HOOWIN
Hoowin, The year 2015 began. At that time my interests were focused on finding a path in Chile that would bring me closer to the humanistic and anthropological area. Because? Technical professions over time will lack spirit or substance that enriches the soul. Hoowin was the way out to think about contributing to the education of Chile and at the same time face my own limitations.
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El Primer Hoowin
Hoowin started with a 3D prototype printed in wood filament, in 2015. This prototype was tested in different commercial stores in Santiago, being 100% approved as an idea that could generate income.
At the same time on a personal level, my interest in conceptualizing indigenous aesthetics, doing basic research took me to other cultures in the world. Finding at the same time an exciting, complex and sometimes dangerous topic when one does not know how to handle it astutely.
The content
Hoowin is the name for the genesis of the SelkNam, and means Time without time. When you read about Hoowin, characters will appear like giants, mystical beings personalized in animals, plants. All environments have a particular spirit.
The spirits that I conceptualized are 5, Kotaix, Ulen, Tanu, Matan and Xalpen. Characters that appear in the Hain ritual, which according to information by the Jesuit Martin Gusinde, was the ritual that tested teenagers before becoming adults. The spirits had the role of scaring the teenagers.
However. Why talk about indigenous people, mythology and language to Chileans and why not to the rest of the world? Well, the current cultural economic model is multicultural, however, economic supremacy has eclipsed human groups, such as indigenous people, and has displaced them to the extremes of cultural interests, that is, languages and dialects have disappeared and will continue to disappear. In fact, UNESCO says that between now and 2050, 3,400 undocumented languages will disappear. UNESCO discovers a need and gives the responsibility to the citizens themselves to take charge of this type of problem.
The project and its Model
The purpose of this project is to make visible, educate and preserve the language of this native people.
For them we contacted Keyuk Yantem, a young linguist and Selknam descendant in Chile.
The project consisted of creating collectible toys and an App that promotes the understanding and identity of the spirits of Hain. In the App, the characters spoke their native language, Sho-hon, and were introduced to different scenarios, facing knowledge tests.
After understanding the user, this project sought to apply a circular model to benefit the indigenous community that provided the knowledge of the language and at the same time validated it. As? It was planned to use the App as a collector of economic profits.
The Process
The design process of this project was divided into two arms, the design of the selknam figures and that of the app.
The short series development of the dolls was carried out by a toy craftsman, who reproduced the prototype that he previously developed.
The development of the application was a challenge, since one of my purposes in the region of Punta Arenas, Magallanes in Chile, was to capture cultural and social elements of the region. capturing testimonies that will help me guide a project that is conceptually close in mythological terms. In this way I began to create the sketches of the app, which were sent to the Invadelab Company, who developed the app that was on the network for 3 years and 6 months.
The app obtained permission from the Ministry of Education to be tested within the intercultural education program, however, the social hustle and bustle destabilized the project, freezing it until this minute.
Videos
Sample of the videos that were from marketing campaigns that we carried out with Keyuk on Instagram, finally, examples of the app in operation.
The App
The People
From 2015 to 2020, the people who made up Hoowin configured different times and needs. We looked for financing and we didn't get it, after that it's easy to get disappointed and say: I'm sorry, I can't continue.
