Peace Child Evaluation

INS 111A: Communication and Culture I

Submitted to

Department of Communication

School of Communication, Language and Performing Arts

20th November 2019

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 Entering new culture

Culture shock

In the book, it is evident all the different types of culture shock Don Goes through as he plunges

into unknown, unfamiliar behavior, traditions, social patterns and way of life. However, despite

of all challenges Don gains insights and gradually to make effective adjustments and copes into

the new culture. He undergoes all the stages of culture shock such as fascination, rejection,

adjustments and effective functioning stage.

The biggest shock was communication. Don had to learn and understand the Sawi language

which was very difficult because never before their language was learned by any outsider. He

had to produce his own dictionaries and grammars to help him. Communication became even

more difficult because different Sawi tribes spoke different languages. Don coped with this by

learning their language and helps with the development of an alphabet for their people.

Don was also shocked by materials they used. A lot of their tools were of Stone Age and were

not very efficient. To help cope with the shock, he lets them use his tools made from steel which

were much more efficient. They even built him a home in return for the use of his steel tools.

When Don set out to explain to them the unknown doctrines of Christianity. Richardson was

shocked to discover that many Sawi traditions directly contradicted these doctrines, namely the

tradition of tuwi asonai man. The treachery and cannibalism of the practice idolized characters

such as Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus Christ. They believed on befriending someone,

fattening them up and killing them. Those who did so were considered heroes. Cannibalism was

accepted as a normal part of life for such people. He also discover that they were often fighting

and going to battle for various petty reasons.

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 Cultural onion model of culture

Don Richardson was able to use the onion model of layers of culture in bringing change to the

Sawi people.

Behavior level

Don studied the patterns of behavior in the culture. He learned them and became accustomed to

them. He used their behavior patterns to analyze the people and learn to better communicate with

them by becoming involved.

Social Authority Level

Don emphasized on befriending key members of the Sawi society such as the elders, chiefs, and

warriors. Through interaction with those key members such as Hato, he was able to communicate

with them. They learned to interact and he chose important members to go back and

communicate Christian concepts to the others. He was also able to explain to them they needed

to make peace with the opposing tribes or they were going to leave.

Experience Level

Due to Don’s personal involvement in Christianity, He was able to pass along the views and

ways of the new testament to the others. He was able to use some redemptive analogies and other

things that the Sawi people had experienced as a way to introduce Christ.

Core of Culture Level

After spending a lot of time with Don was able to change a lot of worldviews of the Sawi. After

converting to Christianity, one is required to look at the world in a different light. Their world

views and the way they judge others definitely changed. A lot of their ways in the past no longer

practiced.

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 Proposition

P.3 Meaning is internal and individual.

Communication is achieved when the meaning developed is similar to the meaning intended.

When Richardson and his wife Carol began teaching the gospel to the Sawi people, they were

shocked to discover that the Sawi totally misunderstood the message about betrayal of Jesus

because the tribe valued treachery as a positive character trait, and thus revered Judas’ as the

hero for fattening Jesus with Friendship. The miscommunication happened because of the

different ways the Sawi people interpreted signals due to diversity of experiences, needs and

environment.

In this case it suggests that, meaning is always personal and unique to each individual. In our

Christian based culture, we understand the story of the Judas in the bible to be a very negative

thing as he pretty much betrayed Jesus Christ. In the Sawi culture, they were fascinated by

treachery. So the way they understood that story and took meaning from it was in a positive way.

Some even cheered.

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 Categories of Christ and culture

Christ as a Transformer of culture

This category holds that culture reflects the fallen state of humanity, but in Christ humanity is

redeemed and culture can be renewed to glorify God and promote His purpose. Culture is corrupt

yet redeemable. The Sawi people were cannibalistic and headhunters. In the book, Don explains

to the people why they need Christ and what he has done for them. He works very hard to try to

change the primitive Sawi ways. He also teaches them that some of their cultural activities such

as murder and treachery are corrupt. The Sawi people were known for their ritual of making

friendships with outsiders, inviting them over for meals, and slaughtering them for the whole

village to eat as a celebrative feast.

Richardson eventually discovers the redemptive analogy of the peace child, in which a village

offers an infant to an enemy village to represent a peace treaty between the two peoples.

Richardson equates this practice with Jesus as an eternal peace child. He tells the natives that the

sacrifice of Jesus fulfills the peace child for man. Therefore, he was able to admonish them to

give up headhunting in this manner.

Don was able to use ‘Peace Child’ redemptive analogies and other things that the Sawi people

had experienced as a way to introduce Christ and ministered to them. The coupling of

Richardson's teachings and his own personal actions in the face of danger touch the hearts of the

Sawi. He encouraged them that they were still redeemable and could be forgiven through Christ.

After months of work and preaching, the men of the Kamur village began to accept the new

gospel. Richardson rejoiced at the peaceful change that swept through the jungle as more Sawi

villages accepted the gospel. He was able to transform them successfully and eventually created

a bible in their language, built a Church for worship, and Converted over half of the Sawi people.

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Lesson learnt:

 Meaning is always personal and unique to each individual

As we have seen, the Sawi are not the only people to interpret the teaching about Christ and

messages in unexpected ways because they view it through their own cultural grid.

Therefore I should be careful to study the culture and worldview of the people I interact with,

because I can unintentionally communicate “bad news” instead of “good news. As you can see

how one person may communicate something but its meaning is understood differently.