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‘Iipay Aa Tiipay Aa Uumall, The Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary
‘Iipay Aa Tiipay Aa Uumall, The Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary (2009)
In the spirit of ongoing Cultural Preservation, we presented the exhibition, ‘Iipay Aa Tiipay Aa Uumall: More Than Words Saving Our Endangered Language. This exhibition describes the first publication of the Barona Museum Press in 2008, the monumental 696-page Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary: ‘Iipay Aa Tiipay Aa Uumall. The inspiration for this seven-year long project is embodied in the Dictionary Committee’s efforts to save this endangered language.
Language reflects a culture’s world view. Words reflect the history and environment of the people. The Barona people suffered severe language loss through the mission system, boarding schools, urbanization, and assimilation projects. Museum and other Tribal programs have been dedicated to cultural preservation and revitalization with ongoing culture classes and the Language Preservation Program from 1973 to present. The exhibition traces these many efforts. These words are fascinating when we examine their origin and development within the history of the Barona people. We find that a dictionary is more than just words; it is culture.