Theoretical background of the study
When we talk of the history of Christianity it does not mean only the history of missions, role of missionaries and followers, contribution in the forms of health and education, and other spheres; but the doctrines and theological implications are also crucial to the understanding of the work of a religion that continues to capture the imagination, faith, and belief of population across the world.
The instruction to spread Christianity from Israel to all parts of the globe was given by Christ himself when he says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matt.28 Verses 18 to 20 - Bible, King James Version, see Carroll & Prickett 2008). As soon as it gained mass support and became an institutionalised religion, Christianity became a major factor that changed the history of ancient, medieval, and modern societies in the West. Eventually, it spread to other societies around the globe and drastic changes fell on them too. The Age of Discovery has helped the spread of Christianity to a great extent and by the turn of the seventeenth century the Church is no longer against scientific discoveries, but sought to venture into the corners of the world thereby expanding its missions which subsequently created a religious impact of a large magnitude wherever it landed.Since then Christianity itself has experienced changes and have evolved from one stage to another. Christianity has gone through a tremendous transition that would transform human thoughts and history throughout the West and parts of Asia. Thus, began the start of Christian missions that brought about phenomenal change in every society, and thereby making it a multi-cultural religion. This change was not witnessed only on the societies, but on Christianity too thereby bringing a massive shift of Christian culture, its nature, and practices. The spread of Christianity is seen as a gigantic move which initiated an encounter between the advanced and the traditional life, the literate and the illiterate, between the West and the East, and Christians and non-Christians.
Hence, Christianity in its wider context has definitely given shape to the traditional society in its religious pursuits and in the same way the latter has also narrowed down the various concepts of Christianity to its own socio-cultural stance. In this regard the words of Phyllis Tickle in her work would help to place the above argument in a more acceptable logic. She writes, “Just as surely as one of the functions of religion is to inform, counsel, and temper the society in which it exists, just so surely is every religion informed and coloured by its hosting society” (Tickle 2012:19).It should be reminded that when Christianity entered the Hills of Northeast India, the Western societies and that of the Eastern (here particularly refers to the Khasi Hills) were entirely different in terms of culture, polity, economy, and other aspects of life. By that period of time, the West has progressed so much in literature, science and technology, while the Khasi did not even have their own scripts. However, it is important to mention that the Khasi were not isolated as claimed in many quarters, since evidences and records show that they have been in contact with people of the plains through their involvement in trade and commercial activities. It was at this point of time that the numerous changes faced by the traditional society would transform its social behaviour, its cultural identity, and religious worldview too. What could be the appropriate and acceptable name for this period of sudden shift that has altered the Khasi society? Should it be a ‘Period of Transition and Transformation’ or is it a ‘Period of Sudden Shift’ or to be more precise, should it be categorised simply as a ‘Period of Change’? In the early years of Christianity it has tremendous influence on the political scenario and the changes that have been witnessed in the West and within every decade, one after another change in the political, economic, and religious arenas also influenced Christianity and its approaches on its works and followers.
It is not difficult to understand the Christianised western world and the changes that occurred there; however, it becomes a huge task to draw an analytical conclusion on the nature of impact that these changes have on the Khasi society and its members. The unprecedented influence that the West had on the Khasi is thus a matter of crucial importance and requires more deliberations to understand socio-religious and cultural history of the Khasi from a new perspective, and to grab the history of Christianity from a philosophical standpoint. Thus, what we see in the twenty-first century Khasi society is largely based on the things that has been written and done over the past two centuries.What the Khasi people experienced when Christianity was firstly introduced to them was the exposure of their society to a religion which seeks to expand its teachings and gain membership. The traditional society and its culture have now come in direct confrontation with a complete belief system with its new elements that would touch many aspects of the Khasi life. Eventually, the progress led to a mild abandonment of things that are not suitable to Christianity’s ethics and principles. One question to be asked, why it took so long for Christianity to reach the hills. We, however, can relate the work of Christianity in the Hills to a bigger picture that is the doctrines of the faith and the events that shape it through centuries. It should be kept in the mind that without the help of scientific discovery, geographical discovery, expansion of trade and commerce, particularly by colonisers and also the expansion of missionary activities, it would have been impossible for Christianity to venture into such unexplored areas and make such a rapid progress. Another aspect that we may point out is the challenging task for the historians to determine the relationship between Christian missionaries and the Imperial Powers. History tells us about the influence of political scenario on the journey of Christianity in the West; similarly, the political condition in the Khasi Hills in the nineteenth century attracted the passage of entry for the missionaries in the same manner, as political events following Constantine promulgation of Milan in 313 AD shaped Christianity of that period from being a superstitious belief into becoming a state religion of the Roman Empire after half century.
Hence, it may be a challenge here to speak of the link that colonialism might have or might not have supported Christianity or vice versa; however, it did provide an easier route for the missionaries. The help rendered by the British officers such as Captain Francis Jenkins to Nathan Brown and Oliver Cutters at Sadiya, Assam in 1836 or that of Lieutenant Lewin of the British government at the time when Thomas Jones arrived in Sohra in 1841, though not in evangelistic measures cannot be seen as a help of the government, rather it was a personal evangelism and attachment of the officer to his faith. Taking a short divergent from the discussion in the debate that colonialism supported Christianity and vice-versa in colonised countries, one also has to see the relationship between the indigenous converts with the missionaries and the colonial power. For the devout Christians, all these material developments, following the Age of Discovery as mentioned above, might have been prepared by God for a great mission. This is one important feature of the beliefs among Christians that when something is achieved or became successful, it is generally attributed as miracles or blessings of Christ.13.1.1 Review of existing Literatures
Before going further in our discursions, it is important to relook at the historiographic developments in writing the history of Christianity in Northeast India, particularly in Khasi Hills. Throughout the years, histories of Christian missions in the Khasi Hills have been written by scholars both indigenous and foreign. When it comes to the history of Christianity in the hills, mostly descriptive in their approaches, some scholars opine that there have been adoption, assimilation or counter reactions which have taken place. However, there are scholars who view this process as one of the factors which has prevented detribalisation, while at the same time helping the tribes to come to terms with the process of modernisation. Of the early works available, mention may be made of the work of Nalini Natarajan (1977), which is considered by many scholars as one of the early historical studies about the beginning, contribution, and impact of various Christian Missions and indigenous churches in the Khasi Hills.
The work of R. D. Warjri (1981) focuses on the attitude of the people, the motives of the Government, and the role of Christian missionaries in promoting education in the Khasi Hills. P.N. Dutta (1982) in his work stresses on the impact of the Christian missionaries on the social, political, and religious sphere of the Khasi. In his two comprehensive works on Christianity in Northeast India, Frederick S. Downs (1992, 1983) throws light on the beginning of the rise of Christianity in the region as well as the changes that followed thereafter. With regards to the influence of Christianity on women and their role in the Church, Downs (1996) provides an assessment of the impact of Christianity upon the status of women among the Khasi society. O. L. Snaitang’s (1993) work focuses on the impact of Christianity on the traditional culture of the people of Northeast India. In his edited work on indigenous churches, Snaitang (2000) provides insights into the emergence of denominations which have been started in Northeast India, particularly from the beginning of the twentieth century. Concentrating on the impact of Christianity through literature and education on the Khasi and Jaintia society, O. L. Snaitang (2011) in his another work points out that these factors have helped to create a ‘unified tribal community’ among the tribes. R. B. Sharma’s (1988) work analyses different Christian missions, their relation with the Government, and their impact on the hill societies of Northeast India. H. Kelian Synrem (1992) highlights the influence of Christian missions and Western education on the Khasi culture and how reaction to the same was witnessed with the rise of socio-cultural movement led by the Seng Khasi. An edited work of M. S. Sangma and D. R. Syiemlieh (1994) also sheds light on the key role played by Christianity as one of the prominent religions in the region which has brought significant changes in the social, cultural, and religious life of the people. P. Kharakor (1997) in her work emphasises the significant impact of the Christian missions on the Khasi Hills as reflected in literary works and use of Khasi language by both Western and indigenous writers who have been influenced by the Bible. S. D. Talukdar (2004) in her work mentions the organised effort made by the Khasi to preserve their culture and retain their identity in the midst of the works of the Christian missionaries which brought rapid changes to the Khasi society. An edited volume by T. B. Subba, J. Puthenpurakal, and S. J. Puykunnel (2009) consists of chapters that deliberate on the significant role of Christianity in bringing about socio-cultural change in Northeast India. T. Vanlaltlani’s (2009) article ‘Participation of Women in the Church: With Reference to North East India’, stresses on the exclusion of women from taking part in the Church’s Ministry among the different churches in Northeast India. J. F. Jyrwa (2011) in his work concentrates on the issue of enculturation of the church and its contribution to the development, transformation, and enrichment of the Khasi-Jaintia culture. Besides these, there are a number of studies done on particular denominations and Christian missions both in English and in vernacular.1From the review of existing literature, it is understood that the writings from the Christian mission point of view have been dominating the historiography of Christianity and clearly indicates the orientation of the missionaries and missionary historians. There have been numerous instances that the importance of the indigenous people’s cultural and religious outlook has been neglected. And at times the prejudice of superiority dominates the interpretations of the authors (see Varghese 2012). The influence of some of the writings can be seen when the church tends to neglect and denounce most of the customs and traditions of the Khasi which they have been practising for a long period of time. As part of the movement to protect and promote the indigenous culture, literary activities in the early years of the twentieth century mostly focus on Khasi traditional religion whereby writers openly declare Western ideas and Christianity as the main causes of putting the Khasi culture in a state of jeopardy. As a result of these developments, a vast difference of opinion was created regarding conversion and cultural resistance between those who have converted to Christianity and those who still believe in Khasi traditional religion. Hence, looking at these developments, the historical analysis of the reaction and response on the impact of Christianity becomes imperative to obtain a comprehensive study of Khasi society and its encounter with the religion of the West. Hence this problem in historiography cannot be addressed from a church history perspective only, but other perspectives such as social history can also be used (Shangpliang 2016:177).2 As suggested by John C. B. Webster in his comprehensive work on Christian historiography, “new historical situations beg new historical questions that may require fresh assumptions and new methods for answering them” (Webster 2012:247). He adds that the present historian of Christianity in India has plenty to work since the socio-cultural perspective as propounded by the Church History Association of India has not yet exhausted its potential when combined with newer post-colonial studies (Webster 2012:244-247). Moreover, since religion is part and parcel of society and culture, hence a relook at the contemporaneity as a result of the impact of Christianity will throw more light on the socio-cultural change, adaptation, and assimilation of the indigenous people in general and the Khasi in particular.
13.2