Mapoyo oral tradition and its symbolic reference points…Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Urgent Safeguarding List 2014
EN: For the Mapoyo their territory is envision in symbolic terms, their cultural memory is articulated in close relation to the places and their history
EN: During social, recreational and productive gatherings, the elders narrate to the children the stories that grant life to their symbolic space
FR: Durante las reuniones de carácter social, recreativo y productivo, los adultos cuentan a los niños y niñas historias que dan vida propia al espacio simbólico que comparten.
EN: Within the Mapoyo territory, "Las Piñas" Hill is considered to be one of the most emblematic landscapes. This place is the scenery of the origin myth that narrates the Mapoyo predecessors "massice suicide."
EN: The strong relationship between the Mapoyo cultural memory and their symbolic space is reveal by their funerary rituals. The remembrance of their ancestors is awaken in the indigenous cemetery.
EN: The Mapoyo symbolic space contemplates simultaneously places of memories and places of production. The respect for the environment regulates the practices of planting and harvesting crops.
FR: L'espace symbolique du peuple Mapoyo contemple simultanément les lieux de mémoire et les lieux de production. Le respect de l'environnement régit les pratiques de plantation et de récolte des cultures.
EN: The Mapoyo traditional practices rely upon the inherited knowledge regarding the use of natural resources in the territory, having the intergenerational relation as the ideal means for transmission
EN: The manioc (Manihot esculenta) is a root vegetable grown along the Mapoyo dwellings that has great relevance in the community diet. On a daily basis the new generations learn from the elders the knowledge and skills associated with its production.
EN: The indigenous Museum "Murükuni" has emerged as a new educational space within the community. Mapoyo Children learn, recreate and disseminate knowledge related to their ancestral territory.
EN: Even thou there are few speakers of the Mapoyo language, they participate in the revitalization of their language through formal and non formal education.
EN: All achievements are shared and celebrated in union, reaffirming the Mapoyo Identity, and always surrounded by the "Caripito Hill" one of the most representative places for the community.
