Chamacoco Ybytoso

The recent history of the Chamacoco has been marked by great losses. In the Chaco War, between 1932 and 1935, the Ybytoso supported the Paraguayan soldiers against the Bolivians. When the conflict ended, the people lost their traditional territories and had to negotiate their own survival with settlers and new landowners.

Many families began working in logging camps, under harsh conditions marked by debt. In the 1980s, the Paraguayan Indigenous affairs agency resettled the Tomáraho in Puerto Esperanza, alongside the Ybytoso. By around 1985, the Christian faith had already taken root among the riverside people.

Traditionally the Ybytoso lived from fishing, hunting, gathering and small farm plots, with the river at the center of daily life. With the loss of land and growing coexistence with Paraguayan society, many families began to combine these activities with other forms of income, such as selling handicrafts.

Community life is organized around family and community, and the memory of the people is passed on by word of mouth: origin myths, songs and their own language. Preserving this oral heritage is, for the Chamacoco, an essential part of who they are.

The Ybytoso share with the Tomáraho a common heritage of stories and ceremonies, even though each branch followed its own path throughout the twentieth century.

The traditional religion of the Chamacoco revolves around a great origin myth, which explains the creation of the world and shapes people’s relationship with nature, with their ancestors and with spiritual beings. This heritage of stories is an inseparable part of who they are.

Today, the faith of the Ybytoso is often a mixture of Christianity and traditional beliefs. Part of the people identify as Christian, but ancient spiritual ideas remain present in everyday life. A constant challenge is understanding the message of Jesus through their own language and culture, without feeling that they must abandon their identity.

There is a New Testament in the Chamacoco language, and there are audio and video materials, such as a film based on the Gospel of Mark. The complete Bible, however, is not yet available. Because Yshyr is an endangered language and the people are few, every audio and video resource helps carry the message to everyone, including those with little access to written texts.

The main barrier is not hostility but fragility: a very small people with an endangered language runs the risk of dissolving among the surrounding groups. The Christian faith, mixed with traditional beliefs, is not always understood in depth. The absence of the complete Bible in their own language and the need for solid Bible teaching limit discipleship and the development of local leaders.

There is a need for secure land and dignified means of livelihood, so that families can live with stability. It is also urgent to value the language and culture, so that the younger generations take pride in their origins and carry on the stories and songs of their ancestors.

On the spiritual level, the people need solid Bible teaching in their own language, growth of the churches, and leaders able to help the riverside people live out the gospel fully and rooted in their culture.

Among the Ybytoso the Christian faith took root around 1985, and today there are people who follow Christ. The New Testament is available in the Chamacoco language, and there are audio and video resources, including a film based on the Gospel of Mark. These steps show that the Word has already reached the people in their own language and can continue to be sown.