MISSION WORK IN BOLIVIA

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2217, 1 August 1914, Page 6

MISSION WORK IN BOLIVIA

AMONG THE INCA INDIANS

IN THE LOFTY REGIONS OP THE

ANDES

After five years .spent in the heart of that little known and partly unexplored country, Bolivia, Mr. a'iid Mrs. Horace Grocott have returned to "New Zealand on a health reoniitiiig trip. Mr. Grocott is a brother of Mr. H. D. Grocott, assistant postmaster at Dunedin, and who until recently was in the secretary's office, General' Post Office, Wellington. Mr. and Mrs. Grocott have been in Bolivia, carrying on evangelical mission work amongst the Quichua. Indians,-' a remnant of the former Inca civilisation, which fell on the Spanish conquest Tinder Pizarro, at the opening of the sixteenth contury. ;The mission they, work under is the Bolivian Indian Mission, which was'founded in 1909 under the directorship of Mr. (xeo. Allan,' of East Taieri, Otago. . • In - an interview with, a Dominion to-. porter, Mr.' Grocott gave some interesting details of the work of the little band of missioners, numbering eight couples, mostly New Zealaiiders, and of the conditions in tho country. ,l Bolivia, while it is but little known in this part of the world, is a country .five times the area of New Zealand. Its eastern portion is in some instances entirely unexplored, and contains tribes, which are in the same oondition of savagery as when Columbus discovered America. Bolivia is in South America, adjacent to Brazil, and in the higher regions thero are several peaks rising to a height of over 20,000 ft. It is in tie-higher plateaux that the Bolivian Indian Mission' is situated, and the missioners work over a large area of country, made doubly difficult to cover on account of the rugged nature of the land, and the wretched transport. Naturally in ■ a country where, a larger portion of the'population is composed of uneducated Indians,, rail-. way construction, to foster 'the enormous natural resources of the Republic, has. not advanced to any great extent, although most of the larger cities.are now connected with the iron road. AVithin recent years the Bolivian Government has given marked attention to the development of transport, but once the main cities are departed-from, the mule train and the bridle track are the best the country can rise- to';

; A Mixed Population. The population of this large area- is only about 2,000,000 person's. It is very mixed, with the Indian races predominating. The . Quichua and Aymana Indians number ■ about 900,000, while' the Spanish .descendants of .the former adveaturous conquerors of this •:ti'easure-hduse,*nOw:onlynumber about 250,000; and there is a' largo-'half-ciste population of about half a million. The percentage. of illiteracy'is very great,. only, about 13 .per cent, of .the natives haying ajiy.educatioii.at all.. The Bolivian Mission is doing all it. can to advance civilisation by educating the people, and the Government is now, making very genuine -.towards educating, the' Natires. • and' half-castes. Quite recently ten : ypunginen. graduated from a college whioh,has been established by. the Gbvernment-for: the cspress purpose of training teachers, who will devote their time io ,the education of the Indians. The problem is a difficult one,, because -,tfie ;: ,pppulatioji|is widely scattered, atid' teachers ''have* to'; bo very self-sacrificing to put up with the. loneliness and hardship of their profession. The'people, though nominally Catholic, are really pagan. They practise witchcraft,, and are very superstitious, .'and- in : the. majority! of cases conform , to the custom of- praying to. the' mountains and. other natural- objects; of veneration;. v -. ■ '■ ;■• •

. . Appalling Infant Mortality. ■The mission with which Mr. Grocott is connected las,' as its principal objective, .' the uplifting of the Indian race.; It is distinctly evangelical, and a great deal of ■ attention is paid 'to medical and educational work. In carrying out the evangelical work, the missioners hold wherever they can, 'and when, the people • come together for their annual gatherings, hold ,open-air meetings. ''. The mission, is' un T denominational. The medical work done is highly appreciated, and the necessity: for it';is quickly realised when it is stated that over an area of 100 square miles tiiere is no other, medical help, outside of that afforded by the mission. The mortality amongst the natives is very great, and inf ant mortality is excessive! A'conservative estimate, says Mr. Crocott, ie .65 per ;cent. The figures are astounding,, for it means that , two out^of every'three children born die in infancy. . Epidemics of typhoid, scarlet fever, and measles afe very frequent, and carry off hundreds: of the 'little-ones. 'Becently, in-a 6mall village adjacent to San Pedro, where the mission headquarters. arc- situated; upwards of thirty children'died within a fortnights This infant' mortality ia in a measure due to the lack'of medical attention,.but the mothers show an appalling ignorance in the conduct of their domestic affaire. . > - With regard to the educational work--the main endeavour, of the. mission has been to establish' a school at every post' that is occupied. Their efforts have been remarkably well received by the Bolivipn, Government, the local authorities, and by the people themselves, and invitations have been receivcd v from- many surrounding localities for a worker to be established in their midst. There is a broad and open door for many scores of such workers, says' Mr. Grocott. Language Difficulty. The translation of the New Testament into the language of the natives is now; being carried on by Mr. Gep. Allan and his assistants. The language of the Indians, that of the ancient Inca dynasty; is very difficult to ' acquire, there being little in the way. of standard works to guide the student. The language consists, of a series of explosives and aspirates; and when one is.speaking it there is a'continual clicking with the tongue.' ■.' '.:'.■'..'■.■ - , ■ Contrary to'general expectations, 1 the Indians are not: savage or warlike,- being 'for the most part an agricultural and pastoral people. They; are- vory primitive in their work, and;shear their sheop with Tough knives. The wool thoy use. for the purpose of making clothing, whicii is of a rough kind.' Tho Aymanas, howoyer, when their feelings are worked lip as the result of tribal warfare, which is not comnioni show cannibalistic tondonciee. '~-.. . ■

With .regard to tho recent report on the atrocitios on tho rubber plantations of Bolivia, Mr. Grocott pointed out that the report liad reference to the Boni and adjacent districts, in tho north-«astcni portion of the Republic,,;and not to Itlie district covered by tlie : operations of the' mission.

i Sir. and Mrs. Grocott hope to return to their" work in about-six months' time. ' ■■'.■-' '■ ■■

A new preacher had been called to one of the churches, and while on his way to the service one Sabbath evening he met a young man whom ho had seen on one or two previous occasions. "Isn't this Mr. Harkins?" asked the preacher, stopping the young man and extending his hand. "I am the new preacher who ■who has just come to town;" "Yes, sir," replied the young man, returning the handshake, "I am" Mr. Harkins." ".Ihave seen you several times," pleasantly continued the -pest'or, "but until now I haven't had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I .presume that' you' are accustomed to divine worship every Sunday ovening." . "Oh, yps, sir," was the smiling response'of the'voung man. "I am "i my rns. to «e her novu"- ,