The Role of the Missionary in Latin America
Nathan Vonnahme
World Views
November 24, 1993
For the past twelve weeks I have been partaking of my World Views course, trying to figure out what it has to do with me. Throughout it, I have found many points of reference to my life. The element that has consistently grabbed me, however, is the character of the missionary in Latin America. Being a Christian, it disturbed me at the beginning of the course to see the slant against missionaries present in the curriculum. As I began to look closer, the idea of writing my final paper about missionaries slowly crept into my mind, taking hold and becoming a certainty even before my third paper had been conceived. The men and women who go to strange lands to help people and introduce them to Jesus Christ fascinate me, and I found myself, partly because of my World Views class, actually considering becoming one. This admiration I feel for the missionaries chafed against the curriculum's negative image of them as culture-destroying, hypocritical meddlers. As I studied more about them, however, I saw in these men and women a unique solution to the problems of cultural preservation and social justice in Latin America, two of the primary foci of World Views. Contrary to the implications of the missionary as a close-minded ethnocentric, I found through my study that missionaries are doing much more to help preserve the culture of the native groups than any other group of people. In addition, the focus on social injustice in the third unit of World Views convinced me that missionaries offer real help to oppressed peoples, and are doing far more to achieve real human rights than any other group.
Two sources outside of the regular World Views curriculum have weighed heavily on my evaluation of the missionary: the movie The Mission and the book Bruchko by Bruce Olson. I have provided summaries and bibliographical information about these two works at the end of this paper. The sources from the curriculum that I will draw upon most heavily are The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa and I, Rigoberta Menchú, the autobiography of Rigoberta Menchú.
The first unit of World Views focused on cultural preservation in Latin America. Our major text in this unit was The Storyteller. It approached the dilemma of cultural sanctuary for the Machiguenga tribe. In Sa™l's opinion, the missionaries were responsible for the detrition of Machiguenga culture. Looking closer at the situation, however, it is plain that the missionary/linguists offered the Machiguengas' only hope of cultural preservation. It is important to recognize that despite some anthropologists' dreams of a sanctuary for the indigenous peoples, the settlers, rubber tappers and mestizos were steadily picking away at the land and the culture of the indigenous tribes, including the Machiguengas. Vargas Llosa writes, "All of them [the tribes], some more slowly, others more rapidly, were being contaminated by Western and mestizo influences" (73). The linguists, on the other hand, led the Machiguengas, of their own free will, to accept the Bible as it was translated into their language. The Schneils' ultimate purpose was "translating the Bible into the tribes' own languages so that those peoples could hear God's word in the rhythms and inflections of their own tongue" (86-7). As a result of the Schneils' work the Machiguengas did give up their seminomadic lifestyle, but they did not have to give up their entire culture, as the Indians who became slaves to the rubber tappers and plantation owners. The introduction of the Bible in their native language did not destroy their culture or impose Christianity upon them. Rather, they accepted Christianity and modified their lifestyles in order to learn more about it in schools in the communities they established. Furthermore, this change in their lifestyle was strictly voluntary, and therefore represents an evolution of their culture as opposed to a conquest of it.
A parallel to this can be seen in The Mission in the protection of the indigenous tribes by the missionaries. When explaining the situation to the Cardinal, Father Gabriel said, ". . .the mission are the only sanctuary left for the Guarani. Without the shelter we provide, under the laws of Spain, the Indians have no protection against slaveryñ the moment they come to us of their own free will." The missions and the communities set up by the linguists in The Storyteller both protected the tribes from slavery by giving them an alternative, and protected them against the encroachment of civilization. It is inevitable that all the tribes of the jungle will come into contact with civilization some day. Missionaries help tribes to help themselves, in order to escape the cultural genocide of slavery. In the missionary communities, the Indians speak their own language, retain their own customs, music, art, and dancing. In fact, they retain everything they feel is important, and they change only the things they see are worth changing.
Bruchko has even more striking examples of the way in which missionaries can help preserve a culture. When Bruce Olson first came to the Motilones, he was excited about converting all of them to Christianity. Instead, through a very slow process that was much more a result of God's work than his, he introduced his pact-brother, Bobarishora (Bobby) to Christ. He wrote, after Bobby's declaration of faith in Christ,
"From that day our friendship was enhanced by our love for Jesus. We talked constantly about Him, and Bobby asked me many questions. But he never asked the color of Jesus' hair, or whether He had blue eyes. To Bobby, the answers were obvious: Jesus had dark skin, and His eyes were black. He wore a G-string, and hunted with bows and arrows.
Jesus was a Motilone" (144-5).
It is significant that only through this one "convert" were the Motilones introduced to Christianity. Olson writes later:
"News has no real significance to the Motilones until it's given in a formal ceremony. In my excitement over Bobby's spiritual experience, I wanted him to do things the way they would have been done in North America. I wanted him to call a meeting and tell about Jesus, or corner his friends and explain what Jesus now meant to him. But thank God he waited until he could do it the Motilone way" (151-2).
Bobby sang a song about Jesus at the Festival of the Arrows, a time when the tribe gathered to sing and exchange information. Bobby sang for fourteen hours. Olson writes about the results of this song:
"That night a spiritual revolution swept over the people. No one rejected the news about Jesus. Everyone wanted Him to take them over the horizon. There was tremendous jubilation. Sometimes it was quiet and people would talk to each other in little groups. At other times, the joy would break into spontaneous singing. It went late into the night.
God had spoken. He had spoken in the Motilone language, and through the Motilone culture. He had not even had to use me" (153).
It is clear from these examples that the introduction of Christianity does not necessarily destroy a culture. In the case of the Motilones, it was what they had been looking for, the fulfillment of many of their prophecies and a truth that fit within their culture. To them, Jesus was undoubtedly a Motilone.
Olson also introduced the Motilones to medicine and health care, and they set up clinics that not only supplied Motilones with health care, but treated settlers, traditional enemies of the Motilone tribe. In 1976 the centers treated over 3,000 settlers in addition to the Motilone patients (206). Olson also developed a written language for the Motilones and, with Bobarishora's help, translated several books for them to read. The Motilones, in return, set up schools where they could learn to read and write in their own language and later, learn Spanish. He also introduced them to more effective agricultural techniques. The salient point here is that the Motilones adapted and changed their culture to accommodate the things they had learned, without forsaking it or turning into the "zombies" or "walking caricatures" of The Storyteller. By adapting to new ideas, the Motilones began to be more independent, and therefore were able to protect themselves against the infringement of their rights by the settlers and by civilization in general while still retaining their culture. They were protected by their encounter with the missionary from the enslaving effects of civilization. But that is the next topic.
The second unit of World Views focused on social injustice in Latin America. It opened my eyes to the plight of the people, and it also renewed my admiration of the missionaries and priests who are helping them, doing more things that really help the oppressed than all the other measures outsiders have come up with. First of all, I have a great skepticism and pessimism about the U.S., or any other, government's ability to change the situation in South American countries. The problem with governmental pressure is that the military forces in power in the government of these countries will not just give up their power. Putting economic or diplomatic pressure on them may earn their lip service, but will ultimately only increase their pressure on the peasants. I see Amnesty International as useful but ultimately ineffectual also. Their efforts may get a few people out of jail, but will not inspire the government to make any real change in their repression of the people. The efforts of foreign organizations and powers to influence and change the behavior of the oppressive governments has little effect, if any, on the lives of the actual peasants.
In contrast, the missionaries and priests offer real help. Not only do they help the people physically, they help them spiritually, letting them know a sense of hope that is insurmountable, and the power and motivation to claim change for themselves. By offering the way to eternal life to the peasants, the missionaries endow them with a hope that is stronger than all their sufferings. What does a life of hardship, hunger and toil mean when compared to eternity? And even the horrible death and torture promised by the death squads has no power over those who have eternal life. One of the most powerful scenes from The Mission was one where Father Gabriel was leading a huge mass of women and children out of the church that had been set on fire by the Portuguese army. He led them, singing, calm, out to face the muskets of the soldiers. What powerful hope and faith! The fear of death had been removed from them, and they were nearly indifferent about their deaths, for they knew where they were going. In another scene, a canoe with two Guarani in it lured a Portuguese canoe behind it until they were both caught in the rapids above the giant waterfall and fell to their doom. It was with peace of mind and soul that the Guarani could face their attackers in this way, and today, because of the missionaries and priests, oppressed people can still have this peace from God.
But the missionaries offer hope for change as well. The Bible is full of stories about the oppressed escaping their oppressors. The introduction of the Bible and of liberation theology gives the peasants education, motivation and impetus for change. Rigoberta Menchú writes, "But as Christians, we have understood that being a Christian means refusing to accept all the injustices which are committed against our people, refusing to accept the discrimination committed against a humble people who barely know what eating meat is but who are treated worse than horses" (134). Rigoberta Menchú has used the Bible and her training as a catechist extensively in her struggle for her peoples' human rights. In Bruchko, the impact that missionaries have on the struggle of indigenous peoples for their lands and human rights is greatly apparent. Bruce Olson writes, after Bobby's death from the shot of a settler's shotgun:
". . . what meaning did the murder of my pact-brother have to me?
As I talked to one of the head ministers in the Colombian government one night, I got my answer. He had known Bobarishora personally, and had a great interest in the Motilone people. I had just described Bobby's death, and there were tears in his eyes.
‘But Bruce,’ he said, ‘you keep talking as though you wished Jesus would intervene and put an end to all this trouble. Can't you see that it's just the opposite. If it weren't for Jesus, the Motilones would be pushed back into the jungle until they were slowly but surely eliminated! If it weren't for Jesus, there would be no struggle; Bobby would never have had to die like he did" (204).
Missionaries, by introducing a spiritual background and motivation, and the education about the powerful examples of liberation in the Bible, form the basis for the only movement that will effect real change in South America: the movement of the peasants themselves.
In addition to giving the peasants a means of hope and of effecting change, the missionaries help them in a real way physically. I wrote before that by adapting to new ideas, the Motilones began to be more independent, and therefore were able to protect themselves against the infringement of their rights by the settlers and by civilization in general while still retaining their culture. I think this is very significant. Just as the missions in The Mission provided sanctuary for the Indians against slavery, so the missionaries today protect them from slavery by equipping them with the means to support themselves. Many Indians in South America have no alternative to the economic slavery of the fincas where they are cheated at every step and sometimes end their work period without a cent (Menchú 42). The missionaries, by helping the people medically and agriculturally, are able to protect them from the enslavement of the fincas by making them self-supporting. In The Mission, Father Gabriel said of his mission, San Carlos, when speaking to the Cardinal, that "nine-tenths of what they own goes back, into the community, into their lives." By making it possible for Indians to support themselves and organize themselves against slavery, the missionaries help to maintain and ensure the human rights of the peasants in real ways. In The Mission, Cardinal Altamirano wrote in his letter to the Pope, "These missions have provided a refuge for the Indians against the worst depredations of the settlers." The same is true today, where the missionaries provide real help in the struggle for human rights in South America.
The character and effectiveness of missionaries in my studies has led me to reexamine their role and function. At the beginning of the course, I had an idea of missionaries as people who shout at the Indians about Jesus and then leave. Since then I have seriously changed my view of them. World Views has brought to my attention the problems of cultural preservation and social injustice in South America. It has also shown me that missionaries are the only people offering real solutions to these problems. They play a vital role in the struggle in South America.
That, anyway, is what I have learned.
The Mission
The Mission. Color/125 mins. ©1986 Kingsmere Productions Ltd.
This movie is a historical dramatization of events that happened in 1750 in the countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. It stars Robert Deniro and Jeremy Irons. The movie has superb acting, music and writing, and has received an Oscar (1986) for Best Cinematography, an Academy Award (1986) for Best Cinematography, and the 1986 Cannes Film Festival's Palme Dior, or Best Film award.
Our World Views class watched The Mission as an extra-curricular activity. It is about Jesuit priests who become involved in an international political dilemma, because their missions are on land that is under dispute by Spain and Portugal. The missions are havens for the indigenous people, and are a way for them to escape slave traders, because they are protected by the church and the laws of Spain, which do not permit slavery. As a result of the political and diplomatic situation in Europe, however, the church is forced to withdraw protection from the missions and allow them to be taken over by the Portugese. The movie is narrated by Cardinal Altamirano, who is writing a letter to the Pope, explaining the outcome of his visit to the area in question. It is he who is responsible for proclaiming the final judgement on the area, and he explains throughout the movie with what disgust and sadness he must do so. The main characters are a Jesuit missionary named Father Gabriel (played by Jeremy Irons), and a slave trader and mercenary named Rodrigo Mendoza (played by Robert Deniro) who kills his brother in a duel because of a woman and who subsequently becomes a Jesuit under Father Gabriel.
The movie is a very powerful and acclaimed one, but I have not researched the historical evidence behind it. It seems though, from the structure of the movie, that it was based upon a historical letter from Cardinal Altamirano to the Pope. Like The Storyteller and I, Rigoberta Menchú, this is a subjective account that has gone through many layers of editing and translating. Also like them, it contains useful information despite the insulation from the source.
Besides, it's a darn good movie.
Bruchko
Olson, Bruce E., Bruchko, Creation House 1992.
Bruchko is an autobiographical account of Bruce Olson's experiences as a missionary in South America, near the border of Columbia and Venezuela. He has worked primarily with the Motilone tribe, a tribe that "had achieved the dubious distinction of killing almost every outsider who set foot on their territory." (8) He lived and worked with them from 1961 until at least 1978, when a revised edition of his book was published. Since then the book has been printed at least fifteen more times and has been translated into six other languages. The book represents "a milestone in the history of missions" (back cover) because of Olson's innovative approach to missions work. Olson's efforts "have won him the personal friendship of five presidents of Colombia, appearances before the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and many honors for his contribution to the medical and social well-being of these stone-age people" (back cover). He also "speaks fifteen languages, has had papers published in linguistic journals, and has pioneered in computer translation of tribal languages" (8).
The book is about Olson's desire to become a missionary and his experiences with the Motilones and other Venezuelan tribes. It recounts his experiences with sickness, the jungle, hostile Indians and land settlers, and epidemics. Through it all there is a sense of humility and determination. Bruce Olson went to be a missionary to the Motilones at the age of 19, without any missionary training. He was ostracized by other missionaries in the area because of this, and became sort of a rogue. He recounts his first encounter with Christianized Indians:
"When Sunday came I suggested to one of them that we all go to the church which wasn't far from their camp, and listen to stories about God. He looked at me and frowned. ‘No, we don't do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Those Christians, they're strange.’
He wouldn't say more, but he did take me to the chief of the village, a big, strong character who laughed when he was told what I wanted to know.
‘Listen,’ he said, ‘those Christians don't care about us any more. Why should we care about them?’
‘How do you know that they don't care about you? They're of your tribe.’
‘Why, they've rejected everything about us,’ he said, ‘They won't sing our songs now. They sing those weird, wailing songs that are all out of tune and don't make sense. And the construction which they call a church! Have you seen their church? It's square! How can God be in a square church? Round is perfect.’ He pointed to the wall of the hut in which we sat. ‘It has no ending, like God. But the Christians, their God has points all over, bristling at us. And how those Christians dress! Such foolish clothes. . .’
I thought of the Indian Christians I had seen at the missionary compound. They had been taught how to dress in clothes with buttons, how to wear shoes, how to sing Western songs.
Is that what Jesus taught, I asked myself. Is that what Christianity is all about? What does the good news of Jesus Christ have to do with North American culture? In Bible times there was no North American culture. Were the missionaries making a mistake in their preaching? Of course, it probably made them happy to see the Indians dressed like Americans, singing ‘Rock of Ages.’ But was that the only way Jesus could be worshipped? And was there a certain amount of satisfaction in having the Indian Christians persecuted by the rest of the tribe? I began to wonder. . ." (50-51)
This excerpt summarizes, I believe, the essential difference in Bruce Olson's perception of missionary work. It forms the backbone of the book in a way, and it becomes clear that his role as a missionary is to stand back and let God work not because of him but despite him and through him. The book is full of the miracles, the surprises, and the strange revelations of his first years with the Motilone tribe. It is a powerful book, and it addresses quite thoroughly two of the main units of our World Views class. In my opinion, it would be a valuable addition to the curriculum. It is well worth reading and expands the ideas we have studied in other World Views material in new ways.