When the blood in your veins returns to the sea, and the earth in your bones returns to the ground, perhaps then you will remember that this land does not belong to you, it is you who belongs to this land. (Native American quote)
A Film That Will Move You
Have you ever watched The Mission? It’s remarkable. The film is set in the middle of 18th-century South America, when the Spanish Empire ceded a part of its territory to Portugal in order to prevent further conflicts between the two countries.
Territories gained by Portugal were located by the Uruguay River and were called Banda Oriental. They are now split between Uruguay, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.
Slave Hunters
It was a period when Jesuit missions were being established in that area in order to introduce Christianity to indigenous people and convert them.
Unfortunately, it was a time when the Spanish traders set to forests with a completely different purpose.
Robert De Niro depicts Rodrigo Mendoza, a slaver who makes his living kidnapping natives such as the Guaraní people and selling them to nearby plantations.
After killing his brother in a duel, Mendoza spirals into depression. A Jesuit priest challenges Mendoza to undertake a suitable penance.
Mendoza accompanies the Jesuits via the famous Iguazu Falls to the natives’ territory, where he makes peace with the natives, becomes a Jesuit priest and defends the Guaraní people against aggressors, conquerors and slavers.
Film depicts real events and conveys an important and deep message. I highly recommend it.
According to God’s Plan
As always, Silva and I made no plans when we set out on our missionary journey to South America. We leave all the planning to God. He’s the one who sends people to us, opens the doors and presents us with new work and travel opportunities.
The journey to South Brazil was therefore unplanned, as well, but we welcomed the opportunity with enthusiasm. The path led us to the indigenous Guaraní people – to the same place where The Mission was filmed and the events that today leave us speechless and ashamed unfolded.
Fr. Diego Pelizzari
Like I mentioned in the previous article, our friend Paulo Moroni recommended us to the missionary Diego. We set off from Ourinhos to Cascavel and spent three days with Diego, visiting the native communities in the forests by the Paraná River.
Fr. Diego Giuseppe Pelizzari, a Xaverian, came to Brazil in 1988. Since 1994, he dedicates most of his time and work to the indigenous Guaraní people.
The Discriminated Guaraní People
Guaraní people face heavy discrimination and oppression in Brazil. The government of Brazil has full power and control over most of the territory inhabited by Native Americans.
The government exploits their powerlessness, illiteracy, disorganization, and the lack of language skills and political engagement – the government drives the natives from their territory, builds infrastructure, sells the land to big multinational corporations (American and European) or allocates it to agricultural projects.
Not only does this interfere with nature, disturb its equilibrium and pollute the soil, it interferes also with the original, ancient culture of indigenous people who have lived there for a long time.
CIMI
Fr. Diego participates in the CIMI organization, which offers material and legal support to discriminated natives. CIMI is well aware of native communities’ frailty.
CIMI knows that that dispersion of natives, size of Brazil (3.286.170 square kilometers), different culture, language and customs prevent the natives to be able to organize against the interests of rich capitalist elite, which puts the capital and exploitation of resources for profit first.
‘Guaraní people are not interested in money. All they want is to keep living where they have always lived, in the same conditions and in the same way – in the forests or by the rivers or lakes where they can hunt, fish and pick fruit,’ says Fr. Diego.
South America is the home of many indigenous peoples. One of these peoples are the Guaraní who differ from others by language (they speak Guaraní, which is one of the two official languages of Paraguay), customs and habits.
Nowadays, the Guaraní inhabit Paraguay’s forests, Argentina (Misiones Province), parts of Uruguay and Bolivia, and the southern part of Brazil, where we visited.
Abá – People
The history and meaning of the word Guaraní is still the subject of discussion among experts. Before they came in contact with Europeans, they were simply called Abá, which means ‘man’ or ‘people’ in Guaraní language. The first Jesuits called Guaraní those who accepted the Christian faith.
Some claim that the name Guaraní was coined by the Spanish during the colonization, since Tupi-Guarani means ‘fighter’ or ‘warrior’.
Distrust Towards the White People
In colonial times when Spain ceded a part of its territory to Portugal, ‘Guaraní hunting’ was a lucrative business for many wealthy people.
Thousands of natives were sold into slavery, many settlements were set ablaze, women were raped and children were killed.
Distrust towards the white people is deeply ingrained for this reason, so it’s no surprise that we were closely watched when we entered the first village with Diego.
In Constant Danger
‘We will meet with the chief. In each community, you need to speak with the person in charge first. He’s the one who decides whether we can enter the village. Especially if you’re white. They know me well, but I need to explain who you are,’ said Fr. Diego.
Diego told us that the Guaraní in this village are particularly under pressure. People in the nearby town don’t like them. They are often beaten, especially if they come from the forest individually. For this reason, they go to the center in groups.
Revolt Against the Capital
Some time ago they killed a young native, because he publically revolted against the construction of a well-known Swiss chemical company.
The company wanted to build a business facility on their territory, since they could not obtain permission anywhere else – that’s because the company produces dangerous and polluting chemicals.
The Guaraní people don’t look at the nature like white people do. They perceive themselves as a part of nature, as a part of the same organism, while the white people see it as something separate, something that can be used for our own benefit and profit, and discarded as a disposable product once it no longer serves its purpose.
Diego tells us:
‘Guaraní are in constant search of their ‘paradise’. For them, the paradise means a healthy land, a land without anything bad. A soil that does not yield crops, a soil that doesn’t yield good crops or a soil that is ‘infected’ with agricultural is considered as ‘ill’.
They never settle in areas where they can’t find the ‘ideal’ conditions for coexistence with nature, which are forest, water, and fertile soil for growing maize, manioca, mango and other fruits. ‘
A Different Kind of Fighting
The Guaraní have always been nomads, always looking for healthy and fertile land. Nowadays, they are mostly static because they fear that the authorities will seize their territory and they will never be able to return.
That’s exactly what happened to many of them. When they returned to their own land, they discovered it was privatized in the meantime and allocated for industrial use. They had to provide evidence that they actually lived in this territory previously.
‘500 years ago they had to fight against the forces of nature, but now they must fight against the bureaucracy, industrialization, state apparatus, racism, intolerance and discrimination,’ Diego says.
This is when the CIMI organization with friar Diego, lawyers, anthropologists, cultural experts and archeologists step in to provide the evidence in their favor. The work is hard, but successful. Without such assistance, Guaraní in Brazil would have been left with no options.
When You Dare to Cut off a Bamboo Shoot
‘Dos Hermanos’ (Two brothers) village which we also visited with Diego, lies along a large branch of the river. Opposite the river, 500 meters away is an islet with dense bamboo trees. It’s a part of the Brazilian National Park, and as such protected.
In March this year, a group of three natives set out to the islet with a boat. They cut off a single bamboo shoot and returned.
The local police intercepted them on their way back, escorted them to the shore and seized their boat. Then, they forced them to sit on the ground for several hours, beat them, verbally abused them and put them in prison for 3 days without food or possibility of personal hygiene. Finally, the police started a court proceeding against them, which is still not over.
In such cases, Guaraní resort to the CIMI organization to provide legal defense. The state police quickly approved the return of the boat, but the local police still haven’t released it.
This is just one example of the rejection and discrimination of indigenous people in this part of Brazil.
Tobacco and Mate Tea
Otherwise, Guaraní are friendly, peaceful and open. We received a warm welcome in all their villages. We entered their modest wooden cottages, sat by the fire with them, drank the traditional tea and even smoked the pipe with them.
Tobacco smoking is not a bad habit for the Guaraní. Tobacco has a spiritual significance, it chases away bad spirits, it is used in spiritual rituals (in morning and evening), where the ritual leader walks in a circle from one person to the other, places his hands on their heads and blows the smoke in their direction.
Pipe smoking is also an important social element that links the family and community. By the fire that is lit day and night, family members sit, pass around the pipe and talk.
We Don’t Sell to the Natives
Here is another example of discrimination. Before Diego and us headed to the village, we went to the store to buy tobacco for the native community, only to discover that they stopped selling it at that time. They know how important tobacco is for Guaraní people, so this was one way to express their contempt and rejection.
In another village, Guaraní told us that while tobacco is sold in the village, the vendors simply refuse to sell it to them. Because they are natives – people whom they consider to be inferior and uncivilized – they can’t have the same rights as others. This is happening in 2018. How very sad!
House of Prayer
We were in the house of prayer, which is the center of every native village and community. This is the place where spiritual rituals take place and all the community’s important decisions are made. ‘Prayer house’ is a place for prayer, conversation, storytelling and myth-telling from their traditions.
For example, long before the community decides to leave the forest (e.g. because it no longer offers the necessary conditions, because the authorities force them to leave, etc.) they gather in the house of prayer, discuss and think about it and consult the elders (usually late into the night).
The Elders – Community’s Wise Men
The elders, the most respected members of the community, carriers of customs and traditions, recall the places where the different communities of Guaraní once lived. They give the community suggestions regarding which sites would be worth visiting again to check if the land has already been cured. If so, the community will unanimously take a decision and set out.
How Jesus Reveals Himself
I could write a lot more about everything we saw, heard got to know. But let me conclude with this thought from Diego:
‘If I’ve learned anything during these 24 years among the natives, it’s the significance of freedom. I used to think differently, but today I know that I can never force anyone to do anything. That includes accepting a religion. Freedom is the fundamental right of every human being.
In this freedom, we must learn how to recognize Jesus and his way of revelation in different cultures, including in the persecutions and wrongdoings that are happening to Native Americans and so many others in the world.
Sometimes I wonder if I really am the one who has to bring Christ to them, because I myself encounter him among these people – ignored, broken and abandoned.’
This is Operando!
Nace Volčič
