In December 1977, a missionary named Dan Everett climbed out of a single-engine Cessna onto a jungle airstrip. With him were his wife Keren and their three young children. They had come to stay. Other missionaries had tried to reach the Pirahã for 20 years and failed. Everett's plan was simple. He would master their language and translate the New Testament into it, so the Pirahã could hear the Gospel in their own words. The village was roughly a four-day boat journey from the nearest town. About 350 to 400 hunter-gatherers lived along the riverbank. They met the newcomers with constant smiles and laughter, and treated the family like new pets. Everett had come to bring salvation to people who seemed to be having a wonderful time. So what exactly did they need saving from?
The Pirahã: The Tribe That Converted Its Missionary
Dan Everett arrived in 1977 to convert the Pirahã. They asked 'Have you seen him?' and he lost his faith instead.
A Cessna in the Clearing
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the Pirahã and why did Daniel Everett go to live with them?
The Pirahã were a hunter-gatherer people of roughly 350 to 400 living along a river in the Brazilian jungle. Everett arrived in December 1977 as a missionary. His goal was to master their language and translate the New Testament into it.
What is the Immediacy of Experience principle?
It is the Pirahã cultural rule that people speak only about what they or a living witness have personally seen. As a result the Pirahã have no creation myths and no history beyond two generations. It also explains why they rejected Everett's preaching about a Jesus nobody had seen.
Why did Everett's work on Pirahã spark a feud with Noam Chomsky?
In 2005 Everett argued that Pirahã lacks recursion, the ability to embed one phrase inside another. He said this showed language is a cultural tool rather than an innate biological instinct. That challenged Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar, and Chomsky called him a charlatan.
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