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Southern Quechua

The term "Southern Quechua" is used in a few different ways:

1) "Southern Quechua" is the name of one of the major subgroups of the Quechua language, sometimes also known as Southern Peruvian Quechua (although some dialects are also spoken in Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.)

2) "Southern Quechuas" is sometimes used as a cultural term to refer to Quechua people in the southern part of Peru (south of Lima.) It is not used to refer to the culture of Quechua people in Bolivia, Chile, or Argentina even though those communities are geographically to the south of Peru.

3) Most confusingly of all, the Araona people of Peru and their language have sometimes been called "Southern Quechua," even though they are not Quechua people and their language is unrelated to Quechua. This likely came about because they have many cultural similarities to the Quechua, particularly sharing a similar mythology.

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Southern Quechua Resources

Here are links to our webpages about the Southern Quechua tribes and languages:
Quechua language
Araona language
Inca mythology
Andean cultures
Languages of South America

Here are links to other online resources about Southern Quechua:
Map of Quechua Family Subgroups
Ethnologue: Southern Peruvian Quechua
Wikipedia: Southern Quechua

And here are a few good books about the Southern Quechuas:
We Were Taught To Plant Corn, Not To Kill
The Ancient Maya

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