Image of Catherine Peeke and Rachel Saint working with Dayuma on early translation efforts for the Waorani language. Frame from filmstrip "Unforgettable Friday," which tells the story of Nate Saint and his family, missionary work with Mission Aviation Fellowship, and involvement in Operation Auca. Filmstrip was developed by Marj Saint and MAF in late 1956.

Catherine Peeke, 1924-2014

Catherine Peeke was born April 1, 1924 in Weaverville, North Carolina. She attended Columbia Bible College in South Carolina and Kings College in Tennessee, graduating with her B.A. in 1947. After teaching Bible classes in a private school for two years, Peeke was accepted by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in 1949. Her first assignment, with SIL partner Mary Sargent, was working with the Andoa and Záparo languages in eastern Peru.

In 1953, Peeke helped expand the work of SIL to Ecuador. After hearing about the possibility of beginning translation work on the Wao language, she accompanied Rachel Saint in 1955 to the Hacienda Ila in eastern Ecuador where Saint first met Dayuma, the Waorani woman who became Saint’s lifelong friend and language informant. Initially Peeke helped Rachel and Dayuma communicate because Peeke understood Quichua, Dayuma’s second language, while Rachel did not. On furlough when the five men were killed in January 1956, Peeke returned to Ecuador and continued to consult with Saint and others as they began to learn “Wao tededo”.

In 1962, Peeke left Ecuador to pursue a Ph.D. in anthropological linguistics at Indiana University, focusing her research on Wao tededo. She returned to serve full time in Ecuador in 1968. Excluding furlough years, she worked among the Waorani until her retirement in 1992, often serving as a translator between the Waorani and outsiders. Between 1979 and 1992, Peeke and her German co-worker Rosie Jung, assisted by more than a dozen Waorani consultants, produced a New Testament Bible translation, building on Rachel Saint and Dayuma’s work on the Gospel of Mark and Book of Acts. The Wao New Testament was dedicated in June 1992. Peeke retired to the United States after the dedication, where she and Jung continued work on a Wao-Spanish dictionary. Catherine Peeke died in 2014.

"Pamphlet of the Gospel of Mark in Auca," July 1964. This pamphlet was similar to others printed by Wycliffe Bible Translators and circulated among their staff to help in linguistic work. The publication consists entirely, except for a brief introduction, of excerpts from a letter by Peeke, illustrating some of the linguistic and cultural problems involved in translating the Bible into Wao tededo and the thought she put into her work. Paper, 5” x 8", 8 pages (1 blank).
Pamphlet on Gospel of Mark in Auca (PDF)
Image of Catherine Peeke and Rachel Saint working with Dayuma on early translation efforts for the Waorani language. Frame from filmstrip "Unforgettable Friday," which tells the story of Nate Saint and his family, missionary work with Mission Aviation Fellowship, and involvement in Operation Auca. Filmstrip was developed by Marj Saint and MAF in late 1956.
Catherine Peeke, Dayuma, and Rachel Saint
Excerpt from Friendship on Friday Radio Program #1
Brief report on the language and literacy work among the Waorani in the Spring 1962 issue of <i>Translation</i>, the journal of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Text is accompanied by reproduction of page from Waorani primer.
Literacy...Aucas
Promotion of Ethel Emily Wallis's second book on Dayuma, <i>Aucas Downriver: Dayuma's Story Today</i>, accompanied by several paragraphs from Catherine Peeke reporting on current efforts to reach the "downriver" and "ridge" Waorani communities. Printed in the May 1973 issue of <i>Translation</i>, the journal of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and the Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Aucas Downriver