Llingua, Coastal settlement in Los Lagos Region, Chile

Llingua is an island of about 4.4 km² and 12 km of coastline in the Chiloé Archipelago, part of Quinchao commune, Los Lagos Region. A hamlet and a sandy beach lie on its southern side, some 3.5 miles from Achao. Its neighbours are Linlín to the north, Meulín to the east, Quenac to the southeast and Quinchao to the west and south; the Chequetén islet joins it at low tide.

A Jesuit missionary on the "Misión Circular" counted 28 people in eight indigenous families here in the mid-1760s, and the account attributed to Segismundo Guell describes a small island with a proportionate church, few Indians and a single Spanish family. The first school was founded in the mid-19th century by local tradition, and the present school building dates from 1958.

The island's name may derive from Mapudungun lligh, the game of linao, and ñua, 'mischievous', or from Lin and nagh, 'below Lin', referring to neighbouring Linlín. Basketry became a commercial activity in the 1960s after an Osorno teacher taught the technique to a young islander; women weave manila, quiscal and junquillo fibres into baskets, bags and figures of birds, fish and Chilote mythological beings. Every 11 February the church holds a feast for the Virgin of Lourdes.

Access is mainly by boat from nearby ports, with services varying according to weather and tidal conditions. It is wise to check local conditions before visiting and bring warm, weatherproof clothing for the coastal climate.

Basketry on Llingua is women's work, sold commercially since the 1960s, when a teacher from Osorno taught the technique to a young islander. Weavers use fibres from the leaves of manila, quiscal and some kinds of junquillo, making baskets and bags as well as figures of birds, fish and beings from Chilote mythology.