“Ritual, Risk and Danger…” follows the author’s research on Kadavu Island where he observes and takes part in the chain prayers of the Tavukian people that are powerlessly haunted by “demonic” spirits and/or ancestors.
A chain prayer consists of a group of people that pray in turns at designated sites. Topics for prayers are usually written down and have a common theme as to why they are performing the chain prayer. A private chain prayer may differ in that it is usually preformed out of impending crisis, soil is usually dug up from the prayer site and there is usually a capstone ceremony of kava drinking to finalize the event.
In Fijian there are many ways to represent ”accursedness” and the people feel powerless because “the ancestors are stronger than people in the present, haunting the present with their malicious power.” To battle these curses, the people conduct chain prayers and ask for God to remove the curse with his almighty power. “The strategy was to refer to an invisible malicious agent in ambiguous terms and to appeal to God for help, God is considered the ultimate effective agent, and His power alone can guide and protect people who are powerless to defend themselves against ancestral malefaction.” Many times in the article, it is mentioned that God will save, God will neutralize the spirits, God will deal with them, satisfactory resolution is entrusted to God’s agency, etc. demonstrating how these people fatalistically view themselves as powerless and helpless against that which scares them and how only by the grace of God can they be helped.
This article was really engaging and interesting to read for me. It brought up a new aspect of religion that I haven’t encountered much and a distinctive spin on how these rituals came to be.
Tomlinson, Matt. "Ritual, Risk, and Danger: Chain Prayers in Fiji." American Anthropologist
106.1 (2004): 6-16.
4 comments:
Great summary, Thanks!
Usually I understand rituals as being similar to cult practices. To conclude, we can see that these rituals are a part of a religion’s practice. Assuming that language reflects culture, the use of language within this context shows that there are people in Fiji who have a belief in spirits and that spirits play an important role in a person’s life. I’m not too sure if this religious practice has anything to do with some of the religions we already know, but it’s a great example of the diversity that exists within the Pacific. Fiji is just one place, imagine all the others. I mean Wow! How can someone feel weaker than someone who is not even alive!
Interesting summary, Tianna! I like your (and Ralph's) comments about how the article brings up a new aspect of religion...
Although at first the chain-prayer rituals seem strange to my mental image of Christianity, on second thought it makes some sense: Indigenous rituals meant to show respect or veneration for ancestral spirits could easily have been first construed by missionaries as being rituals of ancestor-worship. By teaching that ancestral spirits were in fact malicious spirits, and in other words "demonic", the missionaries might intend to create a classically monotheistic, Christian view of the world, but would in fact actually encourage the idea of the world being filled with unseen, powerful, and dangerous forces. Rituals which originally were used to show respect for the ancestors' spirits would then be replaced only by more "Christian" flavored rituals, this time meant to fight off or to neutralize the very same spirits.
I hope I was the only one having problems with the blog, losing my original comment!
Short and sweet summary.
I'm not much into religion but the idea of these chain prayers is quite interesting. It is really amazing how religious practices open up how a particular culture lives. The Fijian people recognizes their lost of their religious practices, Tomlinson does a great way of describing this.
Great article.
I enjoyed reading your summary! Supposedly, masu sema also known as chain prayers scare off demonic spirits that threaten the lives of people in the physical world. Apparently, this causes problems that branches out to larger issues. Wow, they're very superstitious! However, as we discussed in class, in today's Fijian society, people possess less mana compared to before. The now urbanized Fijians are turning to the power of Christian healing, God, for a solution.
In my honest opinion, an obvious solution would be to help them politically since they are politically unstable. I already see a gradual transformation arising from traditional beliefs to Westernized influences like Christianity, which is healthy and beneficial in my opinion. The next step is the political one. I belive to jump from traditonal culture and values to a modernized political and economical stance would just cause more of a ruckus.
Post a Comment