Becoming a Christian in Fiji: an ethnographic study of ontogeny

Abstract

By means of an ethnographic and developmental analysis, this article shows how everyday ritual practice is fundamental to people's constitution over time of ideas that, in this case, inform a specifically Fijian Christianity. Focusing on the developmental process that is the fixation of belief, and on the significance of ritual for this process, it explores transformations in ideas about God, Sunday school, and death ceremonies held by Sawaieke girls and boys between 7 years, 10 months and 13 years old. The broader objective is to demonstrate, first, how data obtained systematically from children can illuminate our understanding of ritual and its significance, and, secondly, how an analysis of the developmental process necessarily entails a concomitant analysis of the social relations that inform it.

The power of submission: Self and community in Fijian Pentecostal discourse

“…Individualism can mean that an interior self, integrated and bounded with a consistent character, is the locus of morality and decision making (Becker ; Robbins ), or it can mean freeing the mind from pressures of the body (Keane , ). These beliefs oppose ideas that individuals are “permeable” or “porous,” that is, shaped by the thoughts and emotions of others (Pype ), or “dividual,” the nexus of a set of relationships, each independently shaping discrete aspects of the person so that he or she is neither bounded nor internally coherent (Mosko ; Strathern ; Toren , ).…”

“…Vanua were attached to particular localities from which, in theory, the ancestors or vu of the group had first emerged on earth. In the vanua , each person nurtured and cared for others ( veilomani ), respected those of higher rank ( veidokai ), and gave service to others and support to the community ( veiqaravi ) (Toren , , , ). The mutual service of community members was in some contexts translated as tribute to the chief ( iliuliu or tui ), who would channel spiritual efficacy ( mana ) to the community (Toren ).…”

Do Ipê Roxo na Cidade Nova: experiência etnográfica e aprendizagem situada

“…Isto é, o enfoque na cognição construída na interação nos permite ir além das ideias de que os processos educacionais supostos na escola são modos de existência reproduzindo a si mesmos, pela reprodução legítima das desigualdades e das distinções sociais, ao modo de Bourdieu (1982), ou formas de poder ou resistência imanentes a essa reprodução (Foucault 1988(Foucault , 1999. Tais perspectivas analíticas, mesmo divergentes, compartilham a suposição da especificidade ontológica do social, de tal modo que o processo cognitivo é visto como fenômeno histórico, social e culturalmente situado, tanto em termos políticos (Bourdieu 1982;Lahire 2003), quanto na prática social cotidiana (Lave 1988(Lave , 1996Lave e Wenger 1991;Toren 1993Toren , 2003. Isso implica atenção ao modo como jovens, crianças e adultos constituímos nosso conhecimento no mundo, como o processamos e para qual direção movimentamos a aprendizagem.…”

‘Anthropology’ challenged: notes for a debate

“…Anthropologists have too long collapsed the distinction between morals (which are bound by institutions and culturally specific rules) and ethics (which arise from human co‐presence and mutual co‐constitution). Ethical relations are at the origin of our sociality (both from a logical point of view and from an ontogenetic point of view, see Toren 2004) and they are therefore necessary for the constitution of human agents and for their internalization of the rules of morality. They precede and superimpose upon morals .…”