During this day, the death of the last active speaker of the Yagán People was known, Cristina Calderon, at 93 years of age. His daughter and representative of the southern people in the Constitutional Convention, Lydia Gonzalez Calderonpublished through social networks a public statement about the death of his mother.
“Today, Thursday, February 16, 2022, my mother passed away, custodian of our traditions, the last active speaker of Yagán. With her, an important part of the cultural memory of our people is gone,” the statement began.
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“I am the youngest of her nine children and the mother of four of her 14 grandchildren. Cristina was and will continue to be a person valued by the communities of Navarino and Punta Arenas, as she is an active defender of our language,” González added.
The conventional one continued recounting biographical data of her mother: “She was born in 1928 in Róbalo and lived for many years in Villa Ukika. She was part of the ancestral traditions of our culture; at the age of 5 she witnessed the last of the Čiahaus (initiation ceremony) that was carried out in Bahía Mejillones in 1936.”
In addition, he indicated that Cristina Calderón “learned Spanish at the age of 9 and preserved the Yagán language. Our children did not learn it for fear of being discriminated against. Despite this, she was its active broadcaster. Along with Cristina Zárraga, one of her granddaughters, created a dictionary, as well as a book of original legends”.
The representative of the Yagán People stated that during 2009 her mother was declared a Living Human Treasure (THV) by the National Council of Culture and the Arts of Chile, within the framework of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, of UNESCO of 2003 .
He also communicated that “with his departure a wealth of empirical knowledge is lost, especially valuable in linguistic terms, the possibilities of rescuing and systematizing the language are open. As well as the defense of our culture.”
“Mother, for the Yagán, your departure creates an irreplaceable cultural, human and emotional void. And it sets us the task of preserving your memory and with it that of our people,” he closed.
[DECLARACIÓN PÚBLICA]
On the death of my mother, Cristina CalderónToday, Thursday, February 16, 2022, my mother passed away, custodian of our traditions, the last active speaker of Yagan. With it goes an important part of the cultural memory of our people
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– Lidia González Calderón (@lidiyagan) February 16, 2022
