Abstract

ALTMAN, Agustina  and  LOPEZ, Alejandro. Biblical circles among chaqueneans indigenous: from Christian utopia to the necessity of legitimation. Soc. relig. [online]. 2011, vol.21, n.34-35. ISSN 1853-7081.

Christian missions in America not only have pursued the conversion of `the other´, but also have tempted the conversion of the church itself, in a sort of utopian return of Christianity to its roots. Several evangelical denominations arrived to the Argentine Chaco in the first half of the XX century. Their interaction with the Indians of the region -mainly Toba, Mocoví, Pilagá and Wichí- gave rise to the movement of `evangelio´, nowadays of fundamental importance in the social dynamics of these groups. The Mennonite Fraternal Workers, offering accompaniment and Bible studies, have been key actors in the building of this movement. In our research we will explore the implementation, by the Fraternal Workers, of a particular type of approach to the Scriptures: biblical circles. These are presented as a practice specially `horizontal´ and supposedly inspired by aboriginal orality. Through our own fieldwork among the Mennonite missionaries and Mocoví and Toba's communities and the analysis of missionary literature, we will discuss the contradictions in practices and discourses related to biblical circles. These will allow us to show the tensions between the different missionary projects of the Mennonite team, in the context of aboriginal's quests. In this way, we will show that biblical circles reflect the connections that the missionaries established between the primitive church as an utopic model, the aboriginal world and the renewal of the Christian experience.

Keywords : Bible circles; Gospel; Missionaries; Utopia; Chaco.

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