RESCUING A LANGUAGE

one name at a time…

If you’ve been to Reroot’s El Salvador Educational Tour, you already know Tahzin Nicolas. For those who haven’t yet had the chance, meet our professor of Reroot’s Nahuat class.

Tahzin Nicolas is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our Salvadoran educational tour and his role is so crucial to the survival of the Nahuat language in El Salvador.

As one of only 200 remaining Nahuablantes (Nahuat speakers), he initially grew weary of the attention of tourists. When he first met Doctor Kiona, he spoke about his experience with travelers recording him singing in Nahuat, using his image and lessons without permission and compensation and basically taking advantage of him.

He explained that even though there was material online of him singing and photos of himself, he did not have any of these things for himself. So after their meeting, Doctor Kiona paid him and gave him a phone from our donation program so he could record and photograph himself singing. It was the first time he owned a smartphone and he was so grateful. He told everyone in town about his new phone he received just by speaking Nahuat. Until that point, people usually ridiculed Nahuat speakers as they never attached any value or significance to the language.

ANYTHING CAN INSPIRE CHANGE

Now, Tahzin Nicolas’ daughter, Vicky, was inspired to learn the language. Maybe because she saw someone finally reward her father appropriately for his work, or maybe because she also wanted a phone…inspiration is inspiration. However, Tahzin Nicolas was adamant that neither she nor anyone else should not be given a phone until they learned Nahuat. And so, Vicky along with five other women started a Nahuat singing group where she continues to learn the language. Since then, Vicky has also enrolled her son, Gael, into the local Nahuat daycare where he learns how to speak the language. Three generations have now been inspired to learn Nahuat.

COLONIZATION IN NAMES

Recently, Vicky gave birth to an amazing, healthy baby girl. A new Nahuat Pipil (indigenous Salvadoran)! Deciding on her name, however, was a bit tricky. Initially Vicky wanted to name her new baby “Madison”. A suggestion that sparked one simple, yet important question from Doctor Kiona: WHY? Why something so…”gringa”? Why not a Nahuat name when the culture and language was so beautiful?

The question bothered her and as she made her way to an artisanal town called Nahuizalco to pick up a baby present, she reflected on her own experience with names. Name changing and the imposition of Eurocentric language into indigenous spaces has been an oppressive tool used by colonizers to erase the history and culture of indigenous peoples. The simple act of adopting an English name to avoid being singled out or persecuted has trickled down through generations to the point where we no longer consider its implications. Doctor Kiona has had first-hand experience with this as her mother adopted an English name to avoid microaggressions like Americans questioning if she spoke English. These are issues many people face all over the world. It was an opportunity for us to make a change in real life.

WE NEED TO LOVE OUR CULTURES. WE NEED TO LOVE OUR NAMES. WE DO NOT NEED TO ASSUME ANYONE ELSE'S CULTURE TO BE ACCEPTED.

WELCOMING OUR NEWEST NAHUAT PIPIL

One day in late April while managing a tour in North Carolina, Doctor Kiona felt the sudden urge call to Vicky. It was a feeling in her chest that she was here. Immediately she texted to check in.

"Niña Kiona, she entered the world at 6:00AM perfectly healthy. I am doing great. A little tired but healthy as well," she would voice note back.

"Oh, and I just wanted to let you know, her name is Mitzti Madison. I changed her name because of you. You were right. I want my baby to come into the world speaking Nahuat and so she will come into the world knowing her first word which is her name. Even if it's the only word she knows. It means butterfly."

In El Salvador, it is believed when you see butterflies it is an ancestor flying around letting you know they are there. They also say you are connected to people's spirits when you put them on their life paths. Doctor Kiona told this story to one of the Lencan elders (a different indigenous group) a couple of weeks ago in Morazan and he said:

"You are connected to her because you changed her name. You put her on her life path. That was the name she was meant for."

We hope the world is ready for Mitzi!

REROOT: TOURISM FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

Oftentimes we believe inspiration has to be a grand moment. An action that is so grandiose it creates a huge change in millions of lives. That might be true in some instances but, for us, we see inspired change in little, everyday things. The way a conversation between strangers changes opinions on a subject. How someone reflects on their own life after listening to a story. Making friends with people you never thought you’d ever find common ground with. Inspiration, to us, doesn’t always have to crash into us like a wave. Sometimes it comes to us as a small gesture…
like a friend with a question about a baby’s name.

Baby Mitzi and the Reroot team would love for you to join us in person on our mission to change as many lives as possible. Reroot is a community of shared experiences. You never know who YOU may inspire!