Deep in the Amazon rainforest, prayers have been answered. TWR-Brazil now airs Christian broadcasts to the Ticuna people.
This indigenous tribe, with an estimated 70,000 inhabitants living in portions of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, is one of the native groups to remain relatively distinct from its Euro-descended neighbors. They are not entirely isolated, however. The 70-plus Ticuna aldeias, or villages, found in Brazil have access to both a writing system and education in their language, as provided by the country’s National Foundation for Indians (FUNAI). The New Testament has also been translated into Ticuna, according to the American Bible Society Library.
On March 7, 2006, the first Ticuna-language radio program went on the air, followed by a Portuguese block produced by TWR-Brazil. The daily radio transmissions have a large coverage area, reaching the majority of the Ticuna villages of Brazil, Columbia and Peru. In addition to the smaller villages, the programs reach the more developed towns of Benjamin Constant, Leticia and Tabatinga.
These transmissions are currently beamed from the Peruvian FM station Islandia 94.5, a secular radio outlet owned by the Peruvian government, which is popular among the Ticuna people.
Having achieved on-air status, TWR-Brazil is now looking to provide free radio receivers to eager listeners throughout the Ticuna villages. Funds for the radios have been provided in large part by Toccoa Falls Radio Network of Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The Ticunas are reaching their people through 15 minutes of programming every day, which is recorded by their own trained program producer. The Ticuna people now are praying for a recording studio and have a great vision to reach their people by way of their own local radio station.
TWR-Brazil complements this daily programming with 45 minutes of Portuguese block programming consisting of the Bible study Rota 66, as well as other devotional and teaching segments.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for better recording facilities.
- Pray that radio receivers will be provided to each Ticuna village.
- Pray for the other social projects going on (such as finishing a school and providing daily food for the children).
Facts about the Ticunas
- There are at least 21,000 known speakers of the Ticuna language.
- The Ticuna language is classified as an isolate (i.e., unrelated to any other language family).
- Also known as “Tikuna” and “Tukuna.”
Melinda Pearce is TWR-Americas' Public Relations/Hispanic Ministry intern.