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Please be advised that this information was generated on 2021-10-04 and may be subject to change. GOSPEL MEETS CULTURE Brotherhood in Punjabi culture and gospel message
Clement Ashley Waidyasekara
Rufina Graphics 560, Aluth Mawatha Road Colomobo - 15 Sri Lanka
GOSPEL MEETS CULTURE
Brotherhood in Punjabi culture and gospel message
Een wetenschappelijke proeve op het gebied van de Theologie
Proefschrift
ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. mr. S.C.J.J. Kortmann, volgens besluit van het College van Decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 19 september 2007 op 15.30 uur precies
door
Clement Ashley Waidyasekara geboren op 19 februari 1946 te Colombo, Sri Lanka
2 Promotores:
Prof. dr F. Wijsen Prof. dr E. Venbrux
Copromotor:
Dr P. van der Velde
Manuscriptcommissie:
Prof. dr A. van den Hoogen Prof, dr Α. Borsboom Prof. dr F. Clooney - Harvard Divinity School
3 GOSPEL MEETS CULTURE
Brotherhood in Punjabi culture and gospel message
An academic essay in Theology
Doctoral thesis
to obtain the degree of doctor from Radboud University Nijmegen on the authority of the Rector Magnificus prof, dr S.C.JJ. Kortmann, according to the decision of the Council of Deans
to be defended in public on Wednesday 19 September 2007 at 15.30 hours precisely
by
Clement Ashley Waidyasekara born on 19 February 1946 in Colombo, Sri Lanka
4 Supervisors:
Prof, dr F. Wijsen Prof. dr E. Venbrux
Co-supervisor:
Dr P. van der Velde
Doctoral Thesis Committee
Prof. dr A. van den Hoogen Prof. dr A. Borsboom Prof. dr F. Clooney - Harvard Divinity School
5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My research was greatly facilitated by the help and support I received from a number of people. I wish to thank the Faculty of Theology and staff of Radboud University Nijmegen, especially Prof. Dr Frans Wijsen for agreeing to supervise my study. His objective and accurate comments helped to broaden my knowledge of the subject and enrich my thesis. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Prof. Dr Eric Venbrux and Dr Paul van der Velde for acting as supervisors. In addition this thesis would not have been possible without the encouragement and continuous guidance of the late Prof. Dr Camps, who saw me through hard times while I was doing my research.
I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Prof. Dr Arthur Charles of the National Catholic Institute of Theology, Karachi, Pakistan, and thank Prof. Dr Bert Broeckaert and Prof. Dr Adelbert Denaux of the Catholic University of Leuven for their feedback, sound critical evaluations and suggestions. I also treasure the long, interesting and challenging discussions I had with Antonio Eguiguren Iraola, a fellow student, while writing my thesis.
I am especially indebted to my trusted and good friends Messrs Hans Wennmk and Peter R. M. Merkx of Stichting Porticus, Amsterdam, who took a personal interest in me and my study, and tirelessly supported and encouraged me. Their kindness and constant encouragement helped me to complete my thesis. My sincere thanks and appreciation go to the Nijmegen Institute of Mission Studies for accepting me as a research fellow.
Most of all I am grateful to God for his providential care, which called me from my native country to meet him at a deeper level in the culture of my Punjabi brothers and sisters.
6 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgment
Glossary
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: AN OPERATIVE NOTION OF CULTURE
I. INTRODUCTION
II. A DEFINITION OF CULTURE A. Culture as an interpretation of life B. Symbol, meaning and their interaction C. Moods and motivations D. Goodness as harmony
III RELIGION AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM A. Sacred symbols: ethos and worldview B. Sacred symbols convey positive and negative values C. Sacred symbols evoke dispositions D. Belief as acceptance of prior authority E. The religious perspective
IV. CULTURAL CHANGE A. Challenges to culture B. Cultural change, cultural integration, cultural conflict C. Human thought is consummately social D. Culture is not linear E. Cultural analysis must recognise interconnectedness and independence
V. MORALITY AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM A. People's search for meaning B. Symbol systems pattern people's behaviour C. Morality in its rehgio-cultural context
VI. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER TWO: THE fl,4Ä4ß4/?/(BROTHERHOOD) IN PUNJABI CULTURE
I. THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN A. Literacy B. Religions C. Culture and society
II. THE PROVINCE OF PUNJAB A. Natural environment B. Economy C. Hinduism and the caste system 1. Vedic Hinduism 2. The caste system D. The Punjabi worldview 1. Introduction 2. Definition of the person 3. Honour and shame
III. AN OVERVIEW OF PUNJABI SOCIETY
A. The traditional village setup 1. The compound 2 Land
B. Village castes 1. Customary laws of inheritance, sale and purchase of land 2. The nambardaror village headman 3. Interdependence
C. Basic social unit: the family 1. Kinship terminology 2. Marriage 3. Methods of arranging marriages 4. Relationships in the family
D. The baradan system 1. Background 2. History: from varna to baradan 3. Methods of formation a. Blood b. Some common bond c. Voluntary ritual
4. Lived experience of the baradan a. Functions of the baradan b. The baradan as a source of influence c. The baradan as a symbol of group awareness
5. Vartan bhanji in the baradan
IV. PUNJABI CULTURE IN THE FACE OF SOCIAL CHANGE
V. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER THREE: CHRISTIANITY IN PUNJAB 94
I. INTRODUCTION
II. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
III SOCIO-REUGIOUS BACKGROUND OF THE INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS OF PUNJAB A. Religions of Punjab B. Society and religion 1. The depressed classes a. The chuhra caste 2. Manifestations of the caste system in religions other than Hinduism IV. MISSIONARY APOSTOLATE OF THE CAPUCHINS IN THE PUNJAB
A. The initial apostolate (1889-1894) B. Definitive organisation of the diocese and mission (1894-1910) 1. Consolidation of the diocese of Lahore 2. Methods of solid missionary formation a. Missionary centres b. Catholic colonies c. Reason for separate Catholic settlements
C. The period of many conversions (1910-1920) 1. Methods followed in the apostolate a. Life and preaching of the missionaries b. Use of material resources 2. Style of education 3. Catechist training school
D. Deepening of religious life (1920-1938) 1. Preparatory retreats 2. Attempt to eradicate certain customs
E. Socio-cultural situation of Punjabi Christians
V. THE CHURCH IN INDEPENDENT WEST PAKISTAN A. Background B. Christians in Pakistan C. Socio-economic situation of Punjabi Christians D. Contemporary Pakistani society
VI. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER FOUR: MEANING OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD 122
I. INTRODUCTION
II. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
A. Development of terminology B. 'Brother' in the Old Testament 1. Relationships: brothers, friends, enemies 2. Friends 3. Love of one's enemy
C. The idea of brother in the New Testament 1. Brother in early Christianity 2. Brother in the words of Christ 3. Development in the New Testament
III. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD AS THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD
9 IV. RELATIVISING BARRIERS IN THE BROTHERHOOD OF CHRISTIANS
V. LIMITS OF THE BROTHERLY COMMUNITY
VI. UNIVERSAUTY OF BROTHERHOOD
VII. THE MEANING OF BROTHERLY LOVE IN CHRISTIANITY A. The terminology of love B. Love in the New Testament 1. Origin and essence of brotherly love 2. Manifestations of brotherly love
VIII. THE PHENOMENON OF BASIC COMMUNITIES A. Origins B. Inner spirit of Christian communities C. The course of history D. The post-Vatican II period
IX. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BAMDARIIN PUNJABI CULTURE COMPARED WITH BROTHERLY LOVE IN THE GOSPEL MESSAGE 155
I. INTRODUCTION
GEERTZ'S LANGUAGE: A KEY TO UNDERSTANDING A. Baradan as a cultural system B. Baradan as a symbol system C. Gospel brotherhood as a symbol system
III CRITICAL INTERRELATION BETWEEN BARADARimò GOSPEL BROTHERHOOD
IV. BARADARIkS A VEHICLE FOR GOSPEL BROTHERHOOD
GENERAL CONCLUSION 175
BIBUOGRAPHY 180
I. ARCHIVAL SOURCES II. ECCLESIASTIC SOURCES III. BOOKS IV. ARTICLES V. ARTICLES IN ENCYCLOPAEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES
SUMMARY 209
CURRICULUM VTTAE 212
10 Glossary
Sanskrit a grhya domestic rites achuta untouchables atharvaveda 'Wisdom of the priests' brahamm Brahmins Bhakti (movement) a devotional movement in Hinduism, Dahts the oppressed, the broken (untouchables in India) dasas aborigines from the Aryan fold dharma rules, norms, principles jati birth (one's caste): a limited, regional, endogamous group of families united by birth and heritage jati-dharma rules and norms that help individuals to keep to and preserve their social and ritual status and ritual purity karma merits or demerits of one's action (deeds) ksatriya rulers lokiya or laukika secular lokottarâ beyond {meta-) the world mandatas books (hymns) moksha salvation mukti, liberation panchama fifth group Rgveda 'Wisdom of verses' Rgveda collection of Hindu religious hymns rsior nsh, seers Sämaveda 'Wisdom of chants' samsara transmigration sanatana-dharma the perennial law of life sOdra tryividyä threefold knowledge vaisya farmers varna class (literally, 'colour1): hierarchy in the social system varna-asrama-dharma, law of living according to one's caste and stage of life vedismor vedic the earliest known form of religious practice among ancient Indo-Aryan settlers in India Yajurveda 'Wisdom of the sacrificial formulas'
11 Punjabi a grhya Hindu domestic rites achuta untouchables Adi Granth Sikh scriptures apanye 'ours' - paternal relatives Arya Samäi Hindu reform movement ashraf nobility asul duty or customs awans agriculturists ayator atfaq wafa'da'n solidarity, a broad term extending to people outside your group baradan brotherhood, a net-unit of related families or clans kept and bound together by customary duties and rights; extended family, patnlmeage barat wedding parties be-izzaù shame chuhra scheduled caste chuls clay hearths dadke indicating the father's place ~ paternal ancestors dera guesthouse as a symbol of wealth, power and status dharam bhra brothers in faith - purely a friend, no marriage takes place between the girl and boy dhimmi non-Muslim minority in an Islamic state doabs area between two neighbouring rivers or river valleys ghar da kammi artisans of the household ghare Others' - maternal relatives gotra clan hanjans untouchables, 'children of God' (term used by Mahatma Gandhi) ibadat-khana house of worship ikhtiyar authority and discretion iman faith (Muslim) izzat honour julahas weavers, cobblers and potters kammis village artisans in Punjabi, e.g. barbers, carpenters, launderers.
12 kanoon law kam kan honour killing of a women by her husband kashmin and aram market gardeners, do not own land khatir twazo hospitality to the outer circle, people outside a particular group khatir twazo hospitality towards all humankind lobars carpenters mamun maternal uncle mang collective labour mazhabi scheduled caste people converted to Sikh religion (low caste Sikhs) mehmaan nawazi hospitality limited to a group mehmaan nawazi, hospitality to the inner arde (a particular group) mera ghar 'my house' - a man's immediate family mirasi village bard in Punjabi mutabar trustworthy, respectable people mudaraba, traditional Islamic banking institution musalli sweeper nambardar village headman nanke place where the mother's parents live - maternal relations obra strangers, non-kin opra strangers, non-kin pag-wat (brothers) close friends, associates pag-wati ritual exchange of turbans with close friends (among boys) panchama 'fifth group', aboriginal tribe panchayat village council Pardah seclusion (of women) parea village council in Punjabi peke, a wife's parental household phuphi aunt Punjab (panca + ab) five + waters - five rivers qaida aur kannon rules of conduct qaida aur kanoon code of conduct qaum religious affiliation rajput princely warrior or ruler rakhi piece of string a girl ties round the wrist of a boy not of her own km nshtadar relatives
13 rsi legendary seer saak relatives sadr inner desire saure, the household of a woman's in-laws seyp contract between landowners and artisans seypi relation between landowners and artisans sha/warand kammez shirt and trousers (Pakistani national dress) shenka literally 'direct sharing'; rivalry, competition, division shuddai Hindu ritual purification sufism Islamic mysticism takhas artisans ushr tithe levied for public assistance (Islamic) vachula mediator, the third party vartan bhanji gift exchange or renewal of relationships vehi family register wafa'da'n solidarity (limited to the group), loyalty zakat wealth tax or alms tax (Islamic) zamindars landowners in Punjabi and Urdu zat caste
Urdu Islami-Jamunya-e-Pakistan Islamic Republic of Pakistan Nizam-i-Islam nationalist consciousness in Pakistan
Arabic Umma 'people', 'community.' Islamic Umma - 'brotherhooc shirkox shanka 'opposing oneness', association of people
Hebrew 'a/H/ Akkadian, form of address between persons of equa *am people (as a religious community) 'âch (or 'ali) blood brother gojim gentiles, pagans, non-Israelites red compatriot, friend
Greek ^philoÉ or *philë love between friends adelphe sister
14 adelphos brother agape love that radiates to outsiders, unconditional love delphus womb ekklesia Christian community, the church eros love between a man and a woman eucharistia praise and thanksgiving heis oneness henotës unity of Christian believers hetairos comrade, companion, friend komonia fellowship kynakos 'the Lord's house' kynos master maieutic bring forth something new Mithras an ancient Indo-Iraman god nomos the law Philadelphia brotherly love philadelphos loving one's brother or sister phileo general attraction towards a person or a thing; love for friends and relatives philia love of friends pistis faith pleto neighbour in a broad sense synagogue. Jewish place of worship timad to honour time honour
Latin anthropologia the study of human nature missio ad gen tes mission to people of other faiths saeculum world tertium quid 'third element', a new synthesis faida (Italian) vendetta INTRODUCTION
When I was a missionary in Pakistan I lectured at the National Catholic Institute of Theology (NCIT), Karachi. I became increasingly aware that the students found it hard to relate to the type of theology I was teaching, as it did not link up with their daily lives. In other words, my teaching did not harmonise their faith with life. I felt that my teaching would be incomplete until it brought meaning, goodness and fullness to their lives. This is what drove me to do this research.
Personal experience taught me that theological reflection in Pakistan so far has been presented in a way that does not relate to the realities of life,1 so I became interested in developing a theology that would integrate life with faith. I came to realise that it would need a major shift in theological thinking to make it correspond with our personal circumstances. This demanded a grounded theory approach, in which theory (theology) would stem from grassroots experience. I felt, therefore, that there was an urgent need to develop a contextual theology in which people's beliefs would touch not only their minds but also their hearts and would be reflected in their day-to-day behaviour, so that faith and life would be in harmony and, as far as possible, integrated. I became more and more convinced that to bring about that harmony our theological method would have to be dialogical.
The majority of students came from the province of the Punjab and had a distinct Punjabi ethnicity.2 The first step towards integrating faith and life for Punjabi people is to understand their mentality - how Punjabi people think about each other, the world and God; in other words, their worldview. If we manage to do that, we can have a meaningful dialogue between faith and life.
It is my contention that culture must become a vehicle for dialogue, because culture has become almost second nature to humans. As Ecclesia in Asia puts it:
"Culture is the vital space in which the human person comes face to face with the Gospel. Just as a culture is the result of the life and activity of a human group, so the persons belonging to that group are shaped to a large extent by the culture in which they live. As persons and societies change, so too does the culture change with
As real mculturation (bilateral) started very late in Pakistani history, it is easier to describe the meeting of the gospel message with Punjabi culture than to illustrate how a new synthesis, a new way of being Christian and Punjabi, came into existence. In Pakistan the Muslim population comprises 98 percent of the total population, and Christians 1 percent Christians are the biggest minority group. Among the many ethnic groups in Pakistan Punjabis are the biggest. Thus Punjabi culture is common to both Muslims and Christians. Our study focuses on Christian Punjabis.
16 them. As a culture is transformed, so too are persons and societies transformed by it. From this perspective, it becomes clearer why evangelisation and inculturation are naturally and intimately related to each other. The Gospel and evangelisation are certainly not identical with culture; they are independent of it. Yet the Kingdom comes to people who are profoundly linked to a culture, and the building of the Kingdom cannot avoid borrowing elements from human cultures. Thus Paul VI called the split between the Gospel and culture the drama of our time, with a profound impact upon both evangelisation and culture."3
John Paul II went beyond what Paul VI said in the foregoing quotation. According to Camps,4 John Paul II seems to say: "Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions serves as a preparation for the Gospel {Lumen Gentium 16)5 and can only be understood in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power of the Spirit 'so that as perfectly human he would save all human beings and sum up all things' (Gaudium etSpesAS; cf. Dei Verbum 54)."
Careful consideration and research, both independent and with the help of my Punjabi students, led me to study the baradari or brotherhood system, which is central to Punjabi culture. The baradari experience permeates and influences every aspect of Punjabi life. Thus my theme emerged: gospel meets culture. By gospel I mean the word of God. Jesus proclaimed the will of God, the 'message', in Jewish cultural terms - parables, metaphors, stories, et cetera. There is no abstract word of God: it is always communicated in human, cultural terms. According to pope John Paul II, as quoted by Francisco Gioia, the activity of the Holy Spirit also affects "society and history, people's cultures and religions.... Again, it is the Spirit who sows the seeds of the Word present in various customs and cultures, preparing them for full maturity in Christ."6 If this is so, can we not say that the Word is incarnated in Punjabi culture too? It is a meeting of gospel values with Punjabi values. In both sources God is already present and revealing himself. We might say, therefore, that this meeting is not only intercultural but also interreligious.
Hence the mam question in this study is as follows: can we facilitate a dialogue between the two meaning systems, gospel and culture? And if so, how?
Ecclesia in Asia, 21 See Arnulf Camps, "The Evolution, Involution and Revolution of the Concept and Reality of Mission and Evangelisation", in 'Mission is a Must Intercultural Theology and the Mission of the Church, eds Frans Wijsen and Peter Nissen (Amsterdam-New York: Editions Rodopi, 2002), 120 5 Throughout the present work, all English translations of the documents of Vatican II are taken from Ausbne Flannery, (ed.), Vatican Council II, Constitutions Decrees Deedarations. A completely revised translation in inclusive language, New York: Costello Publishing Company, 1996 Francisco Gioia, Interreligious dialogue: the official teaching of the Catholic Church (1963 - 1995), Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1997, 100
17 Our mam objective is to develop a contextual theology that will harmonise life and faith for Punjabi Christians.7 The procedure we adopt is as follows. First we explore the meaning of baradari'm Punjabi culture. Then we explore the meaning of brotherly love in the gospel. Next we study how the gospel concept of brotherly love could be related to baradarf so as to discover how we can effect greater harmony between Punjabi people's faith and their daily lives.
Dialogue is only possible if there is a common ground or meeting point between the two parties. In our study this is the concept of brotherhood/sisterhood in both Punjabi culture and the gospel message. Furthermore, the envisaged relation between baradan and gospel brotherly love requires a common 'language' that makes comparison possible. In our study this is the framework of Clifford Geertz.
The study is anthropological and theological in outlook.9 A well documented study of this kind of research is William E. Biernatzki's book, Roots of acceptance: the intercultural communication of religious meanings}"
My study is a theoretical attempt to develop a contextual Christian theology. Contextualisation of theology and an attempt to understand the Christian faith in terms of a particular context is theologically imperative.11 What this requires, according to Schillebeeckx, is a mutually critical correlation of faith and context so as to attune our belief and actions to the world we live in. He spells out what this correlation entails. First he analyses the present-
7 Schreiter notes that there has been an important shift in our theological reflection in recent times. Yet our basic theological thinking has remained the same, that is, "the reflection of Christians upon the Gospel in the light of their own circumstances". But he adds that "much more attention is now being paid to how those circumstances shape the response to the Gospel". For this focus he uses terms such as Hie 'localisation', 'contextualisation' and 'mdigemsabon' of theology. He says: "Despite slight differences in nuances in meaning, all these terms point to the need for and responsibility of the Christians to make their response to the gospel as concrete and lively as possible." Robert Schreiter, Constructing local theologies, New York: Orbis, 1986, 1. The Punjabi term baradan is rendered in English as 'brotherhood'. This includes men and women Whenever the term 'brotherhood' is used in this text, it refere to both men and women. For a detailed explanabon, see footnote 17. 9 For an extensive study of anthropology and theology, see Louis J Luzbetak, Church and cultures, new perspectives in mtssiological anthropology, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 1998. He adopts a strictly socio-scientific approach to the data on the premise that religious institutions are socio- cultural in character. Anthropology and sociology should be used to the full if we are to gam any reliable insight into such institutions. His aim is to help missionaries and other religious workers to understand the obstacles they encounter, as well as the opportunities they can exploit, in cultural settings to which the church has been recently introduced. See William E. Biematzki, Roots of acceptance: the intercultural communication of religious meanings, Rome: Pontifical Gregonan University, 1991, 2. Cf also Douglas J. Davies, Anthropology and theology, Oxford: Berg, 2002. 11 Bevans notes that what makes theology contextual is recognition of the validity of another locus theologicus in human existence Contextual theology realises that culture, history, contemporary thought forms and so forth are to be considered along with the gospel and tradition. Hence there are three sources: gospel, tradition and present-day human experience/context. See Stephen Bevans, Models of contextual theology: faith and culture. New York: Orbis, 2004, 3-4 Luzbetak identifies three different types of contextualisation: a traditional type, a dialectical type and a hberabonal type. All three seek to integrate the gospel message with local cultures in such a way that the message becomes part of a cultural system. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive (Luzbetak, Church and culture, 9)
18 day world and its experience. In our study this is the reality of the baradarisystem and how it functions. Secondly, he analyses the structures of fundamental Christian experience, which are the gospel and tradition. In our study we explore the basic notions of brotherhood in the gospel. Thirdly, he advocates critical mutual confrontation of the two sources.12 In other words, how do the two sources relate to, confront, agree with and challenge each other? The present study adopts a similar approach of encounter between the baradari and gospel brotherhood.
The central theme - gospel and culture - is too general. To facilitate the encounter or dialogue between gospel and culture we take the concept of brotherhood/sisterhood as a common denominator. So in order to be more specific we limit this research to dialogue or encounter between brotherly love as the basic moral mandate in the Gospels, and baradari or brotherhood, the essence of Punjabi culture. Consequently our sub-theme emerges: brotherhood in Punjabi culture and gospel message. We use a comparative method to examine the dialogue or encounter between gospel and culture.
In this study we use the words 'dialogue' and 'encounter' interchangeably for the broader concept of conversation. Dialogue is when there are two or more participants. It is neither a debate nor a discussion or deliberation. It is a conversation between equals, in which the participants respond with unreserved empathy to the others' views, while drawing out their most deep-seated assumptions. While participants should be willing to learn from each other, they should also be free to question each other.
The word of God comes to us through the Bible via human symbols used in people's cultural life world. This applies to Punjabi culture as well. God is free to address us through other cultures and their symbols. Dialogue in the theological sense is the meeting of God's word in the gospel with the Word incarnated in different cultures through their symbol systems. In our context dialogue means meeting God's word through Punjabi culture. That meeting is creative in the sense that it gives rise to something new, which Arnulf Camps calls tertium quid." The human persons taking part in the dialogue must be open to God's word
Edward Schillebeeckx, Interim report, London: SCM, 1980, 51. Wijsen speaks of a paradigm shift What he means is that in the course of history the Catholic Church developed various missionary models He proposes an intercultural theology. By this he means that "mterculturation expresses the idea that the process of mculturation is not simply the interaction between Gospel on the one hand and culture on the other, as if they represent two monolithic systems, but between multiple cultural orientations." See Frans Wijsen, "Intercultural theology and the mission of the church", Exchange 30, 2001, 221. Camps maintains that real dialogue requires two attitudes. Firstly, the other partner's faith must be taken seriously It means that one must try to understand the person's innermost religious aspirations to intériorise and live his or her faith as authentically as possible. Both dialogue partners should enter into this encounter. Camps calls this in-depth meeting the maieutic method, which means that it will bring forth something new, a tertium quid, a new synthesis of partial religious experiences or a synthesis of the riches God has given to humankind. In short, the gospel challenges us to see new dimensions in culture. In this way humankind will continue to grow spiritually until the end of time, see "My pilgrimage in mission", in Janneke van der Leest (ed ), Bibliography of Arnulf Camps OFM 1946-2005, Nijmegen: Nijmegen Institute for Missiology, 2005, 11-12 This is the bilateral nature of dialogue, the
19 coming to them from various sources: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and so forth. Both participants try to understand God's word, God's self-revelation to us. They meet God in their own cultural symbols and terms. This type of dialogue is both intercultural and interrehgious.
To pursue this further I needed a workable theory of culture to relate the gospel to the Punjabi way of life. I found the method (thick description) and theory (semiotic) of Clifford Geertz1" to be most helpful for my purpose. I used his theory of cultural anthropology as an operative notion of culture, which proved to be insightful for understanding Punjabi culture in relation to the gospel, because it offers an interpretive approach to meaning. Geertz describes culture as "a system of inherited concepts expressed in symbolic forms which enables us to 'communicate, perpetuate and develop' our understanding of life and traditional customs."15 I shall use his theory16 of culture to explore the relation between the gospel message and Punjabi culture. The purpose is to outline a possible encounter of meanings between the notion of barsdari'm Punjabi culture and the gospel's brotherly love. It is an attempt to explore the possible consequences of this intercultural encounter of meanings for the behaviour of Punjabi people and how it can enrich our understanding of day-to-day Christian living. To this end we need a definition that integrates the various elements of culture in such a manner that we can use it to explain the relationship between faith and life.
encounter of meanings1 From the beginning the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) has maintained that the core task of Asian local churches' mission is their dialogical encounter with the Asian milieu in its threefold reality of Asian religions, culture and poverty. In other words, dialogue Is an integral part of evangelisation, intrinsic to the very life of the church, an essential mode of all evangelisation. See Jonathan Yun-Ka Tan, "Missio inter gentes. towards a new paradigm in the mission theology of the Federabon of Asian Bishops' Conferences", FABC Papers 109, 10 Clifford James Geertz, an Amencan, is regarded as the doyen of cultural anthropology. He was professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago from 1960 to 1970, when he became professor of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He was also Eastman professor at Oxford University (1978-1979). Famous for advocating a Webenan approach to culture, he did fieldwork in Indonesia in the 1950s and in Morocco in the 1960s Geertz is now professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His ideas have found favour among anthropologists and other scientists. Christian thinkers like Robert Schreiter and George Lmdbeck were beginning to adopt his ideas. See for example Robert Schreiter, Constructing local theologies, London: SCM, 1985. Schreiter uses Geertz's semiobcs, with some justified reservabons. Lmdbeck's use of Geertz is less obvious. He does, however, accepts Geertz's theory of religion See George Lmdbeck, Tfte nature of doctrine: religion and theology in a postiiberal age, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984, 62. 15 See Clifford Geertz, The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic, 1973; reprint, 2000, 89. Also see Geertz's essay, "Ritual and social change: a Javanese example" in: The interpretation of cultures, 142-169. Geertz's definition is helpful because it demonstrates the importance of inherited traditions: the modes and methods of communication, the habits and customs we learn not only for the sake of survival, but also for the truths and values which guide us on the way and help us to find our place in society and the wider universe. See Keith F. Pecklers, Worship: new century theology, London: Continuum, 2003, 117. 16 Geertz's method is one of many. Other anthropologists have approached the subject matter differently. The useful book by Michael Paul Gallagher, Clashing symbols, an introduction to faith and culture (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1997), examines a number of different schools of thought. Those which specialise in either cultural anthropology or missiology are not based on a single theory. There is no universally accepted method. For the purpose of this thesis I need not give a cnbcal evaluation of Geertz's works on cultural anthropology, his strengths and weaknesses or shortcomings. I merely use his theory to bring about a meaningful encounter between gospel and culture. For vanous opinions of Geertz's work see Paul Ranbmow, "Humanism as nihilism. The brackebng of truth and senousness in American cultural anthropology", in: Norman Hann et al. (eds), Social saence as moral inquiry, New York: Columbia University Press, 1983; Talal Asad, Genealogies of religion: disapline and reason of power in Chnsbamty and Islam, John Hopkins University Press, 1993 Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage, 1978) writes favourably about Geertz's depiction of Islam. Fred Inglis, Clifford Geertz: culture, custom and ethics (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000) has written an approving account of Geertz's work in reacbon to Geertz's critics
20 In this study I first investigate how moral behaviour fits into Geertz's cultural theory on the assumption that morality is inseparably connected with culture17 and that meaning expressed in symbols is central to every culture. Geertz's theory is basically a search for this meaning in the signs and symbols of any given culture. In short, translating Geertz's technical language into lay terms, one might say that culture is a way of life. This way of life is expressed in symbols that convey meaning to a particular group of people. They are also vehicles transmitting meaning from one generation to the next. In fact, the focal concept in
Geertz's understanding of culture and religion is the symbol system and an insistence on the interpretation of life as it is actually perceived. Geertz writes: "We cannot live other people's lives, and it is a piece of bad faith to try. We can but listen to what, in words, in images, in actions, they say about their lives."18 Thus, the three key terms to understand Geertz are symbol, society and individual psychology. This is the focus of chapter one, where I give an extensive description of Geertz's theory of culture and religion.
Against this background chapter two explores the Punjabi understanding of baradarf3 or brotherhood and its place in that culture. I first explore baradarit origin as a system, and then its meaning as expressed in symbols relating to moral behaviour.20
By way of background chapter three briefly outlines the evangelisation carried out by the early Capuchin missionaries, focusing on their approach to the local culture with its baradan value system in relation to the gospel message: in short, how did they understand life in relation to faith? Next I investigate various scriptural meanings of gospel brotherhood.
Parekh, of Indian origin, who chairs the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, states that culture shapes and structures moral life, including its scope, content, authority and the kinds of emotions associated with it The cultural roots of morality are evident in the way the customs, ceremonies and rituals of a culture embody and give meaning to its moral values He further says that the close link between morality and culture does not mean that it may not be cnticised and that there are no universal principles See Bhikhu Parekh, Rethinking multiculturalism: cultural diversity and political theory, New York: Palgrave, 2000, 144-145 Clifford Geertz, "Making experiences, authorising selves", in: V. W. Turner & Ε M. Bmnner (eds), The anthropology of expenence, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986, 373-380 See also Eric Venbrux, A death in the Tim Islands, conflict, ntual and social life in an Australian aboriginal society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, vi. 1 The term baradan derives from the Persian word for brother, hence it means 'brotherhood' It signifies getting together in a manner that sets one group apart from other groups. The original, strict meaning of baradan comes from 'patnlmeage' and links persons who can trace their relationship, no matter how remote, to a common male ancestor. The basis of Punjabi social structure is not the nuclear family but the extended family that is a group of families forming a socio-economic unit in society It is a net-unit where people of related families or clans are kept together and are bound by customary duties and rights This net-unit is known as baradan People say that there is no single term which renders the word 'baradarl meaningfully, hence one uses concepts like caste, clan and extended family as synonyms to explain baradan It should be noted that the baradan include women as well, yet people use only the term 'brothertiood', never the term 'sisterhood' Baradan here is not the same as the Islamic umma, also translated as 'brotherhood'. Umma is a Quranic word for 'people', 'community'; the term does not derive from the Arabic root 'mm, but is borrowed from Hebrew (umma) or Aramaic (ummetha) and found its way into Arabic. In any case the term was taken up by the prophet Muhammad and thereafter became specifically Islamic It is applied to Muhammad's proper followers, the Muslims. As an umma they stress their religious and ethical foundations. The original idea of an umma was reserved only for the Arab community Later it was transformed into the umma of the Muslim world Cf 'Umma' m H A R. Gibbs & J. H. Kramers (eds), Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1961, 603-604 With reference to model ofand model for, the ritual fusion of ethos and worldview
21 The underlying ethos of gospel brotherhood is love, expressed by the compound Greek word ^Philadelphia. It has its own cultural roots: the noun ^philoä or ^philé refers to love between friends and also between people bound together by faith; and adelphos means 'brother'. Philadelphia, then, signifies brotherly love - love of one's fellow Christians.
Our research into gospel brotherhood poses two basic questions, discussed in chapter four. What is one's relation to those outside the Christian fellowship' (2) What is one's relation to one's 'brothers' and 'sisters' within the Christian fellowship'21 Part of the problem with gospel brotherhood is that ever since New Testament times there has been tension between these two relationships - the community of the faithful and the community of the needful.
New Testament studies underline that gospel brotherhood is guided by the ethos of philia and agape. It is all-embracing and open to all men and women of goodwill. In Punjabi culture hospitality is a cardinal value. This nuance of hospitality is expressed by two words: mehmaan nawazi, limited to particular baradan members; and khatir twazo, which has a broader meaning, namely hospitality extended to all humankind. Are these two words compatible with Philadelphia and agape' Can baradan in Punjabi culture, which appears to be clan-oriented and governed by an ethos of loyalty, extend that loyalty to anyone outside the clan' Chapter five explores this dilemma in detail.
As said before, our mam question is whether and how we can facilitate a dialogue between the two meaning-systems, gospel and culture. To mediate this encounter I used Geertz's theory of signs and symbols. Geertz's concept of culture is essentially semiotic, focusing on one's interpretation of signs and symbols. He argues that a semiotic approach to culture gives us access to the conceptual world in which people live. This is done so that we can converse with people by entering into, and in some way making our own, the basic assumptions of their lives.22
Geertz further notes that cultural patterns in the sense of systems or complexes of symbols are models.23 The term 'model' is used in two senses: as models o/and as models for. Yet these are just two aspects of the same basic concept that are distinguished for analytical purposes. It is an important distinction, but not necessarily a separation A blueprint or a theory is first a model of reality, which then becomes a model /brthe blueprint or theory. In other words, cultural patterns are models both for our thinking and of our
Cf Joseph Ratzinger, The open circle the meaning of Christian brotherhood, trans W A Glen-Doeple, New York Sheed &Ward, 1966, 11 Cf Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 24 23 Cf ibid , 92-93
22 thinking, because persons and culture are constantly influencing each other Cultural patterns are a model for insofar as they influence our inner dispositions. Insofar as thinking influences behaviour our inner dispositions are a model for extrinsic cultural manifestations. Applied to morality, it is what 'ought' to be (model foi) as opposed to what 'is' (model of). Thus "culture patterns have double aspects; they give meaning, ι e. objective conceptual form, to social and psychological reality both by shaping themselves to it and by shaping it to themselves".2'1 The gospel is given to us. Its importance lies in its capacity to serve an individual or a group as a source of life (model o/"aspect), but at the same time it is rooted in our inner disposition (model for aspect). This is dealt with in chapter five.
The procedure I have followed in this thesis is the following. Chapters one to four give information, following Geertz's principle of description. This principle entails studying culture according to a structure which includes ecology, history, politics, people's behaviour, folklore and so on. In chapter five I initiate an encounter between gospel and culture, using Geertz's semiotic theory of signs and symbols. To complement the encounter I take necessary data from previous chapters, collating them in a more comprehensive and meaningful way to give the reader a better theoretical understanding of how to arrive at a contextuahsed theology.
One of my first difficulties arose when I discovered how little has been written on the subject of the baradan. Much of my material had to be collected from oral sources. I had informal talks with various people and I made a careful study of Punjabi history. I tried to tease out information about the baradan from its geographical location, ethnological history and the behavioural patterns of its members. In my conversations with Punjabis I found that they speak openly and explicitly about the baradan, but that very few could define it theoretically. Many gave me examples of how the baradan functions in day-to-day life, but they could not tell me about its origins and history, nor could they explain it in any abstract way.
My second difficulty is to translate 'local language' into English Examples are baradan (brotherhood), izzat and be-izzati (honour and shame) and vartan bhanji (gift exchange or renewal of relationships). It is very difficult to explain the Punjabi words in English without losing their essence. Furthermore, although culture and religion are not the same, in reality they are indistinguishable, interdependent and influence each other. For
24 Ibid , 93.
23 Asians it is very difficult to separate religion and culture. Western scholars seem to do so more easily.25
The third problem is the prerequisites for theological inquiry. Brock, who studied the writings of St Ephrem the Syrian,26 states that Ephrem identified three different forms of theology,27 depending on the mental attitude of the person making the enquiry. In the first place the mind may seek to dominate and subjugate the object of inquiry. In other words, you are convinced you are the master and you subject the other to your analysis. Rightly or wrongly, Ephrem saw this as the basic attitude of many 'heretical' thinkers of his time: in the field of theology in particular he finds such intellectual arrogance utterly objectionable. A second approach assumes what at first glance seems a much more acceptable form, one that is typical of much of theological inquiry today. Here the scholar sets out to study the object of enquiry as dispassionately and 'scientifically' as possible - in other words, a value-free, impersonal sort of approach. Of course, in many spheres this approach is very fruitful, and Ephrem implies that he himself tried it - but found it wanting. The third approach, which is Ephrem's own, is that of engagement, an engagement above all of love and wonder. Whereas the second approach involves only one-way movement from the mind to the object of enquiry, the third approach is a two-way traffic, involving continual interaction. Only by means of such interactive love can human knowledge of divine truth grow.
In this study our theological perspective is closer to the third approach, because we are dealing with human life, human encounter, values, feelings and the like. Geertz notes that for cultural analysis, behaviour must be studied in its totality and not in segments by isolating elements or merely specifying the internal relationships between them. He points out the danger that such a dissecting approach will actually prevent cultural analysis from reaching its proper object - "the informal logic of actual life".2Θ He admits that this informal logic is also found in various types of artefacts and states of consciousness. Thus "these draw
Missionaries were unable to classify what is and what is not 'religion', which they called culture. In other words, they were unsure where to draw a line between converts' retention of the ancient religion and their 'way of doing things'. In the same vein the historian Markus states that "a religion could be sbll distinguished from other constituents of culture. To avoid offence to anthropological ears, therefore, I shall distinguish 'sacred' from 'secular" in a culture rather than distinguishing 'religion' from 'culture'". Cf. Robert A. Markus, The end of ancient Christianity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, 15-16. Geertz takes religion to be a cultural system. In his view religion cannot be other than contextual. See Geertz, Interpretations, 89. Niebuhr, Chnst and culture, London: Faber 8L Faber, 1952, 32ff Our study focuses more on the relationship between culture and religion St Ephrem the Syrian was a 4th century church father. He was less well known than his contemporaries, St Athanasius, St Gregory of Nazianzus, St Basil and St Gregory of Nyssa. Many people have only a vague nobon of who St Ephrem was, for two mam reasons. Firstly he wrote in Synac, not in Greek or Labn, so his wribngs are less accessible; secondly, his most important work was wntten in verse, and since we do not expect to find serious theology expressed in poetic form, we tend not to take him seriously as a theologian. Ironically, it is these very reasons that led to the comparative neglect of St Ephrem that make him a writer of particular significance today. Cf. Sebastian Brock, The luminous eye: the spintual world vision of Saint Êphrem the Synan, Michigan: Cisteraan Publications, 1992, 13. 27 Cf. ibid., 43-44. Geertz, Interpretation of culture, 17.
24 meaning from the role they play in an ongoing pattern of life, not from any intrinsic relationship they bear to one another".29 Cultural analysis, then, is an interpretation of life.
One of our presuppositions is that there is no perfect way of judging our limited views. There is no meta-language, no meta-ethics, no meta-narrative. There is no culture beyond culture to serve as a criterion of culture. There is no language beyond language. We cannot explain the inexpressible except in cultural terms, which are necessarily limited. Therefore we can keep on describing culture, religion and moral behaviour, but all our descriptions will fall short of reality.
Finally, what is presented here is an attempt to lay a foundation for future development, a humble effort to provide some insights for further research into a contextualised Christian theology - one that speaks the language and fulfils the urgent needs and aspirations of particular people. God is in constant dialogue with his people. People come to understand God in the context of their life experiences. The gospel message - the word - is always understood in one's own cultural milieu. The message of the gospel and Punjabi culture are always 'communicated', never imposed. The word has to be sown, strike root, grow and blossom in a specific life situation, and among a specific people who have already heard God's word in their own culture. Only then can the richness of Christian morality be appreciated in its many and varied aspects. Only if we develop a contextual theology that will appeal to people's needs and aspirations will they be able to live an integrated life in which faith and life are in harmony.
Ibid , 17.
25 CHAPTER ONE
AN OPERATIVE NOTION OF CULTURE
I. INTRODUCTION
Culture was probably the single most important concept in 20th century cultural anthropology. Within the discipline it also happens to be one of the most hotly debated concepts of the last few decades. It has not proven fruitful, however, to abandon the concept altogether. Below I am looking an operational notion of culture that is particularly useful for the purpose of this study in Christian theology. What is culture? Surprisingly, despite the importance of the concept, there is no consensus among anthropologists on its exact meaning. It has a complex history, of which its anthropological usage is only a small part. Etymologically it is linked to words like 'cultivate' and 'cultivation', 'agriculture' and 'horticulture'.30
What emerged from the history of anthropology over the past 150 years was a complex of overlapping, potentially different meanings. One aspect is what has developed as a 'humanistic sense' of culture, which is singular and evaluative: culture is what a person ought to acquire in order to become a fully fledged moral agent. Some people have more culture than others (they are more cultured) and some human products are more cultural than others (the visual arts, music and literature). Another aspect is what has evolved as the 'anthropological sense', which is pluralistic and relativistic. The world is divided up into different cultures, each of which is intrinsically worthwhile. Every person is a product of his or her particular culture, and differences between human beings are explained (but not judged) in terms of cultural differences.31 This does not mean that cultures are static, demarcated and not amenable to change. The impact of the gospel on a particular culture is a key concern in this study.
Culture can be articulated at several levels. At the most basic level it is reflected in language, including the ways in which its syntax, grammar and vocabulary divide up and describe the world. Societies sharing a common language share at least some cultural features. And when a group of individuals acquires a wholly new language, as many colonial subjects did, they also learn new ways of understanding the world. The culture of a society is
Cf. Alan Barnard & Jonathan Spencer (eds), Encyclopaedia of social and cultural anthropology, London: Routledge, 1996, 136. 31 Cf. ibid., 136
26 animated by proverbs, maxims, myths, rituals, symbols, collective memories, jokes, body lan guage, modes of non-linguistic communication, customs, traditions, institutions and styles of greeting. At a different level it is embodied in its arts, music, oral and written narratives, moral life, ideals of excellence, exemplary individuals and perception of the good life. Culture is also articulated in the rules and norms that govern such basic activities and social relations as how, where, when and with whom one eats, associates and makes love, how one mourns and disposes of the dead, and how one treats one's parents, children, wife, neighbours and strangers.32 It is commonly accepted that culture becomes 'second nature'.33 Culture refers to meanings and values, worldviews, and what is included in that rich term 'ethos'. Myths, symbols, theories and other cultural forms express these meanings and values; religion is part of all this.
My basic endeavour in this chapter is to explore the common ground and common language for the comparison between gospel morality and a particular culture, including its morality. To this end I use the influential interpretive anthropology of Clifford Geertz, although my study is not strictly in the field of cultural anthropology. Geertz defines cultural anthropology as a system that integrates the various elements of cultural reality in such a manner that it can be used to study a particular culture in terms of religion, morality and, arguably, change. Geertz's understanding of culture and religion hinges on the symbol system and an insistence on interpreting life as it is actually perceived.34 That is why I explain the definition of culture and religion - as well as cultural change - in some detail, with special reference to the place of moral behaviour in a rehgio-cultural ambit.
In his Anthropology and theology the theologian and anthropologist Douglas Davies points out that anthropology and theology traditionally interpreted religion in very different ways and have often been considered mutually antagonistic. He notes that in actual fact a fundamental concern for human experience lies at the heart of both disciplines. This innovative book takes a new look at key anthropological and theological themes, and explores the intricacies of their interplay throughout history up to the present.
See Parekh, Rethinking multiculturalism, 143-44. Culture is central to human existence. The concepts of human being ana culture are thus inseparable For cultural psychologists the critical enabling factor, the thing that focuses the mind is culture - the way of life and thought that we construct. In this sense culture is learnt behaviour that shapes our lives. Not only is culture learnt, but everything that is learnt is culture. Cf. C Geertz, Available light: anthropological reflections on philosophical topics, Princeton, NJ Princeton University Press, 2000, 13. See also P. Whitten & D. Ε Κ. Hunter, Anthropology, contemporary perspectives, London: Harper Collins, 1990, 131. Cf M de Chene, "Symbolic anthropology," Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, 1275-1276. See also E E. Evans- Pritchard, "The problem of symbols," in: M. Lam bek (ed ), A reader in the anthropology of religion. Maiden, Mass : Blackwell, 2002, 145-157
27 Davies sees his publication as an "unsystematic book, conceived as a conversation between theology and social anthropology".35 His method in this proposed conversation is, firstly, to describe the difference between theology and anthropology in the hope of linking the two disciplines. He writes: "Theology is a formal reflection, description and account of religious experience, while anthropology presents theoretical interpretations of the life experience of particular societies in general."36 He continues: "As 'life studies', experience lies at the heart of each; but their fundamental distinction concerns the existence of God." He points out that "theology tends to assume that God does exist, underlies religious experience, and is the basis for considered reflection, while anthropology tends to assume God does not exist and simply studies the reported experience of people".37 The point is that it does not matter to anthropologists whether God exists or not,38 while God's existence is highly relevant to theologians. This does not necessarily mean denial of God on the part of anthropologists, but the real object or focus of their study is human beings. Anthropologists, moreover, accept people's belief in God as a social fact. Theology, by contrast, is the study of God and God's relation to the world, although, like anthropology, it includes the study of religious faith, practice and experience.39 Davies maintains that establishing an interrelationship between theology and anthropology is a real challenge. His book extends a kind of invitation to explore the possibility of a conversation between the two disciplines.'™
The Canadian theologian Bernard Lonergan also highlights the crucial importance of culture for theology. In his Insight: a study of human understanding he stresses that the task of theology is to mediate between a cultural context and the role of religion in that context. Previously he proposed that culture should be seen as the human capacity to explore and inquire. Culture is the capacity of human beings to ask inquisitive questions, to reflect, and to arrive at answers that both satisfy the intelligence and speak to the heart."1
Douglas Davies, Theology and anthropology, Oxford: Berg, 2002, 1 36 Ibid., 1. 37 Ibid., 1. 38 In 1501 the humanist scholar Magnus Hundt distinguished anthropologia from theologia He introduced the term 'anthropologid for the study of human nature (or as another humanist. Otto Casmann, put it in 1594: "Anthropologia est doctnna humanae naturae"). See Justin Stagi, "Anthropological universality: on the validity of generalisations about human nature", in: N. Roughsey (ed ), Being human. Anthropological universality and particularity in transdisciplmary perspectives, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2000, 27. 39 Anthropologists do not have methods to establish whether or not God exists, so they cannot make reliable statements in this regard. But in their anthropological work, also out of respect for people of other faiths, they neither question nor confirm the truth of people's beliefs. That is not at issue, what matters is the soaal fact of people's religious thought and behaviour. 40 Ibid., 17 '" Bernard Lonergan, Insight: a study of human understanding, London: Darton, Longman 81 Todd, 1957, 236.
28 II. A DEFINITION OF CULTURE
Although the phenomenon we call culture is the focus of cultural anthropology, anthropologists disagree about its definition. There are various views of its role in human behaviour, yet there is no fully developed theory of culture.''2 Thus the notion of culture is a broad one. It can be developed in several ways and several directions. Its study is interdisciplinary, involving biology, sociology, psychology, religion and morality, and it is affected by ideologies of various kinds.
In the 19th century, social evolutionary theorists used the word 'culture' as the equivalent of civilisation. People were thought to have more or less culture depending on how advanced their civilisation was thought to be.43 Many early anthropologists tried to define culture. One early definition is that of the British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. Possibly making somewhat unscientific identifications, he says: "Culture or civilization, taken in its wider ethnographic sense, is that 'complex whole' which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."44
By the beginning of the 20th century Franz Boas was using the term 'culture' to refer to "the beliefs, customs, and social institutions that seem to characterise each separate society. Each society was said to have its own distinctive culture, just as it was said to have its own language or dialect."45
When reviewing the history of anthropological thinking about culture, anthropologists were clearly using the term 'culture' to refer to two different, though not unrelated things: one a phenomenal order, the other an ideational one (at the level of knowledge). The phenomenal order is what an observer discerns as patterns in the ongoing conduct of affairs - the actual performance of activities - in a society or community. These patterns are manifested in recurring regularities of modality and discontinuity that give an apparent structure to events and human interactions and, taken together, constitute what is often referred to as a people's way of life. The patterns differ from one society to the next, and the term 'culture' is often used in reference to them. Culture in this sense is the property of a
See Roy G. D'Andrade & Claudia Strauss (eds), Human motives and cultural models, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 43 Cf. Ward H Goodenough, "Culture", in Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, New York: Holt, 1996, 291. Edward B. Tylor, Pnmitive culture. New York: Harper & Row, 1871,1, 1 Like his contemporary theorists, Tylor saw people with more advanced cultures as being freer from primitive superstition and more sophisticated about the 'real' world of nature and the social and moral principles that held most promise to help humans realise their potential to lead more rewarding lives. Cf. Roger M Keesing, "Theories of culture", Annual Review of'Anthropology'3, 1974: 73. 45 G. W Stocking, 'Franz Boas and the culture concept in historical perspective", Amencan Anthropologist (A, 1996, 867.
29 society or group. It does not, however, distinguish humans from other social animals. Culture, in the ideational sense of a product of learning, consists of what the members of a human group should know in order to function acceptably as members of that group in the activities in which they engage. In this sense culture is not shared by all members of a group; but in the process of learning from one another, people assimilate what they learn from others and, to the extent that these attributes enable them to accomplish their mutual purposes, they create the illusion of shared understandings and a common culture.'16
A major contribution to understanding the content of culture in relation to both the ideational and phenomenal orders was the work of Bronislaw Malinowski.'17 He showed that a people's diverse customary practices are interconnected in various ways, so that one cannot understand the role of any particular practice in isolation but must see it in the context of the other practices with which it coexists, especially because what people say they do is not always what they actually do.
Alfred L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn review 164 definitions of culture.48 These definitions are merely descriptive, so they do not help us to see culture as a system. In recent years many anthropologists have come to conceive of culture as a system of symbolically mediated meanings. Because of their growing preoccupation with meaning and symbols, many contemporary anthropologists tend to concentrate on studies which describe the modes of symbolisation and classification that characterise different cultures and look for mental structures which people in different cultures use to identify their understanding of the world. Thus they call attention to the symbolic importance of cultural artefacts.'19 There have been a number of major approaches to symbolism, demonstrated in the writings of Claude Lévi-Strauss, David Schneider, Clifford Geertz and Dan Sperber. These positions define the goal of anthropology differently and recommend divergent ways in which anthropologists deal with symbolic behaviour.50
Lévi-Strauss, following a formalist approach known as structuralism, argues that as anthropologists "our ultimate purpose is not so much to discover the unique characteristics of the society that we study, as it is to discover in what way these societies differ from one another. As in linguistics, it is the discontinuities which constitute the true subject matter of
Cf. Goodenough, "Culture", Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, 293. See also W. H. Goodenough, Culture, language andsoaety. Mento Park, Cal.: Benjamin-Cummings, 1981. 4 Cf. Goodenough, "Culture", 293. See also W. H. Goodenough, Culture, language and society, Menlo Park, Cal.: Benjamme-Cummings, 1981 See Alfred L. Kroeber & Clyde Kluckhohn, Culture: a cnbcal review of concepts and definitions. New York: Random House, 1952. See J. Spencer, "Symbolic anthropology", Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthmpology, 535 -539 Cf. Mary LeCron Foster, "Symbolism: the foundation of culture," in: Companion encyclopaedia of anthropology, London: Routledge, 2002, 366.
30 anthropology."51 Schneider, on the other hand, rejects Lévi-Strauss's extreme formalism, insisting that "it is the anthropologist's special task to deal with the cultural aspect of social action, although he necessarily deals with norms as well".52 Geertz, in contrast to both these approaches, views anthropology not as an "experimental science in search of law ... [but] as an interpretive one in search of meaning".53
For our present purpose we need a definition that integrates the various elements of culture in such a manner that we can use it to explore the relationships between religion, morality and cultural change. We find such a definition in Geertz's work, as follows:
"An historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes towards life."5"
A. Culture as an interpretation of life
According to Geertz culture has to do primarily with life - the life of people. It has to do with the way they conceptualise their understanding of life and the attitudes they develop towards it. It has to do with attitudes that are communicated, perpetuated and developed through symbolic forms which expose a whole system of inherited conceptions and patterns of meaning embodied in the very symbols themselves. To express it differently, Geertz presents culture dynamically as meaning embodied in a symbol system, in such a way that this meaning can be communicated and developed in the day-to-day life of ordinary people.55
See Claude Lévi-Strauss, The elementary structures of kinship, Boston: Beacon Press, 1949, 328. It is opportune to mention the works of the British anthropologist Edmund Leach who, influenced by Lévi-Strauss's structuralism, adapts it bo the funcbonalism of British social anthropology. For his approach to symbols and decoding of meaning, see Leach, Culture and communication- the logic by which symbols are connected. An introduction to the use of structural analysis in soaal anthropology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. In the same book Leach writes: "The most fundamental way in which the procedures of modern anthropology differ from those of their predecessors a hundred years ago is that the modern treatment of ethnographic evidence is always functionalist" (ibid.,1). Scheider further says that "our task is not to study forms, but to study praxis (which makes use of, creates, and relates to forms) - self-consciousness and conscious action". See "Notes towards a theory of culture", in: Κ Η. Basso & Η. A Slby (eds), Meaning in anthropology, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1976, 197 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 5. Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 89. Cf also Adam Kuper, Culture: the anthropologists' account, Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press, 1999, 98, 99. Geertz gained these insights into the notions of symbolism, meaning and hermeneutics from Kenneth Burke, the idealist philosopher; Susanne Langer; and the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur Langer and Burke agree that the central defining feature of human beings is their capacity for symbolic behaviour. "Man", according to Burke's definition, is the symbol-using animal. According to Langer human knowledge stands before us, not as a vast collection of sense reports, but as a structure of facts that are symbols οηά laws that are their meaning What Geertz takes from Ricoeur is the idea that because human actions convey meanings, they can (and should) be read in much the same ways as written texts. The point about actions is their symbolic content, not their mundane consequences. Cf. Kuper, Culture: the anthropologists account, 82.
31 His concept of culture, then, is essentially semiotic,56 focusing on our interpretation of signs and symbols. He advocates this semiotic approach to culture as a method of gaining access to people's conceptual world in order to converse with them by entering into and, in some way, making our own the basic assumptions of their lives.57
Geertz further notes that for cultural analysis behaviour must be studied in its totality and not in segments by isolating elements or merely specifying the internal relationships between them. He points out the danger that such a dissecting approach will actually prevent cultural analysis from reaching its proper object - "the informal logic of actual life".58 He admits that this informal logic is also found in various types of artefacts and states of consciousness. His point is that "these draw their meaning from the role they play in an on going pattern of life, not from any intrinsic relationship they bear to one another".59 Cultural analysis, then, is an interpretation of life. As a result our analysis of culture mostly takes place in the town square, the bazaar, the courtyard - in other words, where people gather rather than in the classroom or at our desk.60
This way of interpreting culture is a search for meaning at grassroots level rather than through systematic scientific study.61 He says:
"...to look at the symbolic dimensions of social action - art, religion, ideology, science, law, morality, common sense - is not to turn away from the existential dilemma of life, for some empyrean realm of de-emotionalized forms; but it is to plunge into the midst of them."62
Semiotics is the study of how signs and symbols relate to the things they represent. The meaning of a sign or symbol is not fixed; it varies over time, in different contexts, and according to the speaker or writer's intention. The relationship between a symbol or sign and what it represents can also be contested - different individuals or groups of individuals may differ about the content of a specific sign/signified relationship (as is the case with the word 'culture'). Giddens mentons that semiotics refers to nonverbal cultural meanings, so semiotic analysis can be very useful for comparing one culture with another. Since cultural meanings are symbols, it allows us to contrast the ways in which different cultures are structured. Cf. Anthony Giddens, Sociology, 2nd edition, Oxford: Blackwell, 1993 (reprint 1994), 42. 57 Cf. Geertz, Interprétation of cultures, 24. Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 17. 59Ib,d. To my knowledge Geertz does not play down classroom encounters, because knowledge is also culturally embedded. But the skills needed in the classroom or at the desk and those needed in the field are quite different. Success in one setting does not ensure success in the other, and vice versa. Cf. Geertz, Available light; 15-16. Cf. Geertz, Interpretation of Cultures, 5 In his later book Geertz broadens the agenda to include common sense as "an everywhere-found cultural form" of a less tightly integrated kind, expressed in the non-idiomatic language of different cultures. See, Clifford Geertz, Local knowledge: further essays in interpretive anthropology, New York: Basic, 1983, 85. Living culture is practically identical with the common sense of a society, and as such can be a major obstacle to or an ally of religious faith. He sums up the omnipresence of this cultural system thus: "Religion rests its case on revelation, science on method, ideology on moral passion; but common sense rests its case on the asserbon that it is not a case at all, just life in a nutshell The world is its authority" (ibid., 75). 62 Ibid., 30.
32 And we know that we have done this and interpreted life correctly when we can have an intelligent, meaningful conversation with people of a particular culture.
B. Symbol, meaning and their interaction
To understand Geertz's definition of culture we must understand what he means by symbols and symbolic forms, and how he sees them in relation to life-meaning as embodied in people's ethos and worldview.63 He acknowledges that the word 'symbol', like 'culture', has been used to refer to a great variety of things and often to a number of them at the same time. Hence it is important to understand what he means by a symbol, which he defines as "any object, act, quality, or relation which serves as a vehicle for a conception - the conception is the symbol's meaning".64 And these objects, acts, et cetera are symbols "because they are tangible formulations of notions, abstractions from experience fixed in perceptible forms, concrete embodiments of ideas, attitudes, judgements, longings, or beliefs".65
Hence meaning is embodied in symbols, because symbols synthesise a people's ethos with their worldview in such a manner that the two confirm and confront each other. In this way the tone, character and quality of life of a people, with its moral style, knowledge of good and bad, its aesthetic mood (i.e. its ethos) and its concept of nature, self and society (i.e. its worldview) are harmonised and interlinked.66 In other words, between ethos and worldview, between the approved style of life and the assumed structure of reality, there is a simple and fundamental congruence, so that they complete one another and lend one another meaning. According to Geertz the locus of this symbolic fusion of ethos and worldview is ritual.
It is not individual symbols but rather clusters of symbols, symbol systems and symbolic forms that interact and give meaning and direction to people's lives. People need direction in their lives, and this is not given at birth. Their genetic endowment offers them a diffused light in their efforts to get their bearings in the world. Thus without an organised
Cf. ibid , 141. The concepts used here, ethos and worldview, are vague and imprecise, they are a kind of proto- theory, forerunners, it is to be hoped, of a more adequate analytical framework Geertz in his own work does not pay much attention to worldview. See Daniel L. Pals, Seven theones of religion, Oxford' Oxford University Press, 1996, 261-262. 64 Ibid , 91. Mary L Foster says that without symbolism there could be no culture. She maintains that every symbol participates in a web of significance that we call culture Every symbol resonates with meaning The meaning of a symbol is not a 'thing' and it can only be grasped inductively by observing many instances of the social uses of that symbol or similar symbols. Culture itself is not composed of symbols but of the meaning that underlies and unites symbols This meaning only exists in the minds of participants in the culture, but it is acted out through manipulation of symbols, which objectify meaning Cf Mary L. Foster, "Symbolism: the foundation of culture", Companion encyclopaedia of anthropology, 366. Geertz, Interpretations of cultures, 91. 66 Cf. ibid., 89-90.
33 system of significant symbols their behaviour in the world would be virtually beyond their control, nor would communication with others be possible.67 In this sense the system of symbols serves as an "extrinsic source of information" to help pattern people's lives socially, religiously, morally, and psychologically, because culture is not a frame of mind but a 'taught' or 'formed' code of conduct. Symbol systems or cultural patterns are not just ornaments of human existence; they are essential conditions for becoming more and more human.
"To become more and more human is to become more and more individual, and we become individual under the guidance of cultural patterns, historically created systems of meaning in terms of which we give form, order, point and direction to our lives."68
Hence, people need significant symbols to find their place in the world, to pattern their behaviour for a meaningful existence, both individually and collectively.
Significant symbol systems are thus extrinsic sources of information to pattern people's behaviour for a meaningful existence. On the other hand, meaning is not intrinsic to the symbols themselves. It is people in a particular cultural milieu who impose meaning on symbols. They do so by using, grasping and interpreting any object, act or relationship that constitutes their symbol system.69 As a result we can speak of culture only in relation to people, people living in society: "Without men [sic] no culture, certainly; but equally, and more significantly, without culture no men [sic]."70
C. Moods and motivations
What happens when symbol systems interact with people or are acted on by them? Attitudes and dispositions (i.e. tendencies, capacities, propensities, skills, habits, liabilities, proneness) are created and establish powerful, pervasive, long-lasting moods, from which motivations emerge.71 These direct people's everyday lives, moving or even driving them to act. These moods and motivations are so powerful that they are pervasive and long-lasting in
Cf. ibid., 45-46; also Foster, "Symbolism: foundation of culture", 366-367. Geertz, Interpretations of cultures, 52. 69 Cf. ibid., 405. 70 Ibid., 49. What we understand by motivation is a persistent tendency to achieve a goal, perform certain sorts of acts and experience certain sorts of feelings in certain sorts of situations. Motivations can be good or bad. They are neither acts nor feelings, but tendencies or propensities to perform partcular types of acts or have particular types of feelings. When we dedare that a man or a woman is evil, it is partly because we know that he or she is motivated by evil tendencies.Mood s are feelings of happiness, joy or sadness. They spring from certain circumstances, but they are not linked to any substantial outcome (Like perfume, they diffuse and evaporate.) Motivations can be interrelated; for example, a person can have a tendency to vanity and a desire for power at the same time; but moods cannot interrelate at the same time Cf ibid., 97.
34 human life. What is long-lasting is real to most people. In this sense people's moral behaviour and religious perspective, and cultural change itself, depend to a great extent on the power of their inner moods and motivations.
These moods and motivations are pervasive and long-lasting because they formulate the general order of existence; they somehow give shape to this order and impart a deeper sense of importance and reality. Moods and motivations are realistic in the way they help people perceive the order of existence and reality (worldview); they become 'really real' to people because they explain what life is about. In other words, culture creates and develops a whole pattern of inherited conceptions. It does so through symbolic forms. Those inherited conceptions enable people to communicate, to perpetuate and to develop their knowledge of and their attitudes towards life. That brings us to the notion of harmony.
D. Goodness as harmony
People will be contented as long as they understand themselves and the world they live in; they cannot tolerate any threat to their sense of meaning or understanding and would be really helpless if their ability to create, grasp and use symbols failed them. In that situation the extreme generality, diffuseness and variability of the human person's innate response capacities would leave him functionally incomplete. The question remains: what happens when symbols do not evoke dispositions, moods and motivations because of a change in one's worldview or contact with other worldviews? Then people are puzzled, baffled, because they are unable to adapt to things that their imagination cannot cope with. A human person cannot cope with the chaos, the disorder and meaninglessness around her, because her characteristic function and greatest asset is her ability to conceptualise and her greatest fear is to meet what she cannot construe. The person always strives for coherence, congruence and harmony.
For human beings, therefore, unfathomable events lack interpretabihty. When events lack mterpretability, they give no direction or orientation to life and thus threaten to overwhelm the person "at the limits of his analytic capabilities, at the limits of his power of endurance and at the limits of his moral insights".72 Thus a turmoil of disconnected events brings chaos and bafflement, because it threatens the person's most general ability to understand the world. She is forced to raise the uncomfortable questions of whether her beliefs about nature are tenable and her standard of truth valid. Such doubts aeate great anxiety and cause suffering. People always link suffering with evil. Thus evil is that which is
72 Ibid., 100.
35 'meaningless'. Goodness is seen as harmony between life as perceived and life as experienced.
Finally, what Geertz presents here is in fact his definition of religion; only later did he accept it as the definition of culture as well.73 He defines religion as follows:
"(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long- lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence, and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic."7''
This definition shows that culture and religion are closely linked, at times almost indistinguishable.75 They have, of course, different nuances. Cultures usually create strong motivations, although not all of these are religious; in other words, not all cultural performances are religious performances. In short, we could consider culture and religion to be meanings contained in, embodied in, expressed by and developed through symbolic forms.
III. REUGION AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM
Anthropologists study religion only in relation to culture, because according to them religions with their rites and rituals, myths and magic are visible expressions of a culture. This was Geertz's experience too, which makes it difficult to distinguish or separate cultural elements from religious elements. This is especially true of Asian religions, as we find in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Asian religions and their host cultures have the same historical roots and are intertwined.76
Geertz did his fieklwork in Indonesia. First he studied and analysed the religions of Java, and his first book - 7776 re/igion of Java (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960) - resulted from this. Through studying Javanese religions he discovered his theory of culture. With regard to religion as a cultural system, I recommend that the reader examine a parallel exposition of the arguments in a discussion, Islam observed (1968, especially chapter 4). In the Interpretation of cultures (1973) the first three essays provide the theorebcal underpinnings, while "Pereon, hme, and conduct in Bah" (originally 1966) is a superb example of his approach to culture, and the concluding essay on the Balinese cockfight is where he most famously and explicitly compares cultural analysis with textual interpretation. Other essays relevant to religion include Negara (1980), on the pre-colomal Balinese theatre state', Local knowledge (1983) where he describes a new interdisciplinary configurabon, in which he links an mterprebve, symbolic anthropology with philosophy and literary theory, and Available light (2000). 74 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 90. 75 "No culture has appeared of developed except together with religion." Eliot goes on to say that the relation between the two is "so difficult that I am not sure I grasp it myself except in flashes, or that I comprehend its implicabons". T. S. Eliot, Atotes towards the definition of culture, London: Faber Ik Faber, 1948, 30. This may not apply to Chnsbanity, since the religion that was bom m Palestine in a particular culture was transplanted to the West, where it transformed itself by adapting to Greco-Roman culture and its philosophy; see Enrique Dussel, History and the theology of liberation: a Labn American perspective, Oxford: Orbis, 1976, 21-24. After this initial transformabon Chnsbanity became the religion of the West and Greco-Roman, that is Chnstian cultures. Cf. Felix Wilfred, "Sunset in the East' The Asian realibes challenging the church and its laity today", FABC, no. 45, 1986, 25-26; also see Felix Wilfred, Sunset in the East: Asian challenges and Chnsban involvement, Madras: University of Madras, 1991, 141-148
36 Thus in an Asian context religion is seen and accepted as a cultural system. "Every Asian culture has grown around a soteriological nucleus."77 That religion is synonymous with a people's way of life is a fact not only in Asian but also in African, Native American and many other cultures. In theory, according to the theologian Amalorpavadass, culture and religion "are two distinct entities with a personality, identity and autonomy of their own", but in reality "they are interdependent, need mutual sharing in openness and depth and undergo dynamic interaction and reciprocal influence".76 In the same vein Pieris maintains that "religion and culture coincide fully in tribal societies in practically all developing countries. Culture is the variegated expression of religion."79 Yet whenever a meta-cosmic religion merged with a cosmic religion80 it always incorporated the cultural elements of the existing religion. Thus one can discern several cultures in one religion and several religions in one culture.81
For most religious people their religion gives life a feeling of integration and tightness' because one lives as 'God' intends. One lives not in a man-made but in a God- made world. That makes even language a religious act and there is a proper way to use it. Thus for people whose lives are guided by some sense of the transcendent it is difficult to distinguish between religion and culture.82
For an approach to religion as a cultural system we have already noted Geertz's useful definition, which encompasses the dimension of a symbol system, thus making it a religious symbol system as well. Religion is a cluster of sacred symbols woven into some sort
A Piens, "Towards an Asian theology of liberation: some religious-cultural guidelines", Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 63, 1979, 163. On the "supernatural" see also the special issue "Perspectives on the category of the 'supernatural'" (edited by Roger I. Lohmann) of the journal Anthroplogical Foram 13, 2003, 2. D. S. Amalorpavadass, "Gospel and culture: evangelizabon and mculturation", in: Mission theology for our times. Series 3, Bangalore: National Biblical and Liturgical Centre, 1978, 9. 79 Cf A. Piens, An Asian theology of liberation. Faith meets Faith Senes, New York: Orbis, 1988, 97. The word 'cosmic' (from Greek kosmoéj means 'pertaining to this world system'. Piens chose this term in preference to the more widely used 'secular7 (from Latin saeculum, also meaning 'the world"), because in Western literature the latter often connotes what is non-sacred or non-religious But the word lokiya or laukika in Indie literature does not have the same connotation of de-saaalisation as the word 'secular" in current Western usage It indicates a sacred this-worldlmess, which accounts for the eco-spintuality of most Asian religions. This is what the word 'cosmic' conveys here. 'Meta-cosmic', on the other hand, means 'lokottarä or 'beyond {meta-) the world'. It should not be confused with a-cosmic (non-worldly or other-worldly). It is the world carried to its destiny beyond itself, a 'beyond' that is already within it, since transcendence ("the bef/onü1) and immanence f the within") imply each other as coincident correlatives. He further says that "all major religions have posited a meta-cosmic horizon as the ultimate Goal that guarantees and/or constitutes integral hberabon of the human person (and the cosmos)" Aloysius Piens, Prophete humour in Buddhism and Christianity: doing inter-religious studies in the reverential mode, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue, 2005, 128 See also Aloysius Piens, Love meets wisdom: a Chnstian experience of Buddhism, New York: Orbis, 1988, especially chapter 2: "East in the West: resolving a spiritual crisis" 81 Cf. ibid., 97-98 Good anthropology understands that religious worlds are real, vivid and significant to those who construct and inhabit them and it tries as artfully as it can to render those realities for others in their sensory richness, philosophical depths, emobonal range and moral complexity. Cf Lambek, A reader in anthropology, 4
37 of ordered whole, making up a religious system. "For those who are committed to it, such a religious system seems to mediate genuine knowledge, knowledge of the essential conditions in terms of which life must, of necessity, be lived."83
A. Sacred symbols: ethos and worldview
Religious or sacred symbols manifest a synthesis of moral behaviour - the evaluative elements of a given culture, commonly encapsulated in the word 'ethos' - and the cognitive, existential aspect, designated by the term 'worldview'.84 Ethos is made meaningful or intellectually reasonable insofar as it represents the actual state of affairs which the worldview describes. Worldview is made intellectually and emotionally acceptable by presenting it as an image of an actual state of affairs. This makes the way of life an authentic expression of both ethos and worldview. Assurance of a meaningful relationship between the values a people holds and the order of existence in which it finds itself is an essential element of all religions. Against this background each individual interprets her experience or organises her conduct.85
Sacred symbols86 can be such things as a cross, a aescent, a rock, a feathered serpent or a ritual. These religious symbols, dramatised in ritual or recounted in myths, are felt somehow to sum up what is known about the way the world is. They also support the quality of emotional life and the way one ought to behave during the ritual or while reciting the myth. This shows that sacred symbols relate to ontology and a cosmology, to aesthetics and a morality. As Geertz puts it:
" ..for all peoples, the forms, vehicles, and objects of worship are suffused with an aura of deep moral seriousness. The holy bears within it everywhere a sense of intrinsic obligation. It not only encourages devotion, it demands it. It not only evokes intellectual assent, it enforces emotional commitment. The source of its moral vitality is conceived to lie in the fidelity with which it expresses the fundamental nature of reality. The powerful coercive 'ought' is felt to grow out of a comprehensive factual 'is' and in such a way religion grounds the most specific requirements of human action in the most general contexts of human existence."87
Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 129. M For further reflections on the anthropological concepbon of worldview, conditions shaping worldview and contemporary issues in worldview, see M. Kearney, "Worldview", Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, 1380-1383. 85 Cf. Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 126-27: also see A. Kuper, Culture, 100-103. 86 See J. W. Heisig, "Symbolism", Encyclopedia of religion, 198-208, esp., 206. 7 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 126.
38 In this sense religion knits worshipper and object of worship together for good. In giving an account of the way the world is, it is conducive to conduct which fits that way and at the same time confirms world and being-in-the world for what they are.8'
By way of further clarification, here is an example of the fusion of the existential and the normative in a passage from Paul Radm's Primitive man as a philosopher^
"The Oglala believe the circle to be sacred because the great spirit caused everything in nature to be round except stone. Stone is the implement of destruction. The sun and the sky, the earth and the moon are round like a shield, though the sky is deep like a bowl. Everything that breathes is round like a stem of a plant. Since the great spirit has caused everything to be round mankind should look upon the circle as sacred, for it is the symbol of all things in nature except stone. It is also the symbol of the circle that makes the edge of the world and therefore of the four winds that travel there. Consequently it is also the symbol of the year. The day, the night, and the moon go in a circle above the sky. Therefore the circle is a symbol of these divisions of time and hence the symbol of all time.
For these reasons the Oglala make their 'tipis' circular, their camp-circle circular, and sit in a circle at all ceremonies. The circle is also the symbol of the 'tipi' and of shelter. If one makes a circle for an ornament and it is not divided in any way, it should be understood as the symbol of the world and of time."90
In this quotation we have a subtle formulation of the relationship between good and evil and of their grounding in the very nature of reality. For most Oglala the circle, whether found in nature, painted on buffalo skin or enacted in a sun dance, is but an unexamined, luminous symbol whose meaning is intuitively sensed and not consciously interpreted. The idea of the sacred circle, its natural form and its moral import, gives new meaning when applied to the world in which the Oglala live. For the Oglala a circle is an inclusive whole in the sense that everything involved in a circle carries meaning and, therefore, brings understanding. A thing that does not resemble a circle would represent chaos, because it is
In Geertz's view a living religion is constructive of the social world, not just a reflection of it. It shapes people's ideas of the world and, in so doing, their dispositions in it and feeling towards it, effecting all this variously according to time and place, now pervasively, now intermittently It is a system of meanings, and as such informs both symbols and conduct. Such a system changes over bme. Human beings move more or less easily, and very frequently, between radically contrasting ways of looking at the world. What Geertz calls, fairly enough, the scientific perspecbve has deeply penetrated and shaken the religious everywhere (as Geertz remarks in Islam observée/) in such a way that people cannot simply look from a religious perspective without some awareness of the presence of science's deliberate doubt and its principle of detached observation. Cf F. Inglis, Clifford Geertz: culture, customs and ethics, Cambridge: Polity, 2000, 120 9 P. Radm, Primitive man as a philosopher. New York: Appleton, 1927; reprint. New York: Dover, 1973, 277. 90 Ibid., 277.
39 not interprétable. It seems to be part of Oglala understanding that culture and religion are closely intertwined
In this whole process one should not forget that the sort of harmony between the lifestyle and the fundamental reality which the sacred symbols express or reflect vanes from culture to culture. For example, to Hindus transcendental moral determinism in one's social and spiritual life is based on the belief in reincarnation One's position in the next life is the result of one's behaviour in this one.
By the same token the sort of symbols regarded by a people as sacred can vary widely. For example, elaborate initiation rites among some Africans, cruel human sacrificial rites among the Aztecs and obsessive healing ceremonies among some Asians are patterns which seem to the people in question to sum up most powerfully what it knows about living.
B. Sacred symbols convey positive and negative values
Sacred symbols do not dramatise positive values only: they can also convey negative ones All people agree that it is good to live realistically, that the reality they live or experience should be congruent. Where they differ is in the vision of reality that they construe. Thus sacred symbols point to the existence of good and evil and also the conflict between them, 'good' being defined as constructive harmony and 'evil' as destructive disharmony. The problem of evil, then, is a matter of destructive forces which exist within the self and between self and environment. To quote Geertz' example, "among the Melanesian Manus, the conception that illness, death, or financial failure are the result of a secret sin (adultery, stealing, lying) which has offended the moral sensibility of the household spirit, is coupled with an emphasis on public confession and repentance as the rational way to cope with evil".91
C. Sacred symbols evoke dispositions
When people come into contact with saaed symbols or enact religious rituals, these establish in the worshipper a distinct experience - a disposition - which conveys a sense of revelation and a sense of direction. The aforementioned moods and motivations influence and colour dispositions and religious activities as well. A particular mood or attitude of reverence is religious and not secular because it springs from the notion of an all-pervasive vitality like Mana, and not from a visit to Clifton Play Land in Karachi. When we say that a particular ascetic act has a religious motivation we mean that it is directed towards a
Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 130
40 transcendental experience of nirvana and not an experience like weight reduction. If sacred symbols did not at one and the same time induce dispositions in human beings and formulate - however obliquely, inarticulately or unsystematically - general ideas of order, then the variations in religious activities and religious experience would not exist. What any particular religion affirms about the fundamental nature of reality may be obscure, shallow or even perverse. It must not, however, consist of a mere collection of received practices and conventional sentiments that are usually referred to as moralism, and so affirm nothing. Religion, therefore, is not "belief in spiritual beings", as in Tylor's famous definition.92 Religion affirms more than this. It gives people meaning, motivation, direction and purpose.93 That is why people cannot tolerate threats to the meaningfulness of their religious beliefs. If events and rituals cannot be interpreted, performing those rituals or facing those events has no meaning. They would be just empty practices, which we could call ritualism or moralism. When perceived objects, performed acts and processes convey no meaning, people feel uneasy and bewildered, because these things do not fall into their general order of understood experience. In such a situation they cause anxiety, thus leading to sorrow, and they end up being perceived as evil.
D. Belief as acceptance of prior authority
In the context of the problem of evil, how does the religious person move from a troubled experience of disorder and meaninglessness to a more or less stable conviction of fundamental order? Just what does belief mean in a religious context? According to Geertz any understanding of religious belief requires a sincere recognition that religious belief is not inferred from everyday life experience. If this were so, we could all be agnostics. He adds that it is the prior acceptance of authority which transforms the experience of disorder. This prior authority can be God, an honoured person, an ancestor, a respected peer or a principle. Geertz maintains that it is the problem of meaning - bafflement, pain, sorrow, moral paradox - which drives people to believe in God, spirits, devils, et cetera. These, he thinks, are products of human beings' inability to endure meaninglessness. However, this is not the basis
Tylor, Primitive culture, I, 483. Tylor's definition was criticised on the grounds that it was too intellectual and did not refer to the specific religious emotions of awe and reverence which are associated with such beliefs. His definition seemed to imply that objects of the religious attitude were always personal beings, whereas accumulated anthropological evidence suggests that the spiritual is often conceived of as an impersonal power. Cf B. R. Scharf, The sociological study of religions, London: Hutchinson, 1970, 31 Among the several conclusions that anthropological studies of religion have reached since their Victorian beginnings is that certain religious ideas are universal and seem to be as old as human society; and that things religious pervade other cultural systems and cannot be adequately studied in isolation in those contexts Religion is an extremely powerful motivator of behaviour. Religious structures and especially sentiments reflect social ones, hence religion forms a strong basis for social and cultural identity and is a common yardstick when people compare themselves with others Cf P. Stevens, "Religion", Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, 1088
41 on which religious beliefs rest: they derive from a deeper need - the acceptance of prior authority.94
"We justify a religious belief as a whole by referring to authority. We accept authority because we discover it at some point in the world at which we worship, at which we accept the lordship of something not ourselves. We do not worship the authority, but we accept authority as defining the worshipful."95
This, he claims, is basic to all religions or what we would call the religious perspective. It would be essentially the same everywhere, namely 'he who would know must first believe': belief aeates knowledge and understanding; loving creates love.
E. The religious perspective
To clarify the religious perspective it is better to view it among other perspectives such as commonsense, scientific and aesthetic perspectives.96 The religious perspective is considered to have a different origin from other perspectives. For example, the commonsense perspective as a mode of 'seeing' is a simple comprehension of the world, the objective being to bend the world to one's practical purposes, master it and, if this proves impossible, adjust it; its ultimate aim is to achieve personal harmony. A scientific perspective entails an attempt to grasp the world scientifically. The aesthetic perspective ignores the details of everyday experience, transcending them, and sees a deeper level of their reality and meamngfulness, absorbing them as they are. Thus this perspective transcends the details of everyday life only to view them again at a deeper level and thus become more immanent in them
The religious perspective differs from the commonsense perspective, because it moves beyond the realities of everyday life to wider ones that correct and complete the former; its concern is not to act on those wider realities but to accept and have faith in them. It differs from the scientific perspective, because it encounters rather than analyses the world Lastly, it differs from the aesthetic perspective because instead of disengaging from the whole question of factual reality, it deepens the concern with fact and seeks to create its own aura of utter actuality. It is in this sense of the 'really real' that the religious perspective is rooted. Thus the symbolic activities of religion as a cultural system are devoted to producing, intensifying and, insofar as this is possible, assigning meaning to the discordant
Cf Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 109 95 Ibid, 109-110 A perspective is a mode of seeing in the extended sense of 'see', which means 'discern', 'apprehend', 'understand' or 'grasp' It is a particular way of looking at life, of construing the world Cf ibid , 110
42 revelations of secular experience. The essence of religious action, Geertz asserts, is to imbue a specific complex of symbols with pervasive authority.97
IV. CULTURAL CHANGE
A. Challenges to culture
Culture and/or religious symbol systems do not remain unchanged. Cultural change takes place when people come into contact with other worldviews - both within their own culture and outside it. Change happens in response to challenges presented by the changing world. In today's world the process of knowledge acquisition is undeniably accelerated as a result of intensive work in various fields. From the standpoint of cultural anthropology, Azevedo identifies three main challenges which influence change. They are the evolving technological dimension, biotechnologies and secularisation.98 There are other challenges, too, such as ideological changes in the new states of Asia and Africa (the strong nationalist consciousness among the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka, the religious identity of Nizam-i-Islam in Pakistan, the demands of Sikhs in India for cultural and religious independence, etc.)99 and the rise of Pentecostalism (e.g. in Korea and elsewhere). In addition there are challenges caused by communication technologies, globalisation, economic politics and the problems of migration, both local and international.100 As a result time is manipulated to accord with the interests of global capital, and space is torn asunder as traditional social bonds are compromised by ownership based on profit rather than township. This creates some sort of insecurity.101
Lately other battlegrounds of conflicting symbols have emerged. The collapse of the Berlin Wall was the event that best symbolised the end of a cultural epoch and the fall of the twin towers on 11 September 2001 symbolised the inauguration of another.102 Gallagher asks:
97 Cf. ibid , 112 See M. de Carvalho Azevedo, Inculturation and the challenges of modernity, Rome: Gregorian University Press, 1982, 30-38, 45-48. Also D. Harvey, The condition of postmodemity· an inquiry into ongms of cultural change, Oxford: Blackwell, 1995. Cf. A. D. Smith, "The polîtes of culture: ethnicity and nationalism", Companion Encyclopedia, 706-733 See C. J. Hamelmk, New information and communication technologies, social development and cultural change, Geneva: UNRISA, 1997; F. Jameson & M Miyoshi (eds), 77;e cultures of globalisation, London: Duke University Press, 1998 For interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives of gender studies, racial and ethnic and post-colonial studies, see Τ Miller (ed.), A companion to cultural studies. Maiden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2001 1 ' Cf D Heldetal, Global transformation- politics, economics and culture, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999, 504. For a well documented book on jihad, what happened on September 11 unbl today, see David Cook, Understanding jihad, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
43 " .. who can see its long term impact on our sense of ourselves? Will it deepen our distrust and widen the gap between cultural blocks in our world? Or could it paradoxically lead to new and urgent understanding across our cultural diversity? One thing is clear: what is called 'culture' has moved to centre stage in our worries and hopes."103
In his Method in theology Lonergan sees the transition from one dominant cultural perspective to another as constituting a major crisis in meaning. The old understanding of culture was 'classicist'104 and presumed a stable, unchanging world order. Its place has been taken by an 'empirical' view of culture, influenced by a whole series of developments in recent centuries: new scientific methods (empiricism), the recognition of different worldviews (pluralism), the rise of the human sciences (especially anthropology and sociology), and the realisation that history and cultures are human products, always ambiguous and relative.105
These changes challenge people's outlook on their customs, behaviour, religious consciousness and value systems. Their picture of the world - self, nature, society - is constantly in question. New symbol systems are continually interacting with deeply rooted old ones. As a result cultural, religious and moral symbol systems are fundamental destabilised. It is a question of pouring new wine into old bottles. However, instability caused in a symbol system is not a property of the system as such.106
Mary Douglas approaches cultural change from a very different perspective. In Natural symbols: explorations in cosmology she argues that differences between cultures are rooted in how people learn to perceive their social relationships. In this regard four factors are mutually reinforcing: acquired ways of perceiving one's place in society, the social context and its dominant patterns of interaction, individual behavioural choices, and the forms of religious vision typical of different cultures. How the individual experiences these interactions involves an implicit choice concerning what Douglas calls a cosmology.107
Gallagher, Clashing of symbols, 1-2. By a 'dassicisf notion of culture Lonergan means that culture was regarded as normative rather than empirical: at least de jure there was but one culture that was both universal and permanent. Classical education focuses on an ideal character, models to be imitated and emulated. See Bernard Lonergan, Method m theology, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1972, χι, 301 105 Ibid, 301. Geertz seems to claim that some systems break up under the pressure. The fads no longer match the conception - this happened to Marxism over the past 20 years. Some (e.g. Marxist) uses of the system fiddle the facts to keep the system going. Some abstract their concepbons of general order so that they can fit any facts in any form (e.g. Freudiamsm). Religious systems emphasise the force of authority, ideological ones innovations of the human will; œmmonsense ones the power of matter-of-factness, and artstic ones borrow shamelessly from traditions of authonty, expression of will power and the self-evidence of the senses in order to link together new signs and old sentiments at one moment, old symbols and new passions the next. Cf. F. Inghs, Oiffbrd Geertz, 119-120. Also see A. Kuper, Culture, 83-93. Mary Douglas, Natural symbols- explorations in cosmology, London: Crescent, 1970, χ
44 She claims that all societies can be compared in terms of their two cultural dimensions: 'group' and 'grid'. Group is the degree of division between insiders and outsiders of a society. Grid refers to rules that relate individuals to one another For example, in a society with strong grid and strong group individuals are regulated for the sake of the group. Within the group clearly defined social sectors, such as classes, castes and age groups, play specialised roles that are beneficial to the whole society. This type of society tends to be larger and last longer due to low internal conflict. In a society with low grid and low group, on the other hand, people are viewed more as individuals than as a part of a group. Because of the lack of a group mentality all social classifications are negotiable and people can freely transact and transfer from one social position to another. However, this type of society has political laws to regulate individuals. This is a flexible, simple way to explain how people live with different built-in interpretive schemes of how to act in relation to others. It provides a method of categorising cultural differences and cultural change and helps to show that social relationships are always influenced by social situations.108
B. Cultural change, cultural integration, cultural conflict
When we speak about cultural change Geertz points out that we cannot look for an intrinsic 'logic' whereby one system replaces another immediately and simphstically.109 Nor does cultural change proceed without any direction or order. We have already mentioned that the cultural instability of symbol systems is not a property of the systems themselves. The reason is that culture is made up of a whole set of 'meaning forms', a cluster of significant symbols involving various things, such as objects, acts and processes. All these have no meaning in themselves but are made to have meaning. It is the people in a particular cultural milieu who constantly give meaning to objects, acts and processes. If we want to discern the meaning of these elements, we do not look at them in themselves, but rather at the experience of the people using those objects, acting in this or that way, and getting involved in this or that process. So people synchronise experience and attribution of meaning, as when ethos and worldview reinforce each other.
What we want to study is people living in a cultural context and constantly having new experiences because life is dynamic, not static. Even within the same culture people have new experiences and there are other cultures which influence it from outside Thus we can say that cultural instability, which brings cultural change, is not an intrinsic property of the symbol system or 'meaning form'. What happens is that the meaning of symbols alters because of the instability of people's experience.
108 Mary Douglas, In the wilderness, Sheffield Academic Press, 1993, 47 Also see Mary Douglas, Cultural bias, RAI Occasional Paper no 35, London Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1978 109 Cf Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 404
45 When we speak of cultural integrity we mean a harmony of meanings, experienced by people of the same culture by virtue of coexisting meaning forms. Thus disharmony, instability or incongruity are not properties of symbol systems which have a logical affinity with one another. On the contrary, they are imposed on the meaning form by people-m- society because of new experience. This being the case, we now need to look into people's interaction with (i.e. their 'thinking' about) the symbols.
C. Human thought is consummately social
As John Donne reminds us, "No man is an island." Human beings never think in isolation; they think in their social milieu, where they do everything else. Culture is public because meaning is public.110
"Human thought is consummately social; social in its origins, social in its functions, social in its form, social in its application. At the base, thinking is a public activity - its natural habitat is the house yard, the market place and the town square."111
So the nature of cultural integrity, cultural change and cultural conflict is to be found there, in the experience of individuals and groups influenced by symbols perceived, felt, reasoned about, judged and acted upon. What gives symbols life is their use. Cultural change comes when symbols are grasped, interpreted and used in a new way; cultural change results from new human experience.
We say this because human experience, which is actual 'living through' events, is not just sense experience but significant sense experience. For human beings all experience is construed and the symbolic forms in terms of which it is construed determine its intrinsic construction. What I sense I understand, what I grasp I interpret, and awareness follows (For example, when I hear a horn I usually do not say that I hear a horn but that I hear a car.) Thus, if we speak of logic in a cultural organisation, we are not referring to a sequence within a culture, nor to a sequence of cultures; we are referring to how a culture gives life and meaning to a people.
Cf F Inglis, Clifford Geertz, 113 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 360
46 D. Culture is not linear
Culture is not a simple linear or closed circular movement, because human experience is neither. If all human thinking were positive, then life would move in a one-direction, linear or closed circle way. Forward-oriented positive thinking exists side by side with potential negative motivations, which have cultural expressions of their own. They coexist with positive ones and are liable to counteract them; yet the dominant motivations reinforce one another and persist. Cultural integration, therefore, it is neither permanent, positive nor perfect. All culture is a dynamic interaction of many influences. If this were not so, no cultural change would ever take place.112
Hence, cultural integrity is not something insulated from people's ordinary life in a logical world of its own. Nor is it an all-embracing, all-pervasive and unbounded reality. The cultural patterns that counteract the primary ones exist as sub-dominant but nonetheless important themes. Some external or internal new experience or event - for example, a charismatic leader - may cause the sub-dominant element to surface and create a cultural revolution. "The elements of a culture's negation are, with greater or lesser force, included within it.""3
E. Cultural analysis must recognise interconnectedness and independence
Apart from this natural counterpoint there is also cultural discontinuity and social disorganisation. "Not everything is connected to everything else with equal directness: not everything plays immediately into or against everything else."114 Thus culture is neither a seamless garment nor a conglomerate of shreds and patches. A system need not be perfectly interconnected to be a system. It may be deeply interconnected with other systems. This interconnection has to be discovered empirically in each case. It is impossible to find a system that is both fully complex and totally integrated. The problem with culture is to determine independence and interconnection, gulfs and bridges. Hence we should think of cultural organisation "neither as a spider nor as a pile of sand".115 The image is rather that of an octopus, whose tentacles seem to be independently and separately integrated; neurally
Turner sees soaal action as constantly emergent. For him, a focus on a community or culture as static and unchanging leads to a distorted view of the importance of flux and change He writes: "The social world is a world in becoming, not a world in being and for this reason studies of social structure as such are irrelevant. They are erroneous in basic premise because there is no such thing as 'static acton'. That is why I am a little wary of terms like 'community' or 'society', though I do use them, for they are often thought of as static concepts Such a view violates the actual flux and changefulness of the human social scene" Victor Turner, "Social dramas and ritual metaphors", in: Richard Schechner & Mady Schuman (eds), Ritual, play, and performance; readings in the social sciences/theatre, New York: Seabury, 1976, 127. What he says is that societies are continually 'flowing', in other words, we have to view the community's performance as always in flux 113 Ibid., 406 "''ibid, 407 115 C Geertz, Person, time, and conduct in Bali, New Haven: Yale University, South-East Asian Studies Cultural Report, no. 4, 1966, 66.
47 these tentacles are quite poorly connected with one another; even so, the octopus manages both to get around and to preserve itself as a functioning if somewhat ungainly animal.116
In this sense culture is not holistic or Titling'; nor is it an orderly pattern. A workable theory of culture needs to be built up out of directly observable modes of thought. This is to discover related groups and move towards a variable, less coherent, but nonetheless ordered 'octopoid' system. Confluences, integrations, partial incongruities and partial independences will become apparent.
Culture is not only made like an octopus. It also moves rather like an octopus: it does not move all at once in a smooth, coordinated system like a machine; its movements are disjointed, yet somehow culminate in directional change. For this reason cultural direction is unpredictable. It is largely - if not wholly - unpredictable how and to what degree any first impulses to progression will spread through the system. If a cultural system is closely interconnected and has social consequences, there is a high possibility that those first impulses will influence the whole. Ideologies and/or strong personalities which challenge or attack any part of a culture can eventually transform the greater part of a culture. Any internal or external development that 'attacks' a significant symbol or cluster of symbols would be most likely to effect a major transformation.117
Since culture, behaviour, norms and religion are closely connected, it is important to consider this connection in more detail. This is where the relation between culture and morality becomes evident.
V. MORALITY AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM
A. People's search for meaning
Normal human beings do not live or act purely by instinct and impulse. They are 'spiritual' beings, endowed with an intellect to think and a will to choose. This introduces the
The octopus conception of culture retains the idea that culture constitutes the social world fully and systematically; an octopus is an organism that is integral and integrated. But it allows some aspects, or parts, of the cultural system to be poorly attached, maximally autonomous, even anbthetical to each other; the tentacles of the octopus operate somewhat independently, they lack an effiaent direction Geertz's conception, therefore, permits diversity within a culture and allows for cultural change, as some of the peripherally integrated tentacles of culture transform. Cf. R. G. Fox, Lions of Punjab, culture in the making, New Delhi: Archives, 1987, 192-193. 17 Louis Dumont, who explains Hindu India as a soaal order constituted by a set of cultural meanings based on ntual purity and pollution. Short of total destruction, this Hindu cultural system can remain intact even though its expression may be quite different under specific material conditions. Even when Dumont does find India to have changed as a result of Western contact, it happens with the consent of the indigenous cultural system. Western influence on India has prevailed, he says, in domains that were relatively neutral with respect to indigenous cultural values and in ones where these indigenous values prefigured Western ideas. See Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: the caste system and its implications, trans. Mark Samsbury, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970, 218-219, 237.
48 reality of values and meanings, because the human person has a consistent urge to transcend instinctual life. As FrankI discovered in Auschwitz and worked out in his theory of logotherapy,"8 "people need to understand, grasp, interpret, touch the truth of self, nature, society and the transcendent".119 They need to plan and choose for the future they try to foresee. They seek to adapt to situations and events. Hence they are always searching for some kind of understanding between their integrated experience, the world in which they live and the people with whom they interact. They search for their origins and the destiny towards which they are moving. These are questions people ask, because they face a world of mysteries: origin, life, death and destiny. Thus they are open to the wide-ranging and difficult experience of being 'spiritual' in the universe, and try to increase their understanding of it and their relationship to it. In other words, people search for meaning, harmony and fullness of life.
B. Symbol systems pattern people's behaviour
The human person's needs, aspirations and hopes are so vast, so complex and so mysterious that the only way she can speak about them adequately at all is through symbolic forms. She expresses all basic aspects of her life through a system of symbols. A human person is born into a culture and in addition needs culture to express himself. And what is central in a culture is meaning as expressed in symbolic forms. Accordingly Geertz maintains that culture is not just an accessory to the human person, but is the cardinal ingredient of human nature. As a result, when a person thinks, acts or decides his whole behavioural pattern is at least partially a cultural product. We could thus say that our ideas, our values, our acts, even our emotions are, like our nervous system itself, cultural products - products manufactured out of tendencies, capacities and dispositions with which we are bom, but manufactured nonetheless.120
Thus it is significant symbols which give people's lives meaning and direction by harmonising, synthesising and uniting the different aspects of their life, ethos and worldview. Symbols will harmonise my present experience, my attitudes, my guiding beliefs, my values - all that I have inherited as part of my ethos - with my ideas about the world in which I live. When there is harmony human life is full of meaning.
Cf. Victor FrankI, Man's search for meaning, an introduction to logotherapy. New York: Washington Square Press, 1969. 1,9 Ibid, 151. 1 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 50
49 To have such harmony and totality people must pattern their lives, assess and reassess, direct and redirect their behaviour in their experienced time and space. This means that life is not static but dynamic. Even for one and the same person life cannot be the same at all times and in all places. Life constantly changes as a result of many external and internal influences. People need behavioural patterns to deal with this, and if they want to pattern their lives they need extrinsic sources of information offered by significant symbols around them. If a given system of symbols yields no significance, it will never direct people's behaviour, which then becomes a purely empty practice or meaningless ritual.
C. Morality in its religio-cultural context
In this framework we need to study morality against the background of a people's ethos. This ethos includes qualitative understanding of life with its moral and aesthetic style, its motivating spirit, its ideas, customs and behaviours. These must fit into the world in which people live. We cannot condemn or give credit to any system without analysing the meaning which its symbols evoke. We have to look first at the behaviour of a people, which enables us to understand their moods and motivations and the symbols that express these. Their moods and motivations become real and valuable to them because they are a synthesis of their ethos and worldview. Thus goodness or what we call value consists in the harmony of people's day-to-day experience with their worldview.
A value is what gives me meaning and direction - 'a reason to live and a reason to die'. For example, to tell a lie is not good, because I know the gift of speech should be used to communicate, to tell the truth, but by telling lies I misuse the gift and as a result I create disharmony and contradiction in my life. I know that telling the truth is part of my worldview. What I ask as a rational being is to make my worldview harmonise with my life and my life harmonise with my worldview. What I need is to internalise values by allowing my symbols to guide me, offering me effective, coherent and congruent motivation. What helps me to internalise a value is the whole of my symbol cluster. The more I live in a particular significant symbol system, the more it guides me, motivates me, helps me to internalise my values. Hence what is good for me is to live realistically: I will be truly myself if my moral norms harmonise with my perception of the general order of existence, mediated through the symbol system. Only then will any symbol create the long-lasting moods and motivations which pervade a human life and move the person harmoniously through life's experience.
The same could be applied to religious beliefs. Any religious belief will be significant as long as its symbols create religious motivations in people's lives. Only then will their belief
50 become meaningful and realistic, because it touches the core of their existence and satisfies their deepest need for integrated experience of life.
But religious symbols and symbol systems do not always provoke dispositions. This happens, as we have seen, when the symbol system lacks interpretabihty, causing a discrepancy or disunity between lifestyle and life world. This is experienced as 'evil', because it threatens the wholeness and unity of experience. Hence any moral norm or sanction which does not create positive or harmonious dispositions is unendurable because it causes disharmony. Any experience of disharmony between moral norm and lived experience urges people to seek a solution in the form of adaptation. This could mean a change of outlook, behavioural patterns or religious convictions, or the practice of rituals. Coming into contact with different worldviews challenges them, inasmuch as a world of symbols which once gave life meaning is no longer doing so.
Culture communicates meaning and in the interaction between them there is always a dynamic ca\\ for frequent reassessment and change. To cope with day-to-day living people must be ever more open to experience coming from their environment, their society and their God. Openness means vulnerability - taking risks. To remain closed up, seeking security in unquestioned norms and sanctions, is hardly conducive to growth. When the world around the person changes, symbols and meanings are automatically questioned. Thus moral norms which no longer offer meaning and harmony will likewise be questioned. The human person appears to be built for harmony and integration with herself and with her environment. This is the urge and nature of human life, and humans - though it is not always possible - look for that integrity in life. In Christian theology we call it eschatological hope.
VI. CONCLUSION
Geertz learned from Max Weber how to understand culture.121 In his own words, Geertz espouses a semiotic concept of culture, in the sense that he seeks to study the signs and symbols underlying human behaviour. He compares culture to webs of significance (using the Webenan term) that humanity has spun, and cultural analysis seeks to understand the complex meaning embodied in those social and symbolic webs.122 Though Geertz' approach is not holistic, it offers us a framework for the analysis of brotherhood in Punjabi culture and its relation to brotherly love in the gospel. The emphasis will be on how the meaning of each relates to the other. In the following chapters we shall investigate the elements that make up the brotherhood symbol system in Punjabi culture and in Christianity.
Pals, Seven theories of religion, 238ff Geertz, Interpretation, 5
51 CHAPTER TWO
THE £>1ft4ZMft/(BROTHERHOOD) IN PUNJABI CULTURE
I. THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN
My study is confined to the province of Punjab in Pakistan. It may be helpful, however, to give a brief general description of Pakistan to enable readers to visualise the part of the country that concerns us.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: Islami-Jamunya-e-Pakistan) first appeared on the world map on 14 August 1947 as a result of the partition of British India into two sovereign states with a view to creating a separate homeland for Indian Muslims in response to the demands of Muslim nationalists.123 From Partition until 1971 the state of Pakistan {Pak- \-istan means 'land of the holy") de facto and de jure consisted of two regions: West Pakistan in the Indus River basin and East Pakistan, situated more than 1 200 kilometres away in the Ganges River delta. As a result of grave internal political problems an independent state of Bangladesh was proclaimed in East Pakistan in 1971.124
The country comprises the four erstwhile provinces of Baluchistan (capital: Quetta), the Northwest Frontier (capital: Peshawar), Punjab (capital: Lahore) and Sind (capital: Karachi), as well as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).125
The majority of Pakistan's population is rural, about 75 percent residing in the provinces of Punjab and Sind. Economic development has been concentrated in these two provinces because they are agriculturally rich, the main crops being rice, wheat and cotton. By comparison the provinces of Baluchistan and Northwest Frontier are poor.
For Oie genesis of Pakistan, Allama Iqbal's theory of Pakistan and M. All Jmnah's two-nation theory, see Aziz Ahmad, Islamic modernism in India and Pakistan· 1857-1964, London: Oxford University Press, 1967, 141-174; S Κ Khanna, Encyclopedia of South Asia: Pakistan, Delhi: Asian Publishing House, 1998. The nation-state was founded on the relationship between the national culture and religion, Islam; see J. Jalibi, Pakistan: the identity of culture, 2nd ed., Karachi: Royal Book Company, 1996, 95-129. The emergence of a nation-state was accompanied by massive migration to and from India, disrupting many family networks and cultural activities as a fresh set of socio-political parameters began to emerge. The sudden juxtaposition of different social, linguistic and economic groups, both rural and urban, created an unbalanced contextual scenario. Cf. S. Hashmi, "Contemporary art of Pakistan", in: Federick M. Assher (ed.), Art of India: prehistory to the present, Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2003, 143 ι2Λ For the rise of Bangladesh, see Talukder Mumr-uz-Zaman, Group interest and political changes: studies of Pakistan and Bangladesh, New Delhi: South Asian Publishers, 1982. 125 O. Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Pakistan year book: 1982-1983, Lahore: East and West, 1982, 12. Also see Ian Talbot, Pakistan, London: Hurts, 1998.
52 A. Literacy
According to the latest figures the literacy rate in Pakistan is 52 percent. Of these literate females make up 36.80 percent, compared with 61.30 percent of the male population. This wide disparity between the sexes applies to all age groups. The literacy rate among males is 58.7 percent as opposed to 35.5 percent among females. Literacy rates also differ greatly between urban and rural areas.126
B. Religions
According to the latest statistics (2001) the total population of Pakistan is about 146 million, of which Muslims make up 96 percent. They belong mostly to the major Sunni (orthodox) branch of Islam, although a significant minority belongs to the important Shia branch; in addition there is a small though influential sect called Ahmadis, or Quadianis, which does not regard Muhammad as the final prophet - a basic tenet of Islam.127
The role of Islam in contemporary Pakistani politics has been described as a process of Islamisation, in the sense of creating an Islamic system of government {Nizam-i-Islam). Islam is an all-pervasive force. Religion permeates the state to the extent that we can even say that religion /ythe state. Politics, ideologies, educational programmes, even the economy all have a profoundly religious character. In a manner of speaking religion has gone public. People speak easily about God. This ease is combined with a type of religious formalism: form is essential to Pakistani Muslims' self-image and their sense of duty.128
Christians are the largest religious minority in Pakistan; they number more than one million, some 60 percent of them being Protestants. In 2001 the number of Catholics was 1 145 817, or 0.52 percent of the population; 73 percent of these Catholics live in Punjab.129 Hindus are a negligible minority, settled in the border districts of Sind and mostly big
The literacy ratio in the other provinces are as follows: Sind - males 56 6 %, females 35.4 %; Baluchistan - males 36.5 %, females 15.0 %; NWFP - males 52.8 %, females 21.2 %; Islamabad - males 77.9 %, females 58.2 %; cf Pakistan & Gulf Economist (Karachi), 20 May-2 June, 2, 2002, 71. 127 Cf. Aziz Ahmad & G. E. von Grunebaum (eds), Muslim self-statement in India and Pakistan: 1857-1968, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1970, 77-80; also see W. Montgomery Watt, Free will and predestination in early Islam, London: Luzac, 1948 The hallmark of the mass of Muslims is faith or Iman in the word of God and submission or Islam to him. Iman and Islam are the two poles of their religious life The two poles go together and also overlap in many ways. Accordingly some insist more on purity and intensity of faith, while others emphasise religious observance of the law These different emphases give rise to two types of spirituality. Those who stress faith or Iman culbvate a spirituality focusing on God as transcending all creaturely reality and everything yet to be - what we could call a spintuality of transcendence, for others, loving fidelity to the law has led to a spintuality of the law. Both methods include the search for God. Cf Clement A. Waidyasekara, "Mission through an apostolic community: Pakistan", Vie Oblate Life 49, 1990: 326. 129 Cf. "The Catholic Church in Pakistan", Directory 2002, Lahore: Renewal Centre, 2002, 23 and Mil Roekaerts, "Pakistan: a young church in a young Muslim country", Pro Mundi Vita Dossier 18, 1981: 15, also David B. Barrett et al. (eds), "Pakistan," World Chnstian Encyclopedia, 570
53 landlords. A well-to-do minority, found particularly in Karachi, are the Parsis. The constitution of Pakistan guarantees the right to profess, practise and propagate one's religion. All these minorities have their elected representatives in both national and provincial assemblies and in local authorities.
C. Culture and society
It would be difficult to speak of a culture, in the singular, that reflects a picture of Pakistan, because there are different cultures in various regions, making up a richly variegated scene. Family organisation is strongly patriarchal, and most people live in large extended families. Women have low social status; they are restricted to the performance of domestic chores and fulfilling the role of dutiful wives and mothers.
Women spend almost their entire lives in the confines of their homes because of social concern with honour or izzat.no A woman who ventures into the male domain of public life is always suspect. Most women are burdened with a constant need to avoid any suspicion of behaving in a way that could bring disgrace of be-izzah on their families. Rich peasants, landowners and members of the urban middle class keep their women in seclusion or pardahr. on the rare occasions that they set foot outside their houses, they must be veiled.
Women who are suspected of adultery or even less serious indiscretions face the threat of an institution called karo kari (literally: 'black evildoers')· This entails honour killing of the woman by her husband, in-laws, brother or some other male relative to expiate her crime. Her alleged lover is also murdered. In performing karo kari the murderer faces little punishment. A brother, for example, could not possibly tolerate the knowledge that his sister has disgraced the family by taking a lover. Custom requires that he takes action. While kam kan is an extreme reaction to female indiscretion, the custom reflects society's attitude towards women: a man's wife, mother, daughter and sister must be above reproach.131
Among the poor peasants women have duties on the farm as well as in the house and do not observe pardah. Pardah is associated with a wealthy lifestyle.
For a comprehensive description of the status of women, see Anita M. Weiss, Walls in walls: life histones of working women in the Old City of Lahore, Lahore: Pak, 1992. Cf. LindaS Walbndge, The Christians of Pakistan The passion ofbishop John Joseph, London: Routledge-Curzon, 2003, 127-28. Note that such customs also existed in Europe in the early Middle Ages, when collective responsibility for the action of an individual was frequently attributed to a family group, the inhabitants of a village, or the culprit's fellow citizens. In the absence of authority people administered their own justice, falling back on family solidarity in the form of vendettas or, in Italian, faida. Cf. Antonio P. Schioppa, "European law, medieval," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1120. The rationale behind this is that justice should be done in some way when there is no recourse to law. The vendetta is prevalent in Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Montenegro, and to some extent (under the name of "feud1) in certain districts in the United States. Cf. "Vendetta", in Isaac Κ Funk et al. (eds), Funk and Wagnalls new standard dictionary of the English language, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1913; reprint, Calcutta: Standard Literature Company, 1927, 2639.
54 Change has been rapid among the urban lower middle class income group, in which women are forced to seek employment out of economic necessity. Here pardah is abandoned and education of women is encouraged. Consequently some women have gained distinction in their professions (e.g. ex-pnme minister Benazir Bhuto). However, since concern about izzat permeates society, women venture forth as little as possible so as not to bring shame on their families.
Social organisation revolves around kinship rather than caste or zat Baradan or patnlmeage is the most important social institution. Marriage arrangements are preferably made within the baradan. The lineage elders constitute a council that adjudicates disputes in the lineage and deals with the outside world on behalf of the lineage (e.g. in determining electoral allegiances).
II. THE PROVINCE OF PUNJAB
The province of Punjab is situated in northwestern Pakistan. Located between the Himalayan foothills and the Indian state of Rajasthan, it comprises an area of 205 344 square kilometres (total area of Pakistan: 796 095 square kilometres); its population constitutes 56.5 percent of the country's total population. Population density in the province is 348 persons per square kilometre.
The word 'Punjab' (or Panjgad) is a compound of two Sanskrit words - panca, 'five' and ab, 'water'. Hence it means 'five waters' or 'five rivers', referring to the Jhelum (825 km), Chenab (1242 km), Ravi (901 km), Sutlej (1551 km) and Beas (397 km) which originate in the northern Himalayas.
Though not the largest area-wise, Punjab is the most populous of the four provinces and comparatively the most developed territory in Pakistan. It is considered the nerve centre of Pakistan, besides being known as its cultural capital. The capital of the province, Lahore, has been a seat of learning and power for centuries.
In the annals of history Punjab has been a land of clashes and conflicts, of fierce encounters between races, cultures and ideologies. It is very conscious of its history and Punjabis take pride in their ancestry. They are characterised by a native pride, a consciousness of human dignity, a sense of loyalty, a steadfastness of purpose and a spirit of hardiness, all of which makes them good soldiers, good farmers, good workers and good
55 friends. Their hospitality and openness to new ideas may spring from an innate sense of equality, a feeling of brotherhood.132
A. Natural environment
The province of Punjab lies on an alluvial plain formed by the Indus system of rivers. To the north are the hills of Murree and Rawalpindi and the Pabbis hills of Gujrat, forming part of the sub-Himalayas. The highest of these hills, Murree, has an altitude of 2713.98 metres. In the southwest are hills of the Sulaiman range which, running from north to south in the D.G. Khan division, are no higher than 1 200 metres and are dry and barren. The Potwar plateau in the far north is a maze of uplands and small alluvial, loessial (yellowish clay or brownish loam-forming deposits) flats, ranging in height from 304.8 to 609.5 metres above sea level; it is drained by the Haro and Soan rivers. The upper Indus plain, covering Lahore, Multan, Gujaranwala and Faisalabad divisions, is a featureless terrain. To the southwest of Sutlej is a vast desert of about 2 592 million hectares covering about two thirds of the entire Bahawalpur division. It is divided into 'small' and 'greater' Cholistan, consisting of saline alluvial soil with low dunes, ridges and depressions.133
The major or mother river (not only of Punjab but of the whole of Pakistan) is the Indus. The Indus plain covers an area of about 51728.5 square kilometres and is the most prosperous agricultural region in the country. Its northern zone comprises Punjab, which is girdled by the Indus and its five tributaries; these tributaries join up and eventually merge at Pancanada, where they disgorge into the Indus. The rivers are divided into several interfluves (area between two neighbouring rivers or river valleys) called doabs.™ The doabsto the east of the Indus are the richest agricultural land in the country.
Punjab lies on the margin of the monsoon zone. The temperature is generally hot, with marked variation between summer and winter. The dry hot weather is broken occasionally by dust and thunder storms that briefly lower the temperature.
Cf Syed Abdul Quddus, Punjab: the land of beauty, love and mysOasm, Karachi: Royal Book Company, 1992, 5- 6, 58-59. For land, people, different ethnic groups economic and cultural life, see Muhammad Akbar, Punjab under the Mughal Raj, Lahore: Vanguard, 1985, 1-22, 234-284. 133 Cf. Manmohan Singh, "Punjab (Pakistan)", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 287-289, esp. 288. What makes these doabs particularly significant is that, although there is a common Punjabi culture in the province, geographical banners such as deserts and rivers make intermamage rather difficult, which leads to differences in the common culture. Cf. Khushwant Singh, A history of the Sikhs: 1469-1839, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981, 3-4.
56 Β. Economy
Punjab's economy is mainly agricultural, although industry makes a substantial contribution. According to the available sources the total geographic area of agricultural and industrial land in the country comprises 20.66 and 16.30 million hectares respectively. Of these the former comprises 11.35 million hectares under cultivation, while 0.43 million hectares are under forest. Punjab commands one of the largest canal irrigation systems of the world - 41.3 percent of its total arable land is irrigated solely by canals, and another 41.1 percent by canal tube-wells.135
C. Hinduism and the caste system
The heritage that the subcontinent supposedly received from the Aryans is twofold: Vedic Hinduism, and the framework of a highly elaborate caste system. In my conversation with the Punjabi people, I leamt that the caste system is considered to be
Aryan, but there is no certainty about its background. Hinduism also has many non-Aryan elements.
1. Vedic Hinduism
Hinduism137 has been known since time immemorial as sanatana-dharma (in Sanskrit) or 'the perennial law of life', that is, an ageless religion not derived from any historical founder or prophet. Many Hindus maintain that it stems from the religious experience of the ancient seers.138
l" Cf. Quddus, Punjab, 23-25. The classical civilisabon of the Indo-Pak subcontinent is said to have developed from early Vedic civilisation, which was the aeation of the Aryans. About 200 years later a collection of religious hymns known as the Rgveda came into existence This gives a good picture of the early Aryans. For detailed ethnological data on the Aryans, see T. Burrows, "The early Aryans", in: A L Basham (ed.), Cultural history of India, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975, 20-29 Originally the word 'Hindu' did not denote any person belonging to a particular religion According to Hans Staffner it was a term used by Persians, by the Greeks who reached the Indus nver along with Alexander the Great, and other people of that region, to designate the people living beyond the Indus (Sindhu) river Thus the term Hindu was applied to all people living on the Indian subcontinent Cf Hans Staffner, Jesus Chnst and the Hindu community, is a synthesis of Hinduism and Chnstianity possible), Anand, India: Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1988, 91. The core of Hinduism is that a person contains a mystery which is one with the mystery of the universe and of God. Thus the innermost principles of human beings and of the œsmos are not two but one and the same - 'that art thou'. Hinduism affirms the world and earthly reality, in which the individual, society and the universe are integrally linked. Salvation or moksha is the "attachment of that state when one transcends all dualism and arrives at an awareness of the identity of both" - Atman and Brahman D. S. Amalorpavadass, "The church as a community of faith in the Asian context", FABC Papers no. 30, 1982: 8. 1 For a comprehensive survey of Hindu tradition, its history, sacred writings, worldview, the specifics of the major branches of Hinduism, and the complexities of Hindu life and thought, see Klaus K. Klostermaier, A survey of Hinduism, Albany: State University of New York Press, 2nd edition, 1994; also see Sri Chinmong, Commentaries on the Vedas, the Upamshads and the Bhagavad-Cita: the three branches of Indian life-tree, New York: Aum, 1997.
57 The basic tenets of Hinduism are: (a) faith in the Vedas™ the most sacred Hindu scriptures, considered to be eternal and infallible truth; (b) faith in karma-samsara or the transmigration of souls in accordance with the eternal law of retribution; (c) faith in mukti, or
liberation from the cycle of transmigration, as the final goal; and (d) the observance of varna-
asrama-dharma, the law of living according to one's caste and stage of life. This last element has come to be considered the hallmark of Hinduism, and many modern thinkers maintain that Hinduism is primarily a way of life, adherence to specific doctrines not being of cardinal importance. Our interest here is not Hinduism as such, but the caste system, which to a great extent shaped Punjabi culture and other cultures on the subcontinent.140
2. The caste system
In the Vedic caste system two Sanskrit words are important: varna and jati.
Varna is the most important traditional concept of an ordered society in Vedic India.
It literally means 'colour'1'" and in an extended sense is understood as 'class'. There are four
varnas- in other words, society is divided into four layers or classes.
Scholars say that the Sanskrit word for the group that people usually have in mind when they talk about caste is jati, 'birth', seen as the mam frame of reference for Indian caste. They say that it is a common misunderstanding to identify varna with caste and that a sharp distinction has to be made between jati being a limited, regional, endogamous group
Veda[s] or 'Book[s] of Knowledge' contains saaed hymns and oblational verses composed in archaic Sanskrit and current among the Indo-European speaking people who entered India from Iranian regions. The most important three texts are: Rgveda fWisdom of verses'), Yajurveda CWisdom of the sacrificial formulas') and Sâmaveda f Wisdom of chants'), known as tryividyâ or threefold knowledge. For the threefold knowledge a fourth text is added - the atharvaveda CWisdom of the atharvan priests'). Vedic literature is the earliest source of Hindu mythology. Cf. J. A. B. van Buitenen, "Hindu mythology", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 927. Vedism or vedic religion is the earliest known form of religious practice among ancient Indo-Aryan settlers in India It consisted principally of two categories of ritual practices: first, the domestic rites known as a grhya, and secondly, the great sacrifices and other communal rites The Veda is considered to be eternal, not even created or revealed by a God or Gods, whose only task has been to promote the mspirabon of the gifted men (ra/ or nsh, 'seers') of archaic times, who were able to 'see' this eternal truth directly without any mediation of normal sense perception and to express it in a human language, Sanskrit. Cf. "Hinduism", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 890 There are a great many general accounts of Hinduism, but one work is quite outstanding: Klostemnaier, Survey of Hinduism, Albany: State University of New York Press, 2nd edition, 1994. Also see Momer-Williams, Brahmamsm and Hinduism or religious life and thought in India, London: Murray, 1891; Louis Demoni, South Indian subcastes: social organisation and religion offramalai Kallar, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1986. This book is a notable soao- anthropological contribution to the understanding of a complex society and one of the greatest civilisations in history. 141 This has invited speculation that class distinction was originally based on differences in degree of skin pigmentation. It might have been true of the fairer skinned Aryans and the darker skinned aborigines of anaent India When the Aryans entered India there was already a class division in their tribal structure. As they settled among the aborigines, the Aryans seem to have laid greater stress on purity of blood and to have excluded the dasas or aborigines from the Aryan fold This was the first social division in Indo-Aryan society, between conqueror and conquered. Cf. Basham, The wonder that was India, 32, 34-35; V. Rahavan, "Manusamhila," Cultural heritage of India 2: Itihasa, Puranas, 350; also see T. M. Mamckam, Dharma according to Manu and Moses, Bangalore: Dharmaram, 1977, 154-156; J .H. Hutton, Caste in India, London: Oxford University Press, 1951, 133-147.
58 of families based on birth and heritage, and varna, a universal pan-Indian model of social class.1"2
Some Indologists claim that the fourfold varna system first featured in one of the key hymns in the Rgvedân collection (10:90), in which the four varnas (catur-varna) are said to have emanated from the dismembered primeval male who was sacrificed by the gods at the beginning of the world: the brahman, or priestly class, was born from the highest part, his mouth; the rajanya or ksatriya, or warrior class, from his arms; the vaisya, or peasant class, from his thighs; and the sudra, the serf or servant class, from his feet. The four varnas are complementary, each performing its own duties according to its specific class. It is claimed that only brahmins are born twice (devi-jatì), once at their natural birth and later at an initiation ceremony or upanayana,m which is a spiritual birth; but women, ksatriya and
vaisya are not. A sudra is only bom once - by natural birth - to live in servitude to the others.145
Traditionally the duty of the brahman is to study and teach the Vedas and to offer saaifices; that of the ksatriya to rule, protect people and study the Vedas, that of the vaisya to till the land, pursue trade and study the Vedas, and that of the sudra simply to serve the
Cf Seppo Synanen, "Bradn-Millat-Ecclesia: the interrelationship of faith and community", AIMushirlS, 1973, 362. I consider this a purely theoretical distinction or rationalisation, since in the practical life of society there are no such distinctions as varna orjati. Varna is used more than jati to explain hierarchy in the social system. If jati is caste based on birth, what is the measure or criterion used to rank the hierarchy of births, in other words, what makes one birth higher than another in the caste hierarchy' But jati has its own hierarchy. It seems to me that varna or class (taken more as 'function") determines the social rank of a certain jati. For this reason I take varna to be synonymous with jati (i.e. varna-jati) in structuring the Vedic caste system. The word 'caste', or 'class', does not render all the nuances implied in the Vedic varna system, because both are very broad terms. The English word 'caste' does not explain all the nuances of the Vedic social structure. 'Caste' is a word foreign to Vedic thought. When the Portuguese came to India in the 16th century they found the Indian community divided into separate groups, which in Portuguese they called castas, from which the English and French derived the word 'caste'. Cf. J. A. Dubois, Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies, 3rd ed., Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1983, 14; Basham, The wonder that was India, 148. Nor does the word 'class' fully explain the notion of vama. Varna should not be understood m terms of Western social stratification in the 19th century - the European upper, middle and lower classes - or Marxist theory. See Thomas Β Battomore, "Social differentiation and stratification''. Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, 953-959 H3 It is regarded as a late Rgveda hymn and it is the only place in the Vedas where the system is menboned Rgveda is essentially an anthology of poems addressed to gods, spirits or deified ritual objects. It contains 1 028 hymns totalling 10 563 lines, which are distributed over ten mandatas or books. The date commonly given for the reception of the Rgveda is 900 Β CE. Cf A L Basham, "Hinduism, history of". Encyclopaedia Bntannica, 909 The books mostly record the evolution of Vedic religion but provide incidental mformabon on geography, location and politicai orgamsabon, and tribal names. Cf. Frank Raymond Allchm et al., "Indian subcontinent, history of", Encyclopaedia Bntannica, 346 The tenth book includes the hymns that represent the social model of the four classes or vamas. brahamm, ksatnya, vaisya and südra. This text remains the basic authority on the four classes. Cf. JAB. van Buitenen, "Hindu sacred literature", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 936 Rgveda also contains elements from three evolutionary strata: an early element common to most Indo-European tribes; a later element held m common with early Iranians; and an element acquired on the Indian subconbnent after the main Aryan immigrations. Cf. "Hinduism, history of", Encyclopaedia Bntannica, 908 144 Cf Basham, The wonder that was India, 161-62. There is also a fifth class or a-vama, which exists in reality though it is not mentioned in the Rgveda This fifth class is called by different names, such as panchama ("fifth group"), achuta ('untouchables') and hanjan f children of God' - a term used by Mahatma Gandhi). This fifth class possibly belonged to aboriginal tribes which came under the sway of the advancing Aryans.
59 three higher classes. Thus in Vedic social thought each person has a specific place in society and a function to fulfil with its own duties and rights.
That raises the question: what was the underlying law or criterion that kept each caste member in his or her place and helped that person to fulfil the appropriate role? There are two important Sanskrit words in Vedic literature which justified the existing order socially and religiously. These are karma and dharma. The law of karma determines the merits or demerits of one's actions.
"The present existence is shaped and determined by the deeds {karma) of a previous existence, which itself was the result of the deeds of a prior existence, and so on in a beginningless series of lives submitted to the blind determinism of strict retribution."146
Dharma, on the other hand, is a multifaceted concept. Here we are concerned only with its principal, practical aspect, namely jati-dharma: the rules and norms that help individuals to keep to and preserve their social and ritual status and ritual purity, both in this life and hereafter.
"Dharma is understood as a moral ideal to be followed by each individual as a member of a varna. Obviously, dharma is treated not as an abstract concept but as the practical law of conduct of the social group to which an individual belongs."1'17
Jab-dharma affects quite a number of aspects of everyday life, such as whom one may marry, with whom one can eat and drink, what sort of occupation accords with the ritual status of one's caste, and so forth. The important thing about dharma is that if a person breaks the rules, he or she is in a mysterious way defiled (i.e. ritually unclean), for dharma has a divine cosmic origin. If this kind of abnormal situation lasts long enough, it causes an individual to defile other members of his or her caste as well.148 Thus the norms of jati- dharma represent a rule of life or a philosophy of duty, in which duty outweighs the human rights of the individual149 - in short, it stipulates one's 'oughf (moral obligation) based on one's 'is' or 'being' (the caste into which one is born).150 A person's inborn caste enjoins him or her to maintain its substance and morality, its particular occupation and its correct
J. Neuner 81 R. de Smet, Religious Hinduism, Bombay: St Paul, 1964, 108-109 Cf also Mamckam, Dharma according to Manu and Moses, 111-112 147 Mamckam, Dharma according to Manu and Moses, 201; ibid., 197-208. Also see Canganath Jha, Purva Mimamsa in its sources, 2nd ed., Banares: Hindu University, 1964, 152-153. 148 Cf Κ S. Mathur, Caste and ntual in a Malwa village, Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1964, 90. R. Bhagavandas, The science ofsoaal organization, 2nd ed., Madras: Theological Publishing House, 1932, 49-50 1 Cf Geertz, The interpretation of cultures, 126.
60 relationship with other castes. Hence Vedic thought does not separate nature and morality or law, so that castes are, in Western terms, both natural and moral units of society.
In one way or another this complex social structure exists today as a substratum in practically all cultures on the subcontinent. From time to time there have been criticism of and opposition to this social system, resulting in the emergence of religions other than Hinduism, such as Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.151 These religions have modified the rigidity of the original system, but so far none has eliminated the structure. Islam and Christianity, which propagate universal brotherhood, have not been able to supersede it. Thus caste consciousness still exists today under different names, and in Punjab it persists under the banner of baradarior brotherhood.
D. The Punjabi woridview
1. Introduction
Every culture has its own worldview or central, governing set of concepts, philosophical assumptions and presuppositions that its society lives by, in other words the mode of reality which shapes everything pertaining to a particular people. Geertz defines a people's worldview as "their picture of the ways things in sheer actuality are, their concept of nature, of self, of society. It contains their most comprehensive ideas of order."152 A child bom into a particular culture receives a ready-made worldview and is moulded by it to the extent that what it experiences as 'truth' or 'reality' is what that culture has made it. A person's truth and reality derive from his or her culture, not from outside it.153
Depending on its worldview, something that one culture sees as questionable or problematic is completely overlooked by another culture, so that what is considered a value in one culture may well be an abomination in another. Thus one culture says that the caste system is socially discriminatory, while another justifies caste as affirming the dignity of the human person.
Punjab is the birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism; see Quddus, Punjab, 2-3. Geertz, The interpretation of cultures, 127; for other definitions of worldview, see Paul G. Hiebert, Cultural anthropology, Philadelphia: Lippmcott, 1976, 37 Language reveals people's worldview, their concepts and values; see Marguerite G. Kraft, Worldview and the communicating of the gospel: a Nigenan case study. South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1978, 5-6. A woridview is learnt unconsciously early in life and is not readily changed. As children learn to understand their surroundings in a socially accepted way, they form a worldview that will influence their actions for the rest of their lives. It becomes the integrating core of their perspective on reality. The child's worldview bridges the gap between the objective reality around it and the culturally agreed perception of that reality This acquired, integrating core provides the framework for accepting or rejecting new elements. They are borrowed only if they fit into the person's worldview or if they can be re-shaped or re-coloured to fit it; see Kraft, Worldview and the communicating of the gospel, 4. On the other hand one has to ask: does morality depend on worldviews and religion' Or is there a relation between worldview and morality' See Albert W Musschenga et al. (eds), Morality, worldview and law: the idea of universal morality and its critics. Assen: Van Gorcum, 1992, 1-7
61 To understand the Punjabi cognitive world - how people think - we must understand the relationship between the person and the group. Authority is vested in family ancestors and elders. Interpersonal unity is conceived of in terms of extended family relationships. One's family is seen as one's most valuable possession, and one's daily relations with the family are paramount. It is as a family group that one relates to other groups and to the outside world: order is family-based. The family is seen as the ideal of beauty and security, without which life would have no meaning. The family is the basic economic unit, the basic political unit and the hub of social life and obligations.
2. Definition of the person
As a result of the close-knit family system, a Punjabi has no identity apart from the family: a person reflects his or her family, is obligated to it and depends on it. Thus the family unit is the lens through which the world is seen. In this way Punjabis are relational being*}™ They operate and find their identity in relationships that fan out in concentric circles, diminishing in intensity as they move outwards from parents and siblings to extended family, clan, other geographical locations and the nation.
Individuals cannot be understood in isolation, as independent and free to choose and direct their lives as they please. An individual is what she is because of her relationship with the group.155 Thus an individual finds his identity and recognition as long as he is part of the group; the group makes the individual what he is.
3. Honour and shame
The group also gives the individual status, hence recognition from others is important. This socio-relational understanding of self entails two indispensable values for understanding the person: honour and shame, known as izzatand be-izzat Izzat\s a claim to worth, plus acknowledgment of that worth. Be-izzat is an attitude of sensitivity about one's honour, a concern for what others do, say and think in relation to oneself. Because of the
Cf. Dominic Moghal, Human person in Punjabi society: a tension between religion and culture, Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre, 1997, 27. Nakamura says this way of understanding a person as a relational being happens because it puts more emphasis on the underlying features or essence of the individual than on the particular surface qualities of self: Asians, especially Indians, tend to stress the relational meaning of a thing/person more than its fundamental uniqueness Cf. Nakamura, Ways of thinking, 61. This understanding is captured in the following lines by the Pakistani poet-philosopher, Allama Iqbal: " The individual is grounded in the community, alone he is naught As a wave that dwells in a river by itself is not" (quoted in Coutts, "The traditional worldview of the Punjab: a search for its philosophic presuppositions " Pastoral Notes A, 1980: 130)
62 centripetal focus of the group on the individual, izzat and be-izzat are a paramount concern.156
The late bishop Patras Yusuf, an authority on Punjabi culture, explains the principle of izzat:
"...'izzaf is not particularly typical of the Punjabi society. It is inherent in human personality and is expressed differently, in different cultures, whether it be as self- esteem, human dignity, saving face, personal pride, etc. ... As a moral being man is conscious of his own dignity and he desires not only that others should respect this dignity, but also acknowledges this awareness as a restraint on his own behaviour...
The consciousness of self-respect and human dignity seems to be so central to man that, when man is disgraced, he is shattered in the depth of his being. Therefore, his immediate reaction is one of retaliation whereby through self-affirmation... however destructive - he attempts to restore lost respect.... The concept of *izzaf in Punjabi society is a very elusive concept. It is used in reference to persons, community, place, etc. Primarily it is a psycho-social principle which plays a great role in the building up of the personality, creating solidarity and safeguarding social, cultural, religious and moral values."157
Izzat is a cultural phenomenon with psychological implications. It serves as a moral criterion of good and evil. As long as one is loyal and obedient to the qaida aur kannon (rules of conduct) of one's clan and caste one earns izzat for oneself and one's whole group. It is considered morally good to support one's group at any cost, even though the conduct of a member of another clan or caste is objectively more correct. Disloyalty to the customary behaviour of the culture, clan or caste, on the other hand, brings be-izzatiot shame on one and all and is seen as morally evil. It may take years, even a whole lifetime to repair this lost izzat, which can lead to revenge - even murder - or sometimes to reconciliation.158
See Muhammad A. Chaudhary, Justice in practice: legal ethnography of a Pakistani Punjabi village, Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1999, 64-68. 157 Patras Yusuf, "The principle of izzat its role in the spiritual formabon of Punjabi religious," Al-Mushir22, 1980: 19 Other ways of incurring be-izzati are geographical (it is be-izzaO not to treat one's fellow villagers with special attention) or religious (it would be be-izzati for a Christian girl to marry a Muslim). Cf. ibid., 20. The concept of be- izzati or shame goes hand-m-hand with its moral emotional partner, guilt This aspect has been discussed in the literatures of many cultures, designated 'shame cultures' because of their intense concern with honour and reputation, as opposed to 'guilt cultures' where sin and inner worth predominate. The difference between shame and guilt is that shame tends to be associated with wrongdoing that is publicly exposed and guilt with situabons in which it is not. Shame is the feeling of disgrace and humiliation which follows the discovery of some transgression; guilt is a feeling of secret badness which is not known by others. Thus shame and guilt are not the same, either ethically or psychologically, but they are of the same family For a comprehensive critical review, see G Piers & M Singer,
63 As Patras Yusuf points out, honour and shame are not peculiar to Punjabi society but are integral values of many other cultures in the world, albeit expressed differently. A study of other cultures where honour and shame are fundamental values gives us a better understanding and greater insight into izzat/be-izzati in Punjabi society. It is commonly accepted that in antiquity honour and shame were pivotal values that structured the daily life of people around the Mediterranean. We have two sources of information about this pivotal set of values: modern cultural anthropology and ancient rhetorical theory, that is Greco-
Roman literature.159
Anthropologists and classicists define honour as the general, abstract concept of the worth, value, prestige and reputation which an individual claims and which is acknowledged by others.160 Its Greek root, time ChonourO refers to the price or value of something, such as the 'price' paid as compensation or satisfaction for an injury or insult, or public recognition, honours and awards bestowed. Honour, then, has to do with public value and worth.161 But honour exists only in the eyes of a public which expects certain things and evaluates individuals accordingly. It is what is called a social construct, an idea created by humans which they fill with meaning.162
How do individuals acquire worth and esteem? Anthropologists identify two general sources: worth and value are either ascribed to individuals by others or achieved by them.
Shame and guilt: a psychoanalytic and cultural study, Springfield, III : Thomas, 1953, especially 11-12 Shame cultures differ from industrialised guilt cultures in that their members are group-onented and their attitudes and actions are governed primarily by the opinion and appraisal of significant others In contrast to guilt cultures with their developed sense of individualism, internalised conscience and interest in introspection, in shame cultures what other people say is the chief sanction of conduct. For the theory that shame and guilt are present and contemporary in all cultures, see David W Augsburger, "Inner controls, outer controls, balanced controls: a theology of grace", in Pastoral counselling across cultures, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986, 111-143; B. J. Malina, The New Testament world, insights from cultural anthropology, 2nd ed., Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993, 63- 69 Anthropological studies of honour and shame have been conducted in the social life of countries bordering the Mediterranean, such as Turkey, Greece, Spam, Cyprus, North Africa and Egypt. These countries differed, of course in language, history and geography, but all display a typical understanding of honour and shame and many common behavioural practices relating to these values For excellent anthropological studies of honour and shame, see J. Κ Campbell, Honour, family and patronage' a study of institutions and moral values in a Creek mountain community, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964, 263-320; Julian Pitt-Rivers, "Honour and social status", in: J G. Péristiany (ed ), Honour and shame: the values of Mediterranean society, London: Weidenfeld & Niœlson, 1965, 19-78; David D Gilmore (ed.). Honour and shame and the unity of the Mediterranean, American Anthropological Association, speaal publication no 22, Washington, DC: American Anthropological Assoaadon, 1987, 2-17. The second source of information about honour and shame in antiquity is the ancient rhetoric of praise and blame, known as 'culture of praise' See Arthur W. H. Adkins, Ment and responsibility, a study in Greek values, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1960; K. J. Dover, Greek popular morality in the bme of Plato and Anstotie, Berkeley, Cal. : University of California Press, 1974; Douglas L Cairns, Aldos: the psychology and ethics of honour and shame in anoent Greek literature, Oxford: Clarendon, 1993. 160 σ Malina, The New Testament world, 30-31 See Johannes Schneider, "'Time [honour], 'timad [to honour]", in: Geoffrey W. Bromiley (ed), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (abridged in one volume). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985, 1181-1182. In defining honour, Pitt-Rivers notes its complex structure: honour is a sentiment of worth felt by an individual. It is a person's value in her own eyes, but also in the eyes of society It is her estimabon of her own worth, her claim to pnde, but it is also the acknowledgment of that claim, her excellence recognised by society, her right to pride Cf. Julian Pitt-Rivers, 77;e fate of Schechem, or the polibcs of sex. essays in the anthropology of the Mediterranean. Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology 19, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, 1
64 Ascribed honour refers to respect shown for a person by members of the two basic institutions of antiquity, namely family (kinship) and state (politics). Generally ascribed honour comes simply from being born into a particular family. Families have a certain standing in the eyes of their neighbours; some are noble (i.e. aristocratic), but even village families will be ranked in terms of reputation, wealth and standing and children born into these families automatically acquire that status. Of course, position in the sibling order of the family may increase the person's worth in the public eye. For example, male children have more value than female children in the eyes of parents and neighbours; and the firstborn male, who is presumably the heir, has more status than his younger siblings. Thus ascribed honour relates to the family's standing in the village, gender and the child's position in the sibling order. Ascribed honour can also derive from the political institutions of ancient society.163
Achieved honour, on the other hand, refers to the reputation and fame an individual earns by personal merit. Traditional avenues for achieving honour in antiquity included civic benefaction, military exploits, athletic games, aesthetic competitions in drama and poetry, and the like. These represent the conduct that ancient elites expected of freebom, noble males, who were consequently rewarded.164 Although achieved honour was normally acquired in a competitive and aggressive manner, it could also be gained in non-aggressive, non competitive ways.165
What about shame? The simplest definition is that it is the reverse of honour, that is, the loss of respect, regard, worth and value in the eyes of others. But cross-cultural anthropological studies reveal that shame had a rich and positive meaning in the ancient world.
Shame clearly has a positive meaning in a personal context. It can mean basic awareness of the opinion of others and fear of their censure or reproach. In this sense, shame would be a virtue in a world where honour (respect, reputation, and worth) is a pivotal value. For if persons feel shame, they would participate fully in the fundamental social dynamics of the ancient cultural world: they would value what others think and say about them. Such persons would respect the court of public opinion. Thus shame functions as a social sanction which ensures a certain level of performance in accordance with group norms;
Cf. Jerome H. Neyrey, Honour and shame in the Gospel of Matthew, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, 15-16. See Ludwig Drees, Olympia gods, artists and athletes, New York: Praeger, 1968, 101-108 1 5 See J G. Penstiany & J Pitt-Rivers, Honour and grace in anthropology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992 Anthropologists' descriptions of the cultural concept of honour include the following items: (1) definition of honour, (2) sources of honour, (3) conflict and honour, (4) symbols of honour, (5) display and recognition of honour, (6) collective honour, and (7) gender and honour. See Neyrey, Honour and shame, 15-30.
65 it serves as an instrument of social control.166 'Shameless' persons, by contrast, do not care what others think of them, they flout convention and disregard the code of expected behaviour. Shamelessness means that one does not participate in the grand game of reputation, and shameless people were always held in contempt by the ancients.167
Shame has a decidedly negative meaning when it refers to losing the respect and regard of some of the public.168 Synonyms of shame in this sense would be loss of face, disgrace and dishonour; a person who is shamed would be held in contempt, made little of, dismissed and the like. Shame essentially pertains to an unfavourable public reputation.
Since honour and shame have to do with people in their social setting, they must be studied in the religious, social and economic context of a given culture, whether Punjabi, Mediterranean or Greco-Roman. These cultures and their social structures were characterised, moreover, by a separation between public and private space, and between men and women. Shame had its own value, which turned into honour when it came to gender difference. The honour of a household was inextricably linked to the reputation of its women. Their reputation in turn was sealed by a public display of shame. Shame was therefore connected with women's domestic domain and sometimes involved almost complete female seclusion.
Shame related directly to honour in that a reduction of the shame of a household's women reflected on the honour of its men. Men were considered inherently shameless, but possessed a form of honour through their manliness and the virginity of their female kin, particularly their chastity. Thus, whereas a man's sexual adventures were largely ignored, his wife's would be censured, because they disrupted the moral unity of the family.169
Women were expected to display bashfulness, not concern for prestige; deference, not concern for precedence; submissiveness, not aggression; timidity, not daring; and restraint, not boldness.170 Shame in this sense epitomises the broad social expectations of females in antiquity. Thus it had a positive meaning, namely that females were honoured when they showed this kind of shame. That is, they were judged positively in the court of reputation when they lived up to the social expectations encoded in the gender label.
See Lynn M. Bechtel, "Shame as a sanction of social control in biblical Israel: judicial, political, and social shaming", Journal for the Study of the Old Testaments, 1991: 47-76 167 See Douglas L Cams, Aidös, 14-47; Bernard Williams, Shame and necessity, Berkeley: Univeraty of California Press, 1993, 75-102. 168 See David Daube, The New Testament and rabbinic Judaism, New York: Amo, 1973, 301-24. 169 O. John Mitchell, "Honour and shame", Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology, 280; Β J. Malma & J. H. Neyrey, Portraits of Paul: an anaent personality, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996, 104-105. 17 Cf. B. J Malma & J. H. Neyrey, "Honour and shame in Luke-Acts: pivotal values of the Mediterranean world", in: J. H. Neyrey (ed ), The social world of Luke-Acts: models for mterpretahon, Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991, 42.
66 It was considered important to uphold divisions between the sexes and maintain male control over women. Men competed among themselves to defend their masculinity. To maintain his honour, a man must be able to defend the chastity of the women under his dominance. Their loss of chastity brought shame on the entire family. Women were therefore looked upon as a potential source of shame.
In cultures where the division of labour and related spheres of life are determined along gender lines, males are seen to embody the honour of the family and females the family's shame. While women are viewed as - biologically, intellectually and morally - the weaker sex, they are also "paradoxically powerful because of their potential for collective disgrace".171 Thus, honour and shame are fundamental and/or central values in many societies in the world.
Coming back to izzat/be-izzab, although Punjabis have this basic concern with safeguarding their izzat, they are extremely humble before God and see themselves as khaki CworldlyO or 'creatures of dust'. Their creaturelmess and fimtude are manifested in their nature, which is seen as prone to evil and repeated error. Thus a Punjabi quite naturally expects forgiveness for any fault, since it is not really the fault of the individual but of the weakness of human nature. Guilt is therefore secondary to shame or be-izzab.
III. AN OVERVIEW OF PUNJABI SOCIETY
Punjab is a rural agricultural province. Its vast plains are covered with an intricate network of villages approximately five kilometres apart.
A. The traditional village setup
Punjab is a vast plain dotted with thousands of villages. To study Punjabi culture one has to study its villages, for the village is the hub of Punjabi society. Villages come in clusters of three or four. It is difficult to speak of an average sized village, for patterns of habitation are complex. Most villages have a minimum of a dozen houses and a population of a few hundred people. Even larger villages rarely have more than 2 500 inhabitants. Several villages form a cluster, in which one village is separated from the next only by a few fields. Consequently the village units, in spite of being separate entities, are closely knit within the overall structure. Marian Smith remarks:
Gilmore, Honour and shame, 90
67 "Punjabi society is not a mosaic made up of separate and self-sufficient village fragments. It is more like a carpet in which each part, although unified and identifiable in itself, is inextricably woven into the fabric."172
There are three basic types of village layout. Most of the older villages are of the 'spider-web' kind, having at least one focal point such as the village mosque, some shops or a well from which lanes radiate. Some villages follow the contour of hill slopes and other natural features. Finally, in the canal colony areas villages display a regular, rectangular pattern, with a well, a mosque and a school, as well as the house of the village headman {nambardaf) in the centre and the other houses arranged in a series of concentric rectangles.
There is no great rift between village and city life. Even when people migrate to the city they retain a piece of land where their relatives live and, for the sake of prestige, they maintain a house there. Because it is believed that every village is founded by an ancestor, people never sever contact with their birthplace; they gather in their villages for important ceremonies and in their turn invite relatives and those who are traditionally attached to their family in some way to the city. This sort of behaviour keeps relations between village and city alive.173
1. The compound
The houses have no special architectural style. The main consideration is that their back walls should adjoin as a protection against thieves and floods. Most houses are built of mud, except those belonging to rich landowners and well-to-do village craftsmen, which are built of burnt bricks. The houses are rectangular in shape, with a long front room, two back rooms and a veranda running the length of the front of the house. One of the back rooms serves as a storeroom for provisions. The second is used for storing extra bedding, which is kept in huge metal or wooden boxes, as are valuables such as jewellery; this room will also be used by the womenfolk when the front room is occupied by male guests or important visitors like the village headman or government officials. At night the front room serves as a bedroom for all members of the family, both male and female.
The front of each house opens on to a courtyard surrounded by high walls that demarcate the household boundary and assure privacy from the outside world. All daily activities - washing, cooking, weaving, social contacts - take place in the courtyard or on the veranda. A significant feature of every courtyard is a large tree to shade it in summer. A
17 Marian W. Smith, "Social structure in Die Punjab", in: Μ. Ν Srinivas (ed ), India's villages, Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960, 163 173 CF Quddus, Punjab, 38.
68 hammock lies next to the tree and is used for various purposes: to prepare food, spin and weave, sit and chat, and lie down during the day and summer evenings. The family and close friends gather in the courtyard on bright moonlit evenings to narrate folktales, recite poetry, solve riddles and sing folksongs. In the midst of all this there is a place where animals are tethered. The buffaloes, the most valuable domesticated animal, stand at their clay mangers along one of the walls of the compound. Chickens roam freely in the open space.
A compound will house either a nuclear family consisting of husband, wife and children, or an extended family consisting of an elderly father and mother and their unmarried daughters and sons. Such an extended family is considered to be a single household, whose income is pooled and expenditure is met from a common purse. Many years after the sons' marriages the eldest and his family are given a separate room in the house or in the same compound, where he will manage his own affairs. In this way a compound could be divided into several households. TTiis is evident in the separate chuls or clay hearths used for cooking each household's meals.
2. Land
The most valuable possession received from nature is arable land. It is the main source of livelihood, and Punjabis' financial situation depends by and large on the fertility of the land. Yet land is limited. This makes it even more precious and it is seen as something sacred, to be worshipped as Mother Earth.17''
Closely related to the importance of the soil are the sun and rain needed for the fields to be fruitful. Seeing nature as their sole provider, people are much attached and close to it, as a result of which they deify natural phenomena and have local gods who are responsible for the abundance of the harvest and the general prosperity of the village. Intimately related to this are seasonal festivals, when the whole village, especially the farmers, rejoice at the fulfilment of their year's hard work in conjunction with nature's generosity.175
The arable land and nature's timely gifts of rain and sun are the principal interests of the agricultural community. The people's hopes and despairs, happiness and sorrow - their economic and social well-being - depend entirely on the gifts of nature. Hence land is seen as a source of power and prestige: more land means more income; more money brings more
174 This worship of Mother Earth is less visible today than in the past, although it still exists in Punjabi thought and behaviour concerning the land Even in the past no shrines were erected, because she is believed to be present everywhere in the form of soil. For different Mother Earth cults, which in their turn have local deities, see Bedi, Folklore of Punjab, 34-38. 175 Cf. ibid., 71; Zekiye Eglar, A Punjabi village in Pakistan, New York: Colombia University Press, 1960, 203
69 friends, which in turn creates more relationships, support and security, and ultimately higher social status. Such dependence on natural phenomena has led to their divinisation, thus generating superstition and belief in magic that have become part and parcel of people's religious beliefs.
B. Village castes
Land is a bone of contention among the Punjabi people, which has led to the emergence of two classes or castes {.zafy. the zamindars or landowners, and kammis or village artisans. The dividing line between the two is land, just as the interests of both centre on land. The land has to be productive and for this zamindars need the labour and specialised services of the kammis, who are directly involved in agriculture. Hence land is an obvious source of unity, in the sense of mterdependency, but also of diversity.176
Zamindars are the owners of both tilled and untilled land; however, there are zamindars who own hardly any land, yet belong to the zamindar caste because their ancestors at one time owned land.
Kammi\s a common term to denote different specialised crafts, and each craft falls in a caste. The different kammis are carpenters, barbers, bakers, blacksmiths, cobblers, potters and sweepers, and in every village one finds all these castes.177 Despite land reform legislation, which permits the purchase of land even by non-agriculturists,179 it will never be easy for a kammi{e.g. a carpenter or a barber) to become a zamindar merely by virtue of owning land.
1. Customary laws of inheritance, sale and purchase of land
Since land is the source of a zammdai's social prestige, there are customary laws governing the inheritance of land, which is passed down the male line from father to son. Only if there are no male heirs may a daughter inherit land.
A zamindar cannot easily sell his land on his own. He always needs the consent of his kin group, the patrihneage or baradari, and there has to be a valid reason such as the costs
176 For relations between zamindars and kammis and their responsibilibes, see Quddus, Punjab, 41-43 177 Most villages have a mirasi or village bard, and in some villages there are the castes of kashmin ani aram or market gardeners, who may own land and cultivate vegetables but are not considered to be zamindars; see Ibbetson, Punjabi castes, 189-195; Quddus, Punjab, 41-44. 178 The Land Alienation Act of 1901 forbade the purchase of land by anyone who was not an agriculturist. This law was revoked in 1947 with the establishment of Pakistan. Cf. Eglar, A Punjabi village, 28. For sale and purchase of land and property in Punjab, see Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 46-48.
70 of education or marriage. When land is put up for sale the closest male relative has a prior right of refusal. If there is no buyer in the seller's own km group, the land can be offered to other zammdars in the same village. If there is no village purchaser, it can be sold to an outsider. Zammdars make every effort not to sell land to non-villagers. Selling land to outsiders can cause great damage to the basic collective unity and village organisation. Every village is self-sufficient in regard to labour and outsiders can unbalance the situation by bringing their own kammis to work on the newly bought land and also to maintain his household. This could cause conflict about the distribution of labour between village artisans and outsiders, which could threaten the unity and economic stability of the village.
Every zammdar has great attachment and affection for his particular village, his land and his km group. Together with the land he inherited from his ancestors, he has built up relationships with his baradan, the villagers and the neighbourhood. All this is grounded in tradition spanning many generations. It is firmly believed that no newcomer will be able to feel the same strong sense of belonging, of collective unity, which is basic to village organisation. The newcomer, not feeling such loyalty and deep attachment, could cause tensions and undermine the power of village zammdars. If newcomers are shrewd enough, they could divide the village by securing the support of some of the village zammdars and kammis, thus creating a new power bloc.
2. The nambardarot village headman
Every village has a nambardar or headman. The nambardar \s of the zammdar caste; the position is hereditary, having been passed down from an ancestor who was one of the founders of the village and had more land than the other zammdars, who commanded respect, had influence through wealth, was generous and possessed common sense and power. The qualities needed to hold this position are leadership and generosity, both time- wise and money-wise. It is essential that the nambardar maintains good relations with his baradan, because his power and prestige depend on their unity. He should have the capacity to make decisions, have many friends, maintain friendly relations with the people and have ties with official circles such as government authorities.
The duties of a nambardar are to devote his time to village affairs, apart from looking after his own fields and tenants. He should look after village needs by acting as a link between the village and the government. Anybody in trouble seeks the assistance of the nambardar m the hope that his influence may help. In cases of theft, elopement or dispute in the village the nambardar summons the parea or panchayat (village council), where many matters, big or small, are discussed and recommendations are made by councillors. Even so,
71 the nambardar's word is final, it cannot be opposed with impunity. While his is the ultimate word, his power is shared by other senior males in the society.
He maintains a dera or guesthouse as a symbol of his wealth, power and status. It is the scene of many activities: first, it serves as a place for the entertainment of his male guests, the men's club of the village; official guests from the city are received and entertained there; the parea or village council meets in the courtyard; villagers can have their barator wedding parties there; and travellers may overnight there.
The nambardai's womenfolk take pride in the guesthouse, because it reflects their hospitality and generosity - a status symbol. The nambardai's generosity depends very much on his womenfolk: the women's role and cooperation are crucial to build and sustain his prestige.179 Good household relations are therefore essential. If the household is divided, it causes tension and the nambardarS prestige suffers, because he will not be in a position to advise others.
In a nambardai's household the oldest woman controls all the agricultural products that come to the house, as well as the money. She plays the most active part in customary dealings with the immediate family, relatives, friends and seypees or contracts (with kammis or artisans), and with other people in the village. She is also in charge of dealings with neighbouring villages involving the exchange of food for weddings, or visits to offer condolences on the death of a person or of a buffalo. She knows when, where and how to distribute food and how much should be sent to each household in the village.180
3. Interdependence
In many respects villages are self-sufficient units and the various elements are close- knit and interdependent in terms of economic, social, religious and political ties
The occupation of a kammia\viays relates to some agricultural activity. The carpenter and blacksmith make and repair agricultural implements, the others earn their living by serving the farmer in one way or another. During ploughing and harvesting seasons most artisans also help in the fields.
The artisan's wives play an important role by complementing their husbands' occupation in the zamindai's household. The musalli CsweeperO works in the fields, while his
Cf Eglar, A Punjabi village, 30-32 Cf Quddus, Punjab, 45-46
72 wife sweeps the house and courtyard. Whereas the barber engages in various duties, his wife is the hairdresser for the female members of the zamindai's household. What is important is that a wife is only able to complement the husband's work if marriage takes place between members of the same caste. A musalli will marry another musalliÇ daughter, who will have acquired the skills of the caste in her childhood.
Every zamindar family has a seyp Ccontracf) with a kammi family. It is a work relationship with two contracting parties. It is not a contract between two individuals but a relationship between two families: the zamindai's household will have a seyp with the kammls household, and these sets of kammis are referred to as ghar da kammi Çartisans of the household').181 The kammisa\so have seyp relationships among themselves. For example, a potter's household will have a seypwth the barber's household: the barber will cut the hair of the male members of the potter's household or cook meals for a big occasion, and in return the potter will supply pots or offer other services related to his particular craft.182
The mam point is that in village society the right people are seen as being in the right jobs, and their interdependency creates group awareness.
C. Basic social unit: the family
In Punjab, as in other rural societies, families are larger and more extended than urban families. They include several generations of the male line (grandfather, father, son and grandson) as well as uncles, aunts and cousins, making up clans or clan-like organisations. Family and kinship relations are closely intertwined with the institution of property (land), specialised crafts, the institution of marriage and basic norms of behaviour such as those governing the definition of incest. The extended family facilitates the transfer of property and, with it, the transfer of responsibility from an aging elder to a younger family member, particularly since the norms of succession have been institutionalised, as has happened in many peasant societies. Certain privileges and rights are accorded and certain duties and responsibilities accompany the assumption of the role of head of the family.
In a seyp the payment or the amount of work the kammi will be called upon to do is not discussed by the zamindar and kammi. A kammi knows how much work a particular household will require and both know the customary payment Whether there is work or not, the relationship is maintained This partnership will continue over generations without any interruption or break. In this sense the relationship is to be understood as not merely economic, but as social and moral, with obligations on the side of both parties; they will have developed close and lasting bonds that are not easily broken. The system serves to reduce the need for money and to minimise competition. It also assures a stable labour supply for the dominant agricultural caste in a particular region, thus limiting the mobility of the lower castes. Cf. Eglar, A Punjabi village, 200; also see Lalita P. Vidyarthi, "South Asian cultures", Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, 125-131. 182 Cf. Quddus, Punjab, 42^3.
73 Punjabi society is patrilineal and the patrilineal family group (mera ghar, 'my house'- a man's immediate family), which is traced back to a single ancestor through the male line, is the primary social unit. A household unit may be constituted in various ways. It may include only members of the nuclear family of husband, wife and children, if a married man lives apart from his parents and siblings. Or it may include all members of an extended family, such as the aged father and mother, married sons and their wives and children, unmarried sons and daughters and occasionally a widowed daughter, with or without children. Or, after the sons and daughters have grown up and been established in marriage, the household may take the form of an extended family, including the aged parents and one of the sons, usually the youngest, with his wife and children; after the parents' death the son remains in the paternal home. Another type of extended family, consisting of a group of brothers living in one compound, is also common. If a younger son is unmarried at the time of his parents' deaths, he will live with one of his married brothers, who will be responsible for arranging his marriage.183
It should be noted that the father, elder brother and paternal uncle are responsible for the women, children and younger males in the society. These men must protect the izzat and well-being of the family. They cannot afford to have individual members making decisions for themselves or deviating from social norms. Behaviour is narrowly prescribed. Deviations are not allowed.
1. Kinship terminology
In the customs and traditions kinship plays a significant role. Its pattern varies considerably from group to group, but the general code of behaviour and attitudes are more or less the same. Each relative has certain duties and responsibilities towards others in the group, both in day-to-day life and on special occasions such as the birth, marriage or death of a family member.18''
Different terms are used for addressing patrilineal and matrilineal kinfolk. The father's side is known as dadke, indicating the father's place, the household, the village, the land where most of his baradari, paternal uncles and cousins, live. The village from which the child's mother comes, and which it frequently visits with its mother, is known as nanke, meaning the place where the mother's parents live.185
Cf. Eglar, A Punjabi village, 74-75; Ishitiaq H. Qureshi, The Pakistan way of life. New York: Praeger, 1956, 19. 184 Cf. Bedi, Folklore of Punjab, 49; also see Anita M. Weiss, Culture, class, and development in Pakistan: the emergent industrial bourgeoisie in Punjab, Lahore: Vanguard, 1991, 19-51. 185 Quddus, Punjab, 49.
74 When a daughter marries, two places are important to her: the peke, or her parental household, relatives and village; and her saure, the household, relatives and village of her husband's family.
In Punjabi society, then, a man belongs to a certain household or ghar, he is a member of his brotherhood or baradarr, dadke is the place of his paternal ancestors, his parents' home, his own home and the place where his paternal relatives live; he also has a nanke, the group of maternal relatives and the village where they live; finally, through marriage he establishes connections with his wife's household, relatives and village, his saure. All these groups make up the rishtadar or saak ('relatives'). Thus the group consists of consanguinai and affinal relatives, relatives on the father's side and on the mother's, as well as the members of the baradari and relatives by marriage. There is much intermarriage among kin, so that people are often related to each other in more than one way. Those who are outside the widest circle of kin are called opra or obra Cstrangers', ,non-kin'). They, too, could be drawn into the kin circle by marriage. The key figures in relations among kin, from one point of view, are the married daughters, who are the link between two households, between two baradaris (their own and their husband's) and between two villages.
In this total network of relations paternal relatives are considered superior to maternal relatives.196 Children are made aware of this difference from early childhood. They are told that paternal relatives are apanye (ours) and maternal relatives are ghare (others) and that is why they rank lower in the pattern of relationships.187 Nevertheless a woman has a high position as a father's sister or paternal aunt. No important decision is taken in her brother's family without consulting her. She is the closest and most sympathetic person for her brother and his children. The daughter of a family also has a special position. She is almost like a guest, because after her marriage she will leave the family. After marriage, however, she regularly visits her parents and receives presents from them; she never relinquishes her rights as a daughter of her father's house.
A woman's position as a wife and daughter-in-law is not easy to define. She is loved and respected in the family, but at the same time she undergoes a period of rigorous training in family customs and duties under the guidance of her mother-in-law. The responsibility of managing the household and fulfilling kinship duties rests on the mother-in-law.1ΘΘ
The key relationship in the patriarchal family is between father and son rather than between husband and wife. This appears to be due to the emphasis on inheritance of property, which is primarily in the male line. A girl child is viewed as an 'outsider'. Cf. Quddus, Punjab, 69 Cf. Moghal, Human person, 34 The complexity of kinship terms - for example, different terms for one's paternal and maternal relations - indicates the complexity of the relationships and responsibilities inherent in them. For instance, a person must be far more courteous to paternal relations, while maternal relations can be subjected to msulbng and derogatory comments Cf Walbridge, The Christians, 223. 188 See Quddus, Punjab, 49.
75 Nevertheless, according to Moghal, in this whole network of relationships there is no free choice: the roles are enforced through cultural values and traditional training. People fulfil their relational responsibilities, not because they really want to, but because of fear and social pressure.189 He outlines the implications of these relationships:
"The pressure of fulfilling the relational responsibility is so strong that they even lose their basic human rights. Other people decide things for them which they have to accept even if they disagree, only for the sake that other relational bondages are not broken. Their personal decisions are always controlled by others. This is not always done because of bad intentions but it reflects basic lack of trust in people, as it is expected that people are not able to make correct and accurate decisions."190
2. Marriage
Marriage in Punjab is patrilocal. It is the most important social function in the life of Punjabis and is an event through which new relationships are formed and new members enter one's fold or kin group. Therefore, no matter how poor a family may be, the parents want to perform some sort of ceremony to celebrate the marriage. The number of guests brings prestige or izzatto the couple's families, to the couple themselves, their baradaris, the kin group and their respective villages.
Marriage fulfils two important functions: first, it forms a link between two families; and secondly, it strengthens already existing relationships with the baradari, kin group and close friends, the seypi (between zamindar and kammi), the village as a whole and also the neighbouring villages. The renewal or activation of different sorts of relationships happens not through mere passive presence at the ceremony, but through active participation in the customary gift exchange, known as vartan bhanji, in accordance with the specific level of one's relation to the couple.191
Since the family is the basic socio-economic unit, the norms governing it are supremely important. Marriages are therefore strictly controlled. They are endogamous within
a. Moghal, Human person, 38. 190 Ibid, 36-37. The fundamental rule of vartan bhanji is reciprocity Reciprocity covers all spheres of life like marriage relations, gift exchange, necessibes of daily life such as food, agricultural tools, household implements, etc In other words, a gift should be returned for a gift, a favour should be returned for a favour, good treatment should be returned for good treatment. Reciprocal relations between friends, neighbours and relabves change constantly. No one can live without the help of other villagers. People's behaviour is strongly controlled by these relations In any issue - justice, polibcs, social relabons or conflict - reaprocAyiaVsi, precedence over justice. See Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 68- 71.
76 castes, and even among kammis every caste is endogamous. Hence marriages are preferably arranged within the kin group, even between close cousins. In such interrelated families it is common for a girl to marry into the family of her father's sister; for instance, she may marry her father's sister's son - her paternal cross-cousin. The rationale behind marriage norms is protection of the extended family, and the definition of incest varies according to the requirements of social stability. If no suitable person can be found among the kin group, families do give their children in marriage to non-kin.192
3. Methods of arranging marriages
The process starts with a third party called a vachula ('mediator'), who is usually a relative of the groom or bride. Neither the individual choice of the partners nor romantic love is relevant to a marriage arrangement. The choice of a partner rests solely with the family elders.
Since the parents want to see that the new home is well established, they make many inquiries about caste; social status; the baradarr, whether the family is honest in customary give-and-take proceedings (gift exchange or vartan bhanji); the bride's parents, especially her mother; the physical health of bride and groom; and their age difference (which should not be too great, although the most important factor is physical maturation).193 Since marriage is arranged between two families, they have to help the couple throughout their lives, so that they may fulfil their responsibilities as parents and carry out their duties as their forefathers did.194
The married couple will not have an independent household immediately, or even after their first child is bom. They live in the husband's parental household. This is the preparatory period when the new couple is trained to be responsible parents and is initiated into the customs of society. The most important behaviour they should cultivate is to keep every relationship alive and active by way of visits and the proper exchange of gifts with people they consort with in daily life. Once the couple is properly versed in these requirements, they start a separate home. This does not always (although it may) mean that
192 Cf Patras Yusuf, Khadam zmdagi [ Family life], Karachi: Mallak, Muzafar Ahmad, 1979, 82-83 193 Cf ibid , 84-85 There are many customary rituals and ceremonies before, during and after marriage. Gift exchange or vartan bhanji and the customary visits to each other's families are the most important, and once the visits have been paid, the bride officially settles down in her new home - the husband's household - by cooking a ritual meal. For detailed information on marriage customs, rituals and ceremonies, see Eglar^ A Punjabi village, 95-101; Bedi, Folklore of Punjab, 53-59. For the preparation of the couple for marriage and its importance, see Yusuf, Khadam zindagi, 86, 88- 98 Remarriage of widows is not completely ruled out and can happen in certain circumstances. If she does not marry, a widow may go and live with her parents, if they are alive, or with her brother. It increases her brothers' izzat or prestige not to have their widowed sister remarry.
77 they leave the husband's parents' household. It can entail a separate room in the same house or a separate house in the same compound, where they manage their own expenses.
When the couple assumes the responsibility of an independent household, this is termed 'tying the knots around one's neck', which means that one is bound by responsibilities. At the same time establishment of an independent household ushers in the 'year of untying the knots', in that the couple gradually starts to discharge their duties as parents (e.g. giving their sons and daughters in marriage), as well as maintaining good relations with members of the various groups with whom they are connected through kinship and work, and those with whom they consort on a daily basis. If the couple fulfils these duties properly, they receive social approval, which brings prestige or izzat, and this in turn enhances their status, influence and power. The couple's inner desire or sadr is to see their children married and all their obligations fulfilled before their death. At the death of those who have fulfilled all their duties people rejoice and express great respect, bestowing the title of 'greaf on them; this honour reflects on both the ancestors and descendants of the deceased. Such occasions also inspire and challenge the family to start life as responsible parents, as their parents did.
4. Relationships in the family
In the extended family system the conjugal relationship centres on the husband and eldest son. The wife should serve her husband with total respect, obedience and love. The husband in turn loves and respects his wife and family.
Father-son relationships are normally strong, because the son is the one who will follow in the father's footsteps and carry on his name, both through his work and his descendants. Sons are considered special blessings from the Most High and are longed for Even so, the birth of a daughter is generally taken as a sign of good luck for the whole family. Both sons and daughters are essential for the perfect functioning of the family system, for when a daughter marries the family has to contribute a dowry, and when a son marries a dowry is received from his wife's family.
Each person has a specific place in the family and a role to play faithfully. Obedience to the relevant members of the house is very important. The children have to show great deference to their parents and older members of society. They are taught to speak and behave respectfully towards any older person, whatever his or her status may be. Younger brothers and sisters have to listen to their older siblings. Brothers have to treat their sisters
78 with respect. Mothers and sisters stay at home dutifully, because females are the izzat or prestige of the house and family.195
The relationship between brother and sister is the warmest and purest of all. A brother occupies the foremost place in a woman's thoughts right from childhood. If her father is not alive, her brother will be responsible for arranging her marriage. She looks up to him as her sole protector and expects his help when she is in difficulty. In this sense a brother is a source of izzat or prestige, because he fulfils all duties to his sister. A brother is a loving mamun (maternal uncle) to his sister's children, and she is a loving phuphi (aunt) to his children. She normally arranges marriages for her brother's children, and whenever an important decision has to be made the phuphi is consulted and her opinion is much respected.
Sometimes close friends and associates enter into ritual relationships. Boys exchange turbans as a sign of a bond and are known as pag-wat brothers. This is a ceremonial occasion, which means that henceforth they are brothers. Sometimes even a girl will tie a rakhi (piece of string) around the wrist of a boy not of her own km, making them dharam bhra (brothers in faith), which rules out marriage. The approach to these ritual relationships is very serious and all obligations must be carefully observed, just as if they were real kinship ties.
Boys and girls play together when they are small, but a mother will stop her daughter playing with male children when she is about twelve years of age. Thus boys and girls grow up separately, especially after the onset of puberty. This increased separation is intended for their future well-being when male and female will complement each other and form a healthy family and a good society. It is believed that men and women have separate duties to perform in society and their own ways of contributing to its welfare.
D. The baradarisystem
1. Background
The basis of the Punjabi social structure is not the nuclear family unit but the group of families, the extended family, which collectively forms a socio-economic unit. Each extended family is traced back to a common ancestor, who founded a particular village and whose land was divided among his descendants. These descendants may consist of as many
Cf Yusuf, Khadam zmdagi, 26-28..
79 as twenty or thirty families, all belonging to the same extended family. It is a net-unit that keeps members of a family or clan together, bound by customary duties and rights. This net- unit is known as baradari. Thus the original or strict sense of the word baradari derives from the patrilineage and links persons who can trace their relationship, however remote, to a common ancestor. Hence baradari refers to the whole patrilineal group and to any individual member of the patrilineage.196 However, the term is also applied more generally to other groups, whose members are linked by religion, language, occupation and so on.197
Although all the inhabitants of a village may have a common ancestor, this does not mean that all the families have the same occupation. There will be zamindars and kammis, and among the latter barbers, carpenters, launderers and so on. Although they all belong to the same village baradari,. the arrival of outsiders from time to time means that not all of them are necessarily related. Blood relations are known as family baradari.
In this system no one is completely isolated. Each Punjabi belongs to a group in one way or another. A person's worth or value of depends on his or her loyalty to the group. Baradari is therefore basic to Punjabi society; it is at the very heart of the people and could be called their 'soul'. The essential elements of the Punjabi way of life flow from it.
The term baradari derives from a Persian word198 meaning 'brotherhood', 'fraternal relation' or 'relationship'. It signifies a 'getting together', which sets the group apart from other groups. It is not easy to determine the precise nature and extent of the brotherhood from the term itself.199 Baradari refers to different realities according to the context in which it is used. Hence it covers a wide range of meanings, from brotherhood to clan, caste, community and a circle of family members, from close to distant relatives.
The common understanding among the Punjabi people is that to understand the meaning and origins of the baradan one has to look at it in the broader context of the Indian caste system as sanctified by Vedic tradition. This takes us back to the time of the Aryans
Cf. Eglar, A Punjabi village, 75-76; also cf. Morton Klass, Caste: the emergence of the South Asian social system, Philadelphia: Institute for Study of Human Issues, 1980, 90 197 Cf. Patras Yusuf, "The òaradansystem m Punjabi society". AlMushirll, 1979: 157-158. There are two sources that give the same transliteration. First, biradan means 'fraternity', 'relationship', according to The student's practical dictionary, containing Hindustani words with English meanings in Persian characters, 12th ed., Allahabad, India: Ram Naram Lai, 1956, 105. Second, the original Persian word 'biradarl means 'brotherhood', ' fraternal relation', 'relabonship'; cf. F. Steingass, A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, 8th ed., London: Kegan Paul, Trench Trubner, 1988, 167 The right pronunciabon would be biradaam (double vowel = long vowel), but Punjabis pronounce it 'brader!. When writing the Persian word 'biradarl in Punjabi using the Persian script one has to spell it 'baradan', because there is no way to write bir(-adari). This is because in using the Persian script to write Punjabi phonetically, one cannot reproduce the actual Punjabi sounds, as it lacks the necessary sound signs (letters), σ. S. S. Kohli, "Punjabi," 578. 199 σ. Yusuf, "Ttie baradan system", 155.
80 and their social structure, which was based on a caste hierarchy. It raises the question whether the baradari system is an offshoot of the Indian caste system.
2. History: from vama to baradari
Although the division of ancient Indian society into four vamas (brahman, ksatriya, vaisva, sudra) was regarded as fundamental, primeval and divinely ordained, it is believed that the four vamas of the Vedic theory may have declined in northern parts of the Indian subcontinent since the system was first formulated between 1000 and 300 B.C.E. It has been observed that there were sub-castes apart from the official four varnas, whose numbers increased so as to form several groups. Each group had its own behaviour, duties, rights and moral code, and tried to defend itself by dominating the others.200
Historians maintain that it was mostly members of sub-castes who embraced Islam and Christianity. Although they joined these religions which proclaim the equal dignity of all men and women or universal brotherhood, they could not fully rid themselves of their caste mentality and carried it along into their new religion. While in name they had abandoned the caste system, mentally they continued it in the guise of the baradari system.201 It has its qaida aur kanoon or code of conduct that should be observed in order to assure group stability and personal identity. The rationale underlying the system is the assurance of security and cultural stability. Security as a basic human need depended on cultural stability, which became a moral value.
3. Methods of formation
A baradari may be established, first, by blood or some common bond, and secondly, by voluntary ritual.
a. Blood The first concept of baradari\s that of blood relationship: the very fact that someone is born into a clan means that the person belongs to that particular baradari, with all its
The authors of classical moral code books in the next few centuries (c.200 Β CE. - 200 C E ) explained the existence of these non-Vedic jabs or nonofficial castes in terms of a theory of miscegenation; in other words, the jatis or sub-castes were the offspring of improper mixing among descendants of pure Vedic vamas. In the Vedic scheme jaü units or sub-castes with their different codes of conduct were seen as a response to the requirements of particular places, times and persons By contrast the four official Vedic vamas, together with the saaifice from which they were thought to spring, were seen as the universal, eternal and logically complete scheme for upholding nature and morality Cf. McKim Marriott & Ronald B. Indon, "Caste system", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 982-991, esp. 984- 985 201 Cf. Yusuf, "The baradan system", 157.
81 duties and rights. Members of the same clan may live in different villages but they are joined together by horizontal solidarity.202
b. Some common bond The primary notion of unity by blood is extended to other levels of society. People are united in Christian baradari or Muslim baradari. A Christian baradarF* or brotherhood can comprise Christians in a certain village, or all those living in a region, or a local church; even the universal church can be said to be a form a baradari. The same applies to Muslims united as a group or baradari in a particular village, region or country, or as all the Muslims in the world.204
There are other ways in which people form baradaris. Some unite in a baradari under the name of a common ancestor, for instance the baradaris of GW, Bhatti, Sohtara, Randhawa or Dalu-du. Before the construction of the irrigation network for agricultural purposes in the Punjab, each of these groups lived as a separate unit or cluster in different villages. The creation of canal colonies meant that the groups were dispersed from their original villages, but as baradaris they are not destabilised. In the strict sense the Gills, Bhattis and so on are not related by blood. But customarily a clan member does not marry in the same clan; for example, a Gill will not marry a member of his own clan but a member of the Bhatti, Sohtara or some other baradari. This is a tradition and each clan maintains it - which brings izzatto that particular ancestor and those who bear the name.205
The name 'baradari may be applied to people who do not belong to any kin group but are united by a common occupation. Kammis unite in a kammi baradari, which includes all kammis. Each craft will form its own baradari, for example the baradari of musalis CsweepersO- They unite in the baradari of kammis or more specifically in the baradari of musalis in a particular village, region, country or the whole world. Zamindars, too, unite in a baradari of zamindars.
Cf. Μ. Ν. Snnivas, "The social structure of a Mysore village," in: India's villages, M.N. Snnivas (ed.), 2nd ed., Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1965, 27. There are other levels of group distinction in Pakistan. One of these is called qaum in Urdu. Quam refers to religious affiliation, the relevant ones in this case being Muslim, Christian and Hindu. This distinction is very dear. In Pakistan a person's principal identity marker is religion, and marriage should not take place outside the religious community. For a detailed account of the Christian baradan and its origins, see Walbndge, The Chnsbans, 13-20. This Muslim brotherhood should not be confused with the Islamic traditionalist movement that emerged in the early 20th century in Egypt as a strong political movement to propagate orthodox Islam all over the world, and which has since spread to other countries. Cf. Richard P. Mitchell, 77» society of the Muslim Brothers, London: Oxford University Press, 1969 for a detailed description of the movement. The group is considered to have entered into a consanguine blood relationship, like brothers and sisters, so they will not intermarry. The same sort of mentality exists among the brahman caste. All brahmans believe that they are descended from one or other rsi or legendary seer, after whom the gotras or dans were named. The chief importance of the gotra pertains to marriage, since marriage between persons of the same gotra is forbidden. Cf. Basham, The wonder that was India, 153-154.
82 Baradaris are also formed according to language groups. Punjabi speakers will form their own baradari and Pushtu speakers will form theirs. Such language groups can extend beyond national boundaries as far as East Punjab (in India) where Punjabi is spoken.
Lastly, members of different types of baradari who live in the same village will tend to unite, irrespective of their particular baradaris and their religion, to form one common village baradari. c. Voluntary ritual Two persons from different families can create a baradari through a ritual called pag- wati, or exchange of turbans, thus creating a bond of friendship. Later their children will continue this bond, which goes beyond religion and occupation.
If a man marries a woman of a lower caste, the new wife has to have a ritual bath and partake of a special meal cooked by the womenfolk of her husband's baradari (the extended family group to which he belongs).206
The term 'baradari is broad. It applies to family, village, occupation, language, religious and other groupings. Inasmuch as an individual is part of a group, he or she belongs to a baradari. A daughter belongs to her father's baradan, but after marriage she is also included in her husband's baradan. Thus a person can belong to more than one baradan at the same time. He or she operates in different baradaris as in concentric relationships: those closer to the centre are the strongest and therefore demand the highest loyalty; as one moves away from the centre baradari relationships become weaker and so does the demand of loyalty.
4. Lived experience of the baradan a. Functions of the baradan We have discussed the different kinds of baradan. One can find all these kinds in the same village, although they do not all function simultaneously but at different times, under different conditions and on different levels. A baradari comes into effect at a time of need, especially when there is opposition from outside its ranks.
As far as the family baradari is concerned, the individual family is free to find partners and arrange marriages for its children. However, the family informs the relatives
Cf Yusuf, "The baradan system", 158
83 who form the family baradari ana they collectively give their consent. At this level the family baradari functions collectively. If one member does not agree with the proposal, this should be taken into consideration; many discussions will take place and finally the baradarls decision has to be accepted. Acceptance of the baradarls decision maintains its unity, bringing izzat to the baradari as well as to its individual members. When a poor person marries, his family baradari cooperates to provide a decent marriage celebration. If many guests attend and are well treated, izzat accrues to the family, the couple and the whole baradari.107
The same procedure is followed in job hunting, problem solving and other important family matters. This is how a baradari functions independently of other groups. In these cases the family baradari'plays the determining role, not the village baradari.
When there is tension between two villages each village will unite as a baradari in opposition to the other in order to safeguard its own autonomy, security, izzat ana prosperity. In the same way, whether within a village or outside it, zamindars or kammis unite when there is opposition. If a zamindar tries to molest a kammi, all the kammis unite against the zamindar. This is how kammis ensure their status and dignity. They are proud of their profession or craft, because it comes from their ancestors.208 It is their izzat to maintain the specialised craft and transmit it to their descendants without being unjustly dominated by others. If a carpenter molests a barber, the barber's whole baradari aus in unison against the carpenter's to right the wrong.
People unite as a baradari not only when there are tensions and opposition, but also on other occasions to enhance the status of a village, a person, et cetera. What is significant is that the system does not allow injustice even to the lowest person and no group can dominate another. Even if a very popular person harms the least popular member of a baradari, he will never escape punishment. If a group of zamindars with their ghar da kammi Chousehold of kammif) attempts to dominate the village, another group of zamindars and their ghar da kammi will rise to oppose such domination. Then there will be two powers in the village (ßati bazzi or political parties) holding each other in check. In this way a balance of power is maintained.
This is achieved honour, which refers to the reputation and Fame individuals earn by their own merits. For example, if a very rich, respectable, well-known polibaan visits the house of a poor farmer or kammi, the neh polibaan gives izzat to the poor man, but at the same time he earns even more izzat by visiting a poor man. Cf. Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 66; J H. Neyrey, Honour and shame, 15-16 0 In Pakistan there is some flexibility allowing for a change of occupation, but Pakistanis are proud of their traditional professions because of their ancestral origins.
84 b. The baradari as a source of influence All baradaris consist of men and women, elders and children. But the baradari as a decision-making council comprises only male heads of families. A woman will express her views to the head of the family on a matter like marriage, career or a quarrel. He will present the question to the baradari council and this particular group of men will decide. The initiative in certain matters may come from women, but ultimately the decision is made by the council of the baradari. Women and children are excluded from baradari meetings, although youths can attend as silent observers. Even decisions about quarrels among women are made by the all male council.
Although all heads of families form the baradari council, decisions are not taken by the membere collectively. They will discuss the question together, but decisions are taken by a body called the panchayat}m Though ^panchayat literanly means 'gathering of five', today the number holds no significance. The term has been used through the ages for traditional village assemblies. Members are not formally elected, but are men respected by the village or by the parties, who are asked to assemble to help resolve the problem. It is a voluntary committee that varies in size depending on the gravity of the offence or the importance of the parties involved. In short, panchayat is a council comprising an unspecified number of mu'tabar or trustworthy, respectable people, summoned or meeting on their own initiative, called by one or both parties to a dispute or by a third party, and given ikhtiyar (authority and discretion) by one, both or neither of the parties to decide a conflict.210
It consists of men with high social status, power and prestige who head a clan. Among these is the supreme head, the nambardar or village headman, who makes the final decision. The panchayat is involved solely in instances when the concern is a village matter and not a personal family matter, unless it is something that affects the well-being of the village.211
As for the modus operandi of a panchayat, it does not meet at the initiative of a poor or weak party against a richer and stronger one. If a kammi comes and asks for a panchayat meeting about a farmer who has abused him, they might not agree to meet, but a similar request by the farmer would be granted. This means that in a conflict between kammis the
The word 'panchayat comes from tfie Sanskrit word for 'five' and consists of a five-man governing body It is an old Indian institution for the self-government of an Indian caste, where it functioned as a court of law to sort out major and minor disputes in the caste Cf. Khushwant Singh, A history of the Sikhs, 15 Thus it is a traditional judicial system operating through panchayat, a folk system of law varying from village to village and area to area. See Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 85. Also see Klostermaier, A survey, 63, 181. 210 Cf. ibid , 92-93. 11 There is a distinction between kath and panchayat. Kath means 'gathering' and panchayat, as mentioned above, literary means 'a gathering of five [members]' One possible difference is that the meetings of panchayat are normally held for one particular part of the community and tend to handle judicial cases, while the katfi deals with general problems affecting the whole village. Cf. ibid , 92
85 meeting of the kammi baradari panchayat would be more easily convened. But if the conflict is between the kammiand the farmer baradariand the kammi requests the village panchayat or the panchayat of the farmer's baradari to meet, it would not be possible, unless another farmer supports him. Similarly, an appeal to the panchayat by a poor farmer against a richer and stronger farmer would be ineffective. The fact that the justice provided by the panchayat is 'relative' justice based on the disputants' status and position in the community is one reason why kammi baradaries oppose the panchayat system. But because the official court system is costly and time consuming, they have recourse to the panchayat in the hope of justice.212
The consent of both parties is a precondition for calling a panchayat meeting. If one party is unwilling, a panchayat cannot be called. If, however, a panchayat is convened through the influence of the stronger party, the poorer party with lesser status would not dare ignore the summons of the panchayat.
There are no fixed, formal procedures for the meeting. The nature of the panchayat and procedures change according to the situation and circumstances. Punctuality is not considered necessary, nor is there any prescribed time limit. An important aspect is to let people voice their grievances and make their gellee shikway (complaints) to each other. After both sides have expressed their grievances the panchayat deliberates and works out a compromise.
Decisions of the panchayat are seldom a surprise, as they can already be guessed from private discussions among the people. Panchayat decisions are not abrupt but are reached gradually; the actual meeting could be seen as the last step in the process.213 If a compromise is arrived at and is accepted by both parties, they are made to stand up to embrace each other and shake hands. Embracing and shaking hands symbolises the end of the conflict.214
"* Cf ibid., 98-99. Panchayat is not called immediately after a conflict has taken place. The party desiring the council meeting must test community feeling by narrabng his problem, starting with his immediate neighbours, friends and acquaintances, and gauge their reaction and opinions. If others are sympathetic and consider the complaint justified, the lobbying process starts and then the council meebng can take place. 14 For method of punishment and its effectiveness, cf. ibid., 101-105. A baradana\so functions as a control, since a person will avoid those actions or situations that might degrade him in the eyes of the baradan. All in all it aeates a strong sense of group solidarity and belonging. As a guarantee of group solidarity the members must be faithful to the asul Cduty', 'customs') of the baradan, which means obedience, loyalty and never abandoning the group at any cost Supporting one's baradan brings izzat for oneself and for the whole group, for it is in the baradan that an individual gams recognition and a deep sense of identity. Similarly, when there is some issue between two baradans, loyalty to one's baradan makes it difficult to be loyal to an outsider even if he is right. This strong bond of togetherness aeates a collective conscience and consensus at the expense of personal freedom and imbative.
86 Although the panchayat has no legal power, it has moral force which can influence any government in power. This consists not only in solving problems but in fulfilling a common need - the common good of a person or a village. Because a baradan is a close-knit unit, it can solve most problems within a clan or village, or with neighbouring villages, without referring to civil courts.
A baradan also functions as a controlling factor, since a person will avoid those actions or situations that might degrade him in the eyes of the baradan. All in all it creates a strong sense of group solidarity and of belonging. As a guarantee of group solidarity the members must be faithful to the asul (duty or customs) of the baradan, which means obedience, loyalty and never abandoning the group at any cost. Supporting one's baradan means izzat for oneself and for the whole group, for it is in the baradan that an individual gams recognition and a deep sense of identity. Similarly, in an issue between two baradans, loyalty to one's baradan makes it difficult to be fair to an outsider even if he is in the right. This strong bond of togetherness creates a collective conscience and consensus at the expense of personal freedom and initiative. c. The baradan as a symbol of group awareness Each member is expected to safeguard the izzat of the group at any cost, even if means telling a he. In elections of government officials or those of any other organisation, the whole baradan is in duty bound to support their member, whether the person is qualified for the post or not. The more the members keep united, the more the strength and security of the group are ensured, which means that no outside force will be able to exploit or discriminate against its members.
Members of a baradan assist one another in times of sorrow, sickness and death, and with regard to work and marriages. Hence an individual baradan member is never isolated and will never have to carry her burden alone. Sharing at all levels is seen as a great value in Punjabi culture. An individual depends on the baradan for personal growth, strength and support. In this sense no-one is isolated, nor can an individual be understood without considering the whole cultural climate.
A family belonging to a baradan may move from their original home, but no matter where they settle, members of a baradan never sever connections with their native village. They try to keep their relationships alive and active in many ways. To keep the baradan alive and affirm their unity and solidarity, 'activity' is important - not just any activity for its own sake, but participation in important social occasions. This is where the custom called vartan bhanji, the exchange of gifts, comes into it.
87 5 Vartan bhanji in the baradan
Renewal and activation of different sorts of relationships in the baradan are effected through vartan bhanji, an exchange of gifts on occasions when all assemble. Participation in vartan bhanji is the underlying factor that assures the cohesion, dynamism and continuity of the baradan system. It is a cultural force: the ceremoniahsation of a social alliance.
The process of exchanging gifts involves a wide range of relationships between the various groups that make up society. The hierarchical order for the exchange of gifts at an important occasion is as follows1
(ι) affined relatives (n) friends (in) members of the same caste: a zammdar with other village zammdars and zammdars of other villages; a kammi with other village kammis and those of neighbouring villages (iv) members of different castes: a zammdar with a kammi, and a kammi with another kammi (e.g. a barber with a carpenter) (v) neighbours (vi) the village as a whole (VII) villages with neighbouring villages
The verb ^vartarl means 'to trade' and 'bhanji means 'sweets', so vartan bhanji literally means 'trading in sweets'. Bhanji has the extended meaning of 'relationship', so vartan bhanji is taken to mean 'trading in relationships'. It does not entail a mere exchange of gifts, but denotes the relationships established through this exchange. It involves an exchange of material goods - sweets, fruit, money, clothes - but also includes favours and services such as collective labour or mang at harvest time. The performance of this ritual exchange of gifts symbolises the renewal and activation of all relationships maintained with those one deals with. There is a proverb: a well is a well as long as it works; in other words, relatives are relatives as long as they meet. It should be borne in mind that vartan bhanji is vital for accruing izzat.
This traditional institution only functions on ceremonial occasions such as birth, marriage, the death of an old person and some lesser events. Among these marriage takes pride of place, since that is when new relationships are created. The renewal or inception of a relationship is symbolised by the exchange of sweets, clothes, money and cooked or
88 uncooked food at a ceremony, according to the customary laws and behaviour.215 The exchange is not between two individuals but between groups in a sequence dictated by the closeness of the relationship. The family first trades gifts with their baradan, then with close friends, then with their clan, and so on.
The exchange of gifts is reciprocal but unequal. Each gift is recorded in a permanent family register, a running record of obligations and credits to and from other member families of the baradari™ To perpetuate the relationship, indebtedness must be maintained and each gift given is larger than the one received from that family member on the previous similar occasion.217 Thus the obligation is continually passed back and forth between the participating families as one or the other becomes the recipient of the most recent gift. Ritually the commitment of both participants to the relationship is affirmed. If for some reason one of the parties wishes to terminate the relationship, a messenger is sent bearing a gift that exactly equals the amount of the obligation; in this way the chain of indebtedness - and thus the relationship - is broken. However, people make every effort not to terminate a relationship. In a family baradari, when one family severs its relationship with another family in the same baradari, the whole baradari takes every measure to heal the rift before a major social event such as marriage. If all baradan members are present on that occasion, it shows the unity of the baradari, which brings izzatXo the group.
Certain principles are evident in this traditional institution of vartan bhanji. The first is that of reciprocity.™ For each gift received one must be given: a gift for a gift, a favour for a favour, a joke for a joke, good for good, bad for bad, evil for evil. What counts most is the intention, the attitude of the giver. The quantity and quality of the gift manifest the intention and the purity of the relationship. If one is unable to reciprocate for whatever reason, one's presence at a ceremony is taken as a sign of goodwill. In this reciprocity there is no
There is another kind of relationship where no gifts are exchanged, but in which two partes, two individuals, two families or two villages feel free to ask favours of each other. This relationship implies a certain degree of friendship and rapport, a willingness to request and grant favours. For example, if a zammdar needs mang (collective labour) during the harvest season, he may ask for assistance from his friend in another village with whom he has a relationship involving the exchange of favours. That puts him under an obligation to his friend, who in his turn is obligated to all the people who ]oin mang A his request. Cf. Eglar, A Punjabi village, 105-106 21 Every family has a family register or vehi, which may be kept for generations. The book is maintained from both ends simultaneously: gifts received are entered at one end and those given at the other end. Cf ibid , appendix III, 204. For example, a family will give fifty rupees to another family at a particular ceremony. The recipient family has to reciprocate to the donor on the next similar occasion, when it will return the Fifty rupees plus another ten. Hence there is always an indebtedness to settle on the next occasion In this way the relationship continues 218 This reciprocity extends to political affiliation as well as giving evidence in a court or panchayat Villagers give their votes in return for favours. Reciprocity also features when a person appears as a witness in a court case or makes a statement to the police Generally a person agrees to be a witness not for the sake of truth, love of justice, or against criminals who should be punished, but according to who has helped him or her in the past and who could be of assistance in the future. Whenever witnesses are required they are mostly relatives, members of the plaintiffs baradan, friends or those who have helped him or her Thus jusbce is not always done: you have to reciprocate Cf. Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 68-71.
89 equilibrium. A degree of imbalance creates indebtedness, which is necessary to keep the relationship alive so that it will continue.
One way or another every giver is a recipient, so no-one goes away from a social ceremony empty handed. The exchange is also carried out according to the person's means, social status and the closeness of the relationship. It is not that the poor get more and the rich get less. The Punjabi proverb goes: 'vartan bhanjns neither charity, nor is it trade.'
Finally, proper display of the articles given and received is an important part of the ritual. If the ritual is properly performed, it brings izzat to the family and its baradan. For this reason parents continue to tram their children in this custom even after their marriage, so that they can perform it well and honestly, for it is the means of maintaining good relations that ensure stability in the communication and propagation of the culture.
IV PUNJABI CULTURE IN THE FACE OF SOCIAL CHANGE
We have described traditional Punjabi culture and in particular the baradan system. Living cultures are dynamic, not static.219 There is neither a simple linear movement nor a closed circular movement, because human experience does not work that way. If all human thinking were one-directional, life would proceed in one direction only, not in many different ways. What happens when the Punjabi cultural symbol system comes into contact with other cultural symbol systems' In other words, what are the implications of interaction between the Punjabi worldview and other worldviews'
What is the current situation? Tippett explains that there are no compartmentalised entities, such as an old way and a new way, the traditional way and the Westernised way. Instead the living situation today is an interpretation of traditional and Westernised ways.220 Malmowski called this the new autonomous entity.221 The primary purpose of Hajime Nakamura's book is to bring about understanding or reconciliation between the Oriental mind' and the 'West'. He seeks to demonstrate the level of understanding that can be
Culture is constantly evolving an apparently unitary set of rules and meanings through inter group oppositions and struggles, in which the groups and the rales regulabng their interaction only develop in a process of ongoing social relabons What is often taken as a consistent, long-standing cultural pattern, a coherent set of cultural meanings, is only the momentary and localised product of human action and contest Culture always 'is', but it has always just become so Cf Fox, Lions of the Punjab, 13 220 Cf A R Tippett, Verdict theology m missionary theory, 2nd ed , South Pasadena William Carey Library, 1973, 135 221 Cf Bromslaw Malmowski (ed ), Methods of study of culture contact in Africa, London Oxford University Press, 1938, xix
90 reached once we transcend the ancient myth of 'Easf and 'West' as monoliths. A scrutiny of the present Punjabi situation will clarify this mixture of old and new.
Social anthropologists describe the behavioural changes taking place as a result of evolving technologies, biotechnologies and easy mobility, which leads to both national and international migration.223
Because of easy travel people migrate from their villages to seek jobs in the city or even abroad. Contact with other worldviews leads to behavioural change. These changes affect every aspect of a Punjabi's life, economic, social and religious. Yet people never sever their connection with their village. Instead they bring the city experience and developments home to the village. In this sense there is not such a big gap between city life and that of the more prosperous in the village.
Some village kammis have been particularly affected by technological development since manufactured goods became available. The weaver, for example, is no longer wholly indispensable. This challenges the kammi to modernise by purchasing machines. Some specialised kammis - the silversmith, the weaver, who were once indispensable - are no longer found in every village.
The old patterns of life have changed. Many zamindars have gone into business, in which kammis have become their partners. Some kammis have become big businessmen and have taken zamindars as their partners.
The socio-economic and political structure of the village is undergoing and has undergone enormous change. In the old system zamindars were members of the panchayat, who not merely decided disputes and conflicts within and between the zamindar baradaris but often those between kammi baradari as well, since the latter were totally dependent on the zamindars for their living. It is not so much that kammis are taking the place of zamindars, but that the village hierarchy is changing. The key roles are now played by those who have money. This has shaken old institutions of social control such as panchayat^and other village councils.
Nakamura, Ways of thinking, v. 223 Cf. Azevedo, Inculturabon and the challenges of modernity, 30-38; also see Frednc Jameson & Masao Miyoshi (eds), The cultures of globalization, London: Duke University, 1998. This book presents the globalisation process in relation to the transformation of economics into culture, and vice versa; the rise of the consumer culture around the world; the creation and elimination of forms of subjectivity; and the challenges this presents to national identity, local culture and traditional forms of everyday life.
91 Islam also influences the official system and the traditional system and in some cases offers an alternative forum for the dispensation of justice. Islam provides an alternative institution in the larger context of justice in practice. Villagers use Islamic judicial institutions in such a manner that they form part of the larger category, the traditional judicial system.224
Caste barriers have gradually been eroded as many specialised artisans took other jobs. Better agricultural and other machines have reduced the need for mang or collective labour. Carpenters have become masons, potters have changed from clay to metal.
The biggest change in traditional life was wrought by the enforcement of shariat law of inheritance, which gives women full rights of inheritance and applies to all cases in which the father died after March 1948.
More and more boys and girls are seeking education. The proportion of educated girls is increasing steadily. This brings changes in marriage customs and ways of choosing partners, and the whole system of vartan bhanji has been modified by a reduction in the duration and frequency of the celebrations.
Education has lessened youth's esteem for the advice of parents and elders, to the extent that young people frequently do not heed their opinion at all. More education and migration to the city, where there are job opportunities, mean that young people are gaming economic independence and it has become more difficult for parents to instil traditional values in their offspring.
V. CONCLUSION
This chapter dealt with the Punjabi social structure as expressed in the baradan system. We described its origin, functions, procedures and values. The basic purpose of the caste system was to create an ordered society, in which each has his or her place and duties to perform. But, it was noted, it has turned out to be an oppressive, degrading structure dividing humanity according to a hierarchy of classes. The belief that persons are not equal and that there is a hierarchy of classes, each with its own duties and distinct way of life, is the most striking feature of the subcontinent's sociology.
See Chaudhary, Justice in practice, 108-113; Quddus, Punjab, 225-233. Also see Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, Mawdudi and the making of Islamic revivalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Mawlana Mawdudi (1903-1979) was one of the foremost Islamic ideological thinkers. He was the first to develop a modern political Islamic Ideology and a plan for social action to realise his vision. The writings and efforts of Mawdudi's party, the Jamaat-i-Islamia, first in India and later in Pakistan, have disseminated his ideas far and wide, greatly influencing the people of Pakistan and espeaally Punjab. For the connection between religion and fundamental cultural problems confronting our generation, see Jalibi, Pakistan identity of culture, 95-152
92 One way or another this social structure forms a substratum in practically all the cultures on the subcontinent today. Thus caste consciousness persists under different names, and in Punjab it functions under the banner of baradan or brotherhood. The rationale underlying the baradan system is the assurance of security and cultural stability Security as a basic human need was assured by cultural stability, and this in turn became a moral value.
Today baradan faces many challenges on account of changing realities in the world at large, creating friction between old and new value systems. It is not easy for young Punjabis entering an urban situation to adapt their traditional ways. They were born into one culture and its worldview. The baradan system has given them a communitarian and collective consciousness in which the group decides for the person. However, in the city they are independent and away from their families and baradans. This contact with new opportunities, new customs and new values causes confusion about what to accept and assimilate and what to reject.
The envisaged encounter between gospel message and Punjabi culture is not to eliminate this social system. This is the system that gives meaning and direction to people's lives. There are many cultural values we should see as positive and take as Kingdom values. At the same time some elements of the culture need to be challenged and purified. The question remains: when gospel meets baradan, what do we envisage with regard to people's outlook on life, their behavioural patterns? Will there be any change in the life of the Christian Punjabi7
93 CHAPTER THREE
CHRISTTANITY IN PUNJAB
I. INTRODUCTION
Christianity in Pakistan has many facets. This is not only because of the variety of denominations traditions or the diversity of regional cultures; one must also discern who the Christians are in each area and hence the position of the Christian community in the surrounding society. In some major cities like Karachi, Lahore and Quetta some Christians are members of an elite of Goan or Anglo-Indian origin, but even in the big cities most Christians come from the lowest strata of rural society, basically from the Punjabi ethnic group.
Between these two extremes there are significant variations in socio-economic and political power. Thus, priorities in the church's mission should be decided not on the basis of a generalised notion of the Pakistani church as a whole, but on that of empirical studies of the Christian community in a particular region, as is the case with Christianity in Punjab in this thesis. No such reality as the Pakistani church exists, but the Punjabi church, which comprises the majority of Christians, exists. This is especially true since on the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent the Christian community is not just a voluntary association of individuals or families, but forms one of the units in a society organised around caste and community - and is perceived as such by both outsiders and the Christian community.
Christians are a minority group in Pakistan, compared to the overwhelming 98 percent of the population which is Muslim. The Christian component is estimated at some 1.3 million of the total population.225
Punjab is the province with the largest Christian population, practically all of them from the Punjabi ethnic group. They number in excess of one million and therefore constitute approximately four fifths of the total Christian population of the country. Christians in Pakistan are divided roughly fifty-fifty or sixty-forty between Protestants and Catholics.
Cf. "The Catholic Church in Pakistan", Directory 2002, 23; Jonathan S. Addleton, "A demographic note on the distribution of minorities in Pakistan", AI-MushirU', 1985: 32.
94 II. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
The early roots of Christianity in Punjab can probably be traced back to the time of St Thomas the apostle, whose evangelical work on the subcontinent is recorded in some of the living traditions.226
After St Thomas, history contains not a single trace of missionary activity in the whole country. The territory may have been crossed by Christian travellers such as Pantoemus in about 180 and the Egyptian monk Kosmos Indika-pleustes in about 550, and especially by Armenian traders; Christian mercenaries may have found employment in Hindu armies. But no trace remains of their passage. The influence of such Christians is unlikely to have been either extensive or deep.227 It was the arrival of the Portuguese at the close of the 15th century that brought the subcontinent into enduring contact with the West.
Historians note a momentous event in the history of the Punjabi church in 1579: Akbar, the great Mughal emperor, invited the Jesuits, who were in Goa as chaplains to the Portuguese traders,228 to his court at Fatehpur Sikri.229 The Jesuits responded to this first invitation and also to later invitations from the Mughal court in order to pursue the conversion, first of Akbar, then of his court.230
Scholars have two views of the origin of Christianity on the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent The first is that the foundabons of Christianity were laid by the apostle Thomas. The other ascribes the introduction of Christianity to the enterprise of merchants and missionaries of the East Syrian or Persian church. The second view is held by those who deny the apostolati of St Thomas on the subcontinent and attribute no value to the Acts of Thomas or references in other early writings. This position proceeds, it would seem, on the assumption that, considering the state of communications in the 1st century, a Palestinian Jew would have been unlikely to travel to India Cf C B. Firth, An introduction to Indian church history, Madras: Christian Literature Society, 1961, 14. For probable historical findings on St Thomas in India, see A. E. Medlycott, India and the apostle Thomas: an inquiry, with a cnùcal analysis of the Acta Thomae, London: Nutt, 1905; Mathias Mundadan, History of Christianity in India 1: From the beginning up to the middle of the sixteenth century (up to 1542), Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 1984; John Rooney, Shadows in the dark, Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre, 1984. For a detailed account of Hie spread of Christianity on the continent over the four centunes from 1500 to 1906, see Samuel H. Moffett, History of Christianity in Asia, vol. 2; 1500-1900, New York: Orbis, 1998. Cf. Blondeel Emmerich, "The ecclesiastical province of West Pakistan", Neue Zeitschnft fur Missionswissenschaft 5, 1953: 53; Rooney, Shadows in the dark, 106-107. 228 The beginning of Portuguese mission on the subcontinent is well documented by Stephen Neil, A history of ChnsOanity in India: the beginning to AD 1707, Cambridge: University Press, 1984, especially 111-133 229 Cf. Joseph Thekkedath, History of Chnstiamty in India 2: from the middle of the sixteenth to the end of the seventeenth century (1542-1700)2, Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 1982, 423. 230 Cf Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London: Burns & Gates Washboume, 1932, 23-65. The time of the great Mughals was a period of religious ferment Imperial unity depended on close understanding among the followers of different religions in the empire In 1575 Akbar invited to the newly built ibadat-khana Chouse of worship") not only the teachers of rival Muslim sects but also Hindu philosophers, Jam teachers, Parsec priests, Jews and Sikhs to expound and define their views on religion. This is the background to the invitation extended to the Jesuits Cf. Thekkedath, History of India 2, 427. A general account of the religious situation in the Mughal empire at the time of Akbar and Jahangir appears In Arnulf Camps, Jerome Xavier S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire. Controversial works and missionary activity, Schoneck-Beckenned: Nouvelle Revue de Science Missionnaire, 1957, 51-91 An excellent summary of Akbar's religious history is to be found in E. Wellesz, Akbar's religious thought reflected in Mogul painting, London: Allen & Unwm, 1952.
95 However, the Jesuit mission to convert the Mughals in northern India failed for a number of reasons, such as the unfriendly attitude of later Mughal emperors and political changes in Portugal m 1755.231 During their stay in northern India the Jesuits managed to convert some people of humble birth, but the year 1760 marked the end of their mission in Mughal. In 1784 Propaganda Fide decided to resolve the situation by adding the whole of northern India to the responsibilities of the Italian Capuchin mission of Tibet.232
Between 1830 and 1840 the British annexed the province of Punjab. Consequently missionaries - both Catholic and Protestant - poured into the province and the Christian population grew. With a view to better administration of the church on the subcontinent, pope Leo XIII issued the bull Humanae Salutis on 1 September 1886, constituting and establishing the Catholic hierarchy throughout the Indian subcontinent.233 As a result the province of Punjab became a diocese entitled Lahore. Lahore diocese, which had been under the care of the Italian Capuchins, was entrusted to the Belgian Capuchins on 27 October 1888.23"
We confine ourselves to the evangelisation of the Belgian Capuchin235 missionaries among the natives of the province of Punjab. First we look at the socio-religious situation of the people of humble birth. That is the background against which the missionary apostolate of the Capuchins must be understood and evaluated.
III. SOCIO-RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF THE INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS OF PUNJAB
A. Religions of Punjab
In the first half of the 19th century the religions existing in Punjab were Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. Hinduism, dating from 1500 B.C.E., is the oldest religion on the subcontinent.236 Buddhism, which made its appearance in the 6th century B.C.E., was gradually ousted by Hinduism at the end of the 2nd century CE.237 In the 10th century the
In 1755 Sebastan Joseph de Cavalho e Melo, marquis of Pombal, became dictator in Portugal. Because of his hatred of the Jesuits, he managed to suppress the Society in all Portuguese temtones between 1755 and 1760 Cf. John Rooney, The hesitant dawn, Rawalpindi: Chnstian Study Centre, 1984, 95-98. 232 O. Indice dei Decreb della Saaa Congregazione de Propaganda Fide (1719-1789), I, 296r. 233 O. pope Leo XIII, 'Humanae Salubs, Acta Sanctae Sedts, XIX (1886), 176-184. 234 a. Lettere (e Deaeb) della Sacra Congregazione de Propaganda Fide, CCCLXXXIV (1888), 585r. 235 Note that Capuchins do not use their family names. They add their religious name to that of their birthplace. Ttierefbre we use Tr" together with their first name and place of birth. See Manasusai Dhavamony (ed.), Phenomenology of religions, Documenta Missionalia 7, Rome: Università Gregonana Editrice, 1973; also Vandana Mataji (ed.), Shabda, Shako, Sangam, Bangalore: NBCLC, 1995. 237 See E. Conze, Buddhist thought in India: three phases of Buddhist philosophy, London: Allen & Unwm, 1962, which is a useful introduction; E. J. Thomas, 77?e life of Buddha as legend and history, London: Kegan Paul, 1927; also Franas Story, Dimensions of Buddhist thought, Kandy, Sn Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1985.
96 Arab invaders introduced Islam, which spread fairly fast all over Punjab.238 At the same time the bhakti movement239 in Hinduism and the sufi school240 in Islam were spreading rapidly. In an effort to unite Hinduism and Islam by combining the two movements, Gum Nanak Singh (1469-1538) started a new religion, Sikhism,2"11 with its holy book, the Adi Granth or Granth Sahib. Sikhism was very influential in the 17th and 18th centuries. Apart from these major traditions, there were animists who belonged to the aboriginal tribes and preserved their ancient religious traditions.242 They were driven into the jungles and the hills by the invading Aryans in about 1500 B.C.E. and their cults were often influenced by Hinduism through their contact with the Aryans.
B. Society and religion
1. The depressed classes
The indigenous people of the Punjabi are popularly called 'depressed classes.'243 Many of them became Muslims and Sikhs. Practically all the Christians on the subcontinent - except the Goans, the Anglo-Indians and the small minority of upper class Hindu and Muslim converts - were from the animisi aboriginal tribes. These were the people who were open to the Christian message - the 'good news'. They are found in great numbers in Punjab, where they form the lowest strata of society. They are politically unimportant, but most of the heavy
See H. A. R. Gibb, Mohammedanism, London: Oxford University Press, 1949; Reuben Levy, The social structure of Islam, London: Cambridge University Press, 1957. For all aspects of the life of Indian Muslims, beginning with die advent of Islam in India, see M. Mujeeb, Indian Islam, London: Allen & Unwm, 1967. For a more classical work, see M. T. Titus, Islam in India and Pakistan, Calcutta: Y.M.C.A., 1959; identical reprint Karachi, 1990. 239 Bhakti is a devotional movement in Hinduism, emphasising devotees' intense emotional attachment to and love for a personal God. In other words, it is a movement or religion of the heart directed to a particular deity. Bhakb is open to all, irrespective of sex, class or caste The movement spread from the Marathas in western India to Punjab, where Guru Nanak was influenced to found a new religion. Cf. J. B. Carman, The theology ofRämänuja. An essay in inter-religious understanding, Yale: University Press, 1974; R. C Zaehner, Hindu and Muslim mysùasm, London: Oxford University Press, 1960 For sufism, see Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical dimensions of Islam, 4th ed., Chapel Hill, Ν C : University of North Carolina Press, 1981, esp. chapter 8 C'Sufism in Indo-Pakistan"); also see Hira L. Chopra & Ν Β Bulani, "Sufism", in: Handad Bhattacharyya (ed.), Cultural heritage of India, 4· The religions, Calcutta: Ramakrishna Mission, 1956; reprint, 2000, 593-610. 241 Sikhs have been 'the people of the book' since the Adi Granth (Sikh scriptures) came into existence in 1708, although the message itself prevents them from becoming legahstically chained to it: the book lays down no rules regarding dress, diet, observance of holidays or details of social conduct. To attain the truth one must possess direct knowledge of God, which is received through his grace. Sikhism has its origin in Guru Nanak's own mystical experience The crux of his theology is: 'God is the source of everything, material and spiritual, of wisdom and of the universe.' Cf W Owen Cole, Sikhism and its Indian context 1469-1708, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1984, 120 See A. P. Karmarkar (ed.), The religions of India 1: the Vratya or Dravidian system, Lonval, India: Mira, 1950; G. Parrinder (ed.), Religions of the world' from pnmitive beliefs to modem faiths. New York: Madison Square, Grasset Dunlop, 1971; Paul Radm, Primitive religion: its nature and origins. New York: Dover, 1957. In many European publications, 'inferior class', 'pariah' and 'depressed class' are often used interchangeably, although this is not correct. The expression 'depressed classes' is a general term, which includes the lower caste (sudra), the out-cast (panah) and a number of ammisi tribes who lead a miserable existence. For their origin, occupation and social standard, see Dubois, Hindu manners, 48-52; Pierre Lhande, "Au Pays des 'Intouchables' - LesPanas", etudes2l5, 1933: 513-29; Ibbetson, Punjabi castes, 266-271.
97 work is performed by them, so that they are indispensable for the smooth functioning of society.
Like any other depressed class, this group is subdivided into many classes: scavengers, leather workers, weavers, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, potters, launderers, dyers, tailors, butchers and other miscellaneous artisans.244 The line demarcating these classes is not birth or blood, but their function - their occupation and conduct.245
The people designated as the depressed classes can hardly be distinguished from one another. This is because these groups are all ranked together as untouchables, and where brahmin rigorism is strong - especially in the south of the subcontinent - it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the lines of demarcation between sudra, pariah and animist tribe. These groups are commonly described in such undifferentiated terms as 'untouchables', 'outcasts', 'depressed classes' or 'scheduled castes'.24*
a. Tftechuhra caste The scheduled caste that interests us most is the chuhra. Although its members are poor, numerically and economically it is the most important caste in Punjab province, and most agricultural labourers in Punjab belong to this caste. Socially they are the lowest of the low. In the villages their hereditary occupation is that of agricultural labourers, carrying manure and spreading it on the fields. In towns they are domestic and street sweepers, as well as other menial jobs.
The village chuhras were paid a small percentage of the crop at harvest time, the amount depending on the size of the harvest that the zamindars gleaned. For the rest of the year they were expected to subsist on daily handouts of food from the landowners. Usually these were leftovers. City sweepers were also given cooked food not needed by their employers to supplement their meagre wages. (There is nothing more degrading in Hindu society than eating the mixed leftovers of other people's food.247) For them poverty entailed not just insufficient food but complete subjection to the wishes of the Hindus and Muslims. They were neither landowners nor did they have a say in distributing the harvest.
244 Cf. Ibbetson, Punjabi castes, 166. 245 Cf. Basham, The wonder that was India, 146. Ibbetson, Punjabi castes, 166, notes that these classes could be grouped in two ways: on the basis of their ethnic and occupational affinities or that of their position in the national industrial economy. Among these classes the lowest of the low was the scavenger class known as chuhra. This caste is of particular interest because it yielded many converts to Islam and Sikhism, and practically all Chnsban converts. See note 18, above. Mahatma Gandhi called the untouchables hanjans ("children of God") and worked for many years to promote their emancipation The use of the term 'untouchable' and the sodal disabilities that went with it were declared illegal in the consbtubon adopted by the constituent assembly of India in 1949 and of Pakistan in 1953. Despite legislation, the old ideas of impunty and pollution persist and the notion of untouchability continues in Hindu thought, especially in the villages where change is slow. Since the term 'depressed dass' is considered impolite in present-day society, we hereafter use such terms as 'scheduled castes' or 'people of humble birth'. 247 George W. Bnggs, The domes and their near relations, Mysore: Wesley, 1953, 39
98 They were considered impure, like other members of a scheduled caste. In earlier times they had no share in the Hindu and Islamic religions, because by rights the impure can neither have a religion nor serve a God. Besides their ammist beliefs, they also borrowed certain customs and superstitions from the two major religions. They had no temples, no established dogmas, no public religious services. Their cult tended to be confined to a clay structure in the shape of a tomb representing the dwelling of a holy man, perhaps their founder and protector.248
In a society steeped in caste hierarchy, the chuhras were always and everywhere considered untouchable and had no right to good treatment. Very often, in fact, this scorn was so complete that they did not even respect one another. Fatalistically, chuhras accepted their humble position as a natural and normal state and believed in their untouchabihty, which they saw as an inevitable law of life. Their own self-contempt meant that they were prone to the worst moral dissoluteness. Chuhras will embrace any faith as long as it helps them to escape from their wretched situation. They are naturally attracted to any religion that accords them human dignity, helps to better their moral, social and economic standards and offers hope of eternal goodness.2'19
2. Manifestations of the caste system in religions other than Hinduism
Hindu society is based on a caste hierarchy, which is religiously sealed or sanctioned {RgvedaX, 90, 11-13). According to traditional Hindu religious thinking the impure (members of the scheduled castes) cannot be co-Hindus and are excluded from all religious participation.
Islam does not recognise caste supremacy as a principle and 'the brotherhood of all believers' is a fundamental dogma. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (UDHI) states:
"All of mankind are of equal human value: 'All of you are [descended from] Adam, and Adam comes from dust.' They are distinguished in merit only according to their deeds: To all are [assigned] degrees, according to what they have done' [46:19]. No individual may be exposed to danger or to harm more than any other may be so
Cf. Roger van Izegem, 'Het missiewerk der paters Capucienen in Punjab' [The mission work of the Capuchin Fathers], Kerk en Missie 5, 1925: 106-107; Emmerich, 'La mission du Punjab (diocèse de Lahore - Indes Anglaises)', Collectanea Franciscana 8, 1938: 518-519. Christians are very conscious of the social humiliation which they suffered prior to conversion. They feel deeply wounded when they are referred to as chuhras Cf Damien van Bergen, 'Le problème missionaire aux Indes: les missions Catholiques et les dasses inférieures,' Etendard Franciscain 34, 1934: 159.
99 subjected: 'The blood of all Muslims is of equal worth.' Any concepts or legislation or statute which might permit any disaimination between individuals on the basis of sex, race, colour, language or religion, is in direct opposition to this general Islamic principle."250
The Sikh faith strongly condemns the Hindu caste system, which divides society into different strata and excludes some inhabitants as unworthy of social or religious benefits.251 The sacred scripture of the Sikhs, the Adi Granth, condemns caste hierarchy. The second guru, Angad (1504-1552), wrote:
"The Hindus say there are four castes. But they are all of one seed. Tis like clay of which pots are made In diverse shapes and forms - yet the clay is the same. So are the bodies of men made of five elements. How can one amongst them be high and another low?"252
But in neither Islam nor Sikhisim did the doctrine of equality manage to escape the powerful influence of the caste system. They were dragged into it because it was the foundation of society.
The superior Muslim class is known as ashraf (nobility) and comprises the descendants of the Arab conquerors who brought Islam to the subcontinent.253 The ajlafate descendants of high caste Hindu converts. The awans are agriculturists. The lohars and takhas are respectively carpenters and artisans. Below them are the julahas or weavers, cobblers and potters. Lastly, at the base of Muslim society, are the musalis (sweepers, scavengers), who are converts from the scheduled castes.254
The Sikhs, too, have converts from the chuhra scheduled caste, although they do not have equal standing with other Sikhs. Those who were converted from the scheduled castes are known as mazhabi or 'Sikh by religion' (not by birth). Despite Sikh repudiation of caste, the taint of mazhabiongm prevents a person from ever being admitted to full social equality
250 UDHI, translated by Penelope Johnston, Islamochnsùana<ì, 1983, 107 (#3. 'The right to equality"). 251 Gum Nanak took special steps to break the viaous hold of caste by starting free community kitchens in all centres and persuading his followers, irrespective of caste, to eat together. Cf. Khushwant Singh, The history of the Sikhs, 43. 252 Khushwant Singh, The Sikhs today: their religion, history, culture, customs and way of life, Bombay: Orient Longmans, 1959, 23. Cf. 'Caste, Islamic,' Encyclopaedia Britannica Micropaedia, 619. ^ Cf. Theodore Johnson & R.V. Weeks, "Punjabis", in: R. V. Weeks (ed.), Muslim peoples: a world ethnological survey, London: Greenwood, 1978, 316-317.
100 with high-class Sikhs of rajput (princely warrior or ruler) or jat (landowner) origins.255 A mazhabi_aWiays remains a chuhra by caste and a Sikh by religion. Mazhabis are simply members of the sweeper or scavenger class converted to Sikhism, and they perform the hereditary work of chuhras.™
Some authors maintain that proselytism of scheduled caste members by Muslims and Sikhs was aimed neither at propagating their respective faiths nor at raising social standards, but was simply for political and social reasons. This was pointed out by a scheduled caste magistrate, Ramchandra Sutwajee Nekaljay, who was president of the Depressed India Association:
"The Muslims are very anxious to win over to their fold, as far as possible, the people of the scheduled classes; but it is not out of love for these people but simply to increase their own numbers and to gam power in India."257
The Hindus for their part saw large numbers of chuhras becoming musalis, mazhabis or Christians. The Arya Samäf™ and other Hindu reform movements made a special effort to keep them under Hindu control; according to some this was prompted by fear of losing the scheduled classes' specialised labour. To combat conversion to other religions, the Hindus performed a special purification ceremony - shuddai - that was supposed to remove the stigma of untouchability and raise the scheduled classes to the level of a recognised caste, yet lower in rank and without the full rights of superior castes.259
Although chuhras are the lowest caste, they are socially, politically and religiously indispensable to Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and also to Christians. The propagation and future of Christianity rely on their goodwill. They are indispensable to the Catholic Church, since its growth and prosperity in Punjab depends on them.
Hutton, Caste in India, 38-39. 256 Cf Ibbetson, Punjabi castes, 194 57 Quoted in Damien van Bergen, "Le problème missionnaire aux Indes", 158. 5 Arya Samâj or Society of the Aryans, a nabonalist movement and a vigorous reform sect of modern Hinduism, was founded on 10 April 1875 by Dayanda Saraswab, whose aim was to reinstate the Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures, as revealed truth. He also included a lot of post-Vedic thought, such as the doctrine of karma - the effects of past deeds and of rebirth Arya Samäj has always had its largest following in western and northern India. It opposes idolatry, animal sacrifice, ancestor worship, a caste system based on birth rather than merit, untouchability, child marriage, pilgrimages and temple offerings From the outset it was an important force in the growth of nationalism. It has exhibited aggressive intolerance towards both Christianity and Islam See C Diwan, We Arya Samâj: what it is and what it stands for, Lahore: Arya Paradeshak Sabha, η d. It is widely believed that such societies were formed in reaction to the powerful polemics instigated by Christian missionaries against Islam, Hinduism and other indigenous religions. Cf. Aziz Ahmed, "Introduction: a bibliographical survey", in: A. Ahmed & Von Grunebaum (eds), Muslim self-statement, 7; another account states that Arya Samâj regards untouchability as un-Vedic It has invested a good number of untouchables with the sacred thread and thus made them honourable members of Hindu society, enjoying the same social rights as so-called caste Hindus Cf Pandith Chamupathi, "The Arya Samâj", The cultural hentage of India, 4: The religions, 635 259 Cf Hutton, Caste in India, 219
101 From what has been said so far, it should be obvious that in this part of the world religion and culture are interdependent, interpenetrating and intertwined. The great task of the Catholic missionaries is to see how Christianity, which evolved in different cultural situations, can penetrate this cultural situation. The question of race, religion and caste is very complex and this complexity permeates everything that touches the life of individuals on the subcontinent. The great challenge faced by Christian missionaries is to teach the dignity of each person before God and the respect due to each individual as a human being in a society where persons are not considered equal and there is a hierarchy of classes, each with its separate duties and distinct ways of life. We now take a detailed look at how the Capuchin missionaries proclaimed the good news from the hills to the plains of Punjab.
IV. MISSIONARY APOSTOLATE OF THE CAPUCHINS IN PUNJAB
Missionary work among the natives260 of Punjab coincided with the arrival of the Belgian Capuchin friars - four priests and four brothers - on 9 March 1889.261 Though their special missionary task would centre on work among the natives, they did not overlook the immediate services needed by the British troops and the civilian personnel. The missionary apostolate of the Capuchins can be divided roughly into four periods: (A) the initial apostolate (1889-1894), (b) definitive organisation of the diocese and mission (1894-1910), (c) the period of many conversions (1910-1920), and (D) the deepening of religious life (1920-1938).
A. The initial apostolate (1889-1894)
With great enthusiasm and ardent zeal to bring the natives into the Christian fold, the new missionaries took their first steps in the district of Sialkot. By the time the Catholic missionaries began their apostolate in this district, various Christian denominations were already active in evangelisation: the American Presbyterian Church,262 the Church of England and the Methodist Episcopal Church. Thanks to generous financial contributions from abroad
During this period the term 'natives' used by the missionaries did not refer to the local or indigenous population generally but more particularly to the people of humble birth or scheduled castes For the collected works about the first apostolate in the province of Punjab published by the Belgian Capuchin friars, see Thomas van Pamel & Blondeel Emmerich, In het land der vijf nvieren: vijftig jaar missie-arbeid in Punjab (Engelsch Indie) 1888-1938 [In the land of five rivers: 50 years' missionary work in Punjab (British India) 1888- 1938], Antwerp: Missie-Prokuur der Paters Kapucijnen, 1938. The collection comprises: the situations of the different religions; the sooo-economic situation; marriage and family life; Christian colonies and mass movements; and catechist training. See also VincenBus van Ninove, "Nos missions au Punjab: Indes Anglaises", Etendard Franascain 26, 1925: 235-254. The American Presbytenans were the first to reach this district in August 1855 and made their first native convert on 25 October 1857. Cf Frederick & Margaret Stock, People movements in Punjab: with special reference to the United Presbytenan Church, South Pasadena, Ca.: William Carey Library, 1975, 18-19. Sialkot district became the native home in Punjab from which Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular were launched and disseminated to other parts of the province. By the time the Capuchin missionaries arrived various other Christian denominations had already converted some 4 000 natives. Cf. Emmerich, "La Mission du Punjab", 519.
102 they had good schools, hospitals and various charitable institutions in all the districts of Punjab. Thus the Capuchins did not begin their apostolate in completely pagan surroundings: other Christian denominations had paved the way.
The missionaries' first contact with the natives came when a group of natives, led by some of their Protestant native catechists, presented themselves and expressed their willingness to become Catholics.263 The missionaries were well aware that they were motivated by material interests. Nevertheless, the Capuchins took advantage of the situation to lay the foundation of the church. After some religious instruction2" the new converts were baptised and the erstwhile Protestant catechists helped the missionaries in their work. Thus, the first success was because many Protestants became Catholics.265
The Catholic missionaries were burning with zeal and left no stone unturned. They gradually penetrated the neighbouring Sikh villages and even localities where other Christian missionary groups were active - a move which created some friction between the Catholic missionaries and other Christian denominations. This strife caused a scandal among the new converts, who had not been properly instructed about the difference between Catholics and Christians of other denominations. The conflict was seen as a folly by the British administration.266
The reason for these conflicts was the different missionary visions of the Catholics and the other Christians. The other denominations had agreed among themselves on the principle of non-interference, which meant not entering localities where another missionary group was already fully involved in evangelisation; they expected the Catholic missionaries to fall into line with this policy. The Catholic missionaries' response, however, was: "Truth is one and knows no limits."267 They only agreed not to interfere in social and charitable programmes.
Cf. Leo van Nmove, Tfte Capuchin mission, 74-75. At this time the Catholic missionaries were not sufficiently versed in the local language and customs; they had only a working knowledge of English. They used interpreters to teach and instruct the basic elements of the Catholic faith. The principal aim was to prepare the natives for baptism, and the success or failure of mission work was measured by increasing or decreasing numbers of baptisms. 265 Mass conversion (as a mass movement among the natives) was possible because their social structure was such that a communitarian decision tended to be preferred to individual responsibility. In his two remarkable books. Christian mass movements in India, New York: Abingdon, 1933 and Chnst's way to India's heart, Lucknow: Lucknow, 1938, the Methodist bishop 3. W. Picket analysed such movements and showed that for people existing on this level corporate rather than individual decision making was the natural approach. 6 See the correspondence between Father Clement, chaplain at Sialkot, Mgr Symphorian Mouard, bishop of Lahore, and the British mayor (name not mentioned); quoted in . Leo van Nmove, The Capuchin mission, 76-81 267 Ludolf van Izegem, "Katholieke verhoudingen in Punjab (Britisch Indie)" [Catholic relationships in Punjab], Kerk en Missie 18, 1938, 19 Such dissension was not caused by religion alone, but should be seen as a historical problem between Catholicism and other Christen groups that arose in the West and was carried to Asian lands. Cf Stephen Neil, The story of the Chnsban church m India and Pakistan, Grand Rapids, Mich : Eerdmans, 1970, 49.
103 In spite of the missionary zeal and hopes of the fathers, the pioneer effort soon fizzled out. The former Protestant catechists defected, the new converts were left behind alone, and the missionary fathers could not take care of them. Thus the mission had to be abandoned, although they did not withdraw completely.
Some historians have attributed the failure to the mercenary cunning of the former Protestant catechists and the people in general.268 The most objective and impartial judgment of the failure of the mission seems to be that of Vincentius van Ninove, who worked in that locality in 1894. His opinion was that the people were not to blame. There were insufficient personnel and funds for the required missionary work, so it proved too demanding for the young, inexperienced missionaries.269
This experience prompted them to become more organised, prudent and discreet. In 1890 Mgr Symphorian Mouard, OFM Cap., first bishop of Lahore, held the first diocesan synod from 6 to 8 January.270 At the same time Edouard de Turnhout, the Belgian provincial, was on a canonical visitation to the mission. The bishop and the provincial cooperated to solve the existing missionary problem and draw up a mission plan for the future.271
The synod and the visitation of the Belgian provincial clearly spelled out the methods that mission should follow. Two major decisions were made: (1) to build up Lahore as an administrative centre; and (2) to work towards the inner formation of converts.272
B. Definitive organisation of the diocese and mission (1894-1910)
1. Consolidation of the diocese of Lahore
It was felt that the future of the diocese and the prestige of the Catholic religion among both Europeans and the Indians belonging to different religions demanded the establishment of a highly visible material presence. Evangelisation would not progress as it should if the diocese was not properly administered. To this end Lahore was to be developed into a strong administrative centre. The bishop first completed building a superb bishop's house in 1899 and a splendid cathedral in Roman Byzantine style in 1907. This cathedral was
Cf. Leo van Ninove, The Capuchin mission, 130-131; Godefroid Pelckmans, Dix années d'apostolat au Punjab (Indes Anglaises), Bruges: Ryckbost-Monthaye, 1900, 64-65. 269 Cf. Vinœntius da Ninove, "Nos missions au Punjab", 232-233; Ludolf van Izegem, "Enkele beschouwingen en ervanngen: nopens de werking der Protestanten in Punjab" [Some considerations and experiences concerning the activity of Protestants in Punjab], Kerk en Missie 17, 1937: 115-118; Ludolf van Izegem, "Katholieke vertioudmgen in Punjab", 15. Cf. Symphorian Mouard (ed.), Acta Pnmae Dioecesanae Synodi Lahorensis, Lahore: Ex Typographe Ovil and Military Gazette, 1890. Cf Emmerich, "La mission du Punjab", 522. 272 Cf. ibid , 522.
104 admired by both non-Catholics and Catholics and earned the Catholic religion universal respect. In line with the plan to make Lahore a solid administrative centre, schools, colleges and orphanages for both girls and boys were set up.273
To tram the young missionaries a study house was built at Dalhousie in the nearby Himalayas. In 1890 the first batch of theological students was sent out from Belgium and settled at Dalhousie.27'' For chaplaincy work among British army personnel 'temperance halls' were extended in military circles to safeguard the morals of the army and also for recreation purposes.
A further step was taken to maintain these various institutions: Mgr Pelckmans sought help from the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, who came from Lyon and were already present in the diocese. He also enlisted the aid of the Sisters of Charity from Ghent in 1897. At his invitation the Franciscan Sisters of the Propagation of the Faith from Lyon arrived in Lahore in 1901.275 For the management of the boys' schools and orphanages the German Tertiary Brothers and the Irish Brothers of St Patrick were brought to the diocese in 1895 and 1911 respectively.276
The bishop arranged all this in order to free the Capuchin missionaries for direct apostolate among the natives.
2. Methods of solid missionary formation
While the administrative work of the diocese was being organised, the missionary apostolate was established. To make the work among the natives more fruitful the diocese adopted two methods: the one entailed centres from which the missionaries operated, the other was to have separate colonies for catechumens and converts.277 a. Missionary centres Pioneer missionary work started throughout the district of Sialkot, beginning at Adha in 1889. However, missionary activity was soon confined to only two centres - Adha and Sahowala (started in 1897) - where proper residences and churches were erected. At these centres new converts lived cheek by jowl with people of other faiths: Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs
Cf. Pelckmans, Dix années d'apostolat au Punjab, esp chapters 2 and 4. 274 Cf. Leo van Ninove, 777e Capuchin mission, 125 275 Cf. Felix van Antwerpen, "Les soeurs de la Propagation de la Foi dans le diocese de Lahore", Les Missions CatholiquesW, 1927: 422-425. Cf. Leo van Nmove, The Capuchin mission, 101. Cf Macaire van Nieuwkerke, "Les conversions en masse au Punjab", Analecta Ordinis Minonjm Capuccinomm 41, 1925: 151.
105 and Protestants. Christians were employed as farm labourers, especially by Hindu and Muslin landowners, and the fathers witnessed the depths of degradation of their lives.
From these centres the missionaries toured surrounding villages, while at the mission centre there was a permanent priest assisted by catechists to see to the apostolic work. Adults were not very interested in religious instruction because of their material preoccupations, but the missionaries attracted children by providing free meals and using this opportunity to catechise them. Adha and the surrounding villages in time became the centre of Punjab mission. Other missionary stations were set up at Lyallpur (1908, present-day Faisalabad), Gojra (1916), Montgomery (1923) and Narowal (1924).278
b. Catholic colonies
The construction of the irrigation network in Chenab colony279 was finished by 1892. Consequently a million acres of what had been wasteland could now be brought under cultivation. This was an ideal opportunity to implement the second apostolic method, that of gathering the faithful in separate colonies. In March 1892 the diocese bought its first plot of land at Chenab colony in the district of Gujaranwala.
This first colony was placed under the protection of the blessed virgin Mary, in whose honour it was dedicated and named Maryabad Cabode of MaryO. For this settlement families were selected from villages in the Sialkot district, as well as orphans from Lahore who had recently mamed. In the colony the missionary had to double up as parish priest and mayor. He had to look after the spiritual growth of the people and also act as their representative in dealings with the civil administration. Thus spiritual and material progress went hand in hand. This allowed the missionary to nurture an ideal of a complete Catholic life, comprehending both social and religious aspects.
Later the colony system was extended and the diocese bought more land and opened more Christian settlements. The second colony was at Khushpur.280 Experienced colonisers from Maryabad were sent to develop the new colony and families from 'pagan' villages - Adha and Sahowale, for example - took their place at Maryabad. The other colonies were named Francisabad (1904) and Antoniabad (1914).2el
278 Cf. Leo van Nmove, The Capuchin mission, 129-154; Vincenbus, "Nos missions au Punjab", 254-255; Emmench, "La mission du Punjab", 525. Chenab colony lies between the Ravi and Chenab nvers. The total area is 9952 square kilometres, of which 7273 square kilometres are now allotted for cultivation Cf. Felix van Antwerpen, "The Chenab colony", Analecta Ordinis Minowm Capuccinowm 45, 1929: 38-42. 280 Cf Roger van Izegem, "Khushpur district mission 1910-1935", Collectanea Lahorensia I (1935), 145-149. For a detailed account of the colonies and missionary activités, see Felix van Antwerpen Felix, "TTie Chenab colony", 70-74; Fr Leo van Nmove, The Capuchin mission, 129-186.
106 c. Reason for separate Catholic settlements The primary reason for establishing separate Catholic colonies was to segregate new converts from their pagan282 surroundings and thoroughly immerse them in the Catholic spirit. This was not possible if recent converts worked for pagan employers. Catholic settlements were the solution to this problem.
The other reason was that centralisation made it easier to use available funds and personnel effectively. Thus churches, schools and orphanages were built and placed in the care of the various congregations of sisters and brothers. Earlier the lack of such schools and institutions had caused the faithful to desert, since children attended Protestant schools and received no further Catholic religious instruction.
After the colonies were built natives ceased oscillating between Protestantism and Catholicism, as they used to do when there was no priest living among them. Missionaries could meet the spiritual needs of those in the colonies without having to travel great distances.
The missionaries did not confine themselves to the colonies. From these settlements they travelled further to other areas, where they opened other mission centres from which to operate. During this period the number of Christians of all denominations varied between two and four thousand.283
C. The period of many conversions (1910-1920)
By 1910 the seeds had been sown in Punjab over a period of nearly twenty years (1894-1910). The missionaries were making slow but steady progress. Churches, schools and orphanages formed part of the missionary vision to increase the number of Catholic converts. When the missionaries saw natives flocking to embrace Catholicism, they went out even more frequently to the villages to instruct and baptise them in great numbers. With many converts the missionanes opened up more missionary centres, colonies, schools for children and a training school for catechists to prepare them to give religious instruction.
The missionaries used the common terminology of their times Hindus were called 'pagans', Muslims 'infidels' and all Protestants 'heretics' Cf Arsene van Berlaar, "Rapport annuel de la mission du Punjab", Etendard Franciscain 37, 1935 95 Cf Emmerich, "The ecclesiastical province of West Pakistan", 58
107 Macaire van Nieuwkerke gives several reasons why natives joined the Catholic Church in great numbers:284
(1) Divine providence led the poor and miserable to eternal salvation. (2) People sought protection against the harsh treatment and injustice of their masters, the zammdars. (3) Many religious movements united to defend their own interests and this caused them to take advantage of the oppressed classes; this in turn pushed the latter towards the Catholic Church as a source of strength and unity (4) Political independence movements contributed to a spirit of independence among Protestants (Church Measure Movement), resulting in divisions and factions, and this drove the natives to the Catholic Church. (5) The mission work of many Protestant denominations was hampered by a lack of financial resources. (6) There was the hope and desire to find work or a plot of land in the Catholic colonies or through Catholic influence.
In my opinion the last motive may have been the mam explanation for the many conversions at that time. The missionary fathers took full advantage of these circumstances by meeting the natives' temporal needs.
1. Methods followed in the apostolate
The missionaries employed two methods: d/rectand ind/rect.2SS a. Life and preaching of the missionaries The direct method consisted in living the gospel message. While preaching the message, the missionaries practised it, so that people were interested in the doctrine they proclaimed. Like all human beings, the locals looked first at the life of the missionary: to succeed he primarily had to epitomise the gospel message. As a Hindu writer explains, for an Indian the presence of a missionary, the way he dresses and his way of life are more important than what he teaches.296 b. Use of material resources The indirect method was to use material resources for spiritual purposes. Thus financial resources were channelled specifically into building churches and chapels in order to
284 Cf Macaire van Nieuwkerke, "Les conversions en masse au Punjab", 149-150 TOC Cf Ludolf van Izegem, "Katholieke verhoudingen m Punjab", 15-17 286 Cf ibid , 15-16
108 witness to God's presence in their midst. The churches were seen as ongoing symbols of prayer. The natives proudly went to the churches and the scheduled castes did not feel inferior to Muslims or Hindus, because they had magnificent places in which to worship.
Schools provided a means of providing religious education. The trained catechista were co-workers in propagating the message among the natives and thus acted as intermediaries between priest and people. They visited villages where there were just a handful of Catholics, gathered them in one place, and invited other members of their caste who were still pagans. When the priest came, mass was celebrated, children were baptised and Catholic instruction was given. 'Pagan' natives saw that their peers gained material benefits and social recognition and were drawn to the Catholic faith in great numbers.287
2. Style of education
The schools and colleges run by Catholic missionaries were open to Hindus, Muslims, and Eurasian and native Christians alike.288 The teaching medium was Urdu, since 1835 the official language, and English was taught as a second language. (In Muslim schools in Punjab the medium of education was Urdu; Hindu schools used Hindi; while in Sikh schools teaching was in Punjabi).
The secular school subjects were Urdu, English, Hindi, mathematics, history, political economics and philosophy. The children were also taught various crafts, such as embroidery and carpentry, which would be useful to them in later life. Side by side with intellectual formation, religious instruction was given to Catholics and catechumens, along with catechism classes and teaching of the New Testament. The children were given a general grasp of the notion of the one and only God, who is personal and living and is the judge of human actions; they were taught not to sin against natural law; and they received holy communion daily.289
Pagan students were given moral instruction through supervision and some teaching of natural ethics. The missionary fathers, together with the sisters, kept up the work of evangelisation in the schools and other institutions. Children from orphanages in due course were given in marriage to Catholic partners. The sisters hoped to have vocations to the
Cf Macaire van Nieuwkerke, "Les conversions en masse au Punjab", 155-156. For conversion figures, see Roger van Izegem, "Het missiewerk der paters Capucienen", 108-110; Marcus van Zereneeken, "Indie-Punjab, overzicht der 25 jaar werkzaamheid, 1888-1913" [India-Punjab, survey of 25 years of activity 1888-1913], Franascaansche Standaardlü, 1913-1914: 59. 288 Cf. Vincentlus da Nmove, "Nos missions au Punjab", 156-161, 186-187, 233-236. 289 Cf. ibid., 161
109 religious life from the schools. They tried to keep children away from their parents and relatives as much as possible and trained them to live virtuous and pious lives.290
3. Catechist training school
The missionaries felt that the services of properly trained catechists were indispensable, especially in outlying villages which were only periodically visited by a priest. To build up a solid corps of catechists a training school was opened at Jallundur in 1936. The aims of the institution were as follows:
(a) to give prospective catechists a better, more accurate knowledge of Catholic doctrine (b) to teach them methods of imparting that knowledge to various classes of people (c) to get them to appreciate their religion and foster love for the church and a spirit of piety.291
The curriculum consisted of catechism, Bible history, church history, English liturgy (including chants), care of the sacristy and serving mass. Much time was devoted to dogmatic apologetic controversy. Only books, magazines and newspapers that had been approved by the director were allowed.292
Only unmarried male adults were eligible to tram as catechists. The training lasted for two years, during which time the candidate was allowed to go home twice a year for holidays. Every year there was a refresher course lasting several weeks. Its aim was to complete their instruction and renew their zeal and spirit of faith, in other words, to make them real catechists, real apostles.293 During the refresher course there was a five day retreat. Retreat sermons were on themes such as the excellence of the catechist's office, the qualities of good catechists, the duties of good catechists, and so on. The accent was very much on the need to teach 'positive' doctrine.2*1
290 Cf ibid., 235; Leo van Nmove, 77» Capuchin mission, 132. 1 Cf. Hector Catry, "Circular letter on the training of catechists", Collectanea Lahorensia 1, 1936: 169-173. 292 Cf ibid , 170. 293 O. ibid., 171-172. 294 Cf. ibid., 172.
110 D. Deepening of religious life (1920-1938)
1. Preparatory retreats
In order to deepen the religious formation of converts, a programme of preparatory retreats for first communicants was introduced in 1922. New converts who were already sufficiently instructed to receive baptism had to take part m a three or four day retreat at a mission station. There they meditated on the importance of the sacraments and the obligations of those who converted to Catholicism. On the fourth day they were solemnly baptised and made their first communion. This practice applied to the whole Punjab mission.295
2. Attempt to eradicate certain customs
The missionaries' next step was to tackle certain customs that were prevalent among the people. The first of these were marriage customs.
According to traditional practice parents made marriage contracts for both boys and girls at a very young age. Sometimes, therefore, a child who had converted to Catholicism was engaged to a partner from a pagan family. This was a real problem. There was great social pressure to go through with the arrangement, even though the missionaries discouraged mixed marriages. To overcome this obstacle the missionaries campaigned against child engagements,296 and in due course mixed marriages became rare.
The other tradition contrary to the Christian ideal was that of parents arranging marriages. According to this custom the dowry or bride price is an important requirement for a marriage contract, and girls and boys have no say in choosing their partners. The missionaries could not accept this custom. As Fr Leo van Nmove, a missionary in Punjab, wrote:
" since the free consent of the contracting parties is a necessary element of the Sacrament of Matrimony, the Church could never tolerate this sort of bargain, and it is the duty of the missionary to use all his efforts to eradicate this pernicious custom.... Thus have the people been shown once for all that, if they wish to be
Cf Emmerich, "La mission du Punjab", 529 Cf ibid, 530
111 Christians they must be prepared to break with customs which are contrary to Christian morality."297
With a view to strengthening the Catholic faith of converts the missionaries worked to eradicate superstitious beliefs. When they moved converts from pagan surroundings to Christian settlements, the fathers saw further progress in their mission once they were able to have a separate churchyard in which to bury Christians according to Catholic rites. Any other burial place was considered pagan ground. The people preferred to be buried in common ground together with their caste companions even after their conversion to Catholicism. According to the missionaries, they had a superstitious fear of being buried away from that particular burial ground.
The missionary fathers were very proud of their success in eradicating traditional customs and superstitious beliefs that they considered contrary to Christian ideals. At some mission centres and Catholic colonies devotional practices, retreats, perpetual adoration and so on came to be "celebrated like in any other parish in a Catholic country".298
E. Socio-cultural situation of Punjabi Christians
We have seen that the history of the Punjabi Christian community is one of humiliation and exploitation, injustice and slavery. As outcasts, they were objects of discrimination. The social structures were devised to prevent them from rising above their lowly status. Thus they were kept illiterate and any access to education was blocked. They were kept in utter financial dependence. They were not allowed to hear the Hindu scriptures. As a result they became clan-centred rather than religion-centred; not God and his law but the clan - the baradari - was the touchstone of morality: good or virtuous was whatever promoted the baradarls well-being; evil or sinful was whatever harmed the baradari. Consequently virtue was not a quality of the individual's intention or will but lay in group strength. That was the only way one could survive and be of service to the baradari.
Leo van Nmove, The Capuchin mission, 140-141. Also see Cyrien, "Huwelijks - en familieleven" [Marnage and family life], m In het land der vijf mieren, 204-228. Cf Leo van Nmove, 146, The Capuchin mission, 170. Anthropologists have come to realise that Christian missionaries were agents of social and cultural change. Historically many people learned about Western culture through encounters with missionaries, while many Westerners at home learned about those people through missionaries' eyes. Early ethnologists depended on missionaries for information about indigenous people. They learned local languages; wrote dictionaries and grammars; collected proverbs, riddles songs, legends, and folktales; and described cultural beliefs and practices. Even when anthropologists began to do their own fieldwork missionaries had some major advantages. Thus their prolonged stay in a community and their fluency in the vernacular enabled them to write richly detailed and insightful anthropological accounts. Cf. Sjaak van der Geest, "Missionaries", Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology, 798. Although the work of some missionanes often furthered the colonialists' efforts, Chnsbamty also provided local people with tools for resistance to oppression of many kinds. Cf. Mary Taylor Huber, "Missionaries", Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology, 374; also see Kenelem Bumdge, In the way: a study ofChnstian missionary endeavours, Vancouver: UBC, 1991.
112 Individuals were virtuous insofar as they contributed to the strength and well-being of the baradari.
The missionaries did what they could to improve the situation of the poor and oppressed, and many opportunities that had previously been denied to these natives - education, religion, places of worship, land ownership - were opened up for them. The missionaries learned the local languages299 and tried to understand the culture of the province so that they could be of real service to these helpless and voiceless people.
For all their zeal and enthusiasm to bring the good news to the poor and set captives free, the missionaries were generally ignorant of the people's religious and cultural worldview. Although they may have understood the existing discriminatory social structure, the missionaries' thought patterns - their Western-oriented worldview - were very different. The education system in mission schools tended to take little account of Punjabi culture and even its language was not included in the curriculum.
The missionaries had good intentions of counteracting what they saw as negative cultural practices, such as certain marriage customs whereby marriages were arranged by parental consent without consulting the couple. Unfortunately their ignorance of the local culture meant that, instead of transforming these negative practices in harmony with the prevailing worldview, they went all out to eradicate certain cultural behaviour. Thus their efforts at liberation led to a dichotomy in people's lives and even to alienation from their origins - real cultural 'uprootedness'.300
The missionaries' understanding of community was different from that of Punjabis. For a Punjabi the community is the baradari, which is the frame of reference. A Punjabi cannot grow to personhood outside the baradari. The missionary educators kept children away from their parents in order to teach them good manners and virtue, and catechist training programmes were conducted outside the baradari ambience.301 Punjabis' understanding of community is the clan, the baradari, not the parish house or mission centre. Thus to this day the real marriage ritual (i.e. what is truly meaningful for Punjabis) takes place outside the church, in the community, the baradari, because this is the point of reference. The church and its organisation remain a foreign element that functions alongside
Learning Hindi and Punjabi was obligatory for every Capuchin missionary Cf Symphonan Mouard, Acta Lahorensis, 19. 0 See e.g Patras Yusuf, "Community: the place where theology is made", Al-Mushirlb, 1981: 77-78. Missionaries like Roberto De Mobil, Matteo RICCI and many others learned the local language and adopted the local dress, food and lifestyle, but their missionary endeavours were hampered by their theology, which was very much geared to Western thought and differed completely from the thought patterns and worldviews of the indigenous people We have to admire the missionaries' foresight in starting to train lay catéchiste from the outset Today they are the real local church leaders, helpful assistants to the priests and great assets to the local church
113 traditional structures.302 This indicates that traditional structures have not been utilised to develop the local Christian community. Moreover, Punjabis live on two different levels: that of the traditional community structure where many decisions are still made, and that of the new structures initiated by the missionaries; these are not interrelated and hence not mutually supportive. We see this in the late bishop Patras Yusuf's article, "The baradari system in Punjabi society", where he writes: "In the religious baradan itself, however, be it Muslim or Christian, religion is not such a strong force that it makes them to overcome their differences and do away with the various baradaris among them."303
V. THE CHURCH IN INDEPENDENT WEST PAKISTAN
A. Background
On 14 August 1948, the day India became independent, a new state was bom: Pakistan. The partition of British India into two states resulted in the division of Punjab into two regions: West Punjab (in Pakistan) and East Punjab (in India).
The population of the former province of Punjab had consisted of a mixture of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and European, Eurasian and scheduled caste Christians. Partition triggered mass migration. Many people, after long experience of antagonism and oppression, and fearing that this would grow worse in the new situation, decided to go to the country where their religion was dominant. Thus Hindus and Sikhs crossed the border to find a place in the new India, and Muslims gave up their lands in India and migrated to West Punjab. Some mazhabior low caste Sikhs were unable to emigrate and decided to remain in Pakistan; they decided to accept Christianity because they thought it would ensure them a safer existence among Muslims.304 Europeans and even Eurasian and Goan Christians, who had held top posts in the government of British India and had for a long time been the mainstay of Christianity in that country, started leaving for other countries; the majority of Christians who remained were scheduled caste Punjabis.
In the midst of an overwhelming Muslim majority Christians enjoyed the status of dhimmi, a protected minority. Since virtually the entire European population, both military and civilian, had left, missionary effort was confined to the indigenous population, who were
For example, the missionaries built churches and institutions and even conducted religious ceremonies in the same way as they did in their own countries. This was the pattern in all mission countries. Thus these countries could be more Roman than Rome itself. 303 Yusuf, "The Baradan system", 57-58. 304 Cf. Pieter H. Streefland, The Chnsban Punjabi sweepers: their history and their position in present-day Pakistan, Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre, 1974, 11.
114 almost all Muslims; strictly speaking, future missionary work would be among the scheduled castes. The envisaged process of gradual Islamisation, moreover, would make conversion very difficult, if not impossible.
The creation of the new state of Pakistan meant that ecclesiastic administration and boundaries had to change. The new situation brought territorial adjustment and the emergence of new dioceses. Henceforth the division of religious groups would be between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Provisional Constitution Order of 24 March 1981 stated:
"(a) 'Muslim' means a person who believes in the Unity and Oneness of Almighty Allah, in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets, and does not believe in, or recognize as, a prophet or religious refonner, any person who claims to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (peace be upon him); and (b) 'Non-Muslim' means a person who is not a Muslim and includes a person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Parsi community, a person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name), or a Bahai, and a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes."305
Thereafter all non-Muslims were classed as a protected minority or dhimmi, though they were fellow Pakistanis and Punjabis. According to the Muslim sharia or canon law, on the conquest of a non-Muslim country by Muslims the population which does not embrace Islam and is not enslaved is guaranteed life, liberty and, in a modified sense, property.306
The Pakistani Constitution guarantees the protection of minorities:
Article 36 The state shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities, including their due representation in the Federal and Provincial Services.307 Article 25 Equality of citizens: (1) All citizens are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of law. (2) There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone. (3) Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.308
Ahsan Sohail Anjam (ed.), The constitution of the Republic of Pakistan 1973, Lahore: Mansoor, 1984, il. Cf A. D Muztar, "Dhimmis in an Islamic state", Islamic Studies 1Ü, 1979: 65-75. Anjam (ed.), The constitution of the Republic of Pakistan 1973, 85.
115 Article 20 Freedom to profess religion and manage religious institutions: Subject to law, public order and morality, - (a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion; and (b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish its religious institutions."309
Today the church in Pakistan is a young church. Although some historical traditions go back to the 2nd century with some developments in the 16th and 19th centuries, real missionary work started in the second half of the 19th century.310 The local church, specifically in the case of Catholicism, is only 56 years old. The Pakistani church is a minority church, growing and struggling to find its identity. The majority of Christians are poor, belong to the lowest caste, are landless and do menial jobs; they live in wretched poverty and suffer from social discrimination and an inferiority/minority complex.311 They are considered second- class citizens by the majority, for they are non-Muslims. The largest proportion of the Christian population comes from Punjab and belongs to that ethnic group.
B. Christians in Pakistan
Sociologists identify three groups of Christians:
(1) Christian dynasties originating from the affluent families of the subcontinent, who either belonged to one of the South Indian churches and came to the north at some time in the past, or who, with some of their members, converted to Christianity from Hinduism or Islam; in Pakistani society they hold good positions in commerce, the civil service, et cetera, and they live like superior Muslims (2) Anglo-Indians, originating from intermarriage between the British and local women (3) the Goan community, made up of immigrants or descendants of Christians from the former Portuguese colony of Goa.
According to tradition, St Thomas came to the Indian subcontinent in 52 CE. and preached the gospel until his death in Mylapore. Several arguments have been advanced for and against this hypothesis. For the early beginnings of Christianity in the Pak-Indian subcontinent, see A. M. Mundadan, History of Chnsbanity in India, 1, 21-64, and Benedict Vadakkekara, Origins of India's St Thomas Oinsbans· a histographical cnbque, Delhi: Media, 1995. Also see Felix Wilfred, Beyond settled foundations: the journey of Indian theology, Madras: University of Madras, Department of Christian Studies, 1993, 3-18. 311 These Christians, who were converted from the scheduled classes, are known and branded as kammis. Besides referring to a lowly occupation, the term also means 'poweriessness and namelessness'. Though they are present in society, they are considered nonentities. In biblical terms they could easily be named anawim Yahweh (Ihe poor of God) kammis bear the yoke of oppression. They remain sbgmahsed even when the lowly job has been given up. Cf. Waidyasekara, "Mission through an apostolic community", 327.
116 The lifestyle of the Anglo-Indians and Goans is like that of the Western world. They do not feel much at home in the Islamic environment. They have adopted a more or less Western pattern of behaviour and are traditionally Catholic. In the new Republic of Pakistan they are a dwindling minority who, given the chance, would emigrate to Canada or Australia. We find them in commerce and the public service, for instance as railway employees.
Other scholars list further divisions of the Christian community such as Hindustanis and Madrasis. Little is known about these groups except that they originated from the subcontinent itself. They live in towns and work mainly as servants (drivers and cooks). There are Christian Punjabis who do not belong to the sweeper class but work as labourers in agricultural lands.312 The last group of Christian Punjabis are members of the sweeper class.
C. Socio-economic situation of Punjabi Christians
Partition helped the Muslim community to gam their Muslim identity, but whether the new situation improved the position of scheduled class Christians is questionable.
The Christians had worked as labourers for Hindu landowners and many lost their jobs when their masters migrated to the new India. Scheduled class Christians did not easily find jobs with the Muslims who were given land in the new country of Pakistan. This influenced them to migrate to larger cities such as Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Quetta, but that did not improve their situation and they ended up sweeping streets and doing other menial work. Since sweeping was not unfamiliar to them, and they were desperate to find jobs for the sake of shelter and security, they settled for such work. In addition there was an influx of Muslim refugees who also had to find employment - and who received assistance. The Christians could not hope for better employment, since they lacked the education required for higher jobs. In any case the job of sweepers has become indispensable, especially in towns and cities, even if occupationally sweepers still rank lowest of all.
There is an element of untouchability in the relationship of the Muslims to the Christian sweepers. Thus Christian Punjabi sweepers are made to live in special areas of towns, just as chuhras lived isolated in or outside villages during the time of the Aryans.
Among the Christian sweepers themselves there is a distinction between town sweepers and village sweepers, even though both belong to scheduled classes. The town sweeper is looked down upon or rated below the village sweeper. In the eyes of a village sweeper the town sweeper is a kind of 'specialist in impurity'. Thus a rift has grown between
Cf Streefland, The Christian Punjabi sweepers, 29-31.
117 Christian sweepers in villages and those in towns.313 The same applies to Dalits Christians314 in India.
There are Christian non-sweepers in both villages and towns. Village non-sweepers are more numerous than those in towns and they work as agricultural labourers. Because of decreasing employment in the agricultural sector following mechanisation, they tend to go to towns in search of jobs, where many of them end up as sweepers. Non-sweepers reject the sweepers, even though they belong to the same ethnic group.
Besides, job opportunities in the Middle East and elsewhere attract many Christians to other countries. They return home with money and electronic gadgets, but not knowing how to use their money wisely. Their status is based on financial prosperity and this presents a challenge to the local Christian community.
A still greater challenge that Christians face and that affects their Christian way of life is the process of Islamisation that is under way in contemporary Pakistani society.
D. Contemporary Pakistani society
Since its establishment as a separate state, Pakistan has struggled with the meaning of identity. During the latter half of the 1970s Islam re-emerged dramatically in Pakistani politics. It was used both to topple the government of Zulfikar Bhutto in 1977 and to legitimise the martial law regime of his successor, general Muhammad Zia ul-Haq. It continues to be integral to Pakistani political, social and economic development.315
The role of Islam in contemporary Pakistani politics has been described as a process of Islamisation, aimed at establishing an Islamic system of government. Since such a system implies the integration of religion with politics and society, Islam is relevant to economics and law. Muslim revivalists felt the need to Islamise the state's economic system to combat major social problems such as corruption and concentration of wealth, and to create a just society. The main measures recommended to discourage corruption and economic exploitation were to abolish the interest system and introduce a wealth tax and a land lax.316
J" Cf. ibid., 13. 3H Dalits in Sanskrit means 'the oppressed, the broken'. Mahatma Phule, a great leader of the oppressed people of India, used the word to denote people treated as untouchables. There are approximately 140 million Dalits in India, accounting for about 17 percent of its populabon. Cf. M. R. Arulraja, Jesus the Dalit: liberation theology by victims of untouchability. An Indian version of apartheid, Secunderbad, India: Jeevan, 19%, 3, vi. 315 Cf. John L. Eposito, "Islamization: religion and polibcs in Pakistan", The Muslim Worldll, 1982: 197. Also see Quddus, Punjab, 224-234. 31 Zakat, the wealth tax or alms tax, is one of the pnnapal obligabons of Islam. It is levied on certain kinds of property and is distributed among eight categories of persons. According to the law, 2 5% lax is levied on income
118 The original timeframe has not been fully implemented. The Islamic Ideology Council has reiterated its recommendations and called for complete and immediate elimination of interest from the economy.317 However, the government continues to advocate and pursue a more fragmented, gradual policy of Islamic economic reform, which tends to satisfy none of the hard-core, fundamentalist Muslims.
Education and cultural reforms are another area of Islamisation. These represent an attempt to resolve Pakistan's identity problem, as well as overcome factionalism and regionalism, by establishing a national identity and ideology firmly based on the twin pillars of Islam and nationalism. A series of changes, both real and symbolic, were introduced to strengthen the nation's sense of identity through reaffirmation of its Islamic character - that is, to produce what has been called "a new generation wedded to the ideology of Pakistan and Islam".318 A wide range of regulations and programmes covering areas from language and dress to mass media and education have been introduced and enforced.
Urdu has replaced English as the medium of instruction in schools and has assumed a more prominent place in both government and media as Pakistan's national language. The national dress - shalwar and kammez - is now required attire during working hours for civil servants, university professors and businesspeople. Increased emphasis on Islam and on Pakistan's ties with Arab countries has resulted in greater emphasis on Arabic education and the renaming of cities, streets and public facilities.
Great importance is attached to Islamising society, because an Islamic outlook and attitude will assure awareness and appreciation of, and compliance with, Islamic tenets. Mass media and education play important roles in government programming and public relations, and censorship of movies and other restrictions on coverage of 'un-Islamic' activities have increased sharply.
and assets in excess of 2 000 rupees (roughly U.S.$33) and is deducted at the end of Ramadan directly at source, i.e. directly from bank accounts and other finanaal assets such as investment shares, annuities and insurance Cf "Zakat" m H A. R. Gibb & J. H. Kramers (eds), Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1974, 654-656. Ushr is the tenth or tithe levied for public assistance. This agricultural tax on productive land was announced by government, but its implementation has been delayed. Although traditional law distinguished between un-imgated (10%) and canal-irrigated (5%) land, the ushrhas been uniformly set at five percent. Cf. "Ushr" Shorter encydopaedia of Islam, 610-611 The most far-reaching Islamic change is the abolition of interest. In January 1981 interest free bank accounts were introduced in all 7 000 branches of Pakistan's commercial banks, all of which are nationalised. The system, called Profit/Loss Sharing (P.L S.), is based on the traditional banking institution known as mudaraba, in terms of which depositor and banker enter into a partnership in which both share in the profits or losses. The Ρ L S system is optional and applicable to savings and fixed deposit (or time deposit) accounts Cf Government of Pakistan, Zakat and Ushr Ordinances, Islamabad: Government of Pakistan, 1980, 33 317 See Government of Pakistan, Report of the Council of Islamic Ideology on the Elimination of Interest from the Economy, Islamabad: Government of Pakistan, 1980. 318 Eposito, "Islamization", 198
119 Islamisation of informal education has been accompanied by reforms in Pakistan's formal education system. For several years the Department of Education has been engaged in reviewing curricula and textbooks, both to eliminate un-Islamic material and to revise and develop curricula and books that foster Islamic/Pakistani values.
To symbolise the Islamisation of education an Islamic university has been established in Islamabad. The purpose and goal of the university is to fuse Pakistan's dual or parallel system of secular and religious learning "so as to provide an Islamic vision for those engaged in education and to enable them to reconstruct human thought in all its forms on the foundations of Islam".319
The lives of all Pakistanis, both Muslims and non- Muslims, have been greatly affected by Islamisation, even though it has not been applied uniformly in all parts of the country. In addition the imposition of blasphemy laws320 makes life difficult for both groups, especially for Christians but also for Muslims.
Because of the Islamisation process the church currently feels a need to communicate and enter into dialogue with Islam. Interfaith dialogue groups exist and function in all big cities, predominantly intellectual and on a high level. This ushers in a new chapter in the history of the local church and the understanding of salvation is broadening. With the aid of conscientisation the idea of discipleship - witness - is taking root among Christians, and this entails more than mere membership of a structure, the ecdesia. The vision of the local church is a participatory model with lay involvement. In other words, the local church is gradually moving towards de-clericalisation (in a positive sense), that is, not 'going away' but 'going out' to reach others (Pentecost, extra-ecclesial).321
Culture is not static, but progresses with life. Consequently anything that affects life - such as Partition, the introduction of Islamic laws, secularisation, globalisation, militarisation, terrorism - almost subliminally changes cultural attitudes.
Cited by Eposito, "Islamizabon", 215. See also Jalibi, Pakistan: the identity of culture, 95-152. 320 These laws cost people their jobs, their homes, their freedom and their contact with family and friends. Once they have been accused - if ever so frivolously and arbitrarily - they have a death sentence hanging over their heads, whatever the courts decide. On 6 May 1998 bishop John Joseph, the first Punjabi Roman Catholic pnest and bishop, shot himself in front of the session court in Sahiwal, Lahore in protest against what became known as the blasphemy laws. For the present situation regarding blasphemy laws in Pakistan and the consequences, see Wallbndge, The Christians of Pakistan, 81-101 321 The activities of the young church in Pakistan can be divided into three phases. (1) Chanty and alms giving: The Christian missionaries helped the poor minorities by way of charity, mostly in the form of alms (food and clothing). This attracted the poor, who found some good news in what the missionaries were preaching and giving out freely. (2) Development projects. The church shifted its funds from chanty and almsgiving to community development projects. Funding agencies foster such imbabves. (3) Consoenbsauorr. The church shifted from development projects to awareness and conscientisation programmes to tram community leaders, tram instructors and undertake other leadership programmes. Cf. Waidyasekara, "Mission through an apostolic community", 327-329. See also WakJndge, The Chnsbans of Pakistan, 185-192
120 VI. CONCLUSION
Catholic missionaries proclaimed the Kingdom's message of the fundamental equality of all men and women. But at the same time they themselves, perhaps unconsciously, bred a ghetto mentality by segregating Catholics in closed colonies, separating them from adherents of other faiths and giving them the feeling that no truth existed outside the Catholic Church.322
The missionaries' approach to the local culture was not completely negative They did learn the language and tried to adapt to people's lifestyle, dress and food. But they regarded some cultural values and beliefs as contrary to the Christian tradition - indeed, they did not hesitate to call those beliefs 'pagan'. We consider such thinking to be inspired by their traditional Western theological background.
Consequently, when nationalism became dominant in India/Pakistan a consciousness of national tradition, culture, character and even ethnic consciousness arose. This consciousness, rooted in a new identity, can isolate a state, a nation or an ethnic group culturally and religiously. In Pakistan the process of Islamisation tends to reinforce such a closed mentality, separating Muslims from non-Muslims, although minorities are protected by law. Naturally the minorities adopt a ghetto mentality in their effort to preserve their identity, religion and way of life.
Finally, the group mentalities adopted by the culture, the religions (both Christianity and Islam), the challenges of nationalism and emphasis on Islamisation raise new questions without ready traditional answers In this complex situation, how can we promote a contextual theology through intercultural and mterreligious dialogue by bringing about an encounter between gospel and context?
Cf Leo van Ninove, The Capuchin mission, 143
121 CHAPTER FOUR
MEANING OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD
I. INTRODUCTION
The question arises: does the concept of brotherhood323 bind people together or separate them? In other words, does the closeness experienced in a small community with its shared commitment and convictions pose a problem for the group in its relations with outsiders? Does the gospel's notion of brotherhood relate equally to the community of the faithful and the community of the needy? Is there a tension between the two relationship» in the New Testament? These are the questions considered in the present chapter.
History shows that the Stoics - like the philosophers of the Enlightenment - sought to break down all barriers and differences among people (which they called "two zones") and create a single, universal brotherhood. However, as Ratzinger aptly points out, "A brotherhood which embraces everyone equally cannot expect to be taken seriously by anyone."32'' Thus, rather than seeking to obliterate the differences between the two groups, he insists that acknowledgment of their reality must be the presupposition of the Christian striving to make brotherhood inaeasingly all-embracing without succumbing to unreality or sentimentality.325
We could resolve the problem as follows: the inner circle must exist not for its own sake, becoming inbred and introverted, but for the sake of the wider circle, to which it must continually reach out and with which it must increasingly identify; in this way, separation may be seen as existing for the sake of service to the whole.
Our study of Christian brotherhood poses two basic questions, which we shall discuss in the following pages: (1) How does one relate to those outside the Christian fellowship? (2) What is one's relation to one's 'brothers' and 'sisters' in a Christian fellowship?
With the patriarchal background up to now "brotherhood" in the Bible was understood as including women too. But in deference to the particular sensitivity in our modern age I accept the need to use inclusive language. However, I find the alternative available like sisterhood/brotherhood to heavy for my text. I do hope in the near future there will be a more universal consensus regarding an alternative inclusive vocabulary. 324 Ratzinger, Tìie open arde, 11. 5 Cf. ibid., llf. This could create the impression that Ratzinger sees gospel brotherhood as hierarchical, similar to the caste system Gospel brotherhood is marked by tension between insiders - the converted Jewish Christians - and outsiders, the Jews. Through the paschal event there is no longer a divide between Jews, Greeks and other gentiles. All are one - brothers and sisters in Christ.
122 II. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
"You have one teacher, and you are all brethren" (Mt. 23:8).326 These words of Christ define the relationship between Christians as a relationship of brothers, thus contrasting a new spiritual brotherhood with the natural brotherhood of blood relations (also see Mk 3:32- 35).327 Consequently, the Christian ethos is - or should be - an ethos of brotherhood.
To grasp the significance of this we need to analyse various conceptions of brotherhood in early Christianity.
A. Development of terminology
The biblical concept of brotherhood must be placed in the context of the ancient Near Eastern cultures that influenced Old Testament thinking and literature,328 and that of Graeco- Roman culture, which influenced New Testament writings.329
The Semitic root 'adi (or 'ali) signifies, firstly, a blood brother. However, it also has the broader meaning of kinsman, compatriot, companion. Thus the Akkadian *ahJ is used to address persons of equal rank (especially in letters, also among kings), and further refers to professional colleagues, covenant partners and fellow tribesmen. In Akkadian proper nouns ahu usually indicates a blood brother. Sometimes the gods are also collectively called 'brothers'.330 West Semitic inscriptions reveal the same pattern: the word 'äch is used for kinsmen, in letters between persons of equal rank, for professional colleagues and for a king who protects his subjects.331
In Hebrew 'äch means chiefly a person's own blood brother.332 Examples can be found in Genesis 4:8-11 (Cain and Abel), 25:26 (Esau and Jacob), and 42:3-7 (Joseph and his brothers) and Exodus 4:14 (Aaron, the brother of Moses). Sometimes the relationship of full
All the quotaions of the Bible is take from 77ie Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version), Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 1973. 7 "Die narrative suggests that Jesus moved away from his natural family. Jesus defines family in terms of discipleship "whoever does the will of God" (v. 35). See L. E Keck et al., 777e new interpreter's Bible· a commentary in twelve volumes, Nashville: Abingdon, 1995, 566-567 328 See George Fohrer, Introduction to the Old Testament, trans. David Green, London: SPCK, 1968, 51-102 325 Cf. e.g. Eduard Lohse, The New Testament environment, trans. John E. Steely, London: SCM, 1983, 222-227. Cf. Helmer Ringgren, '"âch, 'âchôth" in: Johannes Botterweck & Helmer Rmggren (eds), Theological dictionary of the Old Testament, trans. John Τ Wills, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977, 188 1 Cf. ibid., 189 See also V. P. Hamilton, '"âh"[brother, kinsman, relative, countryman], in: W A. van Gemeren et al. (eds), New international dictionary of Old Testament theology and exegesis, Exeter: Paternoster, 1997, 345. 33 The word 'Schôth, 'sister', means chiefly a person's own blood sister (Gen 4:22; 20:12; Lev 19: 11, etc.) and, secondarily, a female relative (Gen. 24: 60). In a broad sense it is used for nabons and cities (Jer 3:7; Israel is Judah' s sister (Ezk. 16:46); Jerusalem and Samaria are sisters (cf. H Ringgren, '"âch, 'âchôth", 189, 191). For a comprehensive exposition of the Israelites' cultural background, especially family institutions, see Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel- its life and institutions, trans. John McHugh, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1980, 3-15, esp 19- 52.
123 brothers is emphasised by adding the words "son of your mother" (e.g. Deut. 13:6. But 'âch also means one's kinsman (e.g. Gen. 14:14, 16; 13:8) and, in a broad sense, a fellow tribesman or fellow countryman (e.g. Gen. 31:32; Ex. 2:11; 4:18). Numbers 20:3 uses 'our brothers' to denote the Israelites. All tribesmen are brothers, a nation descended from a common father.333 Quite often 'âch is used for compatriots or members of the same nation: "One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you" (Deut. 17:15); and, with the same emphasis that excludes foreigners, prophets are raised up "from your brethren" (Deut. 18:15). In this context, as a rule only a rea (friend, neighbour), and in the broad sense any neighbour, is my brother.334 The Israelites' strong family solidarity includes the relationship between brothers and sisters. Anyone who has neither a brother nor a reä (friend) is defenceless (2 Sam. 13:3, 6). Thus the extension of the idea of brotherhood to all fellow tribesmen and fellow countrymen also broadened the demands of solidarity.335 Since all Israelites were brothers, one had to help anyone who fell on hard times (Lev. 25:35f). Deuteronomy especially emphasises this duty and even applies it to the way one treats one's brother's domestic animals (Deut. 22:l-4).336
Though the primary connotation of brotherhood is blood relationship, metaphoric use of the term is very old. Plato describes a fellow citizen as a brother (Menexenos 239a): "We and our fellow citizens are all brothers bom of one another."337 Xenophon calls a friend 'brother' (Anabasis VIII, 2, 25).338 In the first case, brotherhood is based on the extended blood relationship of a nation; in the second, on what we may call elective affinity.339 In both cases brotherhood by its very nature entails a frontier. In Plato, if the community of a state bestows brotherhood, then a foreigner is regarded as a non-brother. Xenophon's brotherhood of friends not only unites friends, but also sets them apart from non-friends.
The Near East had a great impact on Hellenistic literature by introducing the idea of brothers in faith or spiritual brotherhood. The term was widely used in the Baal cults,340 in which tribes or groups who were united by blood and the unity of a protective deity had long
333 Cf. Hamilton, "'ah", 346. For an explanation of individual and community m anaent Israel, see Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl, London: SCM, 1981, 214-222. 334 Cf. Rmggren, '"âch Schôth " 191 335 Cf. ibid., 192. See also De Vaux, Anaent Israel, 21f. 336 Cf e g Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 185-190 Judaism also uses 'brother7 in both a physical and a figurative sense. The term designates relationships (Mac. 9:23; 10:3, 15; 13:9, 27) as well as brotherhood established by covenant fellowship (1 Mac. 12:10,7). See M. J. Wilkms, "Brother, brotherhood", in: D Ν Freedman (ed.), 77>e Anchor biblical dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992, 782. Also cf. Hans Freiherr von Soden, "addphos", in: Gerhard Kittel (ed.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974, 144. 338 Adelphos, though originally denobng blood relabonship, early on became a synonym for pfetoCneighbouO with its much wider meaning; hetairos means comrade, companion, friend; cf. W. Günther, U. Falkenroth & D. A Carson, "Brother, neighbour, friend", in: Colin Brown (ed. and trans.), New international dictionary of New Testament theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 254. 335 Cf. Ratzinger, The open arde, 27 340 For texts from Near Eastern wntings, see Walter Beyarlan (ed.), Near Eastern rdigions: texts relating to the Old Testament, London: SCM, 1978, 32ff.
124 regarded themselves as sons of this particular god, hence brothers.3'" A foreigner could join the brotherhood by undergoing an initiation ceremony. The term 'brother' was used particularly in the Mithras community,342 whose hierarchic head bore the title 'Father of the Brothers' (pater fratrum).™
Stoic philosophy with its deep sense of brotherhood warrants special mention. Here brotherhood is understood in terms of universal humanity, brothers being those who live together according to the world reason. From the standpoint of spiritual monism (Plotinus) all things in the world can become 'brothers'.VA
Similar groups and communities developed in Palestinian Judaism in the first century CE..345 We know from Josephus346 that the Essenes called each other brothers and that members of other groups did the same.347
B. 'Brother' in the Old Testament
As noted above, in the Old Testament 'brother' was a fixed form of address. A co religionist generally had the title 'âch. Common religion seems to be what was uppermost in their minds; when they merely meant 'compatriof they used the word rea. In rabbinical writings the two meanings are sometimes carefully distinguished. Thus the two zones of ethical beings are clearly defined - the 'people' or 'a/77 (as a religious community) and the 'gentiles' or gojim (pagans, non-Israelites). The biblical question, "Who is my neighbour?" (Lk.l0:29), concerns this very problem.
341 Cf. Κ. Η. Schelkle, "Bwder", in: Theodor Klauser (ed.), Reallexikon fur Anbke und Chnstentum, Stuttgart: Hiereemann, 1954, 633-636; Henri Frankfort et al., The intellectual adventure of anaent man, Chicago: University Press, 1977, esp. 363ff,· also see W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the religion of Israel, Baltimore: Hopkins, 1956. 342 Mithra (Greek: Mithrai) was an ancient Indo-Iraman god His ongins go back to Persian times. Mithras is a god of light, the principal god in Eastern mystery religions His cult had a great impact on the Roman empire. Highly prized moral values were loyalty, obedience and commitment to legitimate authority. A very definite hierarchy of authority operated in each unit or cell of the cult, which was not publicly organised but was based on the moral attainment of its members, the father of the unit being the one who had achieved the highest degree of perfection. Cf. Sean Freyne, The world of the New Testament, Manila: St Paul, 1988, 38-39. See also 3. Duchesne-Guillemm, "Mithras and Mithraism", in: New Catholic encyclopedia, 982-983. See Günther, Falkenroth 81 Carson, "Brother, neighbour, friend", 255 344 Cf. ibid, 255; Von Soden, adelphos, 146. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes the various groups at that time, following the example of the Greek philosophical schools. Among the Jews there were three philosophical schools: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and a third, which lived in accordance with particularly strict rules, was known as the Essenes Cf. Flavius Josephus, 777e works of Flavius Josephus· the learned and authentic Jewish historian and celebrated warrior, trans. William Whiston, Philadelphia: Winston, 1737, 530-531, 673-677. For a brief summary of Judaism and Hellenism and their consciousness, also see Carolyn Osiek, What are they saying about the social setting of the New Testament?, New York: Pauhst Press, 1984, 11-33 For a comprehensive description of Flavius Josephus, see Steve Mason, "Josephus and Judaism", in: Jacob Neusner et al. (eds), The encyclopedia of Judaism, Leiden: Brill, 2000, 546-562. For comprehensive documentation on these various groups and communities, see Lohse, The New Testament environment, 74-120.
125 In the Old Testament religious and national community were one. For individuals a brother was one who belonged with them in a community comprising not just any people but the unique, chosen people of God. This meant that brotherhood did not depend merely on common racial descent but on common election by God. What mattered in this brotherhood was not so much having the same mother, but having a common Father - the universal God, Yahweh. That is the special meaning and significance embodied in the Israelite idea of brotherhood.3'" As Yahweh's people the Israelites were closely bound together, above all on the basis of their election, their common salvation history and Yahweh's proclamation of his will (Josh. 24).
This 'election' established a distinction between God's chosen people and the gentiles. In practice it meant that the concept of brotherhood included only those who shared one's country and one's faith. Thus Israelites' ethical responsibility to fellow Israelites was different from what they owed a gentile. This gave rise to two kinds of ethical relationships: my neighbour is distinct and separate from a person who is distant from me; my brother is distinct and separate from my fellow human beings. The answer to the question, 'Who is my neighbour?', is simple and clear-cut: my co-religionist and compatriot. The full meaning of this 'theology of two brothers', as one may call it, only becomes clear in the New Testament.
1. Relationships: brothers, friends, enemies
We have said that there were two ethical groupings in the Old Testament: God's chosen people, and those outside it. The next question is: how does one behave towards one's brothers and sisters, and how does one behave towards a neighbour and companion, a friend and an enemy?
The rules and regulations for dealing with fellow Israelites - one's brothers - and with foreigners are found in the Deuteronomic literature. For example, a aeditor should see a debtor as his brother and grant him remission of his debt in the seventh year (Deut. 15:1 ff). With regard to the poor, the same passage says: "You shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother" (15:7). This means that among God's people no-one
There is a genuine similarity between the structure of the Greek polis and the theocracy of the Old Testament. In both cases the political and the religious unit coincided: the religious community was the same as the political community. Cf. De Vaux, Ancient Isrsel, 91-99 349 In the Qumran text 'brother" is a common term to designate the relationship between membere of the community Brotherhood was significant, because they saw themselves as the true remnant of Israel, the true people of God. See E. E. Urbach, The sages: their concepts and beliefs, trans. I. Abrahams, Jerusalem: Magnes, 1979, 584- 585.
126 should enrich himself by exploiting another's need; consequently interest may be charged only to foreigners (cf. 23:20f; Ex. 22:24).350
What is particularly noteworthy, and something that had far-reaching consequences, is that even people on the very fringes of early Israelite society were included in the brotherhood.351 The king's heart "may not be lifted up above his brethren" (Deut. 17:20); all Israel, from the king down to slaves, lived on the common heritage - the land which Yahweh had given them (Deut. 12:9; 19:10). That is why each person was the other's brother: the relationship founded on Yahweh took precedence over physical brotherhood (Deut. 13:7ff; cf. also Ex. 32:29).
2. Friends352
Although Israel's ethical code focused more specifically on behaviour within the group, this 'introversion' did in a way encompass openness towards outsiders as well. Love of one's neighbour and love of one's enemy were not confined to compatriots or co-religionists, so that the Old Testament also draws attention to brotherhood as a universal human phenomenon.353 Yahweh is not only Israel's national God; he is also the universal God.354 The following passage (Lev. 1.9:17-18) shows how the living experience of brotherhood has to be extended beyond one's blood brothers:
You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbour, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.
Verse 34 goes further:
The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
350 The ancient prohibition against usury, which is laid down in the book of the covenant for the benefit of the poor, is enforced with reference to the brotherhood of all fellow countrymen; see Lev. 25:36f and Ex. 18:8. 351 Cf Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 187 In the LXX hetairo commonly renders Hebrew rea' (friend, fellow) and its cognates, but in two instances it represents hâbër ('associate', 'companion': Cant. 1:7; 8:13). In later Judaism hâbër continued to mean 'friend', 'associate'. In Qumran literature the same Hebrew word group refers to the community as a whole, but not apparendy in a technical sense. See D. A. Carson, "Comrade, companion, friend", in: Colin Brown (ed ), The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, Exeter: Paternoster, 1975, 259. 353 Cf. ibid., 188. 35'' α Ratzinger, The open circle, 30-35, esp. 30.
127 These words tend in the direction of a command to love one's neighbour. The precept had no parallel among Israel's neighbours and was to assume cardinal significance in the New Testament.355
Besides the unique command to love one's neighbour in the 'golden rule' (Lev. 19:18), the Wisdom literature indicates that Yahweh hates "a man who sows discord among brothers" (Prov. 6:19), who must live peaceably together in kinship if their lives are to prosper under Yahweh's blessing (Ps. 133).
Proverbs 19:7 still presupposes that brothers are closer to one another than other countrymen. However, Proverbs 27:10 takes a different view: "Better is a neighbour who is near than a brother who is far away." What is again obvious is that brotherhood can mean far more than neighbourliness and friendship. The most beautiful portrayal of friendship is that of David and Jonathan. Each becomes as dear to the other "as his own soul" (1 Sam. 18:1). David laments his friend's death: "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (2 Sam. 1:26). Such can be the perfect human brotherhood between people who are not children of the same father.356
3. Love of one's enemy
The Old Testament does not stop at love of brother, neighbour and friend, but goes beyond that. The ancient Book of the Covenant already commanded love of one's enemy. Two texts deserve particular attention in this connection.
If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it, you shall help him to lift it up (Ex. 23:4-5).
The subject of the passage is a person who is poor and helpless; here it is the beast that needs help, but when the beast is in danger its owner, too, is likely to sustain a severe loss. In God's law Israelites should be guided in their actions by the animal's need, and this should be more important to them than the enmity of its owner. By helping the animal one is paving the way for reconciliation with one's enemy. In other words, the person who was his enemy's victim should take the initiative in reconciliation. In such practical ways hate and thoughts of revenge are overcome.
' a. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 188. Cf. W. Günther, H G. Link 8t C. Brown, "Love", The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, 540.
128 Proverbs takes us one step further. Here the enemy himself is in need and requires direct help: "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head357 and the Lord will reward you" (Prov. 25:21-22). The enemy's need provides an opportunity to overcome enmity. Thus the wise person who begins to practise love of an enemy in misfortune may expect the latter to regret the enmity and be ready for reconciliation.
It is evident, then, that people are called to brotherhood and that this brotherhood is all-embracing. This is seen even more clearly in the New Testament.
C. The idea of brother in the New Testament
In the New Testament adelphos (brother) and adelphe (sister) denote either physical brotherhood and sisterhood in the strict sense or, more generally, the spiritual fellowship of Israelites or Christians.358 Adelphos was originally a term denoting a family relationship, a compound formed by the copulative prefix a- and delphus, 'womb', hence 'one from the same womb'.359 Originally it was used for a brother in the physical sense, although it came to signify all close relatives such as nephews or brothers-in-law.360 The New Testament contains many references to physical brothers; for example, the brothers of Judah in Matthew 1:2, of Joseph in Acts 7:13, of Jechoniah in Matthew 1:11 and of Herod in Luke 3:1; among the disciples Simon and Andrew are blood relations in this sense (Mk 1:16), as are James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Mk 1:9); the sisters Mary and Martha (Lk. 10:39f) have a brother Lazarus (Jn ll:22ff). Jesus' relatives are called his adelphoiiyW. 3:31ff).361
In a more general sense, adelphos in the New Testament denotes 'fellow Christian' or 'Christian brother'. Many instances of this spiritual brotherhood occur throughout the New Testament. The usage plainly derives from Jewish religious custom; in Judaism, too, adelphos
This means that kindness shown to an enemy is like coals heaped on his head Cf H F Fuhs, "ghl", m: Botterweck & Ringgren (eds), Theological dictionary of the Old Testament, 463. From Egyptian texts it would appear that fiery coals really were heaped on a man's head in an atonement ntual as a sign of shame and remorse for an offence. The parallel Egyptian text says: " so that he may be sated and may be ashamed." Cf. James Pritctiard (ed ), Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1955, 422, 426f. Paul also draws on Old Testament Wisdom literature; cf. Proverbs 25:21-22 with Romans 12:17-21. Cf. Von Soden, "adelphos", 144. See also Günther, Falkenroth & Carson, "Brother, neighbour, friend", 254-260. 359 Cf. Johannes Bauer, "Brother", in: J. Bauer (ed.), trans. J Blenkinsopp, N.D. Smith et al, Encyclopedia of biblical theology, London: Sheed & Ward, 1970, 88. 360 Cf. M. J. Wilkms, "Brother, brotherhood", in: D. N. Freedman (ed.) ΤΛε Anchor Bible dictionary, 782. ' Their exact relationship to Jesus is not known (cousins7 half-cousins'), but the doctrine of Mary's perpetual vir ginity is the basis for stating that they are not Jesus' real brothers. In Hellenistic Greek adelphos means blood brother (Mk 6:3; Mt. 13:56), but it may be assumed that this is an over-literal rendition of Hebrew 'ah (Aramaic 'aha), which means brother but also covers a wider range of relationships, including cousins and half-brothers. Cf. David M. Stanley & Raymond E. Brown, "Aspects of New Testament thought (78:167)", in: Raymond E Brown et al. (eds), The Jerome biblical commentary, London: Chapman, 1968; reprint 1970, 796.
129 means co-religionist, which historically was identical with a compatriot. There can be no doubt that adelphos is one of the religious titles of Israel that was taken over by the Christian community.362
1. Brother in early Christianity
In early Christianity the use of the word 'brother' for fellow Israelites, as found in the Old Testament, carried on in the New Testament.363 The early texts simply took over the Jewish terminology (e.g. Acts 2·29, 37; James 1:9: Mt. 5:22, 24, 47). However, a Christian use of the term started to develop, at first tentatively but then more independently, and in later texts this usage was totally distinctive (1 Jn 2:9, 10; 3:10; 3 Jn 3, 5, 10). This development is of great interest, because it demonstrates tangibly how the Christian community gradually grew into an independent church and how early Christianity evolved and became firmly established.364
Let us now examine the linguistic development step by step to determine the different meanings and significances of the term 'brother' in New Testament literature. We start with Christ's use of the word. The biblical exegete Schelkle365 distinguishes three usages in Chrisf s utterances.
2. Brother in the words of Christ
The first group of texts simply takes over the Old Testament usage, so that 'brothers' means one's Jewish co-religionists. All these texts are found in the Gospel according to Matthew.
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, "You fool1" shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and them come and offer your gift (Mt. 5:21-24).
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (Mt. 7:3.)
342 α Von Soden, "adelphos", 145 363 See Rmggren, "âch, 5rtôW, 188-193 364 For an excellent summary of the historical background to the New Testament, see F F Bruce, New Testament history, New York Doubleday, 1971 365 Cf Schelkle, 'S/i/oter- 636
130 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (Mt. 18:15-17).
These texts do not directly render Christ's terminology, but that of the Jewish community (especially 18:15-17); they represent a comparatively standard Christian usage. However, the word 'brother' in this connection would certainly go back to Jesus himself, as is suggested by a comparison between Matthew 18:15-17 and Luke 17:3 ("... if your brother sins, rebuke him; if he repents, forgive him"). In this case the developed community of Matthew's Gospel, because of their new situation, would have understood Jesus' words to mean something different (the new Christian brotherly community) from what was originally intended directly (the old Jewish religious and national community). With Jesus a new religious community arose within the structure of the existing Jewish community.3*6 This first group of texts does not represent his own new message of brotherhood, but reflects either the language of an already fairly developed Christian community or Jesus' actual words, which merely perpetuate the language of his Jewish environment.367
A second group of texts comprises Christ's utterances in which the word 'brother' conveys the special sense of a rabbi addressing his pupils. Schelkle proposes that Jesus' well- known words to Peter during the last supper belong to this group:
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren (Lk. 22:31-32).
Two utterances of the risen Christ also belong to this group. One is the words, recorded by Matthew, which he addresses to the women who are the first to meet him after his resurrection, telling them to "go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me" (Mt. 28:10). TTie other, found in John's Gospel, opens up deep theological perspectives and thus transcends the rabbinical framework. In it he tells Mary Magdalene,
Cf. Floyd V. Filson, A New Testament history, London: SCM, 1983, 35f; Joseph Bonsirven, Theology of the New Testament, trans. S. F L. Tye, London: Burns & Dates, 1963, 10-12 (referring to Jesus' language) Also see W. D. Davis & D. C. Allison, A cnbcal and exegeOcal commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Edinburgh: Clark, 1988, 512-513. 7 Jesus' Jewishness is emphasised, for example, by Joseph Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, trans Herbert Danby, London: Macmillan, 1925, 363-368.
131 "Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (Jn 20:17). Here the disciples' brotherhood with one another and with Jesus is closely connected with the fatherhood of God and is raised to a very different level from the mere teacher-pupil relationship indicated by the rabbinic use of "brother." See, for example, Matthew 23:8: "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren." This marks the end of rabbinismi a new revolution is coming which will moderate all worldly distinctions in the face of the encounter with one who is truly great, truly different - Christ.368 Thus the new Christian concept of brotherhood breaks through in these words formerly used to express a rabbinic convention.
The third group of texts in which Jesus uses the word 'brother' is the one that interests us most and represents the typically Christian usage - Schelkle cites Mark 3:31-35 in particular. When told that his mother and his brothers are outside, Jesus replies:
"Who are my mother and my brethren?" And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brethren' Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
The narrative about Jesus' 'family' conveys a distinctive emphasis in the New Testament. For "whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Mk 3:35). With this definition Jesus declares that spiritual union in the family of God takes precedence over national or blood relationship (cf. also Lk.l4:26). Hence Jesus combines discipleship with a familial emphasis.
The early church understood the familial nature of the new community. ^Adelphoä was one of the first terms to express their self-designation (cf. Acts 18:1-15, 16; 6:3). The decision of the apostolic council explicitly applied the term to gentile Christians, assuring them that they were also part of the family (Acts 15:23).369
But the family relationship is not merely figurative. It is based on a spiritual birth. Jesus is the only begotten, firstborn, beloved Son of God, and through faith in him believers are born into new life (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Peter 1:3-5), in which they are called Jesus' brothers (Rom 8:29; Heb 2:Iff.). Believing in Jesus as the Christ causes one to be born of God, and love marks the relationship of members of that family (1 Jn 5:1-2). The members of the brotherhood are urged to practise brotherly love towards one another. Indeed, love has to be so characteristic of a believer's relationships that to hate one's brother is taken as evidence
368 σ Schelkle, "Bnjder", 636 369 See J Beutìer, adelphos, in: Η Balz βι Gerhard Schneider (eds), Exegeùcal dictionary of the New Testament, Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1990, 29
132 that one does not love God (1 Jn 5:19-21), which means that one is not truly a member of God's family.370
In the parable of the last judgment (Mt. 25:31-46) we find a very different conception of Christian brotherhood. The stress is that things done (or not done) to those in need are done (or not done) to Jesus himself; he calls those in need "the least of these my brethren". Here 'brother' means anyone who needs help, without any distinction: every person in need is a brother.
This brotherhood with Christ is founded not on a community freely chosen out of will and conviction, but on the lowly and suffering. This text is important because it expresses a universality not found in the texts cited previously. Since the community of the disciples is the basis of a new Israel, hence a new fraternity, we might expect the closed brotherhood of Israel to repeat itself; the question of who my neighbour is would receive a different answer, but structurally it would be the same as the old one: one's neighbour would no longer be one's compatriot, one's co-religionist in an essentially national faith, but one's fellow believer in the non-political, spiritual faith of Christ. If one grasps the full import of the judgment parable in Matthew,371 one can see why the answer was different in the parable of the good Samaritan (Lk. 10:30-37).372 My neighbour is the first person in need whom I come across; thus my brother is always present to me in the lowliest of human beings.373 Here all barriers demarcating the brotherhood ethos are removed and brotherhood has no limits.
We find two different views of brotherhood in Jesus' words. In the first it is clear that, irrespective of any barriers, all those in need are, by virtue of their plight, his brothers and sisters. Elsewhere it is apparent that the new community of the faithful will form a fraternity distinct from non-believers. Thus the first view reflects a limited concept and the second a universal one. On the one hand Jesus forms a select group of people and ministers to the Jewish people with whom he lived. But gradually he came to understand that his message should reach beyond the confines of the Jewish people and Judaism. This did not come to him in a flash of enlightenment. It dawned on him gradually once he had established himself and his ideas among his Jewish disciples. His outreach to the gentiles occurred little by little. We can take the example of his problematic encounter with the Syro-Phoemcian woman earlier in his ministry (Mk. 7:26ff; Mt. 15:21-28). And that struggle continued in the
370 Cf. Wilkjns, "Brother, brotherhood", 783. 371 See Daniel J Harngnton, The Gospel of Matthew (Saaa Pagina), Collegeville, Mm.: Glazier, 1991, 347-360 Also J. R. Donahue, "The parable of the sheep and the goats: a challenge to Christian ethics", Theological Studies 47, 1869, 3-31. See Luke T. Johnson, TTre Gospel of Luke (Saaa Pagina), Collegeville, Mm: Glazier, 1991, 172-173 The person in need is well depicted in the parable of the good Samaritan. For an account of this parable with a brief historical background, see Pheme Perkins, Love commands in the New Testament, New York: Paulist Press, 1982, 59-65 Also V. Ρ Furnish, The love commandment in the New Testament, Nashville: Abingdon, 1972, 34-45.
133 primitive church, which finally resolved it at the first Council of Jerusalem when it accepted the ministry to both Jewish and gentile converts and launched a missionary movement to preach Christ to all nations.
3. Development in the New Testament
We now turn to the development, especially in Paul's letters, of the idea of brotherhood in the community that Jesus left behind. We find, firstly, that they simply adopted the national, religious formula which the Jews used to address one another. In their sermons in Acts 2:29 and 7:2 Peter and Stephen call the Jews andres adelphoi Cbrethren'). The Jews address Paul in the same way in Acts 13:15, and he himself addresses them thus in 13:26, 22:1 and 5, and 28:17. However, Acts also refers quite naturally to the Christians as brethren (14:2; 2%:\.5).m
The specifically Christian emphasis on brotherhood is found in the Pauline epistles.375 Christianity developed independently of Judaism. To Paul 'brother' is the natural appellation for one's Christian fellow believer.376 Although we do not find a developed theory of Christian brotherhood in the Pauline corpus, there are certain new elements. The most important are found in the following passage:
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba1 Father·" it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. ... For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:14-17, 29).
Compare this text with the following passage in Hebrews:
For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren (Heb. 2:11).
This constitutes the theological anchor of the Christian conception of brotherhood. If brotherhood depends on God's special paternity by election, then in Christianity the idea of
Cf Bonsirven, Theology of the New Testament, 180 375 See Beutler, "adelphos" 30 376 'Brother' is an apt name for believers in Christ, because they form a family, almost a race, a new nation, says Bonsirven, Theology of the New Testament, 322
134 God's fatherhood refers in the first place to the Son, Jesus, and then through him to us, since it is his Spirit in us that says Tather' (Rom. 8:16).377 The fatherhood of God, then, is mediated to us through Christ in the Spirit. God is primarily the father of Christ, but we are Ίη Christ', and are so through the Holy Spirit.378 Here we observe how the Jewish notion of fatherhood is transformed and intensified in Christianity. Fatherhood, and with it brotherhood, gain a far deeper meaning, pointing beyond the act of will involved in election towards a union that affects our very being. The idea of God as Father was necessary for the meaning of brotherhood to evolve. We see this clearly in the development of the story of Adam in Genesis. In 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5 Paul turns this story into a Christian idiom with his doctrine of the two Adams. Christ suffered death, which came into the world through the first Adam, the father of the human race; through his death and resurrection he, the new Adam, became the 'father' of the new humanity. Christ initiates not only a new humanity but also a new brotherhood, which surpasses and replaces the old. This doctrine declares that, irrespective of natural limits, all those who believe in and who are in Christ (Rom. 4; Gal. 3: 16-19) are brothers.379 Thus instead of a national division we now have a spiritual division between believer and non-believer.
The problem inherent in the idea of brotherhood (see above) crops up again in Paul's thinking - that of two groupings and hence two ethical attitudes. Everyone can be a Christian, but only a Christian is fully a brother. The two ethical attitudes are reflected in two different words used by Paul: one is the attitude of agape (love) and is the Christian's appropriate response to every person, the other is Philadelphia (brotherly love) and is accorded only to one's fellow Christians.380 The use of Philadelphia with reference to people other than blood relations seems to be specifically Christian. What these two terms make clear is that in their ethos Christians collectively form an inner circle; they are bound by a spirit of brotherly love {.Philadelphia), which is even greater than that of the more general agape. This is clearly expressed in Galatians 6:10: "Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." The brotherhood of Christians, which began with the removal of the limits of the narrow Jewish fraternal community, fixed its own frontiers with inaeasing distinctness as the young church gradually took shape.381
In the Johannine writings the Christian idea of brotherhood finds its final form. Not only is the word 'brother' restricted to one's fellow Christians but, even more strikingly, John
377 Cf. Ratzinger, The open arde, 5Bf. 376 Cf. Albrecht Oepke, "en", m: Theological dictionary of the New Testament, 537-543. Antioch was the first place where these groups of brothers who followed Christ were called Christians (Acts 11:26) For a good account of Christianity in Antioch, see R E Brown & J. Ρ Meier (eds), Antioch and Rome. New Testament cradle of Catholic Chnstiamty, London: Chapman, 1983, 28-44. 380 Cf Günther, Link & Brown, "Love", 538-550. 1 Cf. R. Mohrlang, "Love", m G. F Hawthorn et al (eds). Dictionary of Paul and his letters, Leicester: Intervarsity, 1993, 575-578.
135 constantly demands mutual brotherly love of Christians, yet never speaks of love for all human beings.382 This implies the existence of other human groups, in contradistinction to whom the Christian community emerged as something new and different, prone to a certain exclusivity. Ratzinger further notes that, whereas John reminds the various fraternal communities of their mutual brotherliness (cf. 2 Jn 13) and warns them against mutual exclusivity, non-admission of heathen is accepted, probably with some historical justification.3β3 Nevertheless one senses that this approach entailed a danger for the Christian idea of brotherhood. It had moved beyond the critical stage of indefiniteness, but was threatening to become so fixed as to lose that openness which it must possess by the very nature of Chnsfs message.
III. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD AS THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD
Christian brotherhood is based on the common paternity of God. God's fatherhood is mediated by the Son and includes brotherly unity in the Son. The proper realisation of Christian brotherhood therefore requires both vital knowledge of the fatherhood of God and vital fellowship with Jesus Christ in a unity of grace.
The fatherhood of God gives Christian brotherhood a firm foundation. We have to grasp fully the new meaning that the Christian faith has given God's paternity.364 It is viewed through the words of the Bible and is thus revealed only to the eyes of faith. The living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, becomes the God of Jesus Christ, who has taken on our flesh and blood - our whole human nature. In Jesus Christ God has not only spoken to humans, but has finally and radically made it possible for everyone to speak to him. For in Jesus God became a human being, thus stepping out of his total otherness and entering into the dialogical situation of all humankind. The person of Jesus can be addressed by every human being, but in addressing him we are addressing God. In Christ God has taken a piece of this world's temporal and changeable creaturelmess, drawn it to himself, and finally thrown open the door between himself and his creatures. In Christ God has become God more concretely, more personally and more approachably as a partner of humankind. We can grasp the importance of this for the Christian conception of fatherhood and brotherhood if we consider the biblical evolution of the idea more closely. The Old Testament distinguishes two kinds of divine paternity and, correspondingly, two kinds of human child-ship: the child-ship of all people because of creation, and the child-ship of Israel because of its election.385
Cf. Ratzinger, The open arde, 64. 383 Ibid., 64. For the uniqueness of Jesus' proclamation of Abba, Father as a way of addressing God, see Joachim Jeremias, New Testament theology, trans. John Bowden (2nd ed.), London: SCM, 1972, 63-68; Davies & Allison, A Œiùcal and exegeùcal commentary, 600-602. Cf. Ratzinger, The open arde, 76.
136 Christ is the fulfilment of what Israel only foreshadowed. The fact that the Son of God has become human, 'Israel', shows that he does not regard his divine sonship as something reserved only for himself. The meaning of the incarnation is rather to make what belongs to him available to all. Human beings can be 'in Christ', entering into him and be coming one with him: whoever is in Jesus Christ shares his sonship and is able to say with him, 'Abba, my Father'.3β6
Underlying the word 'Father' is the fact of our true child-ship in Christ Jesus (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15). What is different about New Testament statements concerning the Father is not a new psychological atmosphere, a new subjective intensity or a new idea but the new 'fact' or reality aeated by Christ. What is true of fatherhood and child-ship is no less true of brotherhood. This is the dogmatic basis for Christians' brotherhood with one another. It is founded on incorporation into Christ Jesus in the uniqueness of a new person.387 The concrete realisation of Christian brotherhood rests on the fact of our embodiment in Christ. To sum up, we can say that Christian brotherhood differs from all other brotherhoods precisely in its reality and concreteness. This is grasped in faith and acquired through the sacraments.
From this dogmatic conclusion we can infer the Christian attitudes that form the basis for an ethos of true brotherhood. In general terms, they consist in conscious spiritual acceptance of God's fatherhood and union with the life of Christ.
Christian brotherhood is ultimately founded on the faith that assures us of our real child-parent relationship with the heavenly Father and our brotherhood with one another. Here the social dimension of faith needs more emphasis than it is usually given. The Father is our God insofar as we are part of the community of his children. For 'me' he becomes a Father simply through my belonging to the 'we' that are his children. The Christian prayer to the Father is not the call of a soul that knows nothing beyond God and self, but of one bound to a community of brothers that collectively make up the whole Christ, in whom and through whom alone we are able to say 'Father', because only through Christ and in Christ are we his children.398 We should not say that Christ taught people to call God 'Father', but rather 'our Father'. The 'our' is no less important than the 'Father1, for it locates faith and prayer. This social dimension needs to be brought to the consciousness of the faithful anew: Christian belief in God the Father should be seen as necessarily entailing affirmation of the
This notion of Abba, my Father expresses the reality of the new child-father relationship Cf. Gottlob Schrenk Bi Gottfried Quell, "Pater", in: Gerhard Friedrich (ed ), Theological dicbonary of the New Testament, 945-1014, esp. 985-986. Cf. Ratzinger, The open arde, 79. 398 Cf ibid , 81
137 brotherhood of all Christians. Thus living faith in the Spirit of our Father will necessarily lead to a new relationship with God and our fellow humans, whom we recognise as brothers and sisters.
The second attitude that faith instils in us relates to our fellow humans. To become a Christian means being incorporated in Christ the Son, so that we become sons and daughters in the Son. This is both a sacramental and an ethical process. The important thing is to see the truth that lies at the heart of it. To become one with Christ means to lose oneself, to cease regarding one's own ego as absolute. We must let our individual egos, the assertion of human selfhood, melt into the community of the new man Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ has not only found an ethical model to be imitated privately, but is called to dissolve her purely personal ego and merge into the unity of the body of Christ.389
Thus the Christian ethic is essentially an ethic of the body of Christ. It means getting rid of a self-seeking, empty self and becoming one in fellowship with all those who are in Christ As an ethic of unselfish love it necessarily includes the fellowship of all Christians. This raises the question of what happened with the coming of Christ
IV. RELATIVISING BARRIERS IN THE BROTHERHOOD OF CHRISTIANS
Union with Christ includes the union of Christians among themselves and thus involves removing the divisive barriers of nature and history. Therefore the ethos of brothers and sisters with equal rights must transcend the divisions of class and hierarchical order. Removal of barriers is essential to the Christian experience of newness:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view. ... Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:16-17).
The old was what divided Israel and heathen, pure and impure, chosen and non-chosen, and so on The mystery of Christ is the mystery of the removal of barriers.
For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:27-28).
Thus Acts (2 44-45, 4 32, 6 1) says that the Christians' spirit of brotherly love united them so closely that they shared whatever they had, so that there was no poverty among them Cf Bonsirven, neology of the New Testament, 180f
138 Thus relativising the religious differences between Jew and gentile is put on a par with rejecting the basic social differences between slave and free man, and between men and women. All national and religious barriers are radically changed by the coming of Christ.
Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all (Gal. 3:11).
We acknowledge only one true barrier: that between Creator and creature.
V. UMUS OF THE BROTHERLY COMMUNITY
Christianity sought to heal all divisions. It presupposed the existence of distinctions, such as Christians and adherents of other faiths or non-Christians. Christians are brothers of their fellow Christians but not of those who do not believe in Jesus. In other words, affirming one's identity is one thing and affirming exclusivity is quite another.
The Christian community is the church (ekklesia). What is the original meaning of ekklesia?'** The first meaning is the actual realisation in the particular local community of the one church.3" Brotherhood is first realised in a local community, a specific parish; one cannot live in brotherhood with someone one does not know. Again, the original meaning of ekklesia helps, for the word means not only church and local community, but also religious assembly.392 Thus there are three levels of meaning, often blending into one another. The local community realises itself as the church in the religious assembly, that is, above all in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is what makes the church.393 In practice, therefore, Christian brotherhood demands brotherhood within the individual parish community, and this brotherhood has its source and centre in the celebration of the eucharistie mystery. To be the source of brotherhood that celebration must be recognised
The word ekklesia is used in the LXX and hence ekklesia is rendered in Hebrew as qâhâl. Thus ekklesia in the New Testament was taken to mean 'the church'; in late Greek it is kynakon, from kynakëChouse', 'doma', 'the Lord's house', from kynakos, 'belonging to the Lord, kynosor Master"). Cf. 'church' in: The Webster dicbonaiy of English language, unabndged encyclopedic revised edition, New York: Collins, 1979, 324. Qâhâl, probably related to qôl Cvoice"), means a summons to an assembly and the actual assembly (e g Ex 35:1; Num. 20:8, 1 Chr. 15:3). Qâhâl is also rendered with the word synagogue., meaning 'an assembly called together', 'people called' The synagogue, moreover, is a reminder of the great event of salvation history and the promises made to Israel (Num H:7ff.) Cf Gerhard Kittle, Bible key words, trans and ed J. R Coal, New York: Harper 8i Row, 1951, 50. See also Geoffrey Preston, Faces of the church: meditations on a mystery and its images, Edinburgh: Clark, 1997,6-7,8-9. 391 Cf. L. Coenen, "Church", in. The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, 291-305 Cf. Coenen, "Church", 298. Also Christopher O'Donnell, "Church, the term Ekklesia', in Ecclesia- a theological encyclopedia of the church, Collegeville, Min.: Glazer, 1996, 92-93. 393 David N. Power, The euchanstic mystery revitalizing the tradition. New York: Crossroad, 1992, vm The intimate mterconnecbon between church and Eucharist is dynamic and active. This dynamic celebration of memory-filled thanksgiving by the assembly of Christians is the core of what the Eucharist is about. It is in gathering for the Eucharist that individual Chrisbans become the church. Cf. Dennis C. Smolarski, Sacred mysteries: saaamental principles and liturgical practice, New York: Paulist Press, 1995, 70.
139 and performed as a saaament of brotherhood both inwardly and outwardly. Recognition that ekklesia (church) and adelphotes (brotherhood) are the same thing, that the church fulfils itself in the celebration of the eucharistie community of brothers, compels us to celebrate the Eucharist as a brotherly rite in responsonal dialogue.394 It is not just a group of people meeting for some ordinary social gathering The Eucharist must once again visibly become the saaament of brotherhood in order to achieve its full, commumty-aeating power. Its celebration originally comprised both the liturgical meal and an ordinary daily meal shared by Christians meeting in one large community: liturgy and ordinary life had not yet become separated.
That brings us to the final question of the Christian community's relationship with outsiders. We do not wish to draw sharp lines of demarcation. A Catholic line of demarcation ultimately serves to promote universal openness, as we shall see later.
Paul's prescriptions for relations with 'outsiders' are in part open, as when he demands total serving love towards anyone who approaches a Christian for help (Rom 13'8; 1 Thess 3-12; 5:15; 1 Tim. 3.2; also 1 Cor. 9:19), and when Christians are told to pray for everybody (1 Tim. 2:1) and respect non-Christian authority (Rom. 13:lff). Above all Paul does not see it as his business - and hence as that of any Christian - to sit in judgment on the moral state and eternal lot of those who are outside the Christian community (cf. 1 Cor. 5-12-13: "For what have I to do with judging outsiders' ... God judges those outside"). Underlying this attitude of respect for the spiritual integrity of non-Christians there is also a sense of keeping within proper bounds. This is stated explicitly in Colossians 4:5: "Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders " (cf. 2 Cor. 6:15).
What is the limit or boundary of Christian brotherhood today' Paul coined the word 'pseudadelphoS', meaning 'Christian in name'.395 This is a Pauline category of Christians who do not practise what they profess. Concerning such people's relation to Christ, and thus to the community, Paul says: "Any one who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Rom. 8:9). Those who are baptised but who do not actively take part in the Eucharist - pseudadelphoi - are different from total outsiders, and they do belong to the Christian brotherhood.
In the final analysis, the various distinctions made between believers and non- believers are meant to affirm their identities without being exclusive. For example, when we
394 Cf Ratzinger, The open arde, 100 For a good account of the church as love, a dynamic fraternal community, see Bernard Haring, Problem attuali di teologia morale e pastorale, trans A Fnoli, 2nd ed , Rome Paolina, 1967, 309-329 395 Cf Günther, Falkenroth & Carson, "Brother", 257 The original meaning of pseudadelphos is 'those who do not attend the eucharistie gathering'
140 say that Christians love one another it does not mean that non-believers do not love one another. Neither does it mean that Christians do not love non-Christians. Jesus died for all people, he identified with all people.
VI. UNIVERSALITY OF BROTHERHOOD
Delimitation of a specific Christian brotherhood does not create some esoteric circle but is intended to serve the whole. The Christian brotherly community is not in opposition to the whole but on its side. The brotherhood of Christians fulfils its responsibility to the whole through agape.
If the foundation of the church, and thus the fulfilment of Christ's mission, has created a new dualism among men and women - that of church and non-church - then clearly the goal of Jesus' work refers not to the part but to the whole, to all humankind.396 This healing of the whole takes place, according to the will of God, in the dialectical antithesis of the few and the many, in which the few are the starting point from which God seeks to save the many.
The task of the church and of individual Christians is dynamic. Just as an individual who is chosen can never cut herself off from those whom she thinks are not chosen, so the church as a chosen community cannot cut itself off from those who are not God's people. Election is always, at bottom, election for others. For the church, as for the individual, election is identical with the missionary imperative. This makes the church an open, dynamic concept; for all its visibility it is only the movement of God's kingdom into the world in the sense of an eschatological totality.
When it comes to Christian brotherhood this means that it is important that the church should grow into a unity of simple brothertiood. It must always remember that it is only one of two sons (cf. the parable of the prodigal son), one of two brothers; its mission is not to condemn the wayward brother, but to save him. Therefore the church must form an inner brotherhood and strengthen the bonds in order to reach out to the others so as to become truly one indivisible brotherhood. That brings us to the two facets of ethical behaviour: philos ana agape.
This is dear in Romans 5:12-21; see polloim Mark 10:45, parallel with Mark 14:24.
141 VII. THE MEANING OF BROTHERLY LOVE IN CHRISTIANITY
Jesus is the only begotten, firstborn, beloved Son of God. He became the firstborn brother of Christians (Rom. 8:29; cf. Col. 1:15); in his humiliation the Son of God became the brother of believers (Heb. 2:22); and in this sense Jesus speaks of his disciples as his brothers (Mk 3:33f).
Because he became our brother, we too are brothers and sisters to one another. The ruling principle of brotherhood is love or agape.397 The concept of brothers-in-faith is common in other religions, but the specific Christian understanding of brotherhood is expressed by linking it with agape?96 This spiritual community is based on the love of God, which creates a new reality emanating from God among men and women. The entire Christian ethical teaching focuses on the love command. This is the commandment we have from Christ, that those who love God should also love their brothers. Love of God cannot exist without love of brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Jn).399
Followers of the Christ of the Gospels know from experience that they can no more love their brothers without loving the Father than they can love the Father without loving their brothers. The more they advance in Christian life, the better they realise that the oneness of this twofold and unique love is basically, in a concrete psychological sense, an active inner disposition to commune with the other.
For the Christian loving is the principal expression of faith.400 Every moment of authentic love is an expression of something that surpasses human understanding. Whatever form our loving takes, it touches our very depths - those depths that humankind has always recognised as reaching beyond this world and connecting us with the mystery of the beyond.
Love is the common denominator and infrastructure of all humankind when it encounters the world of compassion, mercy, generosity, forgiveness, encouragement, caring, healing - in brief, the availability of self to others.401 Christian love is the connection between the Christian and those who stand outside the Christian community.
See C. Spicq, Agape dans le Nouveau Testamenti: analyse des textes, Paris: Lecoffre, 1959, esp. 313-357 Also see G. H. Outka, Agape: an ethical analysis, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972. 398 α. Gerhard Lohfink, Jesus and community, trans. John P. Galvm, London: SPCK, 1985, 157. Cf Perkins, Love commands in the New Testament, 113, 117. 400 Paul cites the Old Testament and Jesus' command to love (Rom. 13:8ff; Gal. 5:14), thus setting agape alongside pistis, faith, and over against nomos, the law. In John's writings, even more clearly than in Paul's, mutual love is grounded in the love of God (Jn 13:34; 1 Jn 4:21); love is a sign and a proof of faith (1 Jn 3:10;4:7ff). Cf. Günther, Link & Brown, "Love", 546. Cf. Jack Domiman, The capacity to love, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1985, 47
142 A. The terminology of love
In non-biblical Greek various words are used to express love and its different aspects. Thus 'I love' can be expressed by phileo, erao and agapao^1
In classical Greek the most commonly used word is phileo, which means a general attraction towards a person or a thing, although it pre-eminently connotes love for relatives and friends. It indicates people's attraction to one another, whether within or outside the family. It includes concern, care and hospitality, and it does not have a clear religious emphasis.
The verb erao and the noun eros connote love between a man and a woman, which embraces longing, aaving and desire.'103 There was also a more mystical understanding of ems, in which the Greeks sought to transcend normal human limitations in order to attain perfection; the god of love bore the name ,5ras' in Greek.404
The etymology of the verb agapao and the noun agape is not clear. It is a late construction. Agapao in Greek is often quite a colourless word, appearing frequently as an alternative or synonym for erao and phileo, meaning 'to be fond of, treat respectfully, be pleased with, welcome'. Unlike erao, it does not convey personal longing for possession or worth but a generous action by one person for the sake of another.405
Here we are not interested in the details of the further linguistic development of phileo, erao and agapao. What concerns us is to determine what meaning and significance these terms have in the New Testament.
B. Love in the New Testament
The great New Testament word for love is agape. The term phileo occurs five times in Matthew's Gospel and thirteen times in John's; elsewhere there are only individual instances, seven in all. The noun philos or phileo is used for love between friends and between people bound together in faith. However, the more usual verb is agapaa, phileo is
Cf. Gottfried Quell 81 Ethelbert Stauffer, "Agapao, Agape, Agapetoä', in Kittel, Theological dictionary of the New Testament, 21-55; see Gustav Stahlin, "Philed', in Friedrich, Theological dictionary of the New Testament, 113-171; also Alen Soble, Eros, agape, philia- Readings in the philosophy of love, New York Paragon House, 1999. 403 Cf Quell & Stauffer, ~Agapad', 35-36; Bernard Haring, The law of Christi, Cork: Mercier, 1967, 274-275; Rollo May, Love and will. New York: Dell, 1974, 73-75 404 Cf. Quell & Stauffer, "Agapad', 35 405 Cf. Günther, Link & Brown, "Love", 539
143 less common, and it is doubtful if any distinction should be made between these verbs. Moreover, eros and eraodo not occur in the New Testament at all. As A. Nygren has shown, this is because the anthropocentnc mindset that is inevitably linked with these words does not correspond with the New Testament approach.'107
Although phi/eo is a less common word for 'I love' in the New Testament, the compound noun philadelphos, loving one's brother or sister (1 Pt. 3.8), is relevant to our study of both brotherhood and Christian love. In this brotherhood of believers Jesus' love command is the cardinal witness to Christian community, and as such involves both love of one's fellow Christian and love of enemies. This command is not theoretical; it is founded in real life, first in Philadelphia, brotherly love, and then - through this love of brothers and sisters - it radiates to outsiders as agape. Assurance of the genuineness of one's love for one's brethren is gamed from loving and obeying God; people's love of God can be tested against their manifestation of love for their brethren (cf. 1 Jn 5:2).
Firstly, it should be noted that nowhere in the New Testament is brotherhood {Philadelphia) applied to all humankind.408 Brotherhood is not based so much on the universal fatherhood of God as on God's specific paternal relation to believers (cf. Mt. 23 8-9). The New Testament conception of Philadelphia, brotherly love, has its roots in the redemptive experience of Israel (Zech. 11:14; Mai 2:10) and of the apostolic church. Philadelphia and agape have different meanings; thus the use of these two words suggests the deeper, more intimate character of brotherly love (cf. philem in Jn 5:20; 16:27). Galatians 6· 10 makes a distinction between doing good to all people and to those that are of 'the household of faith'.
1. Origin and essence of brotherly love
Especially in the Pauline letters the origin of brotherly love is connected with the supernatural experience of dying with Christ, in which sinful love of self makes way for love of God, Christ and the brethren.409 Accordingly love for the brethren appears among other virtues and graces as a fruit of the Spirit, a charism410 In this sense love in the community is seen as a manifestation of God/Jesus'dwelling in it (Jn 14:23).
Cf Günther, Link & Brawn, "Love", 548, Schneider, * Agape", ExegeOcaldicbonary, 9 407 Quoted by Günther, Unk & Brawn, "Love , 542 ',0e Cf Geerhardus Vos, "Brotherly love", in James Hastings (ed ), Dicbonary of the apostolic church. New York Scnbners, 1915, 160, William Klassen, "Love", in Anchor Bible dictionary, 381-396 409 Cf Rom 6 10 ff, 7 4, 8 1-14, 2 Cor 5 14 -16, Gal 2 19-20 410 Cf Rom 15 30, 1 Cor 13, Gal 5 22, 6 8 -10
144 The essence of brotherly love can be defined either positively or negatively.
(a) Positively it includes: (ι) Personal attachment and devotion. The formulae for this are 'to give oneself, 'to owe oneself, 'to seek the person' (2 Cor. 8:5; 12:14; Philem 19). Among brothers there is an inner harmony of openness and willingness (Acts 4.32). Through its inward nature true love goes beyond all concrete acts of helpful ness, it means more than feeding the poor or giving one's body to be burnt (1 Cor. 13:3); it involves absolute identification in life experience, to the ex tent of bearing the burden of sorrow for the sins and weakness of others.411 (n) Energetic assertion of the will to love. Love does not consist in mere sentiment; it is an imperative obligation, involving strenuous labour (1 Thess. 1:3), where 'labour of love' is not labour performed out of love but the labour involved in loving.'112 Hence its voluntary nature is emphasised (2 Cor. 9:7) and the permanence of the obligation insisted upon (Rom. 13:8). (m) Concrete helpfulness to others. Throughout the New Testament it is preached that love must manifest itself concretely in good works to help others. Because Paul is governed by the principle that God's glory is magnified by love of God, he requires deeds as essential for the completeness of love. 'Good works' is a standard formula in the pastoral epistles.'113 The reference to the 'members' as organs in the service of God (Rom. 6:13; 12:1) is to be understood in this light. The test of love lies in helpfulness (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8). Love edifies, that is, builds up one's fellow Christians (1 Cor. 8:1). However, it does not contribute exclusively or even primarily to their material or intellectual good, but to their spiritual well-being (1 Cor. 8:1). The New Testament avoids the errors of both Jewish and Hellenistic ethics: in Judaism the external act became overly detached from the personal spirit of devotion; and in Hellenism the focus was introverted and absorbed by self-centred cultivation of virtue for its own sake. Christian conduct, however, must be ruled by the supreme principle of helpful love, and all ethical problems are reduced to the one question: what will benefit my brother?
(b) Negatively love for one's brethren originates only through the death of sinful self- love. Those who die this death no longer live for themselves,'114 because love is
412 Cf Vos, "Brotherly love', 160 "3 Cf 1 Tim 2 10, 5 1-25, Tit 1 16, 27 14
145 the opposite of self-pleasing and self-seeking.415 It excludes every selfish cult of individuality (Rom. 12:7; 14:18), all vainglory and excessive self- consciousness/16 all envious comparison of self with others (Rom. 12:3; Gal. 14:17), all personal anger or resentment (2 Cor. 2:5; Gal. 5:20).
2. Manifestations of brotherly love
The most visible and profound way in which brotherhood gives physical expression to its inner unity of love is the common meal shared by its members, the agape. Throughout the New Testament its character is assumed to be that of an ordinary meal, whose significance was heightened by the new meaning given to it. Sharing the meal not only reminded the participants of their relationship with Christ and one another, but actually deepened it, much as joining in a common meal with a family or group not only symbolises but really cements the bond between them.1"7
The other aspect of the physical expression of fellowship, koinonia, is sharing of possessions. Unity and love among the brethren were so deep and genuine that they shared whatever they had. They sacrificed themselves, their own egos, for the sake of others. As a result they became really poor in spirit, and thus whole and complete in their friendship with the Lord. They were able to create a new spirit of openness so that others could enter into their community.'118 We see here, despite the inward orientation of the love language, that the community never became an isolated, perfectionist sect like the one at Qumran.419 The fact that its fellowship was founded on God's commission to continue the witness of his Son kept it oriented to the world.
Agape means, firstly, exclusive fraternal love in the community. Since evangelisation is a primary task of apostolic communities, they extend the blessings of salvation to others; the duty of their mission centres distinctively on love. The character of apostolic mission re lates, not to the individual, but to the organism of the community, the church. In the final analysis this is attributable to the consciousness that the church as an organism is the instrument that the Father, through Christ, uses to make his love operative in the world.
15 α Rom. 15: Iff.; 2 Cor. 2:4-7; Gal 1:10; Eph. 6:6. '"6 Ct. Rom 3:27; 1 Cor. 1:29; 1 Thess. 2:6. 417 CS. Robert Banks, Paul's idea of community, Exeter: Paternoster, 1980, 86. 41 Cf. Hanng, Free and faithful in Chnst 2: the truth will let you free, 443; Luke T. Johnson, Shanng possessions, mandate and symbol of faith, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981, 79f. 419 For further information, see J. Bogart, Orthodox and heretical perfectionism in the Johannme community, Missoula, Mont : Scholars, 1977.
146 Hence the friendship of the brethren is grounded not in equality of virtue, but in the Christian community's obedience to the command of love. We find that the love which typifies members of the community or brotherhood is much more than a relationship between human persons. It reflects the essence of the relationship between the Father and Jesus. Naturally the love command continues to form the basis of the community and of salvation. Hence, especially in John (most clearly in chapter 17), it is no longer a summary or fulfilment of the law; rather it bears the full weight of Christian ethical obligation.'120
Finally, the New Testament communities never considered capitulating to some naive dream of all humans becoming brothers or of millions being embraced. In a very realistic manner they sought to achieve fraternal love in their own ranks, at the same time constantly striving to transcend their boundaries. In this way ever increasing numbers of people were drawn into the fraternity of the church and new neighbourly relationships became possible.'121
VIII. THE PHENOMENON OF BASIC COMMUNITIES
We have seen that Christian brotherhood, symbolised by the church, is all-embracing and open to all. This universal brotherhood is often too broad for people to experience it. The church is more often seen and experienced as an institution rather than as a community of faith and an alliance of love. Early Christians experienced and shared this aspect of brotherhood in communities which arose in the ambience of their life world.'122
A. Origins
Community is a basic element in the life of the church, which has found diverse expressions in the course of history. Lumen genbum (1, 8, 26) recalls the fact that the church must be "a place of communion" in Christ among the baptised and the source of community for humankind. We should note that through the centuries the church has always been aware
Cf. Perkins, Love commands in the New Testament, 107. 4 ' Cf Lohfink, Jesus and community, 114-15. Basic communities can be described as small, living Christian communities that are able both to manage their own internal life responsibly and to contribute effectively to evangelisation. The rise of these commumbes can no longer be seen as a chance phenomenon or a kind of makeshift expedient for emerging situations. Apart from the wide variety of situations which have led to the formation of such communities, their own internal reflection as well as the church's theological pastoral reflection has recognised them as one of the most significant ways in which the Holy Spirit is renewing the church. They are basic communities (the expression appears to have come from Latin America) in the sense that they are formed at grassroots level among people living in a particular neighbourtiood. Cf Archimede Fornasari, "New forms of ecclesial community without the permanent presence of a priest", The Laity Today 23/24, 1977, 103. A vast literature on basic Christian communities has been published throughout the world. In Asia we have the Federation of Asian Bishop Conferences Papers (FABC Papers) in three publications: Gaudencio Resales & C. G. Arévalo (eds), For all peoples of Asia: Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. Documents from 1970 to 1991, Quezon City: Claretian, 1992; Franz-Josef Eilers (ed.), For all peoples of Asia. Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. Documents from 1992 to 1996, Quezon City: Claretian, 1997; Franz-Josef Eilers (ed.), For all peoples of Asia: Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. Documents from 1997 to 2001, Quezon City: Claretian, 2002.
147 of its nature as a community (although the level of that awareness varied from age to age), for the church does not forget that it has its roots in the story of the chosen people of the Old Testament {Lumen gentium, 9).
In the early church the origin and venue of community was often a private home. The first evangelisation, in fact, took place in the confines of a hospitable home placed at the disposal of the itinerant apostle. The home was the original cell in which the gospel was preached, and it became the assembly place for the evangelised. A domestic setting was the cradle of the community; it served as a radiating centre and assured continuity, and the Christian community gathered around it."123
Since its earliest beginnings the church has manifested itself in the form of communities. The original Christian community, in its most intimate daily life, understood itself first and foremost as a fraternity. It is in the fraternity rather than the more remote idea of 'a new people of God' that one must look for the imagery in which the original community saw and defined itself.''24
The church in Asia sets great store by community building. The nature of these basic communities is clearly articulated by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) Plenary assembly held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1990.
The Church in Asia will have to be a communion of communities, where laity, religious and clergy recognize and accept each other as sisters and brothers. They are called together by the word of God which, regarded as a quasi-sacramental presence of the Risen Lord, leads them to form small Christian communities There, they pray and share together the Gospel of Jesus, living it in their daily lives as they support one another and work together, united as they are "in one mind and heart" (8.I.I.).425
We get a glimpse of these early Christian communities in Paul's epistles, which reflect the atmosphere of brotherly love and of freedom and the cooperative spirit that Paul established in the communities, as well as the many problems that the Christians experienced. We have some information on the next generation of Christian churches in the letters of the apostolic fathers. Ignatius of Antioch captures the inner dynamic for us:
For the nature and function of Biese communities, see Dominique Barbe, Demain, les communautés de base, Pans Du Cerf, 1970 Cf Leon Bedrune, "The community phenomenon". The Laity Today, 23/24, 1977 18 Gaudencio Β Rosales a C G Arévalo (eds), For all the peoples ofAsia Federation of Asian Bishops'Conferences Documents from 1970 to 1991, 287
148 The Church is the society of the friends of Christ, that is to say of those who love him and are loved by him and who for his love, love one another; it is above all a brotherhood and a charity, an agape.426
B. Inner spirit of Christian communities
The inner spirit of the community'127 that distinguished it from other communities and united the members among themselves can be summarised in five points:
(1) Everything centres on Christ (Mt. 28:20; Mk 16: 20).™ (2) A spirit of union in Christ: the main effort of the communities is directed in various ways to honouring, strengthening and defending this central position of Christ in their community life, so that he should be first in every way (Col. 1:18) and his reign may be extended ever more widely among men and women. (3) The eucharistie spirit: the holy Eucharist is the sacrament of Christian communal solidarity. When it is received by the faithful as their participation in the one body of Christ it is the external sign of the inner union of Christian communities and the means of perfecting it. (4) A spirit of responsible fraternal solidarity: this urges men and women to observe the law of brotherly love, which was an essential part of our Lord's message (cf. Gaudium etspes, 32). (5) An apostolic spirit: this is what moves and sustains Christians in their effort to introduce and strengthen Christ's influence among men and women everywhere.'129
C. The course of history
After the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century the church became closely allied with secular society, which entailed a decline in Christian faith and living. In reaction to this, monasticism started out with exaggerated asceticism for the sake of the Beloved; but there was little sharing as a community and each monk was free to organise his own life.'130
Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, quoted m Bédnine, "The community phenomenon", 19. Cf John M. Robinson, "The spirit of responsible Christian commumbes", The Laity Today, 23/24, 1977: 129-135, 142-153. Λ Cf Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Chnsti, 238; Second Vabcan Council, Lumen gentium, 36, 48; Gaudium et spes, 38, 45; Sacmsanctum Concilium, 7, 83; Adgentes, 3; Umtatis redintegratio, 2. Evangelisation now means not only taking the gospel to 'foreign missionary' countries, but also making it known by word and example to the de-chnstiamsed wherever they may be, even on one's own doorstep. Cf. Pope Paul VI, Evangeli! nuntiandi, 21, 22, 51-53, 55-57. Cf Thomas M Gannon & George W. Traub, The desert and the aty, 2nd ed., Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1984,, 29-32.
149 Pachomius, Basil, Benedict and Augustine established a fully communal or cenobitic life.''31 The cénobites wanted to restore the common life which Jesus led with his disciples, the life of the Jerusalem community, which was also the life that the church lived - in varying degrees of intensity - during the first three centuries of its existence.'132 Over the centuries many other communities or orders, congregations and institutes continued to be founded, maintaining the common life in the church.433 In addition to religious orders and congregations, lay communities were established.
The age of Christendom has often been described as a long tale of rivalries, battles and wars between various peoples, kingdoms and provinces, and against various heresies or against the Muslim 'infidels'. Kings and princes fought under the pope's banner and it was he who controlled the imperial crown, excommunicating and deposing emperore, kings and princes. In the midst of this turbulent history - perhaps in reaction to it - there was an extra ordinary awakening of community life among lay people. In their desire to live a more evangelical Christian life they gathered and organised themselves in communities. These groups were formed at grassroots level, often alongside the parish, which was the community of all Christians in a given place.0''
The 17th century saw the birth and development of new brotherhoods. A shoemaker named Henry Buch (1600-1666) organised a shoemakers' brotherhood to save his colleagues from drunkenness and vice and lead them into a life of participation in the sacraments. On similar lines tailors', cutlers' and mercers' brotherhoods were fonried. The most famous group at this time was the Company of the Blessed Sacrament, founded in 1630. Its aim was to renew the spirit of the first Christians in order to profess Jesus Christ by word of mouth and holiness of life, doing all good works for the glory of God and the salvation of one's neighbour.''35
In the 19th century the communitarian aspect of Christianity continued. Two associations should be noted particularly, for they spread around the world: the Society of St Vincent de Paul with its 'conferences', and the many sodalities of the Children of Mary.
These few examples from church history show how from its earliest beginnings the church displayed a strong communitarian element, which derives from its very nature.
Cf Juan Manuel Lozano, "The Pachomian experience spirit and institution". Review for Religious 35, 1976 559- 571 4 Cf Max Delespess, Communauté humaine, revolution evangeliqué>, Pans Fleurus, 1970, 95 We shall not discuss the 'religious' branch of community life here, since it falls outside the scope of this study Cf Bednjne, "The community phenomenon", 21-22 ''35 Cf ibid , 26
150 Through these communities Christ's faith and charity and the love of the gospel were kept burning, then spread throughout the entire ecclesial body, giving it fresh vitality.
D. The post-Vatican II period
This communitarian movement re-emerged with fresh vigour and was integrated with the hierarchy's pastoral action. Certainly Vatican II did not speak explicitly about individual communities, but it did speak with great insistence about the church as communion, the community of the church {.Lumen gentium, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, 32; also see Christus Dominus, 30, 32; Gaudium etspes, 53).
This communitarian spirit that is part of the nature of the church is becoming more and more vital in parishes today. In his report, "The panorama of the universal church since the synod of 1974", cardinal Eduardo Pironjo writes:
In terms of evangelisation, these small communities seek to attain ecclesial objectives: a deepening of the faith, communication of it in the apostolate, translating it into the language of day-to-day life. They are thus constituted as a "sign of the presence of Christ" in the world (AG, 15), because of their life of prayer, their spirit of poverty and their joy in brotherly service. These communities, moved always by the breath of the Spirit, have the ambition of being profound in their prayer, evangelical in their charity, dynamic in their mission.'136
IX. CONCLUSION
The reality of brotherhood in both the Old and the New Testament began in a specific cultural milieu. Near Eastern cultures influenced Old Testament thinking and literature and the New Testament was coloured by Greco-Roman culture.
The Old Testament term 'brother' (Hebrew: 'âch) mainly referred to a blood brother, but in a broader sense it applied to fellow tribesmen or countrymen In other words, all tribesmen are brothers, hence quite often âch refers to compatriots or members of the same nation. In the Old Testament religion and national community were one For individual Jews brothers were those who belonged with them in the unity of not just any people, but of the unique chosen people of God. This meant that brotherhood did not depend merely on
Quoted in L Tglise des cinq continents, Aloisio Lordscheider (ed ), Pans Centurion, 1975, 75 Cf also pope Paul VI, Evangeli! nunbandi, 58, 70
151 common racial descent but on common election by God. That is the special meaning and significance of the Israelite idea of brotherhood.
Nevertheless 'election' by God created a division between God's chosen people and the gentiles. In practical terms it meant that the concept of brotherhood included only those who shared one's country and faith. Thus an Israelite's ethical responsibility to another Israelite was different from that to a gentile. The simple, clear answer to the question, "Who is my neighbour?", is: my co-religionist and compatriot. The full meaning of this 'theology of two brothers', as one may call it, becomes clear only in the New Testament.
What is particularly noteworthy, and something that had far-reaching consequences, is that although Israel's ethical code was more specifically governed by behaviour within the group, this 'inwardness' did in a way entail openness to non-Jews as well. Thus love of one's neighbour and one's enemy reached beyond the limits of one's compatriots or co-religionists and the Old Testament also draws attention to brotherhood as a universal human phenomenon. Yahweh is not only Israel's national God; he is also the universal God.
In early Christianity the term 'brother' for fellow Israelites, found in the Old Testament, applied primarily to a physical brother {adelphos, and adelphèfor physical sister), and is perpetuated in the New Testament. Adelphos originally denoted a family relationship, but later became a synonym for plèsion Cneighbour") with its much wider meaning.
In a more general sense, adelphos in the New Testament denotes fellow Christian or Christian brother. The usage plainly derives from Jewish religious custom; in Judaism, too, adelphos means co-religionist, which is historically identical with a compatriot. In this sense neighbourly love, brotherly love or Philadelphia does not apply to all humankind but specifically to Christians. But agape applies to every person. What is clear from these two terms is that ethically Christians together form an inner circle; they are bound by a spirit of brotherly love {Philadelphia), which is even greater than that of the more general agape. Here a distinction is made between doing good to all people and to "those of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). However, the concrete realisation of Christian brotherhood rests on the fact of our embodiment in Christ.
The narrative about Jesus' 'family' gives a distinctive slant on the term *adelpho4 in the New Testament, for "whoever does the will of God my Father is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Mk 3:35). With this definition Jesus declares that spiritual union in the family of God overrides national or blood relationship (cf. also Lk.l4:26). Hence Jesus combines discipleship with a familial emphasis.
152 My neighbour is the first person in need that I come across; thus my brother is always present to me in the lowliest of men. Here all barriers demarcating the brotherhood ethos are removed and brotherhood has no limits.
Scholars continue to study the concepts of Philadelphia and agape, which are used interchangeably. But what is important is not so much analysis of the terms, but their significance, perspective and the meaning they communicate.
In and through the church the spirit of Christian brotherhood and Christian love are manifested and communicated in many ways. Basic communities reveal the action of the Spirit in a church that is never static but always dynamic, always open, always adapting itself; the Spirit has never left the church inactive. Just as the newborn church grew through the life of the first Christian communities, animated by the apostles, it would seem that even today these new communities will bring the church's evangelical renewal for the salvation of men and women in the evolution taking place in our time.
We see these new communities as bridges between individuals - who are increasingly swallowed up in the anonymous mass - and the church, so that they may rediscover themselves as brothers and sisters and share the revelation of him who is to assemble a 'multitude of brothers'. Through these basic communities the church, as Christ on earth, draws closer to people, becomes their fellow pilgrim, sharing their lives and preoccupations. It is nearer to each individual, so that in the fellowship of the group Jesus Christ can be revealed.
The gospel brotherhood will only bring a new kind of Christian identity to the Punjabi Christian community through encounter with the baradari cultural system. Without this social structure the gospel message will not integrate life and faith. It is only in and through the baradarithat Punjabis move and have their being.
153 CHAPTER FIVE
THE BARADARIIH PUNJABI CULTURE COMPARED WITH BROTHERLY LOVE IN THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
I. INTRODUCTION
The title of this study is "Gospel meets culture". It is based on the encounter between the baradari in Punjabi culture and the gospel's brotherly love, which is also an encounter between the meanings of both symbol systems. The aim is to discover possible avenues for the gospel teaching of brotherhood to enter more fully into the lives of Punjabis, so their Christian faith will harmonise and be integrated with their Punjabi lifestyle. My research endeavours to develop a contextual Christian theology that will respond to their basic aspirations as both Christians and Punjabis.
Crucial for this study is the social definition of personhood, especially in the baradari, as it is understood in Punjabi culture as a whole. In chapter two we outlined the early history, geographical location, worldview and overall formation of Punjabi persons and their place in Punjabi society. In chapter three we explained the coming of Christianity, principally to the scheduled classes of Punjab, and how Christian values were transmitted to them.437 Punjabis' historical roots deeply influence their attitudes and motivations, so that it is not possible to judge their behaviour accurately simply by observing them from the outside: it has to be seen against their historical, religious and socio-cultural background. For this reason we examined Punjabi culture and Christian influence in considerable detail. Chapter four focused on the essentials of gospel love and brotherhood.
We described the object of our study as relation between Punjabi culture and gospel message. The aim is to discover how the Christian morality of brotherhood can enter more fully into Punjabi life, thus enhancing the harmony between faith and daily experience. Since morality is personal, our first aim is to examine the Punjabi experience of personhood.
All cultures accept the concepts of good and evil, but the concepts are understood differently. Imposing a set of moral laws on people from outside their cultural milieu will not make any sense to them morally. Morality is not just doing good; it includes an inclination towards and a feeling for goodness. Persons do not know the full truth until their feelings
In Chapter Three (section IV. E) we noted that due to lack of knowledge of the indigenous people's value systems and due to their Western theological cultural background the missionaries eradicated certain cultural behaviour and by doing so caused a confusion in the people's faith and practice.
154 'know' what their intellects know. Feelings are a significant part of the human motivation for goodness. A feeling for goodness comes only when people's moral norms can be identified in their cultural language and be incorporated into their conceptual framework. Hence we need to go beyond a narrow idea of morality and include the people's total ethos - their way of life, feeling for things, response to things, affective relationships and aesthetic sense.''38
Throughout this study we have tried to show that full understanding is not just cerebral, but includes a mixture of feelings, motivations, attitudes and affective relations with people and things. As Geertz puts it, "the powerfully coercive 'oughf is felt to grow out of a comprehensive factual Ms'".439 In this sense morality relates to culture and moral behaviour relates to meaning, which is expressed in symbols.440 When there is meaning there is harmony, and when life is harmonious there is goodness ana fullness. Thus what motivates a person is not just moral laws but meaning, which brings fullness and wholeness.
When the baradan comes into contact with gospel brotherly love we can expect certain attitudinal and behavioural changes. However, these changes will not take place simultaneously. Culture does not develop all at once and logically. Every cultural seed has grown over hundreds, thousands of years and is still growing. If the gospel seed is planted in a particular cultural milieu, it will grow in a way which is meaningful to people in that milieu.
We said that gospel values can be transmitted effectively via a particular culture through a process of dialogue or encounter. In the introduction to this thesis we explained that we see dialogue as a two-way process, open to mutual critique and enrichment. It is a dialogue not only of the mind but also of the heart, so there can be contradictions and enrichment. If there are contradictions, we need to approach them respectfully.441 Ours is a dialogue of values - gospel and cultural. They are Kingdom values incarnated in human terms. In this way not only Punjabi culture but the gospel, too, will undergo a degree of purification so that gospel values can be better understood and integrated.442 The gospel is compatible with many different cultures. By gospel we do not mean the printed words of the Gospels, but the good news as lived and communicated in different cultures and ways of life. By entering a new culture or way of life the gospel gradually undergoes a process of
Vatican II, especially in Gaudium et spes, opened up new horizons for moral theology by invoking Christian anthropology. For a brief historical outìme, see Philippe Delhaye, "The contribution of Vatican II to moral theology". Concilium, 5, 1972: 58-67. 4 9 Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 126. In Geertz's terms model o^(what 'is") and model rtv(what 'oughf to be). Geertz sees the analysis of culture as a matter of interpretation rather than explanabon, a quest for symbolic meaning; ibid, 5 44 See Camps, "My pilgrimage in mission", 11-12. 44 As Joseph Ratzinger puts it, "A culture's historicity means its ability to progress, and this depends on its ability to be open and to allow transformation through encounter " Cf. "Christ, faith and the challenges of cultures", FABC, 78, 1993, 3.
155 transformation or inculturation.*13 The meeting of the lived message and the existing way of
life is creative. Out of that dialogue or meeting a new synthesis of the two sources is born, one which transforms both.''*'
In Punjab Christian dialogue or mutual interaction will start in the courtyard, in the
marketplace, at the public well, in the nambadafs guest house - in short, any place where
people gather. If we do that, we converse sincerely with Punjabis, entering into and somehow making our own the basic assumptions of their lives. As Friedrich Dierks, a
Lutheran missionary in South Africa, puts it:
"It is one of the basic laws of communication that no message is meaningful nor can
it be comprehended by people unless it is communicated to them in cultural forms
they can understand. God has not bypassed the human cultural form but has
embedded his divine communication in cultural forms so that people can comprehend
it. Cultural forms therefore function as receiving organs not only for the human but
also for the divine message. This message, in order to become meaningful to human
beings, has to be incarnated in the cultural forms of the people for whom it is
intended."445
We have adapted Geertz's semiotic approach to culture in order to gain access to the
Punjabi conceptual world. This is not the way of an experimental science in search of laws
but of an interpretive science in search of meaning. Only when we have interpreted their lives correctly can we have an intelligent, meaningful conversation with people of a particular cul
ture.
What we mean, to quote Donai Dorr (Mission in today's world, Dublin: Columba, 2000, 94), is that "evangelization ... is also concerned with human culture and society in the broadest sense, that is, with the patterns which mould our thinking, our feeling, our behaviour and even how we expenence life. The good news affects people's thought patterns, values, standards of judgment, incentives to action and models of human living. .. This process has come to be called mculturation It is not just a question of replacing or transforming each human culture so that all become identical. The Gospel is compatible with many different cultures. It respects cultures. It is enriched by them. It helps to draw out what is best in them. And it also poses a challenge to each one of the cultures with which it comes into contact." 444 When Paul VI speaks about evangelisation in Evangeli! nunOandi he describes it as "bringing the Good News into all the strata of humankind and through its influence transforming humankind" {EN 18) Speaking about the gospel in relabon to evangelisation, Gallagher (Clashing symbols, 50) points out that Paul VI notes that the "Gospel is independent of cultures but the Kingdom it proclaims has to be lived by people in their cultural realities, hence the Gospel is not incompatible with any culture, in the sense of being able to enter a culture without becoming subject to that culture". "Whatever the Spirit brings in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions serves as a preparabon for the Gospel" (LG 16). John Paul develops the doctrine of the presence of the Spirit: it is the Spirit who sows the seeds of the Word present in various customs and cultures, preparing them for full maturity in Chnst (Camps, Mission is must, 120). Wesley Anyarajah expresses the approach of the World Council of Churches, stating that the gospel does not automatically accept everything in a culture, which is always a mixture of creativity and ambiguity. It also judges, challenges and transforms, yet the gospel is itself "challenged by the culture in which it finds itself". Quoted in Gospel and culture: an ongoing discussion in the ecumenical movement. Gospel and Cultures Pamphlet 1, Geneva: WCC, 1994, 34. Friedrich Dierks, "Commumcabon and world-view", Missionalia 2, 1983: 43.
156 In order to study the encounter of meanings between Punjabi culture and the gospel we divide this reflection into four sections.
(1) We analyse the baradananà gospel brotherhood as a cultural system.
(2) We examine the critical interrelation between baradan and gospel brotherhood.
(3) We look how behavioural patterns related to the Punjabi baradan could become a step towards gospel brotherhood.
(4) Finally, we explore the changes in behavioural patterns that can conceivably result from the encounter between the baradan ana gospel brotherhood.
We use Geertz's cultural theory to facilitate the encounter of meanings. Geertz's analysis of culture centres on interpretation of meanings by way of symbols rather than explanation.*46 To this end we first translate the basic elements of baradan and of gospel brotherhood into Geertz's symbolic language. This provides a common language for intelligent dialogue between the concepts of baradan and gospel brotherhood.
II. GEERTZ'S LANGUAGE: A KEY TO UNDERSTANDING
A. Baradan as a cultural system
The baradan is a symbolic reality and must be understood within the totality of Punjabi culture. The baradan is the perspective in which nature, self, religion and society are viewed, and through it Punjabis express their understanding of life and all attitudes towards it. Thus the baradan is the symbol for interpreting life in general and the actual Punjabi way of life.
As a symbol the baradan consists of historically transmitted patterns of meanings embodied in symbolic forms. These meanings derive from various sources: history, geo graphy, interrelationship between humans and the rest of the physical world, racial miscegenation, the Vedic caste system, the intermixture of languages, the closeness of family
Cf Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 5
157 systems, the importance of land and nature, and so on."*7 All these elements have helped to build the Punjabi social structure, which is conceptualised in the notion of baradari.
As such the baradari is the core or focal point of the Punjabi's daily routine of work, religion and social activity. Baradari permettes every inner attitude and all external activities. Everything in the Punjabi way of life is dictated by this sense of baradari, so that it becomes the people's general order of existence and contains their most comprehensive idea of order. It explains all relationships: those between husband and wife, children and elders, society and religion, the material and the transcendent. It is the unifying force - politically, economically, socially and religiously.
Baradari must not be understood just as a mode of outward behaviour or a speculative concept. We cannot isolate elements and merely try to specify the internal relationships between them or desaibe the system in some general way. As Geertz says, this can prevent cultural analysis from reaching its proper object - the informal logic of actual life.448 Baradari draws meaning from the role it plays in an ongoing pattern of life, not from any intrinsic interrelationship of cultural forms.''49
In this sense, then, baradari is Punjabis' interpretation of life. It transmits patterns of meaning in symbolic forms from one generation to the next. And it is through this way of life, through its symbolic forms, that people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes towards everything. This happens so long as people, through their life and behaviour, affirm and reaffirm the meaning contained in the symbol.'150
447 For Geertz these are key concepts constituting a culture - what Victor Turner calls root paradigms, which he developed and used in several studies. While root paradigms are not symbols, they are intimately tied up with symboiisaton. Their presence and nature are manifested in symbolic expression, and to do so the perceptions and thoughts that have shaped them over centunes of cultural history have had to be communicated symbolically. Root paradigms affect the forms and content assumed by cultural symbols, as well as their hierarchy of importance. Symbols are the expressive face of root paradigms, so in order to consider the one we need to study the other. Cf. Biernatzki, "Root of acceptance", 22-28; also see Victor Turner, Dramas, fields and metaphors: symtiolic action in human society, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1974; Edith & Victor Turner, Images and pilgnmages in Christian culture: an anthropological perspective, New York: Columbia University Press, 1978. *'e CS. Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 17. 419 It is impossible to find a cultural system that is both fully complex and totally integrated. The problem of culture is a matter of determining independence and interconnection, gulfs and bridges. Cf. Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 407. 450 If over a prolonged period behaviour does not resonate with the symbols from which it stems, these symbols will gradually dissipate and eventually the culture itself will disappear. Culture manifested in symbols and behaviour flowing from these symbols reinforce one another
158 Β. Baradarias a symbol system
Baradan is a 'reality' - a symbol - of the Punjabi's worldview and life pattern. Here we take symbol to mean any object, act, event, quality or relation which serves as a vehicle for what Geertz calls a conception (i.e. thoughts, desires, attitudes, feelings about life).'151
Baradan cannot be understood in terms of just one symbol: it requires a cluster of symbols expressing the same reality. The cluster comprises the Vedic caste system; the concept of solidarity; loyalty and obedience; the principle of izzat and be-izzah (honour and shame); the process of vartan bhanji (gift exchange, renewal of relationships) and the practice of hospitality. This basic group of symbols expresses a single reality: the baradan way of life. Because the symbols are tangible formulations of thought, abstractions from experience, they are fixed in human forms. They are also concrete embodiments of ideas, attitudes, judgments, longings and beliefs. All these symbols are vehicles for understanding the larger symbolic reality, baradan. Because they define what baradan is, they constitute the cultural or, more particularly, baradan values of Punjabi individuals.
If these symbols represent values for Punjabis, then they are bearers of meaning. In other words, it is in these symbols that meaning is 'stored'. Meanings are generated through the use of the symbols, but is not intrinsic in them. It is people in a particular cultural milieu who give them meaning by affirming and reaffirming or by using the symbols. For example, a certain gesture could be common to Punjabi and various other cultures. But its meaning could differ, depending on how people interpret it in terms of their cultural background.
When baradan concretises in action, especially when people gather in vartan bhanji with those who exchange gifts honestly and fairly, it induces a distinctive set of dispositions, in this case a tendency to be generous and a capacity to be honest. Thus baradan activities create and establish powerful, pervasive, long-lasting moods and motivations. For instance, in vartan bhanji correct conduct creates feelings of belonging, security, indebtedness, identity and recognition in the participants. These in turn motivate them to be loyal and obedient to their baradan at any cost, because that way they and the whole baradan acquire izzat As we have already seen, honour is the principal value for Punjabis.
Punjabis are relational beings. Their very sense of being is established and affirmed by relating to the baradan through obedience to the asul or performing the concomitant duties. Thus the criterion for good behaviour depends on what brings izzat to one's baradan
Cf Geertz, Interpretation of cultures, 91
159 and, through the baradari, to the individual.'152 What is morally good is what brings honour to one's group. What is good for the baradari creates harmony and order in individuals and the groups to which they belong. Thus goodness is what brings harmony between life as perceived and life as experienced. This harmony imparts understanding and meaning to one's life world. Any act by an individual that brings be-izzatior shame on the group, on the other hand, causes confusion and destabilises the general order of existence as conceptualised in the baradari system. Thus whatever brings be-izzati on the baradari is evil, and this evil is shared by the members. Evil means lack of harmony, lack of interpretability, loss of direction and orientation in life. This in turn threatens to overwhelm individuals, pushing them beyond their powers of analysis, endurance and moral insight. Ultimately all behaviour is underpinned by the principle of izzatand be-izzati.11" It is what motivates a Punjabi to do good and avoid evil.
Finally, the baradari is not just a frame of mind but a pattern of conduct. Living according to these cultural patterns and historically created systems is an essential condition of Punjabi personhood inasmuch as baradari gives form, order, point and direction to life, whether consciously or unconsciously.
C. Gospel brotherhood as a symbol system
Baradari symbolises the Punjabi lifestyle. In the Christian worldview it is gospel brotherly love that characterises them as Christians,454 symbolised in the notion of komonia, which in its turn becomes their lifestyle in the sense of belonging to the one body of Christ and thus feeling for one another: "By this shall men know that you are my disciples that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:35).
In chapter four we indicated that, despite their beginnings, both Old and New Testament brotherhood was in the process of developing into an open system.455 In the same
This raises the question of the relation between honour as status and privilege, and honour as moral virtue. Anthropologists argue that the tension between honour as social precedence and honour as virtue or merit (e.g. good deeds) is found in many cultures, hence is not peculiar to Punjabi culture. It also occurs in Mediterranean societies. See J. Pitt-Rivers, "Honour and social status", 19-78. 453 For a conceptual framework of honour and shame, see Michael Herzfeld, "Honour and shame: some problems in the comparative analysis of moral systems", Man 15, 1980: 339-351. Pareka (Rethinking multiculturalism, 147) writes: "Culture and religion influence each other at vanous levels. Religion shapes a culture's system of beliefs and practices which is why when individuals or communities convert to another religion, their ways of thought and life undergo important changes. For its part culture influences how a religion is interpreted, its rituals are conducted, the place assigned to it in the life of society, and so forth, which is why converts carry their culture into their new religion... No religion can be culture-free and the divine will cannot acquire a determinate human meaning without cultural mediation. Christ might be divine but Christianity is a cultural phenomenon." 455There was a tension between the brotherhood of 'Yahweh's chosen people' and those outside the Old Testament covenant. In the New Testament there was a problematic relation between those outside the Christian fellowship and the brothers and sisters in that fellowship In the first Christian communities the expression of universal brotherhood, although not exduded, was not very explicit
160 chapter we noted that the brotherhood was open to non-members of the original culture. As Ratzinger points out, the inner circle of a brotherhood must exist not for its own sake, becoming inbred and introverted, but for the sake of the wider circle, to which it must continually reach out and with which it must increasingly identify. If there is any distinction, it would be for the sake of service to the whole.'156
Old Testament brotherhood was built on the symbol of land and on the law. The wandering Israelites became a nation because they were given a land, and they became God's chosen people via the law - the covenant. All those who belonged to Yahweh's chosen people became each other's brothers-m-faith. The Israelite way of life consisted in total obedience and loyalty to Yahweh's law. Thus all Israelites found their identity by serving their brothers and sisters (co-religionists) as the law prescribed. The more the Israelites observed the law of Yahweh, the more they activated their relationships with Yahweh and with one another. This strengthened their awareness of being each other's brothers and sisters and being a chosen people. Awareness of their election motivated them with a strong sense of unity and solidarity.
The Old Testament symbol of solidarity acquired a new and deeper meaning with the coming of Christ. When the Jewish community would not accept this, a new community, a new symbol of brotherhood, was bom: the church. The symbol of being a member of the church, the New Testament brotherhood, is agape or unconditional love. Partnership in the New Testament brotherhood of the church is symbolised by agape and expressed in euchanstia. The ethos of New Testament brotherhood is agape. "... all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). Agape is the dynamic symbol that transcends all barriers within and around gospel brotherhood. Actively lived agape motivates and orients Christians to solidarity with everybody inside and outside the church. This is the meaning of agape, and this is the aim of the symbol of gospel brotherhood. Living in close solidarity with the members of the Christian group, one is strengthened to reach out to others beyond the group.
The basic difference between baradan and gospel brotherhood is that the baradan appears to be clan-oriented and exclusive.'157 Gospel brotherhood tends to be guided by an
Cf Ratzinger, The open arde, 11 See e g Yusuf, "The baradan system", 159, where he writes "The loyalty to the baradan makes it very difficult to be loyal to anyone else " Dominic Moghul points out that baradan relationships are not based on love and trust Indeed, they are often fraught with tensions and jealousies Cf Moghul, Human person, 38
161 ethos of Philadelphia or brotherly love and agape™ Gospel brotherhood, then, means not just personal, individual love but a love that must be extended to everyone.
Philadelphos/philadelphia in the New Testament relates to adelphosj'adelphë. This group of words has two basic meanings.459 The first is physical brotherhood/sisterhood. The second meaning is spiritual brotherhood in the sense of fellow Christians or Christian brotherhood. Outside Christian literature we do not find philadelphos and Philadelphia referring to a common brotherhood.'"0 How does adelphos/philadelphia relate to agape* Christians ought to see their fellow Christians as adelphoi {brothers} (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:llf.). What links them to each other is agape.**11 Jesus expresses the commandments to love God and one's neighbour in terms of agape (Mk 12:28f; Mt. 6:33; Lk. 17:7). His basic demand was to love God and the neighbour as oneself. It is an unconditional, radical decision characteristic of discipleship (Mt. 6:24). Referring to Jesus' commandment to love one's neighbour Stauffer says: "...he frees neighbourly love once and for all from its restriction to compatriots."162 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" (Mk 3: 33).
In Romans 12:9 Paul says, "Let love {agape) be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good." In the next verse he moves on to speak of brotherly love. "Love one another with brotherly affection {Philadelphia); outdo one another in showing honour" (Rom. 12:10). Given Paul's infrequent use of Philadelphia, we cannot say he uses it to refer to gentiles. However, in some contexts he does use agape with reference to gentile Christians (Rom. 9:24-25). Paul is mindful of God's mercy to gentiles by willing that they share in his promises (Rom. 15:9-11, 27; Gal. 3:8; Eph. 3:6-8). Besides, Paul related affectionately to gentile Christians as their minister (Rom. 11:13; 15:16; Gal. 1:16), although it must be noted that these were gentiles who had already become Christians. Nonetheless there is no doubt that Paul was well disposed towards gentiles. In a few texts he does speak of loving all humankind: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law" (Rom. 13:8). The commandments, "do not commit adultery," "do not murder," "do not steal," "do not covet" and whatever other commandments there may be are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Rom. IS^).463
Philadelphia and agape have different meanings - Philadelphia is love of your brother who is a Christian, agape applies to all humankind. Thus the two words suggest the deeper, intrinsic character of brotherly love (cf. philein in Jn 5:20; 16:27). 45 Hans Freiherr von Soden, "Adelphos, adelphë, Adelphos, Philadelphos, Philadelphia, Pseudadelphof ', 144-146. 460 Ibid., 146. 461 Stauffer, "Agapäö, Agape1, 21-55 Stauffer, 'Agapâô, Agape', 21-55. Jesus opposed the Jewish tradition of hating one's enemies (Mt. 5:43f.) Obviously gentiles were included among their enemies, since they were not God's chosen people. In the person of Jesus they are able to become God's children if they avail themselves of the opportunity. A similar idea is found in 1 Pet. 2:17, which reads, "Show proper respect to everyone. Love the brotherhood of believers." There are six characteristics of mission, according to Paul. The church is the new community, whose
162 The mission and love of the fourth Gospel was addressed to several communities such as the disciples of John the Baptist, Jews, Jewish Christians, Christian heretics and believing Christians of Jewish and gentile origin.464 There are positive, umversahstic statements in the fourth Gospel (Jn 1:9, 29; 3:17; 12:32), clearly indicating that Jesus and the disciples have an important mission to the world (Jn 4:31-38; 17:18; 20:21). The Johannine notion of mission is twofold: mission as sending and mission as gathering.465 Just as the son was sent (Jn 4:34; 17:4), so the disciples, too, are sent into the world (Jn 4:38; 17:18, 21; 20:19-23). Although it has been said that the Johannine command to love one another (Jn 13:34) replaced that of love of one's neighbour and enemies, the disciples never became as isolated as the Qumran community. Their duty to witness to the Son kept them oriented towards the world. Hence evangelisation remained a primary task of the community.466 The disciples had to witness to God's life-giving power of divine love manifested to the world, especially by the way they loved one another (Jn 13:34f; 15:13). Through their love they had to draw others to Christ so that all might be one (Jn W-.Z!).*67 Senior and Stuhlmueller say that the fourth Gospel has a universal outlook and a missionary orientation and thus retains the strong missionary impulse of the synoptics.468
III. CRTnCAL INTERRELATION BETWEEN BARADARIUND GOSPEL BROTHERHOOD
In this part of our study we endeavour to clarify, modify, Vefine' and amplify baradari in the light of gospel brotherhood, and vice versa. We begin our critical study of baradarivfl&\ the insight that the gospel transcends all cultures.469 What we mean is that no culture can express or fully capture the meaning of the ultimate. The Word or message cannot be limited to a particular culture. On the other hand, we cannot express the inexpressible except in cultural terms. There is no meta-language, no language beyond language to express the ultimate meaning of the gospel. The gospel is framed in a particular cultural milieu. Hence there is no way to express it except cultural language, which is necessarily limited. We also
members have their identity in the pereon of Christ and not in their biological origins. The church is not the 'new Israel' but the 'enlarged Israel'. Christians cannot forget that their origins are in Judaism. In that sense there is also a mission to the Jews (Rom. 11:23-24; Gal. 3:7). The church's mission involves loving in the eschatological hope, which entails final fulfilment of all our hopes (1 Cor. 15:19; Rom. 8:23; 12:2). Its mission involves the transformation ofsoaety(l Cor. ll:17f; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor 8:If.) as well as the whole cosmos (2 Cor. 519; Phi 2:9-11) It is not a triumphalist mission but is characterised by weakness (Rom. 8:18; 12 Cor. 12:9f.). So the Pauline conception of mission embraces everyone and everything in the universe See David J. Bosch, Transforming mission: paradigm shifts in theology of mission, American Society of Missiology 16, New York: Orbis, 1991, 123f Raymond E. Brown, 777e Gospel according to John, Anchor Bible Commentary 29, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966, Iwn-lxxix. 465 Johannes Nissen, /Vew Testament and mission: histoncal and hermeneuticalperspectives, Frankfurt, Berlin, Bern, Bmssels, New York, Vienna: Lang, 1999, 77f. Pamela Perkins, The love commands in the New Testament, 106; quoted in Nissen, New Testament and mission: histoncal and hermeneutical perspectives, 82-83. 467 Nissen, New Testament and mission: histoncal'and hermeneutical perspectives, 83. Donald Senior 8i Carrol Stuhlmueller, 77ie biblical foundations for mission. New York: Orbis, 1984, 292-294. 469 See D S. Amalorpavadass, Gospel and culture. Bangalore: National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre, 1978, esp. 11-29; Robert Hardwiryana, "The encounter of the gospel and culture", FABC Papers no. 8, 1978; also Joseph Ratzinger, "Christ, faith and the challenge of culture Part 1", FACB Papers no. 78, 1993
163 cannot forget the fact that the Word is incarnated in human terms in every culture. Thus culture as a human spirit has a capacity for self-creation.470
As stated before, the kanoon or law of baradan is the symbol of solidarity between members. This symbol is underpinned and maintained by the moral norm of izzat and be- izzati. Similarly, solidarity is expected in gospel brotherhood, only the basic tradition of this solidarity is Philadelphia and agape. Solidarity is a symbol common to both baradari and gospel brotherhood. It may result in similar outward behaviour in both systems, but its meaning differs.
Baradari solidarity is motivated by a search for security and cultural stability. This obviously lessens the elements of willingness and freedom on the part of members'171 and tends to be a consciously or unconsciously imposed solidarity for the purpose of ensuring security. This sort of solidarity is rendered in Punjabi with wafa'da'ri, although 'loyalty' is a more accurate rendering.472 But solidarity, known as ayat or atfaq wafa'da'ri, is a broader term extending to people outside the baradari™
Another meeting point between baradari and gospel brotherhood would be hospitality. Hospitality is a great value in Punjabi culture, as is agape in gospel brotherhood ethics.'17'' The term 'hospitality' has two meanings: mehmaan nawazi, referring to hospitality to the inner circle of the baradari {Philadelphia), and khatir twazo (agape), which is hospitality to the outer circle, that is all men and women.475
Apart from agape and Philadelphia there is the related word philanthrophia CphilanthropyO, used in Acts 27:3 to describe the benevolence of the centurion in the imperial court who escorted Paul on his journey to Rome. Likewise, when Paul met with shipwreck near the island of Malta in Acts 28:2, the local gentiles are said to have welcomed
Cf. Dulles, The prophetic humanism,1}. Yusuf ("The baradan system", 159) writes: "The strong bond of belonging and togetherness does create a collective consensus and conscience, but very often individual consaence is crushed and all personal initiative killed: the individual has a very little chance to be himself." Security and cultural stability are the nature and mentality of an agricultural society. 472 Parekh (Rethinking multiculturalismi 160-161) notes that loyalty to one's cultural community is not as unfamiliar as loyalty to one's culture. It implies loyalty not to the ideals, values and so forth of a culture, but to the community of men and women built around these. For example, as we generally feel a sense of loyalty to our families, schools and political and religious communities, we also owe it to our cultural community. Loyalty provides support, solidarity, moral and emotional resources, and a sense of rootedness. Since a culture can only be preserved by a community, one is also indebted to the latter for keeping the culture alive, sometimes against formidable challenges and at considerable cost. The obligation of loyalty is stronger if the community is threatened with disintegration from the outside. 473 Note that one cannot make a distinction between Punjabi culture and the baradari system. The two terms are synonymous. We take agape as the Christian counterpart of hospitality. It is very obvious in Punjab: wherever there is a tree in middle of a field or a desert one finds a bed and a pot of water under it for travellers to rest and refresh themselves. This is what is meant by khabr twazo.
164 him with philanthrophia ('hospitalityO.476 In Titus 3:4 we find the most important theological usage of the word, where Paul refers to the Christ event as an act of divine philanthrophia in which God condescends to save the world. But only those who enter the community of believers are entitled to become beneficiaries. Paul kept preaching among the gentiles in order to draw them into God's chosen flock.'177
At the same time it is important to remember that gospel brotherhood also expresses concern for what is special to Christians. Their strong brotherly love and commitment to one another differentiates them from others. The difference lies in following Christ, who loved all individuals unconditionally, and especially Outsiders' - the lowly and the marginalised. Christ's death and resurrection mark the beginning, not only of a new humankind, but also of a new brotherhood, which surpasses and replaces the old. This all-embracing brotherhood is oriented to the salvation of all. Union with Christ includes union of Christians among themselves and thus involves removal of the divisive barriers of nature and history. The ethos of brotherhood with equal rights must transcend divisions of class or hierarchical order. Removal of barriers is essential to the Christian experience of newness: "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view ... Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:16-17). The mystery of Christ is the mystery of the removal of barriers. There is no social difference between a slave and a free person, between a man and a woman. The coming of Christ radically changed all national and religious barriers. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). This is the radical nature of gospel brotherhood. Thus, after the example of Christ, Christians are expected to transcend their own group. But will baradari members be willing to go beyond their boundaries to reach out to others outside the baradari circle? We noted earlier that hospitality is a good starting point for this, however imperfect it may be.
The fact remains that when culture meets gospel they are bound to influence each other. Both culture and gospel have aspects of model of and model for. In this encounter there are bound to be changes in thinking patterns and as a result behaviour will gradually change. But we cannot foretell the nature of such behavioural changes.'178 If they take place,
Philoxenia is another term for hospitality in the New Testament God's hospitality is essential to Christ's message (the divine generosity in Lk 14:16fT; 12:29; 13:29, etc). Agape \mp\ies philoxenia. The latter expresses agapé m Rom. 12:9ff. See G. Stahlin, "Xenos, xenia, xenizo, xenodocheo, philoxenia, philoxenoi', Theological dictionary of the New Testament, 664. 477 Ulrich Luck, "Philanthrophia, philanthropes", Theological dictionary of the New Testament, 107-112, especially 111 478 For example, Punjabi Christians say that they resent being called Punjabi Christians, because the term 'Punjabi Christian' indicates an ethnic language identified with a particular ethnic group. They prefer being called simply Christians, without identifying themselves ethnically. This could be because Christians have allowed gospel values to permeate, refine and perfect the baradan system in and around them.
165 we must anticipate that baradari experience will take on a new meaning: it must incarnate Christian agape as a moral criterion to evaluate any human action.
Baradari solidarity, thus purified by gospel brotherly love, would no longer be motivated solely by security and prestige, nor would its ethos be governed strictly by izzat and be-izzati.m The presence of Philadelphia and agape would affect all the symbols that make up the baradari system. For example, the meaning of the basic symbol of vartan bhanji, which is so essential to baradari, could be linked with the Eucharist - the symbol of fellowship and sharing with all men and women. On the other hand, vartan bhanji could challenge Christians to translate the symbol or sacrament of Eucharist from mere ritual into lived experience.
The two symbol systems, baradari and gospel brotherhood, each conveys its own meaning. In the encounter of culture and gospel, or baradari and gospel brotherhood, each challenges the other. In this interaction it is not only the baradari symbols that are being purified or refined: gospel symbols also have to be freed from their present Western and other cultural influences.480
There are no mathematically calculable answers to tell us what sort of changes will take place when gospel and culture influence each other. Yet we cannot deny that change could result from mutual influencing, even though our answers remain hypothetical. When we speak of change we do not mean mere cosmetic change, but radical changes that enrich both sides - Punjabi culture as well as the gospel. We also need to note that religion and culture are not in competition to eliminate basic tenets of one or the other. Religion can enter into a culture, it can mitigate, modify it and offer the believer new elements.
So far we have described how gospel purifies culture. But, as dialogue is a two-way process, it also happens the other way round. Hence the rider that cultures can influence and deepen gospel values. We give a few examples.
First there is Jesus' Jewish ethnicity. In the Old Testament Judaism concretely developed into the closed system prevalent in Palestine in Jesus' time. Jesus was bom into this society and grew up in it. At first he would have shared this closed mentality. Hence when confronted by the Syro-Phoemcian woman he automatically replied that he came only
479 The principle of izzat and be-izzab has its own positive and negative aspects. Here we deal with negative aspects that hinder personal growth and the progress of the community, which have to be purified in the light of gospel brotherly love so that Punjabis may gradually move from a static to a dynamic way of life that will bring progressive personal growth. For negative aspects of izzat and be-izzati, see Yusuf, "The principle of izzaf, 22-23. Christianity was a product of Judaism, Onental cultures, Roman religious and political beliefs and practices, and Greek philosophy, as well as its concern to separate from Judaism. In other words, it is difficult to think of any culture that is not influenced by others. Cf. e.g. Amalorpavadas, Gospel and culture, 27-31.
166 to save the lost children of Israel. But the woman challenged Jesus to respond differently: she emphasised the occasion - the illness of a daughter and the mother's anxiety, sentiments that are not confined to Jews but transcend the confines of ethnicity. The Word of God, the spirit in him, would have burst free to find new avenues, where faith in God shone through narrow ethnic walls. This is a remarkable example of mutuality in dialogue.
Jesus' humanity should be taken seriously, otherwise we either nullify it or undervalue it. He grew up in a particular - Jewish - culture and its age-old tradition. As a Jew he had time, especially in his boyhood, to reflect on his people's history and destiny. Thus their concept of freedom at that time was independence from Rome, influenced by living under Roman occupation. But Jesus was preoccupied with a deeper understanding of freedom, going back to their roots, their history: from slavery, a non-people to a people with an identity and a name - God's people..
Similarly, Jesus' ideas grew with deeper understanding of his people's role in history, from that of a powerful nation among other superpowers to that of a universal sign of God's love - a kingdom. This understanding and realisation, too, had to grow in Jesus through the action of the Spirit and the challenges of human encounters.^' We see in Jesus a movement from Jewish supremacy and exclusiveness on the one hand, to openness to gentiles and universal brotherhood on the other.
Secondly, the first big struggle in the primitive Christian community was about the admission of gentiles to the Christian community. Just as the Syro-Phoenician woman challenged Jesus' Jewish ethnicity, the gentiles challenged the primitive Christian community:482 the Jewish Christians' tendency towards exclusiveness caused by their reluctance to be fully open to gentile converts and receive them as brothers and sisters. (See the conduct and behaviour of James and the Jewish converts on the one hand, and of Paul and the gentile converts on the other; also Peter's initial hesitation. Evidently the pro-gentile position won, but it was not without a serious struggle in the Christian community.)
Having said that the gospel influences Punjabi culture, this does not mean that the gospel - the word of God - remains unchanged. The word of God is not static, written on stone or marble. It is a message to people informed by changing circumstances in their life and history, a people on the march. Hence this word is a dynamic reality, influenced by and
481 Jesus "grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him" (Lk. 2:40) 462 The boundary between Christians and non-Christians still challenges the modern world Nevertheless, identity demands integral unity and distinction from others (indivisum in se et divisum ab alio). The boundary between Christians and non-Christians affirms Christian identity and non-exclusion of non-Christians. Delimitation of a specifically Christian brotherhood does not mean creating some esoteric circle, but is intended to serve the whole. For further information, see chapter four, "Limits of brotherly community".
167 understood in the changes and vicissitudes of human life. Just as culture is a growing reality, so the word of God is a growing reality destined for a people on the move. It involves both interpretation of the gospel and influencing the word of God.
Just as the gospel must purify Punjabi cultural values, so Punjabi culture must influence gospel values - the word of God - in order that the word may not float in a vacuum but be part of a two-way enrichment through maturity. Values are in human minds and hearts. They evolve with and in the human person through interaction in human discourse and experience and the action of the Spirit. This applies to gospel values too. Gospel values did not come from the Gospel texts. They came from the life and shared experience of the community before they were articulated in texts.
In the conversation between Jesus and the Syro-Phoemcian woman, at first it is Jesus who tries to convert the woman. But it ends with the woman convincing Jesus. It is she who converts Jesus, and Jesus lets himself be converted by her. His conversion by the woman liberates him from his inherited cultural myopia and opens up new vistas for his mission. It expresses itself as a sense of wonder at finding such great faith outside the Jewish ghetto. We could find several examples in the Gospels where Jesus learned more about his mission under the guidance of the Spirit and his experience of human interaction, especially outside the confines of Jewish culture.
Like the gospel values, the baradan value system could enhance its brotherhood, not only by deepening it among the brothers but by extending itself to the rest of humankind, who are all children of God.
IV. BARADARIfiS A VEHICLE FOR GOSPEL BROTHERHOOD
We said that the symbol and message of agape need to be expressed in and conveyed by the baradan symbol system. There is no way of communicating the gospel message in Punjabi culture except through the symbolic language of baradan. This is because for Punjabis comprehensive understanding of nature, person, society and God is mediated by the baradan worldview. Accordingly we use and reinforce baradan behavioural patterns to communicate Christian values, thus accepting the symbol of the baradan system as a positive system, just as Christ used people's cultural patterns when he instructed and taught the Jews.483 "They should be familiar with their national and religious traditions and uncover with gladness and respect those seeds of the Word which he hidden among them" {Ad Gentes,
See e g Reinhard Neudecker, "The sermon on the mount as a witness to 'mculturation'", in Paul Beauchamp (ed ), Bible and mcultumtion Inculturation Working papers on living faith and cultures, Rome Gregorian Univeraty, 1983, 73-89
168 11). We cannot completely rule out that agape exists in the baradan symbol system. The difference lies in the way it is comprehended. The sense of agape is already present, but it should be understood in its own cultural, historical milieu; even in a closed group people can make outsiders part of their world by way of hospitality or khatir twazo. In other words, agape is not something imported from outside, but needs to be discovered as it already exists in and among Punjabi people.''84
When we speak of Christian love or agape we attribute more specifically to Christ the love that he brought into the world as something new. The Christian love ethos provided an important link between Jewish ethical traditions and those of the surrounding cultures.4*5 Thus the love command in Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34 and Luke 10:25-29 did not make Christianity different from or ethically superior to other traditions. Rather it showed that Christianity embodied the highest ideas of philosophical wisdom, a universal charity or love of humankind.486 In other words, Christ purified, intensified and amplified the love commandment in the Jewish framework. This attitude suggests that Christians were not concerned to distinguish themselves from their cultural milieu on ethical grounds. In the same way the full significance of gospel brotherly love in Punjabi culture should be communicated and developed through the baradari.*"7
Unity, solidarity and loyalty are fundamental values in the baradari system. Baradari resents any form of division. The Punjabi word sherika literally means 'direct sharing' to the extent that the sharing causes division.488 In other words sherika means rivalry, competition, division, which is ant\-t>aradari. The word 'sherika derives from the Arabic word 'shirk, which means 'against oneness'. Shirk (also ishrâk) is a concept of Quranic origin which signifies association, especially associating a companion with God, that is worshipping another besides
My observation of the Punjabi people is that their religiosity, their awareness of God's presence in their lives and the way they acœpt his will attest that the kingdom of God is among and in them. Thus evangelisation does not mean the traditional idea of bringing Christ and his kingdom to a particular people, but of discovering the kingdom that is already present in and among Punjabi people. This is what the maieutic approach is all about. Cf Waidyasekara, "Mission through apostolic community: Pakistan", 332. Cf Perkins, Love commands in the New Testament, 19; see Peggy Slarkey, "Agape: a Christian criterion for truth in the other world religions", International Review of Mission, 74, 1985, 425-463 Cf. John Whittaker, "Christianity and morality in the Roman empire", Vigiliae Chnstianae, 33, 1979: 209-225 "In order to reveal himself, from the rich panoply of age-old cultures born of human genius, God chose for himself a People whose original culture he penetrated, purified and made ferule. The history of the Covenant is that of the rise of a culture that God himself inspired in his People. Sacred Scripture is the instrument willed and used by God to reveal himself, that which raises it to a supra-cultural plane" ("Towards a pastoral approach to culture", Pontifical Council for Culture, Vatican City, 1999, 3). In a baradari there are two relationships: paternal and maternal. The paternal side entails direct lineage - father, uncle and their children living in the same village. When sons get married they live in the same village Among themselves they 'share' (exchange gifts, give and take) but this sharing could end up in rivalry if it is not impartial, for example if the father loves one son more than the other. This can cause division, jealousy among other brothers, et cetera But when daughters get married they have to live in the husband's village - second degree relabonship. Both are called baradan. Normally, brother-sister relations are better than relations between brothers.
169 God, hence polytheism.',β9 On the other hand the Quranic word ^shirkä or ^sharikä originally implied simply that a thing belonged to several persons collectively in such a way that each owned an allotted share of every smallest particle of it; in other words, a sense of 'belonging'. Shirks is understood as common property arising from inheritance or gifts.490
The reality of acceptance and non-acceptance - in Punjabi terminology sherika - is dominant in the Gospels. "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not" (Jn 1:11). John 1 conveys a philosophy of acceptance and non-acceptance: "A prophet is not without honour except in their own country and his own house" (Mt. 13:57). Jesus' own relatives opposed him and he had to leave his village, not of his own choice. "Where did this man get this wisdom? .... Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Mt. 13: 54-55).
The post-resurrection community stresses the oneness (Greek: hei$ and unity (Greek: henotê^91) of Christian believers (cf. Jn 15: 4-5, "Abide in me, and I in you .... I am the vine, you are the branches"). The priestly prayer in Jn 17:22-23 describes the mutual indwelling: "... I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one ... that they may become perfectly one..." - in other words, that they may be complete in their oneness.
Seen thus, when baradari meets gospel brotherhood, what will be the outcome? This needs to be explored further and to do that we must use our imagination. By taking the positive values found in the baradari and fusing them with key elements of the gospel we can form an idea of what might happen. It is not too hard to imagine that the positive realisation of Christian life found in many basic communities today would flourish in the baradari. Through communal reflection on the gospel members of the baradari must broaden their horizons beyond the narrow confines of their group. The unity of living the spirit of Christ and of sharing Christ as food and drink in the celebration of the Eucharist, fraternal solidarity with fellow believers and the dynamic sharing of this message with others must merge with the solidarity of the baradari. The confining walls of baradari'm all its forms have to be broken down to open new horizons. The openness of a Christian baradari must not mean that
Cf. "Shirk", in Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam, 542-544. Shirk iti definition is contrary to Islam, since the first article of Islamic faith is precisely the denial of all associabomsm, the affirmation of a single God: là ila 'allah; cf. D. Gimaret, "Shirk", in: E. van Donzel, W Ρ Heinrichs & G. Lecomte (eds), Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden: Bnll, 1996, 484-485. Also Walther Björkman, "Shirk" in E J. Bnll's first encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, Leiden: Brill, 1993, 378-380. The original meaning of shirka seems to be a general Semitic one It is found in Talmudic literature as well. Shirka was later applied to different forms of trading companies. One co-owner can only administer his share with the approval of the others. The profits are divided either equally or pro rata to the shares. Relations between companies are relations of confidence (amâna) The company is dissolved when a member declares the wish to do so, or through death or mental illness. Cf. Heffenmg, "Shirka", in £ J. Bnll's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 380-381. //e/5(one) basically denotes the oneness, uniqueness of God. There is one abiding will of God (Mt. 5:17), and in conformity to the will of this one God there is one church composed of Jews and gentiles. Henotês (unity) is based on divine unity, the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). The believer's union with Christ is not physical but spiritual. Those who are united with the Lord become one spirit with him (1 Cor. 6:17). The unity of believers with Jesus is here expressed in terms of'brothers'. Cf. Κ. Η. Bartels, "heis, henotês", in: The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, 719-723.
170 Christians wait for others to come to them: members must make an effort to reach out and embrace others in order to extend solidarity to all baradaris and to Punjabi culture as a whole. In this way the Christian baradari could be the leaven of the whole Punjabi culture. Openness and adaptability would make the baradari relevant today and should bring growth not only to members of one baradarib\A to the entire Punjabi community.
The transformation of the closed circle of the baradari should lead to the birth of new openness, fullness and universality. The Punjabi baradari should acquire the spirit of Christ and his love definitively and only through their incarnation in baradari principles and baradari cultural behaviour, such as izzat and be-izzati, vartan bhanji and so on. In this way, people must understand and pattern their lives in the light of Kingdom values. In so doing the baradari will find its deeper values extended to the Punjabi people as a whole and in the process the gospel, too, will be expressed at a deeper level in and through its dialogue with Punjabi culture. We will elaborate on this in the conclusion.
As explained in chapter two, the ethos of izzat (honour) and be-izzati (shame) is the criterion of good and evil in Punjabi culture. Research indicates that honour and shame shaped behavioural practice in countries bordering on the Mediterranean.'192 Bruce J. Malina calls honour and shame the pivotal values of the New Testament world.493 Malina defines honour and shame as follows:
"...honour means a person's (or a group's) feeling of self-worth and the public, social acknowledgement of that worth. Honour in this sense applies to both sexes. It is the basis of one's reputation, of one's social standing, regardless of sex. In this common context, where honour is both male and female, the word "shame" is a positive symbol, meaning sensitivity for one's own reputation, sensitivity to the opinion of others. To have shame in this sense is an eminently positive value. Any human being worthy of the title 'human', any human group worthy of belonging to the family of man, needs to have shame, to be sensitive to its honour rating, to be perceptive to the opinion of others. A sense of shame makes the contest of living possible, dignified, and human, since it implies acceptance of and respect for the rules of
See chapter 2, Baradan in Punjabi culture about "Honour and shame". 493 Honour and shame were fundamental values in many cultures, including Mediterranean societies (the New Testament world), structuring people's daily lives, including those of biblical commumbes (Jesus and his disciples). The insight derived from anthropological studies of Mediterranean cultures are especially helpful m clarifying honour and shame in the Old Testament and in the Galilean village setting where the Gospels were written. The pioneering work on honour and shame in the New Testament is Malma's The New Testament world (1981), which provides an excellent introduction to the system of honour and shame in the larger social and cultural context of the New Testament. Later B. J. Malina and Richard Rohrbaught published an integrated treatment of honour and shame in textual exegesis, Social-science commentary on the synoptic Gospels, Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992. Malina and Neyrey, "Honour and shame in Luke-Acts", 25-65, likewise give a general outline of Luke's Gospel in a Mediterranean honour-shame culture, emphasising the agnostic character of that society.
171 human interaction. On the other hand, a shameless person is one who does not recognize the rules of human interaction, who does not recognize social boundaries."494
The Gospels present Jesus as a most honourable person. He is ascribed great honour (due to his lineage and place of birth)'195 and achieves honour through personal effort and performance.'196 He acts fully in accordance with the general code in both claiming his rightful place in society and defending himself when challenged. We merely note that if Jesus indeed was a prominent and honourable man, this warrants praise from his disciples. But Jesus proposes a different, a new way: that of status reversal. For him the great should act like servants, in other words like deacons, in the service of others. Those who hold positions of primacy should consider their status equal to that of a slave. The reason for the new criterion of true honour in Jesus' perspective lies in the behaviour of the Son of man who served (played the role of deacon) and gave his life as a ransom so that others could be set free (Mk. 10:44-45; also see 1 Tim. 2:6).
It should be noted when and how Jesus honours those whom his culture dishonours. Only a proper understanding of the cultural value assigned to objects and behaviours enables us to appreciate how radically Jesus challenged the prevailing codes of worth and value. Yet for all his reforms and challenges to the general code, he does not appear to be overthrowing the system itself but rather to be articulating a new set of values and expectations, on the
Bruce J Malina, TTte New Testament world, 44; cf John Deigh, "Shame and self-esteem: a critique". Ethics, 93, 1983, 225-245. 495 Matthew's Gospel daims for Jesus of Nazareth that he enjoys exalted, ascribed honour by being born into the dan of Judah and the house of David, as well as by actual birth in the royal city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of some of Israel's kings: "And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel" (Mt. 2:6/Micah 5:2) Moreover, by "calling his name Jesus" (ML 1:25) Joseph acknowledged him to be his son, thus ascribing to him the honour of belonging to the house of David with the same status that Joseph himself enjoyed Hence Jesus possesses exalted worth and prestige by both lineage and geography. Cf Neyrey, Honour and shame in the Gospel of Matthew, 37. 496 It is honour achieved by personal effort, either in non-aggressive, non-compebbve ways or in aggressive, challenging ways. With regard to achieved honour, see eg. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, where the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of our ancestors?" (v. 5a) Jesus' response is typical of his every response to a challenge. The Phansees try to shame Jesus but Jesus shames them, the crowd sides with Jesus and Jesus wins this skirmish with the Phansees For more on this, see J. G. Penstiany & J Pitt-Rivers, Honour and grace in anthropology, Cambndge: Cambridge University Press, 1992; David Cohen, Law, violence, and community in classical Athens, Cambndge: Cambndge University Press, 1995, esp. 61-142.
172 basis of which he awards praise.'197 Theologically honour and shame are rendered with 'grace' and 'disgrace'.'"8
The symbol system of honour and shame depicted in the New Testament and the teaching of Jesus appears to be counter to that of /zzatami be-izzati. What will happen when these two sets of symbols interact? Could there be a change in the perspective and understanding of izzatand be-izzati?Qou\a the principle of izzatand be-izzati possibly provide a more concrete motivation than law, power or precedence for Punjabi to discern the authentic way of living? To rephrase the golden rule to incorporate this concept, might a Punjabi say: "Do unto others as you would do to a member of your baradari, for this would bring izzatl
Another important baradari symbol is the value associated with the symbol of vartan bhanji, which keeps baradari relationships (with both members and non-members) alive and active. We can intensify and deepen the meaning of this symbol using the symbols of koinonia*93 or fellowship and eucharistia or praise and thanksgiving. Thus purified, the symbol of vartan bhanji could help Punjabi Christians to better understand the meaning of fellowship, relationships and the Eucharist. The mere presence expressed in vartan bhanji (on an important occasion) could be linked to the presence of Christians around the eucharistie table.
The interaction of gospel and culture is likely to increase the harmony between life as perceived and life as experienced by Punjabi Christians. Thus life and faith will be harmoniously united. Once this harmony is achieved, the gospel brotherhood symbols will bring meaning to the lives of Punjabis. A deeper development of Christian symbols
This we see In the proper cultural reading of Jesus' sermon on the mount. All parts of the sermon, especially the list of makansm (5:3-12), the antitheses (5:21-48) and the instructions on piety (6:1-18), can and should be read in the light of honour and shame. Jesus is by no means repudiating these values for his disciples, but redefines what is honourable and prescribes new rules for the game of gaming honour. He honours what others have shamed (5:3- 12), repudiating the conventional link between honour, family and wealth. He discounts the traditional ways of achieving honour (i.e. violence, sexual aggression, verbal display and vengeance), and thus denies his disciples these avenues for gaming honour. Cf. Halvor Moxnes, "Honour and shame", Biblical Theological Bulletin 23, 1993, 167; for further cultural contextual meaning of honour and shame in the New Testament world, see John H. Elliott, "Disgraced yet graced: the gospel according to 1 Peter in the key of honour and shame", Biblical theological Bulletin 25, 1995: 168-169. See John H. Elliot, "Disgraced yet graced", 173. Also interesting is that after the 1960s some anthropologists shifted their focus on Mediterranean cultures from honour to a new concept of grace, indicating greater concern with symbolism and religion. The focus is on grace as divine legitimation, particular grace mediated through rituals that legitimise honour in terms of precedence and status. Typical examples are coronations and funerary rites of kings in medieval France; see C. Lafages, "Royalty and ritual in the Middle Ages: coronation and funeral rites in France", in: J. G. Penstiany & J Pitt-Rivers (eds), Honour and grace in anthropology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, 19-49. Anthropologists' mam contribution is to place honour and shame at the centre of the traditional religious language of grace and the divine But the focus in many cultures remains the relation between honour as precedence and honour as virtue. In the New Testament koinoma means the sharing of possessions, unity and love among the brethren. This was so deep and genuine that they shared whatever they had. They sacrificed themselves, their own egos, for the sake of others. As a result they became really poor in spirit, and thus whole and complete in their friendship with the Lord. They were able to create a new space of openness so that others could enter the community of brethren.
173 encompassing the baradan symbol will give a deeper sense of direction to the life of each Punjabi. If peoples' lives are focused by the encounter between gospel and culture, we could envisage that it will give them meaning and fulfilment. Only then could we say that Christian theology speaks to this particular people in their own local terms.
174 GENERAL CONCLUSION
This study sought to develop a contextual theology for Pakistan, provoked by my personal experience of teaching theology at the NOT. The challenges and reactions I faced in my teaching, mostly to Punjabi students, prompted me to reappraise the method, content and approach of my theological thinking. Many new questions, such as the interdependence of faith and life, emerged, to which traditional theology offered no ready answers. The new questions and old answers gave rise to a search for a new kind of Christian identity, different from that presented by most traditional theological reflection in Christian history. A change in method meant looking for a theology that will probe the innermost aspirations of the people and interpret them theologically so that people will intériorise and live their faith as authentically as possible. This study is an attempt to develop such a theology that will harmonise faith and life. That was my mam objective.
Since the central theme is the meeting of gospel and culture, in this case Punjabi culture, I adopted a research approach that is both anthropological and theological with a view to constructing a contextual theology through a process of dialogue. I used the notion of brotherhood (which includes sisterhood) as a common ground or meeting point for this dialogue.
For the anthropological part of the study I adopted the cultural anthropology of Clifford Geertz as a workable theory to explore the meaning of both baradan in the Punjabi way of life and brotherly love in the gospel. I chose Geertz's theory because he proposes an interpretive science in search of meaning and insists on the interpretation of life as it is actually perceived. As for theological reflection, I drew on Schreiter, Bevans and Schillebeeckx. Their respective theologies are largely contextual, but each has his own modus operandi. I also used St Ephrem's third method of theological inquiry, which is a two-way affair involving continual interaction and engagement. Since he wrote theology in verse, he was opposed to an impersonal approach from mind to the object. He looked for simple realities of life and nature, what Geertz calls the "informal logic of actual life". These theologies were used to explore the relation between the gospel and Punjabi culture, and to outline a possible encounter of meanings between the baradan in Punjabi culture and gospel brotherly love. I tried to explore the consequences which such an intercultural and mterreligious encounter of meanings may have for behaviour among Punjabi people, and how it could enrich their understanding of day-to-day Christian life.
My question was whether one can facilitate an encounter between gospel and culture. The conclusion is that one can. The gospel is an ideal way of life presented to us
175 from the beginning of Jesus' life among us. This way of life was emulated by the first Christian communities in their day-to-day living in their context. Baradan is the way of life of the Punjabi people. These two sources are brought into dialogue with each other. The common denominator is solidarity or agape in the gospel in relation to atfaq wafa'da'n or solidarity extending to the outsiders, not limited to a particular baradan. According to the maieutic definition of dialogue, when two partners come together in deep dialogue about their mutual value (solidarity), something new - a tertium quid- could emerge. This is our hope. The new discovery can be deeper insight into the gospel's relation to culture. When there is proper comprehension of both gospel and culture, peoples' lives could be integrated more closely with their belief in God.
How can we have a mutual dialogue between baradan, which is a day-to-day living reality, and the gospel? We take the gospel to be the word of God and we have to understand what we mean by that. God's word is not something written on stone. It is a living reality that is understood and applied in situations that change from age to age. Thus different generations have interpreted the word of God and found its meaning in the context of their lives. When this happens, things change. A new awareness opens up. We are dealing with a living God, symbolically existing in the form of the Gospel, a written word. We take the gospel to be not a mere ideal but a reality that dynamically enlightens people in different eras and changing contexts. Thus there is an encounter between the active, living word of God and the day-to-day life of the baradan, which will definitely challenge and enrich each other.
When I started my research I thought that gospel brotherhood is more open than the baradan system, which struck me as dan-onented. But I have learnt that I cannot make that statement so boldly. We cannot deny that the Old and New Testament brotherhood developed into a closed system. Judaism concretely developed into a closed system in Palestine in Jesus' time. Jesus protested against it but himself fell victim to it, as when he declared that he had come only to save the lost children of Israel and refused to help the Syro-Phoemcian woman. And in the New Testament the first major struggle in the Christian community was about the admission of gentiles to Christian solidarity - James in Jerusalem wanted a closed community in keeping with his Jewish background.
This brings me to a fundamental point. Theologians tend to present an ideal image of the gospel, in our case of agape, which they then compare with a very concrete, historical reality, in our case the baradan system. I attempted to present an ideal picture of Christian love and compare it with a very concrete, practical way of practising that love in a conaete cultural context. We have to look very realistically at how the early Christian community practised love (e.g. the household rules in Eph. 5, the organisational rules in the pastoral
176 lettere) and how it is practised in the baradari system. Of course, Paul is constantly trying to correct mistakes, like in 1 Corinthians ll:17ff. when he speaks about the Eucharist, but the reality is often much harsher and tougher than his good intentions. In the baradari, too, the practice of love has its shortcomings.
It should be noted that both ayat/atfaq wafa'da'n (solidarity extending to outsiders) and agape convey the meaning of hospitality. In other words, solidarity manifests in hospitality. We asked whether ayat or atfaq wafa'da'n can be compared with agape. We conclude that ayat or atfaq wafa'da'n as hospitality offers a better parallel relating more closely to agape.
The critical correlation of gospel and culture taught us that both sources - gospel and culture - are more complex than we thought at the beginning of our study. Our interpretation of baradari in Punjabi culture showed that baradan tends to be closed, but that there is openness in the value of hospitality. Our interpretation of gospel values in the light of baradari, on the other hand, showed that the gospel tends to be open but that there are elements of exclusiveness.
In my opinion every human society, including gospel communities, struggle to affirm their group identity while still being hospitable to others. The tension between the inner and outer circle can trigger a new element or a new beginning.
The outcome of the dialogue should be that both partners realise that it is necessary to appreciate their own cultural values. This is where we could say that gospel purifies culture. When people start appreciating their own culture positively, and if they live up to the high ideals of their culture, that appreciation will give their lives direction and authenticity. This in turn brings harmony and integration, because culture speaks its own local language.
Geertz claims that religion is a cultural system, thus affirming that religion and culture are closely related. In this sense the gospel, too, forms part of a cultural system. But believers take the gospel to be the word of God and hence to transcend culture. So though religion and culture are in reality indistinguishable, they are not the same.
Geertz sees change as continuity of the cultural system. But communities, societies and cultures do not remain static and unchanged. They are, as Turner points out, always in flux and change. For him the social world is a world in fieri. It is not only the gospel that influences people's cultures. Other religions and cultures have their own merits, which can influence and deepen understanding of gospel values. Muslims, for example, practise their
177 brotherhood in a much deeper way than Christians practise theirs. Other cultures and religions should not be considered meritorious only insofar as they have things in common with Christianity. Christianity should not be the only norm by which others are judged. The baradan system can in its turn shape Christian practice and understanding of the gospel. The morality of Punjabi brotherhood can be a model for deepening our Christian brotherhood. Punjabis experience their brotherhood deeply, with some exclusiveness but also openness through values like hospitality.
With a view to further research I suggest some areas which could help us achieve our aim of developing a contextual theology. One would be a dialogue between Sufi poets and the baradan system. These poets definitely had a more universal concept of love and their voice is still heard by the people today as a reminder to transcend the limits of the baradan system. Why should the 'purification' of that system come only from the gospel and Western Christianity' As Schillebeeckx notes, what is required is mutual critical correlation, in which we attune our belief and action in the world in which we live here and now to what is expressed in the biblical tradition.
We question whether baradan solidarity is motivated solely by a search for security and cultural stability: is it not also based on genuine love between parents and children7 Furthermore, why can't we understand it as service or kidhmaP We can also ask whether this is performed only for security's sake, or whether it is not also prompted by genuine altruism. Finally, what is wrong with a search for security and cultural stability' Does it happen at the expense of agape or is it a part of it - to love one another and find security with one another' Is this not the case among Christians as well'
The other aspect is the positive value of /zzatand be-izzab (honour and shame). Why not have a dialogue and comparison between baradan and agape in terms of the positive aspect of honour and shame' Shame is a positive value which everybody needs to have. It is a form of self-respect, self-love that one needs in order to be able to love the other as oneself. Furthermore, as was seen in chapter four, biblical scholarship indicates that honour and shame were behavioural norms in Mediterranean countries as well. A further step could be to compare the baradan system with an early Christian community and examine how members of such a community tried to practise Christian love in their cultural context of honour and shame. Which spheres of life did they experience as problematic and which not' Where did they come into conflict with their culture' Et cetera.
It appears that the mam challenge was the new way introduced by Jesus, namely status reversal, as we explained in chapter four. It is a fundamental aspect of love as
178 practised by Jesus. Could this be worked out in a more challenging way, especially as outlined in various FABC documents' The bishops and their theologians describe the church in Asia as a servant church. Of couree, servant is something Punjabi Christians have been for far too long. Understandably, they also want to be on the receiving end. Yet agape, brotherly love, is a love of service. Such love does not make distinctions, does not exclude, but is itself universal and includes everyone, master and slave.
The counsel I offer the Punjabi people is to appreciate their culture and be proud that they are both Punjabis and Punjabi Christians. To be convinced of this, they first have to see the positive side of their own cultural values, such as the meaning of solidarity, relationships, honour and shame, love and baradan in general. Some Punjabi writers have tended to emphasise and dwell on the negative side of their values only.
In conclusion, the sign of a dynamic culture is its openness, its capacity to give and to receive, its power to develop, to allow itself to be purified and conform more and more to truth and humanity. The gospel needs to find roots in the local culture. This can be done only through prophetic critique of that culture. Thus the deeply rooted cultural values of Punjabi people will purify the gospel, and vice versa.
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Jackson, Timothy P. "Naturalism, formalism, and supernaturahsm: moral epistemology and comparative ethics". Journal of Religious Ethics 27, 1999: 477-506.
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Matsuoka, Fumitaka. "A reflection on teaching theology from an intercultural perspective". Theological Education 3ΐ>, 1989: 35-45.
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Milavec, Aaron. "The social setting of turning the other cheek and loving one's enemies in the light of Didachd'. Biblical Theological Bulletin 25, 1995: 131-143.
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Tan, Jonathan Yun-Ka. "Missio Intercenter, towards a new paradigm in the mission theology of the Federation of Asian Bishop's Conferences". FABCPapers, No. 109: 1-35.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (UDHI)". Trans. Penelope Johnston. Islamochristiana9, 1983: 104-120.
True, Marina. "Static meaning in neutral temtory. Clifford Geertz's thought on religion applied to Christian mission and theology". Missionalia'il, 2003: 518-541.
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207 Wilkins, Michael J. "Brother, brotherhood". In: David N. Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992: 782-783.
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208 SUMMARY
GOSPEL MEETS CULTURE Brotherhood in Punjabi culture and gospel message
This study sought to develop a contextual theology for Pakistan, provoked by my personal experience of teaching theology at the National Catholic Institute of Theology (NCIT). The challenges and reactions I faced in my teaching, mostly to Punjabi students, prompted me to reappraise the method, content and approach of my theological thinking. A change in method meant looking for a theology that will probe the innermost aspirations of the people and interpret them theologically so that people will intériorise and live their faith as authentically as possible. This study is an attempt to develop such a theology that will harmonise faith and life. That was my mam objective.
Since I am dealing with faith and life and their integration, I employed a contextual theological method and a dialogical approach. In other words, I wanted to effect a meeting between the gospel, the source of Christian life, and the way of life of a particular people, the Punjabis. These realities of life are expressed in cultural terms, because culture has become almost second nature to humans. "Just as a culture is the result of the life and activity of a human group, so the persons belonging to that group are shaped to a large extent by the culture in which they live" (EA 21). I have used brotherhood as a common denominator to facilitate dialogue or encounter between gospel and culture.
This study begins with a first chapter on Geertz's theory of culture. His theory is basically a search for meaning in the signs and symbols of any given culture. Translating Geertz's technical language into lay terms, one might say that culture is a way of life. This way of life is expressed in symbols, which are bearers of meaning for a distinct group of people. They are also vehicles for transmitting meaning from generation to generation. Thus to understand Geertz, the three important terms are culture, meaning and symbols.
Against this background chapter two explains the Punjabi understanding of baradari or brother-Zsisterhood and its place in that culture. It is not an isolated family unit. What is characteristic of the Punjabi social structure is the extended family, that is, a group of families that together form a socio-economic unit. Each extended family group is traced back to a common ancestor, who founded a particular village and whose land was divided among his descendants. These descendants may constitute as many as twenty or thirty families, all belonging to the same extended family. It is a net unit in which members of a family or clan
209 are kept together and bound by customary duties and rights. This net unit is known as baradan.
The original, strict meaning of the word ^baradarl comes from patrilmeage and links persons who can trace their relationship, no matter how remote, to a common male ancestor. However, the term is also applied in a general sense and is extended to other groups where people are joined under the banner of religion, language or occupation (e.g. Christian baradan, zammdaror land-owners' baradan).
In this system no one is completely isolated. Each Punjabi belongs to a baradan. It is in the baradan that individuals gam and enjoy recognition and a sense of identity. Everything in the Punjabi way of life is dictated by this sense of baradan, so that it becomes people's general order of existence and reflects their most comprehensive ideas of order. It explains all relationships between husband and wife, children and parents, society and religion, the material and the transcendental. All major decisions concerning work or profession, marriage arrangements and so on are not taken by the individual person, but by the baradan as a whole. It is an important moral value to accept baradan decisions unquestiomngly. A person's worth or value depends on loyalty to his or her baradan. The strong unity and closeness of its members assure its honour, power, prestige and strength. It is in this sense that baradan is the 'soul' of Punjabi culture. The baradan gives the impression of a closed circle embracing all its members, uniting and strengthening them against outsiders.
Chapter three investigates briefly the ministry of the Capuchin missionaries, the first Catholic missionaries in Punjab. The missionaries' understanding of culture was 'classicist' and assumed a stable, unchanging world order. Culture was conceived of as normative rather than empirical. At least de jure there was but one culture that was both universal and permanent. The older missionaries tried to adapt themselves to the local culture in their diet, dress, et cetera. Yet they unconsciously imposed their own culture on the local people and thus proceeded to communicate the Christian message from within their Western culture.
Our research into gospel brotherhood poses two basic questions which are discussed in chapter four. First, what is one's relation to those outside the Christian fellowship' Secondly, what is one's relation to one's brothers and sisters within the Christian fellowship' In other words, is there a tension between the inner circle -believers in Jesus Christ - and the outer circle, the rest of humankind'
The underlying ethos of gospel brotherhood is love. Gospel love has two facets. The first is expressed by the Greek compound word "Philadelphia: the noun "philos'or "philie/
210 means love of friends, also of people united by faith; and adelphos means brother. Thus Philadelphia signifies brotherly love; love of one's fellow Christians. This is the inner circle of gospel brotherhood. Love for the outer circle is expressed by agape, that is, love which includes all humankind. These two ethical premises show that the relationships and communication between members of the inner and the outer circle are different. At the same time the two ethical terms are complementary. Moreover, the two terms together form an inner circle within the group ethos: the members are bound by a spirit of brotherly love, Philadelphia, which is greater than that of the more general agape. Yet the inner circle of brotherhood must exist not for its own sake, becoming inbred and introverted, but for the sake of the wider circle, to which it must increasingly reach out and with which it must increasingly identify. In this way the distinction is seen as being for the sake of service to the whole.
Chapter five seeks to initiate a dialogue between the baradari and gospel brotherhood, integrating the findings of the earlier chapters. Our study shows that there is a tension between the two systems, baradari and gospel brotherhood, when it comes to relations between the inner and outer circles of the members. We cannot say baradari\s clan- oriented and excludes others, whereas gospel brotherhood is open and all-embracing. Our study shows that brotherhood in the Old and the New Testaments originally started as a closed system. With the coming of Christ it broadened its outlook.
Though there appears to be a difference in outlook between the baradari ana gospel brotherhood, we discovered a common element or co-value in the two systems, which we used as a common denominator for our dialogue between baradari and gospel brotherhood. It is solidarity (ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri, agape). The Punjabi term ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri is a broader solidarity extending to people outside the baradari. It should be noted that both ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri'and agape convey the meaning of hospitality. In other words, solidarity manifests in hospitality. We asked whether ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri can be compared with agape. In my view, ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri as hospitality offers a better parallel relating more closely to agape.
In conclusion, at the meeting point of the word of God and Punjabi culture (i.e. of ayat/atfaq wafa'da'ri with agape) in sincere deep dialogue, something new and richer can emerge, since our process of dialogue is maieutic. This is our hope: that the relation between gospel and culture will result in fresh insight enriching both. Only then we can truly hope that people's lives and their faith will be more harmonious and integrated.
211 SAMENVATTING
Deze studie beoogt een contextuele theologie voor Pakistan te ontwikkelen, geïnspireerd door mijn persoonlijke ervaring met het doceren van theologie op het National Catholic Institute of Theology (NCIT) te Karachi, Pakistan. De uitdagingen die mijn colleges opriepen en de reacties die ik erop kreeg, voornamelijk van Punjabi studenten, brachten mij ertoe de methode, inhoud en benadering van mijn theologiebeoefening opnieuw te doordenken. Een verandering van methode betekende zoeken naar een theologie die de diepste inspiraties van mensen tracht te begrijpen en theologisch te interpreteren opdat de mensen zich het geloof eigen zullen maken en zo authentiek mogelijk zullen beleven. Mijn onderzoek is een poging om tot een theologie te komen die de kloof tussen geloof en leven kan overbruggen. Dit is de hoofddoelstelling van deze studie.
Omdat het gaat over geloof en leven, meer bepaald hun integratie, gebruik ik een dialogische benadering van de methode van contextuele theologie. Met andere woorden, ik wil een ontmoeting tot stand brengen tussen het evangelie, de bron van christelijk leven, en de levenswijze van een bepaald volk, de Punjabi. Deze levenswijze wordt geuit in culturele termen, omdat cultuur een soort tweede natuur is geworden van mensen. "Just as a culture is the result of the life and activity of a human group, so the persons belonging to that group are shaped to a large extent by the culture in which they live", zegt Ecclesia in Asia (21). Ik heb het concept broederschap gebruikt als de gemeenschappelijke grond voor een ontmoeting of dialoog tussen de boodschap van het evangelie en de cultuur van de Punjabi.
Deze studie begint met een hoofdstuk over de cultuurtheorie van Geertz. Geertz's technisch spreken vertalend in lekentermen zou men kunnen zeggen dat cultuur een manier van leven is. Deze manier van leven wordt geuit in symbolen die dragers van betekenis zijn voor een bepaalde groep mensen. Symbolen zijn ook instrumenten voor het overdragen van betekenis van de huidige generatie op een volgende generatie. Dus, om Geertz goed te kunnen begrijpen zijn drie termen van belang: cultuur, betekenis en symbolen.
Tegen deze achtergrond beoogt hoofdstuk 2 het Punjabi verstaan van baradan of broederschap (het woord broederschap dient verstaan te worden vanuit de achtergrond van de patriarchale culturen die WIJ bestuderen; overal waar broederschap staat kan ook zusterschap gelezen worden) te verklaren door het te plaatsen in de Punjabi cultuur. Baradan is met te vergelijken met het kerngezin. Karakteristiek voor de Punjabi cultuur is de grootfamilie die bestaat uit een groep families die samen een sociaaleconomische eenheid vormen. Elke grootfamilie gaat terug op een gemeenschappelijke voorouder die een bepaald dorp heeft gesticht en wiens land onder zijn nakomelingen is verdeeld. Deze nakomelingen
212 kunnen wel twintig tot dertig families vormen die allen tot dezelfde grootfamilie behoren. Het is een netwerk waarin de leden van een familie een gemeenschap vormen en verboden zijn door traditionele rechten en plichten. Dit netwerk wordt baradan genoemd.
De oorspronkelijk en strikte betekenis van baradan komt van patrilineaire afstamming en verbindt personen die een relatie kunnen aangeven tot een gemeenschappelijke mannelijke voorouder, hoe ver weg ook. Echter, de term wordt ook in algemene zin gebruikt en wordt uitgebreid naar andere groepen waar mensen verbonden zijn door een gemeenschappelijke religie, taal of beroep (bijv. christelijke baradan, zamindar of grondbezitters baradari).
In dit systeem is niemand volledig geïsoleerd. Elke Punjabi behoort tot een baradan. Het is in de baradan dat het individu erkenning krijgt en een gevoel van identiteit verwerft. Alles in de levenwijze van de Punjabi wordt gedicteerd door het besef te behoren tot een baradan, zodat dit besef hun hele bestaan omvat en hun meest uitgebreide ideeën over orde weerspiegelt. Het verklaart alle relaties tussen man en vrouw, kinderen en ouders, samenleving en religie, materiele en transcendente levenssferen. Alle belangrijke beslissingen met betrekking tot werk, beroep, huwelijk enzovoorts worden met genomen door de individuele persoon, maar door de baradan als geheel. Het is een belangrijke morele waarde om de beslissingen van de baradan onvoorwaardelijk te aanvaarden. De waarde en waardigheid van de persoon hangen af van zijn of haar loyaliteit aan de baradan. De sterke eenheid en band tussen de leden van de baradan verzekeren hun eer, kracht, prestige and macht. In deze zin is de baradan de ziel van de Punjabi cultuur. De baradan geeft de indruk van een gesloten cirkel die al zijn leden omvat, en die hen één en sterk maakt tegenover buitenstaanders.
Hoofdstuk drie onderzoekt het werk van de Kapucijnen, de eerste rooms-katholieke missionarissen in Punjab. Het cultuurbegrip van deze missionarissen was klassiek en veronderstelde een stabiele onveranderlijke wereldorde. Cultuur werd meer in normatieve dan in empirische zin verstaan. Minstens de jure bestond er slechts één cultuur die zowel universeel als permanent was. De oudere missionarissen trachtten zich aan te passen aan de lokale cultuur wat betreft voedsel, kleding, enzovoorts. Maar onbewust legden ze hun eigen wereldbeeld op aan de lokale bevolking en begonnen dus de christelijke boodschap te communiceren vanuit hun eigen Westerse cultuur.
Ons onderzoek naar broederschap in het evangelie roept twee vragen op die behandeld worden in hoofdstuk vier. Ten eerste, wat is de relatie tussen de persoon en de degenen die buiten de christelijke gemeenschap staan7 Ten tweede, wat is de relatie tussen
213 de persoon en de broeders en zusters binnen de christelijke gemeenschap' Met andere woorden, is er een spanning tussen de kerngroep - degenen die in Jezus Christus geloven - en degenen die daarbuiten staan, de rest van de mensheid7
De waarde die aan de evangelische broederschap ten grondslag ligt is liefde. Evangelische liefde heeft twee aspecten. Het eerste aspect wordt uitgedrukt in het Griekse woord Philadelphia. Dit woord is samengesteld uit het zelfstandig naamwoord philosof philia, hetgeen liefde voor vrienden betekent, inclusief mensen die verenigd zijn in geloof, en adelphos hetgeen broeder betekent. Philadelphia betekent dus broederlijke liefde, liefde voor de broeders in Christus. Dit is de bmnencirkel van de evangelische broederschap. Liefde voor degene in de buitencirkel wordt uitgedrukt in het woord agapé, dat is de liefde die de hele mensheid omvat. Deze twee begrippen laten zien dat de relaties en de communicatie tussen de leden van de bmnencirkel onderling en tussen deze leden en de leden van de buitencirkel verschillend zijn. Tegelijkertijd zijn ze complementair. De leden van de bmnencirkel zijn met elkaar verbonden door een geest van broederlijk liefde, Philadelphia, die dieper is dan de meer algemene liefde, agapé. Maar de bmnencirkel moet met omwille van zichzelf bestaan, zelfgenoegzaam en introvert, maar omwille van de buitencirkel, waartoe ZIJ gezonden is en waarmee ZIJ zich m toenemende mate moet identificeren. Op deze wijze wordt de broederlijke liefde binnen de christelijke gemeenschap gezien ten dienste van de liefde voor de gehele mensheid.
Hoofdstuk vijf beoogt een dialoog tot stand te brengen tussen baradan en evangelische broederschap, waarin de inzichten van de voorgaande hoofdstukken worden geïntegreerd. Onze studie toont dat er een spanning bestaat tussen de twee systemen, baradan en evangelische broederschap, met betrekking tot de relaties tussen de leden van de bmnencirkel en die van de buitencirkel. We kunnen met zeggen dat de baradan georiënteerd is op de clan en anderen uitsluit, terwijl evangelische broederschap open is en alomvattend. Onze studie toont aan dat broederschap m het Oude en het Nieuwe Testament aanvankelijk begon als een gesloten systeem. Met de komst van Jezus Christus werd de visie breder.
Ofschoon er een verschil bestaat tussen baradan en evangelische broederschap, ontdekten we in de vergelijking van de twee systemen ook een gedeelde waarde, namelijk solidariteit (ayat/atfaq wafa'da'n, agape). Die waarde gebruikten we als een gemeenschappelijke grond voor een dialoog tussen baradan en evangelische broederschap. De Punjabi term ayat/atfaq wafa'da'n staat voor een bredere solidariteit die ook mensen buiten de baradan omvat. Zowel ayat/atfaq wafa'da'n als agapé hebben de betekenis van gastvrijheid. Door de vergelijking van ayat/atfaq wafa'da'n met agapé ontdekten we dat
214 ayat/atfaq wafa'da'rì als gastvrijheid meer overeenkomst vertoont met en beter aansluit bij agape.
Concluderend kunnen we zeggen dat in de ontmoeting tussen het woord van God en de Punjabi cultuur (met name tussen ayat/atfaq wafa'da'rì en agapê) iets nieuws en verrijkends kan ontstaan. Het proces van een oprechte dialoog is maieutisch, dit betekent: ontdekken dat het woord van God niet van buiten komt maar reeds aanwezig is in de Punjabi cultuur en door ontmoeting tot volle bloei kan komen. Het is onze hoop dat de relatie tussen de evangelische boodschap en de Punjabi cultuur nieuwe inzichten zal voortbrengen die verrijkend zijn voor beide. Alleen dan kunnen we verwachten dat het leven van Punjabi mensen en hun christelijk geloof geïntegreerd worden en is een basis gelegd voor een contextuele theologie voor Pakistan.
215 CURRICULUM VTTAE
Clement Ashley Waidyasekara is a Sri Lankan Catholic priest and a member of the Missionary Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).
He studied philosophy for three years (1968-1971) at the Our Lady of Lanka Major Seminary, Ampitiya, obtaining his Bachelor's degree in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. His postgraduate studies in moral theology were completed at the Pontifical Lateran University, Academia Alfonsiana, where he obtained a doctoral degree in 1986.
Eighteen months after his ordination in 1979 he went to Pakistan as a missionary and was involved in training OMI students and teaching theology at the National Catholic Institute of Theology (NOT), Karachi (previously Christ the King seminary) until he left Pakistan in 2003.
During his stay in Pakistan he brought about a revival of theological training in the Pakistani church. He was elected academic dean in 1996. Immediately after his appointment he, with his teaching staff, introduced a programme of theological studies that raised the standard of theology in the local church. This initiative gave birth to the National Catholic Institute of Theology (NOT), where religious and laymen and women can now study theology. This Institute is affiliated to Yarra Theological Institute (ΥΠ), in collaboration with Melbourne College of Divinity, Australia.
After his return from Pakistan he was appointed superior of the OMI theological college, Ampitiya in 2003. During his term of office he, in collaboration with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors, took the initiative in establishing an Asian Institute of Theology (ΑΓΤ).
Later, in July 2005, he was appointed provincial superior of the Oblates in Sn Lanka, including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
216
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