Cultural practices as scenario for non-formal education of children in the Wounaan-nonam community of the Colombian Pacific Coast

• Published in: Critical arts Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 49 - 63
• Main Authors: Simão, Livia Mathias, Sanchez, Hernán
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Durban Routledge 02.01.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Children; Coastal environments; Communities; Community living; Constructivism; culture; discourse; Discourse analysis; Education; Educational programs; indigenous community; Informal education; Minority & ethnic groups; Mothers; myth; Mythology; River banks; semiotic cultural constructivism; Semiotics; Welfare; Young mothers; Colombia
• DOI: 10.1080/02560046.2017.1300829
• ISSN: 0256-0046

This article presents a discourse analysis of dialogues between communitarian mothers and their young children of the Wounaan-nonam indigenous community living in Puerto Pizario, at the San Juan River banks, near the Colombian Pacific Coast. The dialogues occurred in the context of an educational programme supported by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (HC-ICBF), which aims to re-signify cultural practices of the Wounaan-nonam as a scenario for the development of their young children. The focus is on the dialogical analysis of the dyadic interactions between communitarian mothers and their children about the "Madre Ñame" myth, which is the origin myth of the Wounaan-nonam people, showing how this educational proposal allows new generations to meet the traditional knowledge of their community. This analysis applies semiotic-cultural constructivism and is based on previous work about Wounaan-nonam myths.