ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conversion of a section of the Paumari population to Protestantism through the native conception of transformation. It discusses the reality of conversion from the missionaries' point of view or the applicability of the concept, nor to focus on its effects or to judge its effectiveness and/or failure. The chapter analyzes the conversion to Evangelism within the context of Paumari cosmology, looking to show how it fits into a wider logic that includes other transformations experienced by the Paumari over the course of their history. The Evangelical Paumari, for their part, explicitly reject the old culture', and they consistently associate this old culture' with the Conselho Indigenista Missionrio (CIMI's) activities. The fact that these temporal transformations have effects on bodies helps explain the Paumari claim to be different from their ancestors and that the Evangelicals are new Paumari.
