Thomas Brignon, « From Exemplum to Tekokue. Collaborative Translation, Rewriting and Rhetorical Practices in Three Guarani Exemplary Tales by Nicolás Yapuguay and Pablo Restivo (1724-1727) », HAL-SHS : histoire des religions, ID : 10670/1.vx095q
Through the analysis of three exemplary tales (exempla) rendered into Guarani by Cacique Nicolás Yapuguay under Father Pablo Restivo’s supervision, this article investigates the links between collaborative translations of religious texts and the co-construction of a new rhetorical tradition in the Jesuit missions of Paraguay. Thanks to these scantly examined medieval moral anecdotes, diverse missionary printed works can be studied systematically (following a genetic, translation-related or pragmatic approach), shedding light on the way they have been written, adapted and received. As the dynamical evolution from exemplum to tekokue is being reconstituted, various rhetorical rewriting techniques may be identified, inspired by classical oratory (abbreviatio, amplificatio, reportatio...) and combined with the caciques’ native eloquence for preaching purposes. The Jesuits and their auxiliaries seem to have used these brief stories so as to foster written narratives in Guarani for several decades.