Martin Schmid
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Martin Schmid, also known as Esmid (September 26, 1694 – March 10, 1772) was a Swiss
Life
Martin Schmid was born in
At the end of 1728 his journey to South America commenced. The crossing from Tenerife to Buenos Aires took more than three months. The missionaries needed eight more months to go inland and reach Potosí, Bolivia. Here Schmid was selected, along with three other Jesuits, to evangelize the Chiquitos.[1] In August 1730, he finally reached the mission area of the Chiquitos.
At the Chiquitos
Schmid spent his first ten years between 1730 and 1740 in
Missionary methods
When Martin Schmid set out to the mission fields, his primary intention was to evangelize the indigenous peoples. However his
Later, Schmid moved to San Juan Bautista (Santa Cruz) and had the opportunity to engage in direct proselytizing. In a letter to his brother, he described how this was practiced. In the village of San Juan there were already about three hundred Christianized, Indios. They were sent into the jungle to seek nomadic Indians and to persuade them to come to the Jesuit mission. Schmid writes that the villagers who were sent out actually returned after two months with more than a hundred "unbaptized souls." These were then accompanied to the church with music and singing. Schmid first provided them all with simple clothing to hide their nakedness. After that, they were offered food and supplied with small gifts such as: glass beads, rosaries, knives, scissors, etc. The next day the children were baptized. The priests waited to baptise the adults as they first needed to be taught the Christian doctrine.[6]
The superiors have ordered me to introduce the music in these missions. All villages now have their organ, many violins and double bass made of
clavicordio, spinets, harps, trumpets, shawm. These Indian boys are foregone musicians; with their singing and playing in the Holy Mass they pay every day the own Thanks and Praise to the Lord. I must say that they could appear with their music in every town and church to your great surprise. (From a letter by Martin Schmid in 1744.)[7]
Return
Schmid spent his last years in San Miguel de Velasco and in
Effect
Besides his work as a missionary, Martin Schmid made a significant contribution to the enculturation of the Chiquitos Indians. With the introduction of European music, and the manufacturing of musical instruments, he has a significant, long-term influence on their musical culture. He may have helped significantly to impart knowledge of craftsmanship and agriculture. With the creation of a dictionary, he contributed to the writing system and the conservation of the Chiquitano language. However, his most enduring achievements were his churches and their interior decoration.
These churches, and the churches of his students, in:
With his letters Schmid left us a valuable cultural history heritage.
Further reading
Modern books
- Rainald Fischer: Schmid, Martin in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- Rainald Fischer: Father Martin Schmid SJ, 1694–1772. His letters and his work. Zug 1988 (German).
- Eckard Kühne: The mission churches of Chiquitos province in the plain of Bolivia. Construction and restoration of churches by Martin Schmid (1694–1772). Zürich 2008.
- Johannes Meier (2007), "Schmid, Martin", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 23, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 153–154; (full text online)
- Eckart Kühne (Hg.): Martin Schmid 1694 bis 1772, Missionar – Musiker – Architekt, ein Jesuit aus der Schweiz bei den Chiquitano-Indianern in Bolivien. Ausstellungskatalog Historisches Museum Luzern, Luzern 1994 (German). (Spanish: Las Misiones Jesuíticas de Bolivia. Martin Schmid 1694–1772. Misionero, Músico y Arquitecto entre los Chiquitanos. Catálogo de la Exposición en Sta. Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia 1996).
- Werner Hoffmann: Vida y obra del P. Martin Schmid SJ., 1694–1722. Buenos Aires 1981 (Spanish).
- Philip Caraman: Ein verlorenes Paradies. Der Jesuitenstaat in Paraguay; München 1979. ISBN 3-466-42011-3(German).
- Felix Alfred Plattner: Genie im Urwald. Das Werk des Auslandschweizers Martin Schmid aus Baar; Zürich 1959 (German).
- Felix Alfred Plattner: Ein Reisläufer Gottes. Das abenteuerliche Leben des Schweizer Jesuiten P. Martin Schmid aus Baar; Luzern 1944 (German).
- Alcides Parejas Moreno: El artífice; Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 2014 (Bolivian).
Historic accounts
- Dictionary of the Chiquitano language (German); Library La Paz (Bolivia).
- Musical compositions in the music archive in Concepción (Bolivia).
References
- ^ Fischer, Rainald (1988). Father Martin Schmid SJ 1694-1772: His Letters and His work.. (German). Zug. p. 70.
- ^ a b "Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos". UNESCO World Heritage Center. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ The unrestored church, built by Martin Schmid in Concepción, Bolivia, taken before its renovation by Hans Roth (architect) and Eckart Kühne in the 20th century.
- ^ Santamaria, Daniel (1994). The Missionary Methods of the Jesuits in Chiquitos. Kuehne. pp. 25–29.
- ^ Rainald Fischer: Briefe (Letters) 1988. p. 95f. (German)
- ^ Letter dated September 28, 1761 to Francis Silvan Schmid, Baar. In: Rainald Fischer: Briefe (Letters) 1988 p. 112-119.
- ^ Die Jesuiten-Reduktionen – Ein unvergessenes Missionswerk (The Jesuit missions – an unforgotten missionary work) Archived August 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Literature by and about Martin Schmid in the German National Library catalogue
- Story of Martin Schmid in „Jesuit Mission Life: Santa Cruz Bolivia“
- Answers.com: Martin Schmid, Swiss architect and musician, active in Bolivia
- Delf Bucher: Die Jesuiten Missionen im bolivianischen Tiefland In German: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of March 7, 2002.
- Bernhard Matuschak: Pater Schmids Vermächtnis In German: Wiener Zeitung of April 9, 2004.
- Beat Ammann: Social Engineering an Indios in Bolivien In German: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of April 2, 2008.
- Martin Schmid SJ: Bona Suscipemus on YouTube