MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian Constitution translated to indigenous language

The Nheengatu language historically allowed communication between communities of different peoples scattered throughout the Amazon region, Weber explained

Brazil's Constitution has been translated for the first time into the indigenous Nheengatu language. The new version of the 35-year-old document was released Wednesday, Agencia Brasil reported.

Sponsored by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the new version of the Magna Carta was launched on Wednesday (19) in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), in a ceremony at the maloca of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Rio Negro (FOIRN).

Present at the event, STF Chief Justice Rosa Weber said that the translation marks a historic moment. “Translating the Constitution into an indigenous language is a symbol of our commitment to ensuring that all indigenous peoples have access to justice and knowledge of the laws that govern our country, strengthening their participation in political, social, economic, and legal life.”

The Constitution in Nheengatu was made by a group of 15 bilingual indigenous people from the Upper Rio Negro and Middle Tapajós region, in promotion of the United Nations' landmark International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). The latest survey of indigenous languages in Brazil recorded that Brazil's 305 ethnic groups keep 274 languages alive in the country, according to the 2010 Census.

”(The languages) have managed to survive even in the face of successive attacks since the beginning of the colonization process of this territory, which was already home to countless indigenous peoples before it was called Brazil. Therefore, preserving and valuing Brazilian linguistic diversity is fundamental for the construction of a plural and inclusive society,“ Weber pointed out.

The indigenous people present at the ceremony celebrated the translation of the Constitution. Lucas Marubo, from the Marubo people, pointed out that the translation sets a precedent for other peoples to also have their rights translated. ”Historic moment for indigenous peoples,“ he said. Translator Inory Kanamari, from the Kanamari people, recalled that she was the first indigenous woman of her ethnicity to practice law. ”We are in a country with immense diversity and I do not hear our languages in spaces. We need to be part of it.“

Weber also explained that the choice of the Nheengatu language was due to its importance for the Amazon region. ”It started from the perception that this language historically allowed communication between communities of different peoples scattered throughout the Amazon region, up to the border with Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela, and came, according to historians, to be prevalent in Brazil, until it was persecuted and prohibited.“

Called the General Amazonian Language, Nheengatu is the only language still alive today that descends from ancient Tupi, having traits that relate it to the Tupi spoken on the Brazilian coast. ”I learned that Nheengatu is a language of the Tupi-Guarani trunk and bequeathed to the Brazilian language thousands of words, our nasal accent and with a prevalence of vowels, which together with the heritage of other indigenous languages and African languages, characterizes our language as unique and one of the richest in the world,” concluded Weber.

The launch of the Constitution in Nheengatu was also attended by Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara, and the president of the National Indian Foundation (Funai), Joenia Wapichana.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)