Classification

Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malo-Polynesian, Sumba-Hawu, Sumba

History

The Kodi language is derived from the Melanesian and Austronesian languages since its inhabitants arrived in Sumba in the 1500s. The Kodi society can be described as “isolated from history” since being colonized by the Dutch empire during the 1800s. The Kodi people live remotely in West Sumba located in Eastern Indonesia without a political leader.

Geographic Distribution

Nusa Tenggara Timur Province; west Sumba.

Official Status

In West Sumba, each province has its own societies consisting of their own language. Kodi is the language of Kodi Bokol and Kodi Bangedo.

Dialects/Varieties

Other known names and dialect names: Kodi Bangedo, Kodi Bokol, Kudi, Nggaro, Nggaura. May be most similar to Wejewa.

Derived languages

There are no identified languages derived from Kodi.

Sounds Phonology

Lead section:

This Wikipedia page will go over the culture of the Kodi people. It will discuss basic demographics such as location, number of speakers, and other languages related to Kodi. This article will give a historical background of the colonialism in Sumba. It will also divulge into religious and cultural rituals of the Kodi people.

Kodi is an Austronesian language that is mainly spoken in Nusa Tenggara Timur province, the western part of the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. An alternate name for Kodi is Kudi and dialects of the language include Kodi Bokol, Kodi Bangedo, Nggaro (Nggaura) and is most alike to Wejewa. With only approximately 20,000 speakers, the Kodi language is an endangered language.

References:

Hammarström, Harald & Forkel, Robert & Haspelmath, Martin & Bank, Sebastian. 2016. 

Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. 

Available online at http://glottolog.org/glottolog?search=kodi#2/-2.1/71.0, Accessed on 2017-03-05.

Hoskins, J. (2013). Biographical Objects How Things Tell the Stories of Peoples' Lives. Florence: Taylor and Francis.

Hoskins, J. (2002). Predatory Voyeurs: Tourists and "Tribal Violence" in Remote Indonesia. American Ethnologist, 29(4), 797-828. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/stable/3805158

Hoskins, J. (1986). So My Name Shall Live: Stone-Dragging And Grave-Building in Kodi, West Sumba. Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, 142(1), 31-51. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/stable/27863717

Hoskins, J. (1997). The Play of Time: Kodi Perspectives on Calendars, History, and Exchange. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ipzUx8J6XpQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=kodi language&ots=UvT-dZjqH9&sig=1Y99p38jbpGHOMdE5X-Fv_foL6I#v=onepage&q=kodi%20language&f=false.

Hoskins, J. (1993). Violence, Sacrifice, and Divination: Giving and Taking Life in Eastern Indonesia. American Ethnologist, 20(1), 159-178. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/stable/645417

Laderman, C., & Roseman, M. (1996). The Performance of Healing. London: Routledge. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from https://books.google.com/books?id=uAkfDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Lansing, J. S., Cox, M. P., Downey, S. S., Gabler, B. M., Hallmark, B., Karafet, T. M., Hammer, M. F. (2007). Coevolution of languages and genes on the island of Sumba, eastern Indonesia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 104(41), 16022–16026. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/104/41/16022.abstract

Needham, R. (1957). Kodi Fabes. Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, 113(4), 361-379. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/stable/27860051

Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds). 2017. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twentieth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: 

https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kod

Megan Collins, Languages in Peril, Spring 2017