For the last two months, we’ve been working regularly with
Lorot and Lopua to test Bible Stories in the Toposa mother tongue. As we join
with E-3 Partners to test these Stories, our interest is not only to see how
well Toposas understand the language of the Stories, but also to see how the people interpret the Word of God through their own personal/cultural
experiences and worldview.
We naturally interpret stories (Biblical or otherwise) through
our own grid of knowledge and experience. Imagine then a tribesman who has had
very little exposure to Western images or Middle Eastern reality, church drama
productions or Matthew Henry’s Commentary. What images are going through his mind – what is the backdrop of his understanding - as he listens to the
Word of God? How does he see the Stories we’ve grown up
envisioning?
In the process of testing, each 3-5 minute Story is
accompanied by 15-25 practical/cultural/spiritual questions. You’ll find below
a small sampling of these questions and answers from two New Testament
Stories recently tested with the boys.
Jesus’ Baptism
Q.
What is the wilderness like? How can a
person live there?
A. Ah, the Toposa people say that if you go to the
wilderness, maybe you are just like the animals; you are not a human being.
Because how can you go and stay in the wilderness? For Toposa people it is very
difficult. The wilderness is just a bush – a
place where there is wild animals. There is no town, no person there, just wild
animals only. Sometimes if a big person knows the fruits, he can eat the fruits
of the place. But if the fruits go off (get finished) he must come back (home).
(Lopua)
A. The
wilderness is the place where there is nobody. It’s just a bush. If a man is a
Believer, I think he can just stay there by praying. By praying only. (Lorot)
Q.
Why do you think John the Baptist was
staying there?
A. Because of his instructions. God had instructed
him to go there. (Lopua)
A. I think John was filled with the Holy Spirit,
and then he just went to the wilderness to spend his time. (Lorot)
([Story excerpt] Then John told them, “If you have two shirts, give one
to the poor.”)
Q.
How would a Toposa describe a poor person?
A. In
South Sudan, we have poor people, but we also have the ones who don’t have food
or cows. They just have a small land and they are planting sorghum. If he
doesn’t have cows, and he doesn’t have a wife, that man we are calling poor. No
wife, no children...just alone, with no cows. (Lorot)
([Story excerpt] Even the tax collectors were there; they were being
baptized.)
Q.
What kind of work does a tax collector do?
How do you think people felt about him?
A. Their
job is when people are selling things at a small market, they go and get people
in the market and ask them to give a little money. Those people collect the
money and take it to the office (Commissioner’s office). When people see him
coming in the market, they run and hide. They leave just a small boy there, and
they tell him, “When that man comes, tell him the owner of these things has
gone.” (Lorot)
([Story excerpt] And also the soldiers were asking, “What about us?” John
told them, “Don’t take money from somebody. Don’t accuse someone falsely. Just
let the money you are given be enough for you.”)
Q.
What are soldiers like? What
kind of people are they?
A. Oh, they are very bad people. Because they are
usually accusing people falsely when they haven’t done the bad thing. Also, if
they find people fighting, they will grab all of them and take them to the
station. They will accuse them falsely and do so many bad things. …You can’t
even pass near to the soldiers when you are walking in town. You just pass over
there. (Lopua)
A. When they get someone having money, they tell
him, “Give us also.” If that man refuses, they start beating him, and they take
that money by force. Toposas think soldiers are the bad people. (Lorot)
([Story excerpt] The Holy Spirit descended to Him in the form of a
dove.)
Q.
Are there doves in Toposaland? Can you tell
me about them?
A. Yes,
but not the white one. We have the brown bird; it is very small. We are eating
them. They are very nice, very nice. …They are flying. Very difficult to catch,
unless you throw a stone at it. (Lopua)
([Story excerpt] And then there was a voice heard from heaven, saying,“You
are my beloved son. I love you. Because of you I am so happy.”)
Q.
What is the difference between a son and a
beloved son?
A. In
Toposa there, if a man has two sons, maybe the old one and the young one, the
man can love the young one or he can love the old one more than other sons.
Because there are people there in Toposa who love one son more than others.
(Lopua)
Q.
Is there anyone in your family who is
considered beloved? If so, who?
A. My
father loves me so much. You know my father, from the time I was young he has
never beaten me. Even when I make a mistake, he cannot cane me. Never! ...In
Toposa, if you are taking care of animals and lose one, your father canes you
seriously. When you lose the animals, you can’t come home. You have to
sleep outside there in other villages. If you come home…ayyyy! Also you cannot
be given food at home. Never. …But for me, when I was taking care of animals
and they got lost, my father told me, “Don’t worry if the animals get lost.
Don’t sleep outside there. Come home, and we can search together tomorrow.”
That is what my father did. He never beat me. (Lopua)
Demon-Possessed
Man
([Story excerpt] Jesus selected twelve
people to be his disciples.)
Q.
What is a disciple?
A. Disciples are people who… It’s like when you
have an elder and he sends a younger man. The elder tells him to go and greet
his friends, to go somewhere - people he is sending to go to someone. They are
doing things for him. (Lorot)
Q.
How was a disciple different from other
people?
A. The disciples were with Jesus all the time.
(Lopua)
A. Because they were chosen by Jesus. Jesus chose
them to be His disciples; that made them different from others. (Lorot)
([Story excerpt] When Jesus came out of the
boat, he met with a man who was demon-possessed.)
Q.
How would you describe a demon-possessed
person?
A. If somebody is controlled by demons, they have
taken of witchcraft. They may do it (witchcraft) themselves also. They act differently
than normal people. The person is running everywhere. Sometimes he throws
stones at the people. They (demon-possessed people) just run to the bush. Just
like that. …There is another boy inside our village. He just started during the
rain to fall down. Just during the rain. When the rain started, he would fall
to the ground just like that. Then the people are saying, “This person has the
demon.” But if a demon throws a person into the fire, then the demons have
become very bad. (Lopua)
Q.
Why do you think Jesus told the demons to go
inside the pigs?
A. I think maybe (He chose) the pigs, because the
human being is not the same as the animals. I think Jesus sent them inside the
pigs because they are just animals; they are not like a human being. A human
being is very important. I think that’s why Jesus did that. (Lopua)
Q. How
would you feel if Jesus had told evil spirits to go inside your animals?
A. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Maybe I would feel mad.
When I see such a thing like that. I see the goat. I see Jesus. And then I will
remain…tsk. I will get mad. (Lorot)
Q.
What do you think the pig owners said about
Jesus in town?
A. I could go to town and say, “There is another man
there who has sent demons. Now he’s scattered my animals. That man is bad! Let
us go now and see that man. He is bad!” (Lopua)
Q.
Why do you think the people wanted Jesus to
leave their country?
A. Those people were thinking that Jesus was a bad
person. They were fearing, because how can someone heal a person who was
suffering for a long time, but now that man has gotten well. …The people would
come surprising. (They would become surprised.) Because if a lot of people are having pigs, they will think,
“Ah, this man has already sent devils to my pigs, also. I will get my pigs and
all of them will already be dead, because that man has said he wants to send
devils to the pigs.” (Lorot)
Our ministry is dependent upon
It's excellent to see these young men learning and growing and deepening in their understanding of the Word of God. Praise God for what you all are doing!
ReplyDelete