1.
Debate
in the Postcolonial Period
I
have stated that the Mara primal religion was, according to the view of the
western missionaries, crude and animistic. In other words from the 19th century
missionary paradigm, any tribal or primal religion was regarded as animism. In
the colonial period and in fear of the missionaries who were powerful and
authoritative in the administration of the church the native people preferred
to be silent. In this postcolonial period, the local churches including the
Mara church came forward and started retrieving their primal religion in order
to make theological reflections in their context. Consequently, the ongoing
debate among the Mara theologians began as to whether the Mara primal religion
was animism or not.
1.1.Critique
on Traditional Mission Approach
This
approach sees the Mara primal religion as ‘animism or evil spirit worship’. In
fact, this can be called a colonial missiological approach because it takes the
traditional mission paradigm which sees the validity of Christianity at the
expense of any other religions. All the western missionaries like J.H. Lorrain
and H.W. Savigde, R.A. Lorrain held this theological view in interpreting the
Mara religion. The Mara primal religion was a mixture of worship of the Supreme
Being and making sacrifices to evil spirits in order to placate their
hostilities. The animistic approach reduces the worship of God and maximizes
the worship of evil spirits as the main religion. The traditional mission model
emphasizes the transcendence of God and minimizes immanence of God. This
theologically biased image of the Mara god was imbalanced and made room for
wrong interpretations.
1.1.1.
Historicization
of Christian Faith
The
missionaries understood that they had come to build the kingdom that was not of
this world. Therefore, to introduce Christianity they historicized the
Christian faith at the expense of rejecting the local religion. R.S.
Sugirtharajah rightly delineates the Historicization of the colonial
interpreters,
This
heightened notion of historicity for Christian faith enabled colonial
interpreters to portray non-biblical religions as the pagan ‘other’ of
Christianity, needing deliverance. The sacred texts of other religions were
treated as ‘mythological absurdities and amatory trifles’.
The
Mara did not have sacred text or texts, but they had their traditional
religious worships and practices. That is to say, they have no religion at all.
They do not worship any gods, or goddesses, but are keenly aware of the unseen
spirit world
of
which they are terribly afraid every moment of their lives. The apostle
describes their condition exactly when he says, “for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15).
This
is a biased statement on the Mara primal religion because the Maras did worship
God (Khazohpa), but unfortunately
that worship was seen as drinking bouts for drinking rice-beer was part and
parcel of the primal religious ceremony.
1.1.2.
Approaches
to Animism
Colonial
officers like J. Shakespear, A.G. McCall, and missionaries describe the Mara
religion as crude animism. In one sense it is partially right to maintain this
view because the primitive Maras offered sacrifices to the evil spirits in
order to appease and propitiate the evil spirits. But these sacrifices did not
represent the Mara religion as a whole. Moreover, these sacrifices to evil
spirits were not, firstly, obligatory for the Maras; and secondly, worshipping
evil spirits was to divert and dissuade evil spirit from tormenting men and
women. Still further, these evil spirits were regarded as the prime enemies of
human beings. It was really unlikely that the Maras worshipped their enemies,
rather sacrifice to evil spirits indicated that they deceived their enemies.
Therefore, the author will develop three approaches to the so called Mara
animism in order to substantiate a postcolonial theological perspective:
1.1.2.1.Dissuading approach
This
approach sees that animism or worship of evil spirit was to dissuade evil
spirits from tormenting human beings with illness and various sicknesses. The
evil spirits were thought lower than the human beings and the spirits were
treated as if they were badly-behaved children who expected be coaxed.
Therefore, it was not worshipping rather it was like dissuading or coaxing the malignant
spirits. J. Merion Lloyd makes it clear
and states,
“Sacrifices
were intended rather to divert or dissuade evil spirits from tormenting men and
women. An altar was made afresh every time it was required. The odd thing is
that when sacrifices were made everything was in miniature. Evil spirits were
believed to be small (rather like gnomes and pixies). An altar was therefore,
small-only a few inches high.”[1]
Therefore, dissuading here means to persuade evil spirits not to harm or
torment human beings. It is; therefore, wrong to identify dissuading with
worship in the Mara traditional religion.
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