article

Untangling conversion: religious change and identity among the Forest Tobelo of Indonesia

Ethnology42 (4)Published In 2003 • Pages: 307-322

By: Duncan, Christopher R..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study examines how and why the Forest Tobelo were rapidly converted to Christianity by foreign missionaries, after decades of unsuccessful missions from the coastal-dwelling Tobelo, with whom they share a language and kinship ties. The principal reason is that the Forest Tobelo have chosen to maintain a distinct identity from coastal communities with whom they have a long history of mistrust and unequal power relations.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Acculturation and culture contact
Cultural identity and pride
Religious experience
Religious denominations
Missions
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tobelo
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
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
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.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2021
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1995-1996; 2001-2002
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1982-1994
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
East Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, Indonesia
NotesAdditional notes
Christopher R. Duncan
Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-322)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
64005713
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tobelo (Indonesian people)