A Step Towards Sustaining the Mannan Language
As part of the ARPO Earthlore Project, we facilitated the participation of two Mannan community members in a workshop organised by the Keystone Foundation, helping them come up with ideas, address many questions, and develop a drive to do their part in conserving the Mannan language.
Ramesh Gopalan and Sudhin PS, two spirited and inquisitive members of the Mannan community, recently embarked on an eight-hour journey across Kerala's South Western Ghats, travelling from Idukki to Nilambur. Their destination was Karulayi, a serene and picturesque clearing nestled within the forest. Here, for two days, they joined 30 to 40 individuals in a thoughtful exploration of language, sound, and identity.
This workshop on Endangered Tribal Languages transcended mere theoretical discussion. It blossomed into a warm, joyous, and truly participant-led conversation, guided by a spirit of deep listening. The event was expertly facilitated by the Keystone Foundation, with invaluable contributions from linguists Hima Ktien and R. Karthick Narayanan.
The Mannan community, like many other indigenous groups, faces the imminent challenge of losing its language to the dominant tongues (to Malayalam, in this case) that seem to promise more opportunities and more upward social mobility. Systemic disruption of the community’s deep connection with the forest, which forms the context of the language, is another core reason for the slow disappearance of language. But what is lost is more than language. What is lost is encoded wisdom, sense of community and a whole history.
To begin searching for answers, we didn’t sit only indoors, we stepped outside. A walk through the forest to be turned into a naming game: pointing, laughing, sharing, remembering. “What do you call this?” “How do you say that?” We sang songs, not just for fun, but to feel the shape and rhythm of each language. We listened for what made each tongue distinct.
One of the trickiest and fundamental issues we explored was this: how do you write the sounds of a language that has lived mainly in breath and voice? When the Malayalam script becomes the only tool, how do we catch the sounds that don’t quite fit into its alphabet?
It was not all answers. But it was definitely a beginning. A beginning to organic, hopeful and community-led conversations on what could possibly evolve into language conservation efforts. Ramesh and Sudhin returned home with some ideas, many questions and a drive to do their part in conserving Mannan language.
"Many words in the Mannan language are not being used by the newer generation. Instead, Malayalam is spoken in all the hamlets. If we document the words that are slowly going out of use, they won’t be completely lost for future generations. They will have the knowledge of what we call our ‘father’, ‘mother’ and so on. This is why I believe the workshop was significant and relevant for us. I hope to be able to document the language to the best of my individual capacity"
- Ramesh Gopalan
