The 4 children who were travelling in that ill fated airplane were raised by their grandmother, Fatima Valencia, with whom they spoke in a variety of Witoto. Witoto/Uitoto is a family of Amazonian languages which are spoken by indigenous people in Colombia, Peru & Brazil. 2/n

The kids especially the eldest one 13 year old Lesly Mucutuy learned jungle survival skills like fishing, recognizing edible fruits and nuts from her grandmother, and used this indigenous knowledge to protect and sustain her siblings in a wild and dangerous environment. 3/n

Colombian military rescue team kept playing on loud speakers recordings of their grandmother in Witoto language saying following sentences in Witoto language: 🔊Stay put, they are looking for you 🔊Daughter, I thank you for being still, standing! (~ directed towards Lesly). 4/n

Apart from this, Colombian military forces dropped thousands of flyers from a helicopter in Witoto and Spanish languages in the vast area where four indigenous minors where lost, telling them to wait for the military rescue team to reach them and not to keep moving. 5/n

Finally on the 40th Day, Colombian rescue team helped by Indigenous people were able to find the 4 dehydrated but courageous kids in a forest clearing. They had survived the inhospitable environment with all the skills they learned from their elders in their mother tongue. 6/End

Full story here

@avtansa Nice, but with Brazilian Portuguese we conquered the biggest part of the Amazon.

@Ricardo_Cd_Oliv What is the pride in saying that you conquered Amazon by annihilating hundreds of indigenous languages. How will you react if English or Spanish conquers Portuguese speaking areas.

@avtansa did they got any help from residents of jungle?

@kamlesm No, they met no one in the forest. Probably too scared to ask for help because of militancy in the area.

@avtansa you mean it helped that they got messages in a language they understand? fascinating!

@MMorgenschoen Of course, apart from some other things - here

@avtansa Looks like their main language was witoto? Because the flyers were made in the same language. What am I missing?

@saumya_shikhar What is your point here? This thread is on Witoto, and how it helped them survive.

@avtansa @CircumNavgating I'm also fascinated by the language-based strategies employed in this rescue. But according to an El Tiempo journalist, the children responded to the recorded Huitoto/Witoto helicopter messages from their grandmother by hiding!

@Punsetcetera @CircumNavgating I have read that in some reports, although my point here is how bio-cultural knowledge is passed down orally in indigenous society in their own languages. For example the eldest one learned what to eat and what not, or how to survive through elders in the community.

@avtansa What an amazing story. Any skill or knowing multiple languages makes you not only smarter but can decide your survival too. As Indians, we should be proud of the fact that most of us atleast understand and speak 2-3 languages and not limit over selves by false 1/2

@avtansa propaganda rhetoric of regionalism.

@avtansa Amazing story! Indigenous people are skilled to survive in the toughest environment. They know the Flora and fauna of the region. They speak and understand varieties of the languages of spoken in the area. Awesome to learn even 11 months old can withstand when situation demands!