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DNA, Israel and the Ancestors—Substantiating Connections through Christianity in Papua New Guinea

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14442213.2010.540761

1740-9314

Alison Dundon,

Island Studies and Pacific Affairs

Abstract This paper critically evaluates the 'transformative engagement' between expatriate missionaries and the Gogodala of Western Province, PNG, in light of a recent claim for Jewish ancestry and Israeli nationality. This claim is based on the contention that the original Gogodala ancestors, whose migration to the area is detailed in formal ancestral narratives or iniwa olagi, were members of the Lost Tribes of Israel. In July 2003 this culminated in a visit by Professor Tudor Parfitt, Director of Jewish Studies at the University of London, to investigate. This paper examines the extent to which this claim for identification with Israel represents ongoing dialogue about the origins and nature of Gogodala Christianity, and outlines the extent to which Gogodala communities are substantially connected to places and people beyond their village, province and even country, blurring the boundaries between local and global through their engagement with Christianity. Keywords: ChristianityAncestorsLost Tribes of IsraelPapua New GuineaDNAGlobal and Local Acknowledgements The author is an anthropologist whose research interests include HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality, development, nationalism, Christianity, art and cultural representation, environment and change in Papua New Guinea. Notes 1. He argues that such categories are primarily historical articulations and an analytical focus on relationships and agency renders such distinctions problematic (Foster 2005, p. 176). 2. Olim Aid International is an evangelical Christian outreach organisation based in Queensland, Australia. Although not explicitly stated in their Mission Statement, Olim Aid International is founded on the proposition that 'God has never abandoned Israel' and that Israel is the 'prerequisite of Christ's return'. This is 'part and parcel of pre-millenialist dispensationalism', which forms a basis for a continuing emphasis on Israel in certain forms of Christian worship and practice (Gifford 2001 Gifford, P. 2001. "'The complex provenance of some elements of African Pentecostal Theology'". In Between Babel and Pentecost, Edited by: Corten, A. and Marshall-Fratani, R. 62–79. London: C. Hurst. [Google Scholar], p. 74). 3. Masanawa continues to be a place of some power and ancestral activity, represented in the noises that sometimes emerge from the swamps. These are often described by witnesses as like that of a conch shell, sounds sometimes accompanied by strange movements in the opaque waters, likened to small tidal waves associated with something large moving beneath the surface. Such descriptions and witness accounts correlate with those of other places accorded ancestral significance in the local landscape. 4. The ECPNG was the indigenous church that originally emerged out of the relationship between the UFM/APCM and the Gogodala in the 1960s; it was originally only referred to as the Evangelical Church of Papua (ECP) but later became the ECPNG. 5. The Gospel of Mark was the first book translated into Gogodala, sixty copies of which were hastily unveiled and presented to local converts in 1941 before the missionaries were evacuated following the outbreak of war in the Pacific (Weymouth 1988, p. 184). 6. This is still in practice today—my own name, Samakiyato, came from my adopted family's deceased eldest daughter. 7. Parfitt's book Journey to the Vanished City (1992) was based on research amongst the Lemba of South Africa, a Bantu-speaking group that approached Parfitt at a conference in South Africa and told him that they were Jews (Johnston 2003 Johnston, J. 2003. 'Case study: The lemba'. Developing World Bioethics, 3(2): 109–11. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar], p. 1). Although Parfitt did not confirm a Jewish ancestry for the Lemba, the book did give 'some support to the Lemba's claim to Jewish ancestry and it sparked a popular interest in the Lemba worldwide' (Johnston 2003, p. 2). His book also led to an interest amongst genetic anthropologists, who took DNA samples of 136 Lemba and compared them with DNA from neighbouring groups and some Jewish populations. 'The study's results were suggestive of a genetic history that is not incompatible with the Lemba's oral tradition' (Johnston 2003 Johnston, J. 2003. 'Case study: The lemba'. Developing World Bioethics, 3(2): 109–11. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar], p. 2). Johnston (2003, p. 3) writes that the book and the genetic study 'apparently had a profound effect, not just on how many Lemba see themselves, but on how they are perceived by others'. 8. I was not made aware of how Henry came into contact with Olim Aid or Micari, although they have had some presence in Moresby over the years. 9. The mandate for Olim Aid International reads: 'Our mandate is a three prong ministry for the total man—body, soul and spirit. Our call is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and preach the gospel—to the oppressed, orphans, widows and refugees, Jews and Gentiles—fulfilling God's Word for the end times, as according to Matthew 25:31–46 and Mark 16:15' (Olim Aid n.d Olim Aid International n.d . Available at : www.olimaid.org.au accessed 1 December 2008 and August 2009 . [Google Scholar].).