Introduction | LDS Members

:: The Nivacle Language

All children are taught in the Nivacle language in school initially. This is to maintain their tribal identity. After the 2nd grade, the children are taught in Spanish. Most men in the village speak Spanish, but the majority of women only communicate in Nivacle.

Introduction

In the far north of Paraguay, up near Brazil and Bolivia, lies a vast scrub plain, fill of thorns and wildlife, scoured by strong winds and scorched by the tropical sun. This region stretches 600 miles from the Argentine pampas to the Amazon basin, and 300 miles from the Andes on the west to the Brazilian highlands on the east. This region of 180,000 square miles, twice the size of Utah, is known as the “Gran Chaco.”

Among the ancient inhabitants of this scrub jungle are the Nivaclé, a native group of between 15,000 and 25,000 people widely scattered in remote villages and family settlements. These peaceful people have traditionally lived off the land, moving seasonally to hunt wild game, collect edible products from the trees and plants, and growing simple gardens. Until recently they have not lived in settled communities, developed interest in employment, or needed solid homes or means of transportation.

But in the past two generations others have moved into their ancestral lands. Although there were always a few other native peoples in the Chaco, few Paraguayans ventured into this forbidding area, as the extreme climate, poor soils, and lack of water made survival difficult. But within the past 50 years three large groups of emigrants from Russia, Germany and Canada-- 15,000 Mennonites -- have settled among the Nivaclé and their native neighbors.

Through hard labor, sacrifice and perseverance the Mennonites have grubbed a living out of the soil. Clearing thousands of square miles of jungle, they have planted cotton, grain and forage grasses, and have established over 50 settlements. On the one hand this has offered the Nivaclé opportunity to work in Mennonite fields during brief periods of the year; but it has also curtailed their wanderings by excluding them from the areas where they have traditionally lived off the land. Thus now the Nivaclé are forced into living year-round in isolated villages with little water, farmable land, transportation, medical care, or education.

Introduction / LDS Members