Un chapelet sur le caducée. Tentatives d’évangélisation catholique et protestante des Asmat (Papouasie occidentale)

This article compares the missionization methods applied by representatives of Christian churches - the Roman Catholic Church and The Evangelical Alliance Mission - in their efforts to motivate conversion among the Asmat of West Papua (Indonesia). The author particularly focuses on the missionaries' understanding of the compatibility of local traditions with their brand of Christianity, and how missionaries view medical health care within the context of missionization. Catholic missionaries encourage the integration of traditional cultural expression as well as traditional health care into Christian practice, while the evangelical missionaries enforce a radical distinction of their Christian beliefs and rituals. The author further documents to what degree these methods shape the life of Asmat Christians and their worldview, concluding that missionization causes people to live in two worlds: one shaped by the traditional Asmat worldview and one fashioned by the new Christian worldview

African history and culture analysis · African Studies and Ethnography · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Philosophy