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Customs and Cultures (Revised Edition) , livre ebook

William Carey Publishing - Eugene A. Nida

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175 pages

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How can the church meaningfully and intelligently engage cultures with Christianity?
Oftentimes, it is not the message but the messenger that provides the greatest stumbling block for the average non-Christian. A missionary’s ability to identify with the people, not in sympathy, but in empathy, is one of the keys. Language is another crucial factor. Anthropology and missions have much to learn from each other.
Customs and Cultures provides practical ways missionaries can become acquainted with the cultural anthropology of the local community. Eugene Nida, a leading scholar and devout Christian, presents a thorough study of the means and methods which best communicate Christianity to people of diverse backgrounds. Dr. Nida is uniquely equipped to write this book because he is a well-known specialist in linguistics, anthropology studies, and the interpretation of the Christian faith, who worked with missionaries on translation problems for over thirty years.
The development of the church is the real goal. The power of Jesus Christ working through his consecrated servants can sanctify all of life to the glory of God.

Preface

1. Shocks and Surprises

2. Rhyme and Reason

3. Race and Ranting

4. Hoes and Headaches

5. Friends and Frustrations

6. Devils and Doubts

7. Drums and Drama

8. Queer Sounds, Strange Grammars and Unexpected Meanins

9. Old Customs and New Ways

10. New Solutions to Old Problems

Appendix

Bibliography

Notes

Index

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Christian Theology

Pastoral Resources

Missions

Christian Ministry

Philosophie et théologie

Minister (Christianity)

Anthropology

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Publié par	William Carey Publishing
Date de parution	01 juin 1975
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780878087594
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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The William Carey Library Series on Applied Cultural Anthropology William A. Smalley, Editor e Church and Cultures: An Applied Anthropology for the Religious Worker by Louis J. Luzbetak, 448 pages. Culture and Human Values: Christian Intervention in Anthropological Perspectiveby Jacob A. Loewen, 443 pages. Customs and Cultures: Anthropology for Christian Missionsby Eugene A. Nida, 320 pages. Manual of Articulatory Phoneticsby William A. Smalley, 522 pages. Oral Communication of the Scripture: Insights from African Oral ArtHerbert V. Klem, by 256 pages. Readings in Missionary Anthropology II, William A. Smalley, Editor, 944 pages. Tips On Taping: Language Recording in the Social Sciences by Wayne B. and Lonna J. Dickerson, 198 pages. Understanding Latin Americans: With Special Reference to Religious Values and Movements by Eugene A. Nida, 176 pages.

Copyright ©1954 by Harper and Brothers All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First published by Harper & Brothers, 1954 Reprinted in 1975 by William Carey Library Publishers Ninth William Carey Library Printing, 1986 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8976 ISBNs: 978-0-87808-723-5 (paperback), 978-0-87808-826-3 (epub) Published by William Carey Library 1705 N. Sierra Bonita Ave. P.O. Box 40129 Pasadena, California 91104 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PREFACE 1SHOCKS AND SURPRISES 2RHYME AND REASON What Is Anthropology? What Is Culture? Easy and Wrong Explanations “It’s Just Natural” Why People Act As They Do What Makes People Click? Fried or Scrambled? How Many Parts Make the Whole? The Part of Culture We Take for Granted Things and Ideas How Much Is It Worth? How Does It Work? All the Pieces Fit Together Is There Purpose in Culture? “If Other People Do It, Why Can’t We?” What Does Anthropology Show Us? 3RACE AND RANTING Prejudice Is Universal The Myth of Racial Superiority What Is Race? Are Some Races More Intelligent than Others? Mixed Races Scapegoats and Scapelions Back Doors and Bogeymen Frustrations and Resentments Not Problems but People 4HOES AND HEADACHES Not So Dumb Shell Axes and Sewn Planks Sour Mush and Sauerkraut “Not By Bread Alone” Share, Give, Barter, or Buy How Much Is He Worth? Material and Social Culture Material and Religious Culture Material and Esthetic Culture Material Culture and Christian Missions 5FRIENDS AND FRUSTRATIONS From a Single Family to One World The Family—Small and Large

CONTENTS

Sex before Marriage Who Marries Whom? “Here Comes the Bridel” Multiple Mates Sex and Procreation Universal Wrongs Grounds for Divorce Family Life What Shall We Name Him? Education, Formal and Informal Coming of Age Who Does What? The Weaker Sex? Death, Inheritance, and Retaliation Suicide Governments Keeping People in Line All Is Fair in War The “400” Social and Religious Culture Christian Missions and Social Culture

6DEVILS AND DOUBTS Spirits and Gods, Powers and Prophets It Just Isn’t So Idols behind Crosses Man in a Spirit World Gods and Spirits, High and Low From the Sun to a Praying Mantis Blessings, Cursings, Divination, and Communion Rites and Ritual Sorcerers, Seers, Priests, Prophets, and Medicine Men Myths and Magic From Birth to Death Animists at Heart The So-called World Religions Mixed Wine in Patched Wineskins Social Structure Influences Religion Christian Missions and Non-Christian Religious Beliefs 7DRUMS AND DRAMA All Men Are Artists Culture Dictates the Style Primitivism Is Not Childish Art Artists with Words Rhythm and Melody Dance and Drama Christian Missions and Esthetic Culture 8QUEER SOUNDS, STRANGE GRAMMARS, AND UNEXPECTED MEANINGS “Just a Jumble of Sound” “Broad Lips and Broad Vowels” Languages Are Arbitrary Systems

Languages Are Constantly Changing Meanings of Words Reflect the Culture Language: a Part, a Mechanism, and a Model of Culture Languages in Competition Talking and Making Sense 1. Two and Two May Not Equal Four 2.Deceptive Similarities 3.A Part Is Not Enough 4. Meaningless or Ludicrous? 5.Let the Borrower Bewarel 6. Cultural Barriers 7.Keys to the Heart Learning a Foreign Language 9OLD CUSTOMS AND NEW WAYS Primitive and Civilized With or Against the Stream Cultures Exhibit Personality Cultures Change All Cultures Are in Debt Diffusion of Traits New Meanings for Old Traits Something New under the Sun Well-entrenched Resistance Growth and Death Is There Progress? 10NEW SOLUTIONS TO OLD PROBLEMS A Pagan Looks at Missionary Work In Defense of Missionaries Christendom Is Not Christianity Wood, Hay, and Stubble The Mission and the Indigenous Church None Righteous Bridges and Chasms New Solutions APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES INDEX

Preface to the New Edition ofCustoms and Cultures

Good missionaries have always been good “anthropologists”. Not only have they been aware of human needs, whether stemming form the local way of life or from man’s universal need of salvation, but they have recognized that the various ways of life of diﬀerent peoples are the channels by which their needs take form and through which the solutions to such needs must pass. Eﬀective missionaries have always sought to immerse themselves in a profound knowledge of the ways of life of the people to whom they have sought to minister, since only by such an understanding of the indigenous culture could they possibly communicate a new way of life. On the other hand, some missionaries have been only “children of their generation” and have carried to the ﬁeld a distorted view of race and progress, culture and civilization, Christian and non-Christian ways of life. In connection with my work as a consultant for translations of the Scriptures in some 200 languages and in more than 75 countries, I have become increasingly conscious of the serious mistakes in cultural orientation and adjustment which show up directly and indirectly, not only in translations of the Bible, but also in various aspects of the ministry of missionaries. Accordingly, this treatment ofAnthropology for Christian Missionsis directed to those who may have been unaware of the invaluable assistance which the science of anthropology can provide or who have become desirous of knowing more of its implications in various parts of the world. A high percentage of the data in this book comes from copious ﬁeld notes collected during travel in various countries of the world. In citing praiseworthy achievements by missionaries, I have indicated the precise tribe or area, but in making adverse comments I have purposely not designated the region (though this information can be provided to those who have special reasons for inquiry), since nothing would be gained by appearing to criticize unduly the work of consecrated and well-meaning persons. Data coming from published sources have been cited in footnotes where such information is of an extensive nature or where it has seemed valuable to call the reader’s attention to other literature in order to encourage further reading. In general, the literature, rather than original sources, is cited, since the literature is available in most libraries while the original sources exist only in relatively few places and they are oen in foreign languages unknown to the average reader. Oen repeated anthropological data, such as those concerning the Todas of South India, the Aranda of Australia, and the Polar Eskimos, have not been footnoted, since such data may be verified in several sources and they are frequently referred to in the literature. It is generally the practice in books on anthropology to describe aboriginal societies in the present tense, as though the distinctive cultures were fully intact. We have attempted, in so far as possible, to indicate something of the breakdown of old patterns by the use of past tense forms when the cultural traits no longer exist or are only “historic relics”. However, since in many societies the former dominant ways of life are in process of transition, it is very diﬃcult to do justice to the present tempo or stage of change and to be completely accurate in all details, for obsolescence is not a uniform process. Nevertheless, it has seemed preferable to employ this type of wording, despite some slight inaccuracies not covered by qualifying adverbs or footnotes, than to commit the worse error of failing to recognize the transitory character of many of the passing traits. Since this book onCustoms and Cultureswas ﬁrst written some twenty years ago it has acquired perhaps even greater relevance, not merely because missionaries must deal with more sensitive issues under more trying circumstances, but also because there are an increasing number of missionaries from the third world who are equally likely to misjudge the true nature and structure of the societies to which they go. e mistake of missionaries from the Western World should constitute important warnings as to how easy it is to fall into the trap of cultural isolationism and insensitivity, regardless of the culture from which

one comes. Perhaps this volume can also serve as a guide to those who wish to understand why there are an increasing number of areas in the world in which missionaries are being asked to go home and why a moratorium on further sending of missionaries and funds is being urged by many responsible local Christian leaders. In a book of this nature, which is directed to a popular audience, it has been both impossible and inadvisable to attempt to make comprehensive analyses of various culture traits, either within a single culture or in their world-wide distribution. Hence, there are a number of omissions of data well known to anthropologists. However, in the selection of the data presented here, I have endeavored to choose illustrations which would be relevant from the missionary standpoint, even though they might be less well-known in anthropological literature. Because of the introductory character of this presentation of anthropology, I have purposely tried to avoid lengthy discussions of anthropological principles and procedures, hoping that the point would be adequately made by the illustrations themselves. In order not to load the text down with too many technical details or discourses on relevant but somewhat tangential themes, I have included a number of important matters in the footnotes. e reader is urged to follow the footnotes carefully during the reading of the various sections. e bibliographical data listed in the Appendix is necessarily dated by the time of ﬁrst publication, for since that timePractical Anthropologyinto ajournai of wide developed coverage and has now been merged with an even more extensive journal entitled Missiology. More extensive, up-to-date bibliographies are also to be found inMessage and Missionand inReligion Across Cultures. It is inevitable that some statistics cited on page 18 will have changed during the last twenty years, for example, in the rapid growth of churches in Indonesia and East Africa, but basically the response to Christianity by adherents to the so-called world religions has not changed to any great extent. It is quite impossible to make proper acknowledgment to the scores of persons who have directly and indirectly contributed to this book, for all the many missionaries and Christian workers whom I have met in various parts of the world have provided the data and background without which such a book as this would be impossible. However, I am particularly indebted to the following persons who have read the manuscript and have oﬀered many valuable suggestions for improvements: Ming C. Chao, Grace Gabler, Margaret T. Hills, Paul V. Leser, William and Marie (Fetzer) Reyburn, Ellen M. Ross, William A. Smalley, Robert B. Taylor, Paul Verghese, G. Henry Waterman, and William H. Wonderly. Although the evaluation of missionary work may at times appear to be critical, we do not wish to give the impression that the missionary enterprise is basically harmful or generally unsympathetic to human needs. Despite all their limitations there has been no more genuinely altruistic endeavor in the last 150 years than Protestant foreign missions. No one needs to apologize for the selﬂess devotion which has not imposed itself by threat or force but has endeavored to bring to people the knowledge of redeeming love in Christ Jesus and a way of life which they may make their own if they choose to do so. Some of the data incorporated in this book have been given in lecture series: at Princeton eological Seminary (1950), Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois (1951), Summer Institute of Linguistics (1949-51, 1953), the Payton Lectures (1953) at Fuller eological Seminary, and the Carew Lectures (1953) at the Hartford Seminary Foundation.

Greenwich, Conn. May 1975

Eugene A. Nida