Helping
revitalize the
Muysca Language
We are working on publishing a children’s adventure book written in Muyscubun, the native language of the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia. There are few materials in this language, and few formally published children stories. Our hope is to contribute to the revitalization of this language, which lost its native speakers due to centuries of colonization. Donations and profits from select items in the shop will be used to cover publication costs and remunerate illustrators, translation researchers, community advisors, and narration voice actors. Youth and community members will be involved, and we plan to publish in Colombia, United States, and Canada with publishers that support POC and Indigenous stories.
Support by buying these Products
The Andean bear lives high up in the mountains in the life-giving paramos, and spread seeds to maintain the health of those ecosystems.
Materials: 100% cotton twill, pigment dyed.
Chihiza is the Muysca word for “roots” or “veins”. It seems clear to me that this word arose with the observation and the understanding of our commonality and interdependence with nature around us. I designed this as a man resembling a tree, with roots in the ground. The design is also inspired by this beautiful excerpt:
“I can lose my hands, and still live. I can lose my legs and still live. I can lose my eyes and still live. I can lose my hair, eyebrows, nose, arms, and many other things and still live. But if I lose the air I die. If I lose the sun I die. If I lose the earth I die. If I lose the water I die. If I lose the plants and animals I die. All of these things are more a part of me, more essential to my every breath, than my so-called body. What is my real body?”
― Jack D. Forbes, Columbus and Other Cannibals: The Wétiko Disease of Exploitation, Imperialism, and Terrorism
*The design was created by me. These are eco-friendly stickers made from paper rather than the usual synthetic materials like plastic.'
*All profits from this sticker will go to the children’s adventure book I am developing in Muyscubun, the native language of the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia. There are few materials in this language, and few formally published children stories. My hope is to contribute to the revitalization of this language, which lost its native speakers due to centuries of colonization. Profits will be used in to cover incidental publication costs and remunerate illustrators, translation researchers, and narration voice actors.
Symbology and Meanings - “World Beyond I” Shirt
In the design, I call “World Beyond I”, the man is communing with the moon. The inscription says “The world beyond! something enters my consciousness..” in the native Muysca language, Muyscubun. All profits from this shirt will go to the children’s adventure book I am developing in Muyscubun, the native language of the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia.
“Under the moonlight that blankets the land and unveils the cosmos, I am beckoned to perceive, understand, and be witness to creation of everything beyond I. As others have done before me for eons”
Materials: 100% Organic Cotton