South American Culture Honor

Missionary & Community Activities

Requirements

1. Describe which countries are part of the South American Division of the SDA and cite 3 or 4 typical characteristics of each country, which may be language, flag, typical food, customs and typical clothing.

   Answer: The South American Division (SAD) of the SDA covers 8 countries: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Typical characteristics of each one: 1) BRAZIL — Portuguese language; green-and-yellow flag with a blue circle; typical foods feijoada/barbecue/cheese bread; samba and soccer. 2) ARGENTINA — Spanish; blue-white-blue flag with the Sun of May; steak/asado and chimarrão (mate); tango. 3) CHILE — Spanish; blue-white-red flag with a star; empanadas and pastel de choclo; the cueca dance. 4) PARAGUAY — Spanish and Guarani; red-white-blue flag; Paraguayan soup and chipá; music with the Paraguayan harp. 5) URUGUAY — Spanish; white flag with blue stripes and a sun; asado and mate; candombe. 6) PERU — Spanish and Quechua; red-white-red flag; ceviche; heritage of the Inca culture, with colorful ponchos. 7) BOLIVIA — Spanish, Quechua and Aymara; red-yellow-green flag; salteñas; colorful Andean costumes with a hat (bombín). 8) ECUADOR — Spanish and Quechua; yellow-blue-red flag; encebollado and locro; Andean indigenous clothing. (The SAD does not include Venezuela, Colombia and the Guianas, which belong to other divisions.) — The SAD has been headquartered in Brasília since 1980 and is the largest division of the Adventist Church in number of members (~2.5 million) — Brazil alone represents about 70% of that total, with more than 1.7 million Adventists, according to the 2024 Yearbook of the General Conference.

2. Choose a native South American tribe or civilization and make a visual presentation with about 5 photos via poster, video or PowerPoint about its history and customs.

   Answer: Suggestion: choose among the Incas (Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador, Empire of 1438-1533), Tupinambás (Brazilian coast), Guaranis (Southern Brazil/Paraguay), Mapuches (Chile/Argentina), Aymaras (Bolivia/Peru) or Quechuas (Andes). Include 5 photos: geographic location, traditional clothing, architecture, typical food and religious ceremonies. — The Incas built the largest pre-Columbian empire in South America (about 12 million inhabitants in 1500) — Machu Picchu was discovered by the American Hiram Bingham in 1911 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

3. Describe in 25 to 35 lines how the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of South America took place and how the independence of the South American countries came about. Describe what other peoples and immigrants helped to build the South American peoples in your country.

   Answer: Colonization: the Treaty of Tordesilhas (1494) divided the lands of the Americas between Portugal (Brazil) and Spain (the rest). Portugal colonized Brazil through the hereditary captaincies and, later, the General Government, with an economy based on sugar and slave labor (indigenous and, mainly, African). Spain organized its domains into viceroyalties (New Spain, New Granada, Peru and Río de la Plata), exploiting gold and silver with the encomienda and mita system (indigenous forced labor). Independence: Brazil became independent in 1822, in a relatively peaceful manner, with D. Pedro I and the Cry of Ipiranga. The Spanish colonies achieved independence through wars (1810-1825), led by Simón Bolívar (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) and José de San Martín (Argentina, Chile and Peru). Other peoples and immigrants: in addition to the indigenous peoples (the original owners of the land) and the Africans brought as slaves, the South American peoples were formed by European immigrants (Italians, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese), Japanese, Arabs (Syrians and Lebanese) and others, who contributed culture, cuisine and labor — describe specifically the groups that helped form the people of your country. — The Treaty of Tordesilhas (1494) was a bilateral agreement negotiated directly between Portugal and Spain, and not mediated by the Pope. It revised the division of the papal bull Inter caetera (Alexander VI, 1493), rejected by D. João II, establishing an imaginary line 370 leagues west of Cape Verde: Portugal kept the eastern part (Brazil) and Spain the western part, dividing the newly discovered world between the two Catholic powers.

4. Describe at least 8 religions that are found and growing in South America and how the Adventist Church arrived on this continent and developed its work. Cite the year in which the SDA arrived in each country and describe in 10 lines how it arrived in your country.

   Answer: Eight religions found and growing in South America: 1) Roman Catholicism (the majority, a legacy of colonization); 2) Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism (in strong growth); 3) historical Protestantism (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran); 4) Seventh-day Adventism; 5) Kardecist Spiritism; 6) Afro-American religions (Candomblé, Umbanda, Santería); 7) Jehovah's Witnesses; 8) Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). There are also traditional indigenous religions, Judaism and Islam. How Adventism arrived on the continent: the Adventist Church arrived in South America at the end of the 19th century. The first contacts came through literature (Adventist publications) brought by European immigrants, mainly Germans and Russians in Southern Brazil and Argentina. In 1879 printed material arrived; in 1891 the colporteur Albert Bishop arrived in Brazil; and in 1894 Pastor Frank Westphal was the first ordained pastor officially sent, baptizing the first converts in Argentina and Brazil. The work grew with schools, publishing houses (Brazil Publishing House) and hospitals. Approximate years of the SDA's arrival: Argentina and Brazil (1894), Chile (1895), Peru (early 20th century), among others. Describe in about 10 lines how the Adventist Church arrived and developed specifically in your country (in Brazil: through literature and German immigrants in the South, with Westphal and the founding of schools and publishing houses). — Adventist literature arrived in Brazil around 1879-1884, when magazines in German (Herald of Truth) reached immigrant colonies in Santa Catarina; the first converts were German immigrants who accepted the message before the arrival of any missionary. In 1893, Albert B. Stauffer, the first missionary sent by the world leadership of the Church, arrived in São Paulo, and the first Brazilian Adventist church was organized in Gaspar Alto (SC) in 1895.

5. What is the name and location of the driest desert in the world?

   Answer: The Atacama Desert, located in northern Chile, in the coastal region that stretches for about 1,000 km between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. It is considered the driest place in the world: some weather stations record less than 1 mm of rain per year, and in certain areas of the Atacama no precipitation has ever been recorded in history. — The Atacama is so dry that NASA uses the site to test Mars equipment — the desert reproduces conditions similar to those of the Red Planet in terms of aridity, UV radiation and the absence of surface water.

6. What is the highest mountain in South America? What is its height and location?

   Answer: The highest mountain in South America is Aconcagua, at 6,961 meters in altitude. It is located in Argentina, in the province of Mendoza, near the border with Chile, as part of the Andes Mountains. In addition to being the highest point in South America, it is also the highest peak in the entire Southern Hemisphere and in the Americas (North and South together). — Aconcagua is one of the 'Seven Summits' (the highest points on each continent) — it attracts about 3,000 climbers per year, with a success rate of only 30% at the summit due to the extreme altitude and altitude sickness.

7. What is the largest forest in South America? Cite at least 3 animal species characteristic of this forest.

   Answer: The Amazon Rainforest is the largest in South America, covering about 5.5 million km² across 9 countries (60% in Brazil). Characteristic animals: jaguar (the largest South American feline), pink river dolphin (a freshwater dolphin of the Amazon rivers), hyacinth macaw, tapir, sloth, green anaconda and pirarucu (a giant fish of calm waters). — The Amazon is home to approximately 10% of all known species on the planet — more than 40,000 species of plants, 1,300 of birds and 3,000 of fish catalogued to date, according to INPA (National Institute for Amazonian Research).

8. Choose a biome of South America and describe the climate, animals and ecology in at least one page.
   • Pantanal
   • Cerrado
   • Pampa
   • Atlantic Forest
   • Caatinga
   • Mangrove
   • Different types of South American coastlines
   • Andes mountain range
   • Patagonia

   Answer: Chosen biome: Atlantic Forest (the coastal strip of Brazil, from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul). CLIMATE: predominantly humid tropical (and subtropical in the South), with abundant and well-distributed rainfall (1,500 to 4,000 mm/year in the mountain ranges), high humidity and average temperatures between 18 and 28°C; the proximity of the ocean and the mountainous terrain favor fog and orographic rainfall. ANIMALS: jaguar, golden lion tamarin, golden-headed lion tamarin, muriqui (the largest primate in the Americas), ocelot, maned sloth, toucan, black-fronted piping guan, bare-throated bellbird and a large number of endemic amphibians and insects. ECOLOGY: it is a dense and stratified forest (high canopy, understory, epiphytes such as bromeliads and orchids, lianas), recognized as one of the greatest biodiversity hotspots on the planet, with a very high rate of endemic species (which exist only there). It provides essential ecological services: it regulates the climate and rainfall, protects springs and water sources that supply large cities, prevents erosion and landslides on the slopes and stores carbon. It is also the most threatened and devastated biome in Brazil — about 12% to 24% of the original cover remains, fragmented by historical deforestation (sugarcane, coffee, urbanization), which makes its conservation and reforestation urgent priorities. As a work of the Creator (Gen 1), the richness of the Atlantic Forest is an invitation to stewardship and responsible care of nature. (Write your answer with at least one page.) — The Atlantic Forest is considered a world biodiversity hotspot by Conservation International — despite being heavily devastated, it concentrates more than 20,000 species of plants (of which 8,000 are endemic), the equivalent of 6 times the entire European flora.

9. Describe five species of animals that are found only in South America.

   Answer: Cinco animais típicos/endêmicos da América do Sul: 1) Capivara — maior roedor do mundo, vive às margens de rios; 2) Tamanduá-bandeira — come formigas e cupins, língua de até 60 cm; 3) Lhama — camelídeo dos Andes; 4) Boto-cor-de-rosa — golfinho de água doce da Amazônia; 5) Mico-leão-dourado — primata endêmico da Mata Atlântica brasileira. — The capybara can weigh up to 80 kg and is one of the most sociable animals in the world, living in groups of 10 to 30 individuals — characteristically, capybaras tolerate various animals on their bodies (birds, baby caimans), generating memes on the internet.

10. Interview, in person or over the internet, a Pathfinder (10-15 years old) from a South American country different from yours and ask: What are the Pathfinders of your country like and which honors do they most enjoy doing? What do you like most about your country? What places in South America would you like to visit? If possible, exchange a token, badge or t-shirt with this new friend.

    Answer: Find a Pathfinder from another country via the club's networks (Facebook, Instagram, AY groups), the official Discord, or pastor contacts at international camporees. Ask the 4 questions (favorite honors, what they like most about their country, places they would like to visit in SA, and a proposal for an exchange). — The South American camporees of the SAD gather more than 80 thousand Pathfinders in gatherings that historically facilitate this cultural exchange — the last SAD camporee was in 2024 in Barretos/SP with participants from 8 countries.