An interesting piece that raises questions about the stewardship of the past, and the role language plays in defining a people and their beliefs.

Generations of church goers in the mountain village of Yaganiza, Mexico have prayed to God in a language they don't understand. Church services are held in Spanish, while most of the congregants speak only the indigenous language Zapoteco. Seven years ago American Rebecca Long started a project to translate the New Testament into Zapoteco with the help of members of the Yaganiza's growing Evangelical church. However, as producer Marianne McCune illustrates, this seemingly positive act is not without controversy in this traditionally Catholic community.

Long has also translated and collected "beautiful texts", and "stories, songs and riddles" of this primarily-spoken language, many of which have gone unread either because of illiteracy, or skepticism of Long's ability to understand the people of Yaganiza as an outsider. One interviewee speaks of the "more natural ... different way of understanding the language" that a native speaker has, and tells of a "famous [indigenous] teacher who's given his life to translating in Zapoteco, but even he still hasn't figured out how to define the word God."

McCune does an excellent job of providing concrete background, social/religious context and atmosphere in this piece where different people are trying to describe one of our most abstract concepts. McCune shows us that Long's opponents and supporters may be using identical words, but like the tone pairs of the Zapotec language, the difference is in the tone.