Captured Becomes Captivating Peace in Palenquero of Colombia
A Daily Dose of Peace. Each week, I focus on Love, Joy, and Peace in the world languages. January’s second week focuses on Palenquero spoken in Colombia in South America.
Palenquero The Spanish-based creole Palenquero (locally known as Lengua) is spoken in the village of El Palenque (also known as San Basilio de Palenque, or El Palenque de San Basilio). Located about 60 kilometers from Cartagena de Indias (Colombia).
Captured Slaves Become Captivating Free People
Mr. Salgado, a schoolteacher put it this way
“our ancestors survived capture in Africa
the passage by ship to Cartagena
and were strong enough to escape
and live on their own for centuries.
we are the strongest of the strongest
no matter what happens
our language will live on within us”
“Pa” or “paz” is peace in Palenquero
known locally as Lengua language
the only Spanish-based creole on the South American mainland
the words are almost entirely Spanish-based
yet unintelligible when spoken natively
Related to Papiamentu or Papiamento
a Creole spoken 645 kilometers or about 400 miles away
in the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands Antilles
who under Dutch colonial rule
borrowed heavily from Spanish
“pas” is peace
“trankilo” peace or tranquility
“pasífiko” is peaceful and “deskanso” is peacefulness
Lengua Palenquera is a mixed language
a blend of Portuguese, Spanish
and the central West African dialect of KiKongo
spoken in République du Congo, Zaire and Angola
more than 10,000 kilometers and almost 7,000 miles away
peace in Kikongo is “ngêmba” or “luvuvamu”
Palenquero words like “ngombe” cattle and “ngubá” peanut
are found in several Bantu languages of Africa
The village of San Basilio de Palenque
is inhabited by the descendants of escaped slaves or Maroons
in 1998 there were 3,000 native speakers
the number rose to 7,470 people in 2005
current estimates are much higher
in the village of San Basilio de Palenque
southeast of Cartagena and some neighborhoods of Barranquilla
The survival of Palenquero points to extraordinary resilience
In Spanish “Palenque” means a fortified village of runaway slaves
people who escaped hundreds of years ago
after revolts led by Benkos Biohó
a 17th-century African resistance leader
Originally Published in International Peace Poetry Dictionary, The Meaning of Peace and Calm in 5000 Languages on January 11, 2021.
