The Awakening Coast: An Anthology of Moravian Writings from Mosquitia and Eastern Nicaragua, 1849-1899

10. Trading with the Sumu Indians, 1878

10 Trading with the Sumu Indians, 1878 “Letter from Br. W. Sieboerger, Ephrata, October, 1878,” Periodical Accounts Relating to the Missions of the Church of the United Brethren 31 (1879): 159–61. Ephrata was the center of the rubber trade from 1860 until the end of the nineteenth century. Like Brother Martin before him, Wilhelm Siebörger used his position as a trader and governmental representative to evangelize among the Sumu who came down the Bambana, Prinzapolka , and Wawa Rivers to trade (see fig. 10.1). Bible illustrations are again presented as an important resource used to convey the broader message of Christianity. Siebörger (or the anglicized Sieboerger) relates a few Sumu, or Mayangna, cultural practices and stories, and he ends with a parable from among the Sambo Miskito at Wounta Haulover. Ephrata, October 1878 For the support of the work here I carry on a barter-trade with the Indians, which chiefly consists in exchanging European articles of clothing, &c. for india-rubber. This occupation affords many a welcome opportunity of speaking a word on spiritual subjects. There comes for instance a company of eight or ten Indians, who have brought their rubber a distance of thirty or forty miles, because they trust our honesty and fairness rather than that of other whites. Business concluded, I remark: “Now I will show you something,” and produce a Bible illustration of the Prodigal Son, giving full explanation. Everything in the picture is interesting to them, and the fact that the Indians speak of their god as “Wan Aisa,” our father, seems Trading with the Sumu Indians | 133 to help them to understand the parable and its application to themselves. They leave with the acknowledgment that my words are right and good, but whether they penetrate to the heart, God alone knows. To this barter-trade we are indebted to our acquaintance with the Summoos [Sumu], or flat-headed Indians, who reside far in the depths of the interior. They are a harmless race, and several members of the tribe visit us about twice a year, bringing their rubber to exchange for clothing, salt, and ammunition: the chieftain, a thoughtful man, I was able to baptize some time since. For two years his name had been on our list of candidates for baptism, but circumstances had again and again prevented his being received into the Church. The ordinary instruction did not satisfy his inquiring mind, he was determined in many of his statements concerning his people and their customs. The Summoos never quarrel, work with diligence, and have community of goods [common ownership], as far as food is concerned. They are very Fig. 10.1. “Heathen Sumu Indians, Moskitoküste,” 1891, lbs 334, Das Unitätsarchiv der Evangelischen Brüder-Unität, Herrnhut, Germany. This picture was originally published in Die Nacht ist Vergangen (see no. 29). 134 | Trading with the Sumu Indians superstitious, having great dread of evil spirits, and believe that they dwell in stones which are found in their forests and bear illegible inscriptions. To set eyes on such a stone is enough to produce disease. One of their superstitious practices is to walk barefooted over glowing embers and ashes. In the evenings the old people gather the young folks together, and tell them their traditions. This they do at great length, and with innumerable digressions. Indeed this tendency to beat about the bush before getting to the point is a common failing of theirs. A man coming from a distance to discharge a debt will first chat about all sorts of indifferent topics, then partake of a meal, and often a night’s rest; on the following day he lights his pipe, tells stories about his ancestors, their experiences and adventures, their possessions , &c., until after many hours he broaches the matter which has brought him to our door. Another legend reminds of the Deluge; it is as follows. One day the Indians heard the noise of the blows of an axe in the distance, but they could not find any one felling a tree. A young man, however, persevering in following the sound, hid himself, and at last saw a strange man, with something like a flame of fire on his head, engaged in cutting down a huge tree. Asked by the youth why he was doing this, the man replied, that “our father” intended to destroy the earth by a flood, and he was going to...