Chapter 2: First encounters mentioned
earlier, we had our first meeting soon with Shipibo Indians, who knocked on our door as a seller. During a visit to learn the Bible School of the Shipibo Indians in Pucallpa I know more Shipibos. During this time I took the lessons simply as observers. So I got one hand a first insight into the education of Indian ministers, on the other hand, as well as in the behavior of the Indian students. Were particularly striking her shyness and the difficulties they had with the English language. Later, when I taught at, I experienced it time and again that students were very shy. But often, which was only on the context and to the foreign language. If they are then visited in their village, that is in their own environment where they could communicate in their own language, you often do not trust his own eyes. - Was that really the same person? Well, at home she felt "like a fish in water" as they say in Peru.
When I visit the Shipibo Bible School in Pucallpa I met a young Shipibo Indians know, so here is the much less was: Jeis. Ver-probably lay with the fact that he Yarina (in Pucallpa) grew up and attended school in the city. But he is also generally someone the easily make friends and knows all the world. Soon a friendship and Jeis visited us again and again at the mission. When I met him, he still attended secondary school and was sometimes at a considerable identity crisis. This depended very strongly to the fact that his father had left his mother and she remained alone with the children. The hardest part was that his father, the son Jeis always refused, claiming he was from another man when his father was seriously ill later in the hospital, visited him regularly Jeis and asked me to visit his father also. I fulfilled Jeis request and had a very good talk with him. Later it has improved the relationship between Jeis and his father, although there have been occasional setbacks. A tension was always Jeis his identity as a Shipibo Indians, the traditionally non-Indians in the village, but grew up in the city. This earned him a hand, great advantages such as good education and good English. But it lacks much knowledge, a village grew up in the Indian has otherwise indicated.
Despite the low place occupied by Indians usually have in the Peruvian society, Jeis proud Indian to his origin. And he hides them - in contrast to others of his tribe who grew up also in town - not. After the secondary school was trained as a nurse Jeis which he passed with success.
During his school years, he always won competitions and was allowed to make just as representative of the youth traveled extensively throughout Peru. He got people from the most varied areas and layers of Peru know and expanded his horizons considerably. In addition to its use in the Church, he is also very politically engaged and committed, which would have brought him into trouble once almost ...
continued in recent years, Jeis quite an impact on AIDS prevention, because this disease is for the Shipibo Indians to become a threat. It led to this Issue several studies and wrote material and information in
the Shipibo language. In his own initiative he launched projects in Shipibo villages to the public - to inform about the disease - especially young people. I'm curious to see how his life will continue. It would not surprise me if he would one day in the regional government of Ucayali, or even in the Peruvian Parliament Sitting ...
Even in a training course for cross-cultural mission, carried out by FAIENAP, the Federation of Protestant Churches Indians of the Peruvian Amazon lowlands (www.faienap.org), offered further opportunities to come into contact with Indians. In November 1998, this course took place at the mission and they were mainly Indian pastors who attended. Some of these pastors were working as missionaries in other tribal groups. It could be seen moving for me to take what effort it upon himself to bring the Gospel to others. During the course we had a lively exchange about Indian cultures and it became clear that although there are many similarities but also significant differences between the various ethnic groups. These differences include the food. For example, the manatee is a specialty for the Shipibo Indians (the result, almost all ate in their tribal area ...); for Candoshi Indians have is the manatee, but a taboo animal whose meat which does a pregnant woman may come in contact. However, identical behavior is often rooted in a particular case differently. Example, it is often the case that children who come with a malformation of the world are killed. In a minority of this behavior with a strong emphasis on the autonomy of the individual is justified, ie, an ill-educated person is seen as a burden to society. In another ethnic group, this behavior based on the grounds that it was the child of an evil spirit that is not tolerated could be.
revealed during the course, several interesting conversations and meetings with Indian ministers. When we looked at on one evening a film about the life of the China-missionary Hudson Taylor, Tito was one of the participants, very touched and had tears in his eyes. He had also - like Hudson Taylor - loved his first wife very much and they lost quite early. His pain of that was still great, but it did not depend on trust in God and continue to preach his word.
with another Shipibo Indians I had an encounter me a little irritated. He gave me his hand in greeting while, but I looked in the face, but on the other side. How should I interpret that? In our German context that's not very polite. - But I could take my cultural background as a standard? I asked Roger, the head of the course. He is also Shipibo Indians, but married to a mestizo. He explained to me that it is in its culture is an expression of politeness, not the other to look directly in the face, or into the eyes. - I felt that would be many pitfalls ahead of me ...
For the final evening of the Course we practiced up a face-off. As white, of course I had to play the role of a crazy missionary, the so makes all kinds of stupid units, and above all running around with his camera around. We had a lot of fun and of course I took the opportunity to take a picture ...
During our first months at the mission was a Candoshi Indians as an apprentice in the small animal breeding program at the mission. He had a real, typical Candoshi name and was called Mashingashi. There was planned that I would soon make a trip to his tribe, I got into conversation with him and of course wanted to stuff about him and know its culture. Among other things, I asked him how the Candoshi welcome it. He explained it to me. I said to him: "But you give nothing of the hand" - he replied: "Yes we do, we are now civilized" When I came to the Candoshi was of course nothing to do with shaking hands! It's just not part of their culture. But such answers with the emphasis on "Now we are civilized," then I have received quite a lot. It just hangs with the fact that the Indians in Peru are a fringe group and - in ignorance of their culture - are often regarded as primitive savages. cracked Accordingly, the self-esteem many Indians and they are trying through the "Zivilisiertsein" to level. During the trip to Candoshi I even came in Mashingashis village and his father invited us to dinner in his house. Since I lived to see such a civilizing surprise: it was hanging on a line in the house - lined up neatly - several shirts and ties. I felt like Julius Caesar in the film "Asterix in Britain": I came, saw and could not believe my eyes ...!
A few years later there was a situation in Mashingashis life in which he more traditional, "civilized" rather than react. He had a dream in which a Voice told him he should take a second wife. For most Indians - for the Candoshi - dreams have an important meaning. Sometimes it happens that they sit for days at home and ponder on the meaning of a particular dream. Well, Mashingashi took command in his dream very seriously. He tried to take a second wife, and thereby brought in considerable difficulties. His (first) wife was like this, of course, less than enthusiastic, even if it still happens that a Candoshi has two or more wives ...
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