essay
The ecological and social consequences of conversation to Christianity among the Rungus Dusun of Sabah, Malaysia
Sociocultural change, development and indigenous peoples • (11) • Published In 1997 • Pages: 61-99
By: Appell, George N..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article G.N. Appell examines the influence of Christianity on Rungus ecology. Have Christian notions about man's domain over nature affected how the Rungus treat their environment? Appell argues that Christianity has had an indirect effect by undermining the supernatural sanctions and ritual activity that supported ecological conservation. Christianity has given the Rungus a new worldview to cope with the changes wrought by modernization. It also protects the Rungus from the retribution of malevolent spirits, the ROGON. For example, the ROGON would bring sickness to anyone who cut trees in a sacred grove. Rungus Christians now cut down the sacred groves--some, hundreds of acres in extent--with impunity. The result has been a drying of the Rungus environment and loss of game animals. Also the Rungus now sell their domestic animals, which were sacrificed to the ROGON in the past and were an important source of protein. The ROGON were also a sanction against the violation of sexual taboos. Today illicit sexual relations have increased and with it venereal disease.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Topography and geology
- Flora
- Tillage
- Water supply
- Environmental quality
- Religious offenses
- Spirits and gods
- Religious denominations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Rungus Dusun
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeast Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1959-1963, 1986-1992
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1959-1994
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kudat District, Sabah, Malaysia
- NotesAdditional notes
- G. N. Appell
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-99)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 82941773
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Dusun (Bornean people)