Help for learning indigenous prayers on native language

General Memory Chat
#1

Hello everyone I am new here and trying to learn prayers in an old language I don’t know but learning and finding it extremely difficult

It’s Yawanawa language from the Amazon forest I work with indigenous

What methods would you recommend? Here is an example

Mi roumeuh paeuh

Unwun nawa china mora

Un mia naneuï ne rouaniki

Unwun china chava washounki

Unwun china peukeuï naka-ouanon

Un mia meuki naka-wano

China vichki kaïrou

China vestouairou

Eua vichta teouamaki

Un mia youka nou

Roumeu paeuh

Un mia youka nou

Un mia kieki

Thank you!!

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#2

Do you understand this language? Or are these just random words for you.

If you don’t understand these words, I’d use some mnemonic technique like a memory palace to remember the beginning of each line. Then I’d just practise reading the text out yourself. Then when you don’t have the text available, you can remember how the lines start, and then just fill in the rest from what you already know.

E.g. “Mi roumeuh” reminds me of “Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou my Romeo!?” from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Then I put this in the 1st location in my mnemonic structure. Then when when reading the poem, I’ll remember the “my Romeo” thing, recall “Mi roumeuh”, and then the only thing that goes after that is “paeuh” so that completes the line.

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#3

I don’t understand the language, but I have the translation of each line so this helps.

I will try this, memorizing just one word of each line to begin.

Thank you!

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#4

Hi, thank you so much again, it worked perfect I learned it fast!

Additional question, I want to learn more songs and prayers do I use the same memory palace or do you recommend I create a new one each time?

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#5

There are some opinions about that in this thread: Do You Reuse Journeys Multiple Times for Long-term Information?

and also here.

You might be interested in the books Memory Craft and The Memory Code by Lynne Kelly. They are about how indigenous/oral cultures use memory techniques.

Edit: There’s also Songlines but I haven’t read that one yet.

#6

Thank you! Will read!