{"id":1398,"date":"2026-03-20T14:48:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thinkcolorful.org\/?p=1398"},"modified":"2026-03-20T14:50:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:50:01","slug":"song-of-three-rivers-nahuatl-glyphs-and-community-mesh-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkcolorful.org\/?p=1398","title":{"rendered":"Wind Song: Nahuatl Glyphs and Community Mesh Networks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Seneca called this place Ja\u00f6deog\u00eb – “between two rivers” or Dayaogeh<\/em> – “Beautiful Place of Three Rivers.” When I designed a custom case for my Meshtastic device, I wanted to honor that same geography. But instead of translating, I created something new: a visual sentence in Nahuatl that speaks to both my decolonization journey and what Prototype PGH is building<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Meshtastic?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Meshtastic<\/a> is a community-run mesh network\u2014a way for people to communicate without relying on cell towers or the internet. Nodes (devices like mine) relay messages to each other across distance. It’s infrastructure we own and control. In a natural disaster, when cellular networks fail, mesh networks keep communities connected. I created a module called LoRaBot<\/a> which changes faces when different things happen on the network and wanted to make a custom case for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Case: Form Meets Function<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I started with an existing Heltec v3 case design<\/a> from MakerWorld, then modified it. I needed more internal space for a large battery\u2014essential for a reliable mesh node\u2014so I redesigned the interior while keeping the external profile. The extra space on the front became room for Nahuatl expression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Glyph Sentence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u012acalli \u0113yi \u0101tl, \u012bpan eh\u0113catl in cu\u012bcatl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The house of three waters, the song on the wind.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking It Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u012acalli \u0113yi \u0101tl<\/strong> (The house of three waters)<\/p>\n\n\n\n