Mayans ‘hear’ oral Bible, struggle reading text

NEBAJ — Ringed by the Cuchamatanes Mountains in a fertile valley, four Guatemalans listen intently to a halting voice, stopping and starting, starting and stopping, behind sound-deafening blankets.

Within a year, thousands of Ixil (pronounced “ee-SHEEL”) Mayans may hear that voice reading Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in their mother tongue. But only by digitally piecing together fragments of perfectly read passages, will the recording mask the “Apostle Paul’s” troubled tripping tongue.

Nebaj’s Ixil have waited decades to have the Word of God in their own language. Raymund and Helen Elliott began the translation in 1952. Interrupted by personnel changes and a brutal 36-year civil war, which deeply affected the so-called “Ixil Triangle,” the translation advanced in fits and starts, involving a series of linguists. The government’s strong-fisted response to the guerillas devastated many area villages, in some cases nearly wiping out the population. Finally, in 2007, a team of Ixil pastors and Wycliffe Bible translators finished the New Testament.

“¿Kam ka'an viyak'il u kamchile' q'i uve' ni yatz'on unq'a tename'? ti'k u yole',” reads the Ixil apostle. (“Where is thy sting, oh death, and where is thy victory, oh grave?”)

Indeed. Unless they hear it, Ixil Mayans may not know the sweetness of God’s word, reaching and transforming their hearts, avoiding death’s sting. SIL International estimates just 5 percent of Guatemala’s Mayans can read their mother tongue. A printed Bible does little good for most.

As often happens during their work, the recording stalls when a reader — inexperienced at reading his own language — stumbles over the highly glottalized, complex Mayan sentences. (Listen to a sample of Viña’s New Testament recording of the nearby Cotzal Ixil dialect.) Mayans have such troubles reading, that some Guatemalans question the validity of indigenous translations.

“Once again,” says Izidro, Viña’s recording technician, in Spanish, “Recording...”

“Uno, dos, tres ...,” says the “Apostle Paul,” before continuing to read, “Tan a' u paave' ni aq'on ...”

So few Mayans can read Mayan that finding 25 readers for each dramatized recording routinely challenges Viña’s sound technicians. “They can’t read (their language),” says Carlos, Viña Studios recording director. “There’s no doubt. They can’t read it. That’s the problem we find in the majority of places.”

The difficulties implicitly demonstrate how valuable a perfectly read audio version of the Scriptures can be for indigenous Mayans. After his printed translations received a cold reception, Jim Butler, the late Bible translator, discovered Tzutujil Mayans eagerly listened to his recorded translations. Butler came to view audio Scriptures as vital for the oral Mayan culture. “Whether they read it or not, at least this generation is going to hear it," he said.

Indeed, audio Scriptures can provide a bridge to an oral culture, to those who have yet to, or may never, learn to read and write their mother tongue. Countless Mayans have testified that they prefer hearing the Word in their mother tongue instead of Spanish, but to record it Viña must find at least a few good readers and exercise patience with those who struggle.

In view of the literacy woes, some Ixil Mayans have questioned the translation process, saying as much to Bruno Viallatoro Lopéz, pastor of the Church of God in Nebaj. “Why are they putting the Bible into Ixil,” Bruno says they asked him, “if it’s easier to read the Castellano (Spanish)?” Bruno says he once asked some Ixil schoolteachers, members of his church, to coach him in reading Ixil accurately. “Ah, brother, it’s difficult to read,” they answered. “And they are Ixils!” he added.

As the mother tongue for the vast majority of Nebaj’s residents, Mayan Ixil remains the dominant means of oral communication, but when it comes to reading, Spanish is easier for many, Viallatoro says.

As Guatemala’s national language, Spanish enjoys an overwhelming advantage. Nearly half of Guatemala’s population speaks one of 21 Mayan languages as their mother tongue, but Spanish basks in higher prestige within the spheres of government, education, business and, in most cases, religion.

Its edge in literacy, however, may not translate into an advantage in comprehension. Studies and anecdotal evidence have shown indigenous language speakers still prefer to communicate truth orally, not through print media. Testimonies indicate indigenous-language Scripture recordings often bring greater understanding and “flavor” even for many bilingual speakers.

“Spanish is difficult for the people to master grammatically,” said Jordán Xec, a Kaqchiquel Mayan of Patzún, Guatemala, who played the role of “King David” for the Central Kaqchiquel recording of the Psalms. “Sure, we speak Spanish, but nonetheless there are things in the Bible whose content is difficult to understand.

“According to opinions from my people — I’ve done interviews — the mother tongue is what people understand more clearly because they hear it in their own language,” Xec said. “It has more flavor.”

When the tongue of the Ixil “Apostle Paul” trips over his text, he’s not alone in Nebaj — or anywhere else Viña goes to record the Word of God.

Luke the physician, John the evangelist, Mary, Jesus, the apostles — virtually all the Ixil biblical figures — get tongue-tied when trying to read their language.

The trouble proved the same in Patzún, when Viña traveled there to record the Central Kaqchiquel Scriptures.

“It’s difficult to read,” said Rosa, a Kaqchiquel mother of seven. “We speak Kaqchiquel, but at the moment we read it, we get confused.”

Misreading the text and leaving out a glottalized implosive – a sudden inward burst of air — can create confusion. If the reader’s eye misses a small accent mark, representing glottalization, mistakes ensue. As an example, misreading the Kaqchiquel word, “k'ak',” instead of “kak',” the listener would hear “our language” instead of “fire.” Viña’s recording technicians wear headphones when recording, enabling them to catch slight errors.

Novice readers focusing on their mechanics instead of reading for meaning often err because of their nervousness or inexperience reading.

Each time Viña prepares for a recording project, its staff must scout local talent. Carlos, Viña’s recording director, usually arrives one month before the recording begins, examining local voice talent and submitting them to reading tests.

“In rare cases we find some who can read (well),” Carlos says. “Usually it’s those who have worked with the translation.”

Once the recording project begins, some potential readers drop out.

“They had to go because we were losing time,” Carlos says.

Other prospective readers doubt their abilities, encounter work or family problems and miss appointments or resign. Such delays can extend the recording project days or weeks.

Out of 25 people in Nebaj who volunteered to read, just 15 passed muster or showed up on schedule.To compensate, the recording team had to assign more personalities’ voices to fewer people.

Except for a weekend trips home every other week, Viña’s recording technicians labored far from their families, working long days with native Ixil Mayans in this remote mountain town. Occasionally, they also worked Sundays because that was the only day some readers were available.

Patience is a necessity when recording for the dramatized reading. Readers often struggle with nervousness at being recorded. During a past recording, one man had such problems Viña’s crew decided to use deception. Carlos had noticed the man relaxed as he practiced so he told the man to simply practice the phrase when in reality they “rolled the tape,” recording him. They did this a number of times, till he got over his nervousness.

Readers often require coaching to use a natural voice, showing the emotion and drama of the text. When Jesus commands Lazarus to come out of the grave, for example, the Ixil reader read in a normal voice. “No,” Carlos says, “You must say, ‘Lazarus! Come out!’ ”

Disturbances frequently shut down the recording process. Sometimes, it’s the racket from a diesel-powered corn grinder, fireworks from a celebrating Guatemalan or a large truck passing by.

In Nebaj, high-amped, exuberant worship services at 4 p.m. each day at a nearby Pentecostal church forced the recording team to shut down for an hour. The disturbance gave the men, who are in their 20s and 30s, a chance to burn off energy Latin style: by playing soccer in an adjacent field. “Paul,” “Peter” and several other biblical figures worked up a sweat with Viña employees amidst much light-hearted laughter.

Recording God’s word for indigenous people to hear in their mother tongue remains a laborious process, but the result is a message of good news in a clear, understandable language.

“Definitely,” says Carlos, Viña’s head recording technician. “Although the people can’t read, they can listen in their own language. The woman cooking in the kitchen can listen to the New Testament. The man working in the field can listen to the New Testament on the radio.”

On August 12, 2008 the New Testament for the Ixil of Nebaj will be dedicated and available for purchase. Perhaps more significantly, the recorded oral version should be available some months later for the Ixil believers to hear God’s word in the language of their heart.

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View more photos from Nebaj. This set has a political agenda, but the shots of the people and scenery are excellent.