Sign language plays in Amazonas state bring Amazonian legends to life

In the Brazilian Amazon city of Maués, Amazonas state, a school project called Inclusive Theatre is using Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) to tell the legends of the rainforest to deaf people, in Maués, Amazonas state. The project was created in 2014 by the Federal Education Institute of Amazonas (IFAM).

According to Maxiliano Batista de Barros, the teacher who is leading the project, the purpose is to help people with hearing disabilities get closer to their local culture. He says deaf people have created signs to represent mainly icons that are unique to Amazonian culture, as is the case with guaraná fruit (Paullinia cupana), a berry native to the Amazon basin that is the main ingredient of a very popular carbonated drink in Brazil. “Guaraná fruit carries a sense of identity, not for the deaf community, but for the Sateré-Mawé indigenous people in Maués. It is the city's local identity. As the first people to have grown it, we Mawés should have our own sign to represent it in LIBRAS in a way that reflects our identity,” he said.

To create the drama plays in LIBRAS, two schoolgirls carried out a field survey of the tales told by the elderly in riverside communities. “That's something I from my own experience. When I was a child, these stories were told by my great-grandmother, who was a native Baré. And that's how I came up with the idea of documenting some of the stories as part of a community outreach project. We tasked the students with collecting five stories, and they gave us six. We brought this material, which was recorded in video and then transcribed, to the Institute. Then we invited the deaf community, and they set about creating the signs for concepts that didn't use to be covered by sign language before,” Barros said.

The tale of the origins of guaraná fruit is one of three legends that have been adapted into drama form. Others stories are about Amazon river dolphins, and the Jurupari, also known as Mapinguari, a mythological creature from the Amazon. Hopefully other legends, including the Matita Pereira, Cobra Grande, Healer Anselmo, can soon be ready to be staged in LIBRAS. The performances take place every year at the institute as well as at local events in Maués. Eight people are currently in the group, including people with hearing and other disabilities.

Translated by Mayra Borges