Oral tradition is of utmost importance in the Shuar communities considering that this is the way their ancestral knowledge, myths and legends have been transmitted from generation to generation. However, their oral narrative has been disappearing due to the intrusion of western culture and their deepening immersion in new economic dynamics.
Taking into account that the stories, oral and written, generate remembrance and create habits and behaviours in society, Step Forward is designing a programme for the children and teens of the Shuar communities to tell their story in their native language, or build one around their dreams, realities and motivations, in order to build pride in and appreciation for their culture.
This programme aims to:
- Use the Shuar language as a transmitter code of ideas, customs and traditions.
- Promote the creative, imaginative and critical process of the children and adolescents of the Shuar communities, allowing them to express themselves in various ways.
- Promote literature as an adjunctive tool in the reading-writing learning process and a transmission vehicle of cultural, moral, religious and pedagogical values.
- Generate cohesion of the Shuar communities by allowing their members to preserve and revive certain rituals or behaviors around their own language.
- Identify other individuals as equals, reproducing positive behaviour patterns.
- Encourage the use of the Shuar tongue as the main language in the creation of a literary body that will be published and will be shared among students from educational institutions.