Day: November 25, 2019

I am creating a multimedia lesson using the displays in the History and Anthropology Museum in Rivas, Nicaragua. I am taking photos and videos of the wall. I am then typing up the wall messages and then translating it into English. Afterward, I am going to use the vocabulary words from the translated pieces as part of my English and Spanish lessons.

La Vida Despues De La Muerte

En los primeros anos de la colonización española el Fraile Francisco de Bobadilla entrevisto a varios caciques indígenas acerca de la vida después de la muerte. Ellos respondieron que todos tenían un alma que se llamaba ¨Yulio.¨Contrario a las tradiciones religiosas juedo, cristiana, los indígenas al morir, tienen su lugar en diferentes cielos. Los muertos en la guerra o las mujeres fallecidas en el parto iban al cielo a servir a los dioses. Las otras personas podían ir bajo tierra o al Miqtanteot. Pero este lugar no es un sitio de sufrimiento o dolor como el infierno de los cristianos.

La muerte se celebraba con fiestas, a los que acudían los pobladores vestidos con plumajes coloridos. Los entierros fueron ubicados en lugares importantes como colinas o cerca de los poblados. En otros casos los individuos fueron enterrados dentro de las casas o los patios. Según la tradiccion los difuntos pudieron ser quemados y depositados en vasijas de barro o el cuerpo enterrado directamente sobre el suelo. Cerca del muerto se colocaron ofrendas con comidas y objetos personales que le servían para el camino hacia el encuentro con sus dioses.

Here is a video of me reading the excerpt from the museum.

Life After Death

In the first years of the Spanish colonization, Friar Francisco de Bobadilla interviewed several indigenous chiefs about life after death. They replied that everyone had a soul called ¨Yulio.¨ Contrary to the religious traditions Judeo-Christian, the indigenous at death have their place in different skies. Those killed in war or women killed in childbirth went to heaven to serve the gods. The other people could go underground or to the Miqtanteot, but this place is not a place of suffering or pain like the hell of Christians.

Death was celebrated with parties, which were attended by villagers dressed in colorful plumages. Burials were located in important places such as hills or nearby towns. In other cases, individuals were buried inside houses or courtyards. According to tradition, the deceased should be burned and deposited in clay pots or the body buried directly in the ground. Offerings were placed near the dead with meals and personal items that showed the way to the encounter with their gods.

Here is a video of me reading the translation of the excerpt from the museum.

I am creating a multimedia lesson using the displays in the History and Anthropology Museum in Rivas, Nicaragua. I am taking photos and videos of the wall. I am then typing up the wall messages and then translating it into English. Afterward, I am going to use the vocabulary words from the translated pieces as part of my English lessons.

Here is the wall message typed up and then translated to English.

Preservando La Memoria

Las investigaciones aquelogicas nos permiten reconstruir nuestro pasado, pero cuando los sitios arqueológicos son saqueados, todo el legado cultural de nuestros antepasados es destruido. Los arqueólogos nacionales, asi como los extranjeros están comprometidos con las poblaciones ubicadas cerca de los sitios arquelogicos y es importante que estas comunidades se involucren en la conservación de su patrimonio local. La destrucción de nuestros sitios no solamente viola las leyes del país, el comercio ilícito de los bienes finalmente termina en colecciones particulares que a veces los utilizan como objetos decorativos despejándonos de una historia milenaria que afecta no solamente al país si no a toda la región y que compartimos una historia común.

Here is a video of me reading the excerpt from the museum in Spanish.

Preserving the Memory

Achaeological research allows us to reconstruct our past, but when archeological sites are looted, all the cultural legacy of our ancestors are destroyed. National archaeologists, as well as foreigners are committed to populations located near archeological sites and it is important that these communities be involved in the conservation of their local heritage. The destruction of our sites violates the laws of the country. The illicit trade of goods ends in private collections that sometimes use them as decorative objects disallowing us of an ancient history that affects not only the country but also the entire region. We share a common story.

Here is a video of me reading the excerpt from the museum in English.