
righteousness. This man [Yo Pe] is great. [He] glows relation to the Mayan languages spoken throughout
[like a shinning star] at this moment." Mexico, the Mixe languages in Qaxaca and Otomi a
28 Da: member of the Otomangue language.
At this moment
29 Po yo ta fa ta: RESULTS
The pure image of the race and mystic order is full of
propriety" Leo Wiener in Africa and the Discovery of America,
30 Yo Pe Po yo ta fa ta Yo Pe: made the discovery that the characters on the Tuxtla
"The pure image of the race and mystic order, full of statuette were of Malinke-Bambara origin. This was a
propriety [is] Yo Pe." striking discovery. This artifact, along with other
engraved Olmec artifacts is credible evidence that the
Consequently, Justeson and Kaufman's (1997) Olmec probably came from Africa. This led to the
translation of this text using Mize-Zoquean fails to hypothesis that if writing was created first by African
convey the richness of Olmec prose and the deep love and Olmec, the term used for writing will be of Olmec origin.
respect that the Olmec gave their kings. Ustenson and This is supported by the Mayan terms for writing
Kaufman (1997) translate the new inscriptions as follows: illustrated in Table 1.
The Mayan languages have adopted a number of loan
"Behold, there/he was for 12 years a [title] words from other Meso-American languages. In this paper
And then a garment got folded we will review the evidence for Olmec (Malinke
He [uttered] Bambara/Manding) loan words in the Mayan languages.
-the stones that he set in order were thus The Mayan term for writing is derived from the the
symbols,?kingly ones Olmec/Manding term for writing *se'be. In Table 2, we
What I chopped has been planted and harvested well list the various terms for writing used by the
(A) shape-shifter(s) appeared divinely in his body". Manding/Mande people for writing.
The Mayan /c/ is often pronounced like the hard
This decipherment by Justeson and Kaufman (1997) Spanish /c/ and has a /s/ sound. Brown (1991) argues that
does not prove that the Mojarra stela is written in *c'ihb may be the ancient Mayan term for writing but, it
Zoquean. The authors translating this inscription admit can not be Proto-Mayan because writing did not exist
they still can not read the entire document using pre- among the Maya until 600 B.C. This was 1500 years after
proto-Zoquean to interpret the alleged Epi-Olmec the break up of the Proto-Maya (Brown, 1991). This
logograms. This translation constrast sharply with my means that the Mayan term for writing was probably
decipherment of the new Mojarra text because Olmec was borrowed by the Maya from the inventors of the Mayan
a Mande language-not Zoquean. writing system.
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Table 1: Mayan terms for writing 15 Table 4: Mande loans in Quichean with ch <k shift
Yucatec c'i:b' Chorti c'ihb'a Mam c'i:b'at Quiche Olmec (Malinke-Bambara)
Lacandon c'ib' Chol c'hb'an Teco c'i:b'a ch'ich' bird kono
Itza c'ib' Chontal c'ib' Ixil c'ib' achi man kye
Mopan c'ib' Tzeltalan c'ib' chi>ic bite ki
Proto-Term for write *c'ib' chhix rock kaba
Table 2: Manding term for writing Table 5: Quiche nativization ofMalinke-Bambara words with initial <s>
Quiche Malinke-Bambara
Malinke se'be Serere safe
Xab' ram sa
Bambara se'be Susu se'be
Ixa? Seed SI
Dioula se'we' Samo e'be
Uxe root sulu, sum
Sarakole safa W. Malinke safa
Proto-Term for writing *se'be, *safâ
We would therefore assume that if the Olmec spoke
Table 3: Mande Loans in Ouichean a Mande/Manding language we would find Olmec
Quiche Malinke-Bambara (Mande) loan words in the Mayan, and other languages
saq'ed aytime, sunlight sa 'heaven, sky' spoken in Mexico. Below we will test this hypothesis in
k'i many kika relation to Chol, Mixe, Quichean and Yucatec.
Ja lineage, family ga,gba
Ja water Jl Quichean and Malinke-Bambara: In Table 3, we see a
q'aq fire ga-ndi
list of Manding loan words in the Quichean languages.
palo lake, sea ba, b'la
k'oto to carve, cut ka These Quichean terms are from Tedlock (1996) and
k':um squash kula, kura Campbell (1977). The manding terms for this comparison
Ba father fa come from Delafosse (1955) and Winters (1986).
Ba lord Ba 'great' (Person) The Quiche loan words from Malinke-Bambara show
ka' land,earth 'ka 'suffix joined to names the following phonological patterns:
oflands,etc.
ich eye n'ya
Ie the, that, this Ie
a ------->a c------->s
ma no ma o ------->u c------->k
naal parent, mother na u ------->a z------->s
m point, at the point na x ------->s k------->k
cah earth, land ka (see above) x ------->k p------->f
balam jaguar/tiger balan 'leopard worship' q ------->k ch------>k
sib' smoke SlS@l
xolo:m head ku
xuku? boat, canoe kulu There are some interesting morphological features
ca<al neck ka associated with Malinke-Bambara loans which were
quI neck ka nativized by the Quechean speakers. For example, we find
k'u?sh chest kesu that the Malinke-Bambara loans adopted by the Quiche
k'o:x mask ku with an initial <k> were nativized in the reciepient
pu:m stomach furu
language through the use of the Quiche <ch> sound as
pach bark far a
Sh-ko:ya: ' tomato koya illustated in Table 4.
It is also interesting to note that many Quiche words
Brown has suggested that the Mayan term c'ib' beginning with <x> which is pronounced ‘sh', correspond
to Malinke-Bamabara words with an initial <s> as
diffused from the Cholan and Yucatecan Maya to the
illustrated in Table 5.
other Mayan speakers. This term is probably derived from
This indicates that the Quiche nativized the
Manding *Se'be which is analogous to *c'ib'. This would phonology of some Malinke-Bambara loans through the
explain the identification of the Olmec or Xi/Shi people substitution of <x> for the Malinke-Bambara <s> sound.
as Manding speakers.
The Manding origin for the Mayan term for writing, Yucatecan and Malinke -Bambara: Below we
leads to a corollary hypothesis. This hypothesis stated compared Yucatec and Malinke-Bambara terms. We have
simply is that an examination of the Mayan language will placed the page number where each Mayan term can be
probably indicate a number of Olmec-Manding loans in found in Maurice Swadesh, Critina Alvarez and Juan R.
Mayan. Bastarrachea's,
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Paris: Librarie. Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. There are many kinship terms in the Mayan languages
Phonetic correspondences exists between the Olmec probably of Malinke-Bambara origin including :
/Malinke-Bambara and Yucatec. There is full agreement C Maya English Manding
between k, m,n, and t. There is also assimilation of c to k, C Naal parent,mother na
z to s. C Ba father pa
C Ba lord ba
Yucatec Olmec
zs An examination of Mayan and Mande homophones
C Zuu, 'joined,unite su,' shape also indicates striking similarity. There is a connection
C Zul 'to wet' su, 'precipitation between Malinke- Bambara and Yucatec homonyms for
C Zou, 'to entagle' su, 'be i mixture' 'high, sky and serpent'.
C Zay, 'assemble' se, 'join' In Malinke-Bambara the word Ka and Kan means
ck 'serpent, upon high,and sky'. In Yucatec we find that
C Earth cab ka can/kan and caan/kaan means ' serpent and heaven'. The
C Serpent can kan fact that both languages share the same homophonic
C Rock chhix kaba words, point to a formerly intimate contact between the
C To cause cal ku speakers of Mayan and Mande languages in ancient times.
C Sky caan ka
Often we find that some borrowed Mande words
C Village cah ka 'suffix joined to names of towns
beginning with /s/ , through nativization appear as /c/ in
C Maize co 'grain of maize' ka
the Mayan languages. For example, word the Malinke-
kk
Bambara word sa means 'sell, to buy and market'. This is
C Sun kin k'le
related to Mayan con 'to sell', and can 'serpent'. We also
C Buckle kal koli
have other examples:
C To kill kim ki
C Sky kan kan
C God, sacre ku ku, ko C Mayan Malinke-Bambara
tt C Can serpent sa
C Man ta' tye C Con to sell sa, san
C Come tal ta C Caan heaven, sky sa
C To cover too tu C Cah 'small village' so 'village, home'
C Law toh tu
C Truth toh tu, 'fact, real' The copying of Mande /s/ words into Mayan lexicons
C Forest te tu as /c/ words are probably the result of phonological
C Male ton,'male sexual organ' tye, khon interference of Mayan /c/, which influenced how Olmec
C Saliva tub tu words were lexicalized by biligual Yucatec speakers.
bb Interference occurs when speakers carry features from
C Went,gone bin bi their first language over into a second language. Thus, we
C Water bak ba have Yucatec con 'to sell', and Malinke-Bambara san 'to
C Wter ha a sell’. Many of the Mayan sites were first settled by the
C Lord ba ba Olmec.
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This is supported by the fact that the Mayan Manding is closely related to old Otomi, rather than
inscriptions from Palenque claim that the first ruler of this the Mezquital dialect. As a result most of the terms
city was the Olmec leader U-Kix-chan. In addition, some compared herein are taken from Neve y Molina (1767)
Mayan kings were styled Kuk according to Mary Miller and Manuel Orozcoy y Berra's Geografia da las lenguas
and Karl Taube,in “The Gods and symbols of ancient y Carta Ethgrafica de Mexico.
Mexico and Maya”, said this term was also used in the Although Neve y Molina’s (1767) work is over 200
Olmec inscriptions, like those from Tuxtla, to denote the years old, most of the terms he collected agree with
local ruler of many Olmec sites. It was probably during contemporary Otomi terms in most details, except for the
this period of contact that the Maya began to copy Mande lack of diacritic marks and nasalized vowels or
terms and incorporate them in their lexicon. It is time that glottalized consonants. For example, whereas in the
we stop the name calling and work together to explain to Muger Otomi dialect we find danxu 'woman', Neve y
the world the African presence in ancient America. Molina (NyM) had dansu; Mudurar dialect da 'ripe,
This is interesting in relation to the Mayan languages. mature', NyM da 'id.' ;Ojo Na daa 'eye', NyM daa 'id. ';
In the Mayan languages we see a similar contrast between Hija ttixu 'son', NyM ti; and Diente Na tzi 'tooth', NyM
Mayan <*t> and <*c>, <*ch>. Below are examples from tsi.
Cholan and Yucatec: The phonology of contemporary Otomi can be
explained by evolution. The sound change from s > z in
Chol Yucatec the terms for 'woman' and s > x for 'tooth', can be
ti mouth chi explained as a normal historical transition trom one Otomi
te tree, stick che phoneme to another. The addition of the Otomi possessive
na to the actual words for 'eyel and 'tooth'.
In Yucatec , we also have ca 'excrement' and ta The orthography for Otomi dialects has been a focus
'excrement'. We also have ti 'eat' and chi 'eat'. of controversy for many years. Bartholomew (1968) is a
This comparison of Yucatec and Cholan indicate that leading advocate for the illustration of tone in any
as a result of Mayan contact with the Olmec there was a discussion of Otomi. Bernard (1980) on the other hand,
shift in the Mayan from <t> to <ch> before<i > and <e> has noted the desirability of vowels in a practical
took place in Pre-Classic times. spelling/orthography of Otomi. But, both in Otomi and
This shift may be due to Olmec influence. A similar Manding, tone plays an important role.
sound shift took place in the Malinke-Bambara languages. Other affinities exist between Otomi and Olmec. As
In Malinke –Bambara there is a contrast between <s> and in Maya, the phonemic syllable in Otomi is primarily CV
<t>.This particular shift in Yucatec and Chol may have and a tone. All of these languages are agglutinative. In
occured under the influence of the MalinkeBambara both Olmec/Manding and Otomi the words are formed by
speaking Olmecs. This view is supported by the fact that adding two different terms together or an affix. Manual
many of theMalinke Bambara loans beginning with an Orozco, records ka-ye as the Otomi word for 'holy man'.
<s> have been nativied in the Mayan language by giving This term is formed by ka 'holy' and ye 'man'. Another
them the <c> (Yucatec) and/ or <ch> (Chol and Quiche) word is da-ma 'mature woman'. This word is formed by
sound. ma 'woman' and da 'mature,ripe'.
Otomi and Olmec/Manding share grammatical
Otomi and Olmec/Malinke-Bambara: Otomi and features. The Otomi ra 'the', as in ra c, 'the cold' agrees
Olmec also share many features in grammar, phonology with the Olmec/Manding -ra suffix used to form the
and morphology. This is interesting because present participle e.g., kyi-ra 'the envoy'.
Marquez (1956) claimed that the Otomi had probably The Otomi use of bi to form the completed action
mixed in the past with Africans. Quatrefages (1889) also agrees with the Olmec/Manding verb 'to be' hi. For
believed that Africans formerly lived in Florida, the example, Otomi hi du 'it died' and hi zo-gi 'he left it" ,is
Caribbean and Panama. Beltram (1972) admits a profound analogous to Manding a bisa. Otomi da is used to form
influence of Manding slaves in colonial America, but due the incomplete action e.g., ci 'eat': daci 'he will eat'. This
to their enslavement during the slavery period can not agrees with the Manding da, la affix which is used to
account for the genetic relationship which exist between form the factitive or transitive value e.g., la bo 'to take the
Otomi and Manding. place'. In addition Otomi ? no, is the completive e.g., bi
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?no mbo ra 'he was inside his house'. This shows affinity Table 6: Olmec/Malinke-Bambara loans in Mixe
Cahp heaven sa
to the Olmec/Manding suffix of the present participle -no,
Cl squach si
e.g., ji la-sigi-no 'dormant water'. su night su
The Mezquital Otomi pronominal system shows some co:n to leave ta, tyo
analogy to that of OlmecManding, but Neve y Molina's, it place ta
Kahp small town ka, suffix joined to the name of
Otomi pronouns show full agreement: a
locality
First Second Third kam planting field ga,gba, ka
Otomi ma i.e., a ko/ku head ku (n)
koh to plant, build ko 'to create'
Manding n', m' i.e., a ko:ng king, lord ko 'person deserving respect'
koya tomato koya
There are also several Olmec/Manding loans in Otomi kok maize flower ka
from the basic vocabulary including: kats black maizeka
kushi calendar priest jose 'priest of a cult'
may 'to happy issue;
English Otomi Olmec/Manding divine' ma' to understand'
son/daughter t?i,ti de,di ll1:P to plant mgba
eyes da do po:b white bo, po (superlative of white)
poh,po' wind fo 'arid air'
brother ku koro purap cultivating tool faalo, faara 'hoe'
sister nkhu ben-k shi day,sun SI-sora
lip sine sine sho:sh snake sa
mouth ne ne tuk house tu, du
tun hill tu 'heap, raising ground'
man ta/ye tye/kye uk dog wulu
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languages may have been adopted after Spain conquered Table 7: Mixe-Zoquean loans
Mexico. They might hold this view because millions of Malinke-
Mayan Mixe-Zoquean English Bambara/Olmec
African slaves came to Mexico after 1500. *pat bark, skin fata
It is improbable to suggest that borrowing and chowen pMZ *cawi monkey sula
coincidence can account for the pronominal agreement me' pZO *m 'a deer m'na 'antelope'
between Malinke-Bambara and Mayan languages, along pZO *sah Wing si 'insect wing'
c'iwan pMi *ciwa squash SI
with shared grammatical features and demonstrated sound
koya Mi koya tomato koya
shifts for two reasons (I) the accepted historical date for to' pMi :to:h raIn tyo, dyo
the meeting of the speakers of these languages is far too precipitation,2
late to account for the grammatical affinities and
corresponding terms found within these languages; and The oral traditions of the Mixe maintain that
(2) borrowing is very rare from a culturally subordinate agriculture and many other cultural features were
linguistic group (the African slaves) into a culturally introduced into Qaxaca by strangers. The presence of
dominant linguistic group (the Amerindians), particularly Malinke-Bambara loans for Mixe cultivated crops and
in the basic vocabulary areas. even the calendar priest, support this Mixe oral tradition.
The shift between Mayan <c>, <ch> and <t> is This confirmation of the Mixe oral tradition, make it
believed to have taken place in Pre Classic times. This is impossible to claim that the Mixe-Zoque speakers were
far to early for the presence of African slaves in Mexico. the archaeological Olmec, since the Mixe point to
Moreover, the European slave traders moved from north another, more advanced group as the stimulus behind their
to south in their recruitment of slaves. As a result, we find civilization.
that up until the 1550's most African slaves taken to
Spanish America came from areas above the Gambia CONCLUSION
river. Most of the earliest Mande speaking slaves did not
begin arriving in the Americas until slaves began to be The Olmec left us many inscriptions which allow us
exported trom the Gambian region of West Africa. By this to understand the Olmec language. These inscriptions
time African slaves and Amerinds lived in separate allow us to understand the Olmec language and compare
worlds, with the Africans on the plantations and the Maya this language to languages spoken in Mexico today.
in their native villages. The Olmec used two forms of writing a hieroglyphic
The slave hypothesis for the introduction of Malinke- script and a syllabic writing system. The hieroglyphic
Bambara loans into Maya must also be rejected because Olmec script a picture writing system created by joining
people become bilingual mainly for status raising. There Olmec syllabic signs to create pictures.
was no way that the status of the Mayan people would The Olmecs spoke a Manding language (Warkentin
have risen by the adoption of terms spoken by slaves. and Scott, 1980). This has been proven by the
The archaeological data make it clear that many Pre- decipherment of the Olmec inscriptions (Winters, 1979,
Classic Mayan sites were already settled by the Olmec 1980, 1997). Due to the early spread of the Manding
when the Maya arrived as indicated by the first, Olmec language during the Olmec period we would expect to
ruler at Palenque. This suggest that the Mayan speakers find a large number of Olmec (Malinke-Bambara) loan
adopted many Olmec terms to enhance their social words Amerind languages. This assumption was proven
political, commercial and economic opportunities in the correct.
Olmec urban centers. The Olmec inscriptions on portable items such as
The fact that the Malinke-Bambara loans in the incised celts and scepters were sacred relics, containing
Mayan languages reflect the high culture associated with the obituaries of great rulers, talismanic messages, or
the archaeological Olmec confirms the Mande-Olmec symbols of authority. These inscriptions indicate that the
hypothesis. It confirms that theory that socialization is the Olmec or Xi people were very religious and that the
main determinate behind lexical borrowing by a linguistic tombs and graves of Xi dignitaries served both as a
community, not lexical need. talisman, and shrine for the common people.
It is interesting to note that many of the alleged Mixe- The linguistic evidence presented above makes it
Zoque loans in the Mayan languages can be explained by clear that the Olmec loans in the Mexican languages are
Malinke-Bambara items. In Table 7, we list some of these culture terms that relate to specialized forms of discourse
Mixe-Zoque loan words. in the area of religion and agriculture. An examination of
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the seventy plus loans in the Mayan languages include Hock, H. and B.D. Joseph, 1996. Language History,
terms for cultivated plants (gourd, squash, maize and Language Change and Language Relationships.
tomato), religion (sky, holy, serpent, sun, sacred rain Mouton de Gruyter, New York.
torch), polity (village, house, lord, truth, law, land), Justeson, J., N.M. William, L. Campbell and
arrows, boat, and other terms. The adoption of these term T.S. Kaufman, 1985. The Foreign Impact on
agree with the great role the Olmec people are believed to Lowland Mayan languages and Script. Middle
have played in the raise of Mexican civilization. The American Research Institute, Publication 53. Tulane
gratuitous borrowings of terms already in the Mayan University, New Orleans.
language, probably gave the Mayan immigrants entry into Justeson, J. and T. Kaufman, 1997. A newly discovered
the Olmec world. The presence of Olmec/Manding terms column in the hieroglyphic text on La Mojarra stela
in Mixe, Mayan and Otomi are sharp indications of the 1: A test of the epi-Olmec Decipherment. Science,
assimilative power of Olmec society. 277(11): 207-210.
Many of these loan words are from the basic Kaufman, T., 1976. Archaeological and linguistic
vocabulary. They support the view that in ancient times correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of
Mayan speakers lived in intimate contact with the Mande Meso-America. World Archaeol., 8: l01-1I8.
speaking Olmec people. Moreover this is further Lee, T.A., 1989. Historical Linguistics nd Archeology of
confirmation of Leo Wiener's theory in Africa and the the Zoque-Mixe-Popoluca. In: First Meeting of
Discovery of America that the religion and culture of the Investigators Zoque Area, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas,
Meso-Americans was influenced by Mande speaking CEI- unach (in Spanish).
people from West Africa. These Mande speaking people Mann, M. and D. Dalby, 1987. A Thesaurus of African
were the Olmec. languages. K.G. Saur, London.
Marcus, J., 1976. Emblem and State in the Classic Maya
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