Daggiana Gómez Roncal
Personal File
The content of this news item has been machine translated and may contain some inaccuracies with respect to the original content published in Spanish.
There is strength in unity when it comes to preserving a mother tongue. In the native community of Callería, in the Ucayalina province of Coronel Portillo, the Escuelita Iskonawa has been developing since 2013, a project whose main objective is to transmit the language and culture to the younger generations and thus prevent its extinction.
"This language is above all a heritage and a pillar of the Iskonawa people's identity, which deserves to be preserved and promoted," says Dr. Roberto Zariquiey, director of the Master's program in Linguistics at the PUCP and leader of the escuelita project. Thanks to the openness of the Organization for the Development and Common Good of the Iskonawa People (Odebpi), Zariquiey says the escuelita is a reality and part of the Iskonawa people's political agenda. "It is the dream come true for several of its members," he adds.
The story begins when Odebpi and some allies started documenting the Iskonawa language through a project with Tufts University. Along the way, the specialists elaborated a grammar, a dictionary and a compilation of oral tradition. These materials supported other revitalization efforts for the language.
"It was when the Ministry of Education began the process of designing the Iskonawa alphabet that the people themselves decided to work," says Dr. Zariquiey. Moved, the professor says that he saw how the elders themselves taught their language to their grandchildren. The teacher, in addition to supporting this project by making arrangements, teaches the children who attend the little school. "The goal is for it to grow. Willian Ochavano will be the first intercultural bilingual teacher of the Iskonawa people and we hope that he can take over the coordination," he says.
Director of the Master's Degree in Linguistics PUCP
Using pedagogical techniques, through play, art, music and technology, they teach the children words and phrases in the language of their grandparents. The Iskonawa village has between 120 and 130 citizens. Everyone is enthusiastic, especially the parents of the 25 children and teenagers who are directly benefiting from this initiative. In addition to learning elements of their ancestral language, they also learn art, writing, music and mathematics.
"The message is very powerful, Iskonawa is a full language and should not disappear. We hope to bring PUCP students to the school. There are already several students who have written articles and theses thanks to the generosity of these people," says Dr. Zariquiey.
Filled with hope to see the fruits of this initiative, the linguist points out that the wise men of this community are asking for support from the authorities so that this project can gain more strength and continue to grow. "What we want is to institutionalize the escuelita. At the moment, we are carrying out this initiative personally thanks to the support of the actors involved. The difficult thing is that funds are scarce and almost non-existent," he explains.
The escuelita makes use of technological and dynamic tools developed by the Chana Project. This is a research collective led by Dr. Roberto Zariquiey and they have just inaugurated with their international partners a field station in the Amazon, an area of high linguistic diversity.
"The whole technological component has to do with Chana and we are working on more things. The Chana scientific station in Pucallpa will also play an important role in providing scientific support to this social initiative," he says.
They are now preparing for the second day of teaching at the Escuelita Iskonawa, which will take place this July 19 and 20 in the community of Callería.