Bogotá-based developer Colombia Games have collaborated with a team of anthropologists and environmental scientists to produce a series of phone apps called Ancient Wisdom. The purpose of the app is to share knowledge that is under threat in the country’s diminishing indigenous groups.
According to the government there are approximately 70 indigenous languages spoken in Colombia and more than 750,000 Colombians speak them. Many come from well-established indigenous lineages, such as Arhuaco and Quechuan, but others are spoken by isolated tribes. The national indigenous organisation – Organización Nacional Indigena de Colombia, estimates that 35 ethnic groups are currently at risk of physical and cultural extermination.
Many indigenous people have been displaced over the years and others simply moved into Colombia’s towns and cities for work. It is then a priority for them to learn to speak Spanish, leading to the knowledge of the native tongues to dwindle as the numbers speaking them in a community diminishes. Some languages – such as Tinigua, whose only speaker is thought to have died in 2008 – have already been lost altogether.
Ancient Wisdom sews the seed of potential for what phone applications could offer in terms of preservation of stories, languages and ways of life for these groups. The app, aimed at children, invites people into the worlds of these communities. They are given virtual access to explore the diverse Colombian ecosystems and creative culture of different indigenous groups.
Upon opening the app, a map of Colombia appears. Participants can then click to explore communities including the Kobi in the Sierra Nevada, the Wayuu community in the desert region of La Guajira, the nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Amazon, and Pacific Coast communities. The attractively illustrated visuals, accompanied by audio, guide the them through the stories, myths and legends.
The apps do have limitations. At present, they only deliver a small variety of stories and they are only accessible to those with a smart phone or tablet. However, the concept has plenty of potential. They would be an interesting educational tool within one of Colombia’s many specialist museums.
The games are available for free on iOS and Android devices.
Further Information
Colombia Games is a company based in Bogotá, Colombia, that create video games and mobile apps for social and educational purposes.
www.colombiagames.com
*Main article image is a promotional photograph of the application being used within a classroom in Colombia. ©Colombia Games
