Gospel and Culture (An Interaction Between Christianity and Mizo Culture)

This book explores the historical process of the interaction between Christianity and Culture on the resurgence of the traditional festival Chaphar Kut. When Christianity was introduced in Mizoram, Christians condemned most of the cultural values as taboo, and the new converts abandoned the religious-cultural beliefs and practices including the celebration of Kut. The conflict between traditional leaders and Christian converts came to such a point that it disrupted their cultural system and created chaos and confusion in the society. Since, India's Independence the new generation wanted to revive and renew these cultural traditional festivals and other cultural elements. By taking a critical historical study an attempt is made to see, to what extend the traditional festivals came into Christian practices. It observes that whether the Church accepted the re-introduction of a festival if it was only for the commemoration and preservation of cultural heritage.

On the introduction of Christianity they came to be strongly restricted and virtually done away with. Struggle to revive those Kut lately in the christianized Mizo society has been an epoch making. Despite sincere efforts from various people groups to revive the Kut there still seems to be a widespread inhibition on the part of the large Christian public to endorse the trend. Factors for either rejection or approval of the Kut, the entire cultural heritage for that matter, are investigated and discussed in the present research work. This book is a must for anyone who is interested with Mizo Christian cultural heritage.

I feel honour and privilege to be invited by Rev. Dr. H. Lalrinthanga, my colleague and member of the faculty of Aizawl Theological College in the Department of History of Christianity, to write a preface to his book Gospel and Culture: An Interaction between Christianity and Mizo Culture. In this book the author has given a careful examination on the interaction between Christianity and Mizo culture after the introduction of Christianity in Mizoram.

The relationship between Christianity and Culture has been a subject of debate among the Mizo till today. Therefore, any serious research on this issue is important and appreciable. As a competent Mizo Christian historian, the author has sincerely expounded the subject with brevity, vividness and clarity.

The author has used quite a number of primary sources such as Church documents, Government documents, unpublished papers and research works which give depth to the research and make it priceless and reliable. The author has also made use of a number of secondary sources which strengthen and supplement the primary sources.

It humbles me to be invited to write forward to such crucial issue of Christianity-culture interface. Rina, my close colleague on the faculty of the Aizawl Theological College, who authors this book has his scholarship acknowledged by the Senate of Serampore College on church-state relationship in Mizo context. That tells upon the general acknowledgement of his competence in the analysis of religio-culture interplay. This dissertation is a by-product of his highly valued doctoral thesis on Church and State Relationship in the Mizo Socio- Political Life 1952 to 2006. Perfection is beyond anybody's reach while the author may be credited completeness in addressing every aspect of the subject in question.

In an attempt to study an interaction between Gospel and Culture this research work singles out Kut as a symbol of the entire Mizo cultural milieu. Christianity in Mizoram as is the case in other countries brings with it unprecedented changes in the whole socio- cultural scenario. Of the traditional cultural heritage Kut (Festival) is unique. It alone combines the moral, ethical, socio-economic and religious image of the people. Three of the Kut selected for this investigation include Chapchar Kut (Jhuming Festival - Spring Kut for fertility), Mim Kut (Maize Festival - Commemoration of the Deceased) and Pawl Kut (Harvest Festival - Thanksgiving Kut). All these Kut are accompanied with traditional feast, dance, singing and merry-making. On the introduction of Christianity they came to be strongly restricted and virtually done away with. Struggle to revive those Kut lately in the christianized Mizo society has been an epoch- making. Despite sincere efforts from various people groups to revive the Kut there still seems to be a widespread inhibition on the part of the large Christian public to endorse the trend. Factors for either rejection or approval of the Kut, the entire cultural heritage for that matter, are investigated and discussed.

**Contents and Sample Pages**