How early Christian missionaries carved a lifestyle for the stone-age Fijians by translating Bible into Fijian language is indeed amazing.
They taught them language, fed and clothed them and taught them a new way of life. Soon there was a newly emerging educated Fijians. It took them some years but by the time the Indians were brought on the shores of the islands of Fiji, the natives had acquired enough social values and presumably social skills as well – to integrate and not to act hostile to them as they did with the Christian missionaries some of whom were killed and eaten.
It is an amazing journey and a gripping tail in telling any audience.
These Christian Missionaries existed on meager resources and survived on local supplies once they were landed in the jungles of uncivilized people. They paid detail attention to their habit and culture, took to pains to learn the language and local dialects and device a language using the English language substituting some of letters for certain characters missing or impossible to say it in English.
The end result was to make them Christians but at what cost, pain and tireless efforts is incredible to image looking back 200 years in the past from the modern day Fiji. Those Christian Missionaries deserve our grateful thanks and prayers for the wonderful services they provide in serving a part of humanity otherwise lost and forgotten.
Categories: Fiji
See this comic to try and understand the impact of Christian Missionaries on the local culture:
http://brokenluggage.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/the-island-of-mana/
May we have an article about the arrival of the Missionaries from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at please?
Thanks, when I get a chance I will post my intro to Dr. M U Dard’s Autobiography of an Ahamdi Muslim, my high school English teacher.
This may in part provide some answers.
Back in Fiji, the most learned and experienced of our Ahmadi missionaries cited the struggles and sacrifices the Christian missionaries made to win the hearts of the uncivalized Fijian natives. In contrast, they would argue, our task was far too simple not having to go through the struggles they went through to carve a lifstye for the Fijians.
The impact has been profound that Fijians are deeply loyal to Christianity and it has been a challenge for us -Jamaat Ahmadiyya- to make any significant breakthough in attracting them to Islam.
The inital dream was that much like in some African countries where people join Jamaat in droves, Fijians too will follow suit.