Jonathan Cooper
Introduction to the Ministry of Bible Translation
Nathan Davenport
March 8, 2010
Transformation Follows Translation.
As one reads the dedications of the book, The Great Omission, a heart-warming miracle comes in view. The author’s dedications are addressed to each of his father’s killers. Addressing the man who baptized him, Steve wrote, “I know you regret having killed so many people, among them your own wife’s family and five missionaries. But as soon as you heard that you could walk God’s trail, you were ready and have been faithfully following it ever since.” Nearly hidden below the prose is the miracle perhaps more spectacular than Saint’s forgiveness of the savages: the savages became saints.
Translation of Scripture’s meaning was pivotal in this miracle of God transforming the Waodani into saints. Although they had forgotten God, God had not forgotten them. He reached down into their darkness with the light of the Gospel. As a result, the eyes of the Waodani opened to a new life, freed from hate and fear.
The extent of their transformation is astonishing after one understands the intensity of their former depravity. The Waodani were infamous. In 1956, according to TIME Magazine, the Waodani were known “as 'the worst people on earth'” (“Ecuador…” ). On January 12, 1956, the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette announced, "A United States Airforce helicopter was reported tonight to have found four bodies near a camp five missionaries had set up in hope of Christianizing Auca Indian tribesmen" (“‘Copter Said…” 2). The Spokesman-Review noted, "A 29-man ground party is due tomorrow" (“Four Missioners…” 32). On December 4, 1957, The Age published an article with the following title: "Missionary Braves the Savage Auca Tribe." The article recounts the daring attempt by Dr. Tidmarsh to establish a medical clinic for the Auca. The article ends with these solemn words: "If Dr. Tidmarsh comes out of the Ecuadoran Jungle alive after a meeting with the Aucas, it will be the first time any stranger has walked out of the Auca territory. If he doesn't, his name will join the long list of those who have given their lives trying to carry the Christian message to tribes who live by the spear and kill their brothers." (13) In Waorani: The Contexts of Violence and War, Clayton and Carole Robarchek from Wichita State University added, "[While the missionary was away, t]he raiders ripped the door off, destroyed his belongings, and carried off his machetes and pots and pans. Outside the door, [the Waodani] left two crossed spears, a sign that, then as today, meant 'death to anyone who passes beyond this point.'" (96) The Wichita researches observed, “Although [the Waodani] possessed no firearms and in the last years of their isolation numbered fewer than 700, their fearsome reputation and viciously barbed 9-foot palmwood spears allowed them to maintain control over a vast territory, some 8,000 miles…” (9)
Their infamy was a testament to their cruelty. From childhood to adulthood, the Waodani was bound by demonic chains of spiteful ruthlessness. The children were not free from cruelty; they themselves were cruel. Dayuma, a girl who fled from the spearing in the jungle, serves as a window into the tribe’s old soul. Against elder admonitions, "[the children] loved to climb high up the slope, clinging to jungle vines, then come whooping and yelling down the steep landslide" (Wallis 39). When they were severely spanked with "nettles" by "Uncle Kiwa" the "angry" children "plotted revenge" (Wallis 39). When Kiwa returned from hunting, his bare feet stepped through loose dirt over "the sharpest palm thorns" (Wallis 39); after shouting "Ay! ow—ow!", Kiwa declared, "...I'll really nettle those children this time!" (Wallis 39) The children's retaliation (to steal peanuts from his garden) resulted in more spanking from Uncle Kiwa (Wallis 40). Later, as a result of graver politics, “Moipa came and killed Kiwa. 'Now who will nettle us?'” (Wallis 40)
The cruelty of the children fit the cruelty of their cradle. During her early years in the jungle, the young girl remembered a frightening day – the day her Mom said, "If your father doesn't come back tomorrow I will kill you" (41). Her mother's sincerity was evident not only in her subsequent description of technique but also in the culture's pattern of murder. As Ethel Emily Wallis relates, "She had heard so much ['of Auca children' being 'thrown out in the forest for the animals to eat, or choked with vines, or buried alive'] that she knew her mother was not 'just talking wild'" (43). For example, one fleeing mother threw her baby away with these words: "Why should I keep this baby? He cries so much." (Wallis 43) In regard to another’s decision, the grandmother said, “She threw this one away for no good reason. Later she will have another one” (Wallis 44). About the burial of a live baby with his dying father, one Waodani "recalled, 'We could hear that child down there for two or three days; sometimes you could hear them for a week.'" (Robarchek 134) In the case of Dayuma’s mother, the "skinny little Auca" may have seemed to be one too many mouths for a single Mom to feed (Wallis 42). Thankfully, Dayuma's father did return alive by noon and encouraged her to "work for me," not for mother (Wallis 45). The ending, however, was far less fortunate "for many Auca infants" (Wallis 45).
It can probably be assumed that this cruel cradle was demonic. Although the link between the demonic activity and the cruel activity may not be evident, demons were certainly present. First, demons were present in stories for children. As Ethel Emily Wallis wrote, "Although Dayuma never saw the devil of the forest, nor the jaguars and ocelots who guarded their dwellings, they were surely there, for Grandfather heard them and knew what they said." (51) Unlike stories about Santa Clause in the North Pole, the stories of demons in the jungle were not considered fairy tales for entertainment of children; demons were present in the minds of parents. Describing the beliefs of the adult population, Clayton and Carole Robarcheck noted, "Sickness, and deaths from illness, accidents, snakebites, and so on, are culturally defined as homicides--the result of sorcery-- and such deaths also demand vengeance." (132) Moreover, demons seemed present in the physical surroundings. Inside of her grandfather were two "jaguars" who "would speak to him... of many things that were going to happen." (Wallis 51) Upon the death of her grandfather, "My grandfather's jaguars became like baby ones. They went right out of a hole in the hut. ... Two big jaguars took the little jaguars in their teeth, and carried them off." (Dayuma qutd. by Wallis 52) With demons being so present in the environment, it seems reasonable to believe that the cruelty of the environment was due to this demonic presence.
These demonic chains of spiteful ruthlessness wore tighter (not looser) round an adult's soul. Adult backs felt spears, not nettles. The statistics were fierce; according to the Witchita researchers, "During the past century, more than 60% of Waorani deaths have been the result of homicide, making this the most violent society known to antropology" (1). Although crying babies might not gain revenge from below the soil, an adult's relatives could exact blood for blood. According to the Robarcheks, “[B]lood feuds and vendettas arising from past killings, from quarrels over marriage arrangements, and from accusations of sorcery were a way of life among the widely dispersed extended family bands.” (9) As one Waodani said, “In the old days [before the missionaries came] we just speared, back and forth. They speared. We speared, until there was only a few of us left.” (Pittman 6)
Dayuma was not the only one to flee the chaos. Years later, two others fled the jungle in desperation. The women met Dr. Tidmarsh, who recorded their answers to simple questions. On the first audio tape, “…through pitiful sobs and sighs, the Auca voices poured out a lamentation of spearing and killings, of sufferings and fears.” (132) On the second recording, “[w]ith hysterical blubberings she [the main speaker] jumped from the present to the past in her endless recounting of killings and curses.” (138) The Waodani were tormented.
The torment was demonic. Clearly, the women feared the power of demons, not only the power of people; “Maengamo, always the main speaker,” claimed that “[h]er second daughter had been killed by witchcraft, a fate certain to be hers also if she remained in the forest.” (138) Subtly, it also appears that the demons provided the purpose to kill, not only the power to kill. This influence is subtle; the Robarcheks went so far as to conclude, “Although wineiri are the vehicles for sorcery, the anger and malevolence that motivate it are human.” (113)
However, demons appeared to influenced human purpose, not only human power. First, the demons provided enticing information. As Pittman noted, “Once the person [who caused a death] had been identified, often by a shaman, the culture then required that the death be avenged by the oldest able-bodied male relative of the deceased” (6) For example, The Dayuma Story reads, “Mingi and his followers had declared that through a vision it was revealed that Aentyaeri’s father was a witch doctor. With his forces rallying around him, Mingi speared not only Aentyaeri’s father, but also his mother… [throwing] their bodies out in the forest for the buzzards to eat” (63). Years later, Aentyaeri, Moipa, and Itaeka killed Mingi and his companions (65). Then, “Aentyaeri went the same night to Fish River in search of others who had participated in the spearing of his parents.” (66) Ethel Wallis noted, “In the bloody clash that followed with the sympathizers of each of the opposing parties, many Aucas were killed” (66). Although Aentyaeri did die, “Moipa had escaped,” and this “experienced killer” would afflict the tribe as he “vigorously perpetuated the tradition of spearing within the tribe and on its borders” (67). After Moipa speared Dayuma’s father (72), “hacked” her little sister “to death with a machete” and killed other “men, women and children” (71), the girl escaped to the foreigners. The demonic vision seeded resentment in Aentyaeri, initiating a mass bloodbath and facilitating a madman’s practice.
In addition to the information to kill, the demons also offered the inspiration to kill. For example, the “jaguars” inside of grandfather fueled murder with fear. Mixing truth with lies, the demons said that “there will be spearings and only four [Waodani] will be left. Then the foreigners will come and take all of your land.” (Wallis 51) The demons incited, “All of you will die… if you don’t spear [the foreigners] first.” (52) From childhood through old age, demons tied the Waodani to the chains of spiteful brutality.
After contact with missionaries, the Waodani became a different people. Regarding the 2002 release of End of the Spear, the New York Times website published Mark Deming's review: "Within two years, a profound change came over the Aucas -- their murder rate fell by 90 percent…" (Deming) According to one estimate, this sharp decrease in spearing sprees has allowed the small tribe’s numbers to more than double (Barnes). The Robarcheks commented, "Even though occasional spearings continue, the old pattern of raiding and vendettas was abandoned remarkably quickly and easily. Most people agreed to forgive old grievances and abandon revenge raiding once they were convinced that their enemies would do the same." (174) Certainly, the Waodani are not perfect; as the Robarchks observed, “Charity is notably lacking, polygyny and infanticide persist (although at reduced levels), and extramarital sex remains a popular recreational activity.” (113) Nonetheless, the change is real.
On October 27, 2007, The Guardian reported, "Under siege from oil companies and loggers, the Huaorani of Ecuador are fighting back - through ecotourism." (Ede) After a visit to the tribe, the article's author, Piers Moore Ede, recounted, "If it was hard to believe where I was, it was harder still to believe what I was there to do. I was about to spend a week with the Huaorani ...[who] first made the headlines… when they killed five American missionaries with spears." However, the disbelief vanished from view as the journalist enjoyed the friendly Waodani, mediocre victuals, and comfy accommodations at the new jungle lodge: "Considering the remoteness of the location, I was expecting little more than tents, but was pleasantly surprised to find five log cabins with wooden decks. Each one has hot water and a flush toilet, Jascivan told us proudly, and there is a large central dining room." (Ede) Ironically, the lodge’s tourist website employs comparison to lure adventurers toward their vacation spot: "[U]nlike some closely related tribes, who shun outside influences and can be dangerous to approach, they are no longer nomadic hunters. The Huaorani now lead a more settled and open existence in the humid tropical forests of Ecuador.” (“Huaorani Ecolodge…”) The feared killers have become tour guides.
Embracing Christ was the cause (not just coinciding circumstance) of the creation of the new Waodani. The researchers from Witicha explained, “The culture of war, insulated from new information, had a momentum that had carried it across many generations. When new information became available, however, it generated new constructions of reality, and that allowed the formulation of new individual and social goals.” (174) Though technology was useful, the researchers emphasized, "Absolutely crucial… was the new information, the new vision of reality provided by the returning women who accompanied them.” (174) Instead of the information to kill, the message about Christ brought mindset of peace to the masses; even though many Waodani have not embraced “Christianity [as] the anchor for a new identity…”, they “widely accepted” that God “abhors killing” (Robarchek 113). Furthermore, the message of Christ has given new inspiration, creating new hearts among “those who have internalized these new values” (Robarchek 113). Those few who “have indeed foresworn the old ways” serve as “an important moral force, especially on the Protectorate” (Robarchek 113). On January 8, 2006, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, “James Boster, [an unbeliever and] an anthropologist from the University of Connecticut, studied the history of Waodani revenge murders, and concluded that Christian conversion prevented self-extinction” (Rodgers 56). By providing new information and inspiration, Christianity caused the creation of a new Waodani society.
The translation of the message about Christ was the pivot point in the shift toward sanity. Dayuma illustrates the experience of the tribe. The presence of a missionary did not transform her heart. Even Rachael Saint’s example itself did not transform her heart. The heart of Dayuma was only transformed when she believed the translated message about Christ. Rachel recalled, “I worked out the story of Lazarus verse by verse.” (Wallis 90) Mary Sargent remembered, “Her eyes fairly shone [in response]! …Later I said to Rachel, ‘I am sure that Dayuma is born again---she is so responsive!” (Wallis 90) Thereafter, “…Rachel [would] translate simple Bible stories into Auca and… begin teaching her the life of Christ. ‘Line upon line’ she learned of the miraculous birth and life of Christ, and His power to raise the dead, heal the sick, and still storms.” (Wallis 90)
The new information about Christ replaced old information about demons and vengeance. From the Scriptures, Dayuma learned that “the Savior who lived in her heart was more powerful than witch doctors or demons” (121). When audio tapes confronted Dayuma with the chains of her childhood, the information about Christ allowed her to shake herself free from the hate; in triumph, she could say, “Not being angry I will sleep” (139)
As the transformation spread throughout the tribe, translation of Scripture’s meaning remained the pivot point in freeing souls from bondage. Describing his transformation, Dyuwi said, “But I did [those killings] when my heart was black. Now Jesus’ blood has dripped and dripped and washed my heart clean. I don’t live like that any more. Loving the Lord I live.” (268) The Waodani hearts were not transformed by the missionaries’ quiet example. Instead, the change came by the embrace of the truth from Scripture. As Dawa said, “I told you that we Aucas would not take a long time to believe in God. Just as soon as we hear we believe.” (267) In order for the people to believe, they had to hear (Romans 10:14).
The people heard the information through “Bible stories,” extemporaneously communicated by Dayuma (229). Over time, the rough, oral translations would be refined toward a written text; Wallis wrote, “As the Aucas reviewed the amazing truths of God’s carving, the foreign women absorbed more of the language of the forest.” (237) As Dayuma spoke, “…Rachel and Elisabeth, sitting in hammocks strung between the poles which supported thatched rooves [sic] with no walls, began to crack the code of one of the most difficult languages on earth, the unwritten Wao tongue.” (Maxwell) Eventually, the refinement of the translation of Scripture’s message progressed into a finalized in writing. By 1993, “[w]ith prayer and perseverance, Catherine, Rosi and their Waorani helpers produced a translation which the Waorani understand well.” (Source) The pivot point in the culture’s shift toward sanity had been refined and recorded for future generations.
It should be noted that Scripture translation was only the pivot point in a broad-ranging, investment-intensive process toward transformation. Before the translators could translate the message, they chose to be present; the message would not have been translated if it were not for “five intelligent men [who] risked their lives [and lost their lives] to bring the word of God to a few uncivilized natives.” (McCully 106) Also, before the translators had an opportunity to translate the message, the translators chose to demonstrate the message. On April 22, 1956, an article in The Milwaukee Sentinel was entitled “I forgive my husband’s killers”. After describing that fateful day, the widow of Ed McCully wrote, “I do not hate the Aucas, nor do the other missionaries’ wives.” (106) Before the missionaries were allowed to translate the message, the missionaries had to decide to illustrate the message.
After the Waodani were transformed through the translation of Scripture, the missionaries had to release the people. Based on his experience in the Waodani, Steve Saint concluded that the lack of indigenous empowerment was The Great Omission of modern missions. Among the Waodani, Steve Saint saw evidence of the benefits of empowerment (and of the dangers of dependency). In order to translate the message and in order to empower the new Waodani, missionaries have had to make heroic choices.
However, the dramatic transformation of the Waodani is not a testament to the missionaries’ self-sacrificing decisions; God Himself created the new Waodani. God called the missionaries to reach the Waodani because of His plan, not because of their perfection. In a journal entry on December 31, Jim Eliot wrote, “A month of temptation. Satan and the flesh have been on me hard. How God holds my soul in His life and permits one with such wretchedness to continue in His service I cannot tell” (475).
In addition to sending people to the Waodani, God intervened throughout the subsequent adventures. In her biography of Jim Elliot, Susan Miller writes, “When the men were dead and their bodies lying on the beach… [the Waodani] looked up over the tops of the trees and saw a large group of people singing… [who] looked like ‘a hundred flashlights.’” (195) As Miller relates, “Only years later, when they had heard and understood the gospel, did the Waoranis realize what they had seen. …[As a result,] Dawa had become the first Christian in the tribe five years later.” (195) Even in the death of the missionaries, God Himself was reaching out to the Waodani.
When God sent Dayuma back into the jungle, He intervened to show His power. When a storm was threatening, God answered her prayer. When she did not know where to stay, He told her. When she did not know what to eat, God told her (186). Her jungle re-entry – which eternally pierced through the tribe’s darkness – was conducted by God’s power, not by Dayuma’s power.
In addition to calling out messengers and intervening in their adventures, God caused the reception of the translated message. It is impossible for translation to transform without His intervention; as I Corinthians 2:14 reads, “…the natural man does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually.” (c.f. Matthew 11:25; 16:17-19; Luke 10:21) The Spirit’s will – not man’s will – is the cause of rebirth unto eternal life (John 3:8). As Wallis wrote, “It was God [not a missionary] who had uprooted hate and planted love in [Dayuma’s] heart” (204). Although the missionaries played roles in the process, God produced the miracle.
Through the translation of the message, God rescued the Waodani from the demonic torment. Because of God’s mercy, the tribe was rescued from impending self-extinction, and individuals were rescued from fear, hate, and impending judgment. Dedicating the work to one transformed soul, Steve Saint exclaims these words:
“Who would have ever believed that after helping kill my children’s grandfather, you would end up taking his place? We all love you! …You are an excellent spokesman for God’s transforming power. …It looks like we get to go on the speaking circuit again. …While people are reading [this book], we’ll go get some more of that ice-keem you like so much. This book is for you too, Grandfather!”
His words highlight a heart-warming miracle, the transformation of a savage into a saint.
However, only those who heard the translation could experience transformation. Nampa never heard. Dedicating the work to one of his father’s killers, Saint wrote, “You died before you ever heard that Wangongui (God) wanted to adopt you so that He could take you to live in His place with Him forever. I dedicate this book to you, and I dedicate myself to seeing that as few people as possible die without knowing.”



Works Cited
Barnes, Rebecca. "The Rest of the Story: Half a century after killing five missionaries, the 'Auca' find themselves on the cutting edge of modern missions." Christianity Today. January 2006, Vol. 50, No. 1 Accessed March 2010. <http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/january/30.38.html?start=1>
" 'Copter Said to Locate Four Bodies in Jungle: Crew Remains with Stripped Missionary Plane While Ground Party Nears Scene." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 13 Jan. 1956. Accessed March 2010. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ycNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AmwDAAAAIBAJ&dq=auca%20missionaries&pg=6236%2C3915973>
Note: Article Credits the Association Press.
Deming, Mark. "Beyond the Gates of Splendor (2002)" NYTimes.com All Movie Guide. Accessed March 2010. <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/316113/Beyond-the-Gates-of-Splendor/overview>
"ECUADOR: Mission to the Aucas." TIME Magazine. Monday, Jan. 23, 1956. Accessed March 2010 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,861902-1,00.html>
Ede, Piers Moore. "Take me to the river: Under siege from oil companies and loggers, the Huaorani of Ecuador are fighting back - through ecotourism. Piers Moore Ede is the first to visit their Amazon lodge." The Guardian. 27 Oct. 2007. Accessed March 2010. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/oct/27/saturday.green>
Elliot, Jim, and Elisabeth Elliot. The Journals of Jim Elliot. Old Tappan, N.J.: F. H. Revell Co, 1978.
"Four Missioner [sic] Bodies Sighted." The Spokesman-Review. 12 Jan. 1956. Page 32. Accessed March 2010. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DNcqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NecDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3817%2C4121746>
Note: Article Credits the Association Press.
"Huaorani Ecolodge. Waorani-style cabins designed to be intimate, harmonious and environmentally sustainable. The least possible impact on the surroundings..." Huaorani.com. © Copyright 2008 - TROPIC Journeys in Nature. Accessed March 2010. <http://www.huaorani.com/>
Maxwell, Judy. "The Waorani New Testament Dedication Service: An Eye witness Account." Our Saviour Lutheran's "Palm Beach" Interview Series. Our Saviour Lutheran. 1997. Accessed March 2010. <http://www.oslc-gb.org/programs/outreach/palm/wntd.html>
McCully, Marilou. "I forgive my husband's killers: A missionary's wife tells how he died bringing the word of God into the jungle." The Milwaukee Sentinel. 22 Apr. 1956. Accessed March 2010. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Fb4VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vg8EAAAAIBAJ&dq=auca%20brave%20missionary&pg=4928%2C1588154>
Note: "As Told to David Enlow"
Miller, Susan Martins. Jim Elliot: Missionary to Ecuador. Heroes of the faith. Ulrichsville, OH: Barbour, 1995
"Missionary Braves the Savage Auca Tribe." The Age. 4 Dec. 1957. Page 13. Accessed March 2010. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1IYQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EpUDAAAAIBAJ&dq=missionary%20braves%20the%20savage%20auca%20tribe&pg=6760%2C297557>
Note: Article Credits the Association Press.
Pittman, Richard S. "Back from the Brink: Sixteen Accounts of Ethnic Renaissance." Summer Institute of Linguistics. Waxhaw, North Carolina: 1998. Accessed March 2010. <http://www.sil.org/acpub/repository/41634.pdf>
Note: The chapter, entitled "Waorani Renaissance," is by Donald E. Smith with Richard Pittman.
Rodgers, Ann. "Ecuadorean tribe transformed after killing of 5 missionaries" The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 8 Jan. 2006. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H5sNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8nADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6685%2C3931951>
Robarchek, Clayton Allen, and Carole Robarchek. Waorani: The Contexts of Violence and War. Case studies in cultural anthropology. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008.
Saint, Steve. The Great Omission: Fulfilling Christ's Commission Is Possible If. Seattle, Wash: YWAM Pub, 2001.
Wallis, Ethel Emily. The Dayuma Story: Life Under Auca Spears. New York: Harper, 1960.