NAIITS

The JOURNAL of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

Volume 11 2013

PUBLISHED BY

NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

EDITOR

Wendy Beauchemin Peterson

GENERAL EDITOR

Terry LeBlanc

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Ambrose University College and Theological Seminary Asbury Seminary: ESJ School of World Mission George Fox University and Theological Seminary Indigenous Pathways My People International Providence University College Providence Theological Seminary Urbana-InterVarsity / USA iEmergence InterVarsity Tyndale University College and Seminary Wheaton College Wiconi International William Carey International University

© NAIITS, 2013 NAIITS ii Volume 11 ABOUT NAIITS

Vision Statement

NAIITS exists to address topics of present concern in Native North American ministry and mission. These topics range from evangelism to discipleship to leadership and community development as they relate to Indigenous Christian ministry and worship.

Through symposiums, publishing and dialogue, NAIITS seeks to bring together men and women of varied experience and background in mission, ministry and community service from within the mainstream of evangelical Christian faith, intentionally providing a forum for the development of biblical and theological thought from within Indigenous North American points of view.

Head Office NAIITS P.O. Box 181 Carlisle, ON L0R 1H0 CANADA [email protected] www.naiits.com

Board of Directors

Terry LeBlanc Mi’kmaq/Acadian, Director/CEO; Ray Aldred , Chair; Alberta Shari Russell , Treasurer; Ontario Randy Woodley Keetoowah Cherokee; Oregon Cheryl Bear-Barnetson Carrier Sekanie, Adrian Jacobs Cayuga; Wendy Beauchemin Peterson Métis, Secretary/Editor; Manitoba Andrea Smith Cherokee; California

NAIITS iii Volume 11 NAIITS iv Volume 11 GUIDELINES for SUBMISSION

An important component of the work of NAIITS is publication. NAIITS publishes papers and book reviews that reflect an Indigenous perspective on doing theology and community work within an Indigenous environment and related academic subjects. Ideas for papers and/or completed materials may be submitted under the following guidelines: • Length should not exceed 3000 for papers, 5000 for requested feature articles. • Book reviews are to be of relevant recent publications and should not exceed 800 words. • Format is to be based on Turabian, latest edition (see this journal for template) • Submissions must include footnotes and a bibliography. • Submissions are required by October 31 of each year. • Email submissions to [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS to this ISSUE: in order of articles presented

Michael Rynkiewich Euro-American; Retired Faculty, Asbury Theological Seminary

Catherine Aldred Cree/Métis; Briercrest University College,

Ruth Heeg Translation Co-ordinator, Canadian Bible Society

Uday Balasundaram Indian; PhD Student at Asbury Theological Seminary

Randy Woodley Keetoowah Cheroke; George Fox University, Oregon

Wendy Beauchemin Peterson Métis; NAIITS Editor, Providence University College, Manitoba

Ray Minnicon Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Australia

Adrian Jacobs Cayaga Nation; Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Center, Manitoba

NAIITS v Volume 11 NAIITS vi Volume 11

JOURNAL of NAIITS Memorial Issue In Honour of Founding Board Member NAIITS Chair Friend

RICHARD LEO TWISS 1954 - 2013

Photo courtesy of Casey Church

NAIITS vii Volume 11 NAIITS viii Volume 11 Richard Leo Twiss Memorial Issue

Our colleague, Richard Twiss, during our NAIITS Board retreat in January 2013, anticipated the papers and panel presentations of the 10th annual NAIITS Symposium captured in the pages of this volume. His focus on new ways to encourage non- Indigenous people to understand the good news, and to communicate it as such to Indigenous people, created a hopeful expectation about the theme for the 2013 Symposium, “Shaping Faith: How Informs the Journey.”

Unfortunately Richard neither heard the presentations nor was he able to engage with their presenters since his passing to the other side of the journey took place before the symposium began. And so we dedicate this issue of the Journal to him, knowing that though he did not see the days of the symposium, many questions he had about the topic have been answered better for him than for us, since he now sees all things as if “face to face,” while we still see “in a glass dimly.”

On occasion, we would receive a criticism or two following our symposiums about our theme or one of the presentations or presenters. Some folks, despite evidence to the contrary, felt that new ideas about Indigenous theology and mission to Indigenous people were unnecessary – we just needed to redouble our efforts at evangelism as it had always been done. Richard often took the brunt of such concerns within the USA. Of course, it may not have always helped that he did some of his best (and, I say with a smile, worst) theological reflection spontaneously as he delivered a “new” talk! This led to people buttonholing his theology – particularly in recent years.

There were those in the evangelical and conservative church, for example, who vigorously opposed his messaging of the good news of Jesus within Indigenous culture, believing he promoted culture over Jesus. Not a few of these folk swallowed the camel of Western cultural and economic obscenities, resident in church and wider society alike, even as they strained at the gnat of ‘Indianness.’ Then there were those who accepted Richard’s message of the Creator’s embrace of Indigenous culture and context, yet set aside the Creator’s son Jesus; the bitterness of NAIITS ix Volume 11

colonial mission made it impossible for them to see Jesus as simultaneously unique and universal.

Some years ago, following a Many Nations One conference in Calgary; Richard, Katherine, their boys and others from across North America visited my wife and me on the land where we live. There we held camp and celebrated life together. Our spontaneous encampment consisted of tipis, wi’kuoms, wi’kiups, tents, and campers – all temporary dwellings that would be folded up, packed away, and taken home as people left transient lodging on their way to the more familiar place of their permanent residence. The Apostle Paul placed the reality of moving from life to life in perspective for me when he noted,

… We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not hand- made—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!

Last year, Richard packed up the tent of his earthly dwelling and moved home to the place we will all journey in the days ahead as we too move from life, to life. On that side, symposia are filled with the words of the Teacher and questions are fully answered – while here we must suffer the incomplete reflections of, as yet, imperfect beings with incomplete understandings.

Journey well my friend. Nmultes!

Terry LeBlanc, Mi’kmaq/Acadian Founding Chair and Director, NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

NAIITS x Volume 11 TABLE of CONTENTS

In Memorium vii

Terry LeBlanc Richard Twiss ix

About This Issue 1

Section I: Symposium Papers 3

Michael A. Rynkiewich 5 Orality and Mission

Catherine Aldred 29 Rhetoric, Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning: Innovations in First Nations Bible Translation

Ruth Heeg 59 God as Revealed in Scripture: The Translation of Abstract into Algonquian

Uday Balasundaram 73 Creativity and Captivity: Developing a Framework for Exploring the Language of Musical Creativity amongst Indigenous Cosmopolitans [ICMs]

Section II: Tributes to Richard Twiss 115

Randy Woodley 117

Wendy Beauchemin Peterson 121

Ray Minniecon 125

Adrian Jacobs 131

NAIITS xi Volume 11

NAIITS xii Volume 11 ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Shaping Faith: How Language Informs the Journey

Several years ago I spoke at a conference on mission with the requested focus on the necessity for contextualizing both the gospel and its means of communication. One attendee expressed his difficulty picturing what I meant – what contextualization looks like and whether it is really necessary. God’s is, after all, God’s word, promising not to return void. So, to illustrate my point, I addressed the attendees briefly in the halting Mi’kmaq that I speak – and then asked for a response. The blank stares told the story and made the point. The language we use shapes faith as we encounter it – and faith as we express it.

Yet, when raising the issue of “language,” I am not simply referencing a formal of the human community. I am also referring to ideas we preference, emphases we create, and priorities we describe through actions initiated by those words. Francis of Assisi’s is often incorrectly quoted with saying, “preach the gospel at all times—and if necessary, use words.” The sentiment is nonetheless valid. There is more to language than words and more to words than one-to-one correspondent meaning. Words, coupled with actions, do create worlds.

In this volume, you will find a variety of approaches used to unpack some of what this has meant to the Indigenous world in North America. For centuries, faith in Jesus, communicated in very circumscribed ways, has demanded a very particular response. When that response was not forthcoming, the existence of faith was cast in doubt – at times even by the individual believer.

Michael Rynkiewich challenges us to consider we have never left the world of orality – that we have simply added textuality to orality as the primary default for human communication. What does this mean to traditionally oral cultures such as those of First Nations peoples? For that matter, what impact would the blending of oral cultures with a primarily literate culture (which is now exhibiting evidence of a move back toward orality) have on contextualization of the gospel? Michael’s thoughts are helpful as we consider the impact on faith formation.

In the two panel presentations, we observed the importance of Indigenous direction in the process of Scripture translation. (Unfortunately, these are not in a printable format). In such work we experience the richness of new images and expressions contained within familiar and cherished passages of Scripture; our Creator’s love of diversity is more fully revealed. The Mi’kmaw panel discussed some

NAIITS 1 Volume 11 of the theological issues encountered in the process of translation and the effect they have on their work, the Scripture products they make, and the way that faith is expressed in the translated stories. The panel for Inuit translation framed some of the challenges to understanding and then translating Scripture’s stories from their original settings into a language devoid of some of the necessary images and metaphors. Is faith formation incomplete, one might ask, if we have no linguistic parallels to fully describe the dynamic relationship of bread and wine to Jesus’ body and blood?

Catherine Aldred reprises her excellent presentation of 2011 with a further exploration of the translation dilemma within the . How are key concepts of theological import conveyed meaningfully within the social and cosmological context of the hearers?

Ruth Heeg then offers a particular focus on several New Testament doxological passages contrasting how the three persons of the Trinity are portrayed in these passages. She compares, for example, translations into Algonquian -based languages such as Cree, Ojibway and Mi’kmaq, to the wording in -based languages from which they were translated (Greek, English, and French).

Finally, Uday Balasundaram, drawing on the rich musical traditions of his homeland in India, helps to shape our thinking about the language of music in ways many of us, if not most of us, had not considered. Faith cultivated and matured through musical appropriation and appreciation!

Unique this year were two superb evening concerts. One featured Cheryl Bear followed by Broken Walls (Jonathon Maracle’s band); the other featured Michael Jacobs followed by Steve Bell. Thank you for your contribution in demonstrating the countless ways for shaping faith.

Lastly, in this issue, we pay tribute to Richard Twiss, our colleague, friend, and fellow traveller in the NAIITS learning community. We still feel his loss, but are grateful for the time we spent together on the road toward our common destiny in a fully restored creation.

Thanks for taking this part of that same road with us through the articles, stories, and reflections contained in this issue of the Journal of NAIITS. Blessings as you journey…

Terry LeBlanc Founding Chair and Director, NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

NAIITS 2 Volume 11 SECTION I Symposium Papers

This section of Volume 11 (2013) of the Journal of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community consists of papers presented at the June 2013 Symposium sponsored by NAIITS. It was hosted by Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Ontario, and focused on the theme “Shaping Faith: How Language Informs the Journey.”

NAIITS 3 Volume 11

NAIITS 4 Volume 11 ORALITY AND MISSION1

MICHAEL A. RYNKIEWICH

When the seventh month came—the people of Israel being settled in their towns—all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." And all

1 My thanks to Dwight Baker at OMSC for the encouragement to write and present the first draft of this paper, and to Steve Ybarrola for constructive comments on issues discussed in that draft (presented in January 2010). In this second draft, I am dependent on conversations with Danny DeLoach (doctoral student at Fuller), Uday Balasundaram (doctoral student at Asbury), and Katharina Rynkiewich-Ramirez (doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis) for discussions about emerging theories of orality and agency. NAIITS 5 Volume 11 the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 7:73-8:12, New Revised Standard Version)

A rather long reading, but there is much in this passage that speaks to us about orality, literacy, and mission. Since the Reformation, then the Enlightenment, and then the colonial expansion of Europe (in the 16th and 17th centuries), there has been an interest in literacy in mission. The expectation, particularly of Protestant missionaries (of the 18th and 19th centuries), has been that Christians everywhere would eventually move from being illiterate to being literate. It was the Christian way. The Protestant emphasis on the written and translated Bible as the Word of God, coupled with the principle of ‘the priesthood of the believer,’ even today situates literacy as a key step in the practice of mission and in the growth of the fledgling church. What better image do Protestants have than converted individuals reading the Bible for themselves? But this is just the tip of the iceberg, the visible part, of the Protestant commitment to universal literacy and concomitant disdain for illiteracy.

Pushing against this model of the Christian mission, there has been a minority opinion that does value orality over literacy. This thread of thought began in the area of literary criticism, particularly the development of the idea that early European literature was only the final product of a long refining process of oral storytelling. Examples abound: Homer’s The Iliad and the Odyssey, the Norse saga of Beowulf, the Saxon poem called The Heliand, and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The parallel movement in Biblical criticism was to discover and admit that Old Testament text is only the end point of a long history of oral stories.

Walter Ong built on this work, and established for us the understanding that orality is not the same as illiteracy. That is, orality is not the lack of something, not the negative shadow of literacy; orality is something in and of itself.2

2 Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (London: Methuen, 1982; reprint edition, London: Routledge, 1988). See also: The Presence of the Word: Some Prolegomena for Cultural and Religious History NAIITS 6 Volume 11 If orality is something, then what is it? If a certain percentage of the world is primarily oral in the way people live and learn, then what does that fact mean for mission? What if, as some are coming to realize, a certain percentage of the world will never learn to read a book, that is, never become literate. What if we have reached a plateau for the number of people who will learn how to read, then what does that mean for mission? Finally, if orality is something in and of itself, and if orality is where many of the world’s people live their daily lives, then have our commitments to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ been too narrow? The flip side of this question is: What are we who are primarily literate missing in life?

I am going to do a bit of exegesis on the Nehemiah passage. Then, I will turn to the questions of what orality is, where it is, and what it means. Finally, I will make some observations on what orality means for mission.

The Nehemiah Passage What is the scene here? These are the people who have been in diaspora, but are now returning from exile; a changed people with a changed history returning to a changed country. People have settled in towns and are now trying to move toward normalcy in the fifth century B..

Who told Ezra to read? The people did, perhaps hungry to hear again the word of God. Why Ezra? Ezra was the voice of authority; perhaps more importantly, Ezra was one of the few who was able to read, and certainly one of the few able to read an ancient Hebrew text. The great majority of fifth century B.C. Jews were not literate people.

Who heard the story? The text says, both men and women had gathered. But, what problems did they face? Their ears might have been attentive, they might hear the words of the story, but what are the obstacles to their understanding the story that they hear? • First, the language of the text was unfamiliar. The scrolls were written in ancient Hebrew, but the people were at

(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967; second edition, Binghamton, NY: Global, 2000). NAIITS 7 Volume 11 least 100 years removed from speaking Hebrew at all. They now spoke Chaldean, the language of their conquerors. Some may have spoken an early form of Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke 500 years later. In any case, they do not understand a word of what was being read by Ezra. • Second, the socio-political situation has changed. The law, which is what Ezra was asked to read, was written for the nation of Israel, but this is not a nation. These are a defeated, exiled, diasporic, returning remnant. They are still to the king of Persia. Their very presence in Palestine is opposed by the people who live around them. What difference might this standpoint make as a new context for interpretation of a law that was given centuries before for a nation? • Finally, the practices that were prescribed in the law had been in abeyance for at least a hundred years, some for hundreds of years. Some, like the Jubilee Year, seem never to have been practiced. What tools do they have for the recovery of understanding of what it means to be a Jew under God in this new time and place?

What is the solution to these problems? Like the Ethiopian Eunuch, they needed a hermeneut; someone to translate, interpret, and even contextualize the message into language that they could understand. In this case, they needed someone who understood the written story in an ancient language well enough to be able to present it as an oral story in the language of the people. Does that sound familiar? In many ways, that is our problem today.

Who are these people who are named? Some are Levites, but all are educated persons. They are a kind of elite because they are able to hear the text, and read the times, and offer an interpretation of the stories. The text says: “They helped the people understand the law.” Notice the emphasis on orality: “to hear with understanding.” Further, the text says: “So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation.” This is a missionary situation; the word comes in one form (a text written in an ancient language) and the people need to hear it in another form (a story re-shaped and told in a form and language that the people use every day).

NAIITS 8 Volume 11 The text says further: “They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” So, what do we have here? We have a community of people who live in orality, who hear the world (not just the word) that way, who learn that way, and who act on that basis. In the community, there are a few who are able to read. But, between the community and the written text, there are 26 people who were appointed the task of interpretation; that is, the job of hearing and then the task of re-crafting the stories out of a literate context and into an oral context.

Several points can be made: First, the oral/literate divide is not a new one. There have always been some people who can read, perhaps some who can read but do not, and most who do not read at all.

Second, both orality and literacy are found in the same society, and this is true of nearly every society in history and in the present. Throughout the time period of the Old Testament, the time of the New Testament, and the time of the Early Church; only a minority were ever in a position to be able to read the text, and many people went all of their lives hearing someone else give an oral account of the Biblical stories. Orality has been foundational to the people of God from the beginning. Neither orality nor literacy is to be dismissed; and neither of them will soon disappear.

Third, the oral/literate divide may not be as mutually exclusive as is often argued. That is, we could not divide up this room, and put all the orality-oriented people over there and all the literacy- oriented people over here. Both can exist, side by side, and, I would argue, some people are adept at moving back and forth between the two.

This perspective on the world comes to us with the postmodern shift in anthropology that gives us new perspectives on our globalizing postcolonial world. Many people today are able to operate in two or more different cultures, to speak two or more different languages, and to present two or more different identities, depending on what strategy works best in their

NAIITS 9 Volume 11 current context.3 I would argue that people involved in various processes of regionalization in the past had the same capabilities.4 So, orality and literacy can be different ways of presenting oneself in different social contexts.

What is Orality? Orality is a form of consciousness that helps carry memories, structure thinking, shape communication, build relationships, and produce strategies for engaging the real world. In fact, orality is the “normal” state of affairs, as was argued by Socrates, who said that “writing was inhuman.”5 Socrates was concerned that writing took living things and made them into inanimate detached objects. This is the sense in which Ong and others6 argue that literacy, the written word, is a “technology” that artificially separates and ossifies communication, thus alienating the word from humanity.

However, this tendency to privilege speech over writing, that is, to assume that speaking is closer to thinking than writing, a tendency seen in Plato in his notion of ideal forms or concepts, has been critiqued by deconstructionists. Jacques Derrida, among others, has made the claim that Western culture is “logocentric,”7 meaning that Western culture assumes the reality of the forms, that the spoken word is a mirror (or a ‘shadow’ as Plato has it) of the forms, and that the written word is a more distant yet distinct mirror. Deconstructionists argue that there is no certainty that the forms exist, nor that the spoken word represents any given reality, nor that the written word has a specific, bounded, permanent meaning.

At the least, both the premodern and the postmodern critique of modernity agree; literacy brings us no closer to reality, but it

3 See my articles: “The World in My Parish,” Missiology (2002) 30:3:301-321; and “Person in Mission,” Missiology (2003): 31:2:155-168. 4 For example, Babylonization, Hellenization, Romanization, and Mediterraneanization in the Ancient World. 5 Socrates, in Plato’s Phadreus, speaking against writing. 6 E.g., Marshall Mcluhan. 7 Derrida argued that there is always a gap between spoken or written language and the experience of reality itself, and that we are hopelessly saddled with this inability directly to deal with or communicate about reality. Since we always come up short, there are always more possibilities, and meaning is perpetually deferred (deference). NAIITS 10 Volume 11 does change the way we think, relate, and act.8 Further, literacy is not the “normal” state of affairs, at least in the statistical use of that term. Some have argued that, even today, somewhere between 60% to 70% of people live in primary or secondary orality.9

Ong argued, among other things, that orality was marked by, or accompanied by, a tendency to store information in formulas or what we might call sayings, , and proverbs; a tendency to pile these one on top of the other, that is, to say the same thing in different ways so that it would be remembered; and a tendency to repeat stock phrases. Ong’s work and critiques of his work are readily available, so I am not going to take the time to make a complete review of those here.

What is the Relationship between Orality and Mission? What I want to move on to is the relationship between orality and mission, to review the approaches that are being taken, and suggest some further considerations. First, let us acknowledge that the Southern Baptist Convention, particularly the International Mission Board, has played a large role in bringing the issue of orality into current mission theory and practice. When I was serving as a Methodist missionary in Papua New Guinea in the late 1990s, the missionaries with New Tribes Mission, with their headquarters in Goroka where I was stationed,10 were deploying a new strategy called “Chronological Bible Storying.”11 This movement, coupled with Church Growth

8 For example, Benedict Anderson in Imagined Communities, argues that the development of print media was crucial to the invention and diffusion of nationalism. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London, UK: Verso, 1983). 9 Primary orality is the case of cultures with no exposure to writing; second orality is a category for cultures that have experience with writing but still rely on orality most of the time. 10 My wife, Teresa, and I served as a General Board of Global Ministries missionary seconded to the United Church in Papua New Guinea, seconded again to The Melanesian Institute for Pastoral and Socio-economic Care in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province from 1997-2002; though I spent my first year on the island of Misima in Milne Bay Province and the next four years living and working in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province. New Tribes Mission is an independent organization not officially affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. 11 See http://www.chronologicalbiblestorying.com (An IMB site accessed in January 2010). See specifically: J. O. Terry, Jim Slack and Steve Evans (1996) NAIITS 11 Volume 11 Movement principles, has, reportedly, seen good success in India, Africa, and Papua New Guinea.12 Now courses about orality and mission are part of the curriculum at several Baptist seminaries.13

The movement is represented as well in the International Orality Network, with connections with the Lausanne movement14 as well as the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL).15 One of the leaders of this movement, Grant Lovejoy, taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but also has served on the board of SIL International.16 One might ask: Is the emphasis that SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators, as an organization, has on translating the written word into other languages and then developing literacy programs to teach people to read the Bible,17 at odds with the emerging concern for evangelizing and discipling oral learners?

The answer is that SIL has long been aware of the differences between orality and literacy, and the place of orality in

Chronological Bible Storying: An Introduction to the Oral Communication of the Bible, which is a downloadable study manual. There are many other useful resources on this site. 12 See, for example, an article in Christianity Today: Dawn Herzog Jewell (January 6, 2006) “Winning the Oral Majority: Christian Agencies Rethink Outreach to the World’s Non-literate Masses,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/march/30.56.html 13For example, “Orality and Christian Bible Storying” at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and “Orality Theories” and “Bible Storying” at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 14 See http://www.lausanne.org/issue-oral-learners/overview.html 15 See website http://ion2008.ning.com For example, the Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP) No. 54 “Making Disciples of Oral Learners” (Issues Group No. 25) International Orality Network and Lima, NY: Elim Publishing is also listed on the SIL website. Other resources may be found at the Global Recordings Network and the Faith Comes by Hearing network. 16 Dr. Grant Lovejoy is currently (January 2010) listed as the International Director of Orality Strategies for International Mission Board (SBC). 17 After taking 20 years to reduce a language to a grammar, an and a written New Testament, many translators have discovered that the books are at first appreciated, then shelved because no one knows how to read, nor is reading highly prioritized. This has spurred SIL to develop literacy programs and then to figure out how to introduce this change. For example, I was invited to lead a workshop for Bible Translation and Literacy workers from all over Africa in Ruiru, Kenya in the summer of 2004 for this purpose. NAIITS 12 Volume 11 mission.18 For example, in an article entitled “Going on…with Ong,” in 1984, Barbara Keller argues that literacy workers need to be familiar with Ong’s work if they are to get their literacy training right.19 SIL’s thinking seems to be that the written word in the hands of Indigenous readers is always the goal, but it is clear that not everyone in the world can afford the time commitment to become literate, and so some account must be taken of this part of the population. Still, the movement toward developing oral strategies, for example, speaking Scripture into recording devices so that people can hear Scripture in their own language without ever learning how to read, is only emerging and does not dominate SIL/Wycliffe thinking.20

So, both an emphasis on literacy and an emphasis on orality are out there, perhaps in tension, but both exist as strategies for Christian mission. In fact, a more complex model assuming that language persists in part because it serves to support group identity, is redirecting the gaze of SIL/Wycliffe toward language “use” in community. SIL/Wycliffe is beginning to recognize a situation called “sustainable orality,” where a language is spoken by all generations in everyday social settings.21

Let us consider some of the issues that arise around the tension between literacy and orality. I want to think with you about three closely-related areas where the tension makes a difference:

18 For example, a quick glance at SIL’s bibliography in this area shows references to works from the 1960s on. E.g., in the same area in which I served in Papua New Guinea: Ellis W. Deibler, Jr., “Differences between Written and Oral Styles in Languages Near Goroka,” READ (1976) 11:77-79. 19 Barbara Keller, “Going on…with Ong: A Response to Clark’s Summary,” Notes on Literacy (1984). 20 Danny Loach, with SIL/Wycliffe in Papua New Guinea, says: “I don’t know if it is quite to the point where I can say there is a clear shift away from literacy and toward oral strategies, but the rate of growth in people adopting oral approaches far exceeds the rate of growth of people starting up literacy programs. There is a huge number of SIL teams in PNG who are now working to put their Scriptures onto recording devices. There is also a growing movement of people working to train Papua New Guineans to tell Bible stories. Jim and Janet Stahl are key players in this effort. They are SIL translators who originally worked in Vanuatu. Now they train SIL people from all over the world in oral methods. She wrote about some of their work here: Janet Stahl. “Telling Our Stories Well: Creating Memorable Images and Shaping Our Identity.” Missiology: An International Review 38 (2) (April 1, 2010):161–171; doi:10.1177/009182961003800207.” 21 M. Paul Lewis and Gary F. Simons, “Assessing Endangerment: Expanding Fishman’s GIDS,” Revue Roumaine de Linguistique (2010) 55:103-120. NAIITS 13 Volume 11 Orality and Modernity, Language Ideology, and the Power in the Word.

Orality and Modernity The Postmodern critique of modernity has problematized much that Europeans and Americans had assumed was given in nature. That is, we had learned to value a set of tensions that privilege our position in the world. We used the concepts to propel us into our own man-made future. The Grand Narrative of the Reformation (notice the values inherent in the word) and the Enlightenment (now we have light where once we had darkness) creates a myth to live by (and die by). By this myth of modernity, Europeans defined themselves as liberal (liberated, progressive), civilized, and enlightened; while the ‘others’ were conservative (bound by tradition), backward, and benighted. The language itself tends to “link moral progress to practices of detachment from and reevaluation of materiality.”22

Webb Keane has argued that, in the Protestant Reformation, there was a concerted attempt to detach words, rituals, and practices from the supposed agency that they possessed, at least in the Protestant critique of Catholic religious practices. And so,

… the Reformation instigated a long series of efforts to change the role and moral value of semiotic forms in relation to ways of speaking, liturgical objects, the … conscience, the body, written texts, material culture, ecclesiastical offices, money, . .. and God.23

One result was to restrict “agency” to human beings. Things, like words, have no agency at all to act in the world of human beings. This required another shift to the notion that human beings were endowed with individual autonomy, and that this was the right, proper, or even natural order of the world. Things could not act, humans could. Objects could not act, subjects could. Nature could not act, it was culture that tamed and ordered nature. If this is the order of the world, then ‘others’ who did not appear to have the freedom to act, or who

22 Webb Keane, Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the Mission Encounter (Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press, 2007), 6. 23 Ibid., 7. NAIITS 14 Volume 11 themselves seemed to be bound by nature, were in need of being liberated; in fact, in need of salvation so that they could experience progress like the Europeans had.

Thus, words were objectified and alienated, but also people were objectified as ‘non-Western’ and not modern. A particular way of using language served in a process of “purification,” as described by Bruno Latour, so that the scandalous mixing of things and humans, objects and subjects, and nature and culture might be replaced by a more modern view through the use of language.24

Thus, the Reformation and then the Enlightenment brought about a transformation of language as well as a transformation in the way Europeans think about both person and society. I do not want to belabor this point: Literacy is entangled in modernity, and for that literacy is suspect.

Language Ideology Behind either literacy or orality, then, is a language ideology that predisposes how a people understand words, speaking as a performance, and, ultimately, communication. What is the purpose of speaking or reading at all? As I described briefly in the previous section, in European thought there has been a major shift from thinking of speaking for practical purposes, that is, to get something done, to assuming that reading is a way of revealing the inner thoughts of persons, including God, thoughts or propositions with which one might agree or disagree.

For example, Bambi Schieffelin argues that the Bosavi language group of Papua New Guinea believes that speech is incapable of revealing a person’s inner thoughts.25 It is a recurrent theme throughout Papua New Guinea that signs both conceal and reveal. Schieffelin notes the difficulties that the translators had

24 Cited in Keane, Christian Moderns, 23. See Bruno Latour, We Have Never Been Modern, translated by Catherine Porter (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993). (Originally published in 1991 in French.) 25 Bambi Schieffelin “Found in Translating: Reflexive Language Across Time in Bosavi, Papua New Guinea,” Consequences of Contact: Language Ideologies and Sociocultural Transformations in Pacific Societies, edited by Miki Makihara and Bambi Schieffelin (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 140-165. NAIITS 15 Volume 11 with Mark Chapter 2 where Jesus is said to be able to discern the inner thoughts of the Pharisees.26

The language ideology behind orality often links story-telling to the social and moral authority of a community. During the time I was on Misima in Papua New Guinea, there were a number of cases of dispute over land rights, generated by the existence of a gold mining operation that paid compensation to the ‘owners’ for land use. I have a lot of experience with land rights issues since that was the topic of my doctoral research in the Marshall Islands in 1969-1970; that is, how people held rights in land, how those rights were inherited, and how different colonial powers had affected the system.27

On Misima, one local group was pushing a claim that went like this: “Our grandfather came to this area to work for the gold miners. They invited him to work the land for them. When they had finished, they granted him rights in this land.”

Now, the response to this claim from the old men was this: “Since the time that we were children, we never heard this story as we sat around the fire and our elders told us about the land.” In fact, it was not only a new story; it was not constructed in the same form as a traditional Misiman land claim. A typical claim goes like this:

Our grandmother came from the north side of the island. There was some trouble in the village, and she left. She climbed up the mountain and came down this side. She stopped at one place and slept, at another and drank water, and at another and found something to eat. You can go see those places even today. When she got to this shore, she found that there was no one here. So, she settled on this land. She found a husband from another clan, so they settled here, made gardens, and had children. We are descendants through women from that woman.

26 My thanks to Danny DeLoach for making the connection between that article and this paper. 27 Michael A. Rynkiewich, “Land Rights among Arno Marshallese,” an unpublished doctoral dissertation (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 1972). NAIITS 16 Volume 11 By comparison, the ‘new story’ failed on several counts. First, it began with a man, not a woman. Second, it involved foreign miners not ancestors. Third, the land that was claimed was not empty of people when he arrived. Fourth, the story does not feature a journey of hardship, survival, and discovery. Finally, the story itself does not have a recognized history, a pedigree; it is not an old, much told, and much heard story.

In much of the world, the legal and moral order of society finds its authority in oral stories that are stored up and deployed at appropriate times by recognized elders of the community. When I was doing fieldwork on Arno Atoll, and I would ask about the chiefs, I was always referred to an old man living on an islet in the atoll. When I finally was able to get there, this is what he told me. “When I was young, I did not play with the other children, but I sat with the old men, listening to their stories, learning our history, and committing it to memory.” I came bearing gifts appropriate to his standing in the community, I stayed for a week, and I collected stories on his terms. At first, I would interject a question as he told a story, but I soon found out that he knew what he knew. Better to listen than ask questions. He came to a point in the story where two chiefly lines separated, and he told me one line’s story but said that the other belonged to the people of another atoll and so he was reserving that story for them. I learned the oral history of the chiefs, but I also learned a lot about orality itself from him.

This moral and legal order, embedded in orality, was, in the eyes of the colonizers, exactly what had to be undermined. This oral order and its collapse is well presented in Chinua Achebe’s classic Things Fall Apart. More recently, the colonizer’s need to undermine orality is evident in another Kenyan author, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, in his book Decolonising the Mind.28 Also, Jean and John Comaroff pursue the issue of undermining and replacing the oral worldview in Revelation and Revolution: Christianity, Colonialism and Consciousness in South Africa, Volume 1.29

28 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (Heinemann, 1986). 29 Jean Comaroff and John Comaroff, Of Revelation and Revolution: Christianity, Colonialism and Consciousness in South Africa, Volume 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991). NAIITS 17 Volume 11 This raises issues in mission about who is telling the stories, what protocols for storytelling are being followed, and what moral authority do the stories have? That is, who and what in the community do the stories legitimate? Back to the land issue. In Papua New Guinea, as other colonies, the early missionaries followed the colonizers’ laws concerning land acquisition, not the oral laws of the local community. A missionary, not unlike a trader or plantation owner, would “buy” land, do the proper paperwork, and consider his mission an “owner” when the transaction was complete. There is much evidence that the local people never saw the transaction in the same terms, but depended instead on oral stories rather than a written text.30 In traditional society, land rights could be acquired, that is, rights to live on the land and use it did circulate in the community. Land rights involved a relationship and could be validated only through repetition of a story. One reason that there are so many land disputes in Papua New Guinea today between descendants of the original owners and the churches is that the people no longer feel that the land is “safe in relationship,” but has been alienated, commodified, and removed from circulation within the community. The land no longer has any agency of its own in the human network.

In orality, communication involves a social and moral order concerning who has the right to speak, who has wisdom, and who has authority. If literacy replaces orality, how much and in what ways is community changed?

If we can talk about oral narratives (Ong disliked the term ‘oral literature’), then we need to also recognize that there is such a thing as narrative criticism in orality. Larry Caldwell taught homiletics at a seminary in the Philippines.31 He decided to go visit village churches in order to hear how his students were preaching. He was shocked to find that, though they did well in their Bible study and preaching classes in seminary, they were not using the interpretative framework they had been taught in their preaching. Caldwell says:

30 Michael A. Rynkiewich, editor, Land and Churches in Melanesia: Issues and Contexts, Point Series No. 25 (Goroka, PNG: The Melanesian Institute, 2001). 31 Larry Caldwell, “Towards the New Discipline of Ethnohermeneutics: Questioning the Relevancy of Western Hermeneutical Methods in the Asian Context,” Journal of Asian Mission (1999): 21-43. NAIITS 18 Volume 11 What I heard were sermons full of allegories and folksy illustrations, with a … story-line that seemed to run circles around a loosely constructed main point. … (O)ver time … I began to realize that my students were making sense to their … audience. They were communicating the truths of the Bible in ways that the people … from their own rural culture were understanding. They were communicating the … gospel. And they were doing so, for the most part, using non-western … hermeneutical methods.32

These hermeneutical methods are a part of this group’s orality. The people recognize at least four genres of oral narratives:

Table 1. Cotobato Manobo Genre of Narratives (after Caldwell, 1999).

Genre Peligad Tegudon Telaki Duyuy Meaning Figurative Lessons Simple Stylized speech based on stories with singing to legend moral points express emotion

Likewise, Jay Moon, working with the Builsa people in Ghana, discovered different genre of speech.33

Table 2. Builsa Kinds of Speech (after Moon, 2009).

Genre Pieli Wiani Sobili Meaning “white” or “clear” “obscure” “black” or “dark” Plain language Symbolic Archaic language used with children language used used by elders with adults

These examples encourage us to look for structure in orality, and warn us not to assume that stories can be constructed and presented by outsiders and still get a proper hearing in the

32 Ibid., 26. 33 W. Jay Moon, African Proverbs Reveal Christianity in Culture: A Narrative Portrayal of Builsa Proverbs Contextualizing Christianity in Ghana (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2009). NAIITS 19 Volume 11 community. In the Builsa community, kinds of speech are ranked. “Clear” speech does not carry a lot of weight. This is the way one would talk to children. Adults must pay more attention to “obscure” speech because, by casting it in that form, the speaker is saying something more important. It may not be immediately clear, so the hearers are required to “think about it for a while.” Finally, when adults hear “dark” speech, they must really pay attention. This is really important. Even then, they will likely miss the true meaning, and will therefore need to stay in close relationship with the speaker in order to fathom the depths of what is being said.

I cannot help but think about Jesus here. He began to speak in parables, and his disciples asked him why. He said that it was so that they would understand while in the case of the crowds, “so that looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand” (Luke 8:10 NRSV). This was a kind of “obscure” speech that would require the disciples to stay around and learn from Jesus through relationship.

In orality, communication involves an understanding of the forms of speech as well as styles of interpretation in use. If literacy replaces orality, then the forms of argument and persuasion also change.

Power in the Word I want to explore the issue here of whether or not there is “Power in the Word.” I have already made the claim that the language ideology that emerged from the Protestant Reformation denied any agency to words, or rituals, or practices. The Protestants saw what Catholics did as magic. Magic involves reciting a formula that, when said correctly, will always produce a certain result, no matter who says it. The Protestants insisted, instead, that there was no inherent power in the spoken word, no matter who said it. Power and agency belong to God and whomever God empowers among humans, not to things, and not to words.

However, some recent studies in speech and music suggest that the power of the spoken, or sung, word is perhaps more complex. First, Anne Fernald's Center for Infant Studies at Stanford has

NAIITS 20 Volume 11 recorded parents talking to their babies.34 Now, there is no question here of the rational content of the words being perceived by the babies. What the babies do experience is a sound pattern. In fact, Fernald claims that sound is more about touch. That is, it is not the content of the speech or that is important, but rather the way that the sound waves caress the ear. Not content, but caress. Across a number of languages, it turns out that the lilt or tone of what is said hits the ear in a particular way that causes the baby to respond to things like affirmation (Oh, you are a cute baby, aren’t you?), warning (Oh, don’t touch that!), request for attention (Look, look at this, look, look!), and other baby talk.

In the area of neuroscience, other recent discoveries show that the pattern or rhythm of waves hitting the ear leads to the production of certain chemicals in the brain, chemicals that make us feel comfortable or irritated or any of a number of chemically-induced moods. Of course, music creators know how to make us feel afraid, or happy, or awestruck. They “play on our emotions” by altering the chemical messaging going on in our brains. Once again, it is not “content” but rather “caress” that does much more than “carry the message.”

So, what’s in a name? When Peter and John talk with the man who has been lame from birth, Peter says: “…in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk." (Acts 2:6b) When the crowd gathers, Peter says “And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.” (Acts 2:16) Finally, when the authorities of the temple ask for an explanation, Peter says:

Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is “the stone

34 Anne Fernald “Intonation and Communicative Intent in Mother’s Speech: Is Melody the Message?,” Child Development 60:6 (1989), 1497-1510. NAIITS 21 Volume 11 that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:8b-12)

So, what are we talking about here? Not magic. The Seven Sons of Sceva said the name “Jesus” as a magical formula, and here is what happened.

Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16 NRSV)

So, just saying the name “Jesus” will not ward off vampires. Yet, there is something going on. This is not just an empty metaphor to stand in for an absent Jesus, as Modernists would have it.

Is there not something in between these two extremes: magic and rationality? Is there no room any longer for mystery in orality? Is there no room for the power of the name of Jesus, for power in the ritual of communion, for power in the preached narratives of Scripture?

Orality and Mission In his seminal article on contextualization, Daniel von Allman argued that poets, story-tellers, and song-writers have the priority over theologians, priority both chronologically and in the economy of the Spirit for the needs of the church.35 It is the creativity of the story-teller and the song-writer that resonates with the people called together by God. With the shift to literacy, is there also a shift to Western method of doing theology?

35 Daniel von Allman, “The Birth of Theology: Contextualization is the Dynamic Element in the Formation of New Testament Theology,” International Review of Mission (1975), 64:37-55. NAIITS 22 Volume 11 The story of one of our students at Asbury is instructive. Roy McIntyre was a missionary in the Chittagong Hills area of Bangladesh. His work developed in steps. He was interested in discipling Christians, so his first step, years ago, was to take along an American discipleship program and to translate it for use with the people. That did not work well. Then he heard about Chronological Bible Storying, and he tried that. It worked better, but something was still missing. Then, he took a class from Matthias Zahniser on “Cross-cultural Discipleship” and began to consider contextualizing a local ritual for service in discipling. He chose a little used ritual and reshaped it for discipleship training. It was better, but something was still missing. Finally, in his doctoral work at Asbury, he decided to follow the principles of self-theologizing inherent in Paul Hiebert’s program of developing Hermeneutic Communities.36

McIntyre gathered together some mature Christians who were able to exegete the three local cultures, understand the stories of Scripture, and communicate with the people in a way that they would understand. Observing that it was common practice at a certain time of the year for travelling troupes of speakers, singers, and actors to visit villages on weekends to tell the story of , the Hermeneutic Community decided to emulate that process but tell the story of Christ instead. McIntyre says:

The Hermeneutical Community determined that there were six basic spiritual … needs of their community. There were: the existence of God; God’s almighty … power over Satan, other gods, and the spirit world; Jesus and God being one and … the same; relating Scripture to everyday life; memorizing teachings; and having … an opportunity to express a new commitment made.37

The community took authority for deciding what stories to tell and how to tell them. In effect, they were doing theology because they were deciding how the Biblical stories applied to their time for the purposes of evangelism and discipleship. Singers, actors, and storytellers travelled through the villages telling the story of

36 Roy McIntyre, “Using Ceremonies to Disciple Oral Learners among the Tribal People in Bangladesh,” unpublished Doctor of Missiology dissertation (Wilmore, KY: Asbury Theological Seminary, 2005). 37 Ibid., 247. NAIITS 23 Volume 11 God through traditional oral means. Was it any different in first century Palestine?

Randall Prior has been pursuing similar goals in Vanuatu.38 His group has been running regular workshops to foster the production of local theology. Dialogue and debate have surfaced theological issues of concern to the people: death, spirits, ritual practices and land, among others.

Summary Orality is a significant consideration for Christian mission; however, orality is more complex, more connected with culture and society, and more widespread than is often thought. Orality is not a substitute vehicle for conveying the rational propositions of the church. It is not an alternative way of teaching people doctrine. Simply taking the written text and telling it as a story is like putting new wine in old wineskins.39

First, orality is deeply cultural, as is literacy. Literacy is entangled with modernity, with commitments to progress as salvation, education as liberation, and development as redemption. Orality has its own entanglements. Orality involves a consciousness – a way of understanding the world that is different from the way literacy teaches people to understand themselves in the world. Literacy in a context of modernity has led some Christians to believe that:

• The truth of Scripture is universal in that it does not depend on identity and relationships, • The truth of Scripture is in the written word in that it can be stated in abstract propositions, and • The truth of Scripture is individual in that it can be known independent of community.

Oral learners hear Jesus’ words differently when he says: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” They know that truth is found in relationship with Jesus and the community of Jesus’ followers. Jesus said as much in the gospel according to John: “Abide in me

38 Randall Prior, editor, Gospel and Culture in Vanuatu 3: The Voice of the Local Church (Wattle Park, AU: Gospel Vanuatu Books, 2003). 39 An analogy suggested by Danny DeLoach in personal communication. NAIITS 24 Volume 11 as I abide in you. … Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

Second, orality is social. Orality, as literacy, exists in a language ideology that prejudges authority, leadership, long-term relationships, accountability, and community order. As the old story goes, not everyone can tell a joke and get a laugh. Not everyone is a story teller, and not everyone has the right to tell a story. Listen to Herb Klem, now retired but long time professor of mission at Bethel Seminary, now part of Bethel University (my alma mater). (Note: This account was accessed from the Lausanne paper on Orality.)

One evening I came to a study which was crowded out with visitors. I could tell many of the visitors were Muslim elders from the very community where I was … told so often that people felt too old to become Christians. I did not want all those visitors spoiling the structure of my test group, so I politely asked the visitors to leave these Christian test lessons. The wise old elder had a twinkle in his eye as he … gently and politely suggested that they were having a wonderful time hearing God speak to them, and that perhaps I should be the one to leave. I did not know what … to do. I was thrilled to have a Muslim man in a Bible study, and he was an elder leader, but I did not want to spoil the structure of my test. When I asked him politely to leave a second time, he grinned and challenged me to a true test of ownership of the singing Bible tapes. The one who could sing the least of the tape … from memory would leave, and the one who could sing the most could stay. That was the indigenous method of proving cultural ownership. Because of the tonal intricacies of singing oral art in that language, he knew he had me beat cold — no … contest! The group cheered and proclaimed him the owner of the tape. He boasted that only a wise Yoruba man could compose and sing this kind of poetry; insiders loved it and outsiders could admire from a small distance. The elder had been warmly attracted to the text because it had been identified with his culture, employing art forms that marked it as his cultural property, even though it was played on a tape recorder supplied by a

NAIITS 25 Volume 11 meddling foreigner. He was pleased with the form of the message, but he was also bonding with God’s Word from the book … of Hebrews. He was no longer telling me this was “foreign religion” but was defending his right to hear the Scripture. Best of all, the whole group loved the entire event.40

When the right person tells a story, then that story is embedded in the social and moral order of the community. Changes in attitude and action follow from that story. That is, in orality and all that it is connected to, stories are not just entertaining or interesting, stories change people because they embody the relationship between the story teller and the community. In a literate society, we miss this. The youngest generation is constantly searching for authenticity, transparency and integrity. Does Christian mission have more than a message to deliver?

Finally, if literacy is powerful, and it is; then orality is also powerful, but in another way. There is power in the word, especially power in the spoken story. The incarnational presence of the story-teller, the familiar tones of the story-teller’s performance, the communion between story-teller and story- hearers all contribute to a mysterious participation in the story; all the more so when the ultimate story-teller is God.

What effect might this have on the place of language in mission? As I have noted, people are beginning to develop strategies for translation, evangelism, and discipleship through oral methods. However, it is clear that repackaging a literate message in oral clothes will not work. In some ways, to paraphrase Mcluhan, orality is the message.

Danny Loach reports that SIL/Wycliffe is experimenting with an oral process of translating Scripture, processes that involve the community in shaping the story in the style and methodology already existing in the community’s language ideology.41

40 Herbert Klem, “Dependence on Literacy Strategy: Taking a Hard Second Look,” International Journal of Frontier Missions (1995) 12:2:63-64. 41 Personal communication, May 2013. NAIITS 26 Volume 11 Veteran missionary John D. Wilson reports the effect of orality on changing his translation techniques:

During the translation process, I had come to understand more and more the … importance of orality, oral skills and oral media. Because of this, before pressing on … to publication of the New Testament, along with my translation team of native … speakers, we reworked the translated text with listeners as well as readers in mind. … This meant that we paid greater attention to the kinds of things which would make … the translation more appropriate, acceptable, and accessible for a person within an … oral culture, in other words, easier to listen to. Oral listeners need topic markers and … “redundancies” not essential to literate readers. These include carefully reducing … length; retaining what is sometimes regarded as redundant by literates, … such as and repetition; giving attention to conjunctions and tail-head … linkages; as well as other aspects of oral style, genres and oral media.42

Finally, some people have argued that there is a return to orality in the youngest generations on many continents, with their technological savvy and their fascination with social networking (Facebook, twitter, etc.). It may be that reaching these people with the gospel will resemble what it takes to reach people with a primary oral consciousness with the gospel. That is, proclaiming the gospel and discipling Christians with hospitality, dialogue, narrative, relationships, community, and participation in mission.

42 John D. Wilson, “Reflections on Scripture in an Oral Culture: Orality, Literacy, and Translation among the Yali (1971-2011),” Occasional Bulletin of the Evangelical Mission Society, (2012) 25:3:1-6; p. 3. NAIITS 27 Volume 11

NAIITS 28 Volume 11 RHETORIC, DISCOURSE and the SURPLUS of MEANING: Innovations in First Nations Bible Translation

CATHERINE ALDRED

Introduction: The History of Cree Bible Translation in Canada The history of Bible translation into the Plains Cree language is a complicated one. Although Bible translations into First Nations’ languages were produced as early as the late 17th century, the first translations in Plains Cree were not produced until two centuries later.1 William Mason's work comprises several editions of the Gospel of St. John made between 1851 and 1857, the complete New Testament in 1859, and the whole Bible in 1861-62. Mason served as Wesleyan Methodist missionary to the Cree Indians at the Rossville Mission2 in Rupert's Land (Manitoba) from 1846 to 1854. In 1858, he went to England where he translated the Bible into .3

Motivated by the continued use of his translation in Cree communities across Canada,4 the Canadian Bible Society issued a reprint and revision of the Mason translation in 2000. Mason’s legacy continues today as translators consult this revised translation in the production of a contemporary Cree Bible which is currently being published in individual book segments.

Although there has been a noticeable push5 in recent years to produce contemporary literature to ensure the Cree Language remains intact for future generations, Cree Bible translations remain some of the best known and used printed resources in the Cree language.6 Despite the sustained use of Cree Bible translations, my experiences in the world of First Nations Bible

1 F.W. Hodge, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico (Washington, D.C.: Washington Government, 1907). 2 Now known as Norway House. 3 Bruce Peel, “Frustrations of the Missionary-Printer of Rossville: Reverend William Mason,” Bulletin of the United Church of Canada 18 (1965): 20-25. 4 Particularly those speaking the Plains Cree dialect—which is most prevalent in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. 5 As a generation of fluent and/or monolingual Cree speakers begin to pass on. 6 Ruth Heeg, Canadian Bible Society Translator, Personal Interview by Catherine Aldred, 5 January 2012. NAIITS 29 Volume 11 translation and Cree language learning have led me to conclude that there is an unfortunate lack of formal study of the existing and ‘in-production’ Cree Bible translations.

Cree is a language that functioned in a primarily oral context until quite recently. The introduction of syllabic writing came only in the mid-1800s.7 Although syllabic literacy spread quickly, it was used primarily for informal, non-literary uses.8 For this and other reasons,9 academic review and analysis of Cree literature has surfaced only in the past few decades. Yet, to my knowledge, there has been no published analysis or review of any Cree Bible translation in Canada. This is unfortunate, given the ways Cree language has been influenced by Christian ideas through the production of the earliest Bible translations.10

Considering the influence which Mason’s translation continues to exercise in Cree and Bible translation communities, this paper imagines a trajectory of future Bible translations into First Nations languages starting from an extensive analysis of past translations into Plains Cree (‘Y’ dialect), their production as well as their reception. An in-depth analysis of the history of William Mason’s Cree translation into the ‘Y’ dialect will support and inform my own work in the world of Cree Bible translation which was outlined in my previous NAIITS’ article: “Let me Tell

7 Patricia Demers, et al, The Beginning of Print Culture in Athabasca Country: A Facsimile Edition & Translation of a Prayer Book in Cree Syllabics by Father Emile Grouard (Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press, 2010), xi. 8 John W. Berry and J. A. Bennett, Cree Syllabic Literacy: Cultural Context and Psychological Consequences (Tilburg, Netherlands: Tilburg University Press, 1991). 9 We might refer to the negative treatment that speakers of First Nations languages received under the Residential Schools system (officially instituted by the Canadian government as early as 1871) as evidence of the prevalent belief that First Nations people should inevitably adopt English as their primary language. Through much of the twentieth century, misguided monolingual policies contributed to the diminished use, serious endangerment and even complete loss of many Indigenous languages; see Demers, The Beginning of Print Culture, xii-xvi. 10 Earle H. Waugh, "Religious Issues in the Alberta Elders' Cree Dictionary," Numen 48.4 (2001): 468-90; 470.

NAIITS 30 Volume 11 you a Story: Rejuvenating the Biblical Narrative through First Nations’ Language Translations.”11

This line of inquiry is especially informed by the work of Elisabeth Fiorenza and Paul Ricoeur.

Rhetoric, Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning: A Starting Point Both Fiorenza and Ricoeur understand the role of interpreter/ translator as one encompassing more than a simple interaction between translator and text. The translator must negotiate her own rhetorical purposes while being aware of the history of interpretations that precedes her. The way in which the translator uses language devices to bridge the gap between the actual and inscribed universes of the text and her own situation to express meaning is a further challenge and opens the text up to a “surplus of meaning.”12

Fiorenza’s Rhetorical Criticism Fiorenza, in her work on Rhetorical Criticism, is very much concerned with what happens in the process of bringing “historical and symbolic worlds” into the linguistic realm of the text to express meaning. According to Fiorenza, this context opens the Biblical texts up to a plurality of interpretations, which are informed by the situations of original author and the contemporary interpreter, who, in turn is also influenced by the history of the interpretations and situations that precede him.

Fiorenza contends that rhetorical analysis and especially the concept of “rhetorical situation” can integrate diverse methods such as literary, historical, hermeneutical and social world

11 Catherine Aldred, “Let Me Tell You a Story: Rejuvenating Biblical Narrative through Indigenous Language Translations,” in Journal of NAIITS, vol. 9 (2011), 22-43. 12 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, "The Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: Decentering Biblical Scholarship," in Journal of Biblical Literature 107.1 (1988): 3-17; Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Rhetoric and Ethic: The Politics of Biblical Studies (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999); Paul Ricoeur, On Translation (New York: Routledge, 2006); Paul Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (Texas: Texas Christian University Press, 1976); Lloyd F. Bitzer, “The Rhetorical Situation,” in Philosophy and Rhetoric. 1.1. (1968): 1-14. NAIITS 31 Volume 11 studies to open up new avenues of investigation.13 To show what this kind of investigation might look like she has developed a model of critical rhetorical analysis. This model illustrates the complex communicative reality of historical and contemporary interactions with the Biblical texts for the contemporary interpreter/translator.14

Fiorenza’s method of interpretation investigates rhetorical- literary relations in which the ‘world’ or ‘reality’ has a key place. Fiorenza’s attention to the actual world in which communication happens is especially valuable in describing the particularly intense transfer of information between two languages within one social world. Adapting Lloyd Bitzer’s seminal concept with greater emphasis on situating rhetorical performance in concrete worlds, she calls this the “rhetorical situation.”15 By insisting that interpretation takes place within actual material social worlds, Fiorenza politicizes the Bible and its interpretations and highlights for the contemporary interpreter/ translator his place in the complex sphere of interpretation. In addition to this, her approach to the Biblical tradition supports the notion of a “surplus of meaning” available in the texts.

Ricoeur on Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning This concept of “surplus of meaning” plays a key role in Paul Ricoeur’s philosophy of translation. Ricoeur’s philosophy begins with the suggestion that the act of translation should be impossible. Even communication between two individuals sharing the same language is theoretically impossible because “what is experienced by one person cannot be transferred whole

13 Fiorenza, Rhetoric and Ethic, 106. 14 Although Fiorenza’s work may be directed primarily to Biblical Interpreters in the realm of Biblical Studies, this thesis adopts her methods under the claim that the title of ‘Interpreter’ can be justifiably used interchangeably with ‘Translator’. This claim is supported in the work and philosophy of Paul Ricouer, who uses the titles of Interpreter and Translator interchangeably in his work on translation and Biblical hermeneutics. See also Pol Vandevelde, The Task of the Interpreter: Text, Meaning, and Negotiation (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005); Joel B. Green and Max Turner, Between Two Horizons: Spanning New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000). 15 Bitzer, “The Rhetorical Situation,” 108. NAIITS 32 Volume 11 as such and such experience to someone else. My experience cannot directly become your experience.”16 Yet, for the linguist, the translator and the communicator; discourse and translation is a fact, even a most obvious fact. Something passes between translator and receptor. This something is not the experience as experienced, but its meaning.17 Ricoeur does not suggest that this meaning is an absolute one written somewhere on top of and between the original text and the target text. If this were the case, a “good translation” could only attempt a supposed equivalence, “not founded on demonstrable identity of meaning.”18

Rather than presuppose a prior existing meaning that the translation is supposed to render and to which it seeks to be equivalent, Ricoeur proposes that this equivalence might be produced through translation. He suggests that the translator himself constructs the bridge between languages through the use of comparables.19 In this process “ordinary words that have not had a philosophical destiny and which, owing to the effect of translation, are removed from contexts of use and promoted to the rank of equivalents. ...”20

In certain contexts these equivalents are elevated and given a meaning and identity to the extent that they become institutionalized. An example of this process can be observed in early translation of the Bible into Cree. The accepted and frequently used word for ‘God’ in Bible translations and Christian literature is kisê-manito. Contemporary Cree dictionaries describe its meaning as “Creator” or “God.”21 However, linguists interested in the history of Cree religious language “question whether manito always played this foundational role, or [whether] it has been raised to its position

16 Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory, 15. 17 Ibid., 16. 18 Ricoeur, On Translation, 34. 19 Ricoeur uses the words ‘comparable’ and ‘equivalent’ interchangeably to describe the word(s) chosen by translators to bridge the gap between word/ concepts in different languages. Ricoeur, On Translation, 36-7. 20 Ibid. 21 Arok Wolvengrey, Cree: Words Nêhiyawêwin: itwêwina (Saskatchewan: CPRC Press, 2001); Nancy, LeClaire, George Cardinal and Earl Waugh, Alberta Elders' Cree Dictionary/ alpêrta ohci kêhtêhayak nêhiyaw otwestamakêwasinahikan (Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 2002). NAIITS 33 Volume 11 because of the influence of Christian ideas of God upon the original cultural worldview.”22 A further analysis of past translations of the Bible into Cree will certainly reveal more of the effect translation has had on the Cree language.

The former example involved discussing translation at a word level. It is important to note that Ricoeur understands it is texts—not sentences, not words—that our own texts try to translate.23 In the process of translation, the event (or the text) itself is both suppressed and surpassed in the creation of meaning. A translation therefore, is not the original text itself, but a reflection of the translator entering into dialogue with the text to express its meaning.24 This dialogue between translator and text is what opens the text up to its surplus of meaning. It begins with the translator’s interpretations of the spirit of the culture—of both the text and his own context—then comes down from the text as a whole, to the sentence and to the word.25

Though Ricoeur acknowledges that there is more than one way of translating a text, he also holds that the text presents a limited field of possible constructions. “The logic of validation allows us to move between the two limits of dogmatism and skepticism. It is always possible to argue for or against an interpretation, to confront interpretations, to arbitrate between them and to seek agreement, even if this agreement remains beyond our immediate reach.”26 The translator is held accountable to the community, which legitimates the translation and this limits the amount of constructions available to her.

The usefulness of the proposed historical analysis to the audience and to the prospective translator of First Nations languages becomes apparent when we become aware of the complexity of the translation process and consequently the multitude of decisions which were/are made by a translator/translation team. To be able to examine, and thus learn from the situations and interests of past translators will help us envision the direction of future translations.

22 Waugh, "Religious Issues in the Alberta Elder's Cree Dictionaries,” 476. 23 Ricouer, Interpretation Theory, 31. 24 Ibid., 12. 25 Ibid., 31. 26 Ibid., 79. NAIITS 34 Volume 11

However, an analysis of a translation does not end with the translators or their translation product. Although one translates with a specific experience or product in mind, it does not necessarily follow that the translation will be received according to this ideal. Consideration must also be given to a translation’s reception in the community, which received or will receive it.

Inspired by Fiorenza and Ricoeur, this analysis employs a method which begins with an understanding that each new translation will be a product of a complex interaction between both current and past rhetorical situations. Because this paper is also interested in how language and style is used in translation to reach these goals, the analysis will include consideration of how linguistic choices reflect the translator/translation situation.

Analysis Introduction The following analysis is not an attempt to debunk previous translations. Rather, it will provide critique and comment on the process and product of each, with the express interest of learning through comparison. Thus the analysis of multiple existing translations is intended to serve as a resource in the development of the new translation method. For instance, highlighting translation elements that may have been dictated by the rhetorical situations of the past will encourage an awareness and honesty of the present situation, which will in turn dictate much of the translation and theory produced in this project. This allows us to situate ourselves on the trajectory of translation theory and production acknowledging that as time flows the world undergoes constant change. So too must our approach to translation.

Establishing the Text The passage focused on in this analysis is Mark 1:1-8. To view the Mason text in the original syllabics, see Appendix I.27 Given that the Mason text was available only as an electronic copy of the original text from 1862, one can see that its condition made it

27 P.57. The text is taken from William Mason, The New Testament in the Cree Language (The British and Foreign Bible Society: W.M. Watts, Publisher, 1859); available from http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/35717327.html NAIITS 35 Volume 11 difficult in some cases to ensure an accurate to-the-letter transcription. For the most part, these obstacles were overcome with the cross-referencing of 19th century Cree translations in other .28 Any unknowns will be identified in the analysis, and possible solutions will be suggested.

What follows is a transcription of the syllabics into Roman orthography to aid the reader in negotiating the text. This is included in Table 1 alongside the revised translation of the Mason text from 200029 and the most recent contemporary translation published in 2011.30 I have also included an approximate English translation of my own of the passages. In the interest of interacting with the text on multiple levels our analysis will move from the broad to the specific.

Analysis Method The analysis will begin with a situational analysis of each of the translations. This will involve investigating the historical/ rhetorical situation in which each translation was produced, including a look at the translators involved in producing the translation, the dynamics surrounding the project, and the product’s initial and continuing reception in the Cree community.

This situational analysis will provide a framework for more detailed work on the texts themselves. The second part of the analysis will be textual, comparing the three translations in regards to overall language use and style. It will also begin to suggest how differences may reflect the translator(s) and their rhetorical situation.

My reasons for choosing this specific passage include an interest in discovering how the translators and editors have chosen to depict religious terminology with connotations specific to Judeo- Christian literature over time. This passage, which contains words like ‘gospel’, ‘Jesus Christ’, ‘sin’, ‘angel’, ‘baptism’, ‘Holy

28 John Horden, The New Testament, Translated into the Cree Language (London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1890). 29 Canadian Bible Society, Cree: Western Plains New Testament, Reprint (Quebec: Canadian Bible Society, 2000). 30 Canadian Bible Society, Cree Western Plains Gospel of Mark (Quebec: Canadian Bible Society, 2011). NAIITS 36 Volume 11 Spirit’, ‘repentance’ and ‘God’ has the potential of being quite fruitful in this respect. Therefore the textual analysis will also look at each of these words, which are grouped according to what can be observed about the kind of decisions made in their translation into the Cree language.

Situational Analysis Mason’s Translation (19th century) Our investigation of the original Mason text begins in the 19th century, with the expansion of the British Methodist mission into the Hudson Bay area. In 1840, the first of the Methodist missionaries arrived in what is today Western Canada. The territory was then known as Rupert’s Land and was by Royal Charter the essential possession of the Hudson’s Bay Company [HBC].31 The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, and the Methodists of Upper Canada were all interested in expanding their missionary activities. When the governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, George Simpson, decided to open the territory to the missionaries, he requested clergy be sent from England. He came to an agreement with the secretary of the British Wesleyan Missionary Society, Dr. Robert Alder, to establish a Methodist mission in the Rupertsland area.32

The Methodists may have been eager to forestall the advance of the Oblate mission into that area. Bitter denominational rivalries were widespread during this time not only between Catholic and Protestant missions, but between those missions with British ties, and those with Canadian ties.33 Thus the goal of asserting a specific denominational theology may have engendered urgency for these early missionaries to begin establishing missions and asserting their theology and doctrines though the production of Bible translations.

31 John Badertscher, "As Others Saw Us," in Dennis Butcher, et. al., eds., Prairie Spirit: Perspectives on the Heritage of the United Church of Canada in the West (, Manitoba: University of Manitoba, 1985): 44-64, 44. 32 Gerald Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company, 1840- 1854," in Dennis Butcher, et. al., eds., Prairie Spirit: Perspectives on the Heritage of the United Church of Canada in the West (Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba Press, 1985, 28-43), 29. 33 Bartdertscher, "As Others Saw Us," 49; John S. Long, “John Horden, First Bishop of Moosonee: Diplomat and Man of Compromise,” in Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society 27.2 (1985): 86-97; 86. NAIITS 37 Volume 11 Three young men were quickly chosen by the Society for missionary assignments in the Rupertsland area: George Barnley, William Mason and Robert Rundle. They were ordained in London in March 1840. They preached at a special service in Liverpool on March 15th and the following day they embarked for Montreal via New York.34 Henry Steinhauer, an Ojibiwa teacher from Upper Canada, also joined the Mission. Steinhauer and Mason were initially posted at Rainy Lake (Ontario) among the Ojibwa there, but after a frustrating year they relocated to Norway House to work with the Superintendent of the British Methodist Mission, Reverend James Evans.35

In April 1840, Evans was assigned by the Society to the mission party as Superintendent.36 Some believe that Evans was chosen for this position in part because of ties and allegiance to Britain. There was division forming at this time between a group of Methodists with British ties on one side, and a group of Methodists with American ties on the other. James Evan’s brother and close friend, Ephraim, was a leader on the pro- British side and it has been suggested that George Simpson would have been impressed to learn this.37

One of Evans’s first priorities was to translate the Bible into Cree. John Sinclair, a local leader educated in English and Cree, and Henry Bird Steinhauer, who had received a classical education,38 proved to be invaluable assistants in this endeavor. With help from them and others, Evans developed a syllabic alphabet for Cree within months of his arrival in Norway House.39 They then began translating the Bible into Cree.

As translation efforts continued, William Mason gradually became skilled in the use of the syllabic system as well as in the expanding program of printing and began assisting with Evans’s work. The publication process was slow and tedious. It involved

34 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 3. 35 Badertscher, "As Others Saw Us," 44-5. 36 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 30. 37 Bardertscher, "As Others Saw Us," 55. 38 Steinhauer is said to have studied at Cazenovia Seminary in New York and Upper Canada Academy in Ontario. See also Isaac Kholisile Mabindisa, The Praying Man: the Life and Times of Henry Bird Steinhauer (Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta, 1984), 26-30. 39 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 31. NAIITS 38 Volume 11 setting each letter in the text, before it could be printed. Type was prepared and shipped from England, but the press required to print the first books was delayed for five years.40

As time progressed there was evidence of a growing concern and hostility from HBC officials, especially towards Evans. Among other grievances, there were reports that Evans had begun to challenge their monopoly in supplying goods by dealing with free traders.41 In her research on early missionaries in the Hudson Bay area, Vera Fast gives some insight into Evans’s personality and attitude toward First Nations people:

Even before his arrival in Norway House, he commented to his supervisor “. . . the day is not far distant when oppression shall cease, and our Indian brethren rise up to stand among us as men.” Although Evans, like other missionaries, described unconverted natives as ‘heathen’, ‘pagans’, ‘benighted soul’, this idiom in no way subtracts from his genuine concern and caring for similar epithets were applied to unconverted whites, and indeed, to practicing Roman Catholics. It does moreover, forcibly demonstrate that missionaries were products of their culture, their time and their place, as well as of their particular belief systems.42

Tension between the company and the mission eventually led to Evans’s recall to England in June 1846. The circumstances of the recall were greatly worsened by charges of sexual misconduct made against Evans for which he was tried and acquitted by William Mason in January 1846.43

After the trial Mason was considered by some as the Judas in the tragedy of Evans’s recall.44 Correspondence from his early years with the Methodist mission reveal Mason as “a singularly unattractive personality—not only pompous but immature,

40 Ibid., 31. 41 Ibid., 34. 42 Vera Fast, "Holy Men of Different Orders: James Evans and William Mason." Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society 33.1 (1991): 95-106, 100. 43 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 33; Fast, "Holy Men of Different Orders,” 97. 44 Fast, "Holy Men of Different Orders,” 99. NAIITS 39 Volume 11 arrogant, weak, complaining and legalistic to the point of absurdity.”45

Mabindisa’s research on early Wesleyan missions in Upper Canada—through personal reports and letters—illustrates Mason’s view of the First Nations people he came to serve. According to Mabindisa, Mason did not understand the non- Christianized Indians, at all. In 1841, he remarked to the sectaries [sic] of the Missionary Society that “the minds of the Indians [of Lac la Pluie] continue to be filled with prejudice against Christianity, & so addicted to the customs, traditions & fabulous notions of their Fathers’ that the only hope for success for missionary work lay in educating and civilizing the rising generation.”46

Though Mason’s take on the First Nations people at Lac la Pluie may seem harsh to the modern reader, Mason was not necessarily out of line with many British North American evangelists of that time. According to Mabindisa, the 18th and 19th century British or North American evangelist equated Christianity with the Anglo Saxon way of life. “Native religious beliefs were regarded as particularly repulsive by missionaries…. [T]hey mistakenly concluded that Indians did not even have a belief in a Supreme Being…. Native religious practices had to be eliminated as they exhibited native ignorance and unpardonable idolatry.”47

Operating under this worldview, Mason continued to serve the Methodist mission for eight years acting as superintendent over the Rossville Mission Press. With the assistance of Steinhauer, Sinclair, and Mason’s Cree speaking wife, Sophia; they pressed on with translating, editing and printing Scriptures.48 In 1858, the Masons moved to England where they oversaw printing of the New and Old Testaments in Cree Syllabics.49

45 Ibid. 46 Mabindisa, The Praying Man, 27. 47 Ibid., 26-30. 48 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 36. 49 Bruce Peel, "Thomas, Sophia (Mason)," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (University of Toronto, 2000), accessed 07 November 2012; http://www.biographi.ca NAIITS 40 Volume 11 Though the Cree syllabic Bible published in 1862 was credited only to William Mason, even the basest of research reveals that it was James Evans who began the translation project. Furthermore, though Evans and Mason both attested to the usefulness of Henry Steinhauer’s classical education in the tasks of translating at Rossville through the years, it was only in 1886—24 years after the Bible was first published—that Mason made formal reference to Steinhauer’s significant contribution.

Henry Bird Steinhauer (believed to have been called Shawahnekezhik in his childhood) was a man of Ojibwa descent. As a child, Steinhauer was raised according to his people’s customs. He was in his early teens when he and his parents first heard the Christian message, and converted to Christianity.50 He was introduced to the Christian religion and schooling in 1828 at Grape Island school in Ontario. Reverend William Case took Steinhauer under his wing at the school. In November 1832, Case was responsible for the enrolment of Steinhauer at the Cazenovia Seminary for a year. From 1836-1838 Steinhauer was enrolled in the Upper Canada Academy where he continued his studies in the classical languages.51 He then worked as a Methodist missionary alongside Mason first at Lac la Pluie and again at Rossville.

Along with Steinhauer, John Sinclair (interpreter at the Rossville Station) and Mason’s wife Sophia are also mentioned52 as significant contributors to the Cree translation. According to Mason, he and his wife were primarily responsible for the final revisions and printing of the translated Biblical texts. As was mentioned above, these printed syllabic texts were credited only to William Mason, and this set off complaints from his Native co- workers, Sinclair and Steinhauer.53

This raises the question as to why they were deprived of credit for their work. Mabindisa suggests that it was a deliberate act of omission to deny the recognition of the labours of Native missionaries in this translation venture: “Not only were [Mason’s] reports to the Secretaries about the translation work

50 Mabindisa, The Praying Man, 74. 51 Ibid., 100-107. 52 Hutchinson, "British Methodists and the Hudson's Bay Company,” 38. 53 Peel, "Thomas, Sophia (Mason)." NAIITS 41 Volume 11 deliberately ambiguous, they were designed to mislead the Secretaries and all those in Britain … into believing that most of the translation work was done by him.”54

It is characteristic of the low estimation in which some White clergymen held their Native counterparts that they would suggest Steinhauer and Sinclair did not have the appropriate educational background to enable them to undertake such a tremendous task. “Possibly, at the time Messrs. Steinhauer and Sinclair may have helped them, as they were associated with Mr. Mason in the mission, but it could not have been to any great extent, as they were not educated men ….”55

This short biography of Steinhauer’s life, shows that he not only received a traditional education in Ojibwa language and traditions, but also a formal education in theology and classical languages from a young age. On the other hand, it is not clear how much formal education Mason received before he was ordained and began missionary work in 1840. The severe lack of ordinands during that time reportedly led to the ordination of candidates with little or no training. Though it is likely that Mason had a university degree prior to leaving England, it is not certain how much theological study this would have entailed.56

All of this complicates our analysis as we must now view the Mason translation not as the primary work of one man, but as the combined work of a team of translators, each having their own theologies and linguistic capabilities.

This analysis has revealed a situation in which dedicated missionaries and translators did not often acknowledge the validity of First Nations traditions and spirituality, and often had a vested interest in understating the intellectual capability of First Nations individuals, such as Steinhauer, to interpret and translate the scriptures. With this in mind, we must also consider how Mason’s translation was and is received by the Cree community. The fact that there was such a high demand for

54 Mabindisa, The Praying Man, 246. 55 James Constantine Pilling, Bibliography of (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891), 338. 56 Frank A. Peake, "Social Background of Clergy in the ," in Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society 48.2 (2006): 190-212, 191. NAIITS 42 Volume 11 the Canadian Bible Society to issue a reprint of the Mason translation in 2000 attests, at the very least, to a partial adoption of the text by Cree communities in the present.

That being said, there is a distinct silence or ambiguity in early church records detailing how the Christians—specifically the Methodists—were perceived by First Nations people.57 Given that the majority of the Cree were not given to keeping written records or histories, church and government records serve as the primary means of information concerning this time period. There is a distinct possibility that the answers to the inquiries we have made thus far have been one-sided. However, a lack of response from the Cree community could have as much to say about their opinions of the newcomers as any written record.58 According to Badertsher, a common response to early missionaries was that of “passive rejection,” manifesting itself as a polite but silent watching and listening. Fortunately for the morale of the missionaries, they were able to interpret this response as acceptance.59 However, for the Cree listener, making no response was a fairly clear expression of at least temporary rejection. As Badertscher points out, “it must have seemed to the Amerindians that the missionaries were expecting and even inviting such rejection when they did not sit silently and wait at the end of their presentations.”60

Mason himself recorded an incident among the Ojibwa from Lac la Pluie:

After a reading and expounding of the Scriptures and Prayer, its chief said it was no wonder we knew everything and they nothing, for we had nothing to do but to look and read the book. Yet he manifested no desire to learn nor did he at all wish to become acquainted with the principles of Christianity.29

57 Badertscher, "As Others Saw Us," 45. 58 Ibid., 60. 59 Ibid. Bardertsher might be putting it a bit strongly to suggest that this ‘polite listening’ should be interpreted as ‘rejection’. Though this might very well have been the case in this specific situation, one could also interpret this as wary observation. By neglecting to give a response to the presentation the audience isolates the presenter until the community is able to decide whether the foreigner and/or his ideas should be accepted. 60 Badertscher, "As Others Saw Us," 60. NAIITS 43 Volume 11 The irony of the chief’s response is lost on Mason. An Ojibwa elder, knowing that religious knowledge comes through personal experience, “would have been amused by the bookishness of the youthful missionary.”61 Outright resistance, as we can see from the above example, is not the characteristic First Nations way. Much more typical is a desire to learn, to borrow and to adapt from whatever sources are available.62 This would explain the continued use of Mason’s 19th century translation in 21st century Cree communities. Mason’s translation continues to be valued as a part of their people’s history and as an extensive written resource in the Cree language.

Reprint of Mason Translation (2000) The lasting use of Mason’s63 original translation motivated a reprint of the original 19th century text which was published in 2000. Rev. Stan Cuthand and Rev. Bob Bryce of the Canadian Bible Society were involved in the development of this version. Ruth Heeg describes the situation, which called for a reprint:

The people who were asking for a reprint see this old version as their own King James Version. Even though we’re in the process of publishing a version with modern, easier to understand language, people may not be willing to accept it because they’ve had this Older version for so long.64

Heeg most likely referenced the KJV because it is synonymous with what many would consider to be outdated language. Many younger readers or readers new to the Cree Language may not recognize certain words or concepts because, as our textual analysis will show, their original meanings may have been lost or changed. Heeg also mentioned that there is a strong connection to this Cree version because it has such a long history in the community and is a remnant of a language which has changed rapidly over the last century. Sadly, there is little published material documenting the reprint’s production. Heeg briefly made reference to the tedious process of transferring the

61 Ibid., 61. 62 Ibid. 63 We shall continue referring to the 19th century translation as Mason’s despite having concluded that several translators contributed to its production. This is simply to distinguish it from the other translations being examined. 64 Ruth Heeg, Personal Interview, 5 Jan. 2012. NAIITS 44 Volume 11 original text from hard copy to electronic file, also noting that the reprint involved transcribing the syllabic texts into Roman orthography. As First Nations people were increasingly educated in English, the use of the original syllabic script diminished.

The translation also underwent significant revisions prior to the reprint. It is particularly with these areas of revision that our textual analysis will concern itself.

Contemporary Translation (2012) Despite the revision and reprint of the Mason text, the Canadian Bible Society, in partnership with several Plains Cree speakers and the Summer Institute of Linguistics, began work on a new Cree Bible in 1985. One of the main motivations for this was the growing opinion that the Cree language had changed to the point where the existing translations were outdated and no longer easily accessible to the younger Cree generation.65

Rev. Stan Cuthand, a Cree elder, Anglican priest, and a recognized expert in his language, was hired to begin work on the project. He was the first person to teach Plains Cree at the university level. He also taught Cree culture and history at the University of Regina and the University of Calgary.66

Beginning in 1985, Cuthand (then 67 years of age) worked closely with several Plains Cree individuals including long-time friend Margaret Ducharme (63), her younger sister Hazel Wuttunee(60), Ethel Ahenakew(43) and translation coordinator Rev. Robert Bryce (49). Progress on this new translation was and still is slow, due in part to the lack of adequate resources to complete the quality assurance process. This process involves a review and revision of the translations done by Cuthand first by a small committee (initially Ducharme, Wuttunee, and Ahenakew) and then by the wider Cree community including

65 Hart Wiens, New Cree Translation Launched in Saskatoon (Canadian Bible Society); accessed 12 December 2012; http://www.biblesociety.ca/media_ room/press_releases/ 66 Among his many other accomplishments, Cuthand helped write the constitution for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians. Sue Careless, Native Elder Translating the Bible into Cree, in Anglican Journal (2001); accessed 02 January 2012, www.anglicanjournal.com NAIITS 45 Volume 11 both church attenders and non-attenders.67 Individual books are then being published as they are ready to be introduced to the community, in di-script format (syllabics and Roman orthography) with an Audio CD.

The process has been further complicated by the fact that the project was started nearly 19 years prior to the first published book in 2004. The original committee has aged considerably since then and not all of the committee members are able to continue with the revisions. Cuthand, now 95 years old, is still involved with the translation in a limited capacity. Ahenakew also remains on the revision committee, and is joined by her niece Dolores Sand and by Gayle Weenie.68 As the Cree language continues to change at a rapid pace, the translation team struggles to complete the translation in a timely manner while still following the quality assurance process.

That being said, there has been positive response to the translation. Diane Boyko, chair of the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Board, welcomed the translation “as a valuable asset for teachers in the bilingual schools where students from kindergarten to grade 3 are taught Cree as well as English.”69

Parts of the Native Christian community are also responding positively to the translations as being produced by Cree people exclusively in the interests of Cree people. Edith von Guten, facilitator (2010) of Native Ministry for the Mennonite Church of Canada attests to this:

As we all know, language is not only the heart of a people, but it is the vehicle that embodies the cultural understandings of a people…. We have often wondered if things would be different today if more people had been able to read the Scriptures in their own language all these years. We have seen people’s eyes show much feeling as they finally understood what the Scripture passage was saying, as

67 Ibid. 68 Kiply Lukan Yaworski, "New Translaiton of Gospel of Mark published in Plains Cree," News Archive: Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, (2010): 1-4. 69 Wiens, New Cree Translation Launched. NAIITS 46 Volume 11 they heard it in their own language, and with their own background and cultural understandings.70

However, the translation has yet to undergo the rigors of a critique from academics and Cree linguists. Nor is it clear whether the translation will be adopted into regular use in the wider Cree community. Time will tell if the translation is able to stand its ground next to the time-honored Mason text.

Textual Analysis Moving on from our situational analysis we now turn to a comparison of the three translations on the level of language use and style. This comparison yielded some noteworthy observations. It would require an individual fluent in Plains Cree (both written and spoken) to pinpoint the more involved linguistic insights. Nevertheless, there are elements of the text that can be observed even on a basic grammatical level. They include changes in the rendering of proper names and supernatural beings, as well as changes in vocabulary specific to Judeo-Christian literature.

Table 1: Cree ‰‰‰ English [see following pages]

70 Karin Fehderau, New Cree Translation Celebrated, Canadian Mennonite, 2010; accessed 16 October 2012, www.canadianmennonite.org NAIITS 47 Volume 11

NAIITS 48 Volume 11 NAIITS 49 Volume 11

The Treatment of Names and Supernatural Beings: Jesus, Isaiah, John, Jerusalem, Jordan, Messenger, Christ, God Of particular interest in this passage, is the treatment of proper names and concepts related to supernatural beings. The passage begins in v.1 with a reference to Jesus Christ. Mason’s translation simply transliterated both names from the English to Cree. Thus the Cree reads: ‘cisas karist’ (chee-sus ka- reest). Mason chose to transliterate the English name ‘Jesus’, rather than the Greek ‘iésous’ or the Aramaic ‘yeshua’. He made a choice not to convey the meaning of the name ‘Jesus’ in Hebrew: ‘God saves’ or ‘saviour’.71

Similar to this, ‘John’,72 ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Jordan’ are transliterated as ‘can’ (chan), ‘cêrôsalamahk’ (che-ro-salam- ahk), and ‘catani’ (cha-ta-ni) in the Mason translation. In the revised and contemporary translations, the English form of the names is used (i.e. ‘John’, ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Jordan’, etc.). This was done instead of referring to possible Greek or Hebrew origins and without conveying the possible deeper meanings behind the names.

71 Admittedly this is not usually done in the Greek source texts either. However, as will be discussed below, translations of name meanings could add significantly to translations being used in a Cree context. 72 The English name John is the transliteration of the Greek name Ioannes, and the Greek name Ioannes is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Johanan, meaning ‘Yahweh is Gracious’. NAIITS 50 Volume 11 The word ‘Christ’ in the Mason Translation is also transliterated as ‘karist’. The transliteration of this word does not refer to its Greek origins from the word ‘christos’ meaning ‘anointed one’. The other two translations abandoned the transliteration approach in favor of the English spelling ‘Jesus Christ’. On an interesting note, another Cree translation from the same century chose a different route. Rev. John Horden translated the Bible into the Moose Cree dialect from 1855-1876. In his translation, Horden substitutes ‘Christ’ with ‘X’. In both of these instances, translators may have made these decisions rather than risk a misunderstanding of the ‘Christ’ figure by constructing a comparable meaning in the Cree language.73 This also aligns with conventions of translations into Latin (X) and English (transliteration: ‘Christ’).

This may seem a small translation issue. However, in a Cree context, readers could benefit from being made aware of Greek and Hebrew name forms and their attached meaning. In Cree and Ojibwa communities, the naming of children had and often still has spiritual significance. Personal names received in formal ceremonies were rarely used in everyday life but nicknames describing a person's appearance, gender or personality were often used.74 It is possible a Cree readership would respond well if names were rendered so as to reflect their meaning, especially in contexts where this knowledge would enhance the story.75

We encounter another issue in v.2 of the Mason translation in the rendering of the word ‘messenger’. The Mason translation uses the word ‘nimisiyawek’. However, there was no modern Cree word found to suggest what it was indicating. One possible suggestion is that Mason was attempting to transliterate the English word ‘messenger’ using the Cree sounds available to him. One could ask why the translator transliterated both of these words instead of using a word in the Cree language, which

73 Horden, The New Testament. 74 Heather Devine, The People Who Own Themselves: Aboriginal Naming Practices (Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 2004), accessed 04 January 2012; http://people.ucalgary.ca/~hdevine/ 75 Mavis Etienne and the translation team of a modern translation of the Bible (still in progress) have opted to included many name definitions and relevant information in footnotes throughout the translation. NAIITS 51 Volume 11 expressed something of the sense of the words found in the source text. One might suggest Mason did not want to risk simply translating the word as a ‘messenger’. The Greek word used is ‘ἄγγελόν’. This has the meaning of ‘messenger’ but has also been transliterated into English as ‘angel’. The English word ‘angel’ suggests the potential for a supernatural element to be associated in its translation. In transliterating the word, Mason could allow for suitable ministerial leaders to ensure Cree congregants had the proper understanding of such concepts.

The practice of transliteration seems to have been quite common at this time in the history of Cree translation.76 A reason for it is suggested in E.A. Watkins’s preface to his Dictionary of the Cree Language in 1865:

When efforts were first made to translate the Bible some long and cumbersome words were introduced to answer the scripture terms, as, for instance kichikiesikooweutooskayakun, angel, i.e. a heavenly servant, but now these clumsy compounds are, for the most part, abandoned and the English word are substituted. The Christian Indians who are under regular ministerial instruction soon learn to connect the proper ideas with such expressions.77

If this was a widespread practice, one could suggest at least in some cases that Mason and/or other translators of his time were not as concerned with communicating the sense of the words, as with providing an Cree referent which would then rely on the instruction of religious authorities to provide the ‘proper’ ideas to be connected with the expressions. Translators may have felt that certain religious concepts had an inherent meaning, which could not be accurately elucidated in the Cree language. Furthermore, these concepts could only be understood through teaching by the proper religious authorities.

76 See also Horden, The New Testament. 77 E. A. Watkins, A Dictionary of the Cree Language, as Spoken by the Indians of the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1865), xx. NAIITS 52 Volume 11 Moving on in our analysis, the name of God is represented in all three translations with some form of the Cree phrase kisêmanitow and is defined as “greatest/highest spirit” in the Alberta Elder’s Cree Dictionary. Waugh points out the difficulty of determining what this word would have meant within the pre- colonial Cree worldview:

Cree conceptual systems do not understand kihci [greatest/highest] . . . and maci [evil, wicked] as constituting separate ‘beings’; they really describe a way in which the foundational reality of the universe, manito is rendered into the experience of the people. ... All this is held to be traditional understanding. But it is impossible now to tell if manito always played this foundational role, or it has been raised to its position because of the influence of Christian ideas of God upon the original cultural worldview.78

The article goes on to describe other ways that the Cree language has been influenced not only by the Christian religion but also by the extreme cultural changes incurred since the first colonial encounter. This points to an important consideration for the potential Cree Bible translator. She requires an understanding of how word meanings in Cree, like any language, have shifted and continue to shift over time. This is particularly applicable to words with specifically Christian connotations. An understanding of the history of these words in terms of the Cree language and culture will help decide whether certain words used in past translations are as suitable or whether a new or different comparable might be constructed or used.79 Examples of this kind are discussed in the next section.

The Representation of Technical Terms with Specifically Christian Connotations: Sin, Repentance, Baptism The Cree word for ‘sin’ in v.4 and v.5 of the Mason and Revised Mason translations is a form of the verb ‘macihitiw’ which is a

78 Waugh, "Religious Issues in the Alberta Elders' Cree Dictionary," 476; Penny Petrone, Native Literature in Canada: From the Oral Tradition to the Present (Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 1990), 5. 79 The motivation behind or goals of the translation may also determine the vocabulary used; i.e. language preservationists might lean towards using a less than ideal comparable because it has been used in the religious realm for so long, and has thus become normalized. NAIITS 53 Volume 11 combination of the pronoun ‘maci’ (evil) and the verb ‘tôtamaw’ (to do), and is defined by Wolvengrey’s Cree Dictionary as “doing ill to one another (with bad medicine).”80 The translators of the Contemporary translation have chosen to follow with the traditional rendering of the word for sin using ‘macâtisiw’ in v.4 and ‘maci-tôtahk’ in v.5. The Contemporary translation uses two slightly different words with the same roots and expressing a similar meaning to ‘macihitiw’. It is difficult to know what this word would have meant to a Cree audience in the late 19th century or if the full extent of the Biblical word for sin is being encapsulated. Nonetheless, the definition given by Wolvengrey suggests that the word could have had and still has association to the sphere of First Nations traditional medicine.81 This is not to say that the comparable used here was unsuitable but is perhaps narrower and less “moral” than most Protestant/Evangelical notions of sin. This is an example of a religious concept which relies on careful interpretation by the translator.

We continue on to an observation of the rendering of the word for ‘repentance’. We encounter here an example of how a translator’s understanding of certain theological concepts and technical terms and his grasp of the target language affects how words and concepts are translated. The Mason and revised Mason translations both use a form of ‘miciyawêsiw’. The word describes someone ‘being sorry’ for something done. The Contemporary translation, on the other hand, uses a form of the word ‘kwêski’ which describes someone ‘turning around’ or ‘changing their ways’. This difference in word choice may reflect a difference in understanding of repentance in connection to sin. Whereas ‘miciyawêsiw’ reflects a feeling of ‘sorrow’ or ‘regret’, ‘kwêskiw’ describes the action of turning away from past evil ways. Thus, the two words may indicate divergent understandings of the theological concept of repentance. And yet the Greek word used in v.4. is µετανοίας. The word is defined in Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich as “a change of mind” or “change of

80 Wolvengrey, nêhiyawêwin: itwêwina/ Cree. 81 ‘Medicine’ here refers to an area of many First Nations’ worldviews involving elements of spirituality and traditional medicine. See H.C. Wolfart and Freda Ahenakew, eds., Âh-Âyîtaw Isi Ê-Kî-Kiskêyihtahkik: They Knew Both Sides of Medicine: Cree Tales of Curing and Cursing Told by Alice Ahenakew (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2000). NAIITS 54 Volume 11 the inner man.”82 Has either translation found a suitable comparable? Is it possible to find or create another word which would express the notion of repentance in a different light?

We now move on to the translation of the word for ‘baptism’. Both the Mason and Revised Mason translations use forms of the word ‘pâptâsiw’. This appears simply to be a transliteration of the English word ‘baptism’ or the Greek word ‘βάπ τισµα’. The Contemporary translation uses the word ‘sîkahâhtam’. Interestingly enough, a Cree dictionary of the Moose Cree dialect published in 1865 actually defines ‘sîkahâhtam’ as ‘baptism’. The more recent Alberta Elder’s Dictionary also includes ‘baptism’ as a possible definition for the word. However, the word is also defined as (and most probably originally denoted the action of) “pouring water on someone or something.”83 This is a good illustration of how the meaning of a word can adapt to include new meaning through foreign religious or cultural influences.

Conclusions Tracing a trajectory from the 19th century situation of the Mason translation to the present, we can make several observations in regards to how theories and practices surrounding Bible translation have changed over time.

First, there has been a shift in responsibility for the production of Bible translations. Where the earliest translations were produced through the funding and motivation of a specific denomination, the current translation is being funded through the Canadian Bible Society whose mission is to encourage the translation of scriptures “without doctrinal note or comment”.84 This limits the competition between denominations to produce translations which assert their particular doctrine and theology.

Secondly, the majority of the translation work is now done by well-respected Cree speakers rather than by non-Cree

82 Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Fourth Revised (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957). 83 Most likely originating from the root ‘sîkawi’ – a pouring or flooding, along with the preposition ‘htam‘ directing the action toward someone or something. 84 Wiens, New Cree Translation Launched. NAIITS 55 Volume 11 missionaries and clergymen for whom Cree is a second language. Ironically, this may then mean that at least initially, the translators are paying less attention to Greek New Testament source texts. The Cree population now has a history with Christianity and has developed a strong interest in participating in the work of translating the Bible. The translators of the contemporary translation have taken significantly longer than Mason and his team to complete and publish their translation but have done so primarily to ensure their work is deemed adequate by the wider Cree community.

Seeking this approval is important, as an agenda for the preservation and appreciation of the Cree Language is at the forefront of the production of the most recent Bible translation. The contemporary Cree translation is being used not only in the Christian community for religious education, but for literacy and language learning in the Saskatchewan Catholic School System as well, and this makes community approval all the more essential.85

The analysis in the previous chapter cultivated an awareness of the work that has been done so far. With an awareness of our particular situation in the year 2013, we are better able to suggest where innovations can be made. My paper in the NAIITS Journal of 2011 begins to envision some of these innovations through the development of a new method for translating the Greek texts of the New Testaments [NT]. The main objective of this strategy emphasizes the NT’s stylistic variety and oral qualities while at the same time capitalizing on the richness available in the Cree language. Furthermore, it highlights the rhetorical significance of elements of style and orality in the production and reception of Cree texts. In addition to this, it envisions a significant amount of discussion and innovation between Bible translators and Cree linguists surrounding the theories and practices that have guided Bible translation so far.

This work has already begun, in the work still being done by the Canadian Bible Society on its contemporary Cree Translation. May this paper fan the flame of motivation to continue work and dialogue in this area.

85 Ibid. NAIITS 56 Volume 11 Appendix I: Mason Translation (1862)86

86 Mason, The New Testament in the Cree Language. NAIITS 57 Volume 11 NAIITS 58 Volume 11 GOD AS REVEALED IN SCRIPTURE: The Translation of Abstract Nouns into Algonquian Languages

RUTH HEEG

Introduction This paper investigates the translation of several doxology passages of the New Testament from some of the published translations into Algonquian languages – specifically Ojibwe (1988; 2008), Algonquin (1998), James Bay Cree (2001), and Plains Cree (Mason, 1862) with Cree syllabic text represented here by Roman orthograph.

Doxology passages express praise or glory to God, and usually include some statement(s) about the nature of God. The original Greek text of the New Testament uses abstract nouns very frequently in these doxology passages to describe God’s nature. The purpose of this paper is to look at examples of how these abstract nouns have been translated and to open for discussion whether decisions made by the translators affect how the three persons of the Trinity are portrayed in the doxology passages.

The Grammar of Algonquian Languages Algonquian languages have elaborate verb systems and use to express information that in English would be more likely expressed as a noun or an adjective. Rand Valentine, in his grammar of Ojibwe, states: “Many concepts which are expressed by nominals in English find expression as verbs in Nishnaabemwin. The seasons of the year, the days of the week, the time of day, weather expressions, geographical features, and number expressions are all commonly expressed with verbs.”1

In Algonquian languages verb forms are used a lot; they can get very specific as various are added; and very long!!!

Of course, there are nouns in Algonquian languages, and there are ways to create nouns from a verb by adding various

1 J. Randolph Valentine, Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar (Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2001), 130. NAIITS 59 Volume 11 (also called “finals” by the linguists who study Algonquian languages). One of these is the -win. Freda Ahenakew states that: “Almost any VAI [animate ] stem can be used as the base of an inanimate noun; all that needs to be done is to add the suffix –win.”2

In each of the four Algonquian languages being looked at in this paper, the nominalising suffix –win can be added to a verb to make it a noun, and in many cases these are abstract nouns. So, for example, in Algonquin nigamo (he sings) can become nigamowin (a song), or sagihiwe (he loves) can become sagihiwewin (the noun “love”). For common concepts, this nominalising is frequently and easily used in everyday speech.

Similarly, there is a way to convert nouns to verbs. In Algonquin, the suffix –(i)ke can be added to a noun to turn it into a verb of making or doing. So ajogan (bridge) can become ajoganike (to make a bridge), or conia (money) can become coniake (to make/earn money).

When natural speech of Algonquian languages is analyzed, it can be observed that there is a preference for using verbs in many contexts where English would be more likely to use nouns. This is especially true for abstract concepts, which are much more likely to be expressed as verbs rather than as abstract nouns.

Abstract Nouns What do we mean by abstract concepts and abstract nouns? Merriam-Webster gives us this definition of an abstract concept: “expressing a quality apart from an object (the word poem is concrete, poetry is abstract).”3

Examples of abstract concepts are love and hate. In general a concrete object can be observed with the senses; an abstract object cannot be observed with the senses. A definition of an abstract noun is: “a noun denoting a non-material, non- perceptible entity. Examples of abstract nouns are democracy

2 Freda Ahenakew, Cree Language Structures: A Cree Approach (Winnipeg, MB: Pemmican Publications Inc, 1987), 165. 3 Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, s.v. “abstract;” http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/abstract NAIITS 60 Volume 11 and wisdom. The opposite of an abstract noun is a concrete noun.”4 In Algonquian languages, when the suffix –win is added to a verb, an abstract noun is most often created.

Examples from Natural Text Let’s take a look at some examples from Algonquin texts5 to see how verbs are used in natural speech, especially in cases where it might be more natural in English to use nouns:

1. Kitci kinwej kada pimadiziwag. Acitc kawin wibadj kada wabikwesiwag [21.4-5]6 “A long time they-will-live. And they won’t go-gray- haired early.” Note what this might have looked like if nouns were used: “they will have a long life. And they won’t have gray hair early.”

2. Kakina awiag wi minwenidam ii apitc e nibaaiamianiwag acitc e magocegijigag. ... “Everybody will be happy at that time it-being-Christmas and it-being-New-Year’s-day. ...”

Cawenimidinaniwan, magocaniwan, niminaniwan, e magocegijigag [22.8-10] “There-is-gift-giving, there-is-feasting, there-is-dancing, (it)-being-New-Year’s-Day.” In English, we might use nouns for several of these, e.g. “Everybody will be happy because it’s Christmas and New Year’s Day. ... Gifts will be given, there will be feasts, there will be dances/dancing on New Year’s Day.”

3. ... mi pidjinag e mikag kidji mikimodj [30. 13] “later he finds-it to-work (=he finds work)”

4. ni kikinohamowa eko pimadizidj ke inadizidj aa nidabinodjijim “I-teach-him ever since he-is-living how he will live that- one my-child”

4 Johan Kerstens, Eddy Ruys, and Joost Zwarts, eds., Lexicon of Linquistics, On- line, Utrecht institute of Linguistics OTS, Utrecht University, 1996-2001; http://www2.let.uu.nl/uil-ots/lexicon/ 5 Examples taken from my personal unpublished collection of Algonquin texts. 6 These bracketed numbers are used for my personal reference. NAIITS 61 Volume 11 kidji aiamiedj, kidji mikimodj, kidji kwagwe pimadjitodj opimadiziwin [30.22] “to pray, to work, to try to save/support his life.” Using nouns, in English this might be said as: “all his life I have been teaching my child about prayer, work, and life skills.”

5. Midac pejik eji wanikedj kidji ajoganikedj [33.10] “then he forgot to make-a-bridge”

6. kiga mikimomin apitc ani tagwagig [33.15] “we will work while (it) is-getting-to-be-fall”

7. acitc nibewigiwam ka kackawadj awiagog kewinawa kada kitci coniakewag [35.18] “and hotel people who-boss [owners] they too will-make- a-lot-of-money”

8. Kiga mawadjitonanan ke midjiyag ke pibog [33.17] “We will gather what-we-will eat when-it-will-be- winter” In English we might use nouns rather than verbs, and say “we will gather food for winter.”

I hope this gives just a little taste of how frequently verbs are used in Algonquian languages, in places where English would be more apt to use nouns. This includes concrete ideas (make a bridge), but is even more frequent for abstract concepts (life, boss, winter).

Religious Vocabulary The preference by Algonquian languages to use verbs is a vital issue in the translation of Scriptural texts since religious vocabulary includes so many abstract concepts. How should concepts like “honour,” “glory,” “power,” ”grace,” “peace,” “faith,” “wisdom,” “salvation,” etc. best be expressed in these languages? Really there are two issues. First, the root of the word in many cases has to be decided on by the translators. In some languages, or speech communities, the religious vocabulary has been developed for several generations and is fairly standardized and well understood. But in other language communities the vocabulary is not yet set in cement. Some vocabulary might be used that is not generally well understood

NAIITS 62 Volume 11 (e.g. onapotaman for “apostle” in Algonquin, a borrowing from French apôtre with Algonquin attached). Or different religious vocabulary has been developed by different churches. Or English/French vocabulary is being borrowed. Or church only happens in English, so religious vocabulary in the language is not well established.

Once the root of the word has been decided on, the second issue is the one at hand, whether to express the concept using that root as a verb or an abstract noun. That decision must be made each and every time it is encountered. Because there is a linguistic way of creating a noun from a verb by adding the -win suffix, it is possible to express these abstract concepts as nouns. So for example the concept of “glory,” the verb icpendagozi (he is considered-high = he is glorious) can become the noun icpendagoziwin (considered-high-ness = glory). Or the verb mackawisi (he is strong/powerful) can become the noun mackawisiwin (strength/power); cawendjige (he gift-gives = he blesses) can become cawendjigewin (blessing; grace); kwaiakwadizi (he lives straight = he is righteous) can become kwaiakwadiziwin (straight-living = righteousness).

Greek The original New Testament texts were written in Greek, and Greek loves to use abstract nouns. Let me give some examples by quoting the Revised Standard Version [RSV], which tends to translate the Greek structure fairly literally:

This day is salvation come (Luke 19:9); God is love (1 John 4:8); And Jesus increased in wisdom (Luke 2.52); Full of grace and truth (John 1.14); So faith comes from what is heard (Rom 10.17).

Each of these underlined words is an abstract noun.

General Translation Issues In languages like Greek, abstract nouns are used extensively. In other languages this is totally impossible as there is no way to express an abstract concept as a noun. You could not say “salvation is come,” you would have to state that as a verb, perhaps as “now God has come to save you.” You could not say

NAIITS 63 Volume 11 “God is love,” you would have to make love a verb, perhaps as something like “God always loves.” Most languages are somewhere in between.

English has a fairly high tolerance for the use of abstract nouns. But even in English, caution is advised.

A few years ago I took a course called “Editing and Revising Technical Texts in English.”7 The instructional materials’ assessment is that “abstract nouns are weak” whereas “verbs are strong;” that abstract nouns “slow down communication;” that “turning a verb into a noun suppresses the verb’s ability to act.”8 Therefore the following types of editing are recommended:

Rather than: Use: make an application for a passport apply for a passport speakers give the public information speakers inform the public staff perform an evaluation of a staff evaluate a project project scientists conduct an analysis of data scientists analyze data

The reasons for editing the text in this way, changing abstract nouns to verbs, are to communicate more clearly and more precisely.

What’s the Problem with Abstract Nouns? One issue is that most abstract nouns semantically represent an event, and usually events are stated as verbs. As a verb, it is clear who the participants are in the event, and translation is usually fairly straight-forward.

An example where all the events are stated as verbs would be: “And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught” (RSV, Mark 1.21). There will surely be some struggles over translating this verse. First, who are “they” and “he,” and will those participants need to be stated explicitly? Second, the vocabulary might cause a challenge, especially Sabbath and synagogue. And third, there

7 Kevin Costello, On-line Postgraduate Certificate in Editing and Revising Technical Texts in English. On-line course materials (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2005). 8 Ibid., Lesson 9, pp. 17-18. NAIITS 64 Volume 11 might be decisions to make about whether each of the verbs will be translated as an independent or dependent verb. But it is most likely that in almost any language the verbs “go into,” “enter,” and “teach” will be translated as verbs. They are events, in verb form.

However, when events are stated as abstract nouns, a skewing happens between the meaning – the semantics – and the way it is stated. As well, certain information might be left implicit. “Abstract nouns, such as salvation and faith, represent events and permit the participants in these events to be carried implicitly. Thus salvation may carry implicit reference both to God, who saves, and to those who are saved.”9 Thus, in the verse “This day is salvation come” (RSV, Luke 19.9), the event “to save” is stated as an abstract noun “salvation.” A mismatch is happening between the meaning and the grammar. As well, the information is not stated explicitly, only implied, as to who is going to save, and who exactly will be saved.

On the other hand, abstract nouns often allow for a statement with a more clearly defined focus, and for a more compact expression. An example to illustrate this would be, “Love is patient,” rather than “when we love others, we are patient with them.”10

We have seen that there is a way to create abstract nouns in Algonquin using the –win suffix. But abstract nouns are not always exactly the same from one language to another, either in the way they are formed, or the way they are used. So Valentine makes this statement in his Ojibwe grammar:

John Nichols has pointed out that a significant difference between Nishnaabemwin abstract nouns and those of English is that in the latter language complex abstract nominals are common, such as the anticipation of the rejection of the proposal by the committee. One reason for this is that English allows abstract nominals to be formed from transitive verbs, with their objects then specified by means

9 John Beekman and John Callow, Translating the Word of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1974), 53. 10 Ibid., 219. NAIITS 65 Volume 11 of a phrase, such as of the rejection and of the proposal, as in the example provided above. Nishnaabemwin abstract nouns are formed almost exclusively from intransitive verbs, which generally do not have objects, and as such, do not allow for the complex constructions of English.11

So these linguists are indicating a major difference between abstract nouns in English and Algonquian languages. The New Testament Greek texts can be translated into English using abstract nouns in very complex phrases – although they might create a challenge for clear understanding. An example is Romans 1.16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” (RSV). It is much more difficult in Algonquian languages.

The Translation Task Translation is not an easy task; nor is it usually a straight- forward task. Many decisions need to be made at each step. The translator is starting off with a text in one language and needs to restate it in another language, and the two languages have different grammatical categories, different cultural views, different preferences, different everything.

Since the original text is already in the translator’s mind, the first natural response is to translate the text literally, keeping the grammatical structure of the original language. Of course the translator wants to translate literally in terms of retaining all the meaning, but retaining the grammatical structure of the original language can result in a translation that is not at all a natural way of communicating. A literal translation can often be hard to understand. The individual words might all be correct, but the sentence might make little sense. This doesn’t apply just to Bible translation. We’ve probably all experienced this in difficult-to-read instructions on imported items we’ve purchased (e.g. “The sketch is same to the information words, also has mostly described the accidents all kinds of lifts maybe occur.”)

11Valentine, Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, 507-508. Italics in original. NAIITS 66 Volume 11 Algonquian Bible Translations So now let’s look at some translations of doxologies in the New Testament in Algonquian languages.

Some older or more literal translations have mostly preserved the form of the original Greek text by keeping abstract concepts as nouns, and have translated these concepts almost always as nouns using the -win suffix. However several more recent translations have aimed often to use more natural forms of the Indigenous language, and express these concepts as verbs – although I would say there’s an inconsistency as to how well that is accomplished. Some examples:

1. Revelation 4.1: Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created. (RSV)

The Plains Cree Bible, translated in the 1800s, has kept these concepts as nouns:

Kitepahkeyihtākosin kiya tepeyihcikeyan nikisemanitominān kita akitamākawiyan kisteyihtākosiwin mina kihcāyiwiwin mina maskawisiwin; cikemā ki ki-osihtān kahkiyaw kīkwaya mina kiya kit iteyihtamowin ohci ki ayāwa mina ki osicikātewa. “You are considered worthy you who are the Lord our God to have counted/credited to you honour and importance and power; for you made everything and because of/by your thoughts they existed and were created.”

However, more recent translations have worked at expressing these concepts as verbs, in what would seem to be more natural speech.

Ojibwe (all verbs): Kiin kaaTipenimiyaank ninKishemanitoominaan! Kiin kitepakentaakos ciwiincikaatek ciahpiihci onishihshiwencikaniwiyan, kaye ciahpiihci ishpenimikooyan, kaye ciahpiihci kihcimashkawentaakosiyan, aaniihsh kahkina kekoon

NAIITS 67 Volume 11 kikii'oshihtoon.Kiin iko ekii'inentaman kii'onciayaawan kaye kii'oshihcikaatewan “You who are our Lord our God! You are considered worthy for it to be said how very glorious you are, and how very honored you are, and how very powerful you are, for you made everything. You what you have thought from that it existed and it was created.”

Algonquin (all verbs): Kin ka Tibeniminak acitc Nikije Manidominan. Kakina kigi kijendan. Osa mega kigi inendan kidji tag8ag kegon 8edji tag8ag. Midac ii 8edji inendagozian kidji manadjiigo8an, kin mega kidapitci icpendagozinan, kidapitci kitcit8a8endagozinan, acitc kidapitci macka8izi. “You are our Lord and our God. You created everything. Because you thought for something to exist is why it existed. So that’s why you should be praised, for you are so glorious [considered-high], you are so holy, and you are so powerful.”

James Bay Cree (all verbs): Chiya Nitipeyihchikeminaan kaye Nichishemanituuminaan kaa atushkaataahch chitepicheyihtaakusin chechii chisteyihtaakuhiikuyin kaye chechii chishtaachimikuyin kaye chechii maamihchimikuyin e ishpish suuhkaatisiyin. Wesh chiya misiwe chekwaan chichii ushihtaan. Chiya chichii iteyihten chechii ihtakuhch misiwe chekwaan kaa ihtakuhch ekw maak misiwe kaa ushihtaayin “You [are] our Lord and our God, you are worthy to be honoured and to be praised and for-you-to-be-spoken- well-of you-being-so-powerful. You made absolutely everything. You thought it in order to exist everything that exists and everything that was made.”

2. Rev 12.10: Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. (RSV).

Plains Cree (all nouns): ēkwa oticipayiw pimāciiwēwin, mina maskawisiwin,

NAIITS 68 Volume 11 mina o kihci okimāwiwin ki kisēmanitominaw, mina o tipēyicikēwiniyiw oChristima; “now salvation is happening, and power/strength, and our God’s kingdom, and his Christ’s authority/ownership/ lordship.”

Ojibwe (all nouns): Noonkom ocihcihse opimaaci'iwewin kiKishemanitoominaan kaye ehpinaakwaninik omashkawisiiwin kaye otipencikewin. Ini kaye kaakii'onaapamaatc cipimaaci'iwenitc aasha onaakohtooni okashki'ewisiwinini. “Now is happening the salvation of our God and it’s being seen his power and his authority/ownership. And that one who he had chosen to save now his ability/power is seen.”

Algonquin (all verbs): Nogom nagwan Kije Manido egi ag8acimigowak. Ki wabadaiwe adi epitci mackawizidj, win mega ogimawi. Nogom kigi wabamanan adi epitci mackawizindjin iniwe Kije Manido ka pidjinijawadjin. “Now it is seen that God has saved us. He showed how he-is-so-powerful, for he reigns/is chief. Now we have see how he-is-strong/powerful that one who God sent.”

James Bay Cree (all verbs): Ekw maak wiyaapahtamaahch Chishemanituu che pimaachihaat utiiniimh. Chii waapahtiiweu taan e ishpish suuhcheyihtaakusit chechii chisheuchimaaut kaye niwaapahtamuwaanaan taan e ishi ihtakuniyich chechii tipeyihchicheyihch aniyuuh Christ kaa pechi itishahwaat. “For now it’s seen that God will save his people. He showed how he-is-so-powerful to reign (be-the-big-chief) and we see how much he’s given to have-authority that Christ that he sent.”

3. Rev 19.1: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.... (RSV)

Plains Cree (all nouns):

NAIITS 69 Volume 11 āliloya; pimāciiwēwin mina kistēyitākosiwin mina maskawisiwin ayāw kā tipēyicikēt ki kisēmanitominaw; “Hallelujah; salvation and glory/honour and power has the Lord our God.”

Ojibwe (all nouns): Aalilooya! Pimaaci'iwewin, kihci=inentaakosiwin, kashki'ewisiwin otayaan kiKishemanitoominaan! “Hallelujah! Salvation, greatly-being-considered-high, ability has our God!”

Algonquin (all verbs): Icpenimik Kije Manido! Mi aa8e kagi ag8aciminak. Icpendagozi acitc macka8izi aa. “Praise [think-high] God! He’s the one who-has-saved-us. He-is-considered-high [glorious] and he-is-strong/ powerful.”

James Bay Cree (all verbs): Maamihchimaahkw Chishemanituu. Wiya eukw kaa pimaachihiitahkw. Naashch taapwe chisteyihtaakusuu kaye naashch suuhcheyihtaakusuu. “Praise God. For he (is the one) who-saves-us. Truly he is-honoured/glorious and he-is-considered-powerful.”

4. Romans 11:33: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! (RSV)

Plains Cree (2 verbs, 2 nouns): ā tāniyikohk timiyiw ē isi wēyotaniyik ot iyinisiwin mina o kiskēyitamowin kisēmanito! “it is so very deep how abundant it is God’s wisdom and his knowledge.”

Ojibwe (2 verbs, 2 nouns): Aahpici kihci=ishpentaakwanini kaashiwenootaninik Kishemanitoo okakiihtaawentamowin, okihkentamaawin kaye. “It is so greatly thought-highly [glorious] how very rich/abundant are God’s wisdom, and his knowledge”

NAIITS 70 Volume 11 Algonquin (all verbs): Maiagotc kitci kije8adizi Kije Manido! Maiagotc kitci kagita8endam acitc kakina kegoni okikendan! “Truly God is greatly kind! Truly he-is-greatly-wise and he-knows everything.”

James Bay Cree (all verbs): Naashch taapwe miyeyihtaakusuu Chishemanituu. Taapwe kachehtaaweyihtam kaye misiwe chekwaayuu chischeyihtam. “God is truly good. Truly he-is-wise and he-knows- everything.”

Implications for Translation We have looked at examples of abstract nouns in Greek, which have been translated in some cases as abstract nouns, and in some cases as verbs. Does this affect how one understands God? If so, how?

We have been told that “the medium is the message.”12 Since the original New Testament texts were all written in Koiné Greek, for all of us today the medium involves a translated message. As Lamin Sanneh has stated, “Being the original Scripture of the Christian movement, the New Testament Gospels are a translated version of the message of Jesus .... [W]ithout translation there would be no Christianity or Christians.”13 We can be very thankful for the tradition of translation within Christianity that dates back to the gospel writers themselves.

The medium is the message. This includes the fact that these important documents for our faith are increasingly available in minority and Indigenous languages world-wide, including in Canada. The message does not have to be accessed through one’s second language.

Last year, in an interview celebrating the dedication of the newly translated Bible, Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald said,

12 A phrase attributed to Herbert Marshall Mcluhan. 13Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 97. NAIITS 71 Volume 11

The development of an Indigenous theology needs Indigenous language. And so, all over the world, and particularly here in Canada, we are realizing that even when people are fluent – especially when people are fluent – in English, it is critical for the spiritual well-being of those people to be able to use the Scriptures in their own language.14

And now, in our topic at hand, the “medium” also includes the detail that nouns in the original Greek text have been rather frequently translated as verbs in the Algonquian. The doxology passages under investigation include several attributes of God. Does our understanding of who God is, or what God is like, change when noun abstract concepts are translated as verbs?

Translation theory would say no, an abstract concept should be most clearly understood when it has been translated in the natural patterns of the receptor language. For Algonquian languages linguistic studies that will mean abstract concepts should most often be translated as verbs. A good Bible translation is not necessarily a literal translation, but a good translation will clearly and accurately communicate.

In my role working alongside translation teams, I hope the effects are good, that using natural forms of speech helps users to better understand the text and thus to better understand the amazing nature of our amazing God.

BUT now I have to leave the answer to these questions to those of you who are speakers of Algonquian languages. I have tried to lay some groundwork for discussion. I hope it will be a stimulus for further research, to which you bring your expertise in language and theology. I hope that when it’s time for further translation or revision of the biblical text in your languages, that you will guide the translation process by your clear thinking on these issues.

14 Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald in “A Work of the Heart,” video recording, available at http://vimeo.com/channels/biblesociety/53242048 NAIITS 72 Volume 11

CREATIVITY AND CAPTIVITY: Developing a Framework for Exploring the Language of Musical Creativity amongst Indigenous Cosmopolitans [ICMs]1

UDAY BALASUNDARAM

Music, I argue, is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors such as language… 2

Introduction One of the most poignant images I have of the power of musical creativity is of an experience I had as a teenager. I was a volunteer in Samadhan, an NGO founded by my mother which served the intellectually disabled3 and their families in New Delhi, India. The team of musical dramatists was enacting a rendition of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. As the team of actors moved their bodies in the musical performance, the intellectually disabled were invited to move along with them, mimicking them. It is hard to put into words what I experienced – the mentally challenged being transformed in the process, along with actors, and audience, as we participated in the movement of musical creativity. It really didn’t matter that they were “getting it” or whether the theme of the production was contextually relevant. The radiance on the faces of the so-called “challenged” was contagious.

1 This paper, while specifically prepared for delivery at NAIITS 2013 Symposium, is the product of work towards a PhD dissertation to be defended in 2014 at Asbury Theological Seminary. Other versions of this work have been (and will yet be) published in other forums. 2 Daniel Levitin, is a neuroscientist who researches music, evolution, and the brain. He argues that “Anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists, and psychologists all study human origins, but relatively little attention has been paid to the origins of music.” Daniel J. Levitin, The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (New York: Plume [Penguin Group], 2008), 3. 3 The language has improved, going from mental retardation to handicapped, to challenged to intellectually disabled. NAIITS 73 Volume 11

The missional significance of cultural relevance and the power of words is not disputed here. But sometimes I wonder if the emphasis on meaning-making and deciphering, especially when it comes to participation in the creativity of God, is given too much prominence when it comes to Christian mission in the context of an oral-rich world?4 Is there more to creativity than we typically assume in mission?

Language and Musical Creativity Creativity is the enactment of ontology of participation in the transcendent being of God.5 Music is a language in the sense that it invites participation in specific ways.6 The link between music and humanity is broadly acknowledged,7 but to assign to musicality an ontological proportion that emerges from all creation’s place in the being and purpose of a personal God is less common.8

Steven Pinker in his capacity as professor and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] has determined that:

4 The International Orality Network (ION) estimates 4.35 billion people who are oral learners; for more on orality visit ION, accessed May 28, 2013; http://www.oralbible.com/statistics_and_facts 5 The argument at its core is based upon a theological premise –if we are creative beings created in the image of God (Gen.1:26), then inasmuch as we enact an “ontology of participation in transcendent being, specifically God’s being,” we share with God through Christ in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. This is the basis for a missiological framework for theological creativity. See Peters J. Bellini, Participation: Epistemology and Mission theology (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2010), 10. 6 Ball remembers John Blacking’s assumptions in his seminal work How Musical is Man? (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976): “society presupposes shared ground in the way those patterns will be interpreted, understood, responded to.” See Phillip Ball, The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can’t do without It (New York, NY: OUP, 2009), vii. 7 In what sense has music “influenced the evolution of human emotion, reason, and spirit across distinct intellectual and cultural histories”? That music plays a crucial role in the evolution of humanity from a scientific standpoint, is clear. The question is, “what role did the musical brain have in shaping human nature and human culture over the past fifty thousand years or so … how did all these musics make us who we are?” Levitin, The World in Six Songs, 7. 8 According to Ball, the “‘capacity to listen to and distinguish patterns of sound’, which we nearly all possess, is the essence of musicality” (Ball, The Music Instinct, viii; italics mine). The question of “How musical is man?” is related to “What is the nature of man?” Blacking, How Musical Is Man, 7. NAIITS 74 Volume 11

Language is not a cultural artifact that we learn the way we learn to tell time or how the federal government works. Instead, it is a distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains. Language is a complex, specialized skill, which develops in the child spontaneously, without conscious effort or formal instruction, is deployed without awareness of its underlying logic, is qualitatively the same in every individual, and is distinct from more general abilities to process information or behave intelligently.9

Thanks be to God for this insight from the laboratory of a cognitive scientist! If we interpret music purely in terms of its role as a decipherable and meaning-making cultural artifact, then we clearly miss out on the pre- and post- formative roles it plays in shaping who we are as human beings in the image of God. It is in this vein that international artists like Makoto Fujimura and others discuss the non-representational nature of art.10 The implication is that for music (or art) to have inherent value it does not always need to have “meaning” that needs to be unpacked. Perhaps. But music is essentially formative. It requires a hermeneutic that appropriately considers the context for conceptualization, dynamics of production, and factors affecting reception. Creativity is a process arising from interaction with God and the world.

9 Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1995), 18. Italics mine. 10 For dearth of a language that explicitly unifies art and music with the unique Creator God in Christ, the phrase “non-representational” has been applied to refer to Christian art. Consider the following statement by Alissa Wilkinson concerning the release of world-famous Christian artist, Makoto Fujimura’s illumined, “the Four Holy Gospels”: “[H]aving Mako’s art, which is non- representational, next to the words of scripture invites the reader to take the words of scripture and sort of see what they see in the art and how that connects with the words that they’re reading, because the words are transcendent. And the art, in a lot of ways, reflects that transcendence.” Alissa Wilkinson, Makoto Fujimura, “the Four Holy Gospels,” On-line, accessed September 26, 2012; http://www.makotofujimura.com/four-holy-gospels/ Is Christian art non-representational? Or, should we be asking: what in essence does it represent? Art and music are discursive systems in and of themselves and need to be understood in their own contexts. Furthermore, such discourse is able to carry and mediate truth in ways that are palpably different (especially in the context of orality) from literary forms of discourse. For more on Makoto’s work: see Makoto Fujimura at http://www.makotofujimura.com/ NAIITS 75 Volume 11

Jorgensen draws from Keane to demonstrate that “language does not reveal what a person really thinks or believes but serves as verbal artistry or to demonstrate social status.”11 Just because missionaries and converts use the same words they should not assume that they understand each other.12 With respect to the rhetoric of music, Baily cites Sellnow and Sellnow for whom “non-lyrical music can express experiences that discursive systems (language or mathematics) must shelve.”13

Steven Pinker goes further to write that language is a cultural artifact in a way that is intrinsically different from how we might perceive other aspects of culture.14 What if we extend this theory to music as a language system? What if music is a “distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains?” Would this change how we might interpret music in terms of what it “represents” to perhaps what it actually “presences”? More perceptibly, what implications might this have for processes of musical creativity for musicians all over the world, especially when it comes to

11 Adelin Jonas Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology: Disciplinary Contexts, Converging Themes, and Future Tasks of Mission Studies,” in Mission Studies 28, (2012):186-208, 200. 12 Ibid. According to Beck, “The extreme on ‘silent textual study’ in modern academic religious studies, to the detriment of oral traditions, betrays certain Protestant attitudes towards scripture as being primarily a written document that is read quietly in private space. In this tradition, direct access to the meaning of a sacred text is thought to be available to the devout regardless of the original language, as exemplified by the English King James Bible (1611). This notion may have worked well within Protestant circles, but does not faithfully or accurately represent other world views. The overall shift from hearing scripture recited aloud in liturgical languages by priests in churches has opened the way to the modern Western academic attachment to written language as the primary carrier of religious meaning.” Guy L. Beck, ed., Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religion (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007)), 7. 13 Alex Bailey, “The Rhetoric of Music: A Theoretical Synthesis’” in Rocky Mountain Communication Review 3, no.1 (Summer 2001): 20-35, 21. In a discussion on the relation between tonal stimulation and physiological change, Leonard Meyer observes: “In the perception of music, the listener brings to the act of perception definite beliefs in the affective power of music. Even before the first sound is heard, these beliefs activate dispositions to respond in an emotional way…. And it seems more reasonable to suppose that the physiological changes observed are a response to the listener’s mental set rather than to assume that tone as such can, in some mysterious and unexplained way, bring these changes about directly.” Leonard B. Meyer, Emotion and Meaning in Music (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1956), 11. 14 Pinker, The Language Instinct. NAIITS 76 Volume 11

“getting in touch” with and acknowledging the Source of musical creativity? Levitin, in his study of music and its relation to neuroscience explicitly argues that music is:

not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors such as language, large- scale cooperative undertaking, and the passing down of important information from one generation to the next.15

Any wonder why such a sizeable portion of the First Testament is poetry? Or why eternal truths are captured in hymns (cf. John 1:1ff.; Col.1:1-15; Phil. 2:6-11)? Brian Yeich makes a case using early Methodist hymns to demonstrate the powerful role of music and poetry in transforming the lives of “those seeking God for the first time or those who are yearning for the restoration of the image of God in their lives.”16 In the context of Methodist hymns, Yeich points out that the 1780 hymnbook “exhibits this practical structure of the pilgrim way.”17 The structure was intended to be a “companion for those journeying toward perfection and seeking renewal in the image of God.”18 The rich theology evident in the lyrics demonstrates the desire and purpose “both to prove and guard the doctrine of Christian perfection.”19

But what kind of musics and structure would pertain and be useful to a culture of orality? For example, what place does instrumental music have in transmitting and preserving Christian doctrine — or is that (instrumental music) a “no man’s land”? How might musicians in a global oral-rich culture “prove and guard” the essential tenets of the Christian faith? It is not that the doctrine of Christian perfection is irrelevant, but is there a context better suited to adopt a different doctrine to begin with in the process of discipleship rather than Christian Perfection in the current global milieu?

15 Levitin, The World in Six Songs, 3. Italics mine. 16 Brian Yeich, “Poetry As the Handmaid of Piety,” The Asbury Journal, 67/1, (2012): 77-92, 90. 17 Ibid., 84-85. 18 Ibid., 85. 19 Cf. Eby in Yeich, “Poetry As the Handmaid of Piety,” 85. NAIITS 77 Volume 11

The fact that singing has occupied a central place in the life of the worshipping community through the ages is well documented.20 But the language of creativity with the “other” is less common. Studies in ethnomusicology broadly demonstrate music as a universal phenomenon; it is not a universal language.21 That music is a language is not the problem; in what sense is it a language? If language does not merely communicate information, but defines reality (as in Sapir-Whorf hypothesis22), then how does musical discourse construct and mediate reality, thereby realizing its formative potential in this era of globalization? If “language is specific to a people or area,”23 what then of the language of musical creativity by those who inhabit border spaces in this era of globalization?

Creativity and Captivity It is somewhat paradoxical that I should attempt to put in words that which in a palpable sense appears as prior to or more than

20 Cf. Brian A. Wren, Praying Twice the Music and Words of Congregational Song (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000); James R. Krabill, ed., Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook, in International Council of Ethnodoxologists (ICE), eds. Frank Fortunato, Robin P. Harris, Brian Schrag (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2013). 21 Ethnomusicology demonstrates the link between music (as conceptualization, behavior, and resulting sound), the creation of meaning, and the shaping of identity within a group. See also Alan P. Merriam, The Anthropology of Music (Evanston: Northwestern Univ. Press, 1964); Bruno Nettl, The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-One Issues and Concepts (Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press 2005), 57; Martin Stokes, ed., “Introduction,” in Ethnicity, Identity and Music: The Musical Construction of Place, 1-28 (New York, NY: Berg Publishers, 1997); Anthony Seeger, Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987). More recently the term “cultural musicology” is proposed to counter the perspective that musicology pertains to Western classical music, and ethnomusicology to all other kinds. It is the study of music in culture (emphasis mine). See Nettl, The Study of Ethnomusicology, 12. For Anthony Seeger, music as culture is a social process; a society is “something which happens in ‘music’.” See Stokes, “Introduction,” 2. 22 “The linguistic relativity principle, or the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, is the idea that differences in the way languages encode cultural and cognitive categories affect the way people think, so that speakers of different languages will tend to think and behave differently depending on the language they use. … The idea was first clearly expressed by 19th century thinkers, such as Wilhelm von Humboldt who saw language as the expression of the spirit of a nation.” See “Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis,” Princeton, Online; https://www.princeton.edu/ ~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Sapir%E2%80%93Whorf_hypothesis.html 23 Andrew F. Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis, 2006), 27. NAIITS 78 Volume 11 words. But I thank the organizers of this NAIITS Symposium who have issued the challenge to address: “how language informs the faith journey.” This is liberating. Broadly speaking, most often we have allowed our faith journey to inform our language.

This should not be a problem, especially given the narrative of Scripture and our collective participation as human beings in the mission of God as it continues to unfold. However, it is an illegitimate hermeneutics crystallized through categories of modernity, and its homogenizing influence that stifles the creative diversity of the community of the Godhead in all its manifold wisdom (cf. Eph.3:10) in every nation, peoples, and languages through Christ (Rev. 7:9) – that is the problem. I refer to this as the onto-epistemological captivity24 of creativity – evident in church, academy, and more apparently as a vocational musician, through the agency of artists in mission. In such captivity, creativity is decoupled from Creator, in exchange for the deity of utilitarianism. Diversity is no longer primarily “a theological expression of God’s being,” but a problem that needs to be “reconciled” or overcome. And beauty, rather than being prior to truth, is construed within containers of “aesthetics” that first need to be consumed by specific ratio-cognitive processes25 that prioritize certain dominant categories, e.g. individualism, in order for an authentic experience of the beauty26 of the community of God’s holiness.

24 The epistemological captivity, among other things, refers to the illegitimate shift of the canonical heritage of the Church into the “arena of becoming a criterion of truth.” See William Abraham in Lawrence Wood, Theology as History and Hermeneutics: a Post-Critical Conversation with Contemporary Theology (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2005), 227. According to Wood, “This epistemological captivity particularly created a break in the heritage of the Church in the modern period as criteria competed for primacy over canon. The result has been that the contemporary church has forgotten who it is as the story- line has shifted.” Ibid. 25 William Abraham argues for the uniqueness of the canonical tradition in terms of its authority resting in the fact of its “soteriological intent.” What he means is that for the church to be freed up “to be the means of grace and salvation that it is supposed to be” it cannot afford to be in “competition with rational criteria.” Ibid., 226. 26 Theological aesthetics is a vast field of academic inquiry. Cf. David Bentley Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003); Frank Burch Brown, Good Taste, Bad Taste, and Christian Taste: Aesthetics in Religious Life (New York, NY: OUP, 1989, 2000); Richard Viladesau, Theology and the Arts: Encountering God through Music, Art, NAIITS 79 Volume 11

Our task therefore is to develop a vocabulary that will allow for a re-articulation of a language of creativity in the context of diversity for the sake of community in Christ. For this purpose I suggest a (missiological) framework for (theological) creativity.

Here we merely set the stage for an exploration of the language of musical creativity through the creative discourse of “Indigenous cosmopolitan” musicians. A further possibility is to investigate how Indigenous Cosmopolitan musicians (ICMs) orient to the creativity of God in light of their task to build and equip the church for mission. After a brief introduction to the concept of “Indigenous cosmopolitanism,” I share some snapshots from my own journey as an ICM. This paves the way for considering some of the key issues concerning music and spirituality, music and culture, and creativity (being, construction, and dialogue) in the midst of the challenge of onto- epistemological captivity.

Indigenous Cosmopolitanism According to Maximilian Forte, an “Indigenous cosmopolitan” is someone who has not rejected indigeneity but instead is “reengaged with wider fields, finding newer ways of being established and projected; and acquiring new representational facets.”27 Forte raises four questions that help to understand the nature of the problem. In addressing the dichotomy between the “rooted indigene” versus the “transcendent globe-trotting cosmopolitan” Forte asks:

and Rhetoric (New York: Paulist Press, 2000); and notably, for me, Alejandro R. Garcia-Rivera, The Community of the Beautiful: A Theological Aesthetics (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1999). Here, I do not go deeply into this literature. However the link between creativity, beauty, and mission cannot be ignored. Concerning the Spanish influence in Mexico, the Dominicans, Jesuits, Augustinian, and Franciscans preferred the “incision of aesthetic sign” rather than the “precision of language.” Garcia-Rivera, The Community of the Beautiful, 46; these “symbolic aesthetics allowed Western and indigenous elements to co-exist; neither usurping the traditional meaning of the other yet, at the same time, creating a new understanding at once traditional and new,” ibid. In this regard, beauty is subversive, yet gracious, every hopeful and fresh, crosses barriers, creates community, makes possible the impossible, visible the invisible, crosses differences made long ago, loves difference (cf. ibid., 3). 27 Maximilian C. Forte, Indigenous Cosmopolitans: Transnational and Transcultural Indigeneity in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2010), 2-3. NAIITS 80 Volume 11

What happens to indigenous culture and identity when being in the “original place” is no longer possible or even necessary? Does displacement, moving beyond one’s original place, mean that indigeneity (being indigenous) vanishes or is diminished? How is being and becoming indigenous, experienced and practiced along translocal pathways? How are new philosophies and politics of indigenous identification (indigenism) constructed in new, translocal settings?28

However, drawing from Roudometof, Proulx reasons that cosmopolitanism is not restricted to transnationals who “experience separation between homeland and the place where they live;” for “roots change.”29 He quotes Hebdige:

I have tried to show the roots themselves are in a state of constant flux and change. The roots don’t stay in one place. They change shape. They change color. And they grow. There is no such thing as a pure point of origin…but that does not mean that there isn’t a history.30

Indigenous Cosmopolitanism, therefore, refers to the creative reconfiguration of “roots and routes” in “emerging social, oppositional, and self-determinative projects.” It is creating new histories.31

Snapshots from the Journey Before we proceed to develop a framework for musical creativity amongst ICMs in mission, I would like to retrace my steps in the journey of arriving at this task, which was more complex. I began by asking: how do Indian Christian musicians negotiate their faith through their music and culture? But this approach required analyzing the issue from a particular bounded set approach: a socio-cultural construct of national identity.

28 Ibid., 2. 29 Craig Proulx, “Aboriginal Hip Hoppers: Representin’ Aboriginality in Cosmopolitan Worlds,” in Indigenous Cosmopolitans: Transnational and Transcultural Indigeneity in the Twenty-First Century, ed. Maximilian C. Forte, (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2010):39-62, 42. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid. NAIITS 81 Volume 11

However, my musical identity in a palpable sense expanded my identity as an Indian.32

In addition, next steps on this journey required a deeper understanding of the dialogical relationship between music and culture.33 Approaches of the social construction of reality through processes of music making were helpful. Again, however, my musical being seemed to protest that there was more to my musical identity and the commonality of such with others and creation at large than the socially constructed meanings ascribed or prescribed to it or that my religious upbringing allowed.

On top of these came my conversion to Christ in the context of a religious background in denominational Christianity (Methodism mainly) and later, alternate spiritual/new age epistemologies, my vocation as a composer in the Bollywood/Indian advertising industry, and as pastor in churches in the US and in India. If music is to weave tradition, Gospel, and cultural experience in a way that empowers people to live authentic lives34 in accord with Jesus Christ and his purpose, then how does this happen through the agency of musicians in this era of globalization?

Three broad areas emerge that help to negotiate issues of musical creativity for mission: music and spirituality, music and culture, and music and mission. Here, I touch upon these briefly in order to move to the framework for creativity.

Episode 1: “Should I bow down to the idol” While taking Hindustani (North tradition) music lessons from a well-known player, part of the learning rituals included bowing down before an idol and touching my guruji’s (teacher’s) feet. I did not mind touching his feet because that was only a matter of showing respect to my

32 I grew up steeped in Western classical music as well as a love for Indian classical musics, and folk and tribal musics. Like many, my love for rock, heavy metal, and were a major influence. So, to begin with investigating the issue from such a perspective would limit it in ways too early in the process of exploration. 33 On the one hand I needed to come to terms with such as a phenomenon; on the other, to learn its language as a phenomenon from an academic perspective. 34 Cf. Mark Hatcher, “Poetry, Singing, and Contextualization,” Missiology an International Review, XXIX, no. 4 (Oct. 2001):475-87, 479. NAIITS 82 Volume 11 teacher. But even though I was a nominal Christian at the time I could not get myself to bow before the idol. This situation seemed rather awkward at first since the other student did this without batting an eye-lid. Furthermore, it was possible that my teacher might have interpreted this as a sign of disrespect. But he was gracious and did not require me to do what I did not feel inclined to do.

The above incident serves as a window into the dilemma facing the negotiating of Christian identity in the context of religious pluralism. What is the relationship between musical identity, spirituality, and culture? Was I compromising on what might have been a more authentic spiritual experience by not conforming to this religious/cultural practice? Was there a connection between spirituality and music that I could not imagine or experience apart from being Hindu or a devotee of a Hindu god? Furthermore, was there a link between instrumental music and spirituality that transcended religious boundaries?

In discussing the “The Origin and Use of Images in India” in the context of India’s religious traditions, Coomaraswamy writes:

Few of those who condemn idolatry, or make its suppression a purpose of missionary activity, have ever seriously envisaged the actual use of images, in historical or psychological perspective, or surmised a possible significance in the fact that the vast majority of men of all races, and in all ages, including the present, Protestants, Hebrews, and Musalmans being the chief exception, have made use of more or less anthropomorphic images as aids to devotion.35

Attempts to accommodate Indian music in Christian worship are indeed appreciated. But how much is done to address the spiritual background and nature of the “discourse” of Indian classical instrumental music? Most often, the result is syncretism – processes of creativity that hinge on creating forms that might be considered sacred in a given context but actually

35 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, “The Origin and Use of Images in India,” in Art, Creativity, and the Sacred, ed., Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (New York: Crossroad, 1984):127-136, 127. Italics mine. NAIITS 83 Volume 11 do little to bridge the gap between those who perceive distinctions between secular and sacred. A recent and prime example in the Western church is the so-called “worship wars” that serve as a testament to the ongoing debate within Western churches about what may or may not be considered sacred! The result: creativity that is supposed to unite and bind together results instead in sowing division and discord. This is sin.36

Music and Spirituality Religious music is an attempt to convey that which is within our reach but beyond our grasp. Heschel37

You are the music while the music lasts. T.S. Elliot38

An in-depth study of music and spirituality is not possible here. However, I would like to draw attention to certain perspectives that concern our discussion. First, in many traditions, sound is sacred.39 It carries potential to draw people into the “joy and the

36 I am not referring to any particular church or ministry; but simply recognizing something of which I too have been part—the need for repentance, and steps to help us, the body of Christ, to re-imagine fresh alternatives that glorify God. 37 Abraham Heschel in Albert L. Blackwell, The Sacred in Music (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999), 31. 38 T.S. Elliot in Don Saliers, Music and Theology (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007), n.p. 39 The issues of music and morality are linked in Plato, but must lead to a further question: To what extent is music grounded in or obliged to be faithful to a world we did not make, a world that we did not fashion but that is in some sense given to us? Cf. Jeremy Begbie, Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (Grand, MI: Baker Academic, 2007). Nadel refers to Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, Hindoo ways of signifying music as “something withdrawn from the conditions of ordinary existence, something at variance with the natural order of things.” S. F. Nadel, “The Origins of Music,” in Readings in Ethnomusicology, David P. McAllester, ed., (1971): 277-291, 283. Also see, Guy L. Beck, Sonic Theology: and Sacred Sound (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1993) regarding the “Sonic Theology” associated with Hinduism. More than a few authors cite sitar maestro, ’s perspective with regard to the religious significance of sound. According to him, the Hindustani music tradition teaches that: “sound is God… Nada Brahma…. [Music is] a kind of spiritual discipline that raises one’s inner being to divine peacefulness and bliss… a knowledge of the true meaning of the universe… to reveal the essence of the universe it reflects… through music, one can reach God.” Donna Marie Wulff, “On Practicing Religiously: Music as Sacred in India,” in Sacred Sound: Music in Religious Thought and Practice, ed. Joyce Irwin, (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983: 149-172), 153. Caccamo cites Victor Zuckerkandl: “What makes music necessary…is that it answers a question. Being musical is having the ability to question. Even after everything nameable, including God, has been NAIITS 84 Volume 11 glory of being human in a God-given created order.”40 Music mediates the spiritual by reinforcing identities and distinguishing boundaries between secular and sacred in worship/religious ritual “as if by some mysterious thread” in all the major religions of the world.41 Second, as a cultural construct the embodied nature of “musics” includes action, multiplicity of reference and meaning that is not always explicit.42

Third, popular music contains “profound religious and spiritual dimensions.”43 Spiritual dimensions of music are not necessarily limited to traditional religious environments (e.g., church, temple, etc.) or concepts of worship of deity.44 Fourth, the reality of neoplatonic dualism as a dominant influence in mediating music while prioritizing a certain kind of spirituality over others. According to Jeremy Begbie, Plato integrated the Greek concept of “ethos” by which music influenced the soul and the formation of good character, especially through certain musical modes; he linked music and morality.45 Such dualism in the spirituality of given a name, there is still a void to be filled, a darkness to be lit up; even after it has given its all-inclusive answers, language still leaves some questions unanswered. In music man finds answers to those very questions.” James F. Caccamo, “The Responsorial Self: Christian Ethics and Ritual Song,” Ph.D. dissertation (Chicago, IL: Loyola University Chicago, 2004), 15. 40 Begbie, Resounding Truth, 148. 41 Cf. Beck, Sonic Theology, 1. 42 Ian Cross, “The Music and Biocultural Evolution,” in The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical Introduction, eds. Martin Clayton, Trevor Herbert, Richard Middleton (New York and London: Routledge, 2003): 19-30, 23. Also cf. Merriam, The Anthropology of Music, 27. 43 Robin Sylvan, Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music (New York: New York University Press 2002), 9. 44 The “decline of religion” in many parts of the Western world is not so much a decline as it is a migration of the “religious impulse” from one part of culture to another where “religious sensibilities” flourish and impact many. See Sylvan, Traces of the Spirit, 3. Increasingly, venues are sites for cultural struggle, the formation of “individual identities into communal solidarities” and active configuration of self, others and modes of interaction at individual, communal, national, and transnational levels. Jennifer Milioto Matsue, “Stars to the State and Beyond: Globalization, Identity, and Asian Popular Music” in The Journal of Asian Studies 72. (2013):5-20. 45 Cf. Begbie on tracing the impact of such thought through the “Great Tradition” – the thought of musical sound as coinciding with or giving expression to cosmic order. See Begbie, Resounding Truth; also; Jeremy S. Begbie and Steven R. Guthrie, eds., Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011); and, on the tensions between verbal and musical in the West, see Joyce Irwin, “‘So Faith Comes from What is Heard’: The Relationship between Music and God’s Word in NAIITS 85 Volume 11 musics can be traced through the Enlightenment46 into modernity.

Fifth, music as “more than words.” A tendency among Western approaches is to consider words as being more significant to music than the music itself (cf. “liturgical logocentrism”47). Adrian Nocent points out that in the Old Testament although instruments were used, they were suspect.48 But the idea of music being relevant for Christian practice so long as it serves the text is not without problems.49 For Saliers, music “crosses the First Two Centuries of German Lutheranism,” in Begbie and Guthrie, Resonant Witness 65-82.] We further note Pythagorean influence on Plato’s philosophy. For Pythagoras (580 BC-500 BC), God’s grace was revealed through contemplation on the mathematics of music, an intellectual pursuit. Relationships of one part of creation to another, of soul to body, people to others, were all “held together by, and subject to, a single cosmic mathematics.” Blackwell, The Sacred in Music, 80. 46 In Resounding Truth, Begbie provides a concise presentation of the development of Christian thought on the role of music: For Augustine (AD 354 – 430), the purpose of music was mainly to draw people to God (ibid., 86). He saw music as a source of temptation and potential addiction because of its capacity to penetrate deep into the soul and influence people (Blackwell, The Sacred in Music, 128). Augustine represents the most influential adaptation of the ancient Platonic tradition with Christian ideas that ever occurred in the Latin Christian world. Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. Saint Augustine, accessed August 23–25, 2008; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42902/Saint-Augustine And this might be true even for his views on music. 47 Lawrence A. Hoffman, “Musical Traditions and Tensions in the American Synagogue,” in Music and the Experience of God, eds. Mary Collins, David Power, and Mellonee Burnim (Edinburgh,UK: T & T Clark Ltd, 1989), 31. 48 Adrian Nocent, “Words and Music in the Liturgy,” in Music and the Experience of God, eds. Collins, Power, and Burnim, op. cit., 128f. For Isaiah certain instruments were obstacles to prayer (Isa 5:12, 16:11, 23:15). Ezekiel considered music a symbol of luxury and the evil life (Ez 26:13). Job associated music with evil (Job 21:12, 30:31). All instruments were excluded except for the Shophar/Shofar. For Christians, Apostle Paul recommends song, “but with what music?” For Clement of Alexandria, man is the only true instrument; worship is spiritual and so instruments are secondary. Ibid. 49 What about oral cultures that might view instrumental music as fully capable of connecting people with God, without need for it to be associated with any kind of text, leave alone Scripture? Emphasis on the “word” in early Christianity does not necessarily amount to focus on the “written” word. In the early church, the “non-clerical, lay-led, word-centered worship – with a spiritualized sacrifice of praise at its heart – provided an important model to the followers of Jesus,” Edward Foley, Foundations of Christian Music: The Music of Pre-Constantine Christianity, American Essays in Liturgy (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press 1996): 14-19. Foley draws attention to the larger “auditory environment” as the context for investigation of the role of music in oral cultures. The significance of writing lies in its “concealed oralism:” the dominance of auditory over visual NAIITS 86 Volume 11 over into what is not heard; the concept of synaesthesis conveys this crossing over, “the awakening of the deeper dimensions of reality and of the soul.”50 Blackwell shares in the acknowledgement of the potential of music to convey “mystical experiences” that “ordinary verbal language is inadequate to convey;”51 and “interpretation is invaluable but practice is fundamental.”52 The concept of “Musizieren” captures the essence of what it means to “commune” through the medium of music with others, music itself, and with the “transcendent source of music’s deep structures and complex manifold.”53

Sixth, the significance of liturgical and ritual contexts. Public liturgies as ritual contexts provide a significant “domain” for transformational modes of listening54 and participation. Musical subcultures provide almost everything for its participants that a traditional religion would, emphasizing “liminal” and “communitas” experiences.55 Ritual contexts assign special significance to instruments and body movements as well.56 If imagery in divine manifestation, the importance of the organs for hearing and seeing, and the dynamic nature of the Hebrew language and thought (e.g., understanding is not a faculty but “is action”). Ibid. 50 Saliers, "Music and Morality," 8f. 51 Blackwell, The Sacred in Music, 211. 52 Ibid., 22. 53 Ibid, 23. For Blackwell, the “universal aesthetic” of music is provided by a Christian worldview that views music as “panentheistic” (everything in God) in nature. It embodies God. How does one get a sense of the divine through music? Blackwell suggests two traditions, Incarnational and Pythagorean, that make up “sacramental consciousness.” The Incarnational tradition refers to the audibly perceptible music as a means of God’s grace. The Pythagorean tradition refers to the conceptual or that which is perceived in our minds, the “logic of music,” as potentially sacramental, “an intellectual joy.” According to Blackwell, together, these two traditions provide for a well-rounded grasp of the significance of music and its “sacramental potential.” Blackwell, The Sacred in Music, 38-46. 54 Cf. Saliers, Music and Theology, 76. Further, we are not referring to music as it pertains to worship in the context of the gathering of Christian believers. However, the leitourgia in terms of the public service on behalf of the people takes place not merely in the context of “worship” within the walls of the church. But liturgy is enacted when God’s people respond to His Spirit to serve God wherever they may be. Hawn adopts the approach “liturgy may break out anywhere” in his study of congregational singing. C. Michael Hawn, Gather into One: Praying and Singing Globally (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 5. 55 Sylvan, Traces of the Spirit, 8f, 35-38. 56 According to Nketia, “Musical interaction takes place in a ritual event when a group of performers engaged in music-making respond to one another or behave in a manner intended to respond to or influence the disposition, attitude or behavior of a deity, an ancestor, a person or a group of persons;” but the NAIITS 87 Volume 11 body movements are a principal feature of ritual action, then it is these that must be used rather than words to communicate.57 Movement is a “process of becoming” or the transformation of individual or group from one state of being to another.58

Seven, the formative potential of music. Through music we want to re-form our emotional experience, to provide a context for the emotions to “dwell” (to use imagery from Psalm 84), to offer the possibility to linger in this.59

Episode 2: “What’s your culture?” After college I had left New Delhi to study music in America. After a few years I found myself back in India composing and performing the music for a Tamil street theater company in Chennai. One of the Tamil-speaking participants, apparently confused by my appearance (possibly, my long hair, Western attire, etc., and the fact that I did not fully understand or speak the local language), asked with genuine concern, “What’s your culture?”

Neither of us was referring to “culture” in Geertzian terms. I certainly was clueless at the time. However, as I begin to better understand the whole idea of culture as a meaning-making mechanism, I realize the perspectives influencing my choices, music being my primary identity, made me a foreigner in my own society. The proximity of the “other” in the wake of

significance of music does not lie only in its symbolic significance. It also provides for the affirmation of communal values and renewal of bonds and sentiments that bind a community. J. H. Kwabenia Nketia, “Musical Interaction in Ritual Events,” in Music and the Experience of God; Mary Collins, David Power, and Mellonee V. Burnim, eds. (Edinburgh: T & T Clark Ltd., 1989), 112. 57 Begbie, Resounding Truth, 217. 58 Collins, Power, and Burnim, in Music and the Experience of God, n.p. 59 Constitutive rhetoric serves to construct a collective identity for an addressed audience, constructs the audience as a subject in history, and demands that subjects act in accordance with their identity as enacted in history. Cf. Maurice Charland, “Constitutive Rhetoric: The Case of the Peuple Québécois,” in Landmark Essays on Rhetorical Criticism, T. Benson, ed. (Davis, CA: Hermagoras, 1993), 213–234. Cf. Meyer, Emotion and Meaning in Music. Concerning the significance of Charland’s theory, see Mark Lewis, The Diffusion of Black Gospel Music in Postmodern Denmark: How Mission and Music Are Combining to Affect Christian Renewal, in The Asbury Theological Seminary Series in World Christian Revitalization Movements in Intercultural Studies, no. 3 (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2010). NAIITS 88 Volume 11 globalization forces us to move away from standard structural- functionalist anthropological models and search for alternate ways of affirming our common humanity and its telos in Christ.60 According to Forte, drawing from Nigel Rapport, the question of “Who is ‘at home’ is… more a matter of the nature and purpose of particular exchanges, rather than absolute identities.”61

Transcultural Musics The phenomenon of transnational identities is pertinent more so today for a vast majority of musicians whose “musics and audience are not limited to a local geographical area” and where the creation of music as well as “ways in which people listen to or participate in music is so much more complex” due to processes of globalization.62 Transnationalism, diaspora, pilgrimage routes, mobility, multiplicity, and multidirectionality

60 Cf. Paul Hiebert, et. al., Understanding Folk Religions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books),77. Segovia articulates “a Hermeneutics of the Diaspora,” which in essence captures the “liminal” experience of ICMs in mission: “We are … always strangers or aliens, the permanent ‘others,’ both where we came from and where we find ourselves. As such, we find ourselves always defined by somebody else — in our traditional world by those whom we left behind and in our present world by those with whom we live; silenced and speechless — without an autochthonous, self-conscious, and firm voice; and without a home of our own — excluded and condemned by such external definitions and such lack of voice. On the one hand, we know and understand, however, regretfully and painfully, the definition of those we left behind — a permanent and living association elsewhere does remove one slowly but surely from one’s traditional world. On the other hand, we suffer and fail to comprehend the definition of those with whom we live — our permanent and everyday association is disdained and rejected. Such ‘otherness,’ bestowed upon us and defined for us, overwhelms and overrides us, depriving us not only of a present, past, and future but also of self- definition, self-appropriation, and self-direction.” Fernando S. Segovia, “Towards a Hermeneutics of the Diaspora,” in The Modern Theologians Reader, David F. Ford, Mike Higton, et. al., eds. (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012): 325-329, 326. Italics mine. 61 Forte, Indigenous Cosmopolitans, 13. 62 According to the “Research Centre for Transnational Art. Identity. Nation” (TrAIN) the reorganization of cultural boundaries has created “new identities outside and beyond those of the nation state. It is no longer easy to define the nature of the local and the international, and many cultural interactions now operate on the level of the transnational.” TrAIN, accessed May 28,2013; http://www.transnational.org.uk/about The torrent of popular culture, new age spiritualities, technological development, and diverse social networks have resulted in a condensation of space and time resulting in an “intensification of interdependencies” paving the way for global interconnectedness at an unprecedented level. See Eugenia Siapera, Cultural Diversity and Global Media: the Mediation of Difference (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 25. NAIITS 89 Volume 11

(of encounters) provide new spaces for “musical fission and fusion.”63

In retrospect, the above narrative demonstrates the “place” of music as a context for the negotiation of identities via intercultural, interreligious, and prophetic dialogue. Both of us were operating out of concepts of identity derived from polarized absolutes (if I were to loosely read into the situation, nationalism for him, and for me my own hybrid cluelessness) that somehow recognized the “other” in each of us but did not know how to make sense of it.

Music and Culture From a cultural standpoint, music might be defined as having general attributes, such as,

roots in sound and movement, heterogeneity of meaning, a grounding in social interaction, and a personalized significance, together with an apparent inefficacy. Music embodies, entrains, and transposably internationalizes time in sound and action.64

It refers to patterned sound;65 it is expressive culture;66 it does not merely reflect people but produces, creates them, and invites

63 Stokes, “On Musical Cosmopolitanism,” 4. 64 Cross, “The Music and Biocultural Evolution,” 24. 65 Seeger, Why Suyá Sing, xiv. The issue being, who is doing the patterning? According to Merriam, music is “a complex of activities, ideas, and objects that are patterned into culturally meaningful sounds recognized to exist on a level different from secular communication.” Merriam, The Anthropology of Music, 27. The boundary between “music” and “noise” is challenged by innovations in sound composition. Cf. Christoph Cox and Daniel Warner, eds., Audio Culture (New York, NY: Continuum, 2009), xiv. “How do musical practices within the new ‘audio culture’ complicate the definition of ‘music’ and its distinction from ‘silence,’ ‘noise,’ and ‘sound’? In what ways do they challenge traditional conceptions of authorship, minimalism, free improvisation … and electronic experimentation employed by artists from different backgrounds?” Ibid., xv. 66 As “expressive culture” it embodies the beliefs, values, and attitudes of the culture. In expressive behavior, the experience itself is a central part of the meaning (Hiebert, et. al., Understanding Folk Religions, 237). The aesthetics of music “is not to reflect a reality which stands behind it but to ritualize a reality that is within it.” Simon Frith, “Music and Identity,” in Questions of Culture and Identity, eds. Stuart Hall and Paul du Gay, eds. ( London; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996): 108-27, 111. NAIITS 90 Volume 11 participation.67 This generative capacity of music makes it an invaluable instrument for the creation and recreation of identities.68

Cosmopolitanism and Creative Consciousness The term “cosmopolitanism”69 offers a way in which to theorize musical creative agency in the complexity of globalization. It provides a palpable link between spatial imagination (imagined space) and creative imagination. It is a cumulative process70 of social transformation.71 It is typically marked by mobility,72 learning, new geographies – center and periphery not as valid as it used to be – and the polycentric emergence of new

67 Ibid., 110. “It is in deciding – playing and hearing what sounds right – that we both express ourselves, our own sense of rightness … and lose ourselves, in an act of participation.” Ibid. 68 In this context, repetition (of musical phrases) is not merely an affirmation of mental categories of thought, but the process of repetition allows one to go further into the experience of the reality being performed. The steady beats of Ojibway songs or that of hip-hop and trance would be “boring” if merely analyzed in terms of text. Similarly improvisation patterns of chordal harmonies or melodic movements in jazz by themselves do not constitute musical behavior in its entirety. See Ted C. Lewellen, The Anthropology of Globalization: Cultural Anthropology Enters the 21st Century (Westport, CN: Bergin & Garvey, 2002). 69 According to Brown and Held, Diogenes of Sinope (400-323 BC) claimed he was a “citizen of the world” in response to questions regarding his place of origin. Diogenes was referring to the moral interconnectedness among all universal citizens (kosmopolites) “and that as a member of the cosmos he could not be defined merely by his city-state affiliation.” Garrett Wallace Brown and David Held, The Cosmopolitan Reader (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010), 4. Ulrich Beck distinguishes between globalization and cosmopolitanism: “Globalism champions the idea of the world market, preaches the virtues of neo-liberal growth, and acclaims the benefits of the more or less unobstructed movement of capital, goods and persons across frontiers.” Ulrich Beck, “Cosmopolitical Realism: on the Distinction between Cosmopolitanism in Philosophy and the Social Sciences,” in Global Networks 4, 2, (2004): 131-156, 135. On the other hand “cosmopolitanization” makes it possible “to go beyond the current vision of ‘international relations’ and to analyse the multiple forms of interdependence not only between states but also between other players at various levels of aggregation.” Ibid., 132. 70 Paul Hopper, Understanding Cultural Globalization (Malden, MA: Polity, 2007), 178. 71 Nikos Papastergiadis, Cosmopolitanism and Culture (Malden, MA: Polity 2012), 137. 72 Cf. “connected cosmopolitans,” in Hopper, Understanding Cultural Globalization, 172. NAIITS 91 Volume 11 modernities,73 multiple and intersected networks and “interconnected nodes.”74 In the cosmopolitanism context, more than physical proximity, “spaces of flows” (interchange between nodes) and “timeless time” (“continuous, always on, undifferentiated time”) are the new organizing principles.75 Further, it envisions a moral obligation of humans to others “beyond their immediate communal spheres.”76 With this there is a division of theoretical spaces into political- economic/technological bases and cultural superstructures.77 In the West, was a marketing category created by industry professionals in 1987 to commodify ethnic sounds of the “rest” in relation to the West.78 The reconceptualization of

73 See Kolland in Thomas Burkhalter, Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut, Routledge Studies in Ethnomusicology (New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2013), 13. 74 Cf. Castells in Siapera, Cultural Diversity and Global Media, 184. 75 Ibid. Nikos Papastergiadis notes that artists nowadays aim to “stage an open conversation between the local and the global.” This is evident in the “range of locally grounded and globally oriented artistic tendencies – denationalization, reflexive hospitality, cultural translation, discursivity and the global public sphere”; these are a result of a “cosmopolitan imaginary” that arises from an encounter with the other in the form of “ethical relations,” “political networks,” and “cultural platforms.” Papastergiadis, Cosmopolitanism and Culture , 9. 76 Brown and Held, The Cosmopolitan Reader, 6. From early monotheistic thinking from the Egyptian Anhnaton (1526 BC) to Cicero in De Republica, the Stoics, the Judeo-Christian thought of Augustine (354-430), Aquinas (1225-74), and Luther (1483-1546), and even among other Neo-thomistic thinkers, Las Casas (1484-1566). Ibid. 77See Philip V. Bohlmann, World Music: A Very Short Introduction (New York, NY: OUP, 2002); and, John Connell and Chris Gibson, Sound Tracks: Popular Music, Identity, and Place (London, UK: Routledge, 2004), 349. Martin Stokes offers a Popular consensus and a Critical consensus through which to better understand the processes of musical cosmopolitanism as an activity within the larger context of globalization. Popular consensus, in general, refers to the widespread circulation, accessibility, familiarity, interactivity, hybridity, and global soundscapes that characterize the flow of music in the context of globalization. Critical consensus, according to Stokes, looks closely at processes by which recording companies exploit regional markets, create genres and personalities (stars), connect “big stars with small sounds,” sample, record, reinvent sounds, reproduce and intensify racial/ gender status quo, and encourage participation in the metropolitan market. Martin Stokes, “On Musical Cosmopolitanism,” EMacalester International Roundtable 2007, Paper 3; http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/intlrdtable/3 78 Connell and Gibson recollect the words of Ian Anderson of Rogue Records who was present at the meeting when such a genre was decided upon: “The logic set out … was that an established, unified generic name would give retailers a place where they could confidently rack otherwise unstockable releases, and where customers might both search out items they’d heard on the radio (not knowing NAIITS 92 Volume 11

“cultural imperialism” by the West and its power differentials through the genre of World Music cannot be ignored.79 In neoliberalism, borders do not exist; for others, borders as “anxiety-ridden space” is the overarching contextual reality.80 In this context, Stokes asks: What is the role of music in the task of “world-making?”81 What aspects of “global” development, civilization, and universality82 are represented in processes of creativity amongst ICMs?

In introducing the concept of “migrants” in Migrating Music, Dueck identifies three different avenues for exploring spatial flows and encounters of music: Imaginaries, Public spaces, and Intimacies. According to Dueck, a social imaginary emerges when people in a given context “engage circulating performances and publications … as they take up roles in relation to these ‘texts’ – whether as audience members or as participants who themselves contribute additional broadcasts and publications.”83 As an example of such imaginary, he how to spell a mis-pronounced or mis-remembered name or title) and browse through a wider catalogue. Various titles were discussed including ‘Worldbeat’ (left out anything without drums), ‘Tropical’ (bye bye Bulgarians), ‘Ethnic’ (boring and academic), ‘International Pop’… and ‘roots’…. ‘World Music’ seemed to include the most and omit the least… . Nobody thought of defining it or pretending there was such a beast: it was just to be a box, like jazz, or classical or rock. John Connell and Chris Gibson, “The Sound and Space of Music; World Music: Deterritorializing Place and Identity” in Progress in Human Geography 28, 3, (2004): 342-361, 350. 79Cf. Rauza Bayazitova, “Cultural Integration: Effect of Music on Cultures,” in School of International Service, American University, Feature Edition, Issue 2 (Franklin Publishing Company, 2012): 102-112. In this study, Bayazitova draws from Drane, et.al to assert the “Americanization” of “cultural globalization.” Bayazitova, “Cultural Integration,” 106. In a study of emigration of a 100 million people across the world in the 19th century, Mintz notes that the virtual absence of “nonwhite” peoples to the North was not because they chose not to emigrate, but because of “European racism abroad.” Sidney W. Mintz, “The Localization of Anthropological Practice: from Area Studies to Transnationalism,” in Critique of Anthropology, vol. 18, 2 (1998):117-133, 122. 80 Martin Stokes, “Music and the global order,” in Annual Review of Anthropology, 33 (2004):47-72, 51. 81 Stokes is careful to point out that “spaces of musical encounter and exchange” cannot be explained purely in terms of “cultural imperialism.” Stokes, “On Musical Cosmopolitanism,” 4. 82 Ibid., 57. 83 Dueck defines social imaginary as from Warner (2002): “A social imaginary comes into being when people, largely unknown to one another, come to share a sense of affiliation.” Jason Toynbee and Byron Dueck, Migrating Musics (New York, NY: Routledge 2011), 22. NAIITS 93 Volume 11 suggests “[b]oundary-crossing imaginaries constituted through embodied, expressive, sacred and ethically motivated practice.”84

“Public spaces” are distinguished by the reality of “reciprocal, real-time interaction,” “strategic and inventive repurposing,” and the immediacy and “confrontational character” as compared to broadcast sounds. Do people consider the musics of ICMs as “alien” encounter with foreignness in some way, or “palpable sonic icons of cultural alterity” and perhaps pleasurable?85

“Intimacies” focuses on the social interactions between “intimates – kin, friends and fellow musicians and dancers,” reconnection to memories of home, pressure to identify with what is authentic or real by reasserting “ongoing, reciprocal relationships with kin and friends,” and the “feelingful intimacies” of “religious devotion and encounter.”86 What kinds of “publics” do ICMs interact with in their processes of musical creativity?

Cosmopolitanism is usually characterized as a “gathering of cultural influences, allegiances and experiences.” The challenge: What happens when the “non-negotiability” of cosmopolitanism (the in-your-face-diversity) confronts the singular truth of the Gospel? What can we learn from the discourse of ICMs as they translate and mediate Christ through their musical creativity?

Episode 3: “Does music make you think?” I was once asked, what initially appeared to me as shocking, a question by a person who served on the board of a well-known international ministry focusing on apologetics. In response to learning that I was a musician intending to serve the Lord through music missions, he asked in a condescending tone, “but does music make you think?” For him the underlying assumption was that music did not really factor in when it came to apologetics. In retrospect, his statement revealed a perspective with roots in neoplatonism and Western Enlightenment thinking that linked the ability to think primarily with certain forms of

84 Ibid., 23. 85 Ibid., 24. 86 Ibid., 24f. NAIITS 94 Volume 11 ratio-cognitive processes rather than music and the arts in general.

However, if a creative expression is linked to a creative being, then a devaluation of creativity amounts to a devaluation of the creator. The answer to the problem of creativity is not merely to “redeem the arts” – it is, if the arts are a “tool” to be used, merely a husk for something more precious to be unraveled in the inner core, but locating creative expression in the context of a theology of creativity.

ICMs offer a way to re-theorize creativity due to the sheer de- construction of space and time as compared with traditional anthropological constructs. On the other hand, the language of creativity helps to re-theorize identity in the context of globalization, Indigenous Cosmopolitanism in particular; this allows for the agency of the artist as a key component in the re- articulation of theological vision for church renewal.

Creativity and Captivity: a Biblical Scenario How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? Psalm 137:4

The phenomenon of the formation transcultural identities in the course of migration is not new. Although we may conceptualize the onto-epistemic captivity of creativity in terms of modernity, the problem is not without biblical antecedent. This is clear in the language of the song from Psalm 137.87 It sounds the dilemma of a people who are displaced (no longer in the “place” of their origin and choosing), dispossessed (no longer surrounded by the “things” and relationships that speak to and inform their identity as a people/ nation), and disembedded (out of their “comfort zone” and cultural context, in a “foreign land”). The following table may be used to develop a framework for understanding the nature of the problem faced by the Jews in Psalm 137. Here, we compare this with a framework for

87 The Psalm voices a lament of the exiled community in Babylon. See William Holladay, The Psalms through Three Thousand Years: Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses (Minneapolis, MN: Augsberg Fortress, 1996), 307. For the Jews, being “by the rivers of Babylon” signified a loss of identity, a thwarting of God’s intended purpose, and a period of emotional upheaval and moral confusion. From this site of transition a fervent and fearful appeal is made to God to wrought destruction on the enemies, the “daughter of Babylon” (cf. Psalm 137:7-9). NAIITS 95 Volume 11 creativity88 to address parallel issues faced by ICMs in the current global moment.

(Missiological) Framework Broad themes from Psalm 137:4 for Theological Creativity (Gen.1,2 and NT) Creative Being (creatio Dei) Creativity and Epistemology/ (“In the beginning God Ontology (“How”) created…”) (Gen.1:1) Creativity and Collaboration Creative Construction (“we”) (“the heavens and the earth”) (Gen. 1:2) Creativity and Construction Creative Community (“let us”) (“sing”) (Gen.1:26)

Creativity and Particularity Creative Beauty (doubly (“the Lord’s song”) “good”) (Gen.1:31) Creativity and Context Creative Dialogue (“in a foreign land”) (Gen.1:5-7; 2:7; “new song”)

For the Jews in Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon” is a place of captivity. The onto-epistemic captivity89 is evident beneath the rhetoric of lament. “How” indeed were they to sing a new song when the locus of their identity as a nation, Zion, was in ruins?90

88 This is not intended as a comprehensive framework for creative mission, but serves to begin to ask questions pertaining to the construction of a theology of creativity. 89 The problem from a theological perspective: “To what degree and how can finite human language convey knowledge of the transcendent Creator?” See R. R. Reno, “Theology’s Continental Captivity,” in First Things, Issue Archive April, accessed May 28, 2013; http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/01/theology 8217s-continental-captivity---18 And for this reason we might refer to it as an “epistemological captivity” (cf. Abraham in Wood, Theology as History and Hermeneutics, 226.) Singing “songs of Zion” had direct implications for their identity as people of Zion, which was in ruins! It was not so much a problem of a lack of human creativity, but a “retreating renunciation of human dignity” (cf. Reno, “Theology’s Continental Captivity.”) 90 The symbolic and rhetorical use of the terms “Zion” and “Babylon” in Psalm 137 has served to polarize perceptions of Empire or colonial hegemonic influence (Babylon) on one hand and the ultimate hope and destiny of God’s people (Zion) on the other hand. Jerusalem and Zion had a deep religious meaning with tangible teleological bearings. Zion referred to the stronghold of Jerusalem, the city of David, the place for the Ark of the Covenant; the place, the NAIITS 96 Volume 11

Could it be that they had to learn the hard lesson that their identity as a people did not lie in a place, but rather as a people who live by the mercy of God and in obedience to God?91

In addition, who’s the “we”? For the Israelites in exile, the idea that “non-Israelites may well be a part of the future plans of God in constructing a people again after the exilic crisis”92 was a lesson that they seemed to have forgotten and which they had to re-learn and re-imagine in a very specific sense. Was it not the Lord who brought them here in the first place?93

For the Jews, learning to “sing” with the other was a foreign idea, leave alone doing so on their terms and turf. In Psalm 137 the Babylonian is the “other.” The captivity is evident in the Israelites’ perception – what does [our] “Lord’s song” have to do with “them”?

Interestingly, the problem is not merely the details of what is to be sung – that is somewhat clear at least for this group of aliens – it is “the Lord’s song.” But how do we enact a public liturgy in a hostile context? Has the church in some sense forgotten how to sing the Lord’s song in the current geophysical and geospiritual terrain? If so, what’s it going to take as we “re-imagine” how to sing the Lord’s song, along with those who are fellow heirs and partakers of the Gospel (cf. Eph.3:6)?

The construction of unique Yahweh songs that clearly differentiated their identity from the other was a challenge – learning to “sing” without compromising the truth – to sing the “Lord’s song” with “clarity, objectivity, and perpetuity.”94 Processes of creativity need to result in transcending ethnocentric formulations of identity and reality. The silver lining in the cloud of their predicament was that in their forms, and the assemblies of Israel’s worship. The name applied to the city of Jerusalem and the “city of God.” Swanson and Nave, Logos Research Systems. 91 Cf. Hos.1:9,10b; 1 Pe. 2:10. Epistemological captivity for the exiles was not a mere accident. Recall the journey of the captives of Judah from Palestine to Babylon in other Scripture (2Ki. 24-25; Dan. 1). The fact of the matter is that God sent the Babylonians (Hab.1:5–11) for a purpose—that they might know Him. 92 Daniel Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 134. 93 Trace the journey: Hab.1:5-11; 2 Ki.24-25; Dan. 1. 94 See Guarino in Reno, “Theology’s Continental Captivity.” NAIITS 97 Volume 11 embrace of “the weakening of the idea of truth” they entered into the “freedom to live in tolerant harmony with others.”95

Creative Vision: Imagination and Historiography The following question was once asked of me: “If you could choose to be present at any given historical event, which one would it be?” The answer came to me in a flash; it was as if God planted the thought in my mind. I answered: Creation. Can you imagine what it might have been like when God said: "let there be light,” and immediately light begins to emit at approximately 186,000 miles per second? What might that have looked and felt like seated in the lap of God?

Creative imagination through the arts is instrumental for understanding the universe and our place in it; through it we can know truth and gain knowledge.96 In the Apostle Paul’s response to the Aeropagus in Athens, we notice that it is not the work of art, the “unknown god,” that is being evaluated but the source of its inspiration, the imagination.97 In his apologetic, Paul proposes the following reasoning: Does creativity lie primarily within the confines of the “art and imagination of man” or in a relationship with God?98 The “unknown God” is a product of the artist’s (and community’s) “ignorance” (Acts 17:30) of a personal God who is Judge of all things. Paul has no problem in assigning to an art

95 Ibid. 96 Matthew Dickerson, The Mind and the Machine: What it Means to be Human and Why it Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2011), 137 and 186. 97 In context, for Paul it is not so much the piece of art or music that will be the subject of scrutiny on the Day of Judgment but the imagination, which God sees. In the NT, ἐνθύµησις at Mt. 9:4; 12:25 and Hb. 4:12, is the unexpressed and hidden thing in man which God’s omniscience sees and judges. It can also imply what is foolish or wicked. TDNT, s.v. ἐνθύµησις, (1964). 98 In his response to the Aeropagus in Acts 17, Paul is attributing their collective existence to a singular, causative, and personal source—“God’s offspring,” as opposed to “his offspring” (Zeus’) from Aratus’ poem .cf. translation of Phaenomena by Aratus and D.A. Kidd, Phaenomena (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Paul’s starting point is the assumption (“being then”) that their collective existence is derived from their identity as “God’s offspring.” This perspective obviates (“we ought”) a certain way of thinking (“not to think”) that results in creative expression. It is interesting that Paul does not begin his apologia with trying to establish the existence of God. He takes this for granted. It is the particular nature of the Creator, who is also the Lord of heaven and earth that he emphasizes (cf. v.24). For our investigation, therefore, we might ask, where do ICMs begin with their theological reasoning when it comes to conceptualizing music? NAIITS 98 Volume 11 form the potential of an apologia for the Christian faith. The concern is not that art can properly convey knowledge or truth; the problem is what knowledge and truth does it convey and represent?99 How do processes of musical creativity allow for the interpenetration of the human and divine?100

In a creative historiography, the Creative Being of God in Gen.1:1, God’s act of creation is a historical event. Part of the journey for me has been to confront my westernized configurations of history, space, and time in terms of past, present, and future. According to Cardoza-Orlandi, history is in the “now”; in fact, “the prophetic implies the eschatological” by way of an “eschatological conversation in the time and space continuum.”101 He suggests “hope, memory, and expectations” as a way to challenge Western historiography.102 How do ICMs link participants to the eschatological present? The gateways of hope, memory, and experience extend evaluation of the process of musical creativity based upon lyrics or feelings generated, while not diminishing the significance of these metrics.

Creatio Dei103 If the church exists because of the missio Dei,104 then it might be said that the missio Dei exists because of the creatio Dei. The creativity of God expressed through music in specific terms invites more questions than answers. As an academic discipline, in general, creativity is approached as a psychological aspect of

99 This is not to reduce the arts to “poster potential” but to suggest that the “usefulness of art comes from its worth and beauty, rather than vice versa” as Tolkein might suggest. Dickerson, The Mind and the Machine, 140. 100 Gerard Hall refers to Raimon Panikkar’s “cosmotheandric dialogue” by which he reiterates: “The cosmic no less than the divine is an irreducible dimension of reality, and neither is subservient to humanity, although humanity is unthinkable without the interpenetration of divine and material dimensions.” Gerald Hall, “A Foundational Category for Practical Theology,” IJPT, vol. 14, (2010): 34-46, 40. 101Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi, “Prophetic Dialogue: a Historical Perspective bending Time in History to Rediscover the Gospel,” in Missiology: An International Review, 41, 1 (2013): 22-34, 23f. 102 Ibid., 26. 103 Should we read this as a noun, “the creation of God,” or a verb, the “creativity of God,” or both? 104 No mission, no church. SeeDavid J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis 1991), 389-90. But conversely — no creation, no mission. NAIITS 99 Volume 11 human potential.105 However, creativity cannot be separated from personhood.106 If the locus of the creative impulse is generated within and is inseparable from Trinitarian expressions of being, then in what sense do artists locate themselves within such an environment?107 Here, I briefly introduce creatio Dei in terms of Creative Being, Creative Construction, and Creative Dialogue (conclusion).

Creative Being (Gen.1:1):108 First, creatio Dei addresses creativity as both entity and process; it affirms the personhood

105 In the nineteenth century, authors concentrated on asking five basic questions: What is creativity? Who has creativity? What are the characteristics of creative people? Who should benefit from creativity? Can creativity be increased through conscious effort? Becker (1995) in Mark A. Runco and Robert S. Albert, “Creativity Research: A Historical View,” in The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity, eds. James C. Kaufman and Robert J. Sternberg (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010): 3-19, 13. For extensive and varied definitions of creativity please consult Kaufman and Sternberg, The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. Concerning “musical creativity,” see G. Mazzola, Joomi Park, and Florian Thalmann, Musical Creativity: Strategies and Tools in Composition and Improvisation (Berlin: Springer, 2011); available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24517-6 According to Plucker et.al., creativity is “The interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context.” J.A. Plucker, “Generalization of Creativity across Domains: Examination of the Method Effect Hypothesis,” in Journal of Creative Behavior, 38, (2004): 1-12; and J.A. Plucker andMatthew C. Makel, “Assessment of Creativity,” in The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity, 48-75, p. 49. 106 In the Orthodox Christian view, God’s acts of creative expression in creation and redemptive history cannot be separated from his Being. According to John Zizioulas: “Love is not an emanation or ‘property’ of the substance of God … but is constitutive of His substance, i.e. it is that which makes God what He is, the one God…. Love as God’s mode of existence ‘hypostasizes’ God, constitutes His being.” John D. Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (Crestwood, N.Y.: Saint Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1985), 46. 107 In what sense do artists in Christian mission exemplify the creative expression of God? In theological terms, in what sense do Christian musicians see themselves and are regarded by others “as a hypostasis of the substance [of God], as a concrete and unique identity”? Cf. Zizioulas, Being as Communion, 46. For insights on creative participation in the community of the Trinity please see Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). 108 To understand God creating the “heavens” as sacred and the earth as “secular” is a battle that I do not want to fight. That I will leave for the shores of Western epistemology. Sadly, however a majority of resources are spent to fight that battle—good or bad music, worship wars. ICMs’ ontologies are problematic in this regard since by virtue of their placement in “borderlands” they inadvertently debunk categories of mythologization that truth and NAIITS 100 Volume 11 of God in contiguity with the creativity of God and creation. Second, by virtue of locating creativity in the context of a personal God, creative expression, per se, is imbued with a moral dimension.109 The problem for the Athenians was not necessarily “good” or “bad” art but an insufficient onto- epistemic framework that Paul seeks to redirect.110 Third, it draws attention to the cosmic proportions of the link between music, meaning, and identity. The aesthetics of music “is not to reflect a reality which stands behind it but to ritualize a reality that is within it.”111 Fourth, creatio Dei relocates the process of creativity not merely in the first act of creation112 but simultaneously in the recreation of humanity through Christ and knowledge to fixed times, places, and strategies (e.g., singular center-periphery to polycentric spaces of flow etc.). 109 This is different from how Plato might consider music to have a moral dimension. It might be worth recollecting at this point that for Plato, music “was not a neutral amusement. It could express and encourage virtue — nobility, dignity, temperance, chastity. But it could also express and encourage vice — sensuality, belligerence, indiscipline.” Roger Scruton, "Music and Morality," American Spectator, 43, no. 1: 42 (2010), 1. In general, I concur with Plato on the fact of the morality of music, but not necessarily on its nature or source. It is important to recognize that we arrive at the understanding from two different assumptions – for Plato, the notion of the “ideal state” or absolute; for me, personification of the Absolute in the personhood of Jesus Christ— and so with different implications. 110 Paul engages the “men of Athens” to reconsider the basis for their creative expression; for them it was the “Unknown God” but according to Paul it is “In him — ‘The God who made the word and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth’ — that we live and move and have our being” (cf. Acts 17:22- 28). Relatedly, Begbie writes with regard to establishing theological bearings pertaining to a “Christian account for beauty.” He writes, “Our primary orientation … will not be to an experience of the beautiful, nor to an aesthetics, but to the quite specific God attested in Scripture…. If an account of beauty is to be theo-logical in Christian terms, its logos or rationale will take its shape primarily from the being and acts of this theos.” Begbie and Guthrie, Resonant Witness , 84. 111 Frith, “Music and Identity,” 111. 112 Interestingly, Pannenberg’s Systematic Theology, vol.1, (1991 [1988]), contains no direct reference to Genesis 1. This is indicative of a bias of Western systematic theology that tends to interpret grace primarily in relation to the consequence of sin rather than as something prior to human need for redemption. Of course not all theologians in the West assume such a stance. Brown argues for “continuing revelation” post Incarnation, for “the conclusion was drawn that God, in sketching or defining himself through the human, had in effect endorsed all that was best in human creativity….” David Brown, Tradition & Imagination: Revelation & Change (Oxford: OUP, 1999), 326. A theology of creativity, therefore, extends the Incarnation in emphasizing Christ’s role in creation as well as the Father’s role in making space for the holy “other.” NAIITS 101 Volume 11 by the power of the Spirit.113 Fifth, by locating the task of creativity in the context of the creatio Dei, the idea of mission is expanded upon by providing a theological harness that undergirds the missio Dei. To this end, it could serve as an ontological category in its own right along with theories of imago Dei and missio Dei.114 Sixth, the reconceptualization of creativity moves from asking “what is creativity?” to asking “where is creativity?”115 This is significant in terms of establishing a relational framework for creativity.116

Creative Construction – God creates form and meaning:117 form to what is “formless” and meaning to what is “void” (Gen.1:2). In Creation, God “saw,” “said,” “separated,” “blessed,” “gave,”

113 According to Guthrie “art-making is a paradigmatically human activity” and the Spirit restores our humanity, voices, bodies, community, freedom, and vocation. Steven R. Guthrie, Creator Spirit: the Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), xvi. 114 The understanding that Liberation Theology in Latin America emerged due in part to the lack of missio Dei (as it evolved in the West, cf. WCC at Willingen 1952) to fully acknowledge the realities of the Latin American context in general is significant [cf. Leonardo Boff and Clodovis Boff, Introducing Liberation Theology (Great Britain: Burns & Oates, 1987)]. The apparent vacuum in Western systematic theology concerning the interpretation of Scripture and theology through a hermeneutic of creativity is indicative of a need for the emergence of a theology—creatio Dei – that recognizes and validates such an approach. 115 Cziksentmihalyi, “Creativity.” 116 “Psychologists tend to see creativity exclusively as a mental process [but] creativity is as much a cultural and social as it is a psychological event. Therefore what we call creativity is not the product of single individuals, but of social systems making judgments about individual’s products. Any definition of creativity that aspires to objectivity, and therefore requires an intersubjective dimension, will have to recognise the fact that the audience is as important to its constitution as the individual to whom it is credited.” M. Csikszentmihalyi, “Creativity,” in Handbook of Creativity, ed. R. Sternberg, online (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 313-315; accessed August 12, 2011, http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/11443_01_Henry_Ch01.pdf 117 Here we affirm three realities: 1) things exist; (2) things exist for a purpose; (3) humans assign meanings to things (construction). A theology of creativity links these three realities in a dynamic way for mission. If forms are simply whatever it means to whomever (context), then what makes some forms more or less meaningful than others? For Plato, forms are “exemplars.” See Plato, “Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,” accessed January 7, 2013; http://www.iep.utm.edu/plato/#SH6b This allows a basis for evaluating forms, with which I agree. However, what this basis or “perfect” form is, from which forms derive their nature or meaning, is the question. When it comes to music the situation is amplified because the “form” of music, at least in its sonic dimension, is unseen. NAIITS 102 Volume 11

“made” – “and it was so.” The active engagement of God through speaking, seeing, making, and bringing about order in creation has implications for missiology.

According to Steven Guthrie,

The form of creation, however, is not the restrictive, sterilizing imposition of limits. Rather, the forms of day and night, sky and firmament, sea and land are nothing less than open space in which all the teeming, blooming diversity of creaturely being can flourish. The destructive, malignant chaos tohu wabohu is supplanted by peace (shalom), the ordered fullness of right relationship.118

Does Christian artistry pattern God’s freedom in creation? What are some of the issues and challenges in the processes of Christian artistry; and, for example, in the construction of music – text, tone, contexts, instruments, and experiences? How do artists choose to infuse their particular cultural constructions – music, art, and instruments – with meaning? What sorts of influences (epistemologies) shape the ways in which they construct their music? In what way is it continuous or discontinuous with the surrounding culture? What contingencies are involved?

A theology of creativity with its valuation of the material “causes us to value the particulars of the material world – cabbages and mountains, insects and rocks, songs and statues in all their concrete uniqueness.”119 The material significance of the human body (cf. Rom. 12:1) amplified in the resurrected body of Christ in no uncertain terms (and through Him the promise of the Resurrection for human body forms), reinforces the “primordial goodness of embodied human existence.”120 In terms of the individual and collective nature of the body of Christ and the roles of ICMs therein, we may affirm that musical creativity invites a re-imagination of what it means to believe, for

118 Guthrie, Creator Spirit, 188. Italics mine. 119 Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God, 122. 120 James K.A. Smith, The Fall of Interpretation: Philosophical Foundations for a Creational Hermeneutic, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 154. NAIITS 103 Volume 11

“intelligent bodies, permeated by Christian commitment, believe in a different way than rational minds.”121

Conclusion: Creative Dialogue and New Song: Insights from ICM Discourse

In what sense might ICMs practice a “theology of dialogue” in their respective pluralistic contexts; yet remain committed to the Gospel, enter into the creative process with a sense of respect for people from other faith persuasions, with humility, vulnerability, and address the questions raised from different faith persuasions?122 Others can participate in this creative act “not by creation ad extra, but by affirmation ad intra,”123 by sharing in and with the creative process amongst members of the Trinity. The prophetic task, according to Brueggeman, “is to mediate a relinquishment of a world that is gone and a reception of a world that is being given.”124 The task of mediation is between “those open to the other and those resistant to the other.”125 In the context of “liturgical spaces” occupied by ICMs, we ask, in what sense do musicians sing a “new song”126 – and

121 Margaret Miles, “The Resurrection of Body: Re-imagining Human Personhood in Christian Tradition,” in Theology, Aesthetics, & Culture: Responses to the Work of David Brown, Robert MacSwain and Taylor Worley, eds., (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2012): 42-52, 52. According to Miles, “to seek, in the present, to live out into the resurrection body, seems both a more realistic and a more demanding definition of belief than that of the rational mind’s assent.” Ibid. 122 Cf. Bosch, Transforming Mission, 483-485; and also Steven B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder, Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011); and Steven B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004), 351-94. I use the phrase Creative Dialogue as comparable with the “Prophetic dialogue” – more a spirituality than a strategy for mission; it allows for a new way by which to perceive a given context. See Bevans and Schroeder, Constants in Context, 22. 123 Jacques Maritain, Bernard Wall, and Margot Robert Adamson, The Degrees of Knowledge (London, UK: G. Bles, The Centenary Press, 1937), 107. 124 Walter Brueggeman, The Practice of Prophetic Imagination: Preaching an Emancipatory Word (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012), 145. 125 Ibid., 144. 126 In the First Testament, the “new song” was used to express praise to God for victory over the enemy and in some cases included thanksgiving for creation (cf. Ps. 33:3; 144:9); there is a tangible link between the playing of a harp and singing a new song (also, cf. Ps. 40:3, 96:1; 98:1; 149:1; Isa. 42:10). G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Academic, 2007), 1102. In the Second Testament it’s use is more analogical or typological, given the complete victory in Jesus Christ NAIITS 104 Volume 11 how does it pertain to Creative Dialogue? What “ontological alternatives”127 do ICMs in mission provide in the mediation of their musical creativity?

Among the ICMs that I interviewed, interestingly, each one of them had a unique perspective and ways in which they were expressing their creativities. In fact, they challenged my identity at varying levels (my experience of what it means to be Indian, Christian, and human) and in differing degrees. The crossing of boundaries within and without, with a sharp focus on inclusion of others, appears to be a defining characteristic. Another feature is the reconfiguration of public space as a venue for creative dialogue and radical experience of God in community. I have dedicated the bulk of the paper to outlining a framework for theological creativity for mission. Here I share excerpts from research that pertain to the issue of musical creativity and spirituality with a key informant, Mark Leah.128

Mark Leah was born and raised in South Asia, with North American missionary parents for the first twelve years of his life. He is a solo artist, but used to tour with a band that employed a “fusion” of Western and Eastern sound and instruments. Mark’s sense of mission is not borne primarily out of his desire to “reach” people with his music. According to him, “My primary motivation as a musician in general has been simply to fulfill what is clearly a gift that God has given me to use; in using that gift the byproduct of that is mission.” Mark sees his “Indianness” as helpful as he immerses himself in the South Asian diaspora so that “who I am as a person, which includes my faith, will be shown and illustrated in real living situations among them.” His creative being is not merely his faith but in his increased “ability and desire to identify” with South Asians.

At the same time, however, he asserts, “… and I never tried to be Indian.” After a performance an Indian lady came up and said to over sin and death; what is to be noted is the eschatological significance of the “new song” in Judaism and hence its direct linkage to its use in the Second Testament (cf. Rev. 5:9; 14:3). Ibid. 127 Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology,” 207. 128 Interviews were conducted over the last three and a half years. As per his request, Mark is a pseudonymn. NAIITS 105 Volume 11 him, “you are a true son of India” or “‘I accept you as a true son of India,’ even though the total evening was about Yeshu Bhakti; she was a Hindu woman.”

Mark and his fellow band member “never tried too hard to fit in;” – “it was the music that touched us, we enjoyed it, we played it.”

It is significant that Mark sees his primary responsibility as being faithful to his calling in Christ through his musical identity, which includes others. He does not see his mission so much as to reach others (although he did not really put it in such terms) but to create with them, to invite others to participate in his creative being with God and through Christ and Spirit, with the world.

Mark and his band try to persuade churches where they perform not to use too much PowerPoint, but rather “experience the worship, without the necessity of every word being translated up on the screen.” According to Mark:

So, we’ve compromised to a point where we will translate the chorus – sing o sing… – all the verses are not translated; nobody knows what they mean, unless I may say what it means during a song. But let them experience it; let them sense god’s presence; they are going to get the gospel during that day in the service anyway. Every word does not have to be translated.

Concerning the experience of the unfamiliar language for his fellow band member who is not familiar with either Hindi or Nepali, Mark says that:

[He] experienced the language as his humanity, as his worship and therefore there is no need to experience it as Hindi; if he was experiencing it as Hindi, he would have had to analyze the meaning, look into the words, look into the translation; but instead he experienced those words as human – the language of humanity.

According to Mark’s fellow band member:

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Growing up in America in church is very much a proactive experience; you stand and sing, the words are up, you are mentally engaged, you pray out loud, you sit down, take notes during the sermon, or you should, and then you sing at the end. And that is your worship experience; even in more charismatic kind of churches, same kind of idea – we are all involved in this together. Whereas this kind of brought a worship experience where I did not have all the cognitive interaction with/or the chords on [the song] are so simple, I almost did not have to think about it while I played. So, just being able to interact with Christ through the music with a lot of space for him to speak to me, just to be enjoying each other without really having to do something.

Being steeped in Western music in his growing years, Mark opted to learn the sitar, an Indian elite classical music instrument reserved mostly for the Brahmin community, but popularly enjoyed by many. His creative construction is evident in the choice of lyrics, which are deeply theological and contextually continuous with Hindu mythological contexts in use of Hindu phrases and themes to the extent that they are culturally adaptable to being reassigned alternate meanings. Regarding instrumental music, he says “its neutral ground. Instrumental sitar music is harmless; you can find your way into many, many different communities with instrumental music whereas vocal music can limit you based on lyrics, on where you might get invited – primary and major reason.” Mark admits that his degree of “Indianness” as a North American allows him to get away with more than a South Asian could in the same context.

Although Mark uses the word “neutral” he recognizes the value of using words to address specific themes in the context of a performance. He says, “I am a communicator. I am not simply trying to make a point. I want to communicate bhakti [discipleship] and help people to worship.”

Mark’s willingness to humble himself and learn from the other is evident in his choosing to learn from a guru. For Mark, “As a Christian we don’t think of life in phases.” He refers to the fact that as a shishya (student) he was not in a position to initiate a NAIITS 107 Volume 11 conversation especially on theological grounds with his guru; learning a sense of place in relation to the other was significant. This was different from what he was used to in Western Christianity.

Respect, bold-humility, and patience – key aspects of prophetic dialogue – appear to characterize Mark’s musical creativity: “I have never had an opportunity to talk to my guru about my faith after all these years. So that’s an example of a student phase. My guru has not asked me, so why I should I presume to introduce a subject in the presence of my guru?”

When I spoke to Mark after several months, he mentioned that he did get an opportunity to speak with the guru’s family, he handed them his CD. Although they know his spiritual interest, they have not yet asked him about it. “[T]hey’re very politically sensitive, so they don’t mention that. They just look quizzically and ask me a few questions.” Mark realizes, “my guru is not going to be interested in anything about my life until I have mastered his music.” In terms of making efforts to witness to his guru, Mark says “if I master Indian classical music, then he has more respect; at that point I have the right to speak.” Earning the privilege to witness through enduring relationship is markedly different from evangelism strategies most churches adopt.

In addition, the idea of witnessing from a subaltern place is significantly characteristic for ICMs as they negotiate their identities in the context of dominant hegemonies within Christianity (hierarchies, structures, etc.) to change it from within and without, and in the context of spatial flows concerning the production and distribution of “world music”129 in addition to the theological trafficking between North and South (e.g., publishing requirements, accreditation for theological education, the equitable and mutual transfer of knowledge, and sharing of resources). What questions are being raised between dominant structures and margins?130 The “jagged

129 Someone has asked: “How can we sing the Lord’s song ... when it’s so hard to get published in a hymnal?” 130 “Power is never only a symbolic relation;” the reality of material and structural dimensions exist prior to “musical mimesis;” reflexivity in this NAIITS 108 Volume 11 histories of minorities within the existing … structures” need to be examined with an aim to challenge the binarisms of modern/ primitive, rational/irrational and other issues that contribute to the segregation of artists from the West and non-West. Only then will we be addressing core issues of migration and globalization.131

Mark’s in-depth knowledge of the culture and languages is beyond what the average Indian possesses. He says about his guru, “I know he has interest in the Brahmo Samaj;132 I could discuss with him about that (mentions certain people, names, etc.). … So, for me it is not a question of compromise; it is like being a spy in Russia; you might begin to have doubts, but your ultimate goal is to tell the US. In a sense, I don’t want to say that I am a spy; but I know what my goal is and I am not afraid of what appears to be compromise and opportunity there.” ICMs, as “intermediaries” and “mediators,” signify the difference between public and prophetic dialogue.133 According to Emily Eliza Scott, “Dialogue around a particular subject … becomes the basis and adhesive for community formation.”134 In this sense, this is a knowledge-generating process where “Knowledge is built to serve as a catalyst for jumping-off-point for further inquiry and public discussion.”135

context may not be helpful to actually overcome hegemonies of power differentiation. Toynbee and Dueck, Migrating Musics, 73. 131 Nikos Papastergiadis, “And: an Introduction into the Aesthetics of Deterritorialisation,” in Art & Cultural Difference, Art & Design Profile No. 43, (London, UK: Academy Group Ltd, 1995): 6-8, 6. 132 A “theistic movement within Hinduism founded in 1828 by Ram Mohun Roy.” Brahmo Samaj, Brittania Academic, Online, accessed May 28, 2013; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/77198/Brahmo-Samaj 133 Georgina Born clarifies using Bruno Latour’s definition of intermediary as “what transports meaning or force without transformation… Mediators … transform, translate, distort, and modify the meaning or the elements they are supposed to carry.” Georgina Born, ed., Music, Sound and Space: Transformations of Public and Private Experience (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 9, n.9. For Jorgensen, as significant as the terms “relativism,” “etic and emic,” “positioning,” “dynamic translations,” and “cultural universals,” are for missiology, without a discourse of “radical discontinuity” missiology boils down to cultural anthropology. Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology,” 188. 134 Emily Eliza Scott, Artists’ Platforms for New Ecologies, third text, 6; accessed December 30, 2013; http://www.thirdtext.org/artists’-platforms-for-new- ecologies-arc 135 Ibid. NAIITS 109 Volume 11

For Mark, the spiritual aspect of “Christianity is bigger than just us; Jesus says he is not Christian – if my guru [meaning Jesus] is not Christian, then why should I be?” Mark’s faith in Christ allowed him the freedom to break out of perspectives associated with traditional evangelical Christianity in terms of what it means to be “Christian.”

But how did he justify submitting himself to a spiritual authority other than Christianity? This in many ways is related to the first episode that I narrated. For Mark, world religions are human categories. There is no Christianity that is apart from Christ. The task for ICMs in mission is to illuminate as well as to interrogate culture through their creativities. As helpful as the concept of “radical discontinuity”136 is to distinguish missiologically effective musical creativity from other kinds of creativity, we should be careful to recognize that any “Socially engaging piece of artwork should be equipped with the forces to constantly question and break away from its surrounding environment, while being continually nurtured by the same environment in which it is deeply involved.”137

On the other hand, postcolonial and postmodern anthropology is characterized by an appreciation of syncretism that “might not only represent decay but can also present a reintegration of elements and symbols in culture.”138

Mark’s stance challenges many Indian Christians who are prevented from learning Indian classical music due primarily to their own differentiations of what it means to be a Christian in the context of religious pluralism. Mark asks, “[biblically speaking] is it possible to think that … a student would be able to say, ‘my guru is not God’?” The biblical parallel might be found in Jesus saying “follow me” to his disciples; the idea of following Jesus was to be like him in every way. Yet, Mark was able to differentiate his Christian identity from that of his guru.139

136 Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology.” 137 Pang, Creativity and its Discontents, 158. 138 Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology,” 190. 139 According to Mark, “For me there is a certain behavior of my guru that he is very harsh with some of the less talented students or students that are slower. So, that’s one aspect I don’t want to be when I am a guru.” NAIITS 110 Volume 11

Here again we remember the Israelites on the banks of the river of Babylon – their epistemological captivity of “How shall we sing a new song in a foreign land?” The difference between Mark and the Israelites may be that the Israelites, though physically captive were spiritually captive to religious constructs of their centers of worship and power (cf. John 4:21-23). Mark, on the other hand, appears spiritually liberated to physically submit himself to learning from a religious other, his guruji. For Mark, “the deterioration of the imitation of God rather than imitation of guru” is the problem. The “other” need not be far away to be “other;” we are not dealing merely with people who are different but actually different societies, different cultures and the relation between “here” and “there.”140 Christ-focused singularity is the characteristic of one whose calling is to be, in Mark’s term, a “bridge builder.” Mark will do what the guru tells him to do while learning with the guru – even if it be singing a traditional Hindu religious song (especially when the song cannot be learned in any other way).

Is it possible to be a follower of Christ and yet live in a dynamic and spiritually fruitful relationship with the “other”? According to Mark, modern Christianity will say, “quit your job and show that you love Jesus.” However, Mark refers to the example of Naaman, the Syrian from 2 Kings 5:1-8. Although Naaman was a “great man” he asked permission of his king to go to Israel in order to be healed. He gets healed by the prophet Elisha by subjecting himself to an Israelite prophet who uses forms that were foreign to Naaman.141 However, after he is healed he returns to thank Elisha, and asks:

In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter. He [Elisha] said to him, “Go in peace.” (2 Ki.5:18, 19)

140 Cf. Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference,” in Cultural Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 1, Feb (1992): 6- 23, 14. 141 Elisha says to Naaman, “go and wash in the Jordan seven times” rather than Elisha simply coming out to him and calling on the name of the Lord, waving his hand over the place and curing the leper; further, for Namaan, the waters of Jordan weren’t the best to what else was available (2 Ki.5:10, 11). NAIITS 111 Volume 11

According to Mark, “In that culture Elisha realizes that this man is not compromising his faith. He does not have to become an Israelite; he can remain a pagan; essentially Naaman went back and continued as a pagan in his own country, bowed down before a [foreign] god; but when his master dies we don’t know what happened; does he cut out that stuff?”

For Mark, “though my guru is good; he is not God.”

How much is too much when it comes to creative dialogue? When it comes to syncretism, how do ICMs distinguish between issues of continuity and discontinuity? Jorgensen refers to Stewart & Shaw (1994) on syncretism as an analytical concept that is worth recollecting here:

In Western religious discourses and scholarship in particular, the implicit belief remains that assertions of purity speak out naturally and transcendentally as assertions of authenticity. Yet ‘authenticity’ or ‘originality’ does not necessarily depend on purity. They are claimable as ‘uniqueness’, and both pure and mixed traditions can be unique. What makes them ‘authentic’ and valuable is a separate issue, a discursive matter involving power, rhetoric, and persuasion. Thus both putatively pure and putatively syncretic traditions can be ‘authentic’ if people claim that these traditions as unique, and uniquely their (historical) possession. It could be argued, in fact, that syncretic blends are more unique because [they are] historically unrepeatable. An apt example of ‘syncretism/ mixing = authenticity’ is that of Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalism … a culture characterized by creative borrowing.142

It is helpful to separate what is “authentic” from what might be considered “pure” or “sacred.” This clarification helps to tackle the issue of being accused as a foreigner in one’s own culture or being accused of “foreignness” – issues that are central to hybridized constructs such as ICMs. What “language

142 Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology,” 189. Emphasis mine. NAIITS 112 Volume 11 ideologies”143 or “qualisigns” do ICMs employ in their discursive practices that pertain to issues of “power, rhetoric, and persuasion”?144

Concerning creative dialogue in public spaces Mark clearly differentiates his place:

We are a devotional band that focuses on Indian devotional music with a devotional focus on Christ. This is the first sentence; it establishes it fully that I am not a “hare krishna” which is the first thing that I have to clarify with my shirt etc., I do not want to be associated with the hare krishna. So I have to and almost have to say that I am a devotee of Christ using Indian forms.

According to Papastergiadis, “There is no primordial essence which governs our origin or determines destiny.”145 This is where a theology of creativity in the context of diversity is essential as told through the discourse of ICMs in mission. How do ICMs mediate difference that is intrinsic to their diverse identities, while translating the uniqueness of Christ’s humanity?

Mark realizes that he can never really say that he is “Hindu.” He tells me, “but you could and see what happens.” Perhaps that’s the next step for me and other ICMs in their respective transcultural contexts as we negotiate our musical creativity in the context of this present diversity toward our common humanity in Christ. In the context of a theological framework for creativity, ICMs, academy, and church need to take seriously their musical identity – the prophetic and priestly charge “to illuminate and to interrogate” the cultures of this world, as “creative catalysts,” to create “transgressive” (border-crossing)

143 Language ideologies refer “to shared ideas in a group about the nature of language and words and how the group should use language and words.” Jorgensen, “Anthropology of Christianity and Missiology,” 192. He suggests “qualisigns”—i.e, “the sensuous qualities of objects which have a privileged role in a larger system of value” that is comparable to “symbol.” Ibid., 193. 144 Jorgensen also takes into account continuity and discontinuity, the relationship between modernity and Christianity, and the relationship between immanence and transcendence to more fully explore the relationship between anthropology and missiology. Ibid. 145 Papastergiadis, “And: an Introduction into the Aesthetics of Deterritorialisation,” 7. NAIITS 113 Volume 11 works, with humility to be bearers of knowledge and truth along with those gifted in the realm of ratio-cognitive processes with respect to the patterning of words for a “new song.”

Returning to the opening scenario, the so-called mentally challenged were able to integrate their forms into the performance in such a way that they invited participation from all present. Perhaps the challenge of church and academy is to do the same: the integration of theological creative vision, church renewal/planting, and creative ministries in ways that invite participation and creativity with the other.

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SECTION II Tributes to Richard Twiss

This section of Volume 11 (2013) of the Journal of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community consists of four selected tributes given during Richard’s memorial days in his home area of Vancouver, Washington, March 2013. Randy, Wendy, and Adrian are long-time “fans” and friends from the NAIITS community. Ray’s friendship with Richard stems from the World Christian Gathering on Indigenous Peoples [WCGIP].

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RICHARD TWISS MEMORIAL TALK

RANDY WOODLEY

They say only love can break your heart. Since I first got the news of Richard’s heart attack, like you, my heart has been broken. But, it also feels like my whole life has been broken, or like one of my legs has been cut off. Richard’s Lakota name was translated “He Stands With His People,” but there were many ways in which Richard helped me to stand.

We began phone calls and emails 16 years ago. We were both very critical of each other in our approach to Native American culturally contextual ministry. He thought I was syncretistic and that I was imprudent. I thought he was doing culture without proper rights and protocol. It turned out we were both partially right and partially wrong. I guess some might say at first that we were not quite friends and not quite enemies, we were, “frenemies.” But, as often is the case, in such great causes, we found out we needed each other for the big task, which for both of us would be a life-long journey.

When I think of mine and Richard’s relationship these two verses from Proverbs come to mind:

° A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ° The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.

I simply wanted to be Richard’s friend and was fortunate to count myself as one. Some of you have seen and heard Richard and I verbally “slug it out” and were amazed that we could remain friends. I think our relationship, and that of our little “band of brothers,” often saw the reality of the worst in each other and by confronting it, sometimes through humor or ridicule, or sometimes in anger, it eventually brought out the best in one another. Much of that speaks to the grace Richard gave me and other people in his life. He understood loyalty in friendships. And as critical as we could be of each other, when it NAIITS 117 Volume 11 came to it, Richard knew I, and a few others, always had his back. I knew he had mine.

Richard “stood with his people” and, he also gathered them. Just look around you — he’s still gathering us. I believe this gift of his will continue, and bear much fruit, especially through the young people’s lives he personally touched. He once told me didn’t have the heart of a pastor but I saw the deep passion he had for young people, those young lives he touched, the ones he called his nephews and nieces. It was true concern and care – he had a pastoral heart of love for these young ones and they are the ones who will have the courage to follow their dreams of an Indigenous community in Christ, and hopefully, have each other’s backs.

Richard was part of a close team of brothers/friends that eventually became NAIITS. He was an incredible team player and as the NAIITS community developed and matured in our theology and perspective, so did Richard. Even though it may have appeared from the outside that when he was up there speaking, that it was “all about Richard,” it was not that way at all. He always promoted the movement and the community above himself. In this regard, he was generous and thoughtful and he understood his own giftings and his own limitations, as well as, the giftings of each of us.

It may be very difficult for Americans from such an individualistic society and a persona driven church to understand how our little Native community worked so well together. In our Indian way, individuals move the ideas of the group forward because they are secure in the group’s identity. To try and understand Richard Twiss as a man who was just interested in building himself up in a ministry is completely the wrong picture. To try and understand Richard Twiss apart from his Native American community is a misunderstanding as well. Maybe this is the greatest lesson Richard still has to teach us. He was a community builder. He loved to gather us together because he knew this is where our strengths lay — together.

And, for that small group who grew up together in this battlefield called culturally contextual Native American ministry, he was our golden boy — the voice and charisma and NAIITS 118 Volume 11 fantastic communicator for our movement and our community. I often told people that Richard was not just the best communicator in Indian country, but one of the best anywhere. I would often see our group’s ideas (which he borrowed liberally) amplified and universalized in his big tent communications. And we loved it. That was a gift that we will sorely miss.

Richard was an incredible innovator in our movement. As his closest friends, we understood what Richard was accomplishing as the Spirit moved through our Indigenous people. No one else could do what Richard was doing better than Richard. His unique giftedness was his extroverted personality and his innovative mind, which was like a sponge. He soaked up new information, then was able to communicate it in very easy to understand, humorous, ways. His framing on the subjects we all battered around for decades, was unique and refreshing. His humor allowed him to get by with some of the subject matter that most of us could not. He had folks laughing and bleeding simultaneously.

Even though as a group, we had many “knock down-drag out” fights over the years, he also kept us laughing at ourselves. And, Richard was always willing to reconcile. After awhile, it just became normal for us all to fight and love without holding grudges (for too long). Much of that was because of the influence of Richard’s generous spirit and his jovial demeanor.

In the past several years I saw Richard really hitting his “intellectual and integrative pace.” He had so much more to give and to speak and to write. I think he was actually just in the bloom of his career in terms of his message and developing a worldwide platform with it. Now, it will be done in another way — but still through Richard’s influence.

Like he did with some of you, Richard greeted me with a kiss on the cheek every time we saw each other — so, while I can’t say good-bye, because Richard will always be a part of my thoughts and my life, I’ll just say, “I’ll see you later buddy.” Here’s my last kiss for awhile.

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A TRIBUTE HONORING RICHARD TWISS March 8, 2013 at Woodleys’ Home

WENDY BEAUCHEMIN PETERSON

As Richard lay in his hospital bed, I talked with God. I told him, “I cannot imagine a world without Richard. I cannot imagine NAIITS’ meetings without Richard. The hole left behind will be too large, too deep, too painful.” I told God. And others told him too. And yet we are left without Richard’s physical presence in this great mystery, which is our path of faith we have chosen to walk with Jesus.

Experience tells me procrastinating in writing a tribute does not make reality less real – less final – and yet I procrastinate. If so many of us feel this emptiness, this finality, I cannot imagine the great void that is yours, Katherine and Daniel, Richard’s Mother, and the rest of his family. C.S. Lewis called death what it is: the Great Divorce – where spirit and soul are ripped asunder – the great separation that Creator Jesus never intended when he said of his creation, “It is good.”

In reading the expressions of love and respect for Richard as conveyed in a wide variety of tributes, for some odd reason, I started to think about saints. I remember my mother, an on-and- off-converted-Catholic, praying to St. Anthony when she lost something: “Dear St. Anthony, look around – something’s lost and can’t be found.” Honest. She did.

Don’t get me wrong; I have spent enough time with Richard to question that he would qualify as a saint, at least not in the Catholic sense of the word (nor would he want to), but just for fun, I pondered what power would we, his friends and admirers, invest in him?

I picture a desperate conference speaker calling on St. Richard as the provider of appropriate jokes. Then again, maybe not. His jokes were often toe-over-the-line one-liners. RT was speaking in a church in Winnipeg in December. He had the audience in the palm of his hand, as per usual. However, at one point I caught NAIITS 121 Volume 11 myself trying to project a message to his mind. “No, Richard! No. Don’t tell that joke here!” Well, of course he did.

Richard’s ability to captivate an audience – whether in a private room or an auditorium – is a great gift. Yet, he is known to us by multiple gifts: drummer and singer and music composer (who can forget Jenny Craig?), orator, author, Powwow host and dancer, entertainer, scholar (no matter how much others claimed he stole their material), preacher, exhorter, even prophet. He still speaks to this world (via technology) with both the voice and message of a prophet, addressing sins of the past and present – sins with consequences projecting into the future for First Nations and Indigenous peoples. He also speaks with the voice of a truth-teller calling nations and peoples to examine their prejudices. If “authentic” was not such an over-used word, I’d add that Richard personifies authenticity. Yet, the greatest privilege granted by Richard is to be called his friend — a gift he gave so willingly to so many. There’s the dilemma. Richard can’t be limited to just one area of renown.

I know that even thinking about praying to St. Richard is just a little over the top, actually pretty weird, not to mention rather non-evangelical — even non-post-evangelical. (Well, maybe then I could market WWRTD bracelets instead? Now wouldn’t RT love that!) Still, I am confident that the God who resides in Mystery will reveal to each one who desires to carry on Richard’s legacy, the unique place in Creator’s great design that we must fill.

While flying to Richard’s memorial, I spent the time reading his dissertation. You know he has distributed it with his usual knack for the perfect wording: Rescuing Theology from the Cowboys. At one point in his analysis he states “Stories are people, people are their stories, and stories are alive.” He wrote of the “strain and tension” he experienced “between trying to interpret and explain stories with empirical methodological devices while allowing the inherent mystery of Creator working among us to remain unexplained.” We who tell the story of Richard Twiss will feel that same strain and tension as we seek to explain his impact alongside the communal love and respect we hold for him. Perhaps it is best expressed in the translation of his Lakota name: “He Stands With His People.” NAIITS 122 Volume 11

It would be incomplete for anyone to tell Richard’s story without reference to his admiration for the fourteenth century Persian poet, Hafiz. I found this poem Richard sent way back in 2008 tucked away in my e-files. I leave us with this expression of Richard’s life, hope, and legacy:

GOD’S BUCKET Hafiz

If this world Was not held in God’s bucket How could an ocean stand upside-down On its head and never lose a drop?

If your life was not contained in God’s cup How could you be so brave and laugh, Dance in the face of death?

Hafiz, There is a private chamber in the soul That knows a great secret

Of which no tongue can speak.

Your existence my dear, O love my dear, Has been sealed and marked “Too sacred,” “too sacred,” by the Beloved— To ever end!

Indeed God Has written a thousand promises All over your heart That say Life, life, life, Is far too sacred to Ever end.

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TRIBUTE TO DR. RICHARD TWISS: On behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia

Pastor RAY MINNIECON

I first met Dr. Richard Twiss at the inaugural World Christian Gathering on Indigenous Peoples [WCGIP] in 1996 in Rotorua, New Zealand. This Gathering was organized by another Indigenous Christian Maori warrior, Prof. Monte Ohia.

Meeting a host of other Indigenous Christians from around the world at this Gathering was like meeting a long lost family for the first time. Meeting Richard and his family was like meeting a long lost brother.

Through him and many other Indigenous Christian leaders, I soon discovered that many Indigenous Christians globally were struggling with the same issues, legacy and history brought about by fundamentalist Christian dogmas and doctrines and brought to us by well-intentioned but misguided Western missionaries.

We also discussed the fact that this historical and contemporary legacy and struggle was also compounded by the oppressive political, social and economic history and ideology of colonialism that has left many Indigenous peoples crushed, landless. And we are still continually abused racially, socially and economically.

We are left culturally bereft on the margins of modern western society.

We discussed at length the fact that we continue to find ourselves living in stark spiritual and social poverty and powerlessness in the lands of our respective ancestors.

Richard, along with other Indigenous Christian leaders, brought these issues and burdens to the Rotorua Gathering in 1996 and to other WCGIP Gatherings since 1996.

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The big questions we began discussing globally were; How do we be authentically Christian and authentically Indigenous within our own cultural skin? How do we remain authentic within our Indigenous identity within the political constructs and constraints of Western Christianity and Western society?

These two questions are still an ongoing struggle and challenge.

Richard met that challenge head on. I have watched and admired from Down Under, Richard’s incredible passion and drive to bring [answers to] these two question to reality.

Firstly, within himself.

Secondly, through like-minded Indigenous Christian leaders.

And thirdly, Richard challenged Western Christianity about Indigenous theology.

To me he will always remain an authentically Lakota Sioux warrior and an authentically Christian warrior.

Richard’s passion and power to transform and translate the message of Jesus and our Creator into an authentic, practical, theological and philosophical Indigenous practice for all Indigenous people became his life’s work and legacy.

In my personal reflections on his extraordinary life and ministry, Richard fulfilled the demands and characteristics of Psalm 1: 1-3.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.

In our Central Desert country here in Australia, we have a tree called the Desert Oak. It is one of my favourite trees because of

NAIITS 126 Volume 11 its ability to grow in such arid and harsh environmental conditions.

It is a remarkable tree because of this fact. Its roots can grow underground longer than the height of the tree above ground. The desert oak can look very small and fragile above ground.

But underground, away from human sight, its roots will dig through sand, rock, gravel and all types of obstacles until it finds the scent of water or moisture. Once it finds water, its growth above ground is exponential.

It will grow so quickly that when fully grown, the desert oak offers shade, food, cultural tools and artefacts, and homes for all the animals, humans and birdlife of the desert.

The Desert Oak reminds me of my friend Richard Twiss.

Through struggle, hardship, obstacles and barriers, he found the deep spiritual and cultural water necessary to grow in global stature and significance, like a tree planted by the water.

To Indigenous Christians globally; living in our own spiritual, social, cultural and political deserts; Richard was the Desert Oak that offered spiritual food to all Indigenous Christians to be authentically Christian and authentically Indigenous within our own cultural skins.

He offered shade to those of us who felt confused about our Indigenous identity, and continually abused and bruised by colonial political and social forces and practices.

He offered tools and artefacts from his own deep Lakota Sioux cultural roots that strengthened our resolve to be authentically Christian and authentically Indigenous within our own cultural skin and within our own respective communities and Church denominations.

This is quite an achievement by Richard in such a short space of time!

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What are the lessons and legacy of Richard’s extraordinary life that he has challenged us to reflect upon?

Firstly, wisdom teaches us that if a raindrop falls into the ocean, it dissolves and disappears completely in an instant. But, if that raindrop falls onto a flower, or the leaf or flower of a Desert Oak, it nourishes the whole tree and produces life and growth.

Richard taught us to be like the raindrop that falls on those Indigenous flowers and leaves of the Desert Oak.

Don't be like the raindrop that quickly dissolves or disappears among modern cultural forces that are alien to the traditions of our ancestors.

Remain true and strong to your cultural roots and traditions of our respective Indigenous tribes and peoples.

Stand, fight and struggle to maintain your cultural identity and dignity against all the powers and forces of colonialism and globalization, that have forced our people to live in poverty and desolation on the margins of contemporary society that have become like desert places.

Even in these places we can follow the Jesus Way and maintain the cultural identity and dignity that was given to us by our Creator.

Secondly, a wise old Aboriginal man here in Australia once said that “religion is for those people who believe in hell. Spirituality is for those of us who have been to hell.”

Richard implored us by personal example that true Indigenous spirituality comes from deep within us. Our ancestors, our cultures, our heritage is a beautiful gift from our Creator. The roots of our culture are deep in our spirit and memory.

We have a very important responsibility to preserve, maintain and restore that which our Creator gave to our ancestors. It may seem like our communities and families are like living hell-hole.

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Yet, in spite of our social living conditions, and political oppression in these desolate and destitute places, we have a deep cultural responsibility to stand proud and true to the cultural heritage given freely to us by a loving Creator.

I reckon that these are some of the important lessons Dr. Richard Twiss encouraged us to learn and practice as Indigenous peoples.

I pray with Richard and all Indigenous Christians, that we can all be authentically Christian and authentically Indigenous within our own cultural skin, and become like a tree planted by the water in our respective desert communities – like a Desert Oak!

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RICHARD TWISS MEMORIAL March 10, 2013

ADRAIN JACOBS

I am Ganosono, Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation, Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Southern Ontario. I have been a friend of Richard's since the late '80s. To Kath and boys, I am reading from my journal yesterday:

Since his passing each of us have gathered up every recollection of him that we could find. Some of us have found very old memories that we had forgotten in this busy-ness of our lives.

One of the last photos Richard posted was a selfie in front of the BIA building in Washington, DC. His anger against the white man and oppression brought him here in 1972. His love for his people and Jesus brought him back in 2013. He said on his own Facebook Timeline that I had encouraged him to write about his 1972 experience. He had told many of us but the story itself was not in writing in detail anywhere. I guess he was in the midst of doing that when he left us for good. His little smile in this photo is etched in my memory forever.

To my knowledge Richard only "liked" one thing on my Facebook Timeline, ever. It was the Bon Iver song "Skinny Love" that I posted sometime in January (this year). Jodi Scott Trevizo then commented that this song streamed often at the Wiconi office and everyone chimed in on the "my, my, my" part of the chorus. She then said that she could not, and others couldn't either, understand the lyrics. I then responded to her that the lyrics were like a Bob Dylan song – you can't really understand the song by the lyrics but by the feelings or emotions they elicit. I told her that I understood or felt these lyrics from the broken side of love. It is this broken side of love that we resonate with. It was the broken side of love that was the crack in Richard's smile and that was the sad in the twinkle of his eye.

I live on this broken side of love Richard, and thanks for your contribution to this! This too is etched on my soul forever. NAIITS 131 Volume 11

In reflecting on Richard's passing I want to offer two theories. The first is – the more deeply you feel anything the more you experience eternity. Each moment of deep pain is agonizingly long. Every moment of intense ecstasy smears out time so thinly that it disappears and seems to stand still.

Our moments with Richard were like this, these emotional moments of laughter and joy, and the times of the agony of our people and of his life that we shared. It is these moments that each of us remember so well.

My second theory is that Richard was/is a time traveler. He mastered these moments of intense feeling that made time seem to stand still, even just for a moment or two. It was long enough however, to burn neuro traces that will last us a life time.

Some have spoken of Richard coming to them in dreams. Richard comes to me in moments of recall, sometimes triggered by context, or something I see or hear, or some other savour. I then transcend time and I am with him once again. He time travels to me to bug me again to tears and to trigger my regard.

Ever so agonizingly slow he will bug me less and less and the tears and laughter will slowly subside. All of this will happen against my will. Come back you bugger! Come back to these moments when our brokenness brokered our bond!

Sitting here in Newburg, OR in this coffee shop early on a Saturday morn I am missing you Richard. I wish you were sitting here, just you and I alone, away from the crowds, away from the distracting din – back and forth banter with no agenda and nothing to accomplish but the love of friends.

Farewell my dear Richard. Farewell my dear friend. Practice your magic. Practice your skill. Come to me in moments, come to me in feelings. Time travel to me and remind me still!

NAIITS 132 Volume 11

NAIITS 133 Volume 11

NAIITS 134 Volume 11