“You know, all people are the same the world around.” What do you think about a comment like that? Does it sound correct to you? There is some truth to the statement, but mostly it is false. The book, Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts says it this way: “The average person in an animistic society may wear Western clothes, etc… However when he is sick or his wife is barren, he consults the medium or diviner. He believes in God yet fears his ancestors. He appreciates Christianity but is frightened of witchcraft.” I’ve been living in an animistic society for only a few years, but I’ve realized that the people in my host culture don’t think like I do. They don’t perceive the world like I do. And when they run into life’s issues like sickness, crop failure, and death, they don’t seek solutions the same way I do.
What is animism? For the sake of this article, I will simply say it is a belief system that emphasizes spiritual beings and powers and their involvement in everyday life. When I say spiritual beings and powers I am meaning things like demons, ghosts, angels, bad luck, etc. To an animist, God may be real but he is so distant that he doesn’t care about my life. The animist instead is largely concerned about manipulating the spiritual powers to his benefit or finding out what the outcome of a situation will be. Thus, some type of diviner or shaman is usually consulted in times of trouble or to understand the future.
Let me give one story as an example. One morning, a neighbor girl arrived at my house with a message from her grandma. “The old man that lives up the hill is sick. Call his son and tell him that he should come home right away,” she told us. After several tries, I finally got through to the son, Felix. With my best language ability, I explained, “Your dad is sick. It seems it might be a prostate problem. He was awake all last night because he had so much pain.” I paused and waited for a response. After a long pause, he replied, “Oh, I was trying to call him, but he didn’t answer. Two nights ago, my mom came to me in a dream and told me that Dad was sick. I thought you were going to say that he died.” This time I was the one silent for a long time. I know that his mom has been dead for over a year. Finally, I gave an agreeing “uh-huh.” Then the conversation continued on to the possibility of getting medical help for his dad.
His mom… Came to him… A dream… Thought his dad might be dead… The first year I lived here, this would have seemed very strange, but after hearing several of these stories, I’ve learned that in my host culture, a dead ancestor might bear information about a family member’s impending death.
Sometimes all these stories just don’t make sense to me. I’m just a Mennonite boy that grew up in a traditional setting in Pennsylvania. I struggle to understand my neighbor’s stories of dreams, ghostly ancestors, and witchcraft. Why? Because I have a different worldview. People are not the same the world around as I once thought. When I get a stomachache, there were microbes in my drinking water, but I’m sure it has nothing to do with a curse. When my grandma dies, my dad calls me to tell me the news. It definitely doesn’t arrive by my dead grandpa telling me in a dream.
Does this mean that my neighbors are making up stories just to make me think they are crazy? No, I’m sure they are telling the truth or at least their perception of reality. I’ve heard stories that makes my skin crawl. I thank my God for protecting my family and me from the evil forces of Satan’s kingdom. It is obvious to me that we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. I realize that my childhood was sheltered, leaving me quite naïve when I arrived on the mission field. I’m on a journey: hearing stories from my neighbors, reading my Bible, and embracing the fact that I serve Jesus Christ, Lord of all. His kingdom is the Kingdom of Light that dispels the works of darkness.
— DS, Tarahumara team
