multiliterecies in an indigenous context
In My Rip Mix Feed project I explored the idea of making multiliteracies mean something in the environment in which I live and work. This past two months, I was reminded daily of the plight of this island as we dealt with haze conditions due to the fires that were raging in southern Borneo. Daily, we meet indigenous people who have been displaced and are trying to “make it” in the city.
Since indigenous students are the most vulnerable students I work with, I decided to return to a topic I explored last term.
Background:
Oroo’ is a living cultural heritage of the Penan tribe (Zaman & Winschiers-Theophilus, 2015, p. 5). It is a short message sign language used in the jungle to communicate to wayfarers (Zaman & Winschiers-Theophilus, 2015, p. 1). The language can range from simple to complex messages. It is composed of different combinations of natural elements found in the jungle (such as leaves and flowers) along with message sticks. The combination of these allows for expressions of warning, information of location, activities that are about to happen or which have already happened, as well as states of being (happy, hungry, or sick). (Zaman & Winschiers-Theophilus, 2015, p. 2).
Traditionally, the Penan people were nomadic and living in small family groups, thus, this type of ecological messaging was paramount in communicating with other tribal members and still maintaining links with the community at large. However, since settling permanently (due to mass logging), the language is underused and thus diminishing rapidly.
Through the collaborative process of elders and youth, a dialogue was opened up whereby language loss was identified by both elders and youth as an area of concern. In 2011 the elders of the Long Lamai community identified an awareness that ICT may be able to assist in Indigenous Knowledge (IK) preservation. (Ting Siew, Yeo & Zaman, 2013, p. 474).
As a result, researchers identified the use of Indigenous Knowledge Management Systems (IKM) as best practice. IKM is a system that amalgamates the traditional software design for urban settings and implements it in a rural setting. Due to the significant differences between urban and rural, such as education, literacy, and access and cultural influences, IKM takes a more holistic approach to software design.
As most indigenous cultures value community and participation, the Oroo’ sign language project employed these principles. By amalgamating the method of participatory learning, with action research and community involvement in creating software design, the acronym PRISMA was born. PRISMA stood for Participatory Action Research In Software Methodology Augmentation.
PRISMA had two goals: First, to develop software and technologies that would generate knowledge and retain information. The second goal was to learn and understand as much as possible about IKM from the implementation of the software. (Ting Siew, Yeo & Zaman, 2013, p. 472). Thus it was concerned with supporting social change whilst developing software.
In using this approach, the project juxtaposed preservation and revitalization by using digital technology to combine them holistically in an app that could retain and engage at the same time. This “innovative use of newer technologies …rekindle(d) smoke signals” (Zaman & Winschiers-Theophilus, 2015, p. 4) via technology and sent complex messages to a younger generation of Penan people whose elders accepted the fact that the world of technology WAS their jungle.
Keeping PRISMA in mind, the researchers engaged the community to create tangibles in ways they found intuitive to the language (tangibles are objects that can be digitally manipulated for communication). This PRISMA approach of creating tangibles differed greatly from traditional software design where tangibles are developed in labs by engineers. The PRISMA method demanded community participation in the creation of tangibles by the very people who would be using them. Further, the tangibles had to be manipulated and work in both the jungle AND on the screen since the goal was language retention and revitalization across generations.
My multimedia presentation attempts to tell a story with mostly images, in order to honor the tradition of the Oroo’ sign language. It tells the story of the Penan of Sarawak and how they have re-contextualized the multi literacies called for by the New London Group’s findings. Their story is a starting point-an inspiration for educators such as me-and reminds me of what it means to holistically respect context and content.
The Musical choice I made was to use the Sape a traditional instrument used by the Dayak people (Indigenous) but I deliberately chose a remix to represent the embracing of technology while still paying homage to an ancient history and culture. The multi literacies called for by the New London Group takes on a new context when seen in the light of the Penan.
Resources
Ting siew, S., Yeo, A., Zaman, T. (2013). Participatory Action Research in Software Development: Indigenous Knowledge Management Systems Case Study. Human computer Interactions. Human-Centered Design Approaches, Methods, Tools and Environments, 80004, 470-470. Retrieved from
http://discover.isif.asia/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Siew_Yeo_Tariq_2013.pdf
The New London Group. (1996) “A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies:Designing Social Futures.” Harvard Educational Review 66(1), pp. 60-92.
Zaman, T., Winschiers-Theophilus, H. ( 2015, Sept 14-18). Penan’s Oroo’ Short Message Signs (PO-SMS): Co-design of a Digital Jungle Sign Language Application. Paper presented at INTERACT 2015 Conference in Germany. Sarawak, Malaysia: Institute of Social Informatics and technological Innovations
Zaman, T., Winschiers-Theophius, H.,Yeo, A., Ting,L., Jengan, G. (2015, May 15-18).
| Reviving an indigenous rainforest sign language: Digital Oroo’ Adventure Game. Paper presented at ICTD ’15 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, Singapore. Retrieved from |
Images taken from:
http://www1.american.edu/TED/penan.htm
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/biofuel-push-threatens-nomad-tribe/2007/07/28/1185339319498.html
http://blog.mongabay.com/2011/01/26/cultural-survival-at-stake-for-the-rainforest-penan-of-borneo/
Music taken from:
https://youtu.be/P1pHPjX-PlM?list=PL904AuFDEgei4Y0if1r16VVqxr10PwSEM
Wow, this is very cool project, Rave. I read your text first before watching the video so I was a bit confused by what you meant by sign language but it became clear after watching the video. Thank you also for the context given by the aerial shots of the large swaths of clear-cutting and the clash — evident even from their clothing — between the traditional and modern that is happening in this generation. In fact, they way they are dressed (traditional skirts, knee… things, jewelry with a modern, western t-shirt) is reflected in the land (traditional forests, but with clear-cuts, modern logging roads and trucks). Seeing those images of their forest communication on a phone was very interesting, and a poignant image for this course, because I don’t think Ong, Bolter or anyone we’ve read had considered something like a stick with some leaves and feathers sticking out of it possibly being remediated by technology!
I wrote a paper on Indigenous Language Revitalization for ETEC 521 (https://www.academia.edu/10114212/Technology_and_Indigenous_Language_Revitalization) where my research led me to the conclusion that technology does have a big role to play in saving, or even resurrecting indigenous languages.
So did different Penan peoples have different dialects so that they would used Oroo to overcome miscommunication by crossing oral languages and dialects, or did it serve as a sort of writing to overcome the temporality of language; the equivalent of signposts in the jungle?
Thanks for your post, Rave.
Randy
Hi Randy, to answer the question there are different dialects spoken by Penan but this is looking at one particular area in Long Lamai. However, my understanding of Oroo’ was that is was standardized as the Penan crossed through territories in all of Borneo although some areas are known as ” Penn territory”. So, as they crossed they left messages for one another and that “sign” language had no dialect.
I have saved your paper and am looking forward to reading in on the plane for my long haul flight back to Toronto. Thanks for your personal insights. And sorry if there was any confusion in my postings
Oh yes, one more thing: there is this really interesting website that has thousands of endangered languages, with stats about how many people alive are still using it, sometimes with samples of how it is being preserved. Might be worth perusing after all these final projects are done!
http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/
Amazing production Rave!!!
The video was incredibly moving, inspiring and educational. Your final written text “contTEXT” really resonated with me because it truly reinforced the importance of acknowledging and respecting the context in regards to introducing multiliteracies. It’s really interesting how the blend of technology and images is being used to preserve their language. You’re project has be think back to Bolter’s chapter on the “The breakout of the visual”. With the incorporation of visual images and the flexibility afforded by technologies, there seems to be countless opportunities for remediation and meaning-making.
Great work!!!!