Anumpa Achukma/Good News

Language Loss Can Be Reversed

2006.08

This is a newsletter dedicated to reporting the successes in revitalizing endangered languages worldwide. Share your good news with us by sending us an article about your program or current activity in revitalizing an endangered language.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested.

                                                                                                                                               

Poetry/Song

Poetry and song have accompanied our peoples as we moved through time.

This event—because it was an event, not just words on a page—took many forms, depending on the peoples.

In pre-Christian Europe, stories were sung in poetic form. These stories were re-tellings of ancient deeds, tried and true motifs and themes, extolling the ancient virtues of hospitality, kinship, and the glory of dying in battle.

The Aztec healer practices his ancient art by singing the stories of the ideals of the Nahuatl world as he moves and unblocks energies in sick bodies, restoring balance.

At Jemez Pueblo and other pueblos, they compose new songs for each celebration to replenish the universe, to balance its functions.

Virtually all the Maori I interviewed mentioned hearing and learning waiata (song) as they were growing up or that this was the first Maori they learned.

We mostly sang songs… and that was a huge experience in Te Reo…having that background, even that small background…was such an asset. (Adult male)

Also, at school we were encourage to …learn Maori waiata. (teenage female)

By this point we were doing kapahaka (performing arts), [and] the Maori community was getting stronger. (Mother)

We learnt basic Te Reo …like counting numbers, commands, basic sentence structure, and we learnt waiata. (Early Childhood educator)

Singing is an aid to learning a language, so use songs in your classes even with your adults and certainly with children. Also, continue to create new songs/poetry. Poetry and song are integral parts of who we are and an important part of language use.

                                                                                                         

Voices of the Earth

2^nd Annual Threatened Languages Poetry Reading

Sunday, January 14, 2007

5-7 PM

Harwood Art Center

Albuquerque, NM

If you are going to be in the area, stop on by for a pleasant evening of celebrating this beautiful, creative use of language. This year’s performance includes these languages.

Nahuatl

Irish

Catalan

Navajo

Hawaiian

Zapotec

Okinawan

Sesotho

                                                                                                                                               

Nahuatl Language and Culture Workshops

Mapitzmitl offers these workshops. You can contact him at pazehecatl@hotmail.com. You can view video footage and photographs of Kalpulli Ehecatl (Community of the Wind) at http://kalpulliehecatl2.blogspot.com.

                                                                                                                                               

Cherokee Language Lessons

http://nativepeople.net/moodle

                                                                                                                                               

Send your stories to holabitubbe@gmail.com. Tell us about your language programs, plans, proposals, etc.

                                                                                                                                               

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Ho Anumpoli! is a New Mexico non-profit organization. For more information about us, go to http://www.oocities.org/hoanumpoli

                                                                                                                                               

For previous issues of Anumpa Achukma, go to http://www.oocities.org/hoanumpoli/anumpa.html

 

George Ann Gregory, Ph.D.

Choctaw/Cherokee

Fulbright Scholar