HINTS ON THE WORKING OF MISSIONS.

Samoan Reporter, Issue 11, 1 July 1850, Page 2

HINTS ON THE WORKING OF MISSIONS.

ARTICLE 11. In our preceding paper, we offered a few remarks on the circumstance* into which the Missionary is necessarily thrown, who is charged with the work of commencing a Mission among the heathen tribes of Polynesia. These referred more particularly to the state of society (if such a disjointed dismembered state of things can be called society) existing among those people. We intend, in the following remarks, to notice some of those things which meet him in the early stages of his labours.

The first thing to which the Missionary bends his energies is the acquisition of the language of the people. He feels that, without this, he can make very little progress in his work. In attending to this important duty, his situation is different from what obtains in more civilized countries. He has literally to begin at the beginning. There are no native books, nor are there any prepared vocabularies, to which he can have recourse for help. He has to listen to the natives, and catch the sounds of their language-—often, at first, very undistinguishable, —and from these sounds construct an orthography for the language, which he has to reduce to system —or, rather, to embody in a written form the system which already exists, (for, although not expressed to the eye in writing, we find the Polynesian dialects as much subject to rule as the classic languages of Greece and Rome), and make it available for communicating the blessed intelligence of the love of God. He has to inquire by signs the names of the objects around him, seek out the vocal representatives of actions, guess at the meaning of phrases he picks up from conversations. He has to make all his engagements by day subservient to the addition of new sounds and words to his stock, and at night lias to compare and correct his previous acquisitions. The difficulty of his task is also sometimes materially increased by an unwillingness on the part of the people to assist him in acquiring a knowledge of their language. They will often demand payment for every few words they may explain. Thus, it frequently happens, that it is not till after comparing and re-comparing, correcting and re-correcting, that he feels, in some degree, satisfied that he has attained to the real meaning of words and phrases. In such circumstances, it is not to be wondered at, if ludicrous and awkward mistakes are sometimes made ; and he feels thankful when they are no worse than ludicrous or awkward. But time and perseverance are generally sufficient to remove these obstacles in the way of communicating with men of a strange speech; and the Missionary then begins to enjoy the delight of telling them —though it may, at first, be with a stammering tongue—in their own language, the wonderful works of God. Oh, it is difficult to convey to those who have not felt it, a just conception of the thrill of delight which is felt by the herald of the Cross, when he is able, for the first time, to make known his message with the conviction that the people, in some degree, understand whet he wishes to make known to them.

But, even after the Missionary has, in some measure, mastered the language, he generally finds, as hinted in the former paper, that he has no congregations waiting to receive the Word of Life at his lips. He has, therefore, to seek the people out. He has to go after them to their plantations, their maraes, their villages, and their houses, and wherever he meets with individuals or groupes endeavours to engage them in conversation for a few minutes. Often, after toiling up a mountain and down into a distant valley, is he thankful to

meet with a dozen of people willing to listen for a short time to his message. In these circumstances, the Missionary naturally feels desirous of itinerating among neighbouring tribes, in order that the truths he teaches may be spread over as wide a surface as possible. But the relative positions of the tribes often interpose an obstacle, and he finds it difficult and dangerous to pass from one to another. The people among whom he resides frequently oppose him, sometimes from a feeling of jealousy, and sometimes out of a regard for his safety. Then, the great, difficulty is to know when their opposition proceeds from the one or the other, so as to decide how far it is proper to be influenced by it; for, in the one case, he might be unnecessarily limiting his sphere of action and influence, and, in the other, he might be injudiciously throwing himself into a position of imminent danger, and running the risk of cutting short his labours of love at the very outset. While at Tana, in the New Hebrides, we realized both these difficulties. A* times we disregarded the opposition and remonstrances of those about us, went to other localities, and found the people waiting and willing to listen to us; at other times we have done the same, and found, by experience, that there was but too much reason for their opposition. A chief, whom we persuaded to accompany us to another district, at first refused, then followed at some distance; and, when he saw the danger which had become too evident to be mistaken, drew near, and advised us to return as speedily as possible. We thought it prudent to follow his advice, thankful that we had escaped from the clubs and war-s'ones of excited savages. The Missionary may, in his journies of usefulness, be met, as happened in our own experience, by some of the people of the land to which he wishes to extend his labours with an intimation that he must not proceed further in that direction, as their land is sacred. This may arise from superstition, or fear, or enmity, or from opposition to the people among whom he resides. But, from whatever cau«e it proceeds, it will be wisdom on his part not to disregard an intimation of feeling thus given, but endeavour first to make his way sure by conciliating their favour. In some of the islands, a more formidable obstacle than any of these to itinerating exists in the diversity of dialect—we had almost said, language—obtaining among the different tribes. It is more formidable, because, in the nature of things, it will be more permanent. Where this is the case, the Missionary finds that he has not advanced many miles from his head-quarters till the language he has laboured to acquire fails him, and becomes next to useless, except, perhaps, as enabling him to employ native interpreters, or as giving him the key to the general structure of the family of dialects to which it belongs, and a starting point from which again to begin philological labours. When this is the case, he feels that he is necessarily confined within narrow limits ; and, if the agents are few, progress will be slow. So far as we are aware, this state of things is peculiar to some of the islands of Western Polynesia. In Eastern Polynesia, one language generally, with slight modifications and peculiarities, prevails over a groupe; and even among the different groupes, there is more sameness of dialect than has yet been discovered among the different islands of a groupe to the West. In his visits among thf» people, the Missionary sometimes encounters the scowl of the heathen priest and the pretender to supernatural power.- They feel that, should the new system prevail, their craft is in danger; and, like Demetrius, are not disposed quietly to be deprived of the source of their gain and influence ; and, like him, too, are anxious to put a speedy stop to the pregress of Christianity. But. as Satan has often done before them, so these, his agents, sometimes overshoot the mark. Their very opposition, at times, proves an advantage. It rouses curiosity, and excites inquiry among the people ; they then begin to ask questions ; and thus an opportunity is afforded of exposing the folly and evil of the works of darkness inseparably bound up with heathenism. For, although it may not he proper, at first, to court opposition, by unceremoniously attacking the superstitions among which the people have grown up—as that might serve little purpose beyond making them angry and exciting a spirit of blind resistance, whereas simple and clear statements of Scripture truths may take hold of the mind, win on the heart, lead to a perception of the folly and sin of heathenism, and set the soul at liberty,—yet. when such an opportunity is thrown in the way, it is not only proper, but necessary, openly to meet, all questions, fearlessly discuss the points in dispute, and encourage still further a spirit of independent inquiry. When the question is raided by the people themselves, our remarks and arguments are more likely to receive a candid consideration, and lead to more permanent results.

In the early stages of his work, too, the Missionary has often patiently to listen to the reply of indifference, so common in the world, that their religious system has been handed down to them from their forefathers, tha* it does very well for them, while his may do very w’ell for him ; and they wonder why he should be so anxious to convince them that their customs are wrong. They have not vet learnt that they lead down to death ! Others, again, and these often the larger class, will listen with apparent interest, often express wonder, and assent to all he says, and yet continue to hold on to their heathenism. The Missionary,in his inexperience, may begin to expect that he will have easy converts from among this class, but he has often to drink the bitter dregs of disappointment. Then he remembers what Ezekiel was to the Israelites, (JEzek. xxxiii. 32,) and experience assures him that no new thing has happened to him. Re sometimes meets with others who, from superstitious fear or prejudice, or other causes, are unwilling even to listen to his message. These, of course, require to be met in a peculiar way; and he must plan so as to reach their minds by a method suited

to their case, as he discovers the causes which produce that state of feeling. Amidst these more desultory engagements, the Missionary labourer, feeling the importance of inducing a habit of attendance and of regularly obtaining- the ear of the same people in collected numbers, steadily endeavours to bring together, at stated seasons, a congregation, for the purpose of more formal worship and instruction. But, in many places, he finds the people under the impression that, in doing so, they are confering on him a favour, and expect to be remunerated fur their trouble. Some even propose to strike a bargain as to what they shall receive on condition of regular attendance. The difficulty in this case is, how to secure regular attendance from a better motive than that of temporal reward. There may be difference of opinion as to the best means of securing this desirable object. Yet, the Missionary who would be successful must lay it down, as a general principle, that, while he takes all prudent means to secure the favour of the people to himself, he must still not only steadily abstain from doing anything to foster this feeling in the native mind, but also as steadily endeavour, on all proper occasions, to disabuse them of a feeling so pernicious in its effects. Having succeeded in gathering a congregation, the next difficulty is, to keep up their attention for a sufficient number of minutes as will enable us to bring some one important truth of the Gospel clearly before their minds. It may happen, as we have seen in the New Hebrides, that we have not been long assembled till two or three in one corner get engaged in an animated chat on some subject as distant as the poles from that which we wish to make them think about; another person gets busily employed scraping and smoothing his war club ; another is as busy fixing and dressing the point of an arrow ; and another has his attention diverted to some object out of doors, v. hich suits his fancy more than what is going on inside. It will be perceived, that, in such circumstances, one unvarying round of service and plan of procedure, in imitation of what obtains in Christian countries, would not be suitable. The mode of address and plan of procedure must be varied, and such as is calculated to strike the mind of the uncultivated native, and, in some degree, fix his attention. Probably, it will be found, that the Missionary who can, on such occasions, succeed in drawing them out into conversation, and weave a number of questions and answers into his address, will be most successful in communicating some amount of knowledge, and fixing it in their minds. Another difficulty encountered at the commencement of a Mission among these islands arises from a paucity of words and phrases to express religious ideas, as well as indefiniteness and confusion in the meaning of those which exist. Many of the dialects, indeed, have a fulness and variety of expression for the ordinary affairs of life not to be expected among a people so rude and degraded ; but, when we come to apply them to the purpose of teaching definite religious truth, they are all at fault; nor is this to be wondered at, when we remember, that the use of language is to express the conceptions of the mind ; the conception being absent will naturally account for the absence of its vocal representative. Take, for example, the great leading truth of all religion— God, He to whom all worship is due. We find, that the nearest approximation to the term in most of the dialects is that which expresses a class of beings to whom they pay religious reverence. In one, it may be aitu, a name indicative of a class of spirits superior in power to man, and often powerfully affecting him for good or evil. In another, it may be aremha, indicating also a class, and probably a class of inferior origin, for one of its meanings, and apparently its radical one, is a dead man or dead men, and may have arrived at its present signification from the fact of their deifying their departed chiefs. Take another word—one which expresses spirit or soul— nanemun; but then it also means simply one’s shadow. Hence the confusion of ideas. One day, in speaking -with an individual on the necessity of attending to the welfare of the soul in contradistinction to that of the body, he looked down at his shadow, with an expression of surprise on his countenance, as if it meant, “ Why be so concerned about that?” Hence, we are under the necessity of using frequent circumlocutory explanation and illustration, in order to the probability of conveying a definite and correct impression to their minds of what we wish to teach them. Thus it is with most of the great truths which lie at the foundation of all the religious instruction we have come to communicate to them. But, as this continues to be a source of difficulty in more advanced stages of a Mission, we may have to revert to it more definitely in another paper, and, therefore, it will be unnecessary to enlarge on it at present. Our limited space warns us, that we can, in the present paper, notice only one other great obstacle in the way of the Missionary in commencing his work among such a people, viz.: Not only an utter destitution of correct notions in religion and morals, but also an accumulated mass of those which are wrong and pernicious. At Athens, Jehovah was “unknown;” and how emphatically so among these people. In conversation with a chief, while speaking of God, and the worship due to him, he very seriously asked, what kind of body Jehovah had, and looked astonished when told that the true God had no body. It seemed beyond the grasp of his mind, to conceive of a purely spiritual existence. In their vain imaginations, they have robbed God of His all-pervading providence, his attributes and prerogatives, and have interposed a vast number of agents among whom they distribute the different departments of power and providence ; nor do they confine these honours to spiritual and unseen agents, but, on some islands, they have living men, of like passions with themselves, who share these prerogatives, and are feared and honoured accordingly. To one man, they attribute the power over storms; to ano-

ther, over rain; to another, over thunder; to another, over scarcity and famine ;to another, the power of disease and death; and so with respect to the various things by which man is affected in this life. We find them, indeed, generally possessing some notions of a future state, but these are full of confusion and absurdity, and exert no influence on the conduct. But we might thus go round the whole circle of religious truth, and at each step only be more deeply convinced, that in very deed (< the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not.” Nor is the case at ail improved, if we inquire how it stands with them in regard to morals. The prophet knew something of such a state of things when he spoke of some in his day {lsaiah v. 20). They will gravely and seriously talk lies by the hour, as if it were all undoubted truth, and that, too, apparently without the slightest compunction. With very many of them, the only evil in stealing is the fact of being discovered. They are led by their sensual passions without resistance ; they seem to have no conception of the moral turpitude of sin. Truly, in their case is developed the living reality of what the Scripture says when it speaks of some who have “ their consciences seared with a hot iron.” The little account they make of conscience may easily be gathered from the fact, that they have not a word in their language to express it. We have to explain it, rather than to express it, by a term; and even by explanation it is sometimes difficult to make them understand what conscience is. The moral sense is there ; but oh, how perverted !Itis a true remark we have somewhere seen, that “it needs to be educated.” Yes, it needs to be educated, and something more. A hard task, too, its education proves to be. The Christian who ponders over these hints will, in some measure, understand, that verily these are “ the dark places of the earth; ” and he will more earnestly and perseveringly cry to God, “ Send forth thy light

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