Did you know that more than 250 indigenous languages are spoken in Brazil? These languages not only tell stories, but also carry the essence of the country's cultural identity. To preserve this linguistic richness and strengthen indigenous communities, researcher Suellen Tobler developed the Nheengatu app, the first application in Brazil dedicated to teaching an indigenous language.
The Nheengatu language, derived from the Tupi language family and influenced by Portuguese, was once widely spoken in the Amazon region. Today, it faces preservation challenges, but initiatives such as the Nheengatu app help and expand its presence in communities.
Launched in October 2021, with the support of the Aldir Blanc Law and the Pará State Department of Culture, the app is the first app aimed at teaching and learning indigenous languages of peoples in Brazil. By January 2025, more than 6,000 unique users had been registered – and this number is even higher when considering collective use in communities.
The app is part of Brasilwara, an initiative structured as a Philanthropic Fund that seeks to raise funds to develop digital technologies aimed at preserving indigenous languages at risk of extinction. With specialized financial management by Sitawi, the fund contributes to linguistic revitalization, which is connected to cultural and territorial protection.
In addition to the Nheengatu app, other tools, such as @NukeTsayApp and @KaingangApp, are under development, expanding the impact of this mobilization.
Photo: Suellen Tobler
Why Brasilwara?
In Nheengatu we use the suffix “wara”, which means “inhabitant of” or “belonging to”. These lands that we now know as Brazil have many names in various indigenous languages. In the philosophy of Nego Bispo, who connected the favela to the quilombos and the quilombos to the indigenous villages, we find the reference that the people of the favela appropriated and re-signified words from the Portuguese language, giving them new meanings. This thought was the inspiration for us to appropriate the name Brazil, adding wara, to demarcate our presence in this territory.
“The Brasilwara Fund is a fundamental step towards ensuring that indigenous languages, such as Nheengatu, Kaingang and Nuke Tsãy, remain alive. The more speakers, the stronger these languages will be,” explains Suellen Tobler, the project’s creator.
The initiative invites supporters to contribute to the perpetuation of these languages, which are essential to the history and future of Brazil.
👉 Visit the app website here.
