Author: Yang, Shu-Yuan

Source: Social Analysis, Volume 52, Number 3, Winter 2008 , pp. 51-74(24)

Abstract:

Christianity functions as a significant identity marker for the Bunun, an Austronesian-speaking indigenous people of Taiwan. However, identity construction and boundary maintenance are not given by them as immediate reasons for conversion. Instead, the continuity between Bunun traditional beliefs and Christianity is commonly viewed as the most important reason why the latter took strong hold among the Bunun. This article aims to explain why this is so, and to illustrate how the Bunun have transformed Christianity from a foreign religion into something that is familiar, indigenous, and of their own. Among the local Christians, theology is downplayed in favor of piety, which is cultivated and expressed through practical activities. Healing, in particular, is seen as a demonstration of the power of the Christian God and constitutes the Bunun experience of Christianity.

Keywords: BUNUN; CHRISTIANITY; CONVERSION; DEHANIN; HEALING; IDENTITY; MORAL COMMUNITY; POWER ENCOUNTER

DOI: 10.3167/sa.2008.520303

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