The Jotї people also believe in an afterlife, which basically consisted of their going to the third level of the world and entering paradise to live forever in excellent hunting conditions with a wife that they won’t ever get tired of. To reach this “paradise,” the Jotї person must have a stick pierced through nasal septum, which separates the two nostrils and then it must be left there for life. It is actually quite difficult to tell that all of the adults have one of these. The only way to tell is to look up their noses; it is invisible from the outside. The people believed that without this stick, when they died, they would have to walk a path, and along the path was an obstacle. Along this path was an old woman’s homem and whenever someone was passing by she would come out, lift them up and check their nose for this stick. If they had it, then the woman would let them pass, but if they did not, then the woman would eat them, and they would cease to exist. Another stipulation for the Jotї was that if any child touched his mother’s ladle or cooking spoon, then he would not make it past the woman either. The only problem is that every baby does touch the ladle, but it is actually a touchy subject for them because they do not like to think about the consequences (Sanford). The only other way that they thought might be possible to reach paradise was to find the edge of the world and then climb the trees to “paradise.” One man actually tried this. His name was Tito, who was a man renowned in the village for his ability to see spirits in the water. He got the idea of finding these trees and actually got his group together and left in search. His search occured before any missionaries had arrived and, surprisingly enough, my father and his coworker were actually called by a neighboring tribal group to come help them with these people who were stealing from them. So the guys went over there and found that the group that was guilty of the thefts was actually Tito’s group. They haven’t been heard from since (Sanford).
The Jotї were all born into a very dangerous and very difficult environment where survival is tough. The first action that the missionaries took in their quest to reach these people was to help them in their physical needs. The people were taught new farming techniques and really the idea of agriculture itself. Before they learned farming, they were solely hunter gatherers for survival; afterwards, they were equipped with an adequate knowledge of agriculture to plant their own gardens and to harvest them. Moreover, they were able to become a little less reliant on hunting and gathering, which also allowed them to be a little less nomadic in their lifestyle and settle down a little more. With that said, though, the people did have an incredible understanding of the nature around them before the missionaries arrived and since they arrived, in that environment that has not changed. Their knowledge of the jungle is unsurpassed by anyone outside of their environment, even the missionaries. The fact that they have survived in the rainforest for generations is incredible in itself, especially with the dangers associated with the Amazon jungle (Sanford).
The missionaries also supplied hygiene training to help the people with their health. The Jotї were taught how to make an outhouse to use as a latrine instead of just using the jungle in no orderly system. They were also taught how to use soap and to bathe as well as to use toothbrushes to protect their teeth, which were all in decrepit condition, making eating solid foods difficult. This equipping alone revolutionized their lives and gave them even a sense of health and hygiene that had been nonexistent before. Another skill that was taught was how to cook with some semblance of sanitation. Before, the women would use their hands that had just touched their children’s feces and urine to mix food and serve with. Now that they have been introduced to the idea of germs’ being a cause of illness and health problems, and they have been able to cut down on these self-imposed dangers (Sanford).
Another, and possibly more important, contribution that the missionaries made to the people was some basic training in medicine. In the village were built a small clinic and store that contained medical equipment, items for sale, and a supply of medicine. At first, the missionaries themselves were the doctors and handled all medical problems within the tribe. Any that they could not handle on their own were sent to town by way of airplane to utilize the national healthcare that was free when patients were taken to the government hospital. Then, as time went on, they were able to train three to four of the Indian men to take over this role as the tribe’s doctors. The men learned how to administer medicine, handle snake bites, treat cuts, and treat nearly every common injury. The clinic had a well-supplied amount of medicine, especially a pill to give to patients with malaria, which had been the main killer of the people and is the cause of more deaths in the world than any other cause. Before the missionaries provided the pills, the Jotї had been ravaged by the malaria parasite perpetually, and, along with hunger, malaria was, most likely their biggest killer and the reason for their low population. Another huge innovation for the people was the ability to deal with snake bites, which were very common in their society. The missionaries were able to provide several ways to handle them like antibiotics and hand-held electric devices to neutralize the venom at its source. These improvements saved countless lives over the years and were very influential in gaining the trust of the Jotї people (Sanford).
In the small village store was also an assortment of other supplies. One of the main items was a supply of soap for the people so the people could have a steady supply to maintain their hygiene. The store also sold things like salt for their food since they really had no other way to spice their food. A third set of items was pots and pans for their cooking along with other utensils like stirring spoons or ladles. Knives and machetes were also in the store with axes and sharpeners for all of the blades. Another very important item was matches, which were very valuable for the Indians who were so often spending the night in the jungle. With matches they could more easily start a fire for warmth, light, and protection. Separate from the store, each individual missionary tried to maintain a supply of clothing for the Indians if they so wished to obtain clothing for comfort, warmth, or protection (Sanford).
To supply the Joti with a sense of work ethic and value, the missionaries decided to allow the people to work for them in exchange for Venezuelan currency. The Indians would do many jobs, ranging from mowing the grass to clearing a path and would then receive some money to use at the store. Granted, they were not paid very much, put the store products were also greatly reduced in price, and, really, the missionaries paid most of the cost including shipping. The employment was just meant to show them a glimpse of how the rest of the world works. None of the Indians had been out into Venezuelan civilization before the missionaries’ arrival and were totally ignorant to its existence, let alone its social and economic workings. The missionaries were able to introduce them to these different ways of living and help them greatly to prepare them for a potential and imminent integration into Venezuelan society that was bound to happen because they were now accessible and could provide a benefit to the Venezuelans (Sanford).
Another thing that the missionaries were able to teach was literacy. At first, the Joti had no type of literature at all-no alphabet, no form of writing or reading at all. They really didn’t even have a sense of their own language. Language was just a way for them to communicate orally and there was no real need for them to think anything else of it because they had never been exposed to any type of literature. The missionaries, after learning the language, were able to develop an alphabet for the Joti language and then started to teach the people to read and write it. Teaching the Tribe took a great deal of effort, just like teaching kids to read and write English, except that the missionaries themselves had very little experience with the language in general. But, in the long run, it all paid off, and most of the people picked up the skill and are now literate. Literacy allows them to read anything in their language and write any thoughts of theirs down. It also allows for education beyond just oral instruction. For instance, the missionaries were actually able to teach the people some basic arithmetic and basic science. For example, they were taught what the universe actually is and that the world is actually a round sphere, as well as the laws of gravity along with other natural laws. In the past, they had thought, that the world was made up of three layers because no one had ever told them the truth about nature and the universe. All of this teaching opened their eyes to a world much grander than they had before imagined and set up for them to hear what it all means and where it all came from (Sanford).
As is now abundantly clear, the missionaries have helped the Joti in a great many ways that have improved their lives and opened their eyes to many facts of the world and life outside of their small world. I can only imagine how dark life must have been for them for centuries without their even knowing it. Many times a woman would have over ten children, yet only a few of them lived past several years of age. Their lives consisted of finding food for their families, having children, surviving in the harsh Amazon jungle, and death. With no knowledge of anything else, they believed that they were the only people in the world and just lived for nothing. To receive so much from these random white people from out of no-where must have been incredibly impactful to each of them.
The main point of all of the missionaries’ efforts was to help them out physically, to gain their trust, and to learn their language and culture. After learning the language and culture to a satisfactory level, the missionaries were then able to begin translation of the Bible into the Jotї language and to make lesson plans to teach. The Indians had known that the lessons were going to happen for some time beforehand and were very anxious to learn this news that the missionaries were talking about. They even built a meeting house for themselves with no help from the missionaries. Building the meeting house themselves was meant to give them a sense of ownership instead of its being just something that the white people did for them. The hut itself was actually just a roof with a dirt floor and benches, but it was the biggest building that the Jotї had ever built or, possibly, ever seen.
Soon after, meetings started on every weekday for two hours each inside the hut. Attendance was totally optional and not forced in any way. There were also scheduled days off so that the people could go hunting or take care of their gardens without having to miss any lessons. All of the people were there because they wanted to be and made quite a commitment to come every day for so long. During the meetings, the missionaries taught from the beginning of time all the way up through and including Christ. During that time, lives were changed in every way imaginable. Now not only did the Jotї have much better physical lives, but they had hope spiritually. Throughout the teaching, the people were very accepting and took almost everything by faith, even though they realized how drastically different it was from their long held traditional beliefs. By the end, once they had reached Christ and what he had done for them on the cross, the whole foundation had been laid starting at the very beginning when the missionaries arrived in the valley. And especially, the chronological teaching through the Bible put the whole puzzle together. This foundation is what caused them all to put their faith in Jesus Christ and believe everything that God had said to be true. Every single person that had gone through the teaching chose to accept it. Now the Jotї are a tribe full of people who love God and want to serve him with every bit of their lives (Sanford).
In conclusion, the Jotї Indians of Venezuela were greatly influenced by the work of missionaries in every aspect of their lives and beliefs, now knowing the truth. Their prior lives consisted of surviving and reproducing, and that was just about it. They suffered from every torturous part of their environment and were not able to do anything to advance themselves in their lives. All they could do was provide, and it was very difficult just to do that. Many times women lost the majority of their children to various ailments, including malnutrition and especially malaria, which also killed a great many Jotї people over the years. Then, everything changed for each of them. When the mysterious white people arrived and offered medicines, healthcare, and everyday products that they had never had the luxury of using before, their lives improved dramatically. The fact that now the vast majority of babies now survive to adulthood and they don’t have to worry about dying from malaria because the missionaries could just give them a pill was earth shattering for the Jotї nation. Being able to get matches, steel products, salt and other things also changed their lives.
However, the most important gift that the missionaries gave to the Jotї was not any of these physical things. That gift was the teaching of the Gospel to them in their own language for the first time ever! Now that is priceless. Without the missionaries’ giving their lives to God to be used in reaching the Jotї Indians, every one of them would have sadly died and then been judged by the full wrath of God. But, since they have now heard the good news, there is an alternative, and all they have to do is believe it. The Bible says, “You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free!” and that is exactly what happened for the Jotї who are now a vastly different people (New King James John 8:32). Moreover, just like these missionaries did with the Jotї, many other missionaries around the world have transformed people’s lives for God. Many “missionaries” from other religions or even some in Christianity are living their lives for the wrong reasons or don’t know how to be a missionary for God, and these hypocrites cause many of the bad notions of missionaries as a whole. Although missionaries tend to get a bad rap in today’s world because of those who have not lived honorably, many are truly saving the world one person at a time out of obedience to our creator.
Works Cited
Lewis, Paul M. "Ethnologue Report for Language Code: Yau." Ethnologue, Languages of the World. 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=yau>.
New King James Version. Editor. Thomas Nelson Inc., 28 January 2005. Print.
Sanford, Steve J. "About the Joti." Personal interview. 22 Oct. 2011.
Wilbert, Johannes. "Hoti." Countries and Their Cultures. 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Hoti.html>.
Zent, Eglee L. "Mushrooms for Life among the Jotï in the Venezuelan Guayana (Stanford & Eglee Zent) “Instituto Venezolano De Investigaciones Cientificas - Academia.edu. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://ivic.academia.edu/Zent/Papers/76132/Mushrooms_for_Life_among_the_Joti_in_the_Venezuelan_Guayana>.
---."Mushrooms for Life among the Jotï in the Venezuelan Guayana (Stanford & Eglee Zent) - Academia.edu." Instituto Venezolano De Investigaciones Cientificas - Academia.edu. Acedemia.edu, 13 Sept. 2008. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://ivic.academia.edu/Zent/Papers/76132/Mushrooms_for_Life_among_the_Joti_in_the_Venezuelan_Guayana>.