Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
missions and even encouraged some of those contacts as part of their
evangelizing project.
Yet surely this history was only part of what Jochade intended to con-
vey. For instance, I knew that NGOs were also invested in Ayoreo radio
but for the opposite reasons: its potential to preserve tradition, revitalize
culture, and create political solidarity. The organization APCOB gave Bo-
livian Ayoreo radios in the 1970s, and the radio we sat near in Arocojnadi
was provided as part of a Norwegian-funded project in the late 1990s.
Did Jochade mean that these projects had simply failed, or did he mean
that Totobiegosode saw health and Christianity as the primary sources of
political agency? Was he speaking about limits or priorities or something
else entirely?
At first, I mistakenly thought Jochade was referring to the discursive con-
tents of radio. That is, I was thinking only about words. Accordingly, I set
out to chart and transcribe the actual texts exchanged on the radio. The
process took months and meant long hours listening to on-air conversa-
tions and observing Dasua, Arocojnadi's usual operator. I quickly learned
that Jochade had not exaggerated. Nearly every linguistic radio exchange
focused on one of these two topics. Rarely was anything else discussed.
A common way for Dasua to conclude a radio conversation was “I have
nothing more to tell you because we are all healthy here.”
Descriptions of a healthy, strong, and resistant body did not usually
elicit too much conversation. By contrast, discussing an ill, vulner-
able, or threatened body invariably created an intense burst of concern.
The recitation of symptoms and stories about infections could last for
hours and involve people from dozens of far-flung communities, who
expressed their grief or sorrow for the ill person at great and formulaic
length.
Likewise, the Christian God
Dupade
was invoked in the vast major-
ity of radio conversations. Common radio expressions included, “Don't
worry about us. God helps us here,” “We know that God is the one who
gives us everything,” “I am happy because God gives us strength and
health,” “God is the one who knows everything,” and “God will help
us all.”
Many people, including Totobiegosode, commonly used the radio to
ask others elsewhere to pray for them. Such requests were directed at
individuals who were believed to be morally pure and therefore have
relatively more powerful prayers. These were usually a handful of recog-
nized authorities on the Word of God living at the New Tribes Mission of
