Preserving Indigenous Stories and Voices: WikiKathā Documented Nine Endangered Indigenous Languages in Indonesia

Amid rapid modernization and development that frequently displace indigenous communities, many regional languages in Indonesia find themselves increasingly marginalized. Responding to the threat facing this oral heritage, Wikimedia Indonesia (WMID), in collaboration with the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), through the Wikimedia Foundation Knowledge Equity Fund launched a collaborative project titled WikiKathā.

The name WikiKathā is derived from combining the word wiki and the Sanskrit word कथा (kathā), meaning ‘story’—which was subsequently absorbed as ‘kata’ (word) in the Malay language. Through this project, contributors aim not only to digitally preserve vocabulary, but also to safeguard the stories and cultural values embedded behind them.

Reaching Threatened and Isolated Languages

Unlike general regional language documentation projects, WikiKathā focuses specifically on indigenous languages that receive little attention, are threatened with extinction, and are difficult to access. From August 2025 to May 2026, teams of fieldworkers and indigenous youth traveled to various remote corners of the archipelago.

Some of the languages targeted for field documentation include:

• Balik language in Sepaku, East Kalimantan;
• Orang Rimba language in Jambi;
• Isam language and O’Hongana Manyawa language in Malifut, North Halmahera;
• Kutai language (Adat Lawas variant) in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan;
• Using language in Banyuwangi, East Java;
• Punan Tubu language (Tugung variant) in Sekatak, North Kalimantan;
• Sakai language and Talang Mamak language in Pekanbaru, Riau; and
• Sasak language in Selong, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Digital Collaboration: From Audio Recording to Wiktionary

The project implemented a “miniature language documentation” model, a practical 2-to-3-day approach where local indigenous youth pair with native speakers to record and preserve their own language.

This preservation process spans three main stages:

1. Vocabulary Inventory: Collecting and verifying word lists alongside native speakers.
2. Audio Recording: Capturing the speech of native speakers word by word using the Lingua Libre tool connected to Wikimedia Commons. When internet connections drop in remote areas, the team switches to manual recording via mobile devices.
3. Wiktionary Editing: Uploading vocabulary data and audio files to Indonesian Wiktionary.

This effort was also supported by a WikiLatih collaboration with Goethe-Institut Indonesien as well as an online edit-a-thon in March 2026 involving 20 participants from various regions, which generated 13,119 edits.

Quantitative Achievements: Thousands of Audio Clips and Digital Lemmas

By May 2026, the community’s collective work yielded tangible results for Indonesia’s digital repository:

• 13,870 audio recordings were successfully documented from native speakers.
• 13,444 new lemmas were added to Indonesian Wiktionary.

The Using language recorded the highest contribution with 2,127 audio files and 4,447 lemmas, followed by the Orang Rimba language (1,012 audio files and 2,482 lemmas), Isam language (1,116 audio files and 2,138 lemmas), and Kutai Hulu language (Adat Lawas variant) (1,510 audio files and 1,332 lemmas).

Facing Field Realities and Identity Recognition

The WikiKathā journey was not without obstacles. In the field, the team faced various complex challenges, ranging from the lack of standardized orthography, complex morphemic structures in non-Austronesian languages such as Isam and O’Hongana Manyawa, to the demographics of Balik language speakers, who are predominantly elderly.

Major challenges also emerged regarding language identity and naming. International classification systems (Ethnologue) often use exonyms that are inaccurate or derogatory. One of the most significant advocacy achievements of the project was replacing the offensive term “Kubu” with Orang Rimba language across digital platform interfaces.

Project WikiKathā demonstrates that language preservation is not merely an academic exercise on paper, but a tangible expression of respect for indigenous identity and rights. This initial step is expected to serve as a sustainable foundation for protecting Indonesia’s linguistic diversity.