The Virgin Mary in the Chiquitano Language: Analysis of the Translation of Certain Marian Characteristics in Chiquitano Prayers

Abstract

This contribution focuses on the linguistic and cultural translation processes of notions linked to the figure of the Virgin Mary, specific to the Western Christian tradition. The analysis is set in the context of the indigenous communities of Chiquitania, in Bolivia, taking into account their linguistic and cultural particularities. These communities are part of the historical fabric derived from the legacy of the Jesuit reductions of Chiquitos, active between 1691 and 1768. Based on textual and ritual sources in Chiquitano – from the first testimonies in handwritten catechisms in 1718 to the popular practice of the Chiquitano communities today – the lexical and semantic transformations are analysed, as well as the methods of translation of the Hail Mary into the Chiquitano language, including loanwords, gender-specific language use, and translations of the word ‘virgin’. In particular, the translation analysis focuses on the characteristics of the Virgin Mary as presented in the Hail Mary and other basic prayers. A brief overview of the reception of the translated characteristics in the Christian religious practices of the Chiquitano communities, especially in Chiquitano sermons, concludes the study.