Summary
In a survey of the historical factors which could have influenced the movements it is evident that in the first place the crisis arose from objective data: the geographic environment, sickness and death, but along with them the socio-economic factors of food and ceremonial exchange. At first contact with foreigners did not affect the movements. Even though submission to Tidore meant serious interference, the supposition is justified that the insecure situation brought about by the abovementioned causes, aggravated by acute rivalry and the lack of internal security among the Biak people, contributed more to the origin of crises than the influence of far-away Tidore.
Then the acculturation process gradually starts. A positive appreciation of the achievements of western technology is accompanied by an opposition to tutelage. Even though neither the Protestant Mission (est. 1855) nor the Government (est. 1898) gave rise to an acute crisis in the Biak community by resorting to drastic measures, artificial efforts to introduce foreign elements (even if desired) naturally aroused resistance.
To live truly means in the first place to be able to be one’s self.
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References
Repeatedly it is found that the unilateral adventist doctrines of certain Christian sects have caused the revival of “pagan-apocalyptic” movements. The book of Mormon influenced the Ghost Dance. In their turn the Mormons, on the strength of their eschatological expectations, recognized in the Sioux the ten lost tribes of Israël (243, 792). This also appears to be common, it has been reported from Africa as well as from the Pacific. Not only were some of the missionaries of this opinion, but certain native Christian sects actually called themselves “The Israelites” (190, 101). The origin of some movements in Africa was influenced by the literature of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (here called the Watch Tower Movement; 279b, 217 and 69a). The cargo cults in the eastern part of New Guinea seem to have been stimulated in no small measure by the behavior of the Seventh Day Adventista (68, 90). From several sources it appears that the Simson movement (cf. appendix) was also influenced by the spiritistic literature and practices with which Simson came into contact in the house of a colonist on Lake Sentani (158, 488).
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© 1972 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
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Kamma, F.C. (1972). The Historical Factors and the Influence of the Contact-Situations on the Movements. In: Koreri Messianic Movements in the Biak-Numfor Culture Area. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-0742-4_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-0742-4_10
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