WHAT IS MON LO GI´TS?

WHAT IS THE MEANING?

It is a phrase composed in Zapotec tongue that if we translate into Spanish it literally means monkey on paper; In this sense, monkey does not refer to a primate but rather refers to a drawing or doodle. Mon (drawing) lo (in / on) gi ´ts (paper). This is how a drawing, engraving, painting or action of graphically representing a "something" on paper is described in Zapotec.

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WHAT IS THE PROJECT?

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It is an independent project for the illustration of 30 semantic fields classified from elements of the community and the surrounding nature, by means of traditional printmaking, through the development of 40 templates and a diagram of the human body that correspond to semantic fields and that they refer to a certain set, whether of animals, plants, utensils, trades, etc., with images alluding to them and with their respective term written in Zapotec for their identification.
The objective of Mon lo gi´ts is to gather, through collective work and exchange between young printmakers, a graphic physical heritage (linoleum plates as graphic matrices) and with the possibility of reproducing it in a multiple way, covering the most representative in images of the elements that make up the identity of the Zapotec community in question. Thus, from their personal work, each engraver contributes in a social way to the purpose of developing a base material from which to start and begin the development of didactic material whose purpose is to resume the teaching of the Zapotec that he gave beginning in the community in 2016 through a joint effort between the Espacio Panoplia Workshop and Moisés Guzmán, a Zapotec teacher.

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WHY DO WE WANT TO DO IT?

The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples analyzed 62 languages ​​in Mexico and concluded that 22 were subject to a rapid replacement process, which includes large linguistic groups such as Otomí and Maya; while another 19 were in a moderate process of replacement, among them the most common indigenous languages ​​in the country: Nahuatl and Zapotec.
With the passage of time and various factors that include social, cultural, economic, ideological, linguistic aspects among others. The use of mother tongues has declined considerably to the extent that many of them have completely disappeared or are on the brink of disappearance.
In the words of German Freire, a specialist in the subject “Only one in three indigenous children speaks the language of their parents after finishing school. The reason for this is that school systems in the region have been insensitive to its cultural and linguistic needs. For more than half a century, they have been experimenting with models of intercultural and bilingual education, but their implementation remains limited ”.
In the specific case of Tlacochahuaya, which even has a Bilingual and Intercultural Normal School in its territory; The use of the Zapotec language has decreased by a high percentage over the years to the extent that there is not a single child speaking the language within the community, the highest concentration of speakers is in a range of 35 at 80 years of age, where the older the use of the language is greater.

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It is clear that their disappearance is conditioned to the permanence of the speakers, unfortunately and due to mainly social issues and marginalization, most young people and children are no longer taught the language, the main objective of the Mon lo gi´ts project It is to become a game and interaction tool that allows the recovery and teaching-learning of the Zapotec language from two support points:
The first is based on those interested and who for some time have practically dedicated themselves as social work to teaching Zapotec classes to children and adults in order to access the material as a support in their class.
The second from the primary place of learning, the home. Mon lo gi´ts proposes not only being a tool for learning, but also aims at family interaction based on the game, so that not only is a teacher who has the ability to teach it, but also the grandparents become the teachers of their grandchildren or their children, as well as parents or those who have knowledge of the language in order to transmit it and share it orally in terms of pronunciation that is even fundamental beyond writing because there is no specific grammar rule for it.
It is as well as in a not obligatory way but on the contrary fun; This in conjunction with the capsules that will be recorded on the pronunciation of each of the templates can be a way in which the family and especially the adults who speak Zapotec in greater numbers, can inherit it orally to a greater or lesser extent to other generations and these in turn learn it without having to be in a classroom.
Mon lo gi´ts is a project that has the sole intention of being a seed, that together with the people of the community and all the participants in this project we can sow, hoping that it will germinate until it flourishes when there are many children and adults saying at least , names of animals, plants, trades and others. Time will show us the result, which we hope will be entirely positive since with the disappearance of languages, a huge part of our identity, of our collective memory and especially of the knowledge that has been inherited orally from generation to generation is lost. generation.

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The Illustration project "Mon lo gi´ts" began in August 2020 and continues to develop.

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Gabriela Morac

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