Jesuit Ruins, Paraguay

As a part of our mini-vacation we went to the Jesuit Ruins in Trinidad, Paraguay.  I had been there before, but on a hot, sunny day and it was hard to concentrate on the tour while searching for shade.  This time, it was overcast and sprinkling rain, the perfect kind of day to do something outdoors in January in Paraguay.

There were 30 Jesuit compounds back in the day, in the Missions Districts of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.  The one we saw was one of the largest, it held 5000 people once upon a time.  The compounds were built to protect the natives from the Portugese slave traders who would come in and kidnap the natives and take them to Europe as slaves.  Or perhaps they were built to evangelize the natives.  Or perhaps the Jesuit priests enslaved the natives (an unlikely theory since there were only 2 priests and 4998 natives).  These are the theories.

The ruins are beautiful, but not as well taken care of as one would hope.  The times I have been there, the guides have been knowledgable and friendly.  We payed Gs 5000 a person to get in (approximately $1.00) and gave the guide a tip of less than $10.00 for over an hour of tour.

You can probably read about it on Wiki, so I will just tell you the highlights as I remember them:

• The priests either had a sauna or heating for their rooms
• The missions had local bosses, called caciques, that governed the people
• People who stole or misbehaved were punished by whipping.  Either the caciques or the offenders decided how many lashings they got
• Only the caciques children had the opportunity to go to school
• The people learned to read and write in Latin, Spanish and Guarani
• The priests would not allow the Spaniards on the mission compound unless accompanied by a native at all times (to prevent abuses)
• The statues were all beheaded by looters looking for hidden gold or other valuables, none of which exist in Paraguay.
• The missions used to exist in a jungle, but it has all been deforested.

Rebecca was playing with the Flip camera that day and interviewed Bob and I about the ruins.  Pastor Bob is great in front of the camera and never misses a beat.  I, on the other hand, well. . . see for yourself. . . .

Jesuit Ruins from Brenda Boston on Vimeo.