ABOUT THE WRITING OF THE WORDS

​

This website sets in motion a writing proposal compiled—and in some cases developed—by Ulises Matamoros, Gonzalo Valencia Durango, and Natalia Colmena Reyes, in collaboration with the Ngiba community. This proposal, like the information included, is of course not free from imperfections, which—if any—will continue to be corrected with the support of everyone involved.

We are glad to have, for the first time, a solid and accessible foundation for the study of our language. This small yet meaningful compendium is the result of continuous and committed work—an effort that does not end here. On the contrary, the road ahead is still long.

This site aims to socialize and share knowledge so that, through that communication, it may be enriched, expanded, and disseminated—always with a commitment to respect and free access.

It also seeks to become a guide for all those interested in the Ngiba language, especially bilingual teachers and students from the different schools of Santa Inés Ahuatempan. But it is also intended for anyone genuinely interested in the recovery, preservation, safeguarding, and reclamation of Indigenous knowledge.

​

ABOUT THE AUDIO FILES

​

Each word is accompanied by an audio recording in the voice of Catalina Sillero Colmena. In the future, more recordings will be added with the voices of other individuals, with the goal of providing at least three different versions for each word.

​

ABOUT THE TESTIMONIES

​

Each word includes a set of three testimonies carefully compiled by Ulises Matamoros Ascención. These testimonies are not simple definitions or literal translations, but rather brief accounts that convey the cultural, symbolic, and emotional meaning each word holds in the everyday and spiritual life of the community.

Through these voices, the aim is to show how each term is deeply tied to a particular way of inhabiting the world, of thinking about time, nature, memory, and the body. The testimonies allow us to access the deeper, contextual meanings of the language—meanings that rarely appear in conventional dictionaries.

Rather than explain the words, these fragments of life illuminate them from different angles, revealing their richness, their resonance in collective experience, and their power to articulate worlds.