Biblia en Aymara — Southern Aymara Scripture Portions (Peru)
Overview
Biblia en Aymara ("Bible in Aymara") is 2 books of scripture in Southern Aymara, published by The Seed Company and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3807; abbreviation: AYC). Southern Aymara (ISO ayc) is treated as a distinct language from Central Aymara (ISO aym) — which already has a complete Bible — based on phonological and lexical differences characteristic of communities south of Lake Titicaca. The Central Aymara Bible has been available since 2011, but speakers of the distinctly Southern dialects benefit from scripture in their own variety. The Seed Company worked with local Peruvian Aymara translators to produce these portions for the Southern Aymara community of the Arequipa and southern Puno regions.
Language and People
Southern Aymara (ISO 639-3: ayc; autonym: Aymar aru, meaning "Aymara language") is an Aymaran language: Aymaran → Southern Aymara. The Aymaran family is one of the major Andean language families, spoken across the Bolivian Altiplano and adjacent parts of Peru and Chile. Central Aymara (aym) — spoken primarily in Bolivia and around Lake Titicaca in Peru — is the prestige variety with approximately 1.7 million speakers; Southern Aymara is spoken in areas south of the main Titicaca basin, with somewhat different phonology and vocabulary.
Southern Aymara is spoken primarily in:
- Arequipa Region, southern Peru (particularly the Andes highlands around Arequipa city)
- Southern Puno Region, Peru
- Tarapacá Region, northern Chile (the Arica y Parinacota and Tarapacá areas)
Estimated speakers: approximately 50,000–200,000 (figures are uncertain because census data often conflates Southern and Central Aymara; some estimates for Southern Aymara-specific varieties are much lower, ~10,000–50,000 in the distinctly southern varieties).
Cultural Context
The Aymara people are one of the largest indigenous groups in South America, with a history predating the Inca Empire. The Tiwanaku civilization (400–1100 CE, centered on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia) is considered the cultural and spiritual ancestor of modern Aymara-speaking communities. Following the Inca conquest of the Altiplano (c. 1450 CE) and the Spanish conquest (1532–1538), Aymara communities were subjected to forced labor (mita) in the silver mines of Potosí and sustained colonization. The distinction between Southern and Central Aymara developed through centuries of geographic separation as populations were relocated and trade routes shifted.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Seed Company (Arlington, Texas), affiliated with Wycliffe Bible Translators, in partnership with local Southern Aymara translation teams in Peru.