17 Wonders in the Heavens Above …
333
between the material and the spiritual. However, Eriksen does not extend her discussion to a Pentecostal understanding of creation, rather keeping her focus on the social
realm. In this section, and building upon the first section, I will give two examples,
both from Fiji,
5 for this enchanted understanding of creation and how it engages with
the effects of climate change.
First, Ryle addresses the Pentecostal Fijian cosmological understanding of
drought and unproductive crops, when addressing the traditional reconciliation ceremony on Vitilevu, Fiji’s main island, in November 2003 (Ryle 2012). This reconciliation ceremony was conducted by the ACCF (the Association of Christian Churches
in Fiji), which is a combination of Methodist and Pentecostal churches with a “particular focus… [on] a Pentecostal healing of the land and exorcism of the ancestral
spiritual power inherent in the land” (Ryle 2012, p. 93).
This reconciliation ceremony was held in light of the murder of Thomas Baker
and his associates in 1867 at Nubutautau (in central Vitilevu), with the murder being
seen as cursing the land, resulting in poor crops and a lack of rain (Ryle 2012). As
Ryle (2012) recounts,
Brokenness between clans needs to be restored through rite of reconciliation that will heal
social relations, relations with the spirit world and the land, i.e. reconciliation will bring nourishment and fertility to the social barrenness of human relations and the material barrenness
of the land—and will transform the powers of the spirit world from ‘inimical’ to ‘supportive’.
(p. 96)
The material state of creation is attributed to the spiritual (and by extension moral)
state of the people of Fiji.
Importantly, while Pentecostal churches associated with the ACCF participated
in the reconciliation ceremony, they attributed the barrenness of the land, not to
the murders of Thomas Baker as his associates, but to evil spirits that needed to be
exorcised through the power of the Holy Spirit (Ryle 2012). The fertility or barrenness
of the land was linked directly to the presence of ancestral spirits (which Pentecostals
saw as evil, see for example Newland 2004) and the moral state of the people. To
heal the land, the people of Fiji, according to the Pentecostals, needed to repent, fast
and exorcise the evil spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Ryle (2012)
notes,
While the 2003 Baker reconciliation in outer form was a traditional Fijian reconciliation
ceremony, prior to the event ACCF pastors had been engaged in preparing the people of this
area beforehand, through Pentecostal prayer and ritual to confess their sins and reconcile
with God, which would lead to healing the land and social relations. (p. 93)
This enchanted worldview – seeing the material as imbued with the spiritual –
leads to spiritual solutions (repentance, fasting, exorcism) to material problems (lack
of rain, poor harvests).
Second, Cox et al. have explored the Fijian understanding of the effects of climate
change, as they elucidated the Christian interpretation of recent tropical cyclones
5 My reliance on Fiji for examples are solely due to the fact that the majority of scholarship on
Pentecostalism in the Pacific Islands has focussed on Fiji.
333
between the material and the spiritual. However, Eriksen does not extend her discussion to a Pentecostal understanding of creation, rather keeping her focus on the social
realm. In this section, and building upon the first section, I will give two examples,
both from Fiji,
5 for this enchanted understanding of creation and how it engages with
the effects of climate change.
First, Ryle addresses the Pentecostal Fijian cosmological understanding of
drought and unproductive crops, when addressing the traditional reconciliation ceremony on Vitilevu, Fiji’s main island, in November 2003 (Ryle 2012). This reconciliation ceremony was conducted by the ACCF (the Association of Christian Churches
in Fiji), which is a combination of Methodist and Pentecostal churches with a “particular focus… [on] a Pentecostal healing of the land and exorcism of the ancestral
spiritual power inherent in the land” (Ryle 2012, p. 93).
This reconciliation ceremony was held in light of the murder of Thomas Baker
and his associates in 1867 at Nubutautau (in central Vitilevu), with the murder being
seen as cursing the land, resulting in poor crops and a lack of rain (Ryle 2012). As
Ryle (2012) recounts,
Brokenness between clans needs to be restored through rite of reconciliation that will heal
social relations, relations with the spirit world and the land, i.e. reconciliation will bring nourishment and fertility to the social barrenness of human relations and the material barrenness
of the land—and will transform the powers of the spirit world from ‘inimical’ to ‘supportive’.
(p. 96)
The material state of creation is attributed to the spiritual (and by extension moral)
state of the people of Fiji.
Importantly, while Pentecostal churches associated with the ACCF participated
in the reconciliation ceremony, they attributed the barrenness of the land, not to
the murders of Thomas Baker as his associates, but to evil spirits that needed to be
exorcised through the power of the Holy Spirit (Ryle 2012). The fertility or barrenness
of the land was linked directly to the presence of ancestral spirits (which Pentecostals
saw as evil, see for example Newland 2004) and the moral state of the people. To
heal the land, the people of Fiji, according to the Pentecostals, needed to repent, fast
and exorcise the evil spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Ryle (2012)
notes,
While the 2003 Baker reconciliation in outer form was a traditional Fijian reconciliation
ceremony, prior to the event ACCF pastors had been engaged in preparing the people of this
area beforehand, through Pentecostal prayer and ritual to confess their sins and reconcile
with God, which would lead to healing the land and social relations. (p. 93)
This enchanted worldview – seeing the material as imbued with the spiritual –
leads to spiritual solutions (repentance, fasting, exorcism) to material problems (lack
of rain, poor harvests).
Second, Cox et al. have explored the Fijian understanding of the effects of climate
change, as they elucidated the Christian interpretation of recent tropical cyclones
5 My reliance on Fiji for examples are solely due to the fact that the majority of scholarship on
Pentecostalism in the Pacific Islands has focussed on Fiji.