Traditional Religion in MelanesiaThere are various modern methods of an audience-centered reading of the Scriptures. One of them is an anthropology-inspired approach which assumes that people from these parts of the world come to the Bible with quite a different set of presuppositions, grounded in their own age-old traditions. This kind of approach goes purposely away from the well-established kind of reading which is based upon past Jewish history, ancient near-Eastern customs and archaeology, Semitic philology and so on. But without denying the value of these essentially sound segments of learning, is it really necessary that Melanesians should first plunge into Western academia in order to hear God's word? Or is it no longer true that "Greeks" must not first become "Jews" before they can become Christians? The articles gathered in Traditional Religion in Melanesia, and its companion volume Christianity in Melanesia contribute to the goal just described. They make clear that religion as such was not something that was completely new for "the pagans of the past," and that as a rule, too, they were rather selective in accepting the Christian message. This accounts for some misunderstandings, but also for some very positive ways of accepting Christianity. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
The Culture bringers | 11 |
The Dema Deities | 25 |
Copyright | |
11 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
Ameta ancestors ancient Anutu Aufenanger 1972 Banks Islands belief Bible biblical brothers called canoe cargo cults cargo movement cf Mt Christian coconut Codrington 1891 concept creator culture bringers culture heroes Datagaliwabe deity dema dema-deities divine example fact Father fish garden Gazelle peninsula ghosts gods Greek Hainuwele Highlands Huli human hunting Huon Gulf ibid instance invocation Irian Jaya Jahweh Jesus Karkar island Kewa killed Kuanua Lawrence and Meggitt living Lord Madang magic Manup Marind Anim masalai Melanesian messianic mission missionaries monotheism mother myth mythology Nutu Oh Sun origin otiose Papua New Guinea person pigs plants Polynesian polytheism prayers rain referred religious rituals sago scholars Schouten Islands sharks Sherok similar snakes societies spirits stone story supreme tambaran term Testament Tok Pisin traditional religion tree Vanuatu veneration village Vlisso words worship Worsley Wunekau Yaboaine Yakili yams