One of the biggest culture events that we’ve gotten to dip our toes into so far was a feast that was held to disperse the spirits of the dead from a community near us. Jevon and I both went, with the kids, for a couple of hours in the day time, and Jevon got in on some games. He and a bunch of the guys his age had to move a pile of sticks – lightweight wood – all the way around the communal house. They stood in a line throwing the sticks backwards to each other over their shoulders. The guy behind you catches your stick and tosses it to the guy behind him, and so on. Later, in a different game, some girls threw sticks at him and he had to protect himself by hitting their sticks out of the air with a bigger stick. Then he returned the favor by throwing sticks at them while they protected themselves with bigger sticks.
Later that night, Jevon stayed with the kids and let me go back with my coworker Palmira, to observe the all-night ceremonies. I was super thankful for the opportunity that he gave me to go, even though I am not a night owl and don’t really like staying awake all night when I know I am just going to have to be awake and take care of the kids the next day.
There were some really enjoyable and special moments – like a moonlight walk with the women. And a fun and seemingly innocent dance with them, in the communal house, early in the night. It was actually a sort of follow-the-leader type of game, in which all of us held hands in an almost-complete circle. The one in the front of the line picked the step and started moving forward (moving the circle with her), and everybody else had to copy the step she chose. We skipped in a circle, we slid our bare feet on the dirt floor as if we were ice skating, and we put one foot out in the middle of the circle and turned sideways before stepping forward. Those were the shared moments that build relationships, the moments that we treasure up in our memories for the future.
But as the night wore on…and a headache started to kick in…as the rotten meat smell started to overwhelm me (yes, there are people in the world who don’t mind eating meat that’s a little, or a lot, past date)…as the fires that were burning in the middle of the house made it so hot inside that we had to turn our faces against the cool palm thatch wall to be able to stand it…then I had to remind myself why it was worth being there instead of between my nice cool sheets at home with Jevon.
And later, when I went home and processed the things that I had seen and heard through the long hours of the night, I took note again of the reasons why it had been SO worth staying awake.
So, in case you are curious, here a few reasons to stay up all night in the communal house:
1. To observe cultural values, and social structures that support them, in action. For example, throughout the night I observed that obedience is a big deal. When the old man who is putting on the feast asks people to get out of their hammocks and do something in the middle of the communal house, they are expected to cooperate. If they don’t, there are consequences. When the men ask the women to do something, they have to obey. If they don’t, there are consequences.
2. To observe the modes of teaching which are already existing in the culture. Culturally accepted means of teaching already exist in every culture, before that culture is introduced to schoolhouses and lectures in front of a classroom. Throughout the night, I observed key people teaching and being taught. This got me thinking: How might some of these very same modes of teaching be implemented some day in a maturing church? It’s too early to answer that question, but not too early to start thinking and dreaming and praying.
3. To observe people’s worldview in action. For example, both outspoken non-Christians and professed Christians were participating in the feast and in the various rituals that the feast was made up of. As the night wore on, the atmosphere became more serious and the rituals became more objective in nature. As these changes took place, my coworker and I stayed more and more on the sidelines, observing and learning, but no longer participating. The symbolism of the final rituals of the night was very clear; the purpose of it all was to send away the spirits of people that had died from that communal house. We observed with keen interest the details of the rituals. But it’s not just the details that we are here to learn about. The question that we had to ask ourselves was this: if a person is participating in this kind of ritual, what does he or she believe about life after death? And in who or what are they trusting to protect themselves and their families (from the spirits)? Or in who or what are they trusting to guide the spirits of deceased loved ones to “heaven”?
These are things that we need to observe, ask questions, and find answers about before we can teach, clearly communicate the gospel, or disciple young believers in the faith. And you don’t learn these kind of things while you are cozy in your house and your own bed. Is it worth losing a little sleep over? YES! And I’m sure we’ll be doing it again before our time of culture and language learning is complete.
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