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Exclusive: Solar-powered units reciting biblical passages have appeared in the Javari valley, despite strict laws protecting Indigenous groups
John Reid and Daniel Biasetto in Tabatinga, Brazil
Missionary groups are using audio devices in protected territories of the rainforest to attract and evangelise isolated or recently contacted Indigenous people in the Amazon. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Brazilian newspaper O Globo reveals that solar-powered devices reciting biblical messages in Portuguese and Spanish have appeared among members of the Korubo people in the Javari valley, near the Brazil-Peru border.
A child from the isolated Korubo community carries his brother and a pet spider monkey. The group is one where an audio device planted by missionaries was found.
Photograph: Paulo Mumia/Funai
Drones have also been spotted by Brazilian state agents in charge of protecting the areas. The gadgets have raised concerns about illegal missionary activities, despite strict government measures designed to safeguard isolated Indigenous groups.
Three missionaries were identified as planning these alleged contact efforts: Thomas Andrew Tonkin, Josiah McIntyre and Wilson de Benjamin Kannenberg, linked to the Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission of Brazil – MNTB) and a humanitarian group known as Asas de Socorro – or Wings of Relief. They were prohibited from entering Indigenous territory by court order during the Covid crisis.
Now it has emerged that missionaries have returned to the Javari valley and surrounding towns, such as Atalaia do Norte, with a new tool.
The first device uncovered, a yellow and grey mobile phone-sized unit, mysteriously appeared in a Korubo village in the Javari valley recently. The gadget, which recites the Bible and inspirational talks by an American Baptist, can do so indefinitely, even off-grid, thanks to a solar panel. Up to seven of the units were reported by local people, but photo and video evidence were obtained for just one.
This is not thought to be the first recent attempt by missionary groups to reach isolated and uncontacted communities in the Javari valley. Shortly before the pandemic, a group of US and Brazilian citizens affiliated to evangelical churches were allegedly reported to be planning to contact the Korubo people. It was claimed they had used seaplanes to map trails and locate longhouses.
- Our God is beter than yours
Three missionaries were identified as planning these alleged contact efforts: Thomas Andrew Tonkin, Josiah McIntyre and Wilson de Benjamin Kannenberg, linked to the Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission of Brazil – MNTB) and a humanitarian group known as Asas de Socorro – or Wings of Relief. They were prohibited from entering Indigenous territory by court order during the Covid crisis.
Now it has emerged that missionaries have returned to the Javari valley and surrounding towns, such as Atalaia do Norte, with a new tool.
The first device uncovered, a yellow and grey mobile phone-sized unit, mysteriously appeared in a Korubo village in the Javari valley recently. The gadget, which recites the Bible and inspirational talks by an American Baptist, can do so indefinitely, even off-grid, thanks to a solar panel. Up to seven of the units were reported by local people, but photo and video evidence were obtained for just one.
A message on the device located by the Guardian states: “Let’s see what Paul says as he considers his own life in Philippians chapter 3, verse 4: ‘If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more’.”
The Brazilian government does not permit proselytising in the Korubo’s territory. Its policy, dating from 1987, stipulates that isolated groups must initiate any contact, a stance that made Brazil a pioneer in respecting Indigenous self-determination.
The state also strictly controls access, to protect the Korubo and other uncontacted peoples in the region from common diseases to which they have little or no immunity.
The device that reached the hands of the Korubo is called Messenger and is distributed by the Baptist organisation In Touch Ministries, based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is now a curiosity in the possession of the Korubo community matriarch, Mayá.
In Touch does not sell the Messenger. The devices are donated to “unreached” people in countries around the world and are available in more than 100 languages. With its solar panel and built-in torch, the device is designed to bring the gospel to places that lack reliable electricity or internet connections.
In an interview with the Guardian, Seth Grey, In Touch Ministries’ chief operating officer, confirmed that the organisation uses devices such as the Messenger and that “it is built for functionality, solar-powered, with a flashlight”. “Then they discover the content,” he said, adding that the device is loud enough for 20-person “listening groups”.
Grey said he personally delivered 48 of the devices to the Wai Wai people in the Brazilian Amazon four years ago. They contained religious content in their language and Portuguese. The Wai Wai have engaged with US missionaries, who have contacted and proselytised among communities in the northern Amazon, for decades, according to anthropologist Catherine V Howard.
Grey said, however, that the Messenger should not be present in the Javari valley in violation of Brazilian policy. “We don’t go anywhere we’re not allowed,” he said, referring to In Touch staff. He said he was aware of missionaries from “other organisations” who do carry the devices to regions and countries where they are prohibited.
John Reid and Daniel Biasetto in Tabatinga, Brazil
Missionary groups are using audio devices in protected territories of the rainforest to attract and evangelise isolated or recently contacted Indigenous people in the Amazon. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Brazilian newspaper O Globo reveals that solar-powered devices reciting biblical messages in Portuguese and Spanish have appeared among members of the Korubo people in the Javari valley, near the Brazil-Peru border.
A child from the isolated Korubo community carries his brother and a pet spider monkey. The group is one where an audio device planted by missionaries was found.
Photograph: Paulo Mumia/Funai
Drones have also been spotted by Brazilian state agents in charge of protecting the areas. The gadgets have raised concerns about illegal missionary activities, despite strict government measures designed to safeguard isolated Indigenous groups.
Three missionaries were identified as planning these alleged contact efforts: Thomas Andrew Tonkin, Josiah McIntyre and Wilson de Benjamin Kannenberg, linked to the Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission of Brazil – MNTB) and a humanitarian group known as Asas de Socorro – or Wings of Relief. They were prohibited from entering Indigenous territory by court order during the Covid crisis.
Now it has emerged that missionaries have returned to the Javari valley and surrounding towns, such as Atalaia do Norte, with a new tool.
The first device uncovered, a yellow and grey mobile phone-sized unit, mysteriously appeared in a Korubo village in the Javari valley recently. The gadget, which recites the Bible and inspirational talks by an American Baptist, can do so indefinitely, even off-grid, thanks to a solar panel. Up to seven of the units were reported by local people, but photo and video evidence were obtained for just one.
This is not thought to be the first recent attempt by missionary groups to reach isolated and uncontacted communities in the Javari valley. Shortly before the pandemic, a group of US and Brazilian citizens affiliated to evangelical churches were allegedly reported to be planning to contact the Korubo people. It was claimed they had used seaplanes to map trails and locate longhouses.
- Our God is beter than yours
Three missionaries were identified as planning these alleged contact efforts: Thomas Andrew Tonkin, Josiah McIntyre and Wilson de Benjamin Kannenberg, linked to the Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission of Brazil – MNTB) and a humanitarian group known as Asas de Socorro – or Wings of Relief. They were prohibited from entering Indigenous territory by court order during the Covid crisis.
Now it has emerged that missionaries have returned to the Javari valley and surrounding towns, such as Atalaia do Norte, with a new tool.
The first device uncovered, a yellow and grey mobile phone-sized unit, mysteriously appeared in a Korubo village in the Javari valley recently. The gadget, which recites the Bible and inspirational talks by an American Baptist, can do so indefinitely, even off-grid, thanks to a solar panel. Up to seven of the units were reported by local people, but photo and video evidence were obtained for just one.
A message on the device located by the Guardian states: “Let’s see what Paul says as he considers his own life in Philippians chapter 3, verse 4: ‘If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more’.”
The Brazilian government does not permit proselytising in the Korubo’s territory. Its policy, dating from 1987, stipulates that isolated groups must initiate any contact, a stance that made Brazil a pioneer in respecting Indigenous self-determination.
The state also strictly controls access, to protect the Korubo and other uncontacted peoples in the region from common diseases to which they have little or no immunity.
The device that reached the hands of the Korubo is called Messenger and is distributed by the Baptist organisation In Touch Ministries, based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is now a curiosity in the possession of the Korubo community matriarch, Mayá.
In Touch does not sell the Messenger. The devices are donated to “unreached” people in countries around the world and are available in more than 100 languages. With its solar panel and built-in torch, the device is designed to bring the gospel to places that lack reliable electricity or internet connections.
In an interview with the Guardian, Seth Grey, In Touch Ministries’ chief operating officer, confirmed that the organisation uses devices such as the Messenger and that “it is built for functionality, solar-powered, with a flashlight”. “Then they discover the content,” he said, adding that the device is loud enough for 20-person “listening groups”.
Grey said he personally delivered 48 of the devices to the Wai Wai people in the Brazilian Amazon four years ago. They contained religious content in their language and Portuguese. The Wai Wai have engaged with US missionaries, who have contacted and proselytised among communities in the northern Amazon, for decades, according to anthropologist Catherine V Howard.
Grey said, however, that the Messenger should not be present in the Javari valley in violation of Brazilian policy. “We don’t go anywhere we’re not allowed,” he said, referring to In Touch staff. He said he was aware of missionaries from “other organisations” who do carry the devices to regions and countries where they are prohibited.
