The Bible Boosters

Vernacular media services encourage indigenous groups in Brazil to use the translated Scriptures.

Many Terena Indians living in Brazil’s West Central region are proud to have God’s Word in their own language. Published in 1994, the Terena New Testament was a labour of love that began back in 1957, when linguists from SIL, Wycliffe’s key partner in translation, began living among them and learning their language.

With help from a handful of committed Terena believers, SIL’s Muriel Ekdahl, Nancy Butler and Muriel Perkins all contributed to the New Testament translation project, over a span of some 35 years.

But for a variety of reasons—including an attitude among the group that their language is inferior to Portuguese—few of the estimated 16-20,000 Terena living on reservations in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul are reading the translated Scriptures.

STIRRING UP INTEREST
Enter a small team that focuses on providing vernacular media services (VMS) such as audio recordings and films, which broaden the reach of the translated Scriptures by presenting them in stimulating, culturally appropriate ways.

The VMS work is shared by SIL and ALEM, its partner organization for Bible translation in Brazil.

“I believe VMS is at the forefront of changes taking place in Wycliffe’s strategies,” says ALEM’s Laerte (lah-AIR-chee) Zorzetti, who leads the VMS ministry.

“There’s a growing emphasis on orality—not to minimize the importance of the written Word—but all of these indigenous groups in Brazil…have more of an oral tradition than they do a written one.”

To further the work of Bible translation, Zorzetti and his American partner, Wycliffe’s Dan Kubitza, also provide computer services and technical support for translators and consultants working with ALEM and SIL. Last November, Zorzetti and Kubitza loaded computers and electronic equipment into their white VW van and drove some 900 km from Cuiabá to Taunay, a small town located just outside a Terena reservation called Agua Branca.

Inside Ekdahl’s home in Taunay, they upgraded equipment and software and trained two Terena church leaders who are translating Old Testament books, a bilingual dictionary and other materials.

Thanks to help received from the VMS team, the Terena men will be able to consult with Ekdahl, now 77, via e-mail from her new home in the U.S., when she “retires” this May.

BIBLE BROADCASTS
While Zorzetti and his partner are happy to play a part in keeping Bible translation efforts moving forward, they’re especially motivated to make Scripture materials available to the Terena and other indigenous groups in non-print formats.

To that end, they drove a little further down the road to assist Laucidio Sebastiao, a Terena man who runs a small community FM station next to his home on the Terena reserve. Sebastiao regularly broadcasts gospel programs, including readings from the Terena Scriptures, to a potential audience of about 700 people living within a short radius of his station.

“I started this work because of my concern for the older people especially,” says Sebastiao, referring to lower literacy rates among the elderly. “I want them to be able to hear the Word and understand it.”

Sebastiao knows personally about the power of God’s Word: his role on the Terena translation team led to his conversion in 1994. As a translation checker, he read through the New Testament several times to verify that it communicated well in Terena.

“It marked my life,” he says of the Bible’s power to change his direction.

IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY
Inside the FM station, Zorzetti and Kubitza upgraded technical equipment and trained Sebastiao how to improve his recordings of the Terena New Testament. While current recordings are of adequate quality for the community broadcasts, the duo envisions the day they can provide digital recordings of Scripture readings on economical, highly portable audio devices like Megavoice or Proclaimer that don’t rely on magnetic tapes or moving parts.

The two men also want to explore other options for getting the translated Scriptures into the hands—and ears and eyes—of indigenous groups throughout Brazil. Besides audio recordings, the tools at their disposal include gospel films, filmstrips, radio, television and drama.

But VMS teams around the world aim to provide media tools that are culturally appropriate, with a special focus on media that meet the needs of oral communicators.

“In one indigenous group,” Zorzetti says, “two young women translated a couple of Bible stories and told them to the children. Now whenever the children see these two women, they keep asking them to tell more stories.

“They just have two so far, but whenever they say they are going to tell a story, even the adults gather around to hear them.”

Zorzetti is careful to evaluate each situation separately, before determining which media tool is best. To illustrate, he cites the example of an indigenous group in northern Brazil that seemed indifferent to the written Scriptures, but responded enthusiastically to the JESUS film in their language.

“The objective of Bible translation is to have people use the translated Scriptures,” says Zorzetti. “But some indigenous groups aren’t that interested in the written form. They don’t have a desire for it.

“What we’re trying to do is create that desire….”