A living, multimedia dictionary in the Nam Trik language: Lucy Tunubalá’s project in Colombia

Illustration designed by Marco Martínez and the Rising Voices team, used with their permission.

Meet the participants in the Catalyst Program for Digital Activism of Indigenous Languages of Colombia! The program, coordinated by Rising Voices, brings together participants from various regions who have projects related to the use, strengthening, revitalization, and/or promotion of an Indigenous language through digital media and tools, and through processes that engage and benefit their communities.

Each participant receives a stipend, peer support, and opportunities for dialogue with people from other regions, languages, and worldviews, as well as with participants in the Mayan Languages program from Mexico and Guatemala.

Rising Voices (RV): How do you like to introduce yourself?

Lucy Elena Tunubalá Tombé (LETT): Soy Lucy Elena Tunubalá Tombé, mujer misak del departamento del Cauca. Nací entre los páramos fríos del resguardo indígena de Guambía y fui educada alrededor del fogón, entre la palabras de mis abuelos y la sabiduría natural.

Para mi comunidad, el nak chak, o fogón, es el centro de la vida y la educación, pero también desde allí me impulsaron a conocer otros mundos y otras culturas, hasta animarme en convertirme en antropóloga, lo que me ha ayudado a amar más mi cultura y entender el significado de nuestra lengua más allá de las palabras.

Lucy Elena Tunubalá Tombé (LETT): I am Lucy Elena Tunubalá Tombé, a Misak woman from the department of Cauca. I was born in the cold páramos (moors) of the Guambía Indigenous Reservation and raised around the hearth, surrounded by the words of my grandparents and the wisdom of nature.

For my community, the “nak chak,” or hearth, is the center of life and education, but it was also from there that I was inspired to learn about other worlds and cultures, even becoming an anthropologist, which has helped me grow in my love for my culture and understand the meaning of our language beyond words.

Lucy Tunbalá in her Misak territory. Photo: Daniel Velasco. Used with permission.

RV: What would you like to share with the world about your language and territory?

LETT: Mi comunidad ha habitado este departamento desde tiempos previos a la conquista española. A pesar del intento de exterminio, nuestra memoria oral, las toponimias y las investigaciones arqueológicas evidencian nuestra existencia. Por ejemplo, el nombre del departamento del Kauka es una palabra de la lengua nam trik, que un español significaría “madre de los bosques”. Esto quiere decir que muchas comunidades que habitaban el hoy conocido Valle de Pubenza, hablaban variantes de una lengua a la que varios investigadores denominaron nam trik o guambiano, que hoy clasifican dentro de la familia lingüística barbacoa.

Algunas de las variantes aún se mantienen vivas, como namui wam, hablada por la comunidad de Guambía; nam trik de Totoró, hablada por el pueblo Totoroez o el kishuwam, del pueblo de Kisgó. Aunque no todas cuenten con el mismo número de hablantes, varias comunidades realizan esfuerzos por revitalizarlas o fortalecerlas. Así como la cultura es dinámica, también las lenguas se han transformado al pasar de las generaciones.

LETT: My community has lived in this province since before the Spanish conquest. Despite the attempted extermination, our oral memory, toponyms, and archaeological research attest to our existence. For example, the name of the Kauka department is a word from the Nam Trik language, which a Spaniard would say means “mother of the forests.” This means that many communities that inhabited what is now known as the Pubenza Valley spoke variants of a language that several researchers called Nam Trik or Guambiano, which is now classified within the Barbacoa linguistic family.

Some of these variants are still alive, for example, Namui Wam, spoken by the Guambía community; Nam Trik from Totoró, spoken by the Totoroez people; and Kishuwam, spoken by the Kisgó people. Although not all have the same number of speakers, several communities are making efforts to revitalize or strengthen them. Just as culture is dynamic, languages have also transformed over the generations.

The hearth and my grandmother. Photo by Laura V Rengifo. Used with permission.

RV: What dreams do you have for your language in the digital and non-digital world?

LETT: Cada vez se digitalizan más las acciones de la vida cotidiana y a través del mundo digital podemos acortar distancias en fracción de segundos y tener al alcance mucha información. Teniendo en cuenta que las lenguas indígenas han sido minorizadas, discriminadas y desvalorizadas, creo que llevarlas al mundo digital aporta al enriquecimiento del conocimiento en el mundo. Sin embargo, para esto es más importante aún generar acciones de autoconciencia y valor de uso a nuestras lenguas originarias entre las personas hablantes, comprendiendo así que como cualquier otra lengua en el mundo, podemos usarla para todo en nuestra vida cotidiana.

LETT: Everyday activities are becoming increasingly digital, and through the digital world, we can bridge distances in a fraction of a second and access vast amounts of information. Considering that Indigenous languages have been marginalized, discriminated against, and devalued, I believe bringing them into the digital world contributes to enriching knowledge worldwide. However, in order to achieve this, it is even more important to create self-awareness and value the use of our Indigenous languages among their speakers, thus understanding that, like any other language in the world, we can use them for everything in our daily lives.

RV: Could you share with us what your project is about in this Catalyst Program?

LETT: Se trata de alimentar la versión digital del diccionario vivo bilingüe nam trik de Totoró — castellano, con nuevas entradas léxicas, acompañadas de ejemplos ilustrativos, con imágenes y archivos de audio. Este diccionario es una herramienta multimedia, colaborativa, de acceso público y gratuito a través de dispositivos móviles y computadores.

Recopilaremos los datos en encuentros realizados en el resguardo indígena de Totoró, con las personas hablantes nativas que no están alfabetizadas en su lengua nativa ni en el castellano. Por eso, registraremos los datos y los traduciremos desde el equipo de trabajo que conformamos la profesora Marleny Angucho, quien ha apoyado los procesos de revitalización como parte de la comunidad; Geny Gonzales, quien ha acompañado a la comunidad en diversas investigaciones sobre la lengua, y yo, como hablante bilingüe.

LETT: The goal is to add new vocabulary entries to the digital version of the Totoró Nam Trik–Spanish bilingual living dictionary, accompanied by illustrative examples, images, and audio files. This dictionary is a collaborative multimedia tool, freely accessible to the public via mobile devices and computers.

We will collect the data during meetings held in the Totoró Indigenous Reservation with native speakers who are illiterate in their native language or Spanish. Therefore, we will record the data and translate it with a team comprised of Professor Marleny Angucho, who has supported the revitalization processes as part of the community; Geny Gonzales, who has supported the community in various research projects on the language; and myself, as a bilingual speaker.

RV: Why is it important for you to imagine and navigate processes of using, strengthening, revitalizing, and/or promoting your language through digital media and tools?

LETT: Las juventudes estamos atentas a la vanguardia digital y nos llama la atención aprender a través de estas herramientas y formatos, por lo que considero importante encontrarle un lugar a nuestra lengua en el mundo digital que le permita enseñar a las personas interesadas y documentar los conocimientos de quienes la hablan y no han transmitido este conocimiento por diversas causas.

LETT: We, the young people, are attentive to the digital forefront and are drawn to learning through these tools and formats. Therefore, I believe it is important to find a place for our language in the digital world that allows it to be taught to interested people and to document the knowledge of those who speak it and have not passed on this knowledge for various reasons.

RV: What would you say excites you about sharing this process with other Indigenous language speakers in Colombia?

LETT: Siempre es emocionante aprender de otras experiencias y pensamientos, como aprender nuevas palabras o sobre sus comunidades. Conocer otras formas de ver el mundo y habitarlo es importante para crecer como personas y profesionales.

LETT: It's always exciting to learn from other people's experiences and thoughts, like learning new words or learning about their communities. Discovering other ways of seeing and inhabiting the world is important for growing as individuals and professionals.

RV: What would you like to say to other Nam Trik speakers about continuing to speak and strengthen their language?

LETT: Mayaelan matɵke. Namui wam mei, ñimun ik pɵrikwan aship putrapelan alɵntrap inchar, namui chi kɵpikwan untak tɵka matana tɵka kɵkun cha. Namui shur mera kusrenanikwan pesanamɵ, namui wam wan waminchip, misak isuikwan tɵka kɵp, wentɵsrɵ ɵsik kɵmikwai. Namui wam wan tɵka kuiknuk kutrimpe namui nu isuikpe patsɵmɵntrun. Unkua Unkua.