Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar

305 Pages·2006·1.03 MB·English

by  Eva Keller

THE ROAD TO CLARITY
CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION
A series published with the Society for the Anthropology of Religion
Robert Hefner, Series Editor
Boston University
Published by Palgrave Macmillan
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The Road to Clarity: Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar
Eva Keller
The Road to Clarity
Seventh-Day Adventism
in Madagascar
Eva Keller
THEROADTOCLARITY
© Eva Keller,2005.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2005 by
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ISBN 1–4039–7075–0
ISBN 1–4039–7076–9 (pbk.)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Keller,Eva.
The road to clarity :Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar / Eva Keller.
p.cm.—(Contemporary anthropology of religion)
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 1–4039–7075–0—ISBN 1–4039–7076–9 (pbk.)
1.Seventh Day Adventists—Madagascar.2.Madagascar—Church
history.I.Title.II.Series.
BX6153.4.M34K45 2005
286.7(cid:1)691—dc22 2005048820
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:November 2005
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
In Memory of Bodo
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Contents
Note on the Pronunciation of Malagasy Words ix
Glossary x
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword by Maurice Bloch xiv
Introduction 1
Part I The Setting
Chapter 1
People in Search of a Living 15
Chapter 2
Christianity and Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar 37
Chapter 3
International and Local Structure of
the Adventist Church 58
Chapter 4
Profiles 68
Part II The Road to Clarity
Chapter 5
Bible Study 85
Chapter 6
Knowledge of the Bible and Scientific Inquiry 117
Chapter 7
Text and Learning 136
viii CONTENTS
Chapter 8
The Great Controversy 157
Chapter 9
The Construction and Rejection of Ancestral Religion 169
Chapter 10
Clarity 179
Part III Uncertainties
Chapter 11
Making Choices 193
Chapter 12
Kinship 207
Conclusions 233
Notes 246
Bibliography 266
Index 280
Note on the Pronunciation of
Malagasy Words
T
he dialect spoken in Maroantsetra and Sahameloka contains
numerous velar nasals. Following other studies of coastal populations
of Madagascar, among whom this sound is common, I spell it as /ñ/
(pronounced as in English “long”). Written /o/ is pronounced [u],
written /ô/ is pronounced [o]. Written /tr/ is pronounced some-
thing like [tchr], thus Maroantsetra is pronounced [Maruantsétchr].