Bacuë (Matsés)

It is an application for cell phones and tablets (Android Operating System) for children from 3 to 5 years old to learn through images and sounds the basic contents about the alphabet, numbers, family, colors, parts of the human body, animals, fruits and basic expressions in the Matsés language.

This app is aimed at serving as instruments to strengthen and promote linguistic revitalization processes that arise with the new generations.

The Matsés, also known as Mayoruna, have preferred this denomination because, in their language, the word Matsés means 'people' or 'relatives'. Because they are located on the border of Peru and Brazil, the Matsés have been considered as the extreme-northern representatives of the Pano group, made up of peoples whose language is part of the Pano linguistic family.

In 2009, the Peruvian State established the Matsés National Reserve, a place of wide biological diversity and which means the recognition of a wide territory for the Matsés to take advantage of their natural resources.

The Matsés people live mainly in the province of Requena in the department of Loreto, in the border area of ​​Brazil. According to the results of the 2017 national census, 902 people have identified themselves as part of the Matsés nationwide due to their customs and ancestors; and by the language or mother tongue with which they learned to speak in their childhood, there have been 1,366 people who have stated that they speak the Matsés language, which corresponds to 0.03% of the total native languages ​​nationwide. In addition, the data obtained by the Ministry of Culture, the population of the communities of the Matsés people is estimated at 1,309 people.

Source: https://bdpi.cultura.gob.pe/pueblos/matses