TRIBAL THEOLOGY: A RELEVANT THEOLOGY by Yangkahao Vashum and Shimreingam L. Shimray, E.T.C., Jorhat Theology is a human discipline. It is human efforts to articulate theology in the light of the faith experiences of the people in a given social context. It must be reiterated that all theologies in the world, whether of the past or of the present, are contextual by nature; there is no theology that is universal or claim to have universal relevance. Every theology is context-based and therefore limited. Every theological articulation or construction is therefore a search for relevance in a given time and situation. Tribal theology is a contextual theology. As a contextual theology, it seeks to reflect on the faith experiences of the tribal people on the one hand, and to re-appropriate the liberative and life affirming cultural values for theological reflection on the other. Rediscovery of tribal cultural and religious values is therefore a critical function of tribal theology. Tribal theology holds the Bible as its primary source. We are all practitioners of tribal theology insofar as we are involved in making the gospel message relevant to our tribal context; insofar as we are engaged in relating the biblical texts to the tribal people’s life experiences by way of preaching, Bible studies, and so on. We are all, in this sense, tribal theologians insofar as we are engaged in proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God in tribal languages and dialects – adapting tribal cultural categories for communicating the gospel to the tribal Christians. In any event, whenever there have been attempts to find the meaning and relevance of the Christian faith in the light of people’s experiences, we are engaging in tribal theology. In this sense, we are all doing tribal theology. One basic thrust of tribal theology is to affirm that the tribal people are not inferior to others but that they are equally created in the image of God. We are even more beautiful and privileged than others. We are a people who can freely express our faith. The tribal people are by nature very religious and their religiosity may become fuller only when they can maintain praxis of faith in their own cultural millieu, method and context. Tribal theology is therefore a theology of identity: it raises the question of who we are as Christians. Are we tribal Christians or something else? The Bible is the most wonderful book we ever have. This is not to simply reveal the nature of God himself but for the salvation and liberation of human beings in their own world. This is the only book which no human person has ever been able to explain fully. This is so because human beings have no capacity of knowing God fully as long as they are creatures of God. No human method is fit to measure the depth of the Bible. We can only keep on learning and knowing the provisions of God through the Bible. It does not fall short to apply to all issues, struggles, and celebration. And for that we cannot adopt single criteria to understand the Bible; rather we need to follow certain principles and perspectives to understand the Bible. Tribal theology is no longer a presumption but a reality. It is widely recognized and accepted by all sections of mainstream theological thinking of the world. Many people are now interested in tribal theology. In fact, there have been many people visiting this region mostly to learn the new ideas, concepts and ideals of tribal theology. We are confident that very soon tribal theology will become one of the most sought for theologies in the world of theology. The time is ours. Tribal theology is a result of long interaction between the gospel and the tribal culture. It is a search for relevant meaning and message. The whole approach developed during the last three decades or so confirms that it is in no way an attempt to go back to the past but a march forward with positive tribal values. It is an attempt not only to become self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-developed but also to become self-theologizing. Tribal theologians are appreciated for their efforts to develop appropriate methodology to interact tribal Christian faith with tribal cultures. One of the methods being commonly adopted by tribal theologians is praxis-synthesis of K. Thanzauva which proposes to properly integrate tribal cultural values with that of the Christian principles. This approach requires that we need to properly screen the cultural systems and practices before they are appropriated into Christian faith. The positive aspect and the prospect of tribal theology can be understood by any right thinking person. Such attempt has opened the tribals to rationalize their concept of religion. One of the examples of such achievement is the definition of the religion of our fore-parents. Earlier, people termed it as animism but such imposed definition has been corrected and rejected when the tribals themselves are able to explain that in a true sense the religion of our fore-parents was not animism. It was misunderstood when they used the rock, tree, lake, etc as abodes of worship. But they were never worshipping any object as God. They believed in the Supreme Being, the creator and sustainer of everything. Their concept of Zinghungleng is much more than spirit appeasement. He was the One who blessed them, protected them from dangers. It is true that most tribal people had the practices of appeasing the spirits as they constantly disturbed them in their daily affairs. But that does not amount to believing and worshipping the spirits. Tribal theology is an attempt to make tribals as tribal Christians in their own world. To make tribal Christian faith truly rooted in the cultural soil of the people. It is an attempt to understand Christ from tribal perspectives; to worship Him by adapting tribal values; and simply to follow Christ as tribals. For those who are not aware of the terminology it may be good to underline that the term ‘tribal’ is not used without knowing its connotations. This is one of the most debated issues of tribal theology for decades. It was so because literally it has negative connotations but the Shillong Consultation in 1979 redefined it to mean as original inhabitants of the land; people with distinct culture and traditions; people who were not backward and uncivilized but highly civilized in their own ways. In the explanation, references are made to their highly civilized social system, their housing styles, cultivation methods, agriculture calendar and festivals which were all beautifully designed and very practical. With this brief clarification on tribal theology, we would like to make two notes for the Tangkhul Christians. First, we appreciate the Tangkhul Theological Association (TTA) for such a timely initiative to look into Tangkhul Naga Theology. Its journey from Phungyo Baptist Church to Langdang Baptist Church has been extremely meaningful. The discussions during the last three annual gatherings have deepened and widened our perspectives. The journey has just begun; we still have to go a long way. The road is now widely open to all young thinkers to build upon such humble beginning because at the end you are going to harvest its fruits. Second, we call upon every right thinking Tangkhul intellectual to develop a positive attitude of theology. This is important because theological articulation is not for the purpose of destroying the existing Tangkhul Christian Church but for building a stronger community of faith in Jesus Christ and for moving towards greater meaning together. For which, one person cannot do the whole theologizing process but each person must try to contribute one’s wisdom through one’s area of expertise. In Summary The purpose of tribal theology is to articulate a living and empowering theology in the light of the given realities of the tribal people. A living and empowering theology like ours can emerge only when we are willing to respectfully reclaim our rich heritage and appropriate them in our theologizing enterprise. Doing theology involves an important dimension of defining who we are as a people and a faith community. And this profoundly significant dimension of theology can emerge only when we are truly committed to our traditions and the Bible. By way of concluding, we would like to summarize what and why tribal theology is in the following affirmations: ? Tribal theology affirms that all human beings including tribal people are created in the image of God; it affirms the dignity and freedom of every human being; ? Tribal theology affirms the goodness and beauty of God’s creation; that the goodness of God’s creation includes tribal people’s cultures and traditions; ? Tribal theology affirms that the beauty of God’s creation is found in diversity and not in uniformity; ? Tribal theology believes in glorifying God by using the beautiful cultures and traditions of the tribal people; ? Tribal theology believes in the interconnectedness of all beings and creations; ? Tribal theology believes and affirms salvation of the whole person – physical, spiritual, mental, and social as well; it affirms in God’s redeeming work of the whole of creation in and through the cosmic Christ; ? Tribal theology affirms the Bible and tribal cultures including tribal people’s experience and context as important sources of tribal theology; ? Tribal theology works toward making the Gospel of Jesus Christ relevant and meaningful to the people; it works toward making tribal Christian faith to be natural, contemporary, relevant and authentic in Christ. Note: For further reading on Tribal Theology refer to Yangkahao Vashum’s article on “Introducing Tribal Theology: A Case for Contextual Theology,” in Journal of Tribal Studies, vol. xvi, no.2 (July-December 2011), 1-15. You can also avail this article from the Tangkhul Theological Association (TTA) office in Ukhrul.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 06:12:29 +0000
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