Haush
Nation | Defunct
1 CE to 1899 CE
The Haush or Manek'enk are an indigenous people, considered the oldest inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, who speak the Haush language.
Their autonym, or name for themselves is Manek'enk.
At the time of European encounter and settlement, they inhabit the far eastern tip of the island on Mitre Peninsula.
Land to their west, still in the northeast of Tierra del Fuego, is occupied by the Ona or Selk'nam, a related linguistic and cultural group, but distinct.
They make regular hunting trips to Isla de los Estados.
The Haush are nomadic hunters, hunting the guanaco.
They use every part of it, making clothing out of the skin.
They share many customs with their neighbors the Selk'nam, including the use of small bows and stone-tipped arrows, making clothing from the skins of animals, and an initiation ritual for male youth called hain.
Their languages, part of the Chonan family, are similar.Salesian missionaries minister to the Manek'enk, and worketo preserve their culture and language.
One Father Beauvoir prepares a vocabulary.
Lucas Bridges, an Anglo-Argentine born in the region, whose father had been an Anglican missionary in Tierra del Fuego, compiles a dictionary of the Haush language.
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