widespread
that the Mara church worship service without drums could be compared to a dish
of food without salt in it.
1.
Mara
Slavery System
The
author wants to look at the controversy over the slavery system because it has
a connection with the gospel and culture in the Mara context. In order to have
a clear perspective of the controversy, a review of the historical development
of slavery in the Mara society is necessary. There were two kinds of slaves –
the captive slaves, those who were taken against their will during the
inter-tribal wars; the other slaves were non-captive slaves who entered the
chief’s house at their own will to be the slaves of the chief. There were three
types of the non-captive
slaves.
The first type are criminals like murderers who took refuge in the chief house
to escape vengeance; the second type are called those who deserted the losing
side in war and joined the victor by promising to become slaves with all their
descendants; the last are those who had been driven because of poverty,
sickness or distress to take refuge in the chief’s house to be slaves. It was as a result of the last type of
slavery that the controversy arose.
1.1.The
Colonial view of the Mara slave system
Out
of the three types of slavery mentioned above, the British government
recognized only the last type of
slaves. The main reason for supporting this system was the
administrators like Major Cole saw the Mara slave system as beneficial both to
the slaves and the chiefs. Customarily, the slaves were well treated and in
return they had to give all they could to the chiefs and worked for the chiefs.
To get freedom the slave’s family or the slave had to pay Rs. 40/- or an
equavelent for ransom. It was at that time a large sum of money that an
ordinary family could not afford. This system of slavery was fundamental to the
economic sustenance of the chiefs. Therefore, British administrators advocated
the Mara slave system and saw it as benevolent and suited to the Mara
social-cultural context.
1.2.Missionary
view
On
the other hand, the Missionaries recognized that the slavery system in the Mara
society was real slavery, but they preferred to keep quiet. As the proverb
goes, ‘Actions speak louder than words’. They did redeem some of the slaves out
of their oppressive positions with their own money. Despite their sympathy for the slaves, the
early Missionaries dared not complain about the Mara slavery system to the
colonial administrators. Peter Fraser came to Lushai Hills on 9th December,
1908 and saw the slavery system as against the Bible’s teachings (Exod. 20:3-7;
Ezk. 3:7-21) and the British Law under the influence of Pax Britannica. He
raised the question of why the slavery system still existed in which was under
the administration of Pax Britannica. He pointed out that the British
government prohibited slave trade in 1807 and in 1833 ruled that all slaves
should be set free.
Unfortunately
the way he interpreted the Bible is not available but it can be imagined that
his hermeneutical circle takes up the Ten Commandments and he seemed to
identify the hardened hearts of the Egyptian people with the colonial
administrators and the Mara chiefs. He studied the slavery system and
configured seven points which clearly disclosed the injustice of the
socio-cultural structure which his friend Major Cole defended for the sake of
administration. According to Peter Fraser,
‘That
the ‘seih’ system is a system under which British subjects in Lushai &
Chins are deprived of their right to liberty and justice is evident from a
perusal of the following statements of slaves, evangelists, chiefs,
missionaries and others. Besides, bondage for life other evil features are
seen: (1) The inhumane separation of a mother from her child (2) The separation
of husband and wife (3) the separation of relatives (4) Intimidation, bodily
hurt (5) Temptation to immorality, (6) Opposition to slaves becoming Christian
(7) The selling and buying of people’.[1]
1.3.Mara
Christian chiefs freed their slaves
Some
of the chiefs became Christians and they saw that the slavery system was
incompatible with Christianity. Therefore, set free all their slaves that they
had inherited from past generations. The non-Christian chiefs felt that it was
going to shake their chieftainship and it was against the Mara custom to
release the slave without any ransom money.
1.4.Postcolonial
Reading on Controversy and Changes
Resistant
reading sees that the slavery was a source of structural injustice in the Mara
society and was against the Bible and the British law, although it probably
contributed benevolent things to the person concerned.
[1] Peter Fraser, Slavery on
British Territory: Assam and Burma (Canarvon: W. Gwenlyn Evans & Son,
1913), 5. Hereafter cited as ‘Fraser, Slavery’.
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