The Wichí evangelism either side of the ethnic boundary

Abstract

In the early 1980’s, several Wichí aborigine groups of Argentinaadopted a Pentecostal-like religion known as “Evangelism” or “EvangelicMovement” that 40 years earlier had taken root among the Toba due tothe arrival of several American Pentecostal churches in the Province ofChaco. As this new religion began to emerge, the Wichí undertook aprocess of identity transformation characterized, as a whole, by a deeprejection of several features of their own culture and a staunch adherenceto the precepts of Christian morality that had already been adopted in thecontext of the missionary project that the Anglican Church had set inmotion at the beginning of the 20th century. Evangelism provided therequired elements for a new presentation of subjects in daily life and asignificant alteration of the political and religious scenario. This not onlyallowed for the elaboration of a new identity towards the group ofbelonging, but also encouraged the efforts to show the enveloping societya model of subject who might avoid the stigma of being an “Indian”.