Frotn the early 1950s to the tnid-i97os, missionaries frotn several congregations in the southwestern Amazon region of Brazil, notably a group of young Jesuits, developed an avant la lettre radical brand of inculturation theology, based on close relations with academic anthropology and cultural relativism. By the tggos, this "type" of inculturation became one of the missionary norms in the region; it was also instrumental in the creation and orientation of the Indigenist Missionary Council, the main missionary organization in Brazil. I explore the trajectories of three inculturation theology Jesuits who asserted the need to protect indigenous cultures, including their shamanic rituals.
ResumeA partir des années 1950 et jusqu'aux années 1970, des missionnaires de diverses congréga-tions dans le sud-ouest amazonien, notamment un groupe de jeunes Jésuites, dévelop-pèrent une forme radicale et précoce de la théologie de l'inculturation, dans un rapport étroit à l'anthropologie universitaire et s'appuyant sur le relativisme culturel. Dans les années 1990, cette forme d'inculturation deviendra normative dans cette région ; c'est aussi elle qui fondera le Conseil Indigéniste Missionnaire, la principale organisation catholique en milieu indien au Brésil, et lui donnera son orientation politique. J'explore plus particuliè-rement les trajectoires de trois Jésuites qui professèrent la nécessité de préserver les cttlttires indiennes, notamment de leurs rituels chamaniques. * I thank Joào Wenzel and the staff of the Centro Burnier Fé e fustiga, in Cuiabá whose help and Jesuit archives proved invaluable for this research; and the Tia Irene Community Center in Sao Felix do Araguaia, which hosts the archives of the diocese of the Araguaia. Mgr. Pedro Casaldaliga, Renato Athias, Bartolomeu Mélia, SJ., Egon Heck, Nelo Ruffaldi, Giorgio dal Ben, Dorothea [in memoriam) and Egydio Schwade generously received me and answered my questions over many years. I also thank the missionaries and lay missionaries who wished to answer anonymously. I am grateful to Fidèle Ingiyimbere, S.J., at Boston College, for his useful comments on inculttiration theology.