The Invention of God in Indigenous Societies

193 Pages·2014·2.068 MB·English

by  James L. Cox

THE INVENTION OF GOD IN INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES
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THE INVENTION OF GOD
IN INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES
JamES L. COx
First published in 2014 by Acumen
Published 2014 by Routledge
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© James L. Cox, 2014
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isbn: 978-1-84465-754-4 (hardcover)
isbn: 978-1-84465-755-1 (paperback)
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To Valerie
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: definitions, terminology and the “invention
of tradition” 1
1. The “God controversy” in pre-Christian indigenous religions 11
2. The debate over Io as the pre-Christian Māori Supreme Being 35
3. Making Mwari Christian: the case of the Shona of Zimbabwe 67
4. The rainbow-serpent in the Rainbow Spirit Theology 89
5. Alaska: Ellam Yua, the person of the universe 113
6. Invention as cultural hybridity 137
Notes 163
Bibliography 167
Index 177
vii
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aCkNOwLEDGEmENTS
I wish to acknowledge the kind assistance of many organizations and indi-
viduals who have made this book possible. I am grateful to the Universi ties
of Sydney and Edinburgh for approving and facilitating my participation
for six months in 2009 in an exchange between the Department of Studies
in Religion in the University of Sydney and the School of Divinity in the
University of Edinburgh. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Carole
Cusack of the University of Sydney, with whom I traded academic respon-
sibilities, and Professor Larry Hurtado, then Head of the School of Divinity
in the University of Edinburgh, without whose help my temporary appoint-
ment in Sydney would not have materialized. In addition, I received an award
from the Small Grants fund of the British Academy that enabled me to con-
duct research while I was in Australia in 2009. This was followed in 2011
by the Auber Award from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which funded a
return visit to Australia and also facilitated my research trip to Alaska in
April 2011. I was appointed the de Carle Distinguished Lecturer for 2012 in
the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, which provided support
for research in New Zealand and also partially funded a further research trip
to Australia in March 2012. I am grateful to the Strehlow Research Centre in
Alice Springs, Australia, and to its librarian, Mr Graeme Shaughnessey, and
its then Director, Dr Michael Cawthorn, for making available to me impor-
tant documents held in the archives of the Centre. I am also grateful to Mr
David Moore, an independent researcher and linguist in Alice Springs, for
organizing a symposium in March 2012 at the Strehlow Research Centre on
the idea of God among Aboriginal Australians. This was preceded by a one-
day conference held at the University of Western Sydney under the direction
of the sociologist of religion Professor Adam Possamai, to whom I express
my thanks for inviting me to participate.
My research was aided greatly by colleagues in the various locations on
which I have built my case studies for this book. I am particularly indebted
ix