Revitalizing Endangered Heritage: Community Mentoring for Local Language Preservation and Indigenous Knowledge Documentation in Remote Madagascar
Keywords:
language revitalization, indigenous knowledge, cultural preservation, community mentoring, intergenerational transmission, endangered languagesAbstract
This community service project documents a two-year mentoring initiative aimed at preserving the Mikea language and indigenous knowledge systems in southwestern Madagascar's remote Mikea Forest region. The Mikea people, one of Madagascar's most isolated communities, face accelerating linguistic and cultural erosion due to environmental pressures and external influences. Our collaborative approach engaged 43 community elders and 87 youth participants in systematic documentation of traditional ecological knowledge, medicinal practices, and oral histories while developing bilingual educational materials. Utilizing participatory methodology, the project created audio-visual archives, illustrated lexicons, and intergenerational knowledge transfer programs. Results demonstrate significant improvements in youth language proficiency and cultural identity, with 78 percent of participants showing measurable language skill enhancement. The initiative established sustainable community-led structures for ongoing preservation efforts, demonstrating how external facilitation combined with community agency can address cultural heritage endangerment in marginalized populations.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Andry Rakotomalala, Jean-Baptiste Randrianasolo, Fatima Razafindrakoto, Marie Rasoarimanana
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