Message in Their Own Tongue

The majority of the Wayuu living in Ríohacha use limited Spanish in addition to their native tongue, Wayuunaiki. At first, very little was accomplished in the preaching of the Kingdom message. The natives seemed to shy away from the arijunas, as they call the non-Wayuu. When the Witnesses called at their homes, most Wayuu responded in their own language, not in Spanish. The Witnesses simply moved on to the next house.

By the end of 1994, however, the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses had assigned a group of special pioneers, or full-time Bible educators, to serve in the Ríohacha Congregation. The pioneers asked a Wayuu Witness to teach them Wayuunaiki. After memorizing some simple presentations, those ministers went to the territory and immediately noticed a marked change in the people’s response. Even though the Bible teachers were speaking in broken Wayuunaiki, the householders were pleasantly surprised and were willing to listen, at times continuing a lively conversation in their own limited Spanish!

Spiritual Food in Wayuunaiki

In 1998 the booklet Enjoy Life on Earth Forever!a was released in Wayuunaiki. This became a valuable tool for cultivating the Wayuu field and conducting home Bible studies. Arrangements were made in 2003 to train several brothers to translate publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses into Wayuunaiki. Thanks to the hard work of a group of translators in Ríohacha, more brochures have been made available, contributing to the spiritual growth of Wayuunaiki-speaking disciples.

Since 2001, some parts on the district convention program have been interpreted into Wayuunaiki. Bible students are stimulated spiritually when they hear the program in their own language. They anticipate the day when Bible dramas will also be presented in Wayuunaiki.