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MY RESEARCH IN EL-TINGO,
ECUADOR
Alan D. Gordon
Brief History of the Ecuadorian Indian
The Spanish conquest enslaved the
Indians. The foreign authorities divided the land into
geographical areas which were then entrusted to certain
privileged individuals who exacted taxes from the Indians.
Their obligation was not only to collect revenues, but also
to indoctrinate the Indians in the Catholic faith.
Outwardly, the Indians adopted the
Catholic faith, but inwardly, they retained their pagan
beliefs. Mother Earth was now symbolized by the Virgin Mary,
and Catholic holidays were merely superimposed on pagan
festivities.
 Many of the Indians
eventually became permanent workers of the haciendas owned
and run by wealthy landlords. The Ecuadorian land reform in
1964 freed those workers from "slavery" and the landlords
were obligated to give each worker their own piece of land.
Today, in Ecuador, the Andes are
dotted with small towns of these Indian workers who are
gradually moving from an agricultural society to a consumer
economy. The Catholic church is still the center of the town
life, as well as the pagan festivals they celebrate several
times a year. The Evangelization of the Ecuadorian
Indian The early Spanish conquerors
thought it their duty to bring the New World under Christ's
rule, be it mostly by force. Their recent victory over the
Moors in Spain gave them the mentality of Knights in both
warfare and evangelism. Those conquered in the New World
would become either Christians or martyrs. As a result,
Indians were baptized in masses, and
their
ancient fetishes were given Christian names.
This became the general process whereby the Catholic
religion was superimposed upon indigenous rites without
transforming their content. Today one sees a syncretism
among rural Indian beliefs. They appear Catholic, but they
are really pagan. Their original beliefs were never changed.
Evangelism today in the Andes of Ecuador
Street-preaching, evangelistic campaigns, tract
distribution, and vacation Bible schools may be effective in
urban settings, but in the rural, mountain towns, they only
function as a distraction from the routine of life. These
methods do not affect nor change the people's deep-rooted,
ancestral beliefs. The rural folk attend Catholic mass at least once a
week or more, and are eager to send their children to
evangelical programs in order to receive crafts and gifts,
but the annual festivities are unpardonable religious events
that foreign religion has never penetrated. We must change
our methods and strategies in order to see real change in
these towns!
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