Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MJT 5 1
MJT 5 1
MELANESIAN JOURNAL
OF THEOLOGY
EDITORIAL
Revd Christopher Garland
GATARI JI AMONG THE YEGA
Fr Spencer Kombega
A POLITICAL THEOLOGY: MELANESIAN
MILIEU
Revd Kasek Kautil
DREAMS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
AND THEIR INTERPRETATION
Meg Maclean
MAN AND HIS WORLD: BIBLICAL AND
MELANESIAN WORLDVIEWS
Fr Theo Aerts
A DANCE TO THE GIVER OF LIFE
Revd Christopher Garland
BOOK REVIEWS
K3.00
The Melanesian Journal of Theology aims to stimulate the
writing of theology by Melanesians for Melanesians. It is an
organ for the regular discussion of theological topics at a
scholarly level by staff and students of the member schools of
the Melanesian Association of Theological Schools (MATS),
though contributions from non-members and non-Melanesians
will be considered.
EDITORIAL BOARD
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Book Reviews:
Contributors ..................................................................... 70
8
be divorced from peace. If we may see the stilling of the
storm, not as an act of arrogant domination, but as an act of
love, symbolising peace between man and nature, then Jesus is
working to bring all creation into one community under God.
In that community, the nature of every created force, and
every creature, has the potential, if treated with agape-love, to
contribute to the building up of the community. The lower
orders of creation are not to be treated as if they were persons
with wills like human beings, but they have the right to the
respect due to a proper understanding of their God-given
nature.
9
making of, or submitting to, a demand. So, the land and trees
are conserved, not for their own sake, but because of the
contribution they make to society. So, when the land and trees
are threatened with being laid waste, the concern is not with
their preservation, for their own sake, but for compensation for
the loss of their “payback” contribution to the community.
10
GATARI JI AMONG THE YEGA
Spencer Kombega
Anglican church, Simbu Province
Introduction
The Yega musician uses the tune of the primary and the
adjusted Gatari Ji to compose religious chants. Traditionally,
some were dedicated to the deities, as well as to the supreme
spirit, known as Sirorari. The word Sirorari derives from the
word Siroro, meaning “creation”. The practical worship of
Sirorari by the Yega tribe, and the neighbouring villages, led
the Yega people to adopt some chants belonging to the
neighbouring villages, which were dedicated to Sirorari,
because they all have one common belief.
11
This mostly occurs after a death. The Yega mourners
sit around and weep, while some stand to hug and dance. The
two rites differ, but the tune of Gatari1 remains the same,
because the form of the tune is fixed in the mentality of every
old and young Yega person. Actually, the real crying follows
after the utterance of the chant. So, the combination of the
chant uttered, and the real crying, is known as Gatari Ji.
Which means:
12
Gatari Ji, because it was, and remains, the only surviving
ancient tune.
Which means:
Adjusted Gatari Ji
13
Most of the chants have only one verse, and, during
each chanting of the verse, one or two words are changed by
the leader.
LEADER:
O Bega re kundo bugera giwo
O Itadi sedo bugera giwo.
GROUP:
O oro tepoda yeira toriwo oro o oro orokaiva
oro.6
Which means:
LEADER:
We bring you peace
to give it to you.
FIRST LEADER GROUP:
Welcome, this is the place of peace, welcome,
welcome.
FIRST LEADER:
O Esega o bugudo pira o.
SECOND LEADER:
O Baiyau o kumbudo pira o.
GROUP:
O Toriwo oro kaiva oro.7
14
Which means:
FIRST LEADER:
A visitor is coming
SECOND LEADER:
He is bringing treasure
GROUP:
Come in, welcome, welcome.
15
Wo, wo, wo – O Undari wo budo dogedo itio
rejedo bane – wo, wo, wo.9
Which means:
Which means:
O Siroro bemire e ai
E maiama yowa siroro, siroro
O siroro bemire e ae.11
16
Which means:
FIRST LEADER:
O Bejeio nango gore o.
SECOND LEADER:
O Keriso da buari o.
GROUP:
Keriso da buari o bejeio nango gore o.
Which means:
17
FIRST LEADER:
Speak out for us to hear.
SECOND LEADER:
The coming of Christ.
GROUP:
The coming of Christ, speak out for us to hear.
Which means
Conclusion
18
The three parts of the Gatari Ji can be theologised as
the Trinity. Thus the Gatari Ji could be as symbol of the
Trinity in the music of the Yega tribe.
NOTES
19
A POLITICAL THEOLOGY:
MELANESIAN MILEU
Revd Kasek Kautil
20
II
21
instruments of a tribe state, but how best the welfare of
members were served and guaranteed. Therefore, in large
parts of Papua New Guinea, in the past, as well as the present
time, we speak of government for and by the people. A tribal
state, and its structures, were established, not to serve itself,
but to serve its people.
22
Another way of describing the Melanesian milieu, may
be described in the three senses used by a current writer on
Melanesian religions: religion is a system, a personal attitude,
or a complex of symbolic systems. As a system, religion is
part of the social structure, and the political structure of beliefs
and rituals. In this sense, the major religions of the world,
including Christianity, as well as ethnic religions, may be
included. And, as part of the social structure, religion plays an
important role in both the spiritual and secular spheres of life;
hence, dichotomy exists, but only superficially. For life
belongs to the one Creator and Father.
23
A good politician, or a minister of religion, does not become
either by right of inheritance, but by faithful service to his
neighbour, and obedience to God.
24
III
BIBLIOGRAPHY
25
NOTES
1. Theodor Reik, Listening with the Third Ear, New York, 1948.
2. Gernot Fugmann (ed), Ethics and Development in Papua New
Guinea, Point Series No. 9, Goroka: Melanesian Institute, 1986,
p. xi.
3. Paul Tillich, Ultimate Concern, London, 1965.
4. Ennio Mantovani (ed.), An Introduction to Melanesian Religions,
Point Series No. 6, Goroka: Melanesian Institute, 1984, p. 31f.
5. Ibid, p. 26.
6. Matthew 7:15-20.
7. Mantovani, op. cit., p. 29.
8. Joshua 24:14-15.
9. Christian Keysser, A People Reborn, Pasadena: William Carey
Library, 1980, p. 213.
10. I use “church” here in a symbolic form sense, or typological form.
Referring to natural order, particularly the tribal units, with all its
spiritual and political concerns, as a total vehicle of God’s activities.
26
DREAMS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
AND THEIR INTERPRETATION
Meg Maclean
27
What guidance should we give to our people as to how
to know when dream is from God, and not the result of
worries, indigestion, or sickness? There seems to be no clear
indication in the Bible as to how to judge a dream, except by
whether the interpretation is proved true or not. This is only a
valid test if the dream contains a prediction, but it is no help in
deciding whether or not you should act on that prediction. In
Papua New Guinea cultures, I have seen dreams to be almost
as destructive as gossip.
28
MAN AND HIS WORLD:
BIBLICAL AND MELANESIAN
WORLDVIEWS
Fr Theodoor Aerts
29
correct in interpreting the whole expression as “a garden
(Greek: paradeisos) of delight”, for which no particular place
should be contemplated. In other words, the concept would be
related to similar ideas of Mesopotamian mythology. The
same is also true of the notation that, from this garden, started
four streams, to water the earth. The Tigris and Euphrates are
easily identified, but the two other streams – Pishon, near the
land of Havilah, and Gihon, encircling the land of Kush
(Gen 2: 10-14) – are not found in their neighbourhood, and
reflect, possibly, rivers known from Egypt. We have then,
once more, an apparently geographical, but, in fact, a half-
mythical localisation, in which the more important point is that
life-giving waters streamed out of Paradise, the place of the
tree of life, as is again known from Babylonian mythology.
30
change, and will become pleasant again. Such a down-to-earth
view contrasts sharply with the view expressed by the
Babylonian epic of creation, where it as said that the god
Marduk suspended “his bow” in heaven, after defeating his
rebellious god-mother, Tiamat, and those who supported her
(Enuma Elish 6:82-94: ANET 69:514). If this particular myth
inspired the biblical story of the flood, and its aftermath, we
would have our first example of de-mythologising a pagan god
tale, under the influence of the Israelite belief in the one God
Jahweh. However, this may be, the rainbow has, in fact,
become the sign of Jahweh’s benevolence, and of His promise
not to destroy the earth any more (Gen 9:13), while the earlier
example of the returning rain is used by Isaiah to explain the
life-spending function of the word of God (Is 55:11). Again,
the regularity of sun and moon (cf. Ps 72:5; 89:37), cold and
heat, winter and summer, etc. (Gen 8:22), are seen as reliable
signs of the same faithfulness and reliability of Israel’s God.
31
storeyed universe, with water below, heaven above, and the
earth in between, but which often can be seen on a mere
literary level, without implying much speculative thought at
all7. In fact, the Semites did not have a single systemic view
of the universe; they used a multiplicity of approaches,
according to the circumstances. Comparisons with Egyptian
myths would allow us to find not only (two) bi-, or (three) tri-
partite divisions, but also, by distinguishing, for example, sea
and underworld, or the different superimposed heavens, a
universe with even more divisions. For our purpose, we keep
the common tri-partite division.
32
does not move, it needs a foundation, or “ pillars”, which,
during a mighty storm, might even be laid bare (Ps 18:15). No
thought is given, though, to what would support the world
foundations themselves.
In this geography, fits also the expression of a “navel of
the land”, which is used once to refer to the hills near Shechem
(Jdg 9:37), and, another time, to Jerusalem, built upon Mount
Zion (Ez 38:12). If for a moment, we disregard the different
periods to which these two texts belong, the double use would
suggest that different traditions have used the same expression
for their respective central places, which, in this case, are a
mere 50 kilometres distant from one another. This would
underline how very limited each of these societies did draw its
own limits.
33
Within this general cosmological frame, other
phenomena find their place. The earth quakes, when its pillars
are shaken (Job 9:6), and the rain and hail fall down, when the
sluices of the respective storerooms are opened (Gen 7:11; Job
38:22; Ps 148:4). Sun and moon are the great lamps hung
against the firmament (Gen 1:16), or also running their
heavenly course from east to west, and then proceeding under
the earth, to resume, again, the same function (cf. Ps 19:5,
Qoh 1:7). Since experience shows that man does not need to
see them to have light, the Bible grants the light an
independent existence (Dan 3:73), and has it mentioned in
Gen 1:3-5, before even the luminaries themselves are
decorating the vault of heaven (Gen 1:14-19).
34
were steps leading up to heaven, as if the place was a divine
palace (Gen 28:12, 17). The nether world is a kind of
counterpart of heaven, as appears from the parallelism
between the “gates of heaven” and the “gates of death”, this is
the proper place of those who are deceased, where they live on
as mere “shadows” (Hebrew: refaim).
35
Jer 2:20; Hos 4:13). It was believed, of course, that on those
sites God kept revealing Himself.
36
fire (2 Pet 3:7, 10-13). Yet this is not a total annihilation, but
rather the means to arrive at a complete transformation, which
brings about “a new heaven and new earth” (cf. Apoc 21:1),
that will last forever (cf. Is 66:22).
II THE MELANESIAN WORLDVIEW
37
their surroundings than the ancestors of the Jewish people
knew about their outside world.
38
cave, with a fern-covered entrance, perhaps, a waterfall,
drenched with cold spray, a lonely pool, where a stray
crocodile may be lurking, or a slippery precipice. Dangerous
as these spirits are believed to be, however, it is though that
the group dwelling at each sacred place has made a promise to
the first claimant of the surrounding area to leave him, and his
heirs, unmolested, as long as they respect the holiness of the
site. Persons, however, who have no claim to ownership, were
not included in the contract, and could expect no favours either
(1947, p. 125).
39
The firmament is like a huge shell of a sea turtle, resting
upon the ends of the earth. Yet, there exists, also, the belief
that one “man”, called Nochta, is sitting on the horizon,
supporting the heavenly vault, lest it should fall down and
crush all the living (LEHNER, 1930b, p. 107). This heaven is
conceived as another inhabited world, planted with trees, of
which the stars are the roots.12 Sun and moon are the eyes of
dreaded, but also venerated, powers. When, at evening, “Lord
Sun” sets, it is believed that his grandmother came to fetch
him; he then passes underneath the earth, to appear on the
other side next day. The moon follows the same route, but
takes more time, because he is smaller, and also slower. There
exists a fear that, one day, the sun and moon will disappear,
thus marking the end of mankind; therefore, moon eclipses
cause a great show of sorrow and grief, because of the nearing
disaster. A halo around the moon is a premonitory sign that
somebody is about to retire into a seclusion hut, e.g., the next
widower, or the next girl coming to puberty. When a rainbow
appears, it is believed that it shows the blood of the killed
person, which mounts to heaven, or, also, somebody’s bile,
which burst and splashed up into the sky (1930b, p. 110).
Similar explanations cover nearly all atmospheric phenomena,
but those mentioned here will suffice for the people near the
Huon Gulf.
40
between these worlds is quite feasible, with ladders, and the
same is true to go from one heaven to the other (NEUHAUS,
1962, pp. 218-219). One wonders whether this model does not
better fit some ancient Near-Eastern views, than some of the
complicated three-dimensional constructions, proposed thus
far (cf. WARREN, pp. 33-40, and frontispiece).
41
To this complex, one can also reckon some myths of the
Samap (East Sepik), which compare the moon, either to the
genitals of, for example, a fish-women (GEHBERGER, 1950,
pp. 79-85), or those of a man, who could change himself into a
pig (1950, pp. 96-100). As such traditional tales should be
seen against their respective cultural backgrounds, there is
nothing absent about them, but they witness how, generally,
daily experiences are linked with the ever-present supernatural
beings, who secure survival and vitality for man, animals, and
plants, alike.
42
surroundings. 15 One story of the Siwai-Papuans (South
Bougainville) might illustrate this kind of concern (KINNA,
1972, pp. 22-26:
43
Tantanu had no choice. He started to move along the
beach towards the south-west. When he came to the
point, which is known as Moila Point today, he bent the
trees towards the sea, to hide himself. But, still,
Paupiahe could see him from the top of the mountain.
Tantanu kept on till he was out of sight, and he finally
came to a small coastal village, called Siwais. They got
their name from this small village.
So the children took the lid off, and each child picked
up one type of food and named it. “That’s my taro,”
said one.
44
“God has found us.
God has found us.
Throw all the other food away.
The yams, and other food, are growing.”
Tantanu advised them to sing this song to their parents.
He lived with them as their leader, till the people
disobeyed him. Then he left.
45
island was created by a “god” and a “goddess”, which came in
a canoe from the south (Bougainville); while the “god” steered
the canoe, the coast line was straight, but later, when the
“goddess” piloted the craft, the course was crooked, and,
hence, the Queen Carola Harbour, on the north-west of the
island (THOMAS, 193, p. 220). Similarly, the Tolai people
explain that the region of Rebar is flat and dry, because it was
made by their good cultural hero To Kabinana, whereas the
Paparatava area is full of gorges and wells, because it is the
work of the hero’s silly brother, To Purgo
(KLEINTITSCHEN, 1924, pp. 18-19).
46
proofs, or visible marks, in the immediate surroundings
(MALINOWSKI, 1922, p. 302). To obviate this deficiency,
local “prophets” often rename parts of their environment; this
explains in the Koreri movement (West Irian), the use of
Bethlehem, Judea, and the places of the unclean spirits,
Gadara (KAMMA, 1954, p. 161), or, in the story cult of Kallal
(West New Britain), the new location for Lake Jordan and
Nazareth, and for Mounts Sinai and Galilee (JANSSEN, 1974,
pp. 21-22). In the Mambu movement, something similar can
be observed, when actual and mythical geography are
combined into one single picture. A native of Manam Island
(near Bogia) explained it all to K. BURRIDGE, with drawings
in support. The concentric circles, in the middle of the design,
may recall the spherical form of the sky, and the waters
surrounding the earth (as in traditional myths). The central
point, however, was explained as the place where bikpela
bilong ol gat hap, or where the Creator generated Himself.
The frustrated Manam Islanders live at the far right, whereas
the “cargo” is to be found at the far left, beyond Europe and
America, although some benefits are trickling through to
Rabaul, Port Moresby, Aitape, and Manus, some of the
administrative centres in Papua New Guinea. The four
cardinal points show a factual knowledge of a ship’s
compass.17 We have, then, here, a good example of how
experimental knowledge about Manam, Rabaul, etc., and
learned facts about Tokyo, England, etc., are related to the
place “no one in the world has seen . . . or knows its name”
(BURRIDGE, 1960, pp. 10-11, 240-241).
CONCLUSION
47
integrated experience. In this matter, Israelite and Melanesian
views clash with modern scientific insights, based up on
experiments and logical deductions, but, at the same time,
showing hardly any relation to the daily experiences of one’s
senses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
48
CAMPBELL, Joseph, “The Masks of God I”, in Primitive
Mythology, London, 1960.
CHINNERY, E. W. P., “Certain Natives in South New Britain
and Dampier Straits”, in Anthropological Report 3,
Melbourne, (1928).
CLARK, Ross, “The Fell Controversy”, in The New
Diffusionist (Sandy) 6, 1976, pp. 88-91.
COON, Carleton S., The History of Man, London, 1955.
DORSON, Richard M., “The Eclipse of Solar Mythology”, in
SEBEOK, Momas A., ed., Myth: a Symposium,
Philadelphia, 1955, pp.15-38.
EVANS-PRITCHARD, E. E., Theories of Primitive
Religion, Oxford, 1965.
GEHBERGER, Johann, “Aus dem Mythenschatz der Samap
an der Nordostkueste Neuguineas”, in Anthropos 45,
1950, pp. 295-341, 733-778.
HOGBIN, H. J., “Pagan religion in a New Guinea Village”, in
Oceania 18, 1947, pp. 120-145.
HOELTKER, Georg, “Die maritime Ortung bei einigen
Staemme in Nor-dost-Neuguinea”, Geographica
Helvetica (Bern) 2, 1947, pp. 192-205.
JANSSEN, Hermann, “The Story Cult of Kaliai”, in Point
1974/1, pp. 4-18.
JENSEN, Adolf E., “Wettkampf-Parteien, Zweiklassensystem
und geographische Orientierung”, in Studium Generale
(Berlin) 1, 1947/48, pp. 38-48.
KAMMA, Freerk C., De Messiaanse Koreri-bewegingen in
het Biaks-Noemfooresecultuurgebied, Den Haag,
1954 (English translation, 1972).
KINNA, John J., “Tantanu and Paupiahe”, in
FUNGKARANG Agesta, et al, Creation Legends from
Papua New Guinea, Madang, 1972, pp. 22-26.
KLEINTITSCHEN, August, Mythen und Erzaehlungen
eines Melanesierstammes aus Paparatavo
(Neupommem), Moedling, 1924.
KOEHNKE, Glenys, Time bilong Tumbuna, Port Moresby,
1973.
49
KRAUSS, Gerhard, “More about Ptolemaic Presence (3rd
century BC)”, in Pacific and South America: The
New Diffusionist (Sandy) 5, 1975, pp. 46-53.
KROLL, H., “Der Iniet”, in Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 69,
1937, pp. 180-220.
LAUFER, Carl, “Die Astralkunde der melanesischen
Gunantuna (New Britain)”, in Bulletin der
Schweizerischen Gesellschaft fur Anthropologie 45,
1968/9, pp. 16-45.
LAWRENCE, P./MEGGITT, M.J., eds., Gods, Ghosts and
Men in Melanesia, Oxford, 1965.
LEHNER, Stephen, “Bukaua”, in NEUHAUSS, Richard
Gustav, Deutsch Neu-Guinea 3, Berlin 1911,
pp. 397-488.
———, “Die Naturanschauung der Eingeborenen im N.O.
Neu-Guinea”, in Baessler-Archiv 14, 1930/1931,
pp. 105-122.
MALINOWSKI, Bronislaw, Argonauts of the Western
Pacific, London, 1922.
MEIER, Joseph, Mythen und Erzaehlungen der
Kuestenbewohner der Gazelle-Halbinsel (Neu-
Pommern), Munster, 1909.
———, (Mendi) Legends, privately printed by Capuchin
Mission, Mendi Diocese, nd.
NEUHAUS, Karl, Das Hoechste Wesen . . . bei den Pala
(Mittel-Neu-Mecklenburg), Vunapope, 1934.
———, Beitraege zur Ethnolgraphic der Pala, Koelin,
1962.
OLIVER, Douglas L., A Solomon Islands Society,
Cambridge MA, 1955.
OLLIER, C. D., et al, “Megaliths, Stones, and Bwala on
Kitava (Trobriand Islands): Archaeology and Physical
Anthropology”, in Oceania 7, 1973, pp. 41-50.
PARKINSON, Richard, Dreissig Jahre in der Suedsee,
Stuttgart, 1907.
PERRY, W. J., Children of the Sun, London, 1923.
POUWER, J., “A Masquerade in Mimika”, in Antiguity and
Survival (The Hague), 1, 1956, pp. 373-386, 432-437.
50
RAUSCH, J., “Gottesidee der Eingegorenen von Sued-
Bougainville”, in Anthropos 6, 1911, pp. 814-815.
RIBBE, Carl, Zwei Jahre unter den Kannibalen der
Salomo-Inseln, Dresden, 1903.
RIESENFELD, Alphonse, The Megalitic Culture of
Melanesia, Leiden, 1950.
SELIGMAN, C. G., The Melanesians of British New
Guinea, Cambridge, 1910.
THOMAS, Gordon, “Customs and Beliefs of the Natives of
Buka:, in Oceania 2, 1931/1932, pp. 220-231.
WICHMANN, Arthur, Nova Guinea I:
Entdeckungsgeschichtevon Neu Guinea, Leiden, 1909.
NOTES
1. One author, of the last century, believed that the Bible contained a
reference to New Guinea, in as far as this as this island, and
Australia, would have been settled by the descendants of Cush, the
son Ham (Gen 10:6); the time of such an immigration, together with
the occupation of India, might have occurred about 4,000 years ago
(S. F. H. UNGEWITTER, Der Welttheil Australien, Erlangen 1853,
p. 49, quoted in WHICHMANN 1909, p. 1). The dates proposed are
completely out of the question, while exegetes usually identify the
Cushites with the Nubians.
51
two or three of these attempts. D. MACDONALD, a Presbyterian
missionary on the New Hebrides, was one who tried to proved that
the Oceanic languages had a common stock of purely, and
exclusively, Semitic words (triliteralism), with also the appropriate
word-forming additions (such as prefixes, infixes, and suffixes);
hence the contemporary Efate- language was a linguistic “cousin” of
modern Syriac, and vulgar Arabic dialects. The historical contact
would have occurred via the Phoenicians, manning Solomon’s fleet
(cf. his book: The Oceanic Languages: their Grammatical
Structure, Vocabulary, and Origin, London, 1907, 34, 52, 94, with
the long index of Semitic words on pp. 317-352). The suggestion
has not been taken up by later comparative linguists.
5. The Hebrew term olam, which, for late Rabbis, indicated the
universe, has, in the canonical books, the meaning of “unending
time”, “eternity”. Hence, Qoh 3:11 refers to God permitting man to
52
have an overview of the course of “time”, not a contemplation of the
“world”, as in R. A KNOX’s translation of this passage. (For
“time”,’ see, e.g., the Jerusalem Bible).
9. Sun and moon were commonly seen as gods of the gentiles (cf.
Dt 17:3), and some traces of such a view might be detected, even in
the Old Testament, e.g., where they are said to “govern” day and
night (Gen 1:16), or “to strike (men) down” (Ps 121:6), or that the
sun “comes out of his pavilion . . . to run his race” (Ps 19:5), or
“stands still” (Jos 10:12-13). Again, such concepts as tebel, “the
land”, tehom, “the deep” (compare the god-mother Tiamat), and
sheol/abaddon, “the underworld” (cf. Job 25:6), are often used
without an article, that is: as being personal names.
53
10. The “island of women” is a common theme in Melanesia, as seen
from MEIER, 1909, p. 85; PARKINSON, 1905, p. 688, and others,
while the specific treatment on the island Kaytalugi reflects the
customary mishandling of men, caught at certain stages of the
female communal work on Kiriwina.
11. Whereas, in Hebrew thought, the dead live on as frail “shadows”, the
general Melanesian view is that, when people grow older, they grow
in authority and spiritual power, and can even disregard the
commonly-observed taboos. After death, their power still increases,
till, finally, they obtain a full spirit existence, with the respective
magical powers to harm or to save. (For the latter distinctions, see
the correlations drawn by LAWRENCE-MEGGITT, 1965, p. 14).
There are, however, also cases where the attitude towards the
deceased is full of ambiguity, with elements of fear and mourning
and alacrity alike (cf. POUWER, 1956, pp. 381-386).
12. LEHNER, 1930b, p. 107, explains that this belief is founded upon
the fact that, during dark nights, one can see, in the forest, various
lights caused by the phosphorescence of putrefying wood, or also, of
certain species of moss.
13. In Egypt, where life is not so much dependent on sunshine and rain,
but, more visibly, on the fertilising floodings of the River Nile, the
primal time was described as the embrace of the protective Mother
Sky (Nut) with the Earthly Father (Geb), till the skygod Shu (their
son?) “separated” them from one another. One might possibly see
here the mythical background of the biblical “separation” of Gen 1:7
and Ps 74:13.
14. It is not clear whether Melanesians also dissociate sun and moon
from light and darkness, as this is sometimes done in the scriptures.
One should, however, observe that, although the Bible well develops
a kind of light-symbolism (e.g., 1 John 1:5c; Eph 5:8), it is not
altogether negative in its appreciation of moon and darkness and
night (cf. Gen 1:2; Ex 10:21; Ps 104:20; Lk 23:44, a fact which, no
doubt, has something to do with the climatic reality of the Near East.
Missionaries, who generally came from more-temperate zones,
lacked these experiences; for them, night was only associated with
darkness and gloom, with evil and all that is second rate. When
bringing the “light” of the gospel, they easily condemned the pasin
bilong tudak, whereas the South Sea Islanders did see the night with
respect and admiration (because of the closeness with the spirit
world), and the day as something ordinary and trivial, and without
such emotional appeals. This is even more true of Polynesians,
because of their distinct cosmologies (cf. BAUSCH, 1970).
54
15. In a different way, this immediate concern is expressed by EVANS-
PRITCHARD, 1965, p. 54, where he writes: “. . . it is a plain fact
that primitive man shows remarkably little interest in what we may
regard as the most-impressive phenomena of nature – sun, moon,
sky, mountains, sea, and so forth – whose monotonous regularities
they take very much for granted”. He wipes away, in one sway, a
library on solar mythologies, which also looked very much to
Melanesia. See further, DORSON, 1955.
18. From this insight, we might derive a practical hint for religious
instruction. In this part of the world, maps usually show Australia
and the International Date Line in the centre. A common term like
“the ancient Near East”. Coined by the English, becomes, then, a
manifest contradiction, since Palestine is located towards the west.
It might be more helpful to use, whenever necessary, so-called
European maps, with the zero meridian of Greenwich in the centre.
This would bring out how the “Holy Land” occupies a central
position to at least three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. This
visual aid will show how God’s word, which is historically bound to
this place, has a critical function to all men, and all cultures, Western
and Melanesian alike. In fact, Christians already use a similar
approach, when reckoning the time, and divine history, into “before
Christ” and “after Christ”.
55
A DANCE TO THE GIVER OF LIFE
Revd Christopher Garland
Scene 1
Scene 2
The egg opens, and the dancers slowly emerge, and begin to
dance, with movements that accompany the words of the
chanters.
57
Till the dance grows again, bigger and
bigger.
The kundu drums die down, the dancers crawl back into their
egg.
Scene 3
On the way to the hut, they meet the white man, who is
carrying the gun.
58
WHITE MAN: Where are you going, at such fretful
speed.
What’s your problem, what’s your
need?
HUSBAND: Oh air, we have forest spirits seen
And, I would, we could, of our fears, be
clean
WIFE: Do not hear his talk of fright.
He is captive of the dreams of night.
What we have seen, could all be ours
If he didn’t fear its wondrous powers.
If in the forest, you dare to roam,
You’ll find the paradise birds’ secret
home.
HUSBAND: Of forest spirits, I have no care,
So to find the birds, is an easy dare.
I’ll follow your tracks back, right away.
While the trail is fresh, I need not stray.
WIFE: You’ll know you have the answer found
If you see the large egg upon the
ground.
WHITE MAN: If those birds, I can shoot and kill,
Of their feathers, I will take my fill.
The egg you saw, must be from a nest,
So, with my gun, I will go in quest.
HUSBAND: Those whom the spirits do not scare
May find they miss what is special
there.
Before you go, please, your heart
prepare,
For you are going to the spirits’ lair.
WHITEMAN: Delay me no more with your worries
poor.
I’ve left much worries behind; I’ve a
modern mind.
Into the forest I’ll press ahead. . . .
59
The white man wanders round and round, until he comes near
the egg.)
(He crawls up to the egg, rests against it, and sleeps almost till
dawn the next day.)
Scene 4
The kundu drums begin to beat out odd taps, with no real
rhythm. The white man wakes up.
The egg splits open, and spirit dancers came out one by one.
As they do so, the white man shoots at them. One or two he
hits, others struggle off into the forest to hide. The white man
takes some feathers from the birds that have been shot.
60
CHANTERS: One by one, one by one
Our line has gone,
Our dance is done
We are scattered, by the gun.
WHITE MAN: With the feathers I’ve caught
I’ll see what wealth can be bought.
Scene 5
The white man goes the hut, where the husband and wife are
waiting.
61
And can’t be renewed by the dancers’
art.
The white man’s feathers were the
marks of death,
For they were all of the spirits that he’d
left.
WIFE: Death shall have the final word,
Our life is not tied to the spirit of a bird.
Now I will, the Christian preacher, hear
Who has told me, of death, to have no
fear.
For Christ has risen from the dead
And with new life has His people fed.
It is to Him, we should reverence give,
And, in His name, respect all things that
live.
Come, your dancing mask, now let us
take
And back to the egg, our way now
make!
The egg that breaks, new life to free,
In that a sign of life we see.
Though forest spirits have no power to
scare,
For the life of the forest, let us show our
care.
The good news of Christ, let us
celebrate
By giving new life to our former state.
Scene 6
The husband and wife return to the forest, and the broken egg.
62
And by no earthly power may life be
driven.
So, for God’s sake, His gift we praise,
And our thanks to Him, for them we
raise
Our dance, we see, from spirits draws
no power
But prays God, on life, His blessings to
shower.
The man begins to dance, with his mask on, the kundu drums
begin to play. One by one, the fallen spirits wake, and join in
the line of the dance, and preform a dance similar to that
performed in Scene 2. The chanters chant.
63
The dancers end the play by dancing out of the drama area.
The wife has been watching the dancers, and she may make an
act of worship, such as kneeling before the cross, which may
be brought on, and then she may leave by following the
dancers.
64
BOOK REVIEWS
The Silencing of Leonardo Boff, by Harvey Cox. Meyer
Stone, 1988. Price: US$9.95.
66
retain a universal cohesion? For what it is worth, my
assessment would be that Cardinal Ratzinger has a more-
profound grasp of the issues at stake than either Fr Boff or Dr
Cox.
67
billions, etc., his message has a universal ring. This is because
he acknowledges that the Spirit of God breathes even where
missionaries have not yet set foot (p. 20). Camara does not
provide ready answers, and would not agree that “young Latin
America has lessons to teach its old parent, Europe” (p. 39);
instead, he sees the benefits of informing one another, and of
stirring one another up, to be, or become, true Christians. His
words, illustrated with some twenty well-chosen photographs,
are substantial food for thought and action. They contain the
highlights of a biography, and the main points of the man’s
vision, in a language accessible for all.
Theodor Aerts.
68
consciousness about human survival. The style is simple, the
layout easy to follow, and non-literate persons can obtain a lot,
simply from the photographs.
Garry W. Trompf
University of Sydney.
69
CONTRIBUTORS
70