Becoming Christian and Dayak: a Study of Christian Conversion among Dayaks in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.Connolly, Jennifer, 2004, Becoming Christian and Dayak: A Study of Christian Conversion among Dayaks in East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Timur abbrv. Kaltim) is Indonesian province on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda (the capital and a center for timber product) and Balikpapan (a petroleum center with oil , Indonesia. Ph.D. thesis (Cultural Anthropology). New School University. This dissertation explores the social impact and cultural meaning of Christian conversion among Dayaks, the indigenous people of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The findings are based on eighteen months of fieldwork in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, as well as archival research conducted at the Christian Missionary Alliance's National Archives National Archives, official depository for records of the U.S. federal government, established in 1934 by an act of Congress. Although displeasure concerning the method of keeping national records was voiced in Congress as early as 1810, the United States continued in Colorado Springs, Colorado The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city (after Denver) in the state of Colorado and the 48th most populous city in the United States.[4] The city is the county seat of El Paso County. . A variety of methods were used to collect data, including surveys, participant observation participant observation, n a method of qualitative research in which the researcher understands the contex-tual meanings of an event or events through participating and observing as a subject in the research. , interviews, the collection of life histories and conversion narratives, and documentary research You can improve this article by adding links to related material, within the existing text. After links have been created, remove this message. For more information, see the . The research revealed that conversion is a complex process motivated not only by social and political expediency, but also by the desire to gain access to a new supernatural realm; by some groups' cultural receptivity to Christian messages; and by personal ties and circumstances. As Dayaks have converted, they have learned new religious practices and discourses which have gradually re-shaped their consciousness and religious identity. This new Christian
The term New Christian (cristianos nuevos in Spanish, cristãos novos identity, as well as East Kalimantan's changing social terrain, have aided in the formation of a pan-Dayak ethnic identity. Given the Indonesian state's requirement that citizens belong to one of five state-sanctioned religions, conversion also helps Dayaks claim a place in the nation. In addition, Christian conversion has emerged as a way for the politically and economically marginal Dayaks to maintain their ethnic boundaries and re-negotiate their social status vis-a-vis Malay Muslims. In particular, Dayaks argue that, as adherents to a religion of love and truth, they are morally superior to Muslims. However, by contributing to the maintenance of an oppositional ethnic and religious identity, Christianity perpetuates Dayak subordination. Furthermore, Christian conversion strengthens the boundaries between Muslims and Dayaks. Dayaks particularly fear intermarriage in·ter·mar·ry intr.v. in·ter·mar·ried, in·ter·mar·ry·ing, in·ter·mar·ries 1. To marry a member of another group. 2. To be bound together by the marriages of members. 3. between Muslim men and Christian women which they believe threatens the integrity of the Christian community. Muslim-Christian relations become a gendered hierarchy in which Muslims are potent male predators and Dayaks are their docile female prey (Winzeler database online). |
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