KarunaNews Story

Blas Jaime, 89, who was taught Chaná or 'Lanték by his mother because she did not have a daughter, now is called Tató Oyendén, or custodian of the ancestral memory. He spent years working with a linguist to create a dictionary which now has over 1,000 Chaná words, and an index of Chaná rituals and folklore. He has been featured in documentaries, newspaper reports, a children's cartoon, on a coffee brand, delivered a speech in Lanték that rung out all over Buenos Aires, and a TED talk. Historically, women quietly passed the language down from generation to generation. His daughter, Evangelina, learned it from him and now teaches it online to people from Argentina and Uruguay who believe they may be descendants of colonized Chaná people.