Chorote New Testament Celebration

MISIÓN LA PAZ, FORMOSA, Argentina — For the 2,000 or so Chorote-speaking people who inhabit the shores of the Pilcomayo River in Argentina’s far-northern Formosa Province (Gran Chaco) bordering Paraguay, June 22, 1997 was marked with the launch and dedication of the Chorote (Iyojwa’ja)* New Testament, reports Marcelo Figueroa, General Secretary of the Argentine Bible Society.

Living about 200km (125 miles) from the nearest main town, and 2,000km (1,250 miles) from the capital, Buenos Aires, the Chorote people mostly survive by fishing and hunting or cultivating the land or harvesting wild fruits. All of which continues despite the ongoing deforestation and the extreme climactic and seasonal conditions which range from drought to flooding.

Conflict

During the conflict between Paraguay and Bolivia in the 1940s, some Chorotes crossed the Pilcomayo River to flee the fighting and settled in Argentina where they heard the Gospel. It is believed that the first Chorotes were baptised in 1949, however, there was at that time no written form for their language and no Scriptures available, the closest being those used by their Wichí- or Mataco-speaking neighbours whose New Testament was first published in 1962. Today, about 70 per cent profess the Christian faith.

Missionary task

In 1976 English missionary Nicholas Drayson undertook the task of translating the New Testament into Chorote. He was joined in 1979 by Julián Gómez, who was later ordained as a local pastor. Between them they began preparing New Reader Portions.

In the early 1980s the project was suspended for several years because of the South Atlantic conflict but Julián Gómez continued working on the Gospel of Mark, and this was duly published by the Argentine Bible Society in 1992 and widely distributed among the Chorotes. Nick Drayson was unable to visit Argentina again until 1990, when full diplomatic relations between Argentina and the UK were restored, but it was not until 1994 that he returned to live with his family in Tartagal.

By that time, the Chorote church situation had matured and there was wide approval for the completion of the New Testament translation, and in October 1996 the translation diskettes were handed over for final checking and production, leading up to the ceremony at Misión La Paz on June 22: a celebration attended by representatives of the churches, the translation team and the Bible Society, among others.

Dream fulfilled

"The Bible Society translates for minorities because God loves the minorities, and his message of salvation is for every individual," said Mr Figueroa in his address. "Today has been fulfilled the dream of those who preceded us in this work so that today the Chorote people have the Word of God. We give all the glory and thanks to God for having been tools in his hands to bless the Chorote people."

Speaking on behalf of the translation team, and as the one who oversaw the project, UBS Translation Consultant Dr William Mitchell added, "The fact that one nation after another is receiving the Word of God in its language is not a mere accident but a part of God’s plan, showing that he loves all people equally. I believe that God wants to tell you that he affirms his love for you, that you are very important to him, because there are no big or little nations before God. In front of God we are all small but he loves us just the same."

He also assured his audience that the team had worked hard to ensure a translation that33as both faithful to the original language yet graceful and meaningful to the modern Chorote speakers. "I assure you that the [Scripture] you are receiving is no less than that used by other people in other languages. Be sure about that!" he said.

Context

But it was the words of one of the Chorotes that placed the day’s celebration in its historical and cultural context: David González, a local chief or cacique recalled how even when they could not read or write the Chorotes had first heard the Bible through the early missionaries. "The fruits of those missionaries have been the New Testaments in Wichí and Chorote," he said. "Thanks to them we, the Chorotes, can distinguish between good and bad. Now there is no discrimination because of language; we talk and there is no distrust between us."

Because of the lack of other materials available in the Chorote language, the New Testament will also be a key textbook used in the national bilingual education curriculum, so its potential among the Chorote-speaking community is even wider. "The Bible Society has fulfilled its mission," Mr Figueroa concluded at the ceremony. "From now on the responsibility falls in the hands of the church: to transmit and teach the Word of God."

* Chorote Iyojwa’ja is a distinct language from the neighbouring Chorote Iyo’wujwa, of which there are an estimated 1,500 speakers in Argentina and 500 in Paraguay, although in Argentina their communities are mixed.

This page was last updated on Monday, 27th October 1997.