Culture, Gospel, and Mission in Spirit of the Rainforest

Introduction

One of the most interesting aspects of Mark Ritchie's Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman's Story is not the telling of the story itself but rather the fact that Ritchie takes the time to respond to his critics. It is these authorial responses, appended to the work, that provide a window into the author's thinking and allow one to step back and see the entire narrative with fresh eyes. It is rather difficult for most readers to enter into a story without personal bias. Every reader brings with him a lifetime of experiences, beliefs, and often expectations; when those expectations are shattered — as they are likely to be by Ritchie's book — the reaction can be overwhelmingly negative.

Thus, before delving into any discussion of the overlapping themes of culture, gospel, and mission in Spirit of the Rainforest, it is worthwhile to analyze what Ritchie confesses to his reader in the book's Appendix. It is here that Ritchie makes two jarring arguments. First, he states that "Christian missionaries never saved anybody from anything (discounting immunizations). Only individuals making very traumatic inner choices turn from violent lifestyles" (Ritchie 2000, 255). Second, he writes: "I have angry letters that demonstrate this book to be anything but missionary propaganda. I write of a missionary who 'spanked' an Indian woman with a stick, another who had an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl, others who were overtly racist against Indians, one who even killed his Indian wife. I can assure you that no missionary has yet thanked me for this propaganda" (Ritchie 2000, 258).

These two passages could very well serve as warnings for the reader before turning the book's pages for the first time. The point is that everything Ritchie reports is real: it is not written with a view to propagate anything other than the utter reality he himself witnessed.

The Relationship Among the Themes

Faith for the Yanomamo is something unexpected — that much is certain. They did not have it prior to the arrival of the white man — the Naba — who, in addition to the Christian faith, also introduced the Yanomamo to a range of vices. One of the points the reader can take away from this seeming incongruity is that the spirit world is not something that impacts only tribes like the Yanomamo. On the contrary, it is something that impacts everyone, including Christians and non-Christian Westerners. The point Ritchie makes is that the spirit world is real. Because it is real, the message of the Gospels is also real. Christ is real. And the story of Jungleman is real. Culture, gospel, and mission are all real and all interconnected because at the root of this story about the Yanomamo is the story of souls caught between Heaven and Hell, and the war that angels and devils wage over and within those souls.

Ritchie begins his book by describing the culture of the Yanomamo. This is what sets the stage — and it is a bleak stage. The people are savage and driven by a wildness that is barbaric and cruel. The villages fight murderously with one another. Women are routinely raped. Infants are killed. Shamans send spirits to kill the children of opposing villages in what can best be described as supernatural assassination.

Then Ritchie introduces the Naba: the missionaries, the anthropologists, and the exploiters looking for laborers. Through submission to the Great Spirit, it is seen that the spirits afflicting the shamans will leave. This prompts many to come to Christ. At the same time, when certain missionaries depart — for instance, Padre Coco and Granny Troxel — some of the Yanomamo are left distraught and bewildered. Why would those who brought them Christ then abandon them? The question is a fair one. The early Church missionaries spread the Gospel around the world, but they also established churches and Christian communities. The Church grew because Christ remained with them in the sacrament of the Eucharist and in the priesthood. This is similar to what Bonhoeffer (1937) points out: "Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ" (59).

If tribes like the Yanomamo are to be brought to Christ, the missionaries must commit themselves in such a way that the tribes are not neglected or abandoned after a short period — because then it is not about establishing a Christian culture and community; it is about vainglory and the satisfaction of one's own desire to evangelize in primitive places. The culture of the Yanomamo is real, however; it is not a fairy tale or an exotic book. These are real human beings with real needs, and it is important to remember that the shaman Shoefoot becomes a Christian because he recognizes that Christ has the power to drive out the bad spirits.

The relationship among the themes of culture, gospel, and mission is ultimately that of reality. Culture cannot be sustained without the Gospel and the spirit of God. Since God is everywhere, He denies no one who seeks Him. However, it is up to the missionaries to deliver Christ to those who do not know of Him. Once delivered, the question becomes: what to do? That is the question Ritchie addresses at the end of his book: "Shoefoot sees the world through spiritual eyes. He knows that apart from a small miracle, his tribe will either become extinct or will live out Chagnon's (and my) worst fear by becoming bums, beggars, and prostitutes" (Ritchie 2000, 251). For Shoefoot, the shaman turned Christian, extinction is preferable to a return to the evil spirits that corrupt and seek to control one's soul.

The Spirit Culture

What is most remarkable about the book is that the Yanomamo are a genuine spirit culture — that is, they believe in spirits. In the West, it has fallen out of fashion to believe in anything spirit-related. It is considered passé and unscientific. Yet the Gospel shows that the spirit world is as real as the Yanomamo take it to be. Indeed, the Yanomamo could have stepped directly out of the pages of Scripture: they are unencumbered by modern cynicism or perversion. They see things simply, and their violent culture is in part a consequence of being ruled by evil spirits. Yet those among them who convert to Christ embrace the spirit of peace and love that Christ brings. They change — and that change is visible, as in the case of Honey.

The construction of identity, social structures, and meaning for the Yanomamo is rooted in this sense of interacting with the spirit world. The shamans carry multiple spirits within them; they recognize the spirits and know what they are up to. But not being Christian, they are not interested in the Great Spirit or in casting out the bad ones. They use evil spirits to retaliate against rival villages, sending them out to kill in the same way generals deploy soldiers to destroy an enemy. This is what best characterizes the culture of the Yanomamo.

When the Naba bring the Gospel, things change. Jungleman, who was essentially the greatest shaman of the Yanomamo, was brought to Christ after witnessing how the Great Spirit caused the other spirits to flee. This would not have happened had Jungleman and the other Yanomamo not already believed intimately and wholly in the world of spirits. They did not need convincing that the Great Spirit existed — it was logical to them that there would be a Creator Spirit given that other spirits existed. It made sense. The people of the modern Western world would have a much harder time believing what the missionaries had to say, for they would not even admit that the spirit world existed. How can one teach people who do not believe in spirits that God exists and that Christ saves? In this respect, the Yanomamo possess a far more receptive culture — one ready to receive the message of the Gospel — despite their violent and barbaric ways.

Conclusion

It is the spirit of Christ that saves — and that is the lesson that Jungleman and Shoefoot both come to embrace. They embrace it because they recognize the reality of the statement in their own lives and experience. They are open to the spirit world, and for that reason, in spite of their violent culture, they are perhaps better primed to be saved than anyone in the modern West. They have the eyes, the ears, and the spiritual sensitivity to acknowledge that faith in Christ is what will save them from the all-too-real evil spirits of their own culture. And the missionaries have the strength of devotion to bring that real message to them. They are, in this sense, simpatico.

Bibliography

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Touchstone, 1937.

Geiger, Eric. "5 Current Church Views of 'Discipleship.'" Eric Geiger Blog, August 14, 2014. https://ericgeiger.com/2014/08/5-current-church-views-discipleship/.

Keller, Timothy. Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City: Center Church. Zondervan, 2012.

Ritchie, Mark. Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman's Story. Island Lake Press, 2000.

Tripp, Paul David. Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry. Crossway, 2012.