Gestural Orality as a Means of Intercultural Communication in the Indigenous Community of Krukira, Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast, Nicaragua

Abstract

The study was carried out in the Miskitu indigenous community of Krukira, with the objective of knowing gestural orality as a form of intercultural communication that is linked to the ancestral way of life. Gestural orality is a community practice that establishes a way of life and links with the surrounding environment, and that is related to the main elements of nature. The methodology used was to live culture with the community, to share knowledge and practices in its different stages of development, to signify and resignify a proposal to revitalize oral and gestural communication, identifying signs, codes and symbols, which are practiced and generate community changes. The main results of the study show that gestural orality in Krukira is one of the most used tools in families and in the community to transmit their culture, worldview, traditions and values. For community members, gestural orality is much more than a way of communicating, it is a practice that establishes ways of life and links with the surrounding environment. Some experiential elements of the gestural orality practiced are: the understanding of nature as a whole, the pana-pana, the interpretation of the stars (the moon and the sun), the kubus, the insla and the family and communal unity. The recovery and revitalization of gestural orality is based on the cultural re-significance that occurs in the community through drawings, dances and dramas or sketches