The Christianity of Culture: Conversion, Ethnic Citizenship, and the Matter of Religion in Malaysian Borneo (Contemporary Anthropology of Religion)

275 Pages·2011·3.45 MB·English

by  Liana Chua

CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION
A series published with the Society for the
Anthropology of Religion
Laurel Kendall, Series Editor
Curator, Division of Anthropology, America Museum
of Natural History
Published by Palgrave Macmillan:
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Faith in Objects: American Missionary Expositions in the Early
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The Christianity of Culture: Conversion, Ethnic Citizenship, and
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By Edith Turner
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The Christianity of Culture
Conversion, Ethnic Citizenship, and
the Matter of Religion in
Malaysian Borneo
Liana Chua
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THE CHRISTIANITY OF CULTURE
Copyright © Liana Chua, 2012.
All rights reserved.
Parts of Chapter 4 were previously published in “Fixity and Flux:
Bidayuh (Dis)engagements with the Malaysian Ethnic System.”
Ethnos 72 (2): 262–288. Reprinted by permission of the publisher
(Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals ).
First published in 2012 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–0– 230–1 2046– 4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chua, Liana.
The Christianity of culture : conversion, ethnic citizenship, and the
matter of religion in Malaysian Borneo / Liana Chua.
p. cm.
ISBN 978–0–230–12046–4 (alk. paper)
1. Dayak (Indonesian people)—Borneo—Religion. 2. Dayak
(Indonesian people)—Borneo—Rites and ceremonies. 3. Dayak
(Indonesian people)—Borneo—Ethnic relations. 4. Anthropology of
religion—Borneo. 5. Christianity and culture—Borneo. 6. Borneo—
Religious life and customs. 7. Borneo—Ethnic relations. 8. Borneo—
Politics and government. I. Title.
DS597.367.D93C56 2011
275.95(cid:2)40089992256—dc23 2011025385
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: January 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.

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For Geoff Moggridge and Juliana Lim
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments x i
A Note on Orthography xv
Introduction 1
Part I
Chapter 1
Looking Like a Culture: M oden -ity and Multiculturalism in
a Malaysian Village 33
Chapter 2
Following the Rice Year: Adat Gawai , Past and Present 57
Chapter 3
The Making of a “Not Yet Pure Christian” Village 81
Part II
Chapter 4
Why Bidayuhs Don’t Want to Become Muslim: Ethnicity,
Christianity, and the Politics of Religion 109
Chapter 5
Speaking of (Dis)Continuity: Cultures of Christianity and
the Christianization of “Culture” 129
Chapter 6
“We Are One in Jesus”? Sociality, Salvation, and
Moral Dilemmas 153
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viii CONTENTS
Chapter 7
Thinking through Adat Gawai : “Culture,” Transformation,
and the Matter of Religiosity 181
Conclusion 205
Glossary 211
Notes 2 15
Bibliography 227
Index 2 49
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Illustrations
Figures
I.1 K ampung Benuk, 2007 20
1.1 Teenage girls performing a “Bidayuh cultural dance”
for a documentary film crew from Radio Televisyen
Malaysia (RTM), the national broadcasting
corporation, Kampung Benuk, 2006 54
2.1 Female practitioners ( dayung bǎris ) clad in ritual
clothing chanting during gawai sawa , Kampung
Benuk, 2005 69
2.2 Calling the rice spirit from the river and jungle
during g awai sawa , Kampung Benuk, 2005 77
2.3 G awai sawa ritual at the longhouse, Kampung
Benuk, 2005 78
3.1 St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Kampung Benuk, 2009 94
3.2 A Catholic household altar, Kampung Benuk, 2008 98
6.1 L ighting the Paschal Candle at St Matthew’s Catholic
Chapel on Holy Saturday, Kampung Benuk, 2010 169
7.1 Heirloom jars and other artifacts at Paka’s
mini-museum, Kampung Benuk, 2008 195
Map
Map 1 M ap of Malaysia, showing Sarawak and Kampung
Benuk. Map reproduced by the Cartographic Unit,
Department of Geography, Cambridge University 4
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