Owners and Chiefs
To us, the chief is a very important person. He is the man who makes most of the decisions for the entire tribe. In your culture, he would be the mayor of your town, or the governor of your state. We also believe that even the birds around us have chiefs. Out of each family of birds, or species, one bird is the chief. That one is a model or example to the rest through aspects of its living habits. The harpy eagle is an example to the hawks, not by its size but by its broad choice of foods, while the others are more finicky. One hawk eats only certain birds, while another eats only reptiles. In the same way, our own human chief is an great example to the other members of our tribe through his ability to choose good sites for villages and fields and to make other decisions vital to our lives of the Indians.
When people become Christians, Jesus, who is our owner, also becomes our true chief! Please pray that other peoples all over the world, in the rainforest or in the “asphalt jungle,” will understand who Jesus is and ask Him to be their Saviour! |
Besides having a chief, each bird also has an owner, which is one of the many spirits that we believe lives in the jungle with us. The kingfishers, for example, are owned by the spirit of the anaconda (a water snake). Our word for God is “Janejar”, which means “our owner.” We believe everything has an owner, and our owner is God!
