Wisdom Keepers: Pedagogy of Ancestral Songs from the Indigenous People Embera Eyábida

Abstract

This article presents the results of a research developed by and with the indigenous people Embera Eyábida from Chigorodó. It deals with ancestral songs by the women and their connection with pedagogical and didactic spaces of the indigenous schools. The research question is: what pedagogical elements can ancestral songs contribute to the model of Self Education promoted in indigenous schools of the Embera Eyábida? The objective of research was to recover ancestral songs or truambis sung by grandmothers of the indigenous people and to build pedagogical material that contributes to children’s education. This work was based on the paradigm of indigenous research by Linda Smith and also on the Embera research methodology by Baltasar Mecha, an Embera Dobida indigenous linguist. Five types of ancestral songs or truambis were found in the Embera Village of Chigorodó: related to animals, healing, grief, lullabies, and couples. These ancestral songs are in danger of disappearing if pedagogical processes are not carried out in order to strengthen and make visible their practice. This is due to the dominant system threatens to distort the interests of Embera childhood and youth and influence them to assimilate western perspectives that affect their cultural identity. Currently the population group that practices and teaches this knowledge is primarily the Embera Eyábida women. They are both keepers and pedagogues of ancestral wisdom. It is urgent to recognize and delve into their knowledge in order to strengthen the collective memory of the Embera indigenous people.